Krosoczka Countdown

Yep, if you've ever asked me my favorite picture book, you've heard the name. Jarrett Krosoczka. The name that I can pronounce and spell as if it were my own, so often do I type/say it. If you too would like to learn how to pronounce Jarrett's name, go to this website and have a little listen. (Jon Scieszka's is pretty good, too!) He's one of the three (along with Scieszka and Mo Willems) that I could go on and on about. One of the three picture book author/illustrators I would probably act like a giddy girl in front of, embarrassing myself wholeheartedly.

Sooooooo, anyway. He's coming out with a graphic novel series for the grade school set, which I am uber-excited about, and not just because one of the titles features the word "librarian". It's from the comic and illustrating-talent brain of one of my favorites; the addition of librarians only increases the fun. But this series about a superhero Lunch Lady and her sidekicks is sure to be awesome. So since I have to wait *patiently* for the end of July before they'll be released. I wanted to share one of Jarrett's books.

So, as I mentioned, I kind of talk about one of his books in particular all the time. If you've known me long enough, you know my love for Punk Farm. As crazy as a barnyard band playing the punk version of "Old MacDonald Had a Farm" is, the rest of his books are pretty spot on "normal"... but definitely not boring. He tackles a friend who's a little too clingy in My Buddy, Slug (like that the clingy friend is a slimy suctiony slug?), a girl running errands with her mom in Giddy Up, Cowgirl, and one that covers something every parent has experienced: a child's self-haircut.

In Baghead, Josh goes through an entire day, from breakfast, riding the bus, giving a report (about a boy and his friend Slug!), soccer practice and dinner, with a brown paper bag on his head. After each adult asks him why he's doing such a thing, he continues to keep the bag on and not explain. The big reveal of Josh's brown bag statement is met by a smart and stylish sister who comes up with a genius (spiky) solution! The illustrations, as always, are amazing. The font of the words even fits in with the page. And most important, the story will resonate with parent and child alike!

If you've never read anything by Jarrett Krosoczka, do yourself a favor. Go to your nearest library and pick one (or 5!) up right away! He's got many famous authors/illustrators saying he's the next big thing! (Not to brag, but I've known about him and been singing his praises for over 3 years! When I found out he was friends with Mo and Jon, and they were my three favorite... I nearly squealed with joy! Yes, I'm a children's book nerd.)

Grabbing at the Wind

Have you ever felt like there's so much going on or so many thoughts in your head, it's like little tiny somethings flying in the wind past you. You can grab all you want, but you pull back empty air. The past couple of weeks and months (and years!) have been so full of... life... things God's teaching me, relationships, library things, good books, good times, hard-but-still good times. And because the weeks have been so full, it's hard to put it into thoughts, even if I tried to pick just one area to concentrate on.

God's been kicking my butt through a Watchman Nee book called The Release of the Spirit. Ouch. Seriously. Not that I agree 100% with everything said, but it's really made me think and challenged and convicted me. And it's been a long while since a book has made me "actively read" so hard. What do I mean by that? I mean my brain had to be engaged or I got nothing. It was the opposite end from beach read, yet not so difficult that I was confused or frustrated. Actually, I take back the confusing part... but definitely in a good way. It talked about how believers must be broken in order to serve God best. And just knowing about Nee's life as a man on the front lines of the early 20th Century Chinese Church... his life was pretty amazing.

And work? It was crazy getting signups out for this year's Summer Reading program. 75 programs over 2 months. No assistant this year, but luckily I have an intern and a former Teen Advisory Board member helping. But Saturday when the signups went out, there were once again 10+ moms outside the doors before we opened. A constant stream of parents for the first four hours. I forget when the K-1st grade program filled last summer, but I think it was at least the end of the day or maybe even the beginning of the next day. One day... that's pretty crazy for 8 programs, 15 spots per program. But I was shocked this Saturday when they were filled by 10:30am! An hour and a half!?!? I don't know how I can fit another program into my summer schedule, but after seeing a couple kindergarteners cry this week because it was already filled by the time their parents came in, I'm determined to try to add another time for the program next summer. It was one crazy fun day, explaining the programs, seeing all the families who came out, and I'm super excited for the programs this summer! I'll have to write about what I've chosen to do for the book discussions sometime soon! High school's reading The Alchemyst by Michael Scott. Middle school's doing Jeff Kinney's extremely popular Diary of a Wimpy Kid Do-it-Yourself, and 4-5th grade is using the Daring Book for Girls/Dangerous Book for Boys. But what makes these programs so exciting is what we're doing for the "discussions"... that's all the tease you'll get for now!

And at youth group, the school year's winding down, so that means that we have to say goodbye to our 8th graders. But thankfully, it's not really goodbye. I love the "fluidity" between our high school and middle school groups. And come Red Carpet Night, we get to meet a whole new group of 6th graders! This has been one amazing school year, and God's done some great things through this group! I've been so proud of our middle schoolers through the Lucid Service Series. We've welcomed a youth pastor and his family who all sides know God has placed in our church family. It's been a very good year!

See, so much going on. It's hard to sort through myself sometimes, let alone write about it!

It's All About Timing

It's all about the timing. Ask any comic ;) I know from my professional life, too. Timing and delivery in how I read a line in a story can sometimes take it over the top... it can make or break a so-so story.

But that's not the timing I'm really talking about. I've just been struck recently by how perfect God's timing is. Little things, like once again, the timing in reading a book. Something as little as that. I have a ridiculous amount of books on my to-read list (seriously, over 200). So it could seem very random which book I actually choose to read at any given point. There have been times that I've bought a book, all excited to read it, but just don't get into it like I thought (or get sidetracked and never start it) only to pick it up months or even more than a year later (once, I picked up a book two years after I bought it), and it was exactly what I needed to hear.

Today at work, because of scheduling, I ended up working an hour later than I normally do on every other Thursday. That last hour, a four year old I'd had in storytime a few years ago but who hasn't been coming due to preschool conflict came in with her grandmother. I've known the family for three years, and the whole time, her father has been battling cancer. I found out today from grandma that this little happy-go-lucky girl lost her father three days ago. Her grandmother took her to the library to distract her, and the whole way there was telling grandma how she hoped Miss Erin would be there. My heart broke over hearing about her dad, but I was beyond thankful that I could spend a little bit of time with this sweet girl. And I know it was no coincidence that I was there an hour later than usual.

Those are just a few of the ways that God has shown me He is in the details of timing. His timing is perfect. It might not coincide with mine, but how many times have I realized that to have gotten whatever I wanted right then in my own timing would not have been best. And there are a lot of things I'm "waiting" on right now... a lot of unknown variables. So that's another reason these little provisions are sticking out. He's showing me through these "little" gifts is that I can trust Him and His timing. If He cares about the little details, how much more so will He provide in the big ones?

*breathe*

Well, since I didn't want to close in on the three month mark without posting, and I DO want to post again... I just thought I'd say 'hi' and 'I'm still alive!'. It's been another crazy set of months... living life with no time to reflect/record it ;) Every weekend was something. Oh, there was a birthday somewhere in there, too! :)

But suffice it to say, there are a lot of things I'm learning (some harder ways than others) and a LOT of cool books out there, so I need to get back to posting! There's been new Fancy Nancys and Mo Willems, Summer Reading to discuss, and much more! I don't quite know if I'm ready for the summer (and its insane pace), but it's coming whether I am or not, so *breathe* ready, set, GO!

All You Need is Love

Yeah, I know. A little late for Valentine's Day. But I got a belated Valentine's Day gift on Sunday. It was kind of "ah-HA!" moment after weeks/months of nagging thoughts and half-hearted attempts at change.

All you need is love. Hmm. And if it's not there, man, do you know it! I'm not talking about husband/wife, boyfriend/girlfriend, family, friend... don't get me wrong, all that is important! But the one Love I can't do without is God's love. Time for a little honesty. I never lost faith in God or loved Him. But I had lost my love for Him a little. If that make sense. My passion. My first Love. I still saw Him at work in my life and I desired more of Him, but there was still this something missing.

At times, I thought it was because I'm too busy. And I still am. But I also realized that simply taking things off my plate... only to fill them with other things or nothing substantial... was useless. I wasn't using much of the time I gained by removing things for more time with God. I still had my quiet times and was learning. But I was still just missing the point. It's so easy to do in the busyness of life.

So this little feeling deep down and realizing I want more than this... led me to yesterday. Sunday morning. I have to say, I am SO lucky to have found a church family that is family. I look forward to going, am sad to miss a Sunday, and feel so energized after worshipping and fellowshipping with my family there. I'm usually one of the last handful of people to leave, and most Sundays go by without having had a chance to talk to everyone I wish I could. So yesterday was like many other Sundays, but something... more. Sunday School was great. Not because of anything in particular, but I did see something new about a familiar story. My Sunday School teacher is one of the best I've had and just knows how to open up discussion, make it a safe environment, and push you to see things you didn't see before. Then, our new youth pastor gave a great message on family discipleship; it left me wanting to dig deeper in the Word, always a good response. One thing he said stuck out... God's plan for our lives is something we stumble upon while on the path of obedience. For any of us wondering God's plan for our lives, wow, does that help. And I got to talk to many friends and laugh and catch up and see how their lives were going. Just a good morning. I remember seriously wishing that every morning could start like that!

Then, when I got home, I had a good conversation with my parents, got to go on a walk, and read a book that had been neglected for a few weeks... but surprise, surprise... it was just the moment I was ready to hear what the author had to say. It's called The Most Loving Place in Town by Ken Blanchard, and it's about a local church elder who realizes he's become so focused on doing he's forgotten his first Love. It hit home. And so this long post is drawing to an end.

All you need is love. As much as I hadn't turned from God and still loved Him, my heart had grown complacent. And for me to love anyone else... close relationships or not-so-close (like some patrons who make me want to turn and run)... I have to be grounded in my love for God. If I'm not filled to over-flowing with His love, how can I possibly love others well? I will never love everyone perfectly... don't expect miracles! But keeping my heart filled with Him is a start. I can't even explain the difference. As I said, it's not like I had turned my back on God, but I did know I wasn't where I wanted to be. So while it may not look like anything changes, for me, it feels like night and day.

It's Just Like Christmas!!!

After a couple months of no new books, seeing the (not-so-thrilled) UPS man enter the library with 15 boxes from Baker & Taylor a few days ago was like Christmas. Seriously. It's one of the perks of the job to get to order a couple thousand dollars in books every month... none of which you have to pay for, but all of which you get to see before anyone else! But that means my to-read list has once again grown in size! Even worse, I already have a couple I'm in the middle of (the Newbery winner, The Graveyard Book, is doing nothing for me a third of the way in)... but I want to take more home. I have to be good and not hoard the books though. Having also just sent an order into Amazon for the Erin Free Library, I thought I'd share some authors/illustrators/titles that I'm loving in this gluttony of new books.

Anything illustrated by David Catrow! (Particularly if written by Karen Beaumont.) We just got Doggone Dogs in, but I Ain't Gonna Paint No More is one of the biggest crowd-pleasers during storytime. The Silly Dilly songs books (by Alan Katz), I Like Myself and Stand Tall, Molly Lou Melon are also great!

New series of picture books by Polly Dunbar called Tilly and Friends, featuring Tilly, who lives in a yellow house with her best friends. The first book is Hello Tilly, and Happy Hector and Pretty Pru are the next. Sounds. Words. Simple but beautiful illustrations that both kids and grownups will like. They'll probably appeal most to girls, but with the strong imagery with simple words, I'm planning on using them during storytimes. The best word to describe Tilly and Friends... whimsical.

I'm also loving a series of picture books by Jan Thomas about some animal friends. The Doghouse, What Will the Fat Cat Sit On, and A Birthday for Cow all made my non-children book loving coworkers laugh! Bright bold illustrations and humor preschoolers and grownups alike will appreciate. Definitely using for storytime!

Finally, a young adult book. Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George. For Shannon Hale fans (who, me?) this might be for you. I'll have to post a review when I've actually read it. But I've liked George's other books and she writes the same teen take-offs of fairy tales that Shannon Hale does so well. This one is based on the Twelve Dancing Princesses.

And finally finally... a shot in the dark. A first time author. One I hadn't even had on my radar until I saw it and decided to buy it right away (which I normally don't do.) One I hope to be surprised by... One I ordered for myself. Crazy Love: Overwhelmed by a Relentless God, by Francis Chan. I'd seen two friends mention him and say he "kicked their butt" (a compliment) and this came up in a "you might also like" and it just seems... my heart and what God's trying to teach me, so I'm hoping to be pleasantly suprised.

So I don't know if you're looking for anything in any of these categories, but I'm excited... new books!!! New ideas, new stories, new stretching... it makes me happy!

ALA Youth Media Awards Announced!

For the second year in a row, I set my alarm early on a Monday morning (when, in the one perk of working nights, I normally get to sleep in) to watch the live webcast announcing the American Library Association Youth Media Awards. The two biggest include the Caldecott Medal (for distinguished contribution to picture books) and the Newbery Medal (for distinguished contribution to children's literature). The Geisel Award, named after Theodor Geisel, aka "Dr. Seuss", the Coretta Scott King Award, and the Michael Printz Award (Young Adult books) have all been growing in popularity as well.

So, huge Children's book nerd that I am, I was up and watching the webcast. This announcement is like the Oscars for librarians and children's authors. Here's the ALA press release on the winners. The Caldecott Medal went to The House in the Night, a Good Night, Moon-ish picture book. The Newbery was more a shock to me, going to the not-so-shiningly reviewed The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman. That one I haven't read yet, but it's about a boy named Nobody who lives in a graveyard and is raised by ghosts. I plan on reading it soon so I can have an opinion. But, as always, the amazingly awesome Mo Willems can't stay away from the ALA Award circuit. His first Pigeon book and both Knuffle Bunny books were Caldecott honors, while one of his Elephant and Piggie books, There is a Bird on Your Head, won the Geisel Award last year. This year, he returns with another adventure for the crazy duo, Are You Ready to Play Outside? The man is pure genius. This is the fourth year for the award and he's won half of them!

Happy Reading!