New Titles for Kids of All Ages!

Summer Learning Challenge 2015:       Every Hero Has a Story!

• Sign ups are happening online and at your local library.  
• You have until August 22, 2015 to register, complete your log, and enter to win a bicycle!
• Children, teens and adults are eligible.

New titles @ Your Library...Check One Out!

Books are full of heroes and our new titles include heroes who are there for us daily and some who are heroes to people they never meet.  

The Red Bicycle:  the Extraordinary Story of One Ordinary Bicycle by Jude Isabella.

Do you have a bike that is too small for you?  Have you ever wondered what happens to old bicycles that no one wants?  Follow the story of Leo and his bike and meet the people who benefit along the way.  Leo earns money to buy the big, red bike of his dreams.  When he outgrows the bike he donates it to a program that sends bicycles to countries where they are needed for daily transportation, deliveries, and even health.  A fascinating example of a small action with great impact.

Community helpers are there when we need them and are true, local heroes.  A new series on community helpers illustrates the many assignments facing these heroes each day.

Shane Evans is a talented author and illustrator who "attributes much of his influence to his travels to Africa, South America, Asia, Europe, the Caribbean and much of the United States."  His latest book, We March, is a sparse yet powerful account of the civil rights march on Washington, DC on August 28, 1963.  Through simple words and lively illustrations he reminds us of the heroes of that movement, still relevant today.

Non-fiction lists facts about the world around us and great illustrators bring those facts to life on the pages of a book.  These two new titles are perfect examples:

Daylight Starlight Wildlife by Wendell Minor.  This talented artist has illustrated many beautiful books for children. Each page shows daytime animals and their nighttime counterparts with Fun Facts on each at the end.

A Rock is Lively by Dianna Hutts Aston, illustrated by Sylvia Long.

Rock lovers rejoice!  Lively, galactic, old, inventive...these are just some of the unusual ways to describe rocks.  Discover these and others in this beautiful, new title.

And just for fun...

What Pet Should I Get by Dr. Seuss.

Can it be?  A Dr. Seuss book that was never published?  Yes, it can!

"Pick a pet fast!

Pick a pet soon!

Mother and Dad said to be home by noon!"

"Make up your mind."

Characters you know and some you can only imagine.  Just what you would expect from Dr. Seuss.  And you have to choose just one.

The Most Magnificent Thing by Ashley Spires.

For all the perfectionists out there:  a little girl, determined to create a magnificent thing that works.  With her trusty assistant she gathers supplies and makes her prototype, only to find it's not so magnificent.  Does she give up?  

Read and find out.

Who could resist Otto the Book Bear by Katie Cleminson. Otto lives in the pages of a book and has a secret:  he exits the book when no one is looking.  When a family move leaves Otto's book behind he begins a journey that will take him to a new and wonderful home.  Can you guess where?

One last title for brothers, sisters, dads, and anyone who ever had a plan that didn't turn out quite how you imagined.

Gone Fishing:  a novel in verse by Tamera Will Wissinger, illustrated by Matthew Cordell.

Sam can't wait for the day just he and his dad will go fishing, "just us two."  He dreams of the fish they will catch and fun of being alone with his dad.  The day arrives and his little sister Lucy gets to come along and Sam is disappointed and impatient.  Follow this great story, each page a different type of verse, with illustrations full of humor. Discover how even a ruined plan may end happily.

Wherever your journey takes you, don't forget a book!  (or two)

What did the Readers of Richmond read this year? Check out the Most Circulated Books of 2014!

I'm sure you're the curious sort of blog reader who wonders what constitutes a "best seller" list at the public library. I mean, what do readers read? I was curious too, so I got to asking*. Well look no further! The RPL blog proudly presents the Top Ten Most Circulated Books in 2014 in Adults, Children, and Young Adults categories!


Adults

#1: Gone girl : a novel / Gillian Flynn

#2: The goldfinch / Donna Tartt

#3: The invention of wings : a novel / Sue Monk Kidd

#4: Sycamore Row / John Grisham

#5: To Paris with love : a family business novel / Carl Weber with Eric Pete

#6: The Target / David Baldacci

#7: Ericka Kane : never trust a bitch with power / Kiki Swinson

#8: Still the baddest bitch / Joy Deja King

#9: And the mountains echoed / Khaled Hosseini

#10: Who asked you? / Terry McMillan

This list should come as no surprise. Most of these titles were so buzzed about they buzzed right off the shelves (nobody was injured but several were startled). Quite different from the young adult list at the bottom, only one of these titles was adapted into a film this year. I am also a little shamed to admit that I have only read one of the top ten books. What did you read this year? See any favorites in the top 10? Answer in the comments!


Children

#1: Tales from a not-so-glam TV star / Rachel Renee Russell

#2: Pete the cat : Pete at the beach / James Dean

#3: One fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish /  Dr. Seuss

#4: Wonder / R.J. Palacio

#5: The cat in the hat / Dr. Seuss

#6: We are in a book! /  Mo Willems

#7: Dork diaries : tales from a not-so-fabulous life / Rachel Renee Russell

#8: Captain Underpants and the attack of the talking toilets / Dav Pilkey

#9: Hop on Pop /  Dr. Seuss

#10: I spy Fly Guy! / Tedd Arnold

This list just goes to show you that there's nobody quite like Dr. Seuss. The Cat in the Hat was originally published in 1957, One fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish in 1960 and Hop on Pop in 1963. Talk about enduring!


Young Adults

#1: Mockingjay / Suzanne Collins

#2: Diary of a wimpy kid: Hard luck / Jeff Kinney

#3: Divergent / Veronica Roth

#4: Catching fire / Suzanne Collins

#5: The book thief / Markus Zusak

#6: Diary of a wimpy kid: Cabin fever / Jeff Kinney

#7: The fault in our stars / John Green

#8: Diary of a wimpy kid: Dog days /  Jeff Kinney

#9: Allegiant / Veronica Roth

#10: Diary of a wimpy kid: The ugly truth / Jeff Kinney

The Wimpy Kid is the clear winner in the YA category with four titles but the ceaselessly popular Divergent and Hunger Games series are still in the top three. Movie adaptations certainly do a lot to increase or renew interest in a book; the majority of the top ten have been made into films fairly recently. The YA literature market looks to be lucrative for Hollywood for a long time yet.

Don't forget! You can get everything you need for your "nice" list at the Teen Advisory Group's Craft Sale going on TODAY (Friday, December 12th) from 3:30-5 and Saturday, December 13th from 1-4. Proceeds support cool stuff for teens at RPL. Buy handmade!

(*Thanks Donna and Melissa for the lists!)

Follow the Campaign: "We Need More Diversity in Children's Literature"

The Richmond Public Library is participating in #WeNeedDiverseBooks campaign because we also agree that more diverse books are needed in our youth's hands. The message is simple and is explained down below.

Recently, there’s been a groundswell of discontent over the lack of diversity in children’s literature. The issue is being picked up by news outlets llike the NYT, CNN, EW, and many more. But while we individually care about diversity, there is still a disconnect. BEA’s Bookcon recently announced an all-white-male panel of “luminaries of children’s literature,” and when we pointed out the lack of diversity, nothing changed.

Now is the time to raise our voices into a roar that can’t be ignored. Here’s how:

On May 1st at 1pm (EST), there will be a public call for action that will spread over 3 days. We’re starting with a visual social media campaign using the hashtag #WeNeedDiverseBooks. We want people to tweet, Tumblr, Instagram, Facebook, blog, and post anywhere they can to help make the hashtag go viral.

For the visual part of the campaign:

• Take a photo holding a sign that says “We need diverse books because ___________________________.” Fill in the blank with an important, poignant, funny, and/or personal reason why this campaign is important to you.

• The photo can be of you or a friend or anyone who wants to support diversity in kids’ lit. It can be a photo of the sign without you if you would prefer not to be in a picture. Be as creative as you want! Pose the sign with your favorite stuffed animal or at your favorite library. Get a bunch of friends to hold a bunch of signs.

• However you want to do it, we want to share it! There will be a Tumblr at http://weneeddiversebooks.tumblr.com/ that will host all of the photos and messages for the campaign. Please submit your visual component by May 1st to weneeddiversebooks@yahoo.com with the subject line “photo” or submit it right on our Tumblr page here and it will be posted throughout the first day.

• Starting at 1:00PM (EST) the Tumblr will start posting and it will be your job to reblog, tweet, Facebook, or share wherever you think will help get the word out.

• The intent is that from 1 pm EST to 3 pm EST, there will be a nonstop hashtag party to spread the word. We hope that we’ll get enough people to participate to make the hashtag trend and grab the notice of more media outlets.

• The Tumblr will continue to be active throughout the length of the campaign, and for however long we need to keep this discussion going, so we welcome everyone to keep emailing or sending in submissions even after May 1st.

On May 2nd, the second part of our campaign will roll out with a Twitter chat scheduled for 2 pm (EST) using the same hashtag. Please use #WeNeedDiverseBooks at 2 pm on May 2nd and share your thoughts on the issues with diversity in literature and why diversity matters to you.

On May 3rd, 2pm (EST), the third portion of our campaign will begin. There will be a Diversify Your Shelves initiative to encourage people to put their money where their mouth is and buy diverse books and take photos of them. Diversify Your Shelves is all about actively seeking out diverse literature in bookstores and libraries, and there will be some fantastic giveaways for people who participate in the campaign! More details to come!

We hope that you will take part in this in any way you can. We need to spread the word far and wide so that it will trend on Twitter. So that media outlets will pick it up as a news item. So that the organizers of BEA and every big conference and festival out there gets the message that diversity is important to everyone. We hope you will help us by being a part of this movement.-- This information came from We Need Diverse Books

Children's Books to Celebrate Black History Month

Visit your local Richmond Public Library to check out books and share with children the rich history of African-Americans through some of these new titles:

Two Coretta Scott King award winners partnered to create Brick by Brick.  Written by Charles R. Smith and illustrated by Floyd Cooper, this new picture book tells the story of the building of the White House beginning in 1792.  Although many immigrants were involved in the construction that was not enough manpower to do the job.  Slaves from Maryland and Virginia were hired out to assist in the project.  The author focuses on the hands of the workers through lyrical writing and gives hope that new skills will be used by free men one day.

Ellen's Broom, by Kelly Starling Lyons, is a beautifully illustrated Reconstruction story that describes a young girl's introduction to the African-American tradition of "jumping the broom."  The broom above the hearth takes on a new meaning when an announcement is made that all former slaves may have their marriage registered and recognized in the eyes of the law.

Although Ellen has heard the story of the broom and her parents marriage many times, she takes pride in participating as her parents renew their vows during this important time.

Beautiful woodcuts by Daniel Minter illustrate this recent title.

Follow the Drinking Gourd  has been published in a new, graphic format by Cari Meister and Robert Squier.  Colorful, modern illustrations fill this new retelling of the song and its importance to the Underground Railroad.  Includes a glossary and bibliography.

Ruby's Sleepover, by Kathryn White, was published in May of 2012 and is a follow-up to Ruby's School Walk.  Ruby has invited a friend to stay overnight and they are sleeping in a tent in the back yard. Night sounds, pirates, and dragons keep Ruby awake and her friend Mai snores through!  Wonderful illustrations by Miriam Latimer complement the rhyming text.  Toddlers up to elementary ages will enjoy this new book about Ruby and her adventures.

We Are America:  A Tribute from the Heart.
Walter Dean Myers and his son, Christopher Myers, teamed up to create this beautiful vision of America, and the many people who form it's multi-racial quilt. The author studied the documents that define our country and the illustrator uses references from his ancestors to create this beautiful, moving tribute. Original writing and quotes from well known Americans complement the distinct illustrations of  important moments in the history of the United States. 

From Amazon.com: About the Author

"Amar'e Stoudemire, Captain of the New York Knicks and a six-time NBA All-Star, is a well-respected professional basketball player who has left his mark on the game and the community through his award winning outreach. He is focused on creatively inspiring youth to avoid poverty through education. He is the father of three children."

Stoudemire recently published a new series for ages 8-12 titled STAT:  Standing Tall and Talented. Based on his childhood and its challenges, this series focuses on positive conflict resolution, tolerance, family and teamwork.  The first book in the series, Home Court, highlights Amar'e's home and responsibilities. The story places him in the center of a turf war on the basketball court where he uses ability to resolve the conflict.

Double Team and Slam Dunk are the next two titles.  This new series should be a hit with many boys.