Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Snow Day! HOORAY!!!

I hope everyone had a fun and not-too-cold Snow Day yesterday. I enjoyed the day off by cuddling with my cat and, of course, READING! I would have gone outside and played, but...this looked COLD to me...



Anyway, for future snow days (if we're lucky this year), here are some good reads:

Ramona is probably one of my favorite literary characters. I grew up reading her, and this book is the newest book in the Ramona series. She's nine now, and determined to make fourth grade the best year EVER. Will a new teacher, a new baby sister, and the Yard Ape prevent that from happening? Oh Ramona, what trouble will you get into this time?







The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick
Told in both words and pictures (though not a picture book), this book is the amazing journey of Hugo Cabret. He is an orphan who keeps the clocks running at a train station in Paris. He's also a thief. His shenanigans make him cross paths with a well-read girl and an old man who runs a toy both. Both may help him solve the mystery of a cryptic drawing, a stolen key, a mechanical man, and how they all connect to each other and Hugo's father. I couldn't put this book down, and the ending was so amazing, it quite literally almost blew my mind. This is a book you DON'T want to miss.




Think you've got it bad? The Willoughby children definitely have it worse. Their parents want to get rid of them. And honestly, they'd be quite happy without their parents. The question that often comes up in this book is "what would good old-fashioned people do?" The book offers many answers, from a kind nanny, to a candy bar inventor, to many other odd characters that the children come across. This is a fantastically funny read, but very different from Miss Lowry's other books. It constantly pokes fun at "classic" children's literature, especially where there are orphans involved. A good read indeed.




Enjoy these books, or whatever you're reading, and stop in at ImaginOn this Friday, Jan. 23rd, for a super fun G.O.O.F. Off Day that celebrates the Chinese New Year.

~Ellen

Monday, January 12, 2009

Let's go adventuring, shall we?

Hello all! I hope everyone's 2009 is going off without a hitch so far. Aside from the fact that it rained for like, two weeks straight (what WAS that anyway?), things are going well here at ImaginOn.

Is anyone else excited for the movie version of Inkheart? I know I am!


I'm also excited about sharing a few books with you. Let's go adventurng, shall we?


The Lighthouse Family by Cynthia Rylant




Pandora is a lonely cat who tends to her lighthouse on a small island, until Seabold, a sailing dog, crashes on her shore. Together, the two friends adopt three orphaned mice children: Whistler, Lila, and Tiny. In each book of this series, the family finds new adventures on the island, and meets many interesting animal friends along the way!




The Fairy-Tale Detectives by Michael Buckley




Join Sabrina and Daphne Grimm as they move in with their Granny Relda in Ferryport and learn about their famous ancestors (the brothers Grimm) . Will the girls be able to handle being swept into a world of the real Prince Charming, the Three Little Pigs, the Magic Mirror, and many more fairy tale creatures? (Well, it IS an entire series, so apparently they CAN handle. Though that shouldn't ruin it for you, it's a fantastic and fun book!)




Finally, I would like to say hello and welcome to Ms. Fabulous, who left us a great comment with some cool recommendations:

"I am Ms Fabulous and NEW to this blog, although I have members of my family that are SMELLY and GROSS and are BOYS!!! Ewwww. One of them actually gave me a COLD... yuck, so I have made myself some jasmine tea. I actually do have an anti-boys spray I use often when I am reading and don't want to be disturbed that smells of lavender and works marvelously. BUT I just finished reading the most delicious book called The Alchemyst and I couldn't put it down! It's about a brother and sister that are twins and have magical powers... truly a gripping and terrific read. I actually read it in two days! The Morrigan wears a cape of black feathers who is wickedly powerful. There is also a sphynx that has the head of a woman and a goddess with a changing form from woman to old maid to girl. VERY cool. Now I am reading Luxe... so I will pop in and tell you about that when I am finished. So far it's set in the late 1800's in NY and the girls have silk gowns and boys who are rich and dashing and servant boys that are strong and adventurous. So far I love it. I just want one of the silk dresses, the fancy parties and champagne. I know the girl dies because the beginning of the book says so... but so far I can't figure it out. This weekend I borrowed the movie, from the Mint Hill branch, Ballet Shoes because I had never finished the book . I REALLY enjoyed this movie and highly recommend it for a chick flick on a cold winter night. I just returned it to Imaginon today if you want it!See ya... beware of BOYS...-Ms Fabulous"

Okay, so ALL of those recommendations sound great, and I'm going to have to add to my growing list of things I HAVE to read or watch. Thank you Ms. Fabulous, and we look forward to hearing from you again!

Until next time, I wish you good reading adventures and some extra anti-boys spray!