Review (Book) - You Wouldn't Want to Sail on the Titanic by David Salariya

"Get ready...it's April 10th, 1912, and you are about to embark on the maiden voyage of the world's greatest ocean liner, the R.M.S. Titanic. Watch out for icebergs!" (back cover)

David Stewart and David Antram (how many Davids does it take to write a book?), along with Children's Press have come up with a brilliant idea of how to help kids develop a love of reading non-fiction. The book has a design similar to DK Eyewitness books, but has cartoons instead of real pictures. It also include short comics and comical "Handy Hints" ("If you are fortunate enough to get a place on a lifeboat, take plenty of blankets and warm clothes. It will be freezing out there on the open sea."), all the while putting you in the shoes of Mr. J. Bruce Ismay - designer [and coward] of the Titanic. You Wouldn't Want to Sail on the Titanic takes you on the entire journey, from the creation of the great liner to the rescuing of its survivors. This book is a great choice for kids who only like cartoons or graphic novels, all the way to those who love Tolstoy. The book is full of facts (and includes a glossary), but the pages are short (except for the page about what was carried on the Titanic - makes it hard to imagine what modern cruise liners must carry) and colorful so children won't even realize how much they're learning. David & David are able to educate while entertaining, and are able to do so on such a dismal subject without being too depressing; yet they are not in denial about the event either, as a death is mentioned, and some of the more grim pictures depict [cartoon] people falling off the ship, and even ice in the hair of those stuck in the Atlantic.

Amazon recommends this book for ages 9-12.

My Rating:

Resources (Websites) - Black Friday

This may not be library-related (though I guess it would depend on the way your budgeting is done), but after my adventure on Black Friday '09, I couldn't help but share.

(For anyone who may not be from the U.S., or if you just live under a rock, Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving when most retailers offer the heaviest discounts of the year.)

Yesterday morning my boyfriend and I were at Best Buy at 2:10 (yes, A.M.). It was way too cold for South Florida, but I got the "HP p6214y Pavilion Desktop w/ AMD Athlon II X4 Quad Core Processor and 20" HD LCD and HP Deskjet D1530 Color Printer" that I wanted. Waiting in line for 3 hours was worth saving $400. We were also able to make it to Target to get a Garmin Nuvi 1350t and several TV on DVD sets for $13, and to Staples to get headphones and computer speakers. The best part? We were back home and back to sleep by 6:30 (again, A.M.).

I hope everyone was able to get what they wanted! If not, maybe these websites can help you plan for next year:

http://www.black-friday.net/ - This website gives you access to ads as they become available to the site. You can provide them with your e-mail address and they will contact you when they have new information. They also have links for their assumed "Most Popular Products", online Black Friday deals (which usually start on midnight Thursday and can be just as difficult, if not moreso, to grab than deals in-store) and a super handy shopping list that allows you to compile one list of all of the deals from any store you hope to buy.

http://www.blackfridayads.com/ - This website is a little less clean-looking than the other sites, but still offers up to date ads, a shopping list, and a "Most Wanted" section. This website also comes with a "Search" feature where you can search for either stores or items you are hoping to purchase. If you search for a specific item, the results will come back with the title of the item, price, and store.

http://www.blackfriday.info/ - This website offers a very clean and simple look at any store's ads (as they become available). As With bfnet, they offer the option of being updated by e-mail, and have a shopping list. They also have a link to online coupons and discount codes that may be used even on a day that is not Black Friday.

http://bfads.net/ - My favorite website of them all (coincidentally also the first result if you Google "Black Friday Ads"), bfads offers the general listing of the stores' sales, but also has direct scans of the ads. They have a shopping list, a search feature, a shopping list, and a link to the online sales. They also have contests, store hours, and popular deals. In case you're wondering what kind of deals stores have offered in the past, they also have an archive of past ads.

Tentative Library Books for the Library Reading Challenge

I would like to start by saying, wow, what a great idea. What an excellent way to bump library statistics than to challenge people to read books thay have to check out with a library card. Way to go, J. Kaye! 

I wasn't able to post this at the same time as my YA book list because this one is soOo much longer, and I took yesterday and Thanksgiving off, but here we go:

Addy's Short Story Collection by Connie Rose Porter

Select titles from the Amelia Bedelia series by Peggy and Herman Parish

Brave Emily by Valerie Tripp

Candlelight for Rebecca by Jacqueline Dembar Greene

Changes for Julie by Megan McDonald

Changes for Rebecca by Jacqueline Dembar Greene

Clues in the Shadows by Kathleen Ernst

The Cry of the Loon by Barbara A Steiner

The Curse of Ravenscourt by Sarah Masters Buckey

Deenie by Judy Blume

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Greg Heffley's Journal by Jeff Kinney

Dinosaurs Before Dark by Mary Pope Osborne

Disney in Shadow by Ridley Pearson (4/6/2010)

Elisabeth: The Princess Bride by Barry Denenberg

Select titles from the Encyclopedia Brown series by Donald Sobol

The Fabled Fourth Graders of Aesop Elementary School by Candace Fleming

The Fairy Berry Bake-Off by Daisy Alberto

Fairy Haven and the Quest for the Wand by Gail Carson Levine

The Fairy-Tale Detectives by Michael Buckley

Fawn and the Mysterious Trickster by Laura Driscoll

Felicity's Short Story Collection by Valerie Tripp

Fira and the Full Moon by Gail Herman

Fullmetal Alchemist vol. 1-21 by Hiromu Arakawa

Good Luck, Ivy by Lisa Yee

The Graphic Library series (eventually all of them) by Various Authors

The Great Fairy Race by Tennant Redbank

Happy New Year, Julie by Megan McDonald

Inkheart by Cornelia Caroline Funke

Iridessa, Lost at Sea by Lisa Papademetriou

It's Time for School, Stinky Face by Lisa McCourt

Josefina's Short Story Collection by Valerie Tripp

Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne

Julie and the Eagles by Megan McDonald

Julie Tells Her Story by Megan McDonald

Julie’s Journey by Megan McDonald

Kaya's Short Story Collection by Janet Beeler Shaw

Kirsten's Short Story Collection by Janet Beeler Shaw

Kit's Short Story Collection by Valerie Tripp

Lady Margaret's Ghost by Elizabeth McDavid Jones

Select titles from the Library of Doom series by Michael Dahl

The Light in the Cellar by Sarah Masters Buckey

The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

Marissa Moss' books (by Marissa Moss)

Meet Julie by Megan McDonald

Meet Rebecca by Jacqueline Dembar Greene

Merry Christmas, Stinky Face by Lisa McCourt

Midnight in Lonesome Hollow by Kathleen Ernst

Molly's Short Story Collection by Valerie Tripp

Moving Day by Meg Cabot

Myka Finds Her Way by Gail Herman

Nellie's Promise by Valerie Tripp

Never Glue Your Friends to Chairs by Katherine Applegate

Peter and the Shadow Thieves by Dave Barry

Prilla and the Butterfly Lie by Kitty Richards

Queen Clarion's Secret by Kimberly Morris

Rebecca and Ana by Jacqueline Dembar Greene

Rebecca and the Movies by Jacqueline Dembar Greene

Rebecca to the Rescue by Jacqueline Dembar Greene

Rosetta's Daring Day by Lisa Papademetriou

The Runaway Friend by Kathleen Ernst

Samantha's Short Story Collection by Valerie Tripp

Shadows on Society Hill by Evelyn Coleman

Silvermist and the Ladybug Curse by Gail Herman

A Spy on the Home Front by Alison Hart

The Stolen Sapphire by Sarah Masters Buckey

The Tales of Beedle the Bard by J.K. Rowling

The Tangled Web by Kathryn Reiss

A Thief in the Theater by Sarah Masters Buckey

Tink's Treasure Hunt by Melissa Lagonegro

Traitor in Williamsburg by Elizabeth McDavid Jones

Vampires Don't Wear Polka Dots by Debbie Dadey

Very Funny, Elizabeth! by Valerie Tripp

The World According to Humphrey by Betty Birney

The "You Wouldn't Want to..." series (eventually all 50(+?) of them) by Various Authors

TOTAL: This entire list comes out to over 200 books, plus whatever unplanned books I read for our weekly storytimes. Wish me luck!

I know I have read some of the American Girl Short Stories, and Encyclopedia Brown, Amelia Bedelia, and Marissa Moss books before, so as I come across them and realize I've already read them, I'll take them off the list. I don't like re-reading what with all the potentionally amazing books out there.

So many books, so little time!

Tentative YA Books for the YA Reading Challenge

1. Operation Red Jericho by Joshua Mowll

2. Planet Pregnancy by Linda Oatman High 

3. Blue Bloods by Melissa De la Cruz 

4. Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher 

5. Forever Changes by Brendan Halpin 

6. The Raging Quiet by Sherryl Jordan 

7. This Full House by Virginia Euwer Wolff 

8. The Merchant of Death by D J MacHale 

9. Into the Wild by Erin Hunter 

10. Cirque Du Freak by Darren Shan 

11. Eragon by Christopher Paolini 

12. The Two Towers by J. R. R. Tolkien 

J. Kaye Reading Challenges '10

Seeing others post about reading challenges has lead an inquiring mind to wonder - what are they? Turns out, they're pretty self explanatory. Reading challenges are a form of a challenge to get you to read. The challenges differ by the genre or author of the books, the amount of books you have to read, whether or not you have to have a blog to review the books, etc. I have always loved to read, I just never find the time when I'm in school. I have also been meaning to begin reviewing books on my blog for 5+ months. So, I have joined two reading challenges, hoping that even with a full time school and work schedule in 2010, this will be the motivation I need. (I'll admit, I joined the YA challenge seperately just because I liked the banner so much. :D)

There are four levels for this challenge:

--The Mini – Check out and read 25 library books.

--Just My Size – Check out and read 50 library books.

--Stepping It Up – Check out and read 75 library books.

--Super Size Me – Check out and read 100 library books.

For this challenge, I am aiming for the Super Size Me level. Obviously most, if not all, of these books will be children's books. Hopefully, with storytimes just around the corner, this will be easy-peasy.

There are four levels for this challenge:

--The Mini YA Reading Challenge – Read 12 Young Adult novels.
--Just My Size YA Reading Challenge – Read 25 Young Adult novels.
--Stepping It Up YA Reading Challenge – Read 50 Young Adult novels.
--Super Size Me YA Reading Challenge – Read 75 Young Adult novels.

Because of my busy schedule and the fact that I am trying for 100 books in the other challenge, I am probably going to shoot for the Mini YA Reading Challenge, and if I do more than 12, good for me.

These challenges do not require a set list of books I plan to read ahead of time, so I will post a list of planned reading, but it is not against the rules to change my mind. 

If you are signed up, or would like to sign up for either of these reading challenges, feel free to contact me. I would love to hear what you are reading and help each other through the challenge.

Review (Card Game) - Pictureka!

Pictureka!: This card game has a bit more flexible audience, since this one is for a younger age (6 and up) and allows for more players (2-?). There are four mini-games you can play using this deck of cards, all of them rather corny. There are two piles - mission cards and picture cards. Mission cards have descriptions on them (i.e. a wild animal), and picture cards have [very strange] pictures on them. The games you can play vary from finding objects on your picture cards beggining with the letters A-Z, a memory game where you must match the picture cards to a mission card, a version of poker where three picture cards in your hand must match one mission, and a racing game to be the first to find cards you have that correspond with a mission card. Whenever any of these things happen you must yell "pictureka!" (rhymes with eureka).

Pros: Allows younger children and more players to play; Variety of mini-games to play; I have found this game as cheap as $1.79.

Cons: Corny to the extreme; Have to have the "right" audience.

I have read bad reviews for this game, and I have to say with my one experience playing the game, I agree with them. It might have just been the fact that the one girl I play with was quiet and nice like me, so we never challenged each other, making the game rather boring. I haven't seen a larger group play, and it may help if the players are more immature...to make a library-related recommendation or non-recommendation, I would probably have to give it to my T.A.B. to play and see how they do with it. I would be willing to try this game again with a bigger or different crowed, but so far I wouldn't spend my money on this game.

You can find this game at Amazon here.

My Rating:

Review (Card Game) - Monopoly Deal

Monopoly Deal: Another card game for 2-4 players ages 8 and up - the box says games take 15 minutes, but I would suggest longer for the first time you play, and less time as you become more experienced with the game. The object of the game is to collect 3 full sets of [3] properties using money, new "action cards" (anything from "Pass GO - draw 2 more cards" to "Deal Breaker - Steal a full set of properties from any player"), and of course a little chance. I'm not going to begin to try to explain the rules, you'll just have to go over them yourself - and I do recommend reading them several times.

Pros: Much shorter than the original Monopoly; Less clean-up required; Easy to travel with.

Cons: Very complicated directions.

If your teens are tired of playing "old-fashioned" Monopoly at game nights, or if they just don't want to spend hours on one game, this may be a good alternative. I enjoyed playing this game (then again, I won); however, my co-workers did not seem to enjoy it as much until we played a while to understand all the rules. I would not suggest using this game with a group you know has impatient tendencies, and a practice round wouldn't be a bad idea.

You can find this game at Amazon here.

My Rating:

Review (Card Game) - Scrabble Slam!

Today, three packs of card games showed up on our desk. We were told Hasbro sent them to us? So my co-workers and I decided to do a little "research" on these games.

Scrabble Slam!: This game puts an innovative new twist on the classic board game, Scrabble. The game is for 2-4 players (recommended ages 8 and up), and should only take around 15 minutes to play. The game begins with four cards (spelling a word) laid on the table. The remaining cards are dealt to the players. The object of the game is to SLAM down your cards (cards have a different letter on each side) to change the word on the table one letter at a time (i.e. FROM to FROG, FROG to FLOG, etc.). Words may be changed back to the words they were just changed from (i.e. FROM to FROG, FROG to FLOG, FLOG to FROG), but a letter cannot be played on its twin (i.e. after FROM is changed to FROG, another person cannot play another G on top of the G already played). There are some blank cards in the deck, just like the blank tiles in the original Scrabble. The first player to use all of his/her cards wins!

Pros: Much shorter and easier than the original Scrabble; Less clean-up required; Easy to travel with; Everyone plays at the same time, so there is less chance of players getting bored. 

Cons: I can see it being easy (if vocabulary levels vary), for the same person (the one with the biggest vocabulary) to always win the game.

If you use this game at a library program, you may want to bring in a dictionary to check some of the words. Overall, I can see this being fun for tweens, teens, or adults at a library game day, or maybe just for your personal collection; I know I will certainly be asking Santa for Scrabble Slam! this year.

You can find this game at Amazon here.

My Rating:

A Day in the Life of a [Youth Services] Library Associate (inspired by Abby (the) Librarian)

I thought it would be interesting (even if it was just for myself) to keep track of what I did on a day after we were closed (Veterans Day). Thanks to Abby (the) Librarian for the idea.

8:00 a.m. - Start work. Even though we were closed on Veterans Day, a Circulation staff member came in to discharge books that were being returned so the book drop was not overflowing on Thursday. They left us a nice full cart of books, so I started the day "breaking down" the Circulation cart (we have different carts for Juv Fic, Non-Fic, Picture Books, etc.) with one of my co-workers.

8:30 a.m. - The cart is finally empty, so we move on to pulling the items that are on our holds list (books that people have requested from other branches).

8:45 a.m. - I take the holds up to the Circulation desk (I should have thanked them for the "present" (our cart)), pick up a hold of my own, and exchange our empty cart for a freshly loaded cart of books that have been returned since yesterday. I break down this cart too.

9:15 a.m. - A Community Relations employee visits us and asks if we have Candyland (she won't tell me what it's for except a surprise), so I have to walk across the library to our meeting room where we have our "games closet", and then back across the library and downstairs to deliver the game to her.

9:30 a.m. - I sit at the desk. Things I do while I sit at the desk throughout the day include (but are not limited to): First and foremost, help patrons (questions, phone calls, library card applications, register for programs, etc.); also, watch a school group's tour of the library that comes through our section, watch kids try to stack cups (today is WSSA Stack Up! Day), read my Social Statistics book...

10:00 a.m. - I am reminded that our publicity information for January is due in a few days, so I work on the "advertisements" for my programs.

10:45 a.m. - 15-minute break. I play Neopets, because I'm a nerd.

11:00 a.m. - I venture over to our board book bins (say that 5 times fast). I noticed that there were random books left in them, so I straighten them and also go through and find ones we need to get rid of (ones that are colored in or have food or other baby-stuffs on them).

11:15 a.m. - The school group's tour (mentioned above) has left, and left us nice big piles of non-fiction to put away, so I shelve my section. Afterwards I decide to read my hold (also mentioned above), Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs by Judi Barrett. I decide I like the movie better; the book is too sad for me.

11:45 a.m. - I am told I need to try cup stacking so I can get my "I Stacked It Up! Guiness World Records 2009 Day" sticker, so I go through the "cycle"-thing a couple times.

12:00 p.m. - Desk. (See above)

1:00 p.m. - 1-hour lunch. I refuse to eat in the break room where everyone else is eating because it smells like good food. I am making myself go two weeks eating only fruits and vegetables (and salad dressing and cheese), so I go into the Youth Services back room and eat an apple and take my Statistics quiz online [, and pout about not getting "real" food].

2:00 p.m. - We have a small cart of books that need to be taken to Circulation to discard. After they are discarded [out of the system], I have to separate them by quality, and stamp them with a "Discarded; Outdated, Redundant Material" stamp so that the book does not accidentally wind up returned to the library. Books that are excellent quality get sent somewhere they are sold online to raise money for the library, books that are decent quality get sent to our county thrift store whose procedes go to the county, and books that have pages falling out, are colored in, etc. have to be recycled.

3:00 p.m. - Desk.

3:30 p.m. - I wander to the break room, where I am again tempted (this time by ice cream cake), and say goodbye to our Librarian I in Youth Services. She is moving to the library I started in to work in the Reference department. I tell her she will like the people there. :)

3:45 p.m. - 15-minute break.

4:00 p.m. - Desk.

4:30 p.m. - I re-do part of my publicity. My boss luckily [accidentally] pointed out that I had forgotten to mention that our Teen Advisory Board in January has elected to have a "re-gift-a-holiday-gift-you-didn't-want" white elephant gift exchange.

4:45 p.m. - Re-doing the publicity reminds me that I have to add our T.A.B. members e-mail to my work [e-mail] address book so that I can e-mail them reminders about T.A.B. meetings and other teen programs.

5:00 p.m. - I was able to enter all the e-mail addresses, but I ran out of time to send them the actual e-mail. I will do it tomorrow. :) Time to go home.

Program (Child/Tween) - Stormy Weather

One of the Girl Scout leaders who got word of my Ready, Set, Go Camping program from the summer e-mailed me asking if I could do a similar program that would fulfill the requirements for our council's Storm Ready Try-It/Badge. The title of the badge makes the idea of the program pretty self-explanatory. The program was indeed about preparing for bad storms, and other weather activities. We did this program in early September, advertising that, even though hurricane season was halfway over, "it is never too late to learn how to be safe from stormy weather in South Florida." Again, although this program was designed around a Girl Scout badge, this program was open to the public and for 6-11 year olds.

Program Put Simply:

1. Learn:

~ What you can do to help prepare for storms

~ How to take care of your pets during a storm

~ Where the evacuation shelters are in Palm Beach County

~ The safest place to be during a storm

~ How to make meals that don't require cooking

2. Play:

~ Rainmaker/Human Storm

3. Make:

~ First Aid Kit

Detailed Program:

We started out playing the "Rainmaker" game (see above). It was very hard to get the children to understand that they should be making the noises one at a time in a rotation, but it still sounded neat. Next we discussed what kids can do to help their family prepare for a hurricane, followed by what kids can do to take care of their pets during a storm. One of the requirements for the badge this program was based on was to find the safest place in their home during a storm, but since we were at the library, I gave them a five minute break from the meeting to go around the library with their parents or troop leaders to find the safest place in the library to be during the storm (we had a few smart ones whose answers were "why would we be in the library during a hurricane?").  They came back with a few locations that even I hadn't thought of. Once they all left the room, I dragged out enough tables and chairs for them to sit at and set out our craft: a first aid kit. I used a suitcase template we had as the container for the first aid items, and found various websites that had first aid items such as waterproof matches, thermometer, bandaids, etc. We went over what each item in the first aid kit would be used for, and I let them glue together the kit however they wanted. While they were making this craft we discussed some meals they could make that didn't require cooking (answers varied from pizza on english muffins to sandwiches to "chips"), and I passed out our local grocery store's hurricane preparedness guide, and a sheet with the locations of all the evacuation centers in Palm Beach County.

A couple leaders suggest other kinds of badge/programs they would like to see at the library - I would definitely recommend making connections with Girl Scouts.

Resource (Website) - Gamespot

If you are looking to start a gaming collection (circulating, or just for in-house use) at your library, or if you just need a video game website to go to for personal use, I recommend GameSpot (*not to be confused with the store GameStop - even though I always get the two mixed up).

http://www.gamespot.com

This is a great website for a range of people who know nothing about video games except that they want to start playing them, all the way to experts who think they know everything, but sometimes still need a little help from a walkthrough to beat the last level.

GameSpot features previews, reviews, and trailers for all platforms. They offer demos and patches for current games, gaming news and information about new releases, and a forums section to chat with other avid gamers, or if you're a newbie asking for advice.  The site has a section for iPhone and other mobile games, which I haven't explored since I don't use my phone for games.

You can search for games by title or console, where each result will be a page about the game including an area to check prices at different stores, News & Features, the rating, and screenshots. If you are ever wondering if a game is multiplayer and can't tell from the summary, you can usually click on the picture of the game's box and click "Back", and it will show you the back of the box, where you can see the number of players. The page will also offer suggestions for similar games you might like, if you already know you like the game you have searched for.  

My favorite feature on the site is a list of the top video games. This list can be viewed as a collective list of the top games out of all of the platforms, or broken down into whichever console you are looking for. There are three different scores for the rating: Critic Score, User Score, (they allow you to review the video games too, or save your numerical rating for your own reference), and GameSpot Score. To read more about how GameStop determines the score for their ratings, you can go here.