December Book Club: "Matilda"

The December 4th meeting of the Ashburn Kids Book Club will feature the book, “Matilda” by Roald Dahl. This wonderful book is about an extraordinarily gifted young girl named Matilda. Matilda’s parents are neglectful and self-centered and do not recognize or appreciate Matilda’s brilliance. Fortunately, there are other adults—a librarian and Matilda’s beloved teacher, Miss Honey—who take an interest in Matilda and nurture her amazing intelligence. But Matilda is more than just super-smart. She also possesses the power of telekinesis, or the ability to make objects move just by using her mental energy. This power is put to good use on her evil school headmistress who has tormented children for years and also cheated Miss Honey, her niece, out of her rightful inheritance.

The author, Roald Dahl, is considered one of the most beloved writers of children’s literature. Although he died in 1990, his books continue to be widely read by children. Some of his most famous books are: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, James and the Giant Peach, The BFG, The Witches, and The Twits.

In 1997, a movie version of Matilda was released. We will be watching this movie for our book club event on December 4. It will be fun to compare the movie to the book and see which one we like best. Since the movie is 98 minutes long, we will start it promptly at 7 pm and will be finished around 8:30 pm. Feel free to bring your pillows and blankets to spread out on the floor. Families are also invited to join us for this fun event.

November Book Club: "The Ghost's Grave"

For our November 6th meeting of the Ashburn Kids Book Club, we will be reading and discussing the book, "The Ghost's Grave" by Peg Kehret. This book is one of ten books nominated for this school year's Virginia Readers Choice Award, an annual award presented by the Virginia State Reading Association. The award is based on votes of children all over Virginia who read the ten book nominations and then choose their favorites. "The Ghost's Grave" has already won young reader awards in the states of Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, Tennessee, Washington and So. Dakota.

This book is about a 12-year-old boy named Josh whose plans for an exciting summer of baseball playing and hanging out with his friends are shattered when he learns he will be spending the summer with his old eccentric aunt who lives in a tiny town and has no television and no internet. Things don't stay dull for long, though. Josh soon meets Willie, the ghost of a coal miner killed in a mine explosion. Willie has been waiting years for some kind soul to dig up his leg and rebury it with the rest of him--only then will he be at peace. Josh reluctantly agrees to do the grisly deed, but when he digs in the old cemetery, he uncovers a cache of $100 bills--$130,000.00 total. The story takes many suspenseful twists and turns as Josh discovers who buried the money in Willie's grave, and just how far that person will go to get the money back.

It's the perfect book to read during this Halloween season!

Join us on Thursday, Nov. 6th, at 7 pm for our Ashburn Kids Books Club discussion of "The Ghost's Grave."

October Book Club: "Counting On Grace"

For our October meeting of the Ashburn Kids Book Club, we will be discussing the book "Counting on Grace" by Elizabeth Winthrop. This is an historical fiction book that describes life in Vermont in the early 1900's and how young children were forced to leave school and work in the textile mills to help their families earn enough money to survive. The idea for the book began when the author saw a photograph taken by the famous photographer Lewis Hine. Hine was a photojournalist who was hired by the National Child Labor Committee in 1907 to photograph and document the plight of children forced to labor long hours in harsh conditions. When the author saw Hine's black-and-white photo of 12-year-old Addie Card standing barefoot next to a spinning machine, her mind began to imagine what life might have been like for her. The result was the book, "Counting On Grace." It has Hine's photograph on the cover. After the book was published, Winthrop decided to research historical records and see if she could figure out more about Addie Card. It took a lot of "detective" work but she eventually found out that Addie lived to the age of 94 years. Ms. Winthrop was even able to meet some of Addie's great granddaughters. What a fantastic story!

Join us on Thursday, Oct. 2, at 7 pm for our book discussion!

Welcome to the 2008-09 Ashburn Kids Book Club

Hi everyone! I'm excited to start another school year with the book club. Our first meeting will be Thursday, September 4, 7-8 pm. We will be discussing the book, "My Name if Brain Brian" by Jeanne Betancourt. In this book, Brian, the main character, is a smart 6th grader but struggling in school because of his dyslexia. It is a fun and very readable book.

This blog is meant to be a fun way for all of you to participate in the book club. It's easy to make a comment-- just click where it says "comments" and then type your comment in the box and click "publish your comment." You can preview it first if you like. Also, let's just use first names and no last names. Every week or so, I'll post something on the blog for you to answer or think about. Moms and dads are welcome to participate in the blog and make comments, too.

Oh! One more thing! Blogs are a bit tricky to read at first. The most recent post is always at the top of the page, so if you want to read post #1, scroll down to the bottom of the page. Well, that's it! We are going to have a great book club this year and I've already started thinking about new games, possible guest speakers, and lots of other fun ideas.

Mrs. Jackson, Ashburn Youth Services Librarian

Our Last Book Club Meeting of the School Year

This Thursday, June 5, 7-8 p.m. will be the last meeting of the school year for the Ashburn Kids Book Club. We will be discussing the book, "The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy." We will also learn a little about the author, Jeanne Birdsall. We will also take a vote to see which book you enjoyed the most this year. Finally, we will end with our traditional ice-cream party! Feel free to bring ice-cream toppings to share!

It's been a fun year of reading. We have completed 10 books and learned about 10 different authors. We will start the book club again in September for those of you who will still be in grades 3-5. If you are moving on to middle school, the Ashburn Library has a middle school book club just for you, directed by our teen librarian.

Don't forget to visit the library over the summer. We will have our annual Summer Reading Program plus lots of special programs and activities.

Have a wonderful summer and keep reading!

May's Book Club Meeting

We will be meeting for our May book club this week on Thursday, May 1, 7-8 p.m. We'll be discussing the book "No Talking" by Andrew Clements. I hope you've enjoyed reading it! One of the things I am hoping we can do is re-create the experience from the book where the kids created a whole story with just 3-word sentences. So, brush up on your 3-word responses and we'll see what happens.

Registration for the June book club meeting will begin on Thursday morning, May 1, at 10 am. So, just remember to register for book club in the morning and come to book club that night. This way you'll be able to take home the next book. The book for June is going to be: "The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy." It's by Jeanne Birdsall.

See you on Thursday!

Kids' Post Review of "No Talking"

I was excited to turn to the Kids' Post section of the Washington Post on Monday (March 24) and see a book review for "No Talking" by Andrew Clements, the book we will be reading for our May 1 book club meeting. Tracy Grant, who wrote the book review, says, "No Talking is Andrew Clement's most thought-provoking and innovative book since 1996's Frindle." Click here to link to the Washington Post article.

But I'm jumping ahead of myself just a bit. Right now I hope you are reading and enjoying our April book selection, The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo. We will meet for book club on Thursday, April 3, 7-8 pm.

The Tale of Despereaux

Our book club selection for the month of April is a wonderful book by author Kate DiCamillo entitled, "The Tale of Despereaux." This book won the prestigious Newbery Award in 2004. It is a wonderful tale about a mouse named Despereaux Tilling, who is not like any mouse you've ever known. He is in love with music, stories, and a princess named Pea. It is also the story of a rat called Roscuro and a slow-witted serving girl named Miggery Sow. These three characters embark on a fantastic journey. I know you're going to love this book!

Just an explanation about the name "Despereaux" -- it is pronounced like this: Des-per-row. I often hear kids mispronounce this title because of the unusual spelling.

Have fun reading this month and I'll see you at our next book club meeting on Thursday, April, at 7 p.m.

Visit the Kids' Page on the LCPL website!

Did you know there's a special space on the library's website just for kids? Well, there is! It's chock full of fun facts and useful resources. Check it out: Kids' Page

Satch and Me

Our book selection for March is Satch and Me by Dan Gutman. This book is one of several books in the Baseball Card Adventure series. So if you like this book, there are many more just waiting for you to read! Mr. Gutman is a prolific writer of children's books. Another fun book series written by him is the My Weird School series (Mrs. Yonkers is Bonkers, Mr. Macky is Wacky, etc.). Many of Gutman's books feature a sports theme (The Million Dollar Shot) but he has also written mysteries, biographies, non-fiction, and books for adults. All of his books are fast-paced and fun to read. Dan Gutman is definitely a good author to get to know!

Silk Umbrellas by Carolyn Marsden

Our next book club meeting will be Thursday, Feb. 7 at 7 p.m. We will be discussing the book, Silk Umbrellas by Carolyn Marsden. Ms. Marsden has published eight multicultural children's books and will have two more books published this year. She is a careful and talented author who wants to introduce readers to children of different cultures and to explore their joys and problems. In Silk Umbrellas, we are taken into the culture and lifestyle of a rural village in Thailand. I could really relate to this book since I had the great opportunity to live in Thailand from 1997-2000. I'm excited to share this book with the Ashburn book club readers and to bring some of my souvenirs from living three years in Thailand.

The Newbery and Caldecott Awards!

Each year, the American Library Association announces two important awards: The Newbery Medal and the Caldecott Medal. The Newbery is given to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children. The Caldecott is given to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children. It is a great honor for an author/book to win a Newbery or Caldecott.

The winners were announced on Jan. 15. They were:

Newbery Winner:

Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Voices from a Medieval Village by Laura Amy Schlitz

Newbery Honor Books:

Elijah of Buxton by Christopher Paul Curtis

The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt

Feathers by Jacqueline Woodson

Caldecott Winner:

The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick

Caldecott Honor Books:

Henry's Freedom Box: A True Story from the Underground Railroad by illustrated by Kadir Nelson, written by Ellen Levine

First the Egg, written and illustrated by Laura Vaccaro Seeger

The Wall: Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain, written and illustrated by Peter Sís

Knuffle Bunny Too: A Case of Mistaken Identity, written and illustrated Mo Willems

These books are sure to be wonderful to read! If you have read one of these books, post a comment and let us know what you thought of it!

The Enormous Egg

Oliver Butterworth was much more of an educator than a children's author--he taught English at the Hartford (Connecticut) College of Women for 43 years.

He was 40 years old when he wrote his first children’s book, The Enormous Egg. At that time, the tradition in children’s literature was to use much repetition of words to teach children to read (like “Dick and Jane” books). Butterworth thought this was boring for kids. He said, “I thought if I could write a book that sounded like a 12-year-old talking, then children would like it.” He was right! But even he was surprised by the enormous popularity of the book.

His book, "The Enormous Egg," was a huge success and has become a classic in children’s literature. It was first published in 1956 and remains a popular children's book today.