Ashburn Kids Book Club

November Book Post: The Dragon in the Sock Drawer

2010-10-28T14:39:00.004-04:00

Our November book selection is "The Dragon in the Sock Drawer" by Kate Klimo. This is the first book in a series called "Dragon Keepers." This fun book is about ten-year-old cousins Jesse and Daisy. Jesse is living with Daisy while his doctor-parents are in Africa establishing a children's clinic. The cousins are good friends and have always wanted something magical to happen to them. One day, Daisy's father (Jesse's uncle), a geologist, take the kids hiking and rock collecting to High Peak. Jesse finds what he thinks is a geode or "thunder egg". He picks it up and he thinks he hears the rock talking to him! Back home, all attempts to cut open the geode result in broken saw blades. Jesse puts the geode in his sock drawer. The next day, with a huge bang, the thunder egg hatches open and a tiny talkative baby dragon pops out! The two cousins are thrilled but clueless as to how to care for a dragon. They search the public library and the Internet where they find a strange website with a talking professor who can hear everything the cousins say. The professor guides the children on everything they need to know about the dragon. He tells them that the dragon’s hatching has designated them “Dragon Keepers.” Their biggest challenge is keeping the dragon, whom they named Emmy, safe from Saint George. St. George is masquerading as a herpetologist at the local university but he is really a villainous character who has kept himself alive for centuries by drinking dragons’ blood! There are two more books in the series with a fourth book planned for May of 2011.

October Book Club: The Magic Half

2010-10-28T14:02:00.003-04:00

The book selection for October was "The Magic Half" by Annie Barrows. This is a wonderful book--part mystery, part history, part fantasy, part realistic fiction. The main character is Miri, an 11-year-old girl with twin older brothers and twin younger sisters. Miri often feels left out, especially after they move to a new house on land that used to be a working farm. The best part of the old house is that Miri finally gets to have her own bedroom. One day as she is in her bedroom imagining how it will look with freshly painted walls, she spies a glass lens taped to the wall near the floor. Curious, Miri pulls the lens free and looks through it...and is immediately transported back in time to 1935! She is still in the same house but that's all that is the same. There's a different girl, Molly, living in her bedroom. Molly is badly in need of help to escape an abusive situation. Miri feels an intense connection with Molly and wants to help her. Molly, in turn, says she and her magical grandmother have "called" up Miri. Together, with many twists and turns and near-disasters, Molly and Miri construct a plan that eventually succeeds in bringing them both back to the present day where they find that history has been changed! It's as through Molly and Miri have always been twins. Only they have any memories of what really happened.

September Book Club: Alvin Ho...

2010-09-21T14:38:00.005-04:00

Our Ashburn Kids Book Club is off to a good start! We met on September 13 to discuss our first book pick of the school year: "Alvin Ho: Allergic to Girls, School, and Other Scary Things" by Lenore Look. This book is one of the nominations for the 2010-2011 Virginia's Readers Choice Award. It is a fine example of a transitional or early chapter book.

Alvin is a young Chinese-American boy just starting second grade. He is fearful of many things--elevators, scary movies, his piano teacher, the dark, and most of all, school. In fact, he is so fearful of school that he is completely unable to talk while at school. He can talk at home and on the school bus but once inside the classroom, he is completely mute. He handles his fears in quirky ways. For example, he carries a PDK--a Personal Disaster Kit--filled with equipment to help him survive whatever random bad stuff might arise.

Fortunately for Alvin, he has a loving and sympathetic (usually) family. Alvin's father is a particularly warm and real character in the book. He is patient and non-judgemental with Alvin and truly wants to help him overcome his fears and anxieties. Another great character is Alvin's grandfather who likes to sew (he makes all their Halloween costumes) and teaches the kids how to pitch a baseball.

Alvin's adventures at home, school, and in the neighborhood are handled with matter-of-fact humor and much fun. I think this book would be especially effective as a read-aloud. There are two more books in the Alvin Ho series, both with cartoon-like illustrations by LeUyen Pham.

AKBC for 2010-11

2010-08-11T15:31:00.005-04:00

Whether we like it or not, the new school year is quickly approaching. We are gearing up for another fun year for the Ashburn Kids Book Club (AKBC). Once again, we will be reading 10-12 award-winning books, many of which are nominated for this year's Virginia Readers Choice Award.

Each month we will meet at the Ashburn Library at 7 pm, according to the following schedule:

Monday, Sept. 13: Book: "Alvin Ho: Allergic to Girls, School, and Other Scary Things" by Lenore Look
Monday, Oct. 4: Book: "The Magic Half" by Annie Barrows
Monday, Nov. 1: Book: "The Dragon in the Sock Drawer" by Kate Klimo
Monday, Dec. 6: Book: "Charlotte's Web" by E. B. White
Monday, Jan. 10: Book: "Chicken Feathers" by Joy Crowley
Monday, Feb. 7: Book: "Lady Liberty: A Biography" by Doreen Rappaport AND
Book: "You Wouldn't Want to be a Worker on the Statue of Liberty" by John Malam
Monday, Mar. 7: Book: "Lady Liberty" by Doreen Rappaport AND "You Wouldn't Want to be a Worker on the Statue of Liberty" by John Malam
Monday, Apr. 4: Book: "Blown Away" by Joan Hiatt Harlow
Monday, May 2: Book: "Gully's Travels" by Tor Seidler

And the winner is...

2010-05-04T22:54:00.008-04:00

The Virginia State Reading Association has announced the winners of this year's 2009-10 Virginia Readers Choice Award. They are:

Primary: Library Mouse by Daniel Kirk

Elementary: The Lemonade War by Jacqueline Davies

Middle: Savvy by Ingrid Law

High: Unwind by Neal Shusterman

The winners are determined by tallying votes from children all over the state of Virginia. Only children's votes are counted. Our Ashburn Kids Book Club also voted and the winning book for us was No Talking by Andrew Clements.

May Book Club: Igraine the Brave

2010-05-04T22:08:00.004-04:00

The month of May brings the final meeting of the Ashburn Kids Book Club for this school year. Our book this month is "Igraine the Brave" by Cornelia Funke. It is one of the books nominated for this year's Virginia Readers Choice Award. We don't often get a fantasy selection on the nomination list for VRC so it's been a fun change to read this book. Cornelia Funke is a gifted writer (often compared to JK Rowling of Harry Potter fame) and this book is delightful! It tells the story of twelve-year-old Igraine, the daughter of two magicians, who wants to become a brave knight rather than enter the family's magic business. Igraine has an older brother, Arthur, who is mid-way through his magic studies and still struggles with certain spells, i.e. the only food he is able to conjur up are dry biscuits and blue eggs. When their castle is attacked by an scheming neighbor bent on stealing their magic books, Igraine and Arthur each demonstrate their bravery in their own ways, which is especially crucial since their parents have been accidentally turned into pigs by a miss-spoken spell and have lost all their magical abilities. This book has come-to-life gargoyles, three-headed dragons, a sorrowful knight, a talking cat, an enchanted moat, a creepy dungeon, and much more! It is just the right mix of suspense, humor, and triumph over evil without ever being too dark or frightening. I really enjoyed it and I'm usually not a fan of fantasy.

April Book Club: Lunch Money

2010-05-03T16:26:00.004-04:00

Our book selection for the month of April was "Lunch Money" by Andrew Clements. It's a very fun, fast-paced book about money! Well, more specifically about a twelve-year-old boy named Greg who has always been good at coming up with schemes and projects to make money. This time Greg thinks he can make money by designing, producing, and selling his own line of mini comic books at school. But it's an uphill battle. His plan brings disapproval from the principal and he soon has a rival comic artist in the form of his neighborhood nemesis and lifelong rival, Maura. In the end Greg and Maura make an unlike team to bring many changes to their school. Their mini-comic book business succeeds beyond anyone's expectations and they learn how to solve their differences in constructive ways. It's a good read and the book club kids seemed to really enjoy the book.

March Book Club: A Crooked Kind of Perfect

2010-02-18T19:09:00.005-05:00

Our March meeting of the Ashburn Kids Book Club will feature the book, "A Crooked Kind of Perfect" by Linda Urban. This book is one of the nominees for this year's Virginia Readers Choice award. This book features 11-year-old Zoe as the main character. Zoe dreams of playing the piano and one day performing in Carnegie Hall. But her eccentric father gets talked into buying an organ instead of a piano and Zoe must adjust her dream to fit reality. Her organ teacher, Maybelline Person, recognizes that Zoe has natural talent and nudges her to enter an organ competition. Zoe accepts the challenge but must also cope with her loving but agoraphobic father, a lonely classmate who starts to hang out at Zoe's house, and her workaholic mother. Zoe and the other characters are full of quirky wisdom and irrepressible good humor. The family's life is a bit unconventional but works well and Zoe knows she is loved and supported. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and found myself laughing out loud at times. This is an impressive debut novel for author Linda Urban. Hopefully there will be more books by her soon. See you all on March 7, 7 pm, for our next Ashburn Kids Book Club meeting.

February Book Club: Jackie Robinson

2010-02-18T17:47:00.008-05:00

February is traditionally the month when school children study about Black History. I thought it would work well to do two books about Jackie Robinson this month. The first book is titled, "Dad, Jackie, and Me" and was written by author Myron Uhlberg. This is a picture book and is one of the nominees for this year's Virginia Readers Choice book award. The book details the story of a young boy and his deaf father and their shared enthusiasm for the Brooklyn Dodgers during the 1947 season when Jackie Robinson became the first African-American baseball player in the major leagues. It is also about discrimination and tolerance--both from the standpoint of Jackie Robinson and the deaf father. The beautiful illustrations by artist Colin Bootman are a perfect match for Uhlberg's poignant text.

The second book we are reading for Febrary has an almost identical title: "Jackie and Me." It is written by Dan Gutman and is one of the books in his well-known Baseball Card Adventure series. The premise of these books is that the main character, 13-year-old Joe Stoshack, has the ability to travel back in time by using baseball cards. In this book, Joe travels back to the 1947 Brooklyn Dodgers season in order to experience first-hand what it was like for Jackie Robinson. Not only does he travel back in time, he actually stays with the Robinson's at their apartment and becomes a bat boy for the team. He is also transformed into an African-American and gets to experience for himself what discrimination was like back in the 1940s. The author has done an excellent job of researching the details of Jackie Robinson's life and career and using those details to create an exciting and suspenseful book.

For our activity this month we will be watching several film clips about Jackie Robinson from Ken Burns' documentary, Baseball. See you on Thursday, February 4, at 7 pm.

January Book Club: "Don't Know Much About the Presidents" AND "Vinnie and Abraham"

2009-12-29T13:58:00.004-05:00

Our January book club meeting will be on Thursday, January 7, 7-8 pm. We are reading TWO books for January: "Don't Know Much About the Presidents" by Kenneth Davis and "Vinnie and Abraham" by Dawn FitzGerald. The later is a picture book written for juvenile readers and we will read this together at our meeting. Both books are about Presidents of the United States. The Davis book is a highly readable collection of amazing facts and little known trivia about each of the U.S. Presidents from George Washington to Barack Obama. The FitzGerald book tells the story of Vinnie Ream, a sixteen-year-old young women with an awesome talent for sculpture. She became the youngest artist to be commissioned to sculpt a statue of a U.S. president. Her sculpture of Abraham Lincoln is still displayed in the Capitol rotunda today.

December Book Club: Because of Winn Dixie

2009-12-29T13:25:00.006-05:00

Each year in December our book club reads a book that has also been made into a movie. It's fun for the kids to compare the book to the movie, note how the script was changed and adapted, and decide which they like best. This year we read "Because of Winn Dixie" by Kate DiCamillo. This book was a 2001 Newbery Honor winner. It is a lovely story about 10-year-old Opal, her preacher father, and the small Florida town of Naomi. Winn-Dixie is a mottley stray dog that Opal rescues from a wild escapade through the Winn-Dixie grocery story (hence the dog's name!) and talks her father into letting her keep him. Winn-Dixie quickly becomes Opal's best friend and confidante. He is better at making friends than any human and soon Opal has cast of unlikely new friends--Miss Franny Block, the town librarian, Gloria Dump, an elderly and nearly blind woman, and Otis, an ex-con who runs a pet shop and has a magically ability to calm the animals with his guitar playing. Opal's new friends help her cope with lonliness, feelings of abandonment (her mother has left) and her father's tendency to close up his emotions. In turn, Opal and Winn-Dixie bless the lives of everyone they come in contact with because of their irrepressible joy and acceptance. The movie is a delightful adaptaton of the book and really brings the characters of the book to life. We all enjoyed this year's book/movie connection.

November Book Club: The Lemonade War

2009-10-08T19:07:00.006-04:00

Our November meeting of the Ashburn Kids Book Club will be Thursday, November 5, 7-8 p.m. We will be discussing the book, "The Lemonade War" by Jacqueline Davies. This is a very lively book about two siblings, Evan and Jessie. Evan is ten years old and going into fourth grade. Jessie is eight years old and will be in the second grade. The two usually get along well with each other and their natural talents are very complementary---Jessie is more academically inclined while Evan is better at people skills. Everything changes when a letter arrives from their school. It says that Jessie is going to skip third grade entirely and will be together with Evan in the same fourth grade class. Evan views this turn of events as a total disaster! He is sure everyone will think he is really dumb when compared to his younger grade-skipping sister. Evan rejects Jessie who is left feeling bewildered, hurt, and angry. Soon the two are locked in a battle---a battle to see who can sell the most lemonade from their competing lemonade stands by the end of the summer! The author's portrayal of family dynamics rings true and keeps the reader pulled into the action and drama. I'm sure our book club readers are going to enjoy this book! There is also a great website for this book: http://www.lemonadewar.com/

October Book Club: Mallory vs. Max

2009-09-23T13:48:00.003-04:00

Our October meeting of the Ashburn Kids Book Club will be on Thursday, October 1, 7-8 p.m. The book we will be featuring is "Mallory vs. Max" by Laurie Friedman. This book is part of the very popular series of books (12 so far) featuring almost-nine-years-old, Mallory McDonald, her older brother, Max, her cat, Cheeseburger, and her best friend, Mary Ann. In this book, Mallory is facing a dilemma--her parents have decided that her brother Max is old enough and responsible enough to get a dog of his own. This worries Mallory who fears the new puppy will take away all the attention from herself and her cat, Cheeseburger. Mallory presents very logical reasons why getting a dog is NOT a good idea--Dogs eat a lot. Dogs drink a lot. Dogs dig a lot. Dogs bark a lot. Dogs poop a lot, etc. But no one is persuaded by her arguments and soon there is a new young puppy joining the family. Everyone has some adjusting to do, especially Mallory who finally realizes that Champ the dog isn't so bad after all. The cartoon-like illustrations by Tamara Schmitz add to the fun. This is a fast-paced easy chapter book that kids are sure to enjoy and, more importantly, relate to.

National Book Festival 2009

2009-09-12T13:54:00.004-04:00

Living near the nation's capital does have its perks! One of the best is the annual National Book Festival. It is organized and sponsored by the Library of Congress and will be held on Saturday, September 26, 2009, on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., between 7th and 14th streets from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. The festival is free and open to the public. It is a day-long celebration of reading that features dozens of highly acclaimed and award-winning authors and poets. There will be author presentations, book signings, customed storybook characters, and much much more. The list of authors and poets coming this year is truly impressive. Here are some useful weblinks to the event:

Home page for the 2009 Festival: http://www.loc.gov/bookfest/

This year's participating authors: http://www.loc.gov/bookfest/2009/authors/index.html

Schedule of author presentations: http://www.loc.gov/bookfest/2009/schedulePavilion.html

Schedule of book signings: http://www.loc.gov/bookfest/2009/scheduleSigning.html

It's a great event for kids who get an upclose look at such favorite authors as Jeff Kinney (Diary of a Wimpy Kid books), Kate DiCamillo (Tale of Despereaux, Because of Winn Dixie--which we will read in December), Craig Hatkoff (Owen & Mzee--which we read last year), Lois Lowry (The Giver and much more), Megan McDonald (Judy Moody and others), Jacqueline Woodson (Locomotion and many others), etc. Well, there are just too many great authors to mention them all.

If you get the chance to visit the National Book Festival, please post a comment here and tell us who you say and what you thought of the whole experience. I'm hoping to attend, so maybe I'll see some of you down there!

September Book Club -- "Eleven" by Patricia Reilly Giff

2009-08-17T21:05:00.003-04:00

It's hard to believe that mid-August is here and the first meeting of the 2009-10 Ashburn Kids Book Club is close at hand! Once again we will meet on the first Thursday night of each month at 7 p.m. The first meeting will be on September 3. Please notice that this is actually BEFORE the first day of school. Registration is now open and can be found at this link: http://engagedpatrons.org/EventsRegister.cfm?SiteID=6457&BranchID=454&Branch=Ashburn%20Library&EventID=38561

The book for September is "Eleven" by Patricia Reilly Giff. It is an exciting book about a boy, Sam, who lives happily with his grandfather. On the eve of his eleventh birthday, Sam goes up into the attic in search of birthday gifts he thinks his grandfather has hidden there. But instead of birthday presents, Sam he finds an old newspaper clipping about himself. The newspaper article stirs old distant memories for Sam and he begins to question many things about his life. Eventually, with the help of a new friend at school, Sam is able to solve the mystery and get his questions are answered.

June Book Club: "Kensuke's Kingdom" by Michael Morpurgo

2009-06-30T22:45:00.008-04:00

I am late getting my blog updated with our June book club selection. But I thought I should still add it so you can all see how we finished up our book club year. Our last book for this school year was "Kensuke's Kingdom" by the award-winning British author, Michael Morpurgo. This adventure book is one of my favorites...in fact, it is the first time in five years of running the AKBC that I have repeated a book. The very first line of the book is, "I disappeared on the night before my twelfth birthday." Thus begins an intriguing and poignant story that starts in England and ends up halfway around the world where the 12-year-old protagonist, Michael, and his dog, Stella, are thrown overboard off his family's yacht in the middle of the night and end up on a wild and hostile island teaming with screeching gibbons, ravenous mosquitoes, and one very strange human--an old Japanese sailor named Kensuke who has been living alone on the island for years. At first, Kensuke is angry and agitated by Michael's intrusion but slowly they forge a deep friendship. Michael never gives up hope of being rescued, however, and that day finally comes after nearly a year on the island. I don't want to give away the amazing ending so I'll leave it at that. "Kensuke's Kingdom" is a beautifully written tale of family life, survival, and true friendship.

May Book Club: "Love, Ruby Lavender" by Deborah Wiles

2009-04-29T14:09:00.005-04:00

Our May meeting of the Ashburn Kids Book Club will be held on Thursday, May 7, 7-8 p.m. We will be discussing the book, Love Ruby Lavender by Deborah Wiles. Ruby is a nine-year-old girl growing up in the small town of Halleluia, Mississippi, a town of "400 good friendly folks and a few old soreheads." Ruby’s best friend is her grandmother, Miss Eula. The book opens with a wonderful scene where Ruby and Miss Eula pull off a daring rescue of "three of the most pitiful-looking, nervous" chickens, chickens bound for slaughter. This starts a summer of adventures, ups and downs, and some growing-up for Ruby. She has to cope with her beloved grandmother going to Hawaii to visit her son whose wife has just had a baby. She has to contend with her "tormenter" Melba Jane. She has to take care of the chickens by herself. And she has to come to terms with her grandfather's death. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and found it to be a refreshing and realistic look at small town life and how seemingly insignificant daily events can take on huge proportions in the minds of children. It also illustrates how important love, support, and kindness are in helping children find their way in life. Join us for the discussion of this wonderful book!

April Book Club: Phineas L. MacGuire...Erupts!

2009-03-30T22:27:00.004-04:00

Our April meeting of the Ashburn Kids Book Club will meet on Thursday, April 2, at 7 pm. We will be discussing the book, Phineas L. MacGuire...Erupts, by Frances O'Roark Dowell. This book is one of the titles nominated for this year's Virginia Readers Choice (VRC) Award. It tells the story of a 4th grade boy, Phineas, who loves science and experiments more than anything. Phineas says, "If you're a scientist like me, you're always interested when a problem comes around. Because what you learn when you study science is that if you think hard enough and are willing to take risks, almost every problem has a solution. It's just a matter of discovering what that solution is." This philosophy is put to the test, however, when Phineas is forced to team up with a new boy in the class--a boy who has clashed with Phineas from day one--for the 4th grade science project fair. Phineas puts his scientific problem-solving to good use and, in the process, learns quite a lot about himself and others.

Besides our book discussion, we will also be voting for our favorite VRC books. The votes are due by the first week of April to the Virginia State Reading Association who will compile the votes of children all over the state and then announce the winners of this year's award.

Special Thanks to Our Guest Speaker

2009-03-30T22:11:00.003-04:00

For our March meeting of the book club, we were excited to have a guest speaker come and talk about assistive technology. Judie Schoonover, an occupational therapist and assistive technology specialist with the Loudoun County Public Schools, spoke to the book club kids about her job and the many different types of technology she uses to help children overcome their learning disabilities so they can participate fully in a school setting. She brought along many examples of technology--from the very simple to the highly technical--which she passed around and allowed the children to try. She was a wonderful guest speaker and we all enjoyed her presentation. It was a perfect tie-in for the book, Rules by Cynthia Lord.

March Book Club: "Rules" by Cynthia Lord

2009-02-19T18:40:00.005-05:00

Our book club for March will meet on Thursday, March 5, and we will be discussing the book, Rules by Cynthia Lord. This Newbery Honor Medal book is one of the books nominated for the Virginia Readers Choice award for 2008-2009. It has also received many other awards--too many to list them all here. The story is about a 12-year-old girl named Catherine who has a younger autistic brother, David. The title of the book comes from all the rules Catherine establishes to help David understand and interact with his world. For example, one rule is: No toys in the fish tank. I'll bet you can guess why she has this rule! Catherine loves her brother and is sensitive to his needs but she is also growing impatient with the responsibilities and embarrassment he brings. Catherine often accompanies her brother to his therapy sessions at a clinic. One day at the clinic Catherine befriends a wheel-chair bound boy, Jason, who can only communicate by pointing to small word cards. Catherine uses her drawing skills to make additional word cards for him and their friendship gradually grows. Catherine experiences some of the same discomfort with Jason that others do in the presence of her brother David. This gives Catherine the opportunity to explore her own thoughts and feelings and begin to look at her world differently. This is a tender and heart-warming book which the author says is loosely based on her own experience raising a son with autism.

February Book Club: Owen & Mzee + Henry's Freedom Box

2009-02-10T13:56:00.004-05:00

Our February meeting of the Ashburn Kids Book Club was very busy! We did two books for the month. They were: Henry's Freedom Box by Ellen Levine and Owen & Mzee: The True Story of a Remarkable Friendship by Isabella and Craig Hatkoff.

Henry's Freedom Box retells the true story of a 1849 Virginia slave, Henry "Box" Brown, who desired freedom so badly he devised a method of escape--he mailed himself to freedom by shipping himself in a wooden crate from Richmond to Philadelphia. The wonderful illustrations are by the award-winning artist, Kadir Nelson. The evocative illustrations are the perfect accompaniment to the simple text. Often we think picture books are just for young readers but this book is a good example of a picture book format written for older readers.

Owen & Mzee: The True Story of a Remarkable Friendship tells the story of a baby hippo, Owen, who was orphaned in Kenya as a result of the 2004 tsunami. He was rescued and taken to an animal sanctuary where he formed a most unlikely friendship with a 130 year old Aldabra tortoise, Mzee. The book is illustrated by wonderful photographs that chronicle the whole amazing story. We were able to watch a documentary film about Owen & Mzee downloaded from their website. It was amazing to see such unlikely animals--a mammal and a reptile--form a lifelong bond of friendship. It's hard to explain how this would happen but perhaps the author's simple explanation is the best one, "Science can't always explain what the heart already knows: Our most important friends are sometimes those we least expect."

Both of these books have been nominated for the 2008-2009 Virginia Reader's Choice Award for grades 3-5.

January Book Club: "The Homework Machine" by Dan Gutman

2009-01-01T13:26:00.005-05:00

Our January book club meeting will take place on Thursday, January 8, at 7 pm. We will be discussing the book, The Homework Machine by Dan Gutman. This book has an intriguing way of telling the story. It is told in the alternating voices of four 11-year-olds as they make statements to the police. The children are all fifth graders in the same class at the Grand Canyon elementary school. They are about as different from each as any four kids could be, but they do have one thing in common--they have all been involved in a scheme to use a machine, invented by one of the group, to do their homework. Their plan takes many twists and turns and gets more complicated than any of them could have imagined. The book appeals equally well to boys and girls and is both funny and thought provoking. It is one of the ten books nominated this year for the Virginia Readers Choice Award.

"Matilda" -- The Book vs. The Movie

2009-01-01T12:46:00.005-05:00

The Ashburn Kids Book Club had a great time watching the movie of "Matilda" for our December get-together. The kids came up with MANY examples of ways that the movie is different than the book. Perhaps the most obvious difference is that the setting for the book is England while the movie occurs in the United States. Here's some more of the difference the kids noticed:

Matilda's mom is fat and her dad is skinny in the book; in the movie it is just the reverse.
Matilda's teacher is named Jenny in the book; in the movie she is called Bumblebee.
Matilda's parents didn't sign adoption papers in the book; they did in the movie.
Matilda never got put in the chokey in the book; she did in the movie.
Matilda lost her amazing powers in the book; she never lost her powers in the movies.
Their money is in British pounds in the book; they use U.S. dollars in the movies.
They use the word "telie" in the book; in the movie it's called a "television."
Mr. Wormwood rips up the book "The American Pony" in the book; in the movie he rips up "Moby Dick."
Miss Trunchbull is called the "headmistress" in the book; she's called the "prinicipal" in the movie.
Matilda didn't cook her own breakfasts in the book; in the movie she does.

I'm sure there are lots more ways that the book and the movie differ. But one thing the two did have in common -- they were both very enjoyable!

December Book Club: "Matilda"

2008-12-01T00:29:00.007-05:00

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"

2008-10-26T20:34:00.004-04:00

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"

2008-09-28T13:07:00.004-04:00

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

2008-08-28T22:07:00.004-04:00

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

2008-06-03T13:23:00.002-04:00

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

2008-04-28T16:24:00.003-04:00

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"

2008-03-26T09:39:00.008-04:00

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

2008-03-16T12:56:00.005-04:00

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!

2008-02-28T01:07:00.002-05:00

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

2008-02-27T22:42:00.007-05:00

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

2008-02-04T00:04:00.003-05:00

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!

2008-01-16T22:51:00.003-05:00

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

2008-01-07T13:11:00.004-05:00

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.

From The Mixed Up Files...The Book vs The Movie

2007-12-12T09:07:00.003-05:00

It was really fun to watch the movie with the Ashburn Kids Book Club readers (and assorted siblings, friends, parents, etc.). Here are some of the comments and comparisons I received:

---The kids meet Mrs. Frankweiler earlier in the movie than in the book.

---Claudia meets with the museum curator in the movie but not the book.

---Jamie doesn't take money from the fountain in the movie.

---There are three Kincaid kids in the movie but four in the book.

---Claudia writes a letter to the museum curator in the book but phones him in the movie.

---In the movie Claudia has an argument with Jamie and he leaves (but Claudia goes after him).

---The Kincaids had banana splits in the movie.

---The kids spot the Michaelangelo sign on the bottom of the angel statue while ducking down to hide; in the book they only see the imprint on the velvet after the statue is moved.

---The book has more plot involving Jamie and his money.

---Claudia doesn't take a bath at Mrs. Frankweiler's house in the movie.

---In the movie, the kids get picked up from Mrs. Frankweiler's house by their parents but in the book they get driven home by the chaffeur.

---In the book, the children never meet Mrs. Frankweiler at the museum like in the movie.

---In the book, Jamie never got sick and was made well by the angel, as was implied in the movie.

---In the movie, the kids never rented a post office box.

And here's one that I noticed: in the movie, the statue is sold at auction for $25,000 but in the book, if I remember correctly, it's only $250. Inflation!

There was an even split between kids who liked the movie more than the book and the reverse--liked the book more than the movie.

Elaine Lobl Konigsburg, Author Extraordinaire

2007-12-05T13:15:00.003-05:00

Personal Information:
E.L. Konisburg was born February 10, 1930, in New York City. She spent her childhood in growing up in the small mill towns of Pennsylvania. Her family was poor but she really wanted to attend college, so she devised a plan to combine part-time jobs, scholarships, and work-study opportunities to pay for school. She attended Carnegie Mellon University where she earned a B.S. in Chemistry. She then married David Konigsburg in 1952 and together they moved to Florida, where she taught science for several years in an all-girls school. Konigsburg left teaching when the first of her three children was born and she became a full time mother. In 1962, the family moved to New York City and, with all her children in school, Konigsburg began her writing career. She says that she read all her work to her children first. If they liked it, she would continue. But if they didn’t find it interesting, she would revise and rewrite. She is now 77 years old and lives on the beach in North Florida. She continues to write and publish.

Books:
Her first two books were published in 1967 and were a phenomenal success. The first, Jennifer, Hecate, Macbeth, William McKinley, and Me, Elizabeth, was a Newbery Honor Book. Her second book, From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, won the Newbery Medal the same year! Konigsburg is the only author to have two books on the Newbury list in the same year (1968). She also drew the illustrations for these books. Kongisburg won a second Newbery Medal in 1997 for The View From Saturday, 29 years later, the longest span between any two Newberys awarded to one author. She has published more than 20 books for children and 2 books for adults and won numerous other awards. Her most recent book was just published in 2007 and is titled, The Mysterious Edge of the Heroic World.

From The Mixed Up Files...

2007-12-03T23:07:00.002-05:00

Hi Readers!

We will meet for our December book club meeting on Thursday, Dec. 6. Hopefully you all know by now that my intense searching has paid off and I was able to locate the video of the 1995 Hallmark movie based on the book, "From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler." It is out-of-distribution, so it's very difficult to locate. I think you'll really enjoy seeing the movie and comparing it to the book. Here's the details:

Time: 7-8:30 pm -- The movie is 90 minutes long, so we will start promptly at 7. Please come early so you can get your snack and get settled to enjoy the show.

Where: We will meet in the front two meeting rooms so we have plenty of space and also have the big screen for the movie.

Who: This is a great family movie and we will have the space, so please invite family members to join us.

Bring: You can bring blankets, pillows, etc. or whatever will allow you to be comfortable to spread out for the movie.

Donate: Please consider donating back your copy of the book; I'd like to get at least six!

See you all on Thursday!

Next Book Club Meeting!

2007-11-13T19:48:00.003-05:00

Don't forget that our next meeting of the Ashburn Kids Book Club
will be Thursday, Nov. 15, at 7 p.m. We will be discussing the book,
"Mr. Popper's Penguins," by Richard and Florence Atwater. I've
got a fun activity planned and maybe we will discover that not
everything Mr. Popper believes about penguins is really true.

Mr. Popper's Penguins

2007-11-13T19:32:00.003-05:00

I hope it has been fun for you to read Mr. Popper's Penguins! This entertaining book was published a long time ago, in 1938. That's sixty-nine years ago! The truly remarkable thing is that this book has NEVER been out-of-print since it was published. There are only a handful of books that can make this claim. It has been translated into over fourteen languages, even Braille!

I wonder, though, if you noticed anything in the book that seemed really different from the way it is today? For example, the Popper's rely on their radio to get important news. That's because they didn't have any televisions in 1938! And there was no such thing as a computer or the Internet! Do you think that's why people didn't even know what a penguin looked like?

What other differences or oddities did you notice in the book? Leave us a comment and share your ideas!

Author Phyllis Reynolds Naylor -- Live!

2007-11-13T19:17:00.001-05:00

Readers! I just found out about a very neat opportunity! Phyllis Reynolds Naylor, the author of Shiloh, will present a program for ages 8 and up entitled "Shiloh and Other Stuff" this coming Friday, Nov. 16, at 7 p.m., in the Board Auditorium of the Fairfax County Government Center 12000 Government Center Parkway, Fairfax. This program is being sponsored by the Fairfax County Library to celebrate National Children's Book Week, November 12-18. Books will be available for sale and signing. For details and to reserve a seat, call 703-324-8428 or e-mail libraryevents@fairfaxcounty.gov.

I hope some of you get the chance to go and see Ms. Naylor in person and get your Shiloh books signed. I've driven from Ashburn to the Fairfax Gov't Center several times. It's about a 30 minute drive. If you do go, please write a comment for our blog and share the event with all of us.

Shiloh -- A Beagle

2007-09-30T22:42:00.002-04:00

Shiloh is a beagle, a member of the hound family. Beagles are medium-sized dogs and have a keen sense of smell and a strong tracking instinct. This makes them especially good at hunting small animals like rabbits. They are also used by police and airport security as detection dogs. They are even-tempered with a gentle disposition and popular as pets.

Does this sound like the dog, Shiloh? What do you think?

What's in a Name? A Dog's Name, That is!

2007-09-30T14:49:00.001-04:00

Shiloh, the dog at the center of the story in our October book selection, is named after the West Virginia town of Shiloh. But "Shiloh" wouldn't even make the top-50 list of most popular names for dogs. The #1 most popular name for a male dog in the U.S. is . . . MAX! The #1 most popular name for a female dog is . . . MAGGIE!

Here's the top 10 most popular dog names for male and female dogs.

Top-10 Male Dog Names: 1. Max 2. Jake 3. Buddy 4. Bailey 5. Sam 6. Rocky 7. Buster 8. Casey 9. Cody 10. Duke

Top-10 Female Dog Names: 1. Maggie 2. Molly 3. Lady 4. Sadie 5. Lucy 6. Daisy 7. Ginger 8. Abby 9. Sasha 10. Sandy

What's your favorite dog's name? If you have a dog, what is its name? Post a comment and tell us!

October Book Club Selection -- Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

2007-09-11T09:14:00.003-04:00

In the book, Shiloh, by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor, we read about a boy's love for his dog and what lengths he will go to protect his pet.

Do you have a pet?

How do you feel about your pet?

If you don't have a pet, would you like to have one?

What kind of animal would it be?

Post a comment and tell us your thoughts and ideas about having pets!

A Whole Lot of Similes!

2007-09-03T12:23:00.002-04:00

Author Grace Lin make great use of the similes through out the book, "The Year of Dog." Do you know what a simile is? A simile (which is pronounced sim-uh-lee) is a figure of speech in which two essentially unlike things are compared, often in a phrase introduced by "like" or "as". The author puts a simile on almost every page.

Here are some examples:

p. 9 "Like the smell of roast pork, the news of Grandpa's good work spread..."

p. 80 "They sat there like a line of birds on a telephone wire, gossiping and sharing tea."

p. 104 "I felt like a thistle in a rose garden."

p. 120 "Like a creamy chocolate in my mouth, a warm feeling melted through me."

p. 130 "Like a rabbit hearing a gun fired, I jumped away."

Can you find anymore similes in the book? Can you write some of your own? Post a comment and tell what you found or share a simile of your own. Here's an idea to start with: complete this sentence "Coming to the end of summer is like ______"

The Chinese Zodiac Calendar

2007-08-31T10:42:00.001-04:00

The title of the book comes from the Chinese tradition of assigning a certain animal to each year. There are twelve animals: rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog, and pig--one for each year in a 12-year cycle. The tradition says that you take on the characteristics of the animal for the year you were born. So, for example, I was born in the year of the sheep, so my zodiac sign says I will be "Righteous, sincere, sympathetic, mild-mannered, shy, artistic, creative, gentle, compassionate, understanding, mothering, determined, peaceful, generous, seeks security." Sounds pretty good to me!

What year were you born in the Chinese zodiac calendar? Use the picture to figure out your animal, then if you like, make a "comment" to let us know. Your moms and dads can find their year and animal, too!

Welcome to the Ashburn Kids Book Club Blog!

2007-08-28T20:01:00.002-04:00

Hi everyone! I'm excited to start another school year with the book club. Our first meeting will be Thursday, September 6, 7-8:15 pm. We will be discussing the book, "The Year of the Dog," by Grace Lin. 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! I'm new at this blogging thing and maybe you are, too. But it seems like a fun way to get everyone involved in the book club. Let me know what you think!

Mrs. Jackson, Ashburn Youth Services Librarian