Sturdy for Common Things

Reading Tween

Too old for kids books, too young to read teen fiction? The last installment of the Summer Book Hook is devoted to that in-between age group, the tweenagers. I selected some of most talked about and most recommended books by tweens over this past summer sprinkled in with a few recommendations of my own. Other […]

My Cyber Librarians

Lean in close, because I have a little secret to share… Children’s librarians usually have gobs and gobs of reading recommendations, but we all get stumped every now and then. It’s the truth. Even librarians are human. When this happens, without even flinching, we turn to a tried and true friend— the internet. Today I’m […]

Summer Book Hook: Get a clue!

The past couple of Summer Books Hook posts have been recommendations for popular middle grade series. Percy Jackson, Harry Potter, and Greg Hessey the Wimpy Kid have all made appearances, but now it’s time to get a clue on read-alikes for readers who enjoyed reading the extremely popular The Mysterious Benedict Society! With the release […]

Looking for your next magical adventure?

Wizards, Greek mythology, and tales of princesses long ago… The most popular fantasy requests for middle grade readers this summer. Harry Potter and Percy Jackson rule and Ella Enchanted is still holding her own. Continuing the Summer Book Hook marathon, these are a tried and true read-a-likes that will keep kids coming back for more! […]

Summer Book Hook: Season’s Readings

For the latest edition of the Summer Book Hook, I’m going to direct you to the Summer 2012 issue of Lawrence Kids Magazine featuring picks from Lawrence Public Library’s youth librarians. You can see this summer reading feature and the magazine in it’s entirety HERE! (Psst… Also check out the Sturdy for Common Things feature […]

Summer Survival Guide for the Wimpy Kid Fan

Haven’t been able to get the Summer Book Hook posts out the past couple weeks, so this week there will be TWO Summer Book Hook editions. Whaahooo! Additionally, the next few Summer Book Hook editions will be devoted to Middle Grade Books (i.e. 3rd – 7th grade reading level), specifically current favorite series. Double Whaahoo! […]

Summer Book Hook: Beginning Chapter Books

It’s Week 4 of the Summer Book Hook: 10 Weeks of Recommended Reads for Kids! This week’s focus is beginning chapter books. This category of books has been annihilated by the kids at the library so far this summer. The shelves are almost completely bare. Beginning chapter books, young fiction readers, early chapter books… all […]

Summer Book Hook: Audiobooks

June is Audiobook Month which is why week 3 of the Summer Book Hook is devoted to all-time favorite audiobooks for kids for Pre-K to the tweenagers. Listening to books is also a wonderful way to sneak in reading over the summertime. I’m not just talking about the children too young to read yet… Listening […]

Summer Book Hook: Graphic Novels

It’s week 2 of the Summer Book Hook: 10 weeks of recommended kids’ reads! This week’s theme is “Graphic Novels for All-Ages”.  I’ve collected a kid-favorite, parent-approved list of books I regularly recommend sorted by age group to keep your kids interested in reading over the summer months. Graphic Novels are booming. Although kids love […]

Summer Book Hook: Early Readers

Happy Summer! And welcome to the first edition of the Summer Book Hook: 10 weeks of Recommended Reads for Kids! I mentioned last week in my post, Tips to Get Kids Reading This Summer, that I’ll be sharing a weekly book list of recommended kids reads throughout the summer. Tried and true, new and old, […]