Happy Halloween Dear Reader!

October's Bright Blue Weather

I confess dear reader I'm in a bit of shock that this blog has been up and running for little over a year! We've had a wonderful first year, and for the here and now,  how lucky we are to enjoy October's bright blue weather.  I've always loved Helen Hunt Jackson's ( 1830-1885) poem.

      October's Bright Blue Weather
    O SUNS and skies and clouds of June,
        And flowers of June together,
    Ye cannot rival for one hour
        October's bright blue weather;
    When loud the bumble-bee makes haste,
        Belated, thriftless vagrant,
    And Golden-Rod is dying fast,
        And lanes with grapes are fragrant;
    When Gentians roll their fringes tight
        To save them for the morning,
    And chestnuts fall from satin burrs
        Without a sound of warning;
    When on the ground red apples lie
        In piles like jewels shining,
    And redder still on old stone walls
        Are leaves of woodbine twining;
    When all the lovely wayside things
        Their white-winged seeds are sowing,
    And in the fields, still green and fair,
        Late aftermaths are growing;
    When springs run low, and on the brooks,
        In idle golden freighting,
    Bright leaves sink noiseless in the hush
        Of woods, for winter waiting;
    When comrades seek sweet country haunts,
        By twos and twos together,
    And count like misers, hour by hour,
        October's bright blue weather.
    O suns and skies and flowers of June,
        Count all your boasts together,
    Love loveth best of all the year
        October's bright blue weather.


In the next few days we'll carve our pumpkins....

...and prepare for THE BIG NIGHT...















I'll share some of my very favorite costumes in my next post..but in the meantime, we can dream about all that spectacular candy.

Swap you my Mars Bars and candy corn for your Atomic Fire Balls and Snickers?!

To the Batmobile!

Holy cow, join the caped crusaders and burn rubber over to the Marin County Free Library where it's
Library Card Month!

I'm no Joker dear reader! For the entire month of September, you can get a shiny new library card or replace a lost one for free! That's right...FOR FREE!!!! And we will give you a secret crusader curly keychain so that you don't loose your shiny new card whilst battling evil in Gotham and abroad.






After all, having your very own library card really is having a superpower.


I think I need to start coming to work as Cat Woman instead of Miss Kitty. There's a very high probability I already own the boots.

The Force is Strong With This One

I don't know about you but it feels like the summer days have zipped by at warp speed. One of my favorite young readers turned in his reading log and I had to smile..... this young Jedi certainly knows what he wants to read! Determined he is. If you look very closely, there are three entries for Harry Potter. An essential part of the magic of childhood summer reading is getting to read whatever you feel like.  Enjoy your August weekend, dear reader, while there's still time for an afternoon of podracing around the neighborhood before it's time to come in and wash up for supper. Save a nice cold slice of watermelon for me.

Meet Marcel

Goodness, dear reader- how quickly the summer is flying by. July already and the Summer Reading Game is going like gangbusters. I hope you've had a chance to sign up since one of the very BEST things about summertime is reading for fun.

Allow me to introduce my good friend Marcel the Shell (with shoes on).



I adore Marcel and you are so lucky because you can check out this book about him.
Wouldn't it be fun to find a shell at the seashore and make your own Marcel?! Just take it from Miss Kitty, make sure you clean out the shell VERY WELL or you'll have a stinky Marcel. 



I hope your warm summery days of swimming and reading and picnics and fireworks and ice cream all crawl along like Marcel; at a snail's pace.

Call me?

The library is evolving in profound ways but for some things we still rock it old school at the Marin County Free Library. Families may phone in each week to Dial-A-Story to hear a 5 minute story read by a wonderful variety of readers. This is week is my little brother's birthday. He lives in Hawaii so I recorded The Little Mermaid for him.







I love Jane Yolen's book, Fairy Tale Feasts. It's exactly my kind of fairy tale book, stories plus a recipe to go with them! The recipe that accompanies this tale is Seaweed Stuffed Shells- a clever way to get a story and a little spinach into your favorite reader. You'll find the ending to this version of The Little Mermaid a bit different. Kid's who only know Disney-ized version of stories may find it a little confusing, but this offeres a great opportunity to explore folk and fairy tales.  No child should leave
kiddom without solid legs, or a long silvery green tail, of fairy tales beneath them.

Give us a jingle- (415) xxx-xxx
10/06/15 
Update- We have discontinued Dial-A-Story because we are working on new ways to bringing to you. Stay tuned and keep reading!
Miss Kitty 

The odds aren't good...

The Harry Potter franchise forever changed the way adults, and children themselves, think about reading appropriateness. With so many very young children taking on Harry during his years at Hogwarts, either by themselves or by being read to, there's now an expectation that all blockbuster  fiction is okay to take on as well. Which brings me to The Hunger Games.

Over the last several months I've had readers as young as 7 years-old ask for The Hunger Games. I would never discourage a child from reading, but this is a series that firmly belongs in very mature 'Tween and Teen territory. A big tip-off is that book is not shelved in the Children's Room; you'll find it in Teen Fiction. Truly, it is not the best choice for young readers; even advanced young readers. If nothing else, it takes a more mature mind to comprehend the brutality of a society that forces its children to kill each other.

Since the release of the movie (which is rated  PG-13), interest in the book series has of course only increased. Here's a great review about the film from Common Sense Media.

That said, there are several classic must-reads about dystopian societies for kids and a great place to start is Lois Lowry's The Giver, Gathering Blue, and Messenger.  After reading these, they'll appreciate The Hunger Games all the more when they are ready for it, and may the odds really truly be ever in their favor.