Sweet Sounds: Middle Grade Audiobooks

Hello, everybody! I am so excited to begin sharing my thoughts about tweens and their world! Tweens are among the most remarkable and underrated groups of human beings in the world. These eight to twelve year olds are bursting with curiosity and creativity and are at the very beginning of earnest self-discovery. I am so very blessed to work for a library that allows me to focus on this fantastic age group and to have Pam as my amazing partner in crime! For this first blog, I am going to chat about a couple of fantastic audiobook series. I fell in love with audiobooks at a pretty early age. For most of my life, at least once a year, I have taken a nine to twelve hour road trip to visit my extended family. Needless to say, children locked in a car for nine to twelve hours NEED. TO. BE. ENTERTAINED.

Source http://icanhas.cheezburger.com/lolcats/page/492

And thus, my family was introduced to the unbelievably fantastic Hank the Cowdog audiobooks, which are read by the author, John R. Erickson. Hank is a pompous ranch dog in Texas who thinks he is a highly intelligent blue blood with supreme authority over all things. In reality, he is a scruffy ranch mutt of average intelligence who manages to get himself into more than average trouble, especially with the ranch wife, Sally May! Erickson has unique voices for all of his wonderfully quirky characters and even sings two original songs on each audiobook! While these aren't technically middle grade, I would highly recommend these audiobooks for any age! My family is about to make another one of those long road trips and I have already begun stockpiling Hanks to take with us. Check out Hank’s latest adventure, "The Almost Last Roundup," which will be released later this month!

hankthecowdog.com

Currently, I am listening to the How to Train Your Dragon Series by Cressida Cowell. I’m sure many of you are familiar with the How to Train Your Dragon movies from Dreamworks.

https://www.howtotrainyourdragon.com

Unsurprisingly, the books are vastly different! I read the first book and was a little disappointed because of the lack of certain characters from the movie and the contradictions between the two storylines. I decided to listen to the second book in the series, “How to Be a Pirate,” when I found out (get REALLY excited Doctor Who fans!) the amazing David Tennant was the narrator for the audiobooks!

Sadly, these books can be excessively crude and crass at times. Nonetheless, Cowell has a singular gift for naming. Her characters, creatures, and places have some of the most creative and memorable names I have ever heard! Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III is the heir to the Viking Hairy Hooligan tribe. However, Hiccup is unutterably ordinary and always manages to get himself, his best friend Fishlegs, and his mischievous dragon Toothless into dire and life-threatening situations. At this point, Hiccup just wants to experience at least one adventureless day and somehow make his dad proud. The engaging storyline and tantalizing mix of history and fantasy make for quite an enjoyable experience! Actually, let’s be honest, it’s probably just David Tennant’s Scottish accent. ;)                    I am currently working on Book 6: A Hero’s Guide to Deadly Dragon’s. Be watching for Book 12 this September!

Now we would love to hear from you! Do you ever listen to audiobooks? What are some of your favorite middle grade audiobooks? Until next time!

~Alyssa

What Do Tweens Like?

Tween Question Tuesday 

Yesterday, I had a patron looking for some materials for their grandchild.  They compared their grandchild to an unknown alien species and asked me what are kids into. 

Once I got this picture out of my head, I took a deep breath and  gave them a great big pile of materials. I made a point to give the grandparents materials on this age group, and I followed up by providing them a variety of books I thought their grand kid might want. 

I hate to admit how many times I get this question. To help with this, I wanted to do a blog post on what tweens at my library are interested in. 

First, what are tweens? 

Tweens are a tricky thing. I see tweens as ages 8-12. Why? Sadly, its puberty hitting kids younger and younger. A child who hits puberty at age eight, is not going to be interested in the typical school age things anymore. They are turning into their own person & they want to explore those things. They want to read book about kids going through it too. I think this is partly why Diary of a Wimpy Kid is so popular with school age kids.  I think,we, as parents and educators have a difficult time with this because puberty hit later in our generations. Due to this, tweens are in essence "alien" to us. 

Here are some things that are popular with my tweens right now: 

This series is huge right now. I feel like every time a tween walks into the door, they ask for this book. 

I am doing a STEM program on this series this summer. 

I have my program plans all ready for it. Be on the lookout for that post. 

(Or leave a comment if you are interested in see this). 

There are also the typical middle school books we are all used to passing out: 

Modern Classics

Other outlets

Video Games 

My tween boys love them! Not only are they interested in Minecraft, my tweens enjoy classics like Mario & Pokemon. 

Youtube the Vine 

When I was younger, Youtube was just starting to take off. Today, it is the place where kids go for entertainment. The Vine is very popular for kids. Tweens will be able to name all of the Youtube starlets & singers. As an educator, be aware of this resource. 

Self publishing 

A new trend I am seeing, is my older tweens writing stories and publishing them online. 

Comics

I have been getting a great deal of requests for Bone comics lately. They also enjoy more appropriate comics such as Garfield, the Peanuts, and Pokemon. 

Quizzes 

Tweens really like quizzes as a form of self discovery. They can sit for hours & take quiz after quiz. They are really passionate about this. 

With this curiosity, they are also surprisingly superstitious. Kids might start to look up their horoscopes at this age too. 

 Try to offer some quizzes for your next program. I am sure it will be a success.

Beauty 

When little girls are little, they want to dress up like mom. When tweens reach puberty, they want to come up with their own take on beauty. This results in  an interest in makeup, clothes, exercise, and beauty. 

These are just  a few things. 

What do all of these things have in common? 

SELF DISCOVERY & CHANGE! 

Tweens are looking to discover themselves. They want to discover their talents, find real friends, explore new things, and mold themselves into the person they want to be. More importantly, they want to know that someone is listening to them & they want to be treated like a real person not a "baby." Since kids hit puberty at different times, this can be difficult. I try to support them as much as possible. Having special programming for these kids are essential. 

BUT! 

This is just my take on my tweens. What are your tweens interested in where you live? Is your library doing something special for them? 

I Hunt Killers by Barry Lyga

Young Adult Monday! 

I am participating in the Hub Challenge. 
This is the first book that I decided to read from the challenge. 

Pages - 384

Age Range- 14 and up 

Release Date- April 3rd 2012 

The Story 

Jasper Dent's father is the world's most notorious serial killer. As his father hunted for his next kill, he took Jasper with him & trained in ways to kill.  After 120+ kills, his father is finally caught and taken to jail. Four years later, Jasper is trying to live a normal life & shake off his father's disturbing lessons, but something happens in his home town of Lobo's Nod that doesn't allow that to happen. Dead bodies start to show up. Jasper's dad is in jail, could the sleepy town of Lodo's Nod have another serial killer on their hands? To help prove that Jasper is not like his father, he is determined to help to solve the case. Jasper teams up with the police to find the killer, but this case might have more connections to Jasper then he knows. 

My Review 

When this book came out, I was in my Jr. year of college. With school work piling up, I had no time to read it. I am happy to report that I finally got to it! As dark and disturbing as this book was, I could not tear myself away from it. It was the first book I have read in a long time that I stayed up late telling myself "...just one more chapter!" Jasper is a unique character. The mystery of the book itself was compelling. At one point, I suspected everyone as the killer. It was the perfect psychological thriller, but at times I wonder if this might have been a better adult book? Since it is dealing with serial killers, the book contains a lot of violence, sex, and gore. Even though it was wonderful book, I would only recommend it to my mature young adults.  

I have to give this book 4 stars! 

If you aren't already participating YALSA'S The Hub Book Challenge, you should! Here is the information on the challenge: 

The Hub Book Challenge 2015

Also here are the list of books to read for the challenge: 

Book List

You have to read 25 of the books on the list before June 21st. 

This list contains a lot of wonderful need to know YA lit & you get rewarded for reading them! YALSA is just that awesome. I would love it if you joined me in this challenge! 

All Four Stars by Tara Dairman

Tweens Read Thursdays

Pages- 288 

Age Range- Ages 8-12 

Release Date- July 10, 2014

The Story 

"It is hard to keep the flame of your passion alive, when you're not allowed to light a burner at home." 

Eleven-year-old Gladys Gatsby has a passion for cooking. When her parents are at work, Gladys secretly cooks in her kitchen. One day she decides to try and make Creme Brulee. Armed with her father's blow torch, she accidentally sets her parents kitchen curtains on fire. Luckily, her parents walk in just in time to put out the fire and to give Gladys a punishment. She is no longer allowed to cook. 
While in her culinary exile,  Gladys focuses on another secret passion - food reviews. When her class enters in a writing contest for the world famous New York Standard newspaper, Gladys enters a letter explaining her love for writing food reviews. She is sure to win, but the publisher mistakes her entry as a cover letter and hires her as a restaurant critic. It is Gladys dream job! Now Gladys must try to cover her first New York Standard assignment without getting caught. 

My Review

This was a delicious read for even the "pickiest eater." It has a strong theme of following your passion despite setbacks. I really liked how many obstacles Gladys had to face to write the review. I also enjoyed that it had many feelings that I think my tweens could relate to. For instance at the beginning of the story, Gladys does not have any friends and she feels like an outsider. When she starts to share her passion, she is able to find friends who share the same interests. It is the classic finding yourself book, but this gave Gladys Gatsby a wonderful character development with sweet humor that I think middle grade readers will flock to. I can't wait to recommend it to my food loving tweens. I know they will enjoy it as much as I did. 




Also, look for the sequel that comes out May 5, 2015!

Library Yoda (Throwback Tuesday)

This is a post I posted back in 2013 at my other blog. I was reading back through my posts, but this one interview I did for school really redirected my library career. I had to do a school assignment for my undergraduate library degree. The assignment was to interview a school librarian. This was shortly after I was hired as a youth service assistant at my library. 

 I will never forget how much I learned from this individual. Without further adieu here is my really goofy 2013 self. I hope you find this advice as valuable as I did. 


September 2013 

Today, I got the privilege of interviewing a well respected school librarian. I did not think much of it. It was a school assignment, and I just kept thinking - its early. Of course I had a pumpkin flavored coffee in tow (amazing btw), but point is I was reluctant to do this.

 Then she started talking and I am all... awwwww!

It was one of those moments where you wish this amazingly talented person could beam you their power. She did, but it was less Yoda-e.  First off, I am an almost librarian and I cannot not quote a book. Ready? How about now? *Cue scroll* 

There is a point to this. I promise. So a little background! I work at a public library, and I did not think I could learn anything from a school librarian. Of course I was wrong. Lesson 1 of day: You learn the most valuable things from most unexpected people.  She starts talking, and I find out she is one of the heads of the library, and she was a president for a well respected library organization (our state library organization). Lesson 2 : The most successful people are modest people. These people are not going to rub in your face their success. The people who parade their success around are not someone you want to learn from.

                     Instead of wanting to talk about herself, this lady wanted to know about me. 

I probably looked something like this. I am at a cross roads in my life & it meant a lot she wanted to know about me. Not too many strangers want to know about where you came from, your job, boyfriend, and cat stories.

 She listened to me go on, and on, and on. Finally, after my long slightly psychotic ramble ... she stops me. She started to give me advice & she really lifted me up. 

1. She commended me on having my job. For those of you out there, good job! She talked about how important finding something you love, and doing it is. You are going to do something better if you love it. I have found it... finally! Cheeeckkk 

2. Next, she went in to how important collaboration is. No matter what field you are working in: join professional organizations, get involved, talk to other professionals! In addition, stay connected to the community. 

3. Know your users. No matter what you do, this is important. For example, if you were a teacher, you have to know your students. You have to know how they learn to best to teach them. You also need to have that relationship with them. Know their favorite t.v. shows or books. Knowing who are working with is often not given the importance it should. 

4. Go where you feel led to go. I was feeling torn about some things in my life, and she broke it down. If you want to go international. Go. Down south? Do it. Wanna stay here? We have a place for you. Never feel like you have to go some where for a job or what ever reason. Things will work out how they should 

5.  She went on to give me some leadership advice. Do not get angry. In fact, laugh it off. Negate the conversation in a group. The group will work problems out on their own. All you need to do is to listen and direct the conversation. In regards to complaints, listen. It is a habit to get mad and fight back. If you are at work and someone starts yelling, stop and listen. Generally, all they want is someone to listen to them. You generally do not have to do anything else. 

6. Finally, just do it! Now is the time to go after whatever your heart desires. If you want to be a writer, start writing. It can be scary, but do not live in the comfort of your life. With fear, there is growth. 

......& that concludes throwback Tuesday! 

The Illogical Valentine's Day Party

It is programming Saturday! 

Last week my tween partner in crime Miss A and I partnered to give our tweens something to do on Valentines day. 

What better way to do that then an Alice and Wonderland tea party? 

Like our last program, this program was low prep. 

Our main selling point for the tweens? Food 

We got Walmart sugar cookies on sale (about $2 for a dozen). For the actual tea party we just used  English Breakfast Tea that we found at Walmart as well. The total cost of this program was about $8. I don't know about you, but when you can find a program that is cost efficient that makes your tweens happy, it is a win! 

After we got the tea and cookies set up, Miss A. and I set out a few deck of cards on one table and some crafts on the other. We did not have too many crafts for this program. We thought that the tweens would mainly want  to talk and eat (they did). 

The crafts we did have were : 

Magazine Strip Disney

We used the directions in the link above, but we modified it be Disney silhouettes. The kids used computer paper to put the strips of magazines on, and then we placed another computer sheet with the Disney silhouette over it. We finished it by placing a piece of contact paper over it.  I wish I had pictures for you, but I always get carried away talking with the kids that I forget. 

Alice and Wonderland Coloring sheets 

Coloring sheets tend to be really popular. I try to provide at least one for each of my programs. My tweens like to talk and do something simple. Having a simple coloring sheet out is a great outlet to give them something to do. 

Newspaper Hats  - Here is a cute tutorial of the hat

Granted, no one did the crafts....but they were there just in case!  We only had two younger tweens who wanted to color. The rest of the time, we played cards! 

I was amazed at how much the tweens loved sitting around eating and playing card games. They taught me a few new games that I never heard of, but it was a lot of fun. It just goes to show that sometimes the simplest things mean the most. 

Reflection 

I was really happy with the outcome of this program. I really enjoyed spending time with my tweens just playing games and talking. I had a blast. The only thing I wish I did was had less crafts. Sometimes, I tend to over prepare. I feel like you just never know what tweens will want, but I am glad I did have a few out just in case. This program made me realize that I need to have more games in my programs. I tend to just focus on crafts. Maybe I will do a game day next. 

What are you doing at your library?