Book Bag: Friendswood Youth Services Blog

I'll be the first to admit I love Halloween. But not the terrifying Halloween. I love zombies and vampires, but I like my zombie and vampire movies/books to have a little bit of humor to them. And especially a dash of hope. A light at the end of the tunnel, if you will. And the more snark and sarcasm, the better. Which is precisely why I love the Skulduggery Pleasant series. But wait, before I get you excited about the series,I want to warn you that only the first three books are available in the States...I'm trying to get the rest for the library, but it's not been easy. Still, if you think you'd be interested in ordering them for yourself once you get invested in the series, continue reading! Stephanie's uncle is a famous author of horror novels. When he is found dead, she is named his heir and meets a friend of his, Skulduggery Pleasant a skeletal mage. Literally. The guy's a skeleton. Look at the cover right there! So yeah, then there's evil...

For my second All Hallows Read suggestion I've chosen a book that just slightly creepy. It's creepy in a, if I think about it too much I get the willies kind of way. But it's also sweet and full of adventure and about growing up and friendship. So, you know, lots of great topics there. "Doll Bones" by Holly Black was a Newbery Honor Book this year, and I personally think it should have won the medal but I digress. It tells the story of Zach, Poppy, and Alice, three friends who have created an imaginary world full of adventure that happens to use dolls and action figures as characters. But Zach and the girls are in middle school now, and people expect them to stop playing make believe with dolls. When Zach is forced to quit the game Poppy reveals that the Queen, a creepy antique doll owned by Poppy's mom, is actually filled with the ashes of a dead girl named Eleanor. Eleanor has been speaking to Poppy and they must find her grave or she will make all o...

It's almost that time of year again! That's right. October 1st is right around the corner and that means I'll be busting out my box of Halloween earrings (FINALLY) and gearing up for all things Halloween! It also means preparing all my Halloween costumes (3 this year!). But most importantly, All Hallows Read is coming too! So stay tuned in October for some scary book suggestions from me, other librarians, and other teens! p.s. If that picture doesn't explain the concept of All Hallows Read clearly enough, here's one of my favorite writers/human beings, and the creator of the holiday, Neil Gaiman to explain it further.

It's that time of year again. When the weather turns (just a little bit) cooler and night comes early. When things begin going bump in the dark and you see mysterious shapes out of the corner of your eye! That's right, it's All Hallows Read!  I know it's been a year, so here's a refresher, All Hallows Read is the holiday started by my close personal friend Neil Gaiman in order to share books with people! The official day is October 31st so as you can imagine the books we share are usually scary!  You know you can come in any time to get a good book from me, but I'll be pushing really good creepy/scary books until 10/31, so be on the lookout. Below are a few to get you interested. Seventeen-year-old Evie O'Neill is thrilled when she is exiled from small-town Ohio to New York City in 1926, even when a rash of occult-based murders thrusts Evie and her uncle, curator of The Museum of American Folklore, Superstition, and the Occult, into the thic...

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!! It's finally here! I am dressed as Ms. Frizzle today and Keith is dressed as Waldo (and yes, a TON of people have already 'found' him. :D). Hope you get to see us! The rest of the library staff are also dressed as popular children's book characters. We have Amelia Bedelia, Alice in Wonderland, Wilbur from Charlotte's Web, Hermione Granger, Ladybug Girl, and Jim from Treasure Island. I hope you chose a good book as your choice for All Hallows Read! I gave Fahrenheit 451 (a book about a future where no books are allowed- pretty scary if you ask me!) to someone who doesn't particularly like scary books. So you know there's a 'scary' book out there for everyone! DFTBA, Sti

Remember, All Hallows Read is on Wednesday! So share a scary book or story with someone! If you're on a budget, you can download a scary story written and read by Neil Gaiman at http://www.audible.com/ScareUs for free! And for every download, Audible.com donates $1 to DonorsChoose.org Pretty cool! "Click-Clack the Rattlebag" is your Halloween treat from Neil Gaiman and Audible, FREE through October 31. It's not available anywhere else, and for a limited time, each download from Audible benefits educational charities at DonorsChoose.org. A few words from Neil: "Why tell ghost stories? Why read them or listen to them? Why take such pleasure in tales that have no purpose but, comfortably, to scare? "I don't know. Not really. It goes way back. We have ghost stories from ancient Egypt, after all, ghost stories in the Bible, classical ghost stories from Rome (along with werewolves, cases of demonic possession, and of course, over and over...

A few more book suggestions to round out Teen Read Week! Looking for some creepy tales with sarcastic main characters? They're my favorite kinds too! I like a few scares, but if someone is making funny quips, I like it all the more!  Skulduggery Pleasant  When twelve-year-old Stephanie inherits her weird uncle's estate, she must join forces with Skulduggery Pleasant , an undead sorcerer and detective, to save the world from the Faceless Ones. Not only is Skulduggery hilariously sarcastic, Stephanie is also amazingly snarky- which helped me not to get too freaked out. This book is nonstop danger and adventure and I can't wait to read the rest of the series (there are 7 books so far)! Hold Me Closer, Necromancer Sam LaCroix, a Seattle fast-food worker and college dropout, discovers that he is a necromancer, part of a world of harbingers, werewolves, satyrs, and one particular necromancer who sees Sam as a threat to his lucrative business of raising th...

I know I said I would be updating you on some creepy books for Halloween and Teen Read Week, and I'm ready to start! Our first suggestion is a new series called Tales From Lovecraft Middle School by Charles Gilman and it's called Professor Gargoyle 11-year-old Robert Arthur must vanquish Professor Gargoyle and learn the creepy origin story of the brand new Lovecraft Middle School Think of it as The Bailey School Kids series, only older and creepier! Our second suggestion is one of my favorite graphic novels of the past few years, Ghostopolis by Doug TenNapel. Now I love most of TenNapel's graphic novels (I also suggest Cardboard , and Bad Island ), but Ghostopolis is definitely my favorite! Imagine Garth Hale's surprise when he's accidentally zapped to the spirit world by Frank Gallows, a washed-out ghost wrangler. Suddenly Garth finds he has powers the ghosts don't have, and he's stuck in a world run by the evil ruler of Ghostop...

Give a scary book to a friend for All Hallows Read!  Why? Let Neil Gaiman explain! So. What are your favorite scary books? I'm not usually a fan of horror, but I'll be sharing some of my favorites through out the month.  DFTBA, Sti

Halloween isn't just about trick or treating and dressing up in awesome costumes. It's also about sharing chills and thrills with your loved ones through books! All Hallow's Read is a tradition started by Neil Gaiman * when he decided that there weren't enough holiday traditions that involved giving books. It's a way to share scary things (which most of us love) with others. Here's a quick video where he explains the concept some more (also, there are zombies in the background) http://www.allhallowsread.com/ As a librarian I will share with you my list of scary books you should check out: Stranger With My Face by Lois Duncan (or really anything by Lois Duncan) Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury The Halloween Tree by Ray Bradbury The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson Pretty Monsters by Kelly Link What are your favorite scary books? Leave your suggestions in the comments! DFTBA, Sti * On...