Book Bag: Friendswood Youth Services Blog

I know we're all just getting geared up for the holiday season, but I've also been planning the 2013 Spring Schedule. Here's a little peek at some examples of what we'll be doing! As you can see, we've got a lot of fun things coming up in 2013, so come join us on Fridays from 4:30-5:30! And don't forget that we play video games every Tuesday from 4:30-5:30!

Just got a stack of new books that look particularly good. Thought I'd tease you with their first lines. Would you check out these books just from reading their first sentence? "On the day she was to die, Liyana walked out of her family's tent to see the dawn."                                    Vessel by Sarah Beth Durst "The rain poured down on London so hard it seemed that it was dancing spray, every raindrop contending with its fellows for supremacy in the air and waiting to splash down."                                    Dodger by Terry Pratchett "The two girls on the beach in their flowing gowns could have been mistake for water nymphs, if water nymphs wore gold-edged togas."                     ...

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...