Book Bag: Friendswood Youth Services Blog

A few months ago I decided (with the help of several teens) that I wanted to make my own booktube channel of youtube and now it's a reality! If you don't hang out in the bookish community on youtube I'll explain, booktube is basically what it sounds like. Youtube channels dedicated to people reviewing and talking about books. Lots of them focus on new YA books but really people read across all genres. That's what I want to do. I'm a Youth Services librarian, so I read and love a lot of YA books, but I also read didn't genres/age groups etc. and I'm going to talk about all of them on my channel. BUT I won't just be talking about books by myself, some episodes will feature guests stars! First though, I recapped my favorite books from 2014 in two episodes (I talk so much we had to cut it in half). Watch them! Do all those nice things you can do to a youtube video: Like, Comment, Share, Subscribe! Stay posted for more! DFTBA, Sti

Check out this video about Zinio, a free service we offer that allows you to check out magazines for free! https://animoto.com/play/rNdpicBV9vkwoQlYP97ZFQ

So. The inimitable Maggie Stiefvater created a deck of tarot cards based on her Raven Cyle series and she's holding a contest to give away 10 decks of them. Keith decided he couldn't do anything worthy but he thought I could.  Since I'd just completed a project using acorns, I thought: "Hey, I could make The Acorn Boys!" And Keith's response was: "You were put on this earth to make Acorn Boys."  And so, I present to you, The Acorn Boys based on The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater.  First we have our heroine Blue Sargent, daughter of psychics but no psychic herself. She reminds her mom of the Page of Cups and gets called Blue Lily by a crazy lady (I chose a Calla lily because I like them better than the other kind, plus I love Calla). She is known for her DIY style and short, dark hair. I made up the rest of her face because there isn't a ton of description about it, but we know she's tiny because she didn't eat her vegetables.  ...

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...

So the time has come, get ready for some book recommendations. Mostly spooky, scary stuff for your Halloween nights! Let's get started! So, this weekend I finished Midwinter Blood by Marcus Sedgwick. Here's the official description we have in our catalog: "Seven linked vignettes unfold on a Scandinavian island inhabited--throughout various time periods--by Vikings, vampires, ghosts, and a curiously powerful plant" I don't really think it does it justice, but it gives you the general gist. Seven different stories that travel back in time and slowly unravel the story. There's a lot of recurring imagery that can be kind of creepy. But not too creepy? It's hard to describe properly. Each story is completely different but connected by a common chord and it was fun to try and puzzle out what the connections were going to be in each one. Plus, look how awesome the covers are: Also, we met the author last year at Teen Book Con and he was great. DF...

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.