The Day the Crayons Quit Event at Barnes and Noble

My girls and I had the opportunity to go to The Day the Crayons Quit culminating event at our local Barnes and Noble bookstore. 

For several weeks now, they've had these sheets out for kids to use crayons and draw/write a petition to the crayons, pleading with them to not quit!

I thought it was a very cute event celebrating a well-loved picture book by Drew Daywalt and illustrated by Oliver Jeffers. It was great to see so many kids come out to participate, eagerly awaiting the final decision from the crayons.

The kids were given a balloon and then we paraded around the store chanting, "Crayons, don't quit! Crayons, don't quit!" Even if the adults were the louder ones, it was still fun for the kids to go all around the store in their little balloon parade.

Then, they opened the mysterious package they received from the crayons which had copies of a letter written to the kids. 

The crayons decided NOT to quit! Yay! 

I know I'm biased, but aren't my kids the cutest crayons ever?! 

It was a great event and I look forward to attending more with my girls in the future. They were a little young to fully comprehend this one, but it was fun to participate in. Thanks, Barnes and Noble! 

#thebookishmama

Children's Book Week :: 2014

Happy Children's Book Week!

I just love that there's a week dedicated to celebrating children's books and the joy of reading in young people. 

Check out more information at http://www.bookweekonline.com.

Banned Books Week 2012

It's Banned Books Week again and I am definitely celebrating the right to read.

From the ALA website:
For the second year in a row, the American Library Association along with the cosponsors of Banned Books Week is hosting the Banned Books Virtual Read-Out. Check out the special Banned Books Virtual Read-Out channel on YouTube to view the videos.

Get informed here! 

Banned Book Week :: Sept. 24 - Oct. 1, 2011

We are in the middle of Banned Books Week and I just wanted to put up a short post in celebration of our freedom to read. I feel very blessed to live in a country where I am free to choose what I want to read without limitations or restrictions.

To learn more about Banned Books Week, you can check out the ALA (American Library Association) website here. Even though I am pretty conservative (especially as I get older), I do respect the right of people being able to choose what they want to read. I don't think anyone or any entity should be able to tell you what you can or cannot read. Reading is such a personal experience that it is hard to me to imagine it any other way. Personally, I am generally not a huge fan of books with tons of profanity or violence, but at least that is a choice that I can make for myself.

However, as a parent, I do think that it is your responsibility to know what your children are reading in order to make informed decisions about what you allow your children to read. I think that decision should be up to the parents. The same goes for what kind of TV shows and movies you allow your children to watch or games they play. As my daughter becomes a young adult, I hope to have conversations about the books that I might not want her to read because the mature issues in the book and I hope that it will be an open dialogue - not just me imposing my will upon her. I strongly believe the decision of what to read, watch or play is a decision for a family to make.

You can also find a list of the frequently challenged books via ALA here.

In celebration of Banned Books Week, Jen of "I Read Banned Books" and Inspired Kathy of "I am a Reader, Not a Writer" are hosting a giveaway hop. You can click on any of the following sites below to enter book-related giveaways. Enjoy!

Feel free to leave your opinion about banned books in the comments. I'd love to hear what you think!

Book-to-Movie :: Judy Moody and the Not Bummer Summer

"Judy Moody was in a mood. Not a good mood. A bad mood. A mad-faced mood."

Today, Friday June 10th, is the release date of the movie, Judy Moody and the Not Bummer Summer. From the trailer, it looks like a fun, summer, kid-movie. From just the previews, it seems like a lot of fun and very much like the Judy Moody in the books.

Over the years, I've had several students really get into the Judy Moody series. I think it's a little bit more popular with younger kids because it's a pretty easy read for my 5th graders. It's more of a 3rd/4th grade read.

The thing I love the most about the Judy Moody series are the beautiful pictures. I love the illustrations and they seem to really capture the essence of Judy Moody and all her moods so well. They're fun to look at and I love looking at all the little details on each page. They also just re-released the books with brand new covers.

About a month ago, I had the pleasure of meeting Megan McDonald at the LA Times Festival of Books. She was promoting her upcoming movie, Judy Moody and the Not Bummer Summer. My students over the years LOVE reading Judy Moody and I was so excited to see her speak and get her autograph.

Megan McDonald speaking at the Target Children's Stage.


Megan McDonald interviewing the stars of the movie, Jordana Beatty as Judy Moody and Parris Mosteller as Judy Moody's brother, Stink (who also has his own book series).


Autographing books.

It was such a pleasure to meet Megan McDonald and to congratulate her on her upcoming movie.

You can find out more about the movie on it's official movie page, facebook page and/or follow it on twitter @judymoody_movie

Throwback Thursday :: 4 :: RL Stine & Goosebumps

This week's Throwback Thursday is in honor of R.L. Stine and his series, Goosebumps.

When I was a kid, I was very easily afraid and scared of things. Maybe my parents sheltered me too much, but it didn't take much to scare me. I used to sleep under the covers because my friends told me about night-stalkers (people that watch you when you sleep). Why I believed them, I still don't know, but that was my version of the "monster in the closet" when I was a kid.

That being said, I actually enjoyed the Goosebumps series when I was younger believe it or not. Even though I was such a scaredy-cat, the books were just scary enough to satisfy my curiosity, but not so scary that it would cause nightmares.

My 5th grade students every year without fail DEVOUR my Goosebumps books in my classroom library. Girls AND boys, once one kid starts reading one, the rest of them follow in suit and literally devour them. So much so that now I have two tubs full of Goosebumps books and have had to replace several books because the covers were falling apart because of the wear and tear of being used so many times.

Now that there is a NEW series, Goosebumps Horrorland, there is a whole new generation of kids that are enjoying reading because they love these scary stories. I have yet to read one on my own, but my students have raved about the new series. According to my students, the back part of the book is an ongoing story that continues in the next book. I think some of them were confused about it, but I think that's because they weren't reading the series in order.

At the LA Times Festival of Books about a month ago, I had the awesome opportunity to listen to R.L. Stine speak and get his autograph. I brought it back to my students and they were SO stoked to see his signature. I think it definitely upped my "cool
teacher factor" for a little while. :)

He shared one of his favorite poems, "Haunted" by Shel Silverstein, when he spoke at the Target Children's Stage. I loved that he shared with the kids that he reads and enjoys other authors. Authors and writers are real people too!

There was a REALLY long line to get his autograph. All ages of people - old and young were there with copies of his books. Some were old and tattered like the ones in my classroom and others were holding the new Horrorland books. What a honor to have such a wide range of fans!

By the time we got to the line, we were all the way around the corner and didn't think we'd get to the front in time. We waited anyway and I am so glad that we did because we did get to meet him and get an autograph. It was quick and there were no pictures allowed, but that didn't stop my Mom from snapping a few from the line. :)

It was an exciting day for all of us. Thank you R.L. Stine for creating generations and generations of readers with your books.

You can follow R.L. Stine on twitter at @RL_Stine.

Children's Book Week 2011

This week is Children's Book Week. Since 1919, Children's Book Week has been celebrated countrywide with author and illustrator appearances, parties, storytelling, and other book-related events in schools, libraries, bookstores, clubs -- anywhere where kids and books connect. What a great celebration!



They just released their Children's Choice Book Award winners. They had a record breaking 500,00 votes this year. What a great way to get children excited about books! I came across this event too late, but hopefully next year I can get my students to vote for their favorite book, author and illustrator.

The 2011 Children Choice Book Award Winners are:

Author of the Year:
Rick Riordan for The Lost Hero



Illustrator of the Year:
David Wiesner for Art & Max



Kindergarten to Second Grade Book of the Year:
Little Pink Pup by Johanna Kerby



Third Grade to Fourth Grade Book of the Year:
Lunch Lady and the Summer Camp Shakedown by Jarrett J. Krosoczka



Fifth Grade to Sixth Grade Book of the Year:
The Red Pyramid (The Kane Chronicles, Book 1) by Rick Riordan


Teen Choice Book of the Year:
Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan

Congratulations to all the winners! I am looking forward to sharing the bookmarks with my students and holding our own Book Awards of the Year in our classroom. I'm going to have them vote on their favorite author, illustrator, fiction book, and non-fiction book. I am curious to see what they come up with. I'll post the results next week after they finish voting.

In My Mailbox :: 1 :: BBP Giveaways 2011

A few weeks ago, I attended the Book Bloggers and Publishers Online Conference. It was very informative and I enjoyed learning about the ins and outs of book blogging. One of the perks of this conference was the free book giveaways from the various publishers sponsoring the conference.

Above is a photo of the books I requested and received from the giveaways. I love getting books in the mail! It includes:

• Un Amico Italiano: Eat, Pray, Love in Rome by Luca Spaghetti
• Eternal on the Water by Joseph Monninger
• The White Woman on the Green Bicycle by Monique Roffey
• Winter Bloom by Tara Heavey
• A Dog Named Slugger by Leigh Brill

The one I am looking forward to reading the most is Un Amico Italiano: Eat, Pray, Love in Rome by Luca Spaghetti. First of all, I have to say that I was one of the few people it seems that did not enjoy the book Eat, Pray, Love. In fact, the only part of Eat, Pray, Love that I did enjoy was the "Eat" part that took place in Italy. All the different foods she ate seemed delicious. I enjoyed his "character" in the book. In fact, I liked him much more than Elizabeth Gilbert, which is why I am hoping to enjoy hearing the story from his perspective in this book.


Here is a synopsis from Goodreads:

When Luca Spaghetti (yes, that's really his name) was asked to show a writer named Elizabeth Gilbert around Rome, he had no idea how his life was about to change. She embraced his Roman ebullience, and Luca in turn became her guardian angel, determined that his city would help Liz out of her funk.

Filled with colorful anecdotes about food, language, soccer, daily life in Rome, and Luca's own fish-out-of-water moments as a visitor to the United States-and culminating with the episodes in Liz's bestselling memoir, told from Luca's side of the table-Un Amico Italiano is a book that no fan of Eat, Pray, Love will want to miss.

Thanks BBP!