Meet The Collection Monday: Young Adult Fiction

Welcome to another Meet the Collection Monday! I'm delighted to introduce you to my favorite collection. Our collections are like our kids, and I know they say you're not supposed to have favorites, but...you know. (Kidding).

The Young Adult Fiction collection is located on the second floor of the library with other Young Adult (YA) collections. Items are alphabetized by the authors' last names, with the exception of short story compilations which are shelved under "Y STORIES" and alphabetized by the book titles.

When I select books for YA fiction, I am looking for titles that meet the wide range of needs and interest of teens in grades 6-12. Of course, adults love perusing the collection as well, as I discuss in this post. Some items in the collection have crossover appeal and can also be found in the Juvenile or adult collections. The collection includes classics and books often found on high school reading lists. It also includes Printz Award winners like Going Bovine, a wild, bittersweet, fantastical adventure story in which a teen with Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease and a talking garden gnome head to Florida for Spring Break and to save the universe.

While I make sure to keep a core collection of classics, contemporary classics, and award winners, I enjoy the challenge of trying to keep up with the fast pace of YA publishing and the demand resulting from teens' shifting interests. Chime is a new book with lasting impact. This atmoshperic story of a young woman growing up in haunted swamp is one of the best books of the year, and has great apppeal to today's readers of the supernatural.

And of course, the collection wouldn't be complete without huge hits like Suzanne Collins' magnificent Hunger Games series. These books are so popular that you probably won't find them on the shelf in the YA Room, but if you're lucky you may find a copy (along with other popular YA books) on the Bestseller Shelf on the first floor of the library.

Annual Family Story Time Costume Parade Highlights--October 28th

In case you missed our annual family story time costume parade, here are some wonderful highlights.  Children paraded throughout the library picking up special treasts as they roamed around as a group. 

A fun time was had by all!



Costume parade at the library

Come join us at the Family Story Time this Friday at 10:30 and 11:30 and participate in the Second Annual Costume Parade around the library. We'll even do a little trick-or-treating! Nobody will be turned away. And yes, I'll be dressing up. Here's me as a cat last year. Come see how I'll be dressing up this year!

Meet the Collection Monday: Juvenile Fiction

Welcome to the Juvenile Fiction collection!  I order all of the chapter books that keep 2nd through 5th graders happily reading!

The Juvenile Fiction collection (also referred to as chapter books) is designed to meet the recreational and educational needs of children with a second to fifth grade reading level. The collection includes modern selections in genres such as mystery, fantasy, science fiction, sports, adventure, humor, historical fiction, plus many others.  It includes lots of series books, and novels about contemporary boys and girls (also known as realistic fiction).  Plus it also includes a lot of classics, in various editions, from authors Louisa May Alcott, Charles Dickens, and Mark Twain. Award winners and honor books of awards such as the Newbery Award are included in the collection. Current year Children’s Choice Award Nominees are included in the collection such as the Oregon Reader’s Choice Award and the Beverly Cleary Children’s Choice Award. Current year Oregon Battle of the Books are included in the collection, as well as local school Battle of the Books lists.

The level of the juvenile fiction collection begins a step above early readers in difficulty and length. The books may or may not have illustrations, but the concepts, styles, and treatment of the text are the significant parts. These books cover a wide range of subjects, themes, life situations, and developmental tasks. A variety of characters, settings, and writing styles are represented with difficulty ranging from simple stories for readers who are making the transition from early readers to chapter books to books for sophisticated readers with a large vocabulary, wide literary knowledge, and high reading skills.

So if your upper elementary school student needs to read a fiction book for a school assignment, or just something for fun, please stop by the children's desk as we have a wide variety of books that the librarian can assist your child in locating.  We also have a bunch of suggested reading lists that contain a whole bunch of good books to read too!

We're Going Batty at the Library!

We've got a special display of bats in the children's room.  Well, not real bats, but information on bats that you and your youngster may enjoy.  Come in today to take a peek at the display cube located outside the Puett Room.  Many objects are on loan from one our our on-call library aides. 

PLUS, we still have some spots left for OMSI's Going Batty program on Saturday October 22nd.  Folks from OMSI will be teach us how to identify bats and how they communicate, which will be followed by special crafts.  The program is at 1:30 pm and runs until 3 pm.  CALL 503-718-2653 TO REGISTER.

Peepers

Want to know what a Peeper is? Then come see international award-winning puppeteer Hobey Ford share his show, Animalia, with us on Friday, October 21 from 11 to noon. This is a show not to miss. Hobey is so in demand, that this was the only time we could book him. This event will pre-empt the family story time that day.

Meet the Collection Monday: Juvenile Non-Fiction

The next collection I want to share is Juvenile Non-Fiction. It's shelved right next to the Juvenile Biographies in the back of the Children's Room, right by the story time room and family restroom.

The Juvenile Non-Fiction is catalogued according to the Dewey Decimal System. Each subject has its own unique call number. But don't worry, you don't need to know the call numbers to find what you want; just look it up in the catalog or ask your librarian and we will be happy to take you out to where you need to be.

You name it, we hopefully have it! Kids use this collection heavily for school assignments like state and country reports, animal reports, and science projects. They also use it just to satisfy their own interests. We have huge dinosaur, bug, and animal sections. Fairy tales and folk tales are also a part of non-fiction under 398.2. Just beyond that, we have books all about dragons, vampires, mythological monsters, etc. Kids who want to know about the Bermuda Triangle or Bigfoot will be happy to find the section devoted to the Unexplained. World records are a common request we get, and we have plenty to satisfy a kids' curiosity. Cookbooks, art books, magic, sports, history, big movie books (there is a huge book all about Vader, for the Star Wars lovers), Legos, I could go on and on.

Some of my favorites to recommend are the Eyewitness books. They have great pictures with a lot of accompanying text, and come in pretty much any subject area you can think of.A lot of the books are shared in an informational format like the Eyewitness books, but a lot of them also read like stories, especially in the history section.

Scanimations

Have you checked out these fun books of Scanimation? Kids and adults alike are amazed by the creative ways the author uses optical illusions to make animals, people and objects move and appear three-dimensional. We love these sturdy books that show animals, athletes, Star Wars characters and now, in the newest books, scenes from The Wizard of Oz in motion. You can find them in the picture book section under Seder.

Meet the Collection Mondays: Picture Books & Board Books

Welcome to Meet the Collection Monday.  We're sorry we missed last Monday October 3rd.  We've been so usy her at the library.  Today we will highlight the Picture Book and Board Book collections with blurbs from Molly and Terri.

About the Picture Books from Molly:
This collection lives on the six shelving units that greet you right when you walk into our Children's Room. This large and lovely collection holds over 15,000 books in which the illustrations and text work together to tell a story. It is one of the library's most popular collections, with 98% of titles having been checked out at least once in the past year.


While most picture books are written to be shared with children from birth through six years of age, there are also picture books appropriate for and appealing to children in upper elementary school. If you've already graduated to "chapter books" (Juvenile Fiction) but would like to enjoy an illustrated story every now and then, ask us for some recommendations. Some of the most sophisticated picture books are actually wordless, the story being told completely via the artwork. Picture books can be different heights and widths, but are generally 32 pages in length. At the end of the shelving for the regular Picture Book collection, there is an aisle reserved for Holiday Picture Books. These titles are grouped together by holiday, then by author’s last name. Even though we add new books every year, we can never seem to have enough. For example, as I write this, there is only one Halloween book on the shelf. So stop by and spend some time exploring our colorful, fantastic Picture Book collection, and be sure to check out some holiday books nice and early!

About the Board Books from Terri:
The juvenile board book collection consists of materials to meet the educational and recreational needs of children from birth to three years.  The board book format plays an important function for children who are learning what books are and how to handle them as the develop motor skills and print knowledge.  The sturdy pages are able to stand up to chewing and fingers that are just leaning how to turn pages.

The collection is comprised of multiple copies of individual titles in board book format.  Some books include special features of interest to this age group, such as lift-the-flap, varied textures and shapes, mirrored surfaces and the like.  The board book collection is housed in bins placed on the floor so that they are easily accessible to babies and toddlers.  Because these books are not placed in any particular order and are frequently withdrawn, this is a non-holdable collection. 

The strongest influencing factor in the board book collection is the age group that it is intended for and primarily used by: children from birth through two years and their caregivers.  Children in this age group are most interested in simple stories, repetitive and rhyming text, artwork that is clear, bold and realistic, and books that feature animals, human faces, other babies, and objects and activities familiar to them such as bath time, food and bedtime.

Go Batty with OMSI

Do you know how bats communicate?  Can you identify one?  Explore their intriguing world and learn the truth about one of the most misunderstood beneficial creatures on earth.  (Did you know that many farmer's use bats as a natural and organic insecticide?)

OMSI will be coming on Saturday October 22nd, from 1:30 to 3 p.m. to teach us all about bats.  This event is open for children in grades K to 5 and REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED.  We'll even have a special "batty" craft you can make and take home.  Stop by the children's desk or call 503-718-2656 to sign up!

Never Too Young for a Library Card

Did you know that there is no limit for the age at which a child can get a library card? Nobody is too young. You can get your kids their own library cards with your ID and proof of address. Stop by the welcome desk to fill out an application. Oh, and when your kids get a new library card, they even get their pictures taken to mark the momentous occasion!

It's Book Sale Time!

This coming Friday and Saturday is the annual Friends of the Tigard Public Libray Used Booksale.  Hardbacks are $2, Paperbacks 50 cents to $1, kids books 20 to 50 cents, CD's $2 and DVD's are $3.  You'll find these great bargains in the Community Room.  Proceeds help fund special library programs.  And be sure to check out a book at the circulation desk inside the library to receive a 50 cent off coupon for the sale!

SALE DATES & TIMES:
Friday October 7, 9:00 am to 5:00 pm
Saturday October 8, 9:00 am to 3:00 pm