After years of having it on my to read list, I finally got around to reading The Book Thief. Luckily, it was an assigned reading for one of my classes, so I managed to kill two birds with one stone, and let me tell you – what a beautiful bird it turned out to be. But if the book was a peacock, then the movie version must have been a pigeon.

Using Death as the story's narrator, The Book Thief follows the life of Liesel Meminger, a young German girl who is sent to live with foster parents after her Communist mother flees the country during Hitler's rise to power. After some initial resistance she manages to find love for her new family, especially her accordion-playing papa, Hans Hubermann, who gives her the magical gift of literacy. 

One fateful night, a young stranger appears on the doorsteps and is quickly ushered inside before collapsing. The stranger turns out to be Max Vandenburg, a Jewish man with a unique connection to the Hubermanns, and they proceed to hide him in their basement. And that's when the story really begins.

After finishing the book with tears in my eyes, I decided to rent The Book Thief movie from my local library to compare the two mediums. Now, I must preface this by saying I always find the book better than the movie, but I don't think I've ever been so let down by a book-to-film adaptation in my life.

Sure, the movie trailer (above) looks really great and powerful – I agree! But it comes nowhere near the emotion and message conveyed by the book. There are some major discrepancies between the two versions – perhaps most significantly is the film's lack of character development.

In the book we see much more of Max's past, and his present. He talks about his dreams of boxing Hitler, develops an exercise regimen to occupy his time in the Hubermann's basment, and, after discovering Liesel's love for the written word, creates two books of his own to give her. It is in these homemade and personal stories that we really see Max's personality and depth as a character. In the movie? None of these things happen. Instead of the homemade books, Max gives Liesel a blank journal. He's almost always unconscious, making him a flat, one-dimensional character: the physically weak Jew wasting away in some cold basement, who only occasionally offers a word or two of encouragement to Liesel.

Similarly, the book version of Hans is forced to join the war effort as punishment after giving a piece of bread to a starving Jew being marched through the small town. This act of good-heartedness and humanity is unparalleled in the movie. Instead, Hans is sent into the war only after proclaiming "But he's a good man!" as a Jewish neighbor is being taken away by some Nazi officials. It's a very small detail, but Hans giving away a stale piece of bread, when he himself doesn't have much to eat, adds more to the story than his public outcry in the movie ever could.

Another major difference between the two mediums is that, in the book, Liesel's best friend Rudy learns that the Hubermanns were hiding a Jew only after Max leaves the basement (for reasons I will not tell you here). However, in the movie, Liesel actually goes as far as to tell Rudy about hiding Max.

These are just a few of the differences between the book and movie versions of The Book Thief. And while it may seem like I thought the movie was complete rubbish, that is really only in comparison to the original text. I would recommend both versions of The Book Thief to anyone who has an interest in WWII, the power of literacy and the goodness of mankind. However, I feel like it is my duty to warn you that, like me, you probably won't find the film nearly as moving if you've already read the book. And if you haven't read the book yet, you should probably try and find the time to do so. The 500+ pages are worth every second, and then some.

I've gotten this question a lot lately, and it's one that I don't mind repeating myself in answering. But just to be sure you get the point:

Way back in the in the 1940s people had this radical idea that there was a certain age demographic who weren't really considered children, but they were not yet adults. They had their own interests, hobbies and trends, and they also had a lot of purchasing power. Thus, was the birth of the teenager, and shortly after that came the genre of Young Adult literature.

Even if you've never heard the term before , I'm sure you are familiar with the titles of lots of YA books.

The truth is, YA is more popular now that ever before, a moneymaking fact Hollywood has been pretty quick to pick up on. Following the profitable film adaptations of the Harry Potter series, books like Twilight, The Hunger Games, Divergent, The Maze Runner and The Fault in Our Stars hit the big screen, and they all raked in some serious dough. But how? It's not like all the teenagers everywhere are dumping all their allowance or babysitting money into movie theaters ... right? Right. 

YA books and (and movies) have been so successful because they're not just for young adults! They're also for old adults, and just regular adults too!

One of the reasons YA books speak to such a wide audience is because they oftentimes relate to self-identity and discovery, or offer serious commentary about issues like equality, depression, suicide, addiction, the loss of a loved one, etc. These are issues the majority of people generally first come to contact with during their teen years, but they stay relevant the entire rest of their lives. 

The complex plot lines and multifaceted characters of YA don't just make for a fun, leisurely read or escape – YA can also provide a sort of affirmation about what a reader may be feeling or thinking during one of the most crucial periods of his or her life.

Much like everything else in the world, the YA genre is continually changing, and so are young readers' interests. We've finally exited the supernatural woods filled with vampires and werewolves, and I think we're just about ready to leave the futuristic dystopian world (at least for now). What comes next? I'm not quite sure, only time will tell. But one thing is for sure: YA is here to stay and be enjoyed by all.

For further reading:
-Five YA Books You Seriously Need to Read
-A Brief History of Young Adult Literature

The previously mentioned authors are of course most popular for their more "grown-up" material, but their lesser-known children's books are nothing to be glanced over. I recently discovered some of these literary gems, and can't wait to get my hands on the rest of them! To view all seven authors' children's books, click here. Otherwise, here's a look at my top three favorites!

In 1865, the man behind Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn did something totally unexpected – he wrote a children's book. Written in a scaled-back version of the trademark satire Twain is known for in his adult work, Advice to Little Girls serves as a sort of manual for what to do (or not do) in normal situations that everyday girls might find themselves in. As if the words themselves weren't comical enough, Vladimir Radunsky's illustrations elevate the book's humor even higher.

Want to know a secret? It's a good one.

There are a lot of great books out there – creative, thoughtful, thought-provoking pieces of literature that people can really connect with. But if you ask me (I'm aware that you didn't), the secret of discovering a truly great book – the one that becomes "yours" – is simply finding that book at the right time. You could have stumbled upon that book five years before, or maybe five years later, but you didn't. You found it now. And it just fit. And for me, at this exact stage in my life – I think I've found that story.

I've always had a goal of doing something big, something exciting, something ... adventurous. As long as I can remember I've felt a sort of connectedness to people like Chris McCandless and Jack Kerouac. I'll never forget watching Forrest Gump walk across the country on my television screen and vowing to do "something like that" one day. And after reading Wild by Cheryl Strayed, I know in my heart, that one day I will.

Of course, some things Strayed and I do not have in common. Prior to hiking the trail, her infidelity led to her divorce and she had occasional encounters with heroin, both actions which played a large role in her decision to hike the PCT. While some readers may trash Strayed for her actions, I applaud her honesty and willingness to share those less-than-proud moments so openly with her readers. After all, everyone has their vices and everyone has made mistakes. Some people are just too weak to admit them.

The book follows Strayed on her journey, a spirit walk of sorts. In order to find herself, she first had to get lost, and where better to do that than on the Pacific Crest Trail?

To me, Wild has it all. A book about tragedy, drugs, lust, nature, humor, adventure – the human freakin' condition! You laugh as you picture Strayed on all fours trying to lift her unnecessarily heavy backpack before beginning her hike. You find faith in humanity as she talks about the eccentric and random friends she meets on the trail. Your heart aches as she thinks about her broken family, and your feet hurt even more as she describes how battered and sore they've become. 

As one Goodreads reviewer put it every so perfectly, "This is a book that so many people will fall in love with ... but more than that, it's a book that will love you back."

A few months ago I was walking through Target when a face out of the corner of my eye caught my attention. I went over to the young girl with striking dark features and picked her up. "Sold," I read aloud as I ran my fingers across the image of the girl on the book's cover – the girl who had so easily grabbed me. I quickly read the back of the book and immediately put it in my shopping cart, knowing that the story would be just as gripping as the cover somehow felt. It was to my pleasant surprise that this book would later be one of the assigned readings for my Library Materials for Young Adults class.

With the first week of grad school under my belt, I'm already feeling even more connected to the library and information science field, particularly to public libraries. For the first week of my Library Services for Children and Young Adults class, we were instructed to observe a children's storytime at our local library. So, last Monday, I went to the Northside Public Library in Kenosha to observe its weekly toddler storytime and the only way I think I could have enjoyed it more is if I was the librarian interacting with the kids. 

Here's a look at what the storytime looked like from my perspective:

At just before 10:30 a.m., approximately 25 children and their parents, relatives and caretakers gather in the small, colorful storytime room in the southeast corner of the library. The excited hum of the children spikes every so often with a shrill shriek until the librarian enters the room and starts preparing the kids for storytime with the welcome song.

Some of the kids answer enthusiastically in mumbled toddler talk, others simply nod or shake their head; one girl continues to twirl her mother's hair, completely unfazed by the activity around her.

"Great listening!" the librarian exclaims as she closes the now finished book. "I'm feeling sort of happy, how about you?" She begins to sing "If You're Happy and You Know It, Clap Your Hands," and the kids soon begin to chime in.

After the song ends, the librarian picks up a brown, potato-shaped fabric cut-out and places it on a felt board.

"Who do you think this is?" she asks.

A few youngsters pick up on it immediately.

"Mr. Potato Head!" they giggle.

"He looks a little different ... I think he's missing a few things. What does Mr. Potato Head need to be able to see you?"

"EYES!" yell a few kids, as others nearly poke themselves in the pupils, pointing to their own peepers.

The activity goes on as the librarian asks them to identify the body parts used to do things like smell, taste, hear, run and clap. The kids are almost all smiling by now, fully attentive to what their beloved librarian will have them do next. She picks up another book, this one called Hooray for Hat! by Brian Won.

The book is about a group on animal friends who cheer one another up by giving each other fun hats to wear. Every few pages big, colorful letters encourage the children to shout aloud with the librarian, "HOORAY FOR HAT!" as they throw their little arms up toward the sky.

"Good reading! Give yourselves a hand!" the librarian says. "Now let's get up and moving!"

She leads the children in a rousing group rendition of "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes," repeating the song three times – faster and faster with each repetition.

After the story, we pick up another hat-themed activity. This time, the librarian uses a felt board to put up different types of hats, such as a red firefighter helmet, a blue policeman's hat, a puffy white chef's hat, a sparkly crown, a purple sombrero and more. After identifying all the hats, the librarian brings out a small felt cut-out of a sleeping gray cat, who she explains likes to sleep underneath hats.

As the children close their eyes and count to ten, the librarian hides the cat under one of the hats. When the kids open their eyes, she has them attempt to find the cat by identifying the color of the hats.

"Little cat, little cat, are you under the green hat?" the children croon along with the librarian. "NOOO!? Little cat, little cat, are you under the black hat?"

They eventually find the cat sleeping under the orange construction hat and all rejoice excitedly.

With the sleeping cat now safe and sound, the group jumps along to a counting CD and uses their fingers to get all the way up to ten before sitting back into their seats.

"Look at the time!" the librarian says. "It looks like storytime is over! But not before we sing the thank you song!"

The children sing along, clapping their hands and stomping their feet before they roll their hands in small circles in front of their tummies and wave goodbye.

To watch the group of diverse children all so eager to listen and learn was really special. As you can see, storytimes aren't just for reading to children; they're also to work on age-appropriate developmental skills! If not for free services like this offered at public libraries, I wonder how many of these kids would still be getting similar mental and physical stimulation at home, daycare, or even school?

Watching this tender and invaluable interaction between the librarian, the kids and their caretakers made me incredibly excited for my upcoming class assignment to propose with my own storytime program. Getting a first-hand look at some examples of intellectually stimulating (and fun!) storytime ideas reinforced a lot of the information I've been reading about for my class and gave me some new ideas for future literacy programs of my own!

To learn more about the Kenosha Public Library's weekly storytimes, click here. They're fun – and free!