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It's a bird, it's a plane, it's the Super Summer Reading Program!

5/27/2015

SUPER SUMMER READING 2015

Superheroes are sweeping public libraries across the country with this year's summer reading program! With separate categories for kids, teens and adults, summer reading programs are a great way to beat the heat and get the whole family reading. Not only will you meet new heroes and heroines through books, but you just might discover some new superpowers of your own (and win a few prizes too)!

Below are the details for the summer reading program at the Community Library, where I work. The kids and teen summer reading programs run from June 8-August 7, and the adult program runs from June 8-July 13. Similar programs can be found at your local library.

"Every Hero Has a Story"
Kids (ages 0-11)

Kids will be given a bingo-style reading log. Complete a horizontal, vertical or diagonal bingo to receive a program completion prize! Extra bingo forms mean extra entries in the grand prize drawing. Prizes are available while supplies last. This year's grand prize is four tickets to Discovery World in Milwaukee.

"Escape the Ordinary"
Teens (ages 12-18)

Teenagers will be given a bingo-style reading log. Complete a horizontal, vertical or diagonal bingo to receive a prize! More bingo forms mean more entries in the grand prize drawing. The grand prize is a certificate for four VIP wristbands, pizza, and pop at America's Action Territory in Kenosha.

"Escape the Ordinary"
Adults (ages 19+)

As part of the annual summer reading program, read or listen to books to enter weekly drawings and win prizes. The grand prize is a Kindle Paperwhite. Patrons who turn in at least three weekly drawing slips will be eligible to win.

As the Community Library explains in its program brochure, this year's summer reading program theme aims to, "celebrate heroes of all ages who walk through the doors of the library each day; the heroes who have made their marks on history; the heroes who keep our communities safe, clean, and productive; and high-profile superheroes. From the youngest child to the strongest, mightiest crusader, each and every hero has his or her own story to tell."

What are you reading this summer? Tweet me @TessaFoxReads or use #TessaFoxReads.

Images via Collaborative Summer Library Program

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Book review: 'The Family Romanov...' by Candace Fleming

5/14/2015

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I apologize that I've only been managing to churn out one post a week for the past month, but the end of the semester is always such a hectic time! But now that I'm officially on summer vacation from school (for the last time in my life, might I add), I promise to update my blog much more regularly – well, after I get back from vacation on May 25th!

That being said, it's been a while since I've reviewed anything I've read recently. This time I've decided to go with a great piece of nonfiction that I read for my Library Materials for Young Adults class – The Family Romanov: Murder, Rebellion & the Fall of Imperial Russia by Candace Fleming.

Russia and its politics have always seemed so mysterious to me, and prior to reading this book, the majority of my knowledge about the Romanovs was based off of the the 1997 cartoon movie Anastasia, which is incredibly inaccurate (Shocking – I know).

I've always been interested in Russia's history, but I'll admit that one of the reasons I hadn't looked more into it was that it seemed so incredibly daunting and complex. But I couldn't have felt more opposite of that while reading Candace Fleming's work.

The book follows the tumultuous story of Russia's last Royal Family: Tsar Nicholas II, his wife Tsarina Alexandra and their five children grand duchesses Olga, Tatiana, Maria and Anastasia, and Tsarevich Alexei. From the destitute poverty of millions of peasants to the lavish and eccentric life of the rich and royal few, Fleming is a master at showing how this disjointed juxtaposition ultimately lead to the Romanovs' downfall and murder, and gave way to the rise of early Russian communism.

I give this book:
★★★★★

Grigori Rasputin, in all his glory (Image via Wikipedia).

Probably unsurprising to anyone who has any seen the movie Anastasia, one of the most intriguing parts of the Romanovs' lives was their relationship with self-proclaimed holy man Grigori Rasputin. And as creepy as he was in the cartoon movie, he was even creepier in real life! Nicholas and Alexandra (particularly the latter) put great faith in Rasputin, as they believed he held powers to keep their hemophilic son Alexei healthy and well. But Rasputin used his influence on the Romanovs to his advantage by wooing women and eliminating men of power he saw as personal threats. If there was one person the Romanovs could blame their sullied reputation on (besides themselves), it would have easily been Rasputin.

Every detail in the book was included with a purpose and the historical photos tucked away inside its pages were captivating. I was also amazed at how much detail and primary source information Fleming was able to incorporate (Surely she became good friends with some archival librarians while writing this book)!

The Family Romanov: Murder, Rebellion & the Fall of Imperial Russia would be a great accompaniment to a middle school or high school history class, especially because it is a great illustration of how fascinating and interesting history can be when told from a narrative nonfiction point of view. The book was never weighed down by a bunch of dates or political jargon. It didn't feel like you were reading about stale or boring historical people and events, but rather it simply felt like an entertaining story.

This book has received a lot of acclaim, including winning the Los Angeles Times Book Prize and the Orbis Pictus Award for Outstanding Nonfiction; and was a Robert F. Sibert Honor Book and a YALSA Excellence in Nonfiction Award Finalist. With or without the high praise, The Family Romanov... is an educational and exciting read that I would recommend to teens and adults alike!

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Finishing up the semester with a fun video project

5/6/2015

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After a few more days and I will finally be able to say I've got my first semester of grad school under my belt – One down, two to go! I'm that much closer to getting my Master's of Library and Information Science and becoming a professional librarian! For my final project in my Public Libraries class, we were assigned to make a video promoting audiobooks using the phrase "Get caught listening," which is perfect because I've really fallen in love with audiobooks lately.

With work, school and an ever-growing to do list, I need to find some time to get my leisurely reading in. And like in the video, I've found that listening to audiobooks during my commute is a great way to do exactly that. I just finished up Lisa See's China Dolls (highly recommended) and started listening to The Bone Clocks by David Mitchell the other day! Next up: Rainbow Rowell's Fangirl!

At first, I wasn't exactly sure what I wanted to do my audiobook promotional video about, but I knew I wanted to test out my new GoPro. So with a little inspiration from it recently being May 4th (May the Fourth Be With You) and my geektastic boyfriend, I put together this little clip. I hope you enjoy!

PS: Don't miss my cat's purrfect cameo at the end of the video!

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It's a bird, it's a plane, it's the Super Summer Reading Program!

SUPER SUMMER READING 2015

Book review: 'The Family Romanov...' by Candace Fleming

I give this book:
★★★★★

Finishing up the semester with a fun video project

Author

Connect with me online!

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It's a bird, it's a plane, it's the Super Summer Reading Program!

SUPER SUMMER READING 2015

Book review: 'The Family Romanov...' by Candace Fleming

I give this book:★★★★★

Finishing up the semester with a fun video project

Author

Connect with me online!

Archives

Categories

I give this book:
★★★★★