Who Exactly is The Sandman? - A Brief History
The upcoming series "The Sandman" is based on the series of comics written by acclaimed writer Neil Gaiman, though his incarnation of the Sandman character wasn't the first.
Golden/Silver Age Sandman
I didn't know Random Acts of Kindness Day, which happens on February 17 this year, even existed until very recently. Of course, I know there are people who choose to be kind every day, but I had no idea it was an official day! So I found out more. As any modern person does, I searched online. Discovering the Random Acts of Kindness Foundation was pretty exciting for me! On their website, the Foundation shares tons of resources including real-life stories, downloadable materials, and many celebrations of kindness you can see and do in every day life. This got me thinking of the types of stories and inspirations we at the library have to offer for Random Act of Kindness Day. Of course, the library has many materials to choose from. However, I am including in this particular blog only children's nonfiction books.
With the new year, the American Library Association (ALA) has released the 2021 Youth Media Awards which recognizes youth and young adult books for outstanding achievement based on certain criteria, below I've listed the awards winners and when available linked the titles we have currently in the library catalog. For a more in depth look at past and present winners and honorees check out our comprehensive libguide, Award Winning Youth Books.
The John Newbery Award is named after an 18th century British bookseller and given annually for "the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children."
Most organizing books have the same general principle, although they each have their own spin to them. Out of the many organizing books, these three stuck out the most to me personally. If there is a particular one you liked and want to read similar books or just books similar to the author, you can use our Novelist tool to find them.
1. The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up and Spark Joy by Marie Kondo
"Contrary to what we may have been taught to think, unnecessary and unchosen suffering wounds us but need not scar us for life. It does mark us. What we allow the mark of our suffering to become is in our own hands." - bell hooks, All about Love: New Visions
I love juvenile non-fiction. Imagine me spreading my arms out wide and saying, “I love juvenile non-fiction this much.” Why? Juvenile non-fiction teaches children about the world they live in with vibrant illustrations and photos, and exciting text. Really--the juvenile non-fiction books of today are not the books you or your parents read. Gone are the days of pages and pages of text and one or two pictures. Juvenile non-fiction has made an incredible transformation from then to now and I am going to highlight 5 new non-fiction titles that have come out this month. Click on the photo to put the title on hold in our system. You can put all five on hold—I won’t tell.
Black History Month is a great reason to explore new books to read and broaden your horizons. Over the past several years I've built the library's adult graphics collection with a number of voices, perspectives and cultural representations. In honor of this month, I've curated some of my favorite titles either by black creators, or featuring black characters or non-fiction titles about black history.
Netflix’s adaptation of Julia Quinn’s historical romance series centered on the Bridgerton Family is a smashing success. It is now considered Netflix’s biggest series of all time! I don’t think this is a surprise – the romance novel industry is a multi-million dollar sector of publishing, and the coupling of a romance novel powerhouse like Julia Quinn and the TV drama expertise of Shonda Rimes was sure to be a hit.
Genre Book Lists for Youth
Anyone who has ever helped, or tried to help, a young person find a book they enjoy knows how tough it is. The tween (pre-teen) and teen audiences are particularly tough customers. They either seem to have incredibly specific interests or they have no idea what they like. It’s always a game of twenty questions. One very important question to know the answer to before embarking on this literary quest is this: are you looking for Middle Grade or Young Adult (YA) fiction? Many people think this is one in the same, but they cater to very different audiences. This distinction reflects reading level, world view, thematic interests (the theme of the book), and the maturity of the readers. Please note that this does not always transfer to Accelerated Reader (A.R.) points. A.R. does not take the maturity of themes into account.
