I must admit it - I'm addicted to the Fox television show, "So You Think You Can Dance."  Every week I sit in my comfortable stuffed chair and snack on junk food while beautiful, athletic, and talented young dancers perform.  I've never been interested in dance before, so I think producer/judge Nigel Lythgoe must be doing a good job.  Recently, he announced National Dance Day, a time for everyone to "get up and move."  Always thinking, if not moving, the lightbulb went off!  Our library has dance movies and books.  I can celebrate Dance Day by doing my favorite thing - reading or watching a movie.  It's not what Nigel had in mind, but it works for me!  You might also enjoy the following DVD's or books:

Saturday Night Fever
Hairspray
Michael Jackson's This Is It
Dirty Dancing
Mad Hot Ballroom

• Broadway, The Golden Years
• The Dancer Within: intimate conversations with great dancers
• Master's of Movement: portraits of America's great choreographers
  

If you're a Diary of a Wimpy Kid fan, you probably know the DVD will be released on August 3.  To place a hold on one of the library's copies, click here.  Just a reminder, our DVDs cost $1.50 for a one-week rental. The sequel, based on the second book, Rodrick Rules, is scheduled to be released March 25, 2011.

                                                               
Diary of a Wimpky Kid 5 is scheduled to hit the streets Novemeber 9 with a 5 million book first-print run.  It's the largest print run for the series to date!  The cover and title, The Ugly Truth, was just revealed on July 29. Be one of the first kids to read it by placing a hold here.          
 

Every summer the demand for audio books seems to rise with the heat.  For every car ride and every child in that car, patrons need a good book to listen to.  I am always happy to recommend my favorite titles and glad to see  that the interest is so great, but I wonder why it seems to taper off when summer comes to an end.  As an avid audio book listener myself, I am rarely without a book that I am "reading".  I love books on CD.  Even if you just go from here to there around town, and even after the vacations are over, remember the benefits and pleasures of hearing a good book.  You are never too old to enjoy being read to.  Next time you come to the library, let me know what YOU have been listening to.  Miss Lezlee.

Every summer it seems we get many requests from parents asking us to help their school-age sons find something to read.  Many times these boys are reluctant readers. Connecting a child with a book he is eager to read is one of our greatest pleasures!

Did you know there are also great websites that have book suggestions for boys, tips for getting boys to read, and more?

Guys Read, a web-based literacy program for boys is a great place to start.  It was begun by author (and Flint, MI native) Jon Scieszka, named in 2008 as the first National Ambassador for Young People's Literature.

Boy Meets Book is also an excellent website for finding books boys will like and tips for parents of boys. This website was created by Michael Sullivan - teacher, librarian, chess instructor, author, storyteller, and expert on boys and reading.

One of my favorite websites for reading about children's books is KidsReads.com. Besides the Great Books for Boys list, other features include lists of new books, series books, and books into movies as well as trivia, author interviews, contests and more.

For other reading lists for boys, try BoysRead.org and Parents Choice Book List for Boys. 

Come to the library and sharpen the joys of summer!

In July, our display spotlight is on "Beach Reads" -- books that are enthralling, mesmerizing, funny, moving, thrilling, cryptic, charming, riveting, jocular  ... well, you get the picture!

And, your "Road Trip" this summer gets the spotlight in another display.  You'll find more than you'll ever need to get the most fun out of your next jaunty excursion!

Some people just seem inherently cool.  Stacy Peralta is one of  those people.  He was an original surfing/skateboarding Z-Boy in the ‘70s and helped paved the way for skateboarding superstar Tony Hawk. 

Today Peralta is busy making noteworthy documentaries.  His current film, Crips and Bloods: Made in America, presents interviews with current and former Los Angeles gang members and draws a connection between modern problems and social injustices of the past.

And, if you have even the slightest interest in surfing you should definitely check out the visually awesome Riding Giants about big wave surfing and Dogtown and Z-Boys which documents the rise of skateboarding and its impact on youth culture.  Peralta also wrote the screenplay for the popular Heath Ledger film Lords of Dogtown.  

The International Book Club is on hiatus for the summer, but you can get a head start on what we'll be reading this fall.  On Thursday October 21 at 7:00 pm, we are excited to welcome local author  Twesigye Jackson Kaguri as he talks about his new book The Price of Stones.  This story of Kaguri's experiences building a school in his home village in Uganda has been compared to Three Cups of Tea.  We have copies of the title on audiotape and in book form. There will also be a copy available later this summer as a downloadable e-book.  The author has been interviewed in local and national media, including Time.  You can also see a video about the book here. 

In November, date to be announced, we will be discussing the book
Beyond the Sky and the Earth : A Journey into Bhutan by Jamie Zeppa. Come learn about this beautiful country and its people through the author's eyes.  We are working on getting some special guests to help us discuss and understand the book.

Travel around the world this summer with a good book!

Exciting things are happening this summer at the library!  First of all, summer reading has begun.  Lots of children are turning in their charts and getting prizes and smiling faces are all around!!

One of the best programs we offer every year is Summer Tutoring.  Young adults, mainly from East Lansing High School, volunteer their time each week to help kids in grades K-6.  It is wonderful to see teenagers giving of their time in this way.  So far we have had between 10-15 students and 12-15 tutors.  We have lots of educational games and plenty of books to choose from to help with reading and math.  The program runs through August 10 and meets every Tuesday morning from 10:30-12.  If you have any questions feel free to contact Phyllis Thode at 351-2420.

There are three important things you need to know about Justin Cronin's new epic novel, The Passage.

First: You'll want to cancel any appointments, meetings, and commitments you had planned for this week.  Trust me, they are no longer important.  Once you start reading this book you won't be able to put it down.  Cronin does a masterful job of quickly building tension and then maintaining it over the entire span of the novel.  Reading The Passage feels like reading Stephen King at the height of his game (fellow lovers of The Stand, this book is for you!), which is probably why King wrote a rave review for the dust jacket.  Just like with King’s novels I was afraid to keep reading, lest one of my favorite characters get killed or infected with the terrifying virus that plagues Cronin’s tale.  But the story was so compelling that I was afraid to stop reading!  I had to know what happened next so I kept reading, and reading, long into the night.  Which brings us to the important question of sleep.  Sleep no longer matters.