What's In Your Library Bag Wednesday?

     So, last Thursday all of us librarians attended ILA, Iowa Library Association, Conference in Dubuque. This is always a fun experience to get out together and get excited about what we are doing here at the library. We are each allowed to choose the sessions we want to attend, picking and choosing what we are interested in or what might be pertinent to our specific job role, i.e. teen librarian.
     My favorite session that I attended was called, Going Clubbing: Spicing up your book clubs. Now we don't currently have a library sponsored book club, but I think it would be fun. Besides, I try and provide that type of interest here on the blog. Hey! Perhaps I should incorporate both....hmmmm....something to think about...
     For now, I just wanted to mention that the biggest draw for me of this particular speaker was her enthusiasm! She was excited about reading and sharing and talking about her favorites with others. It got you excited, just listening to her and her energy. The other strong point to the young adult book club at the University of Dubuque, that she discussed, I thought, was the way they try to incorporate different forms of media into their discussions. Not only do they read the books, but during discussions, they might bring book themed foods; or listen to a playlist from the story or one the author created and wrote while he wrote; they might include you tube videos or clips from the audio book version of the story. How perfect! Because in today's society, we all have access to all of these different forms of media and they can really add to our reading experience. Plus, it's just another way to "spice" things up a bit. I think we get busy in life, cause really, what is life if not busy, and then we get away from reading books. By giving more visuals, we can bring back our youthful excitement about reading and sharing our reading with others. Nothing makes me happier than to have my daughter come home and tell me all about the book she is reading and how excited she is to finish it and see what happens.
     I thought I'd include a link to the speaker's blog on the titles they have been reading in their Young Adult book club and see if her style of describing and incorporating might appeal to you and give you a new idea of something to read....Check her out here...http://www.becky-jean.blogspot.com/p/ya-book-primer.html

     On another note...I'd love to hear your opinions on whether or not you'd like an online book club or a regular one or any other ideas you might like to see here...Leave me a comment and we'll go from there....

In the meantime, Happy Reading!

Book Trailer Monday...

Here's an intriguing YA selection, Ashfall by Mike Mullin... The sequel, Ashen Winter, just came out...

From Our Recipe Box to Yours...

Here's another Pioneer Woman recipe. I was watching some back shows and saw this recipe and thought it looked pretty yummy!! Of course, when doesn't her recipes look yummy.

Tequila Lime Chicken

2012 Ree Drummond, All Rights Reserved

Prep Time:

15 min

Inactive Prep Time:

3 hr 0 min

Cook Time:

10 min

Level:

Easy

Serves:

12 servings

Ingredients

• 4 limes
• 1 cup tequila
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 5 cloves garlic
• 1 jalapeno, sliced
• 1/2 bunch chopped fresh cilantro
• 12 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 2 cups grated Monterey Jack

Options for servings:

• Corn tortillas
• Flour tortillas
• Grated Monterey Jack
• Pico de gallo
• Jalapeno slices
• Lime wedges
• Avocado slices
• Sour cream

Directions

Slice open the limes and squeeze the juice into a food processor or blender. Add the tequila, olive oil, salt, garlic, jalapenos and cilantro. Blend the mixture until totally combined. Add the chicken to a large plastic bag and pour in the lime-tequila mixture. Seal the bag and marinate in the fridge for several hours or overnight.

Remove the chicken from the bag and grill it over medium-high heat. Rotate the chicken 45-degrees on both sides to create nice grill marks, and continue grilling until the chicken is cooked through, 4 to 5 minutes per side.

Melt the Monterey Jack over the top of the sliced chicken breasts.

Slice the chicken and serve it on a plate topped with the sides.

Book Trailer Monday...

Here's a hugely popular long lived series....

From Our Recipe Box to Yours...

     This was in my inbox this week....

Gooey Cookies and Cream Chocolate Cake Bars

1 Devils Food Cake Mix

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened

1 large egg

1 1/2 cups chocolate chips

14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk

14 Oreo Cookies, broken into bite size pieces

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. and line a 9×13 inch baking pan with tin foil sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.

2. Place cake mix, butter and egg into a large bowl, mixing to combine. Use your hands, it works much quicker  Press into prepared baking pan. Top with broken pieces of cookies.

3. Pour sweetened condensed milk over cookies and top with chocolate chips. Bake for 23-25 minutes, until cooked through. Remove from oven.

4.  After 5 minutes of cooling, run a plastic knife around edges to loosen, this makes it much easier to remove from foil.  Let cool completely, remove foil from pan, then cut into squares.  I cut off all of the edges before cutting into squares (makes for neater squares), but do whatever you’d like!!

Makes 12 bars

 Thanks Vicky!!!:)

What's In Your Library Bag Wednesday?

     Hello Again!!! Welcome to What's In Your Library Bag Wednesday?? Today I'd like to talk about reading apps. Do you have a Kindle? Nook? Ipad? Ipod? Smart Phone? Do you use it to read or have it read to your children?? I am somewhat Old School in that I always said I didn't want one because there's just something about touching a book and turning the pages...However, opinions change and I definitely see a time and place for such readers. For example, I don't have a Kindle or Nook, but I do have an Ipod, presumably for music, but it works great when I lay down next to my kids at night and can read in the dark. Or when I take my youngest to an appointment with me and can hand him my Ipod and have an app read stories to him to help keep him entertained. Wow! Amazing!! Peace and quiet and reading! What could be better?!
     I also noticed in the kids' book orders recently that Scholastic has come out with a reading app called Storia. Currently, it only works on an Ipad, but the concept is there. You get free books when you purchase others and you can also purchase more, of course. I thought it looked interesting.
    I have purchased the Read Me Stories app through itunes which reads stories to my first grader and every so often he gets to download a new one. Also, when I asked a coworker if she used any reading apps, she told me that she didn't have an app per se, but had downloaded several Story Boy books from itunes for her children to read. All of which were free. Better yet.
     After doing a search on the internet, I found that there are several interactive titles out there where the child gets the story read to them, but has the opportunity to play little  mini games throughout. It looked like several Dr. Seuss titles, a Toy Story Read-Along, etc. It also mentioned the title, The Fantastic Flying books of Morris Lessmore for the Ipad which was rated as the best interactive book out there today coming in at a whopping $8.99!!!
    Even if you don't have one of the aforementioned devices you can search YouTube and find books that will read to your children. Sometimes it's a parent reading the story, or a little older child. Other times, you just hear the narrator and you see all the pages of the book turning. (I have a son who is obsessed with YouTube.)
     Sometimes it seems like maybe technology is taking over...but really, you can use it to your advantage and really enhance your reading experience!! Try it, you might like it. I know I did.
   

Book Trailer Monday....

We just got the book the Unwanteds by Lisa McMann and as I read the back cover, I thought, well this sounds fun! So, I brought it home. Seems that I left it laying around and now I have to wait for 2 of my children to read it before I do!!! I told you it looked fun :)!!

Here's an interview with the author and a reading from this fun looking middle grade novel....