Podcasts coming late

I have been without Internet (and phone and tv) and trying to get Comcast to come out to take care of it. At this point, I don't have an appointment until Thursday afternoon. I'm hoping I can get them to come out sooner but ...

I will upload the missing podcasts as soon as I am connected to the world again!

Podcast # 200

Hard to believe that I have added podcast number 200 to the net
today. Have I really been doing the podcasts long enough to get to
number 200?? I talked about one of my new favorite books, Pull of
the Ocean, for this podcast.

I just finished the book Life as we knew it by Susan Beth
Pfeffer. Wow! It was one of those books that I wanted to not read
too fast so that I could have it longer but at the same time, I
couldn't wait to see what happened. I haven't written a booktalk for
it yet. I am still savoring it.

Readergirlz

I just read on the Kids lit blog that Dia Calhoun, Janet Lee Carey,
Lorie Ann Grover, and Justina Chen Headley have a wonderful website
call Readergirlz. I went and took a look and sure enough, it is
wonderful. Then I read that starting in March, they will be
featuring a book a month with a strong female character. I wish this
site had an RSS feed so I could subscribe but I put it in my
del.icio.us bookmarks and hope to remember to check it. So they are
also giving away free frippery to the first 50 people to comment in
their myspace site each month. I can't resist that!!

So, I am not a member of myspace so can't comment. I break down and
decide to register. And you know what message I get?
"We're sorry. Based on the information you have submitted to us, you
are ineligible to register on MySpace.com. "

WHAT??? This can't be right so I try again. Still not eligible. Not
to be outdone, I try again. Same result. So, why am I
ineligible? Am I too old??? What could be the reason? I've emailed
customer support and I'll see what they say. I have never heard of
anyone being turned down for a myspace account!!

Anyway, be sure to visit
<http://www.readergirlz.com/>readergirlz. Visit their
<http://www.myspace.com/readergirlz>MySpace page and leave comments
if you are a myspace member. Maybe someday I'll be able to do it too!

Higher Power of Lucky

Well it is finally snowing here in New Hampshire. We were beginning
to think that we wouldn't see any this winter at all. It was 70
degrees in January so it has been a very strange winter so far. But
I'm home enjoying the snow day. We're expecting up to 2 feet of
snow!!! Nothing compared to upstate New York but we'll take it!!

I've had a chance to read the Newbery winner for this year. I really
enjoyed the story and the word usage. It is so fun when a book out
of the blue wins. I will say that my guesses this year were way
off. The only correct guess I made was Pull of the Ocean. I loved that book.

Patron, Susan.
THE HIGHER POWER OF LUCKY
New York : Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2006.
IL 3-6, RL 5.8
ISBN 1416901949
Life is not easy in Hard Pan, population 43. Lucky is 10 years old
and is living with a guardian. Her mom has died and her dad doesn't
want to take care of her. So she is living with her dad's first wife
who has come from France to take care of Lucky. But it is a
temporary arrangement. Every day Lucky sees how much Brigitte misses
her life in France. Lucky has a part-time job to help pay the
bills. She cleans up after an assortment of "Anonymous"
meetings. You know, Alcoholics Anonymous, Gamblers Anonymous,
Overeaters Anonymous. Through eavesdropping on the meetings, she
becomes convinced that she must find her own higher power in order to
find true happiness. Be sure not to miss this 2007 Newbery Award winner.

New Hampshire Ladybug Picture Book Award nominees

The Ladybug Picture Book Award committee has once again provided us with a great list of books from which New Hampshire children will select the Ladybug Picture Book Award winner in November 2007.

Red Fox at McCloskey's Farm, Brian Heinz and Chris Seban, Creative
Editions, 2006.

Duck & Goose, Tad Hills, Schwartz & Wade Books, 2006.

Library Lion, Michelle Knudsen and Kevin Hawkes, Candlewick Press, 2006.

Not Afraid of Dogs, Susanna Pitzer and Larry Day, Walker & Co, 2006.

I Saw an Ant on the Railroad Track, Joshua Prince and Macky Pamintuan, Sterling Publishing Co., 2006.

Pip & Squeak, Ian Schoenherr, Greenwillow, 2007.

The Secret Science Project that Almost Ate the School, Judy Sierra and
Stephen Gammell, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2006.

The Trouble with Califlower, Jane Sutton and Jim Harris, Dial Books for Young Readers, 2006.

The Remarkable Friendship of Mr. Cat and Mr. Rat, Rick Walton and Lisa McCue, Putnam, 2006.

Moose Tracks! Karma Wilson and Jack E. Davis, Margaret McElderry Books, 2006.

Voting materials will be posted on the Ladybug web page in June.

February Update

The February update to Booktalks Quick and Simple has been
loaded. The Georgia Peach award nominees are included in the list as
well as several booktalks contributed from librarians around the country.

I'm approaching my 200th podcast within the next few weeks! I can't
believe I've done so many.

I've been reading the Newbery winners that I hadn't read before. I
really like Hattie Big Sky. Of course, I love historical fiction and
this one takes place during World War I. But there is the westward
expansion touch to it as well as Hattie inherits a homestead in
Montana. Now I'm reading Lucky. More to go!!