The Flying Beaver Brothers graphic novel series

Brothers Ace and Bub, distinguished only by the stripes on Bub's shorts, are two fun-loving beaver brothers that are hardly on the same page. Ace, the talented adventurous beaver brother, is showing off for Bub, as he takes a nap while guarding Ace's surfboard.

To both of their surprises, two evil penguins come and snatch up the surfboard! This sends the brothers on a mission to retrieve it, since the surfboard competition is the next day. Evil penguin meetings held in refrigerators, confusions over penguins and puffins, and even more shenanigans make up this first volume.

Throughout the monochromatic tones of the book, these brothers are goofy and fun. Similar to the Lunch Lady series, this is definitely great for younger crowds. There is enough text to keep them moving along, especially once the brothers discover what the penguins have in store for them.

This is only the first in the series,with four graphic novels so far. I can't wait to see what our kids think of it!

The Ghost Prison by Joseph Delaney

Billy Calder was dealt an unfortunate hand in life. An orphan, Billy was forced to get a job at age 15 simply because he wanted to prepare himself for getting out of the Home for Unfortunate Boys.

He is late to his first shift with Adam Colne, the night manager of the local Castle Prison. Though Billy had already has his training, he was not aware that he would become a night watchman. Someone had specifically asked for him during the evenings--Long Neck Netty. Colne warns him of the ghost prisoners, the ones who were executed for being witches or criminals, and how they terrorize the regular prisoners...and staff.

Billy is given a harsh warning to never enter the Witch Well. In it resides a monster unfathomable, in which Colne and Colne alone must feed, due to the danger of the witch. This warning is ignored when Colne is out sick, and the gateskeeper is too much of a coward to feed whatever is in there.

Fast paced and quick to read, this 98 page book is somewhat predictable as far as ghost stories go.The illustrations add to the story by showing the spooky atmosphere of this 17th century England world. Some of the illustrations don't fit the description of the characters (our protagonist is described as having curly hair, when is definitely sporting a Bieber hair-do), but they overall add much more meat to this otherwise tiny story.

This book also contains chapters. I really, honestly, could not tell you why. It seems like it should just be one tiny, long book, and that would be okay. The suggested age range for readers of this book is 12-16 years old, but I honestly think it's just for the subject matter alone. There is a gruesome scene that not even I was expecting! It's written at the level of a third or fourth grade student.

All in all, The Ghost Prison is a quick, fun spooky read, with the biggest twist happening at the end. Maybe save it for October, and ease on in to the spooky books for Halloween.

Happy New Year!

2014 came in with a mild clang in my household this year. The biggest change is in my self; I'm more determined, focused, and excited than I've been in a very long time. I thank my new husband for this; he's so encouraging and supportive of my creative and professional efforts, of which I have MANY. His is to branch into a creative field he's never done before (which I'm sure he will do so successfully), and mine is laborious and would take a whole other blog to describe.

I think I'm also going to reevaluate my Folio goals. My new priority: master the art of covering a book with the CoLibri machine. The first time I tried it, with the CoLibri lady present, piece o' cake. By myself? With a donated book? HA. It wound up covered and everything but it looks a little goofy. Just, slightly goofy, but enough that only I could notice.

Another is to make sure I take care of my tasks on time. I like to think I'm fairly decent about this, but I have a stack of book review magazines I need to get moving on, Bluebonnet party plans/decor, then good old Valentine's decorations, plus this, that, and the other thing. And then reading the books. Actually finishing them. I'm terrible at finishing things if I can't get into them, but I'm bound and determined to be better than the kids at this.

As long as we're going through unofficially official goals, my other one is to move more. Everyone has that yearly resolution to lose weight or become more active. I've decided since I spend a lot of my days at work, obviously, I should start using my time in a more efficient way. Getting up at least every 30 minutes, wandering through the shelves, making sure things are generally taken care of.

I'm also trying to reteach myself Adobe Premiere. This is annoying and challenging. Ugh.

Overall, I know 2014 will be an amazing year. I will continue to work with great people, stretch myself professionally, academically, and creatively, and strive to be the happiest Christine I can be.

Daredevil by Mark Waid Vol. 1

Daredevil hasn't had the easiest career in the Marvel universe; Matt Murdock is blind, has a profound love for Hell's Kitchen, New York, and unfortunately received the Ben Affleck treatment in 2003 (don't get me started on this). I was never totally familiar with Daredevil, his world, even though it happens to be our own, or the bad guys he faces. After reading Daredevil Vol. 1 by Mark Waid, I feel like Daredevil is definitely one of the more likable superheroes. Now I know what my husband is so crazy about.

The graphic novel opens up with your average, run-of-the-mill Mobster running, quickly destroyed by The Spot. Of course, Daredevil is blamed for ruining the nuptials, and everything breaks loose. After the wedding, I found out that he was a lawyer. Not just any lawyer, though; apparently in this universe (or 52, I'm not sure which), Matt Murdock is exposed as Daredevil, but constantly denies it. So does his goofy, pudgy and loveable partner, Franklin "Foggy" Nelson.

The rest of the story is your typical superhero story line. In trying to expand my knowledge of things outside of Batman/X-Men, I found that Daredevil is an enjoyable series. The art is very traditional, even though it is a newer series. It's reminiscent of 1980s comics, with the shading and portrayal of villains.

It was fun reading this novel, and perhaps I'll read volume 2.

Most likely, I think I'll start Court of Owls.

Shifts

Shifting books is difficult for me. It's not visualizing where the things could go, so much, as to separating the books from their former shelfmates. Oh, I'm sorry for sticking you in the corner, Ramona, but there's got to be changes when a shift is made.

This is also probably pretty hard on the kids, at times. Last year, I didn't shift a lot because, honestly, there wasn't any room to. Now that we have much more wiggle room, I want to make sure the shelves are even dispersed, that nothing is being wasted, and that everything is lookin' fabulous.

Easier said than done.

I'm a little slow at the moment, so my spatial analysis is a bit on the wonky side. Every shelf I move, it looks a bit better. Then I make it back to the A section. Eh, still a tad bit on the crowded side. As a matter of fact, it looks like I'll have to shift maybe twice more today. Why? Because I'm being anal about shelves. That's really all.

The nesting phase that I'm going through in my personal life must be taking root in my work life. I have been perusing Pinterest for decorating ideas not only in my home, but in the library. Now that we have golden (yes, GOLDEN!) walls in our Lower School Learning Commons, I feel like we (or I) can sneak in little cute things here and there. I have a keen interest in Washi tape right now that needs to be satisfied.

Wouldn't that look cute on the edge of a bookcase? Lining the creative works of such creative people with creative-looking lines in a creative atmosphere?

Maybe I'm alone on this. Or maybe I'm with everyone on Pinterest, who are not in the real world, but some ideological land where people live right next to Ikea, Home Depot, and Hobby Lobby, where Craig's List has more nice stuff than normal and the people are not super sketch.

I digress.

I just want the library space, as well as the program itself, to help reflect the child-like nature of, well, a children's area in a library and school. It should reflect the nature of the people who work there, but more importantly, the clientele in which it serves. Shifting books is obviously the easiest choice for change in appearance, convenience, and atmosphere.

With little steps, I'm hoping that I can help the library keep its warm, inviting atmosphere, while bringing a little bit of spunk into it. We've already started with our new space, then the wall, pictures of students, signage, and stuffed toys. This is only the beginning.

You have been warned.

An Ode to Thanks Giving

As the hustle and bustle of Christmas starts earlier and earlier (Hobby Lobby selling trees in August!), I'm trying to focus on the what should be theme of before Christmas: giving thanks. I don't feel like I do it enough, or am simply bad at it. This has to change.

In my effort to have a happier, peaceful, and more productive existence, I have decided to cherish things more than I have before. I could deviate quickly into all the difficult or negative things in my life. They are few, but feel significant. There have been more blessings this past year than I could remember in years past, and I need to take a step back and soak it all in.

Mostly, I am grateful for my wonderful new husband, Justin. We of course have experienced ups and downs, like anyone, and I am thankful for his love, companionship, and never-ending support. Without him, I can honestly say I don't know where I would be. He keeps me going everyday, is the one thought in my head motivating me to press on, and the love of my life.

In an odd way, I don't think our wedding would've happened without me having a new job. That's why I am beyond thankful for the place, people, and students I get to work with. It's surreal to think about how I affect kids' lives daily, whether they realize it or not. Running into two kiddos at the mall yesterday made this obvious to me. They were so excited to see me, tell me of their adventures they were having with their Grandma, and about the exciting toy helicopter they were about to buy. I know it sounds a bit silly, but oftentimes I lack a sense of importance. But when the students are happy to see me, or I recommend a book they truly love, it means a lot to me.

Last, but not least and certainly not last on my list, is my family. My "new" family, combined with my "old" family, is made up of a colorful cast of characters that I am so blessed to know and have in my life. I hope that they see me as the same blessing as I see them. I have the BEST mother-in-law and am so grateful that she is so kind and loving to me.

I know it's not library, work, or literature related, but I wanted to share these thoughts. This is all what is on my heart today, the eve on the day when we're supposed to give thanks, and it seemed mighty appropriate.

Only two weeks until Thanksgiving?

Wow, this school year is flying by so fast. Maybe it's because of all the other stuff that's going on, or my working on the promotional video for the library, or just because that's what happens when work is so busy.

I'm excited that the next few days are super busy. There's something about getting as much as you can done between classes that keeps me going. Especially now, since our book order has arrived! Woohoo!

Also, getting back to that weekly reading bandwagon...I made it a goal of mine to read at least 4 chapter books a month. I haven't really been good about that, but am starting today. I have book one of A Series of Unfortunate Events at home, and am going to start Wildwood, Drooling and Dangerous, and The Lightning Thief. 

This weather is finally absolutely perfect for reading!

Right now, I'm working on some research for the promotional video, and making sure I have all the software I need. Here's hoping that Movie Maker is sufficient enough for this task. I still don't know how I'm going to be recording audio for the interviews, but I have some professional mics at home I can probably use. We'll see.

We're also developing our own research model, and are having a couple of board discussions in the following month. I'm trying to familiarize myself with some of these research methods. I will be presenting information about another local schools inquiry method. I'm trying to be well-versed enough to answer questions, but I imagine I'll also be pretty darn nervous. Just have to be prepared!

Off to finish Zita the Spacegirl and then start on some other PowerPoint projects.