Emily’s Comments (group member since Jan 24, 2022)

Emily’s comments from the La Crescent Public Library group.

Aaniin! (Hello!) November is Native American Heritage Month! Here are some of our favorite picture books about Native/ Indigenous Americans!

We Are Water Protectors is a story inspired by the Indigenous-led movments to protect natural water sources. Author Carole Lindstrom is Anishinabe/Metis and enrolled with the Turtle Mountain Band of Ojibwe. Illustrator Michaela Goade is an enrolled member of the Tlingit & Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska.

We Are Still Here!: Native American Truths Everyone Should Know features modern Native American characters who take a close look at contemporary life as a Native American person. This book is a companion to the book We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga, which follows a full year of Cherokee celebrations. Author Traci Sorell is an enrolled member of the Cherokee Nation.

Did You Hear Wind Sing Your Name?: An Oneida Song of Spring is a beautifully illustrated book that celebrates the Oneida Indians' view of spring. Author Sandra De Coteau Orie was a member of the Oneida Indian Nation.

Jingle Dancer features the story of Jenna, who has grown up with the tradition of jingle dancing shared throughout the generations. She is excited for her turn to dance in the powwow, but her dress isn't ready. She borrows jingles from the dresses of the women around her --only a few jingles from each dress so the dresses don't lose their voice. Guest reader Elizabeth Digby-Britten explained that the jingle dress & dance represents healing, and that if you hear the jingles, it can help with healing. Jenna goes on to dance for the women around her, the ones from whom she borrowed jingles for her dress.

Fry Bread: A Native American Family Story shares the importance of fry bread. Fry bread is a newer tradition for Native Americans, mostly stemming from when tribes were forced onto the reservations. This story explains how this tradition is a celebration of old and new, and connects people, families, and generations.

Miigwech (thank you) for reading! Stop by the La Crescent Public Library to check out these and many more books by Indigenous authors & illustrators, featuring accurate, respectful representations of Indigenous characters & cultures!

We're collaborating with the Bridge, an after-school program housed at the La Crescent Methodist Church, to host a Teen Book Club at 3:15pm on the 3rd Tuesday of the month.

Join us for our next book club meeting at the Methodist Church on Tuesday, Nov. 15th, at 3:15pm! We're celebrating Native American Heritage month with our Teen Read! Stop by the library to check out a copy of the book: Firekeeper's Daughter

As you're reading, consider the following discussion questions:

1. How do each of the characters view their identities? Daunis is very aware of being biracial and feeling caught between worlds, and she and her best friend Lily also live with the weight of being unenrolled members of their tribe. How does that affect how they're treated? Jamie also struggles to feel any connection to his heritage. What do you think are the advantages and pitfalls of both being aware of your background and also oblivious to your history?

2. There are so many strong female role models in Daunis’ life. Who was your favorite female character?

3. Indigenous voices are under-represented in publishing, which is partly why Boulley wanted to write this story. What was something you learned from this novel about her culture that surprised or intrigued you, or made you want to read more about the topic?

4. Boulley always wanted to write an “Indigenous Nancy Drew” story. What were your thoughts on the mystery aspect of the novel? What did you think of the outcome of the FBI investigation and Daunis’ hard work being unusable in court?

5. “Grief” and “Processing Grief” are strong themes in this book. Did you connect with Daunis and the way she dealt with the tragedies she experienced? Was there a part of her story that affected you more than others?

6. Aunt Teddie talks about Blanket Parties as a form of tribal women’s justice because the justice system often fails them. What do you think of this practice? Do you think Daunis went ahead with the Blanket Party?

7. Some of the most powerful scenes in the book occur in moments of ceremony and ritual. What is the significance of this, and how does the author use these moments to create tension and resonance?

8. There are many elders in Daunis's life who give her guidance and share wisdom. Who was your favorite? Which elder’s coming-of-age story would you most want to read?

9.The end of the book finds Daunis in a different place, pursuing a different future than she first envisioned. Why do you think she decided to shift her focus? What do you think about her new path?

This fall, we're collaborating with the Bridge, an after-school program housed at the La Crescent Methodist Church, to host a Teen Book Club at 3:15pm on the 3rd Tuesday of the month.

Join us for our next book club meeting at the Methodist Church on Tuesday, Oct. 18th, at 3:15pm! Stop by the library to check out a copy of the book: Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

As you're reading, consider these discussion questions:
1. What kind of character is Abe Portman? What kind of a world does he create in his stories for young Jacob Portman? Why do the stories intrigue Jacob so much? As he moves into adolescence, why does Jacob begin to doubt the accuracy of his grandfather’s stories?
2. What makes Jacob think his grandfather's death is more sinister than what the official version claims?
3. What role does the house serve in the story? Would you say it’s a setting, or more of a character itself?
4. What effects does the author use to create a suspenseful atmosphere in the novel?
5. How does Riggs use language to instill unease, fear, and tension?
6. Do you enjoy the way Riggs plays with time in the novel?
7. Were you surprised by the direction that the story took? Were you expecting it to go elsewhere?
8. Were you able to suspend your disbelief enough to enjoy the story's turn of events?
9. Which of the peculiar children’s oddities and personalities do you find most intriguing?
10. What do you think of the narrative voice? Does the voice match what you would expect from a young boy or adolescent? Does the voice change during the course of the book?
11. Can this book be seen as a classic quest story (a young hero goes on a difficult journey and is transformed in the process)? Do you see parallels with other fantasy works involving young people?
12. What was your overall experience of reading the book? How did it make you feel (disturbed, fascinated, interested, or something else)?
13. Was the end satisfying? Are loose ends tied up or left hanging? How likely are you to read the next book in the series? Where do you think the author will take the readers next?

Additional questions:
10. This story began as a musical first performed on Broadway in 2016. Are you familiar with the musical or soundtrack? Are there any differences between the musical and the novel? How do these differences change the story?
11. As of 2021, this story is now a movie. Have you seen this film? What are the differences between the novel and the film? How do these differences change the story?

This fall, we're collaborating with the Bridge, an after-school program housed at the La Crescent Methodist Church, to host a Teen Book Club at 3:15pm on the 3rd Tuesday of the month.

Join us for our first book club meeting at the Methodist Church on Tuesday, Sept. 20th, at 3:15pm! Stop by the library to check out a copy of the book: Dear Evan Hansen.

As you're reading, consider these discussion questions:
1. How does each of the book’s characters struggle to be true to himself or herself?
2. How did you feel about Evan’s lying about the letter? Why do lies sometimes spin out of control? What kind of relief comes with telling the truth, even if the truth is painful?
3. Social media plays a major role in this story. Is social media really social, or does it further disconnect characters? How does it impact characters negatively and/or positively in the novel? IRL?
4. Why do people respond to The Connor Project when they don’t know any of the people involved? Why does it become a phenomenon? Can you think of a real-life example of something similar?
5. Evan struggles with severe social anxiety. Many of the other characters struggle with other kinds of pressures. Why do teenagers feel so much pressure? Where does it come from? How can it be lessened or managed?
6. How does Evan change throughout the novel? What does he learn?
7. With which characters or parts of the book did you most identify? What did the book mean to you?
8. What kind of resolution is reached at the end? Why is it important that everything isn’t neatly resolved?
9. Evan writes to himself: “Today is going to be an amazing day and here’s why…” Think about your own life. How can you adopt some of this positive thinking? What will make your day, week, year, life be amazing?

For our summer Teen Book Club, we read the book Punching the Air by National Book Award Finalist Ibi Zoboi, and Yusef Salaam of the Exonerated Five.

When he was fifteen years old, Yusef Salaam was one of five Black and Latino teens who were arrested and charged for a crime they did not commit. Salaam's story is reflected in that of Amal's, who, through a collection of short poem chapters, tells his experience of being arrested and charged with a crime he did not commit. The poems reflect Amal's experience of being sent to jail, his class options, and his connection to Imani, the poetry teacher.

I especially loved how the kids were trying to express themselves through their art and music, but became increasingly frustrated with the guards and staff who smothered their artistic expressions, by putting him in solitary after they find out how he decorated his cell, and by painting over the mural they worked so hard on and were so proud of.

In our discussion, it was brought up that the Authors' Note, which is at the end of the book, should actually be read before the rest of the story, because it provides background information that would be helpful in understanding the book. We also looked at some of the art pieces that are referenced, including Picasso's "Guernica", Dali's "The Persistence of Memory" (more familiarly recognized as the melting clocks painting), and Da Vinci's "Mona Lisa". We talked about Amal's relationships with those around him -- with the guards & prison staff, his family & friends, his teachers (both inside and outside the prison), and his lawyer.

I highly recommend this book for teens and adults. It's a very powerful book, very well written, and the fact that it's based on a true story makes it even more significant and meaningful.

This summer, we were able to post four different StoryWalks® in two different La Crescent parks! StoryWalks® are really cool because you can read a book while you're walking in the park. Each page of the picture book is posted on a frame so you can walk along a trail or sidewalk and read. Each of our StoryWalk® books matched our summer theme of Read Beyond the Beaten Path, encouraging individuals and families to get outside!

During June, we had a picture book called What Can You Do with a Rock? posted in Kistler Park. This story is really cool because it encourages kids to get outside and have fun looking for and learning about different kinds of rocks, and demonstrates several answers to the question: What can you do with a rock?

We also posted the book Climb On! in Vetsch Park in June. It was so cool that this story was along a hiking trail in a very hilly park, since it's a story about a father-daughter duo who go on a hike up a hill near their home. Their adventure is meant to inspire families to get outside and do their own hiking adventure. This story also incorporates words from the Creole language, and a fun search-and-find game for various animal characters within the pages of the book.

In July, we switched out the StoryWalk® books, posting two new stories in the same two parks. In Kistler Park, we had a story called A Way with Wild Things, about a kid who is more comfortable around bugs and animals, and more nervous around other people. Her grandmother, however, encourages her interest in bugs, and understands her nerves around people, calling her a Wildflower.

We also added a different book in Vetsch Park, this one called The Camping Trip, about a kid who starts out excited to go on her first camping trip with her aunt and cousin, but becomes frustrated when things don't go as she expected. Finally, after watching the stars and a good night's rest, she does have more fun on the second day of the trip.

Thank you to everyone who was able to visit our StoryWalks®! Do you have any recommendations for future StoryWalk® books?

The StoryWalk® Project was created by Anne Ferguson of Montpelier, VT, and developed in collaboration with the Kellogg-Hubbard Library. StoryWalk® is a registered service mark owned by Ms. Ferguson.

We had a lot of fun at our library celebration of Eric Carle's birthday on Saturday, June 25th!

We read From Head to Toe, which got the kiddos moving from their heads to their toes. We sang the book Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? to the tune of "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star," and the kiddos had fun singing along. Since it rained last night, Little Cloud was the perfect book to demonstrate different shapes of clouds, and what can happen when lots of clouds come together. Of course, we also read The Very Hungry Caterpillar! For our storytime craft, we started by coloring a coffee filter and making the caterpillar out of pom-pom puffs and a clothespin. Then, just like in the story, the caterpillar eats a whole bunch of food, so we scrunched up the center of the coffee filter as the caterpillar ate through it, and he turned into a beautiful butterfly! We also provided snacks for "Very Hungry Kiddos", and put together a scavenger hunt for them to find various characters around the library.

Thank you to everyone who attended our program! We had a lot of fun! What is your favorite Eric Carle story?

June is LGBT+ Pride Month! Here are some of our favorite picture books featuring LGBT+ characters!

Pride Puppy! is a fun ABC story about a puppy who gets lost during a Pride parade and features all the people the puppy encounters while running through the parade.
Prince & Knight and Maiden & Princess are two favorite fairytale stories featuring LGBT+ princes, knights, princesses, and maidens.
Rainbow: A First Book of Pride is a fun, colorful book that celebrates all kinds of families, and the special bond between parents & their children. It also introduces readers to the meaning of each of the colors on the rainbow pride flag.
Sewing the Rainbow: The Story of Gilbert Baker and the Rainbow Flag is a picture book biography of Gilbert Baker, the person who sewed the first pride flag during the San Francisco Gay Rights Movement in the 1970s.
When You Look Out the Window: How Phyllis Lyon and Del Martin Built a Community is another picture book biography of Phyllis Lyon and Del Martin, a politically active lesbian couple in San Francisco, who through the story, point out several landmarks in their city.
When Aidan Became A Brother is a lovely story of a transgender child who is going to become a big brother, and wants to do everything right for his new sibling. But he's worried about making mistakes. This story reassures all new older siblings that mistakes happen, and can be fixed and forgiven with honesty, communication, and love.

Libraries are for everyone! What are your favorite picture books featuring LGBT+ characters?

May is Mental Health Awareness Month! Here are some of our favorite mindfulness picture books we've read during storytime, and some additional recommendations.
Peaceful Like a Panda: 30 Mindful Moments for Playtime, Mealtime, Bedtime-Or Anytime! is a great book with mindfulness moments for different times of day. It includes stretches to get you up in the morning, mindful activities for mealtimes or car rides, and breathing exercises for bedtimes. A similar book in the series is Breathe Like a Bear: 30 Mindful Moments for Kids to Feel Calm and Focused Anytime, Anywhere, which includes mindfulness moments for when you have a lot of energy but need to be calm, when it's really hard to focus or pay attention, when you're bored or blah and need something to do, or if you're stressed or grumpy and need to relax.
My Magic Breath: Finding Calm Through Mindful Breathing offers breathing exercises to practice mindfulness.
Bee Still: An Invitation to Meditation is fun book about our friend Bentley the busy Bee, who finds time in his busy day to meditate, and invites his animal friends, and readers, to join him in meditating. Our friend Bentley also returns in Bee Heartful: Spread Loving-Kindness.
Wild Peace is a great book about going outside and finding peace in nature when things get stressful and overwhelming inside.
Sloth Wasn't Sleepy is a great book for when our fears and worries keep us up at night. Baby sloth's mother has some great techniques for letting worries go when baby sloth can't sleep.
Hello, Dark is another great book about the fear of the dark. Nighttime and darkness can be scary, but the message in this book can help with some of the worries that come in darkness and nighttime.
Share Your Rainbow: 18 Artists Draw Their Hope for the Future was written during 2020 and the COVID pandemic. Eighteen different artists collaborate to bring readers their hopes and dreams for the future. The rainbow, as described in the book, is the hope for the future.
Happy Mental Health Awareness Month! We hope you enjoy these books!

Last week was National Library Week! In storytime, we read some cool books about libraries!
Dinosaur vs. the Library This story was so much fun! The kids had lots of fun ROARing like a dinosaur, peep-peep-peeping like baby chicks, boo-hoo-hooing like a sad owl, and so much more. When the dinosaur finally gets the library, can he stay quiet for the whole storytime? Find out in this book!
Luna Loves Library Day This book is about a girl who visits the library to spend time with her dad! Explore the different library collections with Luna and her dad, and even read a book that Luna and her dad read together.
Lost in the Library This is a fun book about the lion statues outside the New York Public Library, Patience and Fortitude. Fortitude wakes up early one morning, but Patience is missing! Can Fortitude find his friend in the library before the rest of New York City wakes up?
Enjoy these storytime favorites about libraries! What are some of your favorite library-themed picture books?

April is National Humor Month! Here are some silly picture books from past storytimes, and some additional recommendations!
Chicken Story Time is a story about some noisy new friends who come to storytime at the library. A note from your friendly neighborhood librarians: please don't bring any chickens to Storytime! :)
Bathe the Cat is a brand new silly story! It just came out in February 2022, and is highly recommended at the La Crescent library.
Nerp! is a book we read during our self-care series. It is an invitation for people of all ages, even adults, to play!
The Elephants' Guide to Hide-And-Seek -- you wouldn't think that Hide and Seek would be an enjoyable game for an elephant. This silly picture book will leave you and your littles laughing all the way.
The Panda Problem is a silly book about an argument between the narrator and the adorable main character.
The Serious Goose is a book written by Jimmy Kimmel about a goose who is DEFINITELY NOT SILLY.
Q and U Call It Quits is an alphabet adventure book that goes completely wrong. Will two long-time friends be able to fix everything in time? Find out in this book!
7 Ate 9: The Untold Story: Why was seven afraid of nine? Because seven ate nine! You and your littles will love this silly story!
The Book with No Pictures is a classic silly story written by The Office actor BJ Novak.
We hope you enjoy these goofy recommendations! What are some of your favorite laugh-out-loud picture books?

March is Women's History Month! Here are some books we read during Storytime!
Our first Storytime in March featured women athletes and artists:
Flying High: The Story of Gymnastics Champion Simone Biles
There Goes Patti McGee!: The Story of the First Women's National Skateboard Champion
Beyoncé: Shine Your Light
We read books about women who travelled far and wide -- around the world and into outer space!
Fly, Girl, Fly!: Shaesta Waiz Soars Around the World
The Spacesuit: How a Seamstress Helped Put Man on the Moon
Sadie Sprocket Builds a Rocket
We also read books about scientists who defied others' expectations of them and were truly outstanding in their fields of study:
Shark Lady: The True Story of How Eugenie Clark Became the Ocean's Most Fearless Scientist
Joan Procter, Dragon Doctor: The Woman Who Loved Reptiles
Georgia's Terrific, Colorific Experiment
Happy Women's History Month! What are some of your favorite books featuring women characters and historical figures?

February is Black History Month! Here are some of the picture books we read during Storytime!
For Valentine's Day, we focused on Self Care, featuring books about self love, family, and healthy food:
Hair Love
All Because You Matter
Michelle's Garden: How the First Lady Planted Seeds of Change
We also focused on stories of Black ballerinas, including Janet Collins, the first African American prima ballerina with the Metropolitan Opera, and Misty Copeland, the first African American Female Principal Dancer in the American Ballet Theatre:
Brave Ballerina: The Story of Janet Collins
Bunheads
When Langston Dances
Black History is American History! What are some of your favorite books featuring Black characters and historical figures?

Picture books are for everyone! What are some of your favorite picture books? What are some favorites we've read during storytime?