Clifford meets the Bear Cubs

Hope you got a chance to come to the book fair. If not I'll be there Saturday from 10 to noon. (Maybe a little earlier.) There is a great selection of books this time. The kids have been so excited. I wish I'd been counting the number of copies of The 39 Clues we've sold.

Thanks to everyone who has supported the library by shopping at the book fair. And big thanks also to those who have purchased books for classrooms.

Talk to you soon,

Book Fair Time!!

This will be a first - a book fair during Halloween. It will be interesting. How many things can our brains take in at once? Politics, economics, costumes and books!! My brain always has room for books. It's still a perfect time to do some early holiday shopping, and all the profits benefit our library. I've seen the list. It looks like they've sent some good books.

The kids will be visiting on Thursday and filling out wish lists. We carefully explain to them that wishing doesn't mean getting. We also encourage books more than toys on the list.

(I also never put out all the little toys that Scholastic sends. I have a personal policy that I won't put out a gimmicky pen that costs as much as a book. But if you ever want to look in the boxes of stuff I don't put out, just ask.)

Hours are 8ish to 5 Thursday and Friday. I might leave earlier Friday if it looks like everyone has vacated the premises to go trick-or-treating. I'll be open from 10 to noon on Saturday, too. I do need to leave right at noon because my son and I are taking a painting workshop.

I know everyone is maxed out this week, but I could still use a couple of volunteers. E-mail me at byseabury@yahoo.com.

See you at the book fair!

Meet the Author

This is the cover of a fun new Halloween book for little ones. I've read it to the Bear Cubs and Superstars and they loved it. It's got just the right amount of scary (not much) for preschoolers. The nervous bunny on the cover discovers he can brave the unknowns of his first time trick-or-treating after he finds a friend who is just as timid as he is. Once they team up, they are brave and jubilant bunnies.

Author Kathryn Galbraith, who lives in University Place, is holding a fun-sounding event for families at Tacoma's Wheelock Library on Saturday at 3 p.m. She'll read "Boo, Bunny!" and probably another Halloween book. There will be treats and other activities.

I think there will be books for sale, too, with opportunities to get them autographed. I started a collection of autographed books for my kids when they were young and they are pretty cool to have. We have lots of first editions of really nice books.

"Boo, Bunny!" has been getting great reviews, including a mention in this week's People magazine. (Also mentioned is another book I reviewed a week ago in the TNT, Cat Nights, by Jane Manning.)

This week my column in The News Tribune features "Boo, Bunny!" and an interview with Kathryn Galbraith. She's a great person who knows a lot about writing for children. I hope some of you will make it to the Wheelock event. It's a super experience for children to see the real people who make their books. I'll keep letting you know about other opportunities, too.

(By the way, Kathryn says the event is appropriate for children ages 3 and up. She is not wearing a costume, scary or otherwise. She is bringing a stuffed white bunny with a green cape and mask.)

Talk to you soon,

A belated welcome
to the 2008-09 school year in the Seabury Library.

The library looks great; we have some beautiful new shelves to accomodate our formerly bursting at the seams picture book collection thanks to Ken Fox. Check them out. (The upper level of blue shelves.) They are firmly bolted to the wall, thanks to Joe Ward.

Library days are in full swing. The children are excitedly exploring. They're finding new books to read for fun and learning. (Most of the time learning and fun is the same thing for these kids.)

I've read quite a few books to various classes. A favorite has been President Pennybaker, by Kate Feiffer. It's about a boy who runs for president on the "no more homework and no bedtime" platform. The Beacons cheered just like the kids in his fictional audiences.

Of course, now we're reading Halloween books – just scary enough – depending on age level.

I'm reading The Mysterious Benedict Society, by Trenton Lee Stewart, to the Explorers. That class pretty much insists I have a chapter book going with them at all times. The heroes of this book are gifted kids and it's grabbing us right away. (My daughter has been bugging me to read it for a long time. This is a great excuse.) The only problem; it's long. At once a week, we might finish by May.

I did my traditional "What We Read This Summer" poster, writing down a book each from students and staff members. I was once again impressed and inspired by all the summer reading that gets done by the Seabury community.

Here's a sampling:

One of our sixth graders read The Light in the Forest, by Conrad Richter; another read both Eragon and Eldest. Fifth graders read House of the Scorpions, by Nancy Farmer, Maximum Ride, by James Patterson and The Navigator, by Eoin McNamee.

A couple of students read The Lightning Thief and other books in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series.
Navigators read Redwall and Nory Ryan's Song, by Patricia Reilly Giff.

Second graders read Judy Moody: Around the World in 81/2 Days, Trumpet of the Swan and Spiderwick Chronicles.

Three first graders read Encyclopedia Brown books. A kindergartner read a Bailey School kids book and another read The Dr. Seuss Sleep Book.

As for the staff? Here are a few of the books we read:
Three Cups of Tea, by Gary Mortensen (Kids versions of this great story are coming out soon.)
The Anthropology of Turquoise, by Ellen Meloy
Run, by Ann Patchett
Twilight, by Stephenie Meyer
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, by Barbara Kinsolver
Lipstick Jungle, by Candace Bushnell
Lucky, by Alice Sebold
Sound of Waves, by Yukio Mishima
Sundays at Tiffanys, by James Patterson

I hope you had the chance to see the poster when it was on the front wall of the school. If not, I've still got it.


For those of you who don't know, I write a weekly children's book column for The News Tribune in Tacoma. Here's a link to this week's reviews of new election books. If you want to see more columns, you can do an advanced search for my byline (Rebecca Young).



I'll try to keep this updated more often. No surgery this school year!

Talk to you soon ...