Jenny C.

  • Oh the Hilarity!

    ~posted by Jenny C. It’s been a while since I shared my favorite silly picture books with you, and I have a whole new crop of ridiculous and delightful picks! McToad Mows Tiny Island by Tom Angleberger This book is both completely ludicrous in plot and remarkably satisfying. McToad loves Thursdays, because on Thursdays he mows tiny island.… Continue reading

  • October Takeover: Oh, the Trebuchets of Fall!

    ~posted by Jenny C.  I don’t know if you’ve noticed, dear readers, but generally speaking the Shelftalk blog is a pretty diverse place. On any given day, you might find a post about Banned Books, or Seattle History, or even Bananas. It’s a veritable cornucopia of themes, and that’s lovely, but some of our staff writers… Continue reading

  • Fantasy Checklist Challenge: Mythopoeia

    Mythopoeia: The creation of a myth or myths. –Oxford English Dictionary How do you decide if it’s a mythopoetic book? I’m not entirely sure, but to me these books display a deep and believable magical system, drawn from old gods and stories. They create myths that I want to believe in. Possibly one of the best examples of this, The Wood… Continue reading

  • Fantasy Checklist Challenge: Fairy Tale Retellings

    ~posted by Jenny C. I love a good fairy tale; both the originals and all the myriad sorts of retelling. My very favorites, though, are the ones that keep that darkness that’s inherent in many fairy tales, and add infinite embroideries onto a familiar cloth. One of the best examples of the sheer variety possible… Continue reading

  • Fantasy Checklist Challenge: Dragons

    ~Posted by Jenny C. Oh, Dragons! How do I even begin? I mean, we’ve recently had a post that featured the Mother of Dragons — and by that I mean Anne McCaffrey (sorry Khaleesi). And my friend Misha’s post captured three of my all time favorite dragon fantasies: Temeraire, (Master and Commander with dragons), Tooth and Claw, (Dickensian succession drama) and A Natural History of… Continue reading

  • Wild Science! Summer of Learning at the Library!

    Can it be summer already? We’re gearing up for a fantastic summer of fun and learning, with programs and classes for kids and teens, with activity booklets and book giveaways and this year, for the first time, a partnership with Woodland Park Zoo — yes, that means free zoo tickets, come August, while supplies last.… Continue reading

  • Science Fiction Checklist Challenge: Kids

    ~posted by Jenny C. We’re coming to a close on the Science Fiction Checklist Challenge shortly, but I wanted to make sure there were a few more offerings for the child sci-fi reader out there. Oddly, while children’s fiction is crammed to the gills with fantasy and magic, there’s not much SF on the shelf,… Continue reading

  • National Film Festival for Talented Youth Screening!

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  • On Veteran’s Day

    This is the year we commemorate the 100th anniversary of the outbreak of World War I. There is a beautiful and moving installation of poppies at the Tower of London, especially to honor the British and colonial deaths in that war. Continue reading

  • Mystery Challenge: Amateur Sleuths

    ~ by Jenny C. For all of you reading along in the Mystery Challenge, this week we focus on the valiant, perceptive, amateur sleuth. Now, many heroes and heroines of the mystery genre qualify as amateurs, especially those from points in history before official certifications, but I wanted to highlight some of the most winning… Continue reading

  • The Best of NFFTY-Cinema in Tune

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  • Holy Exclamation Points, Batman!!!

    ~posted by Jenny C. All the staff favorites we’ve been featuring lead me to want to share my recent favorites with you, too. There may be an excess of enthusiasm in this post, but I’m not going to apologize for that. Great books! Deserve! Enthusiasm! The Encyclopedia of Early Earth by Isabel Greenberg This book… Continue reading

  • Shout-out to the Teens at the Central Library

    Did you know that our library has Teen Advisory Groups? They meet on a regular basis all over the city. They come together and earn service learning credits by writing blog posts and creating displays and giving us direct feedback on our databases, and finding ways to help the library create interesting, engaging programs for… Continue reading

  • A Smorgasbord, A Potpourri

    Posted by Jenny I could pretend that there is some theme connecting these books, but the truth is, I’ve just been reading around a lot lately. Here are some highlights from my recent perusals. Out of the Easy by Ruta Sepetys Josie Moraine is a girl living in the seedy side of New Orleans, pulled between her… Continue reading

  • Sing it! Musicals at the Central Library

    Listen up, Aca-people! The Teen Center presents: Pitch Perfect: the beloved A Capella cult film in our Acatorium on March 28 at 4:00. If you love A Capella (and who doesn’t love A Capella?) this is the movie for you! There will be snacks, and Aca-singing along is encouraged.   Come back to the Microsoft… Continue reading

  • Science Fiction Fridays: New and Interesting Witches

    I’ve been on a witches kick lately, and I’ve been eagerly awaiting the publication of a couple of these so that I can share them with you. Continue reading

  • Dreaming of Wild Places

    Cold weather and snow (snow!) make me want to curl up under my bubble lights and dream about outside adventures in the natural world. I like a touch of nostalgia too, so here are a few memoirs that are intricately connected to the time and place they were written in, with a great mindfulness for… Continue reading

  • Movie: The Perks of Being a Wallflower

      Join us on Friday, December 20 at 4:00 pm at the Central Library for a screening of “The Perks of Being a Wallflower.” Perks of attending: Free snacks, a trivia contest and a drawing to win the movie DVD and book. Continue reading