It’s summer, and we’re already half way through the Summer Reading Game. Many of you have signed up and finished. Some of you are just starting. There’s plenty of time to start now and finish by August 8.
I find more people inquire about using eBooks and eAudiobooks. Perhaps the next book in a series the kids want is available in eBook format first, although you might still have to place a hold. Or, perhaps you really want some audiobooks to listen to on a road trip, and the CD Book isn’t available or is on hold for someone else.
On our website you can find guides for using the various platforms (Overdrive, Enki, etc.) with your particular Android, iPad, Nook, Kindle, or other device. Look for eBooks on the bottom right column on our homepage. On the next page, click on Overdrive (or OneClick or other options). Then you’ll see a list of guides for your device for that particular platform. After trying it out at home, if you need more guidance, ask our librarians at any information desk. Just be prepared for a bit of a wait, as we have longer lines than usual as we’re giving out summer reading prizes 🙂
Meanwhile I have a list of kids’ books I want to read, suggested by various children’s librarians in the Bay Area as “distinguished” books, including several titles that are just available this year. Here are three of them…
Gone Crazy in Alabama, by Rita Williams-Garcia (April 2015). She wrote the Newbery Honor winner, One Crazy Summer(2010), about three sisters (ages 11, 7 and 5) who spend the summer of 1968 in Oakland with their mom. They are enrolled in free breakfasts and peace day camp provided by the Black Panthers — where they learn about pride in their heritage, and learn how to stand up for themselves. They also learn that the family that loves them may not be related by blood — and some of the family that loves them most is back in Brooklyn. One summer later, the girls travel to the Deep South, to Alabama, to visit their paternal grandmother and great grandma. They learn about a slower lifestyle, a more polite way, but a place where small rivalries and grudges are held onto for decades. These girls may be the catalyst for reconciliation in their family — but they have a few things to learn from their aunties, as well!
The Imaginary, by A.F. Harrold (ill. Emily Gravett), March 2015. About the life of an imaginary friend — and what does he do when the girl who imagines him is fading away? An interesting existential question! (I’m intrigued to know more about the story A.F. Harrold will unfold to us) 
The Honest Truth, by Dan Gemeinhart (January 2015), which is an adventure of a boy and his dog, surviving in nature. But the boy has a terminal diagnosis. He’s sick enough to need to go to the hospital for treatments. But before that happens, he wants to climb a mountain in Washington state. He uses ingenuity and creativity just to get himself and his dog out of the city. I can’t wait to see what happens next…
Whether you’re reading Harry Potter #1, or Percy Jackson for the first or fifth time — or trying something brand new — enjoy the summer for the opportunity to read something different, thought-provoking, or fun!
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