Bone-chilling Kid Reads

We're continuing our series of scary reads for Halloween with a spooky smattering for kids! Parents and caregivers, as with all books we recommend, it is recommended that you evaluate both the reading difficulty and the necessary maturity level of the book whenever possible. It's excellent for kids to read something that's interesting to them, but if they're not prepared for the intensity of a scare, it might be best to read the book with a buddy or even to wait until they feel more comfortable.*

From left to right, top to bottom...

1. The Dark by Lemony Snicket // Best for PreK-grade 2

2. The Ghost-eye Tree by Bill Martin Jr. // Best for PreK-grade 2

3. The Teeny-tiny Woman: A Ghost Story by Paul Galdone // Best for PreK-grade 2

4. The Banshee Train by Odds Bodkin // Best for PreK-grade 3

5. The Ghost of Nicholas Greebe by Tony Johnston // Best for grades K-4

6. The Seer of Shadows by Avi (720 Lexile) // Best for grades 2-7

7. Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark by Alvin Schwartz (640 Lexile) // Best for grades 4-6, though there is an Easy Reader version, In A Dark, Dark Room and Other Scary Stories also by Alvin Schwartz (430 Lexile) for PreK-grade 3

8. Night of the Living Dummy by R. L. Stine (590 Lexile) // Best for grades 4-6

6. Skeleton Man by Joseph Bruchac (730 Lexile) // Best for grades 4-6

10. Wait Till Helen Comes: A Ghost Story by Mary Downing Hahn (750 Lexile) // Best for grades 4-6

*The first five books on our list are adult-directed text, intended to be read to a child, therefore no Lexile level is included.

Blood-curdling Teen Reads

To cap off Teen Read Week, we've created a short list of terrifying teen reads — it is, after all, October and Halloween is on the horizon! 'Tis the season to be a little freaked out about being alone in a dark house, right? These books range in terror index from "the uncomfortable feeling someone is watching you" to "hiding in the shower while being stalked by a deranged murderer with a sharp knife." How much horror can YOU handle?

From left to right, top to bottom...
1. Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake // In which a teenage boy carries on his father's work, killing the dead.
2. The Monstrumologist by Richard Yancey // Apprentice teen monster hunter must stop monsters which feed through horrible teeth in chest.
3. Rot & Ruin by Jonathan Maberry // In which a teen boy must seek gainful employment as a zombie bounty hunter.
4. The Diviners by Libba Bray // A teen girl and her museum-curator uncle investigate creepy occult murders.
5. The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman // In which a young boy is raised by ghosts in a graveyard after his entire family is murdered.
6. Texas Gothic by Rosemary Clement-Moore // An otherwise ordinary teen girl from a witchy family finds herself suddenly plagued by a nasty ghost.
7. Lord Loss by Darren Shan // In which a teen boy witnesses the brutal murder of his entire family and dodges demons left and right.
8. I Know What You Did Last Summer by Lois Duncan // Four teens try to hide their involvement in a hit-and-run, but find themselves stalked by a mysterious revenge seeker.

Halloween Happenings

Wear your costume and

come trick-or-treating at the Library.

HALLOWEEN

BEDTIME BUDDIES

Tuesday, October 26, 6:30 PM

An evening storytime for families of all ages.

A SOMEWHAT SCARY

STORYTIME

Wednesday, October 27, 10:00 AM

A preschool storytime for ages 3-6 years.

BABY BOO

Thursday, October 28, 10:00 AM

A lapsit storytime for ages newborn to 36 months.

ORIGAMI WORKSHOP

Thursday, October 28, 2:00 PM

For grades 4-8.

Previous experience helpful but not required.

HALLOWEEN

CRAFTY STORIES

Friday, October 29, 2:00 PM

A story and a craft for grades K-3. Please register.

This Thing On?

Wow, has it really been that long since I posted anything? Yikes! Sorry about that.

Okay, well some catching up to do then. Expansion plans are still moving ahead, though we did reschedule our final meeting with Uihlein-Wilson into November to allow time for full development of all our options. Depending on the Village and their fiscal situation, we hope to be able to further develop our plans in 2010 and break ground in 2011. We'll see how it plays out.

Jacquie retired (waaah!), but we have hired a friendly, experienced replacement for her, so I think we'll be okay.

The library participated in a variety of Halloween events, including the Rotary Club's inaugural Halloween Haunt. I think things went quite well for a first year effort.

Thanks to the generosity of Jeanne and Bob Romanowski, we have some new, attractive and user-friendly CD racks in the library.

More and more and more, but I'll try to expand on the above and fill in the gaps during the course of this week.

Sorry for the long absence!

Free Wii and other Halloween Happenings at the Librarii

With no school on Thursday and today, the Librarii offered a chance to play Wii in our communitii room. Several dozen participants tried their hands at Guitar Hero, Mario Kart, Rayman Ravin' Rabbits, Smash Bros. Brawl and many other popular titles. Even a few of the staff got involved, completely butchering Hit Me With Your Best Shot and Slow Ride.

In addition to the Wii play, which ran from 9:30-11:30 and 1:30-4:00 on both Thursday and Friday, the Library had a Goth Sock Puppet-- or Gock Puppet-- contest. All of the entries were excellent, really showing some creativity, thought and effort-- good job to all of the entrants. The winners of the gift cards will be announced soon.