What do Librarians Love to Read?

I love to talk about books. I love to listen to other people who love books talk about books. It kind of goes with being a librarian, I suppose. So, I really had a great time at our Library Staff Book Club tonight. For a change of pace, we did not all read the same book and discuss it this time around. Instead, in honor of the upcoming holiday season, we each brought a holiday treat to eat or drink (Alesha, I have GOT to have that hot chocolate recipe!!!), and one or more of our favorite books. They could be books we'd give as gifts, or simply books we love to read.

Sue G., retired Children's Librarian and lately of the Caldecott committee, was our invited guest speaker. She talked about excellent picture books, and got to share the most books:
Show and Tell: Exploring the Fine Art of Children's Book Illustration by Dilys Evans
Flotsam by David Wiesner
Diary of a Spider by Doreen Cronin
Click Clack Moo: Cows that Type by Doreen Cronin
When Marian Sang by Pam Muñoz Ryan
Olivia Helps with Christmas (and other Olivia books) by Ian Falconer
Mercy Watson series by Kate DiCamillo

Then the rest of the club shared the books they'd brought:

Judy:
Graceling by Kristin Cashore

Catherine:
Lady Cottington's Pressed Fairy Book by Terry Jones
The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde

Janis:
Chaucer's First Winter by Stephen Krensky

Jill H.:
I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith
Dinotopia: a Land Apart from Time by James Gurney
Dinotopia: the World Beneath by James Gurney
Dinotopia: Journey to Chandara by James Gurney

Alesha:
On Christmas Eve by Margaret Wise Brown
The Christmas Day Kitten by James Herriot
Off Armageddon Reef by David Weber

Tess:
Ash by Malinda Lo
The Wild Things by Dave Eggers

Jennifer:
Little Pea by Amy Krouse Rosenthal

Kathleen:
A Gift from the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindbergh

Marilyn:
The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein

Mary Lee:
The Night Before Christmas by Clement Clarke Moore (and the gorgeous pop-up version by Robert Sabuda)
Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl

Gail:
The Christmas Pearl by Dorothea Frank

Jeanette:
Tears in the Darkness by Michael Norman
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (Pop-Up Adaptation) by Robert Sabuda
Peter Pan (Pop-Up Adaptation) by Robert Sabuda

Christine:
The Christmas List by Richard Paul Evans

Terry:
I'm Just Here for the Food by Alton Brown
Rash by Pete Hautman

Jill Z.:
Sweet Revenge (& others in the Goldy Bear series) by Diane Mott Davidson

Lynn:
The Moonflower Vine by Jetta Carleton

National Book Festival = Nirvana for Librarians

NationalBookFest
Originally uploaded by librarianjill

Tess, Catherine & I made a Librarian's Pilgrimage to the National Book Festival this past weekend. It was pure book-loving awesomeness. We went by Metro, and had a minor mishap when the farecard machine ate Catherine's husband's money and didn't give him a farecard in return. It did rain a bit, but not torrentially, and we had umbrellas so it was all good.
We waited in line more than an hour to get our books signed by Mo Willems, the author of some of our favorite picture books, and when we got up to the front I got to talk to him a for a minute and tell him about our plans for a "Mo Willems book party" at the library soon. He laughed and looked delighted and said, "Sounds like fun!" Sigh...
(Dear readers, you must understand that for a children's librarian like me, meeting Mo is like meeting a rock star. Only better.)
We also went to his talk/reading later in the afternoon.
See that book Tess is holding? That's a copy of "Big Frog Can't Fit In," which is a brand-new book by Mo that was on advance sale at the festival. Not available yet anywhere else! We all got one, and Mo signed them. It is a pop-up book. It is awesome.
I had such a good time with my librarian friends!
Special thanks goes to Catherine's husband Greg, who braved the incredible crush of people in the Book Sales tent to get us those 3 books, while we waited in the book-signing line. Above and beyond the call of duty, that was, and we love him for it.