Children's Books, and Other Cool Stuff

  Author Spotlight August 2022    Bio Hi! I’m Sybrina. I have been writing since I was a little girl. My Dad was my main influence. He could tell a story like nobody’s business. He would hold an entire room enthralled, wildly recounting his youthful adventures. I could never tell stories like that, but I found that I could write them down pretty well. A little aside about my dad that you might find interesting...he thought he made up my name, Sybrina, and he was proud of it. Once I made the mistake of asking him if I could have a nickname because Sybrina (Si [rhymes with Hi]-Bree-Nuh) is awkward name to pronounce. No one ever got it right. Well, that was the angriest He ever was at me. His answer was unequivocally “NO!” He said, “I gave you that name for a reason. Someday the world is going to know who you are, and you need a name they will remember.” I scoffed at such a notion at the time but maybe that little lecture is what has motivated me to keep writing and sharing ...

  Author Spotlight 2021 Book Review “Ishkabibble unafraid”- I read this book and overall found it was an interesting idea and a good play on the famous saying that kids are told “That monsters live in their closets or under the bed.”   That concept made this book surprising and rather interesting. The illustration by Jack Foster were incredibly good and used simple colors and shapes to bring the main character to life. Yet. I found that the book had several forced rhymes and might be confusing for some children. It also lacked what we call a story arc where the main character goes through a full circle and grows in some way. In general, this book could be fun read, but it certainly needs some development and clarity. Also, many picture books I have read while working as a free-lance book reviewer for Scholastic for two years were not written with moral lessons but written to be just fun stories.   I would give this one three stars.        ...

I had the great pleasure of meeting these two upcoming authors and asking them some questions. Mrs. Nan Whybark   My real name is Nanette, not Nancy. I like the informality of Nan though; as my grandpa always called me Nan Louisa (Grandpa pronounced it Loo-eye-za).   I had a golden childhood, and sadly I hear that is rare these days.   My grandparents were a huge presence in my life. From them I learned sewing, bread making, quilting, piano skills, how to ride a bike and play marbles, and the wonderful taste of homemade root beer on a hot summer day.   I learned to love the smell of roses, crisp, ironed linen sheets, fresh bread and warm apple pie. There’s so much I could tell about my grandparents! I had lots of pets too. Hamsters, mice, rats, rabbits, dogs, cats, fish, ducks, snakes, lizards—all wonderful in their own way. But I’ve always wanted a dragon. I have a room full of dragons now, but still none of them are truly alive. Maybe someday! ....

What makes you think about when you hear the word Reference Books. A dusty pile of books that are never used standing on a library shelf? The books that are used often but cannot be taken out. Actually there is much more to them than that. I used to work in several libraries and worked closely with this collection. From cataloging them to placing them on the library shelves. Reference book play an important role in any library. In this update I decided to dedicate a post to Reference Books.   Reference Books   "Scholastic Children's Dictionary- This book was put together by  many people. Scholastic Books Inc. Published USA 2013. This Dictionary is a wonderful tool for both children and adults. It is full of wonderful illustrations and detailed word meanings. It is divided into many sections and covers everything from Thesaurus to different facts. It is very easy to follow and is a wonderful reference tool not only for ...