Story Times are Magical
Every Wednesday during the summer I make an appearance at Half Price Books Humble, 10:30 am sharp. I make an announcement over the intercom – NOT my forte – place snacks on the children’s table, and pick out stories to read out loud to whoever arrives.
Sometimes I have crowds! Sometimes it’s just me and Kiddo hanging out reading as we would at home. Sometimes I have authors come and read their books to the kids. But ALWAYS it is a little bit magical.
How appropriate then that Edward Castro joined us for a second time with his book Hanna’s Magic Light
Not available yet in a physical copy, Castro read to the kids from a bound manuscript while his agent showed the pictures on her tablet. The kids were riveted by the story about Hanna and her Daddy and the magical dome light in the car, turned lesson on finding your own inner light.
At the end, each kid received a cupcake and/or cookie as well as a “magic light” of their own to take home – Glow Sticks made into a necklace.
Tomorrow is Wednesday again. We won’t have Castro back this soon, but we will be featuring Song for Papa Crow, compliments of Schiffer Publishing.
Castro will return later in July. For those who cannot make middle of the week events, this will allow you to meet the author and purchase a hard copy of his picture book, as he hopes to have some in print by then:
Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss!
This is an annual event at most Half Price Books stores. If you missed it this year, keep your eyes peeled for signage in your favorite store next year.
Oh The Places You’ll Go!
One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish
There was also had a bowl of colored Gold Fish at the table with a pretty nifty sign of the book cover. Each kid got a party bag with an HPB cup inside so they could scoop goldfish from the bowl.
My kiddo with The Cat in the Hat (Kevin Pickle)
I think we were just as excited as the kids to take a picture with a real, live Cat in the Hat.
I got the idea for Truffula Tree Cupcakes on Pinterest. It’s chocolate cupcake mix, icing dyed green with food coloring, I added dark green sprinkles for fun, and cotton candy on a kebob stick. Do the cotton candy last minute, I tried to do it too soon and the humidity of Houston caused the cotton candy to crystallize and shrink. We had to buy a second batch of cotton candy and redo it right before the party.
February 2014 Events!
Stores and coordinators take a little bit of a break from extra events around the winter solstice holidays and let the holidays be the holidays. But it’s a new year! Here’s to February 2014.
Hold Your Breath, Make a Wish…
Title: Storyteller
Author: Donald Sturrock
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Genre: Biography/ Literature
Length: 656 pages
“…Count to three…
Come with me and you’ll be in a world of pure imagination.
Take a look and you’ll see into your imagination.
We’ll begin with a spin…
Traveling in a world of my creation.
What we’ll see will defy explanation!”
I don’t know anyone who didn’t grow up enthralled with Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (the movie). I know many who were equally amazed by the books below, though obviously less because after all there aren’t as many book-nerds as there are movie goers.
I dreamed of writing books like these as a child. As an adult, though I am an aspiring novelist with a novella recently published, however, I find myself longing to be a biographer. That’s where the real talent lies.
Donald Sturrock’s Storyteller: The Authorized Biography of Roald Dahl is fascinating. You wouldn’t think reading a biography on a man who hated biographies would be so riveting, but it is. I also never expected the man who had such a vivid imagination to have such an involved life. For some reason I usually expect people who imagine much to live little. I am constantly being proven wrong.
When reading the opening pages, I was at first struck with how much I previously didn’t know about Dahl at all. Little things, like his height. I didn’t know that Dahl was so tall, six foot five! Then describe his personality: a witty bit of a curmudgeon… an entertainer, someone always intrigued by the best of things… in those early pages I thought I might fall in love with him! Too bad he was married, would be far too old if he were living, and by the way is also dead.
Further into the biography, the magic wears off as he becomes more and more a real person. Everyone has flaws. I find his attachment to celebrity and his name-dropping a huge turn off as a human, but I still adore him. However, rather than continue to adore Dahl the way I did from the start of the book, I find myself completely compelled to discover more about this biographer.
The life of researchers ever pique my interest. I am an amateur. I read and read and read, take notes, and then hop and skip over to a new topic. I rarely develop ideas as thoroughly as I should, and though I never become bored with a topic I quite frequently find myself distracted by the shiny newness of others. A biographer – a good biographer – can’t be so willy-nilly. I respect that. I am envious of that.
In regards to Roald Dahl, all I can say is that you should read Sturrock’s biography. I don’t like giving away spoilers, but I think the year 2014 will be full of Dahl titles, both because I am newly inspired to read them and my kiddo is ready to hear me read the children’s titles aloud, I think.
Dahl died November 23, 1990. In honor of his Death-aversary, Good Books in the Woods held a chocolate tasting (compliments of Schaokolad in The Woodlands). One of the patrons had actually met Dahl in person before his death so the discussion, as all discussion at Good Books, was exciting and rather involved.
Anakalian Whims 