Can't You Sleep Little Bear

We have been in business for two years and as many of you know when we first opened the doors our shelves had a lot of empty spaces on them.  I have had a wonderful time adding new releases but probably even more enjoyable has been the search for the perfect backlist titles that I want to make a permanent part of our inventory and that I know I can always enthusiastically recommend.

This is particularly true in our childrens section.  There are so many books to evaluate: different genres, dozens of series, commercially popular characters.  They come in all sizes and shapes, there are books for early readers, chapter books, picture books for all ages and oh, my, where to begin and end.

As a part of this search I was pleased to discover a series of podcasts offered through iTunesU featuring David Beagley and his classes on Children's Literature from LaTrobe University.  When discussing picture books, Beagley used "Can't You Sleep, Little Bear?" as an example. His description of this story and the illustrations about Big Bear and Little Bear intrigued me enough that I ordered a copy for the store.

I have fallen in love with this wonderful little picture book.  The story is simple enough -- Little Bear can't sleep because he's afraid of the dark.  After several attempts of banishing the dark with lanterns increasing in size and brilliance, Big Bear "saw that Little Bear was right" and he "thought about it for a long time" but as we find out Big Bear finally has an idea and is able to make Little Bear feel so safe that "he didn't say anything, for he had gone to sleep, warm and safe in Big Bear's arms."

The recent publishing sensation of "Go the F**k to Sleep" (available as an ebook here) is based on the same familiar tribulations which parents often experience at nighttime when putting their little angels to bed, but I definitely prefer Big Bear's patient way of dealing with his growing but very visible frustration as he tries to finish his book but is interrupted over and over again by a Little Bear that just doesn't want to go to sleep.  This story will be loved by the little one -- there is enough repetition to allow them to follow along -- and the adult reading the book will empathize with Big Bear and be able to recognize their own resignation at the loss of a quiet evening to themselves.

The edition we carry comes with a CD that can be used in a variety of ways.  Some interactive activities are included and the story is read in a couple different ways that parents can use in a variety of situations.  The paperback book is sturdy and the pictures large enough to be easily viewed and read by adult and child.  You can find other editions at our online store located here

You can buy this wonderful new children's book by the popular writer Debbie Macomber at the store or online here.

Alaska History: "The Aunt Phil's Trunk" series

Meet the Author Series at Paragraphs

Saturday, 14th January 2012 4-6 PM

Alaska History: “The Aunt Phil’s Trunk” series

Lecture followed by book signing and reception with author, Laurel Bill

Third-generation Alaskan, Laurel Downing Bill, is author of the recently released “Aunt Phil’s Trunk” series.
The four volume series developed after Laurel inherited newspaper clips, research and rare Alaska history books from her Alaska historian aunt, Phyllis Downing Carlson, who died in 1993. The series started in July 2002 as a weekly newspaper column, “Aunt Phil’s Trunk”, in The Anchorage Chronicle.
 
Each volume contains over 300 historical photographs to complement vivid stories about Alaska's history.


Laurel is also scheduled for a Writer's Workshop, hosted by the Valley Byliners, at the Harlingen Public Library in February.  The subject of her presentation will be "Getting that Book Published" and we are pleased to have her stop by Paragraphs for our Literary Mercado, on Saturday.

Born in Fairbanks in 1951, Laurel moved to Juneau in 1959 after her father, Richard Downing, became the state’s first commissioner of public works.

She graduated from an American high school in Mallorca, Spain, in 1969 and then attended one year of college in Leysin, Switzerland. Laurel returned to Alaska in 1970, where she eventually met her husband, Don, in Fairbanks. In 1974, the couple moved to King Salmon – a small village about 360 air miles southwest of Anchorage. There they raised their two children, Kim and Ryan, in the remote community while Don worked as area biologist for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game Commercial Fisheries Division and Laurel worked her way up to assistant general manager for the Bristol Bay Telephone Cooperative Inc.

After 24 years, they retired into Anchorage. That’s when Laurel decided to go back to college. She graduated from the University of Alaska with a degree in journalism in 2003.

"Aunt Phil's Trunk: Volume 1," released in 2006, features a spectacular photo essay following the harrowing routes rugged prospectors traveled to get to the Klondike, including the all-water route from Seattle to St. Michael and on to Dawson, as well as the Stikine, White Pass and Chilkoot Pass trails.

"Aunt Phil's Trunk: Volume 2," hot off the press May 2007. includes stories about Alaska’s early lawmen – and the criminals they pursued – along with its pioneering postmen and rugged adventurers who challenged the Great Land’s highest peaks.

Released in May 2008, volume 3 spans 1912-1935 and highlights the pioneering spirit of early Alaskans as they enter a new era as a territory of the United States with stories about early Anchorage and the Alaska railroad, epidemics and rescues in the Far North and the daring flyboys of the 1920s.

"Aunt Phil's Trunk: Volume 4" captures the essence of life in Alaska between 1935 and 1960. Its vivid stories highlight major events of World War II, the Cold War era, a secret Russian mission to Fairbanks, Alaska's 91-year struggle for statehood, heroic Alaska Airlines flights for freedom, Alaska Natives battles against discrimination and how Anchorage blossomed into a jewel on the tundra.

Discover more about Laurel and the Aunt Phil’s Trunk series at www.auntphilstrunk.com This event is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be provided.
Paragraphs On Padre Boulevard,
5505 Padre Blvd. South Padre Island, TX 
For information call us at 956-433-5057

Children's Story Hour

We have been approached at various times and have had residents and visitors with small children ask about the possibility of hosting a Children's Story Hour at Paragraphs. I have wanted to do this for some time now, but did not have the time to devote to the organization, planning, and public outreach that starting an ongoing activity would involve.

So I was thrilled when one of our area mothers, with several children, which she teaches at home, offered to plan and lead a weekly story hour for the 2 to 5 year old group and their parents.

Children's Story Hour with Carrie
focused on children from 2-5 years of age
Offered every Tuesday beginning
January 17, 2011
1-2 pm
Paragraphs On Padre Boulevard

Please help spread the word to your friends and neighbors with small children. I believe this will be a wonderful opportunity for the mother's of young children to meet one another and just have an enjoyable afternoon while introducing the little ones to the joys to be found in a great story.

As usual this event is free and open to the public. Everyone is welcome to attend and no purchase is necessary.

El Paseo Arts Foundation

Presents

The Voxare String Quartet In Concert

January 26, 2012

South Padre Island Convention Center

6:30 p.m.  Complimentary Hors d’oeuvres and Cash Bar

7:30 p.m. Concert

“Gifted, passionate, and personable, Voxare provides a high-spirited, high-energy evening of music.”

Tickets $25 per person/$20 members

Tickets available for purchase at SPI Visitors Center, Paragraphs Bookstore, Designer Consigner, or online at www.elpaseoarts.org

Story Hour with Santa

Santa seems to be just about everywhere this time of year and we know he is pretty busy, but, Santa knows there is nothing quite as important to the future success of young people as discovering a love for reading.

Since Santa also loves to tell a good story he has agreed to take a break from his busy schedule and spend a few hours with us at Paragraphs to visit with the kids (both young and old) and read a selection of Christmas tales.  Santa has not told us what he will be reading but I am sure he will end the evening with "The Night Before Christmas".


 Hopefully we can also convince him to stay around if anyone would like to have a picture taken. 

Everyone is welcome and there is no charge to attend. Refreshments will be provided.
 
This is becoming a Paragraphs tradition for young and old alike. Hope you can make it.

December 22, 2011

6:30 p.m. 

Paragraphs On Padre Boulevard
5505 Padre Blvd
South Padre Island, TX
956-433-5057

Shop the Island and Register to Win

Author of "The Padre Predator" to be at Paragraphs

Shortly after we opened David and Mary Tannenbaum came into Paragraphs and we fell into that easy conversation that develops naturally between avid readers.  So we were honored and pleased when he asked us to carry and help promote his first mystery novel, The Padre Puzzle.

The Padre Puzzle is a mystery/thriller set on South Padre Island, Texas. And as the author says in a recent article, "Where do you start a mystery? With a dead man on a beach." The novel introduces us to Jimmy Redstone, an aging and somewhat irreverent Texas Ranger and his unlikely partner Angella Martinez a rookie beat cop.

Now David brings us the much anticipated sequel, The Padre Predator, another Jimmy Redstone /Angella Martinez thriller. Jimmy and Angella are given a special assignment from the President -- find the security breach within the highest level of the government, track down the remaining terrorists before they carry out their plan, keep the bomb (or bombs) from exploding, and, keep it all quiet. In this sequel to The Padre Puzzle, author David Harry takes us on a ride with more twists and turns than Pikes Peak and as the search for the bombs and for the plotters intensifies, Jimmy and Angella are swept from South Padre to Washington D.C. and to the jungles of Mexico, unsure who to trust as suspicion spreads to include even themselves. With each turn, it becomes obvious that things are not as they seem. Jimmy and Angella soon suspect that they are pawns in a game that they might not be able to win.

While Harry writes to entertain his audience his ideas do reflect his genuine concern for the security of our country.  Harry reflects on his inspiration for the Redstone novels, as reported in the Port Isabel Press:

We know that guns are getting smuggled at an ungodly rate.  We know that people are getting smuggled into the country.  If they can get those two things in, why nor smuggle other things? I start thinking about them bringing an atomic bomb into the country.

Harry adds that his series, including the second title, The Padre Predator, isn't meant to scare his readers, but to arouse their awareness of serious issues the United States faces. He hopes that his novel illustrates how the threat of smuggled weapons is real, and that at times our country, with its numerous bureaucracies and agencies, may struggle to stop the threat.

Since its debut, we have sold over 230 copies of The Padre Puzzle and it is becoming a top selling title at Paragraphs. Readers enjoy the many references to Island establishments and the novels contain a sense of local color that visitors and residents both can appreciate.

In advance of the formal release of his novel this fall, David is having a low-key meet and greet on August 13 between 1 and 3 to sign books and meet the growing number of Redstone and Martinez fans.  So stop by and say hello, he would love to meet and visit with you -- and who knows you may be a character in his next novel!

David Harry at Paragraphs

August 13, 2011

1-3 pm

David Harry is a Texas transplant, arriving in Dallas in 1989 from Pennsylvania by way of Ohio, New Jersey, and Florida and has been a part time resident of South Padre Island since 1992.  An engineer and patent lawyer for most of his professional life, David, and his lovely wife Mary, are planning to move to the Island permanently within the coming year and he hopes to devote more time to his writing.  That will be good news to the ever increasing number of Redstone and Martinez fans.

"El Valle" wins Book Award

For 16 years the Independent Publisher Book Awards have been conducted annually to honor the year's best independently published titles. The "IPPY" Awards reward those who exhibit the courage, innovation, and creativity to bring about change in the world of publishing. Independent spirit and expertise comes from publishers of all sizes and budgets, and books are judged with that in mind. All independent, university, small press, and self-publishers who produce books intended for the North American market are eligible to enter.

We are happy to announce that the beautiful book -- which was produced by Gorgas Science Foundation and includes the personal perspectives of over 29 authors, all of whom are familiar with the history, diversity, and natural beauty of the lower Rio Grande Valley, and features the incredible photography of Brownsville, Texas, resident Seth Patterson -- has been named the Best Regional Non-Fiction Book published in the South.

"El Valle - The Rio Grande Delta" is a 284 page coffee table book, written in English and Spanish, that offers the reader a visual introduction to this often misunderstood or overlooked region that is shared by two great nations. 

I have been lucky enough to get to know Seth since the publication of this book.  He is an enormously talented young man who is a joy to be around and we congratulate him on receiving this well-deserved award.

This award is also a great way of introducing the Rio Grande Valley, including South Padre Island, to a national audience.  These awards are followed by many people and this is wonderful exposure for us.

We had discontinued carrying this book for a few months because of a flaw in some of the bindings.  But, the printer has resolved all outstanding issues and replaced all of the books published. So, we are thrilled to again have this book on hand at Paragraphs and welcome you to stop in and enjoy our display copy.  If you happen to have an early copy of the book and notice any problems with the binding, please bring it to Paragraphs and we will make sure it is replaced.  I know that Seth and the people at Gorgas Science Foundation want you to be completely satisfied with your copy of "El Valle."

We again offer our congratulations to Seth, as well as the many contributors, all those who provided donations or sponsorships and everyone else who helped to get this book published.

Music in the Park

This is an awesome town committee. They have been putting together some great events for our visitors and residents. A snow cone sounds pretty good right now!