World Book Night 1013 - Spreading the love of reading, person to person!

World Book Night is an annual celebration dedicated to spreading the love of reading, person to person.  Each year on April 23, tens of thousands of people in the U.S. go out into their communities and give a total of half a million free World Book Night paperbacks to light and non-readers. The date was chosen because it is the UNESCO International Day of the Book, as well as Shakespeare’s birthday! It was also chosen in honor of Miguel de Cervantes, who died on April 23,1616 (the same day as Shakespeare). In the Catalan region of Spain, the day is celebrated by giving a book and a flower to a loved one.  World Book Night was first celebrated in the UK and Ireland in 2011; in 2012, it was also celebrated in the USA and Germany.
  
The goal of World Book Night is to seek out adult readers wherever they are, in towns and cities, in public settings or in places from nursing homes to food pantries, low-income schools to mass transit, to encourage reading in the adult population, especially those who may not have access to printed books for reasons of means or geography.

The 30 books selected to be given away are:

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
City of Thieves by David Benioff
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
My Antonia by Willa Cather 
Girl With a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier
The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros (also available to be given away in Spanish)
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho (also available to be given away in Spanish)
The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh
The Worst Hard Time by Timothy Egan
Bossypants by Tina Fey
Still Alice by Lisa Genova
Looking for Alaska by John Green
Playing for Pizza by John Grisham
Mudbound by Hillary Jordan
The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster
Moneyball by Michael Lewis
The Tender Bar by J.R. Moehringer
Devil in a Blue Dress by Walter Mosley
Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life by James Patterson
Population: 485 by Michael Perry
Good Omens by Terry Patchett and Neil Gaiman
The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
Montana Sky by Nora Roberts
Look Again by Lisa Scottoline
Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris
The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith
Glaciers by Alexis M. Smith
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court by Mark Twain
Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward
Favorite American Poems; Large Print edition

If you would like to be a book giver you can apply now at www.worldbooknight.org now through January 23, 2013 by providing answers to several questions and picking a book title to give out from the above list. We are excited to again be selected as a book pick-up location.

Dolphin, Baby! - A Paragraphs Pick

Swim with a baby dolphin as he learns to survive — and play — in an engaging story splashed with facts and buoyed by bright illustrations.

Pop! Tail first, head last, Dolphin is born into the blue. He’s brand new, but helped by his mother, he swims up, up, up to take his first breath.

Readers are invited to join the baby calf as he follows his mom and discovers all there is to know about life under the sea, from catching his first fish to learning how to say his name with his very own whistle. Nicola Davies’s lyrical narrative and intriguing facts are accompanied by Brita Granström’s colorful illustrations, pulsing with the energy and movement of dolphins in their natural habitat.

From Kirkus Reviews:

Born tail first, a baby dolphin swims immediately to the surface to breathe, then follows his mother, nursing, learning her call, gradually exploring his world, playing, learning and developing his own personal whistle. Zoologist Davies has long experience writing about nature for young readers. Here, she describes the first six months of a bottlenose calf's life through the story of Dolphin and Mom. A sentence or two of narrative description appears on each page, with additional facts in a smaller, italic text. She chooses appropriate information--appearance, breathing, diving, feeding and communication--and constructs her story to demonstrate the calf's increasing independence. Her facts are accurate, and readers looking for specifics will appreciate the index and page numbers. An afterword identifies the particular species and reminds readers that caring for oceans will help ensure dolphin survival. Granström's acrylic paintings are beautiful. Spreading across two pages, they emphasize the blues of the dolphin's environment. The pink of their rostrums is occasionally and gloriously echoed in the sky.

This is an absolutely beautiful book and will make a wonderful addition to any young person's library.  It will be a great resource providing a child with some additional factual material augmenting the learning experience of any of our Island dolphin watch trips. The additional notes about dolphins, provided in a smaller font, on each page are a helpful tool for parents reading the narrative to the littler ones. And most of all it is just a lovely story with beautiful illustrations.

This book was HIGHLY RECOMMENDED by Amy E. Parker, Lower School Assistant Librarian, The Kinkaid School, Houston, Texas, in her review for Library Media Connection.

Don't Forget to Vote

Early Voting Schedule

Voting will be held at the South Padre Island City Hall, 4601 Padre Blvd., for multiple elections on the designated days and hours below:

For the SPI City Election: October 22 - November 2, 2012 from 8 a.m. to 5p.m. (Note: Extended hours of 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. will be offered Thursday, October 25, 2012 and Thursday, November 1, 2012)

For the Laguna Madre Fresh Water District Election: October 22 - November 2, 2012 and Saturday, October 27, 2012 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on all days.

For the Cameron County Election: October 22-26, 2012 from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. (Note: One Week Only)

* Cameron County Election Voting will be held in Port Isabel October 22 - November 2, 2012 from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Saturday, October 27, 2012 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Bennie Ochoa County Annex Building, 505 Highway 100.

William J. Cobb author of "The Bird Saviors"

The time is finally here. William J. Cobb will be joining us at Paragraphs next Saturday, October 20, 2012, beginning at 1:00pm. We have been looking forward to this event for several months and are pleased with the interest we have received. If you love books and engaging with those talented enough to write them I am sure you will enjoy this event.

Cobb's newest novel, THE BIRD SAVIORS will be featured but we will also have copies of his previous work, GOODNIGHT, TEXAS.

About THE BIRD SAVIORS

When a dust storm engulfs her Colorado town and pink snow blankets the streets, a heartbreaking decision faces Ruby Cole, a girl who counts birds. She must either abandon her baby or give in to her father, whom she nicknames Lord God, and marry a man more than twice her age who already has two wives. She chooses to run, which sets in motion an interlocking series of actions and reactions, upending the lives of an equestrian police officer, pawnshop riffraff, a disabled war vet, Nuisance Animal destroyers, and a grieving ornithologist who is studying the decline of bird populations.

All the while, a growing criminal enterprise moves from cattle rustling to kidnapping to hijacking fuel tankers and murder as events spin out of control in a world in which the social fabric and economic structures seem on the verge of falling apart.

Set in a time of economic turmoil, virus fears, climate change, fundamentalist cults and illegal immigrant hardship, THE BIRD SAVIORS is a visionary story of defiance, anger, compassion and unexpected love, in which a young woman ultimately struggles to free herself from her domineering father, to raise her daughter in the chaos of the New West, and to seize an opportunity to become something greater herself. In this brilliant new novel, William Cobb offers an elemental and timely vision of resilience and personal survival, but—most of all—of honest hope.

Praise for THE BIRD SAVIORS

“A stark modern-day Old Testament story in which the evil that men do is barely balanced by the good that a few manage to achieve. It's a gritty harrowing story set in a dust-blown Colorado town that seems filled with vivid characters. Cobb's expert story-telling compels us forward scene by scene to a final satisfying redemption.”—Kent Haruf

"A novel told with an unexpected and appealing warmth; the characters in The Bird Saviors become increasingly memorable, page by page, and the story pulled me in without hullabaloo or fuss-- this is good, confident storytelling."—Aimee Bender

 About the Author

William J. Cobb is the author of a book of stories and two previous novels, including the critically acclaimed GOODNIGHT, TEXAS. His short fiction has appeared in The New Yorker and many other magazines. He has received numerous awards, including a National Endowment for the Arts grant, a Dobie-Paisano Fellowship, and the Sandstone Prize. He was raised in Texas and currently lives in Pennsylvania, where he teaches in the writing program at Penn State, and in Colorado.

A limited number of autographed copies of THE BIRD SAVIORS or GOODNIGHT, TEXAS will be available for purchase after the event. If you cannot attend the event, but would like a personalized copy of either book, please call us before the event at (956) 433-5057.

Children's Classics

If you are looking for a great book to share with your child, grandchild, class, or library group don’t forget the classics – these stories have withstood the test of time and as adults we still remember them fondly. Many famous authors have written some wonderful classics for children.

Great children’s stories are powerful, imaginative, and memorable; they resonate with readers of all ages and have a lasting and profound impact.

Alice in Wonderland (1865) is usually considered the first successful children’s novel. Before the time of its writing, children were viewed as adults-in-training so few works were written specifically for them. Children’s authors for the next hundred years believed that it was their duty to protect the young. Few writers exposed readers to the harsh facts of life.

Since the 1970s, the trend has been towards the depiction of a grittier realism. Children’s writers have introduced topics such as violence, death, divorce, and abandonment into their stories.

While books by Enid Blyton, Roald Dahl and J.K. Rowling are extremely enjoyable and a lot of fun to read, a good classic also makes you think about life, its challenges, and the courage and determination of its characters tell you how to tackle difficult situations.

Give any of these a try:

The Oz Stories – L. Frank Baum
The Anne of Green Gables series – L.M. Montgomery
Black Beauty – Anna Sewell
King Solomon’s Mines – H. Rider Haggard
The Secret Garden – Frances Hodgson Burnett
Heidi – Johanna Spyri
Around the World in 80 Days – Jules Verne
The Jungle Book – Rudyard Kipling

And anything by Edgar Allan Poe or Arthur Conan Doyle

If the thought of reading an unabridged classic is too daunting, there are many shorter and simpler versions available. So there is no reason not to get to know those timeless heroes and heroines who live within the pages of great books.

Happy Reading – Let us help you discover a new world, in the pages of a book.

Sign up for Clean Beaches

Thanks to Rob Nixon and all the folks that work so hard to keep our beaches clean and safe for everyone to use.

Change.org|The Proven Petition Site

Since the call for enforcement of our litter laws and glass restrictions at Isla Blanca Park has gone viral, the last couple of days, Judge Carlos Cascos has announced that this subject will be addressed at the County Commissioner's Court meeting on July 5, 2012 at 8:30 AM.

If you care about this issue -- please check out the petition and sigh if you agree and try to attend the commissioner's meeting. There is power in numbers!

Valley International Poetry Festival

One of the first events we hosted at Paragraphs was a poetry reading offered as part of the Rio Grande Valley International Poetry Festival.  And we have been honored to continue to provide one of the many venues across the valley participating in this festival which is held the last weekend in April bringing a close to National Poetry Month by recognizing the value of poetry in our lives.

This year’s Festival includes more than 40 poets representing Texas, Washington, New York, California, Michigan and other parts of the US, El Salvador, Mexico and even poets from as far as Bangladesh, Denmark and England are represented in the festival’s anthology and at the festival. They will spend the weekend traveling the lower Rio Grande Valley visiting schools, putting on workshops and reading for the public.

Help us give a warm welcome to these talented poets and writers and show them our appreciation for including South Padre Island in their busy schedule of events throughout the weekend.

Appearing at Paragraphs on Saturday, April 28th

*1:15—2:15

Readers: Lady Mariposa, lauren espinoza, La Erika/Poeta Power, Lina Suárez, Rudy García, Virginia Torres, Hector Gomez, Meliton Hinojosa, Erika Said Izaguirre

*2:45 – 3:45

Readers: Amalia Ortiz, Kaitlin LaMoine Martin, Edward Vidaurre, Daniel García Ordaz, Chip Dameron, Diana Domínguez, Brenda Nettles Riojas

This event is free and open to the public. The festival is a grassroots community project made possible by poets, our families, friends, educators and the media. The sponsors are the McAllen Chamber of Commerce, the McAllen Creative Incubator, and El Zarape Press to name a few.

For a full list of events visit www.vipf.org

F In Exams - The Very Best Totally Wrong Test Answers

I love browsing through the Chronicle Books catalogs. They publish so many fun and interesting titles and this is just one example.


"F" stands for "funny" in this perfect gift for students or anyone who has ever had to struggle through a test and needs a good laugh. Celebrating the creative side of failure in a way we can all relate to, F in Exams gathers the most hilarious and inventive test answers provided by students who, faced with a question they have no hope of getting right, decide to have a little fun instead. Whether in science, the humanities, math, or other subjects, these 250 entries prove that while everyone enjoys the spectacle of failure, it's even sweeter to see a FAIL turn into a WIN.

Biology:

Question: Adam cuts his arm. Blood gushes out and is red in color. What does this show?

Answer:  He is not a robot, he is a real boy.

Question: What is a fibula?

Answer: A little white lie.

Physics:

Question: Give three ways to avoid heat loss in your home?

Answer: 1. Thermal Underwear, 2. Move to Hawaii, 3., Close the Door

I could provide more favorites but you need to pick up a copy of the book and read it for yourself.

Come into the store or buy online here 

or read on your preferred device as a Blio Ebook 

Press Here -- Then Smile

A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER!

Irresistible . . . A cross between a high-concept picture book and an iPhone, only more charming.-- The Wall Street Journal

It's not magic . . . It's the power of your imagination! PRESS HERE. That's right. Just press the yellow dot and turn the page. Follow the instructions and embark upon a magical journey! Each page of this surprising, irresistible book instructs the reader to press the dots, shake the pages, tilt them, and even blow on them—who knows what will happen next! Read-aloud fun for all ages!

Apothecary by Maile Melroy

It's 1952 and the Scott family has just moved from Los Angeles to London. Here, fourteen-year-old Janie meets a mysterious apothecary and his son, Benjamin Burrows - a fascinating boy who's not afraid to stand up to authority and dreams of becoming a spy. When Benjamin's father is kidnapped, Janie and Benjamin must uncover the secrets of the apothecary's sacred book, the Pharmacopoeia, in order to find him, all while keeping it out of the hands of their enemies - Russian spies in possession of nuclear weapons. Discovering and testing potions they never believed could exist, Janie and Benjamin embark on a dangerous race to save the apothecary and prevent impending disaster.

This is a book that will not only appeal to the middle school reader but has enough historical significance, dealing with Cold War politics and McCarthyism, and even a little bit of romance which should appeal to the teen reader.  There is an excellent review at the School Library Journal by Elizabeth Bird, Collection Specialist for the New York Public Library's Youth Collection,

Maile Melroy is not a newcomer to literary awards or industry recognition of her talent. So it should come as no surprise that "Apothecary" has been selected as one of the YALSA titles for 2012.

Maile Meloy was born in Helena, Montana, in 1972. Her short stories have been published in The New Yorker and The Paris Review. Her first story collection, Half in Love, received the Rosenthal Foundation Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters , the John C. Zacharis Award from Ploughshares, and the PEN/Malamud Award. Her first novel, Liars and Saints, was shortlisted for England’s 2005 Orange Prize. Both books were New York Times Notable Books. She has also received The Paris Review’s Aga Khan Prize for Fiction and a Guggenheim Fellowship. She lives in California.

Apothecary is available at Paragraphs or can be purchased online in Hardcover,  Unabridged Audio Book on CD

Also available as a Blio ebook

Or as a Google ebook