REBOUND

It's what we've all been waiting for! The prequel to The Crossover! Some spoiler alerts--Beware (especially, if you haven't read The Crossover)! No matter what, you will want to get your hands on this book ASAP--Comes out April 2!

To prep for the REBOUND ride:

Turn up your Michael Jackson (PYT, Man in the Mirror), LL Cool J, Miles Davis, Luther Vandross and of course, Horace Silver on your record player,
Search your local convenient store for a pack of Now and Laters (it wasn't too hard),
Grab yourself some KFC (or better yet, Grandma's fried chicken),
Slip into your Jordache,
Lace up your skates,
Indulge in a winning Krispy Kreme (and chocolate milk if your stomach can handle it),
Take a sip of sweet tea or grape soda,
Practice your free throws,
Root for the Washington Bullets (they don't exist anymore but pretend you are when you cheer for the Wizards)
And put aside a good few hours to read this champion of a book.

Jordan and Josh Bell of The Crossover fame are back but this time as their ancestors.  Yessir. We find out who each one was named after (Jordan, his great uncle and Josh, his grandfather) and even some other relations who I will opt not to mention at this time.  The visual learner in me had to sketch a family tree so I could get the whole Bell family straight.

Here is the story of Charlie "Chuck" Bell, Josh and JB's dad, as he is coming of age in 1988. Before.  Before basketball was his life. Before marriage. Before kids. Before it all.

March 9, 1988 Charlie's dad dies and he cannot shake the grief.  He had yet to learn to "own the sadness...[and not] let it own [him]." That summer, Mom decides to send him to stay with his grandparents in D.C. (pair this with Jason Reynolds's As Brave As You). At first this seems like an awful idea but when his basketball star cousin, Roxie, pulls him into a game, he hardly turns back. Basketball becomes his thing again. Then just as life is looking up, his game is on, he's gotta go back home.  With an ending that had my mascara running as I pulled tissue after tissue from the box, and had the need to get "all hugged up" REBOUND is a high ranking winner on the hardwood.

P.S. It's hard to believe that Kwame's still got game. I'm not sure how he does it with everything else going on but lucky for all of us and our students, he scored another one with REBOUND.  Book birthday is April 2. We are on vacation then so will be celebrating in Castleton a week later with all the aforementioned foods, basketball decorations and more.

PPS. There are even some comics in it, too!

PPSS. Oh, how I LOVE the orange cover!  You know there's a REBOUND bus, right?

The Playbook: 52 Rules to Aim, Shoot, and Score in This Game Called Life

I went to my son's basketball game today and there up on the stage keeping track of the books was Landon.  I have a special place in my heart for the now 7th grader.

• Landon, who this time two years ago, would rather read The Crossover than watch a football game. 
• Landon, who during the 2015  Super Bowl worked on creating a poster promoting The Crossover to win the Newbery award, rather than root for The Patriots or Seahawks (or even watch the commercials!)
• Landon, whose favorite 2014 Christmas gift was The Crossover.  When it got eaten by his dog he made his mom search far and wee on the likes of ebay and Amazon for an original copy (sans gold sticker) so that when Kwame Alexander visited our school that May he would know that Landon was behind him from the beginning.
• Landon, who like me, was so upset the morning of February 2, 2015 to find out that it was a snow day that we both cried.
• And Lucky Landon, who when Kwame did visit Castleton Elementary School in May 2015, got to go on stage and interview him as a guest on "The Landon Show", a moment in time that none of us will ever forget.

So, when I pulled out my arc  (that I just happened to have in my bag of tricks) of The Playbook: 52 Rules to Aim, Shoot, and Score in This Game Called Life, Kwame's newest to hit shelves on February 14, 2017 and showed Landon the shout-out to us and Mr. Reischer in the acknowledgements and told him how much he will love this book, Landon just grinned and Mom clearly said, "I know what you're getting for Valentine's Day!"  Love is love is love.

How cool is this???!!!! (Sid's name is spelled wrong but should be fixed by 2/14!)

Here are 52 rules of basketball translated to life.  Although I was never a basketball player myself and only became a fan when I went to graduate school in Terp country and met my husband, these rules still apply. Several even have references to leaps in them--oh yeah!

Rule #8

When you find

Yourself

On a fast break

Hustle

Leap

And slam dunk

The opportunity.

or (and I love this one)

Rule #12 

You can always

Do better than you did

Work harder than you worked

Leap broader than you leapt

So

Dig deeper

Claw harder

Rebound better

Than ever before.

 

Then there's Rule #17 that says that "Sometimes, we need/Others/To motivate us..." Sometimes?  For me it is All. The. Time.

And as motivating and inspiring the poems are, it's the prose that I really love in this book.  Kwame's personal journey from basketball to tennis.  The short biographical sketches on Venus, Serena and Pele.  Wilma Rudolph and LeBron. All people who have beaten the odds.  Yes, they had talent but they also may have abided by the 10,000 hour rule and worked pretty darn hard to get to the stardom that they can claim as their own.  There are also quotes sprinkled throughout by people as current as Steph Curry (my son's idol) to Mia Hamm to Michelle Obama, Arthur Ashe and so many more.  They should have made this a book with one sided perforated pages--all you want to do is cut out and hang up every poem and quote and plaster your wall with wisdom and inspiration.

When Kwame came and visited us back in May 2015, Mr. Reischer gave him a book of rules written by our students (Landon included), influenced by The Crossover.  We like to think we inspired Kwame as he continues to inspire us.  In his Pele essay, Kwame writes, "His dream had become a reality. But sometimes reality becomes even bigger than our dreams."  I had to stop and think for a moment here. Any chance you know this first hand, Kwame?

So we know what Landon is getting for Valentine's Day.  What about you?

I'm always trying to leap broader!

The first time I read this book I snapped a picture and here it is--August 2015

BOOKED is "UNPUTDOWNABLE"

What did you do last night?  I had a date that I have been putting off for a few weeks and am glad it finally happened.  Kwame Alexander's Booked (release date April 2016) and I finally got together and it felt like I scored a homerun, well at least a goal or simply blackjack with a side of a red velvet cupcake.

Once I started to put sticky notes on poems that really spoke to me I realized I would run out of them quickly and had to dog ear some pages (shh! please don't tell my students!).  Note to self: When Kwame writes a book, make sure you have a brand new pack of sticky notes closeby.  He has done it again. Now I wonder what countries (or states or towns) I will be leaping in with a copy of the book in my hand and completely embarrassing my daughter (or son) to take pictures of me with it. (see my post about Europe and The Crossover).

Limerence.  The secret special word that I now know the definition of (and how to spell) and you will, too, once you have your date.  That was an "aha" "finally" moment for sure.  Note to you: That page got a starred sticky note. Other favorite poems that got an extra star on their sticky note for you to hunt for:  Dear Skip, Books You Find on Google and What happens to a dream destroyed?

Back to limerence, I fell for Nick immediately and so will you.  Not only did I fall for Nick, but all of them: his best friend, Coby, his crush, April, Mom and Dad (sort of), his English teacher, Ms. Hartwick and of course, the super cool librarian, Mac.

Thank you, Kwame, for writing another winner filled with more favorite poems (too many to count), characters I love and ones I aspire to be more like (Even though I already wear Chuck Taylors, I have to work on my bowling game and I do need to get some more dragonfly "stuff" for my library.)

Once you get your hands on this book make a plan to kick off your cleats, escape to a Dragonfly Cafe equipped with a rappin' librarian and enjoy this next winner from Kwame.

The summer that will be remembered...

What a SUMMER!  It started hours after school ended on June 25 as I boarded a plane to ALA in San Francisco to Barcelona, France, mountains of North Carolina, two Broadway shows, a 15k, Jersey Shore, Virginia and more...This pictures are so *random* but capture a little taste of my unforgettable summer. 

FIRST day of SUMMER VACATION!  On my way to ALA!

Bill Konigsburg (no relation to E.L.) I picked up this book for my daughter and then she read it for her summer reading homework!

I forgot!  The music teacher, Mrs. Gibney, and I saw Trombone Shorty live.  He was AMAZING!

If you ever have a chance to see him, GO! And pick up his book today!  It's illustrated by our friend, Bryan Collier.

Getting as many cousins and more to jump with me on the Jersey shore.

La Familia Sagrada in Barcelona--pretty incredible.

A leap with my cousin in Barcelona

I took that Crossover book everywhere with me.  This gentleman must have thought I was crazy when I asked him to pose with it!

Relaxing at my aunt's house in Lagleygeolle, France.

Leaping during our night bike tour of Paris.

It didn't matter how heavy my backpack was, that book was coming with me for the day!

A final leap in Paris. We WILL be back!

And I read a little, too.  I always wish I could read more.  In no particular order, I read Crenshaw (comes out in a couple of weeks), George, Sunny Side Up, Roller Girl, Book Scavenger, Circus Mirandus, Lost in the Sun, Unusual Chickens, The War that Saved My Life, Enchanted Air, Stella by Starlight, Hilo and just today I started listening to Echo in the car. Ah, man.  I really wish I had read more.  Everything I read I enjoyed and I absolutely LOVED, LOVED, LOVED having my FIVE book groups over the summer.  I will definitely be doing that again next year.

Tomorrow is our first day of school.  I'm super excited.  We are going to have a Sarah Weeks year with a sprinkling of Chris Grabenstein and who else?  Last year Kwame Alexander was our big surprise.  Right now I'm humming all songs I can think of with the words "honey" and/or "pie" in it for my introduction to Sarah tomorrow.  I want to get those kids crazed for her and I know I will!

Today I got up early and drove to Albany to shop at Trader Joes.  I stuck the first CD of Echo by Pam Munoz Ryan in the CD player and was instantly mesmerized.  I'm hooked.  Only that I walk to school and don't have much time in the car alone to listen.  Winter time is my book listening time because I can just throw my ear phones on and shovel to my little heart's content. Fortunately, there is no snow yet but unfortunately, I'm looking for a long road trip to come my way.

I have never felt so excited about a first day in a long time (of course, I have no plan for what to wear, but do have my lunch made).  I'm excited about Sarah and Chris and the collaborations that will take place over the course of the year.  October and November are going to be super busy with my daughter's Bat Mitzvah, NYLA and AASL but it's all good.  By Thanksgiving I will need to stay under my covers for a while and not come out for a few days.  Great time to catch up on my reading that I never had a chance to do while I was "summering" all summer.

May you all have a wonderful start of school and splindiferous year ahead of you!

The Leaping Librarian on Holiday Part 1

Hola! 

Greetings from Barcelona! 

I have been saving to take my daughter on a trip to Europe (originally it was just Paris) since I read an article in our local paper when she was 4 years old. Now she is 12 and we made it! 

We arrived yesterday and put in a full day. We are staying at Hotel Praktik Bakery. Yes! That means there is a full fledged bakery when you walk in! We tried it for lunch and it was quite yummy! Here I am:

To push through our jet lag, we took the hop on hop off tour bus which we didn't really just stayed out on. It was a great way to see the WHOLE city and learn some interesting facts, too. I had out the route map, circled where we want to explore more and even jotted down some notes. I found out the Barcelona Futbol Club was founded in 1899 and the stadium can hold 100,000 people. There are more than 100km cycle lanes here and more mopeds are registered here per capita than any other city in Europe. You see them everywhere! It's really cool to see the women ride them!  We need to  get to the Jardins because all the gardens are names after poets who wrote in Catalan. 

Speaking of poets, we got off the bus a little and explored the Barri Gotic neighborhood and stopped by the Museu de la Xocolata. Delish! Your entry ticket is a dark chocolate bar! Too bad we can't bring home any souvenirs from there. 

And why did I say, "Speaking of poets?" because I'm crazy and bought an extra copy of "The Crossover" with me and will be posing with it throughout. Here I am with it in front of a chocolate Louis Armstrong: 

  

Not only am I a leaping librarian, but I am crazy, too! 

We saw some great views of the city from our bus:

 

Tari has a real camera with a great eye for photography and is taking much better pictures than these with people's feet and heads in the way! 

Later, on real Barcelona dinner time at 10:30, we enjoyed a delicious meal of tapas here, recommended my cousin, Josh, who lives in Barcelona. We can't wait to see him tomorrow! 

Stay tuned for more leaps today! 

Adios!