Coming soon! The Twelve Days of Cookies!

Ok! We know that Thanksgiving just happened, Halloween is near, and that special day of remembrance is quickly approaching. At Annapolis Valley Regional Library we observe all of those special days, but we are also preparing for the fifth year of The Twelve Days of Cookies to start off the yuletide season. That's right folks, time to start looking for great cookie recipes to share.

This annual event is entering its fifth year as a way to spread good cheer, let folks know about our great cookbook collection, and to show off your cooking skills. We won the 2014 APLA Library Advocacy Award for this project, and the cookie posts are some of our most viewed blogs each year.  
By popular request, this year we are including our magazine collection as a recipe source as well. So dust off your baking hat and start perusing those recipes in print, eBooks or online. Beginning December 5, here on our blog, we will post a new cookie recipe each weekday (not on the weekend) and the branch location where you can sample cookies baked by our very own staff (if you get there in time).

We'll also have our contest again. You bake cookies with a recipe from a library-owned source and you could win a 'Cookie Gift Bag'!

It is going to be sweet, SO STAY TUNED!

Show us your cookies!

Cookie entry from 2011

The Twelve Days of Cookies is winding down-- the 12th day is  Tuesday, December 22. We want to see what you have been baking! If you'd like to win a $35 Gift Card, show us your cookies! Bake cookies from a recipe you found in one of our books, send us a photo, and you could win!

All the details are right here, so start baking. Making cookies with your child is fine way to work on math and literacy skills while having a lot of fun. No kids? Cookies make a fine gift for a friend or neighbour. So, what are you waiting for? Show. Us. Your. COOKIES!!!

...this could be yours.

PS! Want to see all the cookie pictures from all the years? Head over to our Facebook page, where we have a photo album of ALL THE COOKIES!

Picture Book Month

November is Picture Book Month, an international literacy initiative that celebrates the print picture book during the month of November. On the Picture Book Month website  they state, “In this digital age where people are predicting the coming death of print books, picture books (the print kind) need love. And the world needs picture books. There’s nothing like the physical page turn of a beautifully crafted picture book.”

I can’t agree more. Last year, I served on the Caldecott Committee, which awarded the best picture book published in the United States to The Adventures of Beekle, the Unimaginary Friend by Dan Santat.  I spent the year completely immersed in picture books. I read over 500 books—and many of those I read over and over. I looked at the art, how it interpreted the story, how well it was done, how it appealed to a child audience. I spent many hours soaking up the beauty of children’s picture books.  This year I will be watching from the sidelines, making my own predictions and seeing what others think. One great place to visit is the Horn Book blog, Calling Caldecott. Check out their list of books they will be discussing. There are some great choices on that list!

Ask any child—picture books are fun! Even if you are an adult who has no children to share these fantastic works of art with, you can still enjoy picture books. I recommend picture books over on my blog, ValleyStorytime in case you are looking for a few good titles to while away the hours. And if you want to really get immersed in picture books, I have compiled some blogs & sites that celebrate the form on this Pinterest board.

We have a few programs scheduled this month where you can come and look at some of the books that I am loving this year. Picture Book Palooza will be held in Middleton, Annapolis Royal, and Bridgetown. We are also having a contest—take a picture, tag your favourite picture book with #AVRLpicturebook on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram, and you’ll be entered to win a bag of picture books! Contest ends November 30.

Tell us your favourite picture book in the comments. Read picture books to kids. Look at the art, share your favourite with others. The picture book is a portable art form that can be shared just about anywhere.  Find some of these wonders in your local library !

--Angela Reynolds, Community Engagement Coordinator

Read the same book. Share the same story.

One Book Nova Scotia has returned! The book? Just Beneath My Skin by Darren Greer.  The book has been described as “gritty and unrelenting”, and having read it, I cannot disagree.  Yet in the midst of that unrelenting grit, there are moments of beauty, laughter, and raw emotion, which make it a very discussable book.

What’s it about, you ask? Poverty, family, alcohol abuse, and the power of friendship come to mind. Here’s how the publisher summarizes the story:
In the small town of North River, every day that goes by bleeds into the next. Poverty begets hopelessness, hopelessness breeds violence, violence causes despair. The only way to change fate, a minister tells his son, is to leave. The minister's son, Jake MacNeil, chooses to ignore his father's advice. Only when he realizes what has become of his life - working a grueling dead-end job, living with a drunk, friends with a murderer - does he decide to make something of himself. But nothing comes without a cost: in choosing freedom, Jake abandons his own son, Nathan, to the care of the boy's abusive mother. Years later, a reformed Jake comes back for Nathan, to finally set things right. But in North River, everything comes around again; and when a dangerous figure from the past becomes hell-bent on dragging the new Jake "back down where he belongs", three generations of MacNeil men must come together to pay the full price of hope.
Visit the 1BNS website for events, discussion questions, and more.  Follow along on Twitter @1bookNS, use the hashtag #1BNS to chat with others about the books. There’s even a contest this year - show us where you are reading the book with the hashtag #reading1BNS, and you could win dinner with the author!

Get your copy now, and start reading. If you are part of a Book Club (or want to start one), we have a Book Club in A Bag for this title.  On October 29, at 7 PM, we are co-hosting Darren Greer at Acadia University. He will be at the Vaughan Memorial Library’s Quiet Reading Room to read from his book & talk with folks who’ve read it. You can even purchase a copy that night from our friends at Box of Delights, who will be at the event.


We can’t wait to hear what you have to say about the book. Tell us on Twitter or Facebook; tell us in the comments. Read the same book. Share the same story. Join Nova Scotia’s biggest Book Club!

--Angela Reynolds, Community Engagement Coordinator

Where's Chirpy?

We've got a little friend that has been traveling this summer! Chirpy, our Summer Reading mascot,  has been many places, far and near. For instance, Chirpy started the summer visiting with magician David Moon out at Upper Clements Park. Chirpy then hopped into a suitcase and made it to San Francisco, and convinced one of our librarians to walk across the Golden Gate Bridge.

Chirpy has been hanging out in libraries, on beaches, picking strawberries,

going to the drive-in, visiting local museums, going out to restaurants, playing outside, and so much more!

 We've even heard that Chirpy likes donuts.

You can get in on the Chirpy fun, too. On THIS LINK you can find all the details on how to print your own Chirpy. Take a picture and email it to us, or tag it on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram with #AVRLchirpy. Everyone who plays along gets entered to win one of our great prizes -- a ukelele, a set of Boomwhackers, or a Family Pass to Nova Scotia Museums! And if you want to see what Chirpy is up to, head over to Facebook and like us and see our Chirpy Gallery! Where will YOU take Chirpy?

The Best Card Around!

Here at Team AVRL, we think having a library card is pretty sweet. Your library card is your ticket to so much – books, movies, music, and more! 

Throughout 2014, our staff will be showing you reasons why we think you should have (and use) a library card. Watch our Facebook page and and follow us on Twitter @valleylibs every Thursday to see a new reason to have a library card!

We’d like to hear from you, too. Send us a picture** showing why you love having a library card.  Tell us why, in one short sentence. We’ll be posting these on Facebook, FLICKR, Twitter,  and our blog. Share with everyone and let them know why YOU love your library card! Just send your photo and sentence to us at TeamAVRL@gmail.com. Everyone who sends a photo will be entered into our monthly draw for a bag of books. Share on Twitter using the hashtags #bestcard and #TeamAVRL.

**By sending us a photo, you agree to allow us to use it on Facebook, Twitter, and in other media. 

Book Giving Day!

The Annapolis Valley Regional Library is happy to report that we will be participating in International Book Giving Day on February 14.  Books for kids, teens, and adults have already been placed in locations throughout the Valley by the staff from all of our branches.  These books were left as gifts to whoever finds them - and they even look like gifts, because we've wrapped them up and added a Valentine to each one.  Because we think reading is sweet, we want to share the gift of literacy. The books are from donations and from Adopt a Library. Look for one in your community!  If you find one, you can keep it, read it and pass it along to a friend.  For more information on this international event, visit http://bookgivingday.com/ .

 

If you have found a book, let us know in the comments, or tell us on Facebook and Twitter, @valleylibs. We'd love to see pictures of your finds, too!

Happy Book Giving Day (and Happy Valentines Day, too).

Cookies from you

These adorable cookies were made by an adorable baker. Chocolate Reindeer from the book Cookies for Christmas by Jill Darling. Don't forget, you too can enter to win a gift card. Entries must be in by midnight Tuesday, December 18!  Details HERE.

Day 10: Chocolate-Tipped Butter Cookies

If you are near the Windsor Library this afternoon, stop in and try these Chocolate-Tipped Butter Cookies which were baked by Charlotte Janes, our Head of Systems & Administration here at library headquarters. And don't forget, you still have a few days left to get in on the fun! Here are the details.

Chocolate-Tipped Butter Cookies  from the book Taste of Home's Complete Guide to Baking by Julie Schnittka

1 cup plus 3 T. butter, softened
1/2 cup confectioners' suger
2 cups of flour
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup finely chopped pecans

In a large bowl cream 1 cup butter and confectioners' sugar until light and fluffy.  Add flour and vanilla; mis well.  Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Shape 1/4 cupfuls of dough into 1/2 inch thick logs.  Cut logs into 2 1/2 inch pieces; place 1 inch apart on ungreased baking sheets.  Bake at 350 degrees for 12-14 minutes or until lightly browned.  Remove to wire racks to cool.

In a heavy saucepan or microwave, melt chocolate and remaining butter; stir until smooth.  Dip one end of each cookie into chocolate, then dip into nuts.  Place on waxed paper at room temperature until set.  Yield about 5 dozen.

"a little twist on a shortbread cookie"
Charlotte

Day 1: Whipped Shortbread

Welcome to the 12 Days of Cookies! Today is the first day for our 2012 cookie extravaganza, and we bring to you cookies made by Sue & Gail from the Rosa M. Harvey Middleton & Area Library. According to Sue, these are tried and true and will melt in your mouth.Their cookies are making their way to the Berwick Library today, so stop in and have a taste! Don't forget, you can play, too! Click here to see how your cookies could win you a gift card.

The recipe, from Company's Coming: Most Loved Cookies by Jean Pare

Whipped Shortbread

1 cup butter (not margarine), softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cornstarch

18 Maraschino cherries, halved and blotted dry (optional)

Beat butter and sugar in a medium bowl for about 5 minutes until light and creamy.

Combine flour and cornstarch in a small bowl. Add to butter mixture in 2 additions, mixing well after each addition until no dry flour remains.

Drop, using 1 Tbsp. for each, about 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheets.

If desired, put 1 cherry half in the centre of each cookie. Bake in 375 F oven for about 12 minutes until edges are just golden. Let stand on cookie sheets for 5 minutes before removing to wire racks to cool. Makes about 3 dozen.

"12 Days of Cookies" Returns!

Because we had so much fun with this last year, we are doing it again! The 12 Days of Cookies will return on December 3. For twelve days, we will bake cookies, post our recipes, and share them at our library branches! Watch this space, follow us on Twitter @valleylibs, or check in on Facebook to see the cookies each day and which branch will have the cookies. Last year we found some great new recipes, and this year will likely unearth some sweet treats as well.

Want to join in on our 12 Days of Cookies? Here's how you can participate, and maybe even win a gift card!
Bake a cookie recipe from a book you borrowed from the library, send us the book title and a picture of your cookies, and you’ll be entered into a random draw for gift cards. Selected entries will be posted on our 12 Days of Cookies blog page. All complete entries will be entered into the draw.

To enter, send the following, by email, to this address - 12daysofcookies@gmail.com
Please use the subject “12 Cookies” or your entry may appear as spam.

1) Book title (must be a book that is available through the AVRL libraries)
2) Name of the cookie recipe
3) Photograph of your baked cookies (must be your own photo)
4) Your name, email address, town you live in, and phone number, in case you win!
5) All entries must be received by midnight on December 18, 2012. You may send more than one entry, but your name will be entered only once.

By entering you agree that if your cookies are chosen to appear on our blog page, you allow your first name and town to be posted along with the entry. Personal information will not be used for any purpose other than this contest.

What is YA? Ghosts

In celebration of Teen Read Week, and to get you in the mood for Halloween, I have some good ghosties to share with you. I've been reading ghost books since I was in High School. Some of the creepiest ghost books I've ever read have to be Anne Rice's "Mayfair Witches" books – featuring vampires, witches, ghosts, and all sorts of bad things that go bump in the night.  There's been a resurgence in supernatural YA books, partly attributed to the sensation that Twilight caused, but also, I believe, because a good scare is always in fashion.  If you are a casual scary-book reader, these are NOT for you. However, if you like your books to stay with you in your nightmares, dare to read these creepy books! 

Dreams of the Dead by Thomas Randall – After her mother dies, Kara and her father move to Japan, where he is teaching at a private school. Kara is befriended by Sakura, an outsider whose sister was brutally murdered. Other students begin to disappear, and Kara is having terrible nightmares… or are they real? The setting in Japan helps create the scary atmosphere in this book, which reminded me a little bit of the movie, The Grudge. That scary woman's face kept popping into my head as I read this one! There's a sequel out, too - Spirits of the Noh. 

Miss Peregrine's home for peculiar children by Ransom Riggs – When his grandfather dies and leaves him a strange message, Jacob is compelled to discover the meaning. He ends up in a strange house on the coast of Wales, where he meets some peculiar children.  The book is haunted by old black and white photographs that were the inspiration for the story.  Creepy both in story and visually, this one would make a good read aloud by candle-light. 

The Diviners by Libba Bray- If you are a regular reader of this column, you might have noticed that I am a bit of a Libba Bray fan. There's a reason for that –she is an awesome writer who seems to have an unlimited imagination. This book has one of the scariest ghosts I've encountered in some time.  Meet Evie—a brash girl living in NYC in the roaring 20's. She happens to have a particular talent of being able to read objects – including the buckle from a murdered girl's shoe, which helps lead her to Naughty John—a ghost who has become corporeal and is murdering people. There's a whole cast of characters to love , plenty of humor, a great setting, and a nasty, nasty ghost. This is the first in a series, so stay tuned for further adventures with Evie.  Check out Libba Bray's website for book trailers and other great info on this book.  

There are lots more creepy books out there, and you can find a few more on this booklist.  Some of our branches are hosting Dare to Read book displays for teens this week, click here to see where you can check out a creepy book and enter to win a gift card!

Summer Reading wrap-up

The theme for the 2012 Summer Reading Club was IMAGINE. We imagined all sorts of things that we could do with this theme; libraries created castles and horse barns, we hosted reptile shows and wild animal puppets, we played with bubbles, recycled t-shirts, chased zombies, learned new computer software, created with LEGO, held library scavenger hunts, did a lot of pretending and read a whole lot of books.  In fact, the 2547 participants in this year's Summer Reading Club read for 31,885 hours! That is an impressive amount of reading in my book.  At the Kentville Library alone, 588 readers clocked nearly 8000 hours.  Thanks to a continued partnership with Upper Clements Parks, we gave out 1,957 FastPasses to the readers who completed their Summer Reading goal.  

You may wonder who these readers were. They were all ages—from babies whose parents read aloud to them, to preschoolers getting ready for Primary, to elementary kids who have discovered the pleasures of books, to teenagers (422 teens read for at least 25 hours!), we had readers who just love books. The Summer Reading Club was originally designed to promote the FUN of reading, and to keep kids reading during the summer months so that when they return to school, they haven’t lost those valuable skills that they worked so hard to acquire.  The Summer Reading Club allows readers to choose whatever they want to read, in whatever format they want to read – be it audiobooks, magazines, comics, or even the back of cereal boxes.  Older brothers and sisters read to younger siblings, babysitters read to their charges, parents, grandparents, aunts, and uncles read aloud at cottages, teens read under a tree in the park. It is all about the JOY of reading, and we love promoting it. 

The program lasts for 8 weeks—a good chunk of the summer-- and consumes huge amounts of staff time and resources.  We are only able to offer such a great program because of partners, sponsors, and an annual Book Sale that helps us raise funds to run this amazing program. Some materials are provided by TD Bank, who sponsors the program nationwide. Locally, we had support from Upper Clements Parks, Oaklawn Farm Zoo, Adopt a Library, and the sponsors of prizes for our new adult SRC, Watch the Sky Photography, The ClayGround, Coles Bookstore, and Paper Pleasures at the Coffee Shop.  We wholeheartedly thank all these businesses once again and also those who come to our book sale. 

Summer Reading Club will be back next year, but for now, just continue to enjoy those books and what's left of this glorious summer! 

--Angela J. Reynolds, Head of Youth Services