The Return of the Dark Crystal

Was I the only one howling and dancing like a fizzgigg when Netflix announced that they were releasing a prequel series of The Dark Crystal? I know that I am revealing my age, but I grew up with the work of Jim Henson. I carried a Dark Crystal lunch box to school, Fraggle Rock was my favorite TV show, and I desperately wanted to be Sara from Labyrinth.

Whether or not you were (and continue to be)  a Jim Henson-obsessed child of the 80s I highly recommend watching The Dark Crystal: The Age of Resistance.  The awesome thing about Netflix original shows is that they release an entire season at a time. The bad thing is that if you binge watch all ten episodes in one night you will have who-knows-how-long before the next season is released.

Lee with Naia of the Drenchen Clan

Luckily, there is a young adult prequel series of books to tide me over until Netflix releases season two. The author, J.M Lee, actually won the opportunity to write the prequel series in the Dark Crystal Author Quest in 2013. Grosset & Dunlap publishing company received nearly 500 submissions which they narrowed down to a top 25. Two of Jim Henson's children, Lisa and Cheryl, and famous puppeteer and fantasy artist, Wendy Froud, were part of the panel that chose the five finalists and, eventually, the winning story and author.

Lee's four book series gives an in-depth portrayal of Thra, Skeksis rule, and Gelfling civilization.The first novel, Shadows of the Dark Crystal, follows Naia of the Drenchen clan of Gelfling as she searches for her brother, a castle soldier who has been accused of treason by the Skeksis. This book was fantastic and I loved learning more about Naia, who is barely introduced in the first season of The Age of Resistance.

I have not read books two through four YET, but I am excited to learn more about Thra and the Gelflings as they unite the seven clans to battle the Skeksis. Lee is obviously a talented storyteller and chapter books can contain so much detail and back story that you cannot get from a television show.

I hope that I have piqued your interest about The Dark Crystal: The Age of Resistance as well as the prequel book series by J.M. Lee. Just in case you need more encouragement here is the trailer for the Netlix television show.

Alien Invaders

One of my favorite storytimes during our space-themed summer was all about aliens. No surprise considering that I am Star Wars, Star Trek, Sci-Fi/Fantasy nerd. You don't have to be a Trekkie, though, to enjoy these out-of-this-world picture books.

Say the word "underpants" in front of any child and I promise that they will giggle. That fact already makes the Underpants books by Claire Freedman and Ben Cort guaranteed crowd pleasers. Of course, for this blog post I want to recommend Aliens Love Underpants and Aliens in Underpants Save the World. The stories are silly and the illustrations are vibrant and adorable. Scholastic also has some fun and easy downloadable activities to go along with the books.











Your Alien and Your Alien Returns by Tammi Sauer were new to me this year even though they were published in 2015 and 2016, respectively. The former is like a condensed and less sad version of E.T. A spaceship crash lands in a boy's backyard and he instantly befriends the super cute green alien inside. After a fun-filled day of alien hijinks the diminutive extra terrestrial is homesick so the boy finds a way to contact its parents. In the sequel, Your Alien Returns, the human boy is invited by the alien to visit his home.


What really brings these two stories to life, though, is Goro Fujita's, stunning artwork. Fujita has worked for Dreamworks Animation and is currently using virtual reality to create amazing digital paintings.

My son loves the interactive picture books by Tom Fletcher. Seriously, I think that I have read There's a Dragon in Your Book over a hundred times. So, I don't believe anyone was more excited than me when Fletcher released There's an Alien in Your Book last May!  Young readers become part of the story as they are asked to do a variety of actions from tilting the book one way or the other, making faces, wiggling, blowing wind, etc. If you have a little one at home I highly recommend checking these out or buying them for your personal collection because they are sure to become favorites. If you need more convincing here is a video of Tom Fletcher reading There's a Monster in Your Book.

 

 

Even Aliens Need Snacks by Matthew McElligot is another picture book that has been a huge hit at storytime. An aspiring young chef is told by his big sister that no one on earth would eat his less than appetizing creations. The solution, of course, is to open a late night snack shop for visitors from other planets. Kids will laugh at all of the unique aliens and there are sure to be plenty of "EWWWWS" at the bizarre culinary creations.

Need more aliens? Here are a few more extra terrestrial picture books that I have enjoyed.
Life on Mars by John Agee
Three Little Aliens and the Big Bad Robot by Margaret McNamara
Earth to Clunk by Pam Smallcomb
Zathura by Chris Van Allsburg

Summer Reading

Teachers may be counting down the days till classrooms are empty, but librarians everywhere are frantically preparing for the busiest time of the year. Oh I know, a lot of people imagine a library as a stuffy and somber buildings where some spinster wearing  cat-eye glasses and her hair in a bun is constantly shushing people. This particular stereotype may have had a bit of truth to it 75 years ago, but these days libraries are more than just repositories for musty books. Libraries are vital and active community centers where people of all ages can read, study, play, learn, create and grow.

Active is definitely the key word during the summer when families flood the library looking for inexpensive ways to entertain their kids. Cue superstar librarians that plan, prep, and host oodles of FREE summer programs for babies, toddlers, tweens, teens, and even adults.

The majority of libraries in the U.S. utilize the Collaborative Summer Library Program to help plan their summer schedule. The CSLP is a consortium of states that work together to develop a variety of materials, guides, artwork, and more that libraries can use for little or no cost. Each year the CSLP comes up with a unique theme and this year it is A UNIVERSE OF STORIES! Who doesn't get super geeked about space!

In celebration of the space theme our library is having a StarLab inflatable planetarium at our kick-off event. I have never been in one of these portable planetariums, but they look like an amazing way to experience a planetarium without leaving your hometown or paying for an expensive ticket. The knowledgeable folks from Dynamic School Assemblies will show and teach us all about what we can see in our midwestern summer sky in a thirty minute show. Obviously, not everyone can fit for one show so there will be six shows on Monday, June 17th from 4-7pm.  While waiting there will be face painting, space activities and, of course, you can sign up for the take-home portion of the summer reading program.

The take-home portion of the summer reading program is designed to get kids excited about reading books over the summer.  Basically, you sign up your child and they receive a reading log and every time they finish a level (there are eight total) you can bring it back for a prize and a chance to enter a drawing for a grand prize. Children will also have the opportunity to add a star sticker for every book they read to our library moonscape. By the end of summer we hope that our young readers will have it completely covered.

In addition to the kick-off our library will be hosting other amazing space-themed programs for multiple age groups throughout the summer. We will have a rocket building and launching competition, you can graduate from a padawan to a Jedi at Jedi Academy, tie-dye galaxy t-shirts, a sci-fi teen book club, and so much more. If you are not lucky enough to live in the Portland community, I highly encourage you to check out your local library.

Of course, parents aren't just looking for fun things for their kids to do. Many are hoping to bridge the gap between school years and prevent the dreaded summer slide. No, summer slide is not a piece of playground equipment. It is the knowledge that school aged kids lose over the summer. As you can see from the graphic at the left (provided by scholastic) and pretty much everyone else doing research on literacy, reading, and summer slide (including the Children's Literacy Initiative) reading and taking your child to the library are two of the best ways to prevent summer slide. This is awesome news, parents. You don't have to force your child to do worksheets or sign them up for expensive classes or tutors. All you have to do is let them read, and not boring classics or books that they would rather go to the dentist then read. Take them to the library and let them pick whatever they want. Wow! That is so easy and studies show that just having your child read 2-3 hours per week can prevent summer slide.

I hope that all of you will remember your library this summer when you are looking for things to do. They are free, fun, and educational. Seriously, there are no negatives to frequenting your local library.