Islington Branch Grades 3 – 5 Book Share

In search of a good book?  Bring a favorite book to recommend and see what everyone is reading!  Eat  snacks!  Leave with a list of recommendations --we will order a copy of any book you would like!

Wednesday, April 28^th 7:00-7:30 p.m.

REGISTRATION REQUIRED, Call (781)326-5914 or stop by the Islington Branch Library.

Mythlopedia: All in the Family by Steven Otfinoski

A Look-It-Up Guide to the In-laws, Outlaws, and Offspring of Mythology

This is one of four books in the Mythlopedia series. You think you know Greek mythology?  Family life around Mount Olympus was a real odyssey.  Heroes went to war and got lost coming home, a king traded his golden touch for a pair of donkey ears, and everybody wanted to be a star.  It was enough to give a mortal a complex!  Here’s an excerpt from the book:

Cybele’s Revenge: Atalanta and Melanion offend a goddess.  Atalanta and Melanion were very much in love.  Maybe a little too much in love.  When the goddess Cybele caught the pair cuddling in her temple, she blew a fuse!  To punish the couple, she turned them into lions.  Then, to add insult to injury, she yoked the pair of lions to her chariot.”

Do you like scary books?

Take a look at Robert D. San Souci’s latest --Dare To Be Scared 4: Thirteen More Tales of  Terror. In this new addition to the series, author Robert D. San Souci and illustrator David Ouimet join forces to present 13 deliciously frightening tales. Elements of urban legend and folklore are utilized to weave powerful and suspenseful (yet age-appropriate) stories that young readers are sure to revisit, finding new meaning — and shivers — with each reading. In Dare to Be Scared 4, the stories range from "Fairy Godmother" to "A Really Scary Story" that should bear a label warning: Books can be dangerous! In "Snow Day," Connor soon discovers that you can't make big magic without paying for it big time. It's best to have a flashlight for under-the-covers story-reading that reveals what's really behind the closed doors of the "Principal's Office," on the railroad tracks at dusk in "Heading Home," and the eerie fate of 13-year-old Peter in "Moonrise." David Ouimet's unique scratchboard illustrations and Robert San D. Souci's compelling prose make this a welcome jaunt through the world of ghosts and ghouls along with the children trying to escape their clutches!

Poetry Writing Workshops with Tom Daley

Tom Daley returns to the Westwood Library!  On April 29, Tom will host 2 poetry writing workshops as part of the library’s Positively Poetry series. Students in grades 6, 7, and 8 will meet from 2:45 – 4:00, and students in grades 3, 4, and 5 will meet from 4:15 – 5:30. Registration is required. To register, email us at westwoodpoetry@yahoo.com, or call 781-320-1042.  The poems produced at the workshops will be included in the library’s 2010 Poetry Anthology.

Tom Daley teaches poetry writing at the Boston Center for Adult Education, and poetry and memoir writing at Lexington Community Education. In addition, he is a member of the faculty of the Online School of Poetry, serves on the tutorial faculty of the Walnut Hill School for the Arts in Natick, and has been a guest instructor at Brown University, Stonehill College and SUNY Cobleskill. He has also been served as visiting poets at several schools.

Tom Daley’s own work has been published in numerous journals, including Harvard Review, Prairie Schooner, Barrow Street, Vox, Diagram, and Hacks: The Grub Street Anthology.

Positively Poetry at the Westwood Public Library

Positively Poetry at the Westwood Public Library is a celebration of poetry that includes the publication of an anthology of original poetry by students in grades 3 - 12, a public reading from the anthology, and sometimes a writing workshop or two!

Send us your poems for The Westwood Library's 2010 Poetry Anthology. All students in grades 3 - 12 are invited to send one original poem for inclusion in our 2010 anthology. Poems should be no longer than 30 lines, and must have family friendly language and content. Deadline for submissions is April 16. Email us at westwoodpoetry@yahoo.com and include your full name, grade, name of your school, phone number and email address. Check out our poetry blog at westwoodpoetry.blogspot.com, where some of the poems will be published.