Posted in Explore and Discover, kids on April 11, 2017 at 6:00 am
By Rachel Edmondson Like many kids, my girls love animals. But one of my daughters is especially fascinated and passionate about wild creatures. I think some of her interest began with the PBS show The Wild Kratts. From the first time she watched, she was hooked. So far we’ve learned about pandas, tigers, polar bears, […]
Tags: animal books, animals, books, children's books, creatures, lemmings, manatees, marsupials, microbes, narwhals, reading, sloths, Tasmanian devils, unusual animals, wild Kratts, zoologist, zoology
Posted in Explore and Discover on March 14, 2017 at 6:00 am
By Stefani Miller One year ago, my husband came to me with the idea that we regularly set aside time to read the same book. Normally our tastes in reading couldn’t be more different. I love romance, and I don’t stray too far from that genre. My husband, however, reads more broadly. You’ll find everything […]
Tags: adults, book club, book club for two, booklists, books, reading
Posted in kids, Parents and Teachers on February 28, 2017 at 6:00 am
By Sheri Boggs Imagine your home—the furniture, the walls, the books, the art, the smells, the landscape where you live. Imagine what it would be like if war came and things got so bad you had to leave. Imagine leaving your belongings and your pets, your friends and your neighborhood. Imagine traveling day and night, […]
Tags: booklist, books, community, family, immigrants, kids, parents, picture books, reading, refugees, teachers, young learners
Posted in Explore and Discover, News on February 25, 2017 at 6:00 am
by Erin Dodge Poetry can sing us a song, open us to a moment, inspire us to reach higher and go further. Washington State Poet Laureate and Gonzaga University professor Tod Marshall leads a poetry discussion series at Spokane County Library District in March and April. Each event has a casual atmosphere where everyone is […]
Tags: author visit, community, history, injustice, Irish Poetry, National Poetry Month, poems, poetry, poets, reading, saving lives, slam, slam poetry, social justice, spoken word
Posted in Explore and Discover on February 14, 2017 at 6:00 am
By Rachel Edmondson It’s that time of year again when thoughts turn to true love and finding happily-ever-after. Most of the time, life is not a fairy tale. Unless, of course, you’re reading the original fairy tales, which are darker and more gruesome than the Disneyesque versions. Sometimes real life feels a bit too similar […]
Tags: adults, book list, booklists, books, fairy tales, fairytales, kids, reading, teens, tweens, YA, young learners
Posted in Explore and Discover on January 24, 2017 at 6:00 am
By Erin Dodge My inner fangirl starts jumping up and down every time I find out that an author is coming to the library to give a reading or discuss writing. So you can imagine the backflips (my inner fangirl is much more flexible than I am) when I heard that three amazing authors are […]
Tags: adults, author visit, authors, books, events, reading, romance, romance series, writing
Posted in Explore and Discover, kids, Parents and Teachers on January 3, 2017 at 6:00 am
By Gwendolyn Haley Do you have a kid who is a reluctant reader? When kids complain that reading is boring, they are probably just reading the wrong book. . . for them. Reluctant readers often will try books about things that they already love. If you have a Minecrafter in your house, you may have checked […]
Tags: booklists, books, events, fiction, gaming, hobbies, kids, medieval, minecraft, nonfiction, overworld, parenting, parents, reading, reluctant readers, STEM, technology, teens, tweens, zombies
Posted in Explore and Discover, For You on December 27, 2016 at 6:00 am
By Erin Dodge Meet Charline and Margy (standing) and Suzanne, Jean, and Winnie (seated)—about half of the Broadway Court Estates Book Club (busy schedules and winter colds prevented others from making it). I was invited come along to their December meeting by Margy, Public Services Specialist at Spokane Valley Library and facilitator of the group […]
Tags: audiobooks, book club, books, outreach, reading, retirement
Posted in Explore and Discover on December 13, 2016 at 6:00 am
By Stefani Miller Have you ever really loved a character and wished there were 10 more just like him or her? Behold! I bring you the family saga romance. In this romance sub-genre, not only do you get to follow the story of the character you love but also the stories of that character’s brothers, […]
Tags: adults, booklist, booklists, books, family saga, reading, romance, romance series
Posted in Explore and Discover on November 15, 2016 at 6:00 am
By David Wyatt In just a few days, movie-goers will be returning to J. K. Rowling’s wizarding world on screen when Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them hits theaters. It’s been a pretty good year for Potter and company: the new play in London Harry Potter and the Cursed Child and a little closer […]
Tags: animals, beasts, booklists, books, creatures, fantasy, Harry Potter, Hogwart's Library, kids, monsters, mythology, reading, teens, tweens, YA