The Thief Lord

The Readers of the Roundtable, book discussion group for ages 9 and older, have chosen The Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke to read and discuss at our April 18th meeting. Welcome to the magical underworld of Venice, Italy, where hidden canals and deserted old theaters shelter runaway children and orphans with incredible secrets...Prosper & Bo, orphans on the run from their cruel aunt and uncle, join the Thief Lord who leads a ring of street children in petty crimes. When the detective who is looking for the two boys spills the beans about Scipio's real father, the group begins to fall apart. At the same time they take on a big theft for a huge sum and find themselves in the middle of a mystery that has never been solved, the disappearance of the magical Merry-Go-Round. Soon the boys are thrust into circumstances that will lead them to a fantastic, spellbound conclusion. Read the book to find out how it all happens and then attend the book discussion group at the Library on April 18 at 6:30 where we will have snacks and games as well as the discussion.

If you need a copy of the book you can go to MelCat to interlibrary loan it, all you need is your Pinckney Library card number and you name. It will be shipped from the lending library to the Pinckney Library for you to borrow. All free of charge. Or call the library and we will help you get a copy 734-878-3888.

At the book discussion in April the tweens will decide on what book to read for May. All of these titles are on the accelerated readers list for the Pinckney schools. They will choose from the following list:

• Lily's Crossing by Patricia Reilly Giff
• Heaven by Angela Johnson
• Parsifal's Page by Gerald Morris
• United Tates of America by Paula Danziger

If you want copies of any of those books please contact the library or request it from MelCat.

See you at the library! ~Sara

Spring Break Adventures

Pinckney schools celebreate Spring Break starting on Good Friday, April 14 - April 23, 2006. If you are lucky enough to be planning a trip to another location, enjoy your trip we will see you when you get home. However, if you are staying home then plan a trip to the Pinckney Library for any of our youth events during Spring Break.

We will be kicking off our Spring Break adventure by watching the 2005 release of The Chronicles of Narnia on Friday April 14 at 11:00 a.m. The DVD edition hits the streets April 4th. Please bring a sack lunch to enjoy while you watch. The Library will pop up lots of warm buttery popcorn for everyone to enjoy. Also bring blankets and pillows to make yourselves comfortable on the floor while we watch. Anyone 8 or younger also need to bring an adult friend.

Our next Spring Break Adventure will take place on Tuesday April 18th at 11:00 a.m. the Pinckney Library will host Spring Break Craft Extravaganzia for ages 2-17. There will be lots of crafts for everyone of all crafting abilities. However, we will not have our regular family story time due to this craft adventure. Also on April 18th there will be our normally scheduled meeting of the Readers of the Roundtable book discussion group at 6:30 p.m. book title to be announced.

Our final stop on our Spring Break Adventure will be Wednesday April 19. At 1:00 p.m. we will host our normally schduled Family Story Time for all ages including stories and a craft. At 3:00 p.m. ages 9 and older are invited to learn about "What's Inside My PC (personal computer)?". The Library's information technology consultant will open up a couple of our old pc's to discuss and answer questions about what is inside your computer.

Please join us at the library for a Spring Break Adventure by attending some or all of these adventures with your family. Hope to see you at the Library for Spring Break.

Parenting Awareness Michigan

Michigan celebrates the month of March as parenting awareness month. For more information you can go to Parenting Awareness Michigan (PAM). At the PAM web site you can find information on the following topics:

• Brain Development in Children
• 40 Developmental Assets (used in Pinckney Public Schools)
• 100 Ways to Know More Do More Parent Involvement
• 10 Steps to Positive Parenting
• 13 Tips for Talking With Teens about Anything
• Infant Development
• And many many more topics.

New Youth Audio Books in 2006

This is a list of audio books that have been purchased since January 1, 2006, so they are all new to the PCPL. Included in this list is audio books for juvenile and teen fiction. The PCPL also has a collection of audio books for younger kids that are a set of books and cd or cassette tape, but I have not added anything new to that collection in 2006 (not yet, anyway).

• The witches by Dahl
• Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle by MacDonald
• Girl underground by Gleitzman (Teen)
• Small steps by Sachar (this is the follow up book to award winning Holes)
• Blind beauty by Peyton (Teen)
• Ptolemy's gate by Stroud (the conclusion of The Bartimaeus Trilogy )
• The Bunnicula collection by Howe (includes : Bunnicula; Howliday Inn; The celery stalks at midnight)
• Geronimo Stilton Books 1-3 by Herrmann
• Rotten School Books 1-2 by Stine
• Elizabeth I, red rose of the House of Tudor by Lasky
• Diary of a fairy godmother by Codell
• The cat ate my gymsuit by Danziger

I hope you can find an audio book to please you or members of your family. I know in my family a good audio book can provide peace in the car during road trips! ~Sara