One of my good friends who works at a local library, has been gushing about Peter Brown since I met her. Ally Watkins is one of the true great advocates for children’s literature and Peter Brown. I’ll let her tell you why:

I love Peter Brown. And one of the main reasons for my love for him is Lucy. Lucy is a very precocious bear (yes, bear). She has two books dedicated to her adventures: Children Make Terrible Pets, and You Will Be My Friend! Both of the books illustrate that sweet Lucy just wants a playmate. In Children Make Terrible Pets, she takes home a little boy as a pet (you can imagine how well that goes. Her new friend–Squeaker, she calls him–isn’t exactly what she expected). In You Will Be My Friend, Lucy wakes up one morning and decides to make a new friend. So she sets out to achieve this goal—with hilarious results (note: it’s not good idea to try to scrub the stink out of a skunk).

Lucy isn’t just for kids, though. While you’re reading the books to the child in your life, you’ll be laughing out loud at the sly humor (“You WILL be my friend,” she informs an egg sitting in a nest; “I can wait.”). Lucy is one of my very favorite characters in kidlit these days, and she’s one big reason why I can’t WAIT to meet Peter Brown when he comes to Lemuria. You can pick up both of these great books—and your very own Lucy stuffed animal—in Oz.

Ally Watkins is the youth services supervisor at the Pearl Public Library, where she oversees programming and collection development for ages 0-18. For her next career move, she’d like to move to Australia to be friends with author Melina Marchetta.

Peter Brown will be reading and signing his new book Creepy Carrots! on Thursday, August 23rd at 4:00.

Have you ever loved carrots? Jasper Rabbit does. And he has found that the carrots in Crakenhopper Field are the fattest, crispiest carrots ever. And better yet, they’re free for the taking! Imagine Jasper’s excitement! His joy! His gluttony! All the carrots he could ever want! And maybe he ate a few too many, because he feels like he is seeing them everywhere now. Creepy ones with eyes and teeth and eyebrows. Eyebrows! I mean, that has to be the answer, right, because carrots can’t possibly follow you home, sneak into your shower, or peek into your bedroom at night just to creep you out. Yet, Jasper starts seeing creepy carrots EVERYWHERE!

And so begins the amazing new picture book Creepy Carrots by Aaron Reynolds and illustrated by Peter Brown. The story reminds me of something from my own childhood, but the illustrations are really what send this picture book through the roof. Told in black and white and orange illustrations, these carrots get even funnier and creepier because they are the only things in color in the book.

As a lover of all of Peter Brown’s work (Children Make Terrible Pets, You Will Be My Friend, and Curious Garden to name a few) I am so EXCITED to announce that Peter Brown will be signing at Lemuria on Thursday, August 23rd at 4:00. Creepy Carrots will also be our August OZ FIRST EDITIONS CLUB PICK! If you haven’t joined this free club, now would be a perfect time to sign up and meet Peter Brown, all at the same time! Hope to see you all there!

Seraphina is a debut book that has been getting all the buzz. Starred reviews in Kirkus, Booklist, Publishers Weekly, and a whole bunch more here, this book is one that all fantasy fans, adult and kids alike, should not miss. We at Lemuria are LOVING it as well. From it’s amazing cover (which looks even better in person) to its spectacular story (which you must read for yourself), Seraphina by Rachel Hartman definitely gets our vote. Here is Tracy, one of my bright young interns, to give you the scoop:

I’ve read many novels and series about dragons before, but have never seen a take on dragons the way Rachel Hartman, author of Seraphina, describes them. She weaves an intricate story with the character of Seraphina Dombegh, a half dragon, who works in the palace of the kingdom of Goredd as an assistant music mistress. No one except her dragon uncle and human father know what she is, as her mother died in childbirth. She keeps her true identity secret by wearing many layers of clothing and long sleeves all the time to hide her scales which are on her arms and torso. However, her routine changes when a member of the royal family is killed by decapitation, a specific characteristic of a dragon murder. Peace between Goredd and the dragon world has been rocky, and as the anniversary of the treaty of peace draws near, tensions are at an all-time high. Seraphina is drawn into the investigation of the murder and partners with the highly perceptive Prince Lucian Kiggs. Soon, Seraphina discovers herself deep in a plot to ruin the peace, all the while trying to protect her own secret, whose discovery could result in her death.

Hey, y’all! I’m Mandy, I’m new in town, and you’ll be seeing me in Oz working alongside the effervescent Emily. I recently earned an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts, but until I earn my own shelf space at Lemuria, I’m hoping to earn your trust as a resource for all of you children’s, YA and Not-So-YA YA readers. I’m a recent transplant from California, where I’ve lived for the past six years. I’ve lived in every other region of the US and even spent eighteen months in Spain, but this is my first taste of southern living, and from tasting fried pickles with ranch for the first time to learning how to properly pronounce ‘Biloxi,’ I’ve found the experience thus far to be wholly fascinating.

As I considered what to tackle for my first blog, I kept thinking of the many Canadian YA authors I favor. Sigh. Poor Canadian authors. Unless they are given the honor of a major book prize (see: Tim Wynne-Jones’ Blink and Caution, Erin Bow’s Plain Kate), they are sadly underestimated, underrepresented, and undersold here in the USA. So today I’m turning the spotlight on a personal favorite in my YA library, Canadian Alan Cumyn’s 2011 novel, Tilt.

Tilt is the story of Stan, an awkward teen boy who is dealing with some majorly complex family drama while also seriously falling in love for the first time. I absolutely adore all of the characters in this book, even Stan’s dysfunctional parents. Full of human frailty, even when they make you mad, Cumyn’s fictional people find their way in to your heart.

The beauty of the novel lies in the inherent respect Cumyn has for his teen readers. Wholly realistic, believable, and riveting, the book is also brimming with true literary sensibility that only thousands of hours of revision and editing can produce. Each word is deliberate; the sentences so crisp, subtle and multi-layered that at times I was so overwhelmed by the sheer beauty of it that I had to set it down and turn the language over and around in my mind for awhile.

In a YA market that at times seems saturated with sloppily written and edited Get-The-Next-Hot-Thing-Out-NOW genre novels, it was such a joy to read a novel for real teenagers about a real teenager, written by an author who writes for the love of books and the people who read them rather than the love of hitting the trend and cashing in a seven figure paycheck.

While there is one fairly explicit (and authentically, painfully awkward) sex scene which some may prefer to avoid (so I feel obligated to mention it), it is not gratuitous by any means. I hope you will give Tilt a chance—and let me know how you like it. Stay tuned for more in coming months on my opinions on what is and is not “appropriate” in books for teenagers, which are many and varied. Until then, happy reading!

by Mandy

Have you stopped by Lemuria to find Waldo yet? If you haven’t started your search, check out Emily’s previous blog for more in-depth instructions for Find Waldo Local in Jackson!

Throughout July, Lemuria is also hosting some special Saturday morning story times with a few of the local businesses participating in Find Waldo Jackson.

July 7th: We will be reading Plant a Little Seed by Bonnie Christensen and planting some seeds of our own courtesy of Green Oak Nursery and Florist

July 14th: We will be reading You Are a Lion! by Taeeun Yoo and practicing our yoga moves with Lemuria’s very own Lisa Newman (social media director and manager of our Fiction room!)

July 21st: The Jackson Zoo will be here with some special animal friends to help us read If All the Animals Came Inside by Eric Pinder and Silly
Doggy! by Adam Stower

July 28th: Come celebrate the end of the Find Waldo Local event in Jackson with a GRAND PRIZE DRAWING and fashion show brought to us by children’s clothing store Pop Fizz! We will be reading Zoe Gets Ready by Bethanie Deeney Murgvia and Birdie’s Big-Girl Dress by Sujean Rim to help us get ready for some fun fashions on the runway down at our dot.com building!

by Anna