Online Graphic Novels from Libby

ebooks for children and teens

Kids love Graphic Novels. Did you know that many of your kids favorites can be found free online ? Libby is an app that allows students to browse books, read a short sample, and download their choices. It’s available for most public libraries. https://www.overdrive.com/apps/libby/

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Adults can find e-books and audio books at https://rbdigital.com/home

https://librarianlou.wordpress.com/2020/04/07/now-is-the-time-for-e-books/

Now is the Time for E-books.

We didn’t see it coming. First, the basketball tournaments were canceled then Broadway shows and Disneyland. Then our libraries shut their doors and parents are teaching their own children.

While there are many directions to go in educating our children, The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development states “Reading is the single most important skill necessary for a happy, productive and successful life.”

This is the perfect time to take advantage of your library’s online resources.

Start by visiting your public library’s website. You will likely find e-books and other online featured on the home page.

Almost all libraries subscribe to e-book services. You can gain access to a large selection of books. These free e-books can be downloaded to your tablet or cell phone.

Virtual services will vary by library. Urban areas may provide access to music streaming services, magazines and videos.

In North Carolina, NC Digital Kids and RB Digital provide many options for reading. It provides 715 popular picture book videos, almost 17,000 ebooks for children and over 1700 graphic novels. Children and teens can browse selections, read a sample and download books to a tablet or cell phone.

Adults can use RB Digital (owned by Recorded Books) to access bestsellers, classics, and other favorites. Although RB Digital lacks the browsability of NC Digital Kids, it allows readers to create a profile by profile features.

 

So visit your public library’s website and get access to great books.

 

Novelist: A Cure for the Reading Funk

I have been in a reading funk lately. Even as a librarian, I find myself having a hard time connecting with that just right book.  Usually my motto is “So Many Books-so little time.”

Life feels stressful at present and I want pure escapism.  Perhaps I’ve worked so hard reading children’s books for this blog that I haven’t found time to read for  me.  Usually when I walk into a library, I feel like a kid in a candy store.  But sometimes, I feel overwhelmed by the choices.  My reading life has never fit in to simple categories.

One great cure for the reading funk is the Novelist Online Database.  It’s available on most public library’s webpages.  Library employees will be happy to share this resource with you.  Novelist recommends books for adults, teens and children. It links back to the library catalog so you can reserve the book

Novelist can…

• help you locate all the books by your favorite author.
• provide read-alikes for popular authors and titles
• provide genre lists for countless interests.  (There are 8 themed lists for teen graphic novels and 13 themed lists for adult mysteries.)
• locate a book with a particular setting.
• find books in series
• find informational as well as fiction books.

Once you locate a book, there are book reviews, age range, lexile levels and subject headings.  I have been using Novelist and Novelist K-8 for years. I have yet to tap into to all the resources available.

Novelist is a great tool for teachers and homeschoolers.  It’s easy to find books that supplement the curriculum.  Historical fiction can be a great way to help students grasp history.  Parents can also use Novelist to help children explore their interests. This database has evolved over time to meet the changing needs of its users.

Novelist is as its best recommending books to upper elementary, teens and adults. The upper elementary years  can be a golden age of reading. .  During this time, children begin getting more specific in their reading choices. If we want children to enjoy reading, we need to offer them lots of choices. There will be more competition for entertainment as children reach their teens.   Finding the right books for children and teens is a key ingredient in creating lifelong readers.  Novelist is a great tool in this process.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Countess Below Stairs

 

A Countess Below Stairs is a must read for any fan of Downton Abbey.

Anna and her family fled their native Russia during the  Revolution to make a new home in London. Attempts to bring their valuables with them are foiled, leaving them penniless.

Anna takes a job as a housemaid in a grand house. In spite of growing up in a wealthy estate, she is kind and unspoiled. She decides that working downstairs can be a grand adventure. She clings to her copy of The Domestic Servant’s Compendium by Selina Strickland, determined to be the best servant ever.

Rupert is an unlikely Earl. He always assumed his charismatic older brother would inherit Mersham, the family estate. After his brother dies in the first world war, he agrees to be the Earl of Westerholme because his family expects it.

Rupert is engaged to Muriel who nursed him back to health after being wounded in battle. No one can deny that Muriel is beautiful and seems charming. Rupert is really not sure how they came to be engaged.

Muriel espouses an early Nazi philosophy known as Eugenics. She wants to apply the same principles of breeding  racehorses to human reproduction, beautiful people mating with other beautiful people with no room for disease or decay.

Muriel fires one of the footmen because he is too short. She sends the mute servant girl to an institution where she can be with her “own kind of people.” She is distressed when she discovers that Ollie, the flower girl in her wedding, has a limp.

The tone of this novel is light and comical. As a romance, it is fairly predictable. The fun of the novel comes from a wide variety of interesting characters and vivid descriptions. It is clear early on that Anna is lovely and kind, spreading joy to everyone she meets.  Rupert is obviously attracted to Anna but promised to Muriel. Both Rupert and Anna are committed to doing the right thing almost to the point of absurdity.  No one can set up a scene or create characters like Eva Ibbotson. She is a master of vivid imagery.

I first discovered Eva Ibbotson through her children’s books, Journey to the River Sea and The Star of Kazan.  When I found one of her adult books on the library shelves, it looked quite nondescript.  I would never have selected it if I had not known about the author. People say we shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but we all do.

Her books were originally written for an adult audience.  Ibbotson wrote mostly children books in her later years.  Until recently, her adult title were hard to locate.  In 2008, MacMillan publishing has begun marketing her older titles to teens.  They simply changed the covers.  I think both adults and teens will enjoy these chaste romances.

A Countess Below Stairs is sometimes published under the title, The Secret Countess.