#our queerest shelves

[fiddleheadfinn]

Hi, just wanted to make sure you knew your shop was featured in Book Riot’s OUR QUEEREST SHELVES newsletter today!

Oh wow, that's amazing! And some great news on an otherwise discouraging day! 🌈 I'm not on the mailing list - is it possible to forward the newsletter to me so I can see it?

fiddleheadfinn(at)gmail(dot)com

[msvtheadoptee]

10 Resources for Library & Bookish Content!

@TomesandTextiles on Instagram and TikTok 

TomesandTextiles is an account created by Carmen Alvarez, a Latina creator who does a weekly roundup of Latinx titles releasing each week.

Black Children’s Books and Authors (BCBA)

This website is created by a nonprofit organization with a mission to center Black children’s stories and spread awareness of Black stories and authors.

Book Riot YA & Newsletters

I subscribe to Book Riot and their newsletters specifically focused on YA and Literary Activism. “Book Riot is the largest independent editorial book site in North America”! What?! After poking around the site again for this assignment I subscribed to their newsletters “In Reading Color”, “Our Queerest Shelves”, and “The Best of Book Riot”. 

@muslimbookreviewers on Instagram  

Muslim book reviewers is an instagram account created by four Muslim book reviewers who each have their own accounts where they review books, but also a shared account where they review books and provide other services like beta & sensitivity reading, consultations, editing, etc.

@Maistorybooklibrary on Instagram 

This account focuses more on picture books. The creator of the account Maya Lê creates reels for collections of books on given topics. These reels can be helpful to check our library collection and see if we have any gaps in our collections also. Collection topics range from books featuring characters with service dogs to celebrating holidays, courage, and a book to read the next time your child tells a lie. Sometimes parents come into the library with unique requests for a book that may address a conversation they had with their child. This account is a great go to for those types of questions! 

@silverunicornbookstore, @high_five_books, @allshewrotebooks @brooklinebooksmith

I follow local, independent bookstores that I like on Instagram and TikTok! This is helpful to learn about local author events to attend and new books.

We Here 

We Here is an organization dedicated to supporting and creating a community for BIPOC librarians. They have a website, Facebook group, a Patreon, and more!

Massachusetts School Library Association (MSLA) 

Massachusetts School Library Association is a resource for librarians in Massachusetts. Resources range from their annual conference, professional development, a newsletter, etc.

Youth Services Book Reviews

This is a website of book reviews and short summaries created by Massachusetts School Librarians. This website runs off of contributors who are school librarians and submit reviews.

Facebook Groups 

Facebook groups are another great resource to find templates, lesson plan ideas, or get multiple perspectives on a question. One Facebook Group I am a part of that is pretty active is School Libraries Rock run by Kristina Uihlein Holzweiss!

After choosing 10 I realized I do not follow many Youtubers. Any suggestions on book creators on Youtube to follow?

Highlights of the Week

giving a shout out to some of my favorite bookish creators and exploring their content more!

Discovering new bookish content creators

Recognizing what areas I'd still like to work on finding content for

What are you top 10 resources and/or bookish creators?

[mermaidbookrecs]

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children

Riggs, R. (2013). Miss Peregrines Home for Peculiar Children. Philadelphia, PA: Quirk Books. Pages: 538 ISBN: 978-1-59474-513-3 Price: $9.99 Lexile: 890L Format: ebook Awards: YALSA’s Best Fiction for Young Adults

“We cling to our fairy tales until the price for believing in them becomes too high.”  (29)

When we’re young, we believe in things like monsters and later learn they aren’t real. But what would you do if you found out some fantastical things actually are real?

Jacob is tired of his ordinary life. His entire life is planned out for him because his family is rich; his uncles on his mom’s side own a chain of stores and it is his birthright to one day inherit them. He’s tired of working in the store and is determined to get fired when the story first starts and he receives a distressed phone call from his grandfather, whom he and the rest of his family believe is starting to suffer from dementia, as he is talking about monsters and needing the key to his gun closet, which Jacob’s father had taken away. Jacob leaves work at his father’s request to check on his grandfather, but to his horror discovers him nearly dead behind his house, with a letter opener as his only protection from what police would later assume to be wild dogs. Jacob, however, sees the culprit: a terrifying monster. No one believes him.

As Jacob tries to once again live a normal life and try to convince his family and new psychiatrist that he is not crazy, while also trying to come to grips with his grandfather’s sudden death, his grandfather’s last words haunt him. When he finds a letter from someone from his grandfather’s past, Jacob sets out for the island and the boarding school where his grandfather spent much of his childhood to find closure. But closure is definitely not all he finds there.

This book was cataloged in the horror genre at my library, but while intense at times and while the book cover and antique photographs throughout the novel are definitely creepy, the book itself is more science fiction or fantasy than horror. However, there are definitely horror elements, such as monsters, children with terrifying powers, and the fact that at first it seems like a ghost story. Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children falls into an assortment of genres, so its labeling as horror is somewhat appropriate even if I believe it would be better shelved with the fantasy novels.

This is the first book in a series and is now a film, so it is very popular, although I have not yet seen the movie. I probably will watch it at some point, because I did enjoy the book immensely, even though I was disappointed it wasn’t the “horror” novel I was anticipating based on the description, cataloging, and book cover. I would rate the book 4 stars out of 5 for entertainment alone, because it was a very engaging read and I would like to explore the rest of the series when I have the opportunity. 

Some of the language used in the novel is crude (there are occasional “your mom” jokes and sexual innuendo) but the content is suitable for a teen audience 14 and older. There is death and violence and while it is easy to forget most of the time with all the other events going on, the backdrop of much of the novel does take place during World War II. In fact, the fact that the school was bombed and all the occupants are known to have died that causes a turning point in the story. The protagonist’s grandfather is Jewish and lost his entire family during the war, so while the focus of the novel is not on the war itself, it does play a large part in the events that occur. The page length is 382 in the paperback version, so it is a lengthy read for some teens. However, the book is so engaging, I did not notice the length at all until now.

The following excerpt comes from pages 138 and 139 in the digital edition:

"And there weren’t any survivors at all?’ Martin asked.

The old man thought for a moment, his gaze drifting up to the ceiling. “Now that you mention is,” he said, “I reckon there were. Just one. A young man, not much older than this boy here.” His rocking stopped as he remembered it. “Walked into town the morning after with not a scratch upon him. Hardly seemed perturbed at all, considering he’d just seen all his mates go to their reward. It was the queerest thing.”

“He was probably in shock,” Martin said.

“I shouldn’t wonder,” replied Oggie. “He spoke only once, to ask my father when the next boat was leaving for the mainland. Said he wanted to take up arms directly and kill the damned monsters who murdered his people.”

Oggie’s story was nearly as farfetched as the ones Grandpa Portman used to tell, and yet I had no reason to doubt him.

“I knew him,” I said. “He was my grandfather.”

Star rating: 4/5

You can view the official movie trailer below!