One of the thousands of things I learned from my old boss Hy Sarick,( from my Children’s Book Store days) , is that you should always replace your light bulbs as soon as they go out. For those of you who have been to Tinlids, you know that that’s not such an easy task. Our ceilings are about 50 feet high, and the lights are those long fluorescent tubes that don’t even fit in my car. But Hy Sarick said “if someone comes into your store and sees those burnt out lights, they’ll think they’re in a dump. “ In fact the first time he came to see my store, I saw him look up. And then he pointed. Up . At the burnt-out light. And shook his head. I of course made some excuse about not having a ladder high enough, but the damage was done.

This week I called my fabulous landlord who sent Giovanni the electrician, and his son ( I can’t remember his name). Anyway, Giovanni is quite the character and will talk to me (actually to anyone , I’m sure) about any topic you can think of. So today, while his son was high up on the ladder, Giovanni was in the Science section, looking at a book on butterflies. As I walked by, he turned to me and said “you know, these are children’s books, but look at me – I’m reading this and I’m still learning something. I know a lot about butterflies already, but it’s never too late to learn more. Did you know the tent caterpillar can be very destructive? I don’t kill them though. I don’t kill anything because I’m a gardener and I figure if God put the spiders there, and the bees , well that means they have a job to do… “ Then he told me about his neighbor who was always spraying chemicals on his lawn to keep it green. And chemicals on his plum tree to keep the worms away… and he went on about this for a bit and talked about nature getting even.

I could have listened to Giovanni all day. First of all, he has the same Italian accent my dad had, so I felt l was related to him….. and secondly, he seemed so taken by the books. He was also really really passionate about electricityand told me all about ballasts and how well made they were - “we replace some ballasts that are 40 years old. Do you know how solid these ballasts are? Feel the weight of this. There’s copper wire in there and lots of good material that we should be re-using. But they sell them to China because we don’t have a good environmental program to support the re-cylcling of this material…..” he was so animated in everything he talked about, from his stories of Italy, to the environment , healthy food, and the future of China.

Like many days, I'm reminded today of how books bring us together. Giovanni dreams of writing his stories down, and especially his invention ideas, that no one has thought of yet.  But he's too busy .   He said to me “you can learn everything I’m talking about , from all these books you’re selling. “ Like I didn’t know this already. But I just smiled and thanked him. Until, just as he was leaving, he stopped, looked up and said “but really, you should always replace your lights right away. Or else the customers will think this is a dump”. True story. Next time I’ll video tape him to prove it.

I just can't get enough of "Guyku"!

Guyku: A Year of Haiku for Boys- by Bob Raczka, illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds

to order orders@tinlids.ca or 1 800 461 9397

Order this book now at orders@tinlids.ca or 1 800 461 9397

'Great Graphic Wednesday' is a weekly blog posting. Check here every Wednesday for reviews of recommended graphic novels, by members of the Tinlids Graphic Novel Book Club.

The Loser List - Written and Illustrated by Holly N Kowitt

Details: Black and white comic reads left to right. Hardcover ISBN 9780545240048

Grade 5-8

Summary: When Danny Shine (rhymes with "whine") finds out he's on the infamous Loser List in the girls' bathroom, his mission to erase it lands him in detention. That fateful afternoon, the school's bullies (who live in detention) discover that Danny can draw. Suddenly he's not a target anymore-he's a "bad boy"! Supplying tattoos and graffiti for the bullies is great, until Danny is unwittingly drawn into a crime. His new friends took a comic from Danny's favorite store, and now Danny has to steal it back, return it, and break off with the bullies-before he goes from dork to delinquent. Fans of Jeff Kinney, Jim Benton, and things that are absurd and also very, very funny will love this new, fully illustrated tale of middle-school torture.

Review: Right from the first “Me at-a-glance” page, you know enough about Danny to understand that he’s going to have a few social problems in school. He likes to draw stuff (like rusty cans and smelly socks, with his favourite pen (the T360), he’s still looking for a sport he’s good at, and his biggest fear is Chantal Davis. The illustrations are hilarious, and I love the “at-a-glance” introductions for the main characters. This is an obvious must-have choice for all libraries.

  To order The Loser List www.tinlids.ca

My brother Jim Martella and I presented 4 sessions at the Reading for the Love of it Conference last week. Jim showed me how to create a prezi and this is what he put together for our session. No one wants to read a book if it isn't fun! These are the books we presented. To get to full screen, just click on the "MORE" button.

This week in our booth at the OLA Super Conference, we decided, once again, to give out buttons.  We wanted to have buttons that would be interactive, and spread the Tinlids name to as many librarians, teachers and lovers of children’s books as possible.  So we came up with 8 buttons that could answer the question “What kind of Book are you?”

The button choices:

I am a Mystery

I am a Horror Story

I am Poetry

I am a Complicated Plot

I am Loosely Based on a True Story

I am a Tear Jerker

I am Edgy

I am Supernatural

On Thursday and Friday we gave out over 500 buttons and it was fascinating to watch people try to decide which button described them best.  Here are some of my observations:

-          The most popular button was “I am loosely based on a true story”, followed by “I am a Complicated Plot” . Whenever someone couldn’t decide, it was usually between one of these two buttons.

-          The first button I wore was “I am a Horror Story”.  I got lots of comments like “Oh Maria, you’re not a horror story”  (some people would disagree)  or “you shouldn’t wear that button – people might be afraid to come into your booth” (really? )

-          Only 4 men chose “I am Poetry” – what’s that all about? Was it the colour? (pink).  But the men who did choose “I am Poetry” seemed really happy and grounded…..Most of the men chose “I am Edgy” – yep, you’re all tough guys…

-          The people who chose the mystery buttons seemed to be the quiet types… most of them didn’t hesitate, and walked away quickly… It made me feel like I should follow them… what were they up to??

-          “I am a tear jerker” - the ones who chose this were mostly women. They didn’t have any problem expressing themselves and letting me know how they felt. They seemed sweet and funny.   It wasn’t a popular one with the men. Scott said maybe it would be interpreted as“I’m a heartbreaker”, so it would seem arrogant.  Hmmmm. That was interesting.  The women just thought it meant “I’m expressive, or emotional, or I cry easily".

I really loved hearing friends choose for each other… “You are DEFINITELY a horror story!”  “Really?  No I can’t wear that” or “You’re SO not edgy”   And the sweetest children’s author (can you guess who?) said “Well I WANT to be edgy…”

99% of the people who chose the “I am Supernatural” button, were red-heads.  Seriously. Or goth girls.

I really loved all of the ideas teachers and librarians had for programming and writing activities.  The buttons suddenly morphed into the best tools for their language arts program.  So we decided we will be selling all 8 buttons as a package.  Check our website this week for ordering info. 

The first day of the show, I started out as a horror story, until I had enough coffee, and then I changed to “I am a Complicated Plot”, “I am Poetry” and by the end of the day I was wearing “I am Edgy”.  When I put on the Poetry button I did get some sweet remarks… “Yes, you ARE poetry!” But when I put on the “I am Supernatural” button, I seemed to be a magnet and suddenly I was getting hugs from people who never hugged me before!  Okay…. I’m just sayin’…. Who knows? I kept that one on for the rest of the day.

If you were at our booth and chose a button, thanks for getting involved.  It was lots of fun for us.

What button did you choose? Did it work any magic for you?

(For information on ordering a set of buttons, please click here.)

Great Graphic Wednesday is a weekly blog posting. Check here every Wednesday for reviews of recommended graphic novels, by members of the Tinlids Graphic Novel Book Club.

Frankie Pickle and the Pine Run 3000

Written and Illustrated by Eric Wight

Details: Black and white comic reads left to right. Hardcover ISBN 9781416964858

Grade 1-3

Summary (from back cover): Meet Frankie Pickle…the kid with the world’s most amazing imagination! It takes him on adventures. It helps him save the day. And sometimes… it gets him into trouble. If he wants to move up in rank with the other Possum Scouts, Frankie must win the model car derby known as Pine Run 3000. He dreams up the slickest speedster ever, but when he tries to build it on his own, his creation crashes and burns! Will Frankie get left in the dust before he even gets to the starting line?

Review: I think Eric Wight really understands this age group. I like how he alternates between what’s happening in Frankie’s real life, and what’s happening in his imagination. This is a hybrid novel; when Frankie is in his imaginary world, the author provides us with a comic illustrations and speech bubbles. This is perfect for young readers.

Maria Martella is the owner of Tinlids Inc.

Order Frankie Pickle and the Pine Run 3000 from www.tinlids.ca today!

Great Graphic Wednesdays is a weekly blog posting. Check here every Wednesday for reviews of recommended graphic novels, by members of the Tinlids Graphic Novel Book Club.

Amelia Rules True Things (Adults Don’t Want Kids to Know)

Written and Illustrated by Jimmy Gownley

Details: Colour comic reads left to right. Paperback ISBN 9781416986096 Hardcover ISBN 9781416986119

Grade 4-6

Description (from publisher): Meet Amelia Louise McBride. She was forced to move out of Manhattan after her parents decided to get divorced, and is now living in a small town. She's survived being the new kid, multiple trips to the principal's office, and even her first kiss. But it remains to be seen if she'll survive turning eleven! The sixth volume starts with a bang: a huge birthday party featuring surprise guests and a special song from Aunt Tanner! It all seems too good to be true, until it turns out . . . it is. Suddenly, Amelia's friends are fighting all the time. She gets the worst report card of her life. And when she finally musters the guts to tell a certain boy how she feels about him, she brutally learns why it's called a "crush." Aunt Tanner would know just what to do—if she were around. But with her new album and maybe a new boyfriend, she doesn't seem to have time for Amelia anymore.

Review : Oh the memory of ‘tween drama! It’s so funny when you look back on it, but when you’re 11 and just starting to experience all of those confusing and unexpected feelings about your family, it sometimes gets blown out of proportion. I love all of the Amelia books but this one is my favourite so far. I really enjoyed getting to know Amelia’s parents and her aunt Tanner a bit better. Amelia is starting to understand them better too. She’s starting to understand that adults actually had a life and their own drama when they were younger. And they still do!

Jim Gownley’s illustrations are brilliant; the facial expressions deliver that extra bit of information that tells you so much more about the character. Funny gestures and lots of action shots that make you feel like you’re right there in Amelia’s house. I also love Aunt Tanner’s quotes which pop up now and then… like “I’m still waiting to use algebra.”

Maria Martella is the owner of Tinlids Inc.

Other Amelia Books:

Amelia Rules: The Whole World's Crazy

Amelia Rules: What Makes you Happy

Amelia Rules: Superheroes

Amelia Rules: When the Past is Present

Amelia Rules: Tweenage Guide to Not Being Unpopular

'Great Graphic Wednesday' is a weekly blog posting. Check here every Wednesday for reviews of recommended graphic novels, by members of the Tinlids Graphic Novel Book Club.

Big Nate from the Top

Written and Illustrated by Lincoln Peirce

Details: Black and white comic reads left to right. Paperback ISBN 9781449402327

Grade 3-7

Summary (from back of book) Big Nate, a.k.a. middle schooler Nate Wright, is eleven years old, four-and-a-half feet tall, and the wunderkind creation of cartoonist Lincoln Peirce. Nate is also the star of six novelized books to be published by HarperCollins, the first of which debuted on the New York Times children's best-seller list. This Big Nate Collection collects Peirce's Big Nate strips, originally published only in newspapers.

For those not familiar with Big Nate, think Diary of a Wimpy Kid meets Calvin and Hobbes. Nate is a self-described genius and a sixth-grade Renaissance man equipped with only a #2 pencil and the unshakable belief that he is destined for greatness (a fortune cookie told him so). He fights a daily battle against overzealous teachers, undercooked cafeteria food, and all-around conventionality. He's the original rebel without a clue, alternately abrasive and endearing to classmates and teachers alike. Throughout Peirce's Big Nate Collection, Nate blazes an unforgettable trail through the sixth grade at P.S. 38, earning straight A’s in laughs (and numerous detentions) along the way.

Review: If you liked Diary of a Wimpy Kid, you’ll love the Big Nate books; the format is exactly the same, except this one is a collection of the Big Nate comic strips, and not written in chapters like the others. The illustrations provide just as much humour as the text, in the details of facial expressions and body language; both work together to enhance our understanding of the hilarious daily situations Nate finds himself in.

I love how confident Nate is, even though he has so many “unlucky days”. I think he’s much more loveable than Greg Heffly from Diary of a Wimpy Kid (which I also like). Nate is good-hearted even when he’s getting into trouble at school or at home, and there’s a real sense of hope in his attitude. Somehow you just know he’s going to be okay, no matter what disaster strikes. I actually laughed out loud – more than once.

Other Big Nate Titles:

In a Class by Himself hardcover ISBN 9780061944369

Big Nate Strikes Again paperback ISBN 978-0007355174 Hardcover ISBN 9780061944369

Maria Martella is the owner of Tinlids Inc.

Lane Smith’s new picture book “It’s a Book” is perfect for discussing the impact on print in the digital age. The three main characters are a monkey, a jackass and a mouse. Monkey is reading a book, but Jackass just doesn't get it. He won't stop asking questions like "How do you scroll down?" "Where's your mouse?" "Can it text? Tweet? Wi-Fi?" Monkey’s response is always the same "It’s a book.” Finally, he lets Jackass look at it, but then he can't get it back! And when Jackass tries to reassure Monkey by saying he'll charge it up when he's done, Mouse speaks up - "It's a book, Jackass".

The above book trailer leaves out that last word, “Jackass.” I wish they had left it in, since that’s really the way the book ends. I love this book but I know not all customers will feel comfortable with that last word. As a bookseller, I try to give my customers as much info as possible to help them with their selection. So there you have it. Some of you might think the ending is rude or inappropriate, and feel the need to get out your markers. Others will leave the word in and perhaps have a discussion about it. It’s a book that’s fun to read and junior/intermediate students will enjoy the tongue-in-cheek humour.

Thoughts anyone?