Welcome to the Bethel Park Mother Daughter Book Club Blog!!

March Meeting - March 8th at 7:00 PM

2010-03-05T10:29:00.000-08:00

The February meeting was snowed out! How appropriate since we were to discuss "The Long Winter" by Laura Ingalls Wilder. We have moved the "The Long Winter" to be the March book and we can all take turns telling our snowstorm stories!!!

February's book - "The Long Winter" by Laura Ingalls Wilder

2010-01-08T10:15:00.000-08:00

The selection for February will be The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder.

This is the story of Laura Ingalls and her family as they struggle during their first winter on their new homestead in Dakota territory. The winter sees blizzard after blizzard with no end in sight and by December no trains can bring supplies to their new, little town. Laura's family and all the townspeople must struggle to get through the winter with little food, no coal, and neverending days of blizzards. When the town's food supply get dangerously low, Almanzo Wilder and Cap Garland take a dangerous trip to secure wheat for the townspeople. Will they get back before the next blizzard?

January Book - "Mary Cassatt" by Robyn Montana Turner

2010-01-08T10:11:00.000-08:00

Our selection for January is "Mary Cassatt" by Robyn Montana Turner. Mary Cassatt was born in Allegheny, PA in 1844 and started her art career in the 1860's when few women chose that path and now her beautiful painting are known around the world. This book is te story of her remarkable life.

December Book - "Hoot" by Carl Hiassen

2010-01-08T10:07:00.000-08:00

In December, we discussed the book Hoot by Carl Hiassen.

Roy Eberhardt is the new kid--again. This time around it's Trace Middle School in humid Coconut Grove, Florida. But it's still the same old routine: table by himself at lunch, no real friends, and thick-headed bullies like Dana Matherson pushing him around. But if it wasn't for Dana Matherson mashing his face against the school bus window that one day, he might never have seen the tow-headed running boy. And if he had never seen the running boy, he might never have met tall, tough, bully-beating Beatrice. And if he had never met Beatrice, he might never have discovered the burrowing owls living in the lot on the corner of East Oriole Avenue. And if he had never discovered the owls, he probably would have missed out on the adventure of a lifetime. Apparently, bullies do serve a greater purpose in the scope of the universe. Because if it wasn't for Dana Matherson...

November Book is "Clementine" by Sara Pennypacker

2009-11-16T16:49:00.000-08:00

We decided on "Clementine" by Sara Pennypacker since she will be a guest speaker on November 21, 2009 at the Pittsburgh Black, White, and Read All Over lecture at the Carnegie Library Lecture Hall.

A summary of the book: "While sorting through difficulties in her friendship with her neighbor Margaret, eight-year-old Clementine gains several unique hairstyles while also helping her father in his efforts to banish pigeons from the front of their apartment building."

October Selection - "The Trumpet of the Swam" by E. B. White

2009-09-14T17:54:00.000-07:00

Join us on Monday October 12th at 7:00 PM to discuss this classic book. Stop into the children's department to pick up your copy today!

Although he lacks a voice in the traditional "Ko-hoh!" sense, trumpeter swan Louis learns to speak to the world with a trumpet stolen from a music store by his father. With the support of an unusual boy named Sam, who helps Louis learn how to read and write, the swan has some rather unswanlike adventures and ultimately wins the love--and the freedom--of a beautiful swan named Serena.

September's Selection - A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett

2009-09-14T17:46:00.000-07:00

We had a delightful time eating yummy cookies and cupcakes with tea and lemonade while discussing "A Little Princess".

If you missed the bookclub meeting but read the book please post your thoughts on our blog. Here is a description of the book:

"A Little Princess" is one of Frances Hodgson Burnett's most loved stories. It is the story of young Sara Crewe who while growing up in a well to do household suddenly finds herself impoverished when her father, Captain Crewe, dies penniless in India. Sara is forced to abandon her life of privilege for a life of bare existence at Miss Minchin's boarding school. To survive those hard times she imagines herself to be a little princess as she awaits her rescue from a mysterious benefactor.

Summer Reading

2009-08-05T05:47:00.000-07:00

Have you read a good book this summer? Do you have any suggestions for books the club should read next year? Post a comment below and let us know!!!

June's Selection: Baby Mouse #1 - Queen of the World by Jennifer Holm

2009-07-30T16:46:00.000-07:00

For June, the selection is BabyMouse #1 Queen of the World by Jennifer Holm.

Description: An imaginative mouse dreams of being queen of the world, but will settle for an invitation to the most popular girl's slumber party.

This is a new type of book for our group called a graphic novel. The girls really enjoyed the book and completely cleared the library shelves of all BabyMouse and Fashion Kitty books we had available!

May Book - A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle

2009-07-30T16:42:00.000-07:00

May's selection was the classic A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle.

It was a dark and stormy night; Meg Murry, her small brother Charles Wallace, and her mother had come down to the kitchen for a midnight snack when they were upset by the arrival of a most disturbing stranger."Wild nights are my glory," the unearthly stranger told them. "I just got caught in a downdraft and blown off course. Let me sit down for a moment, and then I'll be on my way. Speaking of ways, by the way, there is such a thing as a tesseract."A tesseract (in case the reader doesn't know) is a wrinkle in time. To tell more would rob the reader of the enjoyment of Miss L'Engle's unusual book. A Wrinkle in Time, winner of the Newbery Medal in 1963, is the story of the adventures in space and time of Meg, Charles Wallace, and Calvin O'Keefe (athlete, student, and one of the most popular boys in high school). They are in search of Meg's father, a scientist who disappeared while engaged in secret work for the government on the tesseract problem.

April Book - "A Light in the Attic" by Shel Silverstein

2009-04-29T09:03:00.000-07:00

We celebrated National Poetry Month by reading "A Light in the Attic" by Shel Silverstein.

March Book - Judy Moody Save the World

2009-03-10T06:11:00.000-07:00

We had a great time discussing Judy Moody Saves the World by Megan MacDonald. We all agreed that we liked the book as well as the message to save the planet.

Everybody was curious to find out more about Julia Butterfly Hill who was mentioned in the book. She wrote a letter for children to answer their many questions and tell them how they can help save the world. You can find the letter at http://www.circleoflifefoundation.org/letter_kids.php.

Next month's book will be A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein in celebration of National Poetry Month.

February - "Snowbound Mystery"

2009-01-14T16:41:00.000-08:00

The February selection will be Snowbound Mystery by Gertrude Chandler Warner which is one of the Boxcar Children series books. Here is a short description:

"When a terrible snowstorm hits the area, the Boxcar Children are trapped. To make matters worse, there's something very suspicious about their cabin. What are all those strange markings on the closet door? And what are all those strange noises the Boxcar Children hear in the night?"

Stop in and pick up your copy today. The next meeting is February 10th at 7PM.

Andy Warhol - Pop Art Painter

2009-01-14T16:35:00.000-08:00

The book for January was Andy Warhol - Pop Art Painter by Susan Goldman Rubin. More about the book: A ndy Warhol was a colorful figure who revolutionized how the world looks at art. Rubin's coherent and interesting narrative is filled with quotes by the artist and people who knew him. The major phases of Warhol's life and art are represented, focusing on the motivations and techniques behind his work. Excellent-quality black-and-white and full-color photographs of Warhol and his family and reproductions of his paintings and those of others who influenced him appear throughout.

We had a lively discussion about the book and what we thought about Andy's art at the January 12th book club meeting. Please feel free to post any more thought you have about this book:-)

The Tale of Despereaux - December Selection

2008-12-01T18:03:00.000-08:00

We will be meeting on December 8, 2008 at the Bethel Park Library to discuss this wonderful book. If you need a copy, please stop into the library and pick up a copy at the Children's Department desk.

Please feel free to leave a comment about the book.

The Four Ugly Cats in Apartment 3D

2008-11-17T17:53:00.000-08:00

This book by Marilyn Sachs was our November book selection. What did you think of the book?

Gooney Bird Greene

2008-10-16T16:41:00.000-07:00

Our October selection was "Gooney Bird Greene" by Lois Lowry. What did you think of the book?

September Selection

2008-09-15T16:43:00.000-07:00

Our September selection is "James and the Giant Peach" by Roald Dahl. Please feel free to post any comments on this book!

The Blue Ghost

2008-05-13T17:25:00.000-07:00

Feel free to post your thoughts on this great book!

Georgia O'Keeffe Biography

2008-03-16T12:11:00.000-07:00

We are reading our choice of a Georgia O'Keeffe biography for the April meeting. There are several good biographies available at the children's desk at the library. See you on April 8th!