Well then, you might try enrolling in either Master Dreadthorn's School for Wayward Villains or Blatt School for the Insanely Gifted. Granted, you must be the child of a notorious evil entity, such as Dracula, The Big Bad Wolf, or a warlock and be lacking in evil to normally qualify for entry into the former school, but heck, you could always give it a shot. "Gifted" has a lot of definitions. The deciding factor for entry into the later school is that you have the ability to invent something the headmaster might want to steal from you, thereby increasing his fame, fortune, and power — but you don't know this of course. Trust me, if you do have the opportunity to attend one of these schools, you will gain a whole new perspective on education.

Villain School : good curses evil by Stephanie S. Sanders — Join Rune, Jez, and Wolf Junior as they try to succeed at a nearly impossible Plot in order to avoid being expelled for not being bad enough.

Celebrate National Chicken Month with a special storytime on Saturday, September 24, from 2:00-2:45 PM. Children, ages 3-6 with a caregiver, enjoy some silly chicken stories, make a chicken craft and see why the chicken crossed the road. Registration begins September 10.

Time Magazine has just revealed their list of the 100 Best Nonfiction Books. The list is comprised of their choices of the most influential nonfiction books written in English since 1923 (when Time Magazine first published), and are taken from all categories, including biorgraphy, history, politcs, health, business, sports and culture. While lists like these are always subject to debate, it is certainly a starting point for some great reading. Although the Library doesn't own every title, a majority can be found throughout our various collections:

Autobiography / Memoir

The autobiography of Alice B. Toklas by Gertrude Stein

Black boy: (American hunger): a record of childhood and youth by Richard Wright; with a forward by Edward P. Jones

Dreams from my father: a story of race and inheritance by Barack Obama

Hey Kids! Did you hear about the rare earthquake that shook the East Coast of the United States yesterday? It was a magnitude 5.8 earthquake with the epicenter located near the town of Mineral, VA. Lots of buildings suffered damage, even the Washington Monument cracked during the shaking. People reported feeling tremors as far north as Maine, as far south as South Carolina and as far west as Illinois. As you read this, if you are wondering what magnitude, epicenter, or tremor mean, check out some of our great Earthquake books. These books will tell you why earthquakes happen, how to be safe if you are in an earthquake, and even tell stories of major earthquakes in history.

Even if you haven't read the prequel, Fly by Night (as I haven't), you will still fly through Fly Trap by Frances Hardinge, staying up far later than you should to find out what happens next. Mosca Mye is one feisty, clever, courageous, endearing super-heroine ready to take on evil and corruption regardless of the danger it puts her in. She has just escaped from the city of Mandelion, where she, her sometimes con-man friend Eponymous Clent, and her goose guard Saracen helped foment a revolution. Now the trio is trapped in the wealthy, but "stinkin', rotten" city of Toll that operates like a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Hidden behind the white-washed daytime walls is another entire city of oppressed people who are only allowed to venture out at night; a dark time ruled by an underground syndicate of Locksmiths. While trying to invent a scheme to raise money to pay the high toll to get out of Toll, Mosca and her friends become embroiled in the city's twisting politics, a kidnapping, and plots and counter-plots that leave you guessing and breathless at the end of each chapter. Mosca's world is so vividly created that you feel as if you are right there with her and the characters are people you know.

Children, ages 5 and under, and caregivers, join us Monday, June 27 at 10:00AM for a family storytime all about gardens. We will share stories of vegetables and flowers outside by the library garden (weather permitting). We will also make a beautiful craft and enjoy a special treat. Registration begins Monday, June 13.

Book #1 in Brandon Mull's new Beyonders series is beyond belief. Action, suspense, humor, magic, mystery, plot twists, bizarre portals to alternate realms, epic battles between good and evil — A World Without Heroes has it all. Jason, a regular teenager with no dreams of glory, suddenly finds himself devoted to overthrowing an evil tyrant after slipping through the mouth of a hippo into the realm of Lyrian. Just when you think he must undertake this mission impossible alone, he encounters Rachel, who was also magically ported into Lyrian. These two intrepid teens must quickly learn not only to trust each other, but to recognize honesty and deception in the many bizarre creatures they encounter on their quest. Although often longing to simply return to their former boring, predictable lives, both feel compelled to help all those suffering under Maldor's rule, especially since many have sacrificed their lives to aid them in their nobel pursuit. Readers, like myself, are eager to see what will happen in Book #2, especially when Book #1 pretty much concludes in a midwest cornfield!

Kids, press the yellow dot on the cover of this book, follow the instructions within, and embark upon a magical journey! Each page of this surprising book will tell you to press the dots, shake the pages, tilt the book, and then discover what will happen next! Press Here is great for large groups like storytime, or fun for just one. It is a fantastic "interactive" book; as good, if not better than any new app you can download! We here at CPL give it two BIG thumbs up!

One of my esteemed colleagues, whose opinion I value very highly, once gave a presentation illustrating that you can tell a book by its cover. So, when I picked up Plain Kate by Erin Bow to read, I looked at its cover and thought I was in for a fanciful tale about an orphan girl and her cat, probably set in 18th century London; a simple, sweet story about a chimney sweep lass — along the lines of Mary Poppins and Bert. Forget it! Witchcraft, mysteriously sinister magic, gyspies, bigotry, superstition, loss of loved ones, hunger, plagues, death… those are but some of the dark elements behind this light dreamy-looking cover. However, one also encounters friendship, courage, love, forgiveness, development of a gifted, lonely soul, and a human-animal bond that surpasses all evil in the world. In short, Plain Kate is a great read, with twists and turns that you simply never expect. Check it out and let others know what YOU think! (There is a very poignant dedication at end, page 314, that you won't want to miss.)

Since 1967, on or around Hans Christian Andersen's birthday, April 2, International Children's Book Day (ICBD) is celebrated to inspire a love of reading and to call attention to children's books. This years theme, The Book Remembers, comes from Estonia. ICBD promotes the idea that children's books can help children learn about people from other countries, learn to appreciate and respect other cultures, and learn to get along with others. Here are some of the great books available to help you celebrate the day:

Global babies

Ten little fingers and ten little toes by Mem Fox; illustrations by Helen Oxenbury

Say hello! by Rachel Isadora