Everything in this glass display case belongs to my "private collection." And yes, that makes me, like, super, SUPER gay. What I'm bummed about is that I can't seem to find my original 14 books by Baum! I had the entire series in paperback editions from the '80s, with really cool covers. I know they're in the garage somewhere, but for now, this is definitely enough Oz stuff to fill the display. Most people don't even know there were more stories beyond just The Wizard of Oz. They're totally missing out on things like the Patchwork Girl, and Santa Claus making an appearance, and a town of bunnies and a town of pastries, and so many other really bizarre and fun creations.
BULLETIN BOARDS & DISPLAY : "Read the Movie"
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| "READ THE MOVIE but don't judge the book by the film" |
After I tore down all the Christmas crap in the library, things were bare for a while before I could wrap my head around what to put up next. Then we received a copy of the ALA catalog and I saw the new "READ" poster featuring the cast of the Hunger Games movie, so I thought it would be a good time to revive the "Read the Movie" theme. We've ordered the Hunger Games poster, and I'll add it when it arrives. In the meantime I cut out the image of the poster from the catalog and taped it to the front of the circulation desk, and kids are totally noticing it and squealing and dragging their friends over to look at it. I feel like saying, "Okay, take it DOWN a notch so I don't end up HATING the Hunger Games!"
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| Left to right: Peeta (Josh Hutcherson), Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence), and Gale (Liam Hemsworth) |
ALA ordering info for Hunger Games poster: http://www.alastore.ala.org/detail.aspx?ID=3650
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| Detail of 3-D foam film reels and filmstrip ribbon |
For my b-board I used a construction paper marquee I made a few years ago, with the library symbol. The film reels are cut out of foam sheets, and spray-painted silver. I used black construction paper circles glued between to make it look like rolls of film. The filmstrip ribbon is something you can get at party supply stores that have "movie theme" stuff. I used more foam to create spacers between the halves of the film reels. It wasn't that hard, really.
I went through all of our posters and used the best from books that were made into films. I purposely did NOT use the Twilight poster because some girls saw it out and said they'd be very disappointed in me if I put that one up. I happily obliged them by exiling it. They reminded me that when it was up before, during the heyday of Twilight, I ended up sticking goggly eyes on Kristen Stewart. They liked that.
I also weeded out the Diary of a Wimpy Kid poster just because... well, it's lame. The books are lame, the movie looks lame, the poster is lame. The "READ" poster actually has an illustration of the Wimpy Kid on the TOILET. I am not putting that up.
Oh- and I cut out stars and printed this slogan across several of them: "...but don't judge the book by the film."
ZOMBIE FICTION
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| "Read Zombie Fiction: Don't let a good brain go to waste." (Zombie pointing at juicy pink brain: "You gonna eat that?") |
After thoroughly saturating the adult horror market, zombies are now leaking into YA fiction. We just purchased Jonathan Maberry's Rot & Ruin and the sequel, Dust & Decay, so I thought it might be time to highlight zombies in the 'brary.
Here's the list of zombie fiction I pulled together today for our display:The Boy Who Couldn't Die by William Sleator
Cell by Stephen King
The Death Collector by Justin Richards
The Drum, the Doll, and the Zombie by John Bellairs
The Enemy by Charles Higson
"Forest of Hands and Teeth" series by Carrie Ryan
"Generation Dead" series by Dan Waters
My Rotten Life by David Lubar
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Seth Grahame-Smith
Rot & Ruin by Jonathan Maberry ("Benny Imura" series)
Someone Comes To Town, Someone Leaves Town by Cory Doctorow
"Strange Angels" series by Lili St. Crow
Zombie Blondes by Brian James
Zombie World (graphic novel) by Mike Mignola (creator of "Hellboy")
Zombies Calling (graphic novel) by Faith Erin Hicks
ADDENDUM 1/20/2012
Two more titles to add, although we don't have them in our little library quite yet:
How To Be a Zombie by Serena Valentino
World War Z by Max Brooks
Brad Pitt is starring in the movie version of World War Z. I think that's weird and sort of a surprising choice for him, but I read and liked the book.
LIBRARY PRODUCT OF THE MONTH: Double-decker book display stand!
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| The clever double-decker book display stand is the one on the LEFT, obviously. I mean, DUH. |
I hadn't quite figured out how to put them to use, so when somebody donated some of these No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency books, as soon as I got them processed I ran and grabbed one of the handy-dandy double-decker book display stands.
I don't care that those particular books are probably not the most enticing reads for teens, don't they LOOK nice when displayed thusly? How does that one stick up higher than the others?! Is it LEVITATING?! It's like magic!
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| There it is from the back! What a sneaky scamp that double-decker book display stand is! |
If it's a nice kid who inadvertently tips the stand over, I will tell them it's no big deal and just fix it myself. If it happens to a CRAPPY kid, I will yell, "WHY WERE YOU TOUCHING THAT?!" and write them a detention for their clumsy destructiveness.
Actually, even with both books in place, it's kind of tricky to get the balance right so it doesn't topple over. I'm willing to accept this minor flaw, though, in a product that doubles as a clever display and a sly trap for the unwary.