This day in history...King Tut Day!

I learned a fun fact this morning (thank you, Emerson radio, broadcasting joy and knowledge across the bay state!) - today is King Tut Day! On November 4th, 1922, archaeologist Howard Carter uncovered the entrance to boy king Tutankhamen's tomb.

Instead of debating over which Thanksgiving movie to watch tonight or patching up your Wellingtons, here are some fun and historical entertainment alternatives:

I can't get enough of activity books, and this particular oversize maze book is right up my alley. Mummy Mazes: A Monumental Book by Elizabeth Carpenter is a poster book of mazes, puzzles and codes. Each spread folds out to a giant maze or picture of famous Egyptian monuments, mummies, and pharaoh masks.


For the future archaeologist, GeoCentral gives us a Pyramid Dig Kit, a pocket-size pyramid with digging tools and brush to unearth an ancient Egyptian treasure. The possibilities include a pharaoh head, Egyptian cat, Egyptian queen, and other relics.

When it comes to books, if your history or mythology buff hasn't read a Rick Riordan novel yet, he has started a new series based on Egyptian gods called The Kane Chronicles. So far, only the first book, The Red Pyramid, is out, but once you start a Riordan series, you'll be chomping at the bit for the next installment. Brother and sister Carter and Sadie Kane have been raised separately since their mother's mysterious death six years ago. They are reunited under dire circumstances: their father disappears and accidentally releases violent Egyptian gods from captivity.

The Newbery Honor winner Egypt Game by Zilpha Keatley Snyder is up with The Westing Game for one of my all-time favorite mysteries. Four kids in California are fascinated by ancient Egypt and build an elaborate pretend world in an abandoned city lot. They research pharaoh history and create rituals, until mysterious murders occur in their neighborhood and they receive cryptic messages from their "oracle."

For non-fiction, our receiver John recommends David Macaulay's architecture book Pyramid. Macauley is famous for his detailed drawings, cross-sections, and clear explanations of both the architectural design and historical-social function of the buildings. In this case, how and why pyramids were built.



(Side note: I've managed to make it to 5 pm and through an entire blog post without a single bad pun about mummies! I'm terribly proud of myself.)

Goin' out with a blog post

After nearly four years at Curious George -- including two and a half years working on Notes from the Hut! -- today is my last day here. While I'm very excited about my new adventure, today's a little bittersweet since I'm leaving our wonderful store and my incredible coworkers. (You may have noticed the distinct lack of Rachel lately; she's off on her own new adventure in Philly. We miss her and wish her the best of luck!)

But what better way for me to say goodbye than with a few goodbye picture books we love?

Laurel Croza's I Know Here features a little girl in Saskatchewan who is facing a move to Toronto. "I don't know Toronto. I know here," she says. She knows the road with her trailer, the howl of the wolves in the forest, the man who delivers their groceries. A little inspiration from her teacher and classmates help her to keep her best-loved memories of this place safe as she moves.

In Gila Monsters Meet You at the Airport by Marjorie Weinman Sharmat, a boy moving west from New York shares his anxieties about all the scary things waiting for him: chili for breakfast, kids named "Slim" and "Tex" (and nobody like his best friend, Seymour), desert full of buzzards and cacti, and gila monsters. Leaving the airport he meets a boy moving to NYC who is similarly nervous. Once the boy finds familiar elements in his new surroundings, he can't wait to tell Seymour all about life in the not-so-wild west.

In Bernard Waber's Ira Says Goodbye, Ira is the leavee, not the leaver, but he finds saying goodbye difficult all the same. His best friend Reggie seems so excited about his upcoming move -- and so willing to leave Ira behind -- that Ira feels terribly betrayed. Just as Ira decides he "can't wait for some new kid who will be [his] best friend" to replace Reggie, Reggie's true feelings about their separation come out. The boys prove to each other that no matter how far away they are, they'll always be close friends.

While I'm really going to miss the store (and the blog!) I'll definitely be in to visit.

I know here. :)

A tree is nice.

You may have seen me rockin' this T-shirt around the Hut:


It combines two of my best-loved things: reading and trees! Lately I've had a total tree fixation. Here are some of my recommendations for anybody else who'd like to climb a tree, read underneath one, or build a treehouse.

Although the Hut is becoming more school-oriented and less summery, there's still some summer left... and plenty of summer-themed books still to read! I am fascinated by Peter Nelson's Treehouses: The Art and Craft of Living out on a Limb. While I'm content to look at the incredible (exterior and interior) photographs of treehouses people actually live in, Nelson also provides advice for constructing your own. Try Treehouses and Playhouses You Can Build and Treehouses and Other Cool Stuff: 50 Projects You Can Build, both by David and Jeanie Stiles, for smaller-scale projects.

We just got in the 2011 Treehouses of the World calendar, by -- who else? -- Peter Nelson. (Did you know we have a ton of 2011 calendars downstairs, including old favorites like Mom's Family Calendar by Sandra Boynton and awesome new ones like color-your-own B. Kliban Cats?) It's full of unbelievable feats of treehouse architecture from (you guessed it) around the world. I'm partial to the redwood forest house, but that may be because I'm partial to redwoods in general.

The perfect inside-your-treehouse or under-a-tree choice is the eponymous classic picture book A Tree Is Nice. Written by Janice May Urdy with Caldecott-winning illustrations by Marc Simont, A Tree Is Nice explores the many pleasures of a tree's company: swinging from branches, sitting in the shade, raking leaves, planting a seed and watching it grow, and more. The luminous watercolors (surrounded by lots of white space to let them breathe) and tree-friendly text make this a great read for indoors or out... but I bet you'll be inspired to play outside, despite the end-of-summer heat.

Soon the leaves will start to change and we'll have a whole different season of wonderful tree experiences to enjoy!

New goodies: CuddleFest edition

Two recent additions to our picture books have such squeezable characters that they're just begging to be read in a blanket fort on a sleepy Sunday morning. Gather up all your blankies, pillows, and lovies, and get ready to invest in some serious snuggle time.

The Quiet Book by Deborah Underwood is something I've been waiting impatiently for since last summer, when I got a sneak peek at NECBA's "Pub Crawl" of publisher Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. The text is deceptively simple and brilliantly subtle, naming different kinds of quiet beginning first thing in the morning and continuing through the day. There are a lot more than you might think! The young animals acting as surrogates for kids during good ("first one awake," "bedtime kiss") and not-so-great ("jelly-side down") moments of quiet have great expressiveness in face and gesture. The Quiet Book is charming at first glance, but only grows in warmth and wit the more time you spend with it being quiet.

Natalie Russell's Brown Rabbit in the City is another long-awaited new book. This companion to Moon Rabbit follows Brown Rabbit as he visits Little Rabbit in an NYC-esque metropolis. Being a country bunny, he's in for a shock (I remember feeling similarly when I first visited New York!), and Little Rabbit's not helping with her jam-packed agenda of things to do and see. I love Moon Rabbit, and I'm so glad that its sweet friendship story continues In the City.

A new shipment of Jellycat plush came in yesterday (huzzah!). We actually had just gotten more Jellycat recently, but they go so fast -- apparently customers love this brand as much as we do! There are quite a few new faces in the bunch; Teresa immediately glommed onto this giant, pillowy Truffle Dog:


Having similar plans myself, I thought it might come to fisticuffs until I saw the Chaucer Truffle Dog:


Luckily, we can still be friends, since each of us can have a Truffle Dog of our very own. Whew! Crisis averted!

One newbie from Jellycat is really an old friend. Please allow me to re-introduce you:

Here is Edward Bear, coming downstairs now, bump, bump, bump, on the back of his head, behind Christopher Robin. It is, as far as he knows, the only way of coming downstairs, but sometimes he feels that there really is another way, if only he could stop bumping for a moment and think of it. And then he feels that perhaps there isn't. Anyhow, here he is at the bottom, and ready to be introduced to you. Winnie-the-Pooh.

When I first heard his name, I said, just as you are going to say, "But I thought he was a boy?"

"So did I," said Christopher Robin.

"Then you can't call him Winnie?"

"I don't."

"But you said--"

"He's Winnie-ther-Pooh. Don't you know what 'ther' means?"

"Ah, yes, now I do," I said quickly; and I hope you do too, because that is all the explanation you are going to get.
-- A.A. Milne, from Winnie-the-Pooh (1926)

Winnie-the-Pooh, The House at Pooh Corner, and Milne's poetry are quintessential blanket-fort fare... and any serious Pooh read-aloud session requires a "silly old bear" to be present! This one from Jellycat will naturally need a little wearing in to be the ultimate companion -- may I recommend some bumping down the stairs on his head? -- but he's an awfully good start. For a great baby gift, pair him with Dutton's new full-color editions, which have watercolors accentuating Ernest Shepard's lovely illustrations.

The other George staffers know I'm hooked on the art of Susie Ghahremani, introduced to me by CG alumna, lover of all things adorable, and illustrator of squishable animals Jess Golden. Luckily for me, if not for my bank account, we recently received a bunch more items featuring Ghahremani illustrations!

The Land + Air + Water Triptych Journal Collection are tiny blank books, complementary in color and composition. On the "Land" journal, a trio of teddy-esque bears peek from behind evergreen trees. "Water" shows three octopuses -- octopi? octopods? actually, these guys only have four -pods, so make of that what you will! -- in their seaweed forest with a seahorse friend. My favorite of the triptych is "Air," on which three owls stargaze from their perches on bare tree branches. An "extremely interesting measurement table" gives collective animal nouns, which I'd rather have than metric conversions any day. (A group of owls is apparently a parliament, but I'm unfortunately still in doubt about the collective noun for octopus.)

What better way to let someone know you're thinking of them than with a short but sweet sentiment relayed by cavorting animals? The tri-fold Mini Notes set holds ten each of three card designs: "Thanks for..." (birdies carrying thank-you banners), "Hi There!" (a kitty opening a present with a puppy inside), and "Call Me!" (a kitty wrapped up in a phone cord). The cards measure about 3.5 inches by 2 inches, and come with coordinating teeny-tiny envelopes. The mini size makes these great to tuck into a friend's purse, pocket, locker, or lunch bag. Everybody I've given one to has actually squeed!

My Family, My Journey: A Baby Book for Adoptive Families is unlike any other baby journal I've seen -- it helps families record memories leading up to and after an adoption. Adoption-specific journaling prompts like "The Match!," "Our Journey to You," "Our Very First Meeting," and "What We Know About Your Birth Family" are tucked in with more standard baby journal fare ("All About Your Birthday," "All About Your Name," Our Hopes and Dreams for You"). There's also a pocket to store mementos and stickers to create a family tree. I wish this had been out there when a (now pre-teen) young friend of mine was adopted!

Let's Go Outside! Outdoor Activities and Projects to Get You and Your Kids Closer to Nature by Jennifer Ward features art by Susie Ghahremani alongside more than 50 great ideas for outdoor fun. Make sun prints, press flowers, make daisy chains, blow giant bubbles, start a cloud-watching journal, or make a field guide to your own backyard. I especially can't wait to try #19 ("Paper Makers") and #22 ("Playground for Poets"). This is a great pick for summer vacation.

For more over-the-top adorableness, check out connoisseur-of-cute Natasha's recent posts about all things tiny and the awesome new Animal Journal. Come to think of it, that Natasha's pretty cute herself. :)

Happy Earth Day! An exhaustively epic eco-friendly round-up.

We all know "Earth Day is every day," but it never hurts to be reminded to be gentle with the environment! Here are some great book, toy, and activity choices for everyone in your family, from baby on up.

Infants and Toddlers
We've recently started carrying Peter Rabbit Naturally Better books, and while the whole line is too cute to resist, my favorite is the Peter Rabbit Snuggle flannel book. You're never too old for a soft-as-a-bunny book/blankie made of non-toxic, organic materials, right? While you're in the baby room convincing yourself to stop snuggling Peter Rabbit Snuggle, check out the Peter Rabbit Naturally Better Baby Record Book, Classic Gift Set, and board book series. All are illustrated in a pastel collage style which is fresh and faithful to Potter's original watercolors.

Start environmental education early with a recycled board books that's eco-conscious both in message and medium. Leslie Bockol's One Tree -- part of Innovative Kids' Green Start line -- connects a single tree to a complex web of life, large and small. Check out the publisher's website for more green tips, activities, and games.

Miyim "simply organic" cotton baby toys are adorable and eco-friendly! Their cuddly bears, bunnies, monkeys, hippos, and giraffes are made from incredibly soft, certified organic and non-toxic cotton fabric, dyed with all-natural plant colors, and come in recycled packaging. You'll find plush and blankies in the baby room.


3-5 years
Our monkey friend goes green in Curious George Plants a Tree. After learning about recycling at the science museum, George decides to participate in an upcoming recycling rally. Being George, he gets carried away -- and gets into trouble. Fortunately, his good intentions (and a little help from the man in the yellow hat) smooth things over. Twenty tips for helping the environment are included. Also try The Berenstain Bears Don't Pollute (Anymore).

We have a whole line of Green Toys, who call their dump truck "the most energy-efficient vehicle on this or any other planet." It's made from 100% recycled milk jugs! Primary colors and rounded edges make this truck extremely toddler-friendly as well as earth-friendly. Tugboats for bathtub, pool, or puddle come in three different color combinations. Add on a spout for even more water fun. The 15-piece tool set includes screwdrivers (flat and Phillips), hammer, pliers, wrench, saw, an assortment of nuts, bolts, and nails, and a kid-sized tool box. All Green Toys are made of recycled plastic milk jugs, packaged in minimal recycled/recyclable boxes with soy-ink printing, and conform to a loooong list of toy safety and environmental standards.


6-10 years
A classic games get a makeover with Schylling's Panda's Pick Bamboo Games. The board for this Mancala game is bamboo, which is organic, sustainable, and biodegradable. The set is also light-weight and compact, perfect to take on the go.

The Eco Saucer is green literally and figuratively. This lime green Frisbee is made of recycled milk jugs like its fellow Green Toys brand items, plus it has ideal Frisbee size and weight. No wimpy throws with this one! It also has their doggie mascot Marlow's paw of approval for fetch.

Our staff members have been coveting the reusable drinking bottles by Crocodile Creek. The food-grade stainless steel bottles are decorated all over with the solar system, dinos, trucks, animal tracks, flowers, and lots of other fun options in the distinctive (CG-beloved!) Croc Creek illustration style. At 13 ounces, they're perfect to tuck into a matching Crocodile Creek lunch box! The bottles are fully recyclable, lead-free, phthalate-free, and BPA-free, and ALSO conform to or exceed U.S. and European safety standards. Whew!


10-Pre-teen
Earth Smart Crafts by American Girl teaches eco-savvy tween girls how to refashion disposable items into gifts, jewelry, games, and room accessories -- all while reducing waste. (Pair it with That Girl Lucy Moon, Amy Timberlake's novel about activist Lucy's experience starting junior high. Which will she choose, activism or popularity?) The Cutest Nature Book Ever!, also by American Girl, is packed with nature-themed craft ideas, bird- and cloud-watching logs, and outdoor writing prompts. Both books are inspired by the newest American Girl, local-to-Boston Lanie, whose love of nature and science make her a great green role model.


Teens and Adults
In the environmentalism section upstairs you'll find Young Reader's editions of the best-selling adult nonfiction books The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan and An Inconvenient Truth by Al Gore. The Young Reader's versions are more accessible, yet still packed with pertinent information about the sources of our food and global warming, respectively. (And believe me, you don't have to be a "young reader" to appreciate a somewhat shorter, friendlier adaptation of these books!)

Scientist, nature writer, and activist Rachel Carson published her pollution study/expose Silent Spring in 1962, virtually single-handedly launching the environmental movement. In her book, Carson reveals the devastating effects of pesticides and herbicides on wildlife and on humans. While some of the specific chemicals Carson writes about (like DDT) are now banned, the dangers of pollution are still highly relevant. Carson cites study results projecting that one in every four people will develop cancer in their lifetime; fifty years' worth of carcinogens later, that number is considerably higher. Sadly, Rachel Carson herself died from cancer not long after Silent Spring was published.


This is just a SMALL sampling of the many eco-friendly items we carry -- maybe I should have called it an "exhausting" post rather than an "exhaustive" one! Keep checking back for more.

One more thing: the Cambridge Green Streets Initiative has a Walk/Ride Day on the last Friday of each month. You may notice Walk/Ride Day info at our events, most recently at this weekend's Bookish Ball. Green Streets brought in their "10 in '10" passport, which makes a game of utilizing public transportation, to ride ten different Boston MBTA buses this year. Pick up a passport here, go green (by walking, riding your bike, carpooling, or taking public transportation) as much as you can, and be on the lookout for some Walk/Ride day fun in the near future!

Happy (slightly belated) Passover and (slightly early) Easter!

Passover began Monday night at sundown, so we'd like to wish those of you who celebrate it a happy holiday! For those of you who are Easter-inclined, happy Easter ahead of time.

Whether you need something to keep kiddos busy at the Seder (when they're not asking the Four Questions or hunting for matzoh), or you're looking for goodies to tuck into Easter baskets, we have a huge holiday display where you can find everything from chirping chicks to wind-up walking matzoh balls.

Passover Partay

As I mentioned, one of our most exciting Passover items this year is the wind-up walking matzoh ball by RiteLite. With his friendly face and blue bowtie, he'll make a fun addition to the kitchen during the process of making matzoh ball soup. Fun trivia about matzoh balls, by the way: according to Wikipedia, "Joey Chestnut holds the world record for eating matzoh balls; he ate 78 matzoh balls in 8 minutes. The largest matzoh ball prepared weighed 267 pounds and was 29.2 inches long. Setting the Guinness record, the ball was made from '1,000 eggs, 80 pounds of margarine, 200 pounds of matzoh meal, and 20 pounds of chicken base.'"

While we're on the subject of matzoh balls, juggling matzoh balls (also by RiteLite) will be a crowd-pleaser while your guests wait for the meal to be ready. These soft bean bags are printed all over with a matzoh pattern and come in a set of three for any juggling trick.

No Passover Seder would be complete without a Haggadah, and we have several to choose from, appropriate for any age diner. Tomie dePaola's My First Passover includes the Four Questions and their answers, introducing the youngest attendees to the traditions of the holiday and helping them to participate in the festivities. My Very Own Haggadah by
Acclaimed Jewish author Elie Wiesel has translated and annotated a Passover Haggadah for the whole family, with a gorgeous text and illustrations.

No holiday celebration is complete without traditional foods, so pick up DK's Jewish Holidays Cookbook: Festive Meals for Celebrating the Year by Jill Colella Bloomfield. The clear, step-by-step instructions and photographs allow young chefs to help in the meal preparation without frustration or mishaps. Pesach-specific recipes include haroset, citrus salmon, matzoh brei, and meringue cookies. Each section also offers history of the holiday and traditions for celebration.

Easter Extravegganza

Newly-appointed children's literature ambassador Katherine Paterson has written a lovely picture book biography of Jesus entitled The Light of the World: The Life of Jesus for Children for ages 4 to 8. The gentle text is accompanied by Francois Roca's luminous illustrations in a blue-and-gold palette. The Light of the World introduces gospel stories to young children in an accessible, age-appropriate format. Begin a new Easter morning tradition: a read-aloud of this beautiful book!

On a (har har) fluffier note, Easter and springy plush abound around the Hut and in the stuffed animal sections. You'll find bunnies, chicks, and lambs of all sizes, shapes, and colors. Some chicks chirp and some bunnies hop! Here's my favorite little guy, "Fielding" by Ty. There's also a plethora of springtime windups that waddle, jump, and swim.

Easter just wouldn't be Easter without bunnies! In addition to the tons of bunny stuffies we carry, there's also a huge selection of bunny-themed books. One of my all-time favorite rabbit stories is Little Bunny Follows His Nose by Katherine Howard, with illustrations by J.P. Miller. As Little Bunny goes about his day, he stops to smell the roses and plenty of other tantalizing scents. With six scratch-and-sniff spots throughout the book, so can you! Little Bunny is a particularly fond memory of my childhood reading (as is The Sweet Smells of Christmas by Patricia Scarry, also illustrated by Miller), so I can highly recommend it.

Olivier Dunrea's hugely popular Gossie and Gertie series celebrates Easter too! In Ollie's Easter Eggs, Gossie, Gertie, BooBoo, and Peedie dye their Easter eggs, but tell Ollie he's too young to dye his own. Luckily, Ollie knows a way around that... With bright, happy illustrations and everybody's most anticipated part of Easter -- the egg hunt -- this is a perfect read for toddlers. I love Ollie's Easter bunny ears!

Rachel did an incredible Easter/Passover round-up last year which is still applicable, so go take a peep -- er, a peek at he suggestions as well.

And now for something completely different.

I've been thinking lately that I might make a thousand origami cranes (or try to, anyway).

Japanese folklore says that someone who folds a thousand cranes may be granted a wish -- typically the healing of sickness. I can't tell you my wish, since in American folklore, revealing a wish to others generally means it won't come true! Today the bundles of cranes, called senbazuru, are often made as wedding presents, new baby gifts, good luck charms for a family's home, or get-well wishes for someone suffering from illness or injury. An incredible customer of ours who's undertaken the project herself said the other day that folding the cranes is a "physical prayer or meditation."

In Naomi Hirahara's 1001 Cranes, Angela is sent to live with her grandparents while her parents begin the process of separation. Angela's grandmother puts her to work folding cranes for wedding gifts in her grandparents' flower shop. At first, Angela is not only terribly clumsy at the origami but also resentful of her parents' inevitable divorce, her summer away from home, and the expectation that she work in the shop. However, as the summer progresses, she slowly begins to think of the folding as a meditation and an opportunity to deepen relationships with her extended family.

I first learned of the legend in elementary school, when I read Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes by Elizabeth Coerr. Sadako Sasaki was two years old in 1945 when the United States dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, about a mile from her home. At age twelve, Sadako was hospitalized with leukemia. She and her loved ones began to fold cranes in hopes that her health would improve. According to some sources, all thousand cranes were finished by Sadako's death in October 1955; Coerr states that Sadako completed only 644, with the rest of the thousand finished after her death by family and friends and buried with her. Either way, after her death, Sadako became an international symbol for the horrors of atomic warfare and the senbazuru inextricably connected to wishes for world peace. Now about 20,000 cranes are sent to Hiroshima each year in remembrance of Sadako and to join the cry for world peace.

Our origami section just expanded quite a bit in the last week, but since I'm feeling a little somber I'll just show you the papers (by Aitoh) I'm getting to start my folding:

Aren't they pretty? If I don't make any mistakes with these, I'll only have 932 to go... Wish me luck!

What Rachel Wants for Valentine's Day

I'm pleased to admit that I've never been one of those single girls who hates Valentine's Day because she doesn't have a date. The day is all about love, whether it's your friends or your family or your sweetheart, and I'm a big fan of love. So here's a nice big roundup of some tokens of said love that I want to give myself (because hey, I deserve it):


Valentine's Hand-Beaded Coin Purse by Two's Company
$15.95
Located in the Valentine's display on the Hut

I never really got over my childhood love of beaded things, so these beaded purses are right up my alley! We've got them in three eye-catching designs of pinks and reds that just scream Valentine cheer. My personal favorite is the psychadelic heart purse pictured to the right. The great thing about these is that they're sturdy, and larger than your average coin purse--they could probably even double as a tiny clutch, if you don't plan to carry much stuff on your V-Day excursion this year. The beading is tight, the inside is lined with satiny pink, and they have a pleasantly solid weight to them that I rather like. Just perfect for a little goofy-love-eyes-inducing surprise!


I Heart You Toast Stamper by Accoutrements
$3.95
Located in the Valentine's display on the Hut

What better way to wake up someone you love than with breakfast (or brunch...or lunch!) that tells them you care? Just press this toast stamper into a piece of bread, stick it in the toaster, and when it comes out, voila! A message etched by the flames of your love. (Not really, unless you have a very special toaster, but you could tell people it was etched with the flames of your love.) A sweet, silly, simple way to brighten somebody's V-Day!


Kiss It Make It Better Adhesive Bandages by Two's Company
$5.95
Located in the Valentine's display on the Hut

Love always has its bumps and bruises, but these band-aids are the perfect TLC. Use them to kiss and make up, or cover that burn you got trying to bake sweets for your sweetheart, or as a little reminder to your loved ones that you care. However you use them, you've got 30 tries in one little box to get it right!


Only U Love Pennant by Accoutrements
$3.95
Located in the Valentine's display on the Hut

Let someone know you're in their cheering section with this clever mini-pennant. Painted felt just like the real thing, this fun gift comes with its own heart-adorned envelope that's just the right size, making it even easier to show your romantic spirit. Even better, it's just the right size to adorn a locker or a cubicle wall--and if you put one up for yourself, well, only you will know who it's really from. ;)


Love Pirate Heart Eye Patch by Accoutrements
$3.95
Located in the Valentine's display on the Hut

Do some swashbuckling this V-Day with this awesome accessory! A flexible, bendable plastic patch covered over in satiny red fabric, it's the perfect aid in stealing hearts and looting booty (you know...treasure!). The comfy elastic band will keep your heart in the right place, even through the stormiest seas, and if there are some unexpected kisses, well...blame it on the lack of depth perception.



Also, I'm sure another of the fabulous bloggers will put together a Valentine's book roundup for you all, but I can't resist naming a few titles that aren't strictly holiday related--or even strictly romance. Sure, there's tons of vampire/werewolf/mythical creature love stories out there these days, and some of them are awesome. If you're ready for something different, though, here are a few books you might want to try:

Ash by Malinda Lo
$16.99 in hardcover
Located downstairs in the Chapter Book Room

My staff pick of this book made it into an earlier blog post, but I can't make a list of unique choices for this holiday without including it. In a lesbian retelling of Cinderella, Ash must bear the death of her parents and the cruelty of her status-hungry stepmother, fulfill her bargain with a fairy godmother like none you've ever seen before, and find a way to follow her heart where it leads her--straight to Kaisa, the dashing and kind King's Huntress. This is my favorite lesbian YA novel since Annie On My Mind, and that's saying something.


Feed by M.T. Anderson
$7.99 in paperback
Located downstairs in the Chapter Book Room

In the not-too-far future, the internet has evolved into the Feednet, a constant flow of information and advertisements through a chip implanted directly into the brain. Privacy has become a thing of the past; conglomerates can mine thoughts for marketing data, the government can subpoena memories, and people can speak "telepathically" with one another via M-chat. Titus has never considered a world without the Feed until he meets Violet during a trip to the moon. Violet is different--Violet wants to fight the Feed. It's sometimes hard to find good sci-fi for young adults, and not only is Feed an awesome read, but it's a refreshingly unique futuristic romance.


How They Met and Other Stories by David Levithan
$9.99
Located downstairs in the Chapter Book Room

"...Here are 18 stories, all about love, all kinds of love. From the aching for the one you pine for, to standing up and speaking up for the one you love, to pure joy and happiness, these love stories run the gamut of that emotion that at some point has turned every one of us inside out and upside down." - from RandomHouse.com

I haven't had the pleasure of reading this collection yet, but what better way spend a relaxing Valentine's afternoon than reading love stories? I can't wait to check it out!


Little Brother by Cory Doctorow
$17.95 in hardcover
Located downstairs in the Chapter Book Room

Marcus is wise in the ways of the networked world, and has no problem finding ways to hack his school's intrusive security system so that he and his friends can skip. They get more than they bargained for, though, when they're caught up in the aftermath of a terrorist attack; Marcus is apprehended by the Department of Homeland Security, held captive and interrogated in a secret prison. When he's finally released, Marcus comes home to find San Francisco devolved into a police state. When nobody believes his story and conditions worsening by the day, Marcus has no other option but to take down the DHS himself--with the aid of the fourth girl he's ever kissed, Ange. An excellent geek-chic story with a techno-romance to match!

The Vast Fields of Ordinary by Nick Burd
$16.99 in hardcover
Located downstairs in the Chapter Book Room

"It’s Dade’s last summer at home. He has a crappy job at Food World, a “boyfriend” who won’t publicly acknowledge his existence (maybe because Pablo also has a girlfriend), and parents on the verge of a divorce. College is Dade’s shining beacon of possibility, a horizon to keep him from floating away. Then he meets the mysterious Alex Kincaid. Falling in real love finally lets Dade come out of the closet—and, ironically, ignites a ruthless passion in Pablo. But just when true happiness has set in, tragedy shatters the dreamy curtain of summer, and Dade will use every ounce of strength he’s gained to break from his past and start fresh with the future." - from PenguinGroup.com

Yet another book on my V-Day to-read list, this one was recommended to me by a librarian friend, and was the winner of this year's ALA Stonewall Book Awards in the Children's and YA category. Looks like Valentine's is going to be all about reading for me this year!


Graceling by Kristin Cashore
$8.99 in paperback
Located downstairs in the Chapter Book Room

We here at the George are big fans of Graceling, and we've blogged about it before, so I'll try to contain my fonts of praise. I can't round up great romances, though, without including Katsa and Po. Their romance is one of the funniest and most appealing I've read in some time, full of obliviousness, confusion, angst and stubbornness. If you're tired of the same old love-at-first-sight storyline, then this is the book for you.




Whew, that's a lot of love! I'll catch you soon for a return to my regularly scheduled What Rachel Wants in the next week or so.