Thursday, April 7, 2011

Briar’s Journal (April 7 to April 26, 2011)

Dream Entry*

December 5, 2006


I’m napping in a corner of the library in a warm spot where the sunlight comes through the window. Suddenly, the warmth is gone. I look up. Bigfoot is blocking the window.


“The librarian needs some help with spring cleaning,” he says.


He points to the opposite end of the library where somebody is muttering about dusty rodents. I follow the voice. It belongs to a bald man in a white t-shirt standing by one of the shelves. He shoves a book at me: A History of Carrots.


“Try to lure them out. They’re eating the books,” he says. “And they’re multiplying.”


Even though I’m scared to find out what’s eating the shelved books, I hold up A History of Carrots. A creature creeps out timidly to sniff it. It’s a raggedy creature covered in fuzz, bits of torn paper, and crumbs. No, not covered. Made of. Bits of string and pencil shavings dangle from its long, floppy ears. I lean in to catch the creature’s scent, trying to ignore the eerie stare of its thumbtack eyes. I sneeze and it scatters. Not away. To pieces. But in an instant its pieces come back together again. Then the creature ducks back behind the shelved books.


“Forget it,” the bald man says. “I’ll take care of these. You go help the others guard the new arrivals.”


I run to a back room. Bigfoot is stomping on a mass of creatures by the door, but most of them get in the room anyway. I duck in with them. Beverly stands on a desk with a megaphone giving orders to the three beagle puppies tearing around the room with feather dusters in their mouths. Penny swings a broom and knocks down several creatures climbing up one of several stacks of books. The books tumble down, too, like buildings toppled by Godzilla. That’s just a thought I have. I don’t say it out loud. But it’s a dream, so Penny knows what I was thinking and gives me a dirty look for comparing her to Godzilla. Norman holds a dustpan in front of himself like a shield as he’s backed into a corner. Morzant wields a tube of toothpaste. When he squeezes it, a laser shoots out. The creatures are too fast. They dodge the laser blasts and keep running for the books.


An idea comes to me. I grab the nearest book, open it, and start reading it out loud. The creatures nearest me stop their rampage and turn toward me. I keep reading. They settle down. They seem to be listening.


“Forget the spring cleaning,” I shout to the others. “Try spring reading!”


Soon, all my friends are surrounded by creatures who have cozied up to be read to.



The books BIGFOOT reads from:

THE ACCIDENTAL GENIUS OF WEASEL HIGH by Rick Detorie

[YOUNG ADULT]

Egmont USA

April 26, 2011


TRUE (…SORT OF) by Katherine Hannigan

[MIDDLE GRADE]

Greenwillow-HarperCollins

April 26, 2011




The books MORZANT reads from:

CLEMENTINE by Sebastian Loth

[PICTURE BOOK]

NorthSouth

April 7, 2011


CAN I SEE YOUR I.D.: TRUE STORIES OF FALSE IDENTITIES

by Chris Barton, with illustrations by Paul Hoppe

[YOUNG ADULT]

Dial-Penguin

April 14, 2011




The books PENNY reads from:

THE LUCK OF THE BUTTONS by Anne Ylvisaker

[MIDDLE GRADE]

Candlewick

April 12, 2011


COLD CASE by Julia Platt Leonard

[MIDDLE GRADE]

Aladdin-Simon & Schuster

April 26, 2011


FUTURE IMPERFECT by K. Ryer Breese

[YOUNG ADULT]

St. Martin’s Griffin

April 26, 2011




The books NORMAN reads from:

INVISIBLE INKLING by Emily Jenkins,

with illustrations by Harry Bliss

[MIDDLE GRADE]

Balzer & Bray-HarperCollins

April 26, 2011


NERD CAMP by Elissa Brent Weissman

[MIDDLE GRADE]

Atheneum-Simon & Schuster

April 26, 2011




The books BEVERLY reads from:

BIRD IN A BOX by Andrea Pinkney,

with illustrations by Sean Qualls

[MIDDLE GRADE]

Little, Brown-Hachette

April 12, 2011


IN THE SHADOW OF THE LAMP by Susanne Dunlap

[YOUNG ADULT]

Bloomsbury USA

April 12, 2011


SEVEN FATHERS by Ashley Ramsden, illustrated by Ed Young

[PICTURE BOOK]

Roaring Brook

April 12, 2011


THE RETURNING by Christine Hinwood

[YOUNG ADULT]

Dial-Penguin

April 14, 2011


SMALL ACTS OF AMAZING COURAGE by Gloria Whelan

[MIDDLE GRADE]

Paula Wiseman-Simon & Schuster

April 19, 2011


THE SUMMER OF MAY by Cecilia Galante,

with illustrations by Tad Carpenter

[MIDDLE GRADE]

Aladdin-Simon & Schuster

April 26, 2011




The books OLIVER reads from:

DAISY DAWSON AT THE BEACH by Steve Voake,

with illustrations by Jessica Meserve

[CHAPTER BOOK]

Candlewick

April 12, 2011


STOP SNORING, BERNARD! by Zachariah Ohora

[PICTURE BOOK]

Henry Holt

April 12, 2011


THE YELLOW HOUSE by Blake Morrison, illustrated by Helen Craig

[PICTURE BOOK]

Candlewick

April 26, 2011




The books LENNY reads from:

LABRACADABRA by Jessie Nelson and Karen Leigh Hopkins, illustrated by Deborah Melmon

[PICTURE BOOK]

Viking-Penguin

April 14, 2011


SCRITCH-SCRATCH A PERFECT MATCH by Kimberly Marcus, illustrated by Mike Lester

[PICTURE BOOK]

Putnam-Penguin

April 14, 2011


MITCHELL’S LICENSE by Hallie Durand, illustrated by Tony Fucile

[PICTURE BOOK]

Candlewick

April 26, 2011




The books VIOLET reads from:

HUCK RUNS AMUCK! by Sean Taylor,

illustrated by Peter Reynolds

[PICTURE BOOKS]

Dial-Penguin

April 19, 2011


HOORAY FOR AMANDA & HER ALLIGATOR! by Mo Willems

[PICTURE BOOK]

Balzer & Bray-HarperCollins

April 26, 2011


MY SIDE OF THE CAR by Kate Feiffer, illustrated by Jules Feiffer

[PICTURE BOOK]

Candlewick

April 26, 2011


OLLIE & MOON by Diane Kredensor,

illustrated by Diane Kredensor, with photographs by Sandra Kress

[PICTURE BOOK]

Random House

April 26, 2011



* The dream entries from Briar’s journal contain premonitions of books that will be published in the future. Briar’s dream self foresees the books’ summaries and knows which will likely appeal to each of her friends. Briar always wakes up before she can see whether her friends will enjoy the books.

2 comments:

Kelly Hashway said...

What a great list of books! Thanks for sharing. I'm going to check out more than a few of these.

Briar the Psychic Beagle said...

You're welcome. I'm happy to share my psychic gift with the BIGFOOT READS audience.