Clues in the Shadows Molly

Molly is trying to help the war effort, but she has a lot to worry about at home. Being in the war has changed her father, and living during wartime is hard on everyone. Who can help her figure out why someone is sneaking into their shed at night? Will Molly’s own bravery be enough?

Secrets in the Hills – Josefina

Josefina grew up hearing the local legends about buried treasures and ghostly tales about the Weeping Woman, but, after the appearance of a mysterious stranger, the legends seem to be coming true. A treasure hunt and a dark, crying figure roaming the courtyard at night provide lots of excitement for Josefina and her family.

Midnight in Lonesome Hollow – Kit

When Kit visits her relatives in Kentucky, she meets a traveling professor, Miss Lucy, who is studying mountain traditions. Assisting Miss Lucy is interesting and fun at first, until someone begins sabotaging their projects and turning the local people against them. Can Kit find out who’s causing trouble and why?

Runaway Friend – Kirsten

Kirsten is still getting used to life in Minnesota, when her neighbor Erik, another Swedish immigrant, disappears. If he doesn’t come back, he will lose his land, Kirsten’s family will lose his help at harvest time, and her uncle will lose the money that Erik owes him. Kirsten is sure that he hasn’t run away to escape from his problems and promises, but why else would he leave so mysteriously?

Danger at the Zoo – Kit

Kit stumbles upon a mystery when she is working on a newspaper article about the zoo. The door to the monkey house has been unlocked at night, but no animals are missing. Is it thieves trying to steal baby monkeys for the black market, or is it more complicated than the zoo manager could ever imagine? Leave it to Kit to investigate until she finds the answers.

Good old Greg – still clueless, still hopeless, but his sad life gets funnier with every book. A blizzard has Greg trapped in the house with his family, but the authorities are ready to pounce as soon as the snow lets up. Could things get any worse? Don’t ask.

Our Llama Llama Storytime at 1:00 PM on Thursday October 6 will be registered at Read for the Record.  You can be part of our pledge group by coming to the storytime, or you can visit the store anytime on October 6th to read the book and be counted. We will make Llama Llama bookmarks and give out Llama Llama tattoos at our storytime.

Copies of the book will be available to read all day at Dragonwings, and Llama Llama dolls will be given away with any Llama Llama book purchase including the new release Llama Llama Home with Mama.  Earlier in the day we will be visiting the Waupaca Pre-school to read to a class of 18 students. You could think about reading the book to a kindergarten class, or at a preschool or  daycare center.  It also counts if you read the book at home to your child.  You can call us to be part of our pledge group, or you can sign up at Read for the Record (readfortherecord.com).

Why are we doing this?  For fun and to support literacy programs:

Jumpstart was founded in 1993 at Yale University and has been setting up volunteer programs across the country to give children in low-income neighborhoods a jumpstart in preschool to help them be successful in life.  The first Read for the Record campaign was launched in 2006 to raise awareness of Jumpstart’s literacy efforts.  Each year since then Americans have joined together to break the world record by reading classic stories: The Little Engine That Could (2006), The Story of Ferdinand (2007), Corduroy (2008), The Very Hungry Caterpillar (2009), and The Snowy Day (2010).

The first book in this series, The Seven Sorcerers is really excellent.  Nin’s four year old brother, Toby, disappears.  Her Mother, Grandfather, and Grandmother have no memory of Toby.  Now Nin fears that whatever took Toby is after her and she is RIGHT!!!  As Nin escapes from the Bogeyman she meets Jonas who in turn helps her navigate through a magical world.  The mission to find Toby is a faced paced read.  I am looking forward to “Shadow Spell”.

~Amy

~Amy

Everyone should have a friend like Velveeta.  Travis is new in school.  Travis does something nice for Bradley, whom he does not know, and Velveeta is a witness to this kindness.  This makes Velveeta friend Travis, right quick.  The story o f Travis, the story of Velveeta and the story of Bradley, are like three puzzle pieces fitting together perfectly.  Three cheers for Bluefish! Or, should I say a “squiggly riding over the ocean” hand wave instead!  I can’t wait to read it again.

~Amy

Hugo Cabret was incredible and Wonderstruck, in my opinion, is even more incredible than Hugo Cabret.  The drawings tell a story, as well as the written words, and combining the two turned this book into a “couldn’t put down until I was finished book!”.  I was so involved and swept away, that Wonderstruck was my facial expression at the beginning, middle and the end.

~Amy

Jessica’s brother Ryan had $208 dollars stolen from him.  Jessica and Ryan were certain that Scott stole Ryan’s money.  Jessica was so certain that she set up a trial, witnesses, and even a judge.  There is a twist at the end, and a surprise, which will hopefully remind you what friendship is all about.

~Amy

For us this is a unusual kind of sale.  Usually we might have a seasonal sale table or few shelves of this and that on sale, but it’s our anniversary, so why not live it up?   We combed through our shelves and put lots of great things on sale.  They were 25 – 50% off and now they are 41-66% off.  It’s a good deal for everyone, but especially – let your teacher friends know about it.  We know they could use a break.

It’s going to be a little crazy around here, but it will be fun.  We’ll have activity stations, a 16 dragon hunt, and lots of photos from the old days.   Hope to see you soon.

We are celebrating 16 years as a local, independent bookstore in Waupaca.  Former teen staff members now come in married with children of their own: Dan Bootz with Esme and Lulu, Eliza Schultz with Mina, Heidi Draeger with Tyler and Kaleb.

Our longtime storefront manager extraordinaire, Rev. Deb Woolsey, is now the pastor of an Episcopal parish near Milwaukee, Blair Rathjen is now a Physician’s Assistant right here in Waupaca, Brynn Rathjen leaves tomorrow to travel around the world, Angie Harrington will soon be a new mother,and  Kathleen Lehman is a university Physics Dept. librarian.

Do you remember our first employees Maggie Woodside and Susan Gigot-Klein? And how about our longest employee, our son Jackson Klein,who will soon be sailing down the Mississippi, into the Gulf and beyond with his wonderful fiance, Cayetana Polanco, on their new sailboat.

Cayetana and Jackson aboard their new sailboat.

A million thanks to all of you, our current staff – Joanne Kennedy and Amy Hussin – and our many other excellent former staff.  Never has a store been as fortunate as Dragonwings, with one amazing person after another moving through our staff roster over the years.