FDL Reads: Dreams of Joy
Dreams of Joy by Lisa See
Reviewed by: Susie Rivera, Reference Specialist
Genre: Historical Fiction
Suggested Age: Adult
What is this book about? This novel is the sequel to Lisa See’s Shanghai Girls, however, I believe there is enough background information given to read it on its own. Joy is nineteen years old and has just found out a big family secret. This takes her on a journey from her home in California to Shanghai to find her birth father. China in 1957 was in the midst of the beginning of Communism. Joy gets caught up in the Communist vision, falls in love and quickly marries a Chinese man when she visits a village collective. She soon finds that life in the collective is not the ideal that it is promised to be. When Pearl finds out what happened to her daughter, she is horrified and follows her to China to try to save her.
My Review: I have enjoyed several of Lisa See’s novels and this one is good as well. See always does her research and it really shows here. Communist China comes to life through the eyes of Joy. The hardships she faces while living in the collective were sometimes difficult to read. The tragedy surrounding this period was that Mao’s Great Leap Forward ended up being a man made famine. We see the horrors of that famine and what desperate people will do out of extreme hunger. In the beginning, Joy is a bit foolish as a character, but you must remember that she is just a teenager and still naïve. She definitely learns some very hard lessons by the end of the whole ordeal.
Three Words That Describe This Book: Insightful, Tragic, Eye-Opening
Give This a Try if You Like…Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, Memoirs of the Geisha, The Killing Fields
Rating: 5/5
About FDL Reads
FDL Reads is a series of weekly book reviews from Fondulac District Library.
#FDL: Audiobooks Read by Celebrities
Author: Seth Rogen | Narrator: Full Cast and Seth Rogen
A collection of funny personal essays from one of the writers of Superbad and Pineapple Express and one of the producers of The Disaster Artist, Neighbors, and The Boys
Author: Julianna Margulies | Narrator: Julianna Margulies
Known for her outstanding performances on the groundbreaking television series The Good Wife and ER, Julianna Margulies deftly chronicles her life and her work in this deeply powerful memoir.
-Annotations from the publishers
–Post by Susie Rivera, Reference Specialist
#FDL is an update on all things Fondulac District Library and books.
Story Time (Online) – Pig the Pug
Good morning and welcome back to story time! I’m Miss Sharon. It was nice taking some time off to get ready for Summer Reading but it’s also nice to be back with you doing story time! Today’s books are all about Pig the Pug.
Song: The More We Get Together
The more we get together, together, together,
the more we get together, the happier we’ll be.
Cause your friends are my friends,
and my friends are your friends,
the more we get together the happier we’ll be!
Source: Supersimple A Place To Learn and Grow
Book: Pig the Pug
Written and illustrated by Adam Blabley and read with the permission of Scholastic.
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Song: Oh Where, Oh Where, Has My Little Dog Gone?
Oh, where, oh, where
Has my little dog gone?
Oh, where, oh, where
Can he be?
With his ears cut short
And his tail cut long,
Oh, where, oh, where
Can he be?
Oh where, oh where
Has my little dog gone?
Oh, where, oh, where
Can he be?
Source: NurseryRhymes.org
Book: Pig the Slob
Written and illustrated by Adam Blabley and read with the permission of Scholastic.
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Song: The Wheels on the Bus
The wheels on the bus go Round and Round,
Round and round,
Round and round.
The wheels on the bus go Round and Round,
all through the town.
(Roll hands around each other)
The wipers on the bus go Swish, swish, swish;
Swish, swish, swish;
Swish, swish, swish.
The wipers on the bus go Swish, swish, swish,
all through the town.
(“Swish” hands in front of you like windshield wipers)
The horn on the bus goes Beep, beep, beep;
Beep, beep, beep;
Beep, beep, beep.
The horn on the bus goes Beep, beep, beep,
all through the town.
(Slap palm in front of you like honking a horn)
The doors on the bus go open and shut;
Open and shut;
Open and shut.
The doors on the bus go open and shut;
all through the town.
(Push hands back and forth in front of you)
The Driver on the bus says “Move on back,
move on back, move on back;”
The Driver on the bus says “Move on back”,
all through the town.
(Point thumb over your shoulder)
The babies on the bus says “Wah, wah, wah;
Wah, wah, wah;
Wah, wah, wah”.
The babies on the bus says “Wah, wah, wah”,
all through the town.
(Rub fists in front of eyes)
The mommies on the bus says “Shh, shh, shh;
Shush, shush, shush;
Shush, shush, shush.”
The mommies on the bus says “Shh, shh, shh”
all through the town.
(Hold index finger in front of mouth as if saying shhh)
Source: DLTK Sites For Kids
Book: Pig the Tourist
Written and illustrated by Adam Blabley and read with the permission of Scholastic.
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Song: Skinnamarink
Skinnamarinky dinky-dink (Put your left elbow in right hand, wave.)
Skinnamarinky Doo (Right elbow in left hand, wave.)
I (Point to eye.)
Love (Cross your arms over your heart.)
You! (Point to audience.)
Skinnamarinky dinky-dink (Left elbow in right hand.)
Skinnamarinky Doo (Right elbow in left hand, wave.)
I (Point to your eye.)
Love (Cross arms in front of heart.)
You! (Point to audience.)
I love you in the morning (Cross arms above your head.)
And in the afternoon (Cross arms around your chest.)
I love you in the evening (Cross around your tummy.)
And underneath the moon! (Cross arms above head again.)
Skinnamarinky dinky-dink (Left arm in right hand, wave.)
Skinnamarinky doo (Right arm in left hand, wave.)
I (Point to your eye.)
Love (Cross arms in front of heart.)
You (Point to audience.)
Too (Show two fingers.)
Boo boop we doo! (Wave and kiss!)
Source: youtube.com/watch?v=Ix_LyeuYbcI
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Craft: Pug Stick Puppet![](https://fondulaclibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/pug.jpg)
Craft kits are available to pick up in the Youth Services department or the drive-up window while supplies last.
Kit Supplies:
- Pig the Pug Template
- Craft Stick
- Instruction sheet
Supplies you need from home:
- Scissors
- Glue
Instructions:
Step 1: cut out the pug template
Step 2: add the chin
Step 3: add the face mask
Step 4: add the ears
Step 5: add the nose
Step 6: add the tongue
Step 7: add the eyes
Step 8: attach the craft stick to the back of your pug face
Source: Woo! Jr Kids Activities
Song: Thanks for Coming
(Tune: Oh My Darling Clementine)
Thanks for sitting, thanks for listening,
Thanks for coming here today!
Now that story time is over
Hope you have a lovely day!
Source: Literary Hoots
– Miss Sharon, Youth Services Specialist
#FDL: Books for Pride Month
One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston
For cynical twenty-three-year-old August, moving to New York City is supposed to prove her right: that things like magic and cinematic love stories don’t exist, and the only smart way to go through life is alone. She can’t imagine how waiting tables at a 24-hour pancake diner and moving in with too many weird roommates could possibly change that. And there’s certainly no chance of her subway commute being anything more than a daily trudge through boredom and electrical failures. But then, there’s this gorgeous girl on the train.
Let’s Get Back to the Party by Zak Salih
It is 2015, weeks after the Supreme Court marriage equality ruling, and all Sebastian Mote wants is to settle down. A high school art history teacher, newly single and desperately lonely, he envies his queer students their freedom to live openly the youth he lost to fear and shame. When he runs into his childhood friend Oscar Burnham at a wedding in Washington, D.C., he can’t help but see it as a second chance.
Detransition, Baby by Torrey Peters
This debut about three women–transgender and cisgender–whose lives collide after an unexpected pregnancy forces them to confront their deepest desires around gender, motherhood, and sex.
All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson
In a series of personal essays, prominent journalist and LGBTQIA+ activist George M. Johnson explores his childhood, adolescence, and college years in New Jersey and Virginia. From the memories of getting his teeth kicked out by bullies at age five, to flea marketing with his loving grandmother, to his first relationships, this young-adult memoir weaves together the trials and triumphs faced by Black queer boys.
Zara Hossain Is Here by Sabina Khan (YA)
Seventeen-year-old Pakistani immigrant, Zara Hossain, has been leading a fairly typical life in Corpus Christi, Texas, since her family moved there for her father to work as a pediatrician. While dealing with the Islamophobia that she faces at school, Zara has to lay low, trying not to stir up any trouble and jeopardize their family’s dependent visa status while they await their green card approval, which has been in process for almost nine years.
Between Perfect and Real by Ray Stoeve (YA)
Dean Foster knows he’s a trans guy. He’s watched enough YouTube videos and done enough questioning to be sure. But everyone at his high school thinks he’s a lesbian—including his girlfriend Zoe, and his theater director, who just cast him as a “nontraditional” Romeo. He wonders if maybe it would be easier to wait until college to come out. But as he plays Romeo every day in rehearsals, Dean realizes he wants everyone to see him as he really is now––not just on the stage, but everywhere in his life. Dean knows what he needs to do. Can playing a role help Dean be his true self?
– Annotations from the publishers
–Post by Susie Rivera, Reference Specialist
#FDL is an update on all things Fondulac District Library and books.
FDL Reads: The Cousins
The Cousins by Karen M. McManus
Reviewed by: Katie G, Circulation Assistant
Genre: Mystery / thriller
Suggested Age: Young Adult
What is this book about? Twenty four years ago millionaire resort owner Mildred Story sent a letter to her four adult children. It read five simple words – “You know what you did.” After years of insisting they had no idea why they were disowned and disinherited by their mother, three letters arrives in the mail. The letters are addressed to Mildred’s grandchildren. Milly, Aubrey and Jonah are offered jobs at the lavish resort on Gull Cove Island that their grandmother owns. She claims she wants to get to know them and make up for lost time. Having never met their grandmother, and only having met each other once as children, all three grandchildren are less than thrilled at the offer. However, their parents insist they go for the summer and attempt to get back in Mildred’s good graces. Shortly after arriving it is clear to Milly, Aubrey and Jonah that something is awry, and the three are determined to find out what really happened on the island twenty four years prior. However, they soon realize that some things are better left in the past.
My Review: I could not put this book down. From start to finish there were so many twists and turns that I was left guessing up until the last page. The story is told from the perspective of all three grandchildren in first person, alternating each chapter. This format made it easy to become emotionally invested in Milly, Aubrey and Jonah’s lives and better understand their frame of mind and thought process throughout the story. One thing I loved about this book was that I felt there weren’t any loose ends or unanswered questions once the story was complete. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good mystery/thriller.
Three Words That Describe This Book: Exciting, Shocking, and Scandalous
Give This a Try if You Like… One of us is Lying by Karen M McManus, A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson, We Were Liars by E. Lockhart
Rating: 5/5 stars
About FDL Reads
FDL Reads is a series of weekly book reviews from Fondulac District Library.
Bilingual Story Time (Online) – Rainforests / Servas
Hi, everyone! My name is Miss Haley, and I’m so happy you’re joining me today for bilingual story time at Fondulac District Library. Bilingual is a word that means more than one language, so that means we’ll be singing songs and reading books in English and Spanish today as we learn about rainforests. Are you ready? Let’s go! ¡Vamos!
Song: Good Morning / Buenos dias
(Tune: Frère Jacques)
English Lyrics:
Good morning
Good morning
How are you?
How are you?
Very well, thank you
Very well thank you
And you?
And you?
Spanish Lyrics:
Buenos dias
Buenos dias
¿Como estas?
¿Como estas?
Muy bien, gracias
Muy bien, gracias
¿Y usted?
¿Y usted?
Credit: Jack Hartmann Kids Music Channel
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Song: Open, Shut Them / Abre, cierra
English Lyrics:
Open, shut them
Open, shut them
Give a little clap, clap, clap
Open, shut them
Open, shut them
Put them in your lap, lap, lap
Creep them, crawl them,
creep them, crawl them
right up to your chin, chin, chin
Open wide your little mouth, but…
Do not put them in!
Credit: Jbrary YouTube Channel
Spanish Lyrics:
Abre, cierra
Abre, cierra
Da una palmadita, -ta
Abre, cierra
Abre, cierra
Mantenlas juntitas, -tas
Sube, sube, sube, sube
Hasta la barbilla, -lla
Abre la boquita pero…
¡No metas los dedos!
Credit: NCO Bilingual Storytime
Book: We’re Roaming in the Rainforest: An Amazon Adventure / Un recorrido por la selva: Una aventura Amazónica
Written by Laurie Krebs, illustrated by Anne Wilson, and read with the permission of Barefoot Books.
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Song: If You’re a Lion and You Know It
(Tune: If You’re Happy and You Know It)
If you’re an elephant and you know it, STOMP your feet
If you’re an elephant and you know it, STOMP your feet
If you’re an elephant and you know it, then your face will surely show it
If you’re an elephant and you know it, STOMP your feet
If you’re a monkey and you know it, JUMP around
If you’re a monkey and you know it, JUMP around
If you’re a monkey and you know it, then your face will surely show it
If you’re a monkey and you know it, JUMP around
If you’re a crocodile and you know it, SNAP your jaws (motion with arms)
If you’re a crocodile and you know it, SNAP your jaws (motion with arms)
If you’re a crocodile and you know it, then your face will surely show it
If you’re a crocodile and you know it, SNAP your jaws (motion with arms)
If you’re a lion and you know it, give a ROAR!
If you’re a lion and you know it, give a ROAR!
If you’re a lion and you know it, then your face will surely show it
If you’re a lion and you know it, give a ROAR!
Credit: Sunflower Storytime
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Song: La Iguana Y El Perezoso
Spanish Lyrics:
Había una vez una iguana
con una ruana de lana
peinándose la melena
junto al río magdalena
Y la iguana tomaba café
tomaba café a la hora del té
y la iguana tomaba café
tomaba café a la hora del té
Llegó un perezoso caminando
en pijama y bostezando
le dio un empujón a doña iguana
y la lanzó de cabeza al agua
Y el perezoso se toma el café
se toma el café a la hora del té
y el perezoso se toma el café
se toma el café a la hora del té
La iguana volvió toda mojada
furibunda y enojada
le espicha la oreja al perezoso
y lo encerró en el calabozo
Y la iguana termina el café
termina el café a la hora del té
y la iguana termina el café
termina el café a la hora del té
English Translation:
Once upon a time there was an iguana
in a woollen poncho,
brushing her mane
next to the river Magdalena
and the iguana was drinking coffee,
drinking coffee at tea time
and the iguana was drinking coffee,
drinking coffee at tea time
A sloth came by,
in pajamas and yawning
and he pushed down the iguana,
throwing her in the water head-on
then the sloth drank the coffee,
drank the coffee at tea time
then the sloth drank the coffee,
drank the coffee at tea time
The iguana came back,
all wet, furious and angry
she pinched the sloth in his ear
and put him in a dungeon
and the iguana finished drinking her coffee,
finished drinking her coffee at tea time
and the iguana finished drinking her coffee,
finished drinking her coffee at tea time
Credit: Mundo Canticuentos and Allthelyrics.com
Book: Zonia’s Rainforest / La selva de Zonia
Written and illustrated by Juana Martinez-Neal and read with the permission of Candlewick Press.
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Craft: Hanging Sloth
Pick up a craft kit at the library while supplies last from the Youth Services Department or the drive-up window.
Supplies needed at home:
- Scissors
- Coloring utensils (crayons, markers, or colored pencils)
- Glue (liquid or stick)
Included in supply kit:
- Two pages of sloth template
- Two paper fasteners
- One piece of yarn
Instructions:
- Color your sloth.
- Cut the sloth out from the template.
- Glue the sloth face onto the head of the body piece.
- Use the paper fasteners to attach the sloth arms to the body. The paper is thick cardstock, so pierce the arms with the fasteners first and then pierce through the body. Then flatten out the backs of the fasteners.
- Place the yarn under the arms of the sloth so it looks like he’s hanging on a vine. Then bring the ends of the yarn up above the sloth’s head and tie a knot. Now your sloth is ready to hang out and relax!
Credit: tinyurl.com/4ccpkahw
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More Children’s Books About Rainforests:
English Books:
- Over and Under the Rainforest by Kate Messner
- The Great Kapok Tree: A Tale of the Amazon Rain Forest by Lynne Cherry
- Rainforest by Julia Groves
- Secrets of the Rainforest by Carron Brown and Alysa Nassner
Bilingual Books:
- The Parrot Tico Tango / El loro tico tango by Anna Witte
- A Boy and a Jaguar / Il ragazzo e il giaguaro by Alan Rabinowitz
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Mango Language App:
Did you know that we have a free app available on the Fondulac Library website that can help you and your child learn a new language? It’s called Mango, and you can sign up for free using your library card. Check it out by clicking here!
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Song: The Goodbye Song
English Lyrics:
Goodbye
So long
To you
My friend
Stay well
And fine
Til we meet
Again
Spanish Lyrics:
Adios
Adios
A ti
Mi amigo
Cuídate
Muy bien
Nos vemos
Otra vez
Credit: Burlington Specials
– Miss Haley, Youth Services Assistant