Calling all book lovers ages 8-12! Do you have what it takes to be a bookseller? Sign up for Green Bean Books Junior Booksellers Boot Camp to find out! First three Wednesdays in July- July 1, 8 & 15; 2-3PM You’ll plan events, write book reviews, and recommend books to customers! You may even meet an author or two! Show off your bookselling skills during Family & Friends Night on the 15th! The best part is that you’ll get “paid” in books! Call now to register! 503-954-2354 Our Family Book Club is celebrating its first anniversary in June by kicking off a summer long series with authors joining us each month to discuss their books. Every month, kids (ages 8-12) and their guardians or parents meet up to discuss a middle grade novel as part of our Family Book Club! It’s always interesting to share personal stories in relationship to the books we’re reading. Once a quarter we try and invite a local author to come in and join our discussion. We’re oh so appreciative that they’ll come and talk to our readers and answer their questions! We’re delighted to feature the following three authors this Summer: Deborah Hopkinson The Great Trouble Wednesday, June 17th at 3:30pm Susan Hill Long Whistle in the Dark Wednesday, July 15th at 3:30pm William Ritter Jackaby (Recommended for kids ages 10 and up) Wednesday, August 19th at 3:30pm Our Family Book Clubs are free and copies of our selections are available at a special discounted price for those who register!
Call 503-954-2354 to Sign-up! FREE! When Earl isn’t in his finger puppet form, he loves talking to other readers about what books to read next. He also enjoys making the shelftalkers because there are just too many good books to talk about. He also moderates the Family Book Club so ask him what this month’s pick is! What was your favorite book as a child? I wanted to be a detective growing up. I enjoyed Donald J. Sobol’s Two-Minute Mysteries and Encyclopedia Brown series before moving on to Agatha Christie’s novels featuring her world-famous Belgian detective, Hercule Poirot. I also loved scary stories. I read lots of R.L. Stine’s Goosebumps and Fear Street books before moving on to Christopher Pike’s young adult novels which I read and reread constantly. What are you currently reading? I’m currently reading Beverly Cleary’s second memoir, My Own Two Feet. I have about 55 titles on my Excel spreadsheet under “To Read” for this year but I’m always finding other books I’m reading. I’ve also been listening to audio books as I walk to and from work. I was really impressed with The True Meaning of Smekday by Adam Rex and Stella by Starlight by Sharon Draper. What does your perfect day look like? Any day always starts off with a cup of coffee. My ideal day would involve nothing scheduled so I can do whatever I want which most likely involves reading and writing or volunteering. What movie makes you laugh lout loud no matter how many times you’ve watched it before? Young Frankenstein always cheers me up. If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go? I would probably just go back to the Philippines to visit family. Finish these sentences! When I’m not at the bookstore, I’m at a library or a coffee shop. My favorite place in Portland is Waterfront Park. My go to Pandora station is any Broadway musicals. I also enjoy listening to adult contemporary because I love it when customers recognize the songs and start singing along. Of all my talents, people will be most surprised that I can eat an unhealthy amount of anything. A single portion size for me is equivalent to what a family of four would normally eat. We're inviting our awesome book-loving customers to join us for Family Volunteering at the Children's Book Bank on Tuesday, May 5th from 4pm to 6pm. The Children's Book Bank, one of our favorite local non-profits, takes donated children's books and gives them to children in low income neighborhoods where the ratio of books to children is one book for every 300 children! We will be cleaning up donated books to prepare them to be given out. This is an off-site event. The address is 1728 NE Glisan St. Feel free to look over your bookshelves and donate any unwanted children's books in good condition to the Children's Book Bank! Green Bean Books will offer a 15% discount on any books that you buy to donate to CBB until our volunteer day on May 5th! We invite families with kids ages 6 and up to register at 503-954-2354. We'll talk about books and help get books into the hands of kids who need them! Meet Cat! She's our Thursday afternoon Story Time reader and she takes wonderful pictures for our social media pages. Learn more about her below! What was your favorite book as a child? I really loved The Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister. I remember doing a craft in school for it, and I loved all the beautiful colors! What are you currently reading? I have only just begun reading Nightbird by Alice Hoffman, an engrossing story about witches, spells, curses, myths, and mystery! I don't have too much to say about it just yet other than I'm excited to get back to reading! What does your perfect day look like? Oh, this is a tough one. I love escaping to the coast with my dog, Biff. We play fetch with his favorite tennis ball, walk or run the beach, and settle down in the sand with a good book for me and a chew toy for Biff! If it's Friday, you can find me at the Bingo Hall with my favorite coworkers - Earl and Robin! What movie makes you laugh out loud no matter how many times you’ve watched it before? Finding Nemo! My favorite scene is with the sharks, and they say, "Hah-low, Bruce." Do you know the voice I'm trying to say that in? If not, watch the movie - it's hilarious! If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go? I would love to travel to Ireland! I would love to see the lush green hills and the huge, old castles! Ireland seems like a green fairytale waiting for me to explore with my royal camera! Finish these sentences! When I’m not at the bookstore, I’m … giving the best belly rubs to Biff! My favorite place in Portland is … other than Green Bean Books, I love reading and writing at the Ugly Mug Coffee Shop! My go to Pandora station is… Echo & the Bunnymen! Of all my talents, people will be most surprised that I can… get a crowd going with the best karaoke songs! Are you looking for light reads during the nice weather we've been having? Or do you need a pick me up? Here are some books we know will have you laughing out loud! The Terrible Two by Jory John and Mac Barnett with illustrations by Kevin Cornell The first in a new series, The Terrible Two is guaranteed to make even the most reluctant readers chuckle and keep on turning the pages to see how the prank war escalates and perhaps just to learn more facts about cows they never thought they wanted to know! I Funny by James Patterson and Chris Grabenstein with illustrations by Laura Park Middle schooler Jamie Grimm wants to be the next stand-up comic. Pop culture references and visual gags fill the pages of this book, perfect for fans of The Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to School... by Davide Carli with illustrations by Benjamin Chaud Benjamin Chaud has become one of our favorite new artists and he’s back with a follow up to I Didn’t Do My Homework Because…! In this one, the boy with wildly imaginative excuses is back to explain why he was late to class. The Book with No Pictures by B.J. Novak Read-alouds can be so much fun! Cleverly, The Book with No Pictures, explores the fine art of the read-aloud. Written by The Office star, B.J. Novak, this has become one of Green Bean Books' bestselling titles. We can always tell when someone’s reading it by the sounds of giggles from both kids and adults! Other funny books we recommend: Stop by Green Bean Books between noon and 5pm today, April 1st, for a super-silly April Fools' Day Craft!
If you've been to one of our delightful Sunday afternoon story times, you may have met Green Bean's newest staff member, Robin! Read on and learn all about her below! What was your favorite book as a child? I read as many Encyclopedia Brown books as I could get my hands on. I kept track of potential clues and made note of which characters seemed trustworthy and which did not. I was similarly smitten with The Hardy Boys. What are you currently reading? I'm currently reading a YA psychological thriller called The Bunker Diary by Kevin Brooks. In it, six people are kidnapped and kept under surveillance in an underground bunker. They struggle to survive, glean information about their capture and fight to surmount their circumstances. It is a gritty and intense read. What does your perfect day look like? Any day that involves talking books and volunteering with my co-worker Earl. What movie makes you laugh out loud no matter how many times you've watched it before? The Muppets Take Manhattan has been one of my favorite movies for over twenty years. I've always loved the Muppets, and I love theater even more. Seeing the Muppets bring their goofiness to Broadway charms me every time. If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go? Back to the Czech Republic. I studied there for six months in 2005 and was fascinated by its history, architecture and landscape. I would go back there in a heartbeat. Finish these sentences! When I'm not at the bookstore, I'm... browsing books at the library or snuggling with my cat. My favorite place in Portland is... the Franz Bread Bakery. My go to Pandora station is... The Smiths. Of all my talents, people will be most surprised that I can... do aerial yoga. |
Archives
July 2021
|