Our annual children’s book drive — “Bouquets for Books” — marks its 10th year in 2015.
It benefits the library systems in Berks, Cumberland, Dauphin, Lancaster, Lebanon and York counties and the independent Hershey Public Library.
To ensure that the libraries receive the books they need the most, they have provided these wish lists:
BERKS COUNTY LIBRARY SYSTEM
Board books:
Dada by Fallon Ball by Mary Sullivan
Rhymoceroes by Janik Coat
Peep and Ducky by David Martin
Picture books:
Dr. Seuss picture books
Locomotive by Brian Floca
Viva Frida by Yuyi Morales
Appleblossom the Possum by Holly Sloan
Stick and Stone by Beth Ferry and Tom Lichtenheld
Interstellar Cinderella by Deborah Underwood and Meg Hunt
Orion and the dark by Emma Yarlett
I Yam a Donkey by Cece Bell
When Otis Courted Mama by Kathi Appelt and Jill McElmurry
Miss Hazeltine’s Home for Shy and Fearful Cats by Alicia Potter and Birgitta Sif
Billy’s Booger by William Joyce and Moonbot
Ballet Cat the Totally Secret Secret by Bob Shea
The Pennsylvania Dutch Night Before Christmas by Chet Williamson
The Talking Eggs by Robert San Souci and Jerry Pinkney
Titles:
Echo by Pam Munoz Ryan
The Case of the Missing Moonstone by Jordan Stratford and Kelly Murphy
Dear Hank Williams by Kimberly Willis Holt
Gone Crazy in Alabama by Rita Williams-Garcia
Percy Jackson’s Greek Gods by Rick Riordan
Percy Jackson’s Greek Heroes by Rick Riordan
Young adult books:
The Heir by Kiera Cass
Mechanica by Cornwell
A Court of Thorn and Roses by Sarah Maas
More Happy Than Not by Adam Silvera
The Winner’s Curse by Rutkoski
The Winner’s Crime by Rutkoski
Undertow by Michael Buckley
The Unlikely Hero of Room 13B by Teresa Toten
CUMBERLAND COUNTY LIBRARY SYSTEM
Any titles in these series:
A to Z Mysteries
Amelia Bedelia
Bailey School Kids
Beginner Reader books such as I Can Read, Rookie Readers
Berenstain Bears
Caillou
Curious George
Clifford the Big Red Dog
Dinotrux
Disney
Dora or Diego
Elephant and Piggie
Fancy Nancy
Froggy
Franklin
Geronimo Stilton
I Spy
Lego
My Weird School
Pete the Cat
Star Wars early readers (especially Lego ones)
Thomas the Tank Engine
Books by these authors/illustrators:
Sandra Boynton
Margaret Wise Brown
Eric Carle (especially paperbacks)
Dr. Seuss
Ed Emberley (esp. Go Away, Big Green Monster!)
Mo Willems
Picture books:
I Stink/I’m Dirty and/or I’m Mighty by Kate McMullan and Jim McMullan
The Long, Long Line by Tomoko Ohmura
Maisy’s Bedtime by Lucy Cousins
Maisy Cleans Up by Lucy Cousins
Simpson’s Sheep Won’t Go to Sleep! by Bruce Arant
The Snatchabook by Helen Docherty
This is the Farmer by Nancy Tafuri
DAUPHIN COUNTY LIBRARY SYSTEM
Anything written by:
Mo Willems
Eric Carle
Dr. Seuss
Rosemary Wells
Sandra Boynton
Lucy Cousins
Rick Riordan
John Green
Veronica Roth
Any book in these series:
Fly Guy by Tedd Arnold
BOB Books by Bobby Lynn Maslen and John R. Maslen
Pete the Cat by James Dean
Magic Tree House by Mary Pope Osborne
Rainbow Magic by Daisy Meadows
Big Nate by Lincoln Pierce
I Spy by Jean Marzollo
Can You See What I See by Walter Wick
Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney
Dork Diaries by Rachel Renee Russell
Geronimo Stilton by Geronimo Stilton
Captain Underpants by Dav Pilkey
American Girls by various authors
Artemis Fowl by Eion Colfer
Bad Kitty by Nick Bruel
HERSHEY PUBLIC LIBRARY
Any titles in these series:
Minecraft
Berenstain Bears
Pokemon
Curious George
Clifford the Big Red Dog
Disney (especially princesses)
Jake and the Pirates
Elephant and Piggie
Fancy Nancy
I Spy
Lego
Pete the Cat
Thomas the Tank Engine
Maisy (by Lucy Cousins)
Lunch Lady (by Jarrett Krosoczka)
Books by these authors/illustrators:
Sandra Boynton
Margaret Wise Brown
Eric Carle
Mo Willems
Gordon Korman
Rick Riordan
LIBRARY SYSTEM OF LANCASTER COUNTY
Alien in My Pocket series by Nate Ball
American Girl books
Barbie Beginner Readers
Beginner Reader books such as I Can Read, Rookie Readers, Easy Reader Leveled Books
Berenstain Bears
Big Nate books by Lincoln Pierce
Captain Underpants series books
Curious George
Clifford the Big Red Dog
Diary of a Wimpy Kid book series
Dora Beginner Readers
Dorling Kindersley readers
Elephant and Piggie series by Mo Willems
Fancy Nancy books by Jane O’Connor
Froggy books by Jonathan London
Franklin books by Paulette Bourgeois
Geronimo Stilton books
Little Critter books by Mercer Mayer
Magic Puppy books by Sue Bentley
Pete the Cat Beginner Readers
Pinkalicious books by Victoria Kann
Puppy Place books by Ellen Miles
Princess Posey books by Stephanie Greene
Super Heroes Beginner Readers
Thomas the Tank Engine
Tom and Jerry series by Benjamin Bird
Transformers series
Star Wars Beginner Readers
Seasonal & Holiday books
Superman Family Adventures series by Art Baltazar
You Choose: Scooby-Doo! Series by Laurie Sutton
We Both Read series
Books by these authors/illustrators:
Dr. Seuss
Margaret Wise Brown
Mo Willems
Eric Carle
Books about these subjects:
Alphabet, Colors, Numbers
Dentists, Doctors
Dinosaurs
Going to Daycare, Going to Kindergarten, Going to School
LEGO books and LEGO Storybooks
Tractors, Trucks, Trains, Planes, Fire Engines
LIBRARY SYSTEM OF LEBANON COUNTY
Puppy Place series by Ellen Miles
Minecraft series
Rainbow Magic series by Daisy Meadows
Lego series books, especially Ninjago
Part-time Princess by Deborah Underwood, Cambria Evans
Girls Think of Everything: Stories of Ingenious Inventions by Women by Catherine Thimmesh, Melissa Sweet
The Princess Knight by Cornelia Funke, Kerstin Meyer
Dangerously Ever After by Dashka Slater, Valeria Docampo
Not All Princesses Dress in Pink by Jane Yolen, Heidi E. Y. Stemple, Anne-Sophie Lanquetin
Rad American Women A-Z: Rebels, Trailblazers, and Visionaries who Shaped Our History . . . and Our Future! (City Lights/Sister Spit)
by Kate Schatz, Miriam Klein Stahl
Rosie Revere, Engineer by Andrea Beaty
Jet Plane: How It Works (My Readers) by David Macaulay
The New Way Things Work by David Macaulay
The Man in the Moon (The Guardians of Childhood) by William Joyce
The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore by William Joyce
Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O’Brien
Encyclopedia Brown, Boy Detective by Donald J. Sobol
How to Outrun a Crocodile When Your Shoes Are Untied (My Life Is a Zoo) by Jess Keating
Louise Loves Art by Kelly Light
The Tree Lady: The True Story of How One Tree-Loving Woman Changed a City Forever by H. Joseph Hopkins
Sydney & Simon: Full Steam Ahead! by Paul Reynolds, Peter Reynolds
Animalium (Welcome to the Museum) by Jenny Broom, Katie Scott
Louise Loves Art by Kelly Light
Mr. Wayne’s Masterpiece by Patricia Polacco
Leroy Ninker Saddles Up: Tales from Deckawoo Drive, Volume One by Kate DiCamillo
(The Lebanon County list also can be viewed with links to Amazon.com by clicking here.)
YORK COUNTY LIBRARIES
Titles:
Monkey Not Ready for Kindergarten
I Will Chomp You
There was an Old Dragon Who Swallowed a Knight
Ready for Pumpkins
Snoozefest
Please, Mr. Panda
Where are My Books?
Book-O-Masks
Book-O-Teeth
Board books:
Llama Llama Jingle Bells
Little Blue Truck’s Christmas
Gobble Gobble Tucker
Ten on the Sled
Eight Jolly Reindeer
Subjects:
Holiday
School
Seasonal
Dinosaurs
LEGOs
Characters:
Scooby-doo
Pokémon
Dora the Explorer
PBS Kids
Category: Fall
‘Bouquets for Books’ children’s book drive returns Oct. 31-Nov. 7
Our annual children’s book drive is back for its 10th edition.
“Bouquets for Books” returns Oct. 31-Nov. 7 to benefit public libraries in Berks, Cumberland, Dauphin, Lancaster, Lebanon and York counties.
In its nine years, Bouquets for Books has collected nearly 14,000 books for the libraries.
For each book, donors will receive a free bouquet, up to three per family per visit, while supplies last. Used books will not be accepted.
You can view the library systems’ individual wish lists here.
Fox 43 Morning News features Royer’s annual children’s book drive
You might say that Fox 43 Morning News carved out some time to talk about Halloween and, more so, Royer’s annual children’s book drive.
Barry Spengler, Royer’s vice president of operations, joined host Chris Garrett to discuss “Bouquets for Books,” which returns for its ninth year Nov. 1-8. In its first eight years, the book drive collected more than 12,400 new children’s books for area public libraries.
Customers who donate a new children’s book will receive a free bouquet, up to three per family per visit. Barry explained that the book drive kicks off Saturday with a Royer’s Kids Club event, open to ages 5 to 12 in all stores.
Barry also showcased an assortment of Halloween arrangements.
You can view the entire segment by clicking here.
The making of our fall catalog
Our 40-page fall catalog arrived in tens of thousands of mailboxes in October. (If you didn’t receive one, you can pick up a copy at any of our stores.)
With each of our catalogs, we change approximately 20 percent of the product lineup. Ultimately, it’s our customers who determine which arrangements stay in the lineup over the long haul.
How an arrangement makes it into the menu is an exhaustive process. It’s a long way from auditioning for a role to walking the red carpet, in other words.
Weak-selling arrangements are removed, or they are redesigned to give them a more current look. Sometimes an arrangement is discontinued because its container is no longer available.
Once we know how many items are being removed, we begin developing the new items. Inspiration comes from visiting other florists; from walking through gift trade shows in Atlanta and Dallas; from visiting container suppliers to spot trends in colors and styles.
Some of the ideas come from previous holiday selections. If a Mother’s Day item sells out early, for instance, we know there is strong customer demand for it, and it could get into the lineup.
Flower growers are part of the process, too, as we constantly seek out new suppliers. They must be able to provide premium product on a consistent basis. Currently, we are testing flowers from Ethiopia.
In late May, a small team pulls together new containers, flowers and ideas in order to develop new arrangement concepts.
Value engineered
Once we have the concepts, a team of designers turns them into actual arrangements, collaborating on some items or coming up with their own interpretations on others.
We buy flowers in all varieties and colors to keep our lineup fresh and interesting for our customers and designers alike. We also want flowers that we know will be available for at least a year.
With the arrangements made, the original group reconvenes in June/July to make final selections.
The arrangements are “value engineered” to give the best value to our customers. Perhaps better-priced flowers or containers can be used without upsetting the integrity of the designs.
Finally, the approved arrangements are professionally photographed for inclusion in the catalog.
And now it’s in the hands of our customers, who will vote with their pocketbooks and ultimately determine which arrangements stay in our lineup.
Straw poll: What do you think of the Camp Hill store’s scarecrows?
It was a late-summer evening, but fall was in the air. There were no witches on brooms flying by, but a MetLife blimp passed overhead.
The setting was our Camp Hill store, where the staff engaged in its annual scarecrow contest. This year’s event had a wedding theme.
It’s an outdoor wedding, of course, and you’re invited to attend. And if you visit the store, be sure to let Holly, Aimee and the rest of the team know which of the scarecrows you like best.
