Mother May I? A Random Wish List for the Month of May

With Spring in the air, it’s the perfect time for play! One of our favorite games growing up, way back when kid’s chased ice cream trucks and endured skinned knee caps from rough bike rides, was Mother May I. Ahem, Mother May I. See what we did there? Anywho, as an ode to playing outside when the weather is pristine, we’ve compiled a list of items you can find at HPB that correlate with some of the actions a player might choose after asking the famous question.

Our Favorite Reads for Spring 2019

Spring means warmer weather, cool breezes, flowers and sunshine. Thankfully for our bookloving friends, it also includes some seriously exciting new books. We’ll see the release of many books worthwhile to devour while sprawled out in the sunshine. If you’re looking forward to some spring reads, read on for 8 books to carry you from April showers to May flowers!

Take a Break, Read a Book!: Your Spring Break Reading Guide

Disappear into a different world and enjoy your Spring Break reading these fantastic books!

Everyone is looking for something to do for Spring Break this year. Whether a vacation is in the works or not, the best way to take a break is to read a book! If you’re in the airport waiting on the arrival of a plane or sitting in the car trying to ignore a hotly debated directions dispute, reading a book is a great way to escape. Reading to the kids while traveling is a great way to distract them from the ennui of getting to the destination. Of course, if you’re not going anywhere for this particular Spring Break, reading a book is great way to get away without all the costs and hassles of real travel. Read on to discover our list of recently released books you can find online or at your local Half Price Books store that are perfect for Spring Break!

Stranger Than Fanfiction by Chris Colfer (Teen)
From the New York Times bestselling author of the Land of Stories series Chris Colfer comes this fantastic standalone novel that promises to be an engrossing read. The story is centered on Cash Carter, a young, world-famous lead actor of the hit television show Wiz Kids. Four fans jokingly invite Cash Carter on a cross-country road trip, which he shockingly accepts. The group are chased by paparazzi and hounded by reporters. It is the story of an unlikely crew taking off on a journey of a lifetime – but along the way they discover that the star they love has been keeping deep secrets. What they come to learn about the life of the mysterious person they thought they knew will teach them about the power of empathy and the unbreakable bond of true friendship.

The Beast is an Animal by Peternelle van Arsdale (Teen)
This fantastic story is a hauntingly beautiful twisted fairytale. The main character, Alys, was seven when creatures called soul eaters came to her village. These soul eaters are twin sisters who were abandoned by their father and slowly grew into something not quite human, something that needs to feed on souls to survive. Alys and all the children in her village were spared by the twins, but having lost their parents and elders, the children were sent to live in a neighboring village. Afraid of facing a similar fate, the villagers in the children’s adopted home created a strict world where good and evil are as fundamental as the nursery rhymes children sing. Fear of the soul eaters – and of the Beast they believe guides them – rules village life. But the Beast is not what they think he is. And neither is Alys.

4 Home Run Movies For A Baseball Fanatic

Play Ball! A Few of our Favorite Baseball Movies.

 

Today is opening day for most of Major League Baseball. As a huge baseball fan, it’s one of the best days of the year. Everyone has hope that a World Series is in the cards for their favorite team.

 

To celebrate the start of the season, I thought I’d share some of my favorite baseball movies. Enjoy!

 

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1. Bang the Drum Slowly (1973) – Starring Michael Moriarty and a guy who would go on to become pretty famous, Robert De Niro, Bang the Drum Slowly tells the story of Henry Wiggen and Bruce Pearson, players for the New York Mammoths. Bruce finds out he is terminally ill at the beginning of the film. Not the brightest or the best player, the Mammoths are prepared to cut him. But Henry ends his contract holdout and makes the team include one condition – that he and Bruce come as a package.  Grab some tissues for this one because this one’s a tearjerker.

2. A League of Their Own (1992) – Starring Tom Hanks, Geena Davis, Rosie O’Donnell and Madonna, A League of Their Own tells the story of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Many great quotes came from this classic, but the most famous and widely used has to be, “There’s no crying in baseball!”

3. Moneyball (2011) – I was surprised I enjoyed a movie focused on building a successful team through sabermetrics so much. Having great actors like Brad Pitt, Jonah Hill and Philip Seymour Hoffman certainly doesn’t hurt. Moneyball tells the story of the 2002 Oakland A’s and general manager Billy Beane’s quest to field a competitive team on a budget.

4. Little Big League (1994) – This is probably the least known of these movies, but one of my all-time favorites.  12-year-old Billy Heywood inherits the Minnesota Twins when his grandfather dies. After running off the team’s manager, Billy decides to name himself the manager of the team. The players are skeptical (as they should be!) but the team comes together to make a run at the AL wild card. Hilarity ensues as Billy tries to balance his adult job with the normal activities of a 12 year old. Look for appearances by former baseball greats Ivan “Pudge” Rodriguez, Randy Johnson and Ken Griffey Jr.!

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Emily is Public Relations Manager at Half Price Books Corporate.
You can follow her on Twitter at @emilytbruce.