Books

With a book under her belt, 10-year-old Grace Vaughan has set a new goal - dancing with talk show host Ellen DeGeneres. "I want to be on 'Ellen,'" she said. "It's just really cool and I want to dance down the runway with her. " Grace, a fourth-grader, shared her book "Annie and the Magic Book" with the kindergarten- and first-grade students at her school, Mariners Elementary, on Tuesday and Wednesday. She read the book to them, shared her original, handwritten version, talked about how the book came about and fielded questions from her younger peers.

Sports and reading might seem like opposite hobbies, but they will come together Sunday. Basketball legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, former baseball player Kenny Berry and basketball player Chris Duley are just some of the 100 authors expected to attend the ninth annual Orange County Children's Book Festival from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at Orange Coast College, 2701 Fairview Road, Costa Mesa. Children will have the chance to meet authors, watch illustrators bring characters to life and hear stories.

Trends in education come and go, and sometimes come back again. Straight from the everything-old-becomes-new-again department comes a theme that's generating attention at the moment. It's a bit squiggly to grasp — think: eating Jell-O with a fork — but it loosely involves a set of core qualities known as character, resilience and grit. This line of thinking argues that, instead of focusing so intently on traditional measures of intelligence, we should gear our efforts toward building these real-world traits.

As Grandparents Day rolls around, one Newport Beach woman is working to let grandparents know their rights. In "A Precious Bond," a documentary released Sunday, Susan Hoffman chronicles her experiences fighting for her visitation rights as a grandparent. Hoffman, a UC Irvine alumna, lost her rights and ability to file a petition for visitation after her grandson's stepfather adopted him at age 6 in 2006. "Once I was a grandmother, but I was stripped of that title and all that it means by circumstances beyond my control," she says in the documentary.

Everyone remembers the terrible 7.0 earthquake in Haiti in 2010. This is your chance to learn more about it from a former Costa Mesa resident. Chris Rakunas traveled to Haiti to deliver medical and surgical supplies to an orphanage and several hospitals. His book, "Tears for the Mountain," is the story of the triumphs, heartbreaks and problems of distributing aid in a nation lacking the most basic infrastructure and with desperate people trying to survive. Rakunas grew up in Costa Mesa before going to UC Berkeley, according to information he provided.

The games are over. The Olympic flame has been extinguished. The athletes have headed home. However, the accolades have just begun. Observers around the globe have hailed London 2012 a smashing success. NBC awarded itself a gold medal for its coverage. Network execs are exchanging high-fives since more Americans apparently tuned in to watch some part of the competition than any other televised event in history, outdistancing even the season finale of "Two and a Half Men. " For most of us, however, NBC's performance can be fairly summarized in just two familiar words, "spoiler alert.

It's a fabulous summer of reading for those who love chick lit. With so many titles being released in 2012, it's going to be hard to choose what book you should check out at the library to take with you for a little relaxing downtime at the beach. Rest assured, though, that none of the following titles will disappoint. The popular authors of this genre who we've all come to love — Emily Giffin , Sophie Kinsella , Beth Harbison and Jennifer Weiner — have all released new titles this year that are picking up some serious interest among avid readers.

Last week, San Diego once again was the scene for the world's largest and most notable gathering of comic aficionados. Comic Con is an opportunity for fans the world over to descend onto one city and meet their favorite comic book authors and illustrators, as well as shake sweaty hands with AAA celebrities promoting their latest Hollywood venture or simply letting their inner geek out to play (the term "geek" is used with love!). What people may not know is that Comic Con plays host to the annual Eisner Awards, an Oscar-like program that honors those within the comic book industry who have crafted truly remarkable stories and artwork.

The O.C. Fair is offering free admission - and the chance to feel good - to visitors who bring something to donate on Wednesdays. Visitors can bring five nonperishable food items for the food drive July 18. The food will go to Second Harvest Food Bank and the Orange County Food Bank. According to its website, Irvine-based Second Harvest Food Bank works through a network of more than 470 member charities and helps more than 240,000 people in Orange County each month. The Orange County Food Bank's website reports it distributes about 20 million pounds of food annually and provides food and personal-care items to more than 400 charity organizations around the county.

For your weekend plans be sure to program a stop at the book sale on Saturday and Sunday at the Costa Mesa Donald Dungan Library, 1855 Park Ave., Costa Mesa. On Saturday, the sale will go from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., with most books priced from 50 cents to $1. On Sunday, the sale will continue from noon to 3 p.m. with books priced at a dollar per bag (bags provided). * Summer Reading Program continues The Summer Reading Program for children continues till the end of the month at the Mesa Verde and Costa Mesa Donald Dungan libraries.