So many books, so little time! As a youth librarian doing tons of reader advisory, I want to read more of the books in our collection. Librarians know what is popular with kids, but avid readers have already read all of those. I want to be able to recommend books to everyone who comes in and I feel like I need to read more children’s books to successfully do that. I started this journey by reading some physical copies and listening to some audiobooks. Peeking through the new books and reading their summaries and their professional reviews is a great place to start. Reading a few chapters and diving into the stories we purchase for our patrons is even more helpful. I don’t do all of the ordering for our library system and don’t always know what books are coming in. If a child asks for a book about magic,…
Successfully Reaching Out to Families
As Family Engagement Specialist for my library system, I spend a lot of time considering how best to keep families notified of upcoming events.
Ready Ideas for Ready to Read: TALK
In the first of a five part series, learn about ways to incorporate the Every Child Ready to Read practice TALK into your daily work.
Misnamed and Mispronounced: Picture Books
Along with a change of seasons, September also brings many other changes: a new school or new school year, new routines, new teachers, and new classmates, just to name a few. Although often exciting and enjoyable, for some children the new school year can also be stressful and anxiety provoking if their names are challenging for their teachers and classmates to pronounce. Some questions that children in these situations might be grappling with are: Will my new teacher be able to say and spell my name? Will the other kids be able to remember my name? Can or should I change my name to make it easier for everyone else? An article in the following NEA Today Newsletter, Why Pronouncing Students’ Names Correctly is So Important, discusses the emotional toll experienced by children when year after year they must contend with teachers and classmates who repeatedly misname them. For further…
Remember That Day When…
It was awesome. Twenty-four kids who met 45 minutes earlier, were all cheering for each other as they took turns throwing underwear into a cardboard toilet. Their shouts of victory when the lid closed on the toilet with each slam dunk shot is legendary. The joy the library brought to these kids that day and to this librarian was immense. Working in a library has those moments. There are spots of joy and success that stick with us as we venture through the years. The Captain Underpants program with the milk-crate toilet was held over sixteen years ago and it has stuck with me. I also often recall the outreach event at which I watched a colleague bravely sing camp songs to a packed room of kids and parents. She held everyone’s attention. It was amazing! We ran out of flyers at our library’s information table that night. These memories…
More about the Bechtel Fellowship!
Are you familiar with ALSC’s Bechtel Fellowship? (Maybe you saw yesterday’s blog post?) The grant provides up to $7,500 to a children’s librarian to spend up to four weeks reading and studying at the Baldwin Library of Historical Children’s Literature (University of Florida, Gainesville), which contains a special collection of 130,000 volumes of children’s literature published mostly before 1950. Now, if your response to that is, “Nirvana!,” then maybe it’s time for you to seriously consider applying for the Fellowship. Is the Bechtel for Me? I know; it’s a big commitment. You may not be ready to take the plunge just yet. But this post provides food for thought if you’re contemplating this opportunity and even if you’re not quite there yet! Christina H. Dorr, 2010 Bechtel Fellowship recipient, shared her experience recently for the ALSC Blog. In a sidebar to Charmette Kendrick’s (2007 recipient) Children and Libraries (CAL) article,…
Apply Now for Bechtel Fellowship
Now is the time to get lost in a good book (or a few thousand of them)! Applications for the Bechtel Fellowship are now being accepted.
Bring on the Night: Perfect Picture Books for Bedtime and Anytime
The arrival of shorter days and longer nights up here in the Northern hemisphere is a bit of conundrum for me. I love the autumn weather and watching the trees change color but seriously do not love getting up for work while it’s still dark outside. However, all year round I love picture books featuring night-time themes. It might have something to do with how easy it is to recommend them as bedtime stories. It makes sense that reading books that take place at night will suit the situation of getting kids ready for bed as the sun goes down. Or, perhaps I am just into the visual aesthetic of night-time scenes and enjoy the many creative ways that illustrators portray them with shadows and glowing images. Whatever the reasons, I thought this was the perfect time of year to share some of my favorite night-themed picture-books with you all. Noisy Night by…