I haven’t had this much time off since high school summer vacation. However, a pandemic is a much more stressful than time off school. How did YOU continue being a librarian during this time off? Here’s what I did.
First, I helped with a portion of ALSC’s upcoming Virtual Storytime Services Resource Guide. I am very excited to see the completed work!
I live in Ohio, and thankfully, there were several online networking (and venting/commiserating) opportunities. The State Library of Ohio continues to have a weekly “Ohio Youth Services Meet Up” every Tuesday morning. I cannot tell you how much the sharing and listening that occurs in this meet up has helped me keep my sanity. In addition, the North East Ohio Regional Library System also had a series of meet ups that served the same purpose.
I watched a bunch of free webinars from publishers and publications previewing upcoming book releases. My TBR pile has grown exponentially.
And finally, I read. I know many people have struggled with concentrating enough to read during this uncertain period, but I somehow was able to read more than usual with the extra free time I had. Here are the middle grade titles I read:
Caught! Nabbing History’s Most Wanted by Georgia Bragg
The author of “How They Croaked” and “How They Choked” is back with another irreverent, but researched, history book, this time focusing on how both great criminals and mistreated innocents were brought to “justice.”
My Life as a Potato by Arianne Costner 
Potato-hating Ben Hardy moves to Idaho, and you can imagine that’s…complicated. Trying to prove himself in his new school, he plays a prank that accidentally causes injury to the school’s mascot. Ben’s choice: suspension or become the mascot himself…and it’s a Potato Spud. Can he make it through the basketball season without being discovered?
A Wish in the Dark by Christina Soontornvat 
This book is a delightful Thai-flavored, magical tale inspired by Les Miserables. That was enough for me to pick it up!
Clean Getaway by Nic Stone 
Scoob got in trouble at school. He was defending someone who was being bullied, but his dad won’t listen. So when his grandmother G-Ma pulls up in an RV, Scoob takes off without asking. G-Ma and Scoob are retracing a road trip she and Scoob’s grandfather never finished by in the 1960’s, using the couple’s own Green Book. See, G-Ma is white, and her husband was black, so the Green Book was needed to travel safely. But Scoob notices that something is up with G-Ma. For one thing, she dined and dashed at a restaurant! Can he solve the mystery before they are caught?
Echo Mountain by Lauren Wolk 
Ellie and her family moved to the side of a mountain after losing their home in the Great Depression. Ellie thrives in her new life, but her mom and sister struggle. When an accident puts her father in a coma, Ellie’s penchant for healing is tested as she asks the mountain’s mysterious “hag” for help.
How did you spend your time off? Any books you loved?
This post addresses the core competencies of IV. Knowledge, Curation, and Management of Materials and VII. Professionalism and Professional Development.