…then for some unfathomable reason I say that “some families decide to get kids a card when they’re 8 or 10, but some might decide that 4 or 5 is old enough.†And just like that, I’ve lost them. All they care about now is telling me a) how old they are; b) how old they used to be; c) how old they will be soon; and/or d) how old their brother/sister/dog/cat is/was/will be.
Author: Steven Engelfried
Steven Engelfried works in the Early Childhood Resources Department of the Multnomah County Library as a Raising A Reader Coordinator. He's been a youth librarian for 21+ years, and especially enjoys reader's advisory and telling stories with puppets.
My Multicultural Extra
I have read a lot of multicultural books, but haven’t thought that much about the field of multicultural education, which is filled with theories, clashing philosophies, and plenty of controversy. So now, besides reading and rereading multicultural books, I’m also reading textbooks and academic articles and scholarly arguments.
The Reader’s Advisory Paradox
To be really good at reader’s advisory, you have to read a lot of books. But the more books you read, the harder is to keep them all straight so you can do effective reader’s advisory.
Two Boys, Two Dads, One Book, and a Librarian
I expected the older and wiser fathers to mention something about the crucial role of marketing in a capitalist society. But instead, one of the dads totally agreed that the money that guy made was unfair, then shared his own irritation at modern hip hop musicians who lift samples from the works of truly creative musicians, and then get all the credit.
Where did that reference section disappear to?
It wasn’t just the book I couldn’t locate, though. The whole reference section was missing. Just about where the R500’s used to be I spotted a half-dozen Large Type Barbara Cartland books and realized that something was definitely not right.
“You’ll Really Like This Character…” (I hope)
My favorite 2007 characters include a girl who chases chickens (I like Miss Hen a lot too)…, two boat-loving twins with a language of their own…, a girl who masters a Neil Diamond song on an organ…, and a dog who serves in the Vietnam War… (
Pretend You’re Four and I’ll Read You a Story
by Steven Engelfried A couple weeks ago I pulled out one of my all-time favorite picture books and shared it with a group: Fortunately by Remy Charlip. They seemed to enjoy it. They laughed at the right places, had some good guesses when asked “what unfortunate thing do you think he’ll find in the water?” (“Sharks? Pirates? Oil Spill?”) And when Ned finally arrived at his own surprise birthday party at the end, they seemed as satisfied as most kids are every time I read the book. The difference, though, is that this was an audience of grown ups. One of my favorite tasks of my job in the Early Childhood Outreach department is doing educational presentations for parents. When a Head Start or a childcare center has a Parent Night (or Parent Day, or Parent whenever), we do our best to share information about why it’s so important to…
Puppet Population Control
…And I’ve been coming home with puppets I don’t really need, like that beaver, which is a fine beaver, but really no better than the beaver I already have, and don’t use that much anyway. Or the large lion which was a terrific bargain, but exactly identical to the lion puppet I already had, and I don’t see those two ever sharing the stage together.