In celebration of Picture Book Month, I’ve yet again reached out to some of my favorite librarians for their takes on the best picture books of 2019. Like my August and October posts, the following are in the words of the librarians themselves.
Category: Children’s Librarians are Experts
The Art of the Con – plan, host, conduct and maintain!
The Art of the Con The Art of the con or convention is a fine art, but thankfully for you fearless reader, we have on hand Elise VanCise, creator and coordinator of the Annual Astor Library Geek Fest, now in its fourth year! Elise is the young adult coordinator for the Astor County Library in sunny Astor, Florida. First Things First! J – For the purposes of this article, we’re going to focus on what it takes to plan, host, conduct and maintain a successful con. But first, what exactly is a Geek Fest and why would a library want to have one? VanCise – Geek Fest is the name we gave to our mini-comic con or convention. It’s a one-day con where we have cosplay, anything you geek is basically our theme – superheroes, science fiction, horror – anything you want! This year we have exhibitors that do everything…
Holy Cupcakes! Batman Turns 80
80 Years of Conceptual Continuity Batman Day is coming up! Are you prepared? Monday, September 16th, 2019 marks the day it all began. The Batman character was born out of tragedy and flew into the psyche of comic book aficionados worldwide.
Readers Advocacy: Book Talking Your Library
National Library week may be over, but the Advocacy and Legislation Committee wants to help you keep the party going at your library. Picture books set in the library highlight the joy and importance of reading. For young children these books guide conversations about familiar experiences and reinforce the relevance of a library in their lives. In short, these books advocate for the library. Below is a limited selection of picture books celebrating the library. Create a display or book talk these titles and let your families inspire their own advocacy for libraries at home! What are some of your favorite picture books that celebrate all things library? Comment below and help our list grow! A Library Book for Bear by Bonny Becker. Illus by Kady McDonald Candlewick Press, 2014 A curmudgeonly bear does not want to go to the library. After all, he as seven perfectly good books at…
STEAM on a Shoestring: Technology
For those of you following my work (well, I can certainly dream I have devoted followers), you may recognize this technology-related post as a continuation of my STEAM on a Shoestring series, all about bringing new life to your old STEAM routine. If you haven’t read the previous two, you can find great Science and Engineering ideas from some of my personal library role models by following the links provided. If you have already read those previous posts, however, you might notice something a little different this time: While previous posts have highlighted the work of numerous library professionals, this one will include lots of ideas from one librarian. Alessandra Affinito is a Senior Children’s Librarian with New York Public Library, and when I think tech programming for kids, I think of her.
Celebrate Tell a Fairy Tale Day in Style
Did you know February 26th is National Tell a Fairy Tale Day? Don’t be embarrassed if you didn’t; fairy tales are my favorite, and even I wasn’t aware until very recently. In fact, my love of fairy tales dates back to long before I became a librarian. It turns out such love isn’t uncommon among children; a recent Brightly article includes quite a bit of anecdotal evidence attesting to children’s passion for magic, escapism, even the “twisted and bizarre,” while this ALSC post from 2015 highlights the universality of these stories.
Calling All Artists!
The ALSC Public Awareness Committee is seeking art submissions from members and non-members alike to support the Championing Children’s Services Toolkit. This advocacy toolkit will go live just in time for ALA Annual and will be a resource for children’s librarians, youth staff, and library advocates like board of trustees and friends of the library groups. The goal of the toolkit is to help communicate to elected officials and other library stakeholders about the crucial work being done in library children’s departments that supports kids and family success.
Teens and Tweens: Large Print Makes a Difference!
Vision Thing Smartphones, tablets, laptops, and netbooks have all revolutionized the world for every age group. For tweens and teens, the effects of hours of utilizing these devices has made a real impact on their vision. The impact on literacy levels has also been noted. Dr. Ralph Chu remarks on one condition called dry eye disease (DED), saying that, “you see (DED) commonly in people who are in their 50’s & 60’s, but now with children who are using their smartphones a lot, we’re seeing this more and more.”So, let’s read up on how large print can make all the difference in this vision thing! Large Print and Learning Believe it or not, larger print has some wonderful advantages, not just for staving off myopia. Struggling readers can benefit significantly from larger print materials. Tween and teen reluctant readers may want to read, but may be finding it difficult. For tween/teen…