I am afraid to put up a Pride display. That feels unprofessional to admit, but it’s true. I live and work in a very liberal area, and yet I am still afraid. From book bans to anti-trans bills to storytime protests, it is a very scary time to be under the LGBTQIA umbrella, an umbrella that feels paper thin against the onslaughts of contemporary hatred. This June, let us shine a light on books of queer joy. That joy can be so hard to keep alight on our own.
Category: Diversity
Universal Design in Storytimes-An Open Invitation to Play!
Have you ever broken a bone? Or accidentally injured your eye and needed to wear a patch? If so, you may have unexpectedly developed empathy for individuals who navigate everyday life with disabilities. Using universal design to create storytimes events helps libraries plan for successful participation and play. By using universal design, all people are assured opportunities to engage at the library!
Celebrating the Week of the Young Child 2023
The Week of the Young Child aims to focus attention on the importance of the early childhood stage, recognize the value of early childhood programs, and community services that support young children and their families.
Commitment to a Library for ALL
Libraries are for everyone! All are welcome at the library! If you work in any type of library, especiallypublic libraries, you most likely have heard or seen this message. As a member of the ALSC Program Coordinating Committee, I find it incredibly meaningful to play a role in selecting sessions that are presented at the annual library conference and to have the opportunity to review conference proposals with an equity lens. Every year librarians and educators from all over the country earnestly attend the ALA conference to hear about how they can positively grow and impact their communities and I sincerely believe that attendees will appreciate the diverse and inclusive ALSC sessions that will be presented in Chicago this upcoming June. Among those sessions will be, “Transforming Everyday Spaces: Deepening Equity in Early ChildhoodLearning” presented by Elizabeth McChesney. As the liaison for this program, I would like to encourageconference participants…
Summer Reading Crunch Time Décor!
Summer Reading Crunch Time! By now, you should have a pretty good idea of what your SRP program for 2023 looks like. You’ve got your performers lined up, got your giveaway items and prizes. However, let’s say you are like me and are biting off that proverbial chew of decorating the children’s section. I am in the lucky position of having two whole small branch libraries that I get to help decorate for summer reading; that was sarcasm. That aside, it occurred to me to write a bit about the creative process. My painting students are frequently treated to it, so I thought of you, the audience at home. It’s Always a Process and Frequently Involves Cardboard This process gives a few options and rely on just a few factors. Here’s a flowchart for you to guide you! If you dawdle and or procrastinate, here is what your creative process…
Celebrating Board Books for Babies
Every year, I teach a survey of children’s literature class to MLIS students. After I have covered the history of children’s publishing, and children’s literacy development, I spend a whole class on books for babies. It’s one of my favourite classes because I get to bring an enormous stack of baby books to class and teach my students all about them. Reading to babies I start out by reminding them that human babies are born totally helpless and frankly – they don’t care what anyone reads to them. That being said, babies do want and need to be held and touched and interacted with. Books designed for babies do seem to offer parents and caregivers a nice way of doing just that: holding, touching, and interacting with their babies from their earliest days onwards. When babies are born, their vision is not fully developed so high contrast books with very clear and spare black…
Easy Puppetry From the Shadows
So, coming up this Friday I’m going to be in Ocala for the 2023 TBLC KidsLit MiniCon. For the first time, I’m doing a workshop all about shadow puppetry. Of course, it’s made easy! Moreover, I’m bringing my own brand of shadow puppetry, one that combines many styles and forms of this ancient art. Taking your show on the electronic highway Shadow puppetry enjoys a history that stretches back to time immemorial. Today, we have theability to create, share and present wonderful shadow puppets and entire shows utilizing 3-D printingmethods in person and online. Shadow puppet creation used to take hours of painstaking work withscissors and exacto knives and result in workable but fragile products. The average professional handpuppet today costs upward of $30, while a 3-D printed shadow puppet costs pennies. Here are two (2) I’ve printed: Since most shadow puppet screens/theaters are big rectangles, just zoom in on…
LGBT Books in Storytime
Include all families in your storytimes by making sure that you’re including LGBT books in storytime. According to Family Equality, between 2 million to 3.7 million American children under age 18 have an LGBTQ+ parent. An estimated 29% of LGBTQ+ adults are raising a child and many more than that have nieces, nephews, or other children in their lives. Chances are, you have a family coming to your storytimes that would appreciate seeing themselves or their family member represented! But what do you read?