Blogger Jonathan Dolce

Summer READing Gazette – ideas, inspiration and news!

father and daughter reading a book together at the beach

Summer READing Gazette Issue 1 v.1 Summer READing is nigh! Here’s some great entertainment, book, and programming news and ideas to tantalize and inspire! If not just totally distract you from stress! ; )) All Things Comics A new Black Panther comics series is launching in August. What the WarnerMedia/Discovery merger might mean for DC Comics. Legendary Comics announces a new YA imprint, which will launch with five original comic series. The best new YA graphic novels to read right now. Graphic Novel About Freddie Mercury Coming This Fall — Queen frontman Freddie Mercury is getting a graphic novel this fall. The rock legend will be the subject of Freddie Mercury: Lover of Life, Singer of Songs, a graphic novel written by comic book author Tres Dean. Publisher Z2 Comics says in a press release posted on Queen’s official website: “For the first time in comics format, Freddie Mercury: Lover of Life, Singer of Songs will be a journey through Freddie’s life; from…

Blogger Maria Trivisonno

StoryWalk® Talk

When in-person programming, and indeed even being inside the library, came to a screeching halt in March, at-home librarians across the country began brainstorming ways to reach their customers.  At Cuyahoga County Public Library in suburban Cleveland, Ohio, a group came together to create multiple StoryWalk® opportunities around the county.  According to its website, “StoryWalk® was created by Anne Ferguson of Montpelier, VT and has developed with the help of Rachel Senechal, Kellogg-Hubbard Library.”  Anyone is free to use the idea if the walk includes a statement with the walk.  An FAQ that answers many questions is found here.  I’ve been at my current branch for a year, and in that time, I had played with the idea of a StoryWalk®.  A city-owned path runs behind the library, and it is frequented by people all year round (and in Northeast Ohio winters, that says something).  Not being able to program…

Blogger Jonathan Dolce

Imagine Your COVID Summer Slide Story!

Darth Vader reading on a playground slide

Imagine Your COVID Summer Slide Story? Summer slide in the age of COVID.  I don’t think anyone can really imagine what this summer will look like in terms of a summer reading program for any age group.  The show must go on, though – so let’s imagine your story together! Scheduling Scheduling a time for your summer reading program is essential.  Pick you set of dates, beginning and ending, as well as your “big” program days.  You’ve had some practice with online programming by now.  Now, just do it bigger! Space Familiarity is critical for your audience.  It gives a sense of anticipation, a recognizable (or branding) setting, and a reassuring repetition.  If the space you’ve been using for online programming isn’t as polished as you’d like it, time to refine!  Sound problems?  Get them ironed out!  This is crunch time! Supplies Your list of supplies this summer is going…

Blogger Building Partnerships committee

Enhancing the Mind-Body Connection in Your Storytime

Long stretches of sitting can leave grown-ups stiff and little ones antsy.  Since exercise is known to boost children’s cognitive performance as well as stimulate their brain growth (Dewar 2015), why not incorporate some gentle movement into your next story break?  Tai chi, yoga, and your own creative take on physical expression can build the mind-body connection, and successful partnerships between multi-hyphenate authors, elementary educators, a public library, and a local nonprofit offer a roadmap for recreating a movement-filled storytime in your own space. If this is your first time incorporating movement into your classroom or library read-aloud, try starting with a book that will offer you and the children some basic guidance.  When an opportunity arose to bring author Sylvia Liu to a classroom for a tai chi-based book presentation in the spring of 2017, children’s literacy nonprofit An Open Book Foundation (AOB), which brings authors, illustrators, and their…

Blogger Angela Reynolds

Walking the StoryWalk â„¢

About 6 months ago, I heard about this cool thing from my friend Kirsten Cappy at Curious City called StoryWalk. For those of you who did not click on the links, here’s the lowdown: a picture book is put, page by page, onto signs and is installed along a walking path. You can do it the original way that they did it in Vermont, by purchasing 2 copies of a book and cutting the pages out and laminating them (which is a great, great idea!). Or you can do it the way Kirsten did it, which is the way we did it: we got publisher permission and replicated the book onto signs, and added some fun physical activities to each sign. Adding these movement activities made the project enticing to our local health boards, and an organization called Active Kids Healthy Kids, which is where we got the funding to…