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Last week I was invited to tell stories at a local preschool. I gathered up some puppets, a few books, a handful of flannel stories and my portable felt board, and loaded up my car. It was snowing when I left, so the drive was a little white-knuckled, but by the time I arrived, the snow had cleared, and the roads were fine. I walked in to a warm room filled with noise and scissors and crayons and dress-up and laughter. “She’s here! She’s here!” they shouted and the child care workers proceeded to round them up and get them into a circle. I started with a book, just to test the waters. I knew I was in the right place when they shouted “Another!” as soon as I closed the book. I told them a puppet story. We sang a song. I did a flannel story. We read another book. I did another puppet story. I told them “The Wide Mouthed Frog”. Then a fingerplay story (anybody know Mr. Wiggle and Mr. Waggle?) Another flannel. At this point, they are still shouting “Another!” I read another book, and was nearly out of ideas (and voice) when I decided to try a longer story on them. I had recently used Margaret Read MacDonald’s Conejito : a folktale from Panama at storytime, and I’ve been fortunate to hear the story told several times by the brilliant Jen and Nat Whitman, so I thought I could pull it off. It was a rousing fun version, even if I did forget to include one character. The kids loved it and when we all got up at the end to dance and say “OOH LA LA”, I knew it was a success. The lovely posterboard card they made for me as a thank you was sweet, but their shouts for one more story made my day.

Not often do I wholeheartedly approve of a book-to-movie production, but upon seeing HUGO, the movie adaptation of Brian Selznick’s The Invention of Hugo Cabret, I felt like shouting “Bravo!” I have to drive at least 30 minutes to get to a movie theatre, so I must admit that I don’t get out much to experience the silver screen. Most often, what I do see is based on books I’ve read. The last few movies I took the trouble to go see were Harry Potter or Twilight films. I just wait for the DVD (sitting at home on my couch with a stack of good books, this is easy to do). But when I saw the previews for Hugo, I knew I had to make the effort to go see this film – because when I first read the book, I thought, “Wonder who is going to make this movie?” Some books you just know are destined for the big screen – they are that good. Some books feel like they were written in hopes of finding themselves on the big screen – they are that bad. Selznick’s book is perfect as a book – the illustrations and text make a winning (excuse the Caldecott pun, folks) combination. I even loved the audio of The Invention of Hugo Cabret – it does make a good story, even without the illustrations. The visuals, though, are what make the story rich and filled with even more life. And that’s just what the movie did—took these brilliant black and white illustrations and built on them with a bit of movie magic and a stellar cast. I can hardly wait for the DVD to come out so that I can watch the movie at home with book in hand to compare the visual scenes in the movie with the visual scenes in the book. I’m not in the least surprised that this movie has Oscar nominations. I’m just glad that the little gold statue will bring even more attention to that genre we all love so well—good books for kids. Bravo!

I recently had the pleasure of attending a bilingual conference here in Nova Scotia called Celebrating Communities. When wearing my Teen Librarian hat, I am involved in a group called BaM! Body And Mind, a collaborative program that encourages youth to be active, in well, both body and mind. Our program was a finalist for one of the Celebrating Communities awards. We didn’t win, but that isn’t really what matters, because everyone at this conference was a winner. I know that sounds cliché, but in this case, I found it to be true. This was not a library conference. But it had everything to do with libraries, because we spent 3 days celebrating the best of the community we were in. The conference is presented every 2 years, and a different community is chosen to host and be highlighted. The thing I really came back from this conference with was the idea of CELEBRATING. I heard very little grousing in the 3 days I was at this conference. The idea of “Celebrating” really took hold, and besides hearing from speakers who regaled us with the stories of their successes, the participants all had good things to talk about. In these times of economic uncertainty and money woes, it was refreshing to be amongst folks who have hope, good ideas, and a real ambition to make their communities thrive. And while libraries were not on the agenda, several of the presenters mentioned libraries, because we all know that the library can be a pillar of the community. Let’s all remember to celebrate that, every day, even in small ways. So go on, celebrate YOUR community. Celebrate your library, because you never know who it is that you are helping, it could be the next Bill Gates, or maybe even Vernon d’Eon. (Yes, you are going to have to do some research to find out who Vernon d’Eon is!)

When people who don’t know what a librarian does ask me if I get to sit and read all day, I tell them no. But I do get to read, and the best part is when those boxes of new books come in. And yes, it is like Christmas when those boxes get opened up. I even have to make myself wait until the folks over at Technical Services have finished their process—unpacking and ticking off the pack list. But once those books are on the cart, I can barely contain myself. I have to peek! Sometimes, it is like the Sears Wish-book. I just browse through, looking at glossy pictures and beautiful illustrations, mentally marking the books I want to spend more time with. Sometimes, I sneak a book to my desk . I beg for the extra copy so I can take it home and read it while they get the cataloging finished. I find little treasures unexpected, and occasionally, the thing I was hoping for turns out to be a bit of a let-down. And yes, I get paid to do this. It is my job to recommend books to children and families and doctors and child care providers and grandparents, so I need to be familiar with the literature. Getting paid to read? That’s the real gift!

Coming back from ALA is always time for reflection. When the conference is in a city like New Orleans, one of my favorite cities in the world, the reflection includes fun times, music, and great food. But this ALA conference was a little different for me. As a member of the 2011 Laura Ingalls Wilder Committee, I got to meet and spend a little time with our chosen awardee, Tomie dePaola. Not only did I get to have lunch with a legend in children’s literature, I got to meet a really nice, interesting, and fun man. Tomie dePaola is gracious — he was so genuinely happy to win the Wilder Award, and treated our committee with nearly as much awe as we have for him. I can honestly say that serving on the Wilder committee has been one of the shining moments in my career as a librarian. With the daunting task of reading, for TWO years, the complete works of quite a few heavy hitters in children’s lit, I thought it might sometimes get tiring. It never did. Even though I missed out on some of the new books I wanted to read, and even though I declined many an invite in favor of staying home to read a stack of books, it was a truly wonderful and eye-opening experience, shared with four other insightful and brilliant people. The rewards of choosing Tomie dePaola certainly became clear to me after our announcement was made public. So many people agreed with us! Our committee was quite proud to come to the conclusion that for the five people sitting in that hotel room in San Diego, the right, perfect choice was Tomie dePaola. So if you’ve read this far and are still wondering what exactly the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award is for, think of it as a lifetime achievement award for children’s book authors and illustrators. The official definition states that the award, given every two years, “honors an author or illustrator whose books, published in the United States, have made, over a period of years, a substantial and lasting contribution to literature for children.” For more information, here’s the link on the ALSC site. If you are a member of ALSC, you can help the 2013 committee by sending suggestions to Martha Parravano, the chair of the 2013 committee at [email protected]. And I highly recommend that you go read every Tomie dePaola book you can get your hands on, all at once, and immerse yourself in the mastery of storytelling and illustration that his books provide. Congratulations, once again, Tomie dePaola!

When I go to the garden to weed, I head straight for the pesky dandelions, the tenacious goutweed, the strong-willed plantains. I know what to pull, and I have no qualms. When I go to the shelves of the library, the weeds are a bit trickier. Some are easy to spot – those books with covers from the 80’s that haven’t checked out in years, the tattered covers that yell “Please, get me out of here!”, the series that you’ve never heard of, and apparently, neither have the kids who browse. Some are harder, like the Mildred Taylor book you read long ago and just know someone would appreciate, or the Mollie Hunter book that now lies on your desk, to take home and devour. This time I’m being ruthless. If it hasn’t checked out in 3 years, it is Off The Island. Some things have surprised me, though. Sweet Valley High, Encyclopedia Brown, and Goosebumps are still on the Island. Mary Kate and Ashley are slipping away without notice, Sleepover Friends are sleeping with the fishes, Gary Paulsen’s Culpepper series is off, accompanied by Peck’s Soup. Nancy Drew is still in charge of the mysteries, and the Hardy Boys are right in there with her. The Babysitters Club is holding on, but the knock-off series from that same era are gone (anyone remember Silver Blades?). As I fill box after box my mind begins to wander. Do authors feel a twinge when I remove every single book of their once-popular series off the shelf? Does the whole shelf of Dianne Wynne-Jones books nearly falling onto my head tell me something? (I kept most of those). I think I need a break—time to go wash the grime of well-loved reading off my hands and get a fresh perspective before I dive back in!

It always a busy week – but the kind of busy that makes a children’s librarian smile. Tuesday night, I was invited to read at the local Family Resource Centre. 20 kids in their PJ’s listened and sang along with “Pickin’ Peas” by Margaret Read MacDonald. Wednesday, I was at an elementary school, with 148 students in grades Primary through 3 (that’s K-3 for those who don’t speak Nova Scotian). With 5 different groups I read “Anansi and the Moss-Covered Rock” by Eric Kimmel, and then re-enacted it with puppets. Tomorrow night I’ll be telling a story at the Ceilidh being held at one of our branches. All across Canada, libraries, schools, and other family-centered organizations are holding celebrations, sing-alongs and special storytimes to commemorate literacy. It is a very feel-good holiday here in the land of snow and cold temps, something to warm our souls in the height of winter. This year, the theme is “Sing for Literacy”, which has been a lot of fun. Everyone loves music, and Nova Scotians love it more than the average bear. We’ve had great turnout for our sing-alongs and campfires. One branch created a fake fire and after songs and stories around the fire, distributed sticks and marshmallows. Anyone who sees a group of kids with real sticks and marshmallows pretending to roast them over a tissue-paper fire has got to admit that libraries do great things. Not only do we offer amazing deals on books (free), and a gaggle of other resources, we build imaginations. This is the stuff that dreams are made of. I just love libraries. And Family Literacy Day is pretty cool, too.