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A children’s librarian’s basket of professional responsibilities often overflows with programming demands and story time schedules. Initially, it may appear impossible to carve out time for training amidst preparing for the next presentation or serving the latest day care, but it’s valuable that we recognize how critical regular training is to our effectiveness in reaching our communities. What training do you hope to add to your basket of professional development? Summer reading workshops, departmental classes, and powerful partnerships will aid us in meeting staff needs.

Sweet Summer Reading

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Fairly soon, a youth services librarian’s busiest time of year will be upon us: the season of summer reading. To encourage and equip staff to meet these demands, the State Library of North Carolina offers summer reading workshops. These one day events provide a variety of sessions for staff serving tots through teens. Some course offerings focus on program logistics, such as how to develop a baby summer reading program, and other sessions highlight a specific type of programming related to the summer reading theme. A popular workshop component includes the summer reading showcase and features professional performers who share their shows with librarians interested in booking these performances for their libraries. These summer reading workshops serve as a valuable training staple for youth services staff within all sizes of public libraries across our state.

Internal Offerings

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Internal training is another valuable resource to place in our professional basket. Whether training is seamlessly introduced through one-on-one instruction or small classes, system-driven training remains critical when determining the effectiveness of staff’s interaction with the public. In addition to two mornings of professional development and classes offered throughout the year, our library gears biannual training specifically toward the needs of youth services staff. Staff suggestions during our Youth Services Advisory Council meetings give youth services managers the forum to provide recommendations of future training topics to strengthen their skill sets. Our spring youth services training will focus on coding programs to enhance staff comfort so we may increase these program offerings for children and teens at our various library branches.

Powerful Partnerships

Youth services partnerships, whether they are with local agencies or other library departments, frequently identity training needs. Conversations with other professionals serving children and teens offer chances to brainstorm, collaborate and to recognize areas of concern within our communities. One example of this partnership is the library’s involvement with the Child Advocacy Center. The Child Advocacy Center provides Darkness to Light training for library staffers who provide youth reference services to assist our employees in recognizing the signs of childhood sexual abuse and to minimize the opportunities for trauma.

Training experiences, found through summer reading workshops, departmental classes, and valuable community partnerships, provide a plethora of rich resources to aid in staff development. How does training strengthen the skills of staff in your communities?  What type of training do you want to place in your professional development basket? Please share in the comments below!

The post A Tisket, a Tasket, Put Training in Your Basket appeared first on ALSC Blog.

Onward!  If you’re following along with my anti-SRC rants, we’ve arrived at Part III.  If you’re not, here’s Part I and Part II.

So our summer plan is shaping up.  We’ve decided to totally forgo a kickoff (gasp!) and just jump right in.  Last month (in Part II) I asked some questions about tracking and registration.  After some discussion here at my library, we’ve decided to cut the registration completely.  We’re not asking anyone their name, age, school, email or address. It’s a risk, but we’re willing to try it out.  I think one of the irritations for families is the registration process which (if you’re anything like the libraries in my county) seems to change every single year.  So we’re just going to let people start reading!  And as registration goes hand in hand with tracking, we’ve also given some serious thought to the tracking process.  That can be quite a drag too for many families.  So instead of having families record their reading in any of the traditional models (online, paper form, etc.) we’re doing it like this:

• Each age group in our library will be assigned a color (read-to-me, school age, middle grade, teen and even adult!) and we’ll have 5 bins of Lego organized by color at the circ desk.
• People will come to the library when they’re ready for more books.  They’ll tell our friendly circ staff how many books they’ve just finished (library books and/or non-library books!) and then they’ll grab that amount of Lego in their corresponding color and head off to add to our communal Lego structure.
• We’ll have this Lego structure running all summer long (through Labor Day) somewhere in the library for the public to watch grow.

Here’s what I think will be fascinating and super-cool about this approach:  at the end of the season, we’ll have an amazing 3D info-graphic-structure that will provide us with a nice snapshot of how the community read this summer!  If you can picture it, they’ll probably be a ton of one color (picture books, read to me), a good amount of another color (school age) and probably a smattering (or more!) of the other colors (middle grade, teen, adult).  In my own reading life, I have to say, as an adult, I’d be pretty excited about participating in this kind of thing.  No hassle but something interactive nonetheless to be a part of.  We’re also thinking that we can get some teens to count each color at summer’s end.

As you can imagine, we’re doing away with prizes as well.  Again, our thinking on this is that we really want, as librarians, to stand firm on the fact that reading should be its own reward.  And in that same vein, we’ll be keeping a cart of free books near the Lego structure so that kids/teens can take a free book when they reach their own reading goal(s).  So we have really pared down our infrastructure on this program.  I like to think we’re allowing reading to take a bit of a back seat to what we think is becoming an even stronger focus of summer: learning.  So we’re also changing the name.  It’s now our Summer Learning Program (SLP).  Next month: let’s talk programming!

I know there are plenty of other schools of thought on this and I want to hear them!  What do you think about this disruptive stuff vs. the traditional SRP model?

The post Continuing The Anti-Summer Reading Rant, Plan and Discussion appeared first on ALSC Blog.

The ALSC Board of Directors and ALSC President Andrew Medlar will be hosting an ALSC Community Forum live chat on the topic of summer reading & learning. This forum will include a live text discussion with the newly appointed ALSC Summer Reading & Learning Task Force.

Join us to discuss how libraries across the country are finding new and engaging ways to keep kids reading and learning in their communities and explore ways in which ALSC can help assist members in their work.

ALSC’s next forum will be held on Thursday, February 25, 2016 at:

• 2pm Eastern
• 1pm Central
• 12pm Mountain
• 11am Pacific

Members are invited to check out the National Summer Learning Association’s new Summer Learning Policy Snapshot in preparation for this discussion.

Accessing the Forum

ALSC Community Forums take place on Adobe Connect. A few days prior to the event, ALSC members will receive an email with a URL link to the forum. You can also find a direct link to the forum from the Community Forum site (member login required). A recorded webcast of the forum will be available after the live session has completed.

Participate via Twitter

Members who cannot participate in the live chat can participate via Twitter using the hashtag #alscforum. Questions and answers will be submitted to the forum as time allows.

Questions? Contact ALSC Membership and Marketing Manager, Dan Bostrom or by phone, 800-545-2433 ext 2164.

The post Join the ALSC Community Forum on Summer Reading & Learning appeared first on ALSC Blog.

You may remember my post from last month about my library tossing the traditional approach to our Summer Reading Club.  We’ve had a few brainstorming sessions and it’s already feeling really different.  Our conversations about it feel lighter, more exciting, more engaging. While we’re not total renegades, we have decided to completely do away with registration for the reading portion.  And we’re still ramping up our programming, but we’re really looking at how and why to track participants’ reading progress.  For years, I’ve battled the dastardly demons of registration and tracking.

Should we register and track online?  Should we go old school and do paper logs?  Family registrations?  Should we track hours or titles?  Should we ask for addresses?  Should participants have to create usernames and passwords?  Should we offer incentives?  Cheap trinkets or gift certificates?  A grand prize?

The registration part is really there for us the librarians and our obsession with numbers. And those numbers are usually needed to satisfy state reports (and that’s a whole separate blog post: What SRC Stats Do States Track and Why AND How Has That Data Gathering Shaped And Limited Our SRCs?)   State reports are just not enough reason to keep doing it the same way every year.  Sorry Pennsylvania!

I get that tracking can be beneficial and motivating.  And perhaps for many of our patrons it is.  But I (and many others) would argue that the model we’ve been using is inherently designed for motivated readers. Would those kids read without your program?  I know as a kid, I was thrilled to be anywhere (my bedroom, the beach, the pool, the park) with a good book (and I was never part of a library program).  But there are plenty of kids where that’s not the case.  So how can we support (easily, simply and effectively) our dear motivated readers and more importantly, how can we support the kids where books aren’t one of summertime’s allures?  How can we make summer super-simple and energizing, full of learning and brain-expansion?  Is the current SRC structure reaching the kids who need us the most?

These are the questions I ‘m putting front and center as we start planning our summer program. I don’t know if our new approach will change the answers, but I think it’s worth mixing it up to see what happens.

The post Asking the Hard Questions: SRC Tracking and Registration appeared first on ALSC Blog.

OK, not totally down with it, but now that I have your attention…  see, at my library, we’re looking hard at what our SRC has become and asking ourselves what we really want for the kids in our community over the summer.  And I’m not sorry to say, it’s a heckuva lot more than sitting in a room reading 30 books over the summer – and maybe (eek!) it’s not that at all!

For about 5 years now, I’ve felt like the traditional SRC structure is outdated and only serving avid/passionate readers.  And frankly, those readers will read no matter what. What I want for my kids in the summer, is great ways to have fun, get engaged, get involved, meet new people, relax, and through allllllllllll of that, maybe learn a few things. But see, it’s the fun, engaging, involved, meeting and relaxing bits I want to focus on.  The reading comes after…or, not at all.  I know that’s an insane thing to say as a librarian. But I’m thinking if we get kids interested in doing stuff, then perhaps we can sell them on reading about that stuff they’re doing!  And if not, well, they’re still learning and that’s ultimately what we want.

So we’re not even going to take registrations for a reading club this year. Cough cough. That’s right.  In fact, I wouldn’t even say we’re doing a ‘reading club’ this summer.  We’re headed away from all that in a big way.  We’re looking at Maker, STEAM and Digital Learning, people.  Bring it ON!

I live in a city where we have a Hive Learning network which is part of a larger ReMake Learning movement in Pittsburgh for kids K-12.  And last summer, our city and a ton of organizations (including a few libraries) did the City of Learning thang.  6 cities in the country are involved so I feel pretty darn lucky to have something like this to plug into.

So.

My staff and I are starting a 4-month journey away from SRC.  We’re packing up and heading out.  I think we’re done here and we’re ready to break out and start a revolution. I’ll be posting in February, March, April and May about what we’re doing (who knows!), where we’re headed (who knows!) and how it’s going to work (who knows!)  Maybe you’d like to tag along.

The post I’m Saying It: Down with Summer Reading Club appeared first on ALSC Blog.

Summer reading. We all do it! We all spend so much energy, creativity, resources, and sanity on this one extraordinary time of year to promote the joy of reading and learning in our communities and to combat the summer slide. As we wrapped up summer reading this year my team and I were wondering about what other libraries were up to during this crazy busy season. We sent out a survey and 59 libraries responded. Here is what they had to say.

To Theme or not to Theme?

37.5% of respondents use the CLSP theme for summer reading, 18.75% use the iRead theme, 18.75% selected “other,” 12.5% create their own themes and 12.5% don’t use a theme at all. One Canadian respondent uses the TD summer reading club site (http://www.tdsummerreadingclub.ca/).

When does summer start?

13.33% start registration on the last day of school for their district, 13.33% start on the Monday after the last day of school, 26.67% of our respondents catch em’ before school ends, and 46.67% selected “other” with the most common response being June 1st.

How many weeks of programming do you offer in the summer session?

40% of respondents offer 8 weeks of programming in the summer session and 6.67% offer 6 weeks, but several noted in the comments field that they offer 9 weeks, and there were a few stalwart souls who offer 11 or 12 weeks.

Pete the Cat storytime (Photo courtesy guest blogger)

Can participants log reading for a longer period of time than you offer summer classes and events?

46.67% of respondents said yes, while 53.33% end it all at the same time. Several libraries commented that they extend logging for a week or so after programming ends.

Do you require a library card for participants to…

Only one library required a card for participants to log reading and/or activities. Two respondents require library cards for participants to attend high demand programs, classes or events. 80% of respondents do not require a card to log reading or attend programs.

What do you track?

78.57% track time spent reading or listening to books and 35.71% track titles read. None of our respondents track pages read. 42.86% also track learning activities, challenges, or anything other than reading. In our library, we decided to track learning activities in addition to reading because we wanted to recognize and encourage the learning taking place around our city all summer long. Several respondents commented that they track early literacy activities for pre-readers. One library shared that they have a Summer STEM program with this great quote: “Students do five STEM explorations to get a science themed prize. The goal this year was for kids to recognize that many of the activities they already enjoy, like playing with LEGO blocks or catching hermit crabs, are STEM related, and that science isn’t just something you do in a classroom.” Several respondents commented that they give credit for program attendance and bonus activities completed that are tied to their themes or that encourage participants to check out library resources like STEM kits, e-books or audiobooks.

Do you set a reading goal for participants, or can they choose their own goal?

64.29% set a reading goal for participants and 35.71% have participants choose their own goals. Set goals included amounts of time like 600 minutes of reading for all age groups, 5 hours or 30 minutes each day.

One library commented that they set a goal of 3000 books to be read by all of their participants. They did not set individual goals. “Some kids read 1 book, while others read 30. The kids smashed the goal with a final total of 3621.” Another library noted that participants can read more than the set goal, but additional prizes are not awarded. A respondent said that they ask students to read 2.5 hours as a goal, but participants can complete the goal as many times as they’d like over whatever time period they’d like. A library that encourages participants to set their own goals commented that the “participants decide how many books they would like to read (or listen to, if they’re not yet reading) during the summer months. We don’t hold customers to their goal-if a child sets their goal too high and doesn’t reach it, they can still claim their participation prize.” Another library stated that “in special circumstances, individuals that feel they need to set higher or lower goals for themselves are allowed to do so.”

If you offer summer reading online, what do you think of the software product you are using?

There appears to be some frustration out there about online summer reading options. Several libraries mentioned wanting more customization, family registration options, a less cumbersome registration process, simpler logging procedures or a more user friendly product. Positive comments on summer reading software included liking the online compilation of statistics and helpful support staff. Several libraries mentioned that they are looking for new software products for summer reading for next year.

If you offer an online summer reading program, do you also offer a paper logging option?

61.54% answered yes and 30.77% only offer logging online.

Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner! What prizes can participants earn?

Books were the most commonly mentioned prize with 87.10% of our respondents and entries to grand prize drawings followed at 77.42%. 74.19% use coupons donated by local businesses as prizes. Virtual badges and abandoning prizes all together were not popular choices for our respondents, although one respondent commented that “I would like to go prize-free, or do prizes that are a logical extension of the behaviors we want to encourage (like books, entry into events).” Another library shared that “this year for the first time one of the prize choices was to staple a ticket to the bulletin board. Each ticket represented ‘a donation’ (kept purposely vague because this was the first year and we didn’t know what the response would be) to a local charity. This was especially popular with the older students.”

If you offer grand prizes, what are they?

Libraries gave away some amazing grand prizes this summer including museum memberships, tickets to Broadway shows, Kindle Fires, book store gift cards, sets of books, STEM activity backpacks, Story Time backpacks, gift baskets or prize packs with donations from area businesses, a 3D doodler pen, a Spin Bot, lunch with a Hero, a ride in toy car, a doll with accessories, a guitar with an amplifier, iPads, experiences like a disco party or stadium tour, and birthday parties or family memberships from the city’s athletic center.

If you offer virtual badges, what can participants do with them after they earn them?

The few responses we got on this question were evenly divided between sharing them on social media, displaying them on a certificate, and earning a prize or grand prize entry for completing a certain number of virtual badges. One library commented that the goal of virtual badges is to keep track of what you’ve learned. Another library participates in a City of Learning program. Virtual badges are earned in conjunction with that program. Library staff submit their participation to the site, it emails them telling them that they earned a badge and how to claim it. The badges live on the City of Learning site.

Do you offer a grace period for prize pick up after your program ends?

59.38% answered yes, we continue handing out prizes for a little while after the official end date. One library hands out prizes until they run out or participants stop asking for them. 31.25% have a firm end date. None of our respondents offer online prizes that participants can print out on their own. One library noted that they like to have a grace period when possible, especially for groups.

What was your most successful summer program, class or event this year?

At our library, Pete the Cat’s visits to our 3-5’s story time classes were a huge hit. We saw a massive demand for our smaller hands-on learning STEM classes for our elementary kids, and our Teen Tech It and Take It events were very well attended. For our respondents, performers, especially those that featured animals, were frequently mentioned. One library had a very successful “Super Hero Boot Camp.” Another library offered a tween program called “League of Heroes Unite” in which participants got to create their own superhero personas, hunt evil villains, and dispatch them with water balloons. A weekly “Lego Lab” was very popular as was a “Cupcake Wars” program. A “Cowboy Round-Up” included cowboy crafts and pony rides. One library offered a maker space that was packed every hour that it was open. Other successful events included a Frozen Sing Along, Minecraft programs, puppet shows, music and movement story times, a ladybug release, a STEAM camp for 3-5th graders that met once a week for 4 weeks, a Star Wars celebration, and a Teen Anime Con. One library mentioned that although their book clubs had smaller attendance, they received great feedback from these participants.

Any lessons learned from less successful summer classes or events?

• “It turns out that heroes don’t have a lot of spare time to read to children. We had programs interrupted when firefighters had to go fight a fire etc.”
• “For myself, my monthly Science Afternoons were my least successful programs. I sabotaged myself by trying something new each time and having something go wrong two of the three programs because my preparations were not sufficient.”
• “We were excited about the superhero theme and went overboard scheduling superhero-themed programs, but our community didn’t turn out in droves for those events. So I’d make sure to do a more well-rounded calendar of programs, despite the theme.”
• “It never hurts to try something out! I am relatively new to my library and was warned that movies and story times get a low turnout. Well, movies may have been a dud, but story times were a hit. I am so glad that I attempted both.”

Tickets, Waiting Lists, and No Shows, Oh My!

61.29% offer tickets for some programs but not for everything. 6.45% offer online ticketing and 16.13% offer paper tickets in the library. 29.03% do not require tickets for anything. Responses were pretty evenly divided between releasing tickets 30 minutes in advance, 1 hour in advance and 2 weeks in advance of programs. Several libraries mentioned using Eventbright, Eventzilla or Evanced for online registration or tickets.

Respondents had quite a bit to say about strategies for meeting demand, avoiding no shows, and handling waiting lists.

• “When we see a huge demand for a particular class or event, we do our best to add additional sessions in the future. This is, of course, not helpful for the unhappy potential participants that did not get to attend that day. We did see a decrease in ‘no shows’ when we started distributing tickets an hour before each class instead of handing out tickets for everything when the library opened. We plan to move this to 30 minutes in advance as we typically run out of tickets quickly.”
• “We pad the tickets by 15% and have a waiting list to let folks in in place of ‘no shows.’”
• “This year we partnered with [the Civic Theatre] to host our special performance programs. The theatre seats up to 700 guests, this ensured that all families would not be turned away. For the first time in years, parents and younger children were able to attend the performances. The change was greatly appreciated by the community. Zero complaints this year.”
• “We only limit attendance on programs that require expensive materials or that would be best attended in small groups (workshop type). In these cases we physically call all sign-ups the day prior to the event in an attempt to confirm attendance. We still have no shows with this method, so we have learned to expect that and encourage the first few people on the waiting list to come on in and just wait to make sure we have room. It almost always works out.”
• “We struggle with this! We have a waiting list, but that doesn’t always work, and our registration is early enough that people forget. We are going to try to have more drop in programs next year.”
• “We pass out tickets 30 minutes prior, and they must be in line, so there are no no-shows. We used to allow online registration for programs, but stopped. That has had an overwhelmingly positive impact on most programs.”
• “We more or less avoid registration at all costs because of the no show problem and because we don’t want to exclude interested families or add barriers.”

How do you market your Summer Reading Program?

Libraries are using a variety of methods to get the word out including pop-up libraries at Parks and Recreation events and billboards! The library website, social media, flyers to share with schools and in the library and school visits are the most common marketing methods.

How did this summer compare to last summer?

• 51.92% of respondents selected “Wowza! Our numbers are up!” whereas 48.08% selected “Oh no! Our numbers are down!”
• “Our numbers are down. We have had online summer reading software for 2 years now and we have learned that if it is not easy to register and to log, especially when a parent is logging for multiple family members, they simply will not use it.”
• “Numbers are up-I think we satisfied our customer base and attracted new readers in our teen category.”
• “I think numbers are up due to the streamlined approach we went with this year. We wanted it to be an all-inclusive program. We also gave out free reusable bags when patrons signed up for the program, so that may have helped as well.”
• “I wish I knew! We have a lot more working parents in the community. We are trying to find new ways to reach the grandparents who are doing the majority of our local childcare. Unfortunately, we can’t get the families to come to evening events either.”
• “The accessibility of being able to sign up online clearly helped, and having the pressure off of the individual children to read a certain number of books allowed them to read what they were comfortable with. This freed kids to go all out without feeling like they missed something because they exceeded the reading limit, or read up to the prize maximum as they liked.”
• Several libraries mentioned school visits, outreach in the community, and increased publicity as contributing factors to an increase in participation.

What is the funniest thing that happened at your library this summer?

• “Well, a kid did wander up to the desk and take a big swig out of a staff member’s water bottle! We are all keeping a much closer eye on our beverages now!”
• “The juggler asked before the show if it was ok to juggle fire. We have a carpet floor. We said yes, but were ready to grab the fire extinguisher the whole time!”
• “A child kept all her check-out receipts from the books she had checked out and read this summer, taped them together, and then unfurled them for us when she picked up her prize. It was like 10 feet long!”
• “The funniest thing this summer was how less stressed the staff were. We didn’t worry about how many kids were registering. We just offered the program and didn’t worry about whether we were higher than last year. It was great!”
• “We give out Chipotle coupons. A teen was at the desk while I was telling some kids about the SRG. He looked at me after they walked off and said, ‘so…tell me more about this free burrito. I’m NOT saying I’ll sign up. I’m just saying that if I did, it would be for the burrito.’”

Is there anything else you would like to share about summer reading at your library?

• “We took a week off programming in the middle (July 4th week) and ran a Scholastic book fair. Did very well, and staff finished the summer much less exhausted.”
• “I love my beanie baby program! Every year I purchase or receive donations of beanie babies. On the last day of the school year, they go up for adoption. Kids select their beanie baby and pledge to read 3 books and write 3 book reviews to be able to take them home. The beanie babies themselves are great salesmen, attracting a lot of attention.”
• “It is fun, but there has to be a better way to make it more about literacy and reading instead of performers. Performers and big blow out programs get the people in the door, but unless they check out I am not sure it’s worth the $$ spent.”
• This is my summer reading plan http://inshortbusy.blogspot.com/2015/05/summer-reading-2015-edition.html and this is the evaluation http://jeanlittlelibrary.blogspot.com/2015/09/this-is-what-summer-looks-like.html
• “People seem to like our program, because they get to set their own reading goal, and it’s a simple program (set a goal, reach your goal, get a book as a prize).
• “I changed the name from last year’s ‘Tween/Teen Crafts’ to ‘Middle School Makers’ and saw my attendance quadruple, despite offering very similar activities.”

Whew! You all had a lot to say about summer reading! Many thanks to everyone who completed our survey! This survey was performed independently of ALSC. If you have questions about the survey or would like to have more detailed information about the responses, please contact me directly at [email protected].

(Photos courtesy guest blogger)

******************************************************************

Our guest blogger today is Jennifer Cummings, Youth Services Manager at the Frisco Public Library in Frisco, Texas. She just survived her 14^th summer reading program, and it remains her favorite time of year!

Please note that as a guest post, the views expressed here do not represent the official position of ALA or ALSC.

If you’d like to write a guest post for the ALSC Blog, please contact Mary Voors, ALSC Blog manager, at [email protected].

The post Survey on Summer Reading Trends appeared first on ALSC Blog.

Building a Mystery (not the Sarah McLachlan song)

Have you ever attended one of those murder mystery programs for adults? Now you can make one for your tweens and teens at the library.

To run a good murder mystery program at your library you need to put your creative librarian hat on and let your imagination run wild. It is easy to spend money on a pre made mystery kit, but if you have the time, make your own. Create the mystery setting in your library, have a librarian go missing and set the crime scene. Caution tape and a duct tape outline of the body make for great props. Perhaps the librarian was found under a crack in the floor, or downstairs under a stack of books. Make sure evidence is planted and there is an estimate time of death. Identify what staff member will be the victim and the culprit and then the fun starts. Come up with a motive for each staff member involved. Write a short paragraph for each staff member including where they were the night of the crime and an alibi. Here is an example:

“I left work around 2:30pm that day, I had a doctor’s appointment right in town and then I went home to make dinner and go to my kid’s school pageant. I would never do anything like that to Mary; she was one of my favorite people to work with. I really hope you figure out who did this”

 Write alibi’s for as many staff members as you can get to participate. Use these alibis to identify their time and location when the crime happened. These alibis will be recorded on video (use a video camera or your cell phone). Have each staff member read their alibi on camera, have some staff members look right into the camera, others not looking at all, tapping their feet and so on. When you show kids these videos have them look for different behavior that might make them look guilty or innocent.

Matching up with the times noted in each staff members alibi, make a fake schedule for all staff members, this will be used as a piece of evidence. Next write an email that has some back and forth between the victim and a potential suspect. Create fingerprints, using photos from online or dip your fingertips in pencil led and rub it on a piece of paper. Create writing samples of a note that was found with the victim. This is always the last clue, as the older kids will easily identify the matching handwriting.

It is always best to start with examining the crime scene, if you have the money in your budget go to the dollar store and purchase the mini composition notebooks that come in a pack of three. Kids will write their thoughts in here and feel like a real detective. After examining the crime scene, hand out the schedules to each kid, once the kids have those, show the videos and explain what an alibi is and what interrogation tactics are. Pass out the remaining clues one at a time and discuss. It always helps to have a large piece of paper with notes for each suspect hung up on the wall. Take a screenshot of the alibi movies and use that as the mugshot for each suspect. After kids have pieced all the evidence together and agree on a culprit, go ahead and make the arrest!

This program not only raises critical thinking skills, but also increases vocabulary and introduces children to careers.

Have fun!

Meredith Levine is Head of Youth Services at the Chattanooga Public Library in Tennessee. She is a member of the School Age Programs and Services Committee of ALSC. If you have any questions, email her at [email protected] and follow on Twitter @schmoopie517

Grossed-out and fractured Halloween

Several years ago, I attended an excellent children’s librarian skill share on using how to add props to story time. One of my colleagues introduced me to Bone Soup by Cambria Evans, a Halloween fractured fairy tale based on the “clever man” fable, Stone Soup. My colleague poignantly noted that most kids love to be grossed out and recommended Bone Soup as the perfect grossed-out fairy tale.

Finnigin, a wandering ghoul, is shunned by the local townspeople due to his infamous appetite.  Through his wits and a little kindness from a tiny werewolf, he manages to trick the others into contributing their ingredients to soup made from a “magic” bone, as well as gooey eyeballs, leathery bat wings and all. Bone Soup is guaranteed to delight a wide range of children but if you want to gild the lily a tad, the story is even more outrageous and fun when accompanied by a theatrical production of making the bone soup along with the story. I went to my local witches’ supply store, also known as the dollar store, to purchase the ingredients: mouse droppings
(brown rice), spider eggs (cotton balls painted with black dots), fake centipedes, plastic eyeballs, glow-in-the-dark bat wings, fingernails (fake nails), a large cauldron, and of course, a magic (plastic) bone.

I usually make the soup as I tell the story, stirring the mixture along with Finnigin and his reluctant friends; though, if I have a very patient group willing to share duties, I let the children concoct the magic soup themselves. Of course, I pretend to slurp the soup at the very end and the kids always demand to see the final product. Many of the young patrons at my old library branch did not celebrate Halloween officially, but they always demanded Bone Soup when All Hallows Eve rolled around.

“Interactive” Bone Soup is a great and an easy, if not foul, way to add props to your Halloween storytelling! Pairing this version of the story with another version of Stone Soup (I recommend Jon Muth’s retelling) should invoke an interesting comparative folklore discussion!
Kate Eckert is a member of the School Age Programs & Services Committee and is a Children’s Librarian at the Free Library of Philadelphia. She tweets @8bitstate and may also be contacted at [email protected].

The post Fall programming for kindergarteners to tweens! appeared first on ALSC Blog.

As our library wraps up summer reading, the team at Frisco Public Library is very curious about how other public libraries implement their summer reading programs. So we decided to put together a survey to ask some practical questions about this super busy time that we all dedicate so much time, energy, and creativity to each year. Please take a half an hour or so to complete it when you get a chance. No question is required—please feel free to go into as much or as little detail as you are comfortable with. The survey will be up through the end of September and then we will compile results to share on a later blog post.

You can find our survey at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/TellUsAboutYourSummerReadingProgram

Thank you so much for sharing information about your summer reading programs!”

*************************************************************

Courtesy photo from guest blogger

Today’s guest blogger is Jennifer Cummings. Jennifer is the Youth Services Manager at the Frisco Public Library.

Please note that as a guest post, the views expressed here do not represent the official position of ALA or ALSC.

If you’d like to write a guest post for the ALSC Blog, please contact Mary Voors, ALSC Blog manager, at [email protected].

The post Tell Us About Your Summer Reading Program appeared first on ALSC Blog.

With our summer reading club winding down tomorrow, August 15^th, now seems like a perfect time for us to focus on some new goals as kids return to the classrooms. What ideas do you have to improve your programs, services, and library spaces during this next school year?

Out with the Old           

(Image provided by Thinkstockphotos.com)

During our busy summer it can be nearly impossible for us to organize everything we need as we scramble from one program to the next. It may not appear as exciting as some of our other tasks, but organizing our offices and closets during this time of transition after summer reading and before the school groups come rolling in can prove tremendously helpful. We complete an inventory of our closets and find some previously hidden treasures that could work perfectly as a prop for story time or an innovative craft. This also helps us save a lot of time when we have things better organized so we can best access our materials, and we use this time to order more supplies to ensure our closets are better stocked when we have those last minute programs we need to put together. Are there any special projects you are taking on to ensure your work space is better organized moving forward this school year?

Examining Our Early Literacy Efforts    

(Image provided by Thinkstockphotos.com)

Our focus this fall is to streamline our efforts with our early literacy programs and services. Our December youth services training will review the latest edition of Every Child Ready to Read to ensure our new staffers have the skills and confidence to encourage parents and caregivers to participate in early literacy activities with their children at home. We will examine the agencies already available in our community to determine how they provide programs and resources to our children and their families. It is important for us to consider how to reach out to the customers walking through our doors as well as the day cares, preschools, and hospitals we may partner with in order for us to better serve our patrons. What projects or goals do you have to improve your services to your customers as we transition into this new school year?

Summer Reading Brainstorming                 

(Image provided by Thinkstockphotos.com)

As soon as we complete one year’s club, we begin to focus on the next. The ALSC Blog has been a valuable resource for us as we read the creative ideas from librarians across the county interested in innovative ways to increase participation and get children excited about reading all summer long. We will review our prizes and programs to consider how to best reach our audiences next year. When we give our summer reading program the emphasis it deserves by debriefing our previous program and planning the next early in the year, we work to ensure our next year’s program is as successful as possible. It may seem light years away from now, but June and the start of our next summer reading club will be here before we know it. What ideas do you have to enhance your summer reading program for next year?

August is a month full of transitions from one busy season to the next. We will focus our efforts on decluttering our spaces, enhancing our early literacy efforts, and beginning our initial planning for next summer’s reading program. What plans and ideas do you hope to complete during this new school year? Please share in the comments below!

The post A Fresh Start for the New School Year appeared first on ALSC Blog.

Today we are going on a journey to the Middle East. Often times what we hear coming out of the Middle East is violent. Today I would like to share an insightful book and a look into the everyday life of Israel/Palestine.

When I first read the book Habibi by Naomi Nye a few years back I thought it was one of the most wonderfully crafted an authentic stories presented on the region. I’m very biased as my husband is from Lebanon and we spend a lot of time with family in that region of the world. My children could relate to the story of Habibi on many levels. We’ve raised our children speaking Arabic just so they could communicate with their family overseas. Though language hasn’t been an issue , the adjustment to a new country always is.

Because all of us here have a first hand experience of the region, I wanted someone to read this book who hadn’t bee to the region and see what their experience with Habibi was. Today’s blog post is shared with us by our intern and crafter extraordinaire Hannah Rials.  Please enjoy our journey today and the rich cultures, diverse backgrounds, and traditions which live in the Middle East.

A Review

Habibi: (n.) “darling.” Arabic, a term of endearment in all countries.

Liyana’s just had her first ever kiss, and now her father announces that her family is moving to Jerusalem and he is returning. After years of living in America, Poppy is ready to return to his homeland and be reunited with his estranged family. So without any say from Liyana or her brother Rafik, the Abbouds pack up their house, manage an estate sale, and fly across the world to Jerusalem/Palestine, a country that is supposed to be improving, but is life really any better than it was when Poppy left?

Liyana feels lost in Jerusalem. Her very traditional family does not speak a word of English, so both she and they must be translated through Poppy. She knows no one here. Back in St. Louis, even the grocer knew her. Here, she’s just half and half—half American, half Arabic. She has no place, but as she comes to experience and explore Jerusalem and its inhabitants, she begins to find herself more at home, especially when she meets Omar, the handsome Jewish boy in the lamp store.

They form a friendship based on peace and the belief that the world can only get better when people change their views. If they continue to think in the same way that they always have, then things are always going to stay the same. All the adults who talk about change and peace do not seem to understand that.

Naomi Shihab Nye’s story shows a troubled country through a powerful, influential prospective—that of a child’s. Too often, adults overlook the simple solutions, the easy through process. They make everything complicated, when the solution might easily be changing your tune. National change does not happen without first a change in thought. All it takes is a friendship between a young, quirky Arabic girl and a peaceful Jewish boy in Jerusalem to start that change.

This story is beautifully woven. I learned so much about Jerusalem that I never knew. It seems like such a foreign place, so far away, but Nye creates a beautiful, endearing culture, despite the dangerous aspects. Liyana, the habibi of the family, is a wonderful inspiring character that is easy to connect to and offers a fresh prospective. I can’t wait to see what else Nye has created!

Somethings To Do

Make your Own Bedouin Drum at RhyhmWebccom

DCF 1.0

Make your Own Baba Ghannouj

Virtual Tours of Jerusalem:

Create your own Family Memories: Recently our entire family returned to my husband’s homeland of Lebanon and much fun was had, old memories were revisited and new ones were created.

At our favorite banyan tree at the American university of Beirut. The kids have played there for years.

This is of one of our favorite meals known as Lunch at Jido’s. Jido means grandfather. Every Saturday I would cook lunch for the family at Jido’s house. This year we had a Jido lunch at my sister in laws.

Lebanon Skies

Beach Fun

Food, Family and Laughter!

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End of Summer Audrey Press Book Sale!!

Summer is slowly winding down and thoughts are turning to the upcoming school year and reads that will take us into (and through) the colder months ahead. Instead of being sad to see summer go, I choose to Celebrate! And what better way to do it than with an End of Summer Audrey Press Book Sale. For two weeks only readers can get a great deal on two of my most popular books. But don’t delay; this super special sale ends August 14, 2015.!

First up The Waldorf Homeschool Handbook: The Simple Step-by-Step guide to creating a Waldorf-inspired #homeschool. And for a limited time, this best-selling book by Donna Ashton, The Waldorf #Homeschool Handbook is now only $17.95 until August 14th, 2015 ! http://amzn.to/1OhTfoT

Enjoy more month-by-month activities based on the classic children’s tale, The Secret Garden! A Year in the Secret Garden is a delightful children’s book with over 120 pages, with 150 original color illustrations and 48 activities for your family and friends to enjoy, learn, discover and play with together. AND, it’s on sale until August 14th ! Grab your copy ASAP and “meet me in the garden!” http://amzn.to/1DTVnuX

Two great children’s books-Your choice, $17.95 each!

The post Book-Jumper Summer Reading Series: Habibi by Naomi Nye Book review appeared first on Jump Into A Book.

Ohhhh, I have such wonderful Norse God and Viking-related book goodness going on this week! For those just tuning in, this week I have spent much time revisiting my Valli-the-Viking history with glorious books from assorted female authors. On Monday I jumped into the amazing book Runemarks from Joanne Harris and also a robust Book-Jumper Summer Reading: A Norse God and Viking Booklist!

Now it’s time to delve into another family favorite

The Sea of Trolls is the first volume of a fantasy trilogy by three-time Newbery Honors winning author, Nancy Farmer.

Jack was eleven when the Berserkers loomed out of the fog and nabbed him. “It seems that things are stirring across the water,” the Bard had warned. “Ships are being built, swords are being forged.”

“Is that bad?” Jack had asked, for his Saxon village had never before seen Berserkers.

“Of course. People don’t make ships and swords unless they intend to use them.”

The year is A.D. 793. In the next months, Jack and his little sister, Lucy, are enslaved by Olaf One-Brow and his fierce young shipmate, Thorgil. With a crow named Bold Heart for mysterious company, they are swept up into an adventure-quest in the spirit of The Lord of the Rings.

Award-winner Nancy Farmer has never told a richer, funnier tale, nor offered more timeless encouragement to young seekers than “Just say no to pillaging.”-Amazon

My View:

My family is made up of hearty Swedish Americans who come from solid Viking stock. We have always been fascinated by Viking lore and love studying and learning about the Vikings.

Reading The Sea of Trolls left us wanting to become Skalds, which is just another name for bard….which (in case you were wondering!) was a professional poet employed by a patron, such as a monarch or nobleman, to commemorate the patron’s ancestors and to praise the patron’s own activities. In a nutshell, we wanted to tell our stories through song and poems, learn to be one with nature, and who wouldn’t want to include a dragon or two?

Even though this book does deal with thought-provoking subject matter such as death, slavery, pillaging and magic. There are not gross or morbid details. This story wonderfully weaves the interactions of three very different cultures. It does so with a seamless blend of history, humor, and suspense.

In The Seas of Trolls the main character Jack is thrilled when the Bard takes notice of him. It’s a highly sought after opportunity to be the old man’s apprentice and learn the magic that this particular Bard possesses. But Jack’s life is suddenly thrown into chaos when a nightmare sends the Bard into insanity and a band a Berserkers attacks his village. Jack is captured along with his beloved sister Lucy. Jack knows he is now at the mercy of Olaf One-Brow.

This fantasy has such a rich texture and weaves history (Viking Berserkers, and the destruction of the Holy Isle) with legends (Jotunheim, trolls, Norse gods and Yggdrasil), and never makes you leave your belief that it could have happened just like this. The Bard has wonderful insight into nature and happiness which alone is worth reading this book. Jack himself also evolves wonderfully throughout the story and turns from an ordinary farm boy into a sensitive, intelligent bard.

Something To Do

Many times throughout the story Jack would play a game called “Wolf and Sheep” with Thorgil or others that they were spending time with. This is a very old Viking game originating in Iceland. It can be found throughout Scandinavia but also in England,Scotland, and Ireland.

Playing boards are either made out of clay,or cloth. We made a salt dough version which is fun and easy.

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup salt
1 cup cold water
In a large bowl, mix the salt and flour together. Add the 1/2 cup of water and stir until you have a dough. You might need to get your hands in there to complete making it into a round ball.

To make the board: Place a little flour on a cutting board. Take 2/3 rds of the dough and roll it out into a circle a 1/2 inch thick. With a marble or glass stone make marks in the dough for the game board. Three circles across and 7 circles down. For the horizontal rows do the same thing intersecting with the vertical lines.

Heat oven 200 degrees Fahrenheit. Place on parchment paper in the oven for two hours or until the dough is hard.

Any leftover dough place in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator to be used later.

The Game:

• First we need to decide who will be the sheep and who will be the ram. The one whose first name is closest to the letter Z is the one who gets to pick which they would like to be Sheep or Wolf.
• The Sheep person always goes first. They move one step at a time. They can move forward,diagonally forward or sideways but never backwards.
• The wolf can go in any direction. If there is an empty hole in any direction around the lamb the wolf may skip over the lamb and take that playing piece off of the board. If the wolf can skip over many sheep in the same move it may do so, removing the lamb pieces off of the board.
• The lambs win by encircling the wolf so that he cannot move anywhere to take away the sheep pieces.
• The wolf wins if he has taken away all of the sheep pieces, or if he can get to one of the holes in the bottom row.

ONE MORE THING! Don’t forget to enter Jump Into a Book’s GIVEAWAY of Joanne Harris’ Runemark Trilogy series that includes:

• Runemarks
• Runelight
• The Gospel of Loki

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End of Summer Audrey Press Book Sale!!

Summer is slowly winding down and thoughts are turning to the upcoming school year and reads that will take us into (and through) the colder months ahead. Instead of being sad to see summer go, I choose to Celebrate! And what better way to do it than with an End of Summer Audrey Press Book Sale. For two weeks only readers can get a great deal on two of my most popular books. But don’t delay; this super special sale ends August 14, 2015.!

First up The Waldorf Homeschool Handbook: The Simple Step-by-Step guide to creating a Waldorf-inspired #homeschool. And for a limited time, this best-selling book by Donna Ashton, The Waldorf #Homeschool Handbook is now only $17.95 until August 14th, 2015 ! http://amzn.to/1OhTfoT

Enjoy more month-by-month activities based on the classic children’s tale, The Secret Garden! A Year in the Secret Garden is a delightful children’s book with over 120 pages, with 150 original color illustrations and 48 activities for your family and friends to enjoy, learn, discover and play with together. AND, it’s on sale until August 14th ! Grab your copy ASAP and “meet me in the garden!” http://amzn.to/1DTVnuX

Two great children’s books-Your choice, $17.95 each!

The post Book-Jumper Summer Reading Series: Sea of Trolls Book Review appeared first on Jump Into A Book.

Time of Wonder

 by Robert McCloskey

           How could I begin my Liz’s Summer Picks with any other book than Robert McCloskey’s Time of Wonder?  Winner of The Caldecott Medal as “The most distinguished picture book of 1958,” it is a classic picture book, if the word classic still has meaning in this genre. His observations of one matchless summer season in the islands in and around Penobscot Bay in Maine are evocative, beautifully illustrated and reflective as the moods of the seasons and the sea he describes through the eyes of two children.

Out on the islands that poke their rocky shores above the waters of

Penobscot Bay you can watch the time of the world go by from minute

to minute, hour to hour, from day to day, season to season.

           Whether diving off rocks on the island’s point made by glaciers eons ago into icy cold water, sailing among the islands where mother seals nurse their babies in Swain’s Cove Ledges, watching porpoises at sunset “puffing and playing around your boat”, days build with a lazy momentum. It captures the pulse and promise of life lived by this family of four that is unhurried enough to savor the moments. But these small moments of discovery build to a sense and signal that the winds inevitably change to something quite eventful. Nature can change in a moment with a sudden ferocity coming ashore, blowing the cozy cabin door open sending people, Parcheesi boards and papers flying.

            There is gentleness to McCloskey’s book that gives the eye and ear time to sense and explore with the children the feeling of this island respite in Maine. And there is a sweet sadness at its close as another summer ends and school beckons with the quickening pace of life off island. The time you and your children will spend there is time lived fully and intimately with nature and the natural pace she sets. It is a time of wonder you will long remember and savor with your child again and again.

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End of Summer Audrey Press Book Sale!!

Summer is slowly winding down and thoughts are turning to the upcoming school year and reads that will take us into (and through) the colder months ahead. Instead of being sad to see summer go, I choose to Celebrate! And what better way to do it than with an End of Summer Audrey Press Book Sale. For two weeks only readers can get a great deal on two of my most popular books. But don’t delay; this super special sale ends August 14, 2015!

First up The Waldorf Homeschool Handbook: The Simple Step-by-Step guide to creating a Waldorf-inspired #homeschool. And for a limited time, this best-selling book by Donna Ashton, The Waldorf #Homeschool Handbook is now only $17.95 until August 14th, 2015 ! http://amzn.to/1OhTfoT

Enjoy more month-by-month activities based on the classic children’s tale, The Secret Garden! A Year in the Secret Garden is a delightful children’s book with over 120 pages, with 150 original color illustrations and 48 activities for your family and friends to enjoy, learn, discover and play with together. AND, it’s on sale until August 14th ! Grab your copy ASAP and “meet me in the garden!” http://amzn.to/1DTVnuX

Two great children’s books-Your choice, $17.95 each!

The post Book-Jumper Summer Reading: A Norse God and Viking Booklist! appeared first on Jump Into A Book.

Maybe you are lucky like me and your Summer Reading Club is finished or winding down, or maybe you still have some weeks to go. Either way, let’s talk about debriefing after the Summer Reading Club is over.

I always dedicate our early August/late July department meeting to discussing the Summer Reading Club. We talk about what worked and what didn’t. We make notes for what we should change or keep for next year. We go ahead and pencil in dates so that we’re all clear about our schedule.

Here are some things we did this summer that we had discussed last summer:

Photo by Abby Johnson

Our prize cart was decorated and we always pushed it out on one side of our desk (the side without shelving carts) because last year we had some confusion about which books were prize books. This worked really well for us this summer and having a special, decorated cart got the kids even more excited about choosing a free book.

Last year, we had a huge issue with registration for programs. We decided to try out having NO REGISTERED PROGRAMS this summer and it went smashingly. The only programs we had capacity issues with were our large performers where we give out tickets to ensure we’re staying within the fire code. And it was amazing the amount of work it saved us in not having to sign up kids for all those programs. That was a benefit we hadn’t even really considered, but it was huge.

And here are some things we discussed this year and that you should consider as you’re winding down your program and making notes for next year:

• Is the registration and/or logging process easy for patrons and staff? If not, how can we make it easier?
• Do the prizes given out encourage kids to read and are they easy for staff to manage?
• How was your program attendance? If it was low, how could you bolster it? If it was unmanageable, how can you make it easier for staff to handle?
• What great programs did you offer that you might like to repeat? What programs would be good to repeat with some changes?
• How did you feel at the end of the summer? If you felt like you wanted to die, what made the summer so hard? Is there anything you can change to make it easier?
• How did your Summer Reading Club affect other departments? Is there anything you can change to make it easier for Circulation, Pages, IT, Marketing, etc.?

Do you meet to debrief about the Summer Reading Club? What items do you make sure to discuss?

— Abby Johnson, Youth Services Manager
New Albany-Floyd County Public Library
New Albany, IN
http://www.abbythelibrarian.com

The post On Debriefing the Summer Reading Club appeared first on ALSC Blog.

I hope all of you are enjoying summer and can you believe this is Week 10 of our Book-Jumper Summer Reading Series??!! What fun it has been!

I can share with you that I’m up to my eyeballs in Norse Mythology. The ever-talented Roscoe Welply and I are working on a new book from Audrey Press all about the Norse Gods. Some of you might not know this about me but my family comes from the Island of Gotland in the Baltic sea. There on this magical island is buried Thor,the hammer god himself. So I guess I can technically say that Thor is a part of my geneology.

Source

Runemarks by Joanne Harris is one of my son’s favorite reads. He has read it several times and has continued on with the series as well. He highly recommends it with five golden stars and thumbs up.

All of us know about the ancient Greek and Roman Gods. We read about their magical world both in school and for pleasure. But now a new realm of Gods has been introduced—the Norse Gods.

Maddy Smith is a unique, chaotic girl in a plain, orderly world. The age of the Æsir—Odin, Frigga, Thor, Tyr—is long gone. 500 years gone to be exact, after Ragnorak, the changing of the worlds. Now the Order rules, under the guidance of the Nameless, and anything seen as demonic or different is cleansed.

But in Maddy’s little town of Malbry she is no more than hated by the rest of her simple villagers. Until One Eye comes along. This mysterious traveller tells her stories of the old age and confirms that she does in fact have powers, powers of the Gods. But old One Eye only tells Maddy half-truths, only trains her in what she needs to know. She does not understand what is going on beneath the Middle World or what is happening at the End of the World where the Order congregates.

Life changes drastically for Maddy when One Eye sends her on a wild goose chase for something called “The Whisperer.” All she has to go on is that it will call to her and that it is very important that she trusts no one and bring the whisperer back to Maddy.

But forces are at work against Maddy and her old friend. The Order has now become suspicious of the town of Malbry and the paranormal activity occurring there. And One Eye’s old friend, Lucky, isn’t quite as dead as One Eye hoped he’d be.

In her journey through the tunnels of the underworld, Maddy uncovers the truth about her birth, her friends, and what is truly going on in the nine worlds. The Æsir are rising, but the Nameless has other plans for the nine worlds. After hearing the first prophecy in five hundred years, Maddy must figure out how to save her friend, herself, and the Nine Worlds from the Chaos that rests in the bottom of the world.

I know this summary is quite vague, but I do not want to give anything away. All the surprises that were around the corner in this book were so exciting to me that I’d hate to deprive you of such a feeling.

We have read books upon books upon books about the Greek and Roman gods and goddesses. Well, Joanne Harris’s Runemarks is the start to the rise of the Norse gods. Well read in classical language and mythology, Runemarks is full of Norse history, but is also an exciting new tale to the old Gods. Her exciting tale of a nearly unknown world summits interest from the very beginning—from the curious Runemarks, to the alternative use of the word faerie, to these new, powerful Gods that we will soon get to know as well as we know Athena and Zeus. May the Greek Gods rest in peace, and may we welcome the Norse Gods with open arms! Be sure to finish out the series with Runelight and The Gospel of Loki.

Something to Do

1. Check out this complete list of Norse runes and their meanings HERE.

Interested in learning more about Norse mythology? Go HERE.

2. Even though in Runemarks, Thor has lost his hammer, we still know it exists. And he’ll need it back eventually so lets help him out by making our own Thor Hammer!

3. Idun is the goddess of healing. She heals the sick, wounded and dying, with her dried apples—the food of the gods. Make your own healing fruit!

***

It’s the End of Summer Audrey Press Book Sale!!

Summer is slowly winding down and thoughts are turning to the upcoming school year and reads that will take us into (and through) the colder months ahead. Instead of being sad to see summer go, I choose to Celebrate! And what better way to do it than with an End of Summer Audrey Press Book Sale. For two weeks only readers can get a great deal on two of my most popular books. But don’t delay; this super special sale ends August 14, 2015.!

First up The Waldorf Homeschool Handbook: The Simple Step-by-Step guide to creating a Waldorf-inspired #homeschool. And for a limited time, this best-selling book by Donna Ashton, The Waldorf #Homeschool Handbook is now only $17.95 until August 14th, 2015 !

Enjoy more month-by-month activities based on the classic children’s tale, The Secret Garden! A Year in the Secret Garden is a delightful children’s book with over 120 pages, with 150 original color illustrations and 48 activities for your family and friends to enjoy, learn, discover and play with together. AND, it’s on sale until August 14th ! Grab your copy ASAP and “meet me in the garden!” http://amzn.to/1DTVnuX

Two great children’s books-Your choice, $17.95 each!

The post Book-Jumper Summer Reading Series: Exploring Norse Runemarks appeared first on Jump Into A Book.

“The first week of August hangs at the very top of the summer, the top of the live-long year, like the highest seat of a Ferris wheel when it pauses in its turning. The weeks that come before are only a climb from balmy spring, and those that follow a drop to the chill of autumn, but the first week of August is motionless, and hot . . . These are strange and breathless days, the dog days.”

—Natalie Babbit, Tuck Everlasting

Odds are that at least one of your Facebook friends will post the above quote this week—and for good reason, as this is, IMO, one of the best descriptions of summer ever to come from an ALSC Notable Children’s Book. Tuck Everlasting was named a Notable Children’s Book after its 1975 publication and is now widely hailed as a classic. Announced each year after Midwinter, the Notables lists of books, recordings, and videos, bring well-deserved attention to those titles which are “worthy of note or notice, important, distinguished, outstanding” and make superb resources for curating collections in libraries and homes. And Notables seals, just like those of the Newbery and its kin, help your library community discover these great titles. I’ve found that a great late summer project can be making sure that all of the Notables in the collection have this honor glinting from their cover, and you can buy Notables seals in sets of 24 here, or if you need 1,000 or more you can go here.

Thanks to all of the hard-working Notables committees over the years and best of luck to this years’!

Here are some other great summer-themed Notables from recent decades:

• Blackout. By John Rocco, Illus. by the author. Disney/Hyperion Books (2012 Books list)
• Charlie Joe Jackson’s Guide to Summer Vacation. By Tommy Greenwald, read by MacLeod Andrews. Brilliance. (2014 Recordings list)
• A Couple of Boys Have the Best Week Ever. By Marla Frazee. Harcourt. (2009 Books list)
• The Fantastic Secret of Owen Jester. By Barbara O’Connor. Farrar, Straus & Giroux. (2011 Books list)
• Garmann’s Summer. By Stian Hole, translated by Don Bartlett. Eerdmans Books for Young Readers. (2009 Books list)
• Georgie Lee. By Sharon Philips Denslow, illustrated by Lynne Rae Perkins. Greenwillow. (2003 Books list)
• Horse Song: The Naadam of Mongolia. By Ted and Betsy Lewin. Lee & Low Books. (2009 Books list)
• Hot Day on Abbott Avenue. By Karen English, illustrated by Javaka Steptoe. Clarion. (2005 Books list)
• A Long Way from Chicago: A Novel in Stories. By Richard Peck. Dial. (1999 Books list)
• My Louisiana Sky. Based on the novel by Kimberly Willis Holt. Hallmark Entertainment (2002 Videos list)
• One Crazy Summer. By Rita Williams-Garcia. Harper/Amistad. (2011 Books & Recordings lists)
• The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy. By Jeanne Birdsall. Knopf. (2006 Books list)
• Stanford Wong Flunks Big-Time. By Lisa Yee. Scholastic/Arthur A. Levine. (2006 Books list)
• Summersongs. By John McCutcheon. Rounder Records. (1996 Recordings list)
• Sweet Corn. By James Stevenson. Greenwillow. (1996 Books list)

Congratulations to everyone who is now beginning to wind down their summer programming, and warm wishes for an enjoyable rest-of-summer, and here’s hoping that these titles whet the appetites of our southern hemisphere colleagues for the season headed your way. Happy reading, viewing, and listening to all!

My favorite spot on the Lake Michigan shore by my house to read in the summer. Photo source: Andrew Medlar

The post A Notable Summer appeared first on ALSC Blog.

Welcome to Weekend Links! Is summer whizzing by or what?? Reading is always an important part of our children’s lives no matter what time of year it is. Here are some great booklist to help everyone squeeze out the last drops of summer:

Looking for some books to help prepare kids for starting a new school year? Here are our Favorite Children’s Books for Back to School from Buggy and Buddy.

August 2^nd - also known as International Friendship Day. How will YOU celebrate? Here are 8 Books to Celebrate International Friendship Day from Lee and Low.

Why Picture Books – 5 Reasons Why They Belong in Every Classroom http://wp.me/p3Lwy8-Rh via @pernilleripp

New books examine Hurricane Katrina’s immediate and lasting effects on the Gulf Coast. After the Storm: Hurricane Katrina 10th Anniversary at Publisher’s Weekly

Books that Celebrate the Bond Between Mothers and Sons and Brain Power Boy.

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“End of Summer??!!” I hear you wringing your hands and gasping in dismay from here.

Yes, I know it’s hard to believe that those words could even be coming from my lips, but the truth of the matter is that school starts here in Maryville, TN next week already. Vacations have been achieved, many travel miles have been logged and I feel the lazy days of summer beginning to wind down. So as things come to a close and thoughts begin to turn to the upcoming school year for many families, my focus is shifting to books and activities that will take us into (and through) the colder months ahead.

Instead of being sad to see summer go, I choose to Celebrate! And what better way to do it than with an End of Summer Audrey Press Book Sale. For two weeks only readers can get a great deal on two of my most popular books. But don’t delay; this super special sale ends August 14, 2015!

First book on sale is the extremely popular Waldorf Homeschool Handbook: The Simple Step-by-Step guide to creating a Waldorf-inspired #homeschool. And for a limited time, this best-selling book by Donna Ashton, The Waldorf #Homeschool Handbook is now only $17.95 until August 14th, 2015 !

Enjoy more month-by-month activities based on the classic children’s tale, The Secret Garden! A Year in the Secret Garden is a delightful children’s book with over 120 pages, with 150 original color illustrations and 48 activities for your family and friends to enjoy, learn, discover and play with together. AND, it’s on sale until August 14th ! Grab your copy ASAP and “meet me in the garden!”

Two great children’s books-Your choice, $17.95 each!

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The post WEEKEND LINKS- Books that Help Kids Enjoy the Last bit of Summer appeared first on Jump Into A Book.

Wow! It’s week NINE of the Book-Jumper Summer Reading Series! NINE…..where did time go this summer?

As you many already know, this series is my way of inspiring parents who are looking for creative ways to keep their kids reading this summer. All of the books I am jumping into feature protagonists are girls or women and most of our showcased authors are women as well.

I will be offering up a combination of themed weeks, great novels, booklist giveaways, and blog post recaps so be sure and stop by to discover more wonderful ways have A Bookjumper Summer while Exploring Our World and Beyond!

This week I am jumping into another delightful book from another female author. Eleanor Coerr was a Canadian-born American writer of children’s books, including Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes and many picture books. She was born in Kamsack, Saskatchewan, Canada, and raised in Saskatoon. Sadly, Eleanor passed away in 2010 but her legacy lives on in the wonder books she has written including Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes.

The story goes that Eleanor revisited Hiroshima i 1963 and saw the statue of Sadako in the Hiroshima Peace Park. Impressed by the stories she heard about Sadako’s talent for running, courage when faced with cancer, and determination to fold one thousand paper cranes, Eleanor was inspired to find a copy of Kokeshi, Sadako’s autobiography. The book inspired her to create a biography of Sadako Sasaki, on that American children could read and enjoy.

Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes has been translated into many languages and has moved both children and adults to write plays, perform ballets, compose songs, and collect money for peace statues-all celebrating Sadako and her wish for peace. Eleanor has visited schools all around the world encouraging her audiences to work for a nonviolent world. Folded cranes are everywhere, and always underneath the statue of Sadako in Hiroshima’s Peace Park. SOURCE.

           

• Rainbows
• Crickets
• If a ladybug lands on you
• Finding a four-leaf clover
• A head’s up penny

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The post Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes by Eleanor Coerr appeared first on Jump Into A Book.

Last year I needed a last minute program to fill in our last week of Summer Reading. We have weekly performers at my branch every Thursday afternoon and we didn’t get one for the final week of July. So my staff and I threw together a Frozen-Sing-Along and had over 150 kids show up!

This program was so easy to put together and had such a huge draw that I wanted to repeat our success again this year. We cut back on the number of performers, so I had three open Thursday afternoons to fill with staff led programming. So our Fantastic Family Film Festival was born.

Our first one happened yesterday afternoon with a Big Hero 6 Robot Build-Along.

Movies tend to be hit or miss at our branch and we have more success with recent popular films with kids and families. The hero theme of Big Hero 6 went perfectly with the Summer Reading theme of Superheroes and the kids are still talking about the movie, so I knew it would draw a crowd. But I didn’t want to just have the kids sit and watch a movie-I wanted something else to happen to make it worth the trip. So we made robots!

I received a huge donation of shoe boxes from a local community theater who had used them in a recent performance. This was a fantastic gift because all of the shoe boxes were wrapped in nice white paper-a perfect surface for creating a robot. I set the room up with several tables and chairs for a work surface but left the front open for floor seating. I put out the boxes on one table and various art supplies on another (crayons, scissors, ribbons, glue, stickers) and told the kids they could gather supplies anytime throughout the movie. In order to help cut down on the mess I kept googly eyes, feathers, and pom-poms back at the table staffed by librarians and the kids had to come and get these from the librarians so we could ration these out and have a more controlled mess. This ended up working out great and we had very little clean up!

The kids loved making a robot while watching the movie and we had multiple parents comment on how they thought it was a wonderful idea. We even had an adult wander by the room and poke her head to tell us we needed to do programs like this for adults!

We ended up with just over 50 kids building robots on a rainy afternoon and the robots turned out great. Of course now I’m kicking myself for not taking photos of all their wonderful creations! My staff and I loved seeing the kids creativity shine through their projects and they had a blast creating while watching a movie.

Next week we’re repeating our Frozen Sing-A-Long and the week after that we’re hosting an Incredibles costume contest and mask making. This programming has been a big draw for families and is a nice break from very staff intensive programming as we finish up our Summer Reading Program.

The post Fantastic Family Film Festival appeared first on ALSC Blog.

Welcome to Week 8 of The Book-Jumper Summer Reading Series!

This series is my way of inspiring parents who are looking for creative ways to keep their kids reading this summer. All of the books I am jumping into feature protagonists are girls or women and most of our showcased authors are women as well. I will be offering up a combination of themed weeks, great novels, booklist giveaways, and blog post recaps so be sure and stop by to discover more wonderful ways have A Bookjumper Summer while Exploring Our World and Beyond!

This week we’re in the Redwood Forest and enjoying Northern California! We are so inspired by these incredible trees. They are the oldest, tallest trees on the planet. Some of them are 1000 years old. It’s been a huge challenge to save these glorious trees from the blade of the lumber companies. Muir woods it a save haven for the redwoods. It’s our hope that our booklist will inspire you as well to make a trip to visit these ancient giants and become active in saving them for future generations.

Enjoy!

RedWoods by Jason Chin

An ordinary train ride becomes and extraordinary trip to the great ancient forests.A subway trip is transformed when a young boy happens upon a book about redwood forests. As he reads the information unfolds, and with each new bit of knowledge, he travels–all the way to California to climb into the Redwood canopy. Crammed with interesting and accurate information about these great natural wonders.

The Tallest Tree by Robert Lieber (a board book produced by the Golden Gate National Park)

The Tree in the Ancient Forest by Carol Reed Jones

Science teachers and ecologically minded parents: this book is a delightful introduction to the habitat in and around old trees. As AAAS Science Books & Films says, “The science is accurate and the book painlessly teaches important ecological lessons.” From lowly fungi to majestic owls, the book connects the web of nature. Repetitive, cumulative verse–a poetic technique that children universally enjoy–aptly portrays the amazing ways in which the inhabitants of the forest depend upon one another for survival. Stunning illustrations by the renowned illustrator, Christopher Canyon, manage to be both magical and true to life. It includes a guide to the forest creatures and their interrelationships, and a concise explanation of an ancient forest.

Who Pooped in the Redwoods by Gary Robson

This edition of Who Pooped in the Park? follows Michael and Emily on a trip to Redwoods National and State Parks in California. Michael tries to deal with his fear of bears as Mom and Dad teach him and his sister about the wildlife in the area–without ever getting close enough to be scared. In their “close encounters of the poopy kind,” the family learns about a variety of animals, and readers will become familiar with their tracks and the droppings they leave behind (scats).

Operation Redwood By S. Terrell  French

“Sibley Carter is a moron and a world-class jerk,” reads Julian Carter-Li in an angry e-mail message meant for his greedy, high-powered uncle. The fateful message sets him on the course to stop an environmental crime! His uncle’s company plans to cut down some of the oldest California redwood trees, and it’s up to Julian and a ragtag group of friends to figure out a way to stop them. This thrilling, thoughtful debut novel shows the power of determined individuals, no matter what their age, to stand up to wrongdoing.

A Voice for the Redwoods by Loretta Halter

The Sacred Redwood Forest by Dror Shah Levi

It is a very beautifully illustrated children’s book describing the love, peace and contentment that can be experienced in an ancient old-growth forest. With faeries, nymphs, a Forest Goddess, an Ancient Magician, and other colorful characters, we learn through the eyes of a young girl, why these last remaining forests should be saved, and about the senseless destruction already wrought upon them.

The Ancient One by T.A. Barron

The Wild Trees by Richard Prestin

Redwood Trees by John Prevost

Provides basic information about the redwood, including its structure, economic uses, and the pests and diseases that affect it.

The Ever Living Tree: The Life and Times of a Coast Redwood byLinda Vieira

The Redwood Forest by Lisa Bullard

Have you ever seen a tree as wide as a house? What about one taller than a skyscraper? Get ready to explore the gigantic trees in the Redwood Forests! These amazing forests are located along the West Coast of the United States, from California to Oregon. Just how tall can a redwood tree grow? Read this book to find out!

What amazing redwood forest books have you read?

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Grab your copy HERE: The Waldorf Homeschool Handbook: The Simple Step-by-Step guide to creating a Waldorf-inspired homeschool. http://amzn.to/1OhTfoT

The post Book-Jumper Summer Reading Series-The Great Redwood Tree Booklist appeared first on Jump Into A Book.

Last month, I spent a lot of my post talking about staying positive and trying to focus on the good during the hard months of summer reading.

Today I want to talk about the flip-side. The panic-inducing room scheduling mistake or the smelly poop on the rug or the bone deep exhaustion from six programs in three days combined with the worst hayfever you’ve ever had…simply put: the bad moments.

My job is amazing and I am truly blessed. But I would be a liar if I said that every moment involved sunshine, rainbows, and puppies raining from the sky.

But I think that we often see the perfectly cut movie version of library life instead of the day-to-day activities from our fellow librarians. Particularly in the online arena! I try to be incredibly positive on Twitter, on my blog, and here when I’m posting for ALSC. And while I think that certainly serves a purpose, I also want to take the chance to say that it’s okay to acknowledge the moments of bad. It’s okay that not every day ends with skipping and holding hands with the world.

I hope you noticed how I said “acknowledge” there and not “cling to these moments and define your job and existence by that incident”. That’s the other important part. Once you’ve acknowledged the moment, let it go. Shake it off. You don’t have to forget it, but you do have to move past it.

Talk to a co-worker, email your friends, dance it out, take a private moment to calm down, sing loudly in your car, breathe — whatever you need to do to get past it!

Your co-workers will pull the room together in time, the poop will come out of the rug, and eventually you’ll sleep and feel better.

Friends, hang in there. Summer’s almost over and that next (good) moment is on the horizon.

– Katie Salo
Early Literacy Librarian
Indian Prairie Public Library
http://storytimekatie.com

The post Acknowledge the Moments appeared first on ALSC Blog.

• WhatDo We Do All Day
• HomegirlBlog
• PaperTigers 
• LaBloga

It’s time for Weekend Links! This is my chance to share the best-of-the-best in regards to bookish fun and resources that I have encountered over the course of the week. This week I stumbled upon a bounty of booklists just for our boy readers. Some of these are excellent! Enjoy

9 Thrilling Book Series for Teen Boys That They Won’t Be Able To Put Down  via @brainpowerboy

10 BEST Middle Grade Books for Boys –  via Written Reality (@MitziCSmith)

50+ Amazing Adventure Chapter Books for Boys  via @JennyEvolution

The Mighty Boy Reading List: Ages 9-12 at I Think we Could be Friends.

Wacky Books for Reluctant Readers –  via @imaginationsoup

40 MORE Books for Boys at the Milk and Cookies Blog

The Ultimate Book List For Boys at The Modest Mom Blog

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Do your young readers love nature and all of nature’s critters? Experience the magical story of a family of foxes that took up residence right in the front yard of the author and publisher, Valarie Budayr. The Fox Diaries: The Year the Foxes Came to our Garden offers an enthusiastically educational opportunity to observe this fox family grow and learn together.

From digging and hunting to playing and resting, this diary shares a rare glimpse into the private lives of Momma Rennie and her babies. Come watch as they navigate this wildly dangerous but still wonderful world. Great to share with your children or students, The Fox Diaries speaks to the importance of growing and learning both individually and as a family unit. It is a perfect book for story time or family sharing. Not only can you read about the daily rituals of this marvelous fox family, there is an information-packed resource section at the end of the book that includes lots of facts and even a few “fox movies” that you can enjoy with your family. Grab your copy of this beautiful and inspiring book HERE.

The post Weekend Links: Awesome Booklists for Boys appeared first on Jump Into A Book.

As I did last year, I’d like to share with you my choices for the “best” in book reviews for children, by children. All appeared online and were written (without byline) by children participating in New Jersey’s Collaborative Summer Reading Program, “Every Hero has a Story.”

(Reviews are unedited and do contain spelling and grammatical errors.)

Highest praise review:

The post The “best” in kids’ book reviews appeared first on ALSC Blog.

Lori Goldstein | The Children’s Book Review | July 16, 2015 I grew up on the Jersey Shore and now live outside of Boston, where on the right day, I can smell the sea from my back deck (though it still takes an hour to get to the beach). Maybe that’s why the beach is my happy place. For […]