By: Julie Fortenberry,
on 9/28/2012
Weird and wonderful illustrations by Henrik Drescher...
...read an interview with Drescher at BookByItsCover and take a peek at his China notebooks...
...and there's tons of Drescher's paintings, illustrations and books to peruse at his site...
By: Catherine Nichols,
on 2/23/2012
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By: Just One More Book!!,
on 5/7/2008
Author: Henrik Drescher
Illustrator: Henrik Drescher
Published: 2008 Candlewick Press (on JOMB)
ISBN: 0763633860
A veneer of feigned pleasantries can’t conceal the ceaseless, senseless competition that corrupts then consumes former friends in this deliciously absurd yet apt demonstration of misguided attention and life misspent.
By: Teresa Walls,
on 2/29/2008
When I was working toward my M.L.S. at Kent State University in Ohio, I imagined myself completing the degree and finding a job as the one librarian wearing the many hats of a librarian/library director in a small library probably in Ohio. That isn’t the course that my professional life actually has followed thus far, but if it had, Crash Course in Children’s Services by Penny Peck would be required reading for personnel working with me in that small library. Penny Peck offers an easy to read “how to” book full of helpful tips to library personnel who maybe are librarians but didn’t complete coursework in materials and services for children, or more likely, library staff who haven’t had the opportunity to take such courses. It is also a good refresher.
This title was mentioned by Tina, an ALSC Blog reader, back in October. Thanks, Tina! I hope you have had a chance to read the book and have some comments to share as well. There are two specific items in the book that I would like to share.
First is what Peck calls the Five-Finger Rule. I hate to admit it, but too often I find that I don’t have what seems to be common knowledge. I have had children read a sentence or two in a book as we try to find something they might like as an independent read, but I hadn’t heard of the Five-Finger Rule. After reading about the rule on page 24 of Peck’s book, I found many references to it online and was charmed by this description on Book Nuts Reading Club. Anyway, I wanted to share that Reader’s Advisory bit for your consideration and commentary.
The second portion is about Book Clubs. I adore the idea of Book Clubs but my one attempt with a parent/child book club didn’t work very well. Saturday afternoons had too many other commitments for my few participants, and, more than that, the majority were parents dragging in their reluctant readers. I wasn’t prepared for that and before I could regroup, they had already given up on the program. In retrospect, I can think of much better ways I could have handled it, but that’s neither here nor there. On page 79, Peck writes about her book club experience:
I have been very lucky with our Xtreme Reader group, which is the book discussion group for fourth and fifth graders. From the beginning, we had as many boys as girls. I think part of the reason is the name: Xtreme Readers, like Xtreme Sports, sounds really cool and does not make you think of tea parties. The name was thought up by a boy who was a fourth grader at the time. His mother works at the library, and he was in the initial group. We put the name prominently on all our flyers, in a cool font and with a dramatic graphic of a person reading while skateboarding.
To kick off the club, we sent flyers with a cover letter to all the GATE (gifted and talented) programs in the fourth and fifth grades (both public and private schools), because we felt our target audience would be children who already liked reading chapter books.
The local newspaper published an article about the club too. After a half-hour of discussion, she had hands-on activities to bring the books to life. She includes a few examples of books and activities. As for questions, she mentions several resources including Multnomah (OR) County Library’s Talk it Up!
As with last month’s book, I found much of interest. For March, I will post about two books that have been suggested: Early Literacy Storytimes @ Your Library: Partnering with Caregivers for Success by Saroj Ghoting and Pamela Martin-Diaz and Ready-To-Go Storytimes: Fingerplays, Scripts, Patterns, Music, and More by Gail Benton and Trisha Waichulaitis. Please join in the discussion. If you have books you would like to recommend, please comment here or send an email to [email protected].
By: angelaNS,
on 2/29/2008
I think I was in graduate school when the idea was first proposed to me. I was doing some outreach at an elementary school—working with an after school group– we made puppets and put on a puppet show. I was working on an individual study of puppetry; I needed this experience as much as they needed a new face and something different to do. One of the after-school staff was also working on a degree; he was in Seminary school. He asked about me, I told him I was working on my MLS. To become a Librarian. “Oh,” he said, “so you are a missionary too.”
Since then, I’ve warmed to the idea. When I go out to the local hospital, to the Mom & Baby group, to talk about how important reading is, and end up assuring the young mother who is speaking both Russian and English to her child that she is doing the right thing, I feel like a missionary. When the church group asks me to come talk to them about books and I mention Captain Underpants and they admit that their sons love the books and I tell them it is ok to let them read those, I feel pretty good about my job. When I explain to my boss why we need a DDR pad and a PlayStation for the teens, I feel like I’ve done a good deed for humanity. Sitting on a committee that critically analyzes recorded children’s literature and creates a list of best audios that helps libraries determine how best to spend their budget feels right. Creating a Summer Reading Program that gets kids excited about reading makes me happy (a mantra I have to repeat over and over at times).
So maybe we ARE missionaries. We go out and spread the good word about reading. We tell the world—practically anyone who will listen—how important, how fun, how life-changing books can be. We remind our friends, our neighbors, our relatives, our elected officials, and our governments how important libraries are and how much we need their support. We untiringly find funds to help run our programs. We’d go door to door and proselytize if our libraries would let us (and I’d be willing to bet that some of you have done this on your own time, come an election). We stand on street corners with signs, proclaiming the importance of books and freedom to read. We spend our spare time reading good books, so that we can tell others just how good those books are.
So, keep fighting the good fight. We are the Reading Missionaries, and without us, where would the world be? A big question indeed.
By: Teresa Walls,
on 2/23/2008
A wiki is a website which allows people to add and edit content collectively. Several ALSC committees (including the Children and Technology Committee, the Legislation Committee, and the National Planning of Special Collections) are taking advantage of the ALSC Wiki. This resource is an excellent place for members to do committee work, to share best practices and to network.
By: Guest Contributor,
on 2/20/2008
The Association for Library Service to Children is now accepting proposals for innovative, creative programs that have broad appeal for the 2009 ALA Annual Conference to be held July 9 - 15, 2009 in Chicago, IL.
You can find the ALSC Program Proposal forms here.
If you have any questions you may send them to Doris Gebel at [email protected]
Doris Gebel
ALSC Program Coordinating Committee, chair
By: tglass,
on 1/30/2008
Today I had the first meeting of the Spring Session of Teen Team – a volunteer program for middle and high school students. Much to my great joy, I had a lot of tweeners this time – usually Teen Team has more than its share of Juniors & Seniors due to the really stringent volunteering requirements that the local high schools implement in their accelerated program. With older teens I’ve noticed that they get interested in the volunteering program when they see the advertisement – we try to put them in a variety of places, in their schools, here in our Teen Center, and also in our library newsletter. The older teens fill out the forms themselves, call me with questions, and take on the responsibility of participating in the program. However, this time we did a lot of press leading up to the start of the program in local newspapers and on the radio. So, the majority of people calling up with questions and asking for more information were the interested parents of tweeners! The parents saw the advertisements or heard them on the radio and relayed their excitement to their tween sons & daughters. Thus, this session has a ton of 11- and 12-year old participants who are relatively new to middle school and new to the Teen section of the library! Our volunteering program has been a great success – I’ve gotten to know a lot of teens in our area, but for the most part, they’ve been quick to move on since they have usually been 16- or 17-years old. Getting to know tweeners that are civically minded is exciting because hopefully through this experience and getting to know library staff personally they will feel more comfortable not only in the teen room, but in the library as a whole!
Here is some information that will hopefully help you start up your own volunteering program for middle and high school students!
We run 3 eight-week sessions per year, based on the school year calendar. Each session consists of up to 15 teens or tweens all meeting for an hour each week. The first session is an orientation where my assistant and I introduce ourselves and give them a tour of the library with a special emphasis on the Children’s Room and the Teen Center – the two areas they will be spending most of their time doing special projects for us. We also go over the agreement that contains information on how they are expected to behave, dress, and our attendance policy. Many of our teens and tweens get community credit for volunteering so there is a sense of mutual benefit and job-training going on. The final session is a pizza party with games like charades etc, book and goodie giveaways! That gives everyone something to look forward to!
We work with the folks in our Processing department to allow up to five teens and tweens each week on a rotating basis to go to Processing to help with getting CDs, DVDs and books ready for Circulation! That’s what all the teens and tweens have told me they look forward to the most! We also assign them to do pick-up and shelf straightening as well as book cleaning, Storytime toy cleaning and special projects from co-workers from all departments of the Library.
We keep a Teen Team binder, where each teen or tween signs in and out; we also keep a book cleaning log and a task sheet that shows a list of jobs that they’ve done in weeks past so we don’t keep assigning the same task to the same kid.
Another thing to take into consideration is timing. Here’s how we do it - we start the Fall session in late September and end a week or so before Thanksgiving. That way, kids can get settled into school and the program ends before the holidays start getting underway. Spring session begins in mid-January and ends right before Spring Break. Kids get so busy after Spring Break that participation really drops off so we don’t do any special Teen/Tween programming between then and our Summer Reading Program. In addition to Spring and Fall, we also do a mini five-week program in the Summer. We mainly advertise in the local middle and high schools, our Teen Center and in our Library’s bi-monthly publication. However, this time we did some extensive marketing through local newspapers and radio, which, as I mentioned, really brought out the tweens due to their parents seeing our information and passing it along. We have a basic application process which the teen or tween must fill out – not their parents! We really want them to want to be a part of our volunteering program; if their parents fill it out for them, we think that encourages the thought that the parents are also making them participate. The only thing we need from parents or guardians is their signature if the participant is under 18.
All in all, Teen Team has been a great experience! Just another great way of bring Tweens and Teens together @ your library!
By: Teresa Walls,
on 1/29/2008
My goal with this monthly series is to encourage discussion about topics from our professional literature. I don’t plan to review a title, but rather will respond to portions of the work that speak to me and encourage others to do the same.
The book that I selected for January is The Family-Centered Library Handbook, which was reviewed (scroll to the second review) recently in Library Journal. (Thanks to Kathleen Deerr of Middle Country Public Library and one of the book’s authors for the link!) You may have received a brochure this past November about the upcoming fourth Family Place Libraries™ Symposium, The Power of Play: Its Impact on Early Literacy and Learning. It is a free event (for public librarians and administrators) taking place on Wed., March 26, 2008 from 8:30 to 11:30 AM at the Minneapolis Public Library. For more information and to register, visit www.familyplacelibraries.org/symposium.html.
Why bring this up here? Well, Sandra Feinberg is the founder of the Family Place Libraries and director of the Middle Country (NY) Public Library. And one of the authors of The Family-Centered Library Handbook. I do enjoy these types of tie-ins.
The book’s contents are set up nicely, with an overview of child development theory, ways to evaluate basic competencies/willingness of staff, ways to collaborate with other agencies to pull together resources for parents and caregivers, ways to develop services for young children and special audiences (such as teen parent families). Let me say, it is a great deal of information. It helps that in the introduction the authors reassure the readers to take sections as fit their individual needs.
I completely agree with the authors’ point on page 104, that “Family Spaces are not just about the development of young children. Adults in children’s lives are also growing and developing in their roles as parents, grandparents, educators, childcare providers, and health and human service workers.” I was nodding my head while I continued reading on page 104:
Having a dedicated computer, collections, and displays for parents either in the children’s area or adjacent to it creates a sense of place for parents. […] An adult computer station featuring parenting, child development, and early literacy software and Web sites further expose adults to the wealth of resources available at the library.
The book’s authors stress the need for respect. I do worry that sometimes in our zeal to get children access to appropriate activities we alienate some parents, not respecting them as their child’s first teacher, but perceiving them as the child’s first stumbling block. That also leads me to the topic of intervention as encouraged in the book. When a librarian notices a problem, how to approach the child’s caregiver is discussed. My experience has been fairly limited in that I rarely had a consistent, long-term relationship with any family for me to think intervention. I believe that a relationship would need to be established first to truly understand if what you are seeing is a problem. Am I just rationalizing here? I am especially curious to hear other’s views and experiences with this.
But then, if I had a better knowledge of other community agencies to which to refer people, perhaps the intervention idea would not seem so awkward. The importance of forming coalitions and collaborations is another area of the book that truly speaks to me and how I need to grow professionally. With an understanding of what resources are available, I would be in a better position to intervene, to offer suggestions of places to help the children and caregivers with the challenges they are facing. Kathleen de la Pena McCook is cited on page 59, from her book, A Place at the Table, regarding the need for activism and “to permit staff sufficient time to engage in the important work of building community relationships.”
Oh, those collaborations and coalitions are tough work, aren’t they? I have found that the two biggest obstacles are getting through each agency’s bureaucracy and timelines (even my own) AND the high rate of turn-over of staff in those agencies with which I have sought partnerships. I’m not saying that it isn’t worth it, but I am saying it is hard work and time intensive. At this point, I want to make a concentrated effort to just KNOW what other agencies are out in my community and what services they offer.
Again, I encourage you to share your thoughts. The book for February’s Professional Reading post will be Crash Course in Children’s Services by Penny Peck. The titles that have been/will be discussed in this monthly column are listed at the ALSC Blog’s LibraryThing account. If you have any titles to suggest, please post them in the comment section here or send an email to [email protected]. I know that I will be adding McCook’s A Place at the Table to the list.
Posted on 1/13/2008
I strongly encourage all ALSC members to become involved with the organization. I know there are many ALSC members who aren’t involved because they aren’t sure they are needed. You are!
Committee involvement requires time. When I served as the chair of the ALSC Children and Technology Committee, I felt very guilty when a few committee members resigned from the committee for various reasons, valid reasons that left them with too little time to do the committee work that I was asking them to do. At first, I wanted to encourage them to stay on the committee, to say that the rest of the committee members could pick up what they were unable to do, to suggest that I might be asking too much of everyone. But they knew and I soon realized that this attitude is not helpful to them, to the rest of the committee, or to our organization.
Due to financial and family reasons, last year I declined an opportunity to seek involvement in ALSC leadership. Instead, I asked and was accepted to serve as a virtual member of the Children and Technology committee. I meet with the rest of our committee through online chat meetings. We use Google documents. We send emails. I am still an active member of ALSC.
We are over 4000 strong in membership. We need active members to ensure that our important work — improving and ensuring the future of the nation through exemplary library service to children, their families, and others who work with children — is accomplished. Each of us must be realistic about what we have room for on our own plate. Those of you who have been considering an active role, please do so by completing a committee volunteer form. (You can download one from the ALSC home page.) Those of you who have had to limit your involvement, thanks for all your work. We look forward to your return when you have the time.
By: Guest Contributor,
on 12/11/2007
by Brenda F. Pruitt-Annisette
December is one of those times during the school year when the school library media specialist becomes the jack of all trades, the grinch who stole the holiday spirit, or the deer in the headlights. Here’s why.
The K-12 media specialist juggles cross curricular “fires” throughout the school year. In December it is a little more challenging for those of us who feel that our staff and students want us to be involved in every concert, play, reception, open house, etc., that takes place. Never knowing just how to say “no,” we over extend ourselves to the point that December is not too much fun.
For those veteran K-12 media specialists who have learned how to say “no,” we are then perceived as the Grinch who lacks the holiday spirit. We are more concerned with completing the introduction of the research strategies students will need in order to complete the science fair project looming large in January. So what if the bulletin board is full of books to read during fall foliage. Winter does not officially start until December 22, 2007! Until then, the autumn theme works!
Finally, for those new to school librarianship, the deer in the headlights syndrome is the theme of the month. Do not fret, we have all been there and worn that same holiday fare. With the amount of energy the students are exhibiting combined with the frantic urgency of the teachers to tie up all instructional loose ends for the semester, the month becomes a swirl of activity that is quite surreal. Yes, you are there, moving between the real and the surreal wondering, “Can it get anymore hectic than this?”
Oh, but yes it can! Wait until January when everyone returns, ready to delve into the next program, project, and curricular deadline.
The excitement never ends. It is so much fun!
By: Guest Contributor,
on 11/5/2007
by Steven Herb, ALSC Distinguished Service Award Committee Chair
Caroline Ward, Mimi Kayden, Marilyn Miller, Ginny Walter, Julie Cummins, Phyllis Van Orden, Maggie Kimmel, Peggy Sullivan, Lillian Gerhardt, Spencer Shaw, Zena Sutherland, Ginny Moore Kruse, Virginia Mathews, Carolyn Field, Augusta Baker, and William Morris
What do these distinguished people have in common with your mentor and inspiration in the field of children’s library services? Putting your modesty aside for a moment - together they produced a generation of children’s services leaders and you are among those new leaders.
And, what sets your mentor apart from these folks? Someone nominated these individuals for the ALSC Distinguished Service Award and your inspiration has yet to be recognized.
We know you’ve been meaning to nominate her (or him?) for a couple of years now. How about this year? The nomination is a very simple task that results in an unparalleled honor.
The Distinguished Service Award honors an individual member of the Association for Library Service to Children who has made significant contributions to, and an impact on, library services to children and/or ALSC. The recipient receives $1,000 and an engraved pin at the ALSC Membership Meeting during the ALA Annual Conference. Individuals nominated may be chosen from any facet of library services to children. The designee may be a practicing librarian in a public or school library, a library or information science educator, a member of the library press, or an editor or other employee of a publishing house. The individual may be active or retired or retired and active!
The information you need to nominate someone can be found here. The deadline for receipt of the nominations is December 3rd.
I have always loved his work. Just brilliant.