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As if the links to publishers catalogs, the upcoming movies page, and finding out about buzzworthy prepub and newly published books wasn’t enough.

If you’re a U.S. librarian, you can enter to win an unedited galley copy of Kristin Cashore’s Fire.

More info here.

If you subscribe to YALSA’s ya-yaac listserv for teen programming, my thoughts about The Hipster Librarian’s Guide to Teen Craft Projects by Tina Coleman and Peggy Llanes pretty much echo what others said about it. This book would be most useful for librarians new to teen craft programming and who are looking for ideas or justification to support craft programs. For those who have been doing craft programs for a while now and are looking for new ideas, you’ll get more bang for your buck with non-library specific books like Kathy Cano-Murillo’s Crafty Diva books or Mark Montano’s The Big-Ass Book of Crafts, not to mention free websites and blogs. (Although, of course, with the websites and blogs, the cost is in the time you’ll spend searching.)

After a brief introduction advocating the benefits of crafts for teens, Coleman and Llanes give instructions for 12 different craft projects, which is not much considering the book’s $40 price tag. While I think it would have made more sense to have put the information in the appendix (a supplies and tool list and project materials list) and glossary (techniques, tools and materials) at the start of the book, the organization of the actual projects make sense, moving from simplest to most difficult. The crafts included run from the typical-and-can-easily-find-instructions-for-them-elsewhere (marble magnets, t-shirt reconstruction) to the would-not-be-able-to-pull-that-off-in-my-library (one requires sewing machines, another may take up to *four* hours). Each project begins with a description and ideas on how you can tie in the craft to other programs, and lists the difficulty, time, supervision, group size and mess factor involved. Materials are separated into two sections, supplies and tools, and materials specific to the craft. Then the authors detail the prep work that needs to be done prior to the program, and finally give the instructions for the craft. Spinoffs of the craft are also suggested for most of the projects; however, no instructions on how to adapt it are given. To be sure, some of the spinoffs don’t require instructions, but how exactly do you turn the woven paper basket into a picture frame?

Just as disappointing is the design and presentation of the book, which is printed entirely in black and white with a dull layout. Perhaps economies of scale made color printing prohibitive, but every craft book I’ve seen recently is in full color, or at least includes color inserts showing the final product, at a lower price. I have to admit that it’s difficult for me to separate my reaction to the content of the book from my reaction to the production/design. Overall, though, I found The Hipster Librarian’s Guide to Teen Craft Projects a lackluster book at best.

Trisha, Jolene and I are all going booktalking in the near future.  Here are some of our booktalking tips for new librarians and new booktalkers alike.  We’re by no means experts, but hey, every little bit helps right?

Trisha’s  Booktalking Tips:

1) It gets easier. I hated giving oral presentations when I was in school, so of course, the first few times I went booktalking by myself, I was more than a bit overwhelmed and intimidated by the whole thing. But it got better, especially once I figured out what worked for me and found my own style.

2) Find your own style. Different librarians have different styles, so if you can, observe other librarians booktalking. Some have their booktalks memorized, some do everything off the top of their head. Some use props, some don’t. Some spend a couple of minutes talking about one book, some tend to do shorter booktalks. Try out different techniques and see what comes most naturally and works the best for you.

3) Remember, you’re not just promoting books. You’re also promoting the library and its services. So tell the students about upcoming programs and recent programs you’ve held. Remind them you have DVDs and online resources that’ll come in handy when they’re doing homework or searching for colleges or need to practice taking the SAT. Just try to do it in an interesting way.

4) You can find booktalks online. Scholastic and Random House offer booktalks on their sites. Nancy Keane’s Booktalks Quick and Simple has tons of booktalks, sometimes two or more talks for one book. I find the sites useful, because though I almost always write my own booktalks (usually months after I first read the book, because I can never force myself to write a booktalk right after I’ve read a book that would be great for booktalking. Instead, I wait until I’m asked to go booktalking, start freaking out and after looking at the booktalks I’ve already written, go to my shelves to find newer books to supplement the ones I know I can do effectively, and start writing. But I don’t recommend this method), I sometimes find it hard to find that initial flash of inspiration. The booktalks I end up writing may look nothing like the ones I found online, but just seeing the different approaches others have taken is often enough to get my creative juices flowing.

Other handy links:
http://www.motherreader.com/2006/06/book-hooks.html
http://www.motherreader.com/2007/10/teen-booktalking.html
http://www.motherreader.com/2006/03/extreme-booktalking.html

Gayle’s Booktalking Tips:

1) Have fun! In most cases you are in the classroom during some lull in standardized testing so make the most of it.  The students will be receptive if you are enthusiastic.

2) Interact! I’ve found the quickest way to engage a class is to ask them questions.  It doesn’t hurt if you share a little about yourself too.  It gives you more credibility and makes you more real when you personalize booktalks.  Of course, don’t personalize too much, you are a professional so conduct yourself in a professional manner.

3) Choose Books You Like! If you’ve been reading about booktalking, you’ve no doubt heard this tip numerous times.  And I can’t stress too much how important this is.  It’s hard to booktalk a book you feel indifferent about.  In direct contrast it’s easy to gush about a book you love.

4) Practice, practice, practice! You don’t need to memorize, but practice makes perfect.  Try to practice on a forgiving audience to see if your booktalk makes sense.

5) Variety is the Spice of Life! Even if your reading preferences are very specific try to step out of your reading comfort zone for the sake of booktalking.  Non-Fiction books are easier than you think to booktalk–many of them sell themselves with their quirky content.  Books from different genres appeal to different sorts of readers.  And hey if you’re a big chick-lit fan and love a science fiction book, it gives it that much more credibility that you think it’s a winner.

6) Keep it Simple Smarty! Don’t try to over-explain a plot or a book.  Keep it simple and it’ll be smooth sailing.

7) Be Flexible. (No exclamation point here.)  It’s important to be flexible because schedules change, people get sick, memories are faulty, and there are somethings in life you can’t control so roll with the punches.

Read a lot! The more you read, the more you have to booktalk.  If you don’t find that this is the case, try reading something different.

9) Smile! A smile makes you more approachable and breaks down a lot of barriers.

10) There’s always room for improvement! If you can learn from your mistakes then you’ll be that much better then next time. Remember to project your voice and speak clearly. One of my biggest challenges is to slow down.  I tend to speak very quickly and I’m constantly struggling to slow down.

Not.

I just finished Reading Matters: What the Research Reveals About Reading, Libraries, and Community yesterday (much, much stronger in the adult and children chapters than the YA chapter, in my opinion), but the cover still bothers me.

For a book that’s about pleasure reading, particularly fiction reading, why is the book on the center of the table called Linear Algebra? (You can just make out the title in this image.) Are there no stock photos of people actually reading fiction? Or some book not called Linear Algebra?

In other news, I was reading ESPN The Magazine while eating today. Last place I would have expected to see the cover of Kate Brian’s Sweet 16, but there it was in Outtakes (is that really what it’s called? You’d think I’d know this). Good one! It doesn’t appear online, but if you turn to the second to the last page of the magazine, it’s there.

Even if your library doesn’t have a formal readers’ advisory program, Serving Teens Through Readers’ Advisory by Heather Booth is still well worth reading. Because you want to encourage teens to read, right? And because I can’t be the only one who’s never quite sure what to recommend when parents come in without their teens and ask for books, or when teens come in asking for a fiction book—any fiction book, they don’t care what, they just want a book—about a particular subject for one of their classes. Because their teacher has only told them to read a book, and didn’t give them a suggested reading list or tell their friendly nearby YA librarian about the assignment ahead of time.

So, thanks Heather Booth!

If you’re unfamiliar with readers’ advisory, it’s defined in the glossary as “The process and skill of aiding patrons in finding suitable recreational reading by detecting their reading interest, finding books to match that interest, and articulating the books’ appeal.” In other words, recommending books a patron will find appealing, and knowing which books to recommend and how to recommend them.

You don’t need experience with readers’ advisory to find Serving Teens Through Readers’ Advisory useful. Beginning with an overview of the importance of teen reading and a brief summary of the traditional readers’ advisory process that’s done with adults, Booth then highlights how teen readers differ from adults and what we need to do to adjust our approach. She introduces the concepts of readers’ advisory service (appeal factors, how to conduct a readers’ advisory interview, etc.) and gives numerous examples of questions to ask to ascertain the type of book that would most appeal to a teen patron. There is also an entire section devoted to special circumstances, which includes chapters on readers’ advisory for homework assignments and how to do readers’ advisory when the teen in question is not present.

In each chapter, key concepts and questions to ask patrons are clearly presented, making the book easy to browse through if you’re pressed for time or in need of a quick refresher. But you should still read the rest of the book! Booth writes clearly and concisely, making the readers’ advisory process understandable and simple. She notes that good readers’ advisory takes effort and practice, but presents us with the tools to start doing it. A glossary and appendices of popular authors, titles, and awards are included. My one complaint is that the book is very much focused on fiction. Non-fiction is mentioned in passing several times, but I would have liked a chapter, or at least part of a chapter, about non-fiction readers’ advisory.* All in all, I highly recommend this book to librarians serving teens.

* And if anyone can recommend non-fiction titles about people who survived genocide or slavery (at least, that’s what they think they were supposed to read about, because they left the assignment in the car), I won’t have to spend half an hour scrambling to find something if this assignment comes up again.