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Librarian Spotlight #1

By Bianca Schulze, The Children’s Book Review
Published: August 17, 2012

To kick off TCBR’s new column “On the Shelf,” which shines a spotlight on brilliant children’s librarians, April Hayley, MLIS, graciously  talked to us about becoming a librarian— among other great topics. Do you think you can guess which is the most checked out children’s book at San Anslemo Public Library in California? Read on!

Bianca Schulze: Why did you choose to become a librarian?

April Hayley: I was fortunate enough to discover the magic of reading at a young age, probably before I was out of the cradle. My mother, a librarian, read me stories and sang to me every night before bed and my father made up fairy tales for me. I didn’t discover my calling as a librarian until college one summer, working for the Chicago Public Library (my hometown). My job was to provide library services to children in some of the city’s most neglected and poverty-stricken neighborhoods. Instead of working inside the library, I brought books and literacy activities directly to the young people who needed it most. I visited three playgrounds a day, equipped only with a trunk full of picture books and a quilt to sit on. Once the kids figured out why I was coming around, they always ran over to join me, so eager to read stories, sing songs, and learn something new.Reading opened up new worlds for the kids I met. I could see it as they linked their eyes with mine, and for me that was a powerful, life-changing experience.

Most of the precious children I met that summer had never been exposed to the pleasures of reading, and none of them had ever visited a public library. When I witnessed the joy and curiosity that reading sparked in them, I understood the transformative effect of reading on young minds and I knew I wanted to be a Children’s Librarian. Once I entered graduate school to earn my Masters in Library Science, I had the opportunity to intern in the Children’s Room of the beautiful Mill Valley Library, and I knew I was on the right path; delivering traditional library services within the walls of a suburban public library could be just as fun and rewarding as literacy outreach in the inner city.

BS: Librarians are the ultimate evangelists for reading. How do you encourage students and children to read?

AH: Now that I work at the San Anselmo Library, I am lucky that many of the kids I meet already love to read. There is a culture of reading in San Anselmo that simply does not exist in places whose inhabitants must spend their time dealing with the dispiriting effects of poverty. Of course, I do a lot of work to promote reading for the children, babies, caregivers, and teenagers of our community. I lead several weekly storytimes for toddlers and preschoolers, which are designed to nourish a love of reading that will last a lifetime. It’s important to reach out to new parents and their babies as early as possible to show them how fun reading, sharing nursery rhymes, learning fingerplays, and singing can be. I also lead a book discussion group for elementary school students called the Bookworms, and a poetry club for yo

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It's been a bit of a surreal week in my world, first off, thank you to the anonymous commenter who told me that Meg Cabot linked here in on Twitter on Tuesday. She also called me Twirltacular.

MEG CABOT THINKS I AM TWIRLTACULAR. Life doesn't get much more awesome than that!

I wonder if I can put that on my resume.

Then a female Ghanaian king came to the library yesterday.

Yes boys and girls, I finally got to meet royalty, and I was wearing my Babymouse t-shirt.*

And one of my friends had a baby yesterday and another friend is leaving tomorrow to go to Korea to bring home her son.

Meanwhile, the weather's been gorgeous lately. I've been listening to a lot of this album and sitting in front of open windows, reading Country Driving: A Journey Through China from Farm to Factory, enjoying the sun and warm breeze.




*My shirt no longer seems to be available in T-shirt form. It's the Queen of the World graphic on one of the tote bags, but on a pink t-shirt. I was wearing it a few years ago and one of the girls at work say "Miss Jennie, what's that on your shirt?"

"It's Babymouse!"

She looked confused.

"You guys don't know Babymouse?"

She shook her head no. I took her and her friend over to the graphic novel section and handed out a few copies. Other kids saw I was handing out books and joined the crowd until they were all gone. About ten minutes later, one of the boys, who was very into being macho, stomped over to the desk. "Miss Jennie! I want that pink book that everyone else is reading!"

Babymouse hasn't stayed on the shelf since.

Links to Amazon are an affiliate link. You can help support Biblio File by purchasing any item (not just the one linked to!) through these links. Read my full disclosure statement.

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Oh joy, coming soon -- BABYMOUSE: THE MUSICAL

Curtain up, light the lights! Will the irresistible, irrepressible Babymouse win the lead in the school musical, or will Felicia Furrypaws steal the show?

Now, when will we QUILTERS be able to buy Babymouse Fabric? Hmm?
Hello? Paging Andover Fabrics!
Please make them an offer they can't refuse. I need some Babymouse PINK in my fabric stash.

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...and the Cyborg Substitute...and the League of Librarianswritten and illustrated by Jarret J. KrosoczkaAlfred A. Knopf 2009There's evil afoot, and Lunch Lady is there with her trusty hair-netted sidekick Betty to thwart it. Whether its a league of librarians who plan to intercept all the new video game consoles coming in fresh off he boat, or the mild-mannered teacher who created a robot

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Babymouse: dragonslayer by Jennifer L. Holm & Matthew Holm, Random House, 2009 -- publisher supplied review copy

So, I'm looking at books in the children's section at Boulder Bookstore and I hear a snicker, then a cough of laughter, then that sort of sustained snort that morphs into a laughing guffaw. I looked over my shoulder and saw a boy, I would peg him at 5th grade, reading ... a Babymouse book. He was smiling as his eyes darted across the pages which were being turned eagerly.

When I read this interview with Jennifer and Matthew Holm at KidsRead.com, I knew this bit was right on.

We started out intending the audience to be elementary school girls, but the series has really found its own audience. Boys love it (they don’t care about the pink), and the age group skews higher than we thought.

I love Babymouse. I bought a pink telephone a few years ago because of Babymouse. In fact, the entlings would swear I am going through some sort of pink period, not unlike Picasso went through his "blue period."

I have to say though, that Dragonslayer is my very, very, favorite installment in this series so far.

Here is the pink-print: 1 graphic novel featuring my most beloved illustrated novel character + most of my favorite fandoms + a struggle with the academic subject that filled me with the most confusion, fear, and self doubt = the fun, the whimsy, the heartfelt chuckles that are this latest in the Babymouse series.

The academic subject that filled me with the most confusion, fear, and self doubt was not chemistry. I could balance equations until the cows came home which resulted in the best grade I ever made in science. No, early on, I decided math was one of those things I just did NOT get.

I can look back now and see it was a developmental thing. I actually got much better at math as time went by but I do not think I ever felt that way. I completely identify with Babymouse's wail, "But I'm not good at math!" The dragon that Babymouse must slay is MATH. Happily, as she IS a marvelous reader, she has tomes of characters from beloved fantasy stories to help her.

It is important to realize that just because we do not understand a subject or it is difficult does not mean we cannot get better at it with practice and stick-to-it-ness. The Holmes sibs never hit the reader over the head with "the lesson" or "moral of the story" though. They just tell a hilarious tale of an endearing and brave everymouse who is doing the best she can. I will NOT give away a single one of the extremely witty allusions because their appearances will delight the reader.

I *heart* Babymouse. I am Babymouse.

This one has to be on your library shelf.
School librarians, it is the start of a new budget year. Put this one on your acquisition list!
Now would be a good time.
I've even linked some vendors for you below!

Bound to Stay Bound Login
Follett Titlewave Login
Mackin Login

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My day just got a whole lot brighter! New Babymouse--huzzah!

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Good morning all. I am here to tell you about Babymouse - just in case you have not heard about this delightful and very loveable character. Created by Jennifer L. Holm and her brother Matthew Holm, Babymouse is a graphic novel personality who loves cupcakes, who tries to survive school, and who has terrible luck keeping pets. She is persecuted by Felicia Furrypaws, a cat with a spiteful nature. Babymouse has an imagination as big as all outdoors, and this helps her to get through trying times. Because I love Babymouse I contacted the people at Random House to ask Jennfer and Matthew for an interview. Here is what they had to say

1. Where did the idea for Babymouse come from?

JENNI: When I was growing up (with four brothers!) our house was always full of comic books. (And stinky socks.)

MATT: Hey!

JENNI: But there were never any good comics for girls. Wonder Woman? Betty and Veronica? Little Lulu? Bleah. So I always hoped that, someday, I'd come across a good comic character that girls could identify with.

Then, when I was older and living in New York City, I was having a really rotten day. Late for work, pouring rain, forgot my lunch, etc. When I finally got home, I was standing in the kitchen, and the image of this irritable little mouse with crazy whiskers and a heart on her dress came into my head. So I scribbled it down on a napkin and gave it to Matt the next time I saw him.

And then he lost the napkin.

MATT: Sigh.

2. How did you decide that you wanted your character to be a mouse rather than a cat, dog or some other animal?

MATT: When we were growing up, our dad made Jenni a dollhouse. But instead of little human dolls, we had these little mouse figurines that all the local gift shops carried. They came in all sorts of outfits-lumberjack mouse, magician mouse, doctor mouse, leprechaun mouse, Betsy Ross mouse, and so on. I had some of them, too.

JENNI: I got the dollhouse. Matt got the garage.

3. Why did you decide to give Babymouse such a wonderfully active imagination?

JENNI: What kid doesn't have an imagination like that? I know I certainly did, and just about every kid I meet when I go visit schools does, too.

MATT: And, on a practical level, it allows us to do a lot of fun, crazy scenes.

4. Sometimes the stories in the Babymouse books have a sad element to them. Why did you do this?

JENNI: Frankly, a lot of stuff that happens to you when you're in elementary and middle school stinks. But it's good to know that life goes on afterward. And, maybe, it can even be funny.

5. What is it like to work together with a sibling? Do you get on each other's nerves?

MATT: You wouldn't believe how difficult she is to-OW! Quit hitting me!!

JENNI: Ahem. No, we're both pretty easy-going when it comes to the books. We worked in advertising and publishing for years, so we're used to being edited by other people. Our attitude has always been that, if someone feels strongly that something needs to be changed, it probably means that there's something wrong with the scene.

MATT: Plus, we've always lived like, six hours away from each other. That helps.
6. Obviously you both like comics. What do you think comics and graphic novels offer children besides entertainment?

MATT: Comics can teach kids how to read, the same as any other book. Maybe even better; concepts like "dialogue" and "narration" are broken out into discrete examples inside speech balloons, and the pictures show what the words mean, to help reinforce things.

JENNI: I always like to tell a story about a friend of mine, who was born in Puerto Rico and moved to New York City when he was very young. He spoke English as a second language, and had a lot of trouble learning to read. In his adulthood, he told me, "Superman taught me how to read." Superman comics made it possible for him to learn how to read.

7. Matthew, how do you create your illustrations?

MATT: It's a multi-step process. First, I create quick thumbnail sketches in pencils. These are just snippets from all the scenes of the manuscripts, sometimes from different angles, and so on, as I'm working out how things might look. Then Jenni takes these thumbnails, cuts them out, and pastes them down into rough layouts. From these layouts I draw final sketches with Sharpie markers, complete with all of the panels, speech balloons, etc. Then, I scan the final sketches into the computer and do the final "inks" digitally using Adobe Photoshop and a Wacom drawing tablet.

8. Do you both have plans for many more Babymouse books?

JENNI: You bet! Hopefully, for as long as kids keep reading them. Our next one is called, Babymouse: The Musical, in which Babymouse tries out for a school play. I drew upon a lot of my youthful Andrew Lloyd Weber soundtrack mania to create this one.

9. Do you put any of your own childhood experiences into your Babymouse stories?

JENNI: No, never.

MATT: Um, don't you mean, "All the time?"

JENNI: Oh, right. All the time, in fact. I really did have my own "Felicia Furrypaws" at school. Our family really did have some bad luck with escape-prone hamsters and goldfish. And Matt really did get mugged for his Halloween candy one year.

10. Do you, like Babymouse, have a fondness for cupcakes?

JENNI: (Munch munch)

MATT: Can't talk. Eating.

11. What kinds of books did you like to read when you were young?

MATT: When we were very young, lots of Dr. Seuss. Later, lots of comic strip collections-Peanuts, Garfield, Calvin and Hobbes, Bloom County. When we got to the novel stage, it was mostly fantasy.

JENNI: Lloyd Alexander was my favorite author. I wrote him a fan letter, but, being a dumb kid, didn't think to include my return address. Instead, I wrote in my phone number. Craziest of all-he actually called me and thanked me for writing him!

12. In Babymouse Monster Mash - your newest book - Babymouse gets the better of some very unpleasant kids who go to her school. What were you trying to do with this story - besides giving your readers a reason to cheer that is?

JENNI: We wanted to revisit the slumber party social scenario from the first book. Babymouse sees an opportunity to get in good with Felicia and her gang, and she jumps at it, despite the hard lessons she learned in the earlier books. Why? Because that's what happens in real life! All of us really are naive enough and hopeful enough to believe that, maybe THIS time, that mean girl will really be nice, and we'll really get to be part of the "in" crowd.

And, usually, you wind up like Charlie Brown getting the football pulled away from him.

MATT: Plus, who doesn't love a good zombie gross-out scene?

You can read my reviews of the Babymouse books here. You might also like to take a look at the Babymouse website.

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It looks like fans of children’s book series Babymouse will be able to satisfy their fix; United Media has just signed a deal for the licensing and merchandising for US and Canada, with a focus on apparel, accessories, stationery, gifts, back-to-school, interactive, toys, and crafts.

Thanks to Cynopsis Kids for the info.

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TLA session: Babymouse!: Using Graphic Novels in the Younger Grades

Matt Holm gave a talk on using graphic novels with emerging readers. He reviewed the history of "comic" books and cartoons.

It doesn't matter what age you are, it is just fun to watch someone draw. Matt asked for volunteers to give him ideas for different Babymouse roles.


Here is Babymouse Lucha Libre





















The finishing touch: a pink heart!

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Who doesn't love Babymouse?

Many thanks to Jennifer L. Holm & Matthew Holm; and the lovely copy of Babymouse: Heartbreaker, along with a copy for MPOW, along with a Babymouse doll that Cheetah will adore.

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Young Babymouse is at it again--daydreaming, struggling with her locker, and trying to fit in with her peers at school.

This time, however, in the fifth installment of the Babymouse series, the Holms have thrown the worst of school indignities--the school dance--Babymouse's way.

A school dance leads to plenty of good daydreaming. Cinderella, handsome princes, makeovers, spectacular feats on the dance floor. It also leads to plenty of real life heartbreak when a Glamourmouse makeover fails and no one asks Babymouse to the dance.

Now what I really love about the Babymouse series is that Jennifer L. Holm & Matthew Holm don't reach for the easy solutions. And, they don't pander to their audience by choosing romantic, cliched endings. Instead, an off-panel voice suggests to Babymouse that she might ask someone to the dance. And she gives it a go. And FAILS, as one might fail in real life. Then, an off-panel voice suggests she attend the dance by herself. Babymouse scratches her head and says, "Myself? I can do that?" Yes, she can and does. You go, girl! (Or, er, mouse.)

My favorite parts of the Babymouse books are always those set in school. In this Valentine's Day offering, we're told "School was not a very romantic place" and Matthew Holm's characteristic pink and black panels show glum-looking "children" getting off the bus, hands on backpack straps. Indeed. At least there's Babymouse to brighten the day. Every school library should have multiple sets.
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I received Babymouse: Heartbreaker from the authors. Check out these other blog reviews:

Jen at Jen Robinson's Book Page reviews Babymouse: Heartbreaker today as well. A Fuse #8 Production beat us to it with a review in November!

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Babymouse: Rock Star by Jennifer L. Holm & Matthew Holm, 2006

Oh Babymouse, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways. Well, I named my IPod Babymouse and I chose the color pink for my new cell phone.

There is no smarter or cannier look at school life than Jennifer L. Holm and Matthew Holm's Babymouse series. The traumas that plague Babymouse and her classmates are universal. Gym uniforms ARE ugly, lockers DO attack, school meat loaf SHOULD be regarded with suspicion and riding the school bus is ONLY for the very VERY brave.

In Babymouse: Rock Star music is a solace and joy for our heroine but even there, chair tests create yet another pecking order, this time in Band. Hoping to work her way up from last chair for the school concert, Babymouse resolves that she will practice hard for the tryout. Alas, the results of her efforts are, "Screeech!" With the help of a friend, she learns that real music is something you feel in your heart. Band parents will completely identify with this story.

Babymouse's wonderful imagination (she is a reader) carries her daily struggles into the world of the Wizard of Oz and the Pied Piper of Hamelin and her musical dreams into the realm of American Idol-ness.

These graphic novels are rich in humor for young readers but junior highschoolers will also identify. If you have not added this series to your library collection yet then do so asap!

Brava Babymouse!

Miss Erin has an excellent interview with Her Graciousness Jennifer Holm who also just received a Newbery Honor for her book, Penny from Heaven.

Jennifer Holm's Website
A Day in the Life of Jennifer Holm

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