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A spoonful of creativity a day
Day 5

Watch out folks - needle felting is very addictive.

I started a mole last night (which you can see next to the mug there) but in the end felt it was too big, so I put it aside. Ewan had asked for a koala bear, so I spent another afternoon stabbing at some roving..


Starting to look bear like...the ears were fun to shape..


Almost there...


Added some legs and black beads for the eyes...


Finished off with a little bit of stitiching to the face...


And as I am completely addicted, I had to make something else. This time it was a teeny tiny mole...


I love moles :)



I will do something different tomorrow - probably a simpler project that is a little less time intensive...but I do have to finish the Christmas scene that I started, so I will get to feed my needle felting addiction some time in the near future.

Cheerio!

It's been great getting back into my moleskin. I did this creature yesterday while at the Royal Bison Art & Craft Fair (which was very enjoyable: I connected with come people who had bought from me at a previous fair and traded my goodies for some very lovely products!).

Here's two quick facts about yesterday's creture: 1) She loves wearing layers (so she can enjoy her two favorite shirts at the same time) and 2) She often wakes up near midnight to jot down her dreams in vivid details.


I also had time to do a self portrait (crystal style): I find it fascinating that the one face you look at every day is the hardest to get "right"... then again, it might have helped to have a mirror.

On February 27th, Polar Bear Day celebrates the world's largest carnivore.  It may be a big, meat eater, but somehow it often looks a bit cuddlier in children’s books than it might in real life.  Just look at how cute the little polar bear is in Lonesome Polar Bear by Jane Cabrera.  All the little cub wants is a friend to play with, but it’s hard to find a friend when all the other animals think of you as a big, scary predator as described in Sandra Markle’s Polar Bears in her Animal Predators series from Carolrhoda, which features a photo of a mother and cub feasting on a bloody carcass on the very first page.    Two very different depictions of the same animal.  One will appeal to storytime audiences and the other will be perfect for your reluctant readers looking for something a bit graphic.

Polar Star by Sally Grindley is an accurate yet gentle look at the polar bear as a hunter that blends fact and fiction as it follows a mama bear searching for food with her cubs.  Polar Bears are Hungry by Carol Carrick has a similar story, but a slightly different focus.  In spare text, the point is put forth that our warming temperatures are making it difficult for polar bears (and other animals) to find food.  This is a good choice for talking about the environment, global warming, and endangered species possibly paired with Polar Bears in Danger by Helen Orme and Face to Face with Polar Bears by Norbert Rosing for the latest facts on the polar bear population.

Make friends with real polar bears in Pair of Polar Bears by Joanne Ryder and Knut: How One Little Polar Bear Captivated the World by Carig Hatkoff.  Both are filled with vivid photographs of baby bears that will capture your heart.

Happy Polar Bear Day!

I’ve been told I have the sense of humor of a five-year-old.  All the better to do my job, I reply.  And I must admit that I really do laugh at the silly stuff in all the picture books I see.  I still love the word play in Douglas Florian’s books of poetry.  My particular favorite line is from a poem about penguins in Zoo’s Who, which talks about “penguinter vacation.”  It never fails to get a chuckle from me.

Fans of silly poetry like Douglas Florian will not want to miss Behold the Bold Umbrellaphant by Jack Prelutsky in which animals are put with regular objects with unusual outcomes, much like in Scranimals.  I love the collage art by Carin Berger in this fun book poems.

Get to know words backwards and forwards in Mom and Dad are Palindromes by Mark Shulman.  This zany story has Bob freaking out after he learns about palindromes because it seems that palindromes are everywhere.  He can’t get away from them.  It’s fun to look for the hidden palindromes in the illustrations—there are over 100 to find in the book!

Whether you’re talking about homonyms and parts of speech or reading silly poems, these books will be sure to convince your students that language is fun.

Ever wonder what’s going on at home while you’re sunning yourself at the beach?  Would you believe that your house is having an adventure of its own?  Hey, who says you get to have all the fun? 

When the Peterson family leaves for their vacation, their house decides that this might be a good time for it to get away from it all.  There is a bit of discussion about this.  Trying to get all the parts of a house to agree on a vacation destination is like getting all the members of a family to agree on where to go.  But eventually, they come to a consensus and take off.  All except the basement, who refuses to rise to the occasion.

The adventure ensues from there, full of puns and silly scenes with a house among oblivious vacationers.  Kids will love the silliness, especially if they are old enough to get the plays on words.  House Takes a Vacation by Jacqueline Davies is sure to be a hit at storytimes.

We all have at least one thing in common on the Tandem Library Books Collection Development Team:  we love books. We couldn’t help but be charmed by some of these books about books (and libraries!).

Library Lion is an office favorite. The soft illustrations make the lion look like a gentle cat. And strange as the sight of a lion in a library might be, as long as he doesn’t break the rules, he can stay and enjoy the books and the storytimes to his heart’s content. Only he finds that sometimes breaking the rules is necessary. But will our Library Lion be banned from the library? 

We all love the zany librarian who went to the zoo in Judy Sierra’s Wild About Books, but do you know Library Lil, who becomes a hero when the power goes out in Chesterville? Or Ms. Chinca, the really nice librarian who helps out Carlo in Carlo and the Really Nice Librarian? Or the three librarians who help Melvin explore his world in The Boy Who Was Raised by Librarians? Now those are some librarians worth knowing!

Being the book lovers that we are, we know that books are for reading. Not for eating. Henry learns that lesson in The Incredible Book-Eating Boy by Oliver Jeffers. Another book eater finds that books are better when “eaten” with your eyes in Winston the Book Wolf by Marni McGee.

I think we’ll keep eating the books with our eyes as it makes it so much easier to write reviews of them later….

Library displays are a great way to do silent reader’s advisory.  But they won’t do any good if they don’t get attention.  Here are some quick tips for creating attention getting displays for your teens:

• Get teens involved.  Have them create the display or display reviews they’ve written.
• Don’t get cluttered.  Keep it neat and organized while using your space effectively.  Too many (or too few) books for a space will look messy.
• Notice traffic patterns.  Watch the way teens use your library and put displays where the traffic is.
• Use props.  Add objects to your display that relate to the theme or make it interactive with a puzzle or game.
• Think about the covers.  Use your book covers to really get attention.  Group books by color or other common element for a dramatic display.

• Variety is good.  Mix fiction, nonfiction, audiovisual, magazines, etc.
• Refresh your display regularly.  A picked-over display will likely be passed by. 
• Keep your eyes open for great themes.  Turn the Insightful Lists or the Book Round-Ups into great attention-getting displays for your library or media center.

January is a big month for medical history milestones.  This month marks 158 years since Elizabeth Blackwell became the first woman to receive her medical degree and 40 years since the first heart transplant.  In those years, many, many important medical advances and discoveries have been made. 

Stephanie True Peters takes us back to 1918 while keeping one foot firmly planted in the latest research in 1918 Influenza Pandemic.  This exceptional work of nonfiction for middle and high school students is a must-have for collections looking for history and science.  Dr. Jenner and the Speckled Monster is another fascinating look at the history of science and medicine for this grade range. 

High schoolers interested in the history of small pox and vaccinations may be interested in Julia Alvarez’ historical fiction novel Saving the World, which fictionalizes a journey to the New World with the vaccine.  And the Alex Award winning Year of Wonders chronicles the Black Plague as it broke out in England from the perspective of a woman in a village that chose to quarantine itself to keep the sickness within its borders. 

These are just a few books that bring history and science together in ways that will fascinate your students.

I have loved historical fiction since I was a teen.  In particular, I read everything I could find that was based on a real historical figure.  The idea that this was something that might have really happened was so romantic to the teenage me, and I ate it up.  In that way Angelmonster by Veronica Bennett was almost nostalgic for me when I read it last year because it reminded me so much of what I actually read as a teen.  Plus, I happen to be a bit of a poetry geek as I’ve mentioned before, so the story of Mary Shelley’s life with her poet husband Percy was fascinating to me.

Fans of this week’s Book of the Week, No Shame No Fear, might be interested in Alice Hoffman’s book for teens, Incantation, in which a young girl in Spain learns that her family are secretly still practicing the Jewish faith despite the fact that it was highly dangerous to do so at the time.  She is forced to make a choice about what she will do: uphold her family’s religious traditions or give in to pressure from the Inquisition.

But historical fiction isn’t just for girls.  The Strongbow Saga is Judson Roberts’ new series that begins with Viking Warrior in which Halfdan, who has been a slave his entire life, is given his rightful place as the son of the chieftain.  He begins his training as a warrior, and soon he finds a need to use his newly acquired skills.  This action-packed book is full of details about life in a Viking village, and the story is engaging from the very beginning.  Dragons From the Sea continues Halfdan’s story, and fans will want to know what happens in this saga.

There are many more options in this growing genre.  Here are a few more that might be of interest to your teens.

Can you imagine living at a time when it was dangerous to believe certain things?  Or to practice a particular religion?  That may seem strange to us in this country, where we have always had the right to worship as we chose.  But many people have had to struggle for their faith.

In England in 1662, it was dangerous to be a Quaker. Parliament has passed laws making it illegal not to take the oath of allegiance and to hold religious meetings. Quakers who broke these laws were beaten or imprisoned. This is the backdrop against which Will and Susanna fall in love.

The narrative in No Shame, No Fear goes back and forth between the two teens as they meet and become intrigued with one another—and as Will becomes intrigued by Susanna’s religion.  He attends a few Quaker meetings out of curiosity, and soon he feels compelled to make huge changes in his life in accord with the religion.  But his father does not approve of his newfound faith or of Will’s interest in Susanna.

This is a compelling story of love against the odds that fans of historical fiction will devour.  Be sure to have the sequel on hand for those who want to know more about what happens with Will and Susanna.

View this book in the Tandem Library Books Online Bookstore.

Freedom to speech.  Freedom to assemble.  Right to bear arms.  We know these freedoms from discussions in classrooms or in the media, but what do we really know about the Bill of Rights?

This December 15th take your students deeper into the freedoms we are granted with Russell Freedman’s In Defense of Liberty.  This Orbis Pictus Honor book breaks the Bill of Rights down chapter by chapter talking about the history, the controversy, and the ordinary citizens who have stood up for each amendment.  Compare this title to Milton Meltzer’s now of of print The Bill of Rights: How We Got it and What it Means to talk about how the Bill of Rights has changed even since 1990 as new issues arise, like electronic privacy and homeland security, which were barely on the radar in 1990 when Meltzer’s book was published.  Add in Kathleen Krull’s Kid’s Guide to America’s Bill of Rights for a look at how freedom affects even young people’s lives. 

Inspire your students with examples of those who have stood up for their freedom with Freedom Walkers: The Story of the Montgomery Bus Boycott starts with Rosa Parks’ famous refusal to move to the back of the bus in 1955.  But you can go back even further in time with We Are One: The Story of Bayard Rustin to read about how this little-known civil rights activist staged his own bus protest some thirteen years before Rosa Parks.  Women, too, have changed the shape of freedom in this country, and Ann Bausum’s With Courage and Cloth explores the women’s suffrage movement from 1848 to the adoption of the Nineteenth Amendment in 1920.

Get to know your rights and be inspired to change the shape of your world this Bill of Rights Day!

Sometimes you just want both sides of the story.  Or all sides. 

One of the most popular novels from 2006 was a fast paced, two-sided look at one night.  Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist took two major talents in teen fiction and put them side-by-side in a novel that made high scores in both quality and popularity.  Cohn and Levithan are back together with 2007’s Naomi and Ely’s No Kiss List, which has even more perspectives on a story of two friends when friendship gets complicated.

Levithan is no stranger to alternating narrators.  In Are We There Yet? We get both points of view as two brothers, as different as can be, are tricked by their well-meaning parents into taking a vacation together. At first, they get on each other’s every last nerve. 17 year old Elijah’s serendipity clashes with 23 year old Danny’s organized business like manner. A girl comes between them and changes things, as girls always do. Levithan’s insightful prose makes it possible to experience Venice, Florence, and Rome along with Elijah and Danny, each in their own way.

Middle school readers might not be ready for Cohn and Levithan’s books, but they will not want to miss another great collaborative novel: Never Mind: A Twin Novel.  Rachel Vail and Avi put their talents together in this novel that alternates between two siblings. 

Don’t be limited to just one point of view.  Check out this list of great multi-voiced fiction for middle and high schoolers.

“It’s amazing how much dying can do for a girl’s popularity.”

Raquel Falcone was not the most popular girl in her high school.  She was quiet and overweight.  She had a few friends, but her death affects more than just the few who knew her well. 

Now there’s a collection going to get a memorial park bench in her name and a letter-writing campaign to lower the speed limit on the road where her fatal accident occurred.  Amidst the crusading of some of Raquel’s classmates though, there are questions.  No one is 100% sure what happened.  Did she fall in front of the car?  Was she pushed?  Or did she step in front of the car?

Despite a premise that seems heavy and full of tragedy, Remembering Raquel is actually a fairly light and fast read.  At only 160 pages, this slim book will appeal to readers who don’t want a huge time commitment.  And the alternating perspectives keep the book moving at a quick pace while keeping it interesting.

All the while, you’re left wondering how you might be remembered.

View this book in the Tandem Library Books Online Bookstore.

If the holiday season has you itching for travel but you can’t actually get away, check out these great travel-themed books. 

John Green’s Printz Honor winning An Abundance of Katherines takes us to Tennessee with Colin and Hassan since, of course, a road trip is the ultimate cure for a broken heart.  They end up in Gutshot, TN, a town as unique as the name makes it sound.  If you like Tennessee, you can also find yourself there in Tallulah Falls by Christine Fletcher when Tallulah gets stranded there on her way to Florida.                                                                 

If you’re feeling spontaneous, you might hop a bus to Alabama like Erin in In Search of Mockingbird   by Loretta Ellsworth.  Harper Lee has been her hero for a long time, and she is determined to meet the reclusive author.  Erin finds more than she was looking for on her trip.  Much like Sophie in Red Glass, who travels to Mexico with her great-aunt, but soon is on her own in Guatemala.  It turns out she’s much stronger than she thinks she is.

Another Sophie takes a trip in The Wanderer by Sharon Creech.  This Sophie sails across the Atlantic with her three uncles and two cousins to see her grandfather. We read Sophie’s journal of the trip as she talks about her grandfather and the sea, but we also get her cousin Cody’s journal entries, which provide a much different look at the trip and give us a different perspective on Sophie.  This is a personal favorite of mine, great for upper elementary or middle school readers.

Don’t leave the kids behind!  The Year I Didn’t Go to School, Giselle Potter’s autobiographical picture book based on the journal she kept while her family traveled around Italy when she was seven, proves that travel is just as exciting for kids as it is for adults.  This book is a great opportunity to share the idea of keeping a “travel journal” with kids. 

Or take a trip in your imagination with Rainstorm. In Barbara Lehman’s latest picture book, a boy finds a mysterious key, which leads him on a magical journey one rainy day.  This wordless story will change the way you look at gloomy days. 

Whether it’s a real vacation or just an afternoon daydream, happy travels to you!

Last year, I was able to sit in on social studies and art classes in a small school here in the Twin Cities.  The best part was getting to know the kids and watching them experiment with new painting techniques or eagerly talk about the history of the National Road during class.  But it was also neat to see books in action in a classroom.  Ever since then, I’ve been more aware of what a book might do. 

Like Beetle Bop by Denise Fleming, for example.  This brightly colored picture book by Caldecott wining author/illustrator is part field guide, part poetry.  Young audiences with bugs on their minds will be fascinated by the simple presentation of all the different types of beetles, where they can be found, and what they do (crawl up walls, hide from predators, munch on leaves, etc.)  Add this one to your buggy science classes for a visual treat to pore over with your students.

Think spring with Bob and Otto by Robert Bruel.  A caterpillar and a worm are best friends.  They don’t notice any differences between them until nature takes them in opposite directions--literally, Bob climbs a tree and forms a cocoon while Otto digs into the ground spending all his time eating, sleeping, and digging. Bob transforms into a beautiful butterfly while Otto, of course, remains an earthworm.  Eventually the two friends realize how much they rely on each other in this gentle nature lesson perfect for preschoolers and kindergarteners.

Classics like Miss Rumphius and The Gardener illustrate the many benefits of planting gardens, but On Meadowview Street by Henry Cole shows the benefits of preserving gardens that already exist.  Caroline finds a flower in her yard and decides to protect it.  Then she finds more.  Soon she is protecting her whole yard and it is full of flowers, birds, and butterflies.  Perfect to read aloud to accompany units on the environment or gardens, this may be an inspirational title for young naturalists.

Looking for more like Tyrell?  Urban fiction is a hot topic for teens right now, and many libraries are looking for titles that show the harsher side of city life from a teen’s perspective, much like Tyrell does. 

These are stories that include drug use, violence, sex, teen parenthood, crime, etc.  These aren’t necessarily pretty stories, and they definitely aren’t “safe” or “clean.”  But, for many teens, this is reality.  Inner city librarians or those working with young people who are incarcerated have reported that these books are “flying off the shelves” – or at least that’s how an article in Young Adult Library Services put it last fall referring to Philadelphia Public Libraries.  These books may or may not be appropriate for your library, but you’ll definitely want to be aware of this trend in YA lit.

One title that does fit most collections for teens while depicting the less pretty side of urban life is Make Lemonade by Virginia Euwer Wolff.  First published in 1993, this novel and its sequel, True Believer, have remained relevant and readable.  Perhaps the staying power can be attributed to the format.  The story is told in simple, spare verse that tells just enough to keep the reader interested.  Or maybe it’s the characters.  LaVaughn is a teenager who is under a lot of pressure from her mother—a single parent—to go to college.  LaVaughn understands why her mother wants her to go to college, and she wants that for herself too.  But the idea of “College” has become too big to be real.  She describes the word college like furniture in their living room you have to walk around.  People in her neighborhood don’t go to college.  People in her neighborhood end up like Jolly.  Jolly is 17, with two kids, no high school diploma, and no money.  Jolly’s life is the sort of future that LaVaughn is trying to escape.  But the two young women become inextricably intertwined, and the result is a novel that has broad appeal and is full of hope.

LaVaughn learns from Jolly that the life of a teenage mother isn’t easy, but in Broken China by Lori Aurelia Williams, China learns that lesson herself.  China became a mother at twelve years old, and now, at 14, she is struggling to be a good mom to her little girl.  But finds that she is trapped by the choices she has made.  In Baby Girl by Lenora Adams, Sheree makes a different decision.  Like China, she too had gotten pregnant at twelve years old, but she decided to have an abortion.  Now, at seventeen, she is pregnant again, and looking at the life before her with the eyes of a mother as best she can. 

Give your collection an international feel with Kiffe Kiffe Tomorrow.  Doria and her mother live just outside of Paris, France. Sounds glamorous, but life isn’t like the movies. The screenwriter of their life doesn’t know about happily ever after, says Doria.  Her world in the Paris projects isn’t actually all that different than that of an urban American teen. The international and multicultural elements of this book make it standout from the crop of urban fiction featuring African American characters in American cities.  And Doria’s precocious cynicism will speak to many teen readers. 

These are just a few options, check out this list for more urban titles for high school.

Tyrell grew up with eight buildings as his whole world.  He lived with his family in the Bronxwood Houses.  Maybe not the nicest apartments in the city, but certainly nicer than the homeless shelter where he lives now with his mom and brother since his dad has been in prison (again). 

Now his world is bigger than eight buildings, but sometimes it feels a lot smaller.  His choices seem so limited. 

“I really wanna put my fist through a wall.  I can’t calm myself down.  I can feel the blood pounding in my brain.  I gotta do something.  I wanna go somewhere, But I don’t got nowhere to go.”

He needs to make money to get his family into a real apartment again, but he doesn’t want to make the same mistakes his dad made, which landed him in jail.  Trying to stay clean in Tyrell’s world isn’t easy. 

But he has a plan.  He isn’t going to live in a shelter forever.  And he isn’t going to end up like his father.  He’s going to save his family himself since his mother obviously can’t do it and all the “at risk” programs and social workers who’ve been in and out of his life can’t do it.  He’s going to figure out a way to make money and take care of them on his own without getting into trouble.  That’s a lot of pressure for a fifteen-year-old. 

Tyrell is immediate and real.  Highly recommended for libraries wanting to increase their urban fiction for teens.

View this book in the Tandem Library Books online Bookstore