Luv Ya Bunches

Katie-Rose, Violet, Camilla, and Yasaman don't seem to have much in common other than the fact that they all have flowers for names. The four girls all come from different social circles and no one would initially predict that they would become friends. But when their fifth grade year begins a series events bring the girls together as they deal with the snobby Modessa and her controlling ways. With the help of a chat room built just for them by computer-savvy Yasaman, these four girls learn to stand up for themselves and find true friendship in places they never expected.

I have to admit that the premise of this book is pretty cheesy. Four girls named after flowers? A girly cliche. Four girls who come from ethnically diverse backgrounds? Sounds like a bad joke waiting to happen. And they all come together against the queen bee of the class and become fast friends? It's been done. It's almost too perfect to work. But somehow author Lauren Myracle turns this cheesy idea into something that's actually a lot of fun without being overbearing. No lecture here about the importance of racial tolerance as the girls' diverse backgrounds act more as a backdrop than the center of the story. With the number of books out there that directly address racial and LGBT tolerance, it is refreshing to see these issues addressed in a more passive that's-just-the-way-it-is tone.

The narration in Luv Ya Bunches (first in a series about the flower girls) is peppered with IM chats and screenplays along with traditional narration from alternating perspectives, and the pages turn quickly. This book is just a bit of dramatic girly fun, plain and simple. And sometimes that's all you need.

Overall Grade: B+



But apparently not everyone was as happy as I was to see all of the diversity that this book offers. Here is an article from School Library Journal about how Scholastic decided not to include Luv Ya Bunches in its 2009/2010 book fair after Myracle refused to alter the storyline by removing Camilla's lesbian parents. Props to her for standing up to the censors.

LEGO Club: Vehicle Challenge

Last fall I talked about about the LEGO Club that I inherited when I started this job. The club has been meeting once each month, and this summer I decided that it was time to shake things up a bit. Last week at the June meeting I challenged the kids to build objects that met a certain theme: Vehicles. The kids in attendance got pretty creative, building cars, helicopters, chariots, and more. Here are just a few of the finished objects:




Finished creation from this LEGO Club meeting are also on display in the library for everyone to see. This public recognition is a great reward to the kids, and also conveniently serves as advertising for the club.

The Economics of Using Your Library

A friend of mine recently shared this article, posted yesterday on MSN Money. Take a couple of minutes to read though it, and think of the amount of money that can save each year by taking full advantage of what the library has to offer.

Here's another great way to calculate the value of your library. The Massachusetts Library Association has created what they call a Library Calculator, now hosted by the American Library Association (ALA). Plug in how many materials you borrow, how many programs you attend, or how much time you spend on a library's computer. It will then calculate exactly how much money you save by taking advantage of free library services.

Taking advantage of your public library isn't just about finding great books. It's also about finding movies, music and magazines. It's about computer usage and attending a variety of fun and/or informative programs. It's all about public education. And it's all free to the public - why wouldn't you take advantage of your library?

World Culture Fair

This year the theme of the Summer Library Program is, "One World, Many Stories." Under this theme kids get to travel around the world by reading books set in exotic locales, learning about world landmarks and languages, and other similar sorts of activities. To kick things off I decided to host what I called a World Culture Fair at the library. At this program kids were invited to move from station to station at the library and try a number of cultural activities from around the globe. The program was a huge success! Here are a few pictures:


Did you know that you can make a sari out of only 3 1/2 yards of fabric? I purchased a length of costume satin - inexpensive, but bright and shiny. I trimmed all of the edges and treated it with some frey check to keep the fabric from unraveling. If I had wanted my makeshift sari to be a bit more professional I would have hemmed all of the edges, but I was all in favor of quick and easy.


To make these hats (called a Non La in Vietnam and usually woven out of straw), we cut out 9-inch circles of poster board and then cut a slit in each circle. The kids could decorate their circle before we helped them roll it into a cone shape. Tape was used to hold the ends down. We then cut a length of yarn and taped/stapled it to each side of the hat - this string goes under the chin and helps to hold the hat on.


At one station I had two bowls. On had a few cotton balls inside. Kids could then learn to use chopsticks (a diagram was provided to show you how to hold the chopsticks) and try to move the cotton balls from one bowl to the other.


One of our lovely volunteers had actually done quite a bit of missionary work in West Africa. She also has a music background, so she brought in drums, a xylophone, and a number of other cool instruments for the kids to try.

Other activities not pictured here included:

Snacks - I wanted to serve food that originated someplace other than the United States, but I didn't want to put out anything too exotic for fear that picky eaters wouldn't want to try it. In the end I settled on French bread with Nutella and a cheesy risotto. Both were a big hit and very easy to prepare.

Origami - I took the low-maintenance approach to this activity with mixed results. I put out several books with instructions for "easy" origami and the paper and let the kids go to town on their own. Some of the kids - younger ones especially - could have used a bit more guidance from a staff member (unfortunately there weren't enough to go around), but generally parents were able to decipher the instructions themselves and help their own children.

World Languages - I'm lucky enough to have a staff person who's a bit of a language guru. She's a former German teacher who's also dabbled a bit in French, Italian, and Japanese. She and a former student native to Germany introduced the kids to a few phrases in other tongues. We also had on loan a collection of various editions of Eric Carle's The Very Hungry Caterpillar in several other languages available for the kids to browse.

Scavenger Hunt - I hid photos of various world landmarks around the library and challenged the kids to find them. Everyone who found all of six photos was entered into a drawing for a free book!

Book Display - Naturally, I did a big display of books set in or about other places around the world.

We all had a blast at this program. There was quite a bit going on, but we tried to keep the activities as simple as possible so things ran very smoothly. Our estimated 100 guests all seemed to have fun exploring the myraid world activities, so we can definitely count this as a successful program!

Window Chalk

When you were a kid, did you ever imagine that your handwriting would be on display for all to see as part of your job? I never did. But clearly I was mistaken in this childhood assumption - children's librarians find themselves showing off their penmanship skills all the time! With only one week remaining until my library's Summer Library Program begins, I flexed my handwriting muscles today to pull together a lovely window display.

My library is quite lucky to have such a large, lovely window to let in sunlight, while the large "pit" area in front of the window prevents our books from taking on any sun damage. It seemed a shame to not take advantage of the window as a display area to promote the Summer Library Program. The challenge? The sheer size of the window dwarfs normal posters. The solution? Window chalk!

Have you ever used window chalk before? It's awesome stuff. With this mostly-washable paint you can draw or write on glass surfaces. With a little water and a rag, the paint comes right off. You can also use window chalk on other surfaces for a permanent effect.

This was my first time using window chalk, and I'm very happy with the result. Since I have very little in the way of real artistic talent, I chose to do more writing than drawing. Simple wording and big, bold letters seemed ideal for this large space with just a few simple images to add some punch. I also displayed two of this summer's large posters for viewing to help promote this year's theme.

But in this case, pictures are way more fun than words. Take a look at my handiwork!



Apologies for the glare on these pictures. Very little to be done for it when photographing glass though. I'll edit this post if I'm able to get glare-free shots later.