MIA - Picture Books

One of the hardest, yet one of the most fun things about starting a new job at a new library is getting to know the library's collection. Libraries can't buy every single book that's out there, so you really have to get to know what is available to patrons on your own shelves. Yes, we can place holds. But when a kid needs a book at the last minute for a school project, or a family is leaving that afternoon on vacation, or if the kid is just that darn impatient you don't have time to wait for a request to come in.

Since I'm still getting to know my collection, it has occasionally happened that I search for an old favorite only to discover that my library does not own a copy of the book. Remember my lament over the lack of Sandra Boynton books? Since then I've uncovered a few more gaps in the collection that have given me reason to pause and wonder what happened. Here are a few of the awesome picture books that I was shocked to see missing from the shelves:

I Am Number Four

Fifteen-year-old John Smith isn't who you think he is. He is one of nine alien children from the planet Lorien who came to Earth as refugees. They have been hiding among normal humans, waiting for the day when they would be ready to fight back against the Mogadorians who destroyed their home planet. Before they left for earth, the children were protected by a special charm that would keep them safe by ensuring that they could only be killed in order. Unfortunately, three of the Loriens have already been tracked down. John Smith is Number Four - he is next. Fortunately, his legacies - super-powered special abilities unique to his people - have begun to develop. Maybe he has a fighting chance...if he can avoid becoming overly attached to his human friends.

While the book was only published last October, I Am Number Four has received quite a bit of hype due to the quick release of the upcoming movie (set to open tomorrow, February 18). It's not a brilliant piece of writing, but it does have everything that fans of the emerging YA sci-fi genre will love - lots of action, a bit of romance, mysterious worlds that are connected to our own, super powers, and a solid cast of interesting secondary characters. I Am Number Four is not nearly as stunning or thought-provoking as Suzanne Collins' The Hunger Games, but it will still satisfy those who have been drawn to the genre and are eager for more. The stage has been set for the expected six-book series, and I anticipate that the journey will be a wild ride.

Overall Grade: B+

Valentine's Day!

Hooray for Valentine's Day! This is a holiday all about telling the people you care about that you love them - what could be better than that? To show my appreciation to my storytime kids, I made valentines for each of them to take home.



What to show the children in your life that you love them? Read them a story! If you're looking for some holiday inspiration, try one of these Valentine's Day stories:

Love, Ruby Valentine by Laurie Friedman
Ruby Valentine's favorite holiday is - you guessed it - Valentine's Day, and she can't wait for the day to arrive so that she can tell everyone just how much they mean to her. But when her planning leaves Ruby exhausted she accidentally sleeps through the big day. Uh oh! Fortunately, Ruby learns that you don't need a special holiday to tell someone that you love them.

The Day It Rained Hearts by Felicia Bond
Hearts start falling from the sky just before Valentine's Day, and Cornelia Augusta decides that these hearts will make the perfect valentines to send. She decorates each heart differently and knows exactly who each special valentine will go to. This is the perfect story to include with a valentine-making activity as kids make their own special valentines to share.

Arthur's Valentine by Marc Brown
Everyone's favorite aardvark has a secret admirer! Who could it be?

Slugs in Love by Susan Pearson
Marylou and Herbie, two slugs, leave each other sweet love poems every day, but the two have never met. How will these star-crossed lovers find each other? OK, this book isn't exactly a Valentine's Day story, but every day is a good day for love, right?

Audience Participation

During preschool storytimes, I like to select stories that invite some participation from the audience. I like to ask questions, or ask the kids to make animal noises, or leave the last word in a couplet hanging so the kids can fill it in. Inviting this kind of participation took a little bit of practice for me when I first started doing storytimes, but it really can make the time a lot more interesting when you have some generated feedback from your audience.

Sometimes books make generating this interaction very, very easy by asking questions themselves. Take a book I read this week during my dinosaur storytime: the much-beloved How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight?, written by Jane Yolen and illustrated by Mark Teague. Each page asks a question about how a dinosaur acts at bedtime: "Does a dinosaur slam his tail and pout? Does he throw his teddy bear all about?" As you read this story out loud it practically demands that that the kids answer the question with a firm "no!" as they pull together with Papa and Mama for very good dinosaur behavior.

But I have to admit that there is one story that has never gotten an audience to be excited about participating in all the times I have read it. What is this elusive book? Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! by Mo Willems. A modern classic, and one that has been touted by reviewers and librarians for the very thing I cannot get it to do: get kids to participate. I don't know what it is, but I just cannot get the kids to work with me when I read this story. In this book a bus driver must step away from his vehicle and asks readers to keep the bus safe from the pigeon. Pigeon then spends the rest of the book begging the reader to please, please, please let me drive the bus anyway. Despite the fact that so many grown-ups who are supposedly very good at this sort of thing insist that kids will naturally want to say "no" to Pigeon, I just can't get my kids to do it. Most of the time they are silent, and occasionally they think it would be a great idea to disregard the bus driver and hand over the keys to Pigeon. I've tried this story with different audiences, I've tried adding some additional prompting as I read - nothing works!

What is the moral of this story? Not every book works for every librarian/teacher/parent, and not every trick works with every child. As a librarian I can't just take other people's word for it when I plan storytimes - I have to find books and activities that I'm comfortable with and make them my own. That, not books with great reviews, will make storytime special.

Winter Fun Storytime

In my last post, I mentioned that Wisconsin has been dealing with quite a bit of winter weather lately. Schools, libraries, and many other businesses closed their doors as snow and heavy winds made doing much of anything outside miserable. It was a good day to stay home with a good book and some cocoa. Unfortunately, the bad weather also meant the my preschool storytimes for the week were also canceled.

Ironically enough, my planned storytime was all about Winter Fun - dressing warmly, building snowmen, sledding, etc. Even though I did not get to hold this storytime as planned at the library, I still think it's worth celebrating some great books about all of the good things winter brings! We planned to start off by looking at hats, mittens, boots, scarves, and jackets and I get dressed for some winter fun. Then we would move on to some stories:

Under My Hood I Have a Hat by Karla Kuskin
A young girl shows off the many different layers and accessories that she must wear if she wants to go outside during the winter. In the end she reveals that with so many layers she must be careful not to fall, "because / I can't get up at all."

The Mitten: A Ukranian Folktale by Jan Brett
A boy looses his white knit mitten in the snow, where it is found by a mole who decides that the mitten would be a cozy place to rest. Soon he is joined by a host of other animals who all squeeze in together as the mitten stretches out.

The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats
When snow falls, Peter goes outside and has a fun day playing in the snow. This beautiful book won the Caldecott Medal in 1963.

Red Sled by Patricia Thomas
A boy and his dad race through the winter snow on a red sled. This book is told in short two-word descriptions, with each of the paired words rhyming. A sweet story that would be perfect to share with both preschoolers and younger toddlers.

A number of other activities were also planned, including a song to the tune of "Frere Jacques" about falling snow and an action rhyme about building a snowman. My favorite activity, however, is The Winter Pokey! Just like the Hokey Pokey, but with the words customized for a dance full of winter fun:

You put your left mitten in, you put your left mitten out,
You put your left mitten in and you shake it all about.
You do the Winter Pokey and you turn yourself around.
That's what it's all about!

You put your right mitten in...
You put your left boot in...
You put your right boot in...
You put your hat in...
You put your snowsuit in...

With any luck the snow will hold out for a couple more weeks so that I'll have the chance to share this fun storytime with my preschoolers anyway. Wait, did I just wish for more winter?

Sledding Invitation

A little girl comes in to the library every afternoon with her grandfather. Grandpa usually has holds to pick up, and the girl almost always picks out a movie. Since it has been snowing here in Wisconsin, the girl was very excited about playing outside. Barely able to contain her enthusiasm and looking like she might jump out of her skin she asked me:

"Sometime, when you're not working, do you want to go sledding with me and Grandpa?"

Too cute!

Ironically, Wisconsin's blizzard conditions just happened to coincide with my storytime all about playing in the snow. Hmmm. More on that storytime to come in a future post.

Because of Mr. Terupt

The fifth graders at Snow Hill School know that they're in for a treat when they learn that they will have Mr. Terupt, a brand new teacher, as their instructor this year. Mr. Terupt is like no other teacher they have ever had and touches each of his students in different ways. He helps Jessica to feel welcome in her new school. He helps Anna crawl out of her shell and make some new friends. He lets his students make their own mistakes, even when it means that Luke's concoction in science class sets off the smoke alarm. And even though he encourages his students to solve their own problems, he's not afraid to tell them when they've crossed the line. But when something bad happens to Mr. Terrupt, his devoted class must use what they learned from him to cope with their own feelings of guilt and grief.

This book, written by Rob Buyea, is a bit of an emotional roller coaster. The story is narrated in a grand total of seven (!) different voices, each a different student in Mr. Terupt's class. While the style of writing does not change dramatically for the different voices it is still very easy to keep the narrators straight since Buyea does a brilliant job of developing the characters and investing the reader emotionally in each kid's situation. I'll admit that I teared up frequently while reading this story, which testifies to the amount of raw emotional power the writing has. The ending was perhaps just a little too tidy and perfect, but after such a journey the happy ending was welcome. Without question, this book will make you want to track down your favorite teacher ever and give him/her a big thank-you hug.

Overall Grade: A

The E-Book - Wave of the Future

Ever since the Kindle made its grand appearance on Amazon.com back in 2007 much has been said about the future of the book. Some have speculated that books will eventually be completely replaced by electronic media. It's still a bit too early to tell if the book will go the way of the dodo (and I personally don't believe that this will happen within my lifetime), but no one can deny that e-books are a hot commodity right now. The viewing screens on e-readers are surprisingly easy on the eyes and there's something to be said about having a dozen books loaded onto a device the size of an easy reader.

I've played briefly with the Kindle and I-Pad, though admittedly not enough to properly critique them. And I've long said that as a general rule, I'd much rather have a physical book in my hands than a computer. But then something happened: I received an e-reader - a Cruz tablet, specifically - for Christmas.

I'll freely admit that I actually put the tablet on my Christmas list of my own accord. There was a very specific reason for this that had nothing to do with books: I wanted to be able to upload PDF files containing knitting patterns onto the tablet. Once I had the tablet in hand and downloaded my first knitting pattern I was thrilled. Mission accomplished! But of course, it was only a matter of time before I used the tablet as an e-reader. Wisconsin libraries (and many other libraries across the country, for that matter!) all have access to Overdrive, a database of downloadable e-books and digital audiobooks, so I got out my handy dandy library card and downloaded my first e-book.

Reading an e-book is definitely a different experience than reading a physical book. It's much more trouble than it's worth to flip ahead more than a few pages(great if you're the type of person who spoils a mystery by reading the last chapter first), but it can also be problematic if you need to page back for any reason to re-read or double check something. And even though the reader tells me how much I have read and how much is left to go, there's something nice about being able to physically see how close to the end of a book you are, or to flip ahead to see how long the next chapter is so you know if you have time to squeeze it in before the end of your lunch break. But if all you need to do is read a novel from start to finish, reading the electronic version should not pose any significant problems. E-books also have the great benefit of not taking up much physical space (great for bringing multiple books on vacation) and giving you the freedom to increase the size of the type to make it easy on the eyes.

I still don't think that we'll be saying good-bye to the physical book anytime soon. But if you're like the millions of other readers who are curious about this up and coming format, don't be afraid to give it a shot. You can download e-books onto your PC for a test run, and if your library has access to resources like Overdrive or NetLibrary (and it probably does!) you should be able to try your first e-book risk free at no charge. Even those like myself who prefer the feel of a book in their hands to the feel of a small computer can't deny that that are some benefits to the electronic format, or the fact that the e-book is here to stay.

I Like Big Books

This video is too funny.

ALA Youth Media Awards

It's that time of year again! On January 10, the eyes of readers, teachers, librarians, and the publishing world were turned toward the American Library Association (ALA) as they announced the winners of their coveted awards. Nineteen awards were given including the Coretta Scott King Awards (given to African-American authors and illustrators), the Theodore Seuss Geisel Award (given to the most distinguished books for early readers), and the Robert F. Siebert Medal (given to the most distinguished informational books for children). Congratulations to this year's award winners! For a full listing of the awards given and their recipients, click here.

But of course everyone especially wants to hear about the two oldest and most prestigious awards, the Newbery and Caldecott Medals. Let's take a moment to recognize the winners of these awards:

Newbery Medal

The Newbery Medal is given every year to, "the most outstanding contribution to children's literature." This year's winner was Moon over Manifest written by Clare Vanderpool. Set in 1936, Abilene feels somewhat abandoned as her father puts her on a train to his boyhood home of Manifest, Kansas while he goes off to work a railroad job. She quickly makes friends and the trio uncovers a mystery surrounding a spy named Rattler. Through they are warned to leave well enough alone, Abilene and her friends keep digging, hoping to uncover exactly what Abilene's father's role in the historic mystery is. Moon over Manifest was a bit of surprise to many. Published somewhat late in the year, the book had yet to be recognized by many Newbery predictors. Still, the book has been touted by reviewers for its colorful characters, historic details, and believable dialogue.

Four other books were recognized as Newbery Honor books:
-Turtle in Paradise by Jennifer L. Holm
-Heart of a Samurai by Margi Preus
-Dark Emperor and Other Poems of the Night by Joyce Sidman
-One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia

Caldecott Medal

The Caldecott Medal is awarded each year to, "the most distinguished American picture book for children." This year's winner is A Sick Day for Amos McGee, written by Philip C. Stead and illustrated by Erin E. Stead. In this quiet tale, zookeeper Amos McGee always makes time for his five animal friends the elephant, tortoise, penguin, rhinoceros, and owl. But when he is sick and unable to come to work, the animals decide to visit their friend, taking the bus trip that distinctly mirrors Amos' daily ride. Amos is delighted when the animals arrive, and together the friends share a delightful day. This is a beautiful tale of kindness returned and the bond between Amos and his animal friends is simply lovely. Illustrations have been created using soft colors and woodblocking prints, which along with the story's themes give this book a timeless quality.

Two other books were recognized as Caldecott Honor books:
-Dave the Potter: Artist, Poet, Slave, written by Laban Carrick Hill and illustrated by Bryan Collier
-Interrupting Chicken, written and illustrated by David Ezra Stein

My Thoughts

This year's award winners include a number of lovely selections. Given the amount of hype that had surrounded One Crazy Summer I, like many other children's literature geeks, had expected this book to walk away with the top Newbery prize. I'm curious to see how the surprise Moon Over Manifest measures up. Dark Emperor's exciting Newbery Honor is also worth noting. The poetry in this book is lovely, and it isn't often that you see a picture book-style work given a Newbery award of any kind.

If you haven't checked out A Sick Day for Amos McGee, do yourself a favor and track it down. This is a picture book that is, I hope, destined to stay with us for quite some time. Some also complain about a lack of humor to be found in award-winning books, and it was very nice to see this rule overthrown with Interrupting Chicken's award.

I also think it's worth noting that one book from each of these two big awards was also recognized with a Coretta Scott King award. Such cross-overs have happened in the past, and it's nice to see so many high-quality multicultural books garnering the extra attention that comes from the Newbery and Caldecott Medals.