Month: May 2007

The Slush Pile – of sorts

I’ve spent a good portion of the past two days reading entries for an annual story contest for 3rd and 5th graders. With a stack of about 600 stories to read it felt a good bit what I imagine editors feel when faced with a slush pile – only for them it never ends. Yikes!

From each pile there were only two were great and ten or so others that stood out. And yet I loved reading them. Such insight to young minds. You can tell, or guess, what issues the children face at home and at school. Just fascinating. Of course, thinking back to the story I created in third grade (I’d fall asleep every night thinking about it) you’d’ve probably thought my mother was dead. Maybe I shouldn’t read into the stories after all.

I’m certainly glad I’m not literary agent, editor or intern.

The Friday Five

Five books I’m in the middle of:

1. Ironside: A Modern Faery’s Tale by Holly Black

2. Ex Machina Vol. 5: Smoke, Smoke by Brian K. Vaughan and Tony Harris

3. Jamestown by Matthew Sharpe

4. Masquerade: A Blue Bloods Novel by Melissa de la Cruz

5. The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick

Family Place, Parent/Child Workshop

Last Tuesday was my first foray into Family Place programming. It was a hit with only one or two exceptions, but I’m betting tomorrow will be the real test.

The exceptions?
1) Everyone was completely exhausted by the end (including myself) with little energy/interest left for what was to be our closing routine.
2) The closing routine itself. We were in a big echoey room and I did not have to control I would have liked, which made it virtually impossible for me to be heard.

So . . . the good:
I got to see parents and children really interacting and playing together.
Some of those parents got their questions about physical development of toddlers answered.
The kids had a fantastic time.
Administrators actually came to observe.

I love the idea of Family Place and I really want to make this work. (What could be better than a program that advocates for literacy through play, while networking families and community resources?!) Everything regarding Family Place (and my department in general) is in transition right now and I am excited, but exhausted.

My mission for tomorrow: wear comfortable shoes, get a good night’s sleep, rethink the closing.
Next up: try and find out when exactly we’re rearranging the department, another component of Family Place.

The Friday Five – Late

I missed last Friday thanks to my high school reunion. (I won’t go into why I’m late this Friday.) So, in honor of high school, here are five of my favorite books and five favorite movies/shows about the high school experience.

1. Sloppy Firsts by Megan McCafferty
2. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince – I include this because it is my favorite example of boarding school, closest to my experience. Minus the magic and near fatal incidents, of course.
3. My Heartbeat by Garret Freymann-Weyr
4. The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl by Barry Lyga
5. Just Listen by Sarah Dessen

1. Dawson’s Creek
2. Veronica Mars
3. Buffy the Vampire Slayer (the early years)
4. Dead Poet’s Society
5. Gilmore Girls (the early years)

This Does Not Suprise Me

The fact that I’ve had the conversation about the definition of nerd, geek and dork (twice) made me jump on this quiz when I saw it posted on a couple of blogs. (Hi, Liz and Miss P)

Your Score: Pure Geek

47 % Nerd, 73% Geek, 43% Dork

For The Record:

A Nerd is someone who is passionate about learning/being smart/academia.
A Geek is someone who is passionate about some particular area or subject, often an obscure or difficult one.
A Dork is someone who has difficulty with common social expectations/interactions.
You scored better than half in Geek, earning you the title of: Pure Geek.

It’s not that you’re a school junkie, like the nerd, and you don’t really stand out in a crowd, like the dork, you just have some interests that aren’t quite mainstream. Perhaps it’s anime, perhaps it’s computers, perhaps it’s bottlecaps, perhaps it’s all of those and more. Your interests take you to events and gatherings that are filled with people you find unusual and beyond-the-pale, but you don’t quite consider yourself “of that crowd.” Instead, you consider yourself to be fairly normal.

Which, you are.

Congratulations! You’re the one on the RIGHT!

THE NERD? GEEK? OR DORK? TEST

Toronto and Conferences

Currently my mother is in Toronto for the International Reading Association Annual Convention, or on her way home by now. It sounds fantastic, at least what she told me about a few days ago. At any rate, it’s got me reminiscing on my first conference: ALA 2003, Toronoto. I hadn’t even started library coursework yet, though I would start in just a few weeks. So what do I remember from that experience?

Being preoccupied with finding a copy of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and then reading said book (and being spoiled by Canadian news)
Amazement at the publishers actually giving books away (and just how heavy those things can get)
Difficulty finding lunch
Fantastic dinners at a variety of ethnic restaurants
Exhaustion
The “newcomers” orientation being almost no help
Hearing Robert Munsch tell stories
Exhilaration at being surrounded by librarians

Because I had not yet started library school I did not reap the benefits I could have this first time around. I’ve been lucky enough to go to every annual conference since then (wait, minus New Orleans), a few small state conferences and the 2006 PLA National Conference. Every time it is an exhausting and exhilarating experience. And every time I go I get more out of it, having more of my own professional experiences to relate to the things I learn.

I’m assuming this summer will be the last time I get to go to annual for some time and so am planning to take maximum advantage of the conference. (I’m somewhat afraid I’m already overbooked, having at least three groups I have to meet up with for lunch/dinner and two other meal events.) I plan to come home worn out, loaded down with books and other paraphernalia, totally loving librarianship and librarians. Cause that’s what happens after these things.

My Reading History – Meme

I pulled this meme from Big A Little a, but it originated Kate’s Book Blog wrote the meme herself (and has great answers).

1. How old were you when you learned to read and who taught you?
My mom says it was second grade. I’m sure I knew how to read before then, but perhaps not very well. She credits Mrs. Lichtey and her reading incentives (you got a free book) program for getting me excited about reading.

2. Did you own any books as a child?
Yes. Ummm, I remember The Lorax and The Friendly Beasts and The Pokey Little Puppy. I’m sure there were loads more.

3. What’s the first book that you bought with your own money?
I remember buying VC Andrews at the beach one summer during middle school, but I’m sure that wasn’t the first.

4. Were you a re-reader as a child?
Yes, I always have been. Little House on the Prairie and Jurassic Park were both re-read many times. Oh, and Anne of Green Gables and the Secret Garden and the Meg mysteries*.

5. What’s the first adult book that captured your interest and how old were you when you read it?
Again, I can’t recall. By the time I was in middle school I was reading mostly adult books (Jurassic Park, VC Andrews, Clan of the Cave Bear, Handmaids Tale). Some adults were not thrilled about this, but my parents never said anything.

6. Are there children’s books that you passed by as a child that you have learned to love as an adult? Which ones? I didn’t read Bridge to Terabithia until high school, nor Little Women. I hadn’t read any of the Alice books til this year.

*It is very difficult to find these books, or even any record of them.

Look, how adorable, and see how I managed to make this relevant to librarianship!

What to do when life is feeling stressful and you can’t seem to get a handle on any one thing before something else not good happens?

I either immerse myself in a book or a craft. Miss Pea introduced me to Wee Wonderfuls and I’ve spent a couple of evenings turning out poorly sewn, but adorable characters from the freebie page.

Kitty is scared for Fly.

Bunny discusses reading choices with Librarian Action Figure.

They make me happy and a little less stressed, inducing a reaction almost like Stephen Colbert’s to Knut.

Chicky Chicky Chook Chook by Cathy MacLennan

Chicky Chicky Chook Chook by Cathy MacLennan

This new book is a wonderful addition to any infant, toddler or preschool collection. Repetitive sounds and rhymes tale the tale of chicks and other creatures one sunny (then rainy day). It begins, “chicky, chicky, chook, chook, chick, chick, chick”. The rhythm begs to be shared as a read aloud.

The artwork has the playfulness of Ed Emberley’s fingerprints, but are more dimensional and feel more grounded. Each page is created on a paper bag brown background in bright contrasting colors. The chicks are wispy and soft. (Except when they’re bedraggled and wet.) The roosters are bright and bold, the bees are full of energy and the cats are just as mischievous and cuddly as cats should be.