Karla and Kara at the Southwest branch of the Brown County Library were out in the schools last week to promote summer reading!
Best of luck to all of you in your programs! I know it will be a great summer!
And remember to breathe. :)
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Bits from Barb
Future Themes
The themes for 2013 were decided at the CSLP Annual Meeting. They include:
- Children's Theme—Dig Into
- Teen Theme—Beneath the Surface
- Adult Theme—Groundbreaking Reads
The 2014 General Concept will be Science.
Early Literacy Manual
CSLP is offering a free early literacy/preschool manual again this year. It is online this year but it is anticipated that it will come in print version in 2012. A popular feature of the manual is that it includes cues to the Every Child Ready to Read learning elements. To download a copy of the manual, go to www.cslpreads.org/early-literacy-manual.html. Access requires registration at the first page of the CSLP website www.cslpreads.org.
New YALSA Tool to Evaluate Teen Services
YALSA released a new evaluation tool for libraries to determine the health of teen services at their institutions. The downloadable tool derives its areas of evaluation from YALSA's Competencies for Librarians Serving Youth: Young Adults Deserve the Best. Potential users include library administrators, library trustees, teen services librarians, and community members and jobseekers hoping to assess a library's commitment to teen services. To download the tool, go to www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/yalsa/profdev/yacompetencies/evaltool.cfm.
—from American Libraries Direct, March 23, 2010
- System Youth Services Liaison Posting
Barbara Huntington, DLTCL, April 2011
Sacred Being
Earlier this month, 3 NFLS-area librarians and I went to Sun Prairie for training on the Wakanheza Project™. The Wakanheza Project™ is an initiative/concept started by the Ramsey County Public Health Department (in
Wakanheza is the Dakota word for child, and its English translation is "sacred being." The Wakanheza Project™ includes principles and strategies that can positively effect the way we see and treat each other. If the culture of an organization can shift a little to incorporate and internalize some of these principles and strategies, there is enormous potential for benefits. These can include more peaceful circulation desk lines, better interactions between adults and teens, and less embarrassment for parents who are struggling to parent in public. Overall, we are striving to help create an even more welcoming environment for patrons, and an easier and more rewarding work environment for all staff.
The workshop we attended was designed to help us bring back the Wakanheza Project™ ideas to our own systems. We will be sharing information on Little Nic Bits, as well as doing smaller, more informal trainings. It’s our hope to do a larger workshop in fall or spring of 2012.
Thank you to Sandy Kallunki (
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Book Reviews
Janis Joplin: Rise Up Singingby Ann Angel
It's no surprise that Ann Angel is a super fan of Janis Joplin. Her passion for Janis comes shining through in this book. However, she also writes in such a way as to give us a very full, well-rounded picture of this artist explaining Janis' shortcomings and flaws. The book does an exceptional job of creating for the reader the time and place where all this talent intersected. We are still culturally influenced by the "hippie generation." This book is a great historical marker whether you enjoyed Janis' music or not.
- Elizabeth Timmins, Muehl Public Library
The Butter Man
by Elizabeth Alalou and Ali Alalou
Nora is a young girl who looks forward to Saturday night dinners of couscous and vegetables in her home. But waiting for the meal to be prepared is hard for Nora, and it doesn't help that the wonderful fragrances fill the whole house, making her hungry. Baba (Nora's dad) tells her the story of how he used to wait for days for the "butter man" to visit his Moroccan village. Nora realizes that waiting for dinner to be prepared is nothing compared to her father waiting for the butter man.
The illustrations by Julie Klear Essakaali are beautiful, and I like the use of Moroccan language throughout the book. The author's note at the end also explains the meaning of the words!
-Jamie Matczak, NFLS
Teen Read Week Ideas
Beth Yoke, Executive Director of YALSA, shared this resource for "Teen Read Week" in October.
Spring Storytime Ideas
These storytime ideas can be used for spring, or modified for another time of year!
March 5th – “If She comes in like a Lion…”Lion & Lamb Theme-
Books: “The Little Lambs Rainy Day” by M. C. Suigne, “No more blanket for Lambkin! by Bernette Ford, and “Do Lions live on lily pads”? by Melanie Walsh
Craft: Lion & Lamb finger puppets.
March 12th -– “Go Green” St. Patrick’s Day Celebration-
Books: “the luckiest St. Patrick’s Day Ever” by Teddy Slater and “A leprechaun’s St.
Patrick’s Day” by Sarah Kirwan
Craft: A Rainbow w/ a pot of gold!
March 19th- “Spring has sprung!” –
Books: “Poppleton in Spring” by Cynthia Rylant, “Spring is here, Grumpy Bunny” By Justine Korman,and “Welcome Spring!” by Jill Ackerman
Craft: “Make a flower” with various materials (beads, sequins & beans, cupcake papers)
March 26th – “Easter Bunny Hop”
Books: “A Surprise for the Easter Bunny” , “Anna and the Chocolate Easter Bunny” by Kathleen Aman and “The Easter Bunny that Overslept” by Priscilla Friedrich
Craft: Paper Bag Bunny Puppet
We will also have special Easter refreshments!
April 9th – “April Showers” - Weather theme –
Books: “Splosh” by Mick Inkpen and “The Cloud That Wouldn’t Rain” by Ruth Brace
Craft- Weather Collage – (Introducing Mr. Sunny, Mr. Cloudy, Miss Rainy and Mrs. Windy)
April 16th – Nothing more than feelings- “mood theme for little people”
Books: “It’s hard to be Five” by Jamie Lee Curtis and “I Like Myself” by Karen Beaumont and “Green as a Bean” by Karla Kuskin (which illustrates the point that no matter what color you are you are still YOU!)
Craft: Face puppets w/moods
April 23rd – “Earth Day” -
Books: “Miss Fox’s Class Goes Green” by Eileen Spinelli,
“Biscuit’s Earth Day Celebration” by Alyssa Capucilli, and ”It’s Earth Day” by Mercer Mayer
Crafts: Make a collage from recycled materials
April 30th – “Flower Power” –
Books: “Fran’s Flower” by Lisa Bruce and “Fletcher and the Springtime Blossoms by Julia Rawlinson.
Craft - Springtime on a paper plate (Bumble Bee visits a tulip)
May 7th – “Frogs” theme
Books: “1 gaping wide-mouthed hopping frog” by Leslie Tryon, “Too many frogs!” by Sandy Asher and
A special appearance by Monday the bullfrog / Matthew Van Fleet (puppet & story)
Craft: “Big Mouth Frog Puppet”
May 14th - - “ Blackbirds Fly”
Books & Rhymes - “Sing a song of sixpence”, illustrated by Pam Adams , “Two Little Blackbirds” nursery rhyme and “Grumpy Bird” by Jeremy Tankard.
Craft- “Blackbird Finger Puppets”
May 21st – “Windy, windy Day!”
Books- “Noises at night” by Beth Raisner Glass, “Virginnie's Hat”by Dori Chaconas, “Windy Wednesday” By Phyllis Root.
Craft- Make a wind sock (using a paperplate & plastic bag)
- Barb Husch, Door County Library (Forestville)
Grants and Resources
MIXING IN MATH
Mixing in Math (MiM) is a set of FREE materials in English and Spanish, designed for integrating numeracy into story time, summer reading, and crafts for children and families. It's an appealing and engaging way to draw in new patrons, to offer them something different, and to reinforce skills children are learning in school.
MiM was designed with input from hundreds of librarians from MA, CT, NY, CA, MO, and other states. MiM resources include posters, games, calendars, crafts, and projects that are easy to use and fun for adults and children. The resources combine common library themes, such as animals, food, and holidays with the math of sizes, shapes, patters, measurement. MiM was funded by the National Science Foundation, and created at TERC, a non-profit educational organization.
Check the MiM website: http://mixinginmath.terc.edu to learn more and to download the materials.
(thanks to Sarah Sogigian at the Massachusetts State Library for sharing this!)
Grant Opportunity from Build-A-Bear
Build-A-Bear Workshop provides direct support for children in literacy and education programs, such as summer reading programs, early childhood education programs and literacy programs for children with special needs. The grants are made possible through the sale of Turner the Owl, a special furry friend available in all Build-A-Bear Workshop stores. With the sale of each Turner the Owl, 50 cents is donated to First Book and 50 cents is donated through the Build-A-Bear Workshop Bear Hugs Foundation to other literacy programs throughout the United States and Canada. Grant requests reviewed on a rolling basis through October 2011. For more information go to: http://www.buildabear.com/shopping/contents/content.jsp?catId=400002&id=700010.
DigitalLiteracy.gov
- CEO, Lakeshores Library System, 5/24/11
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