Resources for the Blind and Visually Impaired

I recently attended the Special Needs Consultants meeting in Madison, where one of the presenters was Stacy Grandt of the Wisconsin Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired.

They provide statewide services to blind and visually impaired students. As a part of the Department of Public Instruction's Division for Learning Support: Equity and Advocacy, the WCBVI is the lead resource for providing quality services to blind and visually impaired school-age children.

As the Director of Outreach, Stacy and her team include consultants and/or specialists in the areas of assistive technology, birth-to-six, low vision, orientation and mobility, parent support, professional development, school-age children, students who are deaf/blind, students with multiple disabilities, and transition.

She talked about some great resources also available to public libraries, such as:

- Blind Children's Fund Website - includes books with characters who are blind and other products.

- connections to order materials for children at your library who are blind, including Squid books

- tactile graphics (See "Bits from Barb" for more information on ordering these for SRP)

- Braille items

Please contact Stacy if you have any questions about the resources available!

(stacy.grandt@wcbvi.k12.wi.us)

Children's Book Award Brochures

Every library should've recently received brochures for the 2008 RR Donnelley Award, the 2008 Elizabeth Burr/Worzalla Award, the 2008 Notable Wisconsin Authors/Illustrators and a Literary Awards 2008 Honors bookmark.

You also should've received a listing of the 2008 Books by Wisconsin Authors.

Annual Children's Book Conference

The 7th Annual Northwoods Children's Book Conference will be held again this year in Cable, Wisconsin on September 24 and 25.

Tons of featured presenters will be giving break out sessions, such as Kimberly Faurot! The conference is ideal for librarians, educators and writers.

If you did not receive a copy of the brochure, please let me know. Or, for more information, check out the session descriptions.

CCBC Podcast

The CCBC Choices presentation was held on Thursday, May 21. If you were unable to attend, you can listen to the audio podcast below of Megan and Tessa!

The following books were presented:

The Natural World
Wolfsnail: A Backyard Predator – Sarah C. Campbell
Big Brown Bat – Rick Chrustowski
Loon Summer – Sandy Gillum

Historical People, Places and Events:
Comic Book Century: The History of American Comic Books – Stephen Krensky
Seabiscuit the Wonder Horse – Meghan McCarthy

Biography and Autobiography
Phillis’s Big Test - Catherine Clinton
Up Close: Thurgood Marshall – Chris Crowe
Wanda Gag: The Girl Who Lived to Draw – Deborah Kogan Ray

Contemporary people, places and events
Planting the Trees of Kenya: The Story of Wangari Maathai – Claire A. Nivola

Issues in Today’s World
50 Simple Things You Can do to Save the Earth – John Javna, Sophie Javna and Jessie Javna
We Are All Born Free: The Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Pictures– In Association with Amnesty International

Understanding Oneself and Others
My Two Grannies – Floella Benjamin
An Artist’s America – Michael Albert
Punk Rock Etiquette: The Ultimate How-To Guide for Punk , Underground, DIY and Indie Bands – Travis Nichols
Before John was a Jazz Giant: A Song of John Coltrane – Carole Boston Weatherford

Picture Books for Babies, Toddlers and Preschoolers
Round like a Ball! – Lisa Campbell Ernst
Buster Goes to Cowboy Camp – Denise Fleming
Giorgio and His Star Crane Train – Jessica Spanyol
How to Heal a Broken Wing – Bob Graham

Picture Books for School-Age Children
The Chicken of the Family – Mary Amato
The Cow That Laid an Egg – Andy Cutbill
The Scrambled States of America Talent Show- Laurie Keller
Silent Music: A Story of Baghdad – James Rumford
Growing up with Tomales = Los tamales de Ana – Gwendolyn Zepeda

Fiction for Children
The London Eye Mystery – Siobhan Dowd
Diamond Willow – Helen Frost
Rapunzel’s Revenge – Shannon Hale and Dean Hale
Every Soul a Star – Wendy Mass
Greetings From Nowhere – Barbara O’Connor

Fiction for Young Adults
The Savage – David Almond
The Hunger Games- Suzanne Collins
The Knife of Never Letting Go – Patrick Ness
Lunch with Lenin and Other Stories – Deborah Ellis
How They Met, and Other Stories – David Levithan
Two Parties, One Tux, and a Very Short Film about the Grapes of Wrath – Steven Goldman
The Adoration of Jenna Fox – Mary E. Pearson

DS400027.WMA -Click here to listen to the podcast!

Zoomobile Notes and Logistics

Brad Hooyman will be bringing the animals to some NFLS libraries this summer as part of the Zoomobile presentation.  
Here are some notes to help make the visit go smoothly.  


Needs: 
Here is what Brad will need.  

- one table 
- presentation space (as much as possible)
- close parking space to the library   (for carrying in the animals)
- If you plan on the presentation being held outside due to space issues in your library, it should be under a tent or in a shaded area to protect the animals.  
- Last year's evaluations said to have as much space as possible, for Brad and for your audience.  Some places got VERY large crowds.  
Please plan on being at the library at least 30 minutes before the presentation for Brad to prep.  Tear down should take 10-15 minutes.


No Other Animals in the Library:

There should not be other animals in the presentation space 30 days prior to the Zoomobile being there.
The reason for that is there could be a threat of disease.  It takes
that long for some diseases to not be transmittable and to die off if
they are left there by an animal.   Fish tanks and aquariums
that are contained are ok!

Then for sure on the day of the presentation, no other animals should be allowed in the room.
Brad will have hand sanitizer for the kids who want to pet the animals at the end.


Payment:
You do NOT need to pay Brad the day he is at your library.  Instead, you will receive an invoice from NFLS for $25 per performance.


Directions:
We will be writing up directions for Brad for every library presentation, as well as including a contact name and phone number.

Karla's Reviews

Wake
by Lisa McMann
Seventeen-year-old Janie gets sucked into other people's dreams, and she can't control it. Since the age of eight, she experiences everyone else's falling dreams, walking naked into class dreams, sex dreams, and nightmares. She has managed to keep her "condition" hidden for all these years, but now she is falling into a nightmare that is affecting her more than any other. Can she learn to control it? And what about Cabel, her newly attractive neighbor? What secrets is he hiding? Part mystery, part romance, and lots of the supernatural, I couldn't put this one down. I can't wait to read the next one!


What I Saw and How I Lied
by Judy Blundell
WWII is over and the soldiers are returning home, including Evie's step dad, Joe. Shortages are over, skirts are longer and fuller, and 15-year-old Evie can't wait to be like her glamorous mother. And then she meets and falls in love with Peter, a young soldier who served with Joe "over there." But Peter has secrets, grown-up secrets he shares with her parents, and when those secrets blow up in their faces, Evie is forced to grow up and make some very adult choices. I literally was up until 3 a.m. finishing this book...so good!

Karla Giraldéz, BCL

Adolescent Literacy Workshop

The Adolescent Literacy Workshop, help March 18, had a great turn out! Speakers Nicole Strang, Connie Abert, Jill Sharp, Donna Young, Pat Peters and Kym Buchanan did an excellent job.

Public librarians, academic librarians and media specialists gathered for the day to talk about this very important topic.

Hand outs and audio podcasts of the presenters are available on the NFLS CE Page.