Abby the Librarian

A Day in the Life of a Children's Librarian

2012-02-16T11:07:00.002-05:00

A couple weeks ago was the 8th Round of the Library Day in the Life Project. As per usual, I could not get my act together to actually participate (mainly because I tend to schedule blog posts in advance whenever possible), but I did take a day and keep track of all the things I did! So, here's another installment of A Day in the Life of a Children's Librarian!

8:45am - Arrive at work, greet staff member and let her know about other staff member who is sick today. Arrange desk coverage.

8:50am - Put belongings away, turn on computer, get my bag of storytime stuff for outreach storytime.

8:55am - Realize that my outreach storytime is not at the school I thought it was. Look up directions to the school. (Good thing I realized this before I left!)

9:00am - Check email. A bunch of listserv emails came in today because our spam filters had been blocking them.

9:15am - Log on to library Facebook account to read email from a teen requesting that we buy the sequel to Mercy by Rebecca Lim, which she loooved. The book’s out in Australia, but not in the US yet. I email our teen librarian about ordering the book when it’s available.

9:25am - Get agendas ready for Summer Reading Club meeting that’s happening this afternoon.

9:35am - Leave library and drive to Head Start for this morning's outreach storytimes.

9:45am - 10:45am - Visit two classrooms with stories about winter. Here's what I did:

In the Snow by Sharon Denslow - A great, simple book about animals eating seeds in the snow. Kids love to name the animals and I teach them "chickadee", "sparrow", "cardinal", and "possum". Great for vocabulary.

On My Own by Miela Ford - I love the photo illustrations and I have the kids do the actions as I read.

Bear Snores On by Karma Wilson - A perennial favorite. I read this one with the first class, but not with the second class who seem younger and are a bit more squirrelly.

We made pretend snowmen and sang “Once I Built a Snowman”

We did the rhyme 5 Little Snowmen with our felt snowmen

We sang “Sleepy Bear” with my bear puppet

11:00am - Back at the library, debrief about visit with my staff member who coordinates our outreach visits.

11:30am - Put away books and props from storytime and write up the storytime plan so that we can keep track of which stories we’ve read. We visit this group once a month, so I don't want to repeat the same things.

11:45am - Add a book that a patron requested to our Baker & Taylor cart. Whenever possible, I order books that our patrons request. We have a healthy book budget and I want our shelves to reflect the interests of our community.

11:50am - Run off materials for SRC meeting this afternoon.

12:00pm - Lunch time! Check the mail and mail a letter on the way to lunch. While I eat, I'm reading The Difference Between You and Me by Madeleine George.

1:00pm - Back from lunch, get some things ready for the Afterschool visits this week: pull books, get crafts sorted, put away leftover craft stuff from last time, etc.

1:30pm - Run upstairs to drop off staff schedule with administration. Talk to Reference Manager about Anime Club, teen programming, and other stuff.

2:00pm - Staff meeting. We talk about Summer Reading Club logistics and programs, our upcoming Spring Storytimes, and teen programs.

4:00pm - Finish penciling in summer programs on the office calendar. I start an email to department staff with notes from the meeting so we're all on the same page and everyone knows what they ought to be working on.

4:15pm - One staff member stops by to chat about summer ideas. We love to brainstorm! In my department, two (or three or four) heads are most definitely better than one. Everyone has great ideas!

4:40pm - Another staff member stops by to chat about summer ideas.

5:15pm - Back to working on my email to staff.

5:40pm - Email sent, now it's time to go home!

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl

2012-02-15T11:07:00.000-05:00

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews. Grades 9 and up. Abrams, March 2012. 288 pages. Reviewed from ARC provided by NetGalley.

High school senior Greg Gaines has perfected the art of invisibility. Although he could list all of the cliques and subcliques at his school, and although he's friendly with everyone, he's an actual friend to no one. Unless you count Earl, but Earl's more like a coworker, helping Greg create terrible amateur movies in their spare time. When Greg's mom forces him to call up Rachel, a friend from when they were kids in Hebrew school together (a girl who has just been diagnosed with leukemia), he resists at first. But as he gets to know Rachel again, he realizes that he likes spending time with her. Unfortunately, that time is running out...

This book had me literally laughing out loud. I'm always so pleased to find funny teen books because kids DIG humor and it can be so hard to find. Main character Greg has a very self-deprecating voice and uses humor at his own expense. There's a fair amount of gross-out humor, but those aren't the only laughs to be found. One of my favorite scenes was when Greg and Earl accidentally get high and then decide to make up a story to explain what happened. I was laughing so hard that I'm sure if my neighbors heard me, they thought I was insane.

Jesse Andrews built a perfect arc for Rachel and Greg's relationship with her. Their friendship starts slowly as Greg gets to know her again, and at its peak I found myself caring about Rachel quite a bit and hoping that maybe she wasn't actually dying. But this is a story about a dying girl (it says so right in the title). Mr. Andrews manages to distance the reader from Rachel just enough so that it's not crushing when things take a turn for the worse. It all happens very organically. The humor's toned down as we enter a serious period in Greg's life and then picks up again at the end.

Mr. Andrews throws in some different formats as we go, switching from straight prose to screenplay-like dialog that adds humor, keeps the pages turning quickly, and totally makes sense for Greg's character. Greg's a film buff and an amateur filmmaker and this bits show us how Greg sees the world. Greg wants to be neutral, just like the video cameras he uses - observing everybody impartially. But in order to make a good film, you have to decide where you stand and what you want to say.

Ultimately, it's a story about knowing people's stories, about deciding whether to play it safe or take some risks and let people in. This is a spectacular debut and I sincerely hope there's more coming from Jesse Andrews.

I would hand this immediately to teens looking for a funny story. Know your audience since there's a decent amount of profanity and crude humor. I'd try it on fans of Jordan Sonnenblick's Notes from the Midnight Driver or Brent Crawford's Carter Finally Gets It.

I found out about this book through Capillya's fantastic interview with Jesse Andrews on That Cover Girl, so make sure you head on over there. As a sidenote, the book's cover is amazingly fantastic and I, too, kinda want to rub it all over my face. Also: I get an inordinate amount of delight from the rhyming title.

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl will be on shelves March 1!

Wonder

2012-02-13T11:07:00.000-05:00

Wonder by R.J. Palacio. Grades 4-8. Knopf Books for Young Readers, February 2012. 320 pages. Reviewed from ARC received at ALA Midwinter.

August (Auggie) Pullman was born with a facial deformity that prevented him from going to a mainstream school—until now. He's about to start 5th grade at Beecher Prep, and if you've ever been the new kid then you know how hard that can be. The thing is Auggie's just an ordinary kid, with an extraordinary face. But can he convince his new classmates that he's just like them, despite appearances? (Summary from publisher, via GoodReads.)

There is a lot to like about Wonder and I definitely think it will have high appeal among kids and teachers and it's a book that will start a lot of important discussions. This is a book that's especially important for schools and would make a great classroom readaloud.

Auggie's a relateable character whose rather objective view of himself is evidence of maturity beyond his years. You've got to grow up quick when you're facing everyone's reactions to your face every day. But Auggie also seems younger than his years in some ways. He's been kept at home, sheltered and taken care of, partly for medical reasons (he's had many more surgeries than birthdays) and partly to shield him from the outside world's reactions to him.

Kids will immediately identify with Auggie and they'll be rooting for him. Even if young readers don't have the same health and appearance difficulties that Auggie has, many of them can identify with being the new kid at school or just feeling different for any number of reasons. Auggie can't hide his difference, and he faces the challenge of starting school with an inspiring amount of courage.

The pacing was a little off for me. I thought the middle part was spot-on with how the plot progressed through Auggie's fifth grade year and multiple narrators showed us how Auggie is perceived to different sections of the community. But the book starts slowly and takes too long to wrap itself up. The overly sentimental ending bothered me a bit in a book that's purportedly about "just an ordinary kid". It just felt a bit twee.

I had some problems with the multiple points of view, as well. I appreciated seeing Auggie through different sets of eyes and the different narrators did give a sense of how Auggie fits into the community as a whole. But some of the narrators pop in so briefly that it almost felt like cheating, like an easier way of getting across a point that could have been shown without getting inside a different person's head for just a few chapters. The voices didn't sound that different and if we're going to go ahead and have EIGHT different narrators, I would have loved to see inside our main bully Julian's head.

R.J. Palacio's trying to cover a lot of ground here: not just Auggie's story, but his older sister's struggle with starting high school, best friends growing apart, and more. It feels like a lot to process, but all threads tie back to Auggie's story.

All that said, this is a strong debut and I wouldn't be at all surprised to see a little Schneider Family Book Award action for this title next January. I will definitely be looking for more from R.J. Palacio.

Check out Mr. Sharp's interview with R.J. Palacio (which, incidentally, addresses why he didn't write a section from Julian's point of view).

Wonder is on shelves now!

Excuse Me, I'm in Paradise

2012-02-12T11:07:00.000-05:00

Yup, I'm on vacation with my family this week and I'll be doing plenty of reading here:

(That's St. Croix in the US Virgin Islands.)

...but I won't have a lot of access to the interwebs. I've got some posts scheduled to go up this week, but I may not be around on Twitter or replying to comments or emails until I get back. So, behave yourselves, and catch me up on any kerfuffles next week. ;)

Same Sun Here

2012-02-09T11:07:00.000-05:00

Same Sun Here by Silas House and Neela Vaswani. Grades 5-8. Candlewick, February 2012. 297 pages. Reviewed from ARC received at ALA Midwinter.

When New Yorker Meena and Kentucky boy River sign up for a pen pal program, they have no idea that they're each finding a kindred spirit. Who would have thought that two 12-year-olds from such different backgrounds could have so much in common? Meena was born in India and moved to New York City to be with her family when she was nine. River has lived in a tiny town in Eastern Kentucky his entire life. As the two write letters back and forth, they discover that they share a love of mountains, they both have a special relationship with their grandmothers, and there are political issues in their hometowns that could have disastrous effects on both of them.

Neela Vaswani and Silas House create two characters that have strong, identifiable voices. I loved getting to know these kids as they wrote back and forth to each other. As Meena and River write letters, they promise to be their own true selves with each other. This leads to the sort of frank discussion about cultural differences and gender differences that might never happen with a face-to-face friendship. The reader can see both Meena and River growing as they learn from each other and as they teach each other. And since they're each being open and honest, they quickly form a strong bond. Even though they're very different, both Meena and River face discrimination because of the way they look and talk.

I found it really interesting that the book explores political issues affecting each of the protagonists, and the issues are dealt with in a very kid-friendly way. We see River dealing with mountaintop removal (a form of coal mining that completely decimates mountains and the communities that sit on top of them). His grandmother is an activist and River gets involved in some of the protests. Meena is dealing with the threat of eviction because her family illegally sublets a rent-controlled apartment. The landlord lets the apartments fall into disrepair in hopes of getting rid of those with rent-control, so he can get new tenants and charge them more. Although Meena is frank about her family living in a not-quite-legal situation, we also see that although her family works very hard, it's still a struggle for them to survive in New York.

This is a story with a lot of heart and two characters that kids will identify with and learn from. As far as audience, I think it straddles the gap between Andrew Clements's Extra Credit (about an American girl sharing letters with a boy from Afghanistan) and Valerie Zenatti's A Bottle in the Gaza Sea (about an Israeli girl sharing letters with a Palestinian boy).

Same Sun Here will be on shelves February 14!

The Trials and Tribulations of Anime Club

2012-02-07T11:07:00.000-05:00

I've posted before about our Teen Anime Club (see posts here, here, and here), but it's been awhile since I talked about it. For a reason. We've had some trials and tribulations with our Anime Club and I have learned a lot over the past couple of months.

The Good:

The kids LOVE IT. They want to come more often. They want to stay longer. We've had solid attendance of 20-30 teens every month. It's still attracting those hard-to-reach groups (for us, that's high schoolers and guys).

But here's the thing. Our teen librarian was on medical leave from October through January. And I thought "No problem! I can handle Anime Club on my own!" And it turns out that I had a lot to learn (and I'm still learning!) about how to wrangle dozens of teenagers.

First, let me say that I LOVE these kids. I'm getting to know more and more of them every month. I love that they're so passionate about what they like (and dislike!). But the problem is that they're so passionate that it's easy for things to get out of control. I'm okay with things being a little out of control. I want the teens to be teens. I want the library to be a place they can be themselves. But. I there's only so much chaos I can take before my brain explodes.

The first thing I did to cope was to shorten our meetings from 2 hours to 1 hour. We had originally planned the program to last 2 hours, thinking that would give us enough time to watch a movie or a decent amount of episodes. The kids didn't seem to be that interested in actually watching the movie, though. And between cranking up the volume so they few who were interested could hear it and all the other activity going on in the room (teens using computers and just generally being boisterous with their friends), the noise level was getting out of control. Two hours of unstructured time was inviting too much chaos.

We also introduced some different activities. Instead of simply watching anime (which only a handful of kids seemed to be into), we tried some structured activities like anime trivia and origami. We met varying success with these, but the program was still chaotic and our December meeting ended with me having to ask a group of teens to leave the library after repeated warnings about their noise level.

(An aside: it is true that we do not have a great place for teens to hang out, outside of programs. I know that they need a place where they can hang out, have access to their own bank of computers, and talk and laugh without having to be super quiet. I promise I'm working on it, but it's not something that's going to happen overnight. Sigh.)

After our December meeting, I did what I should have done in the first place: I turned to my trusted YA librarian friends and asked their opinion. I felt like my teens were all crazy (I say this with love!) and that I was totally ineffectual as a teen librarian (I'm a n00b and it shows!) and that something had to change.

The first thing they did was reassure me that they have dealt with these problems, too. It's NOT that my teens are crazier than most, it's just that it's how teens are (and kids. And sometimes YA librarians. True facts). The second thing they did was give me some advice about spelling out the rules and making sure I enforce them. I faced our January meeting with cautious optimism (and a little anxiety).

And then... We had a scheduling mixup that resulted in us offering Anime Club twice. And the program was awesome both times. I wasn't there for the first one (I was in Dallas, being crazy with my aforementioned YA librarian friends), but I was there for the second meeting. I did spell out my expectations for the kids and let them know what the consequences would be if they forgot the rules. Because we had accidentally listed two meeting times, attendance was split almost in half for each program. And I tell you: if Anime Club was like our January 31 meeting every time, I would hold it every week.

Here's what I have learned (so far) from my trials and tribulations with Anime Club:

- Spell out the rules for the teens. It's okay to have a certain level of noise and chaos, but figure out where your limit is and let the kids know. I told them no screaming, no yelling, no roughhousing, and no running. (Of course, I will forgive occasional excited shrieks when their friends arrive, etc.)

- Spell out the consequences. They will get one warning. If they forget the rules again, I will ask them to leave the meeting, but they will be welcome to come back to the next meeting.

- Stick to your guns. It might make you the "bad guy", but they'll remember and it will make your program go more smoothly.

- Let your teens know what activity you'll be doing at the next meeting. That way, they can choose whether they might like to come and participate. A little more advance planning will go a long way toward a smooth program (I... hope).

- We're considering offering our program more often in hopes that we might have more manageable attendance numbers. Patterning off of one of our neighboring libraries, we might offer Anime Club twice a month with a craft or activity planned for the first meeting and then showing a movie or TV show at the second meeting. That way, kids can show up for the activity they want to do and hopefully everyone will just be more into whatever we're doing that day.

There's definitely been a learning curve since I started being involved in our teen programming last summer. I have loved being involved and I have had a lot to learn, too.

The One and Only Ivan

2012-02-06T11:07:00.000-05:00

The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate. Grades 4-7. HarperCollins, January 2012. 305 pages. Reviewed from ARC provided by author.

Ivan is a gorilla.
It's not as easy as it looks.
Ivan spends his days in his domain at the Big Top Mall, watching TV when someone turns it on, eating, and sometimes drawing.
Ivan has friends - a dog named Bob and an elephant named Stella who lives in the domain next to his.
Everything changes when a baby elephant is brought to the Big Top Mall.
Ivan knows he must protect her.
He knows he must save her.
But how?

The One and Only Ivan is a book that broke my heart, and it's also a book with a lot of hope. It's written almost in verse, almost in prose poems, just the way you'd think a gorilla might narrate his story. The writing is what drew me into the story. As Ivan is relating his situation, he'll suddenly throw in there a little flash of what his life was like before. Just a little flash, a pinprick of something painful that you know has happened to him. But he's not ready to share everything yet. The pacing is spot-on and the story unfolds in its own time.

This is maybe not a story for your more sensitive young readers. There are some harsh realities of how animals in captivity are sometimes treated, but it's clear that this reality is not the only way that animals in captivity are treated. Katherine Applegate includes an author's note that explains how the book was inspired by a true story of the real Ivan who now resides at Zoo Atlanta.

I'd hand this book to kids who liked The Underneath by Kathi Appelt for its raw and tragic beauty. You may want to pair it with the nonfiction book Wild Animals in Captivity by Rob Laidlaw, which provides examples of both good and bad captive environments for animals.

The One and Only Ivan is on shelves now!

Your January AudioSynced Roundup!

2012-02-03T07:11:00.000-05:00

It's that time again! Here's your AudioSynced Roundup for January... If I missed any reviews or posts, please leave me a link in comments and I'll make sure to add it!

Audiobook News and Posts

The winners of the 2012 Odyssey Award were announced at the American Library Association Midwinter meeting! At the same meeting, the Children's Notable Recordings and the Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults lists were released.

At the ALSC Blog, Jeanette Larson gives us a review of the book Listening to Learn: Audiobooks Supporting Literacy by Sharon Grover and Lizette D. Hannigen. Jeanette says, "Listening to Learn is recommended as a great learning resource and collection development tool."

As always, make sure you're stopping by Audiobook Jukebox for tons of great audiobook reviews! You also won't want to miss several blogs that review many more audiobooks than I was able to link to here: The Guilded Earlobe

Children's/Middle Grade Audiobooks

The Black Cauldron by Lloyd Alexander, read by James Langton, reviewed by Lee at Reading with my ears. Lee says, "He [James Langton] fully voices this story, creating believable, individual characters for a large cast of humans and non-humans.

Magyk by Angie Sage, read by Allan Corduner, reviewed by Jayla at LadyBlueJay. Jayla says, "[T]he narrator did a wonderful job of giving each character a distinct voice."

Young Adult Audiobooks

Crescendo by Becca Fitzpatrick, read by Caitlin Greer, reviewed by Melissa at Mel's Books and Info. Melissa says, "Greer does an excellent job narrating and her voices feel true to the characters."

The Demon King by Cinda Williams Chima, read by Carol Monda, reviewed by Irish at Ticket to Anywhere. Irish says, "The world in The Demon King is very rich and vivid and its one that I would highly recommend to be experienced in its audio form."

Goliath by Scott Westerfeld, read by Alan Cumming, reviewed by Brian at Wyz Reads. Brian says, "I was instantly hooked by Alan Cumming’s narration... His voice really brought the book to life..."

The Juvie Three by Gordon Korman, read by Christopher Evan Welch, reviewed by Lee at Reading with my ears. Lee says, "While he [Christopher Evan Welch] doesn't sound particularly youthful, his rhythms and delivery capture a youthful feel."

The Piper's Son by Melina Marchetta, read by Michael Finney, reviewed by Lee at Reading with my ears. Lee says, "...for a very emotion-driven story, Finney brings acting skills that help us hear the tears or laughter, or anger or sadness."

The Probability of Miracles by Wendy Wunder, read by Emma Galvin, reviewed by Abby the Librarian (that's me!). I say, "Cam has a great voice and this is where it was really nice to listen to this book because I think Emma Galvin does a really nice job of bringing Cam's voice to life."

The Running Dream by Wendelin Van Draanen, read by Laura Flanagan, reviewed by Janssen at Everyday Reading. Janssen says, "...the whole tone of the book was richer than I think it might have been if I'd simply read it in paper form."

Silence by Becca Fitzpatrick, read by Caitlin Greer, reviewed by Melissa at Mel's Books and Info. Melissa says, " The audio format suits this book well and is a good way to get through this novel."

Adult

Between the Thames and the Tiber: The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes in Britain and the Italian Peninsula by Ted Riccardi, read by Simon Prebble, reviewed by Lee at Reading with my ears. Lee says, "It's a fine performance, but truthfully I was never captured by the stories."

Defending Jacob by William Landay, read by Grover Gardner, reviewed by Bob at The Guilded Earlobe. Bob says, "I think one of the hardest things for a narrator to do is have authentic sounding dialogue between two characters, and here it was like I was listening to a masters class on how to do it."

The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde, read by Susan Duerden, reviewed by Melissa at Book Nut. Melissa says, "I probably had more patience for this book in audio form because Duerden was such a capable reader, creating a world for me with her voice that wouldn't have otherwise existed."

Pineapple Grenade by Tim Dorsey, read by Oliver Wyman, reviewed by Bob at The Guilded Earlobe. Bob says, "I can go on and on about how perfectly his characterizations fit my vision for Serge and Coleman from the days I read this series in print."

Room by Emma Donoghue, read by Ellen Archer, Michal Friedman, Robert Petkoff and Suzanne Toren, reviewed by Lee at Reading with my ears. Lee says, "Room is one of those books where listening adds a whole level of intensity to the literary experience."

Still Life by Louise Penny, read by Ralph Cosham, reviewed by Lee at Reading with my ears. Lee says, "He [Ralph Cosham] reads with a quiet command of characters and story, much as Inspector Gamache controls both his own staff and the residents of Three Pines."

Water for Elephants by Sarah Gruen, read by David LeDoux and John Randolph Jones, reviewed by Melissa at Book Nut. Melissa says, " Both the narrators were excellent (LeDoux read the young Jacob; Jones the older one), and because of that I was able to really "see" the book in a way I don't think I would have, had I read it."

When She Woke by Hillary Jordan, read by Heather Corrigan, reviewed by Irish at Ticket to Anywhere. Irish says, "[Heather Corrigan] really helped to bring the character of Hannah to life and I think that it really added to my enjoyment of this book."

The Lions of Little Rock

2012-02-02T11:07:00.000-05:00

The Lions of Little Rock by Kristin Levine. Grades 5-8. Putnam Juvenile, January 2012. 297 pages. Reviewed from ARC provided by publisher.

Twelve year old Marlee doesn't really speak. Oh, she's fine talking to her family, especially her older sister who has always looked out for her, but when it comes to people outside the family... Marlee tends to freeze up, certain she's going to say something stupid. Maybe that's why she's been stuck with such a snotty best friend for all these years. But all that changes when Marlee meets a new girl in her class. Liz is unlike any girl Marlee's met and she even helps Marlee find the courage to talk in front of the whole class. But when Liz suddenly disappears from school and rumors circulate that Liz is colored and was passing for white in order to go to a better school, Marlee must figure out where she stands.

And in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1958 (the year the high schools were closed because of the controversy over integration), there doesn't seem to be much solid ground.

Many people probably know about the Little Rock Nine - nine African American students who were the first to integrate white schools in Little Rock, Arkansas. You can even read firsthand accounts of that tumultuous year in books like Warriors Don't Cry by Melba Patillo Beals and A Mighty Long Way by Carlotta Walls LaNier. But what happened after that? Little Rock was a town divided. Schools were shut down. The state government disagreed with the federal government. How did it feel to live in such an uncertain place at such an uncertain time?

Kristin Levine dives in and shows us that world through Marlee's eyes. I'm always one for a historical book that shows me times and events with which I was previously unfamiliar. In the case of The Lions of Little Rock, it was the character of Marlee who drew me in first. She's painfully shy, and although she has a lot of thoughts, she has trouble expressing them. She loves math and dreams of being a rocket scientist someday, an aspiration that's not exactly typical for girls of her age at the time. And she loves her family, which can make things all the more confusing since her father is in favor of integration and her mother is against it.

For Marlee, Liz is a saving grace. She's a good and loyal friend. She doesn't mind that Marlee finds it hard to speak at first, and Liz helps her to find her voice. Marlee can't bear the thought of losing her friend after Liz stops coming to school, but she must also realize that to continue to see Liz is to put Liz's life in danger.

The Lions of Little Rock is about Marlee finding her voice, but it's just as much about an entire town, an entire people finding their voices and speaking up for what is right.

Kristin Levine includes an author's note telling how she came to write about this "lost year" and suggesting resources for further reading. This book definitely has classroom applications and would make a great readaloud when discussing civil rights or black history. Readalikes include Yankee Girl by Mary Ann Rodman and A Friendship for Today by Patricia McKissack.

Read more reviews at Book Nut, Everyday Reading, and The Fourth Musketeer. Also check out Margo's interview with Kristin Levine at The Fourth Musketeer.

The Lions of Little Rock is on shelves now!

Storytime Planning at the ALSC Blog!

2012-02-01T11:07:00.002-05:00

Y'all, today I'm over at the ALSC blog, talking about a winter storytime and baby storytimes and the awesome internet resources I used to help plan them!

Please click on through and comment on the post!

PS: I know it's time for your AudioSynced roundup, but I'm not quite done with it yet! Look for it here on Friday and in the meantime, please send me links to audiobook reviews or posts that you wrote in January! You can leave me a link in comments or email abbylibrarian@gmail.com.

Curveball: The Year I Lost My Grip

2012-01-31T12:00:00.000-05:00

Curveball: The Year I Lost My Grip by Jordan Sonnenblick. Grades 6-9. Scholastic, March 2012. 304 pages. Reviewed from ARC provided by publisher.

Freshman year is turning out to be a wild ride for Peter Friedman. After an injury takes him off the field permanently, he's not exactly sure who he is now that he's not a baseball star, and he doesn't know how to tell his best friend that he'll never play again. His photography class is awesome - in no small part because he's partnered with the cute, smart Angelika. But he's worried about his grandfather who's forgetting things more and more often. Life keeps throwing him curveballs and Pete's got to figure out a way to keep on swinging.

Once again, Jordan Sonnenblick approaches serious subject matter with his trademark humor and authentic characters. This is a must-read for fans of Sonnenblick's previous work.

I literally squealed when I saw this in a box of ARCs Scholastic sent me and I immediately went to Twitter to get the buzz started. I am a huge fan of Jordan Sonnenblick's previous middle-grade novels and Curveball stood up to my high expectations.

Curveball is all about the sudden, unexpected changes that happen in life. Starting high school is a big change for anyone, but Pete expected to be a big-time athlete and suddenly he's having to find a new identity. Grampa's sudden descent into Alzheimer's is another unexpected change in Pete's life, made even more stressful by the fact that he feels like he has to protect his grandfather and keep it a secret. The family unit that Pete should be able to steady himself against is suddenly full of pitfalls and uncertainties.

Jordan Sonnenblick writes with authenticity and Pete's voice rang true to me. The humor in the book keeps it light, even as Pete's dealing with serious situations. The pacing is steady and kept me turning the pages, wondering how everything would work out. There's some romance as Pete delves into his first relationship with Angelika, his photography partner, but it's not overdone and the relationship develops organically throughout the book. It's always nice to see some romance from a guy's perspective because that's something guys are dealing with, too.

This book will definitely appeal to Sonnenblick's already established audience and it's sure to garner him new fans, as well. Be sure to hand it to fans of Notes from the Midnight Driver. The story's got many of the same elements as L.K. Madigan's wonderful Flash Burnout, so I'd recommend it to fans of that book, as well. Curveball might also serve as a gateway drug of sorts for kids who will only touch sports stories. There's enough of a sports element to satisfy them, although I don't know that I'd call it a Sports Book.

Curveball will be on shelves March 1.

ALA Midwinter Recap

2012-01-30T11:07:00.001-05:00

Dallas at night!

The day I got home from ALA Midwinter 2012, I slept for 15 hours.

Maybe some people make sure they get decent amounts of sleep during Conference, but I (apparently) am not one of them. And that kinda shows you what kind of a magical land the ALA Conference is: a place where networking, discovering new books, comparing library programs, meeting authors, finding solutions to your library problems... all of those are more important than sleep.

I know joining ALA is expensive and attending conference is expensive and not everyone can afford it on our librarian salaries and not everyone's library can or will pay for them. My dues are coming up at the end of January and I've been putting it off. But after that fabulous conference, I suddenly find that I don't mind writing that check. What I'm saying is that it is so worth it.

If you're not going to get involved, if you're not going to take advantage of the opportunities that ALA can offer (networking, committee work, conferences, etc.), then you're right - ALA membership might not be worth the dues you're paying. But a lot of the youth librarians I know are the only librarians in their department. Joining and being active in a professional organization offers you the opportunity to find people to share ideas, ask for solutions to problems, and possibly become lifelong friends. Of course you can do those things online, but there's something about meeting face to face, about talking books over a couple of margaritas (or Diet Cokes)...

We saw the van!

Even though conference totally exhausted me, it also completely refreshed me. I returned, ready to dive back in to my work.

In other news, there's been a bunch of blogger drama surrounding this conference and I don't really want to get into all of it, except to say that I second what Kelly said and what Jennie said and I'm so heartened to hear a friendly publisher rep weighing in and saying just what I'd like to say, but in a much kinder way.

Instead, I'd like to tell you how fabulous it was to sit in a ballroom and hear many, many teens repeatedly coming up to the mic to talk about their favorite (and least favorite) books on the Best Fiction for Young Adults nominees. Check out the #BFYA Twitter stream for more details about what teens said.

Theater for the YMA announcements

It was amazing it was to sit in a theater with hundreds of librarians, holding our breath as the Youth Media Awards were announced. The screams of joy and occasional hushed silences as favorite books were recognized or other favorite books were seemingly overlooked. (The selection committees put their heart and soul into their choices, so even if some of my favorites didn't get stickers, I appreciate the difficult decisions the committees had to make!)

It was wonderful to connect with publishers on the exhibit floor and find out what books they're excited about. They were just as interested to hear what the kids at my library are excited about. I attended several of the publishers' preview events and it's always nice to hear pub reps talk about the books they've got coming up. I can read a jacket flap, but hearing someone close to the book talking about it is a completely different experience.

It was four days of talking books with awesome people nonstop. It was four days of meeting new friends, putting faces to names I'd only seen online. It was four days with My People. And I'm already looking forward to the time that I might get to be back with My People again.

Thanks, ALA, for a great conference!

The Fault in Our Stars

2012-01-25T11:07:00.001-05:00

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. Grades 8 and up. Dutton, January 2012. 318 pages. Reviewed from purchased copy.

** There are no spoilers in this post, unless you count knowing that the book is amazingly awesome as a spoiler. If you do... um.... sorry. **

Um. Actually. This isn't really going to be a review. Sorry.

I have loved John Green since grad school. I read Looking for Alaska back before it won the Printz, back when I let the YALSA-BK listserv tell me what teen books to read (certain friends of mine are chortling at that). I stuck by him with An Abundance of Katherines. I was fairly diligent about watching the Brotherhood 2.0 videos and I was even IN one in 2007:

(Side note: Can you believe that I was at a John Green reading/signing with less than 30 people? It kinda seems unimaginable now...)

Anyway, this is all to say that I have been a fan of John Green for a long time. And my true confession is that I have always thought I liked him more than I liked his books.

And that all changed with The Fault in Our Stars. This book was freaking amazing. It's smart and witty, but it doesn't feel pretentious. In fact, it pokes fun at pretentiousness. The characters felt so real to me that I truly believe that this was John's homage to his Nerdfighters and the kids he's worked with an spoken with other the years. I honestly feel that this book is a gift from John to his readers.

And part of that gift has been the whole The Fault in Our Stars experience. As you probably know, John decided to autograph all 150,000 copies of the first printing. Preorders for the book piled up so quickly that the publication date was moved up (it was originally slated to publish in the spring - May, I believe). Even though my blog has a label called "my undying love for John Green", I wasn't certain I wanted to buy his book because, as I've said before, I've had mixed feelings about his previous books. But everyone was so excited about it and I wanted to be part of the excitement, so I preordered it.

From getting excited about preordering the book, the cover reveal (which I like more in person... it's so shiny...), the Twitter hashtag, wondering what color signature I would get (green), eagerly tracking my book as it shipped, sympathizing with those unlucky souls who didn't get theirs on the release date... Reading this book has definitely been an experience.

This was the right book for which to create a hoopla. It's my favorite of John Green's books so far and it's plain (to me) that he's poured his soul into writing this book and making it the best book it can be.

I can already tell you that this will be one of the best YA books of 2012.

Thank you, John Green.

The Berlin Boxing Club

2012-01-24T11:07:00.000-05:00

The Berlin Boxing Club by Robert Sharenow. Grades 7 and up. HarperTeen, 2011. 405 pages. Reviewed from ARC snagged at ALA.

Summary from publisher via GoodReads:

Fourteen-year-old Karl Stern has never thought of himself as a Jew. But to the bullies at his school in Nazi-era Berlin, it doesn't matter that Karl has never set foot in a synagogue or that his family doesn't practice religion. Demoralized by relentless attacks on a heritage he doesn't accept as his own, Karl longs to prove his worth to everyone around him.

So when Max Schmeling, champion boxer and German national hero, makes a deal with Karl's father to give Karl boxing lessons, Karl sees it as the perfect chance to reinvent himself. A skilled cartoonist, Karl has never had an interest in boxing, but as Max becomes the mentor Karl never had, Karl soon finds both his boxing skills and his art flourishing.

But when Nazi violence against Jews escalates, Karl must take on a new role: protector of his family. Karl longs to ask his new mentor for help, but with Max's fame growing, he is forced to associate with Hitler and other Nazi elites, leaving Karl to wonder where his hero's sympathies truly lie. Can Karl balance his dream of boxing greatness with his obligation to keep his family out of harm's way?

World War II is a hot topic among teens and The Berlin Boxing Club is a welcome addition to library shelves. As Germany barrels along towards World War II, propaganda against the Jews increases and new laws make life harder and harder for them. Robert Sharenow brings these injustices to life through his story. Karl has to switch schools when his school expels all Jews and he has to sneak around with the girl he's courting because she's Catholic. By creating a Jewish family that's not religious, Mr. Sharenow emphasizes that the crimes of the Nazis were aimed at people of the Jewish ethnicity, not necessarily an attack on religion. Since Karl does not look Jewish, he's able to "pass" some of the time, unlike his father and sister. Karl's a character that teens will identify with and this makes these injustices all the more sour.

Besides being a fascinating historical story, this is also a strong sports story. As Karl starts his training and gets better at boxing, he discovers a deep love and talent for the sport. The juxtaposition of the "civilized" violence of boxing in the ring against the senseless street violence against the Jews is a powerful one. More than once, Karl wishes that he could face his oppressors in the ring where there are rules and honor. Karl's boxing instructor Max Schmeling was held up as a symbol of Aryan superiority, especially when he bested African-American fighter Joe Louis in 1936. This is a source of conflict for Karl who is never sure where his mentor's allegiances lie concerning the Nazis. Pair this book with the 2011 picture book A Nation's Hope: The Story of Boxing Legend Joe Louis by Matt de la Pena, illustrated by Kadir Nelson for another perspective of Schemling and Louis's second fight in 1938.

The book does have some pacing issues. The plot stops and starts a little instead of being a steady build. But for teens who have an interest in the time period, this won't be an issue. Karl's story will be enough to keep them turning the page. It's all the more heartbreaking since the reader knows what the characters don't: that the world is heading towards a terrible war.

I'd hand this book to any teen who loves The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank, Annexed by Sharon Dogar, or Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys. Check out more reviews at Stacked, Galleysmith and The Fourth Musketeer. You'll also want to catch Michelle's interview with Robert Sharenow and his guest post at Galleysmith.

The Berlin Boxing Club is on shelves now!

And I'm off...!

2012-01-19T11:07:00.000-05:00

From Friday, January 20 through Tuesday, January 24 I will be in Dallas for the 2012 ALA Midwinter Meeting! I am totally psyched to see the awesome librarians I've connected with over the past year at ALA conferences, scope out what awesome books are coming out this spring, and meet new awesome people to share ideas! (Yes, I just used the word "awesome" three times. Conference is awesome!)

Not going to Midwinter? Follow along at home as I tweet the conference. Follow me (abbylibrarian) or check out the official Twitter hashtag, #alamw12.

I will also be blogging with short posts at the ALSC Blog, along with several other awesome children's librarians, so be sure to tune in there, as well.

Of course, you probably know that the winners of the ALA Youth Media Awards (including Newbery, Caldecott, Coretta Scott King, Schneider Family, Stonewall, Printz, and more) will be announced Monday morning, starting at 7:45am Central Standard Time. There will be a live Webcast and you can follow ALAyma on Twitter for up-to-the-minute winner announcements.

If you're going to Midwinter, I'd love to meet up - feel free to Tweet me! If you're not able to go, hopefully living vicariously through tweets and blog posts will bring you some measure of joy.

So. Here I go. My ereader's loaded up for the plane (thanks, NetGalley!) and I'm eagerly anticipating a break from this cold (um... suddenly it is winter here!). See y'all next week!

Audiobook Review: The Probability of Miracles

2012-01-18T11:07:00.000-05:00

The Probability of Miracles by Wendy Wunder, read by Emma Galvin. Grades 8 and up. Penguin Audiobooks, December 2011. 8 hours and 7 minutes. Review copy provided by publisher.

Sixteen-year-old Campbell is dying. Yup, she's got cancer. Treatments aren't working. Cam's kinda resigned herself to it, which is why she's created the Flamingo List, a list of things she wants to do before she dies. Y'know, normal teenager things like "Sleep through Saturday" and "Have my heart broken by an asshole". When her mom decides they're moving from Orlando to a tiny town called Promise, Maine, where it's said that miracles are known to occur, Cam's skeptical. But what she discovers in Promise (besides a dreamy boy named Asher who seems to care about her) is how to get busy living instead of dying.

Miracles. They come in many shapes and sizes. Cam's mom is hoping that this mystical town with purple dandelions and synchronized whales leaping out of the ocean will be able to heal her daughter. But maybe a smaller miracle would do... like a dying girl making the most of of the weeks and months she has left.

Cam has a great voice and this is where it was really nice to listen to this book because I think Emma Galvin does a really nice job of bringing Cam's voice to life. The performance is not voiced, but it's a nice, solid read with a timbre that fit well with Cam's personality. Ms. Galvin's reading voice is a little bit husky and it reminded me of no one more than Emma Stone, which worked for me because Cam's not your typical girly girl. She's frank and adventurous. She's cynical and she puts up a brave front, while on the inside she's very unsure.

Cam's sarcasm and dry humor keeps the book from being depressing. Yes, it's a book about a girl dying, but really it's about a girl living. The town of Promise has a mystical quality about it, almost verging into magical realism (depending on whether you believe in miracles or you don't).

I'd hand this book to teens who have enjoyed books like Before I Die by Jenny Downham or Forever Changes by Brendan Halpin. I'd recommend the audiobook to those who have enjoyed solid, character-based recordings like Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, read by Mandy Siegfried or Story of a Girl, written and read by Sara Zarr.

The Probability of Miracles is a very strong debut and I'll certainly be looking for more from Wendy Wunder. Read more reviews of the book at GreenBean TeenQueen and YA Librarian Tales.

The Probability of Miracles is on shelves now!

Hey, I'm an Audible affiliate, so if you click on the links here and make a purchase, I get a small commission.

Titanic at Your Library

2012-01-17T11:07:00.002-05:00

As you're probably aware, the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic is coming up this April. Kids are fascinated with the Titanic, so you'll want to make sure you've stocked your shelves well with titles like Unsinkable (and sequels) by Gordon Korman, Titanic Sinks! by Barry Denenberg, and The Watch That Ends the Night by Allan Wolf. (Of course, don't forget Blizzard of Glass by Sally M. Walker, which is not about the Titanic, but makes a great readalike for interested tweens!)

And if you're wanting to do a library program about the Titanic, look no further! Here's a rerun from the Abby the Librarian archives with a Titanic program I did a couple of summers ago. This post originally ran on June 24, 2010.

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When we were brainstorming for summer programs to go along with the Make a Splash theme, I thought to myself "What made a bigger splash than the Titanic?"

Irreverent, I know, but kids are fascinated by that great ship and I wanted to come up with a program to bring in some of those older kids. So, what did I do?

First, I set up the room. I put chairs in a big circle and printed out a bunch of historic newspaper articles from when the event happened (I took advantage of our Indiana room for these and I found many images online that I printed out). On the wall, I put up a time line detailing some important dates and times of the events (when the ship set out, when she struck the iceberg, when the Carpathiaarrived to pick up survivors, etc.). And I made some paper flags to look like the White Star Line flags. I also used some blank labels to make name tags with the White Star Line logo on them.

When the kids arrived, I let them in the room and gave them some time to look over the newspaper articles while we waited for everyone to show up. While they were checking out the articles, I had music playing from Titanic: Music as Heard on the Fateful Voyage.

Once most of the kids had shown up, I started with a brief overview of the Titanic.I invited the kids to share what they knew about the event and they were so into that. It was hard to get them to stop talking! But eventually we moved on and I asked them some trivia questions I had put together.

The trivia was my favorite part of the program. I used the book 882 1/2 Amazing Answers to Your Questions About the Titanic and the Magic Tree House Research Guide: Titanic to find many of the questions I asked and fun facts I told the kids. Another great resource for Titanic information is the website Encyclopedia Titanica.

After that, I brought out the mini iceberg I had made. I froze baggies of water and then froze them together to form a huge chunk of ice. I floated this in a clear container (with some blue food coloring in the water) to show them how you can only see a tiny bit of the ice when there's much more under the surface. Since they were being very well-behaved, I also invited them to feel how cold the water was and imagine being submerged in water that cold while they waited for rescue.

If you do something like this, have plenty of towels around to clean up spills and for kids to dry their hands! Also, get some gloves for when you're handling the ice. It's cold. And also sharp. Safety first!

Then I read a passage written by a Titanic survivor.

After the iceberg, I talked to them a little about Morse code and demonstrated it with a flashlight. I chose a volunteer to spell out his name with the flashlight. This went okay, but not great. I wanted to do something with Morse code, but I couldn't come up with something better.

And then since they had been sitting for sooo long, we played musical chairs with the 1912 music from the CD I had. This was a big hit, but took longer than I thought since we had a good crowd of kids.

After we had gotten through musical chairs, we ended and I handed out packets with some activities (a Titanic word search, a Morse code activity, and a book list of Titanic books and survival/adventure books). The website History on the Net has a lot of Titanic worksheets that are free for educational use. Of course, I had put up a Titanic book display and the kids ravaged it, taking almost every book I put out.

The program was a lot of fun and we had great attendance. We limited the program to kids going into 3rd-5th grade and it attracted a lot of boys, which was exactly the audience I had hoped it would attract!

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So there you have our Titanic program. Anyone else have ideas for a Titanic program?

A Year (Almost) of Programming for Homeschoolers

2012-01-12T11:07:00.001-05:00

I have posted before about our homeschool program, Fantastic Friday. We've just finished up our second year of offering this program, so I wanted to share a little bit about what we've been doing all year. This continues to be a great program for us. We've had great attendance from the start and we're seeing a lot of the same people coming every month.

Here's what we did in 2011:

January - Let It Snow! A storytime about snow and a snowman craft.
February - Chinese New Year. We did a stir-fry cooking demonstration and let them all taste. A local Chinese restaurant donated chopsticks!
March - Seeds & Growing Things. We shared some books about seeds and growing things and then each child got to plant their own seed.
April - Poetry. For the younger kids, we did a poetry storytime. For the older kids, we made book spine poems.
May - We did a storytime and craft for the younger kids. For the older kids, we did a book chat and I booktalked a bunch of awesome books that they might like for Summer Reading.
June, July, and August - We took a break from Fantastic Friday because we were offering so many awesome programs at all times of the day.
September - Back to Homeschool Party! This was a great way to kick off our homeschool year and bring our audience back in.
October - Costume party and Trick-or-Treat around the library.
November - Pretzel-making. (I am lucky to have an excellent and willing chef amongst my staff!)
December - Holidays Around the World. Three different craft stations with information about holidays from three different countries.

Due to an incredibly overwhelming fall and the large number of programs we planned for winter break, we're taking a break from in-house programming in January. The weather is very iffy and people in our area get very skittish about driving conditions. We'll start back up in February with a Black History Month program at the Carnegie Center for Art and History. I know I want to do a database workshop for the older kids at some point. And I'd like to continue my tradition of doing booktalks for the older kids in May to get them excited about Summer Reading. I think we'll probably again take a summer break and then repeat our Back to Homeschool Party in September. Other than that, we'll see where the year takes us!

Everybody Sees the Ants

2012-01-11T11:07:00.000-05:00

Everybody Sees the Ants by A.S. King. Grades 7 and up. Little, Brown, October 2011. 282 pages. Reviewed from ARC snagged at ALA.

Every night, Lucky Linderman travels to the jungles of Vietnam where he tries, once again, to rescue his grandfather. Lucky's grandfather has been MIA since way before Lucky was born. But at least in his dreams, Lucky feels like he's doing something. Not like when he can't get his dad to talk to him or even stay home from his restaurant for one night to be with the family. Not like when Nader's beating him up and all the adults are too meek or too clueless to help. But after a particularly horrible incident, Lucky's mom takes him to visit her brother in Arizona and there Lucky will begin to take charge of his life and start to set things to rights.

There's this moment... I guess not everyone necessarily has A MOMENT, but I know for me there was a time in my life when I realized that life doesn't have to be something that happens TO you. When you're growing up, ever since you were a baby, people were doing things for you. They carried you around. They fed you. When you got older, they made you brush your teeth, they carted you off on family vacations. When you're a kid, a lot of stuff happens TO you. But when you start to grow up, you realize that you can take charge of your life. You can make things turn out the way you want them to (well, you can do your best, anyway).

This is one thing Lucky learns.

There's also some time in your life when you realize that everybody's got problems, no matter how perfect their hair or how much money they make. Not only that, but sometimes problems are a lot more complicated than you could ever imagine. And sometimes the problems you see are caused by underlying problems you don't see. But everybody's got 'em.

This is another thing Lucky learns.

Everybody Sees the Ants is a story for anyone who has ever felt helpless.

This is a story that I could just sink into. Lucky felt incredibly real to me and I truly enjoyed seeing him figure things out. He's faced with a lot of frustrations in his life... Of course, there's the bully making his life miserable, but there's also the fact that his dad is never around and that Lucky isn't able to get it across that he needs help dealing with it. He's screaming at the top of his lungs without making a sound.

Lucky isn't the only great character in this book. A fleshed-out cast of supporting characters add to the authenticity of the story. I particularly liked the story of Lucky's aunt and uncle. As Lucky gets to know them, his perception of both of them changes almost completely, reinforcing the idea that you may never know someone's full story.

Lucky's ants add humor to the story, keeping it from getting too heavy. This is a book about some serious issues, but the tone is not always serious.

Check out more reviews at Stacked, GreenBean TeenQueen, Presenting Lenore, The Book Smugglers, and YA Love.

Everybody Sees the Ants is on shelves now!

Born Wicked

2012-01-10T12:00:00.000-05:00

Born Wicked by Jessica Spotswood. Grades 7 and up. G.P. Putnam's Sons, February 2012. 327 pages. Reviewed from ARC provided by publisher.

The Cahill sisters have a secret: just like their late mother, they have magic. If the Brothers knew, they would arrest them all and send them away. Cate's determined to protect her sisters, just as she promised her mother. But with her intention day looming, Cate's got some big decisions to make. Should she marry, even though it means she would move to the city and leave her sisters to fend for themselves? Can she face joining the Sisterhood instead? Does she even love the one man who has proposed to her? And are the Cahill sisters the subject of a dire prophecy that foretells one of them changing the world forever?

I found Born Wicked to be an unexpected delight and now (of course), I'm clamoring for the next book (and the first one hasn't even been released yet... woe is me ;).

It started off a little slow, or maybe I was just concentrating too hard on piecing together the setting and the society. Born Wicked is set in Maine in the late 19th century, after most of the witches who immigrated to America for religious freedom had been killed off or gone into hiding. Once I got a grip on the world, I was quickly caught up in Cate's romantic intrigues and the mystery surrounding the prophecy. The romance was definitely swoon-worthy, even though it's not graphic. As Cate wavers between two potential suitors, the tension mounts and Jessica Spotswood builds it perfectly. The twists and turns in the story kept me on my toes and kept me turning the pages and I'll definitely be seeking out the next book in the series.

I'd definitely hand this debut to teens who dig stories about witches and magic. It'll satisfy those who can't get enough of the paranormal romance books and I might also try it on fans of The Luxe by Anna Godbersen and Immortal Beloved by Cate Tiernan.

A note on the cover: Okay, it's pretty. But a photo of a girl laying in the grass in her skivvies under the title BORN WICKED... I guess my mind goes to bad places. (Although that might be the very thing that entices teens to pick it up...)

Born Wicked will be on shelves February 7!

Flesh & Blood So Cheap

2012-01-09T11:07:00.001-05:00

Flesh & Blood So Cheap by Albert Marrin. Grades 7 and up. Random House Children's Books, February 2011. 182 pages. Review copy provided by my local library.

On Saturday, March 25, 1911, just at the end of the workday, the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in New York City caught fire. The doors were locked to discourage factory workers from leaving early. The fire hoses were not connected. Flames soon exploded out of control as the highly flammable cloth scraps and paper patterns caught fire. The factory occupied the top three floors of a 10-story building. Many women had no choice but jump or be burned to death.

146 people, mostly women, died in the Triangle Fire, and this well-researched book is more than a chronicle of the worst workplace disaster New York has ever seen (with the exception of the 9/11 terrorist attacks). It's a snapshot of the time and a portrait of a changing nation. The first half of the book examines immigration in America in the second half of the 19th century and how it shaped the way American industry developed. It paints just the right mood for acknowledging how terribly tragic the Triangle Fire was. The last part of the book shows what changes were made in industry and labor laws as a result of the fire and shows that sweatshops still exist in many parts of the world.

Archival photos are well-selected and well-used to bring the time period to life. Back matter includes a bibliography, source notes, and an index. The writing is accessible and interesting, giving teens a glimpse into the lives of teens and children of this era. Not only would this make a great addition to history lessons, but it could easily spark conversations about immigration and how it has changed in this country over the past hundred years.

This book would make a perfect pairing with Uprising by Margaret Peterson Haddix or Katherine Paterson's Bread and Roses, Too or Lyddie. For older teens interested in a more recent look at immigration and sweatshop work, you could also pair this book with Girl in Translation by Jean Kwok. And, of course, don't forget Russell Freedman's Kids at Work: Lewis Hine and the Crusade Against Child Labor.

You can find more reviews of Flesh & Blood So Cheap at Biblio File and The Fourth Musketeer.

Flesh & Blood So Cheap, finalist for the 2011 National Book Award, is on shelves now!

Happy Nonfiction Monday! Check out this week's roundup at Great Kid Books.

Around the Interwebs

2012-01-06T11:07:00.000-05:00

Who's going to Dallas for the ALA Midwinter Meeting?! I'll be there and you can bet your boots (heh) I won't be missing the Great ALA Midwinter YA Blogger Meetup. Sunday, January 22 @ 6pm at The Iron Cactus (1520 Main Street). Hope to see you there! Thanks to Kelly of Stacked for organizing!

Marge of Tiny Tips for Library Fun turned me on to a fabulous storytime blog: Story Time Secrets. New and seasoned librarians alike won't want to miss Katie's Lessons Learned in a Year of Story Time.

And of course, don't miss Marge's own post about some of her favorite storytime stretchers. And Mel of Mel's Desk has posted a compilation of advice for new storytime providers.

Pam (MotherReader) and Lee are bringing back the Comment Challenge for 2012! Yay! Signups started Thursday, so get yourself over there (and start commenting!).

The end of the year is always filled with Best Of lists, but be sure not to miss Betsy's 100 Magnificent Children's Books of 2011 at A Fuse #8 Production.

And speaking of book lists, ALSC has updated their list of Great Early Elementary Reads, a great resource for those looking for books for kids who are starting to read chapter books on their own.

I love Donalyn's post Mooning Over Book Lists at the Nerdy Book Club. It is so true. So very true. :)

And if you haven't checked out Nerdy Book Club, you are missing some great posts about reading and books. Make sure you catch the 2011 Nerdies Book Awards, as well.

It's Getting Pink Over at the ALSC Blog

2012-01-04T11:07:00.003-05:00

All, today I'm posting about our wildly successful Pinkalicious Party over at the ALSC Blog. Please do click through and take a look at what we did! Here's a little preview:

Try, Try Again: A Tale of Two Programs

2012-01-03T11:07:00.000-05:00

Photo: Ben Hoyt

I don't know if you have this problem, but we have this problem: every time we survey patrons they ask for more evening programs for working parents. However, when we do offer evening programs they are very poorly attended. I needed to come up with something that would draw in a nice crowd in the evenings, so instead of offering a plain old evening storytime over Winter Break, I borrowed the idea of a "Milk & Cookies Storytime". I put it on our calendar, requiring registration so I would have an idea of the supplies needed.

And, as best laid plans sometimes do, things went a little bit awry. Registration was going like gangbusters and I was so excited that people were actually planning on coming to something in the evening! And then a week before the program, I discovered that a typo on the library-wide program calendar listed the program as 2:00pm instead of 7:00pm.

I thought on it a little bit and then decided that I would go ahead and offer the program at 2:00 if people showed up for it. Then I'd repeat it at 7:00. If a bunch of people showed up, I had plenty of time to run to the store for more supplies. And I'd much rather put in a little extra work and offer the program twice than turn away anyone who made a trip to the library for our program.

The program was advertised for ages 3-7 and I had an idea about how it would go: I'd share some of my favorite books and then put out milk & cookies for everyone to enjoy. At the last minute before the 2:00 program, I changed my mind. I figured I'd have a smaller crowd for that program, so I wanted to try putting out the refreshments at the beginning and inviting kids to enjoy their snack while they listened to stories.

The program was a disaster.

The first milk spill happened before we even started the stories. Luckily, I was prepared with many (MANY) napkins and towels. I had figured that milk would be spilled at some point. What I didn't count on was what a constant distraction the snacks would be. From various kids spilling milk (requiring various levels of my attention, depending on how attentive parents were) to other kids finishing their cookies and whining for more... no one was paying any attention to my stories. I tried switching it up and throwing in felt stories. I knew it would only invite more disaster to have the kids stand up and dance to the songs I had planned.

I cut it short and made copious notes for the next session. True, part of the disaster came from the kids that showed up (I believe a home day care group came, all kids who were new to the library and very squirrelly the whole time). But part of the disaster came from how I had planned the program.

I started with a book that was too long and didn't hold the kids' attention. Once I had lost them, I never really got them back. Serving the snacks at the beginning was a terrible idea and limited what I could do with the group. Normally with squirrelly kids, I'd ask them to stand up and do some stretching or dancing to get some wiggles out, but with cups of milk everywhere, I couldn't do that.

It's a bummer when a program flops, BUT I couldn't concentrate on that. I knew I had to concentrate on making the program better for the next session!

Before the next session, I pulled all new books. Even though the recommended program age went up to 7, I pulled books that were shorter and more geared toward the preschool age. I pulled a bunch of extra books so I could switch things up easily if the kids weren't into something I had picked. I set up small tables where kids could enjoy their snack AFTER the storytime. I put the cookies out on a tray, but left it in our office until after the program. The milk stayed in the fridge until we were ready for our snack.

This session was 100% better than the first one. (Granted, there were several families that I knew who attended the 7:00 session, so it probably would have been smoother anyway.) I started by welcoming the kids and letting them know that we'd read some stories and then have a snack afterwards. Here's what we did:

Book: Bark George by Jules Feiffer. I wanted to start with one of my favorites, a book that I felt very confident about reading since my program had gone so poorly the first time.

Book: Actual Size by Steve Jenkins. Since I did have some older kids in attendance, I brought out this book. It went over the preschoolers' heads a little bit and I didn't read the entire thing, but this is a book that's easy to stop at any point so I didn't end up reading the entire thing.

Song: My Bonnie by Jim Gill. Since the kids were getting a little antsy during Actual Size, we stood up to do this song. I asked them to think of words that started with "B" and they gave me many! Then we did the motions to this song. It was a great choice for emerging readers!

Book: Rhyming Dust Bunnies by Jan Thomas. This silly book calls for rhyming words and definitely had the kids giggling along! I always start this book by making sure kids know what dust bunnies are.

Felt: Fifteen Animals by Sandra Boynton. This was a nice transition because one of the dust bunnies is named Bob, as are fourteen of the animals in this book.

Book: The Cow Loves Cookies by Karma Wilson. I used this book last to transition into our snack time. It was maybe a tiny bit long for my crowd, but they definitely found it funny.

After our storytime, I brought out the tray of cookies and the milk and invited them to find a spot at the tables and then come up to get their snack. I had 17 kids and they went through about half a gallon of milk. I had bought 2 gallons, but in the future I'll buy half-gallons because they'll be easier to pour from. They will eat as many cookies as are available. I put out two whole packages and they ate almost all of them, some kids taking four, five, six cookies at one go. In the future, I'll ask kids to start by choosing two cookies and then going back for more after everyone's had some.

Once I fixed my problems, the program actually turned out to be really nice and I'm excited about offering it weekly over the summer. This just goes to show you that sometimes everything goes wrong and a program just flops, but that doesn't necessarily mean it was a bad idea. You can note what didn't go well and fix it for next time!

Blizzard of Glass

2012-01-02T11:07:00.000-05:00

Blizzard of Glass: The Halifax Explosion of 1917 by Sally M. Walker. Grades 5-10. Henry Holt, November 2011. 145 pages. Review copy provided by my local library.

It was 1917, smack in the middle of World War I, and many ships carrying war supplies went in and out of the harbor at Halifax, Nova Scotia. But the Mont-Blanc wasn't just any ship. Packed to the brim with explosives and combustibles, every sailor knew to take extreme precautions on board that ship. But accidents happen and when another ship collided with the Mont-Blanc in Halifax Harbor, it created the largest man-made explosion until the 1945 detonation of the atomic bomb. Halifax would never be the same.

With riveting prose, Sally M. Walker presents a detailed account of the devastating Halifax Explosion and how it affected the people of Halifax. She starts by introducing the reader to a handful of families living in Halifax and how they started the morning of December 6, 1917, unsuspecting. The first few chapters give background information about Halifax and the ships and the war, each chapter ending with foreshadowing of the tragedy to come.

When tragedy does strike, Ms. Walker's gripping account is hard to put down. Archival photos grace nearly every page, putting the reader right into the middle of the action. Buildings for 12 miles around were damaged and most of the buildings near the harbor were absolutely leveled. Luckily, a brave telegraph operator had been able to send out a final message alerting other towns to the disaster, so help was soon on its way.

Confession: I am a huge fan of Sally Walker's books and I picked this one up on the strength of her name alone. It did not disappoint. I knew nothing about the Halifax Explosion before picking up this book, but now I find myself wanting to press Blizzard of Glass into the hands of every young Titanic fanatic I know. This is surely just as exciting and tragic account as any about the Titanic. This is narrative nonfiction at its finest.

And just as we've come to expect from Sally Walker, her excellent writing is paired with extensive research, making a truly fantastic nonfiction experience for young readers. The book includes extensive source notes, an author's note, a bibliography, and an index. I fully expect to see a shiny Sibert sticker on this one in a couple of weeks and I'll be devastated if it's overlooked for the ENYA shortlist next year.

Promote this one to your Titanic fans as the anniversary approaches and hand it to anyone who likes thrilling disaster stories.

Blizzard of Glass is on shelves now!

Happy Nonfiction Monday! This week's roundup is over at The Nonfiction Detectives, so head over there and check it out!