Preschool Story Time: Superheroes

Date presented:  Thursday, June 21, 2015

Even though I love doing story times for all ages, preschool story time is my favorite group.  For the summer, our library is transitioning from two sessions per week to a single session on Thursday mornings.  When I plan each week, the preschool and the toddler groups have the same theme, but they generally have different books and different activities.  Our preschool group also does a craft at the end of story time each week instead of the parachute activities and free play that we do with the toddlers.  I’ve already written about the toddler superhero story time, so here are some notes from the preschool group.

Introduction

I don’t have much of an introduction to my preschool story time.  Since parents tend to be running late, I spend the first five minutes of story time talking to the kids and parents as they come in, and sometimes teasing what we are doing in story time this week.

Welcome Song

We use the same welcome song in preschool story times as we do in the toddler story times:

Welcome, Everyone (Tune:  Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star)

Welcome, welcome, everyone.

Now we’re here, let’s have some fun.

First we’ll clap our hands just so.

Then we’ll reach and touch our toes.

Welcome, welcome, everyone.

Now we’re here, let’s have some fun!

Credit:  Adapted from Public Library Program Ideas

Letter of the Day

We do the same Letter of the Day concept in preschool story time as we use in toddler story time.  However, for my preschool groups, I will give them an introduction to the topic that we are going to do and hint about important words before asking them to guess the letter.  Some weeks the kids guess the letter on the first try, and some weeks we spend a little more time trying to figure out what the letter might be.  And, like with toddler story time, we include how to make the letter in sign language.  I am also considering adding in a simple sign language word that encompasses our letter of the day, but we haven’t tried that yet.  This week was, of course, S for Superhero.

iPad Technology

I mentioned in my toddler post that I was was hoping to incorporate technology into story time with our iPads.  I planned on using the StoryBots “Say Yes to S” video, but our group was so rambunctious that I decided to skip technology this week in favor of getting story time started.

Story Box

This summer, I decided to introduce something a little bit different for preschool story time.  Instead of having the books and activities in a particular order, which is how I normally do story time, I wanted to make it a more interactive experience.  So, I created the Ms. Jaime’s Story Box (pictures to come, I promise).  Basically, it’s a wooden box with a latch that I found at Hobby Lobby and stained.  I glued letters on the outside to label the box, and inside, I put everything that we might need for story time.  This week, I put in all three of our books and my flannel stories.  I also have three painted wooden music notes that represent songs.  The goal is for one of the children to pick something out of the box, and that is where we will start our story time.

1st Book

Our first book was Mighty Max! by Harriet Ziefert.  This is a cute story about a little boy who sits still…but not for long!  He is off to save the world on a variety of adventures.  It’s a cute story, but it didn’t really catch the attention of my group this week.  I think it was just a little too long for them.

Song/Rhyme/Activity

At this point, although my group was very enthusiastic about picking the next thing out of the story box, I wanted to give them a chance for some movement.  So, I did a little prompting to help a music note get pulled from the box.  We did our “Clap Your Hands” song, which gives everyone a chance to do some moving and get some energy out.  It’s something I inherited from the previous children’s librarian, but it’s such a hit that it’s impossible not to use it.

Clap, clap, clap your hands,

Clap your hands together.

Clap, clap, clap your hands,

Clap your hands together.

Clap a little faster now,

Clap along with me.

Clap a little slower now,

Clap along with me.

Continue with:  nod your heads, shake your heads, stomp your feet, and (sometimes), save your hands

Source:  Modified from KIDiddles:  http://www.kididdles.com/lyrics/c119.html. 

2nd Book

The second book that was selected from the box was Do Superheroes Have Teddy Bears? by Carmela LaVigna Coyle.  Originally, I had planned to use Kapow! by George O’Connor, but after using this book in toddler story time the previous day, I thought it was too adorable to pass up sharing with the preschool group.  I don’t regret doing this one at all, because the comments were hilarious!  We decided that superheroes don’t have teddy bears because they’re grown men (and that would just be silly), and they aren’t afraid of the dark because they fly at night, and obviously it’s dark at night.

Flannel Story

Even though I let them pick what we were doing next, I guided them to selecting our flannel story for this week.  In honor of our superhero theme, we did the Ready for Action rhyme from the CLSP Children’s Manual.  I made a boy and a girl set, which gave me more pieces for helpers.  While the set turned out adorable, this did not go as planned.  The kids were super excited to help dress the superheroes, but they never calmed down enough to actually hear the rhyme and dress the superhero in order.  This turned out to be more of a superhero stampede instead.

Song/Rhyme/Activity

I originally planned to do another song here, but since the group was very wired, I decided to skip it in favor of moving on to our third book.

3rd Book

Our final book was Superhero ABC by Bob McLeod.  The kids liked the different pictures of the superheroes, and ended up picking some of the featured superheroes as their identity for their craft.  In hindsight, I probably should have skipped this one since the group was antsy and ready to wrap up, but the kids who did want another book were still interested.

Goodbye Song

We ended story time, as usual, with our goodbye song.  We always sing The More We Get Together and then move to the craft table for the craft.

Craft

We hosted a community carnival event back in the fall, which ended up having much less attendance than we anticipated.  As a result, we had leftover craft supplies.  One of the activities was creating masks, so I used the leftover masks to let the kids create their own superhero masks and identities.  I used this template from Au Pair Buzz, printed on cardstock so they would be a little sturdier.

How It Went

I was really excited to be back for story times for the summer, and this group was very enthusiastic.  I had several new faces for the summer, which made it fun as well.  The story box was a hit, and I am looking forward to using it for the rest of the summer.  This was the largest group that I have done story time for (48 people!), but because of that, it was also a little crazy.  I’m definitely rethinking having a volunteer for preschool story times.  I think this summer is going to be great!

Toddler Story Time: Superheroes

Date presented:  Wednesday, June 10, 2015

I have been planning toddler story times for our librarian since about a month after I started.  But, because our toddler story time is usually on Monday mornings (I work Monday nights), I haven’t been the one presenting the story times.  However, in the summer we have field trips from a local group at the rec center.  To accommodate this group, our toddler story time gets moved to Wednesdays.  So, for the summer at least, I am taking over presenting toddler story times as well.  For our first week of summer reading, we did our story time on superheroes!

Introduction

Since the toddler families are not as familiar with me, I started off story time by introducing myself to them.  However, we don’t really have a set of rules or information that we give before our story time, so my introduction is pretty short and basically includes my name and who I am.

Welcome Song

We start every story time with the same welcome song:  This is the welcome song that has been in place at our library for several years, so it is the one that I inherited.  The parents and children are familiar with it and it is easy for newcomers to pick up, so we have decided for the foreseeable future not to change the welcome song at all.

Welcome, Everyone (Tune:  Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star)

Welcome, welcome, everyone.

Now we’re here, let’s have some fun.

First we’ll clap our hands just so.

Then we’ll reach and touch our toes.

Welcome, welcome, everyone

Now we’re here, let’s have some fun!

Credit:  Adapted from Public Library Program Ideas

Letter of the Day

Each week, we have a Letter of the Day that we highlight.  We have laminated letter cards that we flip over when we show the letter, as well as a set that shows sign language letters.  For summer reading, I created a superhero alphabet set using a great graphic that I found on Pinterest to create replace our normal letter set.  I introduced our topic (and the summer reading theme) before introducing our letter for this week.  When I introduced S for Superhero, the parents helped by making the S sound.  I also show the kids how to make an S in sign language as part of our letter of the day as well.

iPad Technology

My library received a grant that gave us 7 iPads.  As a result, my director has asked me to work on incorporating more technology into story times and programming.  Since we weren’t sure how the parents would respond to iPads in story time, we decided to start with something simple.  I downloaded the StoryBots Learning Videos app (you can also find the videos online on the StoryBots website), which includes adorable videos with little robots singing about concepts.  I had originally only downloaded the ABC Videos app, but I switched to this one since it also includes colors, numbers, shapes, and more that I hope to integrate in the future.  Anyway, for this week, we showed the video “Say Yes to S” to highlight our letter of the day.  The reaction was mixed – the kids seemed to enjoy the song (and some danced along), but they were not particularly interested in viewing the iPad.  I think this is a combination of a new person AND new technology in the same week, so we agreed to give this another chance in future story times.

1st Book

Our first book today was Do Superheroes Have Teddy Bears? by Carmela LaVigna Coyle.  This is a book that we ordered especially with summer reading in mind, and it is adorable!  The rhyming text is easy to read, but this book ended up being a little bit long for the group that I had.

Song/Rhyme/Activity

After each book, we like to do some kind of rhyme or activity to get the kids up and moving and engaged in the story time.  Since this group was not particularly active yet, I decided to move songs around from my original outline and went with S-U-P-E-R, which is basically spelling super to the tune of B-I-N-G-O.  We had our superhero alphabet cards on the felt board so we could point to the letters while we sang.

There was a hero that saved the day

And Super was his name-o

S-U-P-E-R

S-U-P-E-R

S-U-P-E-R

And Super was his name-o.

Source:  Adapted by Julie Dietzel-Glair in the CSLP Early Literacy Manual.

We sang this through twice (without removing any of the letters) before we moved on to our next activity.

Flannel Story

At this point in the outline, I had planned to use the “Ready for Action” flannel board that I made (adapted from the CSLP Children’s Manual).  I created boy and girl superheroes to dress (a future Flannel Friday post, I promise!), but I only planned to use one with this group given their attention span.  However, since the group was overall fussy and having a hard time adapting to me, I decided to forgo this one for this week and move on.

Song/Rhyme/Activity

After the flannel story, I had planned on doing a second song to encourage some movement.  The original plan called for “Hero Pokey” from the CSLP Early Literacy Manual.  Since we skipped the flannel story (and also because my group was not into singing our other song, either), we skipped this one as well and went on to our next book.

2nd Book

Our second book was He Saves the Day by Marsha Hayles.  It’s a cute story about a little boy who saves the day in his imagination…until he finds that sometimes he needs a little help from mom to save the day.  I was hoping that the parents would help out more with the “He saves the day!” refrain, but this one ended up falling flat.

Goodbye Song

At this point, I decided it was best to move on to our next part of story time, which is our parachute activities and free play.  Before we move from our story time corner to the meeting room, we always sing The More We Get Together from our CD.  Then I invited all the kids and parents to come with me to play with the parachute and other toys.

Parachute Activities

Each week, we lay out the parachute and have the kids play with it before we move on to free play.  My boss, who normally does toddler story time, uses the same outline every week for playing with the parachute.  I wanted to keep the same elements that he did, but I also wanted to start introducing some new songs and rhymes for the concepts.  Since I didn’t want to overwhelm the kids with new information at once, I decided to start by just replacing one concept with a new song.  The result was this outline of parachute activities:

• ABC Song:  We walk the parachute around in a circle while we sing our ABCs.
• Counting:  We walk the parachute around in a circle (in the opposite direction) while we count to 10.
• Colors:  We lay the parachute back on the ground, and then I call out colors for the kids to touch.  We call out colors and give them a chance to run to that color until we have covered all four colors in the parachute.
• Up and Down:  We raise and lower the parachute while talking about UP and DOWN.  The kids also have the chance to run underneath the parachute while it “falls” on them.

While I was at the Texas Library Association conference this spring, I attended the Guerrilla Storytime workshop.  While I was there, someone demonstrated the Elevator Song, so this week I replaced our up and down activity with that instead.

Oh, the city is great and the city is grand

There’s a lot of tall buildings on a little piece of land

And we live way up on the 57th floor

And this is what we do when we go out the door

We take the elevator up and the elevator down

Take the elevator up and the elevator down

Take the elevator up and the elevator down

And we turn around

Source:  Kendra Jones at Read Sing Play:  https://klmpeace.wordpress.com/rhymes-for-baby-and-toddler-storytimes/#59

The parents helped out on this one to keep our up and down going.  I think it’s a fun song, so I’m hoping to keep it again in the future.

Free Play

After we play with the parachute, we have three tubs of toddler toys that we bring out and let everyone run around the room and have free play.  We close the doors to the meeting room so that no one escapes, and then we can also be noisier if we want.  This is also when I tried to spend time one-on-one with some of the toddlers and parents so that they would feel more comfortable with me, and reminded everyone to sign up for the summer reading program.

How It Went:

I have to admit, I was very intimidated to do this story time.  Since the kids were not used to me, and because I was nervous, it was not one of the best story times that I have had.  However, I think it has potential to improve with some work.  I’m hopeful that the group will start warming up to me in the next few weeks and we will have better sessions.  In general, I found the books were too long for my group’s attention span, but again, this may have been due in part to so much change in one week.  I’m looking forward to seeing how future sessions go!

Always, Abigail

Always, Abigail

Nancy J. Cavanaugh

ISBN:  9781402293030

This is the second chapter book that I’ve read from this year’s Texas Bluebonnet Award nominees, and I have to say that I enjoyed it much more than the first title that I read.  Although I have to admit, you can’t really consider this a chapter book when there aren’t specific chapters in it.  The book is more like a diary, with Abigail’s lists chronicling the majority of the events that happen.  The word bubbles and slight graphics used throughout also help break up the text into different segments, even if there is never a specific chapter.

Summary

Abigail Walters looks forward to sixth grade as the chance to really begin her life.  From the start, she has lofty aspirations of becoming a pompom girl, gaining the attention of boys, and finding popularity with the other “cool” kids.  But, despite her best ambitions, a place on the pompom squad is not in Abigail’s future, and she finds herself as a mere alternate with a lot of spare time on her hands.  Separated from her best friends Alli and Cami, Abigail finds herself not only not a pompom girl, but not even in the same homeroom or classes.  instead, she’s paired with school outcast Gabby Marco on Old Hawk’s friendly letter assignment.  As Abigail starts to realize that she has very little in common with AlliCam, she discovers that Gabby isn’t quite as bad as she first seemed.  But when Abigail suddenly gets a chance to be a permanent member of the pompoms, she finds she must choose between what she’s always wanted and what she’s starting to become.  Can she successfully navigate the middle school drama and find an answer she can live with?

What I Liked

Abigail’s quandary – choosing between popularity and what she feels like is the “right” thing to do – is something incredibly relevant.  Cavanaugh does a great job of describing Abigail’s inner battle in a way that makes sense to the audience.  Abigail can feel when she’s being a troll, without fully being able to articulate why she feels that way.  The struggle presented between doing the right thing and being accepted is something that most girls can easily identify with, even if they aren’t cheerleaders in their own right.  Unfortunately, it’s a topic that can be found in just about any school.  As Abigail starts to feel the distance between herself and AlliCam, the reader also starts to discover some of the politics and hard decisions of popularity.  Because Abigail has so many “normal” experiences – sleepovers, going out to eat with friends, being paired up for a class assignment – the reader is able to see her own situations and experiences in Abigail’s story.

What I Didn’t Like

Although Abigail’s list-making was often entertaining, I didn’t like that the book didn’t have clear divisions between parts.  Sometimes it was hard to tell how many days had passed or when events were supposed to have taken place.  Although the book covers the span of an entire year, it is unclear throughout the book how much time elapses between events.  Also, Abigail’s end choice seems very dramatic.  Instead of finding a way to successfully navigate the two worlds that she wants to inhabit, she is forced to choose between one or the other.  Popularity or Gabby – there is no middle ground.  While I appreciate that this makes Abigail’s decision more dramatic (and emphasizes the importance of making one’s own decisions and doing the right thing), it also seems somewhat unrealistic.  Why couldn’t Abigail be an influence for good with the pompom girls?  Having such a strict division between the “good” and the “bad” in the story undermined some of the overall message.  I think we all know that no one (not even Gabby Marco or AlliCam) is completely good or bad, but in the book, the characters are only given one dimension.  However, the choice between doing what is popular and doing what is right is the more important element of the story, and that is clearly and effectively conveyed.

Overall Feeling

This book is an enjoyable read, and definitely has a relevant and relatable subject.  Abigail, although sometimes obnoxiously simplistic in her thinking (and very genuinely girly in her approach to some topics), is an endearing character that the reader quickly comes to love.  Her struggle to discover herself, even if it means addressing the uglier parts of her character, is one that we can all relate to, and doing so in the context of middle school makes her even more realistic.  While I doubt that many boys will be interested in this particular title, I think the girls will definitely appreciate both the plot and the characters.  The almost-diary approach of Abigail’s list is also likely to appeal to even reluctant readers, because it breaks the text into small chunks that can be read quickly.  You can read as much or as little of the book in one sitting as you like, depending on how many lists you want to explore.  I recommend this book to anyone who wants to explore what it means to be a good friend.

The Misadventures of Salem Hyde: Book One: Spelling Trouble

The Misadventures of Salem Hyde:  Book One:  Spelling Trouble

Frank Cammuso

ISBN:  9781419708046

This is the second graphic novel format Texas Bluebonnet Award nominee I read, but, unlike The Great American Dust Bowl, this book is completely fictional.  At first I thought I would have a hard time getting into the format, but once I started reading, I found that I completed the book very quickly.  It was entertaining, it was cute, and it was just plain fun.

Summary

Salem Hyde is a young witch who is just learning to control her powers.  Neither of her parents are witches, although her aunt is.  In an effort to help her learn to control her powers, they enlist the help of an animal companion, Mr. Percival J. Whamsford, III.  Salem is disappointed to have an unoriginal cat as her companion (she wanted a unicorn), but she soon finds that she has bigger problems to worry about.  Salem inadvertently signs herself up for the school spelling bee.  She thinks it will be no problem – after all, she’s a witch and knows plenty of spells.  But spelling and casting spells are not the same thing, and Salem is going to need some serious help to get out of the trouble she’s caused.

What I Liked

Salem is an immediately loveable and relatable character.  She’s cute, she’s confident, and she’s adorably mistaken about her magical abilities.  I immediately loved the attitude that she brought to the story – she believes in herself and her magical powers even when she miserably fails Whammy’s tests.  Plus, the plays on words throughout the book are hilarious – simple enough that young audiences can appreciate them, but with enough depth that adults find them enjoyable as well.  Cammuso even goes so far as to include literary references like Moby Dick into the story, which makes it more than just a simple tale of a girl and her cat.  Overall, Salem struggles with a very real problem:  learning to be the best version of who she is.  Even if we aren’t all witches, we can certainly relate to her dilemma.

What I Didn’t Like

Although the illustrations are cute and add so much detail to the story, I have to admit that I didn’t like that the only color used throughout the book was green.  I would have loved to see Salem’s vibrant personality illustrated with a few more colors.  Overall, though, that’s not a large enough complaint to discourage me from recommending the book, nor do I anticipate it being a negative factor for most readers.

Overall Feeling

This book is a complete hit!  It has something that will appeal to just about any reader – a cute story, an adorable protagonist, magic, humor, and real-life lessons.  It is obvious from Book One that Salem and Whammy will have more adventures in the future, and the reader ends the first story wanting to immediately pick up the next installment.  Cammuso does a brilliant job of addressing a lesson that we all must learn at some point – how to be the best versions of ourselves, in spite of our flaws.  This story is sure to find a place in the hearts of most readers, and I would recommend it without hesitation for anyone looking for a great read.

The Right Word: Roget and His Thesaurus

The Right Word:  Roget and His Thesaurus 

Jen Bryant, illustrated by Melissa Sweet

ISBN:  9780802853851

This is the second nonfiction Texas Bluebonnet Award nominee title that I have read, and honestly, I was a little disappointed in this one.  The illustrations were beautiful, and, if you took the time to really look at them, they very much enhanced the text.  There is not a doubt in my mind as to why this book was a Caldecott Medal Honor book.  However, I found the book overall to be lacking in the substance that I had expected, and I wished that it had offered something more.

Summary

Peter Roget has been making lists his entire life.  Starting with his list of important events, he makes sense of his world by organizing things into understandable lists.  As he grows older, Peter realizes the importance of these lists not only in organizing his world, but also in helping him to find the precise word that he needs.  In time, he realizes that he must share these lists with the world, and thus the legendary thesaurus, still in use to this day, is born.

What I Liked

This book is full of beautiful illustrations.  If you take time to appreciate the details, you learn more about Roget’s lists and the ways in which he organizes the world.  The little details, such as important dates, are shown in the vivid detail.  I also liked that overall, the concept of the book was simple.  The reader learns about what a thesaurus is, and how it is useful, before ever learning the specific term.

What I Didn’t Like

I didn’t care for the writing style of this book at all.  On some pages, the text is in complete, logical sentences and paragraphs, while on others, it switches to a more lyrical format and reads like an awkward poem.  There does not seem to be much rhyme or reason as to why the writing style switches, and for me, I found it confusing to switch back and forth between one and another.  Another thing I thought was lacking was specific historical details.  While the back matter of the book includes a list of important dates and a selected bibliography as part of its resources, I found that overall this factual information was missing from the text itself.  It seemed that in an attempt to keep the book simple and understandable, the author left out numerous details that would have allowed this to become a stronger work.

Overall Feeling

I personally did not feel that this was a strong nominee for the Texas Bluebonnet Award. While the illustrations are fantastic, the pictures alone are not enough to carry the book.  It lacks the substance of other nonfiction titles, and the poetic approach may be confusing to young readers.  As a brief introduction to the the thesaurus and its invention, this book is an adequate resource; however, as an authoritative reference work, it falls short.  It is worth reading for the background information, and for the illustrations, but if you are looking for depth of information, you will need to look elsewhere.

The Great American Dust Bowl

The Great American Dust Bowl

Don Brown

ISBN:  9780547815503

This is the second title I have read for the 2015-2016 Texas Bluebonnet Award nominees.  Continuing down the list in alphabetically order, this is the next title.  I was actually pleased to have a nonfiction title (and more of a picture book) after reading a full chapter book.  It also gave me a better idea about the diversity of titles that are included each year on the nomination list.

Summary

The biggest storm of the Dust Bowl happened on April 14, 1935.  But, as Brown points out, the events that led to the Dust Bowl started far earlier.  The text, reading in an almost graphic novel format, presents a summary of the events leading up the Dust Bowl, from the shifting of the earth’s plates, through World War I, and on into the series of droughts and dusters that shaped the Dust Bowl.

What I Liked

As a nonfiction title, this book obviously presented a lot of facts.  I liked that the author presented the facts as simply as possible, but also in ways that are understandable to the reader.  For example, Brown describes the duster of May 1934 as filled with enough dust to fill 1500 modern supertankers.  Not only does the reader suddenly understand the vast amount of dust described, the simple visuals accompanying the text reinforce the points.  Overall, the book presents much factual information in a concise, understandable format.  Further, Brown hooks the reader from the very first sentence of the book.  The word choice immediately intrigues the reader and encourages you to read further.

What I Didn’t Like

Overall, I enjoyed the book.  However, I felt that the illustrations could have done more to support the text, at least as it relates to the families depicted.  On their own, the illustrations do a wonderful job of depicting the terror and hardship of the dust storms.  However, since the author chose to use a graphic format with the characters periodically adding their own thoughts to the narration, I would have liked to see perhaps a bit more character development throughout the story.  For instance, having the same family describe the impact of the Dust Bowl on their farm to allow the reader to form a stronger connection.  Overall, though, the way the author presents information does not detract from the text or the overall goal of the book, and the comments that are provided are beneficial for providing more personal context to the historical events described.

Overall Feeling

I enjoyed reading this book.  As a nonfiction title, it presents a lot of information without being overwhelming, and yet there is no doubt as to the historical accuracy and the amount of research that the author put into the work.  I think this book provides a great factual overview to the topic, and includes a surprising amount of information for its relatively short format.  I would recommend it not only as an interesting read, but also as a very useful resource in understanding this period in American history.

The Night Gardener

The Night Gardener

Jonathan Auxier

ISBN:  9781419711442

This year, I have decided to read all of the nominees for the Texas Bluebonnet Award.  I’m curious as to what types of books are nominated each year, and I want to be able to make appropriate recommendations to parents and children who are interested in reading the necessary five books to vote.  I decided the easiest way to start was at the top of the list, which happens to be arranged alphabetically by author, and so this was my first read.

Summary

Kip and Molly are down-on-their-luck Irish orphans looking for a job, and more importantly, a warm bed and a hot meal.  Against the recommendation of everyone the come across, Molly has obtained employment as a housemaid for the Windsor family in their home in the sourwoods.  However, when they arrive, the mistress of the house tries to turn them away, telling them that it is no place for them.  Molly is insistent, however, and Mistress Windsor begrudgingly allows them to stay.  Molly and Kip soon realize that something is wrong with this family – the master and mistress, as well as their two children, seem to lose their color a little more each day.  At night, the sound of footsteps haunts the halls and no one is able to rest peacefully.  After exploring the house, Molly learns of the tree that it is built around – a magical tree that will grant the wishes of your heart.  In exchange, however, the tree demands a drop of receiver’s soul.  As Molly and Kip slowly watch the Windsor family fade, they realize that they must save themselves – and the family – from the horrible Night Gardener who tends the tree with the sweat of fear from their nightmares.  Are two children strong enough to break this curse?

What I Liked

This book undoubtedly has a powerful message about greed and lust.  Although it is not apparent at first, the further you get into the story, the more you begin to realize the consequences of selfish decisions and thinking only of yourself.  I also enjoyed that the characters’ struggles with right and wrong (and selfishness) were realistic.  The reader can identify that sometimes it is hard to turn away from what you most want in the world.  Auxier does a great job of making the struggle dynamic and realistic – and helping his character’s realize their own motivations and truest desires throughout the struggle.

What I Didn’t Like

First of all, I found this book the be very dark and disturbing.  While it was advertised as reminiscent of Washington Irving and Edgar Allen Poe, I expected a tamer version given the younger audiences.  However, that is not the case in this book.  The descriptions are vivid and often brutal – the snapping of bones, dripping of blood, and other elements are not disguised at all in the text.  I also found the context to be poorly explained.  Molly and Kip are Irish, and often revert to phrases common to their Irish brogue, yet most children would not recognize this phrasing or understand its use.  The fact that these are Irish children seeking work in England is important to understanding their situation, and yet it is not clearly explained to the reader.  Without some background knowledge of history, these elements are lost.

Overall Feeling

Overall, I am not a fan of fantasy or darker imagery, and I was not impressed with this book.  I found it to be too dark and twisted to be enjoyable, and I would personally be wary of recommending it wholeheartedly to children.  To appreciate the struggle of the plot, the reader must have a highly developed sense of good and evil and be willing to struggle with that throughout the text.  The vivid descriptions, as well as mature subject matter, make me wary of recommending the book to a younger audience.  Still, the message is worthwhile if you can look beyond the creepiness and darkness.  Overall, I would recommend this book for older readers who enjoy equal parts fantasy, fairy tale, and ghost story.

Flannel Friday: Dress the Cowboy

Recently, I realized that I needed to do something different with my story times.  We had songs and action rhymes and, of course, books, but I still felt like something was missing.  So, I decided to try my hand at flannel stories.  My library has a very extensive collection of flannel boards (that I am currently in the process of organizing and inventorying to see what we have), but after seeing some of the great designs out there (and featured with Flannel Friday), I wanted to try my hand at making some of my own.

True confession:  I actually enlist the help of a great volunteer who does a lot of the creation for me.  I supply templates, ideas, and materials, and she actually does the creation.  

Currently, I plan for all three story times (baby, toddler, and preschool) at my library, but I only present for the babies and preschoolers.  This summer, though, I will be taking on the toddlers as well.  So far, I haven’t added any flannel stories to my baby story times, but I have included them for the toddlers and the preschool groups.  My current story time setup includes an easel that is a felt board on one side, which I’ve found is actually great for sharing the flannel stories with the group.  Putting the stories on the easel frees me up to move the pieces and interact with the kids without holding a board, and it also makes it easier for everyone in the group to see.  I’ve been doing flannel stories for a couple of weeks now, and they seem to be pretty popular with my groups.

March is Texas History Month, and my library director wanted us to offer a Texas-themed story time as part of the month-long focus on Texas in our library.  Planning a story time on Texas was actually much harder than I thought it would be.  I managed to come up with a theme and craft, but I still wanted something more interactive.  With the theme in mind, I set out to find a flannel story.

What You Need

I came across a great Dress the Cowboy rhyme from this Go Texan Day outline.  The poem is recommended as a flannel story, so I wanted to create a cowboy that we could actually dress.  Let me tell you, finding a cowboy template is harder than you would think!  I finally found this adorable outline from Made by Joel that I was able to work with.  I printed several copies of the cowboy so that we could make modifications to the body as needed.  I created a cowboy body template, and then created separate pieces for our clothing.

The Story

Our cowboy starts out with no clothes.  I told the kids that I needed some help to get him dressed correctly, and asked for volunteers to help me dress the cowboy.  In Wednesday’s group, I had more kids than I had pieces, but I was able to partner up siblings to help each other with no complaints.  Thursday’s group had less kids who wanted to participate, so everyone who wanted to got a piece to put on the cowboy.  One of our other librarians recommended that I do the rhyme twice if I had a larger group in the future, which I will definitely do if it happens again to give everyone the chance to participate.

Once we put our cowboy up on the board, I recited the rhyme and paused after each article of clothing to find the child who had it and give him or her the chance to bring it up to the board to dress the cowboy.  We clapped and cheered for everyone who brought up their pieces and put them on the cowboy.  Here’s an idea of how it looks in progress:

A cowboy dresses himself with care.  He starts with long, red underwear.

Out in the desert, you don’t want to get hurt, so the cowboy wears a strong wool shirt.

Deserts and prairies are the cowboy’s scenes.  To protect his legs, he wears sturdy blue jeans.

The cowboy bent, and ran, and knelt.  To keep his pants up, he wore a leather belt.

The coyote howls, the old owl hoots.  On his feet, he wears leather boots.

It isn’t yellow, so it’s not a banana.  Around his neck, he wears a soft bandanna.

At this point, I stopped and asked the kids if our cowboy was complete.  I wasn’t sure whether they would need prompting to remember his hat, but both groups responded immediately with a resounding, “NO!  He doesn’t have a hat!”  So, I asked if anyone had a hat for our cowboy and we finished the rhyme.

A cowboy is a cowboy, and that is that!  On top of his head, he wore a ten-gallon hat.  He’s all dressed now from head to feet, and now our cowboy can’t be beat!

Tips for Use

I ad-libbed the poem in a few places to make it work with our groups and so I didn’t have to constantly refer to my notes.  Overall, the kids really enjoyed helping dress the cowboy.  We left him up for the rest of story time (and he made a great transition into our last book), and after story time, several of the kids came back through for another look at the cowboy.  I also had parents both days taking video of the kids dressing the cowboy.  While I was a little surprised (and nervous), I think it means that our cowboy was a hit!

Hopefully this will be the first of many flannel successes that I get to share.  While I do plan on utilizing the great flannel stories that we have purchased for the library, I also want to keep creating new stories of my own.

Can’t Get Enough?

Many thanks to Kathryn at Fun with Friends at Storytime for being the Flannel Friday host this week.  Flannel Friday has been an amazing resource for me as a children’s librarian, and I hope it helps you, too!  For more information, visit the Flannel Friday website here.  Thanks to all the other children’s librarians who have been sharing their great ideas!

1000 Books before Kindergarten

I’ve officially been a children’s librarian for almost six  months now.  I’m starting to settle into a groove, and there are so many things that I could be writing about – book selection, recommended book lists, story time planning, special programming…all of which I hope to get to eventually.  But today I want to share one of the “special” projects that I’ve been working on with my library:  1000 Books before Kindergarten.  When I started, I was given this program as one of my special projects.  The good news is, I get to design the program to run however I want.  While the program has been officially launched already, I get to make any changes that I want to it and run it however I want.  The bad news is, I also have sole responsibility for the success (or failure) of the changes that I am making.

So, how does the program even work?  It’s all about reading together with your child.  Your goal is to read 1000 books together before your child starts kindergarten.  The point is to increase early literacy skills – research shows that the more parents (or caregivers) and children read together, the more pre-reading skills are developed.  With that foundation, a child is more likely to read independently later on, and be more successful at it.  Even better, the program promotes bonding between children and adults.  I remember reading stories with my parents growing up, and this program is a fun way to build those memories with future generations.  The entire program is based on it being a “just right” goal – 1,000 is enough books to be challenging, but not so many that parents get discouraged or feel like there is no way they can complete the program.

Because they program is self-paced, it is also to some extent pretty hands off for me.  Parents and caregivers register their children, and then they choose whether or not to complete their reading logs and stay in the program.  But, I wanted my library to make more of an effort in marketing the program, to encourage children to sign up and to motivate them to keep reading.  The first thing that I did was completely re-brand all of our existing literature.  I updated the flyers that we had available from parents – what was once a four-page, half-size booklet became a half-sheet with the basic facts of the program and the library’s contact information.  That gave me something I could easily put around the library, but also something I can email to others or easily take with me to outreach programs.  As part of the process, we designed a new logo.  The previous logo involved a rainbow, so we chose to leave the rainbow as part of the new design.  But, we also included a little alligator as part of the design who now serves as the unofficial mascot of our 1000 Books program.  He is also on certificates and other flyers that are associated with the program.  Where we previously had a poster of the old logo, we replaced it with the new logo.  I also moved the poster into the children’s area near the picture books so that it was more visible to parents and children visiting the library.

To complete the program, parents must  first register their children.  Counting registrations is our primary measure for recording success in the program currently.  Previously, we had an ongoing list at the youth services desk that include the child’s name, parent’s name, and relevant contact information.  I wondered if our lack of registrations was due in part to parents not wanting to leave their personal information readily available on a public desk, especially one right by a public access phone that gets a lot of use.  So, I replaced the registration list with individual registration cards.  Parents can fill out the information and hand the card directly to library staff in exchange for a registration packet.  I still keep a master participants database with all of the information, but it is no longer accessible to the public.

The packets were put together in part to replace the previous brochure, and in part to make the presentation of information more professional.  I started by purchasing colored two-pocket folders to keep the information.  On the outside of each, I put a flyer for our weekly story times, featuring the same little alligator that appears on the 1000 Books logo.  Inside, I put one of my business cards, so that parents and caregivers can contact me (or the library) with any questions.  The left side of the folder includes a welcome letter outlining how to participate in the program, suggestions for caregivers, and information about the 1000 Books app for iPhone and iPad (I only wish it was also available for Android).  It also includes early literacy tips for our three main age groups, babies, toddlers, and preschoolers.  On the right side of the folder, I included a copy of our recommended books to read before kindergarten, their first color in book log, and a complete set (all 1000 books) of write-in title logs.

Since our families were already used to the color in book logs, I kept those as the staple of the program.  The child colors a circle for each book read, and after 100 books, the log is complete.  They then bring the log back to the library, where they get a special sticker to put on their log and we provide the log for the next 100 books.  In order to track more than just registrations in the program, I have asked library staff to keep a list of who returns a book log so that I can track their dates throughout the program.  However, I also wanted a visual way to track progress in the program.  Keeping with our rainbow theme, I created a giant (2 foot tall by 5 foot long) rainbow.  For each color tier (and also the clouds and the sun), I added a label for the book level (100 books, 200 books, etc.).  Each time a child completes a log, he or she gets to add a star to their level on the mural.  I also designed a giant bookshelf (5 foot long by two feet wide) as our reading wall of fame.  There are a few books on the shelves, but as a child completes the program, he or she will be able to write his or her name onto a book shape and add it to the shelf.

We hosted a special story time event to kick off the program in January, but attendance was fairly small.  Weather may have had an impact on the attendance, but it’s hard to say for certain.  However, in January we had a record number of sign ups – 13 – for the program.  So far February has not had nearly as many sign ups, and none of our new participants have yet brought back a book log.  The greatest challenges I foresee for the program are continuing interest and motivating children to keep reading and adding their stars to the wall.  It seems like once parents register for the program, they often fall off and don’t complete it.  In the future, I would love to apply for a grant to sponsor prizes for different levels (currently we only offer a prize at the end of the program).

If your library is hosting a 1000 Books program, what ideas have you had that worked?  How are you motivating parents to participate in the program, and how are you tracking your participation?

Happy reading!

10 Things I Learned Library Job Searching

When people tell you that finding a job is a job, they aren’t kidding.  From my own recent job searching experience, I can tell you that it most certainly is.  You have to identify what you want to do, where you want to do it, and what opportunities are available.  You have to match your skill set to the skill sets that employers are looking for.  You have to fill out applications, send resumes, follow-up, interview, and follow-up again.  So, here are a few things that I learned from my recent job search.

1. Find positives where you can.  Looking for a job is hard work, and if you’ve been looking for a long time, it’s easy to get discouraged.  Find whatever good things about your job search that you can and focus on those.  For me, that was sometimes as simple as being able to say that I found a relevant job and applied for it that day.
2. It’s okay to be selective.  When I first found out that my company was closing, I went into job search panic mode.  But, I quickly realized that taking a job for the sake of taking a job doesn’t do you (or your employer) any good.  It’s okay to really look for what you want.  I found that by being more selective about the jobs that I applied for, I was finding positions where I was a better fit, and where I could see myself working long-term.  When I interviewed for those positions, I was more confident and invested in the process because I knew the job was one that I wanted and that I could excel at.
3. Some interviews just don’t go well.  I learned this the hard way.  Sometimes, even when you think that you know exactly what to say, the interview doesn’t go well.  You get a question you can’t answer, or you just don’t connect with the interviewer.  I learned to accept these situations as something that I couldn’t change, and instead focus on what I could do better the next time.
4. Cultivate and seek honesty.  Be honest about what you can and cannot do.  No one is perfect.  If you are honest about your skills and abilities, even if it means saying that you don’t know how to do something, I think it shows that you are more self-aware.  I learned to graciously admit to prospective employers if I didn’t have a particular skill that they were looking for, while also highlighting both my ability to learn new skills and other transferable skills that might benefit the company.
5. Prepare.  Even though it seems like a no-brainer, it’s easy to go to an interview assuming that you know how to answer all the questions.  I’ve found that the more you prepare, the more confident you are in your answers and the stronger your overall presentation.  Even though you’re likely to have at least one question that stumps you, if you’re prepared, you also have strategies to cope with that.
6. Believe in yourself.  If you don’t believe in yourself, your future employer won’t, either.  Even though your job search might not be going as planned, you have to believe that you have the skills and abilities that someone is looking for in their open position.  Know that you are a valuable contributor and that you will find the right fit for your skills and abilities.  Believe in what you do, and let that confidence show through when you interview.  Also, celebrate the little victories.  If you know that you answered a question particularly well, celebrate that success and keep it in mind for the next interview.
7. Be patient.  This one was probably the hardest for me.  It’s easy to assume that if you don’t hear something immediately, you are not in the running and you should move on.  Sometimes, that is the case.  But more often, the interview process is just more lengthy than we care to admit.  If there is a deadline associated with the posting, or if the interviewer gives you a time frame, then do keep those in mind.  However, for many job postings, a deadline or time frame may not be listed.  Be patient and realize that the entire process takes time.  It may be months before you hear back.  Try and be realistic about the time frames that you associate with looking for positions.
8. Learn something from each opportunity.  No matter who you are interviewing with or for what position, try to learn something from it.  Maybe it is a way to improve your presentation skills.  Maybe you learn a better approach to answering a difficult question.  Maybe you just add more questions to your repertoire that you expect to be asked, or you add a particularly good follow-up question to the interview.  Each interview is an opportunity for you to learn and improve for the next.  Take time to reflect on what you have gained from each experience, and think about what you will do with that knowledge.
9. Keep track of your progress.  Job searching takes time, and it is easy to forget where you have applied, when, and anyone that you may have spoken with.  Keep track of your applications and job contacts so that you can follow through, and also make realistic decisions about positions.  I found that a simple spreadsheet worked well for me.  I could include the position, the location, the contact person, and then additional columns for the date the application was filed, any closing dates, the dates of follow-up communication, and also interviews.  The electronic format also made it easy for me to search and sort, so that I could focus on whatever element of my job search I needed to that day.  As an added bonus, having all the information organized in one place also helped me see how much progress I really was making on the job search as well.
10. Know how to interview in a variety of settings.  I have interviewed with individuals, and I have interviewed with small groups.  I have done prepared presentations, and I have also been asked to prepare a demonstration with only five minutes of prep time.  I have interviewed in person, over the phone, and even via video chat.  Each situation was unique and required a slightly different approach.  Each interview is different, so try to have an idea of what to expect.  I found that something as simple as asking what to expect when being invited for an interview gave me additional details that helped me prepare and be more comfortable and confident on interview day.

Don’t give up!  I know it’s easy to say as someone who has found a job, but I firmly believe that the right position is out there for you and that you will find it.  I believe it’s okay to be angry, frustrated, and sad during the process.  I believe it’s okay to be ridiculously happy when you get the invitation to interview with company that you really want to work with.  Having an emotional connection to the job search is just natural.  Even though it’s difficult, I firmly believe that all the work is worth it the day that you start your dream job.  I’ve been lucky enough to find that, and I hope that you will, too.