How May I Help You? #librarylife

 I can't count the number of times that people have made comments to me similar to these:

• "It must be nice to be able to read all day."
• "Are you a volunteer?"
• "You need a master's degree for your job?"
• "I could read to kids for a living."
• "A librarian? Oh, you must know the Dewey Decimal System."

No one ever makes these comments to be rude, they just don't know what it is to be a librarian.  In fact, I am consistently amazed that, considering the training we have, how little people expect of us. It occurred to me that we (as a profession) don't do a good enough job of explaining the many ways that we can, we will, and we do help people every day.  To that end, I wrote an article for the online magazine, BonBon Break, titled, "5 Things You Didn't Know about Librarians."  It's been on social media for about a month now, but if you haven't seen it, I hope you'll give it a look.  Here's the link:

5 Things You Didn't Know About Librarians

[http://www.bonbonbreak.com/5-things-you-didnt-know-about-librarians/]

Infinity and Me - an audiobook review

Although I reviewed a print version of Infinity and Me book several years ago (my original review is linked here), I recently had the opportunity to review the audio version for School Library Journal.  My review as it appeared in the February, 2016, edition of SLJ is below.

HOSFORD, Kate. Infinity and Me. 1 CD w/tr book. 44 min. Live Oak Media. 2015. $29.95. ISBN 9781430120049.

K-Gr 3—A small girl, Uma, ponders infinity while gazing at stars, “How many stars were in the sky? A million? A billion? Maybe the number was as big as infinity.” Uma proceeds to ask friends and family how they conceive of infinity. They define it in quantities of numbers, time, music, ancestors—even spaghetti! Finally, she settles on her own measure of infinity, quantified in something that is personal and boundless. Narrator Nancy Wu is accompanied by a full cast of characters, music, and sound effects that complement the text and the book’s full-bleed, painted illustrations by Gabi Swiatkowska. Background sound effects include a bicycle bell, the “tinkling” of stars, chattering voices, and churning gears. A sense of wonder is embodied in Wu’s narration, the illustrations, and the overall production. The audiobook contains two tracks, one with page turn signals and one without. VERDICT This is an intriguing introduction to a mathematical concept, perfect for those seeking to inspire very young people to wonder about math and science. [“This quiet jewel is sure to spark contemplation and conversation": SLJ 10/12 review of the Carolrhoda book.]

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Copyright © 2016 Library Journals, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc.
Reprinted with permission.

Great Websites for Kids

I'm back from vacation and blogging for ALSC today.
 
Click on over to the ALSC Blog and check out the list of eight new sites added to ALA's Great Websites for Kids, the online resource featuring hundreds of links to exceptional websites for children. [http://www.alsc.ala.org/blog/2016/02/eight-new-sites-added-to-great-websites-for-kids/]

Have a great weekend!

Vacation

I'm on vacation this week - escaping the cold.

Until I get back, perhaps you'll enjoy my recent reviews for AudioFile Magazine:

• The Blackthorn Key by Kevin Sands (murder, mystery, and adventure set in a fantastical London, circa 1600) 
• This Side of Wild: Mutts, Mares, and Laughing Dinosaurs by Gary Paulsen (a funny memoir)

Thoughts on Last Stop on Market Street

In 2008, librarians surprised everyone by choosing the 533-page, The Invention of Hugo Cabret as the winner of the Caldecott Medal honoring the "most distinguished American picture book for children."  This year, the award committees surprised us again with the choice of a picture book, Last Stop on Market Street, as the winner of the Newbery Medal, given to "to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children." 

The short video below featuring author, Matt de la Peña, reading from his book will convince you that this is a wonderful book. 
My concern as a public librarian, however, is how best to share this book with kids.  The book is a little lengthy for my usual storytime crowd, and school-aged kids can seldom be convinced to check out a picture book.  It's in instances like these, that I envy school teachers and media specialists, who have such a wonderful opportunity to share great books with large numbers of kids.  This is perfect book for reading aloud in school.

But, how to share it in a public library setting?

Last week, I had a last-minute inspiration and it was a rewarding experience.  I have a small book club that meets every month. This month, I asked each of the kids to read Last Stop on Market Street - right then. In addition to positive comments about the book, I loved two of the observations that they reported:

1. I never would have chosen this book if you didn't hand it to me.
2. The people at the soup kitchen look like regular people.

We then discussed public transportation (none of the kids had ever been on a bus) and soup kitchens (none had ever been to one).  Working in a suburban library with poor public transportation, I can understand this. However, as a suburban parent, I can tell you that I made sure that my own children volunteered at the local food pantry and experienced public transportation (I made all of them ride the public bus with me to the mall even though it was more expensive than driving my minivan and took twice as long).  As a suburban librarian, I can't take kids on the public bus or to the soup kitchen, but at minimum, I've ensured that a few more children are now aware of the lives that others lead.This is one of the many things that makes my job worthwhile.

One of the missions of the #WeNeedDiverseBooks (TM) campaign is to make sure that "all children can see themselves in the pages of a book."  This is important, but also important is recognizing that all people are just "regular people."  We always have more in common than we think.


Last Stop on Market Street
by Matt de la Peña, Illustrated by Christian Robinson

Read it. Share it.

**Winner of the 2016 Newbery Medal

**A 2016 Caldecott Honor Book

**A 2016 Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor Book

A New York Times Bestseller

Four Starred Reviews

Finalist for the 2014 E.B. White Read-aloud Book Award

A Junior Library Guild Selection