Book Review: "Fall Ball" by Peter McCarty

I picked up this book off of our "New Books" shelf for a few reasons.  One, I love Peter McCarty's simplistic inky illustrations.  Two, its title is a pun (need I say more?).  Three, my favorite season is FALL and it's here!

This book makes me want to put on a cozy sweater and make hot cider over the stove.  It is sweet and simple, a story of changing seasons and playing in the leaves outside.  The sun goes down early, but that won't spoil the children's playtime, because there's pie, pajamas, and warm blankets at home.  I think that this would be a great bedtime story.  In fact I think I read it way too early in the day, because now I've got snuggling on my brain.  

Lights, Camera, Read!

It is impossible to live life without regrets.  Sometimes, you don't regret things until after the fact.  There are those things, however, that you do that you just know you are going to regret.  I put watching the movie before reading the book into that category.  I try not to let it happen, but sometimes it is inevitable.  Take "The Wizard of Oz", for example.  I think the first time I saw that was before I could even read.  It has been my favorite movie of all time ever since, and the original book is still on my endless "to-read" list.

Today, I created a book display housed quite intentionally right on top of our DVD stacks to help patrons avoid this same fate.  It reads, "Lights... Camera... Read!  If you liked the movie, you'll love the book."  Front and center are copies of some of my absolute favorite books turned movies: A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling, Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson, Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, and Matilda by Roald Dahl, just to name a few.  I not-so-secretly love it when I book I have read becomes a movie because I can see how the filmmakers' version compares with that of my imagination.  It is impossible to do this if you watch the movie before you read the book because your mind's eye automatically resorts to the images already provided by filmmakers.  If I can help one patron check out the book along with the movie, then my work here is done!

Crafternoon: Dreamcatchers

As I perused through our luckily abundant craft closet this afternoon, I combed my brain for an idea for a meaningful craft activity for the kids to do.  I saw wire, beads, feathers, and yarn, and it hit me: dreamcatchers!  Dreamcatchers are a Native American artifact.  Legend says that if you hang a dreamcatcher above your bed, it filters out the bad dreams from the good ones, not allowing nightmares to pass through.  I explained this custom and belief to the kids before they made their dreamcatchers, and they were all excited about hanging them above their beds.

Materials:

• Wire hoop
• Yarn
• Beads
• Feathers

I started each child out with a wire hoop that I cut and twisted for them, along with a long piece of yarn (about 4 feet) tied to its top with a loop.  Then I instructed them to tie knots anywhere on the hoop to create a web, stringing beads along the way.  The great thing about this craft is that it is not a "cookie-cutter" craft; the kids can truly express their creative sides.  There are so many different patterns of yarn and knots, colors of beads, etc., that no two dreamcatchers looked alike.

Book Review: "Rump" by Liesl Shurtliff

When I saw this shiny new book on our "New Books" shelf, it caught my eye for two reasons: one, it is a fractured fairy tale and ever since I got my tattered copy of Grimm's Fairy Tales from a used book store at age ten, I have always loved immersing myself in a faraway magical land.  Two, its subtitle is "The True Story of Rumpelstiltskin".  Now here is a guy who really gets a bad rap, a true underdog.  I love underdogs.  I want to give poor little Rumpelstiltskin the benefit of the doubt.  Shurtliff's charming debut novel, published April 2013, shows readers that Rumpelstiltskin just may be a good guy after all.

All of his life, Rump has felt as though there was something missing.  Actually, he knows there is something missing because he was born with half a name.  His mother died during childbirth before she could utter the last syllables of his name.  So poor Rump becomes the "butt" of all jokes, literally.  He does have one true friend though, named Red who lives deep in the forest with her Grandmother (sound familiar? It should!).  Rump lives a dim and dreary life of being bullied and mining for what little gold his mountain village has left so that he can help his grandmother put food on the table.  Rations are slim, however, especially under the rule of a greedy king and miller.

When Rump discovers that he can magically spin straw into gold, he thinks his luck has changed.  But soon, the more gold he spins, the more trouble he gets into.  His piles of gold lead him on a quest through the mountains where he will meet pixies, gnomes, and trolls, and hopefully save a foolish princess from a terrible fate.  He may even find out his full name and destiny.  One thing is for sure; readers will never think of "Rumpelstiltskin" the same way again.  Shurtliff seamlessly weaves details from traditional fairy tales into her retelling, enchanting readers throughout each page.

Wonderful One's

Today was my first storytime for Wonderful One's.  Or as I like to call them, little puffer bellies.  I think that you could sing them or read to them anything and they would still look at you with wide open eyes like you are giving them the keys to the world.

I started out with one of my all time favorite stories, The Three Little Kittens.  I used Paul Galdone's version but also added my own little creative twist.  I like to use flannels any chance I get because I think a visual prop holds the babies' attention even more than just the book. With three little kittens, it also gives me the chance to count to three with them.  So I made three little kittens, three sets of mittens, and a pie.  I also made jelly splotches and soap bubbles for when they soil and wash their mittens.

Next, I sang "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" (definitely the perfect age for this song) and "Baa Baa Black Sheep"; another chance to count to three and another chance for me to take out my scissors, glue, and felt!  

I also read Teddy Bear Teddy Bear by Steve Scott, as well as Sleepy Oh So Sleepy by Denise Fleming.  I love her illustrations and the way the babies responded to the tiny baby animals with looks of pure adoration.  I think the parents and caretakers liked this book too.  When it says "Where's my sleepy baby", I pretended to look through the audience for a sleepy baby, trying to engage them as much as possible. I ended up very pleased with my book, song and rhyme selections for this age group but I had planned a thirty minute storytime that only went twenty five, so I need to be sure to watch my speed, or add another book and song just in case.

My First Storytime

Now I can truly say that I am an "official" Children's Librarian.  I have assisted with storytimes in the past, but until now I hadn't planned and facilitated one on my own.  Today I did a preschool storytime for 54 kids.  We have a lot of daycare centers that come to this library along with just a handful of parents and their children so the adult to child ratio is quite large.  The children were super cute as per usual, and were highly participatory which is what I love about this age.

 For this storytime, I chose two of my favorite books from when I was a child.  When I told the kids this, they looked at me like they were being let in on a big secret.  First, I read If You Give a Moose a Muffin by Laura Numeroff, and had the kids guess the numerous things that that silly moose was going to need next.

Second, I read The Little Mouse, The Red Ripe Strawberry, and The Big Hungry Bear by Don and Audrey Wood.  I created a flannel board display to go along with it at the last minute.  I think that this visual prop really helped them participate with the story even more, as they suggested ways to disguise the strawberry along with the plot of the book.  At the end, I pulled the two halves of the strawberry apart and pretended to gobble up my half of the strawberry. They got a kick out of that.

The only thing that I would change about this storytime is that I think it needed more active songs and rhymes.  I did "The Wheels on the Bus", "I Went to Visit the Farm One Day", and "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star".  These songs and rhymes were fine except for the fact that none of them got the kids to stand up and move around.  For a thirty minute storytime, I think they need at least one way of getting some of that energy out.  So next time, I think I will do something like "If You're Happy and You Know It".  I will also skip "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star".  I had originally thought that a lullaby would calm them down toward the end of the storytime, but instead they seemed a little to old for it and bored with it. Overall, I'm really happy with how it turned out and can't wait to do it again!

DIY Fingerpuppets!

Instead of jealously eyeing my colleagues' finger puppet collections who have been children's librarians much longer than I have been, I decided to do something about my finger puppet deficiency.  I wanted to do "Five Little Speckled Frogs" during a storytime, and since I need to limit the amount of money that Amazon gets from me, Crafty Cassie came up with an idea inspired by a lovely valentine received last year.

All you need is a marker, heavyweight paper, scissors, and a stapler (get as creative as you want by adding other materials)!

Steps:

• Draw or print images of your puppets; cut them out
• Cut 3"x 1" strips of paper
• Staple the strips of paper into a loop and press/fold down
• Staple the images to one side of each loop

Voila!  Hand-made finger puppets!

Banned Books Display

The month of September brings me two of my favorite things: the beginning of Fall... and Banned Books Week!  This year Banned Books Week lasts from September 22nd through September 28th, 2013.  Intellectual freedom is a subject that is very near and dear to my heart.  It is no surprise to me that many of the most frequently challenged books of all time also hold numerous prestigious awards.  I will have my banned books display up during the entire month of September (my only complaint about Banned Books Week is that it is only a week long!).  And the only good thing about challenged books is that you will never run short on them for a display.  I made bookmarks that say "I Read Banned Books" and inserted them into each book on the display so that each reader can read with pride over his or her freedom to read and right to intellectual freedom.  Don't forget to check back later this month to see what I am doing for my special Banned Books Preschool Storytime!

A Tribute to Arnold Lobel

Owl is one of my favorite storybook characters and always will be.  My favorite part of Owl at Home by Arnold Lobel is when Owl innocently lets Winter into his house, trying to be a kind and generous host, and suggests that he warm himself by the fire.  Owl is aghast when Winter barges in and makes a mess of snow and ice in his cozy house, turning his supper into frozen pea soup.

Many of Arnold Lobel's characters lend themselves to our Summer Learning Program goals, which are Read, Learn, Discover, and Create.  After a volunteer drew Frog and Toad, I decided to follow suit and draw Greg from Greg's Microscope (illustrated by Arnold Lobel), as well as Owl of course, Uncle Elephant, and Giant John.  I didn't have any idea how they would all turn out together but I ended up very pleased with the final product.

Full STEAM Ahead!

With a Summer Learning Program theme of "Full Steam Ahead", (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math), a display of reading robots only seemed appropriate.  The children helped me name them Marty, Milly, and Moe (Moe is the "little brother" with the glasses).  Each time the kids returned to the library they seemed genuinely excited to see the robots.  I loved making these little guys... and I loved the input that I got from the kids while working on them during my desk time!  Getting to show my creative side during projects like these is only one of many reasons why I love my job!