Work Blog Post: Princess Picture Books

Some of my book reviews have made their way to our blog at the library!  Check out a link here:

http://libwww.freelibrary.org/blog/index.cfm?postid=2030

July Bulletin Board: Book Recommendations

I've taken a few days off while I recovered from the ALA conference this year.  I'll post a bit about that as soon as I finish gathering my thoughts (and pictures!).  As always, it was a great conference!  I'm so glad I'm becoming more involved with the organization.

For summer reading this year, our Library System is playing Bingo.  So far, I'm loving it!  The bingo cards are fun and are set up with enough flexibility that all readers can play.

Both sets of cards (one for pre-K and one for school age) have a space for a librarian's book recommendation.  Since we have a lot of activities planned at my branch, I can't always be on the main floor.  As such, our July Bulletin Board is a list of books that are worth a read.  (At least I think they are!)

Here's a picture of the board:

Our July Board! 

Here are pictures of the recommendations.

A great book for storytimes

I love the illustrations by Diana Cain Bluthenthal

I love this easy reader.  I recommend it frequently.

Oh Pete, you glorious, glorious cat. 

I would love to see Isadora's artwork in person. 

I love reading this title during school visits.

These mysteries were a hit in our after school storytime! 

This series is really popular at my branch.

So far, this is the best new book I've read this year.

I love this series!  I wish more kids would check it out.

I'll be reviewing this on the blog soon.

I love the flow of this story. 

I didn't think I would like this series, but I did! 

The illustrations really enhance this story. 

I've created a simple mini handout that will allow people to add their own recommendations to the board.  I've quartered a piece paper in Word and have spots for people to list their name, age, the title of the book, and a few lines about why they loved it.  It's very similar to the cards I put in the back of the children's fiction.  I can't wait to see the bulletin board by the end of the month! 

Preschool Programming: Green

Even though it's warm and sunny, I frequently have a lot of parents who are looking for a fun and education activity on a rainy day.  

Seeger's Green is a great book for vocabulary building


I like to suggest pairing Laura Vaccaro Seeger's Green with some free paint swatches from a home improvement store.  

Seeger's book is filled with large, beautifully images that show different shades of green. Some are simple:

Laser-cut holes (the Luna moth) hint at colors on the next page.

Some are complex:

"Faded" is a great two syllable word.
What else do we see that's faded?

And some are zany:

What animal is this?  Are Zebras white and green?  Where have we seen zebras before?
So many great conversations are started on this page!

 

Get some free green paint swatches from your local home improvement store and have your kids or library group compare the colors. Which greens match the colors in the book? Which greens are bright? Which greens are dark? It's a fun activity that builds language and observational skills for Preschoolers!

Preschool Programming: Shredded Paper

One of my goals for this past year has been creating better programs for my visiting preschools.  To that end, I've tried to include more literacy-enhancing programs and some STEAM-based projects.  

I was initially inspired by the children's librarian at my sister branch.  She has a lot of homeschoolers that visit and she's incredibly adept at creating interesting and fun programs.  When I initially approached her with ideas for programs, she shared this SLJ article with me:  Read, Play, Grow!:  Enhancing Early Literacy at Brooklyn Public Library.  Wow.  What a FANTASTIC article!  

I initially tried the un-sandbox program which combines uses shredded paper instead of sand:

Yay cheap programming ideas!

For my program, I borrowed a tote bin from our circulation desk.  The bins are used to ship books between branches.  I filled that up with shredded paper from our office.  (Libraries shred A LOT of paper.)  I decided to read some zoo-themed books:

My Heart is Like a Zoo by Michael Hall

 

If I Ran the Zoo by Dr. Seuss (editing out the  racist line. I changed the verse from "to the mountains of Zomba-ma-Tant / With helpers who all / wear their eyes at a slant" to say "to the mountains of Zomba-ma-Tan / With helpers who never walked but ran."  More on that in a later post.)

Mr. Tiger Goes Wild  By Peter Brown

Because I was reading Zoo-themed stories, I grabbed some pencil topper animals prizes that were left over from a past summer reading game and buried them in the paper.  After we read the stories, I opened the bin and let the kids explore.  While they were playing in the paper, we talked about:

• What the paper feels like:  Is it hard or soft?  Is it warm?  Is it cold?.
• What it reminds them of:  As they were playing with it, we talked about snow, sand, dirt -- all different things to play in.
• What colors they saw:  Some colored sheets were shredded throughout the month and were mixed in.
• What animals they found:  Noises they make, their proper names (It’s not a horse, it’s a zebra!), what colors they were.  

As you can see, my little friends were not shy about playing in the paper. 

As the animals were pulled out of the bin, the teacher and I reburied them. At the end of the visit, each child was allowed to take home one animal.  After the visit, I vacuumed up the paper on the floor (a bit, but not excessive amounts), dumped the shredded paper into the recycling bin, and returned the tote bin to the circulation desk. 

We learned that a horse with stripes is really a Zebra!

When I do this program again, I'm going to drop the animal theme.  The SLJ article suggested as much, but I didn't heed the advice.  Instead, I'm going to try to pair the activity with some snow-themed books.  The shredded paper (with the flashes of color mixed in) really reminded me of Keats' The Snowy Day.  I might mix in some rain books as well.  

We found a moose!

One of my little friends DID NOT want to put her hands into the shredded paper.  I think she was afraid that something alive was in there.  Obviously we didn't force her.  We did try to include her in the conversations we had and I gave her one piece of paper to touch.  After seeing her classmates playing in the paper for about 5 minutes, she eventually joined in.  Sometimes we all have to do things at our own speed.  

During their next visit, I was given this:

Homemade Thank You cards are awesome!

I love this card so much!  All thank yous are appreciated, but it takes a lot to beat a patriotic thank you.