Sturdy for Common Things

Read Across Lawrence for Kids 2013 Recap Part 1

1 Book + 1 Public Library + 50 Classrooms = 4270 Kids Sharing One Story

Whew! The storm has come and gone. The month of September has ended, which means I just finished wrapping up another Read Across Lawrence for Kids program! Most youth services librarians rejoice when September arrives as it is the end of the Summer Reading Program chaos, but for Lawrence Public Library the fun has only just begun… Read Across Lawrence for Kids is a youth literacy event in which the entire community of young readers reads the same book at the same time and also comes together to participate in activities themed around the book throughout the month. This year’s featured title was Turtle in Paradise by Jennifer Holm. You can read about the preparations and start of this year’s program HERE.

Due to another energetic collaboration between the Lawrence schools and the Lawrence Public Library (LPL) for RAL Kids, I’m pleased to report RAL Kids almost doubled it’s participation this year with a total of 4,276 (last year’s participation was just under 2,500). Along with the LPL’s independent readers and event participation, local schools were actively incorporating Turtle in Paradise into their curricula, reading it aloud in class, and/or hosting reading groups.

How did that work?

The Friends of the Library donated funds specifically for this program, from which I purchased a boat load of books at a discounted rate. In May, I reached out to the elementary school and middle school librarians in our district (we have quite a few!) and they were responsible for getting any teachers on board who were  interested in teaching the book in their classrooms. In early August, those books were distributed before school started along with information about the library’s RAL Kids events and a RAL Kids Parent and Educator Resource Guide, which also included a book list of books from The Great Depression time period for ages 8-13 (available for checkout through LPL). When school started, the school librarians and teachers started reading Turtle in Paradise right away with their classes. I sent out weekly emails about the RAL Kids events going on that week, as well as additional resources including this awesome Turtle in Paradise Read-Alikes Chart my co-work Molly made.

Since there were a total of 11 RAL Kids programs throughout the month, I thought I would break this recap up into two parts recapping the festivities though Storify posts. Here’s what went on the first couple weeks:

 

 

Review: The Girl Who Soared Over Fairyland and Cut the Moon in Two

The Girl Who Soared Over Fairyland and Cut the Moon in Two

by Catherynne M. Valente

Find it at: Your Library | Amazon | Your Local Bookstore

Published: Feiwel & Friends, imprint of Macmillan (October 1, 2013)

Recommended Reading Age: 10 & up

In a Nutshell: There is nothing quite like finding a book that speaks to you in a way no others ever have. That’s how I feel about Catherynne M. Valente’s Fairyland series.

September is waiting. Waiting away her days for the moment she can return to Fairyland to see her friends, the Wyverary, A-through-L (Ell) and the Marid boy, Saturday. Now fourteen years old, she is quickly slipping from childhood. She is growing in stature and is learning to drive, yet it seems every waking hour her thoughts are occupied by Fairlyand. Over a year has passed since her return, so she waits and waits and waits to be whisked away once again.

Instead of being escorted as she envisioned, September comes across a rip in the seam, so to speak, between Fairyland and her world in Omaha, Nebraska. While driving her neighbor’s Model A (which is similar to riding a wyvren), she meets a Lineman and her greyhound mending a hole in the Line that separates Fairyland from the world September was born into. Despite the Lineman and the greyhounds efforts, a Blue Wind and flock of puffins snuck through all of a sudden and took the Model A with them back into Fairyland. September, determined not to give up the chance to return, followed them by leaping through the crack before the Lineman could stop her.

And so the adventures begin once again. This time our September finds herself to be a titled Criminal on a journey to the moon which reveals another quest to save Fairyland yet again. And I’m afraid, my friends, of saying too much more for fear I will reveal too much. The third in the Fairyland series, I found myself as nervous about reading this most recent addition as I was the sequel, The Girl Who Fell Beneath Fairyland and Led Revels There. The first of the series, The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making is easily one of the best (if not the best) children’s books I have ever read in the middle grade genre. So, I went into reading the second book with hesitance for fear that it would not hold a candle to the first, but it stood firmly on it’s own two feet, not needing the support of the first book. It was exquisite. Silly me to have those same feelings rise up again in my chest when handed the third edition earlier this year. I should have known better.

The theme of time ripples throughout this tale. Time as a separator, a shape-shifter, as a measure of one’s fate, and how one can defy it with the choices we make to take charge of our own destiny. The main takeaway after reading this book was how it touches upon so many elements that exist in our non-Fairyland world; things such as money, family, age, relationships. When placed in the context of the world and characters of Fairyland, it reveals powerful revelations such that both young people and us grown folk will walk away more enlightened.

Reading Cayherynne M. Valente is like having desert before dinner. Once you have your  triple chocolate mouse torte, or a slice of ginger peach pie, dinner seems suddenly less appealing. After reading the rich prose in The Girl Who Soared Over Fairyland and Cut the Moon in Two, it took me awhile to transition into reading other books. All the Fairyland books are THAT good. Looking forward in 50 years, I truly believe this series will sit on the same pedestal as fantasy revolutionaries such as The Wizard of Oz, Peter Pan, and Alice in Wonderland.

Trailer:

Extras: Below are a few of Ana Juan’s chapter illustrations featured in The Girl Who Soared Over Fairyland and Cut the Moon in Two including a glimpse of the moon yeti. I included the captions of the chapter titles the art corresponds to.

Where There’s a Whelk There’s a Way: In Which September Walks on the Moon, Is Accused of Sundry Wickedness by a Lobster and Two Jackals, Hails a Crab, and Meets a Very Unusual Mollusk.

The Yeti’s Paw: In Which September Learns of the Foibles of Fairies, Shirks Her Work (but Only Briefly), and a Very Speedy Yeti Makes Trouble for Everyone. 

Last September: In Which Two Septembers and Two Wyverns Reveal Two Paths Forward

Also, if you’re a librarian, library-type, or library lover, please enjoy the transcript of Catherynne M. Valente’s speech, “We Are All Wyveraries: A Love Letter to Libraries” for a School Library Journal function back in 2013. I’ve read it at least six or seven times. It’s magical.

More info about Catherynne Valente and her books can be found on her website HERE.

Source of book reviewed: Advanced Reader’s Copy from the publisher.

Review: Bluffton

Bluffton: My Summers with Buster Keaton

by Matt Phelan

Find it at: Your Library | Amazon | Your Local Bookstore

Published: Candlewick (July 23, 2013)

Recommended Reading Age: 9 & up

In a Nutshell: While I’ve seen the cover of Matt Phelan’s Bluffton pop up in book reviews while perusing the internet recently, I haven’t actually read any of the reviews (darn work and grad school), so I didn’t have any expectations when I checked it out. I’ve read both The Storm in the Barn and Around the World, so I expected the same caliber work from Bluffton. There is no mistake his previous graphic novels are exceptional, but Bluffton goes above and beyond.

Henry Harrison is a boy from quiet Muskegon, Michigan at the turn of the 20th century. In the year 1908, the quite little city caught wind of entertainment and excitement when a troupe of vaudevilles took residency in the neighboring town of Bluffton. Henry quickly becomes friends with the child actor, Buster Keaton, who is a part of the vaudeville group as a member of a family act that tours nationally. All summer the boys play baseball, Buster employs them to run a few pranks, and Henry pleads for Buster to teach him a stage trick or two which Buster seems to avoid. The summer is like a dream for Henry until the reality of fall rolls in and the performers leave Bluffton. It’s back to school and the same 0ld daily routine. That is, until next summer.

The story is told through the series of summers Henry and Buster spend together with short snippets of  Henry’s life in between those summers. Buster Keaton is known for his slapstick comedy act. His early talent and personality as an entertainer shine through this story, but Bluffton also touches upon a few dark patches of his childhood. In particular, his father’s drinking and his life as a vaudeville act, which was actually quite violent. Everything was not all fun and games for Buster. Henry, who envies Buster’s lifestyle, starts to understand that which each passing summer.

Muskegon, Michigan is fairly close to Ludington, Michigan, my husband’s hometown and where we lived briefly before moving to Lawrence. It was fun to read this story with the familiarity of how breezy and carefree summers are on the shore of Lake Michigan. There is much to admire when reading Bluffton. The beautiful soft watercolor panels, the heartwarming (and heartbreaking) storyline of Buster’s life, and Henry’s own story of how Buster and the visiting vaudevilles impacted his own childhood. This graphic novel will sweep you up in between it’s pages of history and heart.

 Don’t Take My Word for It: “Matt Phelan turns his soft and whimsical style from illustration to graphic novel in Bluffton, giving the final presentation a nostalgic feel that fits Henry’s reminiscences perfectly. And though Henry’s story is fiction, much of Buster’s is true, so readers get a fascinating glimpse into a largely-forgotten era of show business.” – review from The Lemon-Squash Bookclub

Extras: Learn more about Matt Phelan on his website.

Take a minute to read Matt Phelan’s post “Research Gold” for a little background behind writing Bluffton over at the Nerdy Book Club. As well as Matt Phelan’s posts on his personal blog HERE and HERE about “The Road to Bluffton”.

Source of Book Reviewed: My local library!

image source: Bluffton illustrations

Review: Pretend Soup and Other Real Recipies

Pretend Soup and Other Real Recipes

by Mollie Katzen and Ann Henderson

Find it at: Your library | Amazon | Indiebound

Published: Tricycle Press (April 1, 1994)

Recommended reading age: 3 – 7 years old

In a nutshell: Little L has recently taken an interest in cooking. She gets out her crayons and scribbles recipes for pizza, cookies, and “salad sandwiches”. She also plays pretend cooking with whatever toys she has at her disposal, whether they resemble food or not. So, when I came across this cookbook, Pretend Soup and Other Real Recipes for preschoolers the other day at the library, it was perfect timing to have this book enter our lives.

Nineteen easy-enough recipes for little hands including Zucchini Moons, Green Spaghetti, Hid and Seek Muffins, Number Salad, and our favorite, Pretend Soup. Within each recipe is a guideline as you would normally see with a note to grown-ups, tips and tricks, and a list of the ingredients and the actual recipe.

 

But when you turn the page, the recipe is transformed into a picture outline that young children can “read” and follow along. Enough so that the grown-up can take a backseat in the process and allow the child to create their own concoctions. There’s so much for a child to gain when they are introduced to cooking: Confidence and the feeling of accomplishment, early math skills, pre-reading skills, small motor skills, science skills, ability to follow directions, food literacy, and creativity. Pretend Soup is the perfect gateway into the art and joy of cooking.

Don’t take my word for it:  “[Pretend Soup is] a fun way to introduce cooking to kids.  It will make them feel capable, confident, responsible.  With younger kids, this is a great bonding activity; and with older kids you can sit back and reap the rewards of meals.” – The Design Tree

Source of book reviewed: My local library!

 

Life in Library School: Here We Go

I go to Hogwarts for library school.

Not really… But it kinda looks like it, doesn’t it?

I mentioned awhile back that I made the decision to go to library school, but the only hangup was trying to decide which program I wanted to put my sweat, blood, and tears into. After much deliberation I chose the University of Washington iSchool to pursue my MLIS (Masters in Library and Information Science, for those non-library types out there). I was in Seattle over the past week for orientation and will start classes this week, remotely.

Wheeeee….. Here we go!

I must confess over the summer I had become a bit cynical about going back to school. There’s been a lot of controversy about paraprofessionals vs. professionals in the library industry, and the troubling notion that the degree is not preparing librarians for the work force – not to mention the slim job market (like here and here and here). What was most concerning was how many librarians I’ve met over the past few years that were very ho-hum about their degrees. I heard a lot of, “Well, I did it because I had to.” or “The program I went to was terrible, but at least I have my degree.” responses. Was I about to put a huge amount of time into something that was just going to leave me with just a piece of paper?

I brought this up to my library director and he gave me some stellar advice. He said (paraphrased), “You get out of it what you put into it. Don’t be cynical. You’re going to a good program and you’re going to do great.” When did I get so down in the dumps? He’s right. I’m going to school to push myself and grow in my profession. Not because I have to or because I need a piece of paper to prove myself. I’m doing it to be more knowledgeable in my field and to better serve my community. So what if I happen to be 8 months pregnant. Sure it’s going to be tough, but I’m ready now.