Ryan the Librarian

Book Talk #14: The Invention of Hugo Cabret

2011-11-08T01:28:00.002-05:00

The Invention of Hugo Cabret (Children's Fiction)

By Brian Selznick

Beautiful, beautiful book.

Verdict: One of the best children's books I've read since...Dahl.

Age: 6 and up to whatever age.

I'm late to the party. The Invention of Hugo Cabret is set to be released as a full length, big budget film just in time for the holiday season. I read this book a couple of years ago but I'm reviewing now because, well, I had to give this book its due.

The Invention of Hugo Cabret is a wildly imaginative story that really brings the physical book to the forefront. If the book came from a movie adaptation, it would have done the story a great injustice. I can't imagine the movie capturing the feelings and emotions that captivated me while I read this book. Sorry, Sorcsese. If children read this book from an ipod, they would miss the intricacies of Mr. Selznick's work of art. The book allows one to discover and touch the illustrations. It invites the reader to feel, to wonder, and flip on to the next page with great anticipation.

The book, or tome, shall I say, might be a little intimidating for children who see its thickness. Fear not kids or parents, this isn't Atlas Shrugged, half the pages are beautifully crafted illustrations by the author. In turn, each of these illustrations contribute to the story. That's how I sell this book to reluctant readers. I tell children they could be on the 50th page in 10 minutes. By that time, I hope the great premise has them hooked!

The story is unique. Part history lesson, part mystery and adventure. The biggest compliment I could pay this book is that it fired up my imagination. Whole scenes were crafted in my head. Breaks were taken to visualize what I was reading. Someone grabbed me by the hand and refused to let go. I didn't know exactly which way this story would head but I knew that it would be remarkable. Kinda of like Willy Wonka letting me taste a never ending gobstopper. Upon finishing the story, I sat up and smiled. Definitely, a great read.

Growing up, I was a Smashing Pumpkins fan and as read the invention, I was delighted to say "I knew I had seen this scene somewhere before!" (SPOILER ALERT)

Additional: A book you would read with your kids during bed time. One chapter at a time of course!

RTL2011

Kidspace: Sadness in Toronto Sports

2011-03-18T00:23:00.001-04:00

Kidspace Blog #12

A lot of my friends are sports fans. We like all kinds of sports but the major ones we follow are hockey, baseball, soccer and basketball.

Being hometown fans, we like to support the local teams: the Maple Leafs (Hockey), the Blue Jays (Baseball), Toronto FC (Soccer) and the Raptors (Basketball).

Here‘s the problem: it’s been almost three years since ANY of these Toronto teams have made the playoffs. While we’re not going to abandon our love for the teams, we need some sort of morale boost to cheer us up. It could be an exciting new player, a promise to win or even cheaper tickets. Anything!(more)

Comment:

This is a manifestation of my frustration with the state of the Toronto professional sports scene. Our teams suck. The Leafs can barely make the play-offs, the Raptors haven't done anything significant in almost ten years and the Blue Jays haven't won the championship (or made the playoffs) since 1993.

Joe Carter's World Series home run in 1994 was my favourite sports moment until Sidney Crosby scored the Olympic goal last year.

RTL2011

Fingerplay: The Five Senses Story Time Stretch

2011-03-13T03:56:00.006-04:00

It's yet another story time stretch.

The creation of this rhyme was influenced by a recent training session. This training session featured a ton of library workers heavily involved in children's programming. Watching their performances and listening to their ideas was eye-opening. It was inspiring to see different styles and methods of running class visits and story times. Hopefully, I can capture some of the best ideas and incorporate it into my style.

One presentation suggested a variety of ways of using humor in order to hook children during a story time. The presenter recommended books by Rob Reid including one titled "Something Funny Happened at The Library". We performed selection from the book that included "tongue push-ups". I found the rhyme to be hilarious so I borrowed the "tongue push-up" action for this rhyme.

This lead to thinking about how "tongue push ups" could be incorporated into a stretch. My first thought was to base it around body parts on the head such ears, nose, mouth etc. After starting with ears, I started to focus on hearing - "pull your ears to test your hearing" which in turn lead to the idea of focusing on the senses. The senses are something kids learn in school anyways, so a stretch rhyme that children could recite and practice in order to remember the five senses might be useful.

This is the final edit:

Story Time Stretch - The Five Senses

Rub your hands to get some feeling

Stretch your ears to make sure you’re hearing

Sniff, sniff to test your smell
Sniff, sniff to test your smell
Blink, blink to test your sight
How many fingers am I holding up?
Blink, blink to test your sight
Now how many fingers am I holding up?
Lastly, it’s time for tongue push ups!
Ready…
Stick your tongue out!Up down - up down!
Now left right, left right!
Round and round!

This stretch was tried out today and it worked really well!

PS. While writing this post, I found ways to improve the interactiveness of this rhyme. But I'll save that for another post on the idea of being adaptable during story time.

RTL2011

Things a Children's Librarian Does #8: March Break Programs (Planning)

2011-03-10T01:51:00.001-05:00

March break in Toronto is a chaotic time for children's librarians. With children having a week off from school, parents and caregivers often need activities and outings for their kids. The Toronto Public Library provides tons of free March Break programs for children to attend all week. At our branch, we have planned eight programs from Monday to Friday. One program per day on Monday and Friday and two per day from Tuesday to Thursday. There are also two regularly planned family time story times on the Saturdays preceding and succeeding the March Break. In total, there are ten programs in the time children are off from school.

The planning for March Break begins as early as six months prior. There are many questions to answer and factors to consider:

Questions:
How many programs do we want to run?
How many performers do we want to hire?
How many programs do we want to run ourselves?
How many programs can we run ourselves?
Should we show movies?
What age groups should we target?
What programs have we had/done before? What was successful?
How do we decide who gets to come? (Space and audience limitations) - Will it be first come first serve? Or will it be registration etc.

Factors:

Staffing
How is the staffing situation during March Break? Will people be on vacation? Fellow co-workers might be taking time off spend the week with their own children. In addition, extra help will be needed from co-workers in the form of taking extra reference desk shifts, crowd control and noise management as you spend the time running around and preparing programs.

Budget
Performers can be expensive so decisions must be made on how many the budget can afford. I like to get more performers during March Break because of the fact that it is an intense one week sprint unlike the summer holidays where one can spread programs over eight weeks. It's great to have performers increase your program numbers without necessarily increasing the work load. There isn't enough time to prepare for and perform 5 self made programs in one week (M-F). Luckily, the central marketing department gives many branches an extra performer by booking one on their budget every year. Woohoo!

Local Marketing
After all this planning, it's all about making sure people show up. Simple in house flyers will work but in addition the branch sends out flyers to each of our local elementary schools in order to remind parents to come to the branch.

The Programs:

Saturday March 12 - Seed planting Story Time (Ages 7 and under)
Kids get to plant seeds after a story time!
Monday March 14 PM - Mad Science Performer (Ages 7 - 12)
Tuesday March 15 AM - Library Bingo and Scavenger Hunt (Ages 7 - 12)
Tuesday March 15 PM - Razzmatazz Performer (Ages 7 and under)
Wednesday March 16 AM - Bubble-thon Story Time (Ages 7 and under)
Wednesday March 16 PM - Snakes with David Kondo Performer (Ages 7 - 12)
Kids get to touch a live snake!
Thursday March 17 AM - March Break Olympics (Ages 7 - 12)
Five fun activities! Like the olympics!
Thursday March 17 PM - Marky Weinstock Peformer (Ages 7 and under)
Friday March 18 PM - Movie (all ages)
Saturday March 19 - Animal Tales Story Time (Ages 7 and under)

From this we have:
1 all age program - the movie
5 programs for children 7 and under with 2 performers
4 programs for children 7 to 12 with 2 performers
3 self run programs from M - F

Wish us luck!

RTL2011

Booktalk #13: Martha Doesn't Share

2011-03-08T01:53:00.006-05:00

Martha Doesn't Share (Picture Book)

By Samantha Berger

Illustrated By Bruce Whatley

Except during story time!

Verdict: Familiar story but pacing and length is perfect for story times.

Age: 4 and under. Young kids with siblings.

A stack of new books arrived at the branch and as I browsed to see if there might be anything good for story time I found this book. Sometimes, a book just gives off a good story time book vibe.

First, Martha Doesn't Share is a catchy title to young kids and even parents. Introducing the title is bound to turn heads. Second, it deals with a toddler-age situation. There is a sibling, parents, sharing, familiar household objects and the possessiveness trait that dominates toddler years. Third, there is an appropriate amount of words and illustrative points per page leading to a perfect story length. Some toddlers might be able to sit through Cat in the Hat-length stories but more likely they can't and won't. Lastly, the build up to the "decision" point or resolution of the problem is obvious and should be picked up by most young children. Great for story times.

I've already used this book in a story time and it went over well. This book "ain't hipster" like I might say to my brother. It's not trying to be. It won't wow you with originality, inventiveness or sophisticated humour but it will get the job done in story time.

RTL2011

Booktalk #12: It's a Book

2011-03-06T23:31:00.004-05:00

It's a Book (Picture Book)

By Lane Smith

;) lol?

Verdict: Ahead of its time. Enjoyable but more for adults at this point.

Age: Tech-savvy children and techno-parents

First things first, the book contains a colourful ("jackass") word to describe a donkey. It's passable in a personal bedtime setting when it is up to each parent to decide what words are "bad" and "good" but I think that word must be omitted when reading this book in a story time or group setting. Good thing it's in the last line.

Beyond that issue, the book is enjoyable. I liked it. I liked its "in the know" humour. I liked that it's generally pro-book. I liked its conversational format which is not often seen in picture books (but seemingly in trend). And I love the two main characters. We can all relate: you're either the obnoxious person asking all the questions or you're the stone faced responder. And the "mouse" joke was clever, too. The drawings are great - emotions are well displayed.

This book should be popular among parents who gave their kindergartens an IPAD for their birthday. Or with parents who already read ibooks to their kids between games of fruit ninja. You know who you are.

But pardon me for believing that this book is not really a children's book...yet. Terms like "tweets", "blogs" and "wi-fi" are not yet mainstream among the grade 3 and under crowd (and even certain demographics). While there is definitely a trend towards it, these terms will fly over the head of most young children, at least at my branch. But as the IPAD, tablets along with internet and mobile application usage becomes vital, ubiquitous and cost effective for every age - I believe that this book will gain notoriety for being one of the first texts to explain the difference between electronic and book mediums, albeit satirically, to a young audience. I have a sense that this book is ahead of its time.

I propose a test to gauge the "arrival" of this book:

If one can read this story to a group (obviously with the absence of the colourful word) of grade 1 or 2 students in the middle of a working class and newcomer community and have them understand and laugh at hilarity of each of the questions then, yes, this book is no longer just for adults.

That time isn't now. But it will be soon. That's where the true potential of this book is.

RTL2011

Kidspace: The Guinness Book of World Records

2011-03-05T02:24:00.000-05:00

Kidspace Blog #11:

I’ve always wanted to get into the Guinness Book of World Records. I got bored one day and decided to see how I stack up against a few world records.

Here are three of the records I tried to beat:

Record 1:

Fastest time to solve a Rubik’s Cube: 7:08 seconds by Erik Akkersdijk.
Me: N/A (Tried but never solved one)

In the time I wrote this sentence, Erik Akkersdijk could have solved 5 Rubik’s Cubes. Wow! (more)

Commentary:

My brother had been researching and practicing how to solve Rubik's Cubes and we came across Youtube videos of insane solving times. Being part of an attempt at a world record in 2009 was also pretty neat. These two events inspired the creation of this blog entry.

These records are insane.

Although I'll always remember looking at the pictures of the person with the world record fingernails and thinking about how creepy it looked!

RTL2011

Fingerplay: Story Time Stretch

2011-03-02T00:57:00.001-05:00

In the past, I've created fingerplays and rhymes for use in story times (here, here and here). The creation of these finger plays and rhymes are a direct result of my:

a) inability to carry a tune

b) indifference towards a lot of nursery rhymes

c) desire for something different
d) enjoyment of action rhymes

On a whim before visiting a kindergarten class for outreach, I wrote the following lines on a piece of paper:

Story Time Stretch

Stretch Wide!

First you stretch high

Then you stretch low

Next you stretch wide (arms wide)

then you stretch narrow. (arms in)

Stretch to the left

then stretch to the right

Stretch really fast (fast arm circles)
then stretch really slow (slow arm circles)

Everybody wave hello (hello!)

Show me a smile

and now we're ready to go!

Let's begin our story time show.

I felt good about this rhyme right away. Admittedly, there are tons of stretch rhymes like this and I have even written one that is similar. However, there is something about the flow, the rhyming structure and ease of remembering the actions that go with the rhymes that feels just right. Like the Little Bear's porridge.

On the particular day I wrote it, my outreach story time was missing an opening rhyme.
Hence the central theme of "stretching" that I love to begin story times with. This is also the reason for the closing lines and the reason for the title "Story Time Stretch".

I think this and "As Best as You Can" can be used for a really long time.

RTL2011

Ready for Reading Videos on Toronto Public Library Website

2011-02-27T01:21:00.003-05:00

Stuck in a rut trying to plan a toddler time, I turned to these Ready for Reading videos posted on the TPL Kidspace website for something new. It helped me plan a toddler time in a matter of minutes and at the same time, I was able to see how other librarians perform common rhymes and songs.

I had never heard of "Cheese and Biscuits" but found the rhyme particularly awesome:

Cheese and biscuits is excellent for toddler time because of its simple action featuring a familiar and often favorite object of toddlers (trains). The increasing speed of the rhyme with repetition and build up of energy is quite exciting. Saying food children might have already encountered is also helpful. Although in the video, I'm not sure what the last line is so my version is:

Cheese and Biscuits Nursery Rhyme

Cheese and Biscuits x4
Beef and Carrots x4
Fish and chips x4
Pie!

The rhyme at 1:20 of this video was also new to me. Simple for toddlers to follow and very easy to repeat over and over.

Here is a Cup Action Rhyme
Here is a cup
Here is a cup
And here is a pot of tea
Pour a cup
Pour a cup
And share a drink with me.

I also used the version of "Row, row, row your boat", "Rolly Polly" and "Zoom, Zoom" found in the videos.
Pairing these rhymes with a couple of Mem Fox books: Let's Count Goats and Hello, Baby along with Eric Carle's From Head To Toe resulted in a particularly well paced, exciting toddler time.

Try it out.

RTL2011

Kidspace: My Quest for Rest

2011-02-27T00:14:00.004-05:00

Kidspace Blog #10:

The most common activity by humans is sleep! Think about it. Let's say someone sleeps from 12 am (that's late, for kids!) to 7 am. That is 7 hours of sleep. As a percentage of the day, (7 out of 24 hours) that is almost 30%! We spend about 3 out of every 10 hours sleeping!

Last year, I wasn't getting good sleep...(more)

Comments:
As a night person, I always find it difficult to get up for work in the early morning. When the video game "The Sims" first came out I would always purchase the most expensive bed because it allowed a character to recover energy the fastest. This blog is a manifestation of that strategy in real life. I guess what this ultimately shows is that to be a children's librarian one has to be a little (only a little) wacky.

RTL2011

Louis Armstrong: When the Saints Go Marching In

2011-02-26T01:17:00.001-05:00

In your story time, you can do a regular version of When the Saints Go Marching In or you can "jazz" it up a bit! I like finding alternate versions of children songs. The following video is an excellent rendition of When the Saints Go Marching In by Louis Armstrong. I created an edited MP3 of this song for toddler and story time.

The edited version is essentially from the :47 to 2:00 mark of the video.

Now when the saints...
Go marching in!
Now when the saints
Go marching in!
Yes I want to be in that number
When the saints go marching in!

The song is excellent mid story time song, or perhaps a closing song.

RTL2011

Kidspace: Hannah Montana and Superman

2010-04-23T01:53:00.001-04:00

KidSpace Blog #9:

Last week, I saw an episode of Hannah Montana for the first time. It seems that Miley Cyrus, the actress who plays Hannah Montana, is always in celebrity news.

After watching the show for ten minutes, I figure out that Hannah Montana is an alter ego of Miley Stewart. Hannah Montana is a rock star who becomes Miley Stewart when she goes to school.

Wait a minute...(More)

This blog was written the because of a challenge by the Kidspace Librarian. She said that there are certain key phrases that are "Google" friendly. Thus, this blog is intended to have a kazillion likely searched phrases on Google. Notice all the "Miley Cyrus", "Hannah Montana" and Beyonce references. I even threw in Justin Beiber!

Interestingly enough, this blog post got more comments that usual.

RTL

Things a Children's Librarian Does #7: The First Two Months

2010-04-23T01:39:00.002-04:00

I became a full time children's librarian on January 4, 2010, six months from graduation, at a mid-sized neighborhood branch. I can't say I was (or still am) 100% ready but truthfully, the job goes by a day at a time.

Here are some of the main things I did during the first two months on the job:

Preparation of programs already planned

Programs are generally scheduled at least four months in advance. The January to March programs had already been planned before I got into the job. This included Baby and Toddler Story times (aka Baby Time and Toddler Time) and March Break. My job was to carry out these programs, whether I wanted to our not. It required being flexible with scheduling, being open to ideas, quickly learning what skills you needed to perform programs and a willingness to try new things, trained or not.

Two memorable programs were: The Valentine's Day Love (February 13) and Dr. Seuss (Mar 13) programs. Sometimes, it felt difficult to get parents out on Saturday mornings but our audience would magically double or even quadruple for these events.
Scheduling programs

As mentioned, programs are planned at least four months in advance. Thus, I had to plan programs for April to June in late December/early January. The trickiest part, in my short experience, is ensuring that there is enough staff to conduct all the programs. More staff means more programs. However, there is always uncertainty with staff turnover. While there might be staff available to run the program at the time of planning, there might be issues four months later when the program comes around. There is nothing worse than canceling a program that has tons of interest.

At the same time, I felt that this is the stage where one could most impact the department. This is when fresh ideas are brainstormed, new programs proposed, marketing plans put forth and goals set.

I'd like to think I'm ambitious. I like to dream big. :)

Attending Training Sessions

Being a green librarian required attending all sorts of training sessions to get up to speed. This included training for baby story times, dealing with difficult patrons and "roving librarian" training. Through all these trainings, you also get a better feel of what's important to the organization. For example, early on, it becomes evident that the Toronto Public Library's Ready for Reading Program has a lot of support through out the organization.

Attending training sessions is also amusing because of the fact that when I was part-time, it was extra paid hours. It wasn't an issue to go. Now, as a full timer, it can be difficult to attend a training session simply because there are so many things that need to be done at the branch.

Creating Displays

We had to create displays with different themes: Black History Month, Dr. Seuss Day, Valentine's Day and Family Literacy day. Creating displays requires ordering a sufficient number of books from various branches and buying or creating display items that draw the public's attention.

Admittedly, I need to create a system that allows me to keep tabs of what the displays will be and when it's time to change them.

Time flies. I can't believe that I'm already 4 months into the new job. I also had many other job functions in first the first three months. But I will speak on them separately in the near future.

RTL

Kidspace: 25 Years Into the Future

2010-01-26T00:52:00.002-05:00

Kidspace Blog #8

Back to the Future is one of my favourite movies ever. The main character, Marty McFly, uses a specially designed car to travel back and forth through time. In the sequel, Marty travels from the year 1989 to the year 2015 to save his future family. (more)

I loooooved Back to the Future. Heeeyyy, Mcccccfly!

RTL>>>

Things a Children's Librarian Does #6: Make Book List For Toddler Time Program

2010-01-19T00:25:00.005-05:00

I've put a great deal of effort in selecting the books that I intend to use for an upcoming set of Toddler Time programs. This list contains 19 great books to read with or to young children. Here they are (with a brief explanation of why I chose each book):

I favour books that limit the amount of words per page, contain unique or eye catching illustrations, and memorable or repetitive lines. Books can't take more than 5 minutes to read or else toddlers will get bored. If they're longer than that, they must have a memorable plot line, "pop-ups, illustrations or action that kids can busy themselves with. The most important thing to me is keeping the attention of the toddlers by moving at steady pace.

Closing Book:

1) Lemons are NOT Red by Laura Vaccaro Seeger

Simple and memorable book with a predictable format. I thought this book did well in the last session of Toddler Time. On top of this, a colleague has helped me turn it into a felt story. For reference, the other closing book I've chosen was Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown.

The closing book is the book read last in every single session. It's part of "routine ending" that I like to create for all the toddler time sessions.

Skill: Print Motivation

2) The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle (with Caterpillar Prop) - I like to start the first session with familiar book so kids are more likely to "tune" in.

3) The Book of Sleep by Il Sung Na - An excellent book. I considered it as the "closing" book but it hasn't "proven" itself yet.

4) All the World by Liz Garton Scanlon - Excellent flow to the illustrations and writing. This book motivates me:)

Skill: Letter Knowledge

5) Papa, Please Get the Moon For Me by Eric Carle - This book has a lot of shapes and pop outs. A wonderful story to boot.

6) The Sleepy Little Alphabet Book by Judy Sierra - This book does well because it's not too long. A lot of alphabet books have one letter per page which usually results in the toddlers tuning out.

Skill: Print Awareness

7) Wiggle Waggle by Johnathan London - I like books that ask kids to do actions.

8) First the Egg by Laura Vaccara Seeger - Another excellent book by Ms. Seeger. Great illustration.

9) The House in the Night by Susan Marie Swanson - This book really grew on me. I think it works well with print awareness because of the contrast of the words with the illustrations (black, white and yellow).

Skill: Vocabulary

10) A Penguin Story by Antoinette Portis - A wonderful book. I had to use it. Toddlers always love penguins!

11a) Toddlerobics by Zita Newcome
11b) Stretch by Doreen Cronin
11c) Wiggle by Doreen Cronin

A trio of excellent "activity" books. Depending on the energy of tots, I might use one, two or three.

12) Anthony and the Girls by Nancy Seitz - This is a funny book is about a boy trying to get the attention of girls. Reminds me of Calvin and Hobbes.

Skill: Narrative Skills

13) Seven Blind Mice by Ed Young - Humourous books always get me.

14) The Very Busy Spider by Eric Carle - I didn't use Eric Carle much last time...

15) Red is Best by Kathy Stinson - Books that explain "why" are helpful for narration.

Skill: Phonological Awareness

16) One Boy by Laura Vaccaro Seeger - I like this book because as you turn the page, the next word hi-lights how a previous word is incorporated into a new one. First: "One Boy", next: "All alONE.

17) The Magic Hat by Mem Fox - Magic, a hat and animals. What else is more interesting to a 3 year old?

18) Truckery Rhymes by Jon Sciezska - Great for three or four quick rhymes to recite for the little guys

19) Wiggle, Giggle Tickle Train by Nora Hilb and Sharon Jennings - excellent rhyming and activity book in one!

19 books over six sessions. There is a seventh session of Toddler Time but I will use the most popular books among these to showcase a "best of". Hope these go over well.

RTL

Auto Tuned Nursery Rhymes: The Next Big Thing

2010-01-18T01:02:00.004-05:00

I was enjoying a cozy story time with three children last Saturday when I blanked out on the melody to Rock-a-bye, baby. I tried....but totally brutalized a "Truckery Rhymes" version of the song. I remembered why I stick to "Head and Shoulders."

Anyways, the fiancee suggested that I add an auto-tune instrument to my repertoire.

Indeed.
It would be so much fun to sing "Shake Your Sillies Out" or "Mary Had a Little Lamb" Shhhhhaaake yoooooorr silllliees ouuuuuut.

It's going in the next budget.

Edit: Wait, I found a plug-in for a program I have...GSNAP to go with Audacity

RTL

Things a Children's Librarian Does #5: Holiday Programs with Crafts

2010-01-07T23:21:00.002-05:00

The Holiday Craft

During December, I decided to end my last "Family Story Time" with a craft. I decided on kids creating cards for the season. The children would design the cover of a holiday card while a message was pre-printed inside.

Step 1: Creating a template

Using Microsoft Word, I created a template for the cards. I searched high and low (on the internet) to find an appropriate quote that did not have any religious references. This quote was added to a simple message and graphic inside the card while leaving space for children to write their messages. The cover of the card was left blank as it is what the children could design on their own.

Message: "Blessed is the season which engages the whole world in a conspiracy of love" - Hamilton Wright Mable. "Happy Holidays and a Wonderful New Year!"

Step 2: Printing and Cutting the Card

I found heavier - 60lb paper in a winter appropriate blue colour (another choice was lime green...pass) at work. I would not do this with regular coloured printing paper as the cards would not be stable enough to stand. The templates created two cards per page. The templates were cut precisely using a paper cutter and folded with care.

Thus, the card cover was about 4.25 inches wide and 5.5 inches high.

Step 3: Add Design Options for the Kids

During previous trips to Michael's Craft store with my fiancee, I noticed holidays stickers that cost two to five dollars for 80 stickers. I also noticed that they were going on sale at 40% off. So I bought some. Additional materials included sparkles, star and holiday sequins, hearts, and ribbons. Children went crazy with the glue, so I had to lay down garbage bags to cover the tables.

Step 4: Start Back at One - Brian Mcknight:)

The craft went well for the kids. The youngest get help from parents while older children are free to experiment.

Next year, I hope to let children design cards all December long with cards being posted on the walls around the children's area. I also would like it to be a yearly thing, perhaps becoming a traditional craft for any child in the neighborhood.

RTL12345

Stuff to Think About (01/06/2010)

2010-01-06T01:11:00.002-05:00

This time: Kanye West with a Children's Book?, New York Times Best Illustrated 2009, Americans adapting Canadian ideals!, chess clubs and video games and the value of comic books.

Kanye West has a children's book based on his car accident ordeal in "Through the Wire". Never knew he made it into a book.

I love the song. It's one of my favourites. Great sample of Shaka Khan's song. "For the chance to be with you, I'd gladly risk it alllll." Got the book on hold. Hopefully it's good. Background story: Kanye got into a car accident and ended up with a broken jaw. The doctors wired his mouth shut. Sensing a great song and publicity, he recorded the song with his mouth wired shut. Hence, the name "Through the Wire".

New York Times selecting the best illustrated children's books of 2009. Great time for children's books. Lots of high quality titles.

Glad to see All the World there. Haven't really read anything else. Although, I'm waiting for Moonshot, Yummy and a Penguin Story to come in.

Oh really? Comic books are helpful too, says this study.

In Leading to Reading parents would often complain that their children are not reading "good" literature. The philosophy I often tried to pass onto them is that ANY reading is good for your child. The more important issue is that they are consistently challenged (learning new words, more complex stories) as opposed to the format. Just my two cents.

Ready for Reading going from Toronto to Miami. Spread the good word, TPL! Ready for Reading adapted by the Miami-Dade Library!

We...are...taking...over! Seriously though, great news.

A bunch of library programs that I want to do!

One of the biggest lessons I learned from Leading to Reading is that routine is helpful for kids. So a chess club and Wii games as regular events at the library is something I plan to establish. Routine keeps kids AND parents coming back to the library. We have routine programs for toddlers and pre-schoolers (Ready for Reading storytimes), so one of my first goals is to establish regular routine programs for school aged kids. More on this soon.

RTL~

Kidspace: From One Thief to the Next

2010-01-05T00:51:00.001-05:00

Kidspace Blog #8

A month ago, I made an impassioned plea striking down the righteousness of a certain "Fantastic" Mr. Fox. Readers were asked to vote. Now the votes are in.
(more)

I really, really liked The Invention of Hugo Cabret. Great storytelling.

Things a Children's Librarian Does #4: Bookmark Contest

2010-01-02T02:14:00.004-05:00

The Toronto Public Library holds a yearly contest that allows children to design bookmarks. It begins as part of Canadian Children's Book Week in November and runs up until early December. Kids from all over the city submit their entries to their local branch and the winner(s) gets their design published and distributed to all the branches the following year.

To the left is a winner from 2008. Other years: 2007 2006 2005

It's a popular contest which has been running for sometime. I remember entering this contest back in the 1990's when I was still eligible. My artistic capabilities have always been limited so I never won anything. I was more focused on keeping my drawings within the borders so that I wouldn't be disqualified. My bookmarks weren't pretty but at least they were neat!

This year it was my job to oversee the contest at my branch, and ultimately decide on the process to judge the winners. The following is my experience with the contest.

Distributing the Contest Forms

I placed some contest forms around the children's section of the library. Several signs advertising the contest were also placed around the children's section.

An email was sent out by my colleague to nearby schools with a PDF version of the contest form attached. Schools were free to print and photocopy the form for any student wishing to enter the contest.

We ended up with 160 entries which, from what I was told, was below the usual average of 200. Sometimes quality is better than quantity. However, in this case, (and with the utmost kindness to all the applicants), the branch received a lot entries that were basically scribbles or ineligible due to spelling misakes, having licensed characters and items being drawn outside the boundaries.

Thoughts:

In retrospect, I should have done more to allow kids to design their bookmark at the branch. Next year, I'm going to create a "station" that has crayons, pencil crayons and perhaps even paint so that children can create their entry right away. How many applications were picked up by kids or parents at the branch only to be forgotten once the children arrived at home? Next year, I hope to get more kids entering spontaneously using quality supplies that may not be available at home. The obvious goal is to increase both the quality AND quantity of the applications.

I might also allocate a special hour where a branch page or clerk (who is excellent at drawing) and I supervise the "station" so that children can get ideas for their bookmarks.

Visiting a few daycares around the area in order to get them involved could also be useful. Inviting daycares to the "special hour" might help ensure attendance.

Judging the Bookmarks

After the contest closes, entrants are divided into the three ages categories - 0-6, 7-9 and 10-13. Each branch decides on one winner from each category. These winners win a small prize locally but are also entered into the city-wide Elizabeth Cleaver Award. (Another winner to the right below)

My processing in deciding our branch winners was:

1) Divide the bookmarks into the three categories
2) I shortlisted the top 4-5 bookmarks in each age category
3) I named each bookmark
4) I had staff (15) vote on the winner in each of the categories by ballot (most votes wins)

Thoughts:

I should not have named the bookmarks. A co-worker pointed out that naming the bookmarks can heavily influence voting. They were right, and I'm pretty sure that it did. Next year, I'll just keep them as A,B,C,D or 1,2,3,4. I really regretted this.

Next year, I'll go with a two step voting process. While my shortlisting method saved a lot of time, it is a fairer process to have others involved in limiting the choices to 5-6. Essentially, it's balancing having multiple perspectives and not using too many (human) resources at the branch for shortlisting. I'm sure others would have shortlisted a different set of bookmarks. Perhaps, I'll create a mini short listing-committee next year.

Conclusion:

It's good to see one run of the contest. Now, I can make adjustments to improve my process. I'm going to set a goal of 250 entries for next year. I would also like to see an increase in high quality entries so that I'll have to make a committee. More quality entries mean tougher decisions in shortlisting!

It's exciting to see all the drawings that the children made. I hope one of our entries win an award, and gets published. I'm very proud of the entries we sent into Marketing and Communications. Fingers crossed!

RTL

Kidspace: Calm Down, Dad!

2009-12-29T22:44:00.000-05:00

Kidspace Blog #7

My dad has always been a calm, controlled person. When I tell him about something cool, all he usually says is, "Oh yeah? Neat." It's hard to get emotion out of him.
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My tribute to Manny Pacquiao, and shout out to (if any) Filipino kids reading the Kidspace blog. Mabuhay!

RTL

Book Talk #11 : The Foggy Foggy Forest

2009-12-16T01:21:00.004-05:00

The Foggy Foggy Forest (Picture Book)

By Nick Sharratt
Let's play a guessing game

Verdict: An familiar format with unfamiliar delivery

Age: 0 and 5

This book is similar to many "guessing" books that are perfect for preschoolers. It is also similar to a game that parents and babies/toddlers might play with one another:

Parent: What is this that I am holding onto now?
Child: laughter
Parent: I am holding on to your nose!

And then so forth to another part of the body or story etc.

This book plays out in a forest. One page asks, "What could this be in the foggy, foggy forest?" While most of these "guessing" books are unfold-a-flap types, the Foggy Forest uses a cloudy piece of paper that allows only a silhouette of the items in question to be displayed on the opposing page. It adds some intrigue through a "hint" of what the items could be.

As usual, the question provides children with a guessing point where they can try to figure out what the items might be. However, the cloudy pages also lend themselves to parents and children tracing out the item with their hands before guessing. It helps children identify the shapes of particular items. The black and "white" (see through) contrast is definitely a positive.

As children flip the page, they are greeted by a colour drawing of the item they just guessed at allowing for more banter and exchange. "It seems like a elf with a purple hat!". Officially, the story provides a rhyme for each answer like, "Three Brown Bears in Picnic Chairs". Thus, it also helps with rhyming and for playing with words containing similar sounds.

I like also that the rhymes are not ones children can guess easily. They items might be easy to figure out but children might need a few reads before they can blurt out, "Cinderella and Snow White in a water pistol fight".

Would be enjoyable for storytime, or one on one reading with kids!

Lastly, the lightheartedness of the book makes something that seems "scary" seem, well, not scary at all.

Cheers

RTL

Things a Children's Librarian Does Series

2009-12-14T02:57:00.002-05:00

A few people have asked me the following question:

"What does a Children's Librarian do?"

I can tell them a few things:

Sit behind a desk (sometimes) and recommend books to children.
Find books that children want.
Run storytimes, and read books to parents and children
Run various other programs for children
Visit schoolchildren at school and tell them to come to the library
Familiarize myself with children's books

At this point, I can't think of anymore things to say. Likely, there is a few "basic" things missing from that list. But really, that's the point of this "Things a Children's Librarian Does" series. This series will get an addition whenever I learn about new things and figure out more duties,. Hopefully, this list never ends with something added every week.

So, next time somebody asks me "What a Children's Librarian does" or "What kind of skills does a Children's Librarian need?", I can rattle of a lot more than six things or just give them this link;)

Cheers

RTL

Things a Children's Librarian Does #3: Attract Patrons/Advertise (Additional comment)

2009-12-14T02:38:00.005-05:00

After talking about my previous post with my fiancee, I came to a better understanding of what I was trying to say. Here it is in three points:

In advertising, and trying to figure out how to connect and reach people I want to know that:

A) If I put on a program that turns out to be unsuccessful attendance-wise or draws little interest, I want to be fairly sure that it' either because:
1) the program is terrible
2) nobody really wants the program.

B) The last thing I want to hear is that a program people wanted and needed in the community (and likely free) is not attended because we didn't reach enough people.

C) Combining A and B - Thus, the goal is to make sure that enough people know about to program to be able to realize that if 2 people show up, it's most likely because there truly isn't much interest in a particular program.

RTL

Book Talk #10 : All the World

2009-12-10T20:45:00.004-05:00

All the World (Picture Book)

By Liz Garton Scanlon
Illustrated by: Marla Frazee

A Nice Satisfying Read...

Verdict: A perfect storytime book

Age: 2 and 7

Last weekend, I went to see The Blind Side starring Sandra Bullock and Tim Mcgraw. I was prejudiced against the movie thinking that it would be what we dudes like to refer as a "chick flick". Yet, I left the theater feeling good. The Blind Side is a really-darn-good-yet-simple-heartwarming story.

All the World gives me a similar feeling. The book moves quickly so it works well with young children. The subject matter is very positive but not in a cheesy manner. Thus, this book is a good candidate to be read over and over, anytime (Saturday afternoons, before dinner, bedtime, summer vacations etc.).

The book uses less common language which makes it helpful for a child's vocabulary. It's also got a simple, yet eloquent, rhyming pattern which helps with prediction and memorization (and phonological awareness).

While there isn't really a linear story to follow in the book, Marla Frazee creates a flow between each set of lines. A close inspection of each of the wonderfully (pencil crayoned?) illustrations indicate that there is some forward movement. The illustrations move in a manner similar to Zoom or The Other Side by Istvan Banyai. This adds a great deal to the depth. Furthermore, the illustrations of people in the story convey a wide range of emotion effectively creating a talking or thinking point for each part of the story.

In sumation, I think the book is perfect for storytime. It just makes me feel good.

I can't wait to share this book with parents, caregivers and especially children.

RTL

Things a Children's Librarian Does #3: Attract Patrons/Advertise

2009-12-10T01:58:00.005-05:00

Our branch had great numbers in the Toddler Time sessions earlier this year. Parents came consistently and numbers remained strong throughout the whole program.

On the other hand, the Saturday Family Time session numbers were consistently low and disappointing.

Why the discrepancy? As I take on a larger role in the children's department this year, it is my goal to gain a better understanding of the factors that get people into the storytimes and what keeps them visiting.

We can control the quality of the programs. If our programs need to improve, we will improve them.

We can control when to put on the program. If our programs are at an inconvenient time, we will find a more convenient time.

The area where I would like to gain a better understanding of is the moment that a patron "sees" our advertisement, and decides that this is a useful program worth attending. AKA creating effecting advertisement and marketing material.

Here are some of the questions I hope to find answers to:

1) How well does advertisement work? What is the difference between formats (electronic flyers, paper flyers, direct calling, word of mouth)? How do we make ads so that it will consistently be noticed and read by our patrons?

With limited resources, it is our goal to reach as much patrons as we possibly can. In the most convenient way for them.

2) What encourages word of mouth?

I am a firm believer in the strength of word of mouth. We have a quality product: FREE storytimes and crafts. How can we encourage others to pass on the message for us?

3) What part of the storytime do parents and caregivers find MOST appealing? Crafts, stories, books, nursery rhymes etc.

If parents come, do they came for the stories, the learning experience, to pass the time or to meet others? This is important so we know what message to pass on in our future advertisement.

I think that understanding these questions will help attract patrons. But this also seems to be a process that needs to be consistently updated or revised. For example, paper flyers might work better during the summer as parents are actively looking for activities their kids can do but ignored during the school year as parents are much busier. Last year, parents may not have had emails thus making electronic flyers worthless. A year later, perhaps parents prefer to be emailed. It's the little details.

Essentially, I expect to gain familiarity with the nuisances of patrons at the branch and what they will respond to over time. But maybe it is when I get too familiar or comfortable with these nuisances that I should re-assess. Maybe there's something we're missing, or something more we can do!

RTL

Booktalk #9: Shin-chi's Canoe

2009-12-08T02:37:00.004-05:00

Shin-chi's Canoe (Picture Book)

By Nicola I. Campbell

Accolades galore for a wonderful book regarding a regrettable time in Canadian history

Verdict: A must read

Age: Anyone over 5.

Wow. That's the first thing I have to say about this book.

It is an eye opening, sombre story. I have not read much on the treatment of the First Nations in residential schools but know that it was terrible. This book provides a little bit of history lesson.

What makes the story more compelling is the matter-of-fact way that information is introduced. The reader is told that, "(Shi-shi-etko) they cut her long braids and threw them away and washed her head with kerosene."

No bias words.
No judgement.
This is just how it was.

It increases the impact of the words. The author does not have to write persuasively to show the injustice. The evidence is enough.

The colours set the mood: brown, greyish and dark. A throwback to the past. The illustrations provide perspective like one that depicts the view from the inside a crowded cattle truck.

I'm not sure when a parent/caregiver should introduce a book like this to their children. Although, it is my belief that parents should share books like this with their children. Not necessarily this book but stories that make children stop and think for a moment. Perhaps, ponder some questions concerning fair treatment of others.

While I would read this book to older kids (grade 4/5), I believe that it is better for a child to read this with their parents/caregiver. While other figures are involved, I still believe parents should get the first chance at shaping the beliefs of their children. This is the tricky line that one treads when presenting this book to children.

It is easy to say or point out that the treatment of the First Nations was horrible. It's the whys that might be better left for parents/caregivers.

RTL

This book won the TD Canadian Children's Literature Award 2009 and was a finalist 2008 Governor General's Literature Award in Children's Literature - illustration

Fingerplay: This I Know For Sure

2009-12-05T00:56:00.003-05:00

I could not sleep last night. It probably had something to do with the large coffee I drank from Tim Horton's at 10pm last night.

So here I was lying in bed at 5 in the morning - when this fingerplay started to form in my head. At first, I was reciting it without any rhythm but then...I started chanting it to the tune of "The Wheels On the Bus".

It doesn't necessarily flow perfectly but it seems to work. I'm going to test it in my storytime tomorrow.

This I Know For Sure by Ryan the Librarian

My fingers, thumb and palm are
part of my hand,
part of my hand
part of my hand
(x2)
And this I know for sure

My hand, wrist and elbow are
part of my arm
part of my arm
part of my arm
(x2)
And this I know for sure

My tongue, teeth and lips are
part of my mouth
part of my mouth
part of my mouth
(x2)
And this I know for sure

My mouth, nose and eyes are
part of my face
part of my face
part of my face
(x2)
And this I know for sure

The obvious hand motions include pointing motions to the part of body it mentions. For example, fingers (wiggle fingers), thumb (give a thumbs up) and palm ( slap palm area) are part of my hand (give a hand shake). I think the trickiest and subsequently most fun for the kids will be the tongue (stick out tongue), teeth (smile or growl) and lips (kissy face) are part of my mouth (biting motion).

To each their own though.

Cheers!

RTL

Fantastic Mr. Fox Review

2009-12-04T01:05:00.002-05:00

For the last month of so, I've been hyping up this movie. It was (and is still) one of my favourite children's books growing up. I written about it here, here and here.

I saw it last Friday.
What did I think?
It was "good".

First things first: despite all the "big" names in the movie, and generally positive ratings, the movie failed to make a splash on the weekend. If it were in a diving competition, it would have won a gold medal. There are currently two "canonball" movies making big bucks: Twilight and The Blind Side.

Oh well.

I liked the humour. It was a funny movie. The dialogue was clever.
In addition to this, the voice acting was really good. It was cool to have "Dumbledore" as the farmer Bean.
The claymation was well done. It was easy to see the time they spent creating this movie.
I liked that the movie stayed generally true to the book, except for the introduction of a new character (to create some movie "friction"), up until...
The "new" part of the story. It got lame. But I accept the fact that they had to turn a book that is barely 100 pages into an 87 minute movie. So they had to do such things. It makes you wish that Roald was still alive, and able to write the additional material.

I'm happy it was made into a film. It's a piece of childhood. I do wish for the film to be more successful financially just because it's such a good book. Maybe people will get sick of vampires...

RTL

Kidspace: Woke Up, Got Out of Bed

2009-12-03T18:15:00.000-05:00

Kidspace Blog #6

Mornings are tough for me. I'm a night person. I like staying up late and sleeping in. If I had my way, the work day would start at twelve and end at eight. We all have dreams, I guess.
(more)

RTL

Toronto Public Library First and Best List 2009

2009-12-03T02:10:00.004-05:00

The Toronto Public Library has released its First and Best Booklist for 2009. These children's picture books were published in the past year and are written by Canadians.

The title of the list comes from the fact that the first books you share with your child should also be of the highest or best quality. A lot of thought, time and expertise go into selecting these books.

Personally, I like Wiggle, Giggle Tickle Train. It reminds me of a lot of the stuff, I've tried to do with Toddlers during Toddler time. "Act like an airplane!"

In terms of illustration, it's really hard to go against the time consuming clay illustrations that Barbara Reid does. Perfect Snow is a quality story although I think it's hard for younger pre-school kids to relate to.

The characters in Boo Hoo Bird are cute. I wasn't too enthralled by story though. But that's just me. The story was a little too predictable. I did like its shout out to parents. And it might actually be a great story time book.

Same Same is a great book for a parent/caregiver and their baby or toddler. While the words are basic, the real value lies in how the book is used beyond the words. For example, a mom and child could try to make circle shapes together, or mom could say that she is another item that sings (then proceeding to sing a lullaby).

Mother Goose is mother goose and the TPL doesn't actually have copies in yet. It's "ON-ORDER". Gasp!

A family with a dog should read Farley Follows his Nose. Two birds with one stone: the child does some reading with parents AND learns a little bit about dog activities. It's written by the author of the For Better or Worse comic series, Lynn Johnston.

I haven't read When Stella was Very, Very Young, You're Mean Lily Jean and Off we Go! but my holds are on their way!

Christmas is just around the corner;). These may be good gifts.

Remember though:
Books are always free,
at your public library.

RTL

"Freestyling" a Storytime - Hip Hop and Storytimes

2009-12-02T01:39:00.026-05:00

I like all genres of music. But over the last few years, I've really liked some hip-hop music. What I admire in this genre of music is the ability of artists to creatively rhyme, or say patterned words while in beat, very quickly and seemingly on command.

(Imagine Lil Wayne as a librarian?)

Current songs I like that have such "patterned speech" include:
Young Forever by Jay-Z (Lyrics on the side info)
I Have No Ceilings by Lil Wayne (Rated R, lyrics on the side, beat originally by Black Eyed Peas - I Got A Feeling)

The second song is the kind that I have interest in adapting to my development as a librarian. The artist (Lil Wayne) actually created rhymes and lyrics at the moment he recorded the song. In hip-hop this is called freestyling. It is a huge talent/skill.

Example rhyme in the song,
"I was drinking from where i came,
When i got here i did the same,
I Dont like beer i like champagne,
So cheers to Lil Wayne"

Not an appropriate subject matter(for kids) but the words still flow and the rhyme is clever. My ultimate goal is to be able to freestyle stories, rhymes and fingerplays during some storytimes. I still want to read books but the spontaneity that such a skill would bring to a storytime is really beneficial.

I feel very "robotic" and formulaic in the storytimes I do now. I want originality, spontaneity and creativity. So, here's to practice, practice, practice...

Below is me creating a mini story on the spot.

What does what say?

What does a cow say?
"Moo!"
You're right!
A Cow will say "Moo",
Except when it's dead.
Because ghost cow who will say "Boo"
To who?
To you!
Silly!

What does a sheep say?
"Baa"
You're right!
A sheep will say baa!
Except when it's full.
Then a sheep goes. Ahh!
Ahh! I'm stuffed.
To who?
Not you!
The sheep goes Ahh to it's Ma!

What does a pig say?
"Oink"
You're right!
A Pig will say "Oink"
Except when on a pogo stick.
So the pig won't say "Oink" but
The pogo will go "Boink, Boink, Boink"
As the pig bounces away...

What does a duck say?
"Quack"
You're right!
A Duck will say quack.
Except to chase the pig.
A duck will yell "Come back, Come back"
Until it catches the pig.

RTL

Book Talk #8 : A Couple of Boys Have the Best Week Ever

2009-12-02T00:56:00.008-05:00

A Couple of Boys Have the Best Week Ever (Picture Book)

By Marla Frazee

Enjoy a 2009 Caldecott Honour Book

Verdict: Fun for "older" young kids and especially adults

Age: 4 - 7

I decided to try to read all the Caldecott winner and honour books as a personal project to improve my knowledge in children's books. This was the first one I read since it was sitting on the shelf of my library.

James and Eamon are going to hang out at "nature" camp, aka a grandparent's house. The story revolves around the many cool things they get to do during their time there. It's a nice reminder of the time one spends as a child when we have no deadlines, meetings or obligations other than returning to school at the end of summer vacation.

The first hint that this was a "wordier" picture book and for older kids was that it appeared in the advanced picture book section. Advanced picture books vary greatly in that amount of words but I felt this book was borderline (could still be a regular picture). It isn't really super-wordy but it does have a few passages that might be for older kids. For example, there is a part where the story implies swearing (out of driving frustration) by the grandparent.

The story would probably work well for kindergarten aged storytimes. The story is far too complex (and the humour too subtle) to be enjoyed by a child of a younger age. The book would be great for a summer bed time read. And definitely fruitful for grandparents that want to spend quality reading time with their young grandsons.

The drawings are cute. Although, the kids in the story act like two 9 year olds but are drawn like over-sized toddlers that are still growing their hair. I guess kind of like Charlie Brown except Charlie Brown had older kid features. Perhaps they are just two really mature six year olds. Or perhaps I'm out of touch with what six year olds do nowadays.

Another reason I like the story is because it is about the activities of boys. I hope to find more picture books to recommend to parents and caregivers that just show boys being boys. As an (male) adult, it's easy to enjoy this story. While I never got to hang out at grandpa's, there were definitely a large number of hours devoted to just "chillin" with friends in such a manner.
RTL

Canadian Children's Book Center Awards

2009-12-01T01:42:00.003-05:00

I have added a link to the Canada Children's Book Center.

This is a great resource for all things Canadian children's books. They have all sorts of resources including a yearly guide to children's books, publishing guides and links to even more resources. It's worth checking out.

But really, the main purpose of this post is to discuss the winners of the awards administered by the Canadian Children's Book Center:

Geoffrey Bilson Award for Historical Fiction : John Ibbitson, The Landing. Toronto: Kids Can Press, 2008

Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award : Hazel Hutchins and Gail Herbert, Mattland. Illustrated by Dušan Petričić. Toronto: Annick Press, 2008

Norma Fleck Award for Canadian Children’s Non-Fiction : Mariatu Kamara with Susan McClelland, The Bite of the Mango. Toronto: Annick Press, 2008

TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award: Nicola I. Campbell, Shin-chi's Canoe. Illustrated by Kim LaFave. Toronto: Groundwood Books, 2008

I must admit that the only book I've read amongst the winners is "Mattland". It is a very deserving book that I plan on buying. All these books are now on my holds list. I will try to review these books at a later date.

Another interesting thought is that Shin-chi's Canoe got the same treatment as Beyonce did at the MTV movie awards: It lost to Mattland in one category only to win the big overall prize. (Beyonce lost in the best female music video category to Taylor Swift, made infamous by Kanye West's interruption, only to win the overall video of the year - Single Ladies is a wicked music video, btw) Granted, the two book awards have different criteria.

RTL

Where the Wild Things are: Revisited

2009-11-27T00:55:00.001-05:00

I re-read Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak last week to a group of English as a Second Language (ESL) kids. They were pretty ho-hum about it. Not too excited. They liked some parts, but weren't that into it.

But let me tell you, I was.

As a child, I couldn't get past how scary the monsters looked.

As an adult, the story is actually pretty cool. Now, I see it is an exciting little story of adventure. About momentarily getting away from your troubles. Conquering all the things that oppress you (mom, jobs, money etc.) It's about just having fun. And when you're done having fun nothing changes. You can come right back. Like pausing time. Adults wish.

But I think that part of the story is very difficult to grasp for your average 3-7 year old . It requires imagination. The words are is the story are not particularly memorable since they do not repeat. Or get bolded or rhyme. The drawings aren't that unique. So it doesn't really stick to a mind of a kid bombarded with so many things.

But coming back as an adult, it's easy to see how sweet it is. Perhaps, this isn't really a children's book.

RTL

In essence, I agree with the sentiment of this New York Times Article.

I Love Maps

2009-11-25T01:45:00.000-05:00

I've always been fascinated by maps. There were a countless number times that I put together the world map puzzle owned by the daycare I attended. And I loved it.

So, I decided to add a map to see where the visitors to my site come from. If there are any;)

Cheers,

RTL

Book Talk #7 : Who's Hiding?

2009-11-25T00:25:00.005-05:00

Who's Hiding? (Picture Book)

By Saturo Onishi

Simple, yet time consumingly fun...

Verdict: Be prepared to spend some time with this book

Age: 2 to 5

It wasn't busy at the branch tonight. I found myself preparing Kindergarten Outreach packages for a couple of upcoming visits. Around 7:30 pm a young child of maybe 3 years walked up to the reference desk and handed me this book. Since I was getting bored preparing envelopes, I started reading the book to him. His mother nearby seemed to approve so I kept on going.

The book begins with a picture of 24 animals laid out over two pages with a simple question in the top left corner. One page might ask "Who's hiding?" and the natural reaction is for the reader and child to investigate which animal is camouflaged. Another page might ask, "Who has horns?" and again the reader and child scan the page and discuss the answers. It's fun, it's interactive and it tries to keep a child engaged.

I'm not sure whether this book will work in a group setting but I'm going to try. Perhaps, it will get the kids screaming when they figure out who is hiding. It may get their attention. But it definitely works well for one on one reading.

The pictures are cute but some of the animals were too ambiguous. There were a couple of drawings that had me scratching me head (ended up being a reindeer and a bear). However, all the animals are labelled at the end of the book so going through the book multiple times will certainly help.

Overall, it's colourful, it's interactive, it's imaginative and it's original. It's worth trying out and discussing with your little one (s).

RTL

Innovation and Libraries

2009-11-24T02:28:00.007-05:00

I attended a training session that gave us the opportunity to discuss how all the thrusts from the Libraries 20/20 Conference might be followed on by the TPL. The senior librarians discussed the ways in which we have done so, and some ways in which we could do so the future.

But the thrust that I was really thinking about was:

Create a library culture that supports continual innovation

Two ideas circled in my head all day.

1) The TPL should create a "new librarians" committee.

New graduates have all sorts of ideas, and new ideas have likely been developing inside while in school. Tap into this creative energy and fresh set of eyes to see how the organize can improve itself. Granted, I have an agenda (being a new librarian) but in the long run, I feel that TPL would benefit strongly from creating such a committee. I further suggested that to make the committee seem worthwhile, the TPL should have a mandate that at least one new idea be tried from this committee every year.

It is worth noting that I was the youngest person in the room by at least 10 years. As I've said before, this bothers me considering that the next generation of librarians will be the ones implementing these policies. Someone said at the conference that, "The best way to plan for the future is to invent it". It might be prudent to get the input of librarians that are going to play a large role in finalizing the "invention".

2) Fundamentally, find a way to attract different people (education, social background, race, thinking type and personality) to Library school.

One of the courses I took at U of T had us do a survey to determine our personality type. Two classes, nearly the same result: an overwhelming number of students within the classes had certain personalities. Over 60% were Guardians and 25% were Idealists. Lacking were Artisans (only, 2 and 1 people in each class - less than 3%) and Rationals (~10%) . Hardly a scientific study but I believe it showed something.

Library school seems to attract a certain type of personality. Let's find a way to attract the personality types that might dominate Graphic Design Courses, and Creative Arts programs.

This requires hard core advertising, and even finding ways to change the perception of working in a library.
Stereotyped librarians is something goes on to this day, and definitely represents a barrier to this change.

I'll continue to discuss this as the policies develop. This thrust is important to me because I feel that while creativity can, at times, lead to temporary failure; failing to be creative and innovative will necessarily lead to failure. Organizations operate in a storm-like setting. It's impossible to predict which way a gust of wind in the storm will blow. But ultimately, the storm is moving in certain direction. If an organization anchors itself down and stops trying to move with the storm, it will just get left behind and consequently, become irrelevant.

RTL

Fingerplay: Can you Stretch so High?

2009-11-24T01:30:00.001-05:00

I have no singing talent. Really, I do not mind singing, but for the sake of others I try to keep it down. It's embarrassing for the audience;)

As a result, I often find myself trying to find ways to limit singing. Here is another fingerplay I created in order to get kids started during storytime. And not surprisingly, it requires not singing!

Can you Stretch So High? by Ryan the Librarian

Can you stretch so high that you could touch the sky? (reach high with both arms!)
Can you stretch real low and touch your toes? (touch your toes!)
Can you stretch so wide that it hurts your sides? (open arms wide!)
Can you bend your knees like you're on a pair of skis? (Pretend to ski!)
Can you wiggle your shoulders and also your fingers? (Shake and wiggle fingers!)
Can your tongue touch your nose while on tippy toes? (Try to touch your nose)
Can you smile so bright that it gives off light? (Big smiles!)
Now rub your tummy and then hug your mommy (daddy, granny, nanny).

RTL

Book talk #6: Why is an Orange called an Orange?

2009-11-23T19:52:00.005-05:00

Why is an Orange Called an Orange? (Picture Book)
By Cobi Ladner
Illustrated by Lisa Smith
One of the great mysteries of life...
Verdict: A funny book for kids with a little dose of sarcasm
Age: 2 to 8

This book is humorous. It starts off by asking "Why an orange is called an orange?" It then proceeds to build on this seemingly illogical fact by comparing it with other fruits. For example, "pineapples are not called golds, and coconuts are not called browns."

Kids seem to get the point of this little problem fairly quickly with one child even slapping his forehead in frustration during storytime as the author piled on the evidence. However, one problem with the book is that it doesn't really explain why an orange is really called an orange. It ends with political correct-ness saying more or less that "an orange is the best name for it". Adding a real answer even on the last page as a post story explanation would have increased the value of the story.

The book is flexible for kids of different ages. The youngest children enjoy seeing the fruits along with the declaration of colours (which are put in their own coloured font). In the storytime, I had them pretend to be eating the various fruits. For the lemons, I asked them to make their best "sour" face.

Older kids will enjoy this little brain teaser saying to themselves, "That's true! It kinda doesn't make sense!" They might be challenged to try to explain the problem either verbally or in writing.

It's a fun read for a group of kids. It gives them something to think about.

RTL

Kidspace: The Fantastic Thief Mr. Fox

2009-11-20T00:37:00.001-05:00

Kidspace Blog #5

My favourite book as a child was Fantastic Mr. Fox by Roald Dahl. It's exciting that a movie version is coming out soon!
(more)

RTL

Book Talk #5 : Tanka, Tanka Skunk

2009-11-13T13:10:00.005-05:00

Tanka, Tanka Skunk (Picture Book)

by Steve Webb
Faster and louder please...
Verdict: Lots of fun with drums
Age: 2 to 6

The first thing to say about this book is that it's loud. Reading this to children in a traditional manner does not give it justice. When reading this book, be prepared to make some noise. I would suggest using drums, clapping, shakers or foot stomps. Anything really.

It might be good to read the book over a couple of times in order to get a sense of the beat. When I was practicing my delivery with this book, my brother said that I had the drumming "all wrong". He was right.

The book doesn't really have a linear story. It has a bunch of animals written in a rhythmic fashion. It is good for introducing kids to the concept of syllables or "beats" as they are called in the book.

I like to point to the animals as I read the book. When kids are old enough, they say the animals with you. Sometimes it's fun to make everyone quack like a duck, or beat their chest like a gorilla.

Example verses:
Lemur llama,
Llama lemur
Cheetah Panda,
Panther...Polar Bear...

And:

Ant Eater
Ant Eater
Big Blue Whale

The chorus is what really makes the book. Children love to get into it, usually clapping their hands as best as they can. One time, I made the mistake of telling the kids to be a little quieter. All this did was make them louder.

My presentation of this book has to include my drum. It makes it more lively, and allows me to set the "beat" for the kids to follow.

RTL

Dirty, Dirty Cataloging

2009-11-13T00:16:00.003-05:00

Cataloging was a hard and boring (likely co-related) class. It was drier than winter air. Plus, paying attention to details is something that eludes me. This trait helps a ton for this class. If only I had the guts to sleep in class, perhaps it could have been a little better. Nonetheless, I made it through.

Now I'm qualified. This means I can start recording titles and authors of the books that have been collected for the Alang Along Children's Library.

Before starting, it was necessary to do some weeding. Nobody wants crap. So, my goal is send materials that are a) in good condition b) high quality c) considered popular. Although, the hardest issue, it seems, is to maintain consistency.

Weeding sent half the books into the recycling bin. (From 700 or so books to about 300-350.) Nobody wants or needs a 1993 encyclopedia set. Yugoslavia ain't a country no more.

Someone once told me, "Nobody is making you give to others. If you're going to give others stuff you better give decently. Because if I was in their shoes, and received crap goods from you; I would honestly think of killing you. They're humans too."

I wasn't sure if that was a warning or advice.

Anyhow, I've started cataloging. I warn you though: it's dirty.

Click on the link to check out what I've got so far:

Alang Alang Book/Materials List.

Cheers,

RTL

Things a Children's Librarian Does #2: Visit Schools and perform Kindergarten Outreach

2009-11-12T17:50:00.007-05:00

Been doing a few Kindergarten Outreach visits. The whole objective of this Kindergarten Outreach at work is to get kindergarten children (and their parents) into the library. The TPL wants them at our programs and in our children's sections.

So, I've been going into the schools into our area with my trusty drum trying to get kids excited about the library.

Here's the basic set:
1) Introduction: Who knows where I'm from, what is my job, come visit us, we have programs for you. So, on.
Salemanslike...
2) Warm up - Head and shoulders (simple stuff, cause I can't sing)
3) Book Vote (Usually Tanka, Tanka, Skunk by Steve Webb)
4) As Best as You Can
5) Book Vote 2 (Usually Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus by Mo Willems)
6) Popcorn
7) Good Bye

Takes about 30 minutes.

Two funny things have happened:
After asking the students "Does anybody know where I'm from?" One child earnestly remarked, "China!." I started laughing, "Good try, kid. Anybody else?" To which another child yelled out, "Edmonton?". Pretty random, I thought,

In Tanka, Tanka Skunk, there is a line that reads "Skunka, Tanka, Skunka, Tanka...Tanka, Tanka, Skunk!" I ended up blurting...Tanka, Tanka Skank...Skunk. The kids thought nothing of it but the kindergarten teacher started to laugh. It had me smiling for the rest of the story because I knew it was bound to happen sometime.

(RTL)

Book Talk #4: Mattland

2009-11-05T02:02:00.007-05:00

Mattland (Picture Book)

by Hazel Hutchins and Gail Herbert
Back in the days...
Verdict: Lost in Imagination is always a good thing
Age: 4 to 10

A training session I attended had us review a group of five picture books and, in a mock manner, decide which one should win a "prize" for having engaging literary writing AND art in the book. Essentially, whichever one had a perfect marriage of picture and literacy.

I chose Mattland. I thought it was absolutely captivating.

It begins with a boy in a new subdivision with newly built houses all around him. The colours are grey and murky. It has just rained. The boy begins to imagine and draw with a stick:

First a lake,
then a river,
then a field,
I forget the exact order but the building continues.
Soon, he's built a complete town: Mattland.

I thought this was exceptional for many reasons.

On a personal level it reminds me of myself. When winter turned into spring during my childhood years, I would make rivers and streams within the melting snow. I had glorious visions of recreating a mighty river like the Nile, or Amazon. This somewhat replicates that.

It also reminds me of my brother. My brother was 7 years old when my parents moved us into a suburban subdivision. There is a scene in the book where another new child resident meets Matt. An endearing gesture indicates that perhaps this character wants to be friends with Matt. Immediately after seeing this gesture, I was thrown back to the time when my brother met his first friends from the subdivision.

The illustrations also add a ton to the book's appeal. It matches the mood of the book. First, the drawings are depressing but the colour palette changes as Matt builds his town. The colours become brighter and brighter. The mood of the book changes as well. Excitement builds. It's easy to get caught up in the development of Mattland the place.

On one last level, it appears to me that the town he builds represents the growth his subdivision will go through. As new pieces are added, his area will surely grow. Then, gone will be the days of imagining Mattland in the mud in exchange of a new group of friends and a lively new neighbourhood.

RTL:)

Kidspace: Dreams of a Lego Architect

2009-10-29T18:47:00.000-04:00

Blog #4

"One of my favourite things to play with as a child was Lego.

Some kids would make something simple like a tower or a car but I, on the other hand, would go all out."

More

RTL

Stuff to Think About (10/27/2009)

2009-10-27T13:15:00.000-04:00

This time: World Records with Eric Carle, What books should I read to my child?, unexpected children's authors and No TV for kids!

Going for a world record with the hungry caterpillar. (and here too.)

This sounded like fun. It gets kids excited for two good reasons. First, a lot of them love reading the Guinness Book of World Records. So they know where this record could end up. Second, it gives kids a reason to sit down and read a book with family. Fun. Great book choice too. Although it's an easy read to 3rd/4th graders, The Very Hungry Caterpillar is such an entrancing book.

Need a list of books to read to your children? Check out all the comments in this blog article.

What would I read to my future children? 1) The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein 2) The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle 3) Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus by Mo Willems 4) Good Night Moon by Margaret Wise Brown 5) Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl.

Ban Maya Angelou books? Are you kidding me?

Never read her books, but if a rape scene is means for censorship we should also get rid of To Kill a Mockingbird because the whole story revolves around a rape. Sheesh.

A Princess writing Children's books? Pretty Neat.

Did not know that this was her children's book. I have a lot of respect for famous people who want to write for children. It's not really that glamorous, compared to say, a tell all biography. Another surprising children's author is Madonna (beyond her adult materials). A few children have come to the desk to specifically ask for Madonna's books.

Books and Reading forever! Something more than TV.

I am adamantly against putting a child under 4 years old in front of a television. I would prefer they play with playdough, blocks or read with anybody. But I don't have kids yet, so I do not know the pressures and time constraints of being a parent. Nonetheless, I hope that more and more parents see the value of bringing books to their children.

RTL

The Top Grossing Children's Book Movies

2009-10-22T15:49:00.003-04:00

With "Where the Wild Things Are" and "Fantastic Mr. Fox" hitting the big screen during this fall season, I looked at the success of other children's books that have been made into feature films. Hence, I compiled a list of top grossing films adapted from children's books.

Going into this exercise, I knew that Harry Potter would likely dominate the top ten. Even if this was a list of top grossing movies of all time, J.K. Rowling's material would still likely make the list. So its appearance should not be a surprise.

In addition to the dominance of Harry Potter, it is notable that the top 16 children's book adaptations have been made in the last decade. Jumanji is the first film on the list not made in the 2000's. Perhaps, the success of the first Harry Potter in theaters turned a few heads at major studios: Children's books are capable blockbusters for both children and adults. The top 16 films can also be characterized as having big budgets or notable names ie. Jim Carrey in How the Grinch Stole Christmas, or Ben Stiller as the guard in Night at the Museum.

Notable misses include Zathura which grossed only 28 million. Considering its budget was similar to Jumanji ten years earlier, it must have been a huge disappointment for the studio. Inkheart struggled at the US box office but did a bit better around the world. Another book to suffer this fate was the Golden Compass which took in only 70 million in the US but over 200+ million around the world.

The box office tracking numbers for older movies may have been harder to track. For personal opinion, I feel that that the original Charlie and the Chocolate Factory with Gene Wilder is the top children's book adaptation of all time.

Read More for the list
Release Year, Film, US Gross in millions(Approx)

2001 Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's(Philospher's) Stone 317
2009 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince 301
2007 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix 292
2005 The Chronicles of Narnia 292
2005 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire 290
2004 Shrek 268
2002 Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets 262
2000 How the Grinch Stole Christmas 260
2004 Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban 250
2006 Night at the Museum 250
2005 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory 206
2004 Polar Express 181
2008 Horton Hears a Who 155
2004 A Series of Unfortunate Events 119
2009 Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 108
2003 Cat in the Hat 101
1995 Jumanji 100
2006 Charlotte's Web 83
2009 Coraline 75
2007 The Golden Compass 70
2003 Holes 67
2006 Curious George 58
1996 Matilda 33
2004 Clifford's Really Big Movie 29
1998 Madeline 29
1996 James and the Giant Peach 29
2005 Zathura 28
1996 Harriet the Spy 27
1999 Iron Giant 23
2004 Ella Enchanted 23
2009 Inkheart 17

Movie Numbers Taken from: http://www.the-numbers.com/

Numbers were rounded off to nearest million. Some movies may have been forgotten. I tried my best to look for as many children's book adaptations as possible.

RTL

It's Fantastic!!

2009-10-21T13:39:00.013-04:00

As I outlined a few posts back, Fantastic Mr. Fox was my favourite kids book growing up. Now, it's coming out on the big screen! The movie looks really good with a nice balance of dialogue for adults and children. I can't wait to review it.

It's also got superstar voices. George Clooney, Meryl Streep,Bill Murray, Owen Wilson.

RTL

Kidspace: What's the Sound of Chewing?

2009-10-19T02:09:00.003-04:00

Kidsspace Blog #3

Everyone has some idea of their favourite foods.
Here are some of mine:
Some days, I feel like eating pizza. Yummy!
Some days, I feel like munching on hot dogs or hamburgers. Tasty!
(more)

RTL

Stuff to Think About (10/13/2009)

2009-10-14T00:08:00.004-04:00

This week: The awesomeness of Diary of A Wimpy Kid, Wild Things movie!, Winnie the Pooh comeback and Sugar and Books in the same sentence.

New York Times writing about the phenomenon known as the Wimpy kid .

Note to self: It's time to re-evaluate myself if I ever start complaining about a book that brings so much joy and happiness to children. Above all, the series is FREAKING FUNNY!

Contemplating if "Where the Wild Things Are" is really as popular as it seems to be with children.

Not going to lie: I was really scared of the monsters. I read it as fast as I could. One of my first thoughts when I read the book was "Monsters can be good?".

Return of Winnie the Pooh? Ten new stories.

I don't like it when a series originally penned by a single author tries to continue itself with new authors. It's like taking the star of a TV show, trying to make the audience think the new star is just as good and everything is going to be exactly the same. Wait, I think this happened in CSI: Las Vegas. But come on, they replaced Grissom with Morpheus.

There has got to be a catch behind this. Like the appearance of a Cheerios box on every page.

In my opinion, book ownership is one of the best ways to get kids reading. So, I hope this is a straight goods giveaway. Also, at least Cheerios is a fairly nutritious cereal compared to some other ones that could have done this. Imagine if it was Frosted Flakes: free books with your 3 scoops of sugar? It'll take parents 3 hours to get their kids calm enough to read the free book.

Speaking of sugar and books in the same sentence.

Great idea.

RTL

Fingerplay: As Best as you Can

2009-10-13T23:15:00.001-04:00

I've been really busy at work for the last few shifts. So today I was in a panic when I found out that we are required to present a short finger play tomorrow at a meeting. Anyways, I just decided to make one up.

As Best as you Can by Ryan the Librarian

Pat your head, pat your head as soft as you can
Clap your hands, clap your hands as loud you can
Whisper, whisper as as quietly as you can.
Tap your feet, tap your feet as nimble as you can
Show a smile, show a smile as bright as you can
Sit down, sit down as quickly as you can
Now please...

Listen, listen as best as you can.

The actions can all be changed.

Wiggle yourself, Wiggle yourself as flexibly as you can
Close your eyes, Close your eyes as tightly as you can
Touch your nose, Touch your nose as carefully as you can.
And so on...

I hope it goes over well.

RTL

My Favourite Book(s) as a Child Revisited

2009-10-13T02:33:00.003-04:00

During the Toddler Time program, I often find myself saying, "This is one of my favourite children's books ever". This is only true about half the time. The book might be one of my current favourites but not always. I did not encounter half of my current favourites until more recently. For example, "Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus" by Mo Williems was not in my top 20 until this year.

So, these books represent my top 5 books as a 12 year old recalled as best as I could.

5) Charlie And the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl

I read and re-read this book over and over. As an immigrant child, I could easily relate to Charlie's life. I found comfort in reading that someone (even though in fiction) with a tough life could find their way to success. Above all, this book is great because of its imagination. What crazy things Willy Wonka could think of! It was very exciting.

4) Goosebumps Series by R.L. Stine

I spent the summer of grade 6 in California with my Aunt and her family. Besides doing a lot of sightseeing and hanging out with cousins, I read these books. Stories about getting a mask stuck on your face, ventroliquists and haunted houses still give me the creeps.

3) Sideways Stories from Wayside School by Louis Sachar

I loved the immagination and wacky things that happen in this book. Most of all, this series spawned another series of crazy arithmetic books that I absolutely loved. For example,

ONE+ONE = ZERO

The reader had to figure this out by subbing in numbers. This was tons of fun!

2) The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein

A seemingly simple story about a tree and a boy that I found emotional attachment to. The boy is such a jerk, always taking from the tree. From the perspective of the tree, it is a pleasure to give. But it was tough for me to accept that this boy could not see their selfish ways. It was only when I found out years later that this book is about parental love that the story made more sense.

1) Fantastic Mr. Fox by Roald Dahl

Poor Fox family, cornered by three selfish farmers until...Fantastic Mr. Fox finds a way to counter their scheme. I think this book represented my idealistic vision that good "people" should always win. Back then, the obvious bad "people" were the farmers who refused to "share" with the foxes. Now, it's hard to determine who was really wrong. Granted, the farmers were "bad" people individually but it was indeed their property that the fox was stealing.

RTL

Public Libraries in 2020 - Part 2

2009-10-06T13:11:00.002-04:00

(Part 1)

These were the 9 suggestions brought forth by the 3 reactor panels at the Ontario Libraries North 2020 Symposium:

1. Scenario models
- What will 20/20 look like demographically and financially?

2. First nation public libraries as model
- make a model for libraries, with First Nations at the fore front.

3. Collaborative program models
- create models for libraries to build upon so that each library does not have to invent the wheel on its own, or twice.

4. Expand public library role as community place and public space
- turn the library "inside out"

5. Engage people and leverage community connections and resources
- "put people first"

6. Make place as a journey, not an end
- ever evolving library space

7. Build greater capacity between partners, users and ourselves
- similar to #5

8. Ensure all physical and virtual libraries are high quality, visible and well used spaces
- up to date, high quality etc.

9. Create a library culture that supports continual innovations
- focus on the culture of library ensuring that we are quick to try new things

The crowd was asked to vote for their top 5 choices.

My top five choices were: 1, 4,5,8,9. I see these five choices as :

1 (plan out the possibilities in the future)
4 (Be THE PLACE to be in the community)
5/7 (Make the library an integral part of the community, the first thing people think of whenever they need to do something. Bandwagon with other agencies, use each other's resources.)
8 (Keep quality of materials high)
9 (Be aware of change, and be first adapters).

The most popular as voted upon by those in attendance were 3,4,5,8,9. Although, I forget the exact order.

Final Thoughts:

In the end, it was a learning experience. Although, I feel one of the biggest flaws with the symposium was the absence of younger people. Those born as early as the 1970's and 1980's constituted less than 20% of the attendance at conference. These generations represent the next set of managers, or chief librarians, and they were not really represented in setting these initiatives. Essentially, one generation is setting the agenda for the next generation to implement. This does not seem fair to me. Understandably, some logistic and financial issues prevent libraries from sending delegates. Nonetheless, if the future is so important, we must find a way to get more librarians in charge of the future involved.

I also felt compelled by the arguments of librarians who work in northern Canada. This makes me appreciate the profession even more. The passion shown by those who have an operating budget of less than $30 000, salary including, is truly amazing.

RTL

Book Talk #3: Diary of A Wimpy Kid 2 and 3: Rodrick Rules and The Last Straw

2009-10-05T01:45:00.008-04:00

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules (Graphic Novel)
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw (Graphic Novel)
By Jeff Kinney
Another year done with more cartoons!
Verdict: Still awesome!
Age: 8 - 13

As the series continues, the drawings and jokes become funnier and the story becomes more convincing. It's not even the overall storyline but rather the little things that Greg does. At times, you might find yourself reading with a smile because you, or someone you know, did the exact same things. There is a sequence in one of the book(s) where Greg describes his habit of sleeping on heating vents that had me nodding in agreement, "Ha, I used to do that!". Greg's obnoxiousness, ignorance or creativity, depending on how you look at it, is absolutely addictive.

These two books actually combine into one school year and thus, the series seems to be commercially lengthening itself. It seems that Greg has fallen in love with his diary. After a brief mention of "how his mom made him do it" again, he never complains about it again. He writes (and draws) with detail, and conviction regarding the great injustices (plural, for sure) that have befallen him. But you won't find me in disagreement with this set up as long as the shenanigans continue to be as interesting as they have been so far.

Shel Silverstein`s photo
from The Giving Tree
Its also seems that there are more drawings in each of these last two books than in the original. Definitely a plus. There is a whole piece on Shel Silverstein's photo on the back of "The Giving Tree" that is absolutely hilarious. If you have the book, or remember the author's photo well from childhood, then the story will likely result in chuckle.

The great genius in Greg's character (and Jeff Kinney's writing) is that he continues to be consistent with one basic principle in a young teenager's life: everything matters now. There is a noticeable increase in the self consciousness that pervades a young teenager's life. It is not necessarily that more things happen to Greg, it's just more things happen to him that seem to matter. Whereas the exchange of Valentines cards might not have been important in previous years, its an issue to a teenager when he realizes that the girl he likes might have snubbed him. `Perhaps one day, when Greg is not so consciously trying, he will finally win. And when he does, you can bet he'll let us know in great detail.

RTL

Book Talk #2: Lemons are NOT Red by Laura Vaccaro Seeger

2009-10-02T01:21:00.007-04:00

Lemons are NOT Red by Laura Vaccaro Seeger (Picture Book)
Of course not!
Verdict: Excellent book to read - caregiver to child
Age: 0 - 5

This book is very simple. It takes an item then proceeds to say what colour it is not. Afterwards, the author corrects us stating that, "Lemons are yellow, and apples are red".

This is a great book for many reasons. First, it is very bright and colourful. The pictures are very attractive and are of high quality. Second, the book is very predictable. It won't take children long to start saying what colour the moon should and should not be. Third, it covers many different colours and thus, would serve as an excellent introduction book on that topic. Lastly, the book is short. In my opinion, this adds to the appeal because it becomes easy to memorize (for the reader and listener). It should be easy to keep a child's attention during the 2 minutes it might take to read this book. A great bedtime book.

I like to use this book as a primer for vocabulary. The reader can pose many different questions while reading which increases it usage value. Perhaps one can pose the question of "Why are snowmen white?" or "If they have ever seen a green lemon, or a green apple?". In turn, the reader can talk about snow, limes, or granny smith apples. I can even foresee a child asking why their skin colour is brown while their friends is white. It is a great book, and I believe it will be a classic book for parents, librarians and teachers.

RTL

Libraries 2020 Symposium - Part 1

2009-10-01T01:49:00.002-04:00

The Ontario Public Libraries North Symposium on the future of public libraries was held last Thursday at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel in downtown Toronto.

Three guest speakers took the stage. After each presentation, a reactor panel conversed in response to the main points of the speaker. After the three presentations, each reactor panel gave three "suggestions (for a total of 9) to be emphasized by public libraries in the next ten years. The nine were then narrowed to five that will serve as the core list of recommendations or "thrusts" stemming from the symposium.

Presentation 1: Ontario in 2020 (Richard Worzel)

Thoughts:
1) Being from an economics background, a lot was not new to me. Although, the idea that there will be a huge increase of spending on health care as a percentage of the overall government budget is something, if taken as true, to be worried about.
2) We have to focus on senior services, just as much as children's services it seems.

Presentation 2: Physical spaces in 2020 (Stephen C. Davies)

Thoughts:
1) Learned that "iconic" building does not necessarily mean "iconic" place. The presenter criticized the Seattle Central Public Library: it may be a beautiful building but it was not necessarily designed to be friendly to those using the area around the library. Nor were the "people" consulted about its use.
2) I agree that libraries should focus just as much on being a place to hang out as a place to keep materials. Thus, we should encourage ANY positive interaction in the library. As one of the reactor panels pointed out, "the key is creating a space that limits the conflict between two activities that might otherwise be in conflict". For example, a study hall and meeting space should be placed apart or flexible enough to accommodate the changing needs of citizens on a daily basis. ie. Movable chairs, or rooms with walls that can expand or be brought down and sound systems etc.
3) Agreed: Libraries should focus of indoor AND outdoor space surrounding the library.
4) The rule of ten: If there are ten activities to do in a place, it's more likely that people will stick around.

Presentation 3: Digital spaces in 2020 (Joan Frye Williams, George Needham)

Thoughts:
1) Not new: Libraries should be more forward thinking/adaptable.
2) Interesting idea: What's the difference between letting someone borrow 10 books for 3 weeks, and 3 books for 10 weeks? Adapting to changing life styles of the people in the community we serve is important.
3) Cool application on one library website: "Book Feed" This application shows what materials have just been returned to the library and allows patrons to quickly place such items on hold.
4) I'm not sure if E-books have "arrived" - although the Kindle version of Lost Symbol by Dan Brown apparently outsold the print version in the first week.
5) Agree that library change is never complete and we are always in "beta". In response I say, "the most successful organizations are always looking to better themselves, for or non-profit."

To be continued...

RTL

Things a Children's Librarian Does #1: Storytime Programs like Toddler Time

2009-09-30T14:39:00.033-04:00

Here's an outline of a Toddler Time #1.

Toddler Time # 1
Focus: Vocabulary

1) Welcome (3 - 5 minutes)
Everyone get settled.
Ask everyone how they are doing.
Grab their name tags and smiley faces.

2) Opening Theme ( 1 minutes)
Hello Goodbye Modified by the Beatles

3) Warm Up Song (1 - 2 Minutes)
Head and shoulders knees and toes

4) Warm Up Song (1 - 2 minutes)
Itsy bitsy spider 2

5) Book ( 3 minutes)
Lemons are not Red by Laura Vaccaro Seeger

6) Fingerplay (1 minute)
Popcorn

7) Quick discussion of today’s Topic (1 minute)
Importance of talking to your child
Provide context for words
Always describe things

8) Fingerplay (1 minute)
I have ten fingers

9a) Book (4 minutes)
From Head to Toe by Eric Carle
9b) Book (2 minutes)
Gallop! By Rufus Butler Seder

10) Song (2 minutes)
If you’re _______ and you know it
Happy - Jump up and down
Sleepy - Sleepy
Excited - Say Hurray!

10) Made up story (3 minutes)
Seasons

11) Dance: Hokey Pokey (2 minutes)
Right arm
Left Leg

12) Book: ( 2 minutes)
No matter what by Emma Dodd

13) Good bye Routine:
Song with star props: Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
Book: Good Night Moon by Margaret Wise Brown
Good bye Everyone/Things we used
Stickers for everyone

Crowd Stats:

# of kids: 17
# of caregivers: 15

Audience: 18 months to 36 months

Thoughts:

This program went well. It was a bit long - over 35 minutes.
Kids LOVE the Eric Carle book especially the actions. A couple of actions are a bit tricky for toddlers, so I skip them.
Itsy Bitsy Spider fingerplay rarely fails but it's good to practice it.
Lemons are NOT Red by Laura Vaccaro Seeger is going to be a classic, if it isn't yet.
Gallop by Rufus Butler Seder is a better book for 1 on 1 but it's good to show parents as their kids will be captivated by the scanimation technology.

RTL

Alphabet on my Mind

2009-09-29T19:50:00.002-04:00

In the previous post, I lamented on the absence of newer, cooler nursery rhymes for kids. While assessing the children's section, I came across a book stating that a great number of nursery rhymes were never really meant for children. They may have started off as bar songs, or parodies about particular historical figures. Children usually overheard them and started reciting them for fun.

Anyways, this is the introduction to a new series on this blog. Whenever I come across a "cool" or "hip" version of a kid's song, it will be posted in this series. The first one posted was Feist doing a slight different rendition of 1,2,3,4 for Sesame Street.

#2 in Fun Nursery Rhymes for Kids is Ray Charles (RIP) doing the A,B,C's with a few surprise guests (also on Sesame Street).

Now that's what I'm talking about!

RTL

1,2,3,4 Monsters Walking 'cross the Floor

2009-09-29T02:33:00.009-04:00

I'm not going to lie. Since starting toddler programs, I can not imagine myself reciting or singing half the nursery rhymes I stumble across. Some are really out-dated (Jack jumped over a candlestick!), some are kinda difficult for musically challenged people like me and others are just not fun. So I usually stick with safe bets like "Head and Shoulders, Knees and Toes and "If you're happy an you know it". But, this can only keep the attention of a child for so long. I have to mix it up.

One of the things I was taught was to only do stuff you like in your programs. This includes books, songs, finger plays and activities. So I like using "popular" songs edited to be more suitable for toddlers. Some examples include: YMCA, Twist and Shout, Hello Goodbye and the Twist. My experience with this has been hit or miss. Sometimes the kids love it, sometimes the lack of familiarity makes them unsure of themselves. But really, what I would like is pop artists to go out and create new versions of nursery rhymes, or even to write completely new ones.

There's no money there but come on! Think of the kids!

This is how I found this link of Feist doing a slightly different rendition of 1,2,3,4 on Sesame Street.

Three things come from this:
1) I wish I could sing like her (not the voice but the skill)
2) I wish I had back up puppets during my storytimes.
3) I wish Jay-Z would do a hip hop version of the Hokey Pokey.

RTL

Book Talk #1: Diary of A Wimpy Kid

2009-09-28T02:14:00.006-04:00

Diary of A Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney
I hope I wasn't like this but...probably was...
Verdict: Definitely Read
Age: 8 - 13

This book (and subsequent series) has been amazingly popular with boys between the ages of 8 and 12. It's easy to see why a page into the book. It reads very easily; following the journal of middle school student Greg Heffley. In addition to the journal entries, there are a bunch of humorous cartoon drawings that illustrate the kind of trouble that Greg often gets into.

On more than one occasion, the cartoons had me laughing on the subway. They complement the story very well and are a welcome break for boys and girls that might get discouraged by pages and pages of print. You keep reading just because you want to see what the next cartoon brings.

Admittedly, boys will probably find it easier to relate to this book. Although, problems addressed in the book like middle child blues, getting too old for hallowe'en and teenage bullies certainly affect both genders.

Overall, the story flows well. For me, it started off quickly and slowed down towards the middle. Interestingly, I found myself disliking Greg for doing a lot of immature, childish things. But ultimately, that's exactly what he is and really, it is what makes this series so popular.

RTL

Kidspace: All You Need is Love to Rock Out

2009-09-27T21:51:00.002-04:00

Kidspace Blog post #2:

September 9, 2009 was a special date on the calendar. That morning had 9:09 am on 09/09/09. A time and date like it won't happen again for another hundred years! (September 9, 2109)...(more)

RTL

Kidspace @ Torontopubliclibrary.ca

2009-09-27T02:12:00.002-04:00

I started writing for the Toronto Public Library Kidspace blog. It should be a fun way to improve my grammar and writing style.

Here is my first blog entry:

When I was a kid, my mother would let us play outside until the sun set.

During the summer, there is sunlight until after 8 pm and even 9 pm on the longest day of the year in June. But during the winter, it's night time by 6 pm. (more)

RTL

A Blog With Any Other Focus Would Read Just as Good?

2009-09-27T01:34:00.003-04:00

The blog has a new focus. It will now focus more on the musings and activities of a new librarian instead of just children's literacy. This reflects the changes within my life and career over the last 6 months. I now have my Master of Information Studies (MiSt) degree. The "Reading Code"was started as a project for my first course at the Faculty of Information at University of Toronto. Now, as a novice librarian, this blog is intends to cover my thoughts and experiences as I begin my career. Thus, the new focus merely reflects the expansion of topics this blog now intends to cover.

Cheers,

Ryan the Librarian (RTL)

March Break Programs Series - Intro

2009-04-09T00:45:00.006-04:00

What a difference a year of experience makes.

Last year, I repeatedly told pairs that there would be sessions during the school March break. But I guess no one actually listened. Or it's just a lot of the volunteers are in high school and would rather spend the week off hanging out with friends. Perfectly understandable. I just wish that someone had told me. Normally, I deal with about 70 plus pairs of volunteers and students.
For March break, only 30 or so pairs came with 23 coming on Saturday. This meant that I only had 4 pairs on Wednesday and 3 on Thursday! Brutal attendance. To top this all off...half the time people did not even call to cancel. They just did not show up.

This year I took a pro-active approach. I asked my boss if I could run programs instead of having the debacle week I had last year. Parents would sign their children up for time slots, and I asked the volunteers if they were interested in volunteering during the March break.
That way, kids and volunteers who want to come would sign up for sessions. Those who could not come, they just would not sign up.

I created 6 programs for the kids to sign up for:

1) Dictionaries and Encyclopedias can teach me a lot! (Max 12)

2) Board games help me learn!(Max 12)

3) Chess! Chess! Chess!(Max 12)

4) Work sheets aren't really work at all! (Max 12)

5) Create a story - Act it out! (no max)

6) The "Amazing Race" - Library edition!(no max)

I ran some of these ideas through parents, volunteers and students by asking them what kind of programs they might be interested in. Dictionaries and Chess were decided based on my observational experience. Lots of parents wanted their children to learn new words in English. Kids had trouble with vocabulary. Chess came from watching kids want to play this game but ultimately not really understanding how to play it. Board games was an idea that admittedly was inspired by a program that was being run at the Vaughan Public Library, where I work on Sundays. Keeping with the theme of Leading to Reading, I wanted to keep the games educational. Work sheets was my excuse to get kids to learn Sudoku, which I believe is a great tool for logical thinking. The two last programs, Create a story and Amazing Race were inspired by TV shows. America's Best Dance Crew and Whose line is it anyways? was my inspiration for Create a Story while Amazing Race is self explanatory.

I will BLOG more about how each of the programs went in a separate entry. Overall, I LOVED running these programs and wish I could do them more often.

Oh this year...I had 91 students (1 child attending 2 programs = 2 students) come in and 39 volunteers during the March break. Some students attended 2 or 3 programs as did some volunteers. I had to adjust my maximum capacities to deal with the unanticipated demand.

Robert Munsch Galore and a World Record Attempt

2009-01-27T01:20:00.005-05:00

As part of Family Literacy Day on January 27, 2009 Canada attempted to break the Guinness World record for MOST CHILDREN READ TO IN A SINGLE DAY - MULTIPLE LOCATIONS. The current record is held by the United States at 78, 791 children. The world record attempt occurred on Friday, January 23 and 24.

Fairview Leading to Read participated in World Record attempt by having two special sessions where a group of children where read to by volunteers.

Five Robert Munsch titles were chosen as "designated books":
1) Pigs
2) Mortimer
3) Purple, Yellow and Green
4) Murmel, Murmel, Murmel
5) Something Good

Each book was preceded with a different activity from chanting to answering a question or word bingo. Cake and juice were served for all those that attended and photos were taken. All in all, 40 children participated in two sessions. This was a great turn out as the room was overflowing with people. Hopefully turn out was just as good across Canada.

The purpose of Family Literacy Day is to encourage reading as a family activity and lifestyle choice. It encourages parents to consciously promote reading, and learning by reading. A variety of ways are suggested including reading the newspaper together, working on crosswords or visiting your local library.

As for the record - we're unsure of the results so far...*cross your fingers*.

TPL Foundation Campaign

2008-11-27T01:52:00.007-05:00

The Toronto Public Library is currently on a donation drive. It's unfortunate that this starts right as we head into an "economic downturn" (I love that talking point).

Anyhow, this particular advertisement speaks directly about Leading to Reading. I have seen it on the Yonge Subway line.
Please visit the site here.

Dr Seuss tidbits

2008-11-19T01:02:00.004-05:00

A Dr. Seuss book displayed in the Leading to Reading program room is usually taken out by the end of the week. Here is a pretty cool article that goes over 10 interesting facts about his books.

Bennett Cerf, Dr. Seuss’ editor, bet him that he couldn’t write a book using 50 words or less. The Cat in the Hat was pretty simple, after all, and it used 225 words. Not one to back down from a challenge, Mr. Geisel started writing and came up with Green Eggs and Ham – which uses exactly 50 words. The 50 words, by the way, are: a, am, and, anywhere, are, be, boat, box, car, could, dark, do, eat, eggs, fox, goat, good, green, ham, here, house, I, if, in, let, like, may, me, mouse, not, on, or, rain, Sam, say, see, so, thank, that, the, them, there, they, train, tree, try, will, with, would, you.

Definitely fun reads.

Library Building 101

2008-11-04T17:10:00.008-05:00

Luckily, I got a practicum where the major project is turning a personal book collection into a catalogued library. This is essentially what I want to do. So far I've looked at library management software for small libraries, cataloguing and labelling options, circulation options, and book protection. All in all, this makes me very excited about starting a library.

In addition, I am taking a project management course. This is something that would be helpful to managing the process of building this library and its collection.

Some update on the collection:

There is probably somewhere between 400-700 books total.

The estimate is very wide because I have not visited where they are being stored. It might be more than the upper estimate. Additionally, I just managed to procure 40 children's books in great condition.

The collection includes a wide variety of books - from university textbooks to popular fiction and children's books.

Examples: Calculus for first year university, grammar guides, philosophy textbooks, the complete Harry Potter series, Captain Underpants, and plenty of popular fiction books. I'm excited about the prospect of giving a young child the opportunity to read Captain Underpants.

This is NOT an ESL program

2008-10-16T12:07:00.010-04:00

It isn't.

It says on the program application that this program is for children that can communicate in English.

Still, a lot of applications mention that their child has only been in Canada for 3 months and needs help.

So I've done my best to accept them into the program. Despite the disclaimer, I strongly believe in including these children. There are many reasons - some ideological, some personal and some from experience - that I believe this.

Why?

1) Non-English speaking children have the same difficulties that English speaking children do when learning to read - just for different reasons

Take for example, one child in the program who grew up on Korean - some English letters do not exists in the language and hence, children are lost when trying to figure out what sound each letter makes. For a child that grew up with Spanish - the alphabet is alike but the sounds can differ.

2) The transition is difficult for the child.

Imagine coming to a new country and not being able to communicate. In many ways, the dialogue that these children have in English with their partner during the time here is as much English they'll speak the whole week. Speaking, listening and reading are inter-related. It helps.

3) Attendance

The children generally have strong attendance records because their parents view the program as important to the development of their child. (This is not to say that other parents don't view the program as vital just more likely)

4) Appreciation

Appreciation is evident from both the student and the parent. Parents often point out that they try their best to provide help to their children. However, they have a difficult time because their language skills are limited as well. Thus, they truly appreciate the help that their children receive from the program. In turn, the volunteers feel that appreciation in their communication with the parents. It is important that volunteers see and feel the difference they make.

5) Development

Last year, most of the children who were new to the country made big gains in reading. As mentioned, once the children grasp the sounds that each letter and blend made, their development was astounding. Hence, they no longer needed to be in the program. They are able to read on their own with strong library habits (a side goal of the program).

Personally, I can relate to these children; having been born outside the country. Most children come to the program eager to learn, and "ESL" students are no different. They want to understand what the teacher is teaching them. The length of the program - 8 months is helpful too. By the third month of being in the program, the communication skills of most children have improved to the point that it's no longer an issue.

In some ways, the value behind accepting ESL students can be seen in the problem of not accepting them. Can you imagine sitting in class, trying to follow math, history or geography and not understanding the teacher nor the text? It's just as devastating to their development as not coming to class at all.

This was a grade three (who is in the program) child's response to the question, "Do you find math hard?" Not verbatim:

"Math was so easy before, because I learned this stuff before - but now it's hard because it's hard to understand what the teacher is saying. And the stuff is new to me. "

So what I'm trying to say is that, in many ways, Leading to Reading is an ESL program.

3 hours

2008-10-01T12:51:00.003-04:00

44/45 pairs to start.

Hopefully, all goes well.

"Opening Night"

2008-09-26T00:18:00.012-04:00

The 2008-2009 Fairview Leading to Reading program will go "live" on October 1, 2008. So far, I have managed to schedule roughly 43 sessions which is ahead of where I was last year at 36 (if I remember correctly). The soft capacity of the program is 66 sessions, with the absolute limit at 77. At its peak last year, the program had 72 sessions. This year my plan is to have less students (66-68) but have a more focused, personal approach to activities.

Some of the activities I plan to have this year are:

A dedicated word wall that will be up and running from the beginning of the program, with incentives that encourage children to use it. The wall is a spot where children can write down the definition of a word they learned at the program. Ultimately, the hope is that the wall becomes full of these definitions. I had this last year but only for the last month.

Learning Quizzes are work sheets that I have photocopied from a book where children read short passages about a particular topic. After finishing the blurbs, the quiz then asks a set of questions get progressively harder. The topics range from space to science to inventions. I have prepared a checklist so children can keep track of the ones they have finished. Hopefully, some children will be able to finish all of them.

The surveys will return from last year.

The pen pal program will return but with variations to make it easier for children to participate.

Using Excel, I plan to track the activity sheets that are made available to the students each week. My hope here is that this will allow me to see which sheets are popular with the kids, which ones volunteers find useful and to keep an inventory so that old sheets can be re-requested.

So here's to another year at Leading to Reading, may it be successful and rewarding for all the participants.

Starting a library

2008-09-24T01:11:00.008-04:00

A while ago, I posted that one of my goals was to build a library for my father's hometown Alang Alang, Philippines. Once I am employed full time, I plan to fully pursue this project. However, this does not mean I haven't started securing resources, or thinking about how to get books now.

As of now, my parents have been cleaning out both their basement and garage yielding a suprisingly large amount of books. Many of the books have been published within the last 15 years and represent the beginning of the collection for the future library. The boxes of books are currently being stored at my father's office. I can recall at least 6 boxes of books, with likely over 200 titles. A good number...so far.

My plan is to convert my father's childhood home, or something nearby into the library.

Here are some photos:

Bring over two dozen book shelves, along with these books and off it begins.

As for developing the collection, I was thinking that I could either solicit donations in the form of books (old encyclopedias, magazines in good condition, children's books) or cash. I would then turn the cash into a book buying sprees at a local Value Village. I visited there to look at their books for sale, and children's paperbacks were $1 (Occasionally, they have 50% off sales thus allowing for 100 children's books for $50).

Lastly, the plan is to use the classic Balikbayan (translated as "return to home) box to get these books accross the ocean. Companies usually charge about $70-80 to ship a box full of goods back to the Philippines - with no weight limit.

The idea is still mostly an image in my mind, but the seeds have been sown. It began as a general idea for a children's library - but I believe that a larger library serving a wider audience would be of more benefit to the community

Leading To Reading 2009

2008-09-04T17:17:00.001-04:00

Leading to Reading 2009 is upon us.
I look forward to an exciting and innovative campaign.

It starts October 1.

The Word of the Year (2007-2008)

2008-05-29T02:44:00.003-04:00

The 2007-2008 School Session Leading to Reading word of the year is:

"Twitchy"

Defined (by the student) as: Always moving like the whiskers of a rat.

The End of the Year!

2008-05-29T02:12:00.004-04:00

The Leading to Reading program finished with a celebration tonight. I enjoyed it a lot, but not without some disappointment.

It was supposed to be in a theater setting and thus, planned accordingly. The party was set up in an awards show style, where there were several categories students could win prizes in.

These were categories were:

Winners of three year end contests
1)Fill in the comic strip
2)"The best moment at Leading to Reading"
3)"One word I learned this year"
"Pen Pals" of the year award
Great Attendance awards
Each child that showed up would also be awarded their "Certificate of Achievement".

My main motive for presenting the party in this way was so that the children would be praised as much as possible. Each certificate and prize handed out would turn the theater into a loud cheering section. The applause would certainly give the children a larger sense of accomplishment, and rightfully so. Essentially, it was to make the children feel that they were part of something really special. My planning was centered around this.

It turned out that the theater at Fairview library was double booked, so the whole party had to be moved into two different rooms upstairs. Weekday attendees were put into one room while Saturday attendees were in another. This was the most disappointing part of the party. I felt that all the children should celebrate their deeds together.

Nonetheless, the turnout was good for both rooms (Maybe 100+ guests). There were hearty rounds of applause (but less than it would have been in the theater) and most children seemed to leave in good spirits.

In the next few days, I will publish some of the children's contest entries (anonymously, of course).

Your child's name and early reading

2008-05-15T14:53:00.005-04:00

I was lying in bed after drinking a huge serving of bubble tea about an hour before. Bubble tea is infused with a lot of sugar, and this left me restless and unable to sleep.

This led to me thinking about a possible relationship between early reading skills and a child's name. Now, I haven't looked around to see if there has been a study on a topic like this yet but here's what went through my mind.

The thought process was as follows:

1) The first words that a child is likely to recognize and read is mom, mama, papa, pa and their name.
2) Most names have phonetic sounds. ie. Philip = Ph = F or Jane = a = long a
3) Children can first learn the specific phonetic sound(s) from their name and apply it to another word.

For example, Jane understands how "Jane" is pronounced. She knows her name is not pronounced "Jay-nee". Which means, when learning the word "Lane" or "Cane", it might be natural for her to pronounce it correctly, instead of "Lay-nee" or "Cay-nee". In other words, her name has a subtle effect on her early reading and pronounciation of words that have similar phonetics.

I do believe that this is something that likely occurs at the very early stages of a child's literacy development. However, it's impact on actual development might be very little. It might be alot, ala the butterfly effect. I haven't thought about that yet.

What should my kid be reading at their age?

2008-03-26T17:46:00.012-04:00

The Washington Post recently published an article (sign in required) discussing the difficulty of finding age appropriate books for children. This goes beyond determining whether the child can read the actual words on the page. It also includes whether the themes and scenes that a book make contain are something the child should be exposed to. Some example are children reading books on slavery, or ones that contain murder and death.

The article writes:

"Age appropriateness must be considered along with the value of the material as
a whole, particularly in relation to educational objectives and how much exposure the typical student might have to a subject, the guidelines say. The task has been complicated because today's children are exposed to more difficult themes earlier than ever and are often assumed to be emotionally maturing faster, too. "

This is an issue that I've faced when selecting books to display in the program room. A lot of times as I'm scouring the children's non-fiction books, I find myself tempted to select children's books that about the following topics (for example): terrorism, God and wars. Often though, I pass over these books and select lighter topics such as Volcanoes, Dump trucks and railroads.

The question that the article clearly delves into is when these books and themes would be appropriate for children. They are, after all, in the children's area and written for children. Obviously, these two criteria do not alone determine their appropriateness for children.

The second issue is the difference between the reading level and the maturity of a child. Some children are fantastic readers and if you asked them to read a John Grisham novel, they could. But there is a disconnect between what the child can sound out and pronounce and the concepts that they grasp. Most children will not understand the concept of suing someone. And we do not expect them to until later in life.

Another issue that plagues children in a classroom setting is the differences between the children. In any group setting, there will be variation between the skills of the best and worst. As groups get larger, those at the end of each spectrum (very behind and very advanced) are affected the worst. In other words, there is great advantage to treating each child individually.

Personally, I believe in challenging children. If they can read most of the words within a book, I would at least let them continue. On one hand, some children may not be able to handle the concept of slavery at such a young age. But, in the long run, I think that a child's exposure to such topics does not do any harm. At worst, I believe that children who do not understand the concepts will simply forget about them until it may re-emerge later on in their studies. At the very least they are exposed to harder words allowing for an expansion of their vocabulary. At best, they emerge having learned a little bit more about the real world, reality.

I think of it like math. It's only beneficial if a child can understand or master the concept of division earlier so they can move on to much more complex concepts such as order of operations. Slavery is/was a fact of life, and there are bigger issues that the child will face. It does not necessarily remove their innocence, but informs and opens their eyes to the world that surrounds them.

Survey says...

2008-03-20T18:32:00.007-04:00

One of the fun activities that I have created as part of the Leading to Reading program is the weekly survey question. Each week since October, I have been asking children a random question for fun. Sometimes it's about their favorites, sometimes it's about their opinion and sometimes it's totally crazy. This process is complete with individual ballots and a box where children deposit their "vote". The results are then tabulated by the "returning officer"(me) and displayed board on a tri-weekly basis.

Here's one example:

Which word (synonym) for party sounds the coolest?

1) Hullabaloo
2) Soiree
3) Function
4) Mingle
5) Gala

Expanding on the survey idea, I am in the process of creating a Family Feud game for the program using answers given by children. Massive open ended surveys were handed out to the volunteer-student pairs, and their answers were used to create the game.

For example,

Can you name something that is white?

Children love to give their opinion and this provides them an oppurtunity to express themselves. Some volunteers have used the survey as conversation starters, or to get to know their student a little more. Some children look forward to answering the question every week. Who knows, maybe on a much deeper level, this trains the children for voting. :)

In fact, my very first survey question coincided with the 2007 Ontario provincial election. I asked the children what their favorite colour was. The options were green(Green Party), blue (Conservative), red (Liberal), orange (NDP) and "I would not choose any of these colours"(Abstain). Blue won over red 14 to 13, with green coming in at 10, orange at 5 and "abstaining" at 6.

Oh, in case you were wondering: Hullabaloo IS the coolest synonym for party and the number one answer for something that is white is snow.

The Virtuous Cycle that Confidence Brings

2008-03-19T02:20:00.008-04:00

Just before the Christmas break, one of the children(grade 2) in the Leading to Reading program came up to me as he was leaving and said, "Can I have a new partner?" His father immediately came to me to say that his son did not mean his request, and that they would be back the next week with the same partner.

Naturally, I had to talk to the partner and see what was going on. I was shocked, since his partner was very encouraging and kind to him. She was also very open to me about his progress in the program which, up until that point, can been described as frustrating. From her perspective, the student was a bright boy but was not concentrating on reading (often asking to play games), and lost interest very quickly. She had suggested numerous books to him but was mostly met with resistance and rejection.

I decided to try something with the student and the partner. I told the volunteer to ask the student what he wants to be when he grows up, as well as to name five things he thought were "cool". It turned out that the boy wanted to be a police officer when he grew up, and liked all sorts of machines including cars, trains and airplanes.

Using the children's section of the Fairview library, I was going to grab two large print non fiction children's books that covered these topics every week. For example, I would take a book that covered was all about being a police officer but had at most, 20 words per page.

When he was shown the first police officer book a couple of weeks later his eyes lit up with enthusiasm. He had much difficulty reading it, but his interest overcame it and he finished the book. Moreover, while reading the book, he had so many questions including, "What does FBI mean?" and "What's the police chief do?".

The next week he read a book on trains, which then led to many questions about "how coal is made?" While I was unable to find a book about coal for him, I did find one on mining gold. He read that one too. Which led to a book about oil, which led to a book about ships and big trucks, which led to a book about jets and so forth.

Last week, I found another book on police officers which I left on the display table for all the children to browse. This student came about five minutes early, which allowed me to chat with him. After a few questions on how he was doing, I asked him if he wanted to choose a book to read today from the display table. Naturally, he picked the book on police officers. What he did next brought a smile to my face: He sat down and started reading the book out loud by himself without any help.

When his partner came and joined him, he continued to read with great confidence and appropriate tone. After finishing the book, his partner praised him for his great work. As he put away the book, he stopped by a couple of signs posted beside the display and began reading that as well.

He has made enormous improvements since that day in December. As his confidence grows, his focus had grown and so has his interest in reading. As his interest in reading grows, he practices reading more and thus gains more confidence in reading larger and larger words. This is the virtuous cycle.

This is why I'm so happy to be part of this program.
This is why I do what I do.

Inability to sound out words - Building Phonemic awareness

2008-03-15T00:31:00.007-04:00

I got the chance to work with a grade two child who was born in a foreign country and began his childhood by speaking French, and limited English.

Our session began by reading "Little Cloud" by Eric Carle which he finished but with great difficulty. He was having lots of trouble with words that were more than two syllables long. For example, he would stare blankly at words that he felt he could not read.

The strategy that was used for him was to start from scratch, by teaching him the basic sounds made by each letter of the Alphabet. By giving him giving the basic sounds that each letter makes, it is hoped that the child will begin sounding out words, develop confidence to attack "trickier" words and improve over time as he learns more letters sounds, blends and other rules of sounding out letter combinations.

This website provides great structure and lessons plans to use for a student that requires this type of help.

http://www.readingtarget.com/index.htm

Building a Blog

2008-03-12T02:25:00.004-04:00

This blog is still fairly new, and it's still under construction so please watch for changes.

Here's short term to-do list:

Adding useful links that parents/teachers/educators would like to visit on a consistent basis.
Continue to research and learn about techniques that aid and help a child read
Be innovative, bringing fresh ideas to the Leading to Reading program

Ryan

Cool Tool - BookAlike

2008-03-08T09:42:00.006-05:00

This very interesting tool allows someone to determine the grade level of books. It's quite helpful for children looking for books that are their "grade level". Also, there is a tool that allows you to find books that are of similar level as well as ones that are X levels up or X levels down.

It's kinda like a Reader's advisory machine.

BookAlike

Let's take, for example, one of my favorite books to recommend to children: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

Apparently, it has a reading level of 5.9. Some books of similar reading level are Alice in Wonderland (6.1) and The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe(6.1). Something a little harder might be The Wizard of Oz (6.9) and James and the Giant Peach (6.7). Something a little easier might be Pippi Longstockings (5.2).

Granted, child development is not uniform and users must be careful about forcing a child into reading a book that they are not really ready for. Nonetheless, this tool should be helpful for parents, teachers and tutors alike.

A link to the tool will be added to "Useful Links" on the right.

Vacation

2008-03-08T03:04:00.005-05:00

Over Christmas, I visited the Philippines for the first time in twenty years. The vacation was, in a nutshell, really awesome.

Two really interesting things I got to do were:

1) Reading books (in english) to children at a daycare. They were The Three Billy Goats and The Sad Prince.

2) Speak to children about working hard in school and getting a proper education.

Visiting the daycare left me with an idea to build a mini children's library in my fathers home province of Leyte, Philippines. My goal, once I begin my career, is to collect used/older/donated children's books and ship them off to Leyte. I will call this the Alang Alang Children's Library Project (AACLP).

Improving Focus

2008-03-08T02:44:00.008-05:00

A parent complained to me that their child had difficulty staying focused while reading a book.

One suggestion I made to the parent was to begin by having the child read a longer book (that cannot be finished in one sitting) for 5/10 minutes every night as part of a bed time routine. Much like running, 10 minutes may seem like a long time the first time you run but over time it becomes much easier and easier. Longer books also lend themselves to great "pause points" where you can leave children in suspense as to what happens in next in the story.

As long as the child is interested for those 5 to 10 minutes, their focus should gradually improve as they get accustomed to the routine. I think that is one of the strengths of the Leading to Reading program. As children come in once a week during the same hour over a period of time, they begin to get into a comfortable reading routine which is helpful for their reading habits.

Logic Puzzles

2008-03-08T02:29:00.004-05:00

One of my old teachers used to give us logic puzzles in order to help us concentrate on what we were reading. So, I thought it would be a wonderful idea to distribute logic puzzles to students in the program. This is the first example I came up with:

Mary and John are filling our a survey that asks them two questions. The first question is "what is your favorite color?" while the second question is "what is your favorite food?" The two possible colors were red and blue while the two possible foods were pizza and hamburger. Find out what each child answered by reading the questions carefully.

a) Mary has the same favorite color as John but not the same favorite food.
b) Mary's favorite color is blue and doesn't like pizza at all.

While some kids will breeze through this example, logic puzzles still make children pause and think about what they are reading. Once they encounter more difficult ones, not only will it develop their comprehension skills but also introduce them to deductive logic.

Pen Pals Help

2007-11-28T17:48:00.001-05:00

So, I started the Pen Pals program and about a third of the students in the program have decided to participate. Pretty good turn out, I must say.

Anyhow, their first letters consisted of them writing "Introduction" letters. Afterwards, I had them deposit their letters in a half decent replica of a mailbox I had created. Their letters turned out to be pretty good on the whole.

I included a hand out that helped them format the letter. Here is that handout, it might be useful for a parent helping their child write letters to Santa Claus or their holiday "gift giver" :) Just change "pen pal" to Santa etc.

Hello (student),

The first letter is very hard. What should you say to your pen pal?

Well, here is a list of things you might want to say:

1) Who and how are you? Maybe, you can tell your pen pal something about you. Like your name, some of your favourite things, what grade you are in, what school you go to.
a. Some things you can say:

A. Hi, My name is…
B. I like…
C. I think it’s cool when…
D. My favourite ________ because _______
E. I live near…
F. I go to _______ school
G. Today, I feel...

2) Ask your pen pal about who they are. It might be rude to just talk about yourself!

A. How are you today?
B. What school do you go to?
C. What is your favourite…
D. Do you like…

3) Remember to say hello and good bye.
A. Hi, my name is
B. Dear ….
C. I hope to hear from you soon!
D. Have a great day!

Those are some tips for writing this first letter.

Good Luck!

Internet brownouts - here come the reports!

2007-11-25T01:15:00.002-05:00

Here's another article on the internet needing an infrastructure update. Maybe we'll have to pay $10 extra on our internet bill to subscribe to the new pipeline.

We need to upgrade our internet!

Is internet going the way of cable tv?

Internet like Electricity?

2007-11-21T23:59:00.001-05:00

Is this fear mongering that our valuable, freely available internet needs an infrastructure upgrade?

Who will pay for it? Corporations? At what expense?

Internet Blackouts

Very interesting turn of events...

Business Process Re-Design

2007-11-20T03:37:00.003-05:00

I created a flow chart to show the steps on creating a library card online from the perspective of a user.

Ryan's Flowchart for making a library card online

Check it out

Use music to help your child read!

2007-11-02T11:01:00.002-04:00

I'm sure a lot of people are familiar with this song:

What the world needs now is love, sweet love. It's the only thing that there's just too little of.
What the world needs now is love, sweet love. No, not just for some but for everyone. We don't need another mountain, there are mountains and hillsides. Enough to climb. There are oceans and rivers. Enough to cross, enough to last till the end of time.

What the world needs now is love, sweet love. No not just for some but for everyone. We don't need another meadow. There are cornfields and wheatfields. Enough to grow and there are sunbeams and moonbeams. Enough to shine!
So listen, If you want to know what the world needs now is love, sweet love.
It's the only thing that there's just too little of.
What the world needs now is love, sweet love. No not just for some, but for everyone.

If you are not sure where that comes from, it's from Burt Bacharach's song What the World Needs now.

The beauty of songs is that it has a lot of repetition. Children are usually helped by the repetition of words in a book. Try using this repetition in songs to help a child's reading. I also really like this idea because once the child reads through it a few times, a parent can play the recording of the song and help the child understand the idea of flow. Afterwards, you can ask a number of comprehension songs. Ie. What does this writer think the world needs now? Why? For Who?

Obviously, some songs are better than others. I mean, no one should be using 50 Cent's I Get Money. However, there are a lot of really nice songs out there that are child friendly.

Some examples:
That's What Friends are For (lyrics)
Lean on Me (Lyrics)
If I had a Million Dollars (lyrics)

Child Assessments

2007-10-28T22:15:00.001-04:00

A child has a problem when it comes to reading. But how can you tell what they are having difficulty with?

I found this article on Readingrockets.com, that shows you how to assess a child and what they may be having a hard time with. I'm going to use it from now on to see where a child really needs help. Now of course, it's always important not to label a child, but this assessment provides a place to start.

Assessment

One thing I have to make sure of is that the child feels comfortable. I usually ask them 10 questions about themselves. For example, I ask them what their favorite colour is. I try to make sure the child doesn't think they are being tested.

Article Review

2007-10-28T22:06:00.003-04:00

I reviewed this article recently:

Do Libraries Matter: The Rise of Library 2.0? By Ken Chad and Paul Miller

I thought that the paper had some interesting ideas about the future of the library.
However, there were some issues regarding how realistic this concept is, especially cost wise for most public libraries.

VOLUNTEER!

2007-10-06T15:35:00.001-04:00

There is a need for volunteers at the Toronto Public Library. Especially, in former western North York. Ie. Downsview, Yorkwoods, Woodview Park.

Basically, you'll be a reading mentor with a child for 1 hour a week, for the whole school year. It's a great oppurtunity to give back, help a child and feel good.

Volunteer

The "pen pal" idea

2007-10-06T15:25:00.001-04:00

A lot of parents have asked if I could help their children improve their writing skills. They tell me that their child is an above average reader but has problems expressing their thoughts on paper.

Hopefully, this idea will help them out. Since email has become so pervasive in our lives, I think that the "pen pal" is a lost activity. Well, I'm trying to bring it back. Kinda.

The Leading to Reading program runs for 3 days: Wednesday, Thursdays and Saturdays. What the plan here is to partner up participants of the Leading to Reading program with another who attends on a different day. Ie. a Wednesday participant will be partnered up with another who attends on Saturday. The ideal is to have them writing letters to each other back and forth, in order to improve their writing abilities.

Here's to the experiment!

About Ry Ry

2007-09-25T00:57:00.003-04:00

So, I haven't really introduced myself.

Well, shall I do it in point form? Nah.

My name is Ryan Saavedra. I was born in Manila, Philippines where I lived (Agro Homes, Muntinlupa) until I was 6. My family then immigrated to Toronto, Canada in 1989.

I got hired by the Toronto Public Library when I was 16, back in 1999 as a page. Luckily, (for school financing) got an internal promotion and became a clerk in 2004. Finished my undergraduate at the University of Toronto in 2006, after one victory lap. Did ok, but admittedly well in my last two years. Then, after a mind altering quote from one of my managers, "What librarians do here (my branch) is not really representative of the profession", I applied for the Information Studies program at my alma matter. Now here I sit, writing up library/help with reading blog.

I got involved in a reading program(aka Leading to Reading) at the Toronto Public Library in the summer of 2007. Absolutely loved it and regretted that due to the nature of my school (and 2.5 hour one way commute), I did not participate earlier. Now, as of September 2007, I will be monitoring one of the programs, located at Fairview branch.

Few ticks about me:

I love both playing and watching sports.
I love the Toronto Raptors (to tears).
My favorite food is Vietnamese, although I miss my mom's cooking.
My favorite book as an adult is To Kill a Mockingbird.
My favorite kids book is Fantastic Mr. Fox.
My favorite TV show is House.
My two favorite movies are Fight Club and Ciudad de Deus.
I like cheesy Filipino movies, with Blue Moon as my favorite (Say hi if you know it!).
Truth be told, I'm scared of heights. A lot.
And oh, did I mention I love the Toronto Raptors?

I met a few children over the last week to see whether they were "right" for the reading program I will be monitoring. "Right" in this case, refers to whether they need help or not with reading, in the sense of being behind the Ontario curriculum's expectations. In any case, I asked them politely for these answers in an attempt to make them feel more comfortable. Seemingly, it worked!

Sight Words

2007-09-21T01:52:00.002-04:00

Theschoolbell.com has a great primer on the use of sight words aka "Dolch" words. These are a set of 220 words which can not really be taught through any other way except repetition of use. Also, these words appear with such a high frequency that they can comprise 60% of words used in a typical children's book. Essentially, these should be some of the first words to emphasize beginning readers.

You can find that here

Meeting the Parents

2007-09-21T01:33:00.002-04:00

Some things I've noticed about parents and their children who "have" reading difficulties:

1) Parents have some high expectations for their children.

2) Kids who usually read "too fast" are highly intelligent.

3) A majority of problems with reading involves not understanding what the words mean.

Some tricks I've tried:

1)

Assure parents that "good" reading is just like a light bulb. It will come on, and when it does we can see that things that were hidden by darkness were there before.
A lot of parents press their children, which leads to the kids hating reading more and more, becoming a vicious cycle. Watch out for that.
Constant positive reinforcement is a good thing. Sometimes all it takes is a hi-5 to get a child to read the next page.

Explain the importance of periods and commas. A lot kids read right through them. A neat trick to tell the children that periods are there to remind you to take a breath while commas let you blink your eyes.
The child may feel that reading faster not with more accuracy makes them a better reader. Remind them that reading is not a race.

Consistently ask the child if they understand a word vital to understand the sentence or paragraph
Ask the child what they think will happen next.

What really drives our profession.

2007-09-19T00:23:00.001-04:00

Literacy. It really, from the bottom line, drives the Library profession. The fact that kids like to read, grow up reading, learn most subjects by reading books underlies the basis of our (soon to be) careers. Our society (Canada) gathers, computes and passes on information, mostly but not exclusively in English. What our youngest then learn, from nearly the very beginning of their lives, is how to decode that text.

The goal of this blog is to help parents, guardians and teachers find resources and materials that aim to help improve the reading abilities of young children. It may review such resources and materials. It may discuss some trends. Hopefully, it will become a place where various teachers of literacy come to exchange ideas, tips and tricks on helping kids improve their reading skills.