Misadventures of the Monster Librarian

who needs sleep?

2012-02-02T01:40:00.003-05:00

I have been struggling with some can't-sleep-ed-ness lately...I don't quite think it's insomnia yet...not sure what else to call it.

When I can't sleep--even though I have on my fluffy sleepy-time-make-me-too-warm-and-comatose socks on, I've fired up iTunes and have my sleepy time jazz play list on, and I've read myself silly--I turn to poetry. I stumbled upon this Yeats poem, which as you can see, has nothing to do with sleeplessness, but was lovely. So I am sharing.

"The Old Men Admiring Themselves in the Water"
I heard the old, old men say
'Everything alters,
And one by one we drop away.'
They had hands like claws, and their knees
Were twisted like the old thorn trees
By the waters.
I heard the old, old men say
'All that's beautiful drifts away
Like the waters.'--W.B. Yeats

Not even Yeats is helping. I am switching to Iron & Wine and hoping for the best...

But before I go, I wave a sleepy hand of hello to new follower, Dave from My Little Corner of the World. Welcome, friend.

The Voice

2012-02-01T00:21:00.000-05:00

sigh

2012-01-31T11:15:00.000-05:00

Ray Lamontagne - The Man in Me (Bob Dylan Cover)

Found this gem the other night--felt apropos since I was thinking of my life at the Farm, my old work, my old boss (who is a HUGE Dylan fan). And since I am a HUGE Ray fan--you're welcome.

i heart the muppets

2012-01-31T10:55:00.000-05:00

The Muppets Attack Fox News

This is great.

books turned Oscar nominated movie

2012-01-29T12:37:00.002-05:00

I borrowed this list from EarlyWord--2011 Oscar nominated movies that were all based on books.

The Adventures of Tintin — Best Music (John Williams) – Tintin Teaser

Albert Nobbs – Best Actress (Glenn Close), Best Supporting Actress (Janet McTeer), Best Makeup

The Descendants — Best Picture, Best Actor (George Clooney), Best Director (Alexander Payne), Best Editing (Kevin Tent), Best Adapted Screenplay

Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close — Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor (Max von Sydow)

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo – Best Actress (Rooney Mara), Best Cinematography (Jeff Cronenweth), Best Editing (Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall), Best Sound Editing

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 – Best Art Direction, Best Makeup, Best Visual Effects

The Help – Best Picture, Best Actress (Viola Davis), Best Supporting Actress (Jessica Chastain), Best Supporting Actress (Octavia Spencer)

Hugo — Best Picture, Best Director (Martin Scorsese), Best Cinematography (Robert Richardson), Best Art Direction, Best Costume, Best Editing (Thelma Schoonmaker), Best Music (Howard Shore), Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing, Best Adapted Screenplay

Jane Eyre – Best Costume

Moneyball – Best Picture, Best Actor (Brad Pitt), Best Supporting Actor (Jonah Hill), Best Editing (Christopher Tellefsen), Best Adapted Screenplay

My Week With Marilyn – Best Actress (Michelle Williams), Best Supporting Actor (Kenneth Branagh)

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy – Best Actor (Gary Oldman), Best Music (Alberto Iglesias), Best Adapted Screenplay

War Horse – Best Picture, Best Cinematography (Janusz Kaminski), Best Music (John Williams, Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing

Also, wanted to welcome new follower, Brett from Transformed Non-Conformist. Welcome, friend!

the storytime that never was

2012-01-28T15:54:00.000-05:00

I was supposed to do a storytime this morning, but apparently it was never advertised, so of course, no kids showed up. Thought I would share the lesson plan for the winter storytime that never was:

Into myself and theme: WINTER (again...sigh)
Music/Movement: "Shake your sillies out," #13, Raffi's More Singable Songs
Book 1: A Hat for Minerva Louise, Janet Morgan Stoeke
Prop Story: a shortened version of The Mitten, Jan Brett w/puppets and mittens (one small, one GINORMOUS!)
Music/Movement: Greg and Steve's "Freeze," #14, Kid in Motion CD
Book 2: I love snow, Cynthia Rothman OR Jacket I Wear In The Snow, Shirley Neitzel
Prop Story: "The Great Snow," my retelling of "Papa's Teepee" from Handmade Tales, Stories to Make and Take, Dianne Las Casas
Book 3: Snowy Day, Ezra Jack Keats
Book 4: The Snowmen Pop-Up Book, Carolyn Buehner OR OH!, Kevin Henkes
Rhyme/Poem: "Bear in There," Shel Silverstein, A Light in the Attic (see below)
Song/Movement: "Wiggle and Freeze," w/shakers, #10, Ready to Learn CD

"A Bear in There"
There's a polar bear
In our Frigidaire—
He likes it 'cause it's cold in there.
With his seat in the meat
And his face in the fish
And his big hairy paws
In the buttery dish,
He's nibbling the noodles,
He's munching the rice,
He's slurping the soda,
He's licking the ice.
And he lets out a roar
If you open the door.
And it gives me a scare
To know he's in there—
That polary bear
In our Fridgitydaire.
--Shel Silverstein

Sorry for the huge, weird print and layout--I just need to stop trying to copy and paste from Word.

may be Will Ferrel's finest

2012-01-28T11:32:00.001-05:00

Hari Kari Will Ferrel SNL sketch.flv

Ok, I swear I will post real stuff soon, not just videos. Our friends Chris and Kate are coming down from Michigan today; looking forward to a good dinner and drinks tonight and lots of laughs. Can't wait! Can't it be 5pm yet, so I can leave work!?!

i almost want a soccer mom van now

2012-01-27T16:10:00.000-05:00

SWAGGER WAGON Official Toyota Music Video HD

This was great.

at least he tells the truth

2012-01-27T11:03:00.002-05:00

when you need to laugh

2012-01-26T00:42:00.001-05:00

Bridesmaids the car scene

OMG! I love this movie so much--I watch scenes from it when I want to laugh. Never fails.

on silent haunches

2012-01-25T20:21:00.001-05:00

This winter in Cleveland the weather has been strange. After all the melted snow then rain, then rain, then rain, I am wishing for things to dry up. I am wishing I were back at the Farm on one particular hot summer night, when a coolness surged in and surprised the fields into a mist that slid across the road and crept around the plants in my garden. I am wishing I was taking one of my "no talk walks" with my friend Sierra and admiring the beauty that is the Farm in any season. I am wishing that this hollow lonliness, which I've felt these past couple of days would stop lingering--like fog.

"Fog"
The fog comes
on little cat feet.

It sits looking
over harbour and city
on silent haunches
and then moves on.
--Carl Sandburg

a not so tall tale

2012-01-25T00:10:00.000-05:00

Once upon a time in the land of Liberry there were was an amazing building called the Fortress of Knowledge. The Fortress of Knowledge wasn't really a fortress against any enemies, but rather acted as a fortress against stupidity, for anyone no matter how old, who came into the Fortress of Knowledge and tried earnestly to learn the secrets of the books; who studied the ancient maps and scrolls of Pages du' Yellow; who quietly tried to master the maze of Internetia--any of these persons would benefit from the Fortress and fend off ignorance for another day.

There was much activity in the Fortress, both good and bad. Many wonderful pupils came to study the many arts made accessible in the Fortress, these were people of all ages, from the oldest of the old to the youngest of the young. Many were the variety of these pupils: quiet, lively, talkative (in a Fortress-volume'd voice), studious, or thoughtful. These pupils visited the Fortress, respectfully observing the customs of the Fortress and those of polite society. And yet, as often happens, there were also those who came to the Fortress of Knowledge with dark and lazy thoughts in their hearts and minds; those who spoke loudly in the sacred space; those who were rude to the scholars and wizards who tended the Fortress; those who violated the rules of the Fortress and disregarded proper etiquette towards the fellow Liberry-ians. And for no better reasons than that the Fortress provided shelter against the winter these ogres would frequent daily.

And it was on one particular day, (not particular for the particularity of its happening, just particular in the particularity of it being a day) that some of the troublesome ogres stomped up to the Fortress--stewing and fuming outside the gates, riotously snarling at each other--when two of the females of that species began to fight. Fortunately for the Fortress of Knowledge the nearby Knights' station is not yet a stone's throw away, so within minutes the Knights were wresting the ogres from each others' grips and dragging them off to the local dungeon, shackled and yet unashamed.

The wizards and scholars who tend to the Fortress of Knowledge were disgusted.
"Why must the ogres act this way?"
"Why can't these ogres behave like the pupils do?"
And yet there is no answer. And unfortunately, unlike other fairy tales, this one doesn't end happily...doesn't end at all really. There is nothing that the wizards and scholars can do, but keep an even more trained eye on the gate to the Fortress...waiting, wondering what the ogres might do next...

and the Caldecott winner is...

2012-01-23T18:20:00.002-05:00

Chris Raschka’s “A Ball for Daisy” won the Randolph Caldecott award for best illustrated book, announced today by the American Library Association (ALA).

And feel free to read a little review here by Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast--this site rocks!

and the Newbury winner is...

2012-01-23T18:19:00.000-05:00

Congratulations to Jack Gantos' for taking the Newberry Award for his 2011, Dead End in Norvelt.

I just ordered this book this morning, looking forward to reading it.

Also, here is a list of the School Library Journal's June mid-year guesses at who they thought had a good chance in the running for the Newberry and Caldecott medals...I love looking over things like this, almost always a good list of books to check out!

C'mon'n ride that train

2012-01-23T11:12:00.000-05:00

I was supposed to have a Pre-school storytime last Friday, but wouldn't you know it, they cancelled a half an hour before our storytime. I was ok with that. It was a slow Friday and it felt nice to just sit at the desk and chat with the othe librarian, catch up on some future storytime planning, and catch up on some library journal reading.

Thought I would share my Pre-school storytime on TRANSPORTATION

1. Welcome and Introduce myself and theme
2. Music/Movement: “Shake my sillies out,” #13 Raffi’s More Singable Songs
3. Movement: “I'm A Little Airplane,”
(tune "I'm a Little Teapot")
I'm a little airplane,
(children raise arms at sides to shoulder height.)
I can fly!
(tilt back and forth like a plane coming in for landing)
I look low (look around the ground)
And I look high. (look around the sky)
When I get all revved up.
(Make engine noises)
Watch me fly,
(Children raise arms to shoulder height.)
Lifting off
Into the sky! (Point up)
4. Book 1: Red Light, Green Light, Anastasia Suen OR The Seals on the Bus, Lenny Hort
5. Music/Movement: “The Wheels on the bus”
6. Flannel Board: “Green plane, green plane, what do you see?”
7. Music/Movement: “Stop!” #12, Sesame Street’s Sing-a-long Travel Song
8. Book 2: Sheep in a Jeep, Nancy Shaw
9. Music/Movement: “If you’re happy and you know it”
10. Music/Movement: “Drive my car,” Elmo covering The Beatles, #7 Sesame Street’s Sing-a-long Travel Song w/shakers
11. Book 3: Chugga, Chugga, Choo Choo, Kevin Lewis
12. Book 4: Snappy Sounds: VROOM!
13. Music/Movement: “The Locomotion” (cover) w/bells #5, Drew’s Famous Boy’s Birthday Party Music

*I timed myself during my practice run and this was about 30 mins (obviously this varies if the kids are losing their damn minds and you have to go faster/slower/answer lots of questions, etc.) I always plan too much and cut out things that won't work, based on my crowd, as I go.*)

And if you want a hipper ending, you can always do "C'mon ride it (the train)" instead of "The Locomotion." You know you want to wear white silk short suit outfit (with matching hat) and dance really sexy! Just don't dance like the guy after white-silk-short-suit-woman. DON'T!

C'mon Ride It (That Train), Quad City DJs

Cleveland pics

2012-01-21T22:33:00.003-05:00

West Side Market Cafe outside West Side Market

Cuts of beef and cow tongues, West Side Market

Ursula Von Rydingsgard pieces, Cleveland MOCA

Crepes Du Luxe, West Side Market

Crepes De Luxe, West Side Market

Crepes and people watching at West Side Market

The gorgeous architecture at West Side Market

Ursula Von Rydingsgard, Cleveland MOCA

Presti's Bakery, Little Italy, Cleveland

And thanks to my bestie Kim for allowing me to post her pics on my blog!

our first visitor

2012-01-21T11:28:00.000-05:00

Last weekend was a great weekend. Kim, (my best friend since age 12) came for a visit, arriving late Saturday night. Both of us were wide awake and so spent an hour chatting and laughing over high school, middle school and elementary school yearbooks which I'd unearthed when moving. Yikes. It's funny how some memories are so clear and others so muddled. We got a kick out of reading some of the messages in the yearbooks which ranged from the cliche, "have a great summer!" to the more specific, inside joke ones which always included cryptic messages, nicknames and such. Apparently I was always boy crazy...? "Good luck with the boys this summer!" appeared in both my 3rd and 4th grade yearbooks, as well as high school ones. Hmmm...

Sunday was a lovely day: breakfast with the bestie, then meeting up with A3 and Dayna for an adventurous day which included:

Driving through (and getting turned around several times!) Cleveland; especially gorgeous is a city called Bratenhal, which is next to Cleveland, known for its HUGE mansions all along Lake Erie. Since moving I've enjoyed long drives along Lakeshore Blvd. (283) which runs from Bratenhal way out past Mentor on the Lake, though at times it dips away from Lake Erie.
Presti's Bakery, Little Italy, Cleveland
MOCA saw the very cool Ursula Von Rydingsvard wood and graphite sculptures
Tried to go to Great Lakes Brewery, but apparently they're closed on Sundays, so we had cocktails/beer across the street at some swanky swank place. The drinks were good, but the atmosphere was a little too upitty, bordering on a chilly reception.
Then Kim and I went to A3 and Dayna's new digs, ate dinner and taught them how to play Settlers of Catan.

Monday was Martin Luther King Jr. Day observed at the Library so we were off (YAY for 3 day weekends), so Dayna met up with Kim and I and the three of us headed back down to Cleveland and into OhioCity to check out the West Side Market. Celebrating it's 100th Anniversary/Birthday this year, the West Side Market is an indoor bazaar of sorts full of vendors selling everything from meats, cheeses, dairy products to pre-made pizzas, Cleveland roast coffee and even has a crepes stand--Crepes De Luxe. Since we hadn't eaten breakfast we headed directly for the corner where Crepes De Luxe and City Roast Coffee and Tea are located and got something to drink and crepes and headed up to the balcony benches to people watch and stuff our faces. So good. I recommend the "Complete," which has ham, egg, and Gruyere cheese.

During my first trip I scored three pounds of thick cut bacon for $9; three pounds of ground sirloin for $12 and Hazelnut coffee from City Roast. Already enjoying the bacon, can't wait to dig into the coffee and sample the ground sirloin--can you say meatloaf!

We said goodbye to Kim, then Dayna and I headed to the dollar show and saw The Help. Love that movie, and love weekends like last weekend. There is nothing better than discovering new things in my new, adopted city. Cleveland--HUZZAH!

the original "Doing the Pigeon"

2012-01-20T12:50:00.000-05:00

For those of you who may not be familiar with Bert's "Doing the Pigeon." (Mentioned in my last post). I just had to share it. I love it so. And yes, for the record, I did dance like this...and I do a mean pigeon impression.

"doing the pigeon" and other bird-brained ideas

2012-01-20T12:27:00.004-05:00

Thankfully there are a ton of great resources out there for librarians, teachers, day care providers and parents who do things around theme, or just want a catchy song or activity--hours of my life have been spared because so many people share said resources online. I will try and post my "lesson plans" for my storytimes and programs. Last week I had a public school visit with a class full of Kindergarteners.

Let me first say A. I love school visits B. I try and have lots of movement in my storytimes, especially with younger kids--not only to make things more fun, but also to help keep their attention. C. I HEART Sesame Street to pieces and will probably ALWAYS feature some of their music in my programs. There are so many choices! And so many funny song! D. Our storytimes are roughly a half an hour long (this one ran about 35 minutes)

The pigeon who wants to drive the bus. Found here.

Introduce myself and theme: BIRDS!
Now before we begin, let’s all stand up and shake our sillies out!”:
“Shake Your Sillies out,” More Singable Songs, #13
Rhyme/Movement: "The Owl"
There's a wide eyed owl (thumbs and forefingers around eyes)
With a pointed nose, (forefinger makes a v at end of nose)
Two pointed ears, (forefingers extended up from head)
and claws for toes, (fingers and arms bent in front of chest)
When he sits up in the tree, (point to tree)
and he looks at you, (point at a child in the group)
he flaps his wings, (fold arms into arm pits and flap)
And he says 'Whoo Whoo.'
~Submitted by Cheryl's Sweethearts ChildCare

"So, now what do you think the first book is going to be about?"
Book 1: Owl Babies, M. Waddell
Rhyme/Finger Puppet: “5 Little Birds”

*encourage the kids to hold up 5 fingers and count down while rhyme is happening*

5 little birds went out to play,
over the hills and far away,Mother bird called *used bird puppet w/chirp*
and only 4 birds came back...
4 little birds, etc...(repeating until there are no birds left)
Then mother bird calls again and ALL birds come back

*I used storytime mitt w/5 bird (velcro-backed) finger puppets and the mother bird was this AWESOME Audobon series hand-sized puppet that actually chirps. The kids loved it.*

Music/Movement: “If you’re happy and you know it,”
“The next book is about a bird and his feelings—what do you think he is
feeling?” (Show the cover of the book)
Book 2: Grumpy Bird, J. Tankard
Music/Movement: "Alright, everyone get up and spread out, we're: “Doing the pigeon,” Bert, Sesame Street Platinum All-Time Favorites, #6

“After dancing to that song, what do you think our last book is about?”

Book 3: Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus, Mo Willems
Music/Movement: Rhythm Sticks tapping to “Rock and Roll Freeze Dance,” Hap Palmer’s “So Big,” #5

P.S. I copied and pasted my lesson plan from word, so please excuse this wonkey layout!
Tankard' Grumpy Bird, pursued by friends. Here.

a chilling tale for a chilly night

2012-01-18T00:00:00.004-05:00

Blizzard of Glass: The Halifax Explosion of 1917 by Sally M. Walker
One thing I like about reading YA nonfiction books are that they are shorter and more to the point then adult books. Sometimes I wish some of those loquacious authors of adult history would take a hint, but maybe they're not into the whole brevity thing.

Did you know that before the atomic bombs the biggest man made explosion happened (yep, you guessed it) in Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1917 when a Belgian relief vessel, the Imo, and a French munitions ship, the SS Mont-Blanc, collided in Halifax Harbour. World War I was happening and both ships were trying to aid in the efforts in Europe. Not only did the explosion caused by the crash kill tons of people, but what followed was a tsunami within minutes. And as if matters couldn't get worse, as relief workers showed up and started to do some serious "damage control," the island was hit by a huge snow storm (this was the following day).

Reading Walker's book was a quick, fascinating look back into the history of a city and its people--its decimation and attempts at moving on.

I would definitely recommend this book.
Ages: 11 and up

Photo found here.

15 second reviews

2012-01-17T06:55:00.000-05:00

Leaves by David Ezra Stein
Simple language, simple story of a bear in his first year trying to figure out what is happening as fall begins to happen all around him. I love Stein's illustrations.
Age: birth and up

Henry's Heart by Charise Mericle Harper
My problem with books like Henry's Heart is that because of all the side bubbles and action on each page, these books are hard to read in a story time. Young readers might like the book. It is informative and interesting. I didn't care for it, especially the ending.
Age: K and up

The Construction Crew by Lynn Meltzer, illustrated by Carrie Eko-Burgess
Bright colorful pictures, elementary rhymes/language for even the youngest truck lovers. Fun read where the audience can watch the simplified steps of the work that goes into building a house.
Age: Preschool

Worst of Friends: Thomas Jefferson and John Adams and the True Story of an American Feud

Suzanne Tripp Jurmai, illustrated by Larry Day
I had to laugh when I read this because it reminded me of a very watered down, funnier, children's book take on David McCullough's John Adams. (I am sure this is NOT what the author was intending). The book was informative, interesting,with good illustrations.
Age: 2nd grade and up

No Two Alike by Keith Baker
Gorgeous illustrations paired with silly story of birds and their antics; easy, minial language. Scantily worded books like this are great for early talkers, to help tell what is happening in the story.
Age: Birth-Preschool

I'm thinking a head

2012-01-16T06:31:00.000-05:00

If the kids aren't scared of the library yet--this will do the trick.

Now I can combine my loves of: dressing up for Halloween, wearing a costume of a "literary" character, and scaring the hell out of the kids...and my coworkers.

Picture found here.

everyone's going green these days

2012-01-16T06:02:00.001-05:00

I read about The Green Mother Goose: saving the world one rhyme at a time, by Jan Peck, and David Davis, illustrated by Carin Berger, on another blog and just had to order it. I love all things green. And I love Mother Goose. And I love rhymes:

Inigo Montoya: That Vizzini, he can *fuss*.
Fezzik: Fuss, fuss... I think he like to scream at *us*.
Inigo Montoya: Probably he means no *harm*.
Fezzik: He's really very short on *charm*.
Inigo Montoya: You have a great gift for rhyme.
Fezzik: Yes, yes, some of the time.
Vizzini: Enough of that.
Inigo Montoya: Fezzik, are there rocks ahead?
Fezzik: If there are, we all be dead.
Vizzini: No more rhymes now, I mean it.
Fezzik: Anybody want a peanut?
Ok, sorry for the Princess Bride tangent.

Anyway, this book was great. Berger's collage style illustrations really sent the message home: reuse! recyle! The pictures were both tre cool. And the nursery rhymes? Well anyone can rhyme, (as evidenced above), but not everyone can make clever, informative rhymes about the environment! Davis and Peck, well done!

So entertained was I by the rhymes that I read them aloud at the children's desk one day, killing time until lunch break. We librarians giggled like school girls. Ridiculous. Some of our favorites:

"This Little Piggy"
"This little piggy
saved some water
this little piggy
biked for fun
this little piggy used windmills
this little piggy used sun
this little piggy
squealed re-re-recycle all the way home"

OR

"Little Jack Horner"
"Little Jack Horner
changed light bulbs in the corner
replacing the old incandescents,
now the lamps on the sills
cut his mama's high bills,
because the lights are all
compact florescents"

we asked nicely the first time

2012-01-15T05:46:00.000-05:00

After hearing about this book from some of the other librarians I ordered it for Mummy Dearest's kids, Big Fish and Little Fish, for Christmas; and as Amazon was shipping it south, I was eagerly awaiting a copy from another library.

Jon Klassen's I Want My Hat Back was an epiphany for me. It made me feel like some of my adult rages have been justified: you ask nicely so many times, allow for others to do the right thing and then when they don't, you lose your damn mind a little bit. Don't get me wrong, kids won't walk away with that message, well, just read it, you'll see what I mean. This book was such a riot.

We follow along as the bear goes from animal to animal asking if anyone has seen his hat. My favorite part is when the bear dejectedly lays on the ground and laments the loss of his hat, that emotion that we've all felt: a favorite possesion gone, possibly for good. It is when he is lamenting that he happens to remember someone WEARING HIS HAT! SOMEONE HE ASKED. SOMEONE WHO MUST HAVE LIED TO HIM!

The great thing about Klasssen's book is that it is simple: the language, the repetition of the bear asking about his hat, the colors and pictures. You know that the bear is angry and the _____ (the character who stole his hat) is scared about that by looking at their eyes, noticing that the almond shaped eyes are now half moons. Subtle. I loved it! I love kids book that make me laugh. I like feeling in on the joke...and like a kid again.

A+ Jon Klassen. Well done.

Ages: Preschool and Up

if we were all so honest

2012-01-15T00:00:00.000-05:00

Vancouver Sun
TO JACK SCOTT, VANCOUVER SUN
October 1, 1958 57 Perry Street New York City
Sir,

I got a hell of a kick reading the piece Time magazine did this week on The Sun. In addition to wishing you the best of luck, I'd also like to offer my services.

Since I haven't seen a copy of the "new" Sun yet, I'll have to make this a tentative offer. I stepped into a dung-hole the last time I took a job with a paper I didn't know anything about (see enclosed clippings) and I'm not quite ready to go charging up another blind alley.

By the time you get this letter, I'll have gotten hold of some of the recent issues of The Sun. Unless it looks totally worthless, I'll let my offer stand. And don't think that my arrogance is unintentional: it's just that I'd rather offend you now than after I started working for you.

I didn't make myself clear to the last man I worked for until after I took the job. It was as if the Marquis de Sade had suddenly found himself working for Billy Graham. The man despised me, of course, and I had nothing but contempt for him and everything he stood for. If you asked him, he'd tell you that I'm "not very likable, (that I) hate people, (that I) just want to be left alone, and (that I) feel too superior to mingle with the average person." (That's a direct quote from a memo he sent to the publisher.)

Nothing beats having good references.

Of course if you asked some of the other people I've worked for, you'd get a different set of answers.

If you're interested enough to answer this letter, I'll be glad to furnish you with a list of references -- including the lad I work for now.

The enclosed clippings should give you a rough idea of who I am. It's a year old, however, and I've changed a bit since it was written. I've taken some writing courses from Columbia in my spare time, learned a hell of a lot about the newspaper business, and developed a healthy contempt for journalism as a profession.

As far as I'm concerned, it's a damned shame that a field as potentially dynamic and vital as journalism should be overrun with dullards, bums, and hacks, hag-ridden with myopia, apathy, and complacence, and generally stuck in a bog of stagnant mediocrity. If this is what you're trying to get The Sun away from, then I think I'd like to work for you.

Most of my experience has been in sports writing, but I can write everything from warmongering propaganda to learned book reviews.

I can work 25 hours a day if necessary, live on any reasonable salary, and don't give a black damn for job security, office politics, or adverse public relations.

I would rather be on the dole than work for a paper I was ashamed of.

It's a long way from here to British Columbia, but I think I'd enjoy the trip.

If you think you can use me, drop me a line.

If not, good luck anyway.

Sincerely, Hunter S. Thompson

Here for the whole article, etc.

on the world's rim

2012-01-14T01:03:00.002-05:00

"A Star"

Beauty was that
Far vanished flame,
Call it a star
Wanting better name.

And gaze and gaze
Vaguely until
Nothing is left
Save a grey ghost-hill.

Here wait I
On the world's rim
Stretching out hands
To Seraphim.

--Patrick Kavanagh

These are the nights: cold and brutal, when the day's winds have died down and we wait for clouds to part and reveal a winter sky; often conditions could become perfect and a stillness lay thick and dark in the night, and in the sky, and on my heart--heavy and present, a hand pressing into my chest. Be still, my child, it seemed to say. And I was. I taught statues; motionless as a child hiding in a game. I sat and numbed, my exposed skin reddening--my nose and ears. Chill would creep into my joints. The game I played at was something about stars, finding them on those perfect nights. And now I am gone from the farm and the country-quiet nights where the stillness is tangible. And tonight I am wishing for one of those nights again.

serving up more winter

2012-01-14T00:03:00.000-05:00

Kate Messner's Over and Under the Snow, illustrated by Silas Neal, is one of many lovely books about winter which I've had the pleasure of reading this winter; not only a fun picture book, Over and Under the Snow is an informative one too (I would put this in the category with Dowson's North). I loved that Messner cleverly masked a mini science lesson with a great picture book; the daughter learning about winter during a cross country ski trip with her dad. The daughter and the audience learn about the "secret kingdom," what scientists call the subnivean zone--a layer between the snow and the ground--a world of activity and bustle under the snow; how animals hide from the cold and predators, how predators hunt out their food in the winter.

Neal's use of muted winter colors for the scenery: whites, pale blues, nature browns, allow the reader to observe the colors of animals on the fringe of the pages, and also let the audience focus on the action of the father/daughter duo.

I really enjoyed this book and think it would be a great aid to any lesson about winter animals and their habitats.

Ages: Preschool and Up

scars as reminders

2012-01-13T06:12:00.003-05:00

"She shouldn't have had a kid if she was going to leave before he was grown up."

These powerful words, spoken by the little boy in The Scar--by Charlotte Moundlic, illustrated by Olivier Tallec--will resonate with any elementary aged child who has lost anyone...heck, this story will resonate with many adults. (I am fairly certain that when my father passed away some years back, I said something very similar to this--I was 26 at the time).

Ms. Moundlic weaves a very believable tale of a young boy grappling with the recent death of his mom:
"Mom died this morning.
It wasn't really morning.
Dad said she died during the night,
but I was sleeping during the night
For me, she died this morning."

Her portrayal of the boy struggling with this death feels so intimate; we see the boys array of emotions from sadness to anger, his attempts at trying to make his Dad feel better. Most poignant is when the young boy equates a cut (which he receives when he falls) to his mother's love; the cut reminds him of what his Mom would say when he was hurt, so of course, the boy doesn't want the the cut to heal.

I also appreciated Tallec's pencil and paint illustrations--with minimal colors--which really allow the boy's words to be the focus moving the story along. I loved Tallec's usage of black,white, and red, which seems appropriate because in death don't we feel the absence and presence of so many feelings (like the absence and presence of the spectrum to make black and white)? And red--the mark of the sting.

I found myself very touched by this book and can't recommend it highly enough to anyone helping a child through the loss of a parent or loved one. This is a gem.
Age: K and up.

I love Katy Perry

2012-01-12T18:52:00.000-05:00

I am definitely not a teenager any more, but somehow whenever Katy Perry comes on the radio or my iPod, I feel young and silly. Thanks Katy Perry. It feels good every now and again.
Katy Perry - Teenage Dream

I spent too much time on Facebook

2012-01-12T13:38:00.000-05:00

it's raining cats and dogs and hugs

2012-01-12T11:37:00.002-05:00

Homer the Library Cat, by Reeve Lindbergh, illustrated by Anne Wilsdorf

Cats and librarians are about as cliché as they come, however, Libdergh’s story of Homer the Cat who goes in search of silence and sleep was not as bad as I was expecting. Homer gets freaked out one day—the usual silence broken up by a loud noise outside—thus his pilgrimage to find a sanctuary of peace and quiet. Homer’s quest sends him to some rather unlikely venues (a fire department, a train station, a post office); the end result is a book which begs for kids to react to the story, telling the reader why Homer isn’t going to be able to rest. Also nice is Lindbergh’s shout out to libraries at the end of the story.

Age: Preschool-First Grade

A Dog is a Dog, written and illustrated by Stephen Shaskan

Let me first say, I LOVED this book—it made me laugh out loud…at my desk…in the library. Is a dog really just a dog? You’ll be asking yourself this as the story includes some funny morphs of the dog into a cat and so on. This book is full of doggone (eh, eh!) simple rhymes, great illustrations (though both another librarian and I hated the illustration of the fat dog—too creepy) and a plot which moves along and is aided by the funny illustrations of the animals (my favorite pages include a squid). A Dog is a Dog offers silly opposites, i.e. cats can be “hairless and cold” or “wrapped in fur;” laughter ensues. Bottom line: get it! The kids will love it—PROMISE!

Age: Preschool and up

Big Hugs, Little Hugs, written and illustrated by Felicia Bond

If the name of the author/Illustrator or the illustrations themselves seem familiar, it's probably because you’ve read or at least seen the If you give a ____ series (by Laura Numeroff). Bond's wonderful illustration may look familiar, however, for this book Bond chose to do the illustrations with a series of glorious collages. Big Hugs, Little Hugs shows a menagerie of animals--parents and babies—yep, you guessed it: hugging. Tthis adorable book picture with its beautiful artwork, and simple, sparsely worded story make this the perfect choice for a snuggle-up and read session with your favorite kiddos.

The illustrations are great, the text simple. I am left hoping this book is turned into a board book—it would be great for baby and young toddler story time, especially great if each child had their own copy to look at during storytime. HUGE thumbs up.

Age: Birth-Preschool

case of the Mondays?

2012-01-05T00:45:00.000-05:00

Saturday Night Live is hot or cold for me.
Some skits are priceless.
Some skits are bad.
REALLY bad.
These two skits made me laugh until I snorted.
We're almost to the weekend, I hope these videos make the next two days easier.

Jack Sparrow skit w/Michael Bolton

Top Gun 25th Anniversary skit

my new years gift to you

2012-01-02T06:53:00.001-05:00

Photo credit.

MEOW!

Love Ryan Gosling?
Love nerdy Library humor?
Check out Librarianheygirl, with pics of Ryan Gosling (yum!) with library-based captions. There is also a site similar to this with typography-based captions for your geeky print-loving friends.

I am such a geek. I know.

2011 in review

2011-12-31T15:11:00.000-05:00

It seems like we love to review things: books, movies, restaurants, dates. I like to think it's something inherent in man; the first cavemen probably sat around and reviewed the first wheel, the wooly mammoths. Maybe it's because we want to look back and be appreciative of our time, cherish our memories; maybe it's just so we can rehash the good times, hope to hold onto those memories, or maybe we want to relive the bad stuff and be grateful that family, friends, a love pulled us up and out of ourselves; or maybe it's because we just hope to look back and be thankful that we made it out alive.

Whatever the reason, I guess I can't break tradition. 2011 looked a lot like this:

Got settled into my new digs, a cabin at the Farm (moved in last Christmas)
A tree fell on my cabin. Moved in with B1& B2
Lots of firsts: I ate morel mushrooms; I made horseradish, I dug up potatoes
I gardened like a maniac!
I went to Jamaica and the U.S. Virgin Islands
My brother A3 married Dayna
My old college roommate College Kim married Jesse
We ate a lot of good food
Went Up North for our yearly friends weekend. Pics here.
We got hit by Hurricane Irene
I saw the Statue of Liberty and spent my first day alone in NYCity
I picked apples in an orchard for the first time
Found out that brother A3 and sis-in-law Dayna are pregnant. I get to be an auntie again! #5
Found out that College Kim and Jesse are pregnant
I was offered and accepted as a full-time Children's Librarian position
I packed up and left my beloved Farm and headed west to Ohio
I laughed a lot.
I listened to lots of great music and more great music
I read lots and lots and lots of books

It's been a good year. We'll see what this next year brings. Happy New Year everyone!

beat that thar hangover!

2011-12-31T00:00:00.000-05:00

Helpful flow chart borrowed from here.

Anybody who's every gotten drunk more than a couple of times has a cure-all for hangovers. If you are planning on getting your party on this New Years' Eve, read this article first, or save the time, the point can be summed up as:

"The best thing to do, besides avoiding getting drunk in the first place, is to eat a large, fatty meal beforehand, drink plenty of water during your escapades (a large glass after every alcoholic drink should do it), and eat right the next morning. Eggs are truly helpful because they have something called "cysteine," a substance that can break down the hangover-causing toxin acetaldehyde in the liver."
--Kurt Michael Friese, Huff Post Food 12/29/11

The greasy burger meal has always been a favorite amongst our crowd; water between drinks; and we always drink OJ as soon as we get up--I heard that booze deplets your body of Vit C--true or not, this trick has always worked for us!

Also, hysterically funny was this cracked.com blog.

Sorry if this post was infantile, I am tired of blogging about books and book reviews, so here's to silliness.

Happy New Year's Eve!

Party RESPONSIBLY for everyone's sake!

and I'm going

2011-12-30T17:01:00.001-05:00

Gregory Alan Isakov - If I Go I'm Goin'

I'm going (just for the weekend) to Michigan. By the time you're reading this I will be well on my way: off for another glorious 3 day weekend to rest, read, and, oh yes, celebrate New Year's Eve 2011 with my best friends and our gang.

guess what's on order

2011-12-30T13:11:00.000-05:00

In our daily searches for the right materials to use during storytimes, we Librarians sometimes run across real gems in our collections, items which are found by the grace of God or a keyword search. One of the other Librarians found this gem today: Shut Up, You're FINE!

Her just reading the poem titles was enough to make me laugh like a lunatic, included are such touching poems as:

Had it coming
Kiss grandma goodnight
The starving kids in Africa
One, two
The moon
Magic
The tooth fairy
Hide-and-seek with mommy and daddy
Daddy, are we meat?
Rover
The Schlitz malt liquor bull
Apostrophes to lunch
The old dog
The glass hammer
Playing dead
The cow
My bed is not a boat
I rode my bike over hill and dale
My last dream
The night wind
The thumping of the bed
Witch
The dying boy's lament
Prayer before bed
The circus in the trees
Swashbuckler
Why I love Ruby
Dead things I have seen
Spit shine
I think of being in the grave
Margaret and her puppy, Ralph
When I grow up
Clouds
Pacifist
The ice-cream truck
As seen on television
Surprise!
Playing houth
I'd hate to be an astronaut
The blue-tailed skink's blue tail
My hero
We buried the cat, but the dog dug her up
Prayer
Cousin Marbury's marvelous bombs
Grandmama's teeth
The county fair
The joys of Christmas day
Desert island
Our neighbors' little yappy dog
His imaginary friend
The boy in the wheelchair
My grandmother's breasts
Fat Johnny
My sister's stash
Goodbye to all this
Jim the car
My mother predicts travel to exotic destinations
My deepest heart's desire
At camp
Grandmother's bed
Satan
When granddad says, "Please kill me!"
Sleep, sleep

Picture credit

Can we say, can't wait for this hold to come in!

thoughts turning north

2011-12-29T17:31:00.002-05:00

The Big Snuggle Up, by Brian Patten, illustrated by Nicola Bayley
A rhyming story of a little boy who invites a scarecrow in from the snow, ensuing action is other animals requesting to come in too. I like the idea of the book; however, I felt that the choice of animals was a little strange: owl, fox, heron, donkey, lamb, fawn, dog, cat, rabbit, squirrel, robin, butterfly and mouse. I wanted Patten to stick with a theme: barn animals, animals that normally hibernate, whatever. I also was a little creeped out by the scarecrow--he looks a little too clownish for me; however, these are moot points; kids will enjoy the flow of the story, the rote repetition of the animals (as more are introduced), and the lovely illustrations.
Age: Preschool-K/1

North: The Amazing Story of Arctic Migration, by Nick Dowson, Illustrated by Patrick Benson
As its name suggests, a book which chronicles arctic migration, both its animals and what seems to be happening to the earth itself,
"Across its frozen seas,
tiny algae begins to bloom
on the undersides of ice,
coloring it golden brown,
while on land, plants creep up
through melting snow,
turning the tundra green." (Pg. 8)

It's hard not to be more than a little jealous of the gray whales who make their journeys yearly past L.A., SanFran, Vancouver Island, then on to the Arctic Circle--the whales are just one of the many animals featured in their migrations north. One of the things which I appreciated about this book is that Dowson covered animals that you think of, when you think of the Arctic, and animals that you wouldn't know to think of. I also loved the facts that I learned from this book, like, did you know: gray whale swim over 5,000 miles to get to the arctic?!

North will prove to be a great resource for elementary age kids--exactly the kind of story that is interesting and paired with gorgeous illustrations to boot! I give this a huge A+!

Ages: 2nd grade-up.

The Washington Post had a great and more thorough review of North, here.

For interesting facts on the Arctic, click here.

already dreaming of spring

2011-12-29T11:19:00.001-05:00

I am still getting used to living by Lake Erie; its cutting winds which blow me into work, so glad to get inside the warm cave of the library. I don't mind winter, but today I am dreaming of spring:

"Soon shall the winter’s foil be here"

Soon shall the winter’s foil be here;
Soon shall these icy ligatures unbind and melt—A little while,
And air, soil, wave, suffused shall be in softness, bloom and growth—a
thousand forms shall rise
From these dead clods and chills as from low burial graves.
Thine eyes, ears, all thy best attributes—all that takes cognizance of natural
beauty,
Shall wake and fill. Thou shalt perceive the simple shows, the delicate
miracles of earth,
Dandelions, clover, the emerald grass, the early scents and flowers,
The arbutus under foot, the willow’s yellow-green, the blossoming plum and
cherry;
With these the robin, lark and thrush, singing their songs—the flitting
bluebird;
For such the scenes the annual play brings on.

--Walt Whitman

the new beauty in my life

2011-12-28T00:29:00.000-05:00

I miss the Farm: the smells of it; the way the mountains around look in every season; my secret places I could wander to; having cows, chickens, and pigs for neighbors; living and working with friends...too many things. But, I am trying to find beauty in this new, gritty city too. I love Lake Erie; love that some mornings I can hear Erie's gulls screaming on the wind; love those moments before I open my eyes, when I can almost imagine that I will again wake up in my tiny cabin in the woods.

Lake Erie in December

griz and bear it

2011-12-27T21:54:00.000-05:00

My Bear Griz, Suzanne McGinness
McGinness’ book about a boy and his pet grizzly bear—we find out at the end that it’s his teddy bear, of course!—showcases her ability to illustrate using a variety of mediums: watercolor, pen and ink, collage. The artwork and colors are beautiful; I particularly loved how Griz was drawn in pen and ink, almost as though the little boy himself drew the bear into reality. However, I felt as though the pictures would have been appreciated more with the older picture book audience, and this book is definitely for the five and under crowd. The story line is simple and for me, uninteresting.

Age: Preschool

The Not –So Scary Snorklum, Paul Bright, Jane Chapman
I love Jane Chapman’s artwork! I love that it is familiar in its’ sweet faced animals, her use of warm colors, the fluidity of her artwork in telling the story. (Chapman may be better known for her adorable pictures in The Bear series by Karma Wilson.)

Honestly, I didn’t want to like this book when I started reading it, this was due to the fact that the main character’s a “Snorklum,” and I was in a foul grown-up mood, not wanting to read the word SNORKLUM! DAMN IT! But I kept reading and loving the pictures; was pleased by Bright’s subtle use of aliteration and the rote learning technique—the action repeated by each new character:
“ ‘If you really are the scary Snorklum,” said Badger.
‘Why are your knees knocking?’
‘And your tail twitching?’ said rabbit.
‘And your whiskers wibbling?’ Added mole.”

And then, as happens sometimes, I felt in on the trick at the end of the story.
Age: Preschool-2nd grade

you're welcome

2011-12-25T12:42:00.000-05:00

Wham! - Last Christmas

Merry Christmas everyone!

2011-12-24T18:28:00.000-05:00

"Whoa there boy, the others called you WHAT?! Ha ha ha..."

'Twas the Night Before Christmas
by Clement Clarke Moore

'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house
not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
in hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there.

The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
while visions of sugar plums danced in their heads.
And Mama in her 'kerchief, and I in my cap,
had just settled our brains for a long winter's nap.

When out on the roof there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from my bed to see what was the matter.
Away to the window I flew like a flash,
tore open the shutter, and threw up the sash.

The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow
gave the lustre of midday to objects below,
when, what to my wondering eyes should appear,
but a miniature sleigh and eight tiny reindeer.

With a little old driver, so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment it must be St. Nick.
More rapid than eagles, his courses they came,
and he whistled and shouted and called them by name:

"Now Dasher! Now Dancer!
Now, Prancer and Vixen!
On, Comet! On, Cupid!
On, Donner and Blitzen!
To the top of the porch!
To the top of the wall!
Now dash away! Dash away!
Dash away all!"

As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,
when they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky
so up to the house-top the courses they flew,
with the sleigh full of toys, and St. Nicholas too.

And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof
the prancing and pawing of each little hoof.
As I drew in my head and was turning around,
down the chimney St. Nicholas came with a bound.

He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot,
and his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot.
A bundle of toys he had flung on his back,
and he looked like a peddler just opening his pack.

His eyes--how they twinkled! His dimples, how merry!
His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!
His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,
and the beard on his chin was as white as the snow.
The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,
and the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath.
He had a broad face and a little round belly,
that shook when he laughed, like a bowl full of jelly.

He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,
and I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself.
A wink of his eye and a twist of his head
soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread.

He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,
and filled all the stockings, then turned with a jerk.
And laying his finger aside of his nose,
and giving a nod, up the chimney he rose.

He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,
And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.
But I heard him exclaim, 'ere he drove out of sight,

"Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night!"

Vintage pic found here.

traveling

2011-12-23T13:19:00.000-05:00

There is something particularly exciting about traveling somewhere for the holidays, no? Maybe it's just the excitement of getting away from this still strange-to-me-city. I can't wait to leave work at 5pm, get in my car, head north to Michigan; I am thankful for the 3 day weekend and seeing friends.

Will be staying with brother A3 and preggo sis-in-law Dayna tonight and tomorrow, then moving on to best friend L and K's for the annual Christmas night gathering of our circle of friends. Don't really have any plans this year other than Christmas Eve brunch at my favorite Auntie's house tomorrow morning and Christmas Eve Mass with College Kim. Dayna and A3 asked if I wanted to head to Canada with them to celebrate with Dayna's family and friends, but I passed. I am just not in the holiday spirit this year. I think I am just homesick for the Farm. I liked spending quiet Christmases there. Never fear, I have prepared--I am taking 5 library books with me and hope to come back next week with more reviews.

Merry Christmas all!

2011-12-23T01:07:00.002-05:00

When Brian Selznick’s The Invention of Hugo Cabret won the illustrious Caldecott medal back in 2008 I was more than surprised. Judging by size alone, I couldn’t understand how a book nearly 550 pages long--many picture books are under 32 pages—even made it into the category with the other traditional picture books. The judges had somehow been hoodwinked!” (I must stop here and state that I have been known to be A. over reactive and irrational at times and B. a bit of a book snob—the latter was the reason I didn’t read any of the Harry Potter series until after the 6^th book came out. Big REGRET!)

Fast forward the clock to now, the book has been turned into a movie (done by Martin Scorsese no less!) and the kids are asking for it again…and, well, I thought it was high time that I read it. And you know what. I liked it. I stayed up until 12:30a.m. this morning to finish reading it because I just had to see how things came together and I kept getting urged on by page after page of beautiful artwork which made me feel not only like I was peering into a mystery, but also that I had the flipbook version of a movie reel. The artwork was gorgeous; the story of Hugo and his automaton interesting; the secrets of all the characters well veiled until the right moment; Selznick’s addition of real stills from old movies into the book—it was all wonderful!

I found out after I finished reading the book (info in the back!) that the character of Papa Georges was based on real-life Frenchman, Georges Méliès. (Selznick called him the father of science-fiction movies in his Amazon exclusive interview).

So, maybe I made a mistake. Maybe if I’d just read the Association for Library Service to Children’s definition of a picture book earlier I would have realized why Selznick’s book was worthy of the honor.

“A “picture book for children” as distinguished from other books with illustrations, is one that essentially provides the child with a visual experience. A picture book has a collective unity of story-line, theme, or concept, developed through the series of pictures of which the book is comprised.” –Association for Library Service to Children

utterly eh

2011-12-22T15:58:00.000-05:00

1. Utterly Otterly Night, M. Casanova, A. Hoyt

Hmm...out of all the picture books I've read to review this week, Utterly, etc. was utterly...just ok.

In the simplest of terms, there were good things about this book: the illustrations were good at communicating the action (I especially like the one below where he is warning his family about wolves!). The story was ok, introducing the audience to some animals which an otter might run into during its' night jaunts.

I think kids would enjoy the book, I just didn't walk away thinking, "aww, that was cute!" or "HOW CLEVER!" or "Those pictures were gorgeous!" That's why I gave it the "ok" rating. Would I read it at my winter themed storytime? You bet--simple text, good pictures, easy to follow story. Just not my cup of tea.
Best ages: Preschool-1st grade.

P.S. I'm not going to lie, I didn't find the whole sliding down hills/otter thing believeable--I don't know why that bothered me so much when I was reading the book, a PICTURE BOOK!!--anyway, I looked it up, and apparently, according to National Geographic, otters DO in fact love sliding down slippery surfaces in the winter.

"what'sa matter with poeia?"

2011-12-22T00:13:00.001-05:00

"Oh no matta'!"

That was a really bad joke. But, also an introduction to the first book I want to review:

Directly from dictionary.com:

3. the use of imitative and naturally suggestive words for rhetorical, dramatic, or poetic effect.

1. Red Sled, by L. Judge is an onomatopeia book; a book written only with words which imitate the sounds of the action in the story. As you guessed it by the title, the story revolves around a red sled. When done well I think onomatopeia books are great because they allow the children to be the story teller. Red Sled is full of very cute pictures; simple to describe action; loveable and identifiable animals. I think this would be fun with Pre-school and Kindergarten.

For wordless books check out this list. For more onomatopeia books check this list.

2. I knew that I was going to like, A House in the Woods, by Inga Moore, as soon as I read the book's dedication, which begins with, "This book is dedicated to Beavers, who are the fastest and the best builders in the world..." Ms. Moore's pictures are wonderful, her characters so animated and at times laughably human-like. I loved the story because it involves friendship and cooperation and problem solving, but in a non-hokey way. The story also made me envious of a new house full of friends and a peanut butter sandwich bill left by the builders! Because of the amount of words I would say this would be best with K-2/3 depending on the group.

3. Will Moses, great grandson of the famous artist Grandma Moses, recently published, Mary and Her Little Lamb: the true story of the famous nursery rhyme. As I find I am drawn to the detailed, folk art style art work that Grandma Moses was famous for, so too I found that I enjoyed that in Will Moses' book, but the story was a little too wordy and boring at times. Unfortunately this book falls into that trap of being a "longer picture book," which will often sit on the shelves because most librarians/teachers/parents know that kids won't sit through a storytime with a book this long, and the older crowd of kids who would be perfect for this type of book have usually moved on to shorter juvenile fiction. So, in short, great example of folk art; gives some useful background info at the end about the real Mary; too long. Age: 3rd grade?

4. I liked the idea behind, Tom Lichtenheld and Ezra Fields-Meyer's E-Mergency!, but the book fell short. The alphabet lives together and upon the letter E's injury it is decided that "E" can only heal properly if everyone stops using the letter E in all words. Maybe sturdier 2nd/3rd grade readers will enjoy deciphering the books nonsensical words, but as a Librarian all I kept thinking was, "how the hell would I be able to read this in a storytime?!" There are too many side bubbles and comments on each page, this paired with the nonsensical words drove me nuts.

I wish Christmas was really like that movie Love Actually

2011-12-20T13:58:00.001-05:00

...because then maybe I would end up with Colin Firth. Shoot, I don't even speak Portugeses. And don't even think I am going to settle for Hugh Grant! Hmmm, Snape though...but I'm not the homewrecking type. Anyway, Christmas is a strange holiday. Don't get me wrong, as a pretty devout Catholic I love the whole Jesus' birth aspect of it, but as a single person Christmas and New Years have to be the most sucktastic holidays. They are the time when you want to know who you're going to be taking to Christmas parties, who's thinking of buying something really special for you (if you go in for that consumeristic thing), who'll you'll be snogging on New Year's Eve when the ball drops.

Christmas can be lonely when you don't have someone to share it with and you live alone in a new city and your family is all over the damn country and your brother was supposed to be with you but has to go see his wife's family in Canda INSTEAD!! This year has been hard. For the last couple of years I was at the Farm, working and being with friends, who like me decided to stay home, without family, for Christmas. This year it's hard.

I am heading to Michigan this Friday after work, so I have that to look forward to. Sorry for grumbling. I am just lonely.

So, to make myself feel better this morning I went online and chose some things which my non-existant boyfriend might buy for me for Christmas.

Also wanted to welcome some new followers; welcome: Rebecca from Memoirs of Me & Mine and Gubby of Gubby's World.

in Library Land

2011-12-17T16:30:00.000-05:00

This is a special time of year; a time when the stillness in the air, the pre-snow crispness is tangible; when children get excited for Santa; when people wish each other "Merry Christmas!" or "Happy Holidays!"

It is also the time of year when children lose their damn minds. Children seem to only be able to focus on what they are asking for/wanting Santa to bring and the looming winter holiday from school.

I get it.

I was a kid once too.

And I am excited about my time off, my 3 day weekends for Christmas and New Years. And I am excited to be almost done with reading Christmas books and winter books. Funny. When I was a Children's Librarian a million years ago we couldn't read any books which said "Christmas," we could only read books about winter or snow or sledding, whatever. NO. CHRISTMAS. OHCity is mostly Christianity-based families, so they don't care if Christmas comes up as long as it deals with Santa, books about Jesus are not allowed. (Funny how we lose the true meaning of the holiday and focus on the consumerism, but that is a tangent for another blog).

I was thinking about how glad I was that this morning's storytime--this time at an apartment complex--was to be my last covering winter and Christmas and snow and presents and elves and reindeer-with-noses-in-any-color, only to check my email and find WINTER scheduled for the first two weeks of storytimes in January GAH! I felt like shaking my fists and shouting "REAL ORIGINAL LADIES!!" at the other 6 librarians who voted on it...then I remembered, I voted on winter too. What was I thinking?

So, until 5pm, you can find me in the OHCity Library pulling and reading huge stacks of picture books about snow and winter. *GRUMBLE!* Stupid winter.

P.S. These feelings might be compounded by the fact that I leave for Buffalo in less than an hour and it's been snowing all day! :( Wish me luck!

now that I'm settled

2011-12-17T11:54:00.000-05:00

I am getting more stuff.
B1 & B2 are in Buffalo for the weekend, celebrating Christmas with B1's family; guess who is headed there after work this afternoon? Me! Yay! I am off tonight, tomorrow and Monday a.m., so I will be able to spend some time with my dear, dear Farm friends--the first Farmers I've seen since I moved 3 weeks ago!

What does this have to do with getting more stuff? Well, B1 & B2 kindly agreed to bring the rest of my stuff to Buffalo--not much, just 6 more boxes and change--so I didn't have to ship it. Ah, friends!

So, if you are in Buffalo this weekend and see a girl with an idiot grin on her face, hugging two friends tightly as they navigate the city, just wave--it's ME!

Also, on the subject of getting stuff: I ordered a new bed. Doing that made me feel like an adult. I do not like feeling like an adult, but I also do not like sleeping in my tiny twin bed anymore now that I have a huge, empty apartment. I am having it delivered post-holidays! HOORAY!

Library news soon....

And welcome, Julia Ramirez! Thanks for following my blog; comment often!

this is the only voice outside

2011-12-15T16:50:00.001-05:00

"The Voice of the Rain"
And who art thou? said I to the soft-falling shower,
Which, strange to tell, gave me an answer, as here translated:
I am the Poem of Earth, said the voice of the rain,
Eternal I rise impalpable out of the land and the bottomless sea,
Upward to heaven, whence, vaguely form'd, altogether changed, and
yet the same,
I descend to lave the drouths, atomies, dust-layers of the globe,
And all that in them without me were seeds only, latent, unborn;
And forever, by day and night, I give back life to my own origin,
and make pure and beautify it;
(For song, issuing from its birth-place, after fulfilment, wandering,
Reck'd or unreck'd, duly with love returns.)
-- Walt Whitman

Ohio transplants

2011-12-13T07:18:00.000-05:00

No, this blog has nothing to do with organ donations...of any kind. I just wanted to mention that I met two other Ohio transplants last Friday night for a burger and beer at a really fun place in Cleveland. But first, let me just say, last Friday is hands down the best day I've had since I moved to Ohio; I was off from work so I spent the day walking around the glorious (and FREE!) Cleveland Museum of Art. It was wonderful. It felt nice to feel lost in a building, surrounded by art, instead of in my new city. Lovely.

So who I went out with: hmmm, how do I explain this one? Ok, my best friend L's little sister Julie is engaged to Andrew, Andrew's little sister is Merissa. I met Merissa (also from MI) and her friend Kelly (from NJ) at Becky's Bar in downtown Cleveland (right next to CSU) for dinner and beers. Some thoughts I had while driving home (not in this order):

I love that I can have a burger, fries and two beers for under $20. It was so expensive to go out for eats and beers near the Farm.
I made friends!
Merissa said we could carpool some weekend to MI, since she goes home a lot. YAY!
I am now in love with Ohio beer: Great Lakes Brewery I love you. Their Christmas beer was so worth it; my reward at the end of week 2.

I'm trying not to brag

2011-12-12T19:15:00.000-05:00

Today marks the beginning of my 3rd week back in Library Land. I started at an odd time of year, as things are coming to an end for before the holiday season, but my duties are becoming more clear and things are rolling like a snowball down a hill.

First let me say that I am really impressed with OHCity Library. I am not just saying this because I work there and I want it to sound glamorous. No, what we do is pretty amazing.On top of the Children's Department norm which consists of staffing the Children's Dept. Reference/Info desk and doing library storytimes and programs on a variety of themes, we:

Do tons of school visits to all of the elementary schools in the area, and also visit some of the bigger apartment complexes in OHCity.
Our webpage (which is open to anyone, not just OHCity resident), not only has a page of links to homework help sites, but also has a monthly themed information page on varying subjects. We've gotten up to 2,000 hits on that page in a month. Apparently there is a teacher in MD who is using it in one of her classrooms.
Have material pre-selected kits based on different themes (i.e. telling time, counting, sports, etc.) that are put together and available at all times for anyone to check out.
Have a huge selection of toys and games that aid in the teaching of a variety of concepts/skills; teachers or parents may select from this vast collection and pick up their load of goodies later that week.
Aside from having internet computers, we also have a room with homework friendly computer, which also offer games for the pre-school crowd.
We have allotted space where anyone 5 or younger can go with their parent/guardian and work on concepts that will help them excel in Kindergarten.
Our collection is HUGE and IMMACULATE...We have TONS of books, DVDs, CDs, books on CD, Playaways, and in January we are introducing the Playaway View.
Our storytime room is so gorgeous. When our building was revamped some time back, our on-staff graphic artist meticulously painted this gorgeous mural in the room. Also, our storytime room has a closet stocked with ANYTHING you could ever want to do a storytime: a monkey mitt with finger puppets in everything; board books, picture books and oversized books not listed in our collection which are simply there for the Librarians to use; ditto with the slew of CDs; laminated posters with the words to songs we sing/rhymes we say; puppets, puppets, and more puppets; dozens and dozens of character dolls (i.e. Madeline, the Very Hungry Caterpillar) which we use for displays. And all of this has been meticulously type-A-person categorized and labeled and organized and alphabetized. And guess who has inherited that job?! MEEEEEE! I am really looking forward to getting to know that room better.

Anyway, my hand is tired. I am glad that now you know my library about as well as I do...hey, it's only my 3rd week.

I've never seen as many hipsters

2011-12-12T18:40:00.000-05:00

...as I did when I went to the Detroit Urban Craft Fair 2011 a couple of weekends back (you may remember me mentioning it briefly here). Unfortunately my cell phone won't register on my computer so I can't post the cool pics I took--ergh! Any way, it was fun. Not huge. Not tiny, but small enough to feel cozy. It was held in the historic Masonic Temple in downtown Detroit; a lovely building that is unfortunately (as it seems has happened to too many historic buildings in Detroit these days) located in the midst of a rough neighborhood, with things like old boarded up beauties-of-old-buildings right next door.

I was pleased that my sis-in-law Preggers Dayna and bro A3 came along. Even more pleased that they oohed and aahed cutsie things like onsies (I kept looking at my bro and thinking, "Who is this guy? This is my football playing, mechanic, engineer, tough guy, big brother--babies change us all, no?) I was pleased when they purchased a super adorable onsie and bib from (my favorite) vendor Bem & Gene (I would also like to note they are MI natives, from Ferndale, MI--woot woot!)

To show my support of all the vendors, here is the full list of all of the vendors that were at the Craft Fair.

Watch the news or the web next fall and put the 2012 Detroit Urban Craft Fair on your calendar. I don't think you'll be disappointed.


Image borrowed from here.

Dear Santa,

2011-12-09T23:45:00.003-05:00

So so so much to blog about: my trip to MI this past weekend, my new job week 2, Cleveland, and making my first friends in Ohio!

Until I have the proper time to do that, just wanted to share this. I LOVE it!

P.S. Welcome to my two newest followers:
Juice S. Aaron over at Tales from the Liberry
and Sity Myra over at This" is Eyra =:)
I appreciate you're following along--comment often!