Misadventures of the Monster Librarian

To my sister, A1, on her birthday--I give you something dear to me: Mumford & Sons "Sister"

... at reading Newbery winners... The Cat Who Went to Heaven , Elizabeth Coatsworth, was the 1931 Newbery medal winner. This is a very short (thank God!) story about a poor Japanese artist whose life begins to turn around after his housekeeper brings home a cat which they name, “Good Fortune,” (as soon as I read that I simultaneously groaned and wanted to shout, “THE CAT IS GOING TO BRING YOU GOOD LUCK!! I GET IT!!”) Lucky kitty in tow, poor artist now gets very prestigious work--commissioned to paint Buddha’s death. As the artist tries to decide which animals will be in this mural (each animal represents different aspects of Buddha’s life and reincarnations!) his cat watches on with admiration and a desire to be included in the painting...while I won’t give away the ending (keep in mind the cat’s name is Good Fortune), I will say I was so glad when it ended. Would I recommend it: Yes, to extreme cat lovers and aspiring Buddhists..and maybe someone I was mad at. ...

We are always on the go, especially this week with TRANSPORTATION. Here's my storytime goods: Photo from here . Music/Movement : “Shake Your Sillies Out,”   #13, Raffi’s More Singable Songs Flannel Board: “Green plane, green plane, what do you see?” OR “Bus to Storyland” Flannel Board: “ “This Little Train” Music/Movement: “The Wheels on the Bus” w/motions Book 1: The Seals on the Bus , Lenny Horton Book 2/Prop Story: Duck in the Truck, Jez Alborough w/puppets Music/Movement: “ Stop!” #12, Sesame Street’s Sing-a-long Travel Song Prop Story: One Dog Canoe , Mary Casanova, illus. Ard Hoyt w/puppets Book 3: Snappy Sounds: VROOM! A Noisy Pop-Up Book Music/Movement: “The Freeze,” #10, Greg & Steve’s We All Live Together, Vol. 2

Have you ever had one of those moments where you fulfill a dream? Right before it happens you have this heart pounding, adrenaline rushing moment of clarity and then your spirit kinda free falls. I had one of those moments last week; been meaning to write about it, but things have been so busy. Last Tuesday Bestie L sent her girls to their grandparents for the night, left her hubby to his own devices, and made the 3 hours trek to Cleveland so we could go to Anne Lamott's lecture--Anne Lamott is one of our favorite authors, by the way. After a quick tour of OHCity Library and a change of clothes we headed downtown to my new favorite drink spot, Bricco , for martinis and some delicious calamari and fried pickles. They have a drink called the Pink Elephant which is amazing...and enough of those will have you seeing pink elephants. Check it out if you're ever in downtown Cleveland! In no time I was watching in anticipation as Anne Lamott made her way across the stage and bega...

Like tons of others, I gobbled up all things Beverly Cleary when I was a kid; I laughed at Ramona’s antics, wanted a dog like Ribsy, wanted a paper route like Henry Huggins…and maybe had a secret crush on him too. There was something familiar about Cleary’s writing, something that sucked you in and made you feel at home, so I was glad to be returning to her work when I picked up Dear Mr. Henshaw , 1984’s Newbery winner. (Cleary also has two Newbery Honors for Ramona and Her Father (1978) and Ramona Quimby, Age 8 (1982). Having read Dear Mr. Henshaw so long ago I only had a vague memory of what it was about: a boy writing letters to his favorite author, Mr. Henshaw. I didn’t remember the kid angst and emotions that Cleary gracefully portrays through her protagonist, Leigh Botts,who is struggling with being the new kid in town, his parents’ divorce, and a lunch thief—favorite part of the book, the lunch box alarm. I enjoyed rereading this book and the jog down memory lane—thinkin...

Cat Stevens - Morning Has Broken

Happy Earth Day ya'll! "Sleeping in the Forest" I thought the earth remembered me, she took me back so tenderly, arranging her dark skirts, her pockets full of lichens and seeds. I slept as never before, a stone on the river bed, nothing between me and the white fire of the stars but my thoughts, and they floated light as moths among the branches of the perfect trees. All night I heard the small kingdoms breathing around me, the insects, and the birds who do their work in the darkness. All night I rose and fell, as if in water, grappling with a luminous doom. By morning I had vanished at least a dozen times into something better. --Mary Oliver Also, been meaning to also welcome newsest follower, Marvin! Thanks for stopping in and joining along.

This week has been nuts. Instead of closing two nights I swapped with someone to help her out and ended up closing an extra night, and because my best friend L came down so we could go to a lecture I had to switch two shifts, so everyday this week has felt like a different day and finally it's Friday! Heading to the Mitten (MI) again tonight after work, this time for best friend K's bachelorette party. I can't wait to be enjoying food and drinks and naughty girl talk with the besties and others and a night out on the town. So much to say about the last week, etc., will have to post more later, so until then, enjoy this lovely poem: "Mindful" Every day I see or hear something that more or less kills me with delight, that leaves me like a needle in the haystack of light. It was what I was born for— to look, to listen, to lose myself inside this soft world— to instruct myself over and over...

A recent storytime was COMMUNITY HELPERS: Music/Movement : “Shake Your Sillies Out,”   #13, Raffi’s More Singable Songs Rhyme/Flannel Board: “Ten Fire Fighters” Book 1: Lola at the Library , Anna McQuinn Rhyme: “What Do You Do?” w/pictures of each profession (see below) Music/Movement: “The Freeze,” #10, Greg & Steve’s We All Live Together, Vol. 2 Prop Story: Kitten Red Yellow Blue , Peter Catalanotto w/die cuts of all the different colored cats Book 2:   My Mother is a Doctor , Simon Charnan, Patrick Girouard illus. Music/Movement: “Bean Bag Rock,” #3, Bean Bag Activities & Coordination Skills “What Do You Do?”   Teacher, Teacher, What do you do? I teach you reading And writing, too. Doctor, Doctor, What do you do? I help when you're sick With a cold or the flu. Firefighter, Firefighter, What do you do? I help fight fires That might hurt you. Officer, Officer, What do you do? I help you stay safe In all that you d...

<p><br><br><br><br><br><br><br>DComfor</p> Comfort, Deb Talan I am going to tell you one of the secrets of life that you won't understand for yourself until it happens to you. When someone you love dies it sticks in you forever, it is the emotional equivalent to oatmeal sticking to your ribs and your stomach and filling you up all day. I once heard of grief as something like a wave which washes over you, but they always leave out the part about how even though you kick and fight back to the shore you still find remnants of that battle: sand in your belly button and ears and the sore eyes of too much salt water. Grief fills you with this longing that doesn't easily go away, like when y...

Photo from here . Spring means cutesie storytimes about things like bunnies and ducks--thought I would share this just ducky storytime.  Music/Movement : “Shake Your Sillies Out,”  #13, Raffi’s More Singable Songs   Flannel Board:  “Little White Duck" Book 1: Come Along Daisy!, Jane Simmons Prop Story: Ducks Like to Swim , Agnes Verboven, Anne Westerduin w/puppets Music/Movement: “Dance Along Gong Song,” #14 Jim Gill’s “Irrational Anthem and More Salutes to Nonsense” Book 2: Giggle, Giggle, Quack , Doreen Cronin Rhyme: “5 Little Ducks” Book 3: 10 Little Rubber Ducks , Eric Carle Music/Movement: “Can’t Wait to Celebrate,” #2 Jim Gill’s “Irrational Anthem and More Salutes to Nonsense” w/shakers This storytime went great. The kids LOVED everything ducks, they especially loved Ducks Like to Swim! Also, wanted to share this awesome resource: Perry, OH Public Library's storytime resource . Very helpful.

Some of the kids (and grown-ups too) have been coming in for books on the Titanic--yesterday marked the 100th anniversary of its sinking. Been meaning to post a list; here are a few kids books that for the curious kids: Titanic: Disaster at Sea National Geographic Kids Titanic Tonight on the Titanic (Magic Tree House, No. 17)  Titanic: A Primary Source History (In Their Own Words) On Board the Titanic: What It Was Like When the Great Liner Sank  Exploring the Titanic: How the Great Ship Ever Lost- Was Found   Heroine of the Titanic: The Real Unsinkable Molly Brown Eyewitness: Titanic (Eyewitness Books) S.O.S. Titanic     

My favorite pic of Picasso. “The marvels of daily life are exciting; no movie director can arrange the unexpected that you find in the street.” — Robert Doisneau I have had Paris on the brain lately: two couples (friends of mine) have gone/are going to Paris for honeymoons this spring; I just read A Moveable Feast (Hemingway) and The Paris Wife (McLain)--both set primarily in Paris; I recently watched "Midnight in Paris" and "Forget Paris;" I've been listening to more French music in the last weeks than I ever had in my entire life...Jeanne Aubert, Edith Piaf, Jean Laurent, Julien Duvivier, Maurice Yvain, Maurice Chevalier, Charles Trenet, Jean Sablon, Emile Carrara, Guillaume de Chassy and the list goes on and on. I can't get enough of Paris' sounds and any glimpses of it. I want to go to Paris TODAY! It was a nice treat to stumble upon Robert Dosineau today at Google--his is the featured GOOGLE background art because today w...

Aside from it being green to shop at thrift stores, I love shopping at thrift stores because you never know what you're going to find. For example. I love satchels. LOVE. Some people love fashion, but just give me a satchel to carry my writing and books in and I'm sound. I was bummed out when the zipper burst on my trusty old satchel some weeks back; so, what, I don't need a zipper, I thought...and then the strap snapped while I was carrying the very stuffed bag to my car the next day. So, I made my way to the thrift store not far from my house to see if I could find anything worthwhile, and I found an actual Marino Orlandi Italian leather satchel; judging from this site (Marino Orlandi's website doesn't list prices) my guesstimate is that my satchel would cost over $400 brand new (I am taking into account that my bag is bigger than these ones pictured). This bag rocks and I've already gotten tons of compliments (the pic doesn't do it justice). I am heart...

No, no, not that kind of adult novel, I am refering to J.K. Rowling's new novel geared at adults, The Casual Vacancy , which is due out in September. Described thus by Little, Brown, "...set in a small English town called Pagford, which comes undone after one of its denizens, a man in his early 40s named Barry Fairweather, unexpectedly dies. The event shakes the town and reveals the rampant unrest bubbling under the surface in the deceptively perfect hamlet."  Full article here . I am not sure that I will read it, as I am still fist-shaking-angry at Rowling for her damn epilogue in HP7.

Rosie Sprout’s Time to Shine , Allison Wortche, Patrice Barton (illus.) Rosie Sprout has to always hear about how her classmate Violet is amazing at EVERYTHING! “She ran the fastest in gym class. She sang the highest in choir practice. She was the loudest storyteller at lunch. And she looked the fanciest on picture day…Violet was definitely the best. And everyone agreed. Except Rosie.”  Rosie’s jealousy comes to a head when the class is growing peas and Violet’s plant is taller than hers, so she buries the sprout, but guilt kicks in when Violet is out sick with chicken pox and Rosie realizes that the right thing to do is to take care of Violet’s plant as if it were her own. This is a lovely story about facing up to your feelings of jealousy, and then doing the right thing.  Also, I absolutely love love love Patrice Barton’s beautiful illustrations: her soft hues, her curling pea plant, the emotions of each character present in her elegant art work! Publisher’s ...

"My father called them seedfolks, because they were the first of our family there. I think of them when I see any of the people who started the garden on Gibb Street. They're seedfolks too." Fleischman introduces us to a Cleveland neighborhood and it’s garbage-filled-lot-turned- community-garden by way of his characters; each chapter is named after and told by a different character, what they see and feel, and how their world has changed because of the community garden. It isn’t a perfect story, it is real in that people steal from the garden and some people still throw garbage into the lot, but it is a story of hope—how the neighbors come together as first gardeners and then friends. My only beef with the book was Fleischman’s inclusion of a chapter, “Maricela,” about a 16 pregnant girl who is praying that her baby miscarry. The word “abortion,” even comes up in this chapter, so reader beware. I am a prude by no stretch, I even think chapters like this one woul...

I love e.e. cummings. I love that he always has something for every mood, every feeling, every emotion. I don't want to go to work today, I want to ride the wave of happiness that washed over us this weekend...still smiling as I think about my niece and the amazing gift of life.  "i thank You God for most this amazing" i thank You God for most this amazing day: for the leaping greenly spirits of trees and a blue true dream of sky; and for everything which is natural which is infinite which is yes (i who have died am alive again today, and this is the sun's birthday; this is the birth day of life and of love and wings: and of the gay great happening illimitably earth) how should tasting touching hearing seeing breathing any--lifted from the no of all nothing--human merely being doubt unimaginable You? (now the ears of my ears awake and now the eyes of my eyes are opened) --e.e. cummings

I guess I'm prejudiced, but I think my new niece is the cat's meow--such a cutie. When my brother called to tell me she'd finally been born he said, "She looks like Dayna, but she's got your chubby cheeks." "Just this once will I take that as a compliment," I said in reply.  My Easter present arrived early and I couldn't be happier. Happy Easter!

<p><br>Fun.: We Are Young ft. Janelle Monáe (ACOUSTIC)</p> Fun.: We Are Young ft. Janelle Monáe (ACOUSTIC) I know I posted the official video of this last month, but I love love love this version too. This is the song of the moment; what I got stuck in my sister-in-laws head her last weeks of pregnancy; what my brother and I always wind up humming when we're together; what my best friends' two oldest requested I play over and over this weekend. Songs like this make me feel YOUNG. Good news! My sister-in-law gave birth last night and I am about to head back to Ohio to meet the newest member of the family, my niece Savannah--my Easter present arrived early. Happy Easter all!

Can you guess where I am? Back in Michigan just 4 days after I left, this time for a 3 day weekend of rest and relaxation, no baby showers, hopefully just lots of hanging with friends and celebrating Easter. All this traveling back and forth makes me want to move back to Michigan to just save on the damn gas! Gah! I've got some book reviews on the horizon, but until I can get those things in order, thought I would offer some lovely words on Easter from Anne Lamott--Did I mention bestie L is coming down to Cleveland next week and we're going to go see Anne Lamott lecture! I am so excited! Anne Lamott is one of our favorites. "So in Easter — and Passover too — something that happens is that we stop. This is the 'dark night of the soul' stuff that John the Divine writes about; that in that stopping we may fall into an abyss that we have been trying to outrun since we were little children ... and the American way, I think, is to trick out the abyss so it'...