A Look at Zoom Storytimes with ALSC

Are you utilizing Zoom for your virtual story times?  Looking for ideas on how to revamp your offerings? Check out this recent post on the ALSC blog, entitled Zoom On: A Look at Zoom Storytimes.

(Do you prefer a different platform?  Never fear!  The ALSC blog has your back: Online Storytimes: An Interview About Technology and Connecting)

ALSC Blog Post - Best of the Decade: Children's Librarianship

Best of the Decade: Children’s Librarianship by blogger Emily Bayci It is time to look at the best of the decade in children’s librarianship and literature, because what a decade it has been! There’s been highs and lows from drama in publishing to people holding one another accountable for better books, better representation, better [programming and better everything. Let’s take some time to celebrate the good that has happened. And strive to do even better in the decade to come! These awards are solely my own opinion, not the opinions of ALSC and are completely for fun! Best Newbery Award Winner: I’m very partial to Merci Suarez Changes Gears (the last and best Newbery winner of the decade!) but have to admit that I’m of course biased because that was my year on the committee. From Rebecca Stead starting the decade strong with When You Reach Me, to a sports book in verse winning with The Crossover by Kwame Alexander in 2015- I have to give the cake to the picture book Newbery Medal Winner of Last Stop on Market Street Matt de la Peña: a book that truly exemplifies all six of the Newbery criteria in a very short word count! Best Caldecott Medalist: This category was a tough one. I loved the wordless art in the 2010 winner, The Lion & the Mouse,and who can not appreciate the dark humor in This is Not my Hat, or the beauty and creativity in The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend.Since I am making the rules for these “awards” on my own, I’m declaring a draw for this winner and asking for people’s votes in the comments. Because I can! Help me make a decision please! Best Programming Trend: From learning a digital language in coding programs, to finding the inner zen with yoga, to cuddling away with therapy dogs, to making it out of the library in escape rooms, to a surge of makerspaces and sensory programming… the list goes on and on and on!  I am going to call Makerspaces the trend of the decade, they have been booming and evolving in nearly every library from big to small! Most Unique Circulating Items: Circulating Technology, Library of Extraordinary Things, the name changes depending on the library but libraries aren’t just for books anymore. You can get laptops, iPads, phone chargers, umbrellas, cupcake tins- but my favorite item would be how you can get a borrowed stroller with a baby doll from the Elmhurst Public Library. So. Awesome. Best Change Made: With a new decade, comes changes in the field, and this decade was one for the books. From the new Early Learning Digital Media Award, to lifelong donations from the ,1876 Club, I think a most momentous change is ALSC’s noteworthy decision to rename the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award to the Children’s Literature Legacy Award. Will this pave the way for award name changes in the future? Only time will tell. Best “serial” Series: We’ve seen Magic Treehouse, rebrand and renumber with Merlin Missions, we’ve watched Scholastic’s Branches make great strides in fun beginning chapter book series, we’ve seen the Princess in Black band together with her allies, we’ve watched Geronimo and his clan take over the universe and our dear Wimpy Kid have awkward exploit after awkward exploit. But I have to give it to Dav Pilkey’s latest creation: DOG MAN!!!!!!! A series where truly every book gets better than the last! Most Exciting Substance: Is glitter a thing of the past? Is slime the new silliest item? Are rubber band balls making a comeback? Do ukuleles count as a material? With an increase in books, programming, and fun- I give the most exciting substance to SLIME! Because who doesn’t want to have a slimey time in the library? KidLit Adaptation: There’s nothing new about movies being made from children’s books, but TV shows and now Netflix shows have taken a new rush. Netflix has gone on a spree buying rights to children’s books . To All the Boys I Loved Before, Dumplin, Series of Unfortunate Events, the controversial 13 Reasons Why series, I have to give it to Neil Patrick Harris as Count Olaf and A Series of Unfortunate Events. Such a well done series, that actually sticks to the booms surprisingly well. I need to watch this again. And read them all again. Best library “buzz words”: New trends, new phrases, new hashtags take over the world: computational thinking, racial equity, social innovation, big body play, digital divide. I’m not sure if #weneeddiversebooks counts, but it’s my winner- keep those #ownvoices coming! Best interactive picture book: In 2011, Herve Tullet published “Press Here,” a book with an engaging and fun concept that kids could be involved in the story. The book had huge success and was later published in big books and more formats. Tullet has written several others and started a trend of interactive picture books from Christie Mathesons, Tap the Magic Tree, Plant the Tiny Seed, and Touch the Brightest Star.  Jessica Young’s Play This Book and Shake the Tree by Chiara Bignocchi, and Get Out of My Bath! by Britta Tecktentrup! There’s the Dinosaur Vs. Series, and It’s a Tiger! and Don’t Push the Button and Olaf 1-2-3! My winner is Tap the Magic Tree, because it can be timely in all four seasons- pretty impressive! Can this come out in big book format yet? This post has been fun, but the decade was definitely a lot to cover- thanks for an amazing decade in children’s literature and librarianship.  Let me know more nominations and more best ofs. We could recap 2010 for the whole new decade, but  I cannot wait to see what’s to come! These awards were solely my own opinion, not the opinions of ALSC and are completely for fun! The post Best of the Decade: Children’s Librarianship appeared first on ALSC Blog.

Mental Health Resources for Children and Caregivers

A couple weeks ago I shared a great resource list of nonfiction for teens regarding mental health.  This week, I was pleased to find that Kaitlin Frick over at the ALSC Blog has shared a great compilation of websites and books "to assist young people and their caregivers in recognizing and dealing with mental health conditions".  Websites of note include the Child Mind Institute and the National Alliance on Mental Illness.  The book list includes The Rabbit Listened (Cori Doerrfeld) and The Goldfish Boy (Lisa Thompson).  These resources can help young patrons gain a better understanding of mental health conditions and assist their caregivers with early recognition and support.

Check out the post and all the great resources HERE.

Talking Points about Early Literacy STEM

The ALSC blog's Overview of the Last Six Months listed the top nine most popular ALSC blog posts from that period. Though I read it often, there were a few listed that I had missed. One of the most useful as I plan the upcoming spring storytime season is STEAM and Storytime Tips by Guest Contributors Saroj Ghoting and Pamela Martin-Diaz.  The early literacy talking points and the connections to reading, science, and math these points make are great starts for storytime scripts and creative fodder for making up your own. 

Do you incorporate early literacy talking points into your storytimes? Do you have handouts for caring adults? 

If you're a YSS member, we'd love to hear how you engage and empower parents around the many types of literacy and growing readers. Comment on this post or send a blog submission to Aimee Schreiber, the YSS Blog Administrator at the email shown in the header.

Organization Tips and Tools

Recently, Youth Services Librarian Dana Johnson (La Crosse Public Library) shared her experience with trying out some different organizational techniques and tools over at the ALSC Blog.  I know I can definitely use some extra help keeping on top of projects for summer, so check out her successes and see if they could work for you!  Full article HERE.

Collaboration Between Public & School Libraries: Partnering for Summer Reading Success

The ALSC blog had a post about something I'm excited to have happening in Wisconsin - collaboration between public and school libraries. School Library Connection has the free webinar presented by Jen C. Cannell and Mary Fellows on their site. You can access the webinar titled "The Perfect Equation for Summer Reading Success: School + Public Librarians" HERE for ideas on partnering to keep youth reading all summer long.

Resources for Growing a Reader from Frisco Public Library's Early Literacy Day

If you haven't seen the Grow a Reader post on the ALSC blog about early literacy training days, it is interesting. Even better is this wealth of materials linked to at the bottom of the post which includes the handouts from the Early Literacy Day from the Frisco Public Library:
http://www.friscolibrary.com/earlyliteracyday

There are some scalable ideas to implement in a small library or a large one about play, STEM-based learning for young children, enhancing talk with intentional activities, and storytime activities to enhance school readiness.

The librarians at Frisco Public Library have also put together a set of three online early literacy classes geared towards parents and caregivers of Babies (Birth to 17 months), Toddlers and 2s (18 months to 2 years), and 3-5s (3 to 5 years). The classes can be taken by anyone, do not require a library card, and may count towards continuing education credit for childcare providers. Find those courses and more information HERE.

Ratings, Values, and Librarian's Thoughts about Common Sense Media

In case you haven't seen the debate around ratings and Common Sense Media that took place on the ALSC (Association for Library Services to Children) listserv earlier this month, this article on the ALSC blog sums up the key points, librarian concerns, and issues surrounding intellectual freedom and labeling. The article also includes links to Joyce Johnston's piece on the OIF blog titled Common Sense Media:  Promoting Family Values or Dictating Them?  and an updated version of a 2010  editorial from Pat Scales, titled Three Bombs, Two Lips, and a Martini Glass updated as a result of the ALSC-L discussions.

Program Ideas from ALA Program-a-Looza

Sure we're still kneedeep in summer library programming, but we're starting to plan for fall and beyond. Want some ideas from youth services librarians across the country? Amy Seto Forrester covers the program with attached notes from the sessions with this post on her blog Picture Book A Day.

Library Card Sign-up Month

September is Library Card Sign-up Month. Yesterday, the ASLC blog had a great post about how to work with schools to get more kids signed up for library cards. The ideas can be used anytime of the year.

Spring is a great time with summer around the corner and kids not having access to school libraries. In May and June, all first grade classes from the three elementary schools visit my library for a tour and stories. Weeks before the visit, the teachers pass out library card applications and return completed ones to me. When the classes visit, the kids get their new library cards.

Storytime at my library draws a young crowd (mostly 3s) who are fun. I love when the first graders visit because I can do longer stories with more sophisticated humor. My current favorite is Big Bad Bubble by Adam Rubin and Daniel Salmieri.

Art Attack!

I love blogging and social media for the way they make learning about new concepts or initiatives so easy.  One great idea gets posted or tweeted and the snowball rolls on from there.  The connectivity is so immediate and so constant that you almost can't help learning something new to try in your work every day.

Today's "Aha!" moment is from the ALSC blog (ALA's Association for Library Service to Children). Our colleague Heather Accero from the Rochester MN Public Library has a great post about an Art Room they created for kids to explore and make art.

While I love the concept, even more fun is how they found the space to make this room. Heather gave up her office and it was re-purposed!  By looking for ways to include art, they found creative ways to make the space happen.

Rochester is just a short 60-90 minute drive away from La Crosse and Eau Claire and might be worth the stop to visit colleagues in these cities on your way to observe the wonder of the Art Room in Rochester!

Follow the ALSC Institute!

ALSC is holding its biennial Institute in Indinapolis as I type.  Our fearless leader, Sue Abrahamson is there (she is a long-time Institute attendee...she says it's one of the most helpful conferences she has ever attended), along with librarians from across the country.  I wish I were there but, sadly, work commitments hold me here.

However, I am not in despair. By following the handy hashtag #ALSC12 on Twitter and peeking in at the ALSC blog throughout the day, I am getting a great taste of the sessions and the fun.  Fire up your twitter account and follow all the action today!

Playtime

Have you tried to bring Play into your children's space? How have you done it? The blog over at ALSC has an interesting piece about it.

The Door County Library in Sturgeon Bay has toys that the children can check out (28 days just like a book). We have them in mesh bags with tags on them; they range from Folkmanis puppet groupings (3-7 puppets in a bag with a theme) to board games. Creative play is a wonderful thing to watch!
The ladies in the photo are having a bit of a tea party with Bobette (in red). From the ALSC article.