Jodi's Musings on Books & Other Stuff

My Path to Library Science, continued

2009-04-21T08:47:00.000-07:00

After I left Viterbo, it was a few years before I encountered another library-related job. It was with Winnebago Software, a library automation company where I did data entry. You may think doing data entry for 8 hours a day would be boring, but this was actually one of my favorite jobs I've had, I suppose primarily because I didn't have to deal with demanding customers like I did in all my waitressing experiences.

The library automation came in handy because after a stint in Madison working for the state, I moved back to the area and had no luck at all finding a full-time job until a library assistant job opened up at the public library in Prairie du Chien. Because I was one of the few applicants who actually had any kind of library experience, I got the job. With the job came the best boss I've had, Lois Gilbert. She was the one who encouraged me to continue on with my library training so once again I went back to school; UW-Milwaukee would become the 4th college I attended! After sticking with 2 1/2 years of online classes, working full-time, and being a single mom I actually received my master's degree in library & information science. Looking back I feel bad about the times I would have to study and Ashley would have to entertain herself, but I think the lack of attention bothered our dog Max much more than it ever did her....one time when I was finishing up a big paper on the computer in my bedroom, Max came in the room, squatted on my bed, and proceeded to pee all over it! I guess it was his way of getting my attention, and it definitely worked.

I think I worked at the public library for almost 7 years, and it was a great experience. The best part was being a children's librarian: planning storytimes and summer reading programs for the younger children, and collection development and putting on programs for the teenagers. The worst part was some of the special characters you would get, including the guy who would ask for books on labor, and I don't mean as in unions!

National Library Week

2009-04-16T08:16:00.000-07:00

It's been a busy, busy week here at the library; the work is piled so high I'm beginning to wonder if I'm even going to be able to see over it soon! That's alright though, it's good to keep busy & to feel like my services are needed.

Since this is "National Library Week" I thought I would give a quick intro to how I came to work at the library.

Even though I always enjoyed books & reading (some of the books from when we were kids still have my "librarian's marks" in them, for example LPB for long paperback), I actually went to college to be a teacher. My junior year I applied at the college library for work-study; I remember there was a whole line of people in front of me, and the library director would ask them a question or two, and in most cases say something along the lines of "thanks for stopping by--but adios!". Well I noticed that he was asking them why they wanted to work there, and most of them were answering, "because I like to read". So I made sure to come up with a different answer by the time it was my turn. I think basically I responded with something about enjoying helping people and doing research. Well, apparently that was the right answer, because I got the job! Even now I find that a lot of people have the misconception that librarians basically sit around and read all day. About all I read at work is my email, and I admit...I check out what advice Jimmy the Bartender has to give when the new issue of Men's Health comes across my desk!

I continued to work at the Viterbo library as a work-study student for a year and a half. The most memorable part of it was when we moved the library to its newly built location. I spent my spring break lugging books & magazines down 2 flights, putting new shelves together, and getting them all shelved before classes started up again. The worst part would be when we would get 4 or 5 rows of magazines shelved, and then a row of Rolling Stones would show up. If you aren't aware of this significance, let me just say this: it involved lots of swearing, and sometimes tears were shed. Since the Stones were so much taller, it meant we would have to go back & redo everything we had just done; unloading all the other shelves, readjusting the shelves, shifting, reshelving....you get the point.

To be continued tomorrow......

5 Authors Who I Enjoyed More When Their 1st Novels Came Out

2009-04-11T07:50:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I feel like big-name authors start churning out novels just to please their fans, and they aren't nearly as good or have as well-developed storylines as their earlier works. These are five authors (and one of their earlier books) who I enjoyed more when I read them way back when than their newer stuff:

John Grisham -- A Time to Kill
James Patterson -- Kiss the Girls
John Saul -- Suffer the Children
Mary Higgins Clark -- Where Are the Children
Karen Robards -- Dark of the Moon and also Desire in the Sun

If these are authors you enjoy, I encourage you to seek out some of their older novels!

5 Selp-Help Books I Should Read & Heed

2009-04-11T07:25:00.000-07:00

For today's category I thought I would take a look at which self-help books I have on my shelves. When considering the status of my organizational abilities, health, weight, and love life (or lack thereof) I narrowed them down to five (OK, six) which I really should get reading--and heeding their advice!

He's Just Not That Into You: Your Daily Wake-Up Call by Greg Behrendt & Liz Tuccillo
Love Smart: Find the One You Want--Fix the One You Got by Phil McGraw
Overcoming Runaway Blood Sugar: Practical Help for People Fighting Fatigue & Mood Swings, Hypoglycemics & Diabetics, & Those Trying to Control Their Weight by Dennis Pollock
One Year to an Organized Life: From Your Closets to Your Finances, the Week-by-Week Guide to Getting Completely Organized for Good by Regina Leeds
Repacking Your Bags: Lighten Your Load for the Rest of Your Life by Richard J. Leider
Does this Clutter Make My Butt Look Fat?: An Easy Plan for Losing Weight and Living More by Peter Walsh

5 Children's/YA Historical Fiction Books

2009-04-08T11:05:00.000-07:00

I love historical fiction, so this was really tough to narrow down to five. I left off some that I'll probably be including in other 5-a-days soon, so that helped a bit. Granted, these are not my "all-time favorites" necessarily, but they are all ones that I immensely enjoyed. Somewhere along the line it seems I heard something about children/teenagers not enjoying historical fiction nearly as well as other genres, even though that's what seems to be most prolific. That could be part of the reason why series such as "Dear America" were borne--to get children more interested in reading about history.

In my opinion, the best historical fiction writers introduce us to a time or culture we are not very familiar with, but yet we can identify with the characters and their struggles. If you want to seek out other historical fiction suggestions, there are lots of resources out on the web. Morton Grove Public Library's "Webrary" is a great place to look for all kinds of reading lists; I got most of the following descriptions from there. http://www.webrary.org/rs/bibhistfict.html

Nory Ryan's Song by Patricia Reilly Giff -- When a terrible blight attacks Ireland's potato crop in 1845, twelve-year-old Nory Ryan's courage and ingenuity help her family and neighbors survive.

Fever, 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson -- In 1793 Philadelphia, sixteen-year-old Matilda Cook, separated from her sick mother, learns about perseverance and self-reliance when she is forced to cope with the horrors of a yellow fever epidemic.

Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes -- After injuring his hand, a silversmith's apprentice in Boston becomes a messenger for the Sons of Liberty in the days before the American Revolution.

The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth Speare -- In 1687, sixteen-year-old Kit leaves the West Indies to live with her Puritan relatives in Connecticut Colony. Her friendship with an outcast Quaker woman make her a target for charges of witchcraft.

Weedflower by Cynthia Kadohata -- After the bombing of Pearl Harbor, 12-year-old Sumiko and her family are shipped to an internment center in the Arizona desert. Sumiko soon discovers that the camp is on an Indian reservation and that the Japanese are as unwanted there as they'd been at home.

5 Tear-Jerkers

2009-04-07T20:00:00.000-07:00

No big surprises here--most of the following books have probably made hardier souls than me shed a tear or two. But these 5 stand out as especially heart-wrenching, some for pretty obvious reasons.

A Walk to Remember by Nicholas Sparks -- Oh yes, Sparks is a master of melodramatic romances, but I cried buckets reading this one since it was soon after my 15-yr-old cousin had died from complications of cancer.

Love You Forever by Robert Munsch -- Even though this is a "children's picture book" it's really aimed more at parents. "I'll like you for always, I'll love you forever, as long as I'm living, my baby you'll be". Yes Ashley, no matter how old you are, you'll always be our baby!

Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls -- The story of a boy and his dogs. Is there any more loyal creature in the world than a child's dog? "Old Dan must have known he was dying. Just before he drew his last breath, he opened his eyes and looked at me. Then with one last sigh, and a feeble thump of his tail, his friendly gray eyes closed forever." Jeezums, I couldn't even type that without crying.

Beat the Turtle Drum by Constance C. Greene -- An unforgettable story about the friendship between two sisters (from the cover). The book is the story of the summer when one of the sisters dies unexpectedly. I can relate to a lot of the narrator's comments: "It's a good thing something takes over and clouds your mind when someone you love dies. It's so awful, so unbelievably awful and terrible and everything bad, that people couldn't manage otherwise, I think." And "people say such dumb things when people die. They don't realize how dumb they are. They say, 'It was God's will,' like Miss Pemberthy. That's enough to turn anyone against God. I myself don't know if I'll ever feel the same about Him. Maybe He had a very good reason for making Joss die, but I doubt it. I read a poem which says, 'Death loves a shining mark,' and I think Joss was the shining mark".

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott -- Another obvious choice, considering it's the story of the 4 March sisters, Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy. When I die, I would like a poem from this book read at my funeral, and also request that the song "For the Beauty of the Earth" from the Winona Ryder film version is played. Here is a snippet of the poem "My Beth": "O my sister, passing from me, out of human care and strife, leave me, as a gift, those virtues which have beautified your life. Dear, bequeath me that great patience which has power to sustain a cheerful, uncomplaining spirit.....Hope and faith, born of my sorrow, guardian angels shall become, and the sister gone before me by their hands shall lead me home."

Well, I'm off to find some tissues now!

5-a-Day

2009-04-06T10:02:00.000-07:00

Since I have been incredibly lax in updating my blog & want to get back into it, I thought I would do some "5-a-Days" this week. Each day I'll list 5 books on a particular topic; feel free to comment on them. Full disclosure: contrary to popular belief I don't consider myself well-read so you won't see many "classics" on these lists.

This 1st one for sure I know some people will disagree with!

5 books that I think are overrated

The Harry Potter series -- don't get me wrong, the storylines are great, and it's wonderful that they have really gotten kids reading, but they are overly long. And I personally much prefer Ron to Harry; I find Harry to be kind of bratty, actually. Sacrilege, I know! :)
The Lovely Bones -- After a 14-yr-old is kidnapped & murdered by a neighbor, she follows the lives of her family from Heaven. Granted, this was an interesting story, it just didn't move me like it did a lot of people. Also, there's a scene towards the end that I found totally unbelievable.
Catcher in the Rye -- OK, I haven't actually read this, but Heather has, and from her take & the reviews I've read, I think it's probably overrated. I guess I better read it to find out for sure, though.
Tuesdays with Morrie: An Old Man, A Young Man, and Life's Greatest Lesson -- I read this and I have no recollection of what life's greatest lesson is so apparently it didn't affect me too much!
Junie B. Jones series -- It seems you either love these or hate them. I personally don't get the appeal; they are supposed to be funny but I just don't get what's "funny" about bad grammar, horrible spelling, calling people stupid, etc.

Ashley's "Easter" Books

2009-04-03T11:50:00.000-07:00

Janet Evanovich's "Stephanie Plum" series

I guess I'm on a book kick, because Ashley is also getting books in her Easter basket this year. I was first introduced to this laugh-out-loud series about ten years ago; somewhere along the line Ashley picked one up and read it which is very unusual since she usually avoids the books I read like the plague. Of course she was instantly hooked and has read the entire series, and like all of her favorite series, she has decided she wants to own them all. So I have been diligently trying to seek out & round up the 14 books (so far) in the Stephanie Plum series, along with the miscellaneous "Plum" books Evanovich has put out. I think I've almost got them all! If you've never read a book about this feisty New Jersey bounty hunter and her colorful cast of friends and enemies, pick up the 1st, "One for the Money", and you'll be hooked!

From the back cover: "Welcome to Trenton, New Jersey, home to wiseguys, average Joes, and Stephanie Plum, who sports a big attitude and even bigger money problems (since losing her job as a lingerie buyer for a department store). Stephanie needs cash--fast--but times are tough, and soon she's forced to turn to the last resort of the truly desperate: family. Stephanie lands a gig at her sleazy cousin Vinnie's bail bonding company. She's got no experience. But that doesn't matter. Neither does the fact that the bail jumper in question is local vice cop Joe Morelli. From the time he first looked up her dress to the time he first got into her pants to the time Steph hit him with her father's Buick, M-o-r-e-l-l-i has spelled t-r-o-u-b-l-e. And now the hot guy is in hot water--wanted for murder. Abject poverty is a great motivator for learning new skills, but being trained in the school of hard knocks by people like psycho prizefighter Benito Ramirez isn't. Still, if Stephanie can nab Morelli in a week, she'll make a cool ten grand. All she has to do is become an expert bounty hunter overnight--and keep herself from getting killed before she gets her man."

For years there have been rumors of this series being made into a movie, with entire websites dedicated to who should be cast as Stephanie, Grandma Mazur, Morelli, and the whole bunch. The competition & opinions have been fierce, especially for something that may never see the light of day. For me, one of the most important casting calls would be for Ranger; he is so extremely sexy and mysterious I can't think of anyone who would do him justice. Many people who read these books are either pro-Morelli or pro-Ranger, comparable to the Team Edward/ Team Jacob competition of the Twilight series. Give these books a try and discover if you're a Morelli or Ranger fan and let me know! Jodi

P.S. As you can probably guess, I am firmly planted in the Ranger camp!

For more information and fun stuff about Janet's books (including how many cars Stephanie has destroyed) check out her website at http://www.evanovich.com/.

Will's "Easter" Books

2009-04-01T07:49:00.000-07:00

Working in a university library, I'm not up on children's books like I used to be. Recently though I stopped in at a children's bookstore, looking for Easter presents for my nephew William. I've blogged about Will's love of books before, and I thought some new books would be a nice little addition to his Easter basket. I ended up buying the above 3 books for him, and I just love them; I hope he does too!
A little about them:
Little Quack's New Friend by Lauren Thompson

This is the 4th entry in the "Little Quack" series; I can't remember if I've seen any of the others, but I love this one, primarily because it has a frog in it. Other things I like about it are the bright, cheery colors, and the sound effects ("plunka, splunka"). In this story, Little Quack meets Little Ribbit, who wants to play. Little Quack's siblings determine the frog is "too little" and "too green" to play with, but soon join in as they see how much fun Ribbit & Quack have together. Besides being a cute, fun story, it has a beautiful message of friendship and acceptance as the ducks learn that just because someone looks a little different from them, they can still have lots in common.

Don't Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late! by Mo Willems

What can I say....I love the pigeon! Will literally cheers when I bring out a pigeon book, so I thought I'd better get him a new one. In this one, the bus driver asks us to make sure the pigeon doesn't stay up late. Of course, the pigeon comes up with all kinds of reasons & excuses why he should get to stay up, including there being a very educational show on TV about birds. School Library Journal had this to say about the illustrations of the books: "set against comfortably faded pastel backgrounds, the cartoon artwork focuses tightly on the main character, with his comments presented in dialogue balloons. The black-crayon lines speak volumes, as the pigeon's body language and the positioning of his ever-expressive eye humorously convey each nuance of the text." If you're looking for a funny book to read to a child, seek out a pigeon book today!

The Small Seed by Judith Nicholls (Little Scholastic)
This 1st nature book has rhyming text and realistic textures which children can feel as the seed grows roots, develops into a shoot, a stem, and finally a beautiful flower as the last page is folded out. The Little Scholastic series is "a developmental publishing program of interactive books created exclusively to give babies and toddlers a head start in learning". I'll have to seek out more of these because it looks like a wonderful new series. When I first picked this book out, I wondered if it would be too "old" for Will, and something he wouldn't really be interested in. But then I saw him at my parent's house, and what is the first thing he did? Showed me ALL of the new plants that grandma and he planted, and how they're all growing. So I think he may just like the seed book after all!

Misspellings

2009-02-19T13:46:00.000-08:00

I don't know if I'm really, really tired of winter & easily annoyed, but I'm going to share my latest gripe with you: websites, especially "educational" ones, that have typos/misspellings. Now I know everyone makes mistakes, but is it too much to ask for the people that are supposed to be educating our children to make sure what they are putting out there for everyone to see is at least spelled correctly?! I have come across the following mistakes in the last 2 days searching for materials for the library. If you come across some mistakes while you're out there surfing the web, post them here!

Talking with all my ESL teacher-friends, I come across the same complaint quiet often

ACEDEMIC

Help sutdents make a successful transition from Spanish to English reading

Children's Literarue Council Spring Workshop

2009-01-27T18:37:00.000-08:00

Life List of YA Books

As I'm sure I've mentioned before, my sister Heather has an addiction to lists--especially booklists! She recently reminded me that we have a "Life List of YA Books" we are supposed to be reading. Yes, she has it titled, numbered, alpabetized, the whole nine yards. It stands at 195 right now; I think over the course of my life I've read 72 of them, so I've still got a few to go. And with the recent award-winning books being announced (Newbery & Printz), she thinks it's time to add a few. I think she came up with this original list a year or two ago; it's basically a consolidation of scraps of paper we both had lying around with books we wanted to read. It has both classics--think Anne of Green Gables--and recent favorites--A Northern Light (see previous post for more info on this one).

I'm kind of a "streak" reader....for a few months I'll hardly read anything, and then all of a sudden I'll start reading a book or two a week. I guess it must be cabin fever/sick of winter, but I've recently been reading quite a bit again. The last few weeks I've read Olive's Ocean (didn't care for it--sorry Kevin Henkes, Madisonite), Maniac Magee (different--good message, but parts that kind of disturbed me), A Northern Light (awesome!), and Number the Stars (it's set during the Holocaust, so of course very effecting). So, as I'm back into the swing of things, I'll keep you posted with books that really strike me!

Do you have a lifetime reading list? Please share!

2009-01-27T17:22:00.000-08:00

A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly

16-yr-old Mattie Gokey has big dreams but little hope of seeing them come true. Desperate for money, she takes a job at the Glenmore, where hotel guest Grace Brown asks her to burn a bundle of secret letters. But when Grace's drowned body is fished from the lake, Mattie discovers the letters reveal the grim truth behind a murder.

Scott Turow had this to say about A Northern Light: "A book that sweeps across the genre boundaries of murder mystery, romance, and historical fiction--resulting in an original novel that is both gripping and touching."

I recently read this tale of poverty, racism, and feminism at the turn of the twentieth century, and I loved it! The characters were all very believable; each of the characters has both frustrating and redeeming qualities. Even Mattie is realistically flawed. A pet peeve I often have is that authors TELL us that the heroine is brave, smart, resourceful, etc., instead of just showing us, or having their actions speak for themselves. I thought Donnelly did a great job of telling the story and letting us come to our own conclusions.

I don't often take notes when reading, but there were several passages I marked in this one, for one reason or another:

...madness isn't like they tell it in books...when your mind goes, it's not castles & cobwebs & silver candelabra. It's dirty sheets & sour milk & dog shit on the floor.
Switchel is easier to drink than plain water when you are hot and thirsty. Mixing a little vinegar, ginger, and maple syrup into the water helps it to digest.
I did not wish to become a sneak, but sometimes one had no choice. Especially when one was a girl and craved something sweet but couldn't say why, and had to wait till no one was looking to wash a bucket of bloody rags, and had to say she was "under the weather" when she had cramps that could knock a moose over...she was fed up with sore bosoms and stained drawers and the fact that she couldn't just live life in the open...
Cripes, it wasn't my fault. What did he go and have 4 girls for?
Why do writers make things sugary when life isn't that way...Why don't they tell how a pigpen looks after the sow's eaten her children? Or how it is for a girl when her baby won't come out? Or that cancer has a smell to it?
I didn't think how saying yes to him would mean no to all the other things I wanted.

Movies Based on Books

2008-12-03T14:26:00.000-08:00

Recently some of my favorite books have come to the big screen: Secret Life of Bees, Twilight, and Confessions of a Shopaholic. Other movies I've seen recently were also based on books, including the Kite Runner and Nick & Nora's Infinite Playlist. What movies have been based on books that you read, and how did they compare? Which books would you like to see adapted for the big screen? Please join in the discussion! (Just try not to give away any "spoilers")

Apples & Pumpkins

2008-11-18T18:49:00.000-08:00

I know winter's almost here (boo-hoo!), but I had to share a couple fall books for children I recently read.

Pumpkin Soup by Helen Cooper

In this beautifully illustrated tale, Cat, Squirrel, and Duck discover the ups and downs of friendship and sharing, and what really makes pumpkin soup taste so good.

Johnny Appleseed by Carol Ottolenghi

When I worked in the public library, each September we would dutifully pull the apple books off the shelves to display; I don't know if I ever actually read the ones about Johnny Appleseed, but I recently found this version and found it very interesting. For example, did you know that John Chapman aka Johnny Appleseed was a vegetarian? Or that a law said that every family on the new frontier had to plant 50 apple trees on their homestead? This is one reason I love kids' books...you can learn a lot of great information in a short amount of time, even if you're not a kid anymore!

Ah, it Warms a Librarian's Heart!

2008-11-15T14:26:00.000-08:00

The joke in our family is that I went to grad school & spent gazoodles of money to become a librarian, and my sister became a library director before I did. Actually, the closest I've come is "Assistant Director of Library Services" which sounds pretty good, but I think pretty much everyone at the library where I work has that same title.
You could say we're a family of librarians...my dad, sister and daughter have all filled-in as substitutes at the library where Heather is director. And we're a family of readers, too. Growing up I remember my mom reading quite a bit, but not my dad. But wow, I can't believe how much he reads now! When the harvesting is done, and winter is here, he'll really be back into the swing of things. I love giving him suggestions of books and hearing about the mistakes he finds in them....he would be a great editor. Hey, maybe you could do that on the side next year when you "retire", Dad!
When we were kids, our house was always filled with books: encyclopedias, bible stories, Time-Life series, romances, you name it, but the Childcraft series was always a special favorite of mine. Fifteen volumes filled with tales of artists, historic figures, fairy tales, arts and crafts, recipes, you name it. It was wonderful! I'm not sure whatever happened to it, though; I'll have to do some investigating because now I'm really in the mood to reminisce!
When Ashley was young, she was not a big book fan. Oh, we tried...we belonged to book clubs, went to the library, bought tons of books at secondhand stores and book fairs, subscribed to magazines, etc. etc. Even though she didn't like being read to, one thing she did enjoy was being told stories. Once when we lived in Decorah she got on a Beauty & the Beast kick, and I think I had to tell her that story every night for a month. Somewhere along the way, though, she ended up really liking books. In fact, she has a huge collection now; whenever we want to stop at a bookstore she moans & groans because she doesn't want to go in, but who always ends up buying the most? You guessed it!
Which brings me to the point of this particular posting. Last week, Heather, Amanda, Will & I went to Waterloo for an afternoon of shopping. Of course, we had to stop at Barnes and Noble; Amanda & Will went in while Heather & I were looking at books in the entryway. But as soon as we got into the store, we could hear "MaMa MaMa MaMa MaMa". :) We followed the mamas to an excited and overwhelmed Will. I tell you, seeing such an exuberance for books by our 15-month-old nephew sure made Aunt Heather & Anut JoJo awfully proud! It was tough to tear him away from the books when it was time to go, especially the tractor ones! In fact, the tractor book with wheels, which was supposed to be a stocking stuffer, had to be wrested out of his hands while he screamed, in order to be paid for. Ah, be still my heart. I just hope his love of books continues; with this family he definitely won't be in short supply!

Wordle

2008-11-07T07:18:00.000-08:00

As I was browsing today for library blogs, I found this cool site called Wordle. In its own words "Wordle is a toy for generating 'word clouds' from text that you provide...the images you create are yours to use however you like". I took one of the quotes from my Facebook page, pasted it onto the Wordle create screen, and came up with this image (click on the source code):



You can keep hitting "Randomize" until you get an image you really like.  Check it out!

The Poetry of Langston Hughes

2008-11-05T13:41:00.001-08:00

Today as I was searching the stacks for a class instruction session, I came across this 16 vol. set of the works of Langston Hughes. Hughes was one of the most important writers of the Harlem Renaissance; through his poetry, novels, plays, essays, and children's books, he promoted equality, condemned racism and injustice, and celebrated African American culture, humor, and spirituality. As I paged through this volume, some of the poems seemed to leap off the page at me and seemed fitting to share at this important juncture in our history. I encourage you to seek out some of his writings for yourself!

Children's Rhymes

By what sends the white kids

I ain't sent:

I know I can't be President.

What don't bug them white kids

sure bugs me:

We know everybody ain't free.

Lies written down for white folks

ain't for us a-tall:

Liberty and Justice--

Huh!--For All?

Words Like Freedom

There are words like Freedom

Sweet and wonderful to say.

On my heartstrings freedom sings

All day everyday.

There are words like Liberty

That almost make me cry.

If you had known what I know

You would know why.

To You

To sit and dream, to sit and read,

To sit and learn about the world

Outside our world of here and now--

our problem world--

To dream of vast horizons of the soul

Through dreams made whole,

Unfettered free--help me!

All you who are dreamers, too,

Help me make our world anew.

I reach out my hands to you.

--from Rampersad, A (Ed.). (2001). The collected works of Langston Hughes. Columbia, MO: University of Missouri Press

Berenstain Bears

2008-10-30T11:48:00.000-07:00

I have always enjoyed the Berenstain Bears books, especially the ones featuring the Bear Scouts, and the earlier ones in which Papa would try to teach Brother how to do something & fail miserably (ex: The Bike Lesson). To get into the Halloween spirit, I recently went back & reread Bears in the Night, The Spooky Old Tree, and The Bear Detectives: The Case of the Missing Pumpkin. I still really enjoyed the first two; I think they are fun books to introduce children to prepositions (over, under, etc.) and to reading independently . As I was reading the Case of the Missing Pumpkin I was amused by Papa's bumbling nature & his knack for getting everything wrong, until I came to the page where Papa and his dog inadvertently get caught up in a hay bale. Now I don't know, maybe I'm just extra-sensitive concerning farm accidents, but I found it a little disturbing. Give this book a look and tell me what you think!

Update to "The Secret"

2008-10-27T09:25:00.000-07:00

Yesterday as Ashley & I were out on a walk, we found a $5 bill blown into a pile of leaves in the street. Maybe there really is something to this law of attraction!

WARNING--WARNING--POLITICAL OPINION AHEAD

2008-10-26T09:30:00.000-07:00

I have never considered myself a political person; patriotic, yes--I've been known to shed tears seeing the flag being carried at parades, hearing the National Anthem being sung, and listening to John Wayne recite why he loves America. But for the most part I've never trusted politicans or thought that they had our best interests at heart. Until now. I saw Barack Obama speak at Luther College earlier this year and for the 1st time in my life I felt inspired by a politician, and felt that he really cared about this great nation and its people. I also believe that by electing him president that we will send a message to the rest of the world--that we truly practice what we preach when it comes to diversity and equality for all.

Even if I didn't feel it in my soul that he is what our country needs right now, I'll tell you the biggest reason I won't vote for John McCain: Sarah Palin. The thought of her being one step away from commander-in-chief scares the crap out of me! And McCain choosing her makes me seriously question his ability to make important decisions.

It saddens me to think that this election might come down to pure old racism. I recently received the following email, and it is so true!

THE JUXTAPOSITION OF FACTS... A USEFUL PERSPECTIVE A question of perspective: Obama/Biden vs McCain/Palin. What if things were switched around? Think about it. Would the country's collective point of view be different? Could racism be the culprit? Ponder the following:
What if the Obamas had paraded five children across the stage, including a three month old infant and an unwed, pregnant teenage daughter?
What if John McCain was a former president of the Harvard Law Review?
What if Barack Obama finished fifth from the bottom of his graduating class?
What if McCain had only married once, and Obama was a divorcee?
What if Obama was the candidate who left his first wife after a severe and disfiguring car accident?
What if Obama had met his second wife in a bar and had a long affair while he was still married?
What if Michelle Obama was the wife who not only became addicted to painkillers but also acquired them illegally through her charitable organization?
What if Cindy McCain graduated from Harvard?
What if Obama had been a member of the Keating Five?
What if McCain was a charismatic, eloquent speaker?
What if Obama couldn't read from a teleprompter?
What if Obama was the one who had military experience that included discipline problems and a record of crashing seven planes?
What if Obama was the one who was known to display publicly, on many occasions, a serious anger management problem?
What if Michelle Obama's family had made their money from beer distribution?
What if the Obamas had adopted a white child?

You could easily add to this list. If these questions reflected reality, do you really believe the election numbers would be as close asthey are? This is what racism does. It covers up, rationalizes, and minimizes positive qualities in one candidate and emphasizes negative qualities in another when there is a color difference.
Educational Backgrounds: Barack Obama: Columbia University - B.A. Political Science with a Specialization in International Relations. Harvard - Juris Doctor(J.D.) Magna Cum Laude

Joseph Biden: University of Delaware - B.A. in History and B.A.in Political Science. Syracuse University College of Law - Juris Doctor(J.D.)

John McCain: United States Naval Academy - Class rank: 894 of 899

Sarah Palin: Hawaii Pacific University - 1 semester. North Idaho College - 2 semesters - general study. University of Idaho - 2semesters - journalism. Matanuska-Susitna College - 1 semester. University of Idaho - 3 semesters - B.A. in Journalism.

Education isn't everything, but this is about the two highest offices in the land as well as our standing in the world. You make the call.

2008-10-24T17:56:00.000-07:00

The Law of Attraction

Between a motivational speaker at a conference on Tuesday, and watching "The Secret" Thursday night, I'm ready to go out & accomplish anything! Well, not really, but I did take home some good pointers. One of the most interesting things I got out of the movie was that like attracts like...for example, when I am negative & dwell on my bad finances, I am going to attract more negativity and debt. I have certainly seen that in my life. According to the principles outlined in the video, I should not say "I want to get out of debt", because just mentioning the word "debt" could attract it. I should say something along the lines of "I want to be financially stable or well-off". Now I don't know about that so much, but taking a more positive approach does make a lot of sense. I have to be proactive instead of reactive, quit sticking my head in the sand, as people say I tend to do.

It is really, really hard to not be negative. I swear I was up half the night after watching the movie trying not to have any negative thoughts or dreams......very hard for someone with OCD tendencies...yikes! But the last few days I have definitely been more aware of my thoughts and have made a conscious effort--with lots of help from Ashley; it's funny but she's really into this!--to stay positive. For example, I realized what I wrote on my Facebook status last night was very negative (something about not being able to work again today so there go Ashley's Christmas presents). She pointed out to me that it was very negative, and made it sound like we were poor & couldn't have a Christmas at all. Yikes! That is one of my biggest pet peeves when people can't "celebrate" Christmas because they can't afford to buy the presents they want. Oh my goodness....I updated my status ASAP to reflect all the positive that would come out of not having to go to work today. Ok, well I'm off to prepare a budget for next month, get the bills ready to send out, and clean the kitchen so Ashley & I can make some cookies! I'll keep you updated on how this positiveness works out!

Banned Books

2008-10-23T06:38:00.000-07:00

"The books that the world calls immoral are the books that show the world its own shame."
--Oscar Wilde

The 1st Amendment--notably the Freedom of Speech--has been on my mind a lot lately. Several things have happened which have made me take a closer look at what freedom of speech/expression really means. In my research, I have come across some of the following lists of books which have been challenged or banned. Because of my occupation, and my belief in letting people think for themselves, I strongly oppose censorship. But looking at some of these books, I couldn't even fathom what reason people would have to try to censor them. The Giving Tree? Fallen Angels? Julie of the Wolves? The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe? Huh?? Unlike some of the would be book-banners I have read all of these books and I just don't see the problem. I read Fallen Angels for a children's lit. class; thinking back I don't remember what the issue would be. The topic is the Vietnam War so I suppose that may be what some people shirk at. But the Vietnam War happened, and as in all wars terrible things happened. Should we hide this from teenagers? I love the above quote; shameful things happen in this world and every single person should have the right to be able to read these accounts if they so choose. Celebrate your freedom of speech by reading a banned book today!

Favorite HarperCollins titles
that have been challengedJulie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George

Dinky Hocker Shoots Smack by M. E. Kerr

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis

The Bridge to Terabithia and
The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson

Scary Stories 3: More Tales to Chill Your Bones
by Alvin Schwartz

In the Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak

The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein

Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder

Dragonwings by Laurence Yep

The 10 most challenged books of the 21st Century (2000-2005) are:

1. Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling

2. "The Chocolate War" by Robert Cormier

3. Alice series by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

4. "Of Mice and Men" by John Steinbeck

5. "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" by Maya Angelou

6. "Fallen Angels" by Walter Dean Myers

7. "It's Perfectly Normal" by Robie Harris

8. Scary Stories series by Alvin Schwartz

9. Captain Underpants series by Dav Pilkey

10. "Forever" by Judy Blume

"Most Challenged Books of 21st Century (2000-2005)," American Library Association, May 29, 2007.
http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/offices/oif/bannedbooksweek/bbwlinks/topten2000to2005.cfm (Accessed October 23, 2008)
Document ID: 388245

2008-10-20T13:03:00.000-07:00

Pumpkin pie, pumpkin carving, pumpkin cake, pumpkin malts...I love pumpkins! Since this is the perfect time of year, yesterday I made pumpkin bars. And if I do say so myself, they turned out pretty darn good! I have to admit I haven't done a whole lot of baking over the years, since my aunt had a cookie & cake catering business, and my mom & sisters ran a bakery. Plus, I think the oven we have in our current apartment is from about 1953, and not the most conducive to baking. But since yesterday I had an unexpected day off from work, Ashley and I took advantage of it. We took our pumpkin bars out to Volga Lake and had a fall picnic. I was disappointed that a lot of the leaves had already fallen, but it was still a nice, relaxing way to spend the afternoon. Later we shared the bars with some grateful college students who had to stay on campus over fall break; they were a welcome treat for students who are getting a bit bored of the cafeteria's offerings.

Shelley, originally a friend of my sister, but now an "adopted Hilleshiem" and a very cool cat :), has recently created a baking/cooking blog. That, and of course my fetish for recipes, made me want to share one, too! So here is the recipe for the amazing pumpkin bars I made this weekend...............the secret to making these, or any kind of fruit bread that you want to be moist, is to not overmix the batter.

Pumpkin Bars by Wildflour Bakery

from the Walker Family Cookbook

1 15 oz. can pumpkin 1/2 tsp. salt

1 c. oil 2 tsp. baking powder

4 eggs 1 tsp. soda

2 c. flour 1/2 tsp. ginger

2 c. sugar 1/2 tsp. nutmeg

2 tsp. cinnamon

Combine ingredients & mix well. Bake for 30 minutes at 350°. Cool; frost with cream cheese frosting. (2 lbs. powdered sugar, 1 stick butter, 8 oz. cream cheese, 1/4 c. milk--mix well & increase/decrease milk amount to get the consistency you want).

Recipe Notes: The frosting makes a large batch, so I actually made just 1/2 batch. I also cut the cinnamon in half because I don't like my pumpkin stuff very "spicy". Also, these are usually made on a large jelly roll sheet which I don't have. I made them in a 9x13 pan, and that worked just fine, it was just more like cake.

Aggravation!

2008-06-19T10:46:00.001-07:00

My pet peeve of the day: "help" guides that aren't helpful at all! I'm cleaning out my desk at work today and finding all kinds of beautiful brochures, ads, pamphlets, etc. from a certain company. I am looking for an answer to a seemingly simple question, for example, how do I connect point A to B. Everywhere I look--oh this product is so wonderful, it even lets you connect point A to B. But in all this literature does it ever tell me HOW to connect the points? NO!!!! Is that to much to ask? And the sad thing is, I see this quite often.

Conference

2008-05-15T08:03:00.000-07:00

I'm currently at UNI attending a conference about blogging, wikis, and social software. Right now we are on the blog portion, and since I already have my blog set up, I'm experimenting with layout, RSS feeds, etc.

Humorous books

2008-05-07T12:06:00.000-07:00

Are you in need of a good laugh? I recently read an article that explained how laughter can actually benefit your health, including lowering blood sugar in diabetics. So, for the health of it, here are 15 books that I found to be laugh-out-loud funny:

About a Boy by Nick Hornby -- ""We've always thought you have hidden depths," said John. "Ah, but you see, I haven't. I am this shallow.""
Bridget Jones's Diary by Helen Fielding -- "Sunday 1 January: 129 lbs. (but post-Christmas), alcohol units 14 (but effectively covers 2 days as 4 hours of party was on New Year's Day), cigarettes 22, calories 5424"
Catherine, Called Birdy by Karen Cushman -- "12th Day of September: I am commanded to write an account of my days: I am bit by fleas and plagued by family. That is all there is to say."
Confessions of a Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella -- "I know exactly how much my Visa bill will be. Sort of. Roughly. It'll be about...£200. Three hundred, maybe. Yes, maybe £300. Three-fifty, max."
Diary of a Wombat by Jackie French -- "Monday. Morning: slept. Afternoon: slept. Evening: ate grass. Scratched. Night: ate grass."
Diary of a Worm by Doreen Cronin --
Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus by Mo Willems
The Great Brain by John Fitzgerald --
Harris & Me: A Summer Remembered by Gary Paulsen -- "Later I would come to know a great deal about electrical things. I would understand that water is an excellent conductor of electrical energy but that urine, with its higher mineral content, is even better and what Harris did amounted to hooking a copper wire from his business to the electric fence."
One for the Money (& the entire Stephanie Plum series) by Janet Evanovich --
The Watsons Go to Birmingham--1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis -- "Keh-ee! Keh-ee! Hel' me! Hel'me! Go geh Momma! Go geh Mom-ma! Huwwy uh!

(To be continued.....)

What are your favorite funny books? Please share them!

Booklists

2008-05-06T17:08:00.000-07:00

My sister Heather has a booklist addiction. She pretty much won't read something unless it's on a list, which means she creates a lot of lists! Fortunately, she's very good at it. She's making some right now for her library (Waterville Public Library--the best little library in Northeast Iowa!!!) that are for children. So, if you need some ideas for books your children may enjoy, I'm sure she would have some great suggestions for you. And, if you happen to live in/around Waterville, she's getting ready for a great summer reading program. Check it out!

And of course, if you need ideas for books YOU can read over the summer, let us know...I'm sure we can come up with a great list for you, too!

Intro

2008-05-06T16:55:00.000-07:00

I don't especially like blogs, but what am I doing? Creating a blog! I guess I'm just trying to keep up with the times. During my sleepless nights (not really!) of pondering how to make the library a more useful, cooler place, it came to me....Facebook! So anyway, that was my first foray into social networking. Now I'm trying blogging. It's all part of my experimentation with different formats to see which (if any) students are more likely to respond to.

On that note....if you have any research questions, etc., please, please ask me! It makes me feel useful. :)