While I was away at ALA Midwinter, though, we got an explosion of picture books in!  We had a moratorium on ordering new books since June due to changing vendors, budget issues, reorganization, and the usual gamit of public library issues, but now we’re back in business and I need to catch up!  So, I’ve moved my 5 a Day Keep the Doctor Away posts over to Pinterest, that way I can still keep tabs on the picture books I’m reading, still write a brief something to lock it into my brain (I’m very tactile when it comes to memory), and still see the pictures.  I think it’ll be even easier to use Pinterest since all the photos/reviews will be in one place and I won’t have to toggle between posts to jog my memory.

So, if you’re interested, check it out!

Until I was sitting at midwinter and having discussions about what it means to be an ALA Member.  There was a dues increase proposal (based on the CPI — More information can be found online soon) and we were trying to figure out if we should pass it or not.  Would a lot of people drop their memberships?  Would a lot of people be discouraged from joining?  The question of “What does ALA Give to its Members” came up.  One Councilor pointed out that its not the American LIBRARIANS Association, but the American LIBRARY Association, so really, we should be asking the question instead, What does ALA give to Libraries and is it worth the cost of individual support in addition to institutional support?

Within my own institution, I am one of a handful of people who are an ALA member.  Most people can’t afford it and don’t feel its worth the issues of American Libraries every few months.  While I agree that a few magazines aren’t worth a $130+ price-tag, what made me different?

I think some of the differences are:

1.  I’m active within ALA – I’m on the Committee for Diversity and a Councilor-at-Large.  I’m on these committees because I feel like I’m contributing to the profession as a whole and nationwide.  I feel like a strong part of the library community when I’m participating in ALA.

2.  I believe in what ALA does.  Ultimately ALA is there to be a voice for libraries and an advocate for libraries.  Whether or not they always accomplish this, I believe in the idea of ALA.  I’m not as concerned about what it does for ME, but what it does for Libraries, which, by extension, affects me and my life and ultimately, society as a whole.

Sometimes, though, the broader idea isn’t enough.  Talking with a colleague at Midwinter, we discussed different libraries, their directors, and their levels of participation in associations.  My colleague noted that a director she knew didn’t participate in ALA really at all, participated in her state association a decent amount, and was very active in community organizations such as the Rotary Club, Chamber of Commerce, and others.  Her concern was making the library and her career very community oriented.  I think that this director is a little less worried about libraries as a whole than their individual library/community.

I also think that participation in associations is a very individual choice.  What do you want to get out of it?  What does your community get out of it?  Do you want your community to be an example nationally or do you want to keep your community in your community?  And, individually, are you looking for like-minded librarians?

Many librarians I know join Ethnic Caucuses because they can’t find people who look like them in their library community.  They can’t connect to other librarians so they use associations to fill in that social gap to make the profession a community rather than a solitary existence.  The same goes for other groups like ALA Think Tank, Round Tables, and even Divisions.  You’re looking for people who want to have the conversations you want to have with you, and if you’re not interested in those conversations then you really wouldn’t find value in ALA.

Not that everyone who wants to have those conversations can join, though.  While ALA is cheaper than many other professional organizations, we as librarians (especially school and public librarians) get paid much less than other masters degree-holding professionals.  And depending on your life circumstances, you may not be able to afford it.  And that makes me sad, because I believe that everyone who wants to be included in the conversation should be, irregardless of their financial status and ALA card-holding status.  I feel privileged to be able to have the opportunity to participate in these conversations and bring the voice of those who may not be able to participate even though they want to to ALA as a Councilor-at-Large.

As for my state association, I’m strongly re-considering my lapse in membership (due to the idea of support to California libraries)… But probably once I get promoted with a bigger paycheck to compensate.

And really, I didn’t think that I wouldn’t pass probation.  I do my job (well, I think), I show up on time, I don’t call out, and I’m flexible.  But, sometimes you just never know.  You never know what you might’ve done or said or what might’ve been perceived incorrectly.  And so, I spent most of November in a perpetual panic attack, afraid that something was going to happen and my permanent status was going to elude me for reasons other than budget (like everywhere else I’ve worked).

Maybe it’s my type-A personality shining through.  Maybe its my desire to have constant feedback on my performance (which isn’t realistic), and when I don’t have it I get worried and doubt seeps in.  I’m the kind of person that actually looks forward to evaluations.  When I had my very first one at PVLD a few years ago I was excited.  I’m always looking for feedback and ways to improve.  It’s actually a little disappointing when I’m told that everything is good, great, as expected, keep plugging along and you’ll be just fine.  That’s probably because I want to be amazing, awesome, wonderful – but there isn’t a box for that on an evaluation or guidelines on how to get there.  I just have to keep improving upon myself and striving for the next goal which isn’t always easy but is always attainable.  Who knows what the future has in store for me, but at least for now I can breathe a sigh of relief and enjoy my health insurance.

For the account of my Fear of Snakes & Mouse Count by Walsh, scroll down to Friday, December 7′s reviews…

Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Pound Dog and Frog by Rowley Carter, Illustrated by Moira Kemp

Pound Dog wants nothing more than to play with Frog so he coaxes him out of the play house on the pretense that he has a surprise for him.  Pound Dog takes Frog out into the garden where the other frogs are singing at the pond.  Dog tries to sing too, but they tell him he’s just howling and he can never be a singer.  Mean frogs.  An abrupt ending to the story.  Dog is confident in his abilities at the end.  An okay book, but there are better ones.

Do You Have a Hat? by Eileen Spinelli, illustrated by Geraldo Valerio

This was a fun book that highlighted different people in history and their unusual hats.  This would be a great book to use before a hat-making craft of some kind or a historical overview of different figures from history.  Maybe inspiration to dress up as these people for a report or halloween?

What If?  by Laura Vaccaro Seeger

A book that goes through a series of different scenarios with some seals who just want to have fun.  They start playing with two seals and try different combinations to make it work so that 3 seals can play together and no one gets left out.  Good for practicing prediction with pre-schoolers.

The Yawn Heard Round the World… by Scott Thomas, illustrated by Tatjana Mai-Wyss

This book was too cute.  A little girl isn’t sleepy, but yawns a great yawn which is heard through the phone and travels around the world until it gets back to her and she’s fast asleep.  A great pre-school bed-time book.

Snow Angels by Angel Randall, illustrated by Brandon Dorman

I thought this book would be about well, snow angels, but it was a little more literally about angels who appear to help when you make a snow angel in the snow.  Two little girls and their new found snow angel friends go around helping and doing good deeds around town.  The thing that struck me the most about this book was actually the paper used.  Its a very thick and sturdy paper which can stand up to the roughness of little hands.

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Today’s books come to you from SLJ’s Best Books of 2012 List

Jimmy the Greatest by Jairo Buitrago, illustrated by Rafael Yockteng, translated by Elisa Amado

I really liked the illustrations in this book.  They reminded me of Rugrats or the Thornberrys which were on Nickelodeon when I was a kid.  The story was nice but a little sad in a way.  A boy discovers he has a talent for boxing but instead of going to the city to try and make it big he stays home and helps the kids in his town – teaching them to box, starting a library, etc.  Sometimes the hardest thing you can do is stay where you are and make that place just a little better for everyone else.

Bear in the Book by Kate Banks, illustrated by Georg Hallensleben

This book is an excellent bed time book.  By the end of the story I was ready for a nap of my own.  The text and illustrations lend to a peaceful, sweet, calm sense.  A great bedtime book or book to calm the little ones.  There was a lot of text but it didn’t feel like a long story at all and could be appropriate for older pre-schoolers in a storytime setting.

Penny and Her Doll by Kevin Henkes

A beginning reader about a girl who gets a doll as a gift and can’t decide what to name her.  The vocabulary is simple and the story is relateable and interesting enough for children.  The illustrations are of course Henkes beautiful.  I didn’t read the first Penny book so I can’t attest if its a good follow-up, but it is definitely a good stand-alone.

This Is Not My Hat by Jon Klassen

Love this book!  I think this would pair well with I’m the Biggest Thing in the Ocean since this little dare devil also gets eaten.  The pictures convey about 50% of this story so there is a lot to discuss with the children.  This book is a must-read!

Rocket Writes a Story by Tad Hills

This book was good to teach children the parts of a story, how to put the words you see around you together, and what makes a story interesting.  Other than that, I thought it was kind of bland and not all that entertaining although the illustrations are adorable and I love Owls (Owl becomes Rocket’s new friend).  This book would be for elementary school kids learning to write simple stories – maybe 1st/2nd grade?

Thursday, December 6, 2012

Each Kindness by Jacqueline Woodson, illustrated by E.B. Lewis

Like much of what Woodson writes, this story just about broke my heart.  When I look back upon elementary school, I imagine that I was like Chloe in this story.  While I wasn’t necessarily out-right mean, I probably avoided kids like Maya.  Luckily for me, though, when I realized what I had done and the guilt took me over I had the opportunity to make the situation right and try to become friends with the person I had wronged.  Spoiler, but this isn’t the case for Chole, who has to learn to live with what it feels like to know you treated someone unfairly and unkind and you cannot make it up to that person.  A great book on the subtlties of bullying, I don’t think the message is shoved down anyone’s throat and lends itself to teaching children empathy more than anything.

I Can Help by David Hyde Costello

This book teaches the value of helping others and paying it forward as well as gives children practice in saying thank you.  I imagine my Baby Storytime parents using this book as a participatory one since the Thank You is repeated and you just change who you’re thanking.  Cute, bright illustrations and simple text make this book a win.

Sleep Like A Tiger by Mary Logue, illustrated by Pamela Zagarenski

A bedtime book that talks about all the different animals that sleep in order to entice the little princess to close her eyes and rest.  This book just about lulled me into sleep – not because it was boring, but because of the rhythm and gentleness of the story.  This would be good for an evening pre-school pajama storytime.

Dog In Charge by K.L. Going, illustrated by Dan Santat

Have I mentioned how much I love Dan Santat’s illustrations?  Well, if I haven’t, let me mention it again because they are absolutely wonderful.  The expressions on Dog’s face as you open the book make you want to read the whole story, and the story does not disappoint.  Dog is tasked with watching all the cats while their owner is away and of course the cats don’t listen to him at all, but they pull through and keep him from getting into trouble.  A fun, funny, and silly book, Dog gets a run for his money and comes out on top.

The Hueys in the New Sweater by Oliver Jeffers

Another of my favorite author/illustratoes, The Hueys in the New Sweater was a story about standing out in the crowd and becoming a trendsetter.  All the hueys look alike until one puts on a sweater.  At first, everyone think he’s weird, but then the trend catches on until everyone looks the same again – because they’re all wearing sweater!  What trend will Rupert think up next?  Side note: i also love the names Jeffers uses for the Hueys… Rupert, Gillepsie… Not your typical picture book names.

Friday, December 7, 2012

Boy + Bot by Ame Dyckman, illustrated by Dan Yaccarino

Okay, okay, I know I’m sounding like a broken record in this post, but Dan Yaccarino!  I also love his illustrations, and Boy + Bot does not disappoint in that department.  Vibrant colors and stand out images make this book easy to see from afar, even those pages with multiple panels.  The story is cute.  The boy takes care of the robot and the robot takes care of the boy which could lead to chaos but all turns out splendidly in the end.  Making new friends is always fun – even when you think you may have nothing in common but find the important things in common instead.

Zoo Girl by Rebecca Elliott

This story was actually really really sad in the beginning, given its limited text.  All’s well that ends well, though, and this could be used as a story about loneliness or adoption, although I think I’d rather go with the former than the latter since the first few pages are SO SAD.  I personally like these Tim Burton-esque illustrations (I have no art background, can you tell?), but I think in this case it made the first half of the book sadder than it needed to be.  The second time I read it I saw the ending as a lot happier than I did before, but I’m not sure if all children will be able to shake that initial feeling the first time through.  Or I’m just really over thinking this one…  Yeah, it’s probably that.

The Rumor by Anushka Ravishankar, illustrated by Kanyika Kini

A tale of telephone gone wrong, this lyrical book would be great to use along with Bruchac’s How Chipmunk Got His Stripes which I tend to use with 3rd and 4th graders.  It can involve audience participation and while I felt the moral of the story part fell a little flat, it could lead to a good discussion of spreading gossip and rumors and the dangers that ensue.

Fox by Kate Banks, illustrated by Georg Hallensleben

Little fox wants to do everything on his own, but his mother and father keep telling him “almost”.  Finally, he can fend for himself and they send him out into the wild.  A cute book, this one would be good for one on one sharing about growing up.  I think its a little long and not spunky enough for a storytime choice, however.

Mouse Count by Ellen Stoll Walsh

This is a strange addition, I know –  Especially considering Mouse Paint is one of my favorite flannels to tell (I have jars of paint and the mice pop out of them in their different colors).  But, I’d never read Mouse Count.  And then I started reading the book and I realized why.  This story features a snake.  And, like Indiana Jones, I HATE SNAKES.  Like total irrational, shivers, shaking, eyes closed, screaming, sweating fear kind of I hate snakes.  It’s gotten better as I get older – mostly because I force myself to confront this irrational fear – but only in print form.  Yes, that’s right, I couldn’t even look at snakes in books, movies, fake snakes, real snakes, etc.  I still don’t like to look at pictures of snakes and always cringe when a child asks me for snake books, but I know that I have to at least try, so when I find myself confronted with this situation, I at least glance at the cover, shiver, explain to the child that I am terrified of snakes, but here’s their book, and go on my merry way.  When I started reading Mouse Count and realized that that snake on the cover was, in fact, a snake, and not some other limbless creature (I’m fine with eels and all other forms of reptiles), I surprisingly got uncomfortable.  Especially when he was putting the mice in his mouth to put them into the jar.  YUCKTH.  I’m getting grossed out just thinking about it.  But, I made it through, and while I liked the story, I know that I can never tell it to children using a snake, so I will have to think of something else that eats mice and substitute it for an awesome flannel.  Anyone have any suggestions?

Saturday, December 8, 2012

Odd Dog by Claudia Boldt

Odd Dog isn’t so odd.  He’s just tired of getting the shaft and wants a little something for himself.  The power of people surprises him, though, when the person who he feels takes everything gives him what he most wants, and he discovers that people, or dogs, rather, aren’t all that bad.  A nice picture book for one-on-one reading about sharing and friendship.

Seeds of Change by Jen Cullerton Johnson, illustrated by Sonia Lynn Sadler

This story about 2004 Nobel Peace Prize Winner Wangari Maathai was very touching.  It talked about growing up in Kenya and her desire and journey to becoming a scientist and environmental leader.  The text is very long, making it a hard read aloud, but this is a story that should be shared with girls on the power of persistence.

Duck Dunks by Lynne Berry, illustrated by Hiroe Nakata

A little long, this book is good for beach themes, summer themes, duck themes, and play time themes.  The rhyming text helps it out but there isn’t too much of a story to keep it very interesting.

Max’s Castle by Kate Banks, illustrated by Boris Kulikov

This book was far too long and not very interesting with confusing writing.  The author used parenthesis to explain where Max’s hand was (in his pocket) instead of incorporating it into the sentence.  I’m not sure what age this was geared toward but I’m pretty sure that type of thing just makes it more confusing to a beginning reader and the sentence structure doesn’t flow properly.  Very disappointing.

My Daddy is a Pretzel: Yoga for Parents and Kids by Baron Baptiste, illustrated by Sophie Fatus

One program that I really want to try someday is Yoga in the Library.  I’m not sure if I need to be a certified yoga instructor for this, though, so I need to do more research other than the idea of wanting to do it.  This book fits in nicely, though.  Each child in the book says what their parent does and then the narrator says what his dad sometimes that relates to the career and a yoga move.  The book explains step by step how to perform each simple move.  A very fun book that made my muscles ache and feel like they needed a good stretch by the end!

The best thing about new hires is that you don’t want to look lame, right?  You want to look like someone they want to work with.  So, I took myself out of my storytime rut and decided I was long overdue for a full-on puppet show.  The lat storytime puppet show I did was Dear Zoo during the summer, and the kids loved it.  I decided to pull out the Bark, George idea I saw on the same website I got the Dear Zoo idea and work with it.

When I do something like this, I get a little neurotic on the nuances.  The same goes for my flannel making – I obsess over whether drawing eyes is okay or should I make googly eyes or should I make eyes out of felt or glitter or, or or… My co-worker likes to remind me that my audience is not that judgmental and are a pretty accepting bunch.  Toddlers tend to be like that.  With this puppet show, I first held off because I wanted to MAKE a Bark, George puppet.  There used to be a pre-made one that I’d seen somewhere, someday, where you pulled all the animals out of George’s mouth.  There was a bag inside his mouth in which you stored the puppets.  So, I was going to do that, but I started thinking…

1.  I don’t want to buy an expensive puppet and then start surgery just to mess him up and then we have Frankendog who can only come out at Halloween

and, the most important…

2.  In the book, the animals all come out life-sized.  They’re not miniature versions.  They’re proportional to George as they would be in the wild.  So pulling a finger-puppet sized animal out of my large dog puppet George was not settling well with me.  How could I possibly fit animals as large or larger than George into his stomach?  It was impossible!

The cast of characters

On the website, they use slight of hand and the toddlers’ ability to suspend disbelief to pull out the puppets of varying sizes.  They stored theirs in a bag.  I got the idea to use a copy paper box turned on its side.  The top of the box could act as the Vet table and I could easily hide the animals inside the box and pull out as needed.   I got a pair of latex gloves (I was hoping for a lab coat, too, but no one had one I could borrow) and slapped them on when I become the vet.

The story was an absolute success.  It was my best telling of Bark, George yet.  The kids even got the twist at the end – which I would say 50% of them get when I use the book – but most of the room got it with the puppets.  When I pulled out the horse – Oh my goodness.  Those kids went wild.  They couldn’t believe it!  I was happier than a clam.

This story was easy to set-up and easy to take down.  Once storytime is over, we open the wall of the storytime room so that the kids can play.  This was problematic when I did Dear Zoo because I had about 10 large boxes, 2 library trucks, and 30 kids running around.  Needless to say, some of the boxes fell off the cart and I had a parent help me schlep all my stuff into the office.  Bark, George, though, was 1 box that conveniently carried all the puppets easily into the back to be put away.  I think this would be a good starter puppet show for anyone wanting to see what its like.  It’s an easy story and an instant crowd pleaser in any form.  A great confidence boost!

Monday, October 22, 2012

Thanks for Thanksgiving by Julie Markes, illustrated by Doris Barrette

A simple book that says lots of different fall, thanksgiving, and family things the kids are thankful for.  A great storytime thanksgiving book that doesn’t deal with the whole colonization issue at all and leaves everyone feeling warm and fuzzy.

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Turkey Trouble by Wendi Salvano, illustrated by Lee Harper

Poor turkey doesn’t want to get eaten so he tries to disguise himself as different animals around the farm, until he comes up with the perfect idea and costume to avoid being eaten.  I have to admit I didn’t see the plot twist at the end, but it was funny and creative and, spoiler:  let turkey survive another thanksgiving.  This book is better for older kids, Kinder or first through second grade.

Old Robert and the Sea-Silly Cats by Barbara Joosse, illustrated by Jan Jutte

Underwhelmed.  A creature of habit, Old Robert learns to work outside of his comfort zone and adopts a ton of cats who sing and dance.  The last cat he adopts warms his heart and helps him to extend himself a little further, sailing into the night seas.

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Big Birthday by Kate Hosford, illustrated by Holly Clifton-Brown

This book is about a girl who is bored with birthday parties at the zoo and with magicians and other typical birthday party themes.  She wants to have a birthday on the moon.  She tries to build her own rocket, but it just won’t go, so her parents rent a rocket ship and take her and her friends to the moon.  They complain the whole time because its not what they expect so the next year she has a pirate party out of a pirate ship she creates.  This story actually really bothered me.  All her and her friends do is complain throughout the party about every detail.  There is never a thank you to her parents for bending over backwards.  Even if the space journey was make-believe the kids are still being disrespectful and unappreciative.  As someone who has had a handful of birthday parties in her life, including as a child, I think that this is the case of a spoiled child who doesn’t appreciate the gift of spending her special day with her friends.

No Go Sleep! by Kate Feiffer, illustrated by Jules Feiffer

The baby doesn’t want to sleep so everything outside of the house tries to lull him until eventually he falls asleep.  This book felt a little long.  At first it seemed endearing, but after awhile it felt done and got tiring.  The illustrations were done by the illustrator of The Phantom Tollbooth and were once again very well done but are better viewed up close rather than in a group setting due to the subtlety of the watercolors

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Big Pumpkin by Erica Silverman, illustrated by S. D. Schindler

Very similar to my favorite flannel board ever, the Enormous Turnip, this is the Halloween version.  The witch plants a seed that grows into a pumpkin that she can’t get off the vine.  The vampire, mummy,  ghost, and bat help her and they all enjoy some delicious pie.  I’m going to make a flannel and add this to my halloween rotation.

Bear Says Thanks by Karma Wilson, illustrated by Jane Chapman

A great book on sharing, being thankful, and returning favors.  Another solid Bear book by Wilson, this story would work for a multitude of themes, including Thanksgiving.  This book lends itself to audience participation with the refrain “The Bear Says Thanks” and the kids and parents get practice using a word that many people feel is becoming extinct.

Ollie’s School Day:  A Yes-And-No Book by Stephanie Calmenson, illustrated by Abby Carter

This story is all about audience participation and kind of sort of dialogic reading.  The narrator gives the reader a scenario, like Ollie is getting dressed and then asks if he should do outlandish things like wear a police uniform.  The answers to those questions is no, and then you turn the page, the narrator offers a responsible answer, and the reader answers Yes!  I think that the theory behind it is good, but that it would get a little tiresome for the adult in a storytime setting.  Worth a shot though!

Pumpkin Trouble by Jan Thomas

I am a huge Jan Thomas fan.  I love What Will Fat Cat Sit On and Rhyming Dust Bunnies.  I had high expectations for this book.  While its fun and solid and done in Jan Thomas style, I didn’t fall in love with it like I did most of her other books – but then again my expectations at this point might be too high.  I do like it enough, though, to absolutely use it in storytime and share with the kids.  Silly Duck running around with a pumpkin on his head… Come on.  Who doesn’t find that funny?

Thanksgiving Rules by Laurie Friedman, illustrated by Teresa Murfin

This book is all about indulgence on Thanksgiving.  Percy Isaac takes you through the steps to enjoy your Thanksgiving Buffet to the max.  A reminder to say thank you to everyone is thrown in at the end.  As a whole, I thought this book was cute and fun and the rhyming flowed well.  I think its a little long for storytime, but great for one on one sharing.

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Oink-A-Doodle-Moo by Jef Czekaj

The farm animals play a game of telephone in which each animal adds his or her own sound to the original sound they heard.  This simple book is actually pretty funny and I was chuckling as I read it.  A fun spin on what could be a lesson about the dangers of sharing secrets and how information gets distorted along the way.

Library Gingerbread Man by Dotti Enderle, illustrated by Colleen M. Madden

A silly book intended to teach the dewey decimal system, the gingerbread man runs away from his spot at 398.2 and all over the non-fiction area.  He runs into a representative of each of the major Dewey areas until the librarian snaps him shut back into the book.  I enjoyed the story and think it might be good to use for a class visit.

This Tree Counts!  by Alison Formento, illustrated by Sarah Snow

This would be a good book for Earth Day.  It discusses things that live in trees and how a tree contributes to society.  It asks engaging questions that children listening to the story can participate in and add their own opinions to.

There by Marie-Louise Fitzpatrick

Learning about the concept over there, this book kind of goes through a child existential crisis about what it means to get there and will the child change or do things different once they’re there.  It’s not clear how the child gets on the topic of there, but a lot of questions ensue and remain unanswered as the child puts off going there for another day.

What’s Under the Bed? by Joe Fenton

A cute bedtime book about a boy who thinks there is something under his bed.  The black and white illustrations are fun, especially since only the monsters appear in color.  The end is cute, when the monster wonders what might be hiding under his bed…

Thursday, October 26, 2012

Little Bo Peep Can’t Go To Sleep by Erin Dealey, illustrated by Hanako Wakiyama

This book is for hardcore nusery rhyme lovers.  Little Bo Peep can’t sleep because she’s lost her sheep and all thanks to her annoying brother little boy blue.  She goes through all the nursery rhymes to find them and they eventually return on their own.  A good exercise for K-2 kids.

Big Scary Monster by Thomas Docherty

A simple story about a big fish in a little pond who leaves and realizes that maybe he’s not so big.  Lonely because he scares everyone, Monster wonders how he can find friends until they scare him just as badly as he scared them.  Their favorite game becomes “Boo!”.  With some modifications and acting this could be an okay story to read aloud, but not a first choice, especially as is.  I liked the illustrations the best.

Alfie Runs Away by Kenneth M. Cadow, illustrated by Lauren Castillo

Alfie wants to run away because his mom wants to give away his favorite shoes since they’re too small for him.  She packs a backpack for him and sends him on his way.  While he’s outside, his feet hurt because his shoes are too small and he misses his mom hugs.  She comes to the rescue and off they go, back inside the house, with bear being the new owner of Alfie’s too small shoes.  A solid story.  This sounds like my kind of parent.  Good for one on one sharing.

I Get So Hungry by Bebe Moore Campbell, illustrated by Amy Bates

A story about a chunky little girl who’s mom won’t buy her healthy foods because she doesn’t believe they can ever be skinny minnies so why try.  Nikki goes along with this until her overweight teacher gets sick and starts eating healthy, walking more, and losing weight.  Nikki and her teacher start walking every morning, and by the time parent teacher conferences come in the spring, Nikki convinces her mom to start adopting a healthy lifestyle as well.

I’m 3!  Look What I Can Do by Maria Carluccio

A book about all the things a 3-year old can do.  It’s basically a list with illustrations.  Not much storyline, but might be good if your pre-schooler needs a little ego boost.

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Friday, October 26, 2012

Beware of the Frog by William Bee

This book was kind of weird.  The storyline was simple enough but the illustrations were weird.  And then the frog goes around eating everyone and with the plot twist at the end, I’m not sure what kind of child I’d give this book to…

What About Bear? by Suzanne Bloom

Poor bear gets the shaft.  Him and goose are playing and then fox comes and shuts him out of all the games.  They learn how to be all-inclusive in the end and get along, but I feel bad for bear throughout most of the book.  He takes it like a champ, though.  Through limited text, this story is good for the toddler, early pre-school crowd.

Mustache!  by Mac Barnett, illustrated by Kevin Cornell

The king is obsessed with his appearance and neglects the kingdom.  As a gift, he gives the kingdom a picture of himself, which everyone hates, and begins defacing by drawing mustaches on.  He throws everyone in jail, gets lonely, and then turns the joke back on himself by painting a mustache on his face.  I’m not really a fan of the whole mustache craze and this just seemed like a long joke that I wasn’t in on.

Will It Be A Baby Brother? by Eve Bunting, illustrated by Beth Spiegel

Reinforcing the importance of gender identity in society, this little boy struggles with wanting a baby brother.  Everyone tells him that he’ll be happy whether its a boy or a girl, but then they keep asking him which he would prefer, like it matters, and like he has a choice or any say.  He tells them he wants a boy, and becomes kind of aggressive about it, for which he gets in trouble.  Once the baby comes, its of course a girl and he of course loves it anyway.  I wonder, though, if people didn’t keep asking him if he wanted a boy or a girl, would he have even developed the desire to have a preference, or would he been just as happy awaiting the arrival of any sex.  Why do we even ask these questions when most parents will just simply say “It doesn’t matter, as long as its healthy?”  It’s kind of a set-up to make the parent who says I’d rather have a boy or girl look like an asshole for expressing their valid opinion.  I am going on a tangent here and I should stop before I make the situation worse…

Squish Rabbit by Katherine Battersby

Squish is a lonely little rabbit who tries to make a friend out of cloth but discovers that he’s still lonely.  In the midst of throwing a tantrum a little squirrel thinks he’s playing and the two become instant friends.

Monday, October 15, 2012

Kel Gilligan’s Daredevil Stunt Show by Michael Buckley, illustrated Dan Santat

Kel performs amazing feats like eating broccoli, using the potty, and getting dressed by himself!  Told in graphic novel format from first-person POV, this book is fun for kids who need coaxing to try new things or need encouragement to be a little more independent.  Kel succeeds in most of his challenges, but Dad steps in to take care of the monsters under his bed.  Some tasks are best left to the professionals.  I thought this book was pretty funny and think it might be usable for storytime, depending on the presentation angle I take.

Oh no! Not again! (Or How I Built A Time Machine To Save History) (Or At Least My History Grade) by Mac Barnett, illustrated by Dan Santat

Also told in Graphic Novel format, the fantastic illustrations really drive this story.  This mad genius gets a question on where the first cave painting was discovered wrong on her history test so she decides to take her time machine way way back and fix her little test problem.  Through a series of events, it turns out she changes much more than that one question… A fun picture book for older readers.

Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs as retold by Mo Willems

Another Mo Willems hit, this fractured fairy tale is hilarious.  The dinosaurs are not so slickly trying to lure Goldilocks into their lair to eat her.    They cook “three bowls of delicious chocolate pudding at varying temperatures” and go “Someplace Else and were definitely not hiding in the woods waiting for an unsuspecting kid to come by”.  The morals of the story at the end are amusing.  This is a great book to use as a lesson on fractured fairy tales.

1-2-3 Peas by Keith Baker

A cute counting book.  Starts off with 1s and then switches to counting by tens, all the way to 100.  I love books that deal with peas, such as Little Pea, so I was pretty sure I was going to love this one too.  Very cute and good for pre-schoolers through Kinder to work on counting skills.

Chato’s Kitchen by Gary Soto, illustrated by Susan Guevara

Chato is an East LA living cat who wants to eat some mice.  He entices them into his lair but through a series of events ends up making friends rather than dinner.  Through beautiful language, Soto incorporates Spanish into his work.

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Randy Riley’s Really Big Hit by Chris Van Dusen

Randy Riley plays baseball, but he’s not very good and his heart just isn’t into it.  Randy Riley LOVES science.  Watching through his telescope he sees a giant fireball heading towards Earth.  No one believes him until its practically in the Earth’s atmosphere and luckily for Randy Riley, he’d been preparing for the day and saved the Earth.  Even though he’s not very good, he continues to play baseball.  Told in rhyme, this story might be for the kid who loves sports but just isn’t very good at them.

Teach Your Buffalo to Play Drums by Audrey Vernick, illustrated by Daniel Jennewein

I feel like this book tried to take aspects of at least 3 different excellent children’s stories and put them into one book.  It didn’t have a good cadence and the story seemed choppy.  They probably could have used half the words and conveyed more meaning.

Polka-Dot Fixes Kindergarten by Catherine Urdahl, illustrated by Mai S. Kemble

I did not like this story very much, especially with the illustrations.  Besides the teacher, there is only one child in the whole class that is obviously of color and she is the bully who is nothing but mean to Polka-Dot.  When Polka-Dot calls the girl out on her meanness, Polka-Dot becomes the bigger person and fixes the mean girls problem and then they become best friends.  No one has to say I’m sorry or really fix anything.  I was not a fan.

The Getaway by Ed Vere

Mouse steals the cheese, Mouse tries to escape from the elephant, Mouse gets caught and escapes prison.  Your role in the story is to whistle when you see the elephant, but you don’t do a very good job, hence leading to mouse’s capture.  This story seemed a little too frenetic for me.  Might be fun for a child who likes graphic novel format, but probably an older childre, K or 1st.

Help! A Story of Friendship by Holly Keller

A story about not believing rumors and trusting your friends, this story was okay.  Maybe I’m just not in a picture book mood today since I seem to not have really liked any of the stories I read. This one of course had a nice wrap-up and everyone learned a lesson.

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

We just got anew cart of books from tech services.  Time to enjoy before letting them loose on the patrons!

The Great Sheep Shenanigans by Peter Bently & Mei Matsuoka

Sheep tries his hardest to trick some lambs for dinner, but Rambo Ram keeps trying to interrupt his shenanigans.  He intimidates Red Riding Hood’s granny to make him a sheep coat, but she gets hers in the end by playing an even bigger trick.  Told in rhyme, this is a good pre-school book.

Cock-a-Doodle-Doo, Creak, Pop-pop, Moo by Jim Aylesworth, illustrated by Brad Sneed

A book full of sounds, this story was meant to read out-loud.  Hey!  I’m a poet and didn’t even know it there.  A day in the life of kids on a farm, this is a different kind of farm book for the slightly older pre-k and K crowd.

The Man in the Clouds by Koos Meinderts & Annette Fienieg

A very sad book, this is the story of an old man who falls into the trap of greed and posession.  At first, the man who lives at the top of the mountain welcomes anyone and everyone to look at his beautiful painting for as long as they liked – regardless of occupation, social status, or gender identity.  He just wants to share the beauty of the painting.  People re-pay him for this kindness with little things like bread and a marble and songs.  Then one day a business man passing through town comes and points out to the old man how much money he could get for the painting.  The old man goes crazy after that.  Never before seeing monetary value in the painting, he begins limiting people to see it, eventually not letting anyone see it, and hiding it so that thieves don’t get it.  In the end, he realizes the absurdity of this and deals with the situation, and in the end finds beauty in his own back yard.  This seemed like it would be good for older kids but maybe more-so their parents.  Possessions are nothing but trouble.

Dini Dinosaur by Karen Beaumont, illustrated by Daniel Roode

A cute bedtime or bath time book, Dini Dinosaur keeps trying to scrub himself clean with his clothes on.  The majority of the story goes something like this:  He tried to wash his feet, Silly Dinosaur – you can’t wash your feet with your shoes on, Mom helps him take off his shoes and we go another round with his legs, shirt, etc.  I liked it a lot, but I have to wonder, as Dini takes off each piece of clothing, why doesn’t mom tell him to take off the rest rather than doing this one by one?  :)

Children of Hat Cottage by Elsa Beskow

This book was weird.  In the middle I thought it was kind of endearing and might be nice for a grandparent to share one on one with their grandchild, but by the end, I was like WTF is going on.  So to summarize, Little guy that looks like a gnome lives on the mainland, across a body of water which has an island directly across.  On the island live a woman and her 3 kids who live in a house shaped like a hat.  One day, the woman needs to go to the mainland for some cotton to make the kids new clothes so she tells them to be good.  Needless to say, they literally burn the house down.  The gnome rushes over and helps the kids put out the fire and build a new house and tucks them in to bed before mom gets home.  When she gets home, he explains to her what happened and she’s distraught because they’ve lost everything!  So the gnome says, marry me and I’ll take care of you and your kids and she says Okay!  And they live happily ever after.  Random.  This book was originally published in Swedish in 1930.  I’m not exactly sure why it was reprinted in 2012 and why my library bought a copy… LoL.

Thursday, October 18, 2012

Piggy Bunny by Racel Vail, illustrated by Jeremy Tankard

Loved this book.  A pig who wants to be the Easter Bunny but everyone in his family tells him its impossible – except for his grandma who helps him to make his dreams come true.

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Hop, hop, jump! by  Lauren Thompson, illustrated by Jarrett J. Krosoczka

A good storytime book, the kids can move along with the story.  Not much of a storyline, but teaching them different motions is always fun in my opinion.

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Huff & Puff by Claudie Rueda

A simplified 3 pigs and the wolf with an everyone was happy ending.  This might be cute to have the kids act as the big bad wolf and try to blow the houses of the pigs down.  In the end, everyone gets cake is all are happy.  The relationship between the pigs and the wolf is not initially known.  It would be good to use in different tellings of the 3 little pigs as well.

How Do You Feed A Hungry Giant?:  A Munch-And-Sip Pop-Up Book by Caitlin Friedman, illustrated by Shaw Nielsen

This story reminded me of the very hungry caterpillar, although the end was a little bit of a let down since the giant just gets fed and nothing snazzy happens.  There wasn’t much pop-up to the story – mostly die cuts and lift the flap types of things, but they were fun none the less.  This might work for a group who loves the very hungry caterpillar but is starting to outgrow it and wants something a little more grown up.

House Held Up By Trees by Ted Kooser, illustrated by Jon Klassen

A sad story of a father who maintains his lawn, keeps away trees and weeds, and once his children move away, he moves away and no one wants to live in the house.  Eventually, wildlife takes over and the trees move in, eventually lifting the house in to the sky.  The story seemed touching, but I’m not entirely sure what the message is here.  Maybe that no matter how hard you try, nature will take over and win?

Friday, October 19, 2012

Georgia in Hawaii:  When Georgia O’Keeffe Painted What She Pleased by Amy Novesky, illustrated by Yuyi Morales

This book glossed over a lot of the issues that Georgia experienced dealing with the Hawaiian Pineapple Company which would later become Dole.  HPC wanted something very specific from her but she wanted to do it on her own terms.  She wanted to stay in the fields but they wouldn’t let her (insert terrible conditions for hawaiians).  In the end, Georgia buckles and gives the company what they want, but its not clear why.  Her experience of Hawai’i is purely magical, like everyone else’s stereotypical portrayals of the islands.  Disappointing but not surprising.  The illustrations were beautiful, however.

Spotty, Stripy, Swirly:  What Are Patterns?  by Jane Brocket

A good concept book, this book shows lots of different examples of patterns and how they can work together.  Using photographs to show real life examples, this book is a good tool for pre-schoolers and Kinders to see patterns in the world around them.

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All By Myself!  by Geraldine Collet, illustrated by Coralie Saudo

The hens leave the chicks all by themselves while they go searching for grain.  While the mothers are gone, the chicks worry what they will do if their mothers never return or if they’re threatened by another animal.  In the end, the mothers come back and everyone is happy.  They eat the grain and want to do it all by themselves.  I wasn’t really a fan of this book.  I thought it would put more fears than necessary into little kids’ minds like abandonment and intruders.  There wasn’t much for the little chicks to do all by themselves confidently except eat.

The Spaghetti-Slurping Sewer Serpent by Laura Ripes, illustrated by Aaron Zenz

A cute story about a boy who thinks there is a Spaghetti-Slurping Sewer Serpent in the sewers of his neighborhood.  Not a storytime book, but a good one on one sharing book.  Lots of tongue-twisters included which will be fun to try out and good to work on the S sounds.

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Happy by Mies Van Hout

A book all about emotions, these chalk drawings show fish feeling different things like brave, afraid, and sure.  A cute, simple book.

Enter the Class Visit.  So far, I’ve done two 3rd grade class visits.  These consist of a storytime and a tour of the library.  In the Storytime, I like to talk about some of the rules of the library and share with them different types of stories.  I had them tell me the story of the three little pigs while I put up the flannel pieces to go along with their story.  Then I read The True Story of the Three Little Pigs which is one of my all-time favorites.  Then I shared with them a participation story, How Chipmunk Got His Stripes.  The kids always crack up when I make them speak in squirrelese, which is really high pitched English and they have to battle against the deep voiced bears.  I wasn’t sure how it would go over, if they would think its too baby, but I decided to try out a Draw-And-Tell about a boy who bakes a banana pie and it turns out he’s a monkey.  The kids LOVED it.  Some of them caught on about the monkey schtick, but many of them were so absorbed in the story and watching me draw that they didn’t see the whole picture.  I feel like there’s a study in there somewhere.

The tour needs work from my vantage.  I was beat!  I followed the path of my colleague and used many of her key points since she does such a fabulous job, but I had a hard time getting the kids to give me personal space and to stay quiet in the library.  I know that each class is different and the second class I had was especially difficult to control because it was 2 classes and about 60 kids plus their parents, but by the time we toured the adult section and got back to the kids area, I was pooped and they just wanted to have fun and look at books.  My problem probably is that I couldn’t spent the whole tour time just in the Children’s Room and not even touched the rest of the library.  I guess I have to figure out what my priorities are and what my limitations are.

Another class visit I got to do last week was with a local pre-school.  They got a storytime filled with library tips from books such as Lola Loves Stories and Read It, Don’t Eat It and then a nice short tour around the Children’s Room.  This tour went splendidly.  I picked out the non-fiction areas that would interest them most, like Fairy Tales, Planets, Dinosaurs, and Animals, and then showed them where their picture books were.  So simple.  They must have enjoyed themselves because they sent me this great Thank You card!

I have another 4th grade class and pre-school to host this month, so let’s hope they go as successfully as the previous ones have.

Class and School visits are one of my favorite things to do as a Children’s Librarian.  The kids are a captive audience who are just happy to be out of school and are willing to be excited.  I love it when they race each other to their favorite areas and discover just what the library has to offer them.

Monday, October 8, 2012

Robot Zombie Frankenstein! by Annette Simon

This book is a little weird, but very lovable.  A good book if you need unthreatening Zombies or scary guys.  These robots keep adding ridiculous costumes to their personas until they settle on something they can both agree on and be themselves in.  Limited text.  Might be good to use for dialogic reading and get the kids’ creative juices flowing, but I’m not convinced as to its storytime merits.  A good book to use for an art project and dealing with the shape concept, though.

Chirchir is Singing by Kelly Cunnane & Jude Daly

Poor little Chirchir just wants to help but she keeps messing up everything she touches until she finds the perfect job.  Based on the Kalenjin tribe in the Great Rift Valley in Kenya, the book includes words in Kalenjin and Swahili.  In the back of the book is an author’s note and glossary.  I thought it was okay.  I don’t think I would use it for a read aloud.

It’s a Tiger! by David LaRochelle, illustrated by Jeremy Tankard

This is my favorite kind of book.  Action, adventure, audience participation.  I see this as another “Going on a Bear Hunt” kind of movement activity if I get change it a bit to get a rhythm.  Or even modify it to fit the bear Hunt rhythm and just have the tiger chasing us.  So many possibilities.  Seeing the tiger in the book from afar is a little difficult, which might make some kids wonder what the heck you’re talking about, but I think they’ll overlook that minor detail.  I loved this book!

Olive & the Big Secret by Tor Freeman

A very cute book on the importance of secret keeping.  Olive is supposed to keep a secret for her friend Molly but she tells Joe who tells Matt and so on and so forth until Molly hears her own secret and gets mad at Olive.  We never get to find out the secret, because ITS A SECRET!  A great story with a great message that doesn’t hit you over the head a million times.

Dot by Patricia Intriago

A great concept book, Dot uses a well, dot to show opposites like soft and hard, stop and go.  I would definitely use this in Toddler Storytime and it would probably be good in pre-school Storytime on a more sophisticated level when paired with audience participation.

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Don’t Copy Me! by Jonathan Allen

I thought the ending to this book was a little lackluster.  The circular story would normally be amusing, but there was something missing in this one.  The little chicks follow the penguin as he tries to go on his walk until he outsmarts them/bores them by doing nothing but sitting.  Once they get bored and leave, he goes on his walk just to discover that they are there again following up.  There could’ve been some great humorous scenes or a lesson on looking up to older brothers/sisters/friends, but this story didn’t touch on any of those.

Don’t Squish the Sasquatch by Kent Redeker and Bob Staake

This book was weird.  I liked the way that it started.  There were story pages leading up to the title page which was integrated into the story seamlessly.  There’s an audience participation line in “Don’t Squish the Sasquatch” and there is a weird, possibly lovable cast of characters.  But those characters are WEIRD.  They are combinations of random animals like a whale and a moose.  It would be more fun in a read-aloud if the combinations were more exaggerated and obvious.  It might be hard, though, for the kids to see the goat legs from afar.  Still fun, and the smooches at the end are silly enough that I think kids would enjoy the story.

If All the Animals Came Inside by Eric Pinder, illustrated by Marc Brown

I love Marc Brown illustrations.  There always so much to catch the eye and the scenes are always so lively.  The story was okay.  It rhymed enough and had enough sounds to be able to pull off in storytime, but I wasn’t in love with it.  A good book to use if you’re stuck for something new.

Clothesline Clues to Jobs People Do by Kathryn Heling and Deborah Hembrook, illustrated by Andy Robert Davies

This book was great for pre-schoolers and Kinders.  Each clothesline holds the clothes for a specific occupation and on the next page is tells what that person does.  This leaves enough time for the kids to guess and see what comes next.  I also appreciated the care in picking the gender of each profession.  There was a female astronaut, carpenter and mail carrier and a male artist, farmer, and chef.  There was one character of color, which I guess is better than nothing, but it would’ve been nice if there were more, especially a female character of color.

Two Little Monkeys by Mem Fox, illustrated by Jill Barton

An adorable book, but I have to admit that I’m partial to Mem Fox and love all her books.  This book is about two monkeys, Cheeky and Chee who are afraid of a leopard under their tree.  Great rhyming tools, I’ll definitely be using this book at some point.

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

King Jack and the Dragon by Peter Bently & Helen Oxenbury

A good book for a make-believe storytime.  Jack and his friends battle dragons until one by one giants come and take them home.  Jack holds out as long as he can, putting on a brave face despite all the scary noises around his castle-fort.

Fly Blanky Fly by Anne Margaret Lewis, illustrated by Elisa Chavarri

Another perfect book for make-believe, this story would work for toddlers or pre-schoolers.  All the different things Sam makes with his blanky are quite impressive as he flys to the moon, swims through the ocean, and eventually falls asleep.  Also a great bed time book now that I think about it!

Baby Bear Sees Blue by Ashley Wolff

A great color book for pre-schoolers.  I feel like sometimes color books are too easy for pre-schoolers and there isn’t much dimension.  Something like Planting a Rainbow and Wow Says the Owl are examples of what I think are great color books with a concept, and I can add this one to that list as well now.

I Know a Wee Piggy by Kim Norman, illustrated by Henry Cole

This colors book is pretty fun.  The pig is out of control and creates chaos all around the fair as he paints himself and rolls around in all different colors, eventually winning an art show.  Thoughtful and fun, this book builds upon itself and creates a good rhythm.

Go, Go, Grapes!: A Fruit Chant by April Pulley Sayre

Loved this book!  All about different kinds of fruit, it includes the not so common fruits like lychee, mangosteen, and dragon fruit amongst others.  Simply rhymes, colorful photographs, and a fun use of fruit at the end make this book a great read-aloud and share together book.

Thursday, October 11, 2012

The Hired Hand by Robert D. San Souci, illustrated by Jerry Pinkney

*not a 2012 ALA Notable Book, this was recommended to me by my manager as a good read-aloud for older grades so of course I had to read it and add it.

Told correctly, this story could have quite the air of mystery and suspense surrounding it.  There is a pretty obvious moral of the story thread throughout and at the end, but it isn’t too heavy handed.  I just wish the villain had gotten a little more punishment for his wrongdoings.

What To Do If An Elephant Stands on Your Foot by Michelle Robinson, illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds

Reminiscent of if you give a mouse a cookies, this is the jungle version where you draw the attention of all the different animals and escape danger.  Fun for a storytime about jungle animals, but I wasn’t in love with it.

Good News Bad News by Jeff Mack

This book was super cute.  Only using the text “Good News” and “Bad News”, this book goes through the different events and emotions that Rabbit and Rat feel as they try to go on a picnic. You definitely learn the difference between Bad News and Good News.

I Want My Hat Back by Jon Klassen

This book is pretty funny.  Rabbit straight out lies to Bear about not seeing his hat (Rabbit is WEARING Bear’s hat) and Bear is totally bummed out until he realizes he knows right where it is.  Rabbit gets his in the end.  And so does anyone who questions Bear and his motives.  Younger kids will enjoy the dialog and older kids will love the frustration of knowing where Bear’s hat is.

Do You Know Which Ones Will Grow? by Susan A. Shea, illustrated by Tom Slaughter

Loved this book.  Teaches children the difference between things that grow and things that don’t in rhyme and flaps.  A fun surprise around every corner.  I will definitely be using this one in storytime.

Friday, October 12, 2012

Bow-Wow Wiggle-Waggle by Mary Newell DePalma

The story is told through the pictures in this book, with the text focusing on rhyming action words.  A fun book to use with babies and toddlers, or also to have pre-schoolers help fill in the narrative gaps.

Oh, No!  by Candace Fleming and Eric Rohmann

This book had a great rhyme and wonderful illustrations.  The text will grab children and they will anticipate who is going to fall into the hole next and who is going to rescue them.  Tiger is the least helpful animal in the story and gets whats coming to him in the end.

One Two That’s My Shoe! by Alison Murray

A play on One Two Buckle My Shoe, this mischevious dog steals his owner’s shoe and she chases him down through number ten. Cute and simple with large, clear illustrations.  A great storytime addition.

The last two titles for today are picked off of the go-back cart.  I don’t think they’re on any special lists…

The Friendship Wish by Elisa Kleven

Farley is the new kid in the neighborhood and wants to find a friend, but all the neighborhood kids don’t want to play with him.  Until he starts telling them about an angel he met in a dream who sang with a guitar and made him pancakes.  Although she is fake, as the kids try to lure the angel back, they find common interests and new friends in each other.  This book is good for Kinder and first graders as it is a little long.

Sadie and the Big Mountain by Jamie Korngold, illustrated by Julie Fortenberry

A book about the Jewish holiday Shavuot and a little girl overcoming her fears.  This book is good for Kinders through Second grade.  I don’t know anything about Shavuot so I can’t attest to the representation of the holiday but I do know that the little girl is a relatable character.

Anyways, after I was dropped off at that first conference, I was thrown into a storm of chaos.  I had carefully selected the panels I wanted to attend, and, if I remember correctly – with the exception of 1, I skipped out and tried many many panels.  And was satisfied with very few.  Other than my one library school friend who I attached myself to at the hip, I knew no one.  I wasn’t involved in anything like I am now, and outside of my library school I knew hardly anyone in the profession.

It was a miserable experience.

My awesome sight-seeing buddy from LA let me crash her private Garden District tour in NOLA. We’d just experienced the NOLA version of Shave Ice, the SnoBall

Fast forward to last year’s ALA Annual Conference in New Orleans.  I went in nervous.  It was the first conference I was attending without Christian and I was getting in 2 days early for sightseeing.  But who was I going to sight see with?  Who was I going to ride back to the airport with?  Who was I going to eat all my meals with?  While I enjoy alone time, I knew that conference was not the time for that.  And over the course of time, since 2007, I have become more active in smaller associations, such as APALA, which take that conference loneliness away.  By doing committee work and attending socials and just kind of inviting yourself along if you’re within ear shot, you make connections and you find your conference family.  In response to those fears I had in NOLA, my friend Danica let me tag along with her as an old friend gave her a tour of the city.  Instead of the bus, which is what I had planned to take back to the airport, I was offered a ride with a colleague I kind of knew but grew closer to in NOLA (and she became one of my JCLC roommates later!).  And, I ate very few meals alone.  I had dinner with my amazing Emerging Leader cohorts.  My APALA people.  My new AILA people.  Everyone was welcoming and food is something we can always all share and bond over together.

Just a few of my wonderful colleagues who have become my conference family over the years

When I decided to go to JCLC, I wasn’t as worried about all the down time.  I was more worried about carving out down time.  When my roommate had to cancel at the last minute because of an emergency, I knew that I wasn’t going to be sleeping in the lobby of the Westin or having to pay for a room all to myself.  I had the privilege of cramming four awesome library folk into a pretty comfortable room.

Because I’ve been able to find a great support group, a great group of friends, and an inspiring group of colleagues who I call my conference family.  Sometimes I see them between conferences, sometimes I don’t, but I know that they are all just a phone call or email away.  That they will offer advice, and they will make this big ALA world a little bit smaller for me.  A little bit more manageable.  And a lot more fun.

I encourage all people to at least try a small association.  Try to join a few different committees if the first one you try suck.  Because let me tell you, I’ve been on a few doosies.  And then, once you’re comfortable, you can move on to the beast that is your state organization or ALA.  Or you can jump right in with both feet and see what happens.  But do it.  Because it’s worth it.  If you stay inside your own library or branch or library system, you’re missing out on the greater world of librarianship.  The people and the work that makes a difference between a job and a fulfilling career.