Children’s Event Organizer
Lakeshores Library System and
Mid-Wisconsin Federated Library System
Youth Services Update
Issue 321, September 3, 2008
http://www.west-bendlibrary.org/mwflskids.htm
http://www.llsmwflschildrens.blogspot.com/
In this issue:
· Ruhama’s Reviews
· Host a Brisingr Event in Your Library
· Jim Gill Workshop
· Celebrate Esphyr Slobodkina’s 100th Birthday
· Martha Speaks
· Leonard Marcus at Carthage
· Events This Week
· Dates to Remember
· Website Faves
· And Finally…….
RUHAMA’S REVIEWS
The Way Back Home by Oliver Jeffers
http://tinyurl.com/68cnnu
"Once there was a boy, and one day as he was putting his things back in the closet, he found an airplane." So starts the tale of a young lad who ends up on the moon when his plane runs out of fuel. While there, he meets a young Martian, who has had engine trouble. They figure out a way to help each other and eventually both get back home.
This is an interesting tale that makes excellent use of illustrations which are simple, colorful, and use white space and layout well. Some disbelief is necessary, but imagination rules and the two characters are quite loveable. This is great for teamwork, space and/or aliens and unusual friendships.
Grace for President by Kelly DiPucchio
http://tinyurl.com/6o25q7
When the class starts a unit on the American presidents, Grace wants to know "where are the girls?" This starts her thinking and she decides to be president, and this leads to an election at their elementary school. She begins to realize everything involved a lot of work, and DiPucchio creates some suspense as states report their votes for the two candidates in this race.
This is an excellent bit of informative fiction and sports a diverse cast of characters. Readers follow as campaigning (from posters to speeches) heats up to the final result: the election. (One exciting note: Wisconsin is a part of the story--not just lumped with other states!) The illustrations are colorful and reminded me of a Disney cartoon. (The teacher dresses really well and Grace is cute.) The end papers are also funny and use the space well. The author includes a note at the end to further education. Overall, this would work well with elections coming this fall!
HOST A BRISINGR EVENT IN YOUR LIBRARY!
Satisfy your readers' dragon-size excitement with a book launch event. Christopher Paolini’s third book in the Inheritance Cycle, “Brisingr” will be available on Saturday September 20.
Click on the following links for all you need to plan an event at your library:
Ancient Language Quiz: Questions/PDF
Ancient Language Quiz: Answers/PDF
Event Suggestions One Sheet/PDF
Event Announcement Flyer/PDF
How to Register Your Event/PDF
Trivia Quiz: Questions/PDF
Trivia Quiz: Answers/PDF
Tattoo Reproducible/PDF
Iron-On Reproducible/PDF
Jim Gill Workshop
Jim Gill has made a career out of studying and promoting an activity that seems simple, yet is critical to young children’s development—PLAY. Although best known for his recordings of music play, Jim Gill’s primary interest in music has been as a context for playful interactions between caregivers and children. Jim has a Master’s Degree in Child Development from the Erikson Institute of Chicago. Join Jim on Wednesday, September 17 at 6:30 to 8:00 PM at the Southwest Library in Kenosha (7979 38th Avenue).
Participants will leave Jim’s workshop with both a repertoire of activities in music play and a renewed respect for play itself. Jim involves everyone in his humorous play creations and then, within this context, leads them to consider:
• The many connections between music play and literacy.
• How to build connections between music play and literacy through singing and bookmaking.
• How a play-based program creates an inclusive environment for children with special needs.
• Play as a context to observe and assess children’s abilities across all domains of development.
• The adult’s role in supporting children’s play.
To register, call: 262-564-6150.
CELEBRATE ESPHYR SLOBODKINA’S 100TH BIRTHDAY!!
Esphyr Slobodkina, internationally-renowned artist and author of the classic children’s book Caps for Sale, will be honored in a series of events commemorating her 100th birthday beginning fall 2008. This posthumous celebration remembers a pioneer who was among the first female American artists to explore abstraction and the first to use collage as an illustrational technique in American children’s books.
The Slobodkina Foundation will be providing downloadable Caps for Sale activity kits and program materials to encourage educators to acknowledge and celebrate Esphyr Slobodkina’s centennial. These materials will be available on the Slobodkina Foundation website beginning September 22, 2008 – Esphyr Slobodkina’s birthday.
Lectures, interactive programs, and touring opportunities will be offered concurrently with a traveling art exhibition, Rediscovering Slobodkina: A Pioneer of American Abstraction – the largest and most comprehensive Slobodkina retrospective to date featuring paintings and illustrations on loan from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art. This exhibition will premiere at the Heckscher Museum of Art in Huntington, New York in March 2009, and will then travel to the Samuel P. Harn Art Museum and the Naples Museum of Art in Florida.
For information about events and programming opportunities, please contact us at annmarie@slobodkina.org or visit www.slobodkina.org. (posted to ALSC-L, 9/2/08)
MARTHA SPEAKS
“Martha Speaks,” the new animated series from the WGBH creators of “Curious George” and “Arthur,” and Vancouver’s Studio B Productions, premiered on September 1, 2008 on PBS KIDS (check your local listings). The series stars Martha, a beloved family dog, who accidentally is fed alphabet soup that gives her the power of human speech and the chance to speak her mind to anyone who will listen. Based on Susan Meddaugh’s book series about Martha the talking dog, “Martha Speaks” is built on a curriculum designed to bolster the oral vocabulary of four- to seven-year-olds. Each episode features two 11-minute stories (including six adapted from the classic books) that showcase Martha’s linguistic abilities and the hilarious consequences they provoke—all with a goal of engaging children and expanding their vocabulary. The “Martha Speaks” website has engaging games, videos, and activities that help youngsters learn new words. Click here to view Martha’s website: http://pbskids.org/martha/.
LEONARD MARCUS AT CARTHAGE
The Center for Children's Literature at Carthage College in Kenosha, Wisconsin, invites you to a tea in honor of Leonard Marcus on September 16th from 4:30-6:00 pm in the Hedberg Library. The author of "Golden Legacy" will informally speak about his creation on the history of Western Publishing. Marcus is also the author of “Minders of Make-Believe” which was recently discussed on the CCBC list. There is no attendance fee, but due to limited space, please contact John Stewig, (262)-552-5480 or jstewig@carthage.edu, if you are able to attend. More information can be found at www.carthage.edu/childliterature.
EVENTS THIS WEEK
Thursday, September 4
Newspaper Carrier Day
Teacher’s Day
Friday, September 5
Be Late for Something Day
Saturday, September 6
Fight Procrastination Day (aka LSTA grant writing day)
Sunday, September 7
Grandma Moses Day
Grandparents Day
Neither Rain Nor Snow Day
Salami Day
Monday, September 8
International Literacy Day
National Boss/Employee Exchange Day
Tuesday, September 9
Wonderful Weirdos Day
Bonza Bottler Day
Wednesday, September 10
Swap Ideas Day
DATES TO REMEMBER
September 12 LSTA grant applications due
September 16 Leonard Marcus at Carthage, Kenosha
September 17 Jim Gill at Kenosha Public Library
September 29-October 6 Banned Books Week
October 19-25 Teen Read Week
November 4-7 WLA Conference, Middleton
WEBSITE FAVES
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle: His Life, All His Works and More
http://sirconandoyle.com/index.php
Sometimes a spiritualist, and always a writer and a true Englishman, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's tales of detection and fantasy have delighted readers for well over a century. Lovers of his work will enjoy this site, and they can feel free to browse through a number of the Sherlock Holmes tales here along with the complete full novels. Those who are less acquainted with Doyle's life and times may wish to start by reading the "About Sir Conan Doyle" area. Here they will find an extended biographical essay on Doyle and a list of his works. Then visitors will want to browse through his stories at their leisure. Visitors who are unfamiliar with the tales of Holmes may wish to start by reading "The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle" and "A Scandal in Bohemia". (From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout Project 1994-2008, http://scout.wisc.edu/, 8/14/08)
The Erie Railroad Glass Plate Negative Collection
http://library.syr.edu/information/spcollections/digital/erierr/
Throughout the 19th and the first half of the 20th centuries, the railroad reigned supreme over the American transportation landscape. This intriguing digital collection from Syracuse University Digital Projects brings together over 700 images from The Erie Railroad Company collection of glass plate negatives in a way that will delight railroad enthusiasts. Visitors can look at shots of individual train stations, mile posts, new track construction, and social organizations such as the East Buffalo Car Shop Basketball Team. The collection serves as a very fine source of information for those with a penchant for early 20th century industrial landscapes, railroad construction, and the lives of railroad workers. It is worth noting that visitors can also browse the collection by Library of Congress subject headings, or they may also wish to search these materials by entering various keywords. (From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout Project 1994-2008, http://scout.wisc.edu/, 8/29/08)
Wisconsin Decorative Arts
http://content.wisconsinhistory.org/cdm4/index_wda.php?CISOROOT=/wda
Finns, Germans, Italians, and countless other groups have contributed mightily to the decorative arts traditions within the Badger State, and this lovely online database pays homage to those works, while also offering scholars and others access to this important collection. Inspired by the fieldwork undertaken by the Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts in the 1970s and 1980s, this project brings together decorative arts objects made or used in 19th and early 20th century Wisconsin. The objects were culled from institutions across the state, and currently the database contains well over 600 items. There's quite a range of items here, including an altar cloth with crocheted lace, a collage of memorabilia from a wedding in Peshtigo, and a dining suite manufactured by the Northern Furniture Company in Sheboygan. Students of material culture will welcome this site with open arms, and lovers of Wisconsin history will no doubt do the same. (From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout Project 1994-2008, http://scout.wisc.edu/, 8/29/08)
AND FINALLY………….
I am officially the mom of a 7th grader. I did not follow the school bus in my car and sit on the street watching her on the playground with tears in my eyes like I did seven years ago. The junior high school is directly behind my house so I did not have to drive. J
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
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