Children's Event Organizer, October 10, 2008

Children’s Event Organizer
Lakeshores Library System and
Mid-Wisconsin Federated Library System
Youth Services Update
Issue 323, October 10, 2008

http://www.west-bendlibrary.org/mwflskids.htm
http://www.llsmwflschildrens.blogspot.com/

In this issue:
· Ruhama’s Reviews
· Be Creative @ Your Library/Express Yourself @ Your Library
· 7th Annual International Children’s & Young Adult Literature Celebration
· New Resource Provides Easier Access to Foreign Languages for People Who Are Blind
· Movie News
· NEA and Youth Service America: Youth Leaders for Literacy
· Events This Week
· Dates to Remember
· Website Faves
· And Finally…….


RUHAMA’S REVIEWS

If You Give a Cat a Cupcake by Laura Numeroff
http://tinyurl.com/443wom

Another of the 'If You Give' series, featuring a black and white cat who starts the adventure with a cupcake. As usual, one thing leads to another, with the girl taking the cat to the beach, gym and museum (to name a few places). Unfortunately, despite some cute illustrations, the randomness that often occurs in children's minds and the sequencing learned, this is like many of the others lately in the series: too far out there. I was disappointed with how unrealistic many of the jumps were, especially when featuring a cat. I wish Numeroff would get back to the simpler lines like in Mouse and Moose.


Thump, Quack, Moo: A Whacky Adventure by Doreen Cronin
http://tinyurl.com/3zltku

More from Farmer Brown and his chickens, cows and duck! The plot is a corn maze festival, and the farmer wants everyone to help, though it takes a little bribery. His job is to cut the Statue of Liberty in the cornfield, which is, of course, undermined by duck at night. (I found it interesting that Farmer Brown had to pay the hot air balloon man to see his own field at the end...) This is a fun addition to the series, with plenty of good sound effects, side humor (like the mice making weather predictions that really mirror the farmer-duck relationship) and fabulous illustrations (I just love Lewin's cows). I don't completely understand “how” duck pulled his stunt off, but I'm willing to sacrifice some reality for this one.


Just Grace by Charise Mericle Harper
http://tinyurl.com/4wvmrl

Grace is a third grader with an interesting life. Her parents rent their basement to a lady from France, she's taught herself how to take great photos and enjoys drawing "Not So Super" (hero) comics, inspired by the television show "Unlikely Heroes". Her own superhero power is the power of empathy, which she uses to help her neighbor and her neighbor's cat. In this first book of the series, we follow Grace (who gets her name "Just Grace" because there are four Graces in her class at school) as she tries to cheer up her neighbor with a fun project.

Overall, I was disappointed with this book. The basic format is illustrations sprinkled throughout the text, which isn't new, but some of the pictures interrupt the story, rather than flowing with the narrative. I enjoyed all the characters except for Grace herself. The relationship she has with her parents is realistic and I liked the way they interacted (including disciplining). But everything else was too much of an obsession--like disliking Sammy. Several things also were incomplete, but perhaps this is resolved with later books in the series. I'd say stick with Judy Moody/Stink for this age group.


BE CREATIVE @ YOUR LIBRARY/EXPRESS YOURSELF @ YOUR LIBRARY

Here are three sites you can point out to your teens.

Amherst College: Online Resources for Writers
https://www.amherst.edu/academiclife/support/writingcenter/resourcesforwriters

As with many other colleges and universities, Amherst College is dedicated to helping their students become excellent writers. In order to accomplish this goal, they have created a fine set of online resources for use by their own students and members of the web-browsing public. This particular set includes a long list of resources created by staff members at Amherst and at other institutions. These resources are divided into thematic headings such as "Preparing to Write", "Thesis and Argument", "Clarity and Grace", and "Using Sources". On the left hand side of the page, users can view the same list and also learn more about the writing center at Amherst and their work. Overall, it's a fine set of resources, and one that college students in particular will find useful, especially as they approach a paper deadline. (From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout Project 1994-2008, http://scout.wisc.edu/, 10/10/08)


PRINT
http://www.printmag.com/

This website is Print magazine's online presence. Established in 1940, Print magazine features writing about visual culture and design, with special attention paid to work that looks at design in its social, political, and historical contexts. Print's tagline is "Design Culture Comment", and essentially it's a thinking person's guide to graphic design. Clicking on "Current Issue" on the left side of the page will allow visitors to peruse some of the main articles of the current issue. Visitors can, of course, also view selections from past issues. Importantly for readers of this type of magazine, Print has a section called "Competitions" that gives designers the potential opportunity to get their design ideas heard. Visitors should not miss the "News" link for a daily dose of design news and the "Daily Heller", which offers up witty, scathing, and informative commentary on current design ideas and issues. (From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout Project 1994-2008, http://scout.wisc.edu/, 10/10/08)


Ballroom Dancers
http://www.ballroomdancers.com/

Learn to dance like a pro with step by step video and historical background for a variety of popular ballroom dances, including foxtrot, waltz, mamba, tango, cha cha, swing, and more. The dance directory lists places to dance by state and professional instructors. There’s also a message board and a classifieds section selling costumes and DVDs. Sign up for a free basic membership to access more of the site.


7th ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL CHILDREN'S &YOUNG ADULT LITERATURE CELEBRATION

“Open a Door... Open a Book... Open your Mind... to the World”
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Tripp Commons, Memorial Union
University of Wisconsin-Madison
8:30 am - 5:00 pm
Featuring: Meshack Asare, Brodil Bredsorff, Margarita Engle, Cynthia Kadohata

This celebration is an annual interactive workshop for educators, librarians, students and children’s literature enthusiasts, with an aim to internationalize statewide reading curriculum. Each author will discuss the stories that they have written and highlight the work they feel is most suitable for classroom discussion. Two authors will speak in the morning and two following lunch. In conclusion, we will have a reception and book signing.

This event is sponsored by the Wisconsin International Outreach Consortium (WIOC) in observance of International Education Week 2008. International Education Week is a joint initiative of the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Department of Education to promote programs that prepare Americans for a global environment and attract future leaders from abroad to study, learn, and exchange experiences in the United States.

For more information and to register, please go to: http://www.wioc.wisc.edu/childlit/
Please register and pay by Monday, November 17, 2008. We are not able to accept payments on location at the Memorial Union. For more information call (608) 262-9224, or e-mail: rweiss@wisc.edu


NEW RESOURCE PROVIDES EASIER ACCESS TO FOREIGN LANGUAGES FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE BLIND

The National Clearinghouse on Disability and Exchange (NCDE) has published “Accessing Foreign Language Materials as a Blind or Low Vision Student” to support blind and low vision students in accessing course materials in a broad range of foreign language courses, from Arabic to Turkish. This informational guide includes: commonly used assistive technology and software to handle foreign languages, guidance for locating audio, Braille or large print materials in foreign languages, tips on transcribing Braille textbooks in foreign languages or using readers and scribes, and considerations for studying a foreign language abroad. The guide emphasizes critical need languages, such as Arabic, Chinese, Hindi/Urdu, Japanese, Korean, Persian/Farsi, Russian and Turkish, although information is also applicable to more commonly taught languages such as French, German, and Spanish. Go to http://www.miusa.org/ncde/tipsheets/languageguide for more information.


MOVIE NEWS

Get ready for Astro Boy!
http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=49077

Another classic tale gets filmed: Moby Dick
http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=49093

Not much on this one yet, so stay tuned:
http://www.fandango.com/thetoothfairy_v432974/summary

Check out the fun trivia on Inkheart:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0494238/

If the Bolt trailer doesn't make you laugh, you've never had a hamster:
http://www.fandango.com/bolt_109503/movieoverview

A blurb from Yahoo! movie news:
It's a Muppets all-star lineup! Uma Thurman, Jane Krakowski, Nathan Lane, Jess L. Martin, Paul Williams, supermodel Petra Nemcova, and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg signing on to the cast of NBC's “A Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa”. They'll join previously announced stars Whoopi Goldberg, Richard Griffiths, Tony Sirico, Steve Schirripa and Madison Pettis in the one-hour song and dance special, which follows Kermit and crew as they make their way to Santa in the North Pole to save Christmas. It airs December 17.

(thanks to Ruhama for this compilation!)


NEA AND YOUTH SERVICE AMERICA: YOUTH LEADERS FOR LITERACY

The Youth Leaders for Literacy Program, an initiative of the National Education Association and Youth Service America, helps young people direct their enthusiasm and creativity into reading-related service projects. The projects will begin next March 2, on Read Across America Day, and will end April 24-26, on Global Youth Service Day. Maximum award: $500. Eligibility: people 21 years old or younger; individuals or groups. Deadline: Oct. 30, 2008. Learn more at: http://www.nea.org/readacross/volunteer/index.html


EVENTS THIS WEEK

Monday, October 13
National Peanut Festival
Columbus Day
Thanksgiving Day in Canada
National Kick Butt Day

Tuesday, October 14
Grover's Birthday (Sesame Street)
National Dessert Day
Be Bald and Free Day
National Occupational Therapy Day
National FRUMP Day (Honors Frugal, Responsible, Unpretentious, Mature Persons – guess that wouldn’t be ME, would it?
national lower case day
National Take Comfort Day
Winnie-the-Pooh published in 1926

Wednesday, October 15
Charlotte's Web published in 1952
National Grouch Day
National Support Your Local Chamber of Commerce Day
White Cane Safety Day

Thursday, October 16
Dictionary Day
Get Smart About Credit Day
National Boss Day
World Food Day
School Librarian Day

Friday, October 17
Gaudy Day
Mulligan Day

Saturday, October 18
No Beard Day
Sweetest Day
Scary Black Cat Day

Sunday, October 19
New Friends Day
Sunday School Teacher Appreciation Day
Evaluate Your Life Day


DATES TO REMEMBER

October 12-18 Teen Read Week
October 15 Zolotow lecture by Judy Blume, Madison
October 16 Lakeshores trustee dinner, Waterford
October 19-25 Rhonda on vacation
November 4-7 WLA Conference, Middleton
November 21 Riverport Chorus cabaret, Parkway Chateau, Kenosha
November 22 International Children’s and Young Adult Literature Celebration, Madison
January 23-27 ALA Midwinter, Denver


WEBSITE FAVES

Drawing Babar: Early Drafts and Watercolors
http://www.themorgan.org/exhibitions/exhibition.asp?id=4

From stories told by his wife to their young son came the fanciful world of Babar the Elephant, and seven decades later they remain popular tales. After the death of Jean de Brunhoff, the mantle was taken up by his son Laurent de Brunhoff, who continued illustrating tales of Babar's many journeys and adventures. Recently, The Morgan Library & Museum decided to offer an exhibit of early drafts and watercolors of these works. Along with the in situ exhibit, they also created this website, which provides access to the first maquette created by Brunhoff as he set about creating the story of Babar. Visitors to the site can learn about the maquette, and use a set of tools to zoom in and out of the entire 37-page artwork. It's a delightful trip through the early life of Babar, and it is one to be shared with both young and old. (From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout Project 1994-2008, http://scout.wisc.edu/, 10/10/08)


AND FINALLY………..

Here’s a few “And Finallys”:

The Packers won!

My new quartet, By the Book, auditions tomorrow night! (the tenor, lead and baritone are all
teachers, and then there’s the librarian bass…..)

My 12 year old is playing bari sax in junior high jazz band! (in addition to playing alto sax, viola, and singing barbershop)