CEO, 4/15/10

Children’s Event Organizer
Lakeshores Library System and
Mid-Wisconsin Federated Library System
Youth Services Update
Issue 341; April 14, 2010
http://www.west-bendlibrary.org/mwflskids.htm
http://www.llsmwflschildrens.blogspot.com

In this issue:
Ruhama’s Reviews
Make a Splash – READ!
Update on WLA Restructuring
Movie News
Andy Griffiths at the Center for Children’s Literature
Wisconsin Authors and Illustrators Speak Grant
Lois Lenski Covey Foundation Grants
CSLP Info
Dates to Remember
Website Faves
And Finally......


RUHAMA’S REVIEWS

Graceling by Kristin Cashore
http://tinyurl.com/yhaoekb

Katsa does not like her life: her uncle the king uses her to punish people he thinks has done him wrong. Katsa was born with a Grace, as many children are in her world, though each have something different. Katsa's Grace is killing and it has kept her from forming friendships (other than her cousin) or expecting a normal life (she vows to never get married). To combat all the dirty work she must do, Katsa forms a subversive group (called the Council) with the mission of helping and rescuing those in trouble (especially trouble from her uncle), and one particular mission plunges her deeper into a nefarious plot than she ever expected. A kidnapping results in the Council's help, which leads to Katsa meeting the kidnapped Prince's grandson, also Graced, who understands Katsa's position in society. Po is determined to find answers to the kidnapping and encourages Katsa to leave her uncle's employ, hoping she'll join him in his quest for answers. The answers they discover, however, are a threat to their lives and it will use every aspect of their Graces to solve the problem.

This is a gripping story that has a little bit of everything: action, adventure, love, mystery and magic. Katsa's character develops nicely and readers will sympathize with her as she struggles with whatever life throws her way. Po is also likable and it is fascinating to watch him grow and change as the story unfolds. The narrator is omniscient, though events are generally seen through Katsa's eyes. There are several lessons learned in this book, one of them being everything is not as it seems. Po's Grace, for example, is not truly fighting, but he and his mother determined that's how they would portray it, as the ability to read minds and sense surroundings is not beneficial to the son of a king. Katsa also struggles with women's rights from time to time and the societal response to those Graced is interesting. The story stands on its own, though a prequel has since been written, and will appeal boys and girls, teens and adults.


MAKE WAVES – READ!

Oceanworld
http://oceanworld.tamu.edu/index.html

From Texas A&M University, Oceanworld is a fabulous resource for kids interested in anything related to the world’s oceans from fisheries, waves, ice, el Niño, forams, and much more.

Enchanted Learning’s All About Oceans and Seas
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/ocean/Waves.shtml


Disney Nature’s Oceans
http://disney.go.com/disneynature/oceans/

New film from Disney Nature opens April 22nd on Earth Day.


UPDATE ON WLA RESTRUCTURING

Get the latest scoop on proposed changes to WLA unit structure and viability requirements during the WAPL Spring Conference April 28 – 30 at the Blue Harbor Resort in Sheboygan. The WAPL membership general session on Thursday, April 29 at 4:00 p.m. will answer members’ questions about a proposal under discussion and development throughout 2010 for presentation to the membership at the annual Business Meeting at the WLA conference in November. Find out what the proposed restructuring will mean to for your membership or leadership experience. Speakers include Lisa Strand, WLA Executive Director and Jim Trojanowski, Director of Northern Waters Library Service. Jim is the WAPL representative on the WLA Board.

Go online to find the WAPL spring conference schedule at-a-glance, plus the full program listing. The deadline for conference registration is April 9. Register online (where you can opt to send a check, using the receipt and confirmation email to submit to your library for payment) or print the PDF registration form and send it in.

To make room reservations at the conference center go to www.blueharborresort.com or phone 866-701-2583 and use code 7A9582. The room registration deadline is April 6.


MOVIE NEWS

Toy Story 3 clip! If the link is too long, be sure to Google this--Ken is hilarious!
http://www.movieweb.com/news/NEjBfsmpnxGhmo?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+movieweb_movienews+%28MovieWeb%3A+Movie+News%29

Apparently it's not enough to adapt books and Disney rides; now it's board games:
http://www.comingsoon.net/films.php?id=55643 (Battleship)

And comic strips:
http://www.comingsoon.net/films.php?id=53516 (Marmaduke)

Sorcerer's Apprentice as live action:
http://www.comingsoon.net/films.php?id=51019

What do you think about Ramona on the big screen?
http://www.comingsoon.net/films.php?id=37342

(Thanks to Ruhama for this compilation!)


ANDY GRIFFITHS AT THE CENTER FOR CHILDREN’S LITERATURE

Come, giggle, laugh, guffaw, chortle, chuckle and in general enjoy the chance to hear Andy Griffiths talk about his writing for children. He will be in Kenosha at Carthage College at the Hedberg Library’s Neimann Theatre on Saturday, April 24, 2010 at 2:00 PM.

The Center for Children’s Literature cordially invites adults and children to this free admission event. In order to reserve a place, contact the Center for Children’s Literature at (262) 552-5480 or email at jstewig@carthage.edu. Space is limited, so please let them know if you can attend as soon as possible!

Andy Griffiths is the author of “The Day My Butt Went Psycho” and “The Cat on the Mat is Flat”. Learn more about him at http://www.andygriffiths.com.au/.


WISCONSIN AUTHORS AND ILLUSTRATORS SPEAK GRANT

The Wisconsin Center for the Book's Wisconsin Authors and Illustrators Speak program, offers towns and cities the opportunity to celebrate and explore the literature of our state with writers and artists. The Center for the Book will award up four grants of $300 each to qualifying organizations wishing to bring a Wisconsin author or illustrator to their community to speak at a public event. The event must be free of admission charges and be scheduled between September 1, 2010 and April 30, 2011. A Wisconsin author or illustrator is defined as one who has lived in Wisconsin for a significant period of time, including someone who may no longer be living in the state.

Any Wisconsin nonprofit organization interested in books and reading is eligible to apply for one of the grants. Collaboration among groups is encouraged. Such groups may include libraries, schools, community organizations, and places of worship. Applications will be judged on the basis of community outreach and collaboration, thoroughness of planning, and rationale for the choice of speaker. Application information can be found at http://wisconsincenterforthebook.wordpress.com/wais/ or by contacting Sarah McGowan, Wisconsin Authors and Illustrators program chair, at windsong@centurytel.net. Completed applications are due July 1, 2010.


LOIS LENSKI COVEY FOUNDATION GRANTS

The Lois Lenski Covey Foundation, Inc. annually awards grants for purchasing books published for young people preschool through grade 12. Grants for 2010 will range from $500 to $3000 and are specifically for children’s book purchases rather than administrative or operational uses.

The LLCF library grant program provides grants for public libraries, school libraries, and charitable organizations [501(c)(3)] that have lending libraries where children up to age 18 may check out books to read or to use for gathering information. We will also consider applications from non-profit abuse centers, rehab centers, detention centers, etc., as long as a lending library is actively maintained on the premises. Only libraries or organizations within the United States, its territories, or commonwealths are eligible. he Foundation gives to libraries or organizations that serve economically or socially at-risk children, have limited book budgets, and demonstrate real need.

The library grant program provides grants for purchasing children’s books. The books may be fiction or non-fiction. The library grant program DOES NOT provide grants for book-donation programs, classroom libraries, atlases, dictionaries, basal readers or similar texts, workbooks or similar instructional tools, or for textbooks or encyclopedias. Grant applications for audio books will be considered only in the cases of children with special needs, where audio books would be particularly appropriate in addressing those needs.

In order for a library to be considered, it must have been in operation for at least three years. County or district library systems cannot apply as a whole; public or school libraries within a county or district system are eligible to apply individually. A link to a downloadable application is available at the Grant Application web page. The deadline to apply is June 15, 2010.


CSLP INFO

The themes for 2012 are:

Children’s theme is “Dream Big – Read” = “Sueña en grande – Lee”
Teen theme is “Own the Night” = “Se dueño de la noche”
Adult theme is “Between the Covers” = “Entre las carátulas”

I asked the CSLP translator to provide the Spanish translation of this at the meeting in Tacoma last week.

The concept for 2013 is “underground”. So think of things that exist or occur underground – subways, caves, worms, volcano lava, plant root systems, you get the idea. ☺ It will be a fun theme.

I also have posters of the artwork for next year’s “One World Many Stories”, “You are Here” and “Novel Destinations” themes which I will display at our children’s meeting next Tuesday. The poster for the children’s theme is particularly breathtaking.


DATES TO REMEMBER

April 15 Kevin Henkes at Rochester Public Library, 6 PM
April 16 C2E2, Chicago
April 20 Lakeshores youth services meeting, noon, LLS office
April 22-25 Sweet Adelines Region 22 Competition, Cedar Rapids, Iowa
April 28-30 WAPL Conference, Blue Harbor Resort, Sheboygan
June 24-29 ALA Annual Conference, Washington, DC
July 15-17 Laurapalooza, Mankato, Minnesota
November 2-5 WLA Conference, Kalahari Resort, Wisconsin Dells


WEBSITE FAVES

AdViews: A Digital Archive of Vintage Television Commercials
http://library.duke.edu/digitalcollections/adviews/

While watching television commercials might seem like a form of torture to some, this amazing archive is a treasure trove for those with an interest in media studies and popular culture. The AdViews digital archive consists of several thousand vintage television commercials from the 1950s through 1980s, and it is part of the John W. Hartman Center for Sales, Advertising & Marketing History at Duke University. First-time visitors should check out the "About" area for a bit more background on the project, and then type in some keywords like "peanuts" or "toothpaste" into the search engine. The results are returned in a grid format, and the commercials are played back via iTunes. The "AdViews Expert Interviews" area contains talks with former advertising executives, professors of marketing, and media studies experts. The site also has a nice blog that highlights new items in the collection and a quiz to "Test Your Ad Knowledge." (Copyright 2010 Internet Scout Project, http://scout.wisc.edu, 3/19/10)


StoryCorps: Recording The Lives of Everyday Americans
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4516989

StoryCorps' mission is to provide "Americans of all backgrounds and beliefs with the opportunity to record, share, and preserve the stories of our lives". Since 2003, 50,000 Americans have taken that opportunity, and some of their stories can be heard on NPR's radio show, Morning Edition. The StoryCorps website has links to over a dozen stories on its homepage, along with photos of those key to the story. To "Read the StoryCorps Blog", visitors should go to the menu on the right side of the page, under "Follow Us Online, On The Road". The stories of these Americans range from heart-rending to humorous. Some of the titles include "A Boy Raises a Man-And Becomes One Himself", about a 16-year-old who raises his son as a single dad; "Boy Scout Tells Leader Why He Stayed 25 Years", about a Boy Scout troop for special needs scouts; and "Coping With Memory Loss as it Spans Generations", about a 55-year-old woman who has early onset Alzheimer's disease, and is dealing with her mother, who also has Alzheimer's. (Copyright 2010 Internet Scout Project, http://scout.wisc.edu, 3/19/10)


Heritage Preservation
http://www.heritagepreservation.org/

The Heritage Preservation: The National Institute for Conservation is a 30-year-old non-profit in Washington, DC, that is concerned with preserving the treasures of the United States that are already in institutions, such as museums, historical societies, and libraries, as well as those historical treasures that are in people's homes, basements, and attics. Their website is comprehensive, and lists the programs they run to help accomplish this monumental task. Under the "Programs" tab visitors will find links to the "Conservation Assessment Program" and "Heritage Emergency National Task Force", which is like FEMA for historical objects. "Rescue Public Murals" and "Save Outdoor Sculpture!" are also programs the Heritage Preservation runs. Visitors can see photographs of "Murals That Have Been Lost" and "Murals That Have Been Saved". Finally, the link under "Programs" to the "Heritage Health Index" provides a full online report of the "first comprehensive survey to assess the condition and preservation needs of U.S. collections". (Copyright 2010 Internet Scout Project, http://scout.wisc.edu, 3/19/10)


AND FINALLY……..

Don’t forget to go to the Rochester Public Library tomorrow evening to their program with Kevin Henkes!