CEO, 12/8/10

Children’s Event
Organizer
Lakeshores Library System and
Mid-Wisconsin Federated Library System
Youth Services Update
Issue 351, December 8, 2010

http://www.llsmwflschildrens.blogspot.com

In this issue:
Ruhama’s Review
One World, Many Stories
Upcoming Holiday Meetings
News from the CCBC
2011 Storywagon Schedule
Dates to Remember
Website Faves
And Finally......


RUHAMA’S REVIEW

Thornspell by Helen Lowe
http://tinyurl.com/2cqa44r

Sigismund has always suspected that there's more than meets the eye with the Wood that's just outside his castle. What he didn't realize was how entangled his part would be and how much magic would be involved. Sigismund is a prince with ties to the faie, hence his father sets up a tutor for him by the name of Balisan. Through him, Sigismund learns more about the fairy realm, swordsmanship, family history and dreamwalking. The Prince learns of a sleeping princess on the inside of the enchanted wood, the protection of which was set in place by his grandfather, many years ago. Only one of his family can break the spell and make his way through the magic to rescue the girl and thwart the evil faie.

As you may have guessed, this is a retelling of Sleeping Beauty, but from the prince's point of view. This plot-driven story is filled with excitement, wonderful characters (many who are multi-dimensional) and a happy (but not sickly sweet) ending. It is a faced paced read, but I found I had to stop and catch my breath a few times because it is action packed. The only problem I have with the whole story is the kissing between Aurora and Sigismund at the end. It feels off kilter and not convincing. I don’t know how the author could have fixed this, though, so I’ll keep my nitpicking to a minimum.

This book will appeal to many readers. Those that love King Arthur stories, The Warrior Heir (Chima) or books by Melissa Marr will gobble this up. What to read next? Try handing them Dealing with Dragons (Wrede) or Beast (Napoli). And you may feel a little nostalgic and want to watch the Disney version again.


ONE WORLD, MANY STORIES

Lakeshores, MidWisconsin, Waukesha County Federated Library System, and Eastern Shores Library System are pleased to host the 2011 Summer Reading Program workshop, which will be held Friday, January 28 at the Country Springs Hotel in Waukesha. Presenters will be Marge Loch-Wouters and Leslie Peterson. Registration will begin at 8:30 and Marge will spend the morning on storytelling techniques and Leslie will discuss programming in the afternoon. The hotel has a block of rooms available if you are interested in an overnight stay. Cost will be $25 per person. More information will be available soon.

And on to websites of interest!

Teach the Earth
http://serc.carleton.edu/index.html

The Science Education Resource Center (SERC), with financial support from the National Science Foundation, presents this portal for educators who teach geo-science. Hundreds of teaching activities are available including visualizations, data sets and models, lab activities, projects, virtual field trips, and writing assignments. Topics for the activities include climate change, geochemistry, earth surface, energy/material cycles, ocean, solar system, earth history, and more. Teachers may also want to check out the section on methods. These strategies, such as cooperative learning, gallery walk, and others, could also be used effectively to teach other subjects. (Education World Site Reviews, 11/2/10)


Aaron Shepherd’s World of Stories
http://www.aaronshep.com/stories/

From the venerable Aaron Shepherd, here’s a list of stories from around the world that you can retell. Organized by genre, these include folktales, legends, magicial tales and much more. Also indicated are country/culture, theme, age appropriateness, and number of words.


Mama Lisa’s World
http://www.mamalisa.com

Mama Lisa’s World is a collection of children’s songs and nursery rhymes from around the world. Whatever the culture a child belongs to, whatever the flag he or she lives under, this is the place to find the lyrics to kids songs, in English and in the original languages! Some songs include MP3's and Midi music.



UPCOMING HOLIDAY MEETINGS

The Lakeshores youth services staff will meet this Friday, December 10th at noon at the LLS office. We are having a potluck luncheon, followed by a brief meeting. Please bring a white elephant gift to exchange. (email me if you need hints) Also, Lakeshores will be holding the first annual Ugly Christmas Sweater contest, which will be judged by Jim Novy and Steve Ohs from the LLS office. So get your ugly on, bring a dish to pass, and wrap up that extraordinary item that no longer appeals to you.

MidWisconsin librarians will be meeting Thursday, December 16th at noon at the Beaver Dam Public Library. We are also having the potluck luncheon, brief meeting, and white elephant gift exchange. No ugly sweater contest, unless you feel inclined.

I will get agendas out very soon.


NEWS FROM THE CCBC

Author James St James will be in Madison the first week in April 2011 to deliver a public lecture about his young adult novel, "Freak Show," which is the UW-Madison School of Education's Common Read for the academic year. You can keep updated with details concerning his upcoming visit and find out more about the book discussions and panel discussions connected to the book on the Common Read website at: http://commonread.education.wisc.edu/Home.aspx

You can see photos from Susan Patron's amazing Charlotte Zolotow Lecture from in October on the CCBC's Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Madison-WI/Cooperative-Childrens-Book-Center/35374628162#!/album.php?aid=237702&id=35374628162 Gene Luen Yang, author of "American Born Chinese," will deliver the 2011 Zolotow Lecture on Oct 5, 2011.

You can also now follow the CCBC on Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/CCBCwisc

We are once again offering weekly podcasts from the CCBC, called "Shelf Stories," where you can hear more about each week's Book of the Week, a bit about trends in publishing, and a connection of the current book to books we've admired in the past. The direct link for the podcasts is http://www.education.wisc.edu/ccbc/podcasts/default.asp.


2011 STORYWAGON SCHEDULE

The 2011 Storywagon schedule for Lakeshores is set. We will have storyteller Janice “Mama” Baer, story-performer Chris Fascione, and the musical duo Fox and Branch. Storywagon will begin on Monday June 20th and run through Thursday July 21st.

“Mama” Baer – June 20-24 and June 27-30

Chris Fascione – June 27-July 1 and July 11-14

Fox and Branch – July 11-15 and July 18-21

The daily schedule will be the same as this year.


DATES TO REMEMBER

December 8 Open House for Lowell Wilson, LLS office
December 9 Fox Lake Bunny Berigan Open House, 5-8 PM
December 10 Lakeshores Youth Services Pot Luck and White Elephant Gift Exchange, LLS office
December 11 Riverport Chorus on WGTD, 11:15 AM
December 16 MidWisconsin Youth Services Pot luck and Gift Exchange, Beaver Dam
December 23-24 LLS office closed
December 30-31 LLS office closed
January 1 THE ROSE BOWL
January 6-11 ALA Midwinter meeting, San Diego (Rhonda out of the office)
January 10 Youth Media Awards Announcements, will be approximately 10 AM CST
January 28 2011 Summer Reading Program workshop, Country Springs, Waukesha
January 29 Diva Quest, Kenosha
February 22 Library Legislative Day


WEBSITE FAVES

ProQuest’s Public Library Toolkit
http://www.proquest.com/en-US/utilities/toolkits/tk-public.shtml

Start here for access to complimentary bookmarks, customizable posters and fliers, digital commercials, and other tools designed to help you promote your public library’s online resources.


The Visual Dictionary
http://www.infovisual.info/

The Visual Dictionary can be used by anyone as a quick reference. It would be especially useful for ESL students for mastery of the language. The terms are categorized into six thematic topics: vegetal biology, animal biology, human body, music, transport, and clothing. The site uses images to explain objects and each of the objects defined on the site provides annotations that identify details of the object and a short description of each part at the bottom of the page. Visitors will find information on everything from the detailed structure of a tree to the description of a police officer’s uniform. Additionally, a few tips for using the site in an educational setting are offered in the help section. (Education World Site Reviews, 11/9/10)


Storybook Corner
http://www.hfrp.org/family-involvement/projects/family-involvement-storybook-project/storybook-corner

This one has been listed here before but it’s well worth another look. Storybook Corner contains free downloadable Web-based resources for educators and families. These materials show how storybooks that thematically emphasize family involvement can promote family involvement in real life. Many of the resources -- such as the original bilingual children's storybook "Tomasito's Mother Comes to School," illustrated by the award-winning children's book illustrator Joe Cepeda -- are especially useful for promoting involvement among culturally diverse families. Also included at the site are lesson plans and many other resources. (Education World Site Reviews, 11/9/10)


Museum of Science and Industry: Simple Machines
http://www.msichicago.org/fileadmin/Activities/Games/simple_machines/

The Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago has recently expanded their online opportunities and interactive features. One of their latest additions is the "Simple Machines" feature, and here visitors will get to meet the curious robot "Twitch". The premise behind this game is that Twitch must complete a series of tasks to finish an important project. Using fun tools, keyboard motions, and careful object selection, visitors will have a bit of fun, and learn about the principles of force, the world of inclined planes, and other related topics. All of this fun is accompanied by a jaunty soundtrack that is part electronica, part lounge music. The graphics are superb, and the entire experience is quite user-friendly. (Scout Report, 10/22/10)


Lost Titles, Forgotten Rhymes
http://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/lost/

Anyone interested in locating literary resources should begin their search with this informative reference guide from the Library of Congress. The intent of the guide is to "help readers identify a literary work when they know only its plot or subject, or other textual information such as a character's name, a line of poetry, or a unique word or phrase." The guide is divided into three sections: Finding Novels, Finding Short Stories, and Finding Poems. Each of the sections gives directions for using general search engines, online book databases, library catalogs, listservs, message boards, and physical print resources that are available in public libraries. Included is a list of related resources, including how to find poems in the Library of Congress and locating criticism of individual poems. (Education World Site Reviews, 11/16/10)


A Book in Time
http://www.abookintime.com/

A Book In Time is a one-stop source for history teachers and home-schooling parents to find information, crafts, timelines, maps, and other projects related to whatever time period they are teaching. The site lists reviewed books that enhance the understanding of important eras, people, and events in a typical history curriculum. These booklists are grouped into time periods and cover both American and world history. Each title includes a suggested grade level and is linked to a site for purchase. Additionally, visitors to the site will find links to craft ideas, interactive history sites, maps, and timelines. (Education World Site Reviews, 11/2/10)


NASA’s Kid’s Club
http://www.nasa.gov/audience/forkids/kidsclub/flash/index.html

NASA Kid’s Club is a fun virtual playground for young students to explore important skills and concepts with interactive games. The games are divided into five advancing skill levels and are based on national education standards in math, science, and technology. Games increase in difficulty from identifying patterns to games of logic. The three interactive panels at the top of the home page give students updates about NASA’s vision for space exploration, information about the Space Station crew, and updates on current events, missions, and exciting discoveries. Additionally, teachers can click on the little red apple to find all of NASA’s educational materials listed by subject area and students can find an interactive drawing board by clicking on the cup full of art supplies. (Education World Site Reviews, 11/2/10)


AND FINALLY……….

Tune in to the link below to hear my Riverport Chorus, a featured performance group, on the local public radio show in Kenosha. We'll be live and on the air this Saturday, December 11 from 11:15 AM to noon.

To listen to Saturday’s program LIVE: http://www.wgtd.org/aboutWGTD.asp (links are in the upper right hand corner)

If you are unable to listen Saturday, the program will be archived here: http://www.wgtd.org/Radio_Theatre.asp