CEO Newsletter, May 25, 2011

Children’s Event Organizer

Lakeshores Library System and
Mid-Wisconsin Federated Library System
Youth Services Update
Issue 356, May 24, 2011
http://www.lakeshores.lib.wi.us/site/childrensya
http://www.llsmwflschildrens.blogspot.com


In this issue:
Ruhama’s Reviews
One World, Many Stories
Mixing in Math
Grant Opportunity from Build-A-Bear
DigitalLiteracy.gov
2011-12 WrestleMania Reading Challenge
Dates to Remember
Website Faves
And Finally......


RUHAMA’S REVIEWS

The Secret of Rover by Rachel Wildavsky
http://tinyurl.com/4bgvhve

Katie and David, twins, have lived in the two extremes of life: poverty and wealth. Their parents and uncle worked for years to create a top-secret governmental program (called Rover) and once it was completed, they didn't have to want for anything anymore. Except perhaps another family member. Finally, after asking for years, the twins' parents agree to adopt a baby from Katkajan and immediately head off to get her. Unbeknownst to anyone, this is a nefarious plot by the Katkajans to get Rover and suddenly, Katie and David are prisoners in their own home. They decide to escape and try to get to their uncle's remote cabin in Vermont, as he is probably the only one left who can help.

This book has an intriguing concept, especially as it's portrayed as realistic fiction, rather than fantasy, and the plot moves quickly, but is not executed very well. The device of Trixie (the evil Katkajan in charge of the twins) constantly finding the kids every time they escaped or plotted to escape got old (and there are one too many twists, making the book drag a little by the end). Katie and David bicker constantly, which got annoying and felt over-the-top (as opposed to the realistic fighting between siblings it was meant to be). The sudden mood changes also were overwhelming and the overall relationship between the two was irritating. I also found the use of nicknames inconsistent, which was a little jarring to the overall feel of the text. A secondary purchase.

If you hop over to the Amazon reviews, you'll see that others have loved it.


The Fred and Susie Show
www.fredandsusie.com

A locally produced video series for children ages 4 to 7.

Various puppets help teach children facts about animals, family values, hygiene and art projects. There are a lot of props, sound effects and interesting backgrounds. Everything is packaged to keep attention, including small segments, songs and jokes interspersed, and is adapted to fit today's children. Humor abounds, which helps older children appreciate the show. Each DVD is about 50 minutes long and has several extra activities, bonus features and printables, if the disc is put in the computer. The art projects are filmed well; including close ups of the materials needed and tips for completing the project.

Some of the audio is low quality (e.g. Fred often sounds far away), some of the breaks seem excessive and some of the blue screens are a little disconcerting, but overall, the sets and layout are well done. I appreciated the changes in location and the variety of puppets used. The amount of factual information slipped in is phenomenal. The live action works well with the puppets and Susie is fun to watch. There is an element of Sesame Street to the episodes and patrons who enjoy Veggie Tales will like this series.


ONE WORLD, MANY STORIES

Planet Earth on You Tube – Metafilter
http://www.metafilter.com/101281/The-Definitive-Look-at-the-Diversity-of-Our-Planet

The breathtaking TV series is now available in its entirety on YouTube. Here are the links. (Neat New Stuff I Found This Week, http://marylaine.com/neatnew.html, Copyright, Marylaine Block, 1999-2011, 3/11/11)


National Geographic Travel and Cultures
http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/travel/

Travel tips, blogs, photos, contests and much more.


Wisconsin Talking Book and Braille Library SRP Booklists
http://dpi.wi.gov/rll/wrlbph/summer_2011.html

The Wisconsin Talking Book and Braille Library has created booklists for the “One World, Many Stories” and “You Are Here” themes. These are items that are available in audio book format at the WTBBL.


MIXING IN MATH

Mixing in Math (MiM) is a set of FREE materials in English and Spanish, designed for integrating numeracy into story time, summer reading, and crafts for children and families. It's an appealing and engaging way to draw in new patrons, to offer them something different, and to reinforce skills children are learning in school.

MiM was designed with input from hundreds of librarians from MA, CT, NY, CA, MO, and other states. MiM resources include posters, games, calendars, crafts, and projects that are easy to use and fun for adults and children. The resources combine common library themes, such as animals, food, and holidays with the math of sizes, shapes, patters, measurement. MiM was funded by the National Science Foundation, and created at TERC, a non-profit educational organization.

Check the MiM website: http://mixinginmath.terc.edu to learn more and to download the materials.

(thanks to Sarah Sogigian at the Massachusetts State Library for sharing this!)


GRANT OPPORTUNITY FROM BUILD-A-BEAR

Build-A-Bear Workshop provides direct support for children in literacy and education programs, such as summer reading programs, early childhood education programs and literacy programs for children with special needs. The grants are made possible through the sale of Turner the Owl, a special furry friend available in all Build-A-Bear Workshop stores. With the sale of each Turner the Owl, 50 cents is donated to First Book and 50 cents is donated through the Build-A-Bear Workshop Bear Hugs Foundation to other literacy programs throughout the United States and Canada. Grant requests reviewed on a rolling basis through October 2011. For more information go to: http://www.buildabear.com/shopping/contents/content.jsp?catId=400002&id=700010.


DIGITALLITERACY.GOV

The U.S. Department of Commerce has launched DigitalLiteracy.gov, a gateway to materials, research, online learning tools and more to help librarians and educators access and share materials to use when training learners of all ages on topics such as information literacy, computer skills, digital literacies and more. The Dept. of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) created the portal in partnership with nine federal agencies to provide librarians, teachers, workforce trainers and others a central location to share digital literacy content and practices. Individuals are welcome to visit the site to find resources, upload their own and/or connect with others who are offering training on these topics. Visit http://www.digitalliteracy.gov/ to access the resource.


2011-12 WRESTLEMANIA READING CHALLENGE

YALSA and WWE are pleased to announce that registration is now open for the 2011-2012 WrestleMania Reading Challenge! Sign up by July 31, and teens at your library could win a trip to WrestleMania XXVIII in Miami next April – and you could win $2,000 for your library!

Libraries and educators who register will receive promotional packs with large posters, mini posters, and other materials to help you promote the challenge in late August. Libraries with multiple branches can register once and request the number of promotional packs they need to distribute to all branches.

Participation in the challenge is open to those in grades 5-12 in all 50 U.S. States and the District of Columbia, as well as all legal residents of Canada excluding Quebec. Teens and tweens who wish to compete for tickets and a trip to WrestleMania 28 in Miami, Florida, will complete and submit a special project during Teen Read Week, Oct. 16-22, 2011.

Twenty-one finalists will be chosen in January 2012 and will win transportation, hotel, tickets and spending money to attend WrestleMania 28 in Miami. Their sponsoring library will win $2,000. Finalists will compete in the WrestleMania Reading Challenge Championships, where they can win ringside tickets to WrestleMania 28 and other prizes. Registration is open now through July 31 at www.ala.org/wrestlemania.


DATES TO REMEMBER

June 20 First day of Storywagon
June 22-29 ALA Annual Conference, New Orleans
August 3 Michael Sullivan workshop, Franklin
August 22-24 CSLP Board meeting, Chicago
September 8-11 ARSL Conference, Fresno, Texas
October 16-22 Teen Read Week
November 1 2012 Summer Reading Program workshop, Milwaukee Public Museum Planetarium
November 1-4 WLA Annual Conference, Milwaukee


WEBSITE FAVES

The Mammoth Site of Hot Springs, South Dakota
http://www.mammothsite.com/default.htm

The Mammoth Site of Hot Springs contains thousands of fossilized mammoths, and was discovered by chance in 1974 while excavating for a housing development in South Dakota. Their website offers visitors a 360-degree virtual tour of the unique museum that was built over the site of the now dry sinkhole, along with views of excavations that are still in progress. The "Paleontology" tab informs visitors not only about the woolly and Columbian mammoths that drowned in the sinkhole, but other animals as well. The "Mammoth Site Vertebrate List" link shows a slew of other animals, such as camels, shrub oxen, and the giant short-faced bear that lived throughout the Great Plains of South Dakota. A PDF of the 85 species of flora and fauna recovered at The Mammoth Site, as of January 2008, is also available in the same link. Visitors should also check out the "Research" tab to learn about current and ongoing research at the site. (From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout Project 1994-2011. http://scout.wisc.edu/, 4/15/11)


The National Gallery: 30 Highlight Paintings
http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/explore-the-paintings/30-highlight-paintings/

Vermeer, Seurat, Gainsborough, Rembrandt - the National Gallery in London presents this website with thirty "greatest hits" of their collection. Visitors to the site can zoom in on the details of any of the paintings, such as a close-up of Venus' elaborately braided hair in Sandro Botticelli's Venus and Mars, 1485, or get close enough to see the individual brushstrokes in Van Gogh's Sunflowers, 1888. Each painting is accompanied by commentary, for example, this version of Sunflowers is one of four that Van Gogh painted in 1888 (not counting several in other years), and "the various versions and replicas remain much debated among Van Gogh scholars." (Internet Scout Report, 4/29/11)


Smart History
http://smarthistory.org/

Art teachers and students will want to spend some time visiting Smart History. It includes more than two hundred artworks and one hundred and fifty videos and podcasts. All those resources are organized thematically, by style, by artist, and by time period. Themes include For the Very Beginner, Image and Power, The Skill of Describing, Oil Paint, and Print Making. The video section includes Mies's corporate classicism," Odysseus at the Getty, and Magrittes treacherous pipe. Visitors to the site easily can locate the works of more than a hundred artist, including Jean Arp, Carvaggio, Gaugin, Monet, and others. Smart History gives visitors reliable content and a delivery model that’s engaging, with podcasts and screen-casts that are spontaneous conversations about works of art. (Education World Site Reviews, 5/3/11)


National Jukebox
http://www.loc.gov/jukebox/

If you don't have a Wurlitzer handy, the National Jukebox website is the next best thing. Actually, it's probably the "first-best" thing, as it contains over 10,000 recordings made by the Victor Talking Machine Company between 1901 and 1925. It is a tremendous endeavor, and one that brings the sounds of another era into the life of anyone with an Internet connection. First-time visitors should click on the "Making the Jukebox" to get started. Here they can view a slide show of Library of Congress staffers at work selecting the items to be digitized and other shots documenting the entire process. Next, visitors can listen to the "Playlists of Recordings", which feature playlists compiled by Library of Congress curators and project partners. Currently they include "Early Tin Pan Alley", "The Fox Trot", and "Songs by Irving Berlin". The interactive "Victrola Book of the Opera" from 1919 is quite a pip, and visitors can use it to read stories of great operas while listening to period recordings. Also, it's a good idea to read up in the "How'd They Do That?" section, found toward the bottom of the homepage, for more behind the scenes information on the project. (Internet Scout Report, 5/20/11)


4-H Youth Development Organization
http://www.4-h.org/

With over 100 years of service, the 4-H Organization is committed to helping "young people and their families gain the skills they need to be proactive forces in their communities and develop ideas for a more innovative economy." Their work includes outreach to agricultural communities, teen leadership programs, and many other initiatives. On the site's homepage, visitors will find four primary areas, including "About 4-H", "Programs", and "Resource Library". In the "Resource Library" area, visitors can learn about 4-H curriculum materials, volunteer resources, and grant opportunities. Moving on, the "Programs" area includes information about their youth research programs that address climate change, community leadership, and childhood obesity. Also, visitors can sign up for the "Power of YOUth News" updates and other news bulletins. (Internet Scout Report, 5/20/11)


AND FINALLY……

Have a great Memorial Day weekend!