Thinking Outside the Book: Summer Seek and Finds

Tons of kids come through the library over the summer. Sometimes, they are literally running around the library--the children's section in particular. Lots of librarians have great ideas on how to capitalize on this captive summer audience of library kids. At some point in the past, one of the women who held my job before me decided that if the kids are going to be running amok in the library during the hot summer months, they may as well acquaint themselves with where things are located. Thus was born the Summer Seek and Find, now a much-loved summer tradition at my branch.

During each of the nine weeks of summer reading, families who come into the library are greeted with our Summer Seek and Find sign. On that sign, a large picture of a children's book character is displayed. The goal, then, is for kids to find the corresponding small picture of said character somewhere in the children's area of the library. When they find the character, they report its location to the reference desk for a small prize (a piece of candy, a Dream Big READ tattoo, etc.). Keep in mind that my branch doesn't have a huge children's section; we've got a 15'x15' area with picture books on three sides, four aisles of juvenile fiction, an aisle of juvenile audiovisual, and three aisles of juvenile nonfiction. What I'm saying is, there aren't too many places that these characters can hide. This activity is not meant to be particularly difficult.

It is, however, meant to introduce kids of all ages to the various collections housed in the children's area. For our first week this summer, Kipper was hiding out in the juvenile biographies. Last week the Man in the Yellow Hat was hanging out by our holiday picture books. That's two collections kids might not have known about! And, after completing the Summer Seek and Find, now they do. Bam! Library skills.

This week kids are searching for Martha the dog, and while you can see she's hiding amidst the chapter books, we don't let kids get the prize just for sharing that general piece of information. We ask for a more specific description--what books are nearby? what are some of the authors around her? what does the aisle sign read for that row of shelves? The goal is for kids to become more acquainted with the library's set-up and variety of resources, and we try to encourage seekers to look at their surroundings as they seek. Sure, a few kids grumble as we send them back into the stacks to take more notice of a character's location, but plenty more kids end up choosing a book from the area around a hidden character. There are even more young pre-readers who are thrilled to look for a much-loved character somewhere in the library. Everyone who participates in the Summer Seek and Find gets something out of it.

I highly recommend giving the Summer Seek and Find a chance at your library. It doesn't take a whole lot of work--print the signs and pictures, create tally sheets if you want to keep statistics, and change the character and hiding place every week. Ta-da! Now you've got 400+ kids who learn something new about the library each week. Add that to all the reading they're doing for the SRP, and the library is definitely keeping kids' brains engaged during these hot summer months.

Mark Twain Reviews: The Familiars and Twenty Gold Falcons

I finished the last two Mark Twain Readers Award nominees, you guys! Now I can vary my reading for a bit! I must say, though, that while I'm glad to be able to pick up some other books for the next few weeks, this batch of a dozen titles is really great--there's something for every older elementary reader.


The Familiars by Adam Jay Epstein and Andrew Jacobson is the story of Aldwyn, a stray alley cat who, through a series of evasive maneuvers and a bit of luck, finds himself chosen as the familiar of a young wizard. Despite his total lack of magical ability, Aldwyn has quite a bit of skill--which comes in handy when it appears the sorceress queen of the land has taken a turn toward evil. After the three young wizards whom they accompany are kidnapped, Aldwyn and his new friends go on an adventure of their own in order to rescue the children. And hopefully they'll thwart some evil along the way. This story is fast-paced, has characters with strong personalities, and takes place in a world ready for an imaginative reader. I'll be recommending this title to readers who enjoy fantasy, adventure, and animal tales.

Twenty Gold Falcons by Amy Gordon follows Aiden Farmer, who after the death of her father has recently relocated from her farm in Minnesota to the city in which her mother grew up. Aiden isn't a huge fan of this move--she's met some bratty kids at her private school, her mother seems too occupied with returning to her previous city life, and she misses the comforts of her familiar farm life. Everyone at the Ingle Building is friendly to her, though, and soon she finds out about some gold coins--twenty gold falcons--that are likely still hidden in its walls. Aiden thinks that finding the coins can allow her to buy back her farm, so she enlists the help of a classmate and a cousin to try to discover their secret hiding place. Along the way, she makes a few friends, gets into a few sticky situations, and learns a lot more about herself and her family than she could have expected. This book would be great for readers who don't quite feel like they fit in, as Aiden thoughtfully narrates how she feels about being in a new place where she feels alone. I'll be recommending Twenty Gold Falcons to readers who enjoy a bit of mystery as well as those who are looking for a soft-spoken character to relate to.

Father's Day at the Library

Let me confess something: I love when dads bring their kids into the library. Of course, I love it when anyone brings kids into the library. Since dads joining their children for a library outing happens much less frequently than, say, outings with moms or grandparents, though, I really love seeing kids' excitement as they get to share the library and their favorite stories with their dads. For this very reason, I try to encourage male role models to bring their children into the library. I always mention moms and dads when talking about interacting with little ones in my baby programs, and I offer programming that kids and dads tend to enjoy: science, for one; a monthly Lego club; and Star Wars. The possibilities are many, and the benefits of involving all members of the family at the library are even greater.

Even when dads can't make it to the library, though, I've noticed that kids LOVE talking about them. After many a story time and craft, children have come up to me to report how excited they are to tell Dad what they did at the library. Dads are a part of the library no matter what. Thus, in this week leading up to Father's Day, we're giving kids ways to celebrate their dads at the library. One fun, secretly-educational way to celebrate: our June take-home activity. Like our Mother's Day activity, it is a connect-the-dots/coloring/writing activity. The goal, besides being fun, is to reinforce some pre-reading skills: sequence, writing, holding a writing/coloring implement, expressing one's ideas in words, etc. Plus it makes for a nifty little card to give to Dad on Sunday!

On the story side of things, my colleague is offering a whole Father's Day-themed preschool story time this week. And while I'm not sure of all the details of her program, I want to share one of my favorite books to celebrate Dad. My Dad, My Hero by Ethan Long is a brightly-illustrated picture book, narrated by a young boy, that enumerates the many ways in which his dad is decidedly NOT a superhero. He can't leap over buildings (blocks, of course), or open the tightest pickle jar lid--as demonstrated both by the text and, hilariously, by the illustrations. Despite Dad's lack of superhero powers, though, the boy concludes that his dad is still his hero. This book really touches on a feeling that is true for so many children: Dad is awesome and heroic.

How will you be helping kids celebrate dads at the library this week?

Summer Reading Volunteers: The First Week

It was a busy first week of summer reading at my library! It's looking like this may be a blockbuster summer--tons of kids and teens signing up for and participating in the reading programs, lots of half-full displays from so many books circulating, and high demand for our variety of programs. I've been able to observe the enthusiastic chaos and interact with excited kids for one primary reason: I have great volunteers handling the bulk of the summer reading program workload.

The children's side of our
summer reading station.

I'm happy to say that the first week of summer reading sign-ups (and, toward the end of the week, prize distribution) went very well overall. As each volunteer arrived for his or her shift, I gave a "tour" of our mobile summer reading station--during volunteer-staffed hours, it has its own location and table in the library, and during non-volunteer hours it gets wheeled behind the reference desk. I made the tour a bit of a training refresher, and I noticed that many of the volunteers already felt comfortable with the program even before their first shifts. That May training really paid off!

I tried to make sure the volunteers had everything they could possibly need at the summer reading station: book logs, stickers to give to kids who signed up, prizes, program calendars, bookmarks, a stamp to mark when prizes are given... Does your summer reading station at your library have this much stuff, too? I felt like I was surrounding my volunteers with a mountain of Dream Big READ and Own the Night paraphernalia. They proved, though, that they were more than up to the challenge.

Despite the volunteers' level of knowledge and confidence, I made sure to emphasize that the reference desk was only ten feet away should they need anything or have questions. Knowing they weren't totally on their own helped put many first-time volunteers at ease. After the first fifteen minutes of each shift, though, I witnessed all of the volunteers settling into their roles and getting kids excited about the program. It was a beautiful sight.

I did make a few adaptations to my method and to the summer reading station as the week progressed, and I'm making notes to utilize the following tools next summer:

• I printed out a slideshow handout cheat sheet explaining the core stages of the program (registration, halfway prize, completion prize), including a breakdown describing the exact items a participant of each program should get at each stage. I put these cheat sheets in some magnetic sign holders in front of each volunteer's chair. They all mentioned how helpful they found this sheet.
• I hung around the summer reading station for the first few customer interactions of each volunteer's shift. That way I could coach and correct them as necessary, and I was able to point out any aspects of the program that I may have forgotten to mention earlier. (There's something about repeating the same information forty-five million times that makes me miss a small but important fact every once in a while...)
• I encouraged volunteers to immediately sign themselves and their siblings up for the program. Turns out there's nothing quite as motivating as making sure you know how to earn your own prizes!

I'll be interested to see how things continue to develop as the high numbers of registrations turn into high numbers of kids collecting their prizes. I anticipate that these future interactions will involve less explanation on the part of the volunteers, but more time will go into making sure the correct prizes are given, encouraging continued reading, etc. I think my volunteers are ready!

The first week's stats:

• Total program registrations (children and teens): 897
• Total volunteer hours worked: 51
• Number of volunteers helping with summer reading: 27

Mark Twain Reviews: Palace Beautiful, Hide & Seek, and Out of My Mind

I'm making good progress in getting through the rest of the Mark Twain Readers Award nominees. After this batch, I only have two more left to read.

Palace Beautiful by Sarah DeFord Williams is a thoughtful historical fiction novel about Sadie and her sister, father, and step-father as they move from Houston to Salt Lake City. Set in 1985, the story documents Sadie's befriending the neighbor girl and discovering a secret attic room in her new house. Together with her younger sister Zuzu and her neighbor Bella, Sadie discovers the journal of one of the houses WWI-era residents. The girls make a pact to read the journal together a few entries at a time, and as the story of the journal's owner develops, they start to sense impending trouble in the writer's life. The journal writer's struggles mirror some of Sadie's own fears about her life, and she becomes comfortable in her new surroundings as the girls seek to find the journal's owner. This story is somewhat gentle and richly historical, and many young readers--girls in particular--will delight in the descriptions of life in WWI and the lovely friendship story between Sadie and Bella.

Hide & Seek by Katy Grant follows middle schooler Chase, an avid Arizona biker and hiker, as he encounters an interesting message while out geocaching. On his first solo geocaching adventure, Chase notices a strange message in the geocache's log: "HELP WE NE." Intrigued, Chase returns several days in a row, and he learns that the message has come from two young boys. Despite how much he enjoys spending time out in nature with these two youngsters, Chase starts to worry that they might be in some sort of trouble. What results is a captivating story, part adventure and part heartfelt, as Chase struggles to help his new friends while also keeping himself safe in the Arizona desert. This book will be a great read for sports-minded readers, young boys in particular.

Out of My Mind by Sharon M. Draper is narrated by eleven-year-old Melody, who has never spoken a word as a result of her cerebral palsy. Confined to a wheelchair and dependent on caretakers and family, Melody is bored out of her mind--everyone assumes that since she cannot communicate she is also mentally impaired. On the contrary, Melody is incredibly bright. When she finally finds a way to communicate with the people around her, Melody has lots to say. Despite her ability to assert her intelligence and unique personality, Melody struggles with her fellow fifth graders, not all of whom seem willing to accept her as a regular elementary school girl. Out of My Mind is a wonderful, wonderful story documenting just how frustrating Melody can find her life--and how, when push comes to shove, her frustrations, challenges, and fears aren't really that different from those of any other child. I'll be highly recommending this novel to readers who enjoy realistic fiction and school stories, and I'll be booktalking it along with Lord's Rules and Erskine's Mockingbird.

Bouncing Babies: Programming for the Littlest Library Kids

In my library, we strive to offer programs for children at every age. My entire department shares responsibility for the requisite school-age programs and preschool story times, and one of my staff offers regular two-year-old story times as well. That just leaves the littlest library-goers: babies and toddlers. Happily, the job of offering a twice-monthly babies and toddlers story time falls to me.

In creating a program plan for my Bouncing Babies program, which serves children 1 month through 23 months and their caregivers, I try to keep a few key ideas in mind. First, it's never too early to start developing crucial pre-reading skills (ECRR--need I say more?). Second, I believe it is also never too early to start forming positive associations with the library. I strive for all of the little ones to have a good time so that the library becomes a comfortable, loved place. And lastly, I believe that the grown-up caregivers of children under age two can sometimes feel starved for a bit of interaction with other grown-ups. My programs should be an opportunity for them to destress, too.

With all of those points in mind, I have created the following program format for my Bouncing Babies programs. The program lasts about 30 minutes plus some time for free play, and I don't deviate from that format very much--really, the fundamental components stay the same from week to week, which allows for a sense of routine that is comfortable to both babies and grown-ups.

(A few things to keep in mind: I print out a sheet with all of the songs and rhymes and pass it out as folks arrive; that way no one feels unable to sing along if they want to. Also, I start every session by mentioning that the door to the program room, while closed, is unlocked, so if anyone starts to have a meltdown, child and caregiver can step out for a few minutes and return when calmed down. I also stress that it's okay if a child doesn't want to stay by Mom but instead wants to run around--different learning styles and all. Finally, I pepper the program with little child development factoids about the importance of animal sounds, why nursery rhymes are so important, why "practicing" holding books is a good story time activity, etc. Parents have said they really appreciate learning these little bits of information, and it helps them realize why continuing early literacy activities at home is so important.)

Enough of the background. Here's what I do:


Bouncing Babies


Songs and Rhymes
     I start every session with a welcome song that I most definitely copied from the library at which I interned in grad school: "Hello, Everybody, and How Are You?". The song, below, provides a definitive sense of the story time starting, and it usually goes on long enough to allow for any stragglers to make their way into the program room before things really get going. Also, in repeating the song for each child, the little ones get to hear their names--one of the first sounds they really tune in to. It's like magic for calming down even the crankiest of toddlers.

Hello, Everybody, and How Are You?

Hello, everybody*, and how are you?

How are you? How are you?

Hello, everybody*, and how are you?

How are you today?

*repeat with each child's name

     I always emphasize that bouncing and clapping along to the rhythm of the opening song, as well as the rest of the songs and rhymes, is really beneficial to babies and toddlers. Not only is the movement fun, but it starts to introduce little ones to the idea of rhythm--a fundamental component of language and reading.

     We spend the next ten-ish minutes as a group singing the songs and saying the rhymes on the handout. These include nursery rhymes (Hey, Diddle Diddle), traditional children's songs (Baa, Baa, Black Sheep), and bounce and tickle rhymes (Round About, Round About). I repeat each one at least twice, as the first time around is usually a demonstration and folks don't always chime in until the second time. Admittedly, sometimes the mood of the group prohibits us from getting through all the rhymes. That's another reason I make the handout, though--caregivers can take it home and do the rhymes there.

     Suggested resources: Baby Rhyming Time, John Feierabend's First Steps in Music series, and the storytimes notes on the ALSC website.

Books

     I always share a short, easy-to-see book with the group--it's a great way to start modeling story time behavior for future story time participants. I choose books that have fun interactive components, peek-a-boo flaps in particular. Since these books inevitably fall apart when they are circulated, it's a treat to enjoy these books in a program. All of my copies are staff copies for the program only, so they stay in good condition. Some of my favorites: Peek-a-Moo!; Good Morning, Toucan; anything Spot; and Moo Baa La La La.

     Next comes time for booksharing between child and caregiver. I have a basket full of fun, age-appropriate board books that are wonderful for exploring how books work. Again, none of these resources is used for anything except my Bouncing Babies programs. Since I control their use, I'm able to include some great interactive books. Think Usborne Touchy-Feeling Books, Dwell Studio's great Touch and Feel or Circle books, any anything else with manipulable elements. Oh, and I also include lots of Sandra Boynton because they're just so much fun!

Music

     After we put away our books, I break out our hand bells. I was able to purchase some baby-safe musical bells with a grant from our Friends of the Library, and they've been a hit ever since. Despite my initial worry that the noise of the collective bells ringing would be too much for some babies, EVERYONE loves this part of the program. Depending on the mood of the group, we'll sometimes have a little parade, shaking our bells along to some classical music. Other times we stay where we are and try ringing our bells high, low, fast, and slow. Lots of investigation into how bells work happens at this point.

Play

Books, Bells, and Tactile Balls!

     Play is so important to the development of little ones, and I would consider myself horribly remiss if I didn't include time to play into our program schedule. Right now I offer two Bouncing Babies programs per month, and I alternate toys from session to session. Some weeks I break out some foam building blocks--plenty for everyone to play and build. Other weeks I dump out my box of tactile balls--some with ridges, some with bumps, some with holes, etc. From this point on, the rest of the program is free play. Little ones are free to explore and experiment with the toys available to them, and it is wonderful to see them figure out how to manipulate what they've got in their hands. It's important to me that all the toys be different bright colors--that way the almost-twos in the program can get a bit of color reinforcement out of playtime while their younger counterparts are chewing on whatever they've got. Everyone's happy! (I always emphasize to caregivers that the toys are cleaned after each program, so exploring with one's mouth is okay by me--after all, it's developmentally appropriate!)

That's what I do at my Bouncing Babies programs. Attendance has steadily risen since I started at my library last August, and at this point I offer two sessions each program day--10 a.m. and 11 a.m.--in order to accommodate all the families who want to attend. What better confirmation of a good program is there than a room packed with happy parents and giggling babies?

Mark Twain Reviews: Drizzle, Ghost Dog Secrets, and Half Upon a Time

I've been making progress toward my goal of reading all of the 2012-2013 Mark Twain Readers Award nominees. Here are the synopses and recommendations of the last three I've finished:


Drizzle by Kathleen Van Cleve is the story of Polly Peabody, who lives on her family's magical rhubarb farm. You don't think rhubarb farming can be magical? Well, it is on this farm, which grows giant rhubarb and chocolate rhubarb, and where it rains every Monday at exactly 1 p.m. despite the farm's location in a drought-prone area of the country. Things start to seem much less perfect and magical, though, when Polly's beloved aunt decides she wants to sell the farm despite the protests of Polly and her family. When her aunt leaves town, that much-needed rain suddenly stops--and all sorts of chaos breaks out. Polly must determine if she's the sort of girl who can reverse the bad luck while her family and their livelihood seem to be headed for total disaster. This fanciful yet heartfelt story deals with such ubiquitous topics as bullying, feeling afraid, the trials of friendship, and the difficulty in living up to your potential. I'll be recommending this book for some of my more self-conscious readers who may need a bit of literary encouragement to come out of their shells.

Ghost Dog Secrets by Peg Kehret is a lovely story about doing the right thing and fighting for the underdog--literally. When Rusty sees a dog chained to a tree day after day without food, water, or shelter, he and his best friend decide to try to help. Their class at school has been focusing on addressing problems in their community, and Rusty takes this message to heart as he "rescues" the dog, who he names Ra. It turns out Ra's owner very much wants his dog back--and he's willing to intimidate and threaten Rusty in the process. To make matters even more interesting, Rusty can see a ghost collie who seems to want him to protect Ra at all costs. Ghost Dog Secrets mixes the realistic themes of a boy and his pet, school difficulties, family dynamics, and animal cruelty with some supernatural elements and a bit of thriller suspense that will hook almost any young reader.

Half Upon a Time by James Riley is a fantastic fractured fairy tale. Jack has never been keen on his hero training--all the princesses are spoken for, so why risk his neck with adventure? When a princess literally falls from the sky, however, Jack finds himself engaged in a quest beyond anything he could have imagined. He and the princess, May, don't quite get along, but Jack is willing to put up with her, a slightly annoying prince, and a good deal of danger to help May find her kidnapped grandmother. Along the way we meet a giant, some dwarves, the Wolf King, and all manner of characters from fairy tales of old. There is plenty of adventure and humor in this tale to appeal to the average school-age reader, but the wonderful spin on fairy tale classics and some great fairy tale puns make this novel an above-average addition to the genre. I'll be recommending this title to readers looking for adventure, humor, and a bit of fun, and I'll probably read aloud from it at some summer programs, too.