Thank you "Banned Books" Week!

For the past five years I have been toiling away in the library of a parochial high school and junior high. Day after day I optimistically send out emails to our teachers and administrators about library programs, new books, library-classrooom tie-ins and provocative ideas that I read about somewhere.

For the most part I get very little interest. Some teachers bring their classes in and some also ask me to demonstrate new databases or search strategies, but often I am here alone. I'm not even sure if the emails are getting through their spam filters.

But "Banned Books" week has brought new interest to my humble library. To commemorate this occasion I set up a display of frequently challenged books. I also created a contest where students or teachers have to match the book title with the most likely reason that it was challenged. I sent out what I thought was an innocent email to let the teachers know about this.

Wow, I finally got their attention. I've had more comments from teachers about this one idea than I've had in all my five years of being here. All of the sudden people are flocking in here to look at the display and add their two cents about a book. We've already had some great discussions about the merits of some classic and not so classic books (Captain Underpants anyone?) Some faculty members who I wasn't even sure knew I actually worked here, came in a looked around. Could it be? Could people possibly be seeing the library in a different light? No longer just a place to send broken VCRs and projectors but an actual destination for learning enhancement?

Who knew? I guess I should have realized that anything that is as controversial as banning a book would get some feedback, but I honestly never really thought about this. Now that I'm in the spotlight Iwant it to continue. I can't let them get away. I've got to come up with more controversial ideas. Can't someone please come up with another hot-button library week?

Read A Book Day

Today, September 6, 2011, is National "Read a Book Day." Ironically it is also National "Avoid Procrastination Day." You can celebrate both of these days at the same time by sitting down right now and reading that book you've been meaning to get to.

In my opinion it would have been better to celebrate this day on the weekend but then who am I? I'm surely not a member of the esteemed panel that has been bestowed with the honor of creating such important holidays as:
National "Cream-Filled Donut Day"
National "Bubba Day"
Or the ever popular "Draw a Picture of a Bird Day"

Despite the fact that I didn't help create this day, I am going to get behind it's celebration 100%. In case you need some help finding a book, here are some great ones that I have read lately:

The Help by Kathryn Stockett
A Secret Gift by Ted Gup
Pink by Lili Wilkinson

All of these great titles and so many more can be found at your local school or public library. Get with the program and help support the efforts of these folks who have worked so hard to create days for us to recognize.

When Art Imitates Art

Withering Tights by Louise Rennison

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


It is hard for me to decide what I think about this book. On its own it was a pretty funny story and an entertaining read. OK, but it is so similar to the Georgia Nicolson series that I was kind of disappointed. Tallulah seemed just like Georgia except she hated her knees instead of her nose and had really small boobs rather than great big ones. Many of the jokes and characters seemed the same and I felt like I was just reading another installment of Georgia.



This is not really a bad thing it just wasn't really what I was expecting. I thought Rennison stopped writing the Georgia diaries because she was sick of it. But then she wrote something almost exactly the same with different character names. It was almost like when sitcoms used to replace a character with another actor and pretrend like it's the same person. (Like Darrin in "Bewitched")It didn't ruin the show just made you feel like the producers think you're clueless.



I guess the upshoot is for teens and others who really liked Georgia, her cousin has arrived to take her place. But if you're expecting something different from an author who seems so talented, you'll be disappointed.





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Short Explanation

Here is a short explanation and lame excuse for my previous post. I wanted to show how awesome Glogster is to use in a classroom. I created a "glog" about "Google Maps" in order to demonstrate how incredibly easy and fun it is to use this resource. However, once I pasted the glog location into my post, I couldn't figure out how to put in any words. Once again, technology gets the best of me!

At any rate, Glogster is really cool and can be used in so many ways. A "glog" is an interactive poster that can be created for many different uses. Glogster for education has some great examples of ways that it has been used in classrooms around the world. Check out their "glogpedia" to see some of these. It is very intuitive and most elementary kids can figure it out in minutes. If I can use it, anyone can. Try it for yourself. Teachers can set up free accounts that allow them to have a whole classroom of students create their own interactive posters. It's terrific.

Teachers, Meet Glogster

Spine Tingling Art

Here's a new way that books are building our world. Not only does reading build vocabularies and increase understanding, but now actual books themselves are being used to create art and structures. These creative uses for tomes that would normally just end up in a land fill are an awesome way to recycle and inspire creativity.

I love to see things repurposed and used to make other objects. I am frequently awed by people who can look at something and see something unique or different. What a talent! I am a very literal person and tend to just see things as they are, not what they might become. Check out Stephen's Lighthouse to see more of these innovative creations.

Saint Training by Elizabeth Fixmer

Saint Training by Elizabeth Fixmer

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This book was recommended to me by a Catholic sister who is the librarian in our grade school. She loved the book but said it wasn't appropriate for a grade school library. To be honest, although this is written for kids, I think this is a book that will be most appreciated by the target audience's mothers or even grandmothers.

This is not to say I didn't like the book. I loved it! But most of the kids that I know have never seen a nun in full habit unless they've watched an old movie. They have no idea about the changes brought about by Vatican 2 or the struggles of the emerging feminists.

I think a case could be made to buy it as a historical fiction candidate, but I can't see getting many kids to read it. I hope I'm wrong because I think that many young teens would enjoy the story if they understood the background.

Mary Clare, the sixth grade aspiring Mother Superior, is hilarious. Fixmer does a wonderful job of portraying her angst over her sins and transgressions while also making her a typical tween who is envious of her friends and angry about her numerous chores and responsibilities.

I loved her parents as well. Although her father yelled alot, he was also a loving and caring role model who was being asked to adapt to quite a few changes. Her mother also was far from the stereotypical devoted wife who accepted everything that came her way. She was a strong, independent woman at a time when this "just wasn't done."

If you grew up Catholic or always wanted to peek into the life of those loud, boisterous neighbors with the holy water in their living room this is the book for you.



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