Month: August 2019

I just don’t get it

B

When I was in college I knew people who wanted to become a teacher for this one reason. They were excited for this one reason. They couldn’t wait to do this one thing.

Bulletin Boards

Really? They are a continual aspect of the library. When I put one up I always hope that it can last for months so I don’t have to do another one.

I’m not particularly crafty. When I DIY ….. It’s more of a DIY fail. Almost always.

But I didn’t take any pictures of those! I took pictures of my few successes!

So a few tips for bulletin boards

1.Find something that can stay up for a long time! This bulletin board gets the book covers and what it is featuring changed, but the arrows and emoji stay the same.

2.Reuse things! Don’t reinvent the wheel. A lot of this board was already made and in the back. Pete the Cat, the Giving Tree, Dr. Seuss, and the Captain America shield had been made previously and we kept them. The only thing my fellow librarian and I made was the Pigeon (and I’m super proud of him!).

3.Book Covers Can be your best friend! Any bulletin board can be dressed up and filled up with some good book covers.

4.Keep it simple. This one was simple in theory…. But actually putting up every piece of confetti was… a lot. It took FOREVER! Luckily we had someone job shadowing at the library that day and they helped me. I bet that High Schooler wasn’t super thrilled.

I had some fun when I took it down!

But have fun with your bulletin boards. I don’t love doing them but I love finding ways to make them fun for me!

Keep Sparkling

B

Motivation- aka doing hard things

B

Who here needs motivation to get out of bed sometimes?

Who needs motivation to clean their house?

Who needs motivation to continue to adult some days?

Me too! Most days the excitement of getting to tell kids about new books is motivation enough to go to work. But some days it’s not…. And on those days what I would really love is someone to say something like this

In fact if I had Neil Patrick Harris telling me this, it probably would be motivation (insert laughing emoji). But seriously. We all need motivation.

One of the best things that I love that my Dad says is that when he goes to work and he doesn’t want to, he’s fundraising. What is he fundraising for? Life! He’s fundraising to pay the bills and provide food. But he’s also fundraising for things like vacation and getting to be generous with others.

That shift in focus can totally change what you believe you are capable of. When you start to do hard things because they will benefit more than just you, they become so much more doable.

So next time it’s a Friday and you think, “I can’t get out of bed” just remember

So go enjoy your weekend, but put in a hard days work first. Fundraise. Change your perspective. Find a reason to get out of bed. Find a reason to go work. Find a reason to go bless others. Go change the world.

Keep Sparkling,

B

Dear Favorite Book,

B

I need you. Did you know that? You are pivotal to my survival. Without you, I would be overwhelmed by stress. You provide safety for me. You are my security. I love you.

Escapism. That’s what you are for me. When my life is too much. When I’m overwhelmed, you’re there. No matter what- you are always there for me. When life disappoints, when life is hard, when I want to be happy, you are always there. I can escape into my world of happy endings and good things.

You are so important to me. You have helped shape my life. I’ve read you until your pages are bent and you have spilled coffee all over you. I’ve had to buy new copies of you. I’ve bought copies of you for all my friends. You are my first thought when it comes to getting someone a gift.

Without you I barely cope. Without you I feel lost and aimless. Thank you for providing me with a safe place.

Love,

B

Thank you for allowing me that bit of melodramatic silliness. But I thought I would share some of my favorite books ever with you! All of these have been read many times by me.

The Sneetches by Dr. Seuss – When I was little this was my favorite book to read. I could quote the first few pages. I related to those Sneetches. They were being made fun of. They just wanted to fit in. The poor Sneetches. And then that meaner who tricked them. My sense of justice was greatly upset by that guy not getting punished!

Sideways Stories from Wayside School by Louis Sachar – Mrs. Jewl did all sorts of funny things to her class, such as turning them into apples for misbehaving! It was amazing to laugh so hard at these stories! They were read to me as bedtime stories by my father and they are still some of my favorites!

A Year Down Yonder by Richard Peck – I was given this as a gift from my incredible Aunt who was an English teacher. She gave me some amazing books but I fell in love with this! Grandma Dowdel does not put up with nonsense and she teaches her granddaughter not to either. Though she is hard working and proud, she shows genuine love for her granddaughter. I loved seeing the city girl learn the rules of country living.

Olive’s Ocean by Kevin Henkes – This was an odd one for me to love. I honestly don’t know why I loved this book so much. It deals with death. Not even the death of a friend. Death of an acquaintance. But I was compelled by the story of two girls who could have been friends but never were.

Enthusiasm by Polly Shulman – I happened across this beauty by accident. Julie is quiet and reserved. Ashleigh is loud and enthusiastic. When Ashleigh takes on one of Julie’s favorite books, Pride and Prejudice, Julie is afraid that sharing her favorite book with Ashleigh will ruin the book for her. (Of course I love this one! It’s about a favorite book!)

Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers – All Angel has ever known is abuse by men. Sold when she was a young girl to a man who taught her nothing but violence and the need to remain distant, she doesn’t know how to love. She slowly discovers that she can trust love and that not all men are just out to abuse her. This book broke my heart. I loved this character. She lived her life based on her experiences and she learned to be strong.

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott – This is a new favorite for me. I finally got around to reading this book about three years ago. As one of five girls I could relate to each of the sisters in a different way. I loved that it was all about the relationships of the sisters and growing together. I didn’t agree with the ending but I still loved the book!

Sorry for so many books but this is a greatly pared down list! There are so many books that I love to read again and again. Maybe you got some new ideas for your own reading! That would be awesome! But tell me some of your favorites!

Keep Sparkling,

B

A Summer Wrap Up

B

So Summer Reading this year was awesome! But I thought I’d share a quick wrap up of the incredible success of the Teen program this year! I was so excited! Between the two programs we held we had 23 Teens! 23!

That’s right! I tricked teens into coming into the library 23 times! Mwahahahaha!

Our first event was a fandom themed cupcake wars! We had 14 teens come and show their fandom pride!

Here are a few examples of the cupcakes they made! The one in the middle is a candyland themed cupcake! (Insert many heart eye emojis!) We had a wonderful volunteer from the community who came and judged our cupcakes! She showed up in her Harry Potter robes and even decorated a cupcake herself!

We then had a Hunger Games event in July. “I Survived the Hunger Games” had students making shelters, going on a scavenger hunt, identifying edible plants, and tying knots! It was so much fun to see the teens get excited. We had 16 teens show up to this event!

I was there in full Effie Trinket outfit and our wonderful volunteer from the community showed up again in her Katniss attire! This event had the teens using the card catalog for the scavenger hunt and seeing if they could stay dry in the shelter they built (yes there is a teen inside that shelter in the first picture). The second picture was our makeshift “Cornucopia” filled with random pieces of plastic, cardboard, and whatever other random things I could find for the teens to create their shelters with. It was an amazing time!

We also ran a summer long Fanfiction writing contest!

Our winner got this space themed prize pack! It was wonderful to see the teens express their creativity!

It is so rewarding to get the honor of working with Teens. I couldn’t ask for a better way to spend my summer.

Keep Sparkling,

B

Creative Storytimes

B

Storytime. The continual call of the Children’s librarian. You finish one and another is looming on the horizon. You can never escape them.

This summer my fellow librarian and I have tried something a little different. We moved out of the library for some Storytimes. That’s right! We left our tiny little library and ventured forth into the big world outside!

We have a splashpad in our town and we decided to head there for Storytime one Monday afternoon. Armed with Dinosaur books, a parachute, frisbees, and a puppet we headed out. I went around informing all the people there about the Storytime we were getting ready to do and 8 kids came over to join us! Sporadic! Unplanned by the parents! 8 new kids for Storytime! THEN 8 more kids came whose parents had seen advertisements for this Storytime and came specifically for it! YAY! More kids! 16 kids!

Many of the kids at this Storytime probably would never come into the library for Storytime, but they would come over when we went to them. There aren’t many places in my small town that kids congregate but we found one and we went to them. We tried another one during our yearly festival. It went so well! We did stories about Bears and I dressed up to match the festival!

But I encourage my fellow librarians to be creative. To move beyond their same-old-same-old routine. Find a new place. Give it a try! See what fun and adventures might happen!

Keep Sparkling,

B