About School Library Journal's Extra Helping
-- School Library Journal, 01/04/2006
Extra Helping, School Library Journal’s weekly e-newsletter,
provides school, children, and young adult librarians with the information they need to succeed
in their jobs. Freely available to all, Extra Helping offers exclusive content including a weekly
technology report; web site review; read-alike suggestions; educational and library-related news;
Hot Picks from our latest book, video, and audio reviews; and more. To register for the SLJ's
Extra Helping, click
here
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If I were to create an
award, I couldn't do a better job than the Giant Step Award.
Sponsored by Thomson Gale and School Library
Journal, the Giant Step Award recognizes one school and one public library that have shown
the greatest improvement in serving children and/or young adults—and awards them $5000
each. The winners will also be featured as our May cover story. Don't you know a library that's
taken a giant step? Visit SLJ.com and
nominate it by February 15.
P.S. It's not over yet…there's still time to win $1000 in book gift certificates.
Check out our Spring Book Bash!
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Interview |
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Coretta Scott King Award-winner Bryan Collier on
Rosa |
Bryan Collier was named the recipient of this
year's Coretta Scott King Book Award for Rosa (Holt, 2005), written by Nikki Giovanni. The
award recognizes an African American illustrator of outstanding books for children and young
adults. This is Collier's second King Award; he was the 2001 recipient for Uptown (Holt,
2000).
What did you do to prepare to illustrate Rosa Parks' story?
I went down to Montgomery for about four days back in 2004. I spent time in Mrs. Parks'
neighborhood, talked to her best friend, saw the store where she worked. I thought she lived in a
house, but I learned she lived in an apartment and was part of this close-knit community, where
many people took the same bus. I understood how news could travel fast in that community.
Also, talking to Nikki [Giovanni] helped a lot as she knew Mrs. Parks. And meeting people who
knew Mrs. Parks helped me think about how to represent her. The image of Mrs. Parks that many
people may have is of a woman who is quiet and somewhat shy but I learned how strong and, in a
way, direct she was.
read
more... |
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TechTrends |
Going Wiki One Web Site at a Time
Quentin D'Souza wants the
world—at least his school board—to go wiki.
The Toronto-based educator, who helps other teachers "de-geekify" and integrate technology
into the classrooms, found it easier to make changes to an entry about his local school board on
Wikipedia—than to get an error corrected on his school board's official Web site.
"I appreciate having Wikipedia around because the breadth of information is incredible," says
D'Souza. "The number of people who can manage it is impressive. I myself could come along and
correct the information but I can't do that on the board site because of the bureaucracy
involved. I guess there's something to that, to protect it, but what happens when it's
wrong?"
read more... |
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BOOKS
SuperHero ABC by Bob
McLeod
From SLJ February
2006 (Starred Review)
PreS-Gr 2–An alphabet's worth of superheroes, from Astro-Man to the Zinger. There's strong
appeal here for the youngest comic-book fans, with many doses of humor along the way....
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VIDEO/DVD
Don't Be Silly, Mrs.
Millie!
PreS-Gr 2–School is a barrel of laughs in Mrs. Millie's class, where the
rhyming redhead evokes a menagerie of colorful critters throughout a typical day....
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AUDIO
Blues Journey
Gr 2-6–Father/son talents Walter Dean Myers and Christopher Myers teamed up
to create a beautiful exploration of musical blues....
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STARRED REVIEWS
Preschool to Grade 4 Fiction
Stars for February
- Grandfather Buffalo by Jim
Arnosky
- The Miraculous Journey of
Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo
- SuperHero ABC by Bob
McLeod
- My Mei Mei by Ed Young
Read these reviews and more in our review database. (Reviews are available to subscribers.)
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News And Views |
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Funding, Advocacy, Technology Take Center Stage
at ALA's Midwinter Meeting |
| Funding for school
libraries, advocacy, and technology were key topics at the American Library Association's (ALA)
midwinter meeting in San Antonio, TX, January 20–25.
Almost everyone was talking about the '65 percent solution,' a
movement being led by the group First Class Education to ensure that every school district spends
at least 65 percent of its operating budget on "in-classroom instruction." The only problem is
that school librarians don't fall under the definition of classroom instruction and risk losing
crucial funding. The American Association of School Librarians (AASL) took action against the '65
percent solution,' calling on the National Center for Education Statistics to classify school
librarians as instructional staff and to recognize the impact of certified media specialists on
student achievement.
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Ed Secretary Spelling Announces Funds for
Hurricane-Ravaged Schools |
| Margaret Spelling, the U.S.
secretary of education, recently said that the hurricane-ravaged states of Alabama, Louisiana,
Mississippi, and Texas would receive an immediate infusion of funds to restart their school
operations.
School libraries will also benefit from the funds, which can be used to restock library
materials, says Emily Sheketoff, associate executive director of the American Library
Association's (ALA) Washington office.
read
more... |
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Picture Book Exhibition, "This is Our Land," Set
to Open Feb. 18 |
| Take a trip around the world
by visiting "This Is Our Land: Discovering America and the World through Original Illustrations
from Children's Books," an exhibit featuring 80 pieces of original illustrations depicting
the great diversity of people, pastimes, and natural wonders in all 50 states and 20 countries
worldwide.
The exhibit, organized by the Washington, D.C-based Meridian International Center, a nonprofit
cultural exchange organization, and the Library of Congress's Center for the Book, will run from
February 18 to April 30 at the Meridian Center. It will then travel to 10 states, including the
Orlando Museum of Art, the Queens Borough Public Library, and the Rahr-West Art Museum in
Manitowoc, WI.
read
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Remarkable Reads |
| Focus
on Neal Shusterman |
When young adult readers
talk about the ficton of Neal Shusterman, they use words like "creepy," "bizarre," and "cool."
While some of his titles encroach on magic realism, others are more of the thriller variety.
There is always a touch of the absurd in Shusterman's books, much to the delight of young readers
who aren't looking for "normal." Reluctant readers will appreciate the fast pace of these titles,
too.
Dread Locks. Dutton. 2005. Tr $15.99. ISBN 0-525-47554-0.
By the time 15-year-old Parker starts to suspect there is something evil about the new "it" girl
in town, it's almost too late. Tara is hip and British, with a head full of gorgeous blond curls,
and she's so cool that she never takes off her sunglasses. But everyone who is close to her is
changing, in weird ways. This title kicked off Shusterman's "Dark Fusion" series, which twists
together myths and thrillers. Look for #2, Red Rider's Hood, released Fall 2005.
read
more... |
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Librarian's Internet |
| Groundhog Day
crafts |
| www.enchantedlearning.com/crafts/groundhogday/ |
| On February 2 each year,
Punxsutawney Phil, the famous weather prognosticator, either sees or doesn't see his shadow.
Folklore says that this indicates how many more weeks of winter weather we all have to
endure. Make learning fun this February with good ol' Phil. Have teachers and parents
visit this great Web site that contains tons of learning activities appropriate for kids in
grades K-3. Here you'll find crafts (including a nifty pop-up groundhog puppet), math activities
(a groundhog fractions game), and even multipage groundhog activity books, as well as science
information on both burrowing and hibernating animals. NOTE: In order to access the
printable pages, you'll have to become an Enchanted Learning member ($20 per year). Joining is
well worth it–not only for the groundhog resources, but for the hundreds of other crafts
and printables that are available on this wonderful site.—Gail
Junion-Metz gail@iage.com
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Youth Services Coordinator |
Las Vegas-Clark County
Library District
Las Vegas, NV
Master's Degree in Library Science from a college or university accredited by the American
Library Association required; three (3) years of increasingly responsible experience as a
professional librarian required, of which at least two (2) years must have been as a Children's
and/or Youth Services Librarian, and included demonstration of successful planning,
implementation and coordination of innovative programs for a multi-site library system.
read
more...
To learn more about
all positions available through the SLJ Career Center,
click
here...
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