Do You Believe in Magic? There's a good reason why so many families love storytimes By Renea Arnold and Nell Colburn - 11/01/2009
A colleague put a lovely image into our heads at a recent discussion of best practices for family storytimes. Librarian Maria Lowe offers family storytimes in the evenings, and she always includes a time for “family boats.” A mom and dad sit on the floor, join hands and encircle their children, or a single adult clasps his child in his arms, and they all begin to rock as Maria leads...
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When Weeding Is Wrong: A principal asks for banned books to be removed from the collection By Pat Scales - 11/01/2009
A parent of one of our eighth graders came into the library and began pulling books off our shelves. She ended up stacking 15 books on the circulation desk—including The Giver, The Chocolate War, Monster, and Looking for Alaska—and demanded that we permanently remove them from our collection.
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The Future of Gaming By Beth Gallaway - 11/01/2009
Gaming is not a passing fad. According to the NPD Group, a 35-year-old market research company that provides consumer and retail information for a wide range of industries including entertainment (which includes computer and video games), total U.S. revenue for games, consoles, and accessories has been on the rise, jumping 43 percent to $18.
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Lessons from the Trenches By Karen Billings - 10/01/2009
We know that educational games and simulations can be valuable tools to reach and teach 21st-century students. However, many traditional classrooms and media centers aren’t designed to support educators who want to use them. Teachers and librarians are often required to justify the purchase and use of games in the classroom.
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Gross Me Out By Kathleen Baxter - 10/01/2009
Gross! Yuck! Ewww! This is music to a booktalker’s ears. If you want your audience to make these sounds—and you want them to think you’re an incredibly cool person—build a collection of books about disgusting things. Glen Murphy, a science museum educational presenter, understands kids’ yen for things icky.
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Ready, Set, Go! Storytime Can Help Children (and Parents) Become Kindergarten-ready. By Renea Arnold and Nell Colburn - 09/01/2009
On these early autumn days, in communities big and small, kindergarteners are stuffing backpacks with colored markers, glue sticks, tissues, and sometimes a favorite book or stuffed animal. Getting ready to start school requires so much preparation that it often eats up the last few weeks of summer. But as we know, preparing for kindergarten entails a lot more than one month of gathering suppli...
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Who Sailed the Ocean Blue? By Emily Ruth Brown - 09/01/2009
If your library is like mine, then most of the Columbus-related books in your collection are exactly 17 years old. That’s because 1992 was the 500th anniversary of Columbus’s first voyage, and stacks of children’s books were published in honor of the event. Incidentally, 1992 was also the year I was in fourth grade.
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SLJ Covers 2009 A bigger and better view of SLJ's covers from 2009
BookExpo America 2009: SLJ's Day of Dialog School Library Journal held a Day of Dialog in conjunction with the annual BookExpo America on May 28, 2009 at the Brooklyn Public Library. Full story: bit.ly/1a0G7o
2008 National Book Awards Nominees in the young people's literature category graced the red carpet on Awards night Nov. 20, 2008.
The Alvin Ho Collection, Books 1 & 2 (unabr). 4 CDs. 4 hrs. Prod. by Listening Library. Dist. by Listening Library/Books on Tape (library.booksontape.com). 2009. ISBN 978-0-7393-7997-4. $38. Gr 2-4–Alvin Ho, a quirky Asian-American second grader, is articulate at home but so afraid of school that he is unable to speak while he is there.
Clowning around at the second annual Atlantic City Free Public Library Family Fun Festival last weekend. About 2,500 people came out to enjoy the beautiful day and the many festivities, including an array of performances, face painting, poetry readings by local teens, games, and music.
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The Alvin Ho Collection, Books 1 & 2 (unabr). 4 CDs. 4 hrs. Prod. by Listening Library. Dist. by Listening Library/Books on Tape (library.booksontape.com). 2009. ISBN 978-0-7393-7997-4. $38. 
