About School Library Journal's Extra Helping
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.
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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?"
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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To learn more about all positions available through the SLJ Career Center,
click here...
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