There has been a lot of articles and stories done in the media lately about bullying, and as I was browsing in Professor Harlan’s posts on Twitter I saw the post made today with a link to a blog post about bullying. Bullying has always been a sensitive topic with me. We moved around a lot when I was younger, which did not promote close friendships with neighbor kids. Hence, I was not a popular kid. I, in fact, had no friends for a very long time. But let me go back a ways…I was rather unremarkable as a kid, not fat, sick, ugly, no glasses, etc. And yet I was a favorite target…I have since figured out that it was because I was usually the “new” kid which meant fresh meat. I may not have been a big kid, but I grew up with three older brothers. Three very rambunctious brothers that loved nothing more than teasing, wrestling, and thumping on one another, and me. I learned very young how to defend myself with incredible success. They weren’t hard and mean, just tough and determined that I should be tough too. When I got to elementary school I saw older kids picking on the younger kids. It made me mad. So, so, so, so mad. I got in “trouble” regularly…not for bullying kids, but for beating up the bullies. I was fairly small and I was fast, and I had survived Yarrington boys 101, which meant I was a dirty fighter. The principal of my elementary school soon became one of my best friends because I spent a lot of time in her office explaining why I had beat up some 6th grader again.
But enough of my recollections. Bullying is an ugly disease that is getting worse and worse in the schools and not only in elementary, but also in junior high and even high school. School staff is limited because of society’s way of suing first and asking questions later, so many of these bullies are allowed to run pretty much unchecked. And if there is one thing I learned from elementary school (besides that I still hate my 6th grade teacher) it’s that kids are mean! Mean and nasty…especially to each other and those they deem weak. What can be done? As librarians, honestly, there isn’t much we can do except be prepared to offer help, encouragement and, of course, friendship to any young kid looking for it. A child that has a good self esteem and knows they are loved is less likely to be a true victim of bullying. My personal opinion is that kids caught bullying should be checked…hard. There is no excuse for it, and the current punishments in place have obviously not worked…since when is getting a day off (suspension) an intelligent punishment? The punishment should be something nasty…like cleaning all the bathrooms in the building…every day for a month, with a toothbrush!
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
The Dangerous Book for Boys
Author: Conn Iggulden and Hal Iggulden
ISBN: 0061243582
Publisher: Collins, 2007
Age: 8-14
Genre: Non-fiction
Summary: This book is an intentionally old-fashioned, politically incorrect eclectic collection of boy appeal facts and activities. It includes dozens of short, randomly placed, chapters that cover a large range of topics. Simple instructions for coin tricks and paper airplanes alternate with excerpts from history including famous battles, astronomy facts, and information about the ancient world. The dangerous aspect is more apparent in such chapters as Making Cloth Fireproof, and Hunting and Cooking a Rabbit.
Read A-likes: The Daring Book for Girls; The Boys Book of Survival; How to Be the Best at Everything; The Double Daring Book for Girls, and The Pocket Dangerous Book for Boys.
Personal Thoughts: This is one of the most requested and well loved books for young boys in our local library. This book is endlessly interesting to young boys, adults, and even girls. Some of the chapters include very useful information including Five Knots every Boy Should Know, Fishing, First Aid and Navigation.
The Princess and the Pea: the graphic novel
Author: Stephanie Peters
ISBN: 1434217434
Publisher: Stone Arch Books, 2009
Age: 9-12
Genre: graphic novels, fairy tales
Summary: A young prince goes in search of a true princess to marry and cannot find one, so he returns home in despair. One dark rainy night after he returns from his quest there is a loud knock on the door. The door opens to reveal a bedraggled girl who claims to be a true princess. The queen is skeptical, and so rather than join them for supper she instructs the servants to pile 20 extra mattresses on the princesses bed, and then places a small pea underneath all of them. Only a true princess would be sensitive enough to feel the pea. In the morning the queen asked the princess how she slept and was told about the horrible night the princess had passed. The queen then knew she was a real princess and the prince and princess were married the next day.
Read A-likes: Cinderella: the graphic novel; Hansel and Gretel: the graphic novel; The Ugly Duckling: the graphic novel; Beauty and the Beast: the graphic novel; and Jack and the Beanstalk: the graphic novel.
Personal Thoughts: I have always been skeptical of retold classic stories done in graphic novel format, but this was an interesting and well done adaptation. The illustrations were not necessarily to my personal taste, but are very typical to the graphic novel genre.
KidChat Gone Wild!: 202 Creative Questions to Unleash the Imagination
Author: Bret Nicholaus and Paul Lowrie
ISBN: 1596433167
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press, 2007
Age: 8-12
Genre: Non-fiction
Summary: Did you know that Koala bears sleep 18 hours a day? Or that a pregnant polar bear can go without food for up to 8 months? This book shares bits of information followed by questions for you to answer such as: What is the longest you’ve ever slept at one time? Or If you have to pick one song to sing that would be your very own song, which one would it be? This book requires the reader to not only absorb small bits of information, but to also think about how this information could apply to them.
Read A-likes: KidChat; KidChat Too!; and KidChat Oh, the Place to Go!
Personal Thoughts: This book is amazing! Small and short, but contains hours of fun and learning for children and adults alike. Also would be a very good travel book for use in the car to entertain children on long drives. The information tidbits are unique, engaging and interesting, and the questions are thought provoking, even for children.
Friday, October 22, 2010
Technology. Friend or Foe?
Henry Jenkins, in his blog article, Raising the digital generation: What parents need to know about digital media and learning, discusses the challenges that parents face in understanding and sharing technology with their children. According to Jenkins parents are given little, if any, advice in how to address these challenges, and as I thought about it I find that I agree with this, somewhat. He goes on to say that most advice is “just say no,” keep it out of the bedrooms, and that the more a parent restricts access the better a parent is. Why is this completely wrong?
Not all parents have a negative view of technology, and there is nothing wrong with being aware and cautious in our usage. I am not advocating that we completely restrict access either, because that would be completely counter-productive considering today’s society and our dependence on technology; but to say that keeping track of your kids is a bad thing? How do we help our kids understand what’s good and bad if we don’t know what they’re doing? I’m not advocating spying either, I’m just saying that there has to be a happy medium. There are legitimate concerns over why not to have computer in kids’ rooms. I don’t think that applies after a certain age, but I also don’t think a 10 year old should have unrestricted and unsupervised access to whatever they want either…there are too many predators out there, even in cyberspace. Jenkins mentions in his article that a good way for parents to be involved in what their kids are doing online is to be involved as well. I completely agree. While they can’t be involved in everything, they can at least know enough to know when to intervene. Another way is to completely open and willing to answer questions. If a child knows that “mom” or “dad” will answer any question they have without passing judgment they are much more willing to approach them for help. Parents are still parents and kids are still kids…which means kids are not equipped with complete understanding at birth, that’s why they have parents. To denigrate or belittle the role of a parent in the quest for unrestricted access is wrong. I’m not saying that’s what Jenkins is advocating, by any means, but sometimes I feel as if that is where we are heading with our insistence that there be no restrictions. Filters serve a purpose and it is the right of a parent to decide what those filters are. Personally, I believe that children should know why there are filters, they should understand that there is harmful stuff in the world, but they should not need to access it just because they can.
Friday, October 15, 2010
Students or Learners?
In browsing what links Professor Harlan has made available on her Twitter site I came across a blog posting by David Warlick entitled “Are they students or are they learners?” I was instantly intrigued, and on further reading I became even more intrigued with this idea. He has managed to articulate an idea I have had simmering in my mind since I was a teen. As a quick history, I was a public school kid up until my 8th grade year when I spent a year in private school, and in 9th grade my parents made the best decision of their lives…they decided to homeschool, starting with me. I learned really quickly the difference between a student and a learner, by necessity. No longer was I merely a student doing what I was told to by a teacher, I became responsible for my own education with the assistance of my parents. It was like handing a shopaholic an unrestricted bank account! I graduated from high school one year later. All of my three younger siblings, who were homeschooled as well, have excelled far beyond what I was able to do. As I was reading this blog posting by David Warlick I kept thinking that this method for “teaching” works really well in a smaller atmosphere, and can understand how some teachers would have a hard time applying this idea in their classrooms, but the underlying principle of teaching kids to be learners rather than students is a sound one. Learning should be fun! Not all the time, of course, because we all have subject we don’t like or excel at, but learning shouldn’t be something that kids dread. The hardest age to teach is tweens. I have seen this in my younger siblings, who all went through a brief stage of disinterest, as well as my nieces and nephews (who are still in the stage of disinterest). Learning needs to engage the minds and imagination of kids. Once they catch the bug it’s incurable! We, as librarians, also need to be enthusiastic about learning…we can influence where parents sometimes cannot. If we are enthusiastic about a subject, or learning in general, we can infect others with our enthusiasm. Warlick makes a suggestion in having a bulletin board of what we, as the teacher/librarian, are learning currently outside our “work” requirements. I think this is a great idea and could have application even in a library setting.
Warlick, D. (2010). Are they students or are they learners? 2¢ Worth. http://davidwarlick.com/2cents/?p=2762
Saturday, October 9, 2010
Golden
Author: Cameron Dokey
ISBN: 9781416939269
Publisher: Simon Pulse, 2007
Publisher: Simon Pulse, 2007
Age: 11 and up
Genre: Fairy Tales, Fantasy
Summary: Before Rapunzel’s birth, her mother made a dangerous deal with the sorceress Melisande: If she could not love newborn Rapunzel just as she appears, she will surrender the child to Melisande. When Rapunzel is born bald and without hope of even growing hair, her mother is horrified and sends Rapunzel away with the sorceress. Sixteen years later, Melisande reveals that she had another daughter, Rue. Rue has been cursed by a wizard and needs Rapunzel’s help to break the enchantment. Caught between Melisande’s betrayal and loyalty, Rapunzel decides to help Rue. But bitterness and envy threaten to come between the girls, which means Rue could remain cursed forever.
Read A-likes: Before Midnight, Beauty Sleep, Belle, Wild Orchid, and The Diamond Secret.
Personal Thoughts: This book was surprising, mostly because I didn’t actually read the back before reading the book. I knew that it was a retelling of Rapunzel, but wasn’t expecting what I got. This book was fabulous! I loved the depth and emotion given to a classic fairy tale, but with some unexpected twists and turns that kept me engrossed and interested. This book is part of a series titled “Once Upon A Time” is Timeless.
Egyptology
Author: Helen Ward, Dugald Steer, and Ian P. Andrew
ISBN: 0763626384
Publisher: Candlewick Press, 2004
Age: 9-12
Grade Level: 5-8
Genre: Non-fiction
Summary: Everything an explorer of Egypt would need or want to know through pictures, flaps, codes, and other pieces. Based on a journal supposedly written in 1926.
Read A-likes: Wizardology, Dragonology, Pirateology, Oceanology, Spyology, Monsterology, and Alienology.
Meet Molly: An American Girl
Author: Valerie Tripp
ISBN: 0937295078
Publisher: American Girl Publishing, 1986
Age: 9-12
Genre: Historical
Summary: Molly McIntire is a 9 year old, precocious girl living during World War II. She hates turnips, wishes her sister would stop trying to act grown up, and learns about the need for Victory Gardens. Molly and her two best friends have a hard time deciding on Halloween costumes, but finally settle on being hula dancers with homemade grass skirts. Molly’s older brother, Ricky, is a pest and so Molly and her friends decide to play a trick on him.
Read A-likes: The American Girl series, and Little House in the Big Woods.
Series: The American Girl Collection.
Personal Thoughts: These books are so much fun! Not too long, so they don’t overwhelm a young reader, but include quite a bit of the history of that specific time period. It shows the difficulties and triumphs of war time living that doesn’t completely overwhelm young readers, and yet they have an element of humor that makes for a very enjoyable read.
Little House in the Big Woods
Author: Laura Ingalls Wilder
ISBN: 0064400018
Publisher: Harper Trophy, 1971
Age: 7-12
Genre: Classics, Historical
Summary: This is the story of a young girl and her family living in the wilds of Wisconsin in the late 1800’s. Laura takes you through all the experiences of her childhood such as preparing for winter, learning to store food, making homemade Christmas gifts, spring planting, trips into town, making maple syrup from the sap, and listening to her father play the fiddle.
Awards: Notable Children’s Book, Lewis Carroll Shelf Award, Horn Book Children’s Classics,
Read A-likes: Little House series, The Little Princess, My Side of the Mountain, and The Secret Garden.
Personal Thoughts: This book gives a very realistic, and yet not overwhelming glimpse into pioneer life for young children. It illustrates the challenges they faced and yet the reader comes away with a sense of excitement and happiness. The writing is very engaging and cheerful, even. The illustrations add a level of realism as well as enjoyment without detracting from the story. A great read aloud book for younger tweens, both girls and boys.
Matilda
Author: Roald Dahl
ISBN: 0142410373
Publisher: Puffin Books, 2007
Age: 8 and up
Genre: Comedy and Humor
Summary: Matilda is a child genius with great powers living with crass, idiot parents, one of which is a dishonest used car salesman, and the other a bingo addicted bimbo who regard Matilda as a scab. The only thing that gives her life any happiness is her discovery of literature and the local public library after she teaches herself to read at a very young age. She lives for the day she is old enough to attend school. Once she is old enough she is sent to school, but not just any school; she is sent to Crunchem Hall Primary School where the principal, Miss Trunchbull is a “tyrannical monster.” Her adventures include her teacher, Miss Honey, Violet and many others.
Awards: Children’s Literature Association of Utah’s Beehive Award Winner, Rebecca Caudill Young Reader’s Book Award, Red House Children’s Book Award, Maryland Black Eyed Susan Book Award, Massachusetts Children’s Book Award, Nevada Young Reader’s Award for Intermediate Category, Virginia Readers’ Choice for Elementary, and Indian Paintbrush Book Award.
Read A-likes: The BFG, The Witches, and James and the Giant Peach.
Personal Thoughts: This book captures the interest of both boys and girls because of the intelligence and wit of the main character. She also plays tricks and gets back at her parents for their stupid behavior, which is also something that appeals to kids for various reasons. Matilda’s life is sad and hard, but it shows the readers that you can still be happy and find happiness in small things, even when things are hard. Roald Dahl is well known and loved for his appealing and creative writing style that crosses all boundaries.
Authentic Questions...
I was browsing on Professor Harlan’s Twitter page and came across the link titled, “What’s an authentic question?”, and was intrigued enough to follow the link. It sent me to a blog titled, The Blue Skunk Blog, and after reading the brief entry I find myself even more intrigued. The author states, “Why do so many school ‘research’ assignments fall flat? One big reason is because they don’t ask students to answer an authentic question – only to supply a ‘right’ answer.” How very interesting. I have to say I have had ponderings along these same lines for years in my own schooling, only I couldn’t express it quite so accurately.
The author goes on to say that, ‘a genuinely authentic question may have multiple right answers, no right answers, or no answers at all, only the conclusion that consists of more questions.” Oddly enough, the first thing to spring to my mind was actually teens and tweens. How often do we demand the ‘right’ answer? Even in our brief dealings with them in a library setting we want clear, concise questions and answers from them…something we can quickly answer and send them on their way. We are missing out on a chance to help a tween or teen develop critical thinking, or as a former professor called it, pearl growing. You plant a grain of sand in an oyster and over a period of time it grows larger and larger until something beautiful is created. The process of thinking and learning are much the same. How many opportunities to plant that grain of sand in the mind of a tween or teen (or any patron for that matter) have we passed up by being in a hurry? Our job as information professionals isn’t only to provide the end result information, but also to teach information access. As advocates for tweens our job takes on an even more vital meaning. Many tweens are still in the learning stages, at that age when they might not completely understand the larger picture, but we can encourage the asking of those authentic questions that will bring about greater learning in time. By encouraging them to ask simple questions we can help them learn to ask authentic questions and to enjoy the “thrill of the hunt” that is research and learning.
Retrieved October 9, 2010 from http://doug-johnson.squarespace.com/blue-skunk-blog/2010/10/5/whats-an-authentic-question.html
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