New Job, New Place to Live and Book Reviews

I'm starting my fourth week at the new job and I really like it so far. I get to meet a lot of interesting people and it's a pretty easy job (a lot of typing envelopes, answering phones and putting information into databases). We've narrowed down our search for a new place to live and have found a condo that my hubby and I both like. I have to drop off the paperwork today after work and pay application fees, but hopefully our application will get approved in a couple days and we can go ahead and put down a deposit before someone else grabs it up. Meanwhile, I'm trying to mentally place furniture so we can make sure everything fits as we have definitely gained some furniture since the last time we moved.


I decided to stop using Maricopa County libraries as we are moving soon and there is no branch really close to me where we will be living, plus the main branch of Phoenix Public Library is literally 3 minutes from where I work, so it is super convenient and there will also be a branch library down the street from the condo. I'm still listening to Madame Bovary, which has some wonderful language in it, but then gets boring and tedious with long French place names and 19th century medical practices. Despite this, I am still interested how badly Emma will to screw up her life, with the totally oblivious Charles, before the end of the book. I have also just started a graphic novel version of Fahrenheit 451, which is a little bit easier to get through than the audiobook version. I don't know what it is about books written in the 1950s-60s, but I seem to have trouble staying focused on them.

It seems that I have managed to read 28 books since my last review posting. Those are predominantly mangas, children's picture books and cookbooks, since my attention span seems to be at a loss lately, but that is a pretty impressive amount nonetheless.

Children
Henry's Freedom Box by Ellen Levine
A very well done story about slaves with excellent illustrations, courtesy of Kadir Nelson. Henry was born into slavehood and at first lived with his mother and sisters until his master died and they were separated. When he arrived at his new master's tobacco factory, he met a girl who later became his wife and they had three children. When his family is sold to another man, he decides he needs to be free. So he ships himself to Philadelphia in a box, and gains his freedom. Recommended for ages 7 -12, 4 stars.

Flotsam by David Weisner
David Weisner is a genius! It's no wonder this book is an award winner as even though it is wordless, it is such a brilliant, original work of art. The illustrations are so good you literally are transported into another world. I love the one with the octopi. The book is about a young boy who likes to study things on the beach, such as crabs and starfish. He discovers an old-fashioned camera on the beach and goes to develop the photos. He gets these miraculous photos back and is amazed. He takes a picture with the camera and then throws it back in the ocean for someone else to find. Recommended for ages 5+, 5 stars.

The Three Little Pigs: An Architectual Tale by Stephen Guarnaccia
A cute picture book about The Three Little Pigs but each has a different architectural style that they imitate, like the third pig has a house that looks like Frank Lloyd Wright's house, Falling Waters. I enjoyed the end pages which featured architectural elements such as furniture, houses and housewares that were used in the book. It can be read to kids younger than five as the story is pretty simple, but only older kids and adults would appreciate the architectural/design elements of it. Recommended for ages 5-10, 3 stars.

Simeon's Gift by Julie Andrew Edwards and Emma Walton Hamilton
Honestly I gave this book five stars because of the amazing Renaissance-like illustrations, that were so detailed and absolutely gorgeous. Definitely going to have to find more books illustrated by Gennady Spirin. The book comes with an audio CD of actress/singer Julie Andrews Edwards performing the book, which was created by her daughter Emma and herself.
The story is about a young lute-playing minstrel named Simeon who is in love with a noble lady named Sorrel. He thinks his meager income won't be enough for his girl so he sets off to gain more experience so he can write a song worthy of her. He sees and hears many wonderful things including great cities, soldiers, an abbey choir, and all manner of instruments. His head is so confused that he cannot really write his song properly, so he leaves the city and heads back home. On the way, he befriends a bird, fish and doe. When he arrives back home, his beloved is overjoyed at his return and his newfound friend, and suddenly his song pops back into his head fully completed and Sorrel loves it. He goes on to write many more. Recommended for ages 8+, 5 stars.
 
Coretta Scott by Ntozake Shange
The book is a very well-done biography, in the form of poetry, of civil rights activist and wife to Martin Luther King Jr, Coretta Scott King. I loved the poem by Ntozake Shange, about as much as her poem for the children's book "Ellington Was Not A Street." Kadir Nelson's paintings are amazing as usual, even my 6 month old enjoyed looking at them. Recommended for ages 7+, 4 stars.
 
Just Mommy and Me by Tara Jaye Morrow
I picked this book out because my nickname for my son is Monkeypants because he is so wiggly and climbs everywhere, plus I just thought the cover image was cute. He enjoyed me reading this book to him. This is an adorable book about a son who imagines him and his mother are monkeys and do things like eat bananas, take naps in the jungle and watch the sunset together. As another reader has said, would be great to read for Mother's Day. Recommended for ages 6 months+, 4 stars.
 
Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site by Sherri Duskey Rinker
I randomly found this one at the library after trying to find some new books for my son, and since my hubby works in construction, I thought it would be a good fit for them to read together. It is a cute rhyming bedtime book about the trucks that work at a construction site: Crane Truck, Cement Mixer, Dump Truck, Bulldozer and Excavator. It has details that kids would enjoy like the trucks sleeping with teddy bears and blankets. I think this would be a great book to get for my son when he's a bit older as the text was kind of long for him now. Recommended for ages 2-5, 4 stars.
 
Cloud Tea Monkeys by Mal Peet
I have been waiting to read this book for ages but never had the time until now. It is a folktale about a young girl who goes with her mother to the tea plantation. Tashi is not old enough to pick the tea leaves, so she plays with the monkeys that live near the mountain instead. One day, Tashi's mother becomes really ill and cannot work and doesn't have the money to get a doctor. Tashi tries to pick leaves herself but the Overseer of the plantation just laughs at her. She is upset and explains her story the monkeys, and then falls asleep. When she awakens, the monkeys have picked special tea leaves for her. The Royal Tea Taster makes a surprise visit and finds out that her special leaves are Cloud Tea leaves, and promises to pay her a pouch of gold coins every year if she can get him more of the leaves. She agrees and takes the money. Her mother gets better, they thank the monkeys with fruit, and live off the money while drinking the special Cloud Tea. Recommended for ages 8-12, 5 stars.
 
Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African-Americans by Kadir Nelson
Heart and Soul is a very well done history of African Americans in the United States (1700s - present day), narrated from the point of view of a Southern African-American woman (in a conversational tone) whose family history stretches from the 1850s to the present day. It includes a timeline and historical note from the author. The illustrations are phenomenal paintings, modeled by the author himself and portrait of some of his family members, and definitely the best part of the book. Recommended for ages 9-12, 5 stars.
 
The Aviary by Kathleen O'Dell
I picked this book by accident the last time I visited the children's department at the downtown Phoenix library. It was a good random find for browsing down the aisles of the fiction section. Although I figured out part of the storyline at the beginning of the book, most of it was a complete surprise and very well done.
The Aviary is about a 12 year old girl named Clara who has lived most of her life shut away in the Glendoover house, where her mother and a lady named Ruby take care of old Mrs. Glendoover. Clara's mother has always told her that she should never leave the house because she has a heart condition, and Clara has always kept away from the aviary where the five birds are kept, until one day she hears one of them say "Elliot," which opens up a mystery to the young girl. Who were the Glendoover family and what happened to their children, especially their baby son Elliot? What is the truth about Clara and her family's past? To find out, you must read this delightful little book. Recommended for ages 9-12, 4 stars.
 
Baby's First Year by Rick Walton
This was a very cute rhyming book about a baby's first year milestones, such as smiling, laughing, crawling, and walking. It would be good for a sibling of a new baby. Recommended for ages 6 months - 5 years, 4 stars.
 
Daisy and the Egg by Jane Simmons
Another cute picture book, with soft painted illustrations, for kids about to become an older brother or sister. Daisy and her mother are awaiting the arrival of Daisy's cousins and her new little brother or sister. Her cousins hatch first and eventually Daisy gets a new baby brother named Pip. Recommended for ages 6 months - 5 years, 3 stars.
 
Adult
China Modern: 1oo Cutting Edge, Fusion Style Recipes for the 21st Century by Ching-He Huang
I have made Vietnamese and Japanese food at home, but honestly Chinese food is pretty intimidating with the complicated recipes and ingredients I've never really tried. However, Ching makes the recipes easy to understand and most of them look really tasty. She has some traditional Chinese recipes, East/West fusion and Chinese mixed with other Asian cultures. Easy recipes like Chili and Pepper Squid, Lychee and Vanilla Ice Cream; to more complicated ones like Vegetable Bao (steamed buns) or Once-a-month Savory-Sour Vegetarian Noodle Soup. 4 stars.
 
Gary Rhodes New Classics by Gary Rhodes
I will say that the author/chef was very thorough in his research of the recipes and their backgrounds. That was the part that I really liked. However, after having read many cookbooks and websites on classic British cuisine, I have seen most of these recipes before so I didn't find many recipes that I wanted. The other problem is lack of money to buy specialty ingredients, like suet, which is cheap in Britain but expensive over here. 2 stars.
 
The Three Chimneys: Recipes and Reflections from the Isle of Skye's World Famous Restaurant by Shirley Spear
I enjoyed this becoming a chef memoir of the author and her recipes from her gorgeous little restaurant and B&B in northwest Skye. I had been to this western island of Scotland when I was studying there in 2004, although I only went to the SW portion (It is very ruggedly beautiful). The recipes and photos of the food were gorgeous, though a good number of the ingredients would only be accessible if you lived in the UK or could afford to buy them online. Neverless, it was an enjoyable read about a foray into the restaurant business from two amateurs that turned into an enormous success. 3 stars.
 
The Museum Vaults: Excerpts from the Journal of an Expert by Marc-Antoine Mathieu
The cover looked interesting, so I picked this up in the Teen graphic novel section at the downtown library (although I don't believe it should've been in the teen section). It was a futuristic look at the Louvre in the fictional subbasements, where the collection is now stored. The graphic novel was making fun of art history and curatorial practices, which I found kind of funny as I majored in art history and museum studies in university. Overall, I thought it was pretty boring, though I liked the Escher-esque black & white art. 2 stars.

Tony DiTerlizzi, Cassandra Clare, Kazu Kibuishi, Kiiro Yumi, and Kaoru Mori

I didn't get the Diocesan House job and I'm still waiting on the word from the State Library and Archives after my interview for the paid internship position there about a month ago. I have another interview for a part time Library Assistant position at Everest College, a for-profit college that is in-between a two and four year school. I would be doing a little bit of everything since it is a very small library (would only be and the Librarian if I got the job), which would be great experience. We already had a phone interview that I think went really well so now I have an in-person interview on Wed afternoon. 

Other than that, things have been pretty good. My son Liam had his 6 month doctor's appointment and he weighed in at 18lbs 9 1/2oz and was measured at 29 1/2 inches long. He's so long, it's almost like he is a baby in a toddler's body. He's very healthy and we've been feeding him solid food for about 2 months now. We started him on veggies and only recently added fruits, which is supposed to help him not develop a sweet tooth. Needless to say, like most babies, he likes sweeter veggies like carrots and squash more than his green veggies. Also we finally have found a place outside of my parent's house to live, though we cannot move in till March 1. The rental house is in pretty rough shape now, but it should be ready by then. 

I've been reading up a storm since the beginning of the year and have finally gotten in the groove of reading again regularly. Today I have read my 22nd book, which is pretty awesome considering it is the 22nd of January! I will try to post again more regularly as I am reading more. I will be dividing these up also as I've read  12 books since the last time I've reviewed on the blog. 

Children

Just Go to Bed by Mercer Mayer

One of my favorite Little Critter books, in which he pretends to be a spaceman, zookeeper, cowboy, general, sea monster, train engineer and more. This is all while his dad is trying to get him bathed and in bed, finally exclaiming "Just go to bed!", which is very funny if you've ever tried to get a kid to bed who didn't want to go. Recommended for ages 6 months+, 4 stars. 

Ted by Tony DiTerlizzi

I have been trying to find a copy of this picture book for years and was so excited when I finally found it at my local library! It was as good as I thought it would be, i.e. a zany and funny picture book done by the fabulously talented author and illustrator Tony DiTerlizzi. Ted is the pinkish-purply imaginary friend of a young boy, and they get up to some pretty crazy adventures, which the boy's dad does not appreciate. That is until the boy realizes that Ted knows his dad (was in fact his imaginary friend named Ned) and the dad rediscovers his sense of fun and spends his time playing with Ted and his son. Recommended for ages 5+, 5 stars. 

Children and Young Adult

Amulet, Book 4: The Last Council by Kazu Kibuishi

I swear the books in this series keep getting better and better, though now it is killing me not to know how the series ends. I love it that the book works so well with and without words to convey the story/action. 

In this volume, Emily and her family have finally made it to Cielis, where the Stonekeeper's amulets were first created from the Mother Stone. She is told that she will be called on by the Guardian Council and given a set of trials to prove her worth, but she feels that something is not quite right. New allies are introduced, who will help Emily in the next volume. Why is everyone in Cielis so quiet and why do they distrust foreigners so much? Why does the Guardian Council keep itself hidden away? How much does Emily know about Max, the other Stonekeeper who accompanied her to Cielis?  Recommended for ages 10+, 5 stars. 

Young Adult

Flash Gold (Flash Gold Chronicles #1) by Lindsay Buroker

I found this on the free list for the Kindle and it looked interesting so I decided to give it a try. It was a very quick read and I really got into it. The story is set in the 1890s in the Yukon Territory in Canada, and is about an 18 yr old inventor named Kat. There is a dog sled race where the grand prize is $1000, which is enough for Kat to get out of the small town she is in and create more inventions. The title comes from a substance that her inventor father, Ezekiel, created to power machines and is apparently in very high demand from gangsters. They have sent gangs of people to capture Kat and get the Flash Gold, all of this during the dog sled race. A stranger named Cedar comes with her to help her out at the last minute, though his intentions are unclear. Will they get her and the gold? Will she win the race? Why is Cedar there in the first place? To find out, read this novella. Recommended for ages 14+, 5 stars. 

Emma, Volume 1 by Kaoru Mori

I picked this one up by accident (though apparently it's been on my to-read list for awhile) while browsing the teen section at the library. I enjoyed this quick read about a young servant girl named Emma who works for Kelly, a former governess to William Jones. The first time Emma meets William, he falls in love with her but is too shy to tell her how he feels. She has had letters from multiple suitors but always says no. William's friend Hakim comes to visit him from India and then he falls in love with Emma, only he tells her outright about it. The first volume ends with William's father telling him that he is to marry the young girl he danced at the ball with the previous night. Recommended for ages 12+, 4 stars. 

The Clockwork Prince (The Infernal Devices, #2) by Cassandra Clare

Ok so I've been reading Cassandra Clare books for over a year now and I love them. She is simply the best writer for kisses/make-out scenes, at least in teen books. You really feel right there with the main character experiencing it as it happens. And there were some really great scenes like that in these books, and with two hot guys no less. I usually cannot put these books down once I've started and this book was no exception, although it did take me awhile to get into it because I could not remember for the life of me what in the heck happened in the previous book (until about 50 pages into it). The only thing that really annoyed me about the book (and the reason it got four instead of five stars) was because I found out pretty early on that the author was once again using a formula to explain the story, i.e. girl torn between two guys, one sensitive and shy and the other brash and beautiful. For whatever reason, that just annoyed me. 

This book picks up where the other left off. Tessa is still staying at the London Institute for Shadowhunters, Will is still treating her and everyone else like he doesn't care, and they are trying to find Mortmain and what he is planning to do with his clockwork creations. As the book progresses, Tessa is slowly falling for both Will and Jem and can't really decide who she likes more. Charlotte's tenure as head of the London Institute is questioned by another Shadowhunter named Bernard Lightwood, who wants to take over control of it from her. The Consul has given Charlotte two weeks to find out Mortmain's whereabouts. Meanwhile, Will has been secretly seeing Magnus Bane in an attempt to find a demon that cursed him five years ago. Charlotte, Jem, Tessa and Will find out that Mortmain sought reparations from the Shadowhunter Council after his parents were murdered, and that he lived in York. Will they be able to find Mortmain before the two weeks is up? Will Tessa ever discover who she is? Which boy will Tessa chose? These answers and more are found in this delightful sequel to "The Clockwork Angel". Recommended for ages 15+, 4 stars. 

Library Wars: Love and War, Vol. 1 by Kiiro Yumi

A very funny introductory volume to Library Wars, a futuristic view of Japan where the government has "created a committee to rid society of books it deems unsuitable (back cover)," and the libraries fight back by creating a militant librarian task force which protects against censorship. The concept is just so cool sounding, and kinda makes me wish they had something like this in real life. The main character, Iku Kasahara, is one of the hardest working people in training to join the Task force, and is better than the men who have joined her. She has followed "her hero" to the Task Force after the mysterious male stranger saves her book in high school after the gov't does a raid on a bookstore that she is in. She and another boy named Hikaru Tezuka are invited to join the Task Force but Kasahara is always behind as she fell asleep during her classroom training. During the whole thing, you can see her falling for Dojo, her teacher, especially after she realizes that he is "her hero," even though she doesn't want to. Tezuka may also be falling for her. Can't wait to read the next 3 volumes! Recommended for ages 12+, 5 stars. 

Happy New Year!

Greetings all! I hope everyone had a good New Year's Eve celebration and is recuperating nicely today. My hubby and I made an early night of it since we had been out for 6 hours that morning/afternoon. A bit fuddy-duddy I know, but we were exhausted. Today has been very laid-back and nice. I've been writing reviews on Goodreads (to be posted here soon) and reading a new cookbook that I put on hold at the library Sticky, Chewy, Messy, Gooey. The author knows just the kinds of desserts I like, so there is already 7 recipes bookmarked and not even halfway done with it! 

I have some job updates. I had an interview the week before Christmas for the Diocesan House (the administrative offices of the Diocese of Arizona) as an 18-hour per week secretary/greeter. I think it would be a great place to work. I'm hoping to hear from them this week as they want to fill the position by Jan 10. I have another in-person interview scheduled for Tues Jan 3 with the Library Development Dept. of the Arizona State Library and Archives, for a 24 hr per wk (occasionally more depending on special events) paid internship position. I am very excited about this one as I'm hoping this will help me get my foot in the door with Arizona libraries as it will be paid experience in the state. I may also have a phone interview for a 24 hr per wk position with Corinthian College (local community college) for the circulation desk. I'll fill ya'll in with more info as it becomes available. Fingers crossed on these interviews; this momma needs a new paying job!

Jobs, Books, Clubs and Netgalley

So I've been striking out left and right with jobs. All four of my recent job interview have ended with rejections, and then I've 3 other rejections aside from the interviews. So I'm pretty frustrated again. At least my hubby has a job so we're finally able to pay some of our bills on our own. I'm still finding library jobs to apply to though, so I will keep trying. 

The only things that have been keeping me sane have been the books I pick up from the library and joining a few local Meetup groups. The best two lately have been Scott Westerfeld's Goliath (Leviathan #3), which was awesome and even though it was over 500 pages, I managed to finish in a couple days and Alia Yunis's The Night Counter, which was a surprisingly excellent book. Last month I reread Kurt Vonnegut's Cat's Cradle for a Banned Books Book Club that I joined. Despite being a librarian, I've never been to a book club meeting ever. This one was a lot of fun. The book we are reading this month is Upton Sinclair's commentary on immigration and the meat packing industry, The Jungle. I have also joined a mom's group, where mom's with young kids get together for play dates. I also joined a crocheting group and have started another scarf. I'm not talented when it comes to crocheting, and can only do basic stitches (single, double and triple crochet) but the repetitive action is relaxing for me. I went to my first meeting on Sunday and had a lot of fun talking to the ladies in the group! I'm hoping maybe I can learn some new stitches and maybe get to work with some new fabric. 

I also joined Netgalley, which I had heard snippets about before, but never thought to join. It is basically where book reviewers and librarians can get advanced digital copies of books and do reviews on them. It looks pretty awesome so far, when I was browsing some of the books I could get, which were so far mostly graphic novels. But I only signed up today, so we'll see what happens. 

Another Interview

Today I had the job interview with Maricopa County Library District, for the Deweyless Librarian FT position. For those who don't know, the Deweyless system is also called the Book Store Approach which does not use the Dewey Decimal system but rather groups books in easy to find categories, with easy to locate signage and displays. It's all to improve customer service and make it easier for the patrons to find what they need. It would be a behind-the-scenes job, but I'm cool with that, as the pay is so good, even though it is a temporary position only lasting 1 to 1 1/2 yrs and there are no benefits. I'm fascinated by the Deweyless system (and the articles I've read on the subject) and I hope I get the job, even though I don't know much about cataloguing or weeding collections. I was so nervous during the interview that I'm not really sure how it went, but I'm kind of hoping they take pity on me and select me because I have an MLIS and am eager to please. We'll see by the end of the week. 

I had an interview last week with City of Flagstaff Library for a nearly full time (35 hrs a week) Library Circulation Clerk position with full benefits (with the exception of .75 - .80% on vacation/sick days). This was another weird interview, where they didn't ask the normal kind of interview questions, at least not ones they had asked me during my 2 previous interviews for them. Of course, my hubby has decided that he now likes his job and would rather live in the Phoenix area then in the more expensive Flagstaff area (even though it snows here and actually has seasons). I can't blame him for that, as it is a lot cheaper to buy a house here in the Phoenix metro area, but a job is a job. And in this economy, we can't be so picky. So we'll see what happens with that job in a couple of weeks. 

Meanwhile, I am also waiting for word back from the interview I had 2 weeks ago with the City of Phoenix for the PT Library Assistant position, as that is actually predominantly working with Youth Services, which I am actually trained in, so I am very interested in that position as well. Hopefully I will hear from them tomorrow. 


Update Oct 30: I did not get either the Phoenix or the Flagstaff position. I'm guessing it was no to Flagstaff b/c I have a Masters and am therefore over-qualified, which might also be the reason for Phoenix, although I'm trained to do what job (Youth Services). Either that or too many qualified applicants so they took the people with more experience. Two rejections in a week really sucks. Haven't heard back from Maricopa County yet. 

Second Job Interview

So I did not get the Youth Services Library Assistant position at Scottsdale Public Library's Main Branch, which sucks because it is a really nice place and I would love to work there. I did however interview today for a similar position with Phoenix Public Library's Main Branch, another library that I love architecturally and because the interior is so cool. It has a humongous children's section and a separate teen section, which is so awesome. I've even seen teens playing chess in there. 


The position pays better than Scottsdale ($16-24 an hour) and it is part time (16-20 hrs a week). But it would help me get my foot in the door for other positions. And I really need that right now to maintain my sanity. 


Update 10/15/11: I got a third interview scheduled for a Deweyless Librarian position for Maricopa County on the 24th. So hopefully one of the jobs pans out!

Banned Books Week 2011

Sept 24-Oct 1 is Banned Books Week. It is important to acknowledge these books and fight for against book censorship as everyone should have the right to read what they want to read. The National Council of Teachers of English have created this website to do just that, and there is also the program by the National Coalition Against Censorship. 

I am currently reading All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque as I've joined a Banned Book Club in Mesa. I've seen the 1930 movie but never read the book. Here is a short blurb on it. Next month the group is reading Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut, which was banned by several school in the 70s and 80s, and is no. 66 on the ALA's list of Banned and/or Challenged Classics. I've already read that one and loved it. Here is the 2011 List for Banned Books in case you would like to read some of the books on your own. I've read 24 books on the list.


What banned books have you read that you enjoyed? How many books have you read off the 2011 list? Please share. 

Job Frustrations and Time Passers

I am super frustrated at the moment because I interviewed for this awesome part-time Youth Services position at the Scottsdale Public Library Main Branch, and didn't get it, due to an overwhelming pool of qualified applicants (or something to that effect). Scottsdale has a super nice library system, which not only has amazing general library spaces but also a fantastic teen and children's section in the Main Library. The teen's section, called Knowasis, is glassed in and featured a study room, tons of computers, a stage and the YA books. They get 7-9K teens a year in there, which is a staggering amount of people. Most libraries won't see that number in several years. The children's area is broken down into picture books on one end with these totally cute mice chairs around a cheese table, and a castle at the other end for the older kid's books. They even have reading nooks in the castle turret. Each branch library is an early literacy center too, and they apparently have a very active summer reading program for all ages. 

I have applied for more positions before and since I interviewed for that job last week, but I really had my heart set on that position. It would be a good starting out position for me as it was actually in my area of expertise. I really just hope something else works out soon before I go completely stir crazy living here. I'm trying to occupy my time in some small way, and have decided to join a book club (something which I've surprisingly never done before despite being an avid reader for most of my life). I've joined a Banned Books group so far, and they are doing a discussion on Erich Maria Remarque's All Quiet on the Western Front, which I've never read but I've heard was really good. Have seen the silent film version of it though. There are a couple more groups reading interesting books that I want to check out in Oct/Nov.  There is also a ton of free festivals coming up in Sept/Oct that I want to go to, such as Oktoberfest, Greek Festival and the Best Fest. 

International Literacy Day

Today, Sept 8, is International Literacy Day. I know the importance of early childhood literacy after working with the South Carolina State Library to create a directory of South Carolina literacy organizations and to help with the literacy calendar for children ages 0-7 and their families (http://daybydaysc.org/About/print-version). One of my Facebook library groups posted a video about the holiday, and there was link to this video in it about the importance of literacy as education from the Ambassador from Bangladesh to the United Nations. It is a bit long but has a good message. 

Today is my first library job interview since I stopped working back in May. So wish me luck!

Life Update

Being a new mom makes me physically exhausted, which makes me not want to do anything. I enjoy snuggling with Liam and sleeping when I can though. I have started applying for jobs again and have applied for seven in all since I started two weeks ago, and have just got my first rejection letter. Luckily it was one of the jobs that I didn't really want but figured I would apply for anyways, the non-library admin position. 

I have been able to catch up on reading, though I'm still way off my 200 books read this year goal. I recently finished the new Gail Carriger book, Heartless, which was amazingly hilarious as usual. It made me want to start regularly drinking hot tea again, well that and the high tea that I had with my family and friends the other day. Ok, it also made me crave cucumber sandwiches and British tea cookies. 

I've started playing MMORPG games again. Originally my hubby and I did it so we could play online together again, but my laptop's graphic card isn't very good so games don't always work on there. We tried this cool-looking game called Dragon's Nest, that looked like anime, but I had to set the graphics so low that it didn't work. So now I'm trying a game called Forbidden World from the makers of another game I had previously tried called Perfect World. Very pretty graphics even on the lowest setting, but it keeps crashing my system because the graphics card is overheating. However, I have managed to install it on my dad's computer and I play it when it is available. 


All the things I have mentioned above is what has been keeping me somewhat busy, but I would love to meet some more people my age so I have a chance of not going stir crazy being stuck in this house all day everyday. 

Cool Children/Teen Websites

I was browsing through the Guardian's website (British newspaper) as they had an article on libraries and found their children's book website and thought it looked pretty cool. Here is the link. It includes quizzes, top 10 booklists from famous children/teen authors, pictures/videos, reader reviews, hot books out now, author interviews, and links to books for kids age 1-16. I browsed though a couple parts such as the quizzes and booklists and thought it was a really well done site, so I thought I'd share. A lot of my favorite books are by British authors, so this is a cool site for keeping up with new and upcoming authors. I especially liked this post, about the Redwall animal fantasy series by Brian Jacques. The teen book Guardian website is here, and is very similar in format to the children's website. The only downside is you can't enter the free book giveaways unless you are from that particular age group and live in the UK, but there are plenty of book giveaways on sites like Goodreads that can satisy that need. 

Stuff going on here lately

We have spent the past week getting used to living in Arizona, and I think it's going pretty well, minus the weather. The movers came last Monday and my parents hired two helpers, which managed to squeeze all of our furniture and extra stuff into storage. Of course we can't take anything out now, but don't think we'll be moving for awhile, so we should be okay. I got a hair cut, which is totally necessary in this weather where I am sweating all the time anyways (would rather be doing it with shorter hair than longer). I got my new Arizona driver's license the same day and my picture didn't come out too horrible. I am discovering a bit how to drive in the NW Valley, where my parents live, though I've not attempted Phoenix yet as I still find it insanely confusing. I've only been on the highways once, to drive my parents to the airport and that was intimidating. It's like my hubby says, the towns in this area are more like subdivisions in one giant town because they are so close together. It's really confusing sometimes when you're driving around and you enter two or three different towns in the space of a couple of miles. For example, we live in Sun City but if you go a mile in one direction, you end up in Youngstown and the other direction, you end up in Peoria, but there are pockets of Sun City mixed up with these other towns to make it even more confusing. So it is better for me to go by directions vs. city names as they're all squished together. 

The local library system, Maricopa County, has 17 branches and most are in the NW Valley. I decided to try out the NW Regional branch first, which has a nice children's section and seems to do storytimes regularly. It is right next to a huge park/sports complex with a gigantic kid's play area. It also is right next to a lake where you can go fishing, and there are lots of ducks and we even saw an egret there. I may end up going to another branch in the future, but for now, this one is close enough that it works for me. The only thing I don't like is that you are only allowed 10 books on hold, and I've already got six on my list. Most of them are books that aren't coming out for awhile, so I've got a bit of a wait. I picked up an interesting book called As Always, Julia, which is about the letters written between Julia Child and Avis DeVoto. Now if you have seen the movie Julie & Julia or read Julia Child's brilliant memoir My Life in France, you will know that Avis was a great friend of Julia's that she "met" by accident. Their letters are a fascinating look at the culture and politics of the 1950s onwards, especially about women and cooking. However, it is pretty dense as it is mainly just their letters, so not sure if I will be able to finish it now or will have to try it again later. 

I saw my new Nurse Practioner and I liked her, though she will not be my main medical person. I'm supposed to meet the doctor on the 25th. Hopefully I will have been able to start processing my Medicaid application by then, which I need to start on tomorrow. This doctor's office is much more organized/professional than the last one, and the hospital looks really nice. I'm hoping John and I and maybe my parents can get a tour of the maternity wing of the hospital next weekend. Meanwhile, me and the baby are doing just fine. Other than having a bit of time adjusting to the heat. This Friday it was up to 99 degrees F again and I thought we were going to melt in the house. My hairdresser in Columbia wasn't kidding when she was talking about being pregnant in the summer (she had both her kids in July). She told me that she used to wear next to nothing and still be melting, and I'm already feeling the same way. Plus with the little one kicking a whole lot more and my belly feeling like it is swelling to massive proportions that makes things more interesting. Sometimes I feel like I have to sit in very unladylike positions just so I can be cool and comfortable. That and with the heat, all I want to do is sleep, even it is a sweaty sleep. Anyways, I'm off to bed. 

El Dia de Los Ninos/Libros celebration!

El Dia de Los Ninos/Libros (Day of the Child/Book), or Dia as it is more commonly known, is celebrated every year on April 30, or as close to that date as a library can get. It is a celebration of children, families and reading, and promotes literacy in all cultures. I attended a celebration last year and participated in another for my internship, and both were a lot of fun in very different ways. The one I went to as a visitor was centered on bilingual Spanish/English stories and featured a lot of Hispanic entertainment such as Flamenco and Salsa dancers. The one I actively participated in was more multicultural, with tables representing Asia, Africa, Mexico and the Middle East. It included crafts from each region, as well as food. We had the most adorable children (as young as 2 or 3) do Mexican traditional dances, Belly Dancers and a local karate school did a demonstration. Dia has been going on for 15 years this year and was started by an initiative proposed by author Pat Mora. My local library system got a mini-grant to do a festival this year and they are celebrating it at one of the more culturally diverse branches. 

This is the 2011 booklist and website reference list, in case you are interested in starting a Dia program in your area: http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/alsc/initiatives/diadelosninos/Info%20Sheet_FINALDia.pdf 

CNN article

Well I figured since this week is National Library Week, I should post something about it. I seemed to have missed most of the celebrations thus far, but I did find this article today that I enjoyed and wanted to share. It was written Tuesday by a CNN librarian, so I thought it was most appropriate. I especially like the quote at the end of the article. 

Teen Services Exchange Workshop

Yesterday I went to our State Library for Teen Services Workshop, which was done by YALSA (Young Adult Library Services Association) member Erin Downey Howerton. She works at a library in Kansas City, Kansas. It was nice to be able to go to a professional function with other librarians and learn about how to improve services to teens, a group that I am very interested in working with in the future. A lot of times they get ignored because administration or other librarians don't want to deal with them, because they don't come to the library that often. However, as the people who like to work with them know, they are the future. If you can hook them now, you will have them later when they grow up and have kids of their own. 

The first part of the presentation was on Erin's book picks from 2010, which a worksheet that was divided into categories. There were books for younger teen (tweens, age 8-12), nonfiction and poetry, graphic novels, older teens, Michael L. Printz winners & honors (Erin had served on the Printz committee in 2010, so these were ones she helped nominate), and trends for 2011-12. I like lists like this as I am always looking for new books to read (this need is emphasized by my recent book slump) and to recommend to other people. She also discussed how to handle controversial books, and gave resources on select groups of books such as edgy/gritty books and historical fiction. I asked her a question about a book I recently read, Phineas Gage: A Gruesome But True Story About Brain Science by John Fleischman. Since the book is pretty graphic and I think would mostly appeal to boys, how to you get girls to like it? I mean I found it fascinating, but most girls aren't into nonfiction/slightly gory topics. Erin and a couple of the other librarians mentioned that to make it appeal to girls, you talk about the feelings and emotions of the book, i.e. how Phineas changed over time personality-wise. I still need to work on book talking, but that gives a good head start on the kind of things I could say while giving one. She also mentioned that on August 5, in libraries across the country, there will be a nationwide Teen Lock-In. The organizers in California are trying to get teen authors to video Skype chats with the teens for the event. A lot of librarians complained about their administration not allowing them to do something like this, so Erin suggested that South Carolina get a discussion group going that includes libraries that want to do the lock-in  and those that have already done them successfully. Issues would include how to secure the building and insurance complications. 

The next part of the presentation was on the benefits of joining YALSA, and outlines their extensive online virtual opportunities, the different committees you could join, and the resources available to its members and the general public. I liked that you could join the listservs and view the blog without being a member. Since I am not currently a full-time library professional, I think I will wait till I am before I decide which organization to join. 

The third section was on Tech Trends. She discussed social networking trends for teens and tweens, as well as internet research that studies these trends so librarians have ammunition to take to administrators who might think social networking sites are a waste of time. She discussed something I knew very little about, namely QR codes, or Quick Response codes. These are 2-D barcodes that hold a lot more data than traditional barcodes. Her example was an ad from the Utah State Travel Board, which included a QR code. When you scanned this with your smartphone, it led the user to the site that requests travel guides for Utah. We found out that they are using them everywhere, from magazines and billboards to flyers that promote events and even in libraries themselves. Erin said that she has done a scavenger hunt in the science section of her library. She also discussed devices and cool apps to check out, the most interesting being Quickcite (which scans a book's barcode and you pick a citation style and it creates and emails you the citation), Kinect for XBox 360, Nintendo 3 DS (glasses-free 3D), Layar (augmented reality, which could be used by libraries to show patrons where specific books/items are located. The final part of the discussion was on E-book restrictions and the future of E-content. All in all, it was a very interesting day and it was nice to not only talk to other librarians but also the instructor. 

Ten misperceptions about public libraries

A guy I know from library school posted this list of Ten Misperceptions About Public Libraries About on Facebook this morning and I thought it was interesting enough to repost and comment about. 

1.    You will be yelled at if you don't whisper.  These days, some of the noisiest people in the library are the members of the staff.  While library staff members may still look askance at loud, extended cell phone use, libraries today are a lot less quiet than they used to be. - This is very true, and I've actually heard a patron complain about it being too noisy and say "Whatever happened to the quiet library?"; I actually agree with him, but that is really hard to do nowadays, esp in the children's room

2.    It takes a long time for libraries to get newly released books, movies and CDs processed and on their shelves.    Any library worth its salt will have books, music and  DVDs processed and ready for the shelves in time for the items' release dates. - It really depends on the library and how many copies in total they have bought, i.e. if it is a big release like one of Rick Riordan's books, they more than likely will have 20+ copies so you should get one in a couple of weeks; for other less well-known books it can take up to 2+ months; this year with all the budget crises that libraries have been having, the book budgets are being cut so no idea how long things will take 

3.     Libraries love it when people donate the old books they have stored away in boxes in their basement or garage; the library's patrons are anxiously awaiting the  acquisition of your forty year old set of the World Book Encyclopedia and poli sci textbooks from 1977.   Nobody likes to throw out books, especially ones that cost a lot of money when new, but most textbooks become dated very quickly and almost no one coming into a public library is looking to check them out.  When old sets of encyclopedias are left abandoned at the library's door (yes, this happens more than you realize), all it does is create additional work for the library's maintenance staff.  Please resist the temptation to drop off boxes of  old books  at the library under cover of darkest night.   Please. -However, this still happens, hence why you have library book sales ever 3 months or so

4.    Everyone who works in a library is a librarian.  The standard in the United States is for a professional librarian  to have a master's degree in library or information science in addition to holding a  bachelor's degree in just about anything.   Librarians are the people staffing the reference desk, selecting items for the collection,  arranging and running programs, designing web pages and other online content, or working in an administrative/executive capacity.   The people who work  at the circulation desk are frequently referred to by the public as librarians but they are not.   This is often a very sticky subject, especially since it is the case more often than not that library employees, professional or otherwise, are underpaid relative to their counterparts in other branches of municipal or county government.   Unfortunately, when the term "librarian" is used to designate anyone who works in a library regardless of their level of education and training, it makes it easier for uninformed politicians to justify keeping all library salaries low; it also plays into the hands of those who think that libraries can be staffed entirely by volunteers.  The accuracy of job titles is important, but so is  the notion of respect and  equity for all library employees regardless of their job titles.  If compensation for library workers were better, the tensions surrounding the distinctions between professional and non-professional employees would be greatly diminished. -Within the system, they try to differentiate between professional librarians and paraprofessionals, but this line is blurred a lot, especially with job titles; you would be surprised how many  "librarians" don't have a MLIS

5.    All female librarians are sexually repressed, cranky spinsters who take out their unhappiness on the people who come  to use the library.  Those who are still young enough can be transformed into the male fantasy "sexy librarian," but only if they can be convinced to take off their glasses and let down their hair; think Marian the librarian from The Music Man.  I would be lying if I did not acknowledge my own youthful encounters with female library staff members who were unfriendly and punitive, but those days are long over.   The vast majority of people I know who currently work as librarians are very friendly and customer service oriented.  They are also certainly no more or less attractive than people working in just about any other profession, save super model.  That old stereotype really needs to go. - True, some female librarians are single but most are married with or without kids, at least in the Children's Room

6.    All male librarians chose this particular field because they  have personality issues and can  not make it in any other profession.  There are many negative depictions of male library  workers in literature - Goodbye, Columbus  andSophie's Choice  are two that come readily to mind.   To the contrary,  men going into the field today see librarianship as a way to combine their interest in technology and literature.  The male librarians I know are extremely cool  and interesting people. - I would say that this is mostly true, with a few exceptions

7.    Reference librarians are no longer necessary since everyone knows how to find what they need with google.   I first received training to search the web back in 1995 and I've lost track of the number of times I've located information for a patron in a matter of seconds, after having had that person tell me that they had been searching unsuccessfully for that information for hours, if not days.  Additionally, librarians are good at finding information on the "hidden web," proprietory databases for which the library has paid  subscription fees and which the average person is not aware of. - Most patrons think they know everything via Google, however as I discovered with my basic reference class, they definitely still need us; if for nothing else, then to navigate through the different databases, which are confusing to use

8.    No one would notice the difference if you fired all the library staff and ran it with volunteers.  With municipal and county budgets taking huge hits in many parts of the country, it is inevitable that some politicians will try to use this tired old argument.   Volunteers have good intentions, but good intentions alone do not bring with them the specialized expertise that librarians and paraprofessional staff bring to their job through education, training and work experience.  Most volunteers are looking to contribute a relatively small number of hours per week; today's library circulation systems are sufficiently complex that even the most intelligent volunteer would be hard pressed to develop proficiency  working only a few hours a week at the circulation desk.  The years of acquired knowledge stored away by a seasoned reference librarian cannot automatically be duplicated by someone with no formal training or experience. - This statement I most vehemently disagree with, as the author says "Volunteers have good intentions, but these alone do not bring with them the specialized expertise that librarians and paraprofessional staff bring to their job through education, training and work experience." Having worked as a volunteer and paraprofessional, I can say that these two positions are totally different in their experience and expertise

9.    The librarian determines what items should be added to the library's collection by reading each book and viewing each DVD before making a final decision.   Ironically, even if I quit my job, I wouldn't be able to accomplish this task. -They mostly try to get good professional reviews in order to decide what to have in the collection; only with the children's department have I seen something like this done and most of the time, the item is skimmed as the librarians don't have time to read every single page or view everything they way they would want to

10.    The library does not provide materials in digitized format for people with e-readers and other devices.  Not true, as libraries have already begun to provide e-books as well as downloadable audio and video.   If this is what you want and it is not already happening at your library, you need to speak up. -As E-readers such as the Nook and Kindle become more prevalent, more libraries are joining on the digitization platform; I know my library system alone has over 250,000 titles for its patrons to use

Confirmations of why I want to work in a library

So there are days, as I've been working as a shelver, that I forget why I want to work in a public library in the children's department in the first place. This is usually because I have a very low paying job which can be pretty hard work at times and makes me exhausted. However, there are days like Monday that I remember why I like working there. I got to meet a really cool and nice teenage volunteer who was half Turkish/half Sudanese, which to me is a very interesting combination all by itself, and we ended up talking for most of the 3 hours that I was working on Monday. Work always seems to go faster when you have someone cool to talk to. At another point in the night, I was straightening the board book displays and this little girl, probably 4 or 5 starts talking to me about the books she likes, "shadow books" she calls them. They are the black and white books, the kind that author Tana Hoban likes to do. I always am amazed when children will just come up and start talking to me in the library. The same thing happened last week when I was trying to find something to do at the end of last week and was going around the room, picking up books left on tables and shelving them. I went up to this one table where a brother and sister were sitting with a giant pile of books and asked them if they were finished with them. They still needed them, so I went to go sort some Easy Reader books when the little boy who I has spoken to, he looked about 9 or 10, came over and started talking to me. He told me about how he and his sister were doing book reports on birds, and he had picked the bald eagle and his sister had picked the ruby-throated hummingbird. I asked him if he had ever seen a hummingbird and he said yes, that they had all kinds of bird feeders in their lawn and were avid bird watchers. He was so precious with his earnestness and little glasses that I wanted to adopt him. The other thing that happened on Monday was a young girl, couldn't have been more than 3 or 4 was with her parents at a table next to the Easy Readers and came right up to me and hugged me and then kissed my stomach (because she was eye level with it). Her parents were horrified and apologized, but I simply said, "It's fine, it's better than being kicked." Being that I want to be a Youth Services Librarian, it is good that I am able to talk and interact with children like this.

Philip Pullman defends public libraries

I found this article through one of the library groups I belong to on Facebook, which was the Guardian's attempt to praise and highlight Philip Pullman's speech done on Jan 20, 2011 about defending Oxfordshire libraries and how many people read it (around 20K in two days). While I thought it was a well-done article, I wanted to see the real speech as I had read in the Guardian article that it was stellar, plus I'm a huge Philip Pullman fan, especially of the His Dark Materials trilogy. Thankfully, they have posted it online here for all to view and I must say it is excellent. I particularly like the following points: 

• Where he points out that it is Mr. Keith Mitchell's job (as leader of the county council) to "protect the library services"
• "Nor do I think we should respond to the fatuous idea that libraries can stay open if they’re staffed by volunteers. What patronising nonsense. Does he think the job of a librarian is so simple, so empty of content, that anyone can step up and do it for a thank-you and a cup of tea? Does he think that all a librarian does is to tidy the shelves?" - amen, you need a Master's Degree to be a public librarian
• "What I personally hate about this bidding culture is that it sets one community, one group, one school, against another. If one wins, the other loses." - i.e. that all these community organizations have to bid on 600K pounds as that is all the county council is providing; and with 20 libraries set to close, they probably won't get more than 10K pounds as he points out earlier
• "The human joy and pleasure goes out of it; books are published not because they’re good books but because they’re just like the books that are in the bestseller lists now, because the only measure is profit." - Sad but true
• "Apparently Mr Mitchell thinks that we authors who defend libraries are only doing it because we have a vested interest – because we’re in it for the money...No, Mr Mitchell, it isn’t for the money. I’m doing it for love." - yay!
• "But what a gift to give a child, this chance to discover that you can love a book and the characters in it, you can become their friend and share their adventures in your own imagination." - what I'm hoping every librarian wishes for their patrons
• "I love it because its presence in a town or a city reminds us that there are things above profit, things that profit knows nothing about, things that have the power to baffle the greedy ghost of market fundamentalism, things that stand for civic decency and public respect for imagination and knowledge and the value of simple delight."
• "Leave the libraries alone. You don’t know the value of what you’re looking after. It is too precious to destroy." - This should go out to all city, county and state governments that even consider cutting library budgets!

101 Picture Books No Child Should Miss

A friend of mine at the State Library posted this on Facebook this week, and I thought it was great. Here's the link if you are interested, but I thought I would post the list here. The ones highlighted are the ones I've read, which I'm sorry to say isn't that many. I have read versions of some of them, but not the specific ones they listed. I did not read Crichtor by Tomi Ungere, though I have read The Beast of Monsieur Racine and enjoyed that.

1. Aardema, Verna.  Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears: A West African tale. 1975.  
2. Allard, Harry.  Miss Nelson Is Missing! 1977.   
3. Asbjørnsen, Peter Christen.  The Three Billy Goats Gruff. 1957.   
4. Baker, Keith.  Big Fat Hen. 1994.  
5. Bang, Molly.  Ten, Nine, Eight.  1983.  
6. Barton, Byron.  Machines At Work. 1987.   
7. Bemelmans, Ludwig.  Madeline. 1939.  
8. Bennett, Jill.  Teeny Tiny. 1985.  
9. Brown, Margaret Wise.  Goodnight Moon. 1947.  
10. Brown, Marcia.   Stone Soup, 1947. 
11. Brunhoff, Jean de.  The Story of Babar, The Little Elephant. 1960.   
12. Burningham, John. Mr. Gumpy's Outing. 1970.  
13. Burton, Virginia Lee.  Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel. 1939.  
14. Carle, Eric.  The Very Hungry Caterpillar. 1987.  
15. Conover, Chris.  Six little ducks. 1976.  
16. Crews, Donald.  Freight Train. 1978.  
17. Cronin, Doreen. Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type. 2000.   
18. Dallas-Conte, Juliet. Cock-A-Moo-Moo. 2001.  
19. Daugherty, James Henry.  Andy and the Lion. 1938.  
20. Degen, Bruce. Jamberry. 1983.   

21. DePaola, Tomie.  Strega Nona: An Old Tale. 1975.  

22. Dorros, Arthur.  Abuela.  1991.   

23. Dunrea, Olivier. Gossie & Gertie. 2002.   

24. Emberley, Ed. Go Away, Big Green Monster! 1992.  

25. Eric A., Kimmel. Anansi and The Moss-Covered Rock. 1988.  
26. Falconer, Ian. Olivia. 2000.  
27. Feiffer, Jules. Bark, George. 1999.  
28. Flack, Marjorie. Ask Mr. Bear. 1932.  
29. Fleming, Denise. Lunch. 1992.  
30. Freeman, Don. Corduroy. 1968.  
31. Gag, Wanda. Millions of Cats. 1928.  
32. Ginsburg, Mirra.  Mushroom In the Rain. 1974.  
33. Galdone, Paul. The Three Bears. 1972.   
34. Henkes, Kevin.  Owen. 1993.   
35. Herron, Carolivia.  Nappy Hair. 1997.  
36. Heyward, DuBose, The country bunny and the little gold shoes: as told to Jenifer. 1967.
37. Hill, Eric.  Where's Spot? 1980.  
38. Hoban, Russell.  Bread and Jam for Frances. 1964.  
39. Hort, Lenny. The Seals On the Bus. 2000.   
40. Hutchins, Pat.  Rosie's Walk. 1967.   
41. Jonas, Ann. Two Bear Cubs. 1982.  
42. Johnson, Crockett,   Harold and the Purple Crayon. 1983.  
43. Kasza, Keiko.  The Wolf's Chicken Stew. 1987.   
44. Keats, Ezra Jack.  The Snowy Day. 1962.   
45. Kipling, Rudyard,   Rikki-tikki-tavi. 1992.  
46. Kimmel, Eric. Anansi and the Moss-Covered Rock. 1988.
47. Krauss, Ruth. The Carrot Seed. 1945.   
48. Kraus, Robert. Whose Mouse Are You? 1970.   
49. Krosoczka, Jarrett. Punk Farm.  2005.  
50. Langstaff, John M. Over In the Meadow.  1957.   
51. Leaf, Munro. The Story of Ferdinand.  1936.   
52. Lester, Helen.  Tacky the Penguin. 1988.  
53. Lewis, Kevin. Chugga-Chugga Choo-Choo. 1999.  

54. Lionni, Leo.  Swimmy.   Pantheon, 1968.   

55. Lobel, Arnold. Frog and Toad Are Friends. 1970.   
56. Luenn, Nancy.  Nessa’s Fish. 1990.   
57. Marshall, James,  George and Marshall. 1972.

58. Martin, Bill.  Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? 1983.  

59. Martin, Bill.  Chicka Chicka Boom Boom. 1989.
60. Mayer, Mercer. There's A Nightmare In My Closet. 1968.  
61. McCloskey, Robert.  Make Way For Ducklings. 1941.  
62. McMullan, Kate.  I Stink. 2002.   
63. Mosel, Arlene.  Tikki Tikki Tembo. 1968.  
64. Noble, Trinka Hakes. The Day Jimmy's Boa Ate the Wash. 1980.  
65. Numeroff, Laura. If You Give A Mouse A Cookie. 1985.  
66. Pinkney, Gloria.  The Sunday Outing. 1994.  
67. Piper, Watty.   The Little Engine That Could. 1930.  
68. Polacco, Patricia. Chicken Sunday. 1992.  
69. Potter, Beatrix.  The Tale of Peter Rabbit.  1991.  
70. Rathmann, Peggy.  Officer Buckle and Gloria.  1995.
71. Real Mother Goose, The.  Checkerboard. 1944.   
72. Rey, H. A.  Curious George. 1969.  
73. Rockwell, Anne F.  The Toolbox. 1971.  
74. Rosen, Michael. We're Going On A Bear Hunt.  1989.  
75. Scieszka, Jon. The Stinky Cheese Man and other fairly stupid tales.  1992.  

76. Scieszka, Jon. The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs. 1989.  

77. Sendak, Maurice. Where the Wild Things Are. 1963.  

78. Seuss, Dr.  Green Eggs and Ham. 1960.  
79. Shannon, David.  Duck On A Bike. 2002.  
80. Shannon, David.  No, David! 1998.  
81. Shaw, Charles. It Looked Like Spilt Milk. 1947.  
82. Simmons, Jane. Come Along, Daisy! 1997.  
83. Sis, Peter.  Fire Truck. 1998.  
84. Slobodkina, Esphyr.  Caps for Sale.  1947.  
85. Smalls, Irene. Because You’re Lucky. 1997.  
86. Steig, William.  Sylvester and the Magic Pebble. 1988.  
87. Stickland, Paul. Dinosaur Roar! 1997.  
88. Stroud, Bettye.  The Patchwork Path. 2005.  
89. Taback, Simms.  There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed A Fly.  1997.  
90. Tafuri, Nancy.  Spots, Feathers, and Curly Tails. 1988.
91. Tresselt, Alvin R. The Mitten. 1966.  
92. Ungerer, Tomi.  Crictor.  Harper, 1958.  
93. Van Allsburg,  Chris. The Polar Express. 1985.  
94. Viorst, Judith.  Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. 1972.  
95. Waber, Bernard.  Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile. 1965.  
96. Walsh, Ellen.  Mouse Paint. 1989.  
97. Westcott, Nadine. The Lady With the Alligator Purse. 1988.  
98. Williams, Vera B. A Chair For My Mother. 1992.  
99. Wood, Audrey. The Napping House. 1984.  
100. Yolen, Jane.  How Do Dinosaurs Say Good Night. 2000.  
101. Zion, Gene.  Harry the Dirty Dog. 1956.   

Freak out and Book Awards

So I have been writing this blog since last fall and the purpose is mostly so I have something else to do, as I was unemployed during the time and had a lot of free time. I also like to post about libraries, books and what it is like for a library school student/graduate trying to find a job. True, I have not been as diligent in the last month or so as I have been rather distracted with finishing up school and real life in general. I am hoping to correct that in the future. I was just psyched when I came on my blog to figure out which episode of Kekkaishi anime I am on, and instead I noticed I had a comment on my last YA book review from Mary Hoffman herself, the author of the Stravaganza series and many other wonderful books that I discovered in 2010!! Needless to say, that is way cool, so I commented on her blog after a nice post about saving libraries in the UK from funding cuts.

I know this list has been out for over a week and I apologize for not posting it earlier. The ALA released the awards list for youth books, videos, and audiobooks. I'm sorry to say that I've not read any of the books yet, with the exception of Will Grayson, Will Grayon which won the Stonewall Children & Young Adult Literature Award, but I will amend that as I continue to work in the children's room and have time to pick up more books.