CYA: Children & Young Adults

Superhero Sweethearts at Action Figure Museum

Toy and Action Figure Museum

February 13 is Valentine’s Day at the Toy & Action Figure Museum in Pauls Valley. Doors open at 10am and close at 5pm as usual, but on this day guests will be welcomed by a “Prom” like photo opportunity at the Gateway to Action Figure Heaven.

AFM Director, Lisa Driskill says “There will also be several of our famous scavenger hunts, which are always fun, but this time we will be looking for action figure sweethearts like Spiderman & Mary Jane Watson, Homer & Marge Simpson, even Daredevil & Elektra .”

Several professional artists will be on hand with materials and ideas to help young artists make Valentine cards. Just bring your imagination. That is what the Toy & Action Figure Museum is all about.

There will alsobe  trivia games for prizes throughout the day and a few lucky visitors will go home with a new Action Figure toy, an AFM T-shirt or maybe even an AFM Annual Membership pass.

Admission to the attraction is $6. Group rates and special tours can be arranged by calling 405/238-6300.

One of my new lifestyle adjustments (previously known as resolutions) is to restart my goal of reading 100 books in one year. Turns out my goal is small since I saw Oklahoma author Jennifer Lynn Barnes had read 260 books last year. I have to start somewhere.

Last year I thought I would write down the titles that I read as I read them. This worked great for the first five or six books. I realized several books later that I have a habit of finishing a book and immediately picking up a new one. The last thing I wanted to do was write anything down. I’m changing strategy this year and using my iPod Touch. I downloaded a book shelf application, iBookShelf. The application searches by title or ISBN, pulls in the author, genre and cover picture. I can set the status and rating. There’s also a comment field where I copy and paste book reviews from the Barnes and Noble application.

I’m currently reading Bloodhound: Beka Cooper book 2 by Tamora Pierce and Hate List by Jennifer Brown.

Books I’ve read so far: (my year started in November)

Breathless by Jessica Warman
Swimmer Katie has a mentally troubled older brother. Her parents enroll her in private school away from home and she tells her new friends her brother is dead.
Rating: 3/5: High School

How to Steal a Car by Pete Hautman
Kelleigh acts out by stealing cars. Yep, that’s about it.
Rating 2/5: High School

Kit Feeny #1: On the Move by Michael Townsend
Kit Feeny and his family move to a new house. Kit worries about making friends and keeping his old friends.
Rating 1/5: Primary Reader note: my 3rd grader loved it and read the sequel immediately. 3rd – 5th grades will love it. If you love BabyMouse and Diary of a Wimpy Kid…

Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld
Steampunk science fiction set during WWI. Story is a mixture of real history and science fiction. Story told in alternating chapters by the two main characters.
Rating 3.5/5: Intermediate

Liar by Justine Larbalestier
Frustrating book told by a liar. Good luck not believing her.
Rating 4/5: High School

Lips Touch Three Times by Laini Taylor
Three fantasy short stories all involving the beauty and fatality of a kiss. The artwork is not to be missed.
Rating 3/5: High School

Lost Conspiracy by Frances Hardinge
Enthralling story that weaves colonization, race, social relations, religion and fantasy. Recommended to readers of Isabelle Allende.
Rating 3.5/5: Intermediate

Books started but did not finish…

Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater
Girl meets werewolf.
Book is touted to be Twilight for werewolves. Whatever the charm is I didn’t see it. The author made a book trailor.

We Were Here by Matt De La Pena
Miguel is sent to juvenile detention and has to write in a journal to figure things out. In the meantime he escapes detentions with two other boys.
I like the plot it was the story that was taking too long. Much too long.

When the Snow Fell by Henning Mankell
Companion book to A Bridge to the Stars and Shadows of Twilight. Joel makes three resolutions that he tries to make come true.
I thought I was interested in the story until I started reading a realized I wasn’t.

Whole Nother Story by Dr. Cuthbert Soup
An inventor and his three kids are on the run from government, corporate and international baddies because of an invention.
Remember reading Lemony Snicket for the first time? Remember how much you liked it? This isn’t it. There is a great plot. The story moves right along. The cutsey writing kills everything.

So, what are you reading?

The Young Adult Library Services Assocation and the Association for Library Services to Children announced at ALA Midwinter this past Monday award winning media. There are great books, video, audio and illustrations on these lists.

Release this past Tuesday was YALSA’s selected lists for Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults, Fabulous Films for Young Adults, Great Graphic Novels for Teens, and Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults for 2010.

Hundreds of Championship Wrestlers’ action figures have taker over the Toy & Action Figure Museum in Pauls Valley. Miniature versions of those crazy guys from WWF and WWE have made themselves at home in one of Oklahoma’s top attractions.
The museum has recently acquired a large collection of Professional Wrestling action figures and is celebrating the opening of a new exhibit dedicated to these “real-lie” superheroes and super villains with a fun and unique wrestling contest of their own – THE OFFICIAL SUPER INTERGALACTIC ARMWRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIP.
On Saturday, January 23, the museum will host a “For Fun Only” armwrestling championship with contestants battling for a first place medal in four different age categories.
Registration begins at 10am. The Entry fee is $10 per participant and includes admission to the museum for the entire day. The first round – 8 to 12 year olds – kicks off the hourly competitions at 11am; followed by 13 to 15, 16 to 18 and 18 & up. Each contestant will receive a “Certificate of Participation”.
This is NOT a certified armwrestling competition. It is ONLY FOR FUN and is a Fund Raiser for the museum. Bring your cameras so you can take home a personal memory of the first Super Intergalactic Champion Armwrestlers.
Check out www.actionfiguremuseum.com or call the Action Figure Museum at 405/238-6300 for more information.

The Libri Foundation is currently accepting applications for its 2010 BOOKS FOR CHILDREN grants.

The Libri Foundation is a nationwide non-profit organization which donates new, quality, hardcover children’s books to small, rural public libraries throughout the United States.  Since October 1990, the Foundation has donated over $4,000,000 worth of new children’s books to more than 2,500 libraries in 49 states, including Alaska and Hawaii.

In order to encourage and reward local support of libraries, The Libri Foundation will match any amount of money raised by your local sponsors from $50 to $350 on a 2-to-1 ratio.  Thus, a library can receive up to $1,050 worth of new children’s books.  After a library receives a grant, local sponsors (such as formal or informal Friends groups, civic or social organizations, local businesses, etc.) have four months, or longer if necessary, to raise their matching funds.

The librarian of each participating library selects the books her library will receive from a booklist provided by the Foundation.  The 700-plus fiction and nonfiction titles on the booklist reflect the very best of children’s literature published primarily in the last three years. These titles, which are for children ages 12 and under, are award-winners or have received starred reviews in library, literary, or education journals.  The booklist also includes a selection of classic children’s titles.

Libraries are qualified on an individual basis.  In general, county libraries should serve a population under 16,000 and town libraries should serve a population under 10,000 (usually under 5,000).  Libraries should be in a rural area, have a limited operating budget, and an active children’s department.

Please note:  Rural is usually considered to be at least 30 miles from a city with a population over 40,000.  Town libraries with total operating budgets over $150,000 and county libraries with total operating budgets over $350,000 are rarely given grants.

Applications are accepted from independent libraries as well as libraries which are part of a county, regional, or cooperative library system.

A school library may apply only if it also serves as the public library (i.e. it is open to the everyone in the community, has some summer hours, and there is no public library in town).

A branch library may apply if the community it is in meets the definition of rural.  If the branch library receives its funding from its parent institution, then the parent institution’s total operating budget, not just the branch library’s total operating budget, must meet the budget guidelines.

Previous BOOKS FOR CHILDREN grant recipients are eligible to apply for another grant three years after the receipt of their last grant.
Libraries that do not fulfill all grant requirements, including the final report, may not apply for another grant.

Application deadlines for 2010 are:  (postmarked by) January 23rd (extended), April 15th, and August 15th.

Grants are awarded January 31st, April 30th, and August 31st.

Application guidelines and forms may be downloaded from the Foundation’s website at: www.librifoundation.org.

For more information about The Libri Foundation or its Books for Children program, please contact Ms. Barbara J. McKillip, President, The Libri Foundation, PO Box 10246, Eugene, OR  97440.  541-747-9655 (phone); 541-747-4348 (fax); libri AT librifoundation.org (email).  Normal office hours are:  Monday-Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Pacific Time.

Apply for a 2010 Young Adult Literature Symposium Stipend! YALSA will award two stipends, worth up to $1,000, for travel and registration costs at the 2010 Young Adult Literature Symposium in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Nov. 5-7, 2010.

Applications are due Jan. 4.

ALSC Online Education

Registration is now open for ALSC’s winter Online Education courses!  All five courses begin on Feb. 1 and last four to six weeks, depending on the course.  Course space is limited, so please register early to reserve your spot.  Don’t miss this great opportunity to liven up your library this winter!

Connecting with Tween Readers
Examine the developmental needs and abilities of children ages 10-12, and learn why children of this age group are particularly vulnerable to illiteracy.  Participants will discuss unique activities and programs (including the utilization of currently popular technologies) libraries can offer to keep children on the path to becoming lifelong readers. A primary focus of the course will be studying the literature available for tweens.  The instructor is Edward T. Sullivan.

View more information about Connecting with Tween Readers on the ALSC Web site.

Information Literacy – From Preschool to High School
Learn how to conduct information literacy instruction for children of all ages.  Participants will be encouraged to examine their local schools’ and state’s requirements pertaining to library skills, and to develop methods of using the library to complement those requirements.  The course will include examples of successful programs, and participants will also discuss ways that information literacy instruction can be a useful “outreach” tool.  The instructor is Maryann Mori, director of the Waukee (Iowa) Public Library.

View more information about Information Literacy – From Preschool to High School on the ALSC Web site.

The Newbery Medal: Past, Present and Future
Discuss the different aspects of the Newbery award, as well as the history of the medal and how it has changed over time.  Participants are given an opportunity to read, discuss and consider past and present Newbery winners with their colleagues from across the nation.  The instructor is Kathleen T. Horning, director of the Cooperative Children’s Book Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

View more information about The Newbery Medal: Past, Present and Future on the ALSC Web site.

Reading Instruction and Children’s Books***
This course focuses on the different methodologies for reading instruction and how to determine and interpret grade-level assigned books to effectively assist patrons.  Participants will then evaluate children’s materials for grade-level of reading and develop strategies for clearly communicating this system to parents and teachers.  The instructor is Katherine Todd, adjunct instructor at Manhattanville (N.Y.) College.

View more information about Reading Instruction and Children’s Books on the ALSC Web site.

***This course fills up extremely quickly; there will be a wait list once the course is full.

Series Programming for Elementary School Age
All kids love series books!  That’s why this course will teach participants how to add series clubs to the library in order to get children reading and using the library more. Using trivia, games, music and reading, children will come back for more each week. Series such as Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Magic Tree House, Spiderwick, Fancy Nancy, Froggy, Curious George and American Girl will be discussed.  The instructor is Lisa M. Shaia, children’s librarian at Oliver Wolcott Public Library.

View more information about Series Programming for Elementary School Age on the ALSC Web site.

Courses are taught asynchronously using Moodle, an online learning community.  A certificate of completion will be sent to participants upon successful completion of the course.  Detailed descriptions and registration information is available on the ALSC Web site at www.ala.org/alsced.  Fees are $95 for personal ALSC members; $145 for personal ALA members; and $165 for non-members.

Questions?  Please contact ALSC Deputy Director Kirby Simmering at ksimmering AT ala DOT org or (312) 280-2164.

Texas Library Associaton Maverick

The Texas Library Association has inaugurated their first Maverick Graphic Novel Reading List.

“Together with YALSA’s annual Great Graphic Novels for Teens list, the Maverick list should serve as a valuable resource for all librarians seeking graphic novels that are both age-appropriate and high quality.”

The list is for grades from 6 – 8, 6 – 12,  9 – 12 and adult titles for young adults. Fiction, non-fiction and manga titles are included. Titles on the list must be published within 2 years prior to the list. The Maverick Reading List is meant to explore the variety of books currently available and encourage reading for pleasure. The books on the list can be published outside of the US but must be widely available.

President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities: Coming Up Taller Awards

President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities

The Coming Up Taller Awards reward outstanding after-school and out-of-school arts and humanities programs for underserved children and youth.

Maximum award: $10,000.

Eligibility: programs initiated by museums, libraries, performing arts organizations, universities, colleges, arts centers, community service organizations, schools, businesses, and eligible government entities.

Deadline: January 29, 2010.
http://www.pcah.gov/cut.htm

Ever been stumped trying to find a read-alike book for a patron? Have you heard about Ebsco’s Novelist and wondered how it could help you?

Ebsco NoveList

Linda Gens, director of the Guthrie Public Library is inviting interested librarians to a free Novelist training session. The training will be presented by an Ebsco representative Friday, December 18^th, 2009. Libraries that subscribe to Ebsco’s Novelist have reader’s advisory, book talks, recommended reads to name a few, resources at their fingertips.

Attendees are required to bring their own laptops. The training session will be from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm.

Ebsco Novelist Training Session
Friday, December 18, 2009
10:00 am – 12:00 pm
Guthrie Public Library
201 North Division
Guthrie, OK 73044
405.282.0050

Contact Linda Gens, 405.282.0050 or lgens AT cityofguthrie.com.