Holiday Favorites

The following is a list of my 6 favorite holiday picture books, which I own and hope to share with any grandchildren I may have in the future:

Christmas Tree! by Wendell and Florence Minor - Christmas trees come in all shapes and sizes and can be found in almost any setting, but there is only one "best" Christmas tree.

Christmas Tree Memories by Aliki - Family members admire the ornaments on their Christmas tree and share their memories of previous holidays as evoked by the ornaments.

Good King Wenceslas, illustrated by Jamichael Henterly - An illustrated version of the English Christmas carol about the generous king.

Little Tree by e.e. cummings - The poet/individualist's ode to a small tree decorated for Christmas and proud to receive admiring attention.

Mouse's First Christmas by Lauren Thompson, illustrated by Buket Erdogen - While exploring the house on Christmas Eve, a little mouse discovers the tree, a candy cane, a stocking, a jingle bell, and Santa Claus.

Santa Mouse by Michael Brown, illustrated by Elfrieda DeWitt - Santa gives a nameless mouse a special gift for Christmas.

The Key Skill (Really) Among the Big Six!

The Nov. 2008 issue of SLJ (pg. 33) contains an article, by Renea Arnold and Nell Coburn, on the six early literacy skills that all of us are a-buzz about. The authors describe a presentation by college professor, Christyn Dundorf, which illustrated how the EL skills lead to success in reading. What jumped out at me, as I read the article, was that Dundorf singled out print motivation as the key EL skill. Duh! This affirmed what I have always believed, and even expressed to parents (as a professional opinion, of course) in my programs. Make books and reading fun, and the other skills will follow. Engage them and they'll come back for more. And the more thay come back for, the easier it will be for them to leap into independent reading. And a lifelong appreciation for the power of the printed word. This is big stuff we do with the little ones!

Pre VPK

Lately I've noticed that my preschool storytime participants seem generally younger than in the past, and also less able to attend to longer stories. At first I began wondering if, perhaps, I was losing a bit of the spark that enabled me to develop a strong rapport with my preschoolers. Then, after mulling it over for awhile, I realized that children's librarians, at least in our state of Florida, prabably are working more with the younger end of the 3-to-5 year olds, as VPK targets 4 yr. olds+ Many of the 4 and 5 year olds, who might have attended library programs before starting kindergarten are now being siphoned off to VPK . My current preschool storytimes consist of mostly 3 yr. olds (except for that one precocious, homeschooled 5-yr. old). So yes, the shorter stories (+ a variety of activities before and after the books) often work better, because yes, they are a younger group. Those of us who have been in the field for awhile know that there is a wide window between ages 3 and 5 yrs. Developing programs to meet the needs of our unique audiences is an exciting and gratifying challenge.

The Future of READing

I just finished 2 installments of a piece in the NY Times (thanks to the internet!) on the future of reading. Those of us involved in print materials in our daily life know that things are changing. And the focus is on what direction to take in nurturing skills in children that will make them better prepared for their future. A lot of "talk" these days revolves around the comparison between computer literacy and print reading proficiency. My personal take on the issue is that both are important. But, I think, print reading proficiency will still be a marker of those destined for higher degrees and more complex thinking. Life skills are online now. And most kids are comfortable with that. Not all kids need or even should go to college. But they all need to know how to use a computer for things like basic research, electronic communication, filling out online forms, etc. Our most gifted students will also be readers who can delve, reflect, and respond to what they read by forming new ideas about their future. Adults who value and nurture both digital and print fluency are needed to help steer young people toward success.

Two Parents

At a recent Bedtime Storytime program, which was filled with mostly Dads and sons, I mentioned how nice it was to see Dads bringing their children to the library. One happy little girl piped up that she had a Mommy at home, also. I smiled and told her that she was a very lucky girl and that I hoped it would stay that way. All of the adults in the room chuckled, as they understood my veiled comment on the preponderance of single-parent households these days.

Eye Winker, Tom Tinker

Today during my Baby Time (0-12 mos.) program, I did the old, "Eye Winker, Tom Tinker, Nose smeller, Mouth eater, and a Chinny, Chin, Chin chopper" touch/tickle rhyme that I remember my Dad doing with me and my siblings when we were quite young. I was quite surprised to find that none of the young mothers at the program had ever heard that classic rhyme!

Plug Covers

Yesterday after storytime a parent discovered an uncovered floor plug and told me that it was unsafe. Yes, we try to keep all of the little outlet plug openings covered so that all the little darlings won't get electrocuted from sticking their little fingers in the little holes. The program room had been used the weekend before, and the group who used the room lost the round cover that normally goes over the round outlet plate. Since my daughter is now an adult, it has been awhile since I've had to worry about those things, and I didn't notice the missing cover. Until it was pointed out to me. I then checked all of the outlets in the entire juvenile area (inside and outside the program room) of the library, and I discovered many uncovered outlets. Not good. This morning before my work day started, I made a quick trip to Wal-Mart and bought lots of plug outlet covers. I wasn't about to wait until a supplies request for the covers was received, filled, and sent to my branch. Then I covered every outlet I could find anywhere near the children's area of the library. I realize, too, that an email to the janitorial supervisor may be necessary, as I suspect the cleaning crew removes the covers in order to plug in their vacuum cleaner, and then fails to replace them afterwards. Such a simple thing can turn into a major issue in a public library. A youth librarian's goal is to offer quality literature programs to children. But like physicians, we should first do no harm. A periodic outlet check is a good thing. I am glad that the parent pointed out the potential hazard to me. It zapped me into action, before a kid got zapped!