August 29, 2011

Book Talk Tuesday

I have been searching the web for a great place to post book reviews for librarians and teachers to use in the classroom.  Well, I am going to try hosting my own Book Talk Tuesday!  I invite teachers and librarians to link to a recent book talk or book review that can be used by others- to help purchase new books, learn about new books and to help give us book talk ideas.  

My rules?
1. All content must be appropriate for children in grades kindergarten through eighth grade.
NEW 2. Please link to your original content, not the content of others. 
3. Websites that you link to must be child friendly since lots of kids visit this site and if they click on your link, I want it to be appropriate for them.
4. Positive reviews only, please... we only spread love here at The Lemme Library!
5. Books must be available in The US. (you are welcome to link to ARC reviews)
6. I reserve the right to remove any reviews that don't meet criteria 1-5.
In the link title field, be sure to include the title of the book you are reviewing and your site name. In the URL field, please link to this specific post that contains the book review (That way people don't have to scour your blog looking for it!)

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For newcomers & visitors: Definition of "Book Talk" from Wikipedia: "A booktalk in the broadest terms is what is spoken with the intent to convince someone to read a book.  The booktalker gives the audience a glimpse of the setting, the characters, and/or the major conflict without providing the resolution or denouement. Booktalks make listeners care enough about the content of the book to want to read it. A long booktalk is usually about five to seven minutes long and a short booktalk is generally thirty seconds to two minutes long.

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Today I had a tinge of guilt. I really don't give much back to my profession. I'm not in the union, I'm not a member of ALA, I don't go to library seminars or conferences (unless I am forced to) and shoot me, but I don't read any professional literature. I think it is because I have 2 young children at home and a husband who has needed a little extra TLC lately... I just don't have the energy to commit to The Cause.  I completely respect and value what all of the people who  are involved do and I think it helps to improve our profession. I have never been a fan of all the meetings and rules and demands placed on me. I feel at home in the trenches, surrounded by kids and books and messes. I don't like paperwork and I hate surveys. So, I do the minimum- what is required of me and no more. Should I feel guilt? And if I feel guilt, shouldn't I take action to change? I guess I should- if only I had more to give. Today, I applied to be a judge for The Cybil awards and I am telling you, if I don't get selected, it will be the last thing I ever volunteer to do. If I am rejected, I will take it as a sign that it is okay to slide by on the tailcoats of all the hard working, professional librarians out there. 
How about you? Do you "fight for the cause"- librarian, school, blog, whatever your cause is- how do you give back? How are you involved? Are you like me- you watch the others do the work... how is that working for you?
Wow! Very deep discussion today. Next week will be something light- may be reality tv?
Have a great week & thanks to all of you who continue to participate!
Kelly

1.Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes (sharpread- Colby Sharp)8.Rachel Isadora 3-in-1 Special (Gathering Books)15.Too Many Frogs (The Cath in the Hat)
2.Polka Dot Fixes Kindergarten (Jen Robinson's Book Page)9.The Case of the Case of the Mistaken Identity (Ms. O Reads Books)16.Heidi @ Geo Librarian (Eddie Gets Ready for School)
3.Mrs. Mattei10.Bigger Than a Bread Box by Laurel Snyder17.Interrupting CHicken (Bigfoot Reads)
4.Penny Dreadful (ontheshelf4kids/ Ellen Zschunke)11.Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes (pageintraining)18.Word After Word After Word (RBE Library)
5.Anna Hibiscus' Song (NC Teacher Stuff)12.Favorite New Picture Books, Summer ' 1119.Huber Hill and the Dead Man’s Treasure by B.K. Bostick (There's A Book)
6.The Nonfiction Detectives (The Bravest Woman in America))13.Charro Claus and the Tejas Kid (Lauralee's Library)20.You're next!
7.Harriet Ziefert/ Simms Taback Board Books (Picture Books & Pirouettes)14.Dahl's Revolting Recipes (Try Curiosity!)  

9 comments:

  1. I have a volunteering problem, somewhat the opposite of what you described. I am the Association (another word for union) Vice President, on several committees, and seem to make up more things for myself to do! Judging the Cybil Awards sounds awesome - best of luck to you!

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  2. I belong to the library association of alberta but nothing beyond that. I am an in the trenches day to day person and am comfortable with that. Someday I would like it to me more but wonder what I could bring to the cause...despite my age and experience I don't feel so grown up at times...if that make s sense. Lately been following the ALASC blog....

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  3. Oh, what an interesting question. I struggle with this question in lots of aspects of my life. Always feeling like I want to volunteer in my kids' schools more but have trouble finding the time. Also have been finding that my passion for children's literature has been far outweighing my passion for my "real" job these days, even though I have a wonderful job. Not sure yet what to do about that, but hope to find the answer soon. There is just not enough time in the day or the week or the month to fit everything in. Perhaps we all struggle with these issues?

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  4. Hey ... the blog is something. I had all these grand plans for mine and then discovered I had a hard time coming up with even semi-interesting content. :/
    But I do like going to conferences. I get good ideas to take back to the trenches! When they let me go, anyway. This summer I read some professional stuff ... but that was pretty much a first since grad school.
    But then again my family is my parents and grown brothers and sisters and nieces and nephews. They pretty much take care of themselves.

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  5. Hi Kelly, I am not a librarian nor am I an English teacher. I am a Teacher Educator and as such I am doing my bookblogging as a kind of 'volunteering' act as part of my advocacy to advance reading that goes beyond literacy - a sharing of the passion for reading for its own sake. I also loathe/detest meetings - those are 'required work.' My website on children's lit and YA fiction though, being borne out of loooove, is something I will not tire of doing/managing. It's becoming more of a career, really. Hahhaa.

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  6. I'm part of a couple of associations and looking forward to going to my first AASL convention in October. I work hard to create interesting newsletters filled with websites for my staff and love all the resources I find through twitter. I love passing on what I find. I'm on my school tech committee and presented at a conference that my district sponsors. That said, I am most comfortable observing in group settings and taking away ideas.

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  7. With each passing day, I realize that advocating for children must be my priority -- not just my own but all children -- children who deserve and need so much more than they are getting with their education and opportunities to become thinking, reflective learners. As a teacher and blogger, I feel that I have a platform where I can inform and assist parents to be better informed and to advocate for their own children. After a sad phone call today about another school who refuses to consider the needs of my friend's daughter, I'm planning an entire blog series on advocating.

    I think you don't have to have any credentials, any fancy title to make you qualified to contribute to the world. You are enough!! :)

    Melissa @imaginationsoup
    http://imaginationsoup.net

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  8. I'm Baaaackk!

    I promised my kids a work free and "unplugged" summer, then I started a new librarian gig, and now that I have my feet under me, I am back to Book Talk Tuesdays. Thank you for not ever excluding me!

    In answer to your prompt:

    I do read professional journals, am a member of ALA and TLA, attend professional developments that are required by the district, and some that I just chose to go to.

    Right now, my "cause" is working WITH publishers on ebooks as opposed to against them. Our district recently launched Overdrive, and there are 3 big publishers who won't sell digital books to Overdrive, and HarperCollins who has the 26 checkouts limit. I think that while they CARE what we as librarians think, we should be helping to evolve the ebook model, not hinder it being available to our patrons.

    I do think it is important to do what we can where we can to advocate for libraries and our profession outside of the walls of our libraries. If people don't know what we do, why would they be willing to fight for us or our libraries?

    Nancy Jo
    @RBE Library
    www.rbelibrary.com

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  9. I feel like your post could have been written by me personally. I'm often in the same exact predicament. I'm a stay at home mom who used to be a sixty+ hour a week worker bee. It's quite the transition and though you'd think I'd have all the time in the world to do many of the things you mentioned, I feel like I never do very much. Obviously, that's not true and I'm sure my children and husband would say I'm quite incorrect.

    I think it's okay to be an advocate in your own home, with the people you come in contact with in your work place or on your blog. I'm a firm believer in The Doppler Effect, that each drop we drip of enthusiasm for whatever it might be has a farther reaching influence than we could imagine.

    Yes, I think if we have the time, can make the time, to do more than by all means we should get out there and get to work! But honestly, some days it's all I can do to get up, take a shower and spend the day playing with and caring for my kids. And I'm completely okay with that (it's taken a long time to feel that way) because who knows who they will become because of what I've done for them.

    Now, as for what I do when I do have the energy and time to squeeze in a bit of enthusiasm outside my home? I also applied for The Cybils again this year, I was a judge last year and had a blast so I'm certainly hoping to have a chance to do it again. Each year I participate in Share a Story Shape a Future with Terry from The Reading Tub and Jen from Jen Robinson's Book Page. It's a fantastic literacy event with tons of great resources and easy to do from your own blog. I love it! In addition to that I work with the local writing conference here on the Central Coast of CA to bring children's authors & illustrators in to teach and I help coordinate the "teen" portion of the conference as well, it's fantastic! Oh! And I also host the picture book reading challenge at my blog.

    So, yeah, I guess I'm a little busy, but honestly...never put more pressure on yourself than necessary. It's just not worth it. Your kiddos and hubby are way more important! :o)

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