Comment Challenge 2010 Wrap-Up

An hour left at work (then I'll be driving back across the state, so I obviously won't be able to blog - I don't drive and use the internet on my phone like some people), and I can't believe I'm typing this, but I've just crossed the finish line for MotherReader's Comment Challenge 2010.

My first completed challenge as a blogger!

After commenting just last night on one of MotherReader's posts that it would be a miracle if I actually reached 100, I'm as surprised as anyone that I was able to finish. By no means did I regularly comment on 5 blogs a day, some days I did 5, some days I didn't do any, and I think last night I did 20-some; but I have learned how to keep up with reading posts that appeal to me (and I'm not shy, if I can think of anything to say, I will comment). I've also managed to keep up (for the most part) with school and manage to keep active with my own blog. My "Blogs I'm Following" list has grown exponentially, and who knows how many of my 7(ish) new followers would have found me had I not participated in the challenge?

I hope all of my new blogging-acquaintences will continue to keep in touch, even though the challenge is now over. And now, at exactly 100 comments, I go off to MotherReader's official finish line to post my 101st.

Storytime Suggestion - Colors

The theme for last week's storytimes was colors. Almost all of the books we ordered from our wonderful Story Collection (basically a mini-branch that only loans its items to Youth Services libarians in the county) were for ages 2 - 3 - much too young for my Pre-K - 2nd grade storytimes, so I was stuck with two books.

Creepy Crawly Colors by Robin Koontz

"A swishing red octopus, a slithering yellow slug, and a pouncing brown spider are a few of the colorful crawlers creeping around in this book of colors." (this is the annotation in our Story Collection database - I'm not sure if it is written anywhere on the book, or just their summary of it)

Any children I have had experience working with thus far have loved pop-up books, which compensates for the fact that this is a very short story dealing with colors (which almost all children have mastered by the time they are 4-5). The school groups I read this book to enjoyed saying the colors and what kind of animal it was when I asked, but they all had trouble with the snake and the jellyfish. They all seemed to think the snake (featured on the cover) was black and white until I told them "no" to their first guess. Because the jellyfish are against a blue water background, they all thought the jellyfish were blue, so I would hold the transparent part up to my face, ask them if they could still see me, then ask again what color it still was. This usually did the trick, but some of them still didn't get the concept of "clear".

Amazon recommends this book for ages 4 - 8. I would recommend looking at Amazon anyway, because they have images of several of the pages.

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?  by Bill Martin

"A big happy frog, a plump purple cat, a handsome blue horse, and a soft yellow duck - all parade across the pages of this delightful book. Children will immediately respond to Eric Carle's flat, boldly colored collages. Combined with Bill Martin's singsong text, they create unforgettable images of these endearing animals." (inside jacket flap)

Again, thanks to our Story Collection, I had the pleasure of using a BIG book version of Brown Bear during my storytimes for color week. I began by telling the children that I would need their help telling the whole story. First I asked them what color the animal was, then I asked what animal it was, then I lead them in asking "brown bear, brown bear, what do you see?" After the first page I usually just had to say "what color?", "what animal?", "how do you ask him?" and they made it through the book on their own as I turned the pages. One of my groups had a child who was either a great reader or who knew the book by heart because she always knew what was coming before I turned the page, which would really throw the rest of the class off-timing.

Amazon recommends this book for ages 4 - 8.

Of course I couldn't just do a storytime with two books and send them back to school! I had to get creative. We have bean bags in the primary colors, and, coincidentally, a homemade beanbag target with a multi-colored balloon background. We also had a coloring sheet of a mouse leaning against a tray of paints, and a DVD version of Planting a Rainbow.

So, I handed out 1-2 beanbags per person (depending on the size of the group), and a coloring sheet and crayons, and let them play bean bag toss and color (not at the same time, of course). I had only one rule - don't hit me - as I had to stand there and hold up the bean bag target. What do you know? I didn't get hit once that week. When they were done coloring, I put in the (c.) 6-minute movie Planting a Rainbow, and by the time it was over, it was time for the kids to go back to school.

I would have loved to do some sort of dance with the ribbon rings we have available through Story Collection (they look similar to the picture on the left, but in primary colors), but unfortunately they were not ordered for this week of storytime. Now that I know they are so easy to make, I'll probably just make a bunch for us to keep at our library permanently!

Reviews (Books) - Casey at the Bat by Ernest Lawrence Thayer

Please excuse me if this review is not up to par. I’ve been having a VERY difficult time trying to review the general story of Casey at the Bat because I don’t like writing “bad” reviews. If I didn't have to do it for the Take Another Chance challenge, I wouldn't.


*Please only read this if you are okay with “spoilers” (if by some chance, you don’t already know the story).

I don’t recall reading the story of Casey when I was young. Reading it now, at 21, I’m very glad I didn’t have to have the experience when I was young. For the life of me, I can’t understand why this story would be in the children’s section of a library! The words are extremely difficult, and there are some even I haven’t heard of (such as “doffed”). People actually shout “KILL the umpire!” and I can only imagine what the crowd did to the poor man after he had to call Casey’s strikeout. While the book may be full of “hope” (though it’s hard to see any hope through all the sullen words), there are no happy endings.

Illustrated by Gerald Fitzgerald
Personally, I don’t care for these types of illustrations. You can basically tell from the front cover what kind of illustrations are throughout the book, but the colors smudge together and the pictures don’t have clear outlines. I did like the page that was formatted so the text would fall at the same angle as the line from 3rd plate to home.

If, for some reason you wish to subject yourself to this book, it can be found on Amazon here.

Illustrated by Christopher Bing
These pages are designed to look like a newspaper from 1888, complete with black and white illustrations (“photos”) which may come off as less than impressive to those looking for colorful illustrations that “pop” off the page. Other newspaper clippings and/or other paraphernalia included on each page. These clippings have the tendency to be amusing and relate to parts of the story (i.e. an ad for voice lozenges on the page where everyone is yelling, and an article about revolvers on the “kill the umpire” page). They also try to shed a little light on some of the difficult words or terms, such as showing what the “cover” of a baseball would look like when it is “torn” off in the story.

This version of Casey at the Bat can be found at Amazon here.

Well…that’s that. You know I don’t like the story. I’ve highlighted all the good points I’ve been able to find in the books, which unfortunately isn’t much because there’s only so much that can be changed if you’re only illustrating a story someone else wrote. So, nice try illustrators; next time pick a better story to illustrate.

I see no reason for a library to need multiple versions of this story. If you have to get one for your library, I'd choose the latter.

My Rating (for both books):

Review (Book) - Peeps! : Recipes and Crafts to Make with Your Favorite Marshmallow Treat by Charity Ferreira

"They're cute. They're tasty. They're marshmallowy good. In this delightful books, PEEPS take center stage in fun crafts and sweet treats for the whole family." (back cover)

I was first inspired to pick-up Peeps! when I saw a library program that used Peeps to turn a plain shoebox into a scene from a book or movie. When I saw this specific Peeps! book featured in a Pack-o-Fun magazine, I thought it was fate, and had the book ILLed to me.

The cover is great - it sparkles. And if you've read my review on Little Honey Bear and the Smiley Moon, you know how much we love glitter at my library. However, that's about the extent of the book's greatness. The title of the book should be something more along the lines of "Random Places to Place Your Peeps". Maybe I just went into the book with expectations too high, expecting the whole book to be full of brilliant ideas like Peep Dioramas, but most of the book was a let-down. The author includes a brief history of Peeps before the "recipes" and "crafts", Peep resouces, and patterns for the crafts that require them.

The Peep "recipes" are mostly just recipes for desserts, then you stick a peep on top or nearby. However, the "Peepsicles" and "Peeps after dark" look cute, as they are actually covered in and/or coated with chocolate and other toppings.
*Be forewarned, pages 36-37 contain "Peeps in a blanket" and may be disturbing to young children. Pages 40-41 contain "molten chocolate Peep cakes" where the birds look like they are stuck and screaming for their little Peep-lives as they slowly dissolve into the dessert.
**Please note that I didn't actually make any of the desserts. I am not insulting any of the recipes, and, in fact, I think I might even try the molten chocolate Peep cake (minus the Peeps). The dessert recipes may be to die for, but my review is based on the Peeps aspect, as I got the book for Peeps ideas, not a dessert cookbook. 

Again, the extent of most of the "crafts" are to just stick something on the Peep or stick the Peep on something, but there are a few cute ideas like making garland, centerpieces, and leis with Peeps.
Or just create a giant sugar cookie Peep coop to store all your Peeps.

Even though I found the book disappointing, I've seen them for just over $5 online, so you might still consider getting it for your collection, especially for those who may not have much of a creative gene. You can find Amazon's listing here.

My Rating:

Daily Dose - Weekly Inspiration

I'm trying out switching my schedule up today. I'm putting up the one post I know I have to post today before I go into work, in hopes that I will be able to get some shelf reading and studying done at work. Cross your fingers for me!

Unfortunately, FlickrCC's "Original Image" size isn't working, so they aren't basking in their full glory. :(

-insert sigh here- Oh how I wish I would have had six thousand dollars before January 15th to go on an Adventures by Disney trip to Ireland (and get a free Disney cruise). :(

Review (Audiobook) - The Host by Stephenie Meyer

"Melanie Stryder refuses to fade away. Our world has been invaded by an unseen enemy. Humans become hosts for these invaders, their minds taken over while their bodies remain intact and continue their lives apparently unchanged. Most of humanity has succumbed.

When Melanie, one of the few remaining "wild" humans, is captured, she is certain it is her end. Wanderer, the invading "soul" who has been given Melanie's body, was warned about the challenges of living inside a human: the overwhelming emotions, the glut of senses, the too-vivid memories. But there was one difficulty Wanderer didn't expect: the former tenant of her body refusing to relinquish possession of her mind.

Wanderer probes Melanie's thoughts, hoping to discover the whereabouts of the remaining human resistance. Instead, Melanie fills Wanderer's mind with visions of the man Melanie loves - Jared, a human who still lives in hiding. Unable to separate herself from her body's desires, Wanderer begins to yearn for a man she has been tasked with exposing. When outside forces make Wanderer and Melanie unwilling allies, they set off on a dangerous and uncertain search for the man they both love.

One of the most compelling writers of our time, Stephenie Meyer brings us a riveting and unforgettable novel about the persistence of love and the very essence of what it means to be human." (back cover)

It's been days since I've finished this book and I'm still not sure how to put this review into words, but I'll try.

***DO NOT read this book if you are looking for a Twilight read-alike. The only similarities I found between this book and Twilight is the female protagonists' occasional clinginess, and Stephenie Meyer's (sometimes excessively) descriptive writing style.

I tried to read this book as soon as it came out and couldn't get past page 18. I don't know if was the descriptiveness or the fact that I had no idea what was going on, but I just couldn't do it. Sorry, Steph. When I found out we had the book on CD, I thought I'd give it another try.

I made it well past page 18 the first time I listened to it, but something still wasn't quite right. Narrator Kate Reading sounded emo and completely uninterested in the book, and sometimes it felt like Stephanie Meyer was trying way too hard to think of one-word chapter titles. I think it was about the end of the third CD when the plot finally began to interest me, and by then I was thinking okay, I've made it through the boring part, and the book feels like it should be about one-third to halfway over now. WRONG. I opened the case to find out how many CDs were included: 20. The plot had gotten more interesting, and once male characters entered the story Reading seemed to relax and finally started changing voices for the different characters, but it was still difficult to push forward knowing how far I still had left to go...

...Cut to 3/4 of the way through book. At this point, the story was so good that I had to get the hard copy of the book at work to read while I worked; it was nearly impossible to put down. However, I did find that I missed listening to the book at this point. Without a narrator voicing the different characters, I found myself having to re-read portions of pages because there was so much dialogue and it was occassionally difficult to tell who was saying what. I had to intentionally leave the book at work so that when I got home I would go inside and read my schoolbooks like a good girl. When I got home I had to drag myself out of the car and away from the audiobook (and I still didn't get my school done).

The most interesting thing I found about this book is that it's the only book I can think of where I would have been just as happy with the "first ending" (second to last chapter), as the "second ending" (final chapter) - polar opposite endings.

Overall, I'm glad I stuck it out for the ending (I cried for pages). However, I would not recommend this book easily. With Twilight and a handful of my other favorite books, I'll quickly say, "you have to read this book," no matter who I'm speaking to. However, I honestly think that whether you will read and enjoy this book depends more on your personality. For instance - Do you give up if you don't like a book within the first few chapters? You may not be able to get throuh this book. Are you hard-headed and refuse to give up on a book until you finish it? You may get through the book but be so frustrated that you fail to enjoy the book. Are you patient, don't mind being confused occassionally, have a lot of time on your hands, and/or like science fiction with a touch of romance? This book may be for you.


While there is certainly no more "inappropriateness" in this book than there was in Breaking Dawn, because of its sheer size, I would recommend this for adults or older young adults. Actually, scratch that. Like I said before, it completely depends on their willingness to read and personality as mentioned above.

If you have opinions on this book, I'd love to hear them. I am really quite interested in hearing opinions about the two possible endings of the book.

Amazon does not have a recommended age on this product, which from my short experience I believe means it would be considered a higher level than most Young Adult books.

My Rating:

Unshelved - Disneyland

You may have noticed in my About Me that I say I LOVE Disney. This is not an understatement. Most people would probably consider it an obsession. I have yet to find a human who can beat me at Disney SceneIt, and I've known for quite some time that I have to call 407-WDW-DINE at 7 AM on May 22nd to make dinner reservations for the evening of August 20th at Cinderella's Castle in Walt Disney World (not to be confused with Disneyland mentioned below) for my two-year anniversary. So when my co-worker showed me this little comic strip from Unshelved, I knew it had to go up on my blog.

I spent my 21st birthday at Disney World. My best friend, who had never been before, came with me and we both brought our boyfriends. We were only going up for the day, so I gave her two options - we could do one park for the whole day and see everything and ride every ride in the park, or we could go to all four parks and only ride the main attractions. She chose door number two. Needless to say, we couldn't have looked more like the Mickey-eared crowd in the comic above. I LOVE everything about Disney World, but I can now honestly say I've found something I would not recommend. Don't get me wrong, it makes me proud to say that we were able to do it - even with time left over to ride an extra handful of attractions at the Magic Kingdom. How many other people do you know that have done that? But we suffered - my friend's boyfriend and I almost collapsed from heat exhaustion, and everyone was sore for days. I could write a whole post about our schedule for the day, but that's not very library-related. I do suggest reading a guidebook or two or three (or all of them - goodness knows how many I've read, or at the very least skimmed) or having a very experienced [Disney] traveler with you. If you need any tips or random tidbits of information about The World, I'm always here!

Hey, I think I've just inspired myself to (eventually) make a list of recommended Disney resources!

Daily Dose - Weekly Inspiration

It's a holiday, the library is closed, and I'm on the wrong side of the state for me to even be updating my blog, but you didn't think I'd forget about our weekly dose of inspiration, did you?

I couldn't help but include this first picture - my parents took a video of me reading a newspaper on the toilet when I was probably a year older than this.

Storytime Suggestion - Chameleons

This past week our theme for storytime has been reptiles. Out of the books we got from our fabulous Story Collection (resources only available to YS departments in our county's libraries), I liked so many of them that I had to narrow my storytimes down to just chameleons (with "reptile" songs).

Clever Chameleon by Ali Lodge
"In the jungle, one fine day, The creatures all came out to play...
Follow Elephant through the jungle as he searches for his friends in a game of hide-and-seek. All the animals have different ways of hiding and blending in to their natural surroundings, but Chameleon has the cleverest camouflage of them all. He is hidden on every page - see if you can find him too!" (inside jacket flap)


I read this book first because it is the longest. It is written to rhyme, but is not over-the-top. If you plan on incorporating Chameleon hiding on each page, find him first. The most difficult part of using this book during storytime was when I asked the kids if they could find Chameleon, they all wanted to get up and point at the book; with school groups of 20 to 30-some kids, this just doesn't work. I wound up pointing him out for them on most pages, but for a couple pages I was able to ask questions they didn't have to mob the book for (i.e. what animal is the chameleon on?, or who is Elephant squirting?). There are plenty of actions you can have the kids do so they don't get too squirmy and/or bored (i.e. clicking tongue like a parrots beak, standing up as tall as they can, stretching). Kids should enjoy the big and colorful - but not overpowering - illustrations.

Amazon recommends this book for ages 4 - 8.


Leon the Chameleon by Melanie Watt

“Leon the chameleon has a problem. When the other little chameleons turn green, yellow or blue – he turns red, purple or orange! Leon doesn’t turn the opposite color on purpose. He wants to be the same as the other chameleons. Being different makes him feel lonely. Then one day, the little chameleons go exploring and lose their way. Scared and far from home, Leon learns an important lesson. He discovers that what makes him different is also what makes him special.” (inside jacket flap)

I tried to read this book second so I wouldn’t be reading two color-related books in a row. Amazon recommends this book for baby – preschool. This book is very basic when asking the children what color the different chameleons are, but isn’t incredibly short word-wise. When the parents came into the story, I found I had to point them out on each page or else the kids got them confused with the little chameleons. I read this book for all three school groups this week and they all had trouble grasping the concept that the red dot in the distance when the little chameleons get lost is *spoiler* Leon. The pages are all very colorful with very simple illustrations. If you involve the kids by asking them about the colors, it should hold their attention without a problem.

The Icky Sticky Chameleon by Dawn Bentley

“Chameleon, with the help of his icky sticky tongue, “thwoops” through the trees and rivers in search of that special someone. Read and find out how Chameleon finds his new friend!” (back cover)


This book was definitely the most fun to read. In fact, it (“thwoop”ing specifically) got more fun every time I read the book. The chameleon on the cover has oversized googly eyes, and a long, sticky tongue, similar to the sticky hands you can get out of those “egg”–dispensing machines at grocery stores (if anyone knows what I’m talking about and knows the actual name for them, please comment – I’d love to know). Every time the chameleon “THWOOP”ed in the book, I would close it to the front cover, pull the chameleons tongue, and yell “THWOOP!”. (The goofier you look or sound doing this, the more the kids like it.) To go along with the goofy aspect, when I got to the page about chameleons being able to look up and down at the same time, I had the kids first look up, then look down, then I challenged them to try to make one eye look up while the other looked down at the same time. I also gave the kids a chance to be loud in the library by roaring when we got to the lion. With smaller groups of children it would be possible to hold the book and allow them to feel how sticky the tongue is, but I would not recommend this with larger or misbehaved groups, or else your tongue might wind up ripped out. The Icky Sticky Chameleon is written to rhyme and has nice colorful illustrations.

Amazon recommends this book for ages 4 – 8 (after all, it can't be any younger than 4, because the warning on the book's front cover says "Not for children under 3 years"). 

Name Lizzy’s Colors by Dick Punnett

Wow! My first book that doesn’t have a jacket flap or anything on the back cover for me to get my summary from. Here’s my attempt:
Lizzy is a lizard who can change colors to hide from danger, but in this book forgets when she should, without the help of the “audience”. The “audience” must see if they can figure out what color they should tell Lizzy to change to so that she can survive another day.
It might not be as poetic sounding as what might be found already on/in the book, but it’s the truth.

You may have to explain that this book is not as baby-ish as it sounds by the title, and really it isn’t. Even after I explained to one group what they needed to do, they were still confused for the first several pages and decided to yell what color Lizzy already was rather than what color she needed to change to. After the first few pages, they always caught on and were saying the right colors. This book is a good lesson to kids that they don’t necessarily know everything. I was actually surprised they caught on enough to tell Lizzy she needed to change from purple to gray, when the house she’s sitting on really doesn’t look gray. Our copy of the book is older (so much older I can't even find a picture of it online) than the one displayed here, so the pictures are very old looking, but the kids still seemed to enjoy it after they got past the title.

Between the books, I wound up incorporating snakes [in songs]. I used Sally the Swinging Snake off the CD Sally the Swinging Snake, and the Wiggle Song (because snakes like to wiggle - I know it's a stretch) off the Dragon Tales – Dragon Tunes CD. I had also planned on using the wiggle song from the Sally CD with our shaker eggs (hey, snakes lay eggs and wiggle), but two of the groups were too large and with the other one I ran out of time.

I finished all storytimes with the 6.5 minute movie What Can You Do with a Tail Like This?


*[Unfortunately] I will not be counting these books towards the library reading challenge since technically I didn't check them out (at least not on a library card).

Take Another Chance Reading Challenge

You may have been able to tell from my Daily Dose post from yesterday, that I really enjoyed my trip out to Las Vegas last year. What does that have to do with any form of reading challenge, you might ask?

When I first saw the Take Another Chance Challenge, it half appealed to me because of the Roulette wheel, and half did not, because of the title. I don't really like re-reading books if I didn't like them the first time because I feel there are so many more books out there to read that I would enjoy the first go-round. Turns out, this challenge doesn't have to do with re-reading at all. Find Your Next Book Here's 2009 challenge was appropriately (judging by the Vegas/gambling-style buttons/banners) called the Take a Chance Challenge, therefore this year's challenge is called Take Another Chance. Phew, what relief. This challenge now appeals to me because of the totally random ways they get you to discover books for you to read.

I'm a bit late joining the challenge, but here are the rules:

~ The challenge runs throughout all of 2010.
~ There are three participation/"gambling" levels. Midway through the challenge you can decide to change which level you are going for.

• A Small Gamble: Complete 3 out of the 12 challenges
• A Moderate Gamble: Complete 6 out of the 12 challenges
• Gambling it All (I personally feel this should be re-named "All-in"): Complete all 12 of the challenges

~ Each challenge completed will earn at least one entry (more for the more difficult challenges) for the prize drawing (winner's choice from Amazon under $25) at the end of the challenge. If all 12 challenges are completed, you will get 5 extra entries.
~ Books used for other challenges are allowed to cross over to this one.

What are the challenges?

Rather than confuse you to the point of not bothering to give this challenge a chance, I'm just going to redirect you to FYNBH's post. I'll just use the following space for my reading plans:

1. "Read Your Doppelganger" - I guess I'll be reading Casey at the Bat by Ernest Thayer. I spent too long looking through our online catalog and the author section of Children's Books in Print and couldn't come up with much else. I plan on compensating for the length by reading and reviewing two versions.
2. "Blogroll Roulette" - I chose Abby (the) Librarian's blog to pick the...other blog. The blog I have to choose my book from wound up being Interactive Reader, and I've narrowed my choices down to one of the following: A Kiss in Time, The Hunger Games, Deadly Little Secret, Heart of a Shepherd, or Nothing but Ghosts.
3. "100 Best Book" - I don't know what book I'll be reading yet, but I know it will come off the 2009 BBYA list.
4. "Prize Winner Book" - It will wind up being a Caldecott or Newbery winner.
5. "Title Word Count" - Random.org gave me the number 2, so I'll be reading Planet Pregnancy, Forever Changes, or Blue Bloods for this portion of the challenge.
6. "Genre Switch-Up" - I rarely read Science Fiction, so for this one I'll be listening to Stephenie Meyer's The Host.
7. "Break a Prejudice" - I'll definitely be reading something along the lines of The Clique/A-List/Gossip Girls...
8. "Real and Inspired" - I'm going to go with Peter Pan and Peter Pan in Scarlett. (Thanks to one of our shelvers to this awesome suggestion!)
9. "Same Word, Different Book" - Twilight. I'm not sure which two versions yet, but that's my choice word.
10. "Become a Character" - Elisabeth: The Princess Bride. If I have to write as a character, I might as well have the same name as the character.
11. "All in the Family" - Call it cheating if you want - it probably is; but I'm probably going to do a few Curious George books for this (Margaret & H.A.). Unless, of course, someone has a better recommendation of longer books, but still in the J/YA section, or REALLY good adult book.
12. "Author Anthology Pick" - I've pulled the only three anthologies we have in the Children's department, and they are (I'll choose from one): Big Bear's Treasury, My Kingdom for a Horse, and Talking to the Sun.

Because there is a turning back point, I'll say I'm going all-in.
...I mean I'll "gamble it all"...
Wish me luck!

Daily Dose - Weekly Inspiration

I am featuring today's inspirational pictures for very simple reasons (listed below). *I'll probably be featuring more of HIppie_2010_Chick's pictures in future Daily Doses.

 

Because this guy(?) looks like he can fly, and who wouldn't want to do that?

Because I used to take so many beautiful pictures, and I just haven't picked up my camera lately - and I need to.

Because it's corny and I'm a girl who loves her boyfriend.

But mostly because I can only imagine this would be from an M&M store, and I went to the M&M store in Las Vegas and can't wait to go back [to Vegas] in October.

Bloggiesta! - La Meta!

La meta. La linea final. Call it what you want, I don't speak Spanish. Either way, the end of Bloggiesta! is here.

Actually, it's been here, I just haven't had the chance to blog about it yet today.

So, what was I able to accomplish? After about seven hours:

• 
  
  Became a member of Kidlitosphere.
  
  
  
• 
  
  Started Comment Challenge 2010, and I'm actually ahead of schedule! -insert shock here-
  
  
  
• 
  
  Completed the New Years resolutions mini-challenge.
  
  
  
• 
  
  Completed the blog label/tag mini-challenge.
  
  
  
• 
  
  Completed the dead links mini-challenge. (I didn't have any - that was easy)
  
  
  
• 
  
  Completed the back-up-your-blog mini-challenge. I didn't even know this was possible until I saw this challenge, so big thanks to Jackie at Farm Lane Books. Click here to find out how to do this if you are a blogger using either Blogger or Wordpress.
  
  
  
• 
  
  Completed the copyright mini-challenge (though I'm not sure my blog is legally copy-written - if that's even a word).
  
  
  
• 
  
  Joined The Bloggie Cult as a "mentee" (thanks to Kristen's mini-challenge over at Bookworming in the 21st Century).
  
  
  
• 
  
  Posted a couple of reviews.
  
  
  

and last but not least, drumroll, please...:

• 
  
  3 new followers. Woo-hoo! This may not seem like much, but to go from four to seven in one weekend is quite a jump, and gets me really excited! Please help me continue this upward climb.
  
  
  

You can click here to see all of my posts from the Bloggiesta! weekend.

Blog Label Mini-Challenge

I have gone to blogs where the authors have seemingly endless label lists. Beth at Beth Fish Reads has created a mini-challenge for Bloggiesta! to encourage bloggers to clean up or get optimal use out of their label(/tag if you use Wordpress) lists. Beth has a lot of great suggestions in her mini-challenge post - to see these suggestions, or to take part in her mini-challenge, click here.

*As a great motivator she is offering an entry to a giveaway of a "great bookish prize" (separate from the Bloggiesta! prizes) to those who complete this challenge.

If you scan the label list in the sidebar to the left, you can see my labels. They're pretty self-explanatory, and I don't think the list is overwhelming. If you have any suggestions about labels pertaining to my blog, feel free to comment.

2010 New Years Resolutions

Almost every blog I've looked at since New Years has had a post of New Years resolutions. I used to make resolutions for school when I was younger, but for about 10 years I haven't bothered because I've never kept them for more than the first few months - if that. But now, one of the mini-challenges for this weekend's Bloggiesta! is to write a post with your resolutions (which only means more blogs with resolutions on them).  I've decided to make my list of resolutions very small and basic so I can avoid breaking them:

Blog-related resolutions:

• Update my blog MUCH more often than last year. Last year I started my blog in January, had one post in January, one in June, one in September, one in October, then in November and December I finally kept up with my blog. I'm a full time student, have a full time job, and drive to the other side of the state at least two weekends a month, so it certainly won't be Bloggiesta! every weekend, but I want to try to update at the very least once a week.
• Complete the two reading challenges I've signed up for and determine whether or not I'd be able to handle more next year.
• Get 50 followers. (If you're reading this, you can help with this resolution!)
  

Non-blog-related resolutions:

• Clear out my e-mail. 
• Put at least $12,000 in my CD.
• Take a class on effective communication.
• Convince my parents to put up our Christmas village.
• Buy more long-sleeved shirts. The past week and a half have made me realize that even in South Florida, apparently having only five on hand just aren't going to cut it.
  

Not a long list, I know; but it's eight more resolutions than I had before this challenge. We'll see how it goes.

Review (Product) - RobiComb

I have not been asked by anyone or paid to write this "review". I am not a professional actor - paid or unpaid, or anything else you see/hear in the disclaimer of a law firm commercial. I am writing this post for the sole purpose of trying to help those who come into contact with children.

If you or your patrons, children, family, friends, etc. have lice, I'm sorry.

I was graced with the presence of these pesky bugs shortly after starting my job in the Children's department. I had never really been exposed to the risk since I was homeschooled my entire life, but once I started working at the library, oh how I loved my storytimes for school groups, and oh how they loved and hugged (and spread their little critter friends to) me. I freaked out when I first found out I had bugs, but after my initial reaction, I did what you're supposed to do: I went to the store and bought the shampoo  that came with the plastic combs; I washed my hair, cut it to make it easier to go through, then my mom (God love her) helped me go it with the plastic comb; I took all my clothes and sheets to the laundromat and washed everything in the really hot water. Then, every night for a week I washed my hair every night and went through it with the comb. I bled when I combed too hard over an area that apparently had some sort of mole on it, and I got over-emotional and cried a little towards the end of the week thinking the bugs would never go away. Finally, I couldn't stand it any more, and somehow on a drugstore website, I found RobiComb. I went to the store to pick it up and took it home to do my nightly routine; but, this time when my hair dried, I used the RobiComb on it. I will never forget what I said when I turned it on for the first time: "I would jump off someone's head to commit suicide too, if I had to listen to that."

The RobiComb is an electronic comb that requires one AA battery, and when you turn it on it makes an incredibly annoying, high-pitched whining sound. You brush it through (dry) hair and when it runs over a bug, it makes a sound like a bug zapper, and the whining stops. Just use the tiny brush (included) to brush the dead bug out of the comb, and the annoying noise will resume. You continue going through your hair until you can make it all the way around your head without any interruptions, and do this twice a day. Sometimes if you have several loose hairs that get stuck between the teeth it will stop making the whining noise - just inspect the comb carefully to make sure that's all it is, clean off the comb, and continue.

I have really thick hair, and it helped me to completely rid myself of these pesky critters in just a few days, as opposed to the time it was taking with the shampoo (and I still don't know if it ever would have worked without the RobiComb), so I'm convinced it could work for anyone. It was so easy and effective, I even told my boyfriend if I had somehow infested him with lice, I'd get them out of his hair with the RobiComb. It's great to have on hand now, just in case my head ever gets a little itchy and I freak out - it's super easy to check just to be sure. Apparently they make a RobiComb Pro now too, but I can't seem to find any available in the U.S. I haven't used this one, so I can't vouch for it, but it looks like the only difference really is that the teeth of the comb are slightly slanted for easier travel through hair.

My Rating:

Any experiences with either of these wonderful Combs? Please let me know; and I wish you a life lice-free.

Review (Book) - Little Honey Bear and the Smiley Moon by Gillian Lobel

I freely admit, the only reason I picked up this book was because I read a critique on MotherReader's blog informing me that this book was full of glitter. I don't think I've read more than one book that has glitter anywhere besides the cover, and with the popularity of glitter around our library, I knew I had to see what the fuss was about.

"Little Honey Bear and his friends set off to visit the moon, but getting there is more difficult than they thought - until Mother Bear shows them how to find it." (inside jacket flap)

You can tell the author isn't from America, because who in the U.S. uses the word "cross" anymore? If you are going to use this book for storytime, I recommend replacing "cross" with "mad", or some other synonym you know the children will understand. If you are reading the book to your own child, or choose not to substitute a word for "cross", be prepared to define the word. I'm certainly willing to try this book for storytime when we read books about winter in a couple weeks; however, I am a little concerned that all the glitter might distract the kids (especially the girls) and I'll have to hear "oOoOo" every time I turn a page, or "awww" when I get to the few pages that have no glitter. After all, I was disappointed when I turned to a page that didn't have glitter.

It is hard to find a lot to critique about this book. I have mixed feelings about the title - sometimes it sounds normal, sometimes it just doesn't roll off the tongue right; the inside jacket flap is misleading - (*spoiler*) Mother Bear doesn't really show Little Honey Bear and his friends how to find anything; and I can't put my finger on it, but something is off about the alignment of the text - some pages just read very choppy as a result of the line breaks.

Amazon recommends this beautifully illustrated book for ages 4 - 8.

My Rating:

*On a side note, the bear and bunny on the cover look really familiar...does anyone else think they've seen these two (or illustrations very similar to them) before?

Comment Challenge 2010

Do you find that you often promise yourself (or others) that you're going to do a better job of keeping up with the blogs you follow? Or yearn for more followers for your own blog? When I worked for Avon, I was told that it takes 21 days to form a habit. Apparently, MotherReader has heard this also. In celebration of Bloggiesta! she has started a challenge: Comment Challenge 2010. Starting today, and running until January 28th, the challenge is to comment on five blogs a day. Bloggers who post 100 comments during this time will be entered to win a prize package (separate from the Bloggiesta! giveaways). For more information on this challenge, or to sign up, see her blog.

I hope this challenge will bring inspiration and smiles to those who I comment on, and also lead people who have never heard of me (a.k.a. all but five people) to my blog so I can get a few more followers too.

Since I'm fairly certain I'll lose any paper I try to keep track on, and I'm absolutely positive I'd forget the number if I just tried to store it in my head, I'll use this post to keep track of how many comments I've left.

Comments left January 8th - 14th: 27

Comments left January 15th - 21st: 24

Comments left January 22nd - 28th: 49

Bloggiesta!

This is more a blogger resource than a librarian resource, but it was started in KidLitosphere, so that should count for something.

Bloggiesta! is held in January (this weekend, in fact) for bloggers to help set the pace (especially for  those who made it a resolution to blog more) for blogging through the new year. There are mini-challenges* for bloggers to complete that will help decide the direction you want your blog to go in, with brainstorming in general.

*Those who keep track of their progress will be eligible for giveaways.

The mascot of Bloggiesta! is Pedro, which stands for Plan, Edit, Develop, Review, Organize.

To sign up, find out about the mini-challenges, or for more information about Bloggiesta!, go here.

Series Feature - If You...

I've decided to group reviews together by series if I rarely find an entire series I plan on reading and reviewing.

Laura Numeroff's If You Give.../If You Take... books should (if they aren't already - there seems to be some controversy on that) be considered classics in the world of picture books.

If, by chance, you've never read any of these books, the concept in each book is that if you give [an animal] something, (s)he's going to ask for something else, then something else, and eventually wind up back at what you originally gave him. For instance, in If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, you give a mouse a cookie so he asks for a glass of milk, the story continues until eventually he winds up looking at the refrigerator and asking for milk, so, of course, he has to ask for a cookie. I like these books because the stories are easy to remember so you can tell the story in a pinch even if you don't have the book. In all books the illustrations are simple, but still colorful and entertaining.

If You Give a Mouse a Cookie

"he's going to ask for a glass of milk."
I have read this book in 3-5 year old storytimes, and the kids seem to enjoy it and are able to catch on to the concept. One great way I've found to tell this story is to gather the items in the book (cookie, milk carton, straw, napkin, small mirror, nail scissors, small broom, powder box and bandana, small board book, paper and crayons, drawing, pen, and tape) and lay them in front of you as you read the story. Also make sure you get to ask the children what their favorite kind of cookie is.
This is my favorite "If You..." book and is recommended by the publishers for preschool - second grade.

If You Give a Moose a Muffin

"he'll want some jam to go with it."

Another good "If You..." book, but not my favorite.

I haven't used this book during storytime, but I'd definitely be willing to try if we ever do anything moose or muffin-related.

Disclaimer: I would advise that you make sure the children know it is not a good idea to try to paint anything on the wall, or use bedsheets to clean up paint...
The publishers recommend this book for ages 3 - 7, but I'm not sure if this (muffins and jam) would be something the children would be able to make a connection between.

If You Give a Pig a Pancake

"she'll want some syrup to go with it."
Even with the dirty, homesick pig, this is an enjoyable book (though, again, not as good as the mouse/cookie). The only thing I didn't really like is how the pig decides she's homesick and needs to go visit her family, but then she forgets about it to tap dance. 
Again, the publishers recommend this book for ages 3 - 7. However, I have read this book to a group of 4 - 5 year olds, and when we got to the end where she asks for syrup, I asked what they thought she'd ask for to go with it and I got a bunch of random answers - none of which were pancakes, so I don't think they really understood the idea.

If You Take a Mouse to the Movies

"he'll ask you for some popcorn."
*WARNING* depicts mouse in underwear. Hey, I don't know how PC your library might be. Speaking of which, this is a book that references Christmas, so we aren't allowed to use it for any of our programs. For those of you that may still be lucky enough to do programs for Christmas, a great idea would be to use the mouse-making-ornaments portion of the book as a lead in to your own ornament craft. (Though I'd be very wary of letting young children use loose glitter - maybe glitter glue?) Please let me know how it turns out for you if you use(d) this book.
I was a little distracted by the random popcorn-string-gone-missing, but apart from that, it's just another good Numeroff book; recommended for preschool - second grade by the publishers.

If You Take a Mouse to School

"he'll ask you for your lunchbox."
I thought the mouse filling his lunchbox with cookies was adorable. If your kids are familiar with If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, I would definitely recommend pointing this out. There are plenty of other illustrations you can use to ask questions, i.e. Would you really do an experiment like that? or any soccer/basketball/skateboarding question.
While this is another (publisher's recommendation) preschool - second grade book, I can't imagine children under 5 to understand that the mouse must go back to school to get the lunch box. Fortunately, it's very easy for you to ask if they remember where he put the lunchbox to see if that will jog their memory.
I actually thought the ending was quite funny, and if it weren't for the fact that If You Give a Mouse a Cookie is easier to memorize, this one might be my favorite "If You..." story.
*See above review for comment about mouse-in-underwear.*
**I will embarassedly admit that before the end of this blog post, I saw the pencil on the cover and (absentmindedly) tried to brush the pencil off (thinking it was real).

If You Give a Pig a Party

"she's going to ask for some balloons."

This "If You..." book isn't my favorite, but it's not my least favorite either. It's cute (as always), and I like how (unlike in the last Pig book - see above) the issue was resolved and (*spoiler*) the pig did get to have a party at the end.

I thought it was great that Numeroff brought back all of the characters she has used for the party; however, it makes me wonder if If You Give a Moose a Muffin has been her least successful book since the pig and mouse all have multiple books (I know the cat only has one book too, but I'll give the benefit of the doubt and accept that it may be because it has been her most recent book). Seeing the cat from Pig's party get her own book (see below) makes me wonder if the other animals at the party will be written about in the future.

The publisher recommends this book for preschool - second grade. While I haven't read this book during storytime (though we have party week next month, so I'll be sure to try it then), I can see this being one of the more understandable books for all children to make the connection between balloons and parties. If you have any experiences with this book, please share!

If You Give a Cat a Cupcake

"he'll ask for some sprinkles to go with it."
I can't decide how to take the expression on the cat's face when he gets in the water. I am a little puzzled why a cat would get the idea to go in the water at all. I did find it really entertaining that he decides he needs to go to the gym (though I don't understand why, after that workout, he can't row the boat), and I can only imagine what kind of reactions you might get if you asked a group of children to immitate "Karate Cat".
Reading this book during stortime should also (see moose review) come with a few warnings, such as: dumping sprinkles on a cupcake/the floor is a no-no. I haven't tried reading this for a storytime yet, but since I like this series so much, again, I'd love to hear your experience if you've used it.
As always, this book is recommended by the publisher for preschool - second grade.

So, my least favorite? Probably the moose/muffin, because even I can't understand why you would make a connection between muffins and jam. Still, I can't wait to see what animal/activity Numeroff will think up next!

My Rating:

 -