Four weeks in, we had a breakthrough. Every kid sat still for the most of the story. Five weeks was even better. Every kid was doing the actions and most were singing along. Yes there are attention challenges, but with a few tricks I was able to get Storytime back on track. Here’s what I suggest:… Read More The Challenges of Post-COVID Storytimes
The Project by Courtney Summers (February 2, 2021) Aspiring journalist and nineteen-year-old Lo works as an assistant for a prestigious news outlet. She’ll never be more than an assistant… Unless she manages to scoop an exclusive expose. When she witnesses a gruesome suicide connected to The Unity Project, she becomes pulled back into a world… Read More Two YA Books to Watch For in 2021: The Project and You Have a Match
When COVID-19 hit, librarians around the world started offering virtual storytimes: some prerecorded, and some live. Many of us who opted for prerecorded have now shifted to live virtual storytimes, due to having less time to edit, changes in publisher copyright allowances, or because our website now has a full roster of storytime videos and… Read More How to Make Your Live Virtual Storytimes Sparkle
Any children’s librarian can attest: one of the most common questions we get is “My kid loved Dog Man. What else can they read?” Dog Man is a wildly popular graphic novel series for ages 6 – 10, and if you’ve ever read it, you know why. They are full of silliness, adventure, and character… Read More What to Read Next: Books Like Dog Man
Virtual Storytimes are hugely popular right now, and for good reason. But a lot of librarians are new to video creation and don’t know where to start. Through trial and error, and some research, I’ve put together this list of best practices. Please leave your ideas and resources in the comments! The greatest challenge of… Read More Tips for Recording Virtual Storytimes due to COVID-19
Does Dog Man’s popularity have no end? Are there even kids out there who have yet to become fans?! That’s what it feels like everyday at the library when we can’t keep the books on the shelves, and kids are bubbling away talking about their favourite characters, and the best flip-animation pages. Naturally, I decided… Read More Dog Man Library Program Outline
Are you more of a brave Dog Man type? A creative, class-clown Harold? Sweet Li’l Petey? Or a sneaky, villinous Petey?! This personality quiz is the perfect activity for a Dog Man fan club, book launch, or party event at the library. In a few weeks I will be running a Dog Man Mania event.… Read More Which Dog Man Character Are You Personality Quiz
Be Not Far From Me by Mindy McGinnis For me, this was a passionate one day read. I couldn’t wait to reach the end. It reads like a detailed fever dream. I was at once racing to finish, savoring every word, and scared to turn the page! Ashley is our teenage main character. Raised by… Read More My 2020 YA ARC Reviews: Be Not Far From Me, All Your Twisted Secrets, and Tweet Cute
Looking for a cozy, non-Christmas winter bulletin board display, with a sprinkle of audience participation? Look no further than my new Spot The Difference Snowpeople Display! If you follow me on Instagram, ontarianlibrarian, you already know that I am in love with the Cricut Explore Air 2 machine at my desk! I’m in change of… Read More Spot the Difference Snowpeople Display
Oh gentrification. The inevitable machine, the mysterious monster, the impossible crawl. A lot of the time when powerful people talk about gentrification, it sounds the same. Repackaged spooky vagueness, either diminishing the issue or shifting the focus. Variations of “there are so many factors at play it’s impossible to pin down,” or “it’s an issue… Read More Libraries and Gentrification
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