Hello,
I have some Christmas books that are somewhat new to me and I thought I’d share them with you.
Miracle in a Shoebox by Franklin Graham. 1995. (I bought a used copy.)
Our school usually participates in the Operation Christmas Child program by Samaritan’s Purse and a year or so ago, I happened upon a book about the program. The story opens with a young boy who sees a TV commercial about this program and wants to participate and send a shoebox to a child. He gets his family and his Sunday School class involved, too. The story continues with the boxes going to a family that has suffered from the effects of war and the joy that the boxes bring. This book really helps demonstrate how the shoebox program works and how much they mean to the children who really have nothing.
The Christmas Tugboat: How the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree Came to New York City by George Matteson and Adele Ursone. 2012.
The little girl in this story goes with her father who is a tugboat captain in the New York Harbor. Not only does he get to bring the annual Christmas tree to New York, but we also learn a little about the job of a tugboat captain. There is further information at the back of the book, too. After reading this book, go online to look at the current Rockefeller Center Christmas tree.
If you have not gotten enough about the Rockefeller Christmas Tree, here is another story for you.
The Carpenter’s Gift: A Christmas Tale about the Rockefeller Center Tree by David Rubel. 2011.
Henry and his father cut down some trees on their property to sell in Manhattan during the depression. They sell most of their trees and give the last one to some carpenters and construction workers who were kind to them. The tree is decorated. Henry picks up a pinecone that fell from the tree and put it in his pocket. When he got home, he plants the pinecone. The construction workers were so pleased with the gift of the tree that they came out to Henry’s home (a shack) and helped his father build a new home. Meanwhile the tree grows, Henry ages, and one day someone comes and wants Henry’s tree for the Rockefeller Christmas tree. Henry decided to return the joy he has had in his tree all the years and help bring joy to others. In this book we learn a little about the Rockefeller tree plus a little about Habitat for Humanity.
Any of these books would be appropriate for students in all grades.
Have a great week,
Audrey
Tuesday, December 3, 2019
Monday, November 18, 2019
Native American books
Hello,
I must apologize for one thing from last week. I mentioned getting 20% off from Amazon and one of you questioned how I do that. After thinking a short time, I realized that I have Amazon Prime which give me free shipping, not a discount. The local bookstore did give me 20% off, so that must be where I got the idea in my head. I am sorry for any confusion.
This week I want to give you some information I recently received from one of the professors at WWU. She teaches Children’s Literature and found a website from their textbook on Native American literature. It is a blog by Debbie Reese, a Nambe Pueblo Indian and children’s literature specialist. Here’s the link for you. http://americanindiansinchildrensliterature.blogspot.com
I read a number of her blog posts and realized that my picture of Native Americans was very likely not a correct picture and has been colored by what I have seen about Indians in the literature I have read over the years. I have a hard time getting rid of my Thanksgiving books that stereotype Native Americans in feathers, headdresses, skimpy skin clothing, and war paint. On the other hand, I don’t want to be insensitive to the feelings of Native Americans who are insulted by being stereotyped or being called savages.
I went through my library and pulled off a few of the books that Ms. Reese found objectionable and during the next week or so, will continue to check the books I currently use for this holiday. I also ordered a number of the appropriate books on Reese’s lists.
I’m interested in your thoughts on this topic.
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving vacation.
Audrey
I must apologize for one thing from last week. I mentioned getting 20% off from Amazon and one of you questioned how I do that. After thinking a short time, I realized that I have Amazon Prime which give me free shipping, not a discount. The local bookstore did give me 20% off, so that must be where I got the idea in my head. I am sorry for any confusion.
This week I want to give you some information I recently received from one of the professors at WWU. She teaches Children’s Literature and found a website from their textbook on Native American literature. It is a blog by Debbie Reese, a Nambe Pueblo Indian and children’s literature specialist. Here’s the link for you. http://americanindiansinchildrensliterature.blogspot.com
I read a number of her blog posts and realized that my picture of Native Americans was very likely not a correct picture and has been colored by what I have seen about Indians in the literature I have read over the years. I have a hard time getting rid of my Thanksgiving books that stereotype Native Americans in feathers, headdresses, skimpy skin clothing, and war paint. On the other hand, I don’t want to be insensitive to the feelings of Native Americans who are insulted by being stereotyped or being called savages.
I went through my library and pulled off a few of the books that Ms. Reese found objectionable and during the next week or so, will continue to check the books I currently use for this holiday. I also ordered a number of the appropriate books on Reese’s lists.
I’m interested in your thoughts on this topic.
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving vacation.
Audrey
Friday, November 15, 2019
Wish Lists
Hello,
It is nearing the holidays and people are thinking about giving to others. This may be a great time to set up a Wish List for your classroom, classroom library, or school library. I have an Amazon Wish List with books and DVDs I want for the library. If you have a list that parents and church members can access, you are likely to receive things that you really need.
On my Amazon Wish List, I add books that students or teachers request that are not immediate needs, and once or twice a year I place an order. I know exactly what to order since the item is on my list and I have not forgotten anything. I have also printed out my list and taken it to our local bookstore where they offered me the same 20% discount that I could get from Amazon. They placed my order and called me a week or two later when all my books were in.
I was presenting library information to the Children’s Literature class from Walla Walla University yesterday and the professor had a great idea. She thought that setting out a small tree with bare branches and paper ornaments or shapes hanging from it with items you want would be a great year-round ‘wish list’. It could be any kind of tree or a pretend Dr. Seuss-like tree, or whatever works for you. Parents and visitors can see it and take off the paper with the name of the item they will purchase for you. I was at a school that used this idea at conference time. We taped large yellow stars with items on each to our classroom doors. The teacher next to my classroom laughed and put ‘teacher desk’ on one of her stars. One of her parents saw that and gave her a desk. His office was remodeling and she got a great desk. You just never know. I wished I had dreamed larger after finding that out.
Have a great weekend.
Audrey
It is nearing the holidays and people are thinking about giving to others. This may be a great time to set up a Wish List for your classroom, classroom library, or school library. I have an Amazon Wish List with books and DVDs I want for the library. If you have a list that parents and church members can access, you are likely to receive things that you really need.
On my Amazon Wish List, I add books that students or teachers request that are not immediate needs, and once or twice a year I place an order. I know exactly what to order since the item is on my list and I have not forgotten anything. I have also printed out my list and taken it to our local bookstore where they offered me the same 20% discount that I could get from Amazon. They placed my order and called me a week or two later when all my books were in.
I was presenting library information to the Children’s Literature class from Walla Walla University yesterday and the professor had a great idea. She thought that setting out a small tree with bare branches and paper ornaments or shapes hanging from it with items you want would be a great year-round ‘wish list’. It could be any kind of tree or a pretend Dr. Seuss-like tree, or whatever works for you. Parents and visitors can see it and take off the paper with the name of the item they will purchase for you. I was at a school that used this idea at conference time. We taped large yellow stars with items on each to our classroom doors. The teacher next to my classroom laughed and put ‘teacher desk’ on one of her stars. One of her parents saw that and gave her a desk. His office was remodeling and she got a great desk. You just never know. I wished I had dreamed larger after finding that out.
Have a great weekend.
Audrey
Monday, November 4, 2019
Donated Books and More
Hello,
I know that you probably have a similar problem that I have. The problem is when people want to donate their old books to the library. For some reason, it is difficult to throw away books. In our community, we have older people who are downsizing and they want to donate their books to the school. When I get a call or a visit from someone who wants to donate their books, I carefully answer with the following words. (Feel free to practice these two sentences.)
“I’ll be happy to take a look at them and see if there are any that we can use for our library. If we find that we can’t use all of them, would it be OK if we gave them to a classroom or somewhere else, or would you rather have them back?”
Usually they say that it is fine. After they leave, the books are mine and I can do what I want with them. I do look through them and sometimes I find something that we really can use. Sometimes I find a book that I can pass to a classroom that could use it. Many of the donated books go on our ‘give away’ shelf for students or parents to take. Any leftover books find their way to be recycled.
Another way to get books by donation is to create an Amazon Wish List for the school library. I have one and although I haven’t gotten many donations, I have gotten a few. The main thing I do with my wish list is to add books that have been requested and when I place an order, I have a substantial order.
I also have used one of the local bookstores. I’ll print out my Amazon wish list and give it to the bookstore. They order my books for me and give me a discount similar to Amazon’s. This way I am supporting the local economy and getting the same deal as I would through Amazon.
I hope these ideas are helpful to you.
Have a great week,
Audrey
I know that you probably have a similar problem that I have. The problem is when people want to donate their old books to the library. For some reason, it is difficult to throw away books. In our community, we have older people who are downsizing and they want to donate their books to the school. When I get a call or a visit from someone who wants to donate their books, I carefully answer with the following words. (Feel free to practice these two sentences.)
“I’ll be happy to take a look at them and see if there are any that we can use for our library. If we find that we can’t use all of them, would it be OK if we gave them to a classroom or somewhere else, or would you rather have them back?”
Usually they say that it is fine. After they leave, the books are mine and I can do what I want with them. I do look through them and sometimes I find something that we really can use. Sometimes I find a book that I can pass to a classroom that could use it. Many of the donated books go on our ‘give away’ shelf for students or parents to take. Any leftover books find their way to be recycled.
Another way to get books by donation is to create an Amazon Wish List for the school library. I have one and although I haven’t gotten many donations, I have gotten a few. The main thing I do with my wish list is to add books that have been requested and when I place an order, I have a substantial order.
I also have used one of the local bookstores. I’ll print out my Amazon wish list and give it to the bookstore. They order my books for me and give me a discount similar to Amazon’s. This way I am supporting the local economy and getting the same deal as I would through Amazon.
I hope these ideas are helpful to you.
Have a great week,
Audrey
Tuesday, October 22, 2019
Weeding in the 000s
Hello, Teachers,
I’ve been sending you to your libraries to weed and weed some more. I have another short place to weed. The 000s include encyclopedias, atlases, almanacs, and dictionaries plus more, but I’ll keep to the four mentioned.
Encyclopedias: My paper indicates that encyclopedias over 5 years old are outdated. I hesitate to toss them if they are less than 10 years old AND used regularly. However, if your print encyclopedias are seldom used, toss them and use the Britannica Online that is free for our SDA schools through the NAD.
Atlases: Make sure that your atlases are up-to-date and attractive to children. Do you have a good world atlas? What about an atlas of the United States or even a road atlas? There are some really fun and pretty picture atlases you might look at, too.
Almanacs: These also fit in the 5-year range, but I admit that we have some that are quite old that the children still like to look through. You are welcome to follow our lead and keep the items that are actually being used regularly. Usually, discarding the older ones and replacing with newer ones is the better plan.
Dictionaries: In a smaller school, it is likely that the classrooms have classroom sets of dictionaries for the students therefore the library may only need one or two. I would suggest he library get a good unabridged dictionary, and one or two college level dictionaries. I really like the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language. If you want more, consider adding a thesaurus and a rhyming dictionary.
The main word to consider in this section is “outdated”. If your section is outdated, then you really need to update soon.
I hope you have a great week.
Audrey
I’ve been sending you to your libraries to weed and weed some more. I have another short place to weed. The 000s include encyclopedias, atlases, almanacs, and dictionaries plus more, but I’ll keep to the four mentioned.
Encyclopedias: My paper indicates that encyclopedias over 5 years old are outdated. I hesitate to toss them if they are less than 10 years old AND used regularly. However, if your print encyclopedias are seldom used, toss them and use the Britannica Online that is free for our SDA schools through the NAD.
Atlases: Make sure that your atlases are up-to-date and attractive to children. Do you have a good world atlas? What about an atlas of the United States or even a road atlas? There are some really fun and pretty picture atlases you might look at, too.
Almanacs: These also fit in the 5-year range, but I admit that we have some that are quite old that the children still like to look through. You are welcome to follow our lead and keep the items that are actually being used regularly. Usually, discarding the older ones and replacing with newer ones is the better plan.
Dictionaries: In a smaller school, it is likely that the classrooms have classroom sets of dictionaries for the students therefore the library may only need one or two. I would suggest he library get a good unabridged dictionary, and one or two college level dictionaries. I really like the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language. If you want more, consider adding a thesaurus and a rhyming dictionary.
The main word to consider in this section is “outdated”. If your section is outdated, then you really need to update soon.
I hope you have a great week.
Audrey
Tuesday, October 15, 2019
Weeding in the 900s
Hello,
If you weeded out all your “Pluto is the 9th planet” books and find that your 520 section is low, now you know where to put some of your vast library budgets!
Today let’s go to the geography and history section – the 900s. My source says to ‘rotate the purchase of books on countries and states so that no title is older than 5 years.' I sat here thinking that IF I did that, I’d be spending loads of money on books that are only used every other year. The books would be used a very few times before needing to be replaced. That seems wasteful to me.
This is probably not recommended so don’t turn me in to the library police, but I think if you have a book on each state and each country for main information that seldom changes, students can look for updated changes in information on the internet. I think you should check your state and country books to make sure they have nice updated color photos and published within the last 10 – 15 years. Older than that, make sure that the information is good enough and begin replacing them as you can. I say this to you, but I am realizing that I have no idea how old our state and country books are! I’m probably going to be embarrassed.
History books would seem to be relevant forever due to the fact that they are indeed ‘history’ which does not change, right?! My source says to ‘consider demand and accuracy of facts when reviewing histories.’
Watch for books that fit the ‘MUSTIE’ acronym. This stands for Misleading, Ugly, Superseded, Trivial, Irrelevant, (can be found) Elsewhere. ‘Ugly’ also includes missing pages, dirty, and in bad shape. Replace books that are being used regularly but fit this acronym.
Please remember that if a book is important to your school or library, keep it. These are guidelines, not etched in concrete.
I’m now heading to my 900 section to take a look.
Have a great week,
Audrey
If you weeded out all your “Pluto is the 9th planet” books and find that your 520 section is low, now you know where to put some of your vast library budgets!
Today let’s go to the geography and history section – the 900s. My source says to ‘rotate the purchase of books on countries and states so that no title is older than 5 years.' I sat here thinking that IF I did that, I’d be spending loads of money on books that are only used every other year. The books would be used a very few times before needing to be replaced. That seems wasteful to me.
This is probably not recommended so don’t turn me in to the library police, but I think if you have a book on each state and each country for main information that seldom changes, students can look for updated changes in information on the internet. I think you should check your state and country books to make sure they have nice updated color photos and published within the last 10 – 15 years. Older than that, make sure that the information is good enough and begin replacing them as you can. I say this to you, but I am realizing that I have no idea how old our state and country books are! I’m probably going to be embarrassed.
History books would seem to be relevant forever due to the fact that they are indeed ‘history’ which does not change, right?! My source says to ‘consider demand and accuracy of facts when reviewing histories.’
Watch for books that fit the ‘MUSTIE’ acronym. This stands for Misleading, Ugly, Superseded, Trivial, Irrelevant, (can be found) Elsewhere. ‘Ugly’ also includes missing pages, dirty, and in bad shape. Replace books that are being used regularly but fit this acronym.
Please remember that if a book is important to your school or library, keep it. These are guidelines, not etched in concrete.
I’m now heading to my 900 section to take a look.
Have a great week,
Audrey
Friday, October 11, 2019
Weeding in the 520s
Hello, All,
It may be that I am not paying attention, but I got some information this week from the American Library Association about weeding the library. I am really interested in this, because it is hard to know what to weed and what to keep sometimes. One person has simplified the * CREW method for school libraries down to one page. I downloaded it and printed it out. In the Astronomy section she mentioned weeding out all Astronomy books that mention Pluto as a planet. This morning I did just that. I went through the Astronomy books (520s) and pulled each one off the shelf. I checked the published date. If it was earlier than 2004, I put it to be discarded. If it was after 2004, I checked the index and looked at the Pluto pages to see how they were treating Pluto. Some said that Pluto was being considered to not be a planet, but they still included Pluto in the planet list. Tossed. Some said that Pluto was no longer a planet, but a dwarf planet instead. Keep.
If you haven’t done this yet, please do so very soon. If you have already weeded out incorrect Pluto information, why didn’t you tell me to do it too!?
Poor Pluto!
Have a great weekend.
Audrey
• The CREW method is a complete weeding manual for public libraries. I’ve used it to help weed in my library and also when giving advice to you in the past. It is free and you can download it online. https://www.tsl.texas.gov/ld/pubs/crew/index.html
It may be that I am not paying attention, but I got some information this week from the American Library Association about weeding the library. I am really interested in this, because it is hard to know what to weed and what to keep sometimes. One person has simplified the * CREW method for school libraries down to one page. I downloaded it and printed it out. In the Astronomy section she mentioned weeding out all Astronomy books that mention Pluto as a planet. This morning I did just that. I went through the Astronomy books (520s) and pulled each one off the shelf. I checked the published date. If it was earlier than 2004, I put it to be discarded. If it was after 2004, I checked the index and looked at the Pluto pages to see how they were treating Pluto. Some said that Pluto was being considered to not be a planet, but they still included Pluto in the planet list. Tossed. Some said that Pluto was no longer a planet, but a dwarf planet instead. Keep.
If you haven’t done this yet, please do so very soon. If you have already weeded out incorrect Pluto information, why didn’t you tell me to do it too!?
Poor Pluto!
Have a great weekend.
Audrey
• The CREW method is a complete weeding manual for public libraries. I’ve used it to help weed in my library and also when giving advice to you in the past. It is free and you can download it online. https://www.tsl.texas.gov/ld/pubs/crew/index.html
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