Skulduggery Pleasant Book 4: it's EARLY!

I've had a waiting list for this book since last April (2009):

It wasn't due out till April 2010, but it arrived at our excellent local independent bookshop early, and they phoned me to let me know (see what I mean by excellent?).  There are several very happy borrowers as a result.

Skulduggery Pleasant book 5 will be out in September 2010 - yes, this is a double Skulduggery year - and Skulduggery Pleasant book 6 a year later, in September 2011 (according to the information at the back of this one).

Cheers

Ruth

PS. I now have a waiting list for Skulduggery Pleasant book 5.  Of course!

PPS. IMDB still shows the Skulduggery Pleasant film as having a 2010 release, but as it's in development, early days by the look of it, I'd not be holding my breath.

GIFSL* 52: computer furniture on the cheap

Our enquiry terminals upstairs were on rather ratty old study carrel tables (the sort with a veneered wooden top, probably graffiti'ed, and a wooden back, ditto, from earlier service elsewhere).  We wanted to spruce, and have something occupying a bit less space.

Ah, you only have to say the words 'library' and 'furniture' in the same sentence, and you're usually looking at significant dollar signs.  Our budget doesn't stretch to significant dollar signs... 

What about two enquiry terminal stands for under $160 in total?  If you think laterally... I was on the hunt for a while for a solution.  And here it is:

Ikea thinks they're kitchen trolleys, but I didn't think they had to be just that... the lower shelf is an easy spot for the thin client terminal to live, there's enough space on the top for monitor, keyboard and mouse, and they are the right height for standing, doing the enquiry and moving on (rather than sitting and hogging).  Sure, you have to self-assemble, but they weren't too hard to do.  We just varnished them (satin, two coats, sanding between each), thinking that while paint might be fun, it was likely to be more susceptible to inadvertent dings.  They don't LOOK like kitchen trolleys (at least, nobody's commented on that), they're sturdy and they do the job just fine and dandy.

Ikea Bekvam kitchen trolleys are $79 each at Ikea in Sydney.  Check your local, as I know Ikea prices can have some regional variation.

Cheers

Ruth

The library is for all the kids

Among the classes coming to the library for wide reading in the last while have been 10E8 and 9E8 - classes composed mostly of boys.  The classes are streamed, so these are classes where I want to put out books that will catch their attention.  Graphic works can be a great way to go.  Some of these kids struggle to learn, others are focused on other things - I've had some great conversations with them about all sorts of topics.  They don't like being patronised, and they don't like books that patronise them either, 'stupid-simple', childish covers, or such.

I put books out for them as I do for all the other visiting wider reading classes, all around the table to give them plenty of choices.  A couple of successes recently:

The Osprey Graphic History series is one (that's the publisher website).  They're thin (never mind the quality, feel the width) and high interest - battles include Iwo Jima, Guadalcanal and several US Civil War ones.  9E8, to whom I showed them first, had some kids who were pleased (and surprised) that when I realised how much they liked  them, I offered to add the remaining titles to the library's collection (we had five of the twelve, as I wanted to see if they would find friends).  10E8 liked them just as much, and were very pleased to know more were coming (collection development and library PR, there).  Several boys who had never borrowed from the library EVER borrowed from this series.  (My excellent local independent bookshop is able to supply these in Australia with no hassles, so check with your local independent bookshop if you're after some).  We had conversations about the planes illustrated (luckily the male teacher of 10E8 knew more than me about planes) and looked to see exactly where Iwo Jima and Guadalcanal were in the atlas (I could do that better than plane identification), but most of all we wanted the classes to engage with books, and most of them did (you can't win them all, but you can keep trying).

One of the charming smart-alecks in 9E8 thought he'd catch me out (or end up with Where's Wally) when he asked for a book 'with no words'.  Ha, buster, I've got YOU sorted...

In this book, about five pages of detailed drawings in, it goes surreal - the man, having packed, arrives in a place where there is a dragon-like tail shadowed on a building... the kid got interested in spite of himself, and spent  a goodly slab of the lesson reading this book.  His mate got kinda interested too, so I gave him this Shaun Tan book:

which he liked; and you can still access, online a pdf of my favourite story from this book, Eric.

The teachers of these (sometimes challenging) classes have been positive about these visits, and the classes will be returning.  Which is great.  The library isn't just for good kids or top classes, it's for all the kids.

Cheers

Ruth

International Women's Day 2010

One of the advantages of banners and bookmarks and signs is that, when Annual Occasions roll around (eg. International Women's Day) you can do Same Song, Next Verse.

So we have our purple/green banners and bookmarks back in action, with women/girls able to sign the banners on Friday lunchtime.  This year's Year 7 students have been reading them over, and students here last year who signed them then have had fun finding their names again.

The signs (love that cornucopia of language about women) are back on the noticeboard.  I meant to do put up some ribbonry or some such, but you know, time has got away.

Our ever-useful bookcase has books about famous/heroic/achieving women, with some pictures of fine Australian women across the top.  This is one of the times when we do one face-out book per 'box' rather than lots for browsing.  Always good to change things around, make them look different, encourage a second look.

For more resources, try the International Women's Day site.

Cheers

Ruth

TGIF.  Gosh I'm tired.  Must be the mad pace of this term so far, the heat and humidity, the way it's felt a tad relentless...some days it feels like you're trying to run in glue, and the goal you're after keeps receding as you scoot from task to task to question to find to help to question to task to phone call to....  So many kids are so terrific - when they tell you about a book they've enjoyed, or you help them understand something that puzzled them, or tell you a story about their life that makes you chuckle, or like yesterday when one boy quite out of the blue got four strikes in a row at sport/tenpin and it was fabulous to see his achievement.  I've got so many great colleagues.  Plenty to be grateful for.  But right now, this morning, it's exhausting rather than invigorating.  TGIF! (Thank goodness it's Friday).

The happy life of teacher librarians: I'm not making this up...

So, Sally*, how goes it?
Fine miss.  A bit tired.
Oh?
Been working in my mum's pie shop.
Good pies?
Really good pies.  Chunks of steak or chicken, she makes them all herself.  Good pasta bakes too.
Sounds yummy.  Is she in a group of shops [she's told me the suburb]?
Oh yes.  Upstairs is a gym, there's a pizza shop and others, and next door is a funeral parlour.  My grandparents own that.
[she grins]
I bet you're over the Sweeney Todd jokes....
Yes, miss [she grins again]

Just another vignette from the happy life of teacher librarians.

Cheers

Ruth
who shamefacedly admits to having lost her appetite for just a moment there...

*which might be her name, but isn't.

GIFSL* no. 52. DIY CD case wall art

From (US) Country Living magazine's look at the Photojojo book, here's an idea to play with.  This link will tell you exactly how to make a collage like the one pictured (and who says it has to be all one photo? and aren't there lots of library-related image possibilities?  oooo yes.). 

The Photojojo site has lots more (free) ideas for playing with photos, and plenty of scope for teacher librarians looking to make their libraries more interesting/engaging/fun.  And once you have your CD cases in place, who says the artwork has to stay the same?

All you need is a little time and some simple items: CD cases, photo paper and cardboard.  Nothing expensive there.

Photos of book covers?  Kids?  Kids reading?  Lots of possibilities...

Cheers

Ruth

*GIFSL good ideas for school libraries

Twilight: the graphic novel (release date)

image from Amazon.com

A long time ago when the world was young, this blog gave you the heads-up on the Twilight graphic novel.  Just when you thought it was safe to go in the water... the release date is mid-March 2010.  Real Soon Now.

Cheers

Ruth

PS I am currently researching sewage treatment for a Year 7 lesson.  Hmmmm.  The elegant life of teacher librarians...