Visiting with an Author

When I was a practicing librarian and when I was on the state board for librarians, I had the opportunity to meet and greet many authors. One of my fondest memories was meeting Jerry Palotta. He was our guest author at the special Saturday luncheon. Now it has been more moons than I can count since I was in charge of any of those events but the memories are very fond! So it was with great anticipation I left my little town for Elizabeth City, NC( another quaint little town) to meet Mary Alice Monroe. She was on a 30 city tour to greet readers(mostly fans)  of all ages. Elizabeth City was as close as she was going to get to me so I made plans to go. Now my excitement was heightened because I had planned a trip last year to see her but that trip crashed and burned before the special date was close enough to pack my clothes!  We met her in an incredibly cute book store chock full of book lovers. The owner and her staff were straight out of movie, oh, you know the one I am thinking of!  The owner greeted us and treated us like we were entering her very own home. And then she said it! She said Mary Alice is already here, come and see. Oh my gosh, I was so excited I couldn't go over there. Crazy, I know.  I made motions to get my seat and get myself settled and acclimated just to calm down. Then someone said and her sister is here, too. Of course she was. I knew from the MAM Facebook page they were traveling together. The joke from MAM several times was that they were THELMA and LOUISE.  This was so funny to me. And special in many ways. So off I went to strike up a very enjoyable conversation with her. I pulled up a chair and we chatted like old buddies. Finally, I told her that I had been on the advance review team. She shuttled me away saying Mary Alice is going to want to meet you! It was at least two hours before I was able to tell Mary Alice who I was, at least who I was in her world.  Before I tell you about that, I do want to share how royally we were treated by the owner. A lunch handmade by the owner and the staff was delicious and perfect for the setting! I just felt heavenly and if I was a writer like Mary Alice Monroe I would have the right descriptors but I just do not. It was all so gracious and South Carolinian, though clearly we were in North Carolina, almost to Virginia.  Now I am not taking anything away from our Southern Heritage at all but you all know it isn't really the SOUTH! I feel like Pat Conroy might agree as well.  I love Virginia so much, but we missed out on some of the most endearing Southern traditions. Anyway, I shopped, I ate, and then enjoyed Mary Alice's presentation. She read to us, she made us laugh, and she heightened our awareness of some sweet creatures she has researched to include in her books. I had a great time and took a few pictures to punctuate our fun.
Do you remember I mentioned getting back to how I told MAM about me? Each guest received a number in order to reserve our place in line for autographs! I felt like some kind of groupie. Of course, I guess if one drives hours to see an author you ARE a groupie.  I actually missed my spot but a very nice lady told me I could squeeze in and then it was time. The book store owner had MAM seated at this AHHHMAZING ladies' desk. The whole picture was out of a novel or something. :>) So she takes my book and I squat down on the floor a bit so I wasn't towering over her and more eye to eye. As I said she takes my book and looks at me to begin her autograph. I say my name slowly and then I say..... I am an artist. Oh she says. Then can you draw a dolphin? Oh, gosh, how will I make her understand. So I repeat with emphasis, I am an ARTist! Ohhhhh, you are an ARTist! She jumps up and hugs me and is so excited.  In her closed fb page she calls her advanced reading team, HER ARTists.  Now the reason it didn't ring a bell for her right away is because unbeknownst to me, she had asked if anyone was an artist and could draw a dolphin for her on the desk where she was sitting. All authors who visit the bookstore autograph the table for the owner! Too cute, huh? So her mind was on that little dolphin pic she hoped to score and mine was on the ART team! We had a great visit after that and since the bookstore had cleared out, I was able to hang around for a bit and just enjoy her company in a relaxed atmosphere.  So there's my story of another very memorable author visit.  I was one of only two people who had already read her latest book, SUMMER WIND. I felt a wee bit special just like the memories I made that day!

Where Oh Where Have You Been?

That is the million dollar question! I got so caught up with family and work I just forgot about my blog readers! I am so sorry! My goal is to come back to talkin' about library stuff but to expand to book stuff as well. The inspiration for this expansion comes to me from an author visit. Now normally my comments would be about books for students due to the fact I have been working with children in one way or another for over 35 years. I am in a new phase and adult books are a huge part of that new phase so I hope you will continue to hang with me as I discover more about my new found love-grownup books ( had to find a better term than adult reading-sounds a little risqué)!

WOW Websites

I have just recently acquired the job of editing the LUCY website for our IMLS Grant. Some of the tasks are soooo easy and others are quite the challenge. I blame the software whenever I can. It is something the college uses and so, understandbly, it has a lot of rules! Limiting the size is a rule. File name rules abound! I went to a workshop and am actually signed up to take it again so I can improve my speed, if nothing else. Anyway, I say all this to let you know I know a little about website design. Great websites don't just appear overnight so when I was gathering websites to show my library science students, it occurred to me, you might be interested as well. Buffy Hamilton calls her blog "The Unquiet Librarian" which is chock full of engaging informational writing, but I was most excited about her Destiny website which is linked to her blog. http://theunquietlibrarian.wordpress.com/ Here is the library's Destiny page http://mediacenter.cherokee.k12.ga.us/quest/servlet/presentquestform.do?site=128 For my non-librarian readers, Destiny is the latest online catalog many districts are upgrading to. The opening webpage can be tweaked by the staff so when I saw the one from Creekview High School, I knew they had spent alot of time on the design. They did this for the students not for themselves. Engaging online catalogs will draw students to that resource. Please check out this website. If you do a search for Unquiet Librarian, you get a lot of hits. She has the blog, wiki, facebook, her library weebsite, etc. A great online presence. Of course, I always share Joyce Valenza's library website with library students. This website is such a role model for what we should be providing for students online. Love it! And I believe kids can move around on the site. Would your kids be able to do this? I found another site which is designed to help librarians, http://www.learnnc.org/lp/pages/969, and lo and behold, they reference Joyce's library site, but not always in complimentary terms. What do you think??? Will post some other examples soon.

Library class

Just got home from teaching my library class tonight. Great group and we, I think, had fun looking at the different aspects of evaluating reference resources! I did make homemade pumpkin bread for them so that probably helped some. One of the things they have to do is write an annotated bibliography of some of the resources. I did another LUCY advertisement!!! I told them about our wonderful free annotated bibliography. Just call me shameless. (Next week I will share with them the LUCY conference information. I will be emailing registration forms out next week so the timing is perfect. They could be my test group.) For those of you who are now librarians, but used to be one of my library students, you will be interested to know we are doing a lot more with online searching. I think this is incredibly important if we are to remain as vitally important as we are right now. Funny, it always comes back to public perception! Thanks!

LUCY Update

Hi, I am going to borrow my blog to talk about our LUCY conference again. For those of you who are not part of the LUCY facebook or LUCY twitter, here's another way to update. Many of us on the Advisory Board were thrilled to find The Red Umbrella last summer Thrilled also that the publisher saw fit to share this book with us. Anyway, we all loved it. We followed up and invited Christina Diaz Gonzalez to our conference. She said YES! I am so looking forward to this conference. Last Friday I had a wonderful chat with one of our authors, Cheryl Hudson. Her publisher also sent a book to LUCY. " My Friend, Maya" had a bit of surprise ending which is great for kids. Such a beautiful book! Janet Wong, another of our authors, has been delightful to work with. A gardenia lover, we have enjoyed some fun exchanges. Lastly, we not the least of our visiting authors by any means, is Jacqueline Jules. We are most grateful to her publisher as well. We now have several different copies in our LRC. One of her books was also one of my review books for Linworth, "Duck for Turkey Day ". I have to admit, the first time I read it, I was not as familiar with multicultural literature as I am now so my review would concentrate on that aspect more now. I hope you will all register for our conference. We will have book signings for you. Bedford Falls has agreed to secure the books we are eligible to sell. This is very exciting!!

Huck Finn

Everyone knows the kind of boy Huck was. So why are folks surprised at his colorful and sometimes inappropriate language, both in his time and ours? I read there is a publisher who is planning/has planned/has executed, just can't remember, to take out some of Huck's words. What do you think about that? Would Mark Twain be rolling over now or what? Or perhaps he would say go for it? What about you? What do you say? Are your students offended when they see inappropriate language in old books, classic or not? Can we change the culture we lived in by rewriting books??? Can't we look at it as look how far away from that we are now??? I want you opinion!

LUCY Conference Day

Almost everyone is talking about new beginnings right now. I guess January does that to us, along with spring time! January is a very motivating month for me. Once I get the house back together I feel such a sense of accomplishment which just rolls over to the rest of my life (note two posts very close together!). In January the entire year is out in front of you just for taking! I see some interesting things on the horizon and thought you might like to hear about them. This month is chock full of short trips. My husband, an avid UVA sports fan, and I met some friends for dinner and a game in Charlottesville last weekend. She and I will be taking an artisan bread making class later this month! Now that really is something to look forward to. Also this month I have TWO overnight trips to Williamsburg. One with friends and one for my 33rd wedding anniversary! Feb. is a little sparse, but in March I will be presenting at VSRA with a dear friend. The big deal for me this year is in August when LUCY is having a one day multicultural conference and as grant manager, I will be putting it together with our team. The author of Red Umbrella will be one of speakers. Christina Gonzalez's first novel is getting a lot of press and has shown up on numerous Top 10 lists! I am very excited. Tomorrow I will share some of the other authors who will be with us.
Take a minute and look at 2011 and all the blessings that are on your horizon!

ereaders

I am so excited! My husband gave me a Nook for Christmas. Before you get too excited,know that I had it on my list. He was really convinced Nook was the way to go. Those Kindle commercials were looking very good to him. The Nook Color can't be beat though for my purposes. The trusty librarians at LM NET had a great discussion which also helped me make my decision. Did any of you get an ereader for Christmas? I have downloaded several free books( Mostly Jane Austin stuff) and multiple sample books as well as a 14 day trial of Woman's Health magazine at a mere $1.19 an issue delivered right to my Nook! the web access is way fun as well. Lastly, I love my downloaded cookbooks! I have bookmarked several recipes which come right up. Technology-- so fun!

I'm Back!

To all of you who are willing to sit through and read my blog, I apologize! Life just got caught up with me and I am been like a long tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs. ( I just love that expression!). One of the things I have been doing is working my part time job. And that is what has brought me back ot my blog. We need your help. We have an awesome bibliography and a wonderful schedule of workshops but no one, I mean no ONE, is coming. What do you think we can do to get the word out? I am sure part of it is staff dev. monies have dried up. To combat that we offered free workshops. Still we are having a hard time getting the word out. Is no one interested in multicultural items??? Please let us know. You can follow us on facebook or on twitter!

Summer is almost here!

I have been reading alot of children and young adult books, but I have a problem! I am presenting my titles during a webinar this month. My dilemna is obvious. If I share all my books here, then you won't be excited or engaged about the books I share on the webinar. So I decided to talk about summer reading. Most folks think beach, backyard, good book, (though I do my best reading in January and February when I can't go outside at all AND it gets dark early. When it stays light I do not settle down till late!) So anyway, here is a list of books I hope to get to this summer! I hope you will share some of your summer reading ideas with me.
I have already started NO TIME TO WAVE GOODBYE by Jacquelyn Mitchard. I know that rings a bell. This book is the sequel to DEEP END OF THE OCEAN. This is proving to be a very unique mystery with all the characters from the first book.
My dear friend, Carol, gave me a B& N gc for my birthday and I also bought THE MAN WHO LOVED PRIDE AND PREJUDICE. I have been in a Jane Austin period lately so this caught my eye. It is set in modern times using a bit of Austin thrown into the love affair. I have a couple more but I shall save those for later, thanks for reading!

Funding

Is everyone worried about funding? Funding of every kind. My god-daughter is worried about losing funds for the arts. She works at a college and it will hit their department hard. Two years ago I was worried about book budgets disappearing but now I feel like we need to worry about real, live jobs. Will someone have to be split between libraries? Will be lose money to pay assistants and secretaries? Where will money come from? If you have not responded to the VEMA budget survey, PLEASE do it. Only 111 people have pushed the click here button. I urge you to participate. With the proposed cuts in state budgets, localities are left with little choices. Please post what you are hearing. I am very curious about how other districts are handling the shortage of funding!

Titles for February

Today I want to share three wonderful and touching books you may want to use or recommend during Februay. The first is Abe's Honest Words. When you pick up the book, the cover is incredible, you will never forget it. It is a large picture of Lincoln's face with the American flag in the background. It is a truely beautiful cover. The illustrator is Kadir Nelson, an extremely gifted artist you may have heard of since he has been involved in many great projects ( www.kadirnelson.com ). This book is no different, the artwork is so realistic, lifelike and stunning, it draws me into each page. A picture book by nature, it is much, much more than that. It is a moving account of his life with strong quotations from his speeches or writings on each page. These quotes actually finish the author's thoughts for each segment of his life. A book not to be missed by young or old. The next book is actually a poem written by Langston Hughes entitled The Negro Speaks of Rivers. It is illustrated by E. B. Lewis and it another stunning book. According to Lewis' note in the back of the book, Hughes wrote this amazing poem when he was just 18 years old. Now what a great book to share with high school students to introduce the poetry of Langston Hughes. I hope my secondary friends are not making fun of me when I saw these things. I do believe them with all my heart. I will be visiting with some of my high school LMS friends in March and I plan to have this book with me! We'll see. It was a labor of love for Lewis and it is well worth it for me the reader. Lastly, another picture book. Going North is written by Janice N. Harrington who actually had the experience of going north as a young girl. It could be a very dangerous thing for a Negro family to travel north during segregation and this book with its beautiful yet haunting pictures shares this story in a lyrical verse. You feel the tension in the story as Daddy gets close to running out of gas just trying to find a station welcoming to Negros. Awesome book that really gives students a first hand look at a different aspect to segregation- moving north. That's all folks!

Current Book

Have you all read The Guernsey Literary and Potatoe Peeling Pie Society? Last summer we had some ladies from our neighborhood participate in a book swap. We brought books, did a bit of book talking, ate dessert and chatted. Well, a lady I really like suggested I read the above book. I started it and laid it down for other more pressing book titles as well as work related titles. In December I was in Barnes and Noble with a very old friend ( that is I have known here since I was 19) asked me if I had read it. Of course, I was quick to say I had laid it aside. She said you must finish it. Then last week when Lisa suggested I check out THE LIBRARY THING, I saw this same exact book was on the most reviewed list. I did pick it up again and really have been enjoying it. One of the reviewer said something to the effect, it reminded her of the reason she loved books. bought books, and read books! That is some testimony. The book is about a book group which stated during WWII when their island was occupied by the Germans and the night curfews were very strict. It is a series of letters to a young lady author. It has a bit of mystery, a bit of a love interest and of course, lots about books! Quite a nice read for all you bookie people! Here is the link for their website, http://www.randomhouse.com/rhpg/guernsey/ For those of you who want a picture book title, I just finished reviewing Guinea Pigs Add Up by Margery Cuyler. I just love it! It is a rhyming tale of a teacher who brings a guinea pig in for the new class pet! Excuse my typos today, my glasses are downstairs since the baby just wanted to keep pulling at them.

Happy New Year!

I know I am a little late saying Happy New Year as well as late posting a new year's post but I didn't get the Christmas cards out until 2010 had already started. The good thing about that was folks had a moment or two to look at it. On the other hand I usually send a bunch of cards but not this year nor did I get very many. The ones I got were from family or my young people friends. Well, let's get on with the meat of the matter. I want to share LIBRARY THING with you. Have you used Shelfari? LIBRARY THING is a similar website. It is an online place to store your book titles. Titles of books you plan to read or have read. I am reading or supposed to be reading a great deal of children's books and I am having trouble keeping track of all of them so I can comment on them for different workshops, presentations or Open Houses. One of the young gals I worked with suggested the site she uses. I liked it. It is a bit easier to navigate and has some additional features. Try it and see what you think. I am interested. On the book end I got 8 new books this month to review ( speaking of reviews, did you see I had 6 published in LMC this month?). The Big Swim is due out soon and it is a boy book for upper middle school boys. It is about a boy on his first trip to camp. Very odd story but I think that is because it originates from Canada. I also was sent Glenn Beck's picture version of the Christmas Sweater. This is sweet story and would be a good gift book. The last one I want to mention is called Once Upon a Twice. I love this book and I can see multiple uses for it. It is a rhyming book filled with nonsensical words, like Jabberwocky. The pictures are dark and beautiful to demonstrate the danger of the night. It is a tale of warning to a daring little mouse. This would be a great intro to a creative writing assignment in the upper grades. I love this book! Well, welcome 2010 again. I look forward to posting again this new year.

Coffee Table Books

Do you love coffee table books? I do! Guess why? I love the pictures. When one teaches elementary school too long, their vocabulary goes to pot so maybe that's why I love the pictures so much. Honestly, not all my books on the coffee table, hearth, floor, and end tables are just pictures, but very close! I have three new ones, perhaps you are interested. The first one is Ruin Photographs of a Vanishing America by Brian Vandren Brink. Brink is a much sought after architectual photographer. This book contains pictures of abandoned structures in America. Their beauty is ehanced by Brinks' amazing photography. The beautiful photos, in both black and white and full color photography highlight Brinks' PURE talent in this field. The book is quite large and has some real weight to it, imagine a small atlas and is a historical comment on buildings once so useful and stunning, now lost amongst grass and apathy. On a lighter note, I purchased, at VLA, Golden Legacy by Leonard S. Marcus. This book is the how, when, why anniversary book about Golden Books! I have been collecting old Golden Books for years so this book was an instant purchase! Two hundred forty four pages chock full of history and information about the pheno called Golden Books. It was 1942 and these little books cost 25 cents. I wonder if your favorite one is pictured inside?? Last one for tonight's post is compiled by Anita Silvey who will be one our keynote speakers at VEMA next year. I have been a fan of hers for quite some time and then when I read the title, I knew this book had to be in my personal collection as well. Everything I Need to Know I Learned from a Children's Book. She has interviewed many people, written about them, and used quotes from the interviews to hightlight their favorite children's book. This is lots of fun and I would have shared this with all my teachers when I was an LMS. Anita Silvey is on fb and has a website, www.anitasilvey.com, in case you are interested. Think Christmas gifts today as you finish this post or perhaps your personal Christmas list would be more appropriate. Lots more thoughts to share with your before the holidays kick off. See ya, Roxanne

Latest reads

Hi,
I have some new titles to share with you. I wonder if you have already read them as sometimes I am a bit behind some of you and then again some of you are behind me. Funny, how reading books works out that way. The Letter Writer by Ann Rinaldi was very engaging. It put a human face on the Nat Turner uprising. Told from the perspective of a young lady who was living on a plantation with her dad's ex-wife ( not her mother) she befriends Nat Turner and unwittingly gives him critical information. Rinaldi is an excellent writer and I think this book shows off her talents very well. I also finished Return to Sender. This book also brings a human face to the story, but this story is current realistic fiction. Return to Sender is about illegal migrant workers from Mexico. Several different sides to this story are presented through the eyes of the youngsters who are living this story. Using alternate chapters, the author uses a young farm boy and a young Mexican girl whose family is working his family's farm. His father has suffered a heart attack and is in danger of losing the farm without workers wiling to work the fields. Numerous events occur in this book which strength the relationships between the white family and the migrant workers. This is such a hot topic in the news right now so this book could spark some excellent pro/con discussions. Both these books are from my readings for my multicultural grant work. Both will be part of our workshop at ODU next month. I hope some of you will come over and check out our extensive book collection. ODU is the Southeastern Regional Examination Center so publishers send wonderful books to the Learning Resource Center. I have been very busy reading as many as I can. Next I will share some of the picture book titles with you.

New book

Just a quick post before I leave today , my hair is wet and I have not eaten, but I was convinced I had to create a post. Sharon Creech was in a recent post so when I got my new Booklist magazine, I had to tell you this. There is a full page color ad for The Unfinished Angel written by Sharon Creech. The reading guide is available at the HarperCollins website. Let me know if you read it before I can!

Grab them at the door!

I am a firm believer in great signage, but I believe even more strongly our libraries need awesome displays! Grab their attention right at the front door. Use some basic marketing skills! Every LMS knows if they put it on display it will disappear so let's use what we already know. On Thursday my grandaughter and I walked over to the library near her house. I checked out a book called, A Thousand Days of Magic Dressing Jacqueline Kennedy for the White House by Oleg Cassini. I would never have searched the catalog for that book. I would never have browsed the stacks for that book. I am not sure how I would have even known the book existed, had it not been for a cool display on FASHION. It caught my eye and led me right to this book. As many of us I was fascinated by Jackie since I was a little girl. The book provided several hours of intriguing entertainment for me at a much cheaper price than the local movie! So get out there and create some displays! Make them interesting, colorful and fill them with books (head out to a bookstore if you need some inspiration!).

LOVE THAT BOOK

Did you all read Love That Dog? I know a couple of you did cause Ann T. introduced it to me. I read it to every group I could find. There was one group, eighth graders, I was supposed to read for 15 minutes. Well, they were into the story, you can tell by their faces, right?. Well, the teacher gave me the nod and I read this book and read it till we were done! Had one gal in the back with tears in her eyes. Now that is a good book for you. Later a couple of my teacher friends used it with their students. Well, I just got a hold of Hate That Cat, same author, Sharon Creech. I liked it alot, not AS much as the other one but I enjoyed it. Try it and see if you like it. This book will be in one of the goody baskets I mentioned to you in the last post. Yeah, VEMA. I also finished the audio book, The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austin. It seeks to explain how Jane could develve so well into love when she had never married. Very nice English sounding lady read to me for 8 disks! I couldn't wait to get back into the car! Those of you who know me, know I live way out and so I usually do NOT want to get back in the car. I thought the period details were well done, though I admit I am not an expert at all! Since I liked that one so much, I selected another English book. Will keep you posted!

Conference Time!

I like to be on time! I think other people like me to be on time, too, especially when I am leading a meeting, but I am really wondering whether I can be on time for all my conference responsibilities. It doesn't help that VLA is this month and next month we have VEMA AND AASL. I also think of my workshops as a mini-conference opportunities and I have two of those this fall. Whew, I am beginning to count on my fingers and toes how many gift baskets, free books, give aways, etc. I need. And ppts, I best count those as well. VLA is October 29 and 30th. It will be my first so I hope I can get out of the vendor area and check it out. AASL is the queen of conferences, not to say anything bad about VEMA, VEMA is awesome, but AASL is just huge! Therefore, it is amazing. The vendors bring their very BEST displays, the giveaways are mostly top of the line ( lots of free books, too). Best of all, no plane flight for me this time! AASL is in Charlotte, NC this year. This is a rare bonus for all of us in the mid-Atlantic area! Come join us? Too far you say well then---Who is going to VEMA? I know, I know, it is in Roanoke and money is tight and time off is impossible but I think you really have to work at it. And if this is your only chance at a conference, you really need to go. Our current conference chair has worked hard to be sure Saturday is awesome so how about if you just come for Saturday??? You need to bring back those new, fresh ideas- you can't do it all by yourself- you need staff development. So how about it????? All for now. My next post is about a wonderful audio book I am almost finished with, see you soon.