I love books. I love libraries. I love to look at pictures of libraries. I guess this makes me architecturally envious. Currently I feel like my library is a box. I sketched it out roughly so you can see what I’m working with. In the big open space under nonfiction, there is enough seating for about 60 students [...]

I picked up the phone to chat with Paul Samuelson of Sourcebooks about one of their new books being released in March (Poetry Speaks Who I Am which is for teens). While we chatted, Paul told me about an exciting teen social network that they had established. Since YALSA’s Teen Tech Week is coming soon and I’m trying to help [...]

Sometimes I think I’m not mean enough to be a "librarian." Or maybe its because I work with both students and adults (teachers, parents, administrators) that I believe in civility. Maybe I’m just a prude.  You can decide for yourself.  What brought this on? I am so annoyed with Library Journal’s blog Annoyed Librarian and [...]

We are sharing our favorite nonfiction titles with  Nonfiction Monday here in practically paradise. Nonfiction Monday is a celebration of nonfiction children’s books. Kidlitosphere Bloggers with nonfiction posts will be featured here today. Keep checking back & clicking Read More throughout the day as the links grow. Wild About Nature:  A Place to Go Wild About [...]

Tomorrow we will share our favorite nonfiction titles with  Nonfiction Monday here in practically paradise. Nonfiction Monday is a celebration of nonfiction children’s books. Kidlitosphere Bloggers with nonfiction posts will be featured here. Bloggers will send me links all day long so you still have time to submit your post. Keep checking back & clicking Read [...]

My youngest son is counting down the last ten days til his 18th birthday. I’m finding his dad, Alan, dwells on this pending milestone far more than #4 son as he shared the list of the top ten books he wished #4 son had read to prepare him to be a better man.  In no particular [...]

Nonfiction Monday has a new email list and yahoo group for readers, writers and reviewers of nonfiction books for kids. Begun by Anastasia Suen, we will blog about nonfiction books on Monday, and talk about nonfiction all week long.  The goal of this email group is to connect nonfiction writers and nonfiction bloggers. The intention is [...]

Tip #12: Make sure your kids only read books that are “challenging.” Easy books are a complete waste of time. That goes double for comic books and Mad magazine. Aha! Made you read. I hope you reacted to that statement because it comes from a poster I have in my library called Unlucky Arithmetic: Thirteen Ways to [...]

Roberta Stevens, ALA president-elect, has launched her website:  http://www.robertastevens.com and shared brief information about some of the initiatives of her presidency which begins at the end of the ALA Annual Conference. She has encouraged us to spread the word widely. From her website here is information about the upcoming contest “Why I Need My Library:” At the [...]

Blanche Woolls wrote to members of the Geek Squad recently. Her post had such a powerful impact on me that I wanted to share it with you with her full permission.  Here we are, a list of leaders, and what are we doing versus what should we be doing? In the early 1960s (before most [...]