Ms. Nancy's Library & Technology Blog

“Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.” — George Bernard Shaw, writer, Nobel laureate (1856-1950)

Reading:

“Tales of Ancient Greece” (Enid Blyton)

“Smitten: A Kitten’s Guide to Happiness” (Rachael Hale)

“I Will Never Not Ever Eat a Tomato” (Lauren Child)

“Good Morning, Gorillas” (Magic Tree House #26, Mary Pope Osborne. The series is up to #42 now — “A Good Night for Ghosts” was just released, along with “Ghosts,” Magic Tree House Research Guide #20.)

Did you notice that you can search for things on this blog? (Hint: It’s the little box there, just to the right.) I just searched for something. I was looking for a poem. Couldn’t remember if I had run it before or not. I know now that it hasn’t run yet because the search engine said (and I’m quoting here):

“Welp, we couldn’t find that…try again?”

Don’t work so hard, all of you Internetties. Let the computer do it for you. Here is the poem:

“so much depends
upon

— William Carlos Williams

Have a lovely week.

Best,

Ms. Nancy

Download audio or listen here:

Hello, my name is Ms. Nancy and I am a book geek. I like reading books, talking about books, reviewing books, hearing about what books my students, their families and others are reading. I love books and I hope you love books, too. I’m starting a new feature here — podcasting! It will be something like the reviews they do on Reading Rainbow. (“But you don’t have to take my word for it,” LeVar Burton tells viewers before the kids give their “booktalks.”) The show stopped airing re-runs on PBS on August 28, 2009? I am not happy about this. When they were younger, my kids and I enjoyed watching the show, notebook and pen in hand to scribble down titles of books we’d like to check out. They were on the air for 26 years. The good news is you can still find Reading Rainbow booklists online, and the books are stickered at the library and bookstores, so be sure to look for them.

The show faced a lot of teasing for using television to try to get children to read. “Shouldn’t they just be reading instead of watching TV?” people asked. But you know what? “Reading Rainbow” worked. The show got children — and their parents, including me, reading, reading and reading some more.

I use the Internet and this blog for the same reason — whatever it takes to get kids reading is good by me. Every week I will try to review at least three different books, for three different reading levels. For this week, I’ve chosen author and illustrator Jon J. Muth, author Mildred D. Taylor, and author Brian Selznick.

Jon J. Muth has illustrated books for authors Karen Hesse and Eric Kimmel, and has also written and illustrated award-winning comic books that have been published in both Japan and the United States. (Just fyi, fancy comic books are now called “graphic novels” and you can look for large sections devoted entirely to the art in bookstores and libraries.) One of my favorite books by Muth is “Stone Soup,” which tells the story of three monks and their journey along a mountain road. The story has its traditional roots in European folklore. Another favorite of mine by the same author is “Zen Shorts,” about the Zen philosophy of Stillwater, a giant panda. The author uses lovely watercolor and ink in his art. I recommend these books for my little and big students — the art is inspiring and gives us lots of ideas for our own drawings and paintings, and the stories are inspirational, too.

My husband, kids and I are reading a graphic novel that we just love. This one is appropriate for all ages of readers, too. (Warning: The book contains the death of a parent, which may upset some younger readers.) It won the Caldecott Medal for 2008 and is called “The Invention of Hugo Cabret” and was written by Brian Selznick. It tells the story of young clock keeper, thief and inventor Hugo. His father is dead, his uncle and guardian has disappeared, and he has a goal. It’s a goal that he thinks will kill him if he can’t achieve it. What is he working on? Will he succeed? This book is fantastic, suspenseful, well-written and illustrated. Give it a read.

My favorite book that I’m reading this week is called “Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry.” This is a famous book by author Mildred D. Taylor. It was written in 1976 and won the Newbery Medal in 1977. It’s set in 1933 Mississippi during the Depression, and is best geared for mature readers grades six and up.

This poignant and evocative book is one of the best works of fiction I’ve ever read. The Logan family, the central characters of the novel, also appear in the books “Song of the Trees” and “Let the Circle Be Unbroken.” The Logans are fighting for their dignity, their family, their lives, and their 400 acres of land during a time when the KKK and the night riders are making their ugly presence known in the Southern United States.

It would be nice to say that those days in America, the racial strife and violence, are long gone. We live in what is far from being a perfect world. To paraphrase one of the characters, Mr. Morrison, make yourself remember the past. Make sure you do what you can to try to make things better. Stay educated.

Reserve your books (and DVDs and music CDs) from your local library, check them out at your school if you are a student, and keep reading! I go to the library once or twice weekly, buy books new and used, and borrow what I can from friends and family. Just don’t forget to take those books back to the library when you’re done!

That’s all for this week.

Best,

Ms. Nancy

…then you’ll love this video. Even if you haven’t read Brian Selznick’s marvelous book, you just might love this, anyway.

The narration is in French. No matter. If I find one in English I will post it. If you find other links you would like me to post here, please leave a note in comments.

Thank you!

Best,

Ms. Nancy,
Library Assistant at Large

“Words, like nature, half reveal and half conceal the soul within.” —Alfred, Lord Tennyson, poet (1809-1892)

“Only the educated are free.” — Epictetus, philosopher (c. 60-120)

A better question would be: What are we not reading at my house this week? The list might be shorter. I have always been in the habit of reading between three to five books at a time. If I find a book that I really love, I read it straight through and ignore the other books, picking them up again once I’m through with that particular book. Since I’ve started working in a library, though, you can find me reading between seven and TEN books at a time. I like to know what my students are reading — or not reading, as the case may be.

My children and husband all have the same habit and read several books at a time. My daughter just re-read the entire Harry Potter series, because she liked it so much the first time through. There are lots of little details you don’t catch the first go-round that you do the second. (And a private note to those of you who say you’ve read the whole series — then later on I find out you actually only read the first book, “But I’ve seen the movies!” To you I say: It is not the same. Read the books. The books are a whole different animal than the movies. And we have plenty of copies of HP on the shelves.) (My personal favorites are five, six and seven. Yours might be different volumes — you’ll have to see.)

(Looking forward to seeing everyone this week, by the way…)

And now, for The List. Some of these are grown-up books your parents might enjoy:

1. What Have You Lost? by Naomi Shihab Nye
2. The Invention of Hugo Cabret, by Brian Selznick
3. Life as We Knew It, by Susan Beth Pfeffer
4. Gift from the Sea, by Anne Morrow Lindbergh
5. Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, by Mildred D. Taylor
6. Becoming Naomi Leon, by Pam Munoz Ryan
7. any cookbook we can get our hands on, including The Joy of Cooking, by Marion Rombauer, and Mastering the Art of French Cooking, by Julia Child, et al.
8. Sensible Hare and the Case of the Carrots, by Daren King
9. Where the Lilies Bloom, by Vera and Bill Cleaver
10. From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, by E.L. Kongisburg
11. Mirror, Mirror on the Wall: The Diary of Bess Brennan, The Perkins School for the Blind (part of the Dear America series), by Barry Denenberg

See? I told you that list was crazy. There are even a few titles I’m forgetting as I type this up. I will link to lots and lots of different types of websites from this blog: radio interviews, author websites, study guides, Wikipedia entries… there is so much out there to learn about books and their authors. Have fun exploring. Please remember — there is no one book that is right for everyone. We all have our different tastes and interests. If something doesn’t move you, move along and find a different title.

If you can’t find these on our bookshelves, you or your parents can reserve them from Multnomah County Library, or save your money and buy copies at the bookstore. I like hand-me-down books just as well as brand-new — find a friend to swap with! Or buy used, either at a secondhand bookstore or online. Make sure you ask your parents’ or guardians’ permission first, please, before you start shopping.

I cannot say that I can recommend reading books the way my family does. It’s too easy that way to not give a book a chance. Some books start out slowly and build, some books are not what they appear to be, and then again, there is one of my favorite expressions: You can’t judge a book by its cover.

However, since I read and review books for a living, it’s a little different for me. I guess my family has just picked up on my habits. Or perhaps it’s in the blood — my mom and sister are usually reading at least three or four titles at once. All of my grandparents loved to read. So happy reading, yes? I wish you Happy Reading, always!

Best,

Ms. Nancy

Dear kiddos,

Have you been wondering where in the world is Mrs. Rawley? In our library is where! I’ve been getting the books ready for you, for when you start back to school next week, woo-hoo………

I am excited for school to start, how about you? In the meantime, have fun with these last few days of summer, run by the Multnomah County Library if you can, and check out Stacks Online, the web catalog for Portland Public Schools. I think you’ll like it — our library staff worked hard this summer to update it and it looks just great.

See you next week!

Best,

Ms. Nancy

New to our library: “Beverly Billingsly Takes the Cake,” by Alexander Stadler

The Beverly series continues with this funny picture book. Beverly has been invited to Oliver’s birthday party. What should she take him for a gift? She knows that the most important part of any party is the cake. That will be her present!

The author dedicated this book to his mother, who always told him, “Make it a flower.”

This recipe is especially nice for this time of year, with all of the fresh peaches and nectarines in the markets.

Beverly Billingsly’s Busy Day Cake

* Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
* Sift together 1 3/4 cups of flour and 1 cup of sugar into a large bowl.
* Add:
1/2 cup of softened butter
2 eggs
1/2 cup of milk
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 3/4 teaspoons of baking powder
1 teaspoon of vanilla
* Beat ingredients for three minutes.
* Pour batter into a well-greased 9 x 13 inch pan and bake for about 30 minutes (until you can poke the cake with a toothpick and it comes out clean).
* Ice with chocolate frosting or dulce de leche, or dust with powdered sugar, or serve with strawberries or peaches, or just eat plain.

Ovens are hot!
Remember to always bake with a grown-up.

And with that, I will tell you bon appetit, and happy reading!

Best,

Ms. Nancy

“Libraries will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of no libraries.”