This week I survived an earthquake (lots of downed books) and an hurricane (lots of downed small branches.)
My next challenge? I go back to work on Monday. If the library system has regained power.
The earthquake also closed my library branch all last week. They've determined the damage isn't structural (yay!) so they're reopening on Monday, just in time for me to return and help reshelve all the books that fell.
Showing posts with label blather. Show all posts
Showing posts with label blather. Show all posts
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Reading regardless of level
A few months ago, we had a huge conversation (that I largely sat out of due to real life things) about parents obsessed with reading level, and making their kids read above level. It slightly resurfaced with the Twilight discussion and how we feel about kids wanting to read above what we think their content level is.
I just wanted to mention it again, because this morning I had to make a very impassioned plea on behalf of a patron to her mom so she could read some Goosebumps books. I am not a fan of the Goosebumps books, but this girl wanted to read them. Her mother's only objection was that they weren't at the 7th grade reading level.
I'm sharing my winning argument as a reminder to those who push for higher reading levels, and just to share with those who argue for letting people read below level in case you can use it in your daily battles, too. (There is a content argument to be made as well-- just because something has a low lexile score doesn't mean it doesn't contain some rather big ideas, but that's not an argument I can convincingly make about Goosebumps.)
Everyone should always be reading something below level, something above level, and something at level. This mixture is what lets us grow as readers. If we're always challenging ourselves, then reading is always hard and becomes a chore. We need reading that is "too easy" to remind us that reading is fun and enjoyable. Reading above level lets us grow as readers, but reading below level reminds us why we want to.
Adults-- that goes for us, too.
I just wanted to mention it again, because this morning I had to make a very impassioned plea on behalf of a patron to her mom so she could read some Goosebumps books. I am not a fan of the Goosebumps books, but this girl wanted to read them. Her mother's only objection was that they weren't at the 7th grade reading level.
I'm sharing my winning argument as a reminder to those who push for higher reading levels, and just to share with those who argue for letting people read below level in case you can use it in your daily battles, too. (There is a content argument to be made as well-- just because something has a low lexile score doesn't mean it doesn't contain some rather big ideas, but that's not an argument I can convincingly make about Goosebumps.)
Everyone should always be reading something below level, something above level, and something at level. This mixture is what lets us grow as readers. If we're always challenging ourselves, then reading is always hard and becomes a chore. We need reading that is "too easy" to remind us that reading is fun and enjoyable. Reading above level lets us grow as readers, but reading below level reminds us why we want to.
Adults-- that goes for us, too.
Monday, July 06, 2009
Internet Scandal! *yawn*
Two big things have been going around the blogosphere lately, getting everyone riled up.
1. What to do when a 10-year-old wants to read Twilight. There was a post from Shelftalker and Fuse #8 had one too.
This may be not what everyone wants to hear, but...
If you have a patron who comes up and wants to read Twilight, what do you do? You give it to them. (or, more likely, add her name to the holds queue.)
I am not this child's parent. It is not my job, nor my place, nor should it be to, essentially, censor their reading based on what I feel is or is not appropriate. Trust me, I know how much easier said than done this is, but I am not this child's parent.
And, even if I were I would still give it to them. Children aren't dumb. You try to distract them with other books, they're going to figure it out and know that you're hiding it from them, so it's even better than you thought it was before. NOW YOU MUST READ IT! YOU MUST! Distraction backfires.
Also, I must remind myself that my mother let me read whatever I wanted and I know now how much she held her tongue at my reading choices, but thank the heavens she did. I was exposed to some dicey stuff at a young age through books, but! when I then saw such situations in real life? I knew what was going on and I was prepared, because I had dealt with this already in my reading.
I understand the fears that were discussed on Shelftalker, but I don't share them.
1. They are coming to a good book too early and they won't get out of the book what they would if they read it at the right age.
Maybe, but that's the joy of rereading. How do we ever know if now is the right time for a book? There are books I've come back to as an adult that meant so much more to me at this point in my life than they did when I read them the first time around, even if I read them the first time as an adult, just a slightly younger one. Do I wish I hadn't read those books until now? Sometimes, but, would I still be the same person had the book not shaped me somehow in my past? It's impossible to tell when the right time to read a book is for any given person. Just read what feels right at the moment and hope for the best.
An interesting note from my own life: when I was 7-10, my favorite movie was The Last Emperor. Definitely not a movie for my age group, but I don't know how many times I watched it those years. Everytime we went to the video store, I made my parents rent it.
Was it age-appropriate? Not by any stretch of the imagination.
Did I understand what was going on? I thought I did, but not really.
Did I get a lot more out of it when I watched it as an adult? You bet!
Do I wish I had waited to see it? NEVER. I am 100% certain that my desire to study Chinese in college, to study abroad in China, and to now read so much fiction and nonfiction about China (in short, all of my Sinophile tendancies) are because of how much I loved this movie as a kid. I didn't understand the history and change that was happening, but I knew it was there and it was fascinating. So, it was a subject I turned to again and again as I grew older, when I understood it more, and discovered it was even more fascinating than my 7-year-old mind could comprehend.
2. Now that these girls are reading about characters so much older, they won't have patience or the desire to read about children their own age.
This is a stickier one. I mean, we all know that kids like to read up. Elementary school students like reading about middle and high school students, middle school students like reading about high school kids, etc. It's how we help figure out the future. But, if kids read Twilight too soon, will they not have the patience, or do they want to read Twilight because they've already lost that patience. Also, in my observations of reading habits of kids at work, this just doesn't hold out.
I see 10-year-olds check out The Clique (and I cringe when they do, I really do. I told you this was easier said than done!) and Diary of Wimpy Kid and they love both. Especially at this 9-13 year range, readers love the super-old stuff and the stuff their own age. It's an odd time of still a kid, but almost a teenager and trying to find that balance in activities and dress and yes, reading material, too. This is a topic we love to see addressed in well-written coming-of-age novels, but we hate to see if acted out in real life, and I don't know why. (But I have a feeling it's because we, with our hindsight, know how fleeting childhood is, and want kids to hang on to such precious time, but we forget about how, when we were kids, all we wanted to do was be grown up.)
When I was in 5th grade, my two favorite books were Matilda and Remember Me (which is by Christopher Pike and features drinking, murder, and possibly some sex, but definetely lots of older teen situations!) In 6th grade, my favorite authors were Christopher Pike and Katherine Patterson. One was definetely writing for my age group, and one most certainly was not. This is also the time period where I read most of Judy Blume's catalog, both the stuff aimed at my age group (Blubber, Are You There God..., Just As Long As We're Together) and the stuff that certainly wasn't (Wifey, Forever). Reading older books didn't make me lose patience with books about kids my own age, and this is something I see reflected again and again in the reading choices made by the kids I work at.
I understand these fears, but I don't agree with them. I also fully understand the cringe factor in giving a 9 or 10-year-old girl Twilight. I really, really, really do. But, I take a deep breath, hold my tongue, and give them the book.
(But, if a parent were to ask me what I thought about it for their 9-year-old, you better believe I'd tell them exactly what I thought!)
Second, Newsweek had a panel of authors to tell people which books they should be reading in their field of expertise. And the blogosphere and listserves are freaking out because the Children's Lit author was Jenna Bush.
Whatever.
She's a teacher (who used to takes her class to the local library on field trips, even when her dad was president) and has written two books. And, she chose pretty decent titles.
Yes, there are other authors we might have wanted to hear from. But, what authors (besides JK Rowling and Stephenie Meyer and Jenna Bush) have household name recognition in houses that don't have kids? I can't think that my policy wonk friends would all have heard of.
But, more to the point, a semi-fluffy magazine did a fairly fluffy piece? And we're upset because it was... fluffy? yawn.
1. What to do when a 10-year-old wants to read Twilight. There was a post from Shelftalker and Fuse #8 had one too.
This may be not what everyone wants to hear, but...
If you have a patron who comes up and wants to read Twilight, what do you do? You give it to them. (or, more likely, add her name to the holds queue.)
I am not this child's parent. It is not my job, nor my place, nor should it be to, essentially, censor their reading based on what I feel is or is not appropriate. Trust me, I know how much easier said than done this is, but I am not this child's parent.
And, even if I were I would still give it to them. Children aren't dumb. You try to distract them with other books, they're going to figure it out and know that you're hiding it from them, so it's even better than you thought it was before. NOW YOU MUST READ IT! YOU MUST! Distraction backfires.
Also, I must remind myself that my mother let me read whatever I wanted and I know now how much she held her tongue at my reading choices, but thank the heavens she did. I was exposed to some dicey stuff at a young age through books, but! when I then saw such situations in real life? I knew what was going on and I was prepared, because I had dealt with this already in my reading.
I understand the fears that were discussed on Shelftalker, but I don't share them.
1. They are coming to a good book too early and they won't get out of the book what they would if they read it at the right age.
Maybe, but that's the joy of rereading. How do we ever know if now is the right time for a book? There are books I've come back to as an adult that meant so much more to me at this point in my life than they did when I read them the first time around, even if I read them the first time as an adult, just a slightly younger one. Do I wish I hadn't read those books until now? Sometimes, but, would I still be the same person had the book not shaped me somehow in my past? It's impossible to tell when the right time to read a book is for any given person. Just read what feels right at the moment and hope for the best.
An interesting note from my own life: when I was 7-10, my favorite movie was The Last Emperor. Definitely not a movie for my age group, but I don't know how many times I watched it those years. Everytime we went to the video store, I made my parents rent it.
Was it age-appropriate? Not by any stretch of the imagination.
Did I understand what was going on? I thought I did, but not really.
Did I get a lot more out of it when I watched it as an adult? You bet!
Do I wish I had waited to see it? NEVER. I am 100% certain that my desire to study Chinese in college, to study abroad in China, and to now read so much fiction and nonfiction about China (in short, all of my Sinophile tendancies) are because of how much I loved this movie as a kid. I didn't understand the history and change that was happening, but I knew it was there and it was fascinating. So, it was a subject I turned to again and again as I grew older, when I understood it more, and discovered it was even more fascinating than my 7-year-old mind could comprehend.
2. Now that these girls are reading about characters so much older, they won't have patience or the desire to read about children their own age.
This is a stickier one. I mean, we all know that kids like to read up. Elementary school students like reading about middle and high school students, middle school students like reading about high school kids, etc. It's how we help figure out the future. But, if kids read Twilight too soon, will they not have the patience, or do they want to read Twilight because they've already lost that patience. Also, in my observations of reading habits of kids at work, this just doesn't hold out.
I see 10-year-olds check out The Clique (and I cringe when they do, I really do. I told you this was easier said than done!) and Diary of Wimpy Kid and they love both. Especially at this 9-13 year range, readers love the super-old stuff and the stuff their own age. It's an odd time of still a kid, but almost a teenager and trying to find that balance in activities and dress and yes, reading material, too. This is a topic we love to see addressed in well-written coming-of-age novels, but we hate to see if acted out in real life, and I don't know why. (But I have a feeling it's because we, with our hindsight, know how fleeting childhood is, and want kids to hang on to such precious time, but we forget about how, when we were kids, all we wanted to do was be grown up.)
When I was in 5th grade, my two favorite books were Matilda and Remember Me (which is by Christopher Pike and features drinking, murder, and possibly some sex, but definetely lots of older teen situations!) In 6th grade, my favorite authors were Christopher Pike and Katherine Patterson. One was definetely writing for my age group, and one most certainly was not. This is also the time period where I read most of Judy Blume's catalog, both the stuff aimed at my age group (Blubber, Are You There God..., Just As Long As We're Together) and the stuff that certainly wasn't (Wifey, Forever). Reading older books didn't make me lose patience with books about kids my own age, and this is something I see reflected again and again in the reading choices made by the kids I work at.
I understand these fears, but I don't agree with them. I also fully understand the cringe factor in giving a 9 or 10-year-old girl Twilight. I really, really, really do. But, I take a deep breath, hold my tongue, and give them the book.
(But, if a parent were to ask me what I thought about it for their 9-year-old, you better believe I'd tell them exactly what I thought!)
Second, Newsweek had a panel of authors to tell people which books they should be reading in their field of expertise. And the blogosphere and listserves are freaking out because the Children's Lit author was Jenna Bush.
Whatever.
She's a teacher (who used to takes her class to the local library on field trips, even when her dad was president) and has written two books. And, she chose pretty decent titles.
Yes, there are other authors we might have wanted to hear from. But, what authors (besides JK Rowling and Stephenie Meyer and Jenna Bush) have household name recognition in houses that don't have kids? I can't think that my policy wonk friends would all have heard of.
But, more to the point, a semi-fluffy magazine did a fairly fluffy piece? And we're upset because it was... fluffy? yawn.
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Why I Blog
Did you read the post on Chasing Ray yesterday about building credibility? Very interesting stuff that's worth taking a look at.
Which brings back the question of why do you blog. I'll be straight up honest here. I would like to be a book reviewer and I plan to apply for some reviewing jobs when I graduate in December so I look fully accredited. (This will coincide nicely with my 3rd anniversary in children's services. And the 4th anniversary of this blog.)
This blog reviews books, yes, but not in the same way it would for something more serious. You can tell there's usually a difference in what I write for The Edge of the Forest and what I write here. Why?
Well, I started this blog after being a part of the knitting blog community, which is one big conversation. I was looking at the adaptation of Persuasion to Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason and then how that changed again with the movie. My big complaint being that the movie stripped out all of the book's parallels to the original Austen. I never actually blogged about this, but that was what inspired me. My first blog posts were on my irritation on bad transliteration.
Over the years, it's changed a bit. I decided I wanted to blog every book I read. I found the kidlit community, so now the discussion I was looking for is really happening. People actually read this thing now.
Yes, I harbor secret fantasies of having a bajillion people a day read this thing and somehow make it my sole job. But, I also harbor fantasies of someone spotting me in a coffee shop and asking me to star in a romantic comedy opposite Colin Firth. A girl can dream, right?
I like the fact that this medium means I can write an in-depth review of something. I also like that it gives me the chance to state my opinions on how much I want to smack certain characters (Like JP in Princess on the Brink.) I like that I can just gush about a book. I like that I can be as formal or as informal as my mood strikes me.
Readers know that there aren't a lot of negative reviews on here. Honestly, when it comes to books, I'm pretty easy to please. My positive reviews might not say much, but I like to think my negative reviews do. I don't know.
So, then it comes down to the ARCs. Do I like ARCs? Yes. I like it when people want to send me their book to review. Dude. I like books. The vast, vast, vast majority of the books on this site are books that someone recommended or looked interesting when I ran across them in the library or bookstore. I *always* say where a book came from if it wasn't something I picked up on my own volition.
I don't blog for the ARCs. I blog for me. I blog for the fun of it. I blog so at the end of the year, I remember what I read and what I thought about it. I blog for the community-- I love non-fiction Monday and Poetry Friday and things like the 48 Hour Challenge.
So, yes. That's why I blog. Do I have credibility? I hope so. I strive to be very transparent and up-front about things. I'm not one of the top blogs, I know. I'm cool with that. But hopefully I'm a fun blog to read.
I'll get back to reviewing things soon, I promise.
Which brings back the question of why do you blog. I'll be straight up honest here. I would like to be a book reviewer and I plan to apply for some reviewing jobs when I graduate in December so I look fully accredited. (This will coincide nicely with my 3rd anniversary in children's services. And the 4th anniversary of this blog.)
This blog reviews books, yes, but not in the same way it would for something more serious. You can tell there's usually a difference in what I write for The Edge of the Forest and what I write here. Why?
Well, I started this blog after being a part of the knitting blog community, which is one big conversation. I was looking at the adaptation of Persuasion to Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason and then how that changed again with the movie. My big complaint being that the movie stripped out all of the book's parallels to the original Austen. I never actually blogged about this, but that was what inspired me. My first blog posts were on my irritation on bad transliteration.
Over the years, it's changed a bit. I decided I wanted to blog every book I read. I found the kidlit community, so now the discussion I was looking for is really happening. People actually read this thing now.
Yes, I harbor secret fantasies of having a bajillion people a day read this thing and somehow make it my sole job. But, I also harbor fantasies of someone spotting me in a coffee shop and asking me to star in a romantic comedy opposite Colin Firth. A girl can dream, right?
I like the fact that this medium means I can write an in-depth review of something. I also like that it gives me the chance to state my opinions on how much I want to smack certain characters (Like JP in Princess on the Brink.) I like that I can just gush about a book. I like that I can be as formal or as informal as my mood strikes me.
Readers know that there aren't a lot of negative reviews on here. Honestly, when it comes to books, I'm pretty easy to please. My positive reviews might not say much, but I like to think my negative reviews do. I don't know.
So, then it comes down to the ARCs. Do I like ARCs? Yes. I like it when people want to send me their book to review. Dude. I like books. The vast, vast, vast majority of the books on this site are books that someone recommended or looked interesting when I ran across them in the library or bookstore. I *always* say where a book came from if it wasn't something I picked up on my own volition.
I don't blog for the ARCs. I blog for me. I blog for the fun of it. I blog so at the end of the year, I remember what I read and what I thought about it. I blog for the community-- I love non-fiction Monday and Poetry Friday and things like the 48 Hour Challenge.
So, yes. That's why I blog. Do I have credibility? I hope so. I strive to be very transparent and up-front about things. I'm not one of the top blogs, I know. I'm cool with that. But hopefully I'm a fun blog to read.
I'll get back to reviewing things soon, I promise.
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Here Comes the Bride!
Take a look at the newest member of my family! Will's the young guy in the tux, you know, the one standing next to the bride. Not that he hasn't been a defacto member of the family for years, but, you know. It's all official and everything now.
Plus, how awesome does my sister look? And how beautiful of a place did they pick to get married? On a lake! In the mountains. As much as I loved Iowa, and as much as I love DC, it's really obvious why Abbey never left Asheville after she graduated from college. I mean, DO YOU SEE THE MOUNTAINS?!
I cried throughout the whole thing, but the wedding was wonderful and the reception (also on the lake) was awesome and involved a lot of really tasty barbecue.
Also, I need to give credit to Terry Dawson for taking the photo. I blatantly stole it off his Flickr page because that's the kind of girl I am.
AND! Yesterday I finished another semester of grad school. I have 2 months off before I start up again with YA lit. I graduate in December, assuming I haven't failed anything.
AND! In even bigger news, you know I work full time, right? And am in school half-time? You know how I totally jacked my back a few months ago? Well, I've been in physical therapy since then. It eats about 6 hours of my week because appointments and the fact that my therapist is on the opposite side of the metro area. I got news today that Friday's appointment is my LAST ONE.
So, now I have all this free time! For reading and blogging! (Sorry Dan-- I mean cleaning the guest bedroom.)
Actually, I'm just happy because until mid-July, the only things I have going on in my life are work and well, living my life. Yay!
Reviews coming soon, I promise.
PS-- Vote in my sidebar for what I should read during the 48 hour challenge in a few weeks!
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
The thing with feathers
Let's start off with some news that makes my life happy
1. Ingfrin Michaelson is playing at GWU on Friday. If you're in DC and want to go, drop me a line-- I have an extra ticket.
2. My new Sisters Grimm book, Tales from the Hood shipped and will be in my greedy, greedy hands tomorrow.
3. Wolf Totem: A Novel by Jiang Rong is apparently the most-read book in China since the Quotations from Chairman Mao Tse-Tung (aka, the Little Red Book) is now available in the State. AND, my library has it. Wahoo!
5. Along the same lines, Howard Goldblatt, my all-time favorite translator of Chinese (sorry Cyril Birch) has a new series that's coming out of bilingual short story collections--so, the original Chinese AND his English translatation. AND! The first one out is Mo Yan. Be still my geeky, geeky heart.
6. Because everyone else was doing it:
You Are An Exclamation Point |
 You are a bundle of... well, something. You're often a bundle of joy, passion, or drama. You're loud, brash, and outgoing. If you think it, you say it. Definitely not the quiet type, you really don't keep a lot to yourself. You're lively and inspiring. People love to be around your energy. (But they do secretly worry that you'll spill their secrets without even realizing it.) You excel in: Public speaking You get along best with: the Dash |
Which, I'm sure, is a SHOCK to everyone who knows me. :)
And now onto other things:
Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune--without the words,
And never stops at all,
And sweetest in the gale is heard;
And sore must be the storm
That could abash the little bird
That kept so many warm.
I've heard it in the chillest land,
And on the strangest sea;
Yet, never, in extremity,
It asked a crumb of me.
--Emily Dickinson
Filled with short chapters, some jive talk, some straight up love for Michael Jackson, and a whole lotta snow, Frannie spends the winter learning about hope and what's right.
Not preachy. Kinda quiet, and immensely powerful, Feathers is the type of book that reminds you why Jacqueline Woodson is one of the coolest and best writers out there. Damn. I think most authors wish they could write like this. Or, they should be.
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