Rabu, 13 Februari 2013

Fire Safety

In the last few weeks, there have been several tragic fires in the news. It is a good time to remind students and their families of the importance of fires safety.

The Education Services Collection has some useful educational materials:

Let's have fun with fire safety
Text 614.84 .L651

Learn not to burn curriculum : a firesafety education program of the National Fire Protection Association for school children
CMC TH9120 .N35 1987

The Smoke detectives [videorecording]
CMC TH9503 .S66 1990

PBS Program on Deaf History and Deaf Education on TV tonight!

Something of interest for those concerned with special education!

The PBS film documentary "Through Deaf Eyes" will be shown today, Wednesday, March 21 at 9:00 ET (Please check local listings) http://www.pbs.org/weta/throughdeafeyes/

Filmmakers say this documentary is the first comprehensive film on deaf history. Karen Kenton, the film's executive producer, said "We wanted to broaden people's concept of what is normal." "There's (not just) one way of being deaf." The film tells a variety of stories and touches some of the most fundamental issues, facing the deaf community, including how technology contributed to social change for deaf people and the arguments on how deaf children should be educated.

Newbery Medal Book banned!

The Newbery Medal Honor book, "The Power of Lucky" was the subject of a page one article in the February 18, 2007 edition of the Sunday New York Times. The book has caused an uproar because it's 10 year old main character is fascinated by the word "scrotum".

The article reports that a handful of school libraries in the West, South and Northeast will not be stocking it . The American Library Association has issued a statement supporting the book and the rights of families to choose reading for their members. "Decisions about what materials are suitable for particular children should be made by the people who know them best - their parents or guardians. "

Librarians may seem to be nineteenth century "Miss Grundy's" in issues such as this, but I would also consider that this is not wholly about censorship. School libraries should have a Materials Selection Policy which incorporates a procedure for challenges of materials. If the procedure is followed without incident and publicity, all goes well. Unfortunately often times, challenges are followed by a great amount of controversy and publicity. This can translate into a very real lack of support for library budgets that are on the election ballot, and or the dismissal of librarians or teachers.

Sadly, in the real world , most people will not choose controversy or loss of employment in the preservation of intellectual freedom.

Science teachers Alert: Women in Science site

The National Academy of Sciences have launched I was Wondering a new interactive site to highlight the achievements of women scientists.

Visitors to the site can travel along a timeline, build a robot and play games.

Try it out at http://www.iwaswondering.org/

Need a Booklist? We Have Them!

Booklists are available in the Juvenile and Curriculum Collection sections on the third floor of the library. Topics of interest include: Global Literature for Elementary and secondary grades, Fairy Tales, Holiday Books, Concept Books and GLBT books. There are also booklists for educators on Student Teaching, Science Instruction, Education of Black Males and Health Education.

There is also a binder of book lists on topics of educational and children's and young adult literature topics at the Reference Desk on the first floor.

If you would like to get a complete list of the available bibliographies, leave a comment and it will be posted on the blog!

One Book NJ Books are in the Guarini Library

The One Book New Jersey program is a fun and exciting program sponsored by the New Jersey Library Association with generous support from the New Jersey State Library. The goal of the program is to bring people together by encouraging them to read and participate in discussions and other events about the same book. Although this program is modeled on other "One Book" programs throughout the country, New Jersey's program is rather unique.

It involves not just one community, but the whole state. It is in fact four books: an adult selection, a young adult selection, a book for older children and a read-to-me selection.

This year, 2007, is the fifth year of the program.

One Book NJ selected books this year are:

Adult: Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
PS3515.U789 T638 1999

Young Adult: So Yesterday by Scott Westerfeld
Juv. W526s

Middle Grade: Whales on Stilts! by M.T. Anderson
Juv. A535w

Read to Me:
Bear Snores On by Karma Wilson, illustrated by Jane Chapman
Juv.W749b

ALA Award Books Announced!

John Newbery Medal for the most outstanding contribution to children's literature
“The Higher Power of Lucky,” written by Susan Patron, is the 2007 Newbery Medal winner. The book is illustrated by Matt Phelan and published by Simon & Schuster/Richard Jackson.
Three Newbery Honor Books were named: “Penny from Heaven,” written by Jennifer L. Holm and published by Random House; “Hattie Big Sky,” by Kirby Larson, published by Delacorte Press; and “Rules,” by Cynthia Lord, published by Scholastic.

Randolph Caldecott Medal for the most distinguished American picture book for children
“Flotsam,” illustrated by David Wiesner, is the 2007 Caldecott Medal winner. The wordless book is published by Clarion.
Two Caldecott Honor Books were named: “Gone Wild: An Endangered Animal Alphabet,” written and illustrated by David McLimans, and published by Walker, and “Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom,” illustrated by Kadir Nelson, written by Carole Boston Weatherford and published by Hyperion/Jump at the Sun.

Michael L. Printz Award for excellence in literature written for young adults
“American Born Chinese” by Gene Luen Yang is the 2007 Printz Award winner. The book is published by First Second, an imprint of Roaring Brook Press, a division of Holtzbrinck Publishing Holdings Limited Partnership.
Four Printz Honor Books were named: “The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation; v. 1: The Pox Party” by M. T. Anderson, published by Candlewick; “An Abundance of Katherines” by John Green, published by Dutton, an imprint of Penguin Group (USA), Inc.; “Surrender” by Sonya Hartnett, published by Candlewick Press; and “The Book Thief” by Markus Zusak, published by Alfred A. Knopf, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books.

Coretta Scott King Book Award recognizing an African American author and illustrator of outstanding books for children and young adults
“Copper Sun,” written by Sharon Draper, is the King Author Book winner. The book is published by Simon & Schuster/Atheneum Books for Young Readers.
One King Author Honor Book was selected: “The Road to Paris” written by Nikki Grimes and published by G.P. Putnum’s Sons, a division of Penguin Young Readers Group.
“Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom,” illustrated by Kadir Nelson, is the King Illustrator Book winner. The book was written by Carole Boston Weatherford and published by Jump at the Sun/Hyperion Books for Children.
Two King Illustrator Honor Books were selected: “Jazz,” illustrated by Christopher Myers, written by Walter Dean Myers and published by Holiday House, Inc.; and “Poetry for Young People: Langston Hughes” illustrated by Benny Andrews, edited by David Roessel and Arnold Rampersad, and published by Sterling Publishing Co., Inc.

Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe New Talent Author Award
“Standing Against the Wind,” written by Traci L. Jones is the Steptoe winner. The book is published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

Schneider Family Book Award for books that embody the artistic expression of the disability experience for child and adolescent audiences
“The Deaf Musicians,” written by Pete Seeger and poet Paul DuBois Jacobs, illustrated by R. Gregory Christie and published by G. P. Putnam’s Sons wins the award for children ages 0 to 10. “Rules,” written by Cynthia Lord and published by Scholastic Press is the winner in the middle-school category (age 11-13). “Small Steps,” written by Louis Sachar and published by Delacorte Press, is the winner in the teen category (age 13-18).

Theodor Seuss Geisel Beginning Reader Award for the most distinguished beginning reader book
“Zelda and Ivy: The Runaways,” written and illustrated by Laura McGee Kvasnosky is the Geisel Award winner. The book is published by Candlewick Press.
Three Geisel Honor Books were named: “Mercy Watson Goes for a Ride,” written by Kate DiCamillo, illustrated by Chris Van Dusen and published by Candlewick Press; “Move Over, Rover!” written by Karen Beaumont, illustrated by Jane Dyer and published by Harcourt, Inc.; and “Not a Box,” written and illustrated by Antoinette Portis and published by HarperCollins.

Margaret A. Edwards Award for lifetime achievement in writing for young adults
Lois Lowry, author of “The Giver,” is the 2007 Edwards Award winner. “The Giver” is published by Walter Lorraine Books/Houghton Mifflin Company.

Laura Ingalls Wilder Award for a substantial and lasting contribution to literature for children
Author-illustrator James Marshall is the 2007 Wilder Award winner. Marshall was the author and illustrator of the “George and Martha” books, the “Fox” easy reader series, “The Cut-Ups” and “Goldilocks and the Three Bears.”
(more)
Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Award for most distinguished informational book for children
“Team Moon: How 400,000 People Landed Apollo 11 on the Moon,” written by Catherine Thimmesh, is the 2007 Sibert Award winner. The book is published by Houghton.
Three Sibert Honor Books were named: “Freedom Riders: John Lewis and Jim Zwerg on the Front Lines of the Civil Rights Movement,” written by Ann Bausum and published by National Geographic; “Quest for the Tree Kangaroo: An Expedition to the Cloud Forest of New Guinea,” written by Sy Montgomery, photographs by Nic Bishop and published by Houghton; and “To Dance: A Ballerina’s Graphic Novel,” written by Siena Cherson Siegel, artwork by Mark Siegel and published by Simon & Schuster/Richard Jackson (hardcover) and Simon & Schuster/Aladdin.

Andrew Carnegie Medal for excellence in children's video
Author/illustrator Mo Willems and Weston Woods Studios, producers of “Knuffle Bunny,” are the 2007 Carnegie Medal winners. The DVD is based on Willems’ book “Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale” and is performed by Willems, his wife Cheryl and their daughter Trixie. It is directed and animated by MaGiK Studio, with music by Scotty Huff and Robert Reynolds.

Mildred L. Batchelder Award for the most outstanding children’s book translated from a foreign language and subsequently published in the United States
Delacorte Press is the winner of the 2007 Batchelder Award for “The Pull of the Ocean.” Originally published in France in 1999 as “L’enfant OcĂ©an,” the book was written by Jean-Claude Mourlevat and translated by Y. Maudet.
Two Batchelder Honor Books also were selected: “The Killer’s Tears,” published by Delacorte Press, and “The Last Dragon,” published by Hyperion/Miramax.

Alex Awards for the 10 best adult books that appeal to teen audiences

“The Book of Lost Things,” written by John Connolly and published by Simon & Schuster/Atria
“The Whistling Season,” written by Ivan Doig and published by Harcourt
“Eagle Blue: A Team, A Tribe, and A High School Basketball Season in Arctic Alaska,” written by Michael D’Orso and published by Bloomsbury
“Water for Elephants,” written by Sara Gruen and published by Algonquin
“Color of the Sea,” written by John Hamamura and published by Thomas Dunne
“The Floor of the Sky,” written by Pamela Carter Joern and published by the University of Nebraska
“The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game” written by Michael Lewis and published by Norton
“Black Swan Green,” written by David Mitchell and published by Random House
“The World Made Straight,” written by Ron Rash and published by Henry Holt
“The Thirteenth Tale,” written by Diane Setterfield and published by Simon & Schuster/Atria

May Hill Arbuthnot Honor Lecture recognizing an individual of distinction in the field of children's literature, who then presents a lecture at a winning host site
David Macaulay will deliver the 2008 lecture. Macaulay’s work varies from the Caldecott Medal-winning “Black and White” to the satiric fiction of “Motel of the Mysteries.”
Recognized worldwide for the high quality they represent, ALA awards guide parents, educators, librarians and others in selecting the best materials for youth. Selected by judging committees of librarians and other children’s literature experts, the awards encourage original and creative work. For more information on the ALA youth media awards and notables, please visit the ALA Web site at www.ala.org/mw07winners.