I realize now that my short introductory post didn't explain why I'm qualified to review books and push children's literature on you. So, I feel a little explanation is in order.
My very first job was at a public library as a shelver. Thanks to a good memory, I quickly came to understand the library and the Dewey Decimal System (I love you, Dewey!). Soon, I wasn't just shelving, I was helping with reference and reader's advisory, because who knows the library better than the shelver?
In college, I studied Psychology and Sociology, always with a focus on children. My first real job at a car dealership was enough of a drag to convince me to go back to library school. I earned my Master's of Library Science (yes, you do need a master's degree to be a librarian) from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2006. Just so you know, U of I is the best library school in the country for children's services. And yes, I am quite proud of that. And yes, our sport's teams are terrible and our new athletic director is a disgrace, but I digress.
Anyway, after grad school I started working at a library in a Chicago suburb. Right away I was doing storytimes for children ages 2-6, and going out to preschools for storytime. I switched libraries to work with a more broad age range and ended up serving everyone. I did Preschool Storytime, Library Capers for grades 1-6, and supervised the teen volunteers. I loved my kids! I miss them dearly and really wish I could get back to programming. But the goods news is that I've taking over Vacation Bible School this summer, so my wish came true!
So, how did I go from being a crazy-involved librarian to a secretary? Love. I got married in 2009 and my hubby and I decided we wanted to buy a house, and have a family and all that jazz. But the suburbs are crazy expensive and crazy competitive and I grew up on a farm outside a small town in Southern Illinois. I wanted to give my kids a similar upbringing and that didn't seem possible where we were.
And then, Doug's company went bust. My hubby, Doug, is an engineer, and his firm started having financial trouble, then management trouble, then legal trouble. Then we left. Doug got a great job downstate, and we moved to a small town we knew virtually nothing about. And we love it.
But that bad thing about small towns is that they have one small library. And in that one small library is a children's librarian that has been there forever! This is not a job you find in the want adds-it's a job you find in the obituaries. So, no library jobs for me, but I needed something. Lucky my extreme organizational skills fit right into secretarial work. For the past year, I've been keeping up with the library scene by reading journals, newsletters, and blogs to keep up on the latest, and trying to cram in as many children's books as possible. On my required reading list, the Monarch, Bluestem, and Caudill nominees-all the children's choice awards for Illinois. I'm also picking up the Lincoln Awards this year. I'd love to get through the YALSA top 25, and all the Youth Media Award winners and honors. And then of course, the hots new titles getting buzz.
So, I have a lot to do! Just stay tuned to see if I accomplish all of this.
Friday, May 11, 2012
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Summer Time Story Time
I'm an aunt to a crazy monkey of a 4 year-old, and my lucky sister gets to stay home with him all summer. So, while talking on the phone the other day, she was telling me that would like to keep a routine for both of their sakes. My nephew thrives with structure and my sis is a preschool teacher, so it's an easy match.
Here are my tips for a great summer story time.
1. Pick a theme. Since my sis, Kim, is a teacher, I imagine she will do a week of units, we discussed Nursery Rhymes since children get so little of that anymore, so they'll cover a different nursery rhyme everyday. But if you are doing a story time with a craft, then pick a simpler theme, like Cows, Trains, or even easier-all books that rhyme. I find a theme gives my story time more focus and helps me come up with better crafts.
2. CRAFTS! Children need to create and they need to see their artwork on the fridge. Crafts don't have to be expensive, or look like anything, the pure act of creation is enough for a child. Especially those overachieving children. I had several story time kids that wanted their project to look exactly like my example, and that's not the point. Had I known that would have happened, I'd have messed up my examples more. So, keep a scrap box for spare ribbon, buttons, cardboard, those little plastic containers that blueberries come in, and just let your child glue, cut, and color to their little hearts content.
3. Books. This should be number one, I suppose, but I mean pick out books that are developmentally appropriate for your child. That's going to mean some trial and error. If you four year-old is not digging a long picture book like Library Lion, put it down and move on. If you two year-old wants nothing but Sandra Boyton board books, that's okay. If you give them a variety of books, they'll let you know what they want. Also, if you have a child with a short attention span, try the easy reader section. These books are meant to be read by a beginning reader, so they are very short and not over stimulating. For antsy kids, these are the perfect read alouds. My favorites are the Elephant and Piggie Series by Mo Willems and the Otto series by David Milgram.
4. Rhymes and songs. Be silly and get ready to dance. Songs help children learn rhyming patterns, a skill which seems to be getting lost in schools. And the rhymes do not have to be sophisticated, just make something up! Or, search the web. Everything Preschool has a lot of great rhymes and songs to get you started, and your library will also have children's music CDs to borrow too! (Yes libraries have more than books-just stay away from those DVDs, okay?)
Need more inspiration? Over the next couple days I'll be posting my old story times, complete with book selections, rhymes, songs, and a craft idea. If you want some advice before then, just email me! I'm available to give book recommendations or any story time help at misstiffreads@gmail.com
Happy Reading!
Here are my tips for a great summer story time.
1. Pick a theme. Since my sis, Kim, is a teacher, I imagine she will do a week of units, we discussed Nursery Rhymes since children get so little of that anymore, so they'll cover a different nursery rhyme everyday. But if you are doing a story time with a craft, then pick a simpler theme, like Cows, Trains, or even easier-all books that rhyme. I find a theme gives my story time more focus and helps me come up with better crafts.
2. CRAFTS! Children need to create and they need to see their artwork on the fridge. Crafts don't have to be expensive, or look like anything, the pure act of creation is enough for a child. Especially those overachieving children. I had several story time kids that wanted their project to look exactly like my example, and that's not the point. Had I known that would have happened, I'd have messed up my examples more. So, keep a scrap box for spare ribbon, buttons, cardboard, those little plastic containers that blueberries come in, and just let your child glue, cut, and color to their little hearts content.
3. Books. This should be number one, I suppose, but I mean pick out books that are developmentally appropriate for your child. That's going to mean some trial and error. If you four year-old is not digging a long picture book like Library Lion, put it down and move on. If you two year-old wants nothing but Sandra Boyton board books, that's okay. If you give them a variety of books, they'll let you know what they want. Also, if you have a child with a short attention span, try the easy reader section. These books are meant to be read by a beginning reader, so they are very short and not over stimulating. For antsy kids, these are the perfect read alouds. My favorites are the Elephant and Piggie Series by Mo Willems and the Otto series by David Milgram.
4. Rhymes and songs. Be silly and get ready to dance. Songs help children learn rhyming patterns, a skill which seems to be getting lost in schools. And the rhymes do not have to be sophisticated, just make something up! Or, search the web. Everything Preschool has a lot of great rhymes and songs to get you started, and your library will also have children's music CDs to borrow too! (Yes libraries have more than books-just stay away from those DVDs, okay?)
Need more inspiration? Over the next couple days I'll be posting my old story times, complete with book selections, rhymes, songs, and a craft idea. If you want some advice before then, just email me! I'm available to give book recommendations or any story time help at misstiffreads@gmail.com
Happy Reading!
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Introducing Miss Tiff Reads
My passion is books. And that is a great passion to have when you are a librarian, but I'm a secretary with a library degree. In order to make some use out of my endless knowledge of children's books, I'm starting a blog. Mostly I'll be sharing book reviews and recommendations for teacher friends, and must reads for everyone (like Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor) but there will be some daily life posts as well. Because I'm not just a librarian masquerading as a secretary, I'm a wife, friend, aunt, new home owner, and puppy mama. So, simply put, I'm Miss Tiff and what I do best is read.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)