January 16, 2013

Upcoming Events



Storytimes at the Livermore & Menlo Park Libraries are in brown; storytelling events are in red.  Keep checking in for updates!



Thursday, January 10
Menlo Park Library
11:15am Toddler Storytime
2:15pm Preschool Storytime

Friday, January 18
Livermore Public Library, Rincon
Bilingual Storytimes:
10:30am Baby/Toddler
11am Preschool



January 18-20
Attending Santa Clara County Reading Council's Asilomar Reading Conference
Thursday, January 24

Menlo Park Library
11:15am Toddler Storytime
2:15pm Preschool Storytime

 Friday, January 25
Livermore Public Library, Rincon
Bilingual Storytimes:
10:30am Baby/Toddler
11am Preschool

Sunday, January 27
Palo Alto Children's Library
1-4pm: ANNUAL STORYTELLING FESTIVAL
1276 Harriet Street


Monday, January 28
7pm Pajamatime Family Storytime
Thursday, January 31
Menlo Park Library
11:15am Toddler Storytime
2:15pm Preschool Storytime

 Friday, February 1
Bilingual Storytimes:
10:30am Baby/Toddler
11am Preschool

Monday, February 4
Livermore Public Library, Civic Center
Filling in for storytimes:
10:30am Toddler
11:30am Baby

Monday, February 4
Livermore Public Library, Civic Center
7pm Pajamatime Family Storytime
Thursday, February 7
Menlo Park Library
11:15am Toddler Storytime
2:15pm Preschool Storytime

 Friday, February 8
Livermore Public Library, Rincon
Bilingual Storytimes:
10:30am Baby/Toddler
11am Preschool

Monday, February 11
7pm Pajamatime Family Storytime

Thursday, February 14
Menlo Park Library
11:15am Toddler Storytime
2:15pm Preschool Storytime

Friday, February 15
Bilingual Storytimes:
10:30am Baby/Toddler
11am Preschool

Monday, February 18
Livermore Public Library, Civic Center
7pm Pajamatime Family Storytime
Thursday, February 21
Menlo Park Library
11:15am Toddler Storytime
2:15pm Preschool Storytime

Friday, February 22
Livermore Public Library, Rincon
Bilingual Storytimes:
10:30am Baby/Toddler
11am Preschool

Monday, February 25
7pm Pajamatime Family Storytime
Thursday, February 28
Menlo Park Library
11:15am Toddler Storytime
2:15pm Preschool Storytime

Friday, March 1
Bilingual Storytimes:
10:30am Baby/Toddler
11am Preschool
Saturday, March 2
Sunday, March 3
Lake Merritt, Oakland
Storytelling at 1:30 & 2:30pm each day
(weather dependent)

Monday, March 4
Livermore Public Library, Civic Center
7pm Pajamatime Family Storytime
Thursday, March 7
Menlo Park Library
11:15am Toddler Storytime
2:15pm Preschool Storytime

Friday, March 8
Livermore Public Library, Rincon
Bilingual Storytimes:
10:30am Baby/Toddler
11am Preschool

Monday, March 11
7pm Pajamatime Family Storytime
Thursday, March 14
Menlo Park Library
11:15am Toddler Storytime
2:15pm Preschool Storytime

Friday, March 15
Bilingual Storytimes:
10:30am Baby/Toddler
11am Preschool

Monday, March 18
Livermore Public Library, Civic Center
7pm Pajamatime Family Storytime
Thursday, March 21

Menlo Park Library
11:15am Toddler Storytime
2:15pm Preschool Storytime

Friday, March 22
Livermore Public Library, Rincon
Bilingual Storytimes:
10:30am Baby/Toddler
11am Preschool

Monday, March 25
7pm Pajamatime Family Storytime
Thursday, March 28
Menlo Park Library
11:15am Toddler Storytime
2:15pm Preschool Storytime

Friday, March 29
Bilingual Storytimes:
10:30am Baby/Toddler
11am Preschool


Monday, April 1
7pm Pajamatime Family Storytime
Thursday, April 4
Menlo Park Library
11:15am Toddler Storytime
2:15pm Preschool Storytime

Friday, April 5
Bilingual Storytimes:
10:30am Baby/Toddler
11am Preschool

Monday, April 8
Livermore Public Library, Civic Center
7pm Pajamatime Family Storytime
Thursday, April 11
Menlo Park Library
11:15am Toddler Storytime
2:15pm Preschool Storytime

Friday, April 12
Livermore Public Library, Rincon
Bilingual Storytimes:
10:30am Baby/Toddler
11am Preschool

Monday, April 15
7pm Pajamatime Family Storytime
Thursday, April 18
Menlo Park Library
11:15am Toddler Storytime
2:15pm Preschool Storytime

Friday, April 19
Bilingual Storytimes:
10:30am Baby/Toddler
11am Preschool

Saturday, April 20
Berkeley Public Library, Claremont Branch
2940 Benvenue Ave
Storytelling at 10:30am


Monday, April 22
Livermore Public Library, Civic Center
7pm Pajamatime Family Storytime
Thursday, April 25
Menlo Park Library
11:15am Toddler Storytime
2:15pm Preschool Storytime


Friday, April 26
Livermore Public Library, Rincon
Bilingual Storytimes:
10:30am Baby/Toddler
11am Preschool

Newspaper feature from the 2010 Sunnyvale Library Storytelling Festival

Saturday, April 27
Sunnyvale Library
2pm: Annual Sunnyvale Library Storytelling Festival

Monday, April 29
7pm Pajamatime Family Storytime
Thursday, May 2
Menlo Park Library
11:15am Toddler Storytime
2:15pm Preschool Storytime

Friday, May 3
Bilingual Storytimes:
10:30am Baby/Toddler
11am Preschool

Monday, May 6
7pm Pajamatime Family Storytime
**FINAL PJ Family Storytime of Spring Session**
Thursday, May 9
Menlo Park Library
11:15am Toddler Storytime
2:15pm Preschool Storytime

Friday, May 10
Bilingual Storytimes:
10:30am Baby/Toddler
11am Preschool
**FINAL STORYTIMES OF LIVERMORE SPRING SESSION**

Wednesday, June 19
Campbell Library
77 Harrison Ave., Campbell
Storytelling at 3:30pm

Wednesday, July 10
San Luis Obispo Library
995 Palm St.
Storytelling at 10:30am

Thursday, July 11
Atascadero Library at Colony Park Community Center
5599 Traffic Wy
Storytelling at 11am

Thursday, July 11
Paso Robles Library
1000 Spring Street
Storytelling at 1 & 3pm

Wednesday, July 31
Cupertino Library
10800 Torre Ave.
Storytelling at 3pm

Other recent or upcoming events include storytelling & education for Acorn Learning Center, Brier Elementary, Brentwood Elementary, Dorris-Eaton Preschool, GeoKids & Children's Creative Learning Centers.  Private events (for schools, etc.) do not show up in listings above.  For regular updates, connect with me on Facebook!



Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

I've got a new library home!



When I got the call back in August to come and fill in for a pair of storytimes at the Menlo Park Library, little did I know that it would lead to this: I am now an official employee of the library!

 You'll be able to find me down in the library's Storytime room every Thursday, for the new Toddler Storytime at 10:15am, and for the Preschool Storytime's new time slot at 2:15pm. At the latter event, I mix storytelling in with the book reading & all of my usual nonsense!  I'll also be doing special projects within the library's Children's Services department, and I'm looking forward to helping in whatever way I can!

 I've been taken away by the Menlo Park Library's storytime schedule since I first set foot in the building; there are many staff storytime people, storytimes five days a week (as many as three in one day), with offerings in three languages.  I've helped out for the bilingual English/Spanish storytimes--but it'll be some time before I'll be able to do the same for the bilingual English/Mandarin events!

 Drop in sometime; here's the library's storytime schedule.

 And by the way, YES, I am retaining my OLD library home at the Livermore Public Library!  I continue with the Pajamatime Family Storytimes Monday nights at 7 at the Civic Center Library, and bilingual English/Spanish storytimes (10:30 Toddler/11 Preschool) on Friday mornings at the Rincon Branch--and of course I am everywhere in the summer, with all of the library's Summer Reading Program events I coordinate & present.

 Please: join us for storytimes when you can, and spread the word!






Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , , , , , , , , ,

January 13, 2013

Read Up: Author! Author!

Did you love elementary school "book club" sales flyers as much as I did?  I'd always bring those catalog circulars home, full of checkmarks of the books I wanted.  The books were cheap, the choices were abundant, and the calls to action were frequent!  The joy came back anew when I had a child of my own in elementary school--a child who also, of course, was the beneficiary of waves of those books.

But do you know what I never appreciated about those book club editions?  I mean, BESIDE the low-quality binding.  Those versions of the popular books almost never, ever had any author biographies at the end!


Shown here, are the author bios from (clockwise from the top) Soup Day, by
Melissa Iwai; Thank You Bear, by Greg Foley; and Truck, by Donald Crews.

 Anyone who's been to many of the storytimes I host knows that I talk about the creators of the books I am sharing.  I will pick up a book, show the cover and read the title, followed by the name of the person or people who wrote & illustrated the work.  

 For instance, using a book from my previous blog entry here, I might say:

"This book is called 'Thank You Bear,' and it was written and illustrated by Greg Foley.  He wrote the words AND drew the pictures!  Shall we open up the back & see if he's there?"
Flipping back, we find that Greg IS back there (shown in the collage at the top of this post)!  When we are lucky enough to find the author back there (doesn't happen nearly often enough, in my opinion), I'll enthusiastically say, "he IS back here!"  Then I'll share some details from the bio.  Sitting at home with one or two children, or in some classroom or library settings, reading the whole bio is good, but at other times just sharing a couple of pertinent details will be enough.  Being the silly person I am, I read Greg Foley's bio & say to the group, "he grew up in Austin, Texas--JUST LIKE US!"  This gives the children the opportunity to very forcefully tell me where they actually are from.  The detail that Thank You Bear is his first book gives us all the chance to appreciate together what a wonderful first book it really is.  

 So, why do I bring so much attention to the people who make the books I share?  It is for the same reason that, when I am making storytelling appearances, I emphasize to my audiences that "we are ALL storytellers."  We all potentially have stories to tell, including our own unique takes on common cultural material.  Anyone who's visited a good preschool has seen the stories that come from children's minds, when enabled by an adult's secretarial skills in getting the words down on paper!  Discussing the author & illustrator makes the book more tangible, something with which the reader & listener can make a stronger connection.  The bios that connect the writer with her story (as in the piece for Melissa Iwai's "Soup Day," pictured above, which shows the author & her child in the kitchen making soup together) also help us connect ourselves better with the story, as well as connect ourselves with the author.  This empathy teaches us about different people, and how we can always find similarities despite our differences.  

 Whether or not there is any creator information to be found, we often talk about the the illustrations--not what they portray, but the illustrations themselves. "Do you think you could draw this," I might ask.  To the children who say "no," I'll say, "you can if you practice enough!"  Remember, there are lessons to be found in any book, whether the authors put them in there intentionally or not!  

 So talk about the authors of the books you read.  Celebrate them, emulate their work.  Have an "author's day" occasionally for your favorites, where you check out every book you can by that person & talk about the ones you like best--and why.  Help your child right a "new" book based on a favorite character--and send a copy to the author, if that's (you know) a possibility!  Take your child to author events when they happen at libraries & bookstores in your area.  

 The more you interact with the book, the more you get out of it on multiple levels, so have fun!

Click here & READ UP!  I have many more great books to share with you!



Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Read Up! The "bear" necessities

Today I have four books to share--all bear books.  You won't learn a thing about bears, but I think you will have a lot of fun!

MORE BEARS!
Kenn Nesbitt & Troy Cummings
Pick up this book right away!  A nice, quiet little author sets out to write a nice, quiet little book--with no bears.  Right away, he hears the voices of children demanding that the story must have "MORE BEARS!"  Right away, the bears begin to appear--but the children keep on demanding more.  The increasingly-large "MORE BEARS" word balloons on each spread are YOUR children's cue to BE the children making the demands.  Every storytime group with whom I've shared this so far has loved it--and I think you & the kids with whom you read will love it, too!
Bossy Bear
David Horvath
It would be natural to spot this book & assume that it exists just to sell toys; after all, its author is the creator of the "UglyDoll" line of designer vinyl figures--and there IS a line of Bossy Bear toys.  Ignore all of that, though, & pick up the book!  You will recognize, whether from your past or your present, the type of person represented by Bossy Bear: as the first lines describe him, "Bossy Bear is very bossy.  He likes things his way all the time."  Talk about Bossy as you share the book; children recognize that the bear's demanding nature & refusal to share makes him someone others don't enjoy being around.  Don't worry, there is a happy ending!

 Thank You Bear
Greg Foley
Check out Thank You Bear along with Bossy Bear, because they make for a great pairing!  Bear finds a little box, looks inside & proclaims it "the greatest thing ever!"  But does he then keep it for himself?  No!  He decides it will make a perfect gift for his best friend.  As in Bossy Bear, there's a lot going on along the way to fuel both interest & discussion.





Orange Pear Apple Bear
Emily Gravett
In sharing the title with you, I also just told you every word in the entire book (almost).  Don't discount this as a toddlers-only concept book, though, because it works on many more levels!  Talk about the pictures, and what is happening.  Enjoy the surprises.  Mess it up a little, and wait to get corrected!  




Check these books out! Have fun with them, & let me know what you think. Do you have any favorite books about bears, or friendship, or fruit--or whatever? Please let me know!

 Click on this link & READ UP!  I have many more great books to share with you!
Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)