The View from the Leslie Library Windows: October 2020

Saturday, October 24, 2020

Sick Day

Friday the 23rd, I was still so cold, decided to take the day off. Even though I was at home, I just needed to take care of myself after getting so chilled. So I did.

Thursday the 22nd - Off to the school today! I took back the books I used for the book talks and put them away. Got the books ready for students to pick up today. Sent in a note to one of our counselors about what I'm working on this year in the library since they had asked my schedule and how I could help out teachers. I think I kind of blew him away with all 'on my plate' as he put it. I attended Advisory and then got ready for my drive by library. I was cold all morning in the library, it was like the air conditioner was on and I went around with my coat on all morning. Then I went outside and even though I was walking a lot, had my mask and did put my gloves on because my hands were so cold. It was sunny, but the wind just put enough edge on the walking and being outside that I was cold. I went in and worked a lot after I got in, that kept me warm. I worked on my LIT books. I started to withdraw them, boxed up ones that had no chance for a new home, but put others on a cart and started a spreadsheet for others to see if they wanted to give them a new home. I really got things going and felt good about all I got done in there. Got a lot cleaned up, keeping a few here and a few there. Felt really good about it. Then I went to my car and the low tire light was on, so headed for Les S. While they looked, I went over to WalMart and picked up my prescriptions, then back to Les S. My tire had a slow leak and the tires were so worn they couldn't fix it. They did put air in it and gave me a tire quote. So I went to my friend's house to work on a cement leaf project (that turned out really cool!) but we were outside for a couple of hours and I got chilled all over again. Came home, ate hot soup, hot bread, took a hot shower, curled up on the couch in warm things and went to bed early.

Dreamwalking

Wednesday the 21st - I did two more book talks for the 6th grade break out groups. I love to do these! I then emailed the attendees so they knew they could pick up all day Mondays and Thursdays with all the books I talked about. I actually had two students request books! Had another request for my most prolific reader and will pull those Thursday morning for her to pick up. Answered a parent query. Listened to three more SLJ LibraryCon Live talks and oh my goodness! Bryan Collier was sooooo good! I could have listened to him all day, not just his half hour lunch talk. He talked about dreamwalking, how did he know about that? His favorite book ever, Snowy Day. The boy in it is dreamwalking he said. Making his journey walk, his dreamwalk, how he walked, what he decided to do. Then he talked about how Harold and the Purple Crayon was the same, Harold decides how his journey with the crayon will be, he's dreamwalking. Then he talked about his new book, All Because You Matter. I loved he made pointed oval pictures, some eyes, some noses, all the different people he did, then he put those in the book! He loves doing collages because of his grandmother and her quilting. And how all those pieces of people, are all the people that we carry in our knapsacks, carry in our hands, are a part of who we are. He made absolutely amazing illustrations!! My favorite? Best talk of the ones I've watched so far! He really inspired me! Love this!

Tuesday, October 20, 2020

Webinar and Book Talks

Today I got to do some more books talks for our 6th graders. I brought home books yesterday from work so I could stay at home. I had four piles, one for each talk today and tomorrow. I held up two of the piles and asked the students in my breakout room what they wanted. One was definitely the scary kind of things, the other was half and half, so I mixed the two piles. It was fun! One student checked out two books and I might have a taker on another! Two more book talks tomorrow. I also emailed our science teacher and let him know which students did not pick up their science books. Some may have gone to EDGE program, others might have gotten moved to a different science class, but I thought he should know. I also did not get to attend the SLJ Live Conference, so I listened to three of those sessions today. Put some of the books on my order list. Book club tonight! Excited about that!

Monday the 19th Events!

I get so tired and have so many things going on because of the fire, I just veg at the end of the day. Yesterday was very busy! We had conference day and were supposed to work 10 - 6, but I actually went in at 9 and worked until 5. I sent out emails to our students that haven't picked up books yet and let them know that they could come anytime on Mondays or Thursdays, not just during 'drive by' hours. I got one response back! I got in a ton of books from the ladies that were sorting out the rest of the locker things that no one came by to pick up so I got all those checked in and laid out on the table for quarantine. I checked to see if we had any other hold requests, nada! I also pulled more of the old magazine LIT sets off the shelves in the back workroom. No one has touched them in the five years I've been here, so out they are going. I deleted them, but I kept the magazines since I occasionally get a call for magazines for collages. I did my outside 'drive by' and got two books to come in. We had notices go out last week for overdue books and that they will turn to lost and get fined, and I had a stack in the office from our community coming in to drop off books. I finished reading Look Both Ways while I waited and started The Kingdom of Back - Ooooo, loving it! A tale of Mozart's very gifted sister and how she enters a world of the fae through her music. Shivery good! I also took all the rest of the 8th grade science books that were checked out to students, but never picked up and checked those in. There were quite a few. Put away the cart of books I had pulled for our 8th grade book talks to remind them of what we all have in the library. Two shelves of a cart worth! Loved being at school today! Busy and got a lot done!

Friday, October 16, 2020

Book Talk Thursday

I got to do my first book talks today! Huzzah! Definitely exciting! Worked on picking out books from the shelves to do a whole reminder of the different areas that we have in the library. From computers to football I reminded them of all the types of books we had from fiction, to graphic novels, to everything. Next time I will do a more conventional book talk. Did two 8th grade classes today and will do 2 more tomorrow. Did Advisory. Went outside and did my two hours of drive by book check out pick ups and drop offs. I usually walk and read while I wait and since it was a beautiful day, it was the best way to spend that time! Spent the rest of the day working on my LIT sets and checking to see what needs to go and what doesn't. Got through to page 52!

Wednesday, October 14, 2020

Just a Day at Home

Worked on my LIT sets today mostly. Got through about a third of the 3,800 books on the books! Had a couple of emails from students. Yammer from staff. Other emails. I finally made it to Advisory this morning with Ms. Smith. I totally spaced it yesterday. Also checked on students that are not making it to one of our 6th Grade Blue Cohort teachers. I have a Web conference tomorrow that I may end up just listening to later because I have BOOK TALKS tomorrow! I am so excited about that! And of course, since it is Thursday I will be giving out books to students that they've checked out! So exciting! Today was a long day in front of the computer. I'm glad it's over!

It's been Awhile

Getting moved into our temporary housing, getting internet, working from school then having to come home and work on replacing so many things - pots and pans, silverware, glasses. Books! I have had the time to do this. But I need to! Yesterday (Tuesday) I finished reading Scary Stories for Young Foxes. I added in the new books that just came in Monday to the Collections in Destiny Discover and tried to put in the new books I have read on my Mrs. Willer's Reads list. I'm also going through the LIT books to pull them from the back, back textbook room and withdraw ones that haven't been used in awhile, a lot of them so I have room to put the non-fiction back there for the bond work next summer. I want them all moved out into the back on shelves/carts, but so that I can still find them when a student asks for them. It takes time for the LIT books since I go through them to see if any have been checked out recently. If I have a few, I'll check each one, compare to what's on the shelf. If I have a ton, I'll spot check history through a few to see. So far, there are not many that I will be keeping. Monday I worked on moving all the fiction over so that there's no more fiction on my pony shelves. Handed out books during our 'drive-by' library time. I told the office that since I'm there on Mondays and Thursdays, students could come during office hours and still pick up books. They can just hit the call button and say they are here to pick up books and give their name and the office can call down to me and I'll bring them up.

What I'm Reading

The Butchering Art by Lindsey Fitzharris was a great non-fiction read! Love a good non-fiction! Joseph Lister worked hard, studied hard, never gave up on his ideas that something outside was causing untold numbers of people to die after surgery. His quest to find the answer was long overdue and he was the one to craft it and make it a medical standard. Brilliant!
Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Boy by Emmanuel Acho was so good. I liked it even better than Stamped. His honest and open look at what is was like for him growing up really brings the issues into focus. Highly recommended!
Verify by Joelle Charbonneau - what if everything went digital which gave the government and people in power a way to change history, past and current. What happened to some words, like the word 'verify' that is no longer in the digital dictionary. Meri has lost her mom and her dad drowns sorrow in liquor. Meri is entranced by her mom's last art pieces and is given a slip of paper (the horror! what about the trees? recycling?) and on it is the word 'verify'. Atlas gives her a dictionary, a paper one and an old history textbook. Meri jumps on the train with him so they can change the world.
Kalahari by Jessica Khoury - what a ride! I even took this home one night to finish! Sarah lives with her dad doing research deep in the Kalahari. A group of students are sent to see if they can qualify for a grant and when her dad goes missing when he heads off after poachers, she is left to take care of them. Her dad doesn't return and the poachers are after them. They come across a white lion stalking them, but wait? It isn't white it's something else. They come across a lab and realize there is a virus, that has been let loose on the Kalahari that could destroy the whole world. So exciting!! Great ending as well!
The Year of the Buttered Cat by Susan Haas with Lexi Haas - Okay. I have to admit that I got this book because of the title. Buttered cats, what an intriguing thought! But the real intrigue is the persistence, the optimism of Lexi. Because of jaundice, she was disabled and this story is about her decision to take a chance on ground breaking surgery to try and get some mobility, speech and live her gifts. She has five she had to find. Read it for Lexi (and maybe to find out about that buttered cat).
Darius the Great is Not Okay by Adib Khorram. There are spaces only you can fill, and Darius learns this as his family travels to Iran to see his grandfather who is dying. Along the way he deals with his depression, makes a friend, has innumerable Star Trek references and also learns that it's okay, to not be okay. I must admit, I had to look up some of the places he got to visit. What a rich heritage. I thought Zoroastrians were long gone, but no, they are still practicing today in Iran. Great book, totally okay.
The Last Bookshop in London by Madeline Martin - perfect book lover tale of a woman captivated by a man and a bookstore and how she made more impact on her fellow book lovers and the man who got her to read than any bomb that fell during the Blitz. Very lovely!
The Girl From the Channel Islands by Jenny Lecoat - Lovely WW2 story by Jenny who actually grew up on one of the Channel Islands. Hedy fled Austria only to find her island haven invaded by the Germans. And though she is wary, she falls in love with a German officer. The twists and turns of German occupation test them both as each find a way to help the allied forces win.
Ancestor Approved edited by Cynthia Leitich Smith. I loved these short stories that all center around a modern day Native American Powwow. My fave was Rez Dog and they were all a great window into culture that I have rarely seen. I watched some videos on Fancy Dancing because of this and I would love to attend one, but feel a bit like a looky loo if I did. Fun, eye opening and full of information. Loved it!
The Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams Loved this fictionalized tale of the daughter of one of the lexicographers of the first ever Oxford Dictionary. As Esme goes from hiding under the sorting table, to one day being a lexicographer herself, we see her story unfold along with the people attached to the dictionary. It was really wonderful as we glimpsed her life and how the words she found and rescued formed the backbone of this novel. Really well done. It will stay on my shelves.