Planting the Seeds of Change

Just last weekend, my nephew and I went to go see Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax.  It was a fabulous movie, and my nephew was absolutely riveted (of course, he was in a popcorn coma, which helped).  If you haven’t seen it yet, you’ve likely read the book, so you’ll know that at its heart, The Lorax is a story about environmentalism.  A boy named Ted lives in the walled city of Thneed-Ville, where everything is artificial, and in order to win the heart of his dream girl, Audrey, he tries to make her wish of seeing a real tree come true.  Ted seeks out the Once-ler, an old businessman outside of town, and upon hearing of how the hermit gave into his greed for profits and devastated the land, Ted is inspired to undo the disaster. 

 I love stories like this, especially in the wake of news about melting ice caps, horrific oil spills, polluted lakes and endangered species.  Tales of environmental heroism give us hope, and when the message is packaged for children, it inspires our little ones to take action, and to care of their world. 

 According to a recent study, over the past few decades, fewer children’s books have included any images of nature.  Picture books increasingly show a world that humans have shaped, with an emphasis on houses, stores, and anything man-made.  But there are still a few gems out there that illuminate the natural world in an entertaining and approachable way, and (you guessed it) you can find them at the library:

 Yucky Worms by Vivian French

Who would want to be friends with a wiggly, slimy worm? You can’t even tell which end is which! But there’s more to these lowly creatures than meets the eye. Kids are invited to find out where worms live, see how they move, and understand why gardeners consider them friends with the help of this humorous and informative look at an unappreciated — and fascinating — creature.

 Our World of Water: Children and Water around the World by Beatrice Hollyer

Wherever we live in this world—whether our country is rich or poor—water is vital to our survival on this planet. This book follows the daily lives of children in Peru, Mauritania, the United States, Bangladesh, Ethiopia, and Tajikistan, and explores what water means to them. Where does it come from? How do they use it?  With the growing threat of climate change affecting all our lives, this book invites discussion on the ways different countries and cultures value this most precious of our planet’s natural resources.

Recycled Crafts Box by Laura C. Martin

Using such materials as paper, plastic, metal, and cloth usually consigned to the recycling bin or the garbage can, a master crafter presents 40 craft projects that show budding artists how to make something beautiful and save the planet at the same time.

The Good Garden: How One Family Went from Hunger to Having Enough by Kate Smith Milway

A young Honduran girl is left in charge of the family garden when her father must leave home to find work, and is introduced to sustainable farming practices by a new teacher at her school.

Miss Fox’s Class Goes Green by Eileen Spinelli

Noted author Spinelli re-teams with illustrator Kennedy in this follow-up to their “Peace Week in Miss Fox’s Class” that puts Miss Fox’s class on a mission to go green. Includes practical suggestions for kids and families wanting to protect the environment.

Our Earth: How Kids Are Saving the Planet by Janet Wilson

From the author of One Peace comes a new book of beautiful portraits and exciting profiles of ten young environmental activists from around the world.  They include fourteen-year-old William Kamkwamba from Malawi, who realized that the strong winds in his country could be put to good use and so borrowed a book from his library, taught himself how to build a working windmill, and brought electricity to his village.  Full of environmental facts and advice, this book will inspire budding young eco-activists everywhere to start making a difference for their planet

Lindsay

Curl Up and Read a Bedtime Story

In this day and age of hectic lives and busy schedules, reading together with your family is a simple and enjoyable way to slow things down.  The bonus?  You may just inspire your children to become lifelong readers. 

Some of my fondest memories of growing up include cozying up on my mom’s big double bed, surrounded by cushions as we shared a story every night.  We would read books about all sorts of places and people — everything from The Very Hungry Caterpillar to Anne of Green Gables – and I loved every minute of it. 

I am certain that my passion for books as an adult stems from these warm and positive experiences as a child – and within the last decade, there has been a great deal of research that shows the long-term benefits of bedtime reading. 

According to the American Library Association, children who start school with years of happy reading aloud experiences under their belts grow into confident learners in all subject areas simply because they are in the best possible position to get the most out of school.  Their strong language and listening skills and wide general knowledge help them to understand more of what the teacher says and give them the ability to confidently take part in class discussions.

After all, the oh-so-wise Dr. Seuss once said, “The more that you read, the more things you will know.  The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.” 

So whether you’re an old pro at reading to your children, or just starting out, snuggle up with your family tonight, and read a good book.  Need a good suggestion?  Take a look at the 2012 nominees for the E.B. White Read-Aloud Award – these are the cream of the crop when it comes to read-alouds: 

For Kids Ages 6+

The Apothecary by Maile Meloy
The Cheshire Cheese Cat: A Dickens of a Tale by Carmen Agra Deedy and Randall Wright
The Flint Heart by Katherine Paterson and John Paterson
Liesl & Po by Lauren Oliver
Wildwood by Colin Meloy

For Pre-School Children

I Want My Hat Back by Jon Klassen
Press Here by Hervé Tullet
Stars by Mary Lyn Ray
Over and Under the Snow by Kate Messner
Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site by Sherri Duskey Rinker

Lindsay

Hello, my name is Sophie and I am an audiobooks snob.

If you’ve never met an audiobooks snob, then you should probably count yourself lucky.  We’re kind of like wine snobs, except way nerdier: we’ll talk your ear off about things that no one should really care about, and spend way too much time bemoaning the fact that 90% of the thing that we love is absolute dreck. 

Bartimaeus Trilogy

When the Library first launched its eLibraries Manitoba digital audiobook service, I went from CD audiobook tolerator to obsessed downloader pretty much overnight.  The moment of truth for me was the day I was refinishing my floors — audiobook player in pocket, sound-cancelling headphones in ear — and got to the end of Book 2 in a series of three and realized I could download Book 3, immediately, without even leaving the house. This was a *very* good thing, because I was covered head to toe in sawdust and only had so many hours left on my Home Depot floor sander rental.

I’m fiercely committed to audiobooks.  I might have REAL books and ebooks falling off my shelves waiting to be read, but if I’m getting to the end of my latest audiobook and don’t have a new one lined up, I go into panic mode.  Part of the lure is their fierce multitasking power: audiobooks allow me to devote time to books that would otherwise just be lost.  Take the morning commute, for example.  While I see other people reading ebooks and print books on the bus, I can’t do it because I’m paranoid about missing my bus stop, and looking down at a printed page (while it makes the bus ride fly by) puts you in this alterna-universe where you forget to notice ordinary things like “where you are” and “why it’s a good idea to occasionally look up.” 

Pathfinder

Audiobooks, though, are completely MADE for the bus. You get to read the book AND pay attention to the world around you.  And when you get off the bus, you don’t have to stop reading.  Extra time that can be harvested for reading?  GOLD.  Strangely, I find that looking around at the scenery actually helps me pay attention to the narrator; when I’m just sitting and listening and not also doing some other task, my mind wanders and can’t focus on the story.  That’s why audiobooks are also perfect for repetitive tasks like gardening and housework; the task keeps your mind on the book, and the book keeps your mind off the task. As an added bonus, you end up with a catalogue of associative memories tied to specific places/actions — the pit I just dug in my backyard brings up the bank scene in Orson Scott Card’s Pathfinder, and rereading The Book Thief takes me back to walking the bike path between the Forks and Osborne Village — strange, vivid sense memories that are burned into my mind by the combined enjoyment of both place and story.

So I love audiobooks, but yet I will also refuse to listen to the vast majority of them. I’m RIDICULOUSLY picky. A book that’s good on paper is not necessarily a good audiobook, and vice versa.  Award-winning?  Doesn’t matter. What I crave is that elusive audiobook experience that improves on the book, brings the characters to life in ways my own brain couldn’t imagine, makes me dread the last disc because it means it will all be over soon.

The Book Thief

Really, what it all comes down to is the narrator.  There’s a limit to how long I’ll spend listening to a voice that I don’t like, even if I’m just a tiny bit bothered by it.  Some audiobooks are 10 to 20 hours long, and that’s a pretty big commitment for someone who has a patronizing attitude, or who puts inflection on the wrong sentences, or leaves inflection out entirely, or reads EVERYTHING like it’s a fire alarm announcement, with Giant. Dramatic. Pauses between each sentence.  If the narrator is reading the book “wrong,” I give it the old heave-ho, delete, next! treatment so fast it spins.  It’s hard to explain how something can be “read wrong,” because everyone reads the way they read, right?  Wrong. Good audiobook narrating is not about reading, it’s about acting. Audiobook readers just say the words on the page, whereas audiobook actors rehearse, think about the character, build their backstory in their minds and say the characters’ lines deliberately with all of the characters traits, flaws, habits in mind.  I ONLY tolerate audiobooks narrated by people who get that difference.  And I’ll rarely pick up an audiobook with a full cast of voices, because the likelihood that they’ll ALL be good narrators is slim. Boy, does that ever limit my choices.

So, like all snobs, I’m hamstrung by my own refusal to accept the mundane.  And even though one of the top lessons I’ve learned in my years as a snob is to NEVER take advice about what to listen to (because how could anyone live up to impossible standards?), I’ll leave you with a list of my recent favorites:

His Majesty's Dragon

- Ender’s Shadow (and also Pathfinder, as mentioned above) by Orson Scott Card. There’s just something about Card’s books that translates well to the dramatic medium of audio.
- His Majesty’s Dragon and others in the Temeraire Series, by Naomi Novik. Brilliant series, even MORE brilliant in narration.  Simon Vance’s Temeraire voice is genius and has totally made it impossible for me to read this series on paper.
- Bloody Jack: Being an Account of the Curious Adventures of Mary “Jacky” Faber, Ship’s Boy by L. A. Meyer. A hilariously campy and contrived historical fiction series which is narrated BRILLIANTLY by Katherine Kellgren.
- The Ruby In the Smoke and others in the Sally Lockhart Mystery Series by Philip Pullman. The whole series is great–something about those British accents… 
- The Dead and the Gone, The Last Survivors Series, Book 2, by Susan Beth Pfeffer. Book one was terrible on audio; book two shook me to the core.

And of course my all-time favorites, a triumvirate of audio bliss:

- The Book Thief (again, as mentioned above) by Markus Zusak. I’ve listened to it twice now and both times had me weeping like a baby in public.
- The Amulet of Samarkand (Bartimaeus trilogy) by Jonathan Stroud.
- The Tale of Despereaux, by Kate DiCamillo. Three times so far.  And will probably listen again.

Sophie

Ebooks for Kids!

 Children’s books are the cornerstone of literacy.  From a very early age, children are introduced to books that allow them to dream about faraway lands and colorful characters through vibrant illustrations and powerful words.

 To this very day, Madeline, Corduroy, and The Very Hungry Caterpillar rank at the top of my all-time-favourites list, right along with A Thousand Splendid Suns and Eat Pray Love.  Perhaps it’s the childhood memory of reading with my mother, or the fact that these books sparked my love of reading.  Children’s books are more popular than ever, but they are now at the point of format transformation.

 The eBook phenomenon is upon us, and although it has taken a while to really hit the children’s book market, more and more titles are being released every day.  As color eReaders and tablets rapidly enter the market, publishers are beginning to see the picture book eReading experience a much more viable one.  After all, what would Brown Bear, Brown Bear be without its radiant illustrations? 

 At Winnipeg Public Library, our catalog of children’s eBooks is rapidly expanding.  Just over the past few months, we’ve added The Berenstain Bears, Thomas the Tank Engine, Curious George, and many more titles to our OverDrive database.  And better yet, these titles are available 24/7, and many can be downloaded onto any computer , iPod®, iPhone®, iPad™, Android™, Sony® Reader, and hundreds of other mobile devices.  Talk about the perfect road-trip solution!   

 How do we know that these eBooks are growing in popularity?  Over the past 6 months, the circulation of children’s eBooks at OverDrive libraries has soared 474%, making it one of the fastest growing genres. While some might attribute this to the general boom in eBook circulation across all genres, statistics show otherwise.  Two of the most popular genres, Mystery and Romance, increased 329% and 297% respectively, much less than children’s fiction.

 There is no question that children’s eBooks are here to stay. What is uncertain is how parents and educators will embrace and implement this new technology into entertaining and educating the newest generation of kids.  In his blog post The Future of Children’s eBooks, GeekDad discusses the opportunities that children’s eBooks offer for interactive learning.  The best eBooks will allow children to control the narrative, nurture exploration, and support 21st century skills.  Time, innovation, and good old fashioned imagination will take children’s eBooks to the next level — and I can’t wait to see where we end up!

Lindsay

How to Beat the Boredom

With the end of the school year fast approaching, it’s only a matter of time before that old familiar refrain lands on the ears of parents everywhere:  “I’m boorrrrrrrred.”  Boring summers can be a drag for everyone, so to keep your kids busy this summer, get them involved in Summer Reading Club!  Here are the top 5 reasons summer reading club should be on your kids’ summertime agenda:

1) It Prevents Summer “Brain Drain”!
Kids experience learning losses when they don’t engage in educational activities during the summer – especially when it comes to reading.  But the good news is that parents and kids can do something to stop the “brain drain.”  The biggest way to continue learning is to keep reading over the summer. And the best way to encourage reading is to join Summer Reading Club!

2) It’s Free!
With gas prices on the rise, road trips and far-away vacations can be incredibly expensive – which is precisely why the “staycation” has seen an epic boost in popularity (in fact, the word “staycation” has become so popular that Merriam-Webster officially added it to the dictionary in 2009).  Whether you’re soaking up the sun on the shores of Grand Beach, camping in the Whiteshell, or taking a day trip out to Gimli, bringing along a library book or two is a great way for the kids to enjoy their summer on the cheap.

3) It’s Cool!
Although Winnipeggers hate to complain about the heat, it can often get too hot (and mosquito-ridden) to actually enjoy the great outdoors.  Weather gurus are predicting a hotter-than-normal summer for most of Canada this year, which means that kids across the country will be looking for indoor activities to beat the heat.  Getting out of the sun, and reading a good book is the perfect way to keep cool this summer – especially if you’re at an air conditioned library!

4) There are Prizes!
Remember when you were a kid and looked for that proverbial prize at the bottom of the cereal box?  I can remember scoring a wicked She-Ra tattoo in a box of my favourite cereal when I was 8 years old, and almost immediately, I became the coolest kid on the block.  Kids are crazy about prizes, and this year, members of the Library’s Summer Reading Club are eligible to win Goldeyes tickets, swim passes, books, and more!

5) It’s Fun!
During the school year, kids don’t often have a choice about what they read: whatever teacher says, goes.  Summer, on the other hand, is a time when kids can read whatever they want – whether that be a hilarious graphic novel like Dan Santat’s Sidekicks, a suspenseful page turner like John Grisham’s The Abduction, or a book of weird and wacky facts like Megan McDonald’s Stink-O-Pedia!  Members of the Library’s Summer Reading Club can read anything under the sun!

Registration for Winnipeg Public Library’s Summer Reading Club begins June 27th.  Mark it on your calendar, and drop by any Library branch to sign your kids up.

Lindsay