Yaacing Spring 2015

YAACING Spring 2015 BC SRC 2015 Preview: Build It!

Red Cedar Awards Update: Red Cedar Gala

Jbrary’s Top Ten STEAM Online Resources

Wild and Wacky Animals: A Storytime for Toddlers

NEWSLETTER OF THE YOUNG ADULT & CHILDREN’S SERVICES SECTION OF BCLA

YAACING spring 2015

CONTENTS SPRING 2015

4 Message from the Chair 5 Message from the Editors

NEWS 6 SRC 2015: Community Story Award Winner 8 BC SRC 2015 Preview

FEATURES 29 Friendship: A Bilingual Preschool Storytime (English/Farsi),

by Nikky McCarvill and Shideh Taleban 33 Wild and Wacky Animals: A Storytime for Toddlers,

by Alyssa Hamer

10 Red Cedar Awards Update: Red Cedar Gala

COLUMNS 11 Kaitlyn’s Programming Corner: Draw and Tell Stories: Try Them!

by Kaitlyn Vardy 13 Teens Only: Reaching Teens in Their Natural Habitat: The Mall!

by Heather Gloster 15 Dispatches From a Rural Librarian: From Pottermania to Harry Potter Book Night

by Amy Dawley 22 We’ll Link to That!: Jbrary’s Top 10 STEAM Online Resources

by Lindsey Krabbenhoft and Dana Horrocks 24 Who’s on the Felt Board?: Ten in the Bed (Bear Edition),

by Taya Lawton

36

A Review of Books Celebrating Mothers and Grandmothers on May 10th Through Everyday Stories,

by Mehjabeen Ali

39 REVIEWS 42 CALL

FOR SUBMISSIONS YAACS (Young Adults and Children’s Services) is a section of the British Columbia Library Association.

Founded in 1980, our members include librarians, teacher-librarians and other library workers interested in services to youth in British Columbia.

Our purpose is to promote the exchange of ideas among library personnel who work with Children and Young Adults.

YAACING is published 4 times per year.

Editors: Alicia Cheng Stefania Alexandru Art Director: Afton Schindel If you are interested in submitting anything for publication, send it to yaacing@gmail.com Next Deadline: May 15, 2015

SPRING 2015 | YAACING 3

MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR As I write this it is the beginning of March, and Spring is already well underway in the lower half of BC (sorry to all those in the north!). The days are getting up to 15°, the sun is shining, Spring Break programming is underway, and the BCLA Conference is feeling closer and closer!

The youth sessions that were chosen were focused on more forward-thinking topics that explore what youth librarians can do in the future. This year’s conference is also running a trial of what BCLA is calling a Professional Development Institute as part of the pre-conference in an effort to help go deeper into one area for people who don’t see a lot of what they want in the other conference sessions. It will consist of about 4 sessions over 3 hours, and this time it is focused on Children’s librarianship, including the SRC component that we mentioned in the last YAACING issue.

The YAACS Committee is also hoping to have our AGM at the Conference this year, combined with some fun sharing and bonding activities for all those who attend. Our next meeting will be in April before the Conference, so I will send out more details about the AGM at that point!

I’m looking forward to seeing everyone at the conference and working towards improving the future of YAACS.

- Kaylea Prime YAACS Chair, BCLA kayleancormier@gmail.com

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MESSAGE FROM THE EDITORS Happy Spring!

As we’re all busy planning for Summer Reading Club, Jbrary has shared some fabulous STEAM resources to get us started. Our columnists, Kaitlyn, Heather, and Amy have shared some wonderful program ideas. We’re also very excited to hear that there will be a Red Cedar Gala this year.

Congratulations to Miranda Mallinson for winning the 2015 Community Story Award with her inspiring SRC story. We look forward to hearing more of these stories after this year’s Summer Reading Club. In the meantime, please share with us SRC program ideas. Also, don’t hesitate to send us submissions of felt stories, book reviews, or any fun and exciting programs that are happening in your libraries.

Hope to see you all at the BCLA Conference! We’d love to hear your thoughts after.

- Alicia Cheng and Stefania Alexandru YAACING Editors yaacing@gmail.com

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NEWS

SRC Community Story Award Winner Cynthia Ford BC Summer Reading Club Coordinator Thank you to all of you who submitted entries to the Summer Reading Club Community Story Award. We received some wonderful submissions this year that captured the deep impact of the BC SRC program, and the commitment and care that library workers bring to their communities.

award to an individual whose story best demonstrates the impact of the SRC within their community.

We are delighted to announce that Miranda Mallinson of the Vancouver Public Library is the winner of the 2015 BC SRC Community Story Award!

Miranda was born in Toronto and grew up on Vancouver’s North Shore, near the ocean.

Before she worked in libraries, she worked mostly in child care, where she honed her storytelling skills. At university, she studied painting and printmaking. She lives in East Vancouver with her husband and their three cats.

Our judges were deeply affected by Miranda’s story about handing out SRC medals. This is what they had to say: “This story is a wonderful example of not only how the passion and enthusiasm that library workers have is passed along to SRC participants, but also how the accomplishments of each child matter to us, and make an impact on our lives, too.”

We look forward to hearing your SRC stories!

About Miranda Mallinson

Miranda will attend this year’s BCLA Conference as a guest of RBC (Royal Bank of Canada). She’ll also be joining us at the SRC Conference booth. Please come by and say hello, and congratulate her!

As a child, Miranda’s favourite relationship with books was having them read-aloud to her by her mother—she loved this time together. She especially loved the illustrations and would pore over them, in a state she describes as “close to bliss.” She would prefer a world where all the books were illustrated! These days, Miranda’s favourite authors include Mo Willems, Jeremy Tankard, Nicholson Baker, and Naomi Shihab Nye.

BCLA, in partnership with RBC, introduced the SRC Community Story Award at the 2013 BCLA Conference. Each year, the BC Summer Reading Club will present this

It makes perfect sense that she has ended up in the Children’s Library at VPL— surrounded by gorgeously illustrated books—welcoming children, reading to

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them, and sharing with them her love of pictures and of art. She tells kids that “the best thing about books is that anything can happen.” For Miranda, the most important thing when someone arrives at the library is that they feel welcomed, safe and significant.

The 2015 SRC Community Story Award Winner Summer Reading Club Medals I’m a Library Technician in the Children’s Library at the Vancouver Public Library. I get to do a lot of amazing and profound things in my job, but honestly, one of the most inspiring and happy things I do all year is give out Summer Reading Club medals.

Vancouver Public Library, it is my great honour to bestow upon you this medal for the completion of the Summer Reading Club of 2014. Congratulations.”

I shook their hands and applauded. And just at that moment, a gang from the Book and Writing Camp were going by. I called out to them, “Hey guys, these kids just got their medals for Summer Reading Club!” “Wow,” said the campers, “that’s great!” and they applauded, too.

Maybe the young brothers will remember it, maybe they won’t, but they are readers, they love books, they told me so, and today a whole bunch of big kids and one goofy adult told them that that was very cool.

As a kid, “completion” was always an issue for me, so when a kid comes in with a Reading Record full of books that they’ve read, I go all out making a fuss over it.

In that moment, nothing else exists. I look the kid in the eye, and express in the most heartfelt way I can, how proud and impressed I am at what they have done.

What I want them to feel, in that moment, is that we, as grownups, as role models, think that what they have accomplished is fantastic. Yes, reading should be, and is, its own pleasure; but athletic kids, math kids, they get tangible rewards all the time for what they are good at. I want the kids who are into reading, and the kids who struggle with it, too, to know that we think they are awesome, just for doing what they do.

Today I had two kids come in, brothers, to collect their medals. I pored over their reading records, asked them about what they had read and told them how proud I was. I wrote up their certificates, and then I came around the desk to give them their medals. When I do this, I always envision the Olympics Medal Ceremony in my head... that’s what it is for me “...on behalf of the SPRING 2015 | YAACING 7

NEWS

BC SRC 2015 Preview - Cynthia Ford bC Summer Reading Club Coordinator

We are so excited to show you the 2015 BC SRC website! Please head over to kidssrc.bclibrary.ca and take a sneak peek at the 2015 BC SRC materials, so far!

There might still be snow on the ground for some of you, but one look at the 2015 BC SRC materials, and I’m willing to bet it will feel as though the summer sun is shining!

With bold, funny, inventive, and engaging illustrations, our 2015 artist, Shayne Letain, has done an incredible job of realizing this year’s theme of “Build It.”

The Poster Welcome to the inventive, inspiring and engaging world of Build It! Set against a landscape of building and crafting materials, two robots (and their little dog, too!) are equipped with everything they need to build a summer full of projects that lead to exciting adventures!

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The Reading Record Mak-R and Boing, the dog, receive a message in a bottle. Their good friend, BillDit, needs their help! A thrilling adventure is launched and along the way the friends survive a perilous sea voyage (and Sea Monster!), receive a justin-time aerial rescue from Origami Cranes, fly over the gigantic How-to-Mountain range, and deliver the much-needed Maker Guide for BillDit to finish the Rocket Ship! And then all three blast off into another adventure!

On the Reading Record, three call-out boxes exclaim “Build It!” and supply an address to the online Maker Guide (coming soon!) where kids will be able to access instructions on how to build Boing, the Origami Crane, the Rocket Ship, and more! (Instructions will also be available for downloading/printing in case you wish to make print versions available.)

Empty speech bubbles provide opportunity for kids to add their own creative twist to the tales of Mak-R, BillDit and Boing!

Seven stickers complete the gear panel. They include BillDit, Mak-R, and Boing (of course!) as well as an Origami Crane, the everimportant Maker Guide, the milk carton Sail Boat, and a very toothy Sea Monster!

Our amazing graphic designer, Roger Handling, has designed a special bonus item this year: Make Your own Robot Collage. This postcard-sized project has on one side the barest suggestion of a robot. On the other side are two very different, very delightful robot-samples for inspiration. This item will be included in your Core Package, with quantities equal to your reading records. You are welcome to use them in any way that best suits your community: you might hand one out to each child who participates, use them as prizes for programs or community events, or create an entire program around them! We very much look forward to hearing what you choose to do!

Art by Shayne Letain

Bonus this year!

A special thanks to our web guy, Neil Firkins, for building such a beautiful website this year!

Every year, Neil makes the site better, more useful, and easier for libraries to use!

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RED CEDAR AWARDS UPDATE

RED CEDAR GALA!

Saturday, May 9th at 1-4pm Central Library, 350 West Georgia Street, Vancouver Alice MacKay Room, Lower Level

Free!

Popular. Arrive early!

The Red Cedar is British Columbia’s Young Reader’s Choice book award for children between grades 4 and 7. Please join us in celebrating this year’s nominees and winners, with party featuring author readings, activities, and snacks! Brought to you by the Young Readers’ Choice Awards Society of BC. More info: www.redcedaraward.ca or email: redcedaraward@gmail.com

A partnership event: 10 YAACING | SPRING 2015

COLUMNS KAITLYN’S PROGRAMMING CORNER

Draw and Tell Stories: Try Them!

By Kaitlyn Vardy

I am by no means an artist; however when I feel like changing up my storytimes, I throw in a draw and tell story. I find draw and tell stories are a really good way to keep your crowd engaged because the kids are trying so hard to guess what the picture is going to be. I’m never too adventurous with the draw and tell stories I do. I try to keep them pretty simple and kids still love them. I highly encourage you to practice your drawing skills and try a draw and tell story in your next storytime. You can find a ton of draw and tell stories on Pinterest, but here are a couple of my favourite to get you started.

on the other side of each plate. (Draw 3) He helped his dad hang colourful streamers over the table. (Draw 4) He put two presents for his sister on the table. One was from him and the other was from his mom and dad. (Draw 5) Mike checked all around to make sure that everything was ready for the party. (Draw 6) Mike smiled a big smile. (Draw 7) Now it was time for the party to start and he couldn’t wait to have some yummy BIRTHDAY CAKE!

Birthday Cake Draw and Tell Story

By Linda Meuse Retrieved from Notes from the Story Room Even though it was raining outside (Draw 1), it was bright and cheery inside Mike’s house. The family was getting ready for his little sister Katie’s birthday party. Mike was helping. He put plates on the table. (Draw 2) Then he put a fork on one side and a spoon ⊲⊲⊲ SPRING 2015 | YAACING 11

COLUMNS Kevin’s Favourite Animal

by Linda Meuse Retrieved from Notes from the Story Room Kevin likes to do many different things. He likes to play in his room. (Draw 1) He has bookcases in his room with books about his favourite animal. (Draw 2) He sits in a comfy chair in his room to read the books about his favourite animal. (Draw 3) Sometimes he builds towers with blocks in his room. (Draw 4) Sometimes he plays with his sister in her room. (Draw 5) Sometimes he plays with his brother in his room. (Draw 6) Sometimes he plays with his brother and sister in their backyard. (Draw 7) However, Kevin’s favourite thing to do is to go to the aquarium to see his favourite animal. (Draw 8) What is Kevin’s favourite animal? SHARK!!

I hope you try these draw and tell stories out! Let me know via email at kvardy@pgpl.ca if you have a favourite draw and tell story, I’d love to draw it!

Kaitlyn Vardy is a Children’s Librarian at the Prince George Public Library.

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COLUMNS TEENS ONLY

Reaching Teens in Their Natural Habitat: The Mall!

By Heather Gloster

Prince George was the host of the 2015 Canada Winter Games this February and it brought many changes to the library. The top floor of our downtown branch was turned into the Athletes Lounge, with big screen TVs, large leather sofas, board games, yoga classes, and a massive Jenga set. The best young athletes from all over the country hung out in the library and enthusiastically traded stories and pins from their home provinces.

As part of the deal with the Canada Winter Games, the library was given an empty storefront in Pine Centre Mall in order to

create a pop-up branch! We took a small selection of all our collections to showcase all that we have to offer. People, especially teens, were very enthusiastic about the new location. Teens were overheard saying “I knew the library would come to me one day!” and “This is amazing; I wish you were here all the time!” We ran some programs out of the small branch too because our programming room downtown became the Athletes Lounge computer lab. Although the space wasn’t the best for programs because there was no divide between the library space and the programming area, the teens thought it was ⊲⊲⊲

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COLUMNS so cool being in the mall for a library event.

The back of the pop-up was turned into a gaming area with a big screen TV and a WII U. Teens were able to come and go as they please and play Mario Kart. It was an excellent way to highlight our video game collection as many teens didn’t know we are now carrying PS4, WII U, and Xbox One. I held two Youth Advisory Board meetings at the pop-up location. Both times I sent the youth out in the mall with stacks of our 8 question library survey. The library is surveying Prince George citizens to gather feedback on how they feel the library is serving the community. The teens had fun chatting to new people and promoting the library while gathering data through the survey. When

they were discouraged by people who didn’t want to participate in the survey, they were able to take a break and play WII U. The mall location was a great way to reach out to the community and promote the library to non-library users. It was surprising how many people didn’t know about the many different services we offer. I found that people were especially thrilled to discover that they could get free access to Zinio, e-books, video games, and new release films.

Pine Centre Mall is also a major transit hub making it an easy place for many people to get to. Teens who attend Prince George Secondary School also commented how they like to hang out at the mall after school and during spares because it is easy for them to walk there. Mothers of small children told us that it was nice to be able to take a break from running errands in the mall and read a book with their families.

The downtown branch of Prince George Public Library faced some negative feedback from some library patrons about not having access to the second floor and lack of study space during the Games. However, overall most people were thrilled with the pop-up location and felt that the library did its best to accommodate everyone during the Games.

If you have any questions or comments please feel free to contact me by telephone at 250-5639251, ext. 105 or by email at hgloster@pgpl.ca.

Heather Gloster is the Teen Services Librarian at the Prince George Public Library.

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COLUMNS DISPATCHES FROM A RURAL LIBRARIAN

From Pottermania to Harry Potter Book Night

By Amy Dawley

In the first few months after I arrived as the new librarian here on Gabriola, I was approached by a mother from the community who wanted to let me know about Harry Potter Book Night, an upcoming international event launched by Bloomsbury, the publisher

of the Harry Potter books. Harry Potter Book Night was a celebration designed to introduce a new generation of children to the Harry Potter world. She was hoping I’d be interested in organizing a corresponding event here on Gabriola—and I was! Given that my previous ⊲⊲⊲

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COLUMNS library in Prince George had an enormously successful yearly Pottermania event that I helped organize, Harry Potter library events were super familiar territory for me. I jumped at the chance to deliver something like it in my new community.

In my excitement to offer a Harry Potter event on Gabriola, I didn’t immediately think about how I was actually going to make this a reality. As the weeks passed and the event loomed closer, I realized the challenge that lay ahead in planning Harry Potter Book Night. I had to adapt an event that previously garnered several hundred participants, involved a lot of staff and volunteers, and took place in a large, two-floor downtown library to an event that targeted around thirty participants, involved only one guaranteed staff (me!), and would take place in a relatively small, rural branch library. As I wrapped my brain around how I was going to adapt the flashy and huge Pottermania to a humble and smaller-scale Harry Potter Book Night, I had to address a few logistical challenges. My thoughts were

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as follows:

Space:

• No dedicated program space at Gabriola anything that I planned to do had to work in the general library area amongst the shelves, tables, and other library customers that happened to be present during the event.

• Wouldn’t be able to set up too far ahead of time before the event started as spaces mentioned are almost always inhabited by library customers.

• Needed to spread the activities out over the whole library to accommodate the traffic flow of people that would be attending the program.

Staffing: • Only guaranteed staff I had was myself, so the program needed to be designed in such a way that I could run it myself if needed

• One library assistant would be present, but they were responsible for manning the circulation desk and would therefore be only available to me in a limited way

• Focused on using supplies we already had, which were generic craft supplies: scissors, glue, multiple colours of regular printer paper, crayons, feathers, etc.

• One library page, who also had other duties during the course of their shift

Taking these facts into consideration, I mulled over the program plan for a few days

Money:

and considered my options. This is what I eventually came up with: a one-hour program that focused on an almost equal split between low-staff intervention crafting and low-staff intervention activities that were arranged in

• Limited resources—needed to be able to deliver this program on very little money

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COLUMNS Stations: 1. Craft Station: Make Your Own Wand Using sticks, glue, and other miscellaneous craft materials, children make their own wand as a takeaway craft. This is an unstructured craft that can be set up on a table. Staff gathered sticks ahead of time from a nearby wooded area.

2.

Craft Station: Pottermaniac Button Making a station format. Bloomsbury had sent out a Harry Potter Book Night Event Kit document to libraries, bookstores, and schools that had registered to deliver the event, but only a few of the activities included in the kit would work for my event. The program plan looked like this:

Time needed: 1 hour Targeted Ages: 6–12 year olds Description: This event is designed to celebrate the Harry Potter book series and to encourage children to participate in games, crafts, and activities that engage them with the Harry Potter books and world.

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Using VIRL’s button maker machine, children can choose from a set of pre-made Harry Potter button templates and make a button to take away. This is a craft station that needs a staff member present, at least until children and parents get the hang of how it works. I made the button templates based on fan-made buttons that I found online. The button templates were cut out ahead of time. I realize that many libraries may not have a button maker—an alternative idea would be to have label paper pre-cut out and children could make their own Harry Potter stickers.

3. Craft Station: Design Your Own Dragon Egg & Dragon This station is designed for the youngest attendees. Set out dragon colouring sheets and crayons on a table. This activity is from Bloomsbury’s Harry Potter Book Night Event Kit, and features an egg-shaped outline and a

line of text asking kids to imagine what their dragon and dragon egg would look like.

4. Activity Station: Get Sorted into Houses This station asks kids to complete a short double-sided quiz to determine which house they might be sorted into. Once kids complete the quiz, they can take away a house badge sticker. I made a Publisher file that featured images of house badges laid out in such a way as they could be printed on label paper and then cut out ahead of time.

5. Activity Station: Diagon Alley Hunt This station is a seek-and-find activity.

Various Harry Potter objects are hidden around the library and attendees must try to spot the hidden items and check them off their list. Items must be gathered and hidden ahead of time. We chose to hide ours “up”— many objects were suspended from the ceiling to keep them out of reach so they couldn’t be moved through the course of the event. This activity is from Bloomsbury’s Harry Potter

Book Night Event Kit and kids had to spot the following objects: wizard coins, Daily Prophet newspaper, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them book, Hedwig, a wand, the Philosopher’s Stone, and a broomstick. You can either try to make/gather these objects or print out images of them to hide.

6. A c t i v i t y Station:Philosopher’s Stone Scavenger Hunt This station is a linear, clue-based activity that starts in one location, sends children all over the library looking for the next clue in the series, and then ends in a set location.

Clues must be printed and placed ahead of time, often stuck under shelves, etc., so children have to crouch down to see them. Some objects hidden for the Diagon Alley Hunt will also be used for this Scavenger Hunt, such as Hedwig, or a broomstick. This is a simple scavenger hunt that had been designed for Prince George Public Library’s Pottermania that I adapted to work in a smaller branch. Example clue: “This place may not feature The Daily Prophet, but it does have many other muggle newspapers!”

Answer: newspaper shelf.

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COLUMNS 7. Activity Station: Harry Potter Photo Many children (and parents!) arrived dressed in costume which lent a great atmosphere to Booth the evening. I played a Harry Potter movie This station was set up to allow program soundtrack on one of the computers at the front attendees to pose for photos. We used our desk, which also helped to set the mood. One of branch iPad to snap pictures (to be later our staff had the Harry Potter Wizard’s Chess emailed), though many parents and kids had board game that she brought in from home devices of their own to take pictures. Props and it was a huge hit! The kids enjoyed seeing had to be made ahead of time and were based it and they played each other for the duration on ideas I found online. of the program. We kept decorations simple, opting to post several of Dolores Umbridge’s Educational Decrees (found online) and by making paper flying keys to hang up. Everyone had a great time, and some fantastic Harry Potter fans even brought in a yellow golden snitch cake that they had baked especially for the event, which even had “I open at the close” piped on in black icing.

Tips:

8. Contest Station: Guess the number of Bertie Botts Every-Flavour Beans

• As staff time was at a premium, we didn’t have the ability to greet and explain the event to everyone who was coming in the door. Instead, we set up a welcome sign on a big whiteboard with signage explaining what was going on and where. It worked beautifully.

This station was a simple “guess how many” game. We brought in a small jar from home, filled it with some generic jelly beans bought at the grocery store for a few dollars, and had kids guess how many beans were in the jar.

Whoever guesses closest, wins!

• Next time, we’d make it a longer event. Some children lingered on games or activities that drew their attention and more time would’ve allowed them to fully take in everything there was to do.

How it went: We ended up with 28 program attendees which was the perfect number for the evening.

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• Delivering this program during a Saturday afternoon or school noninstructional day would have been great. Given that this event was to coincide with Harry Potter Book Night

on February 5th, we had to offer it as an evening program, but it would go over just as well any other time… and maybe even be more successful!

This was my first big event for school-aged children here on Gabriola and I was really pleased with how it turned out. Now that I’ve had a chance to see how a station-style program worked, my mind is racing with ideas of other themed events that could be easily plugged into this template and delivered in a very similar way. I plan to offer this event again during the summer, and maybe even around Halloween, which is when PGPL’s Pottermania traditionally occurs. To my fellow rural library folks: You can do this!

If you’d like more details about this program, please let me know! I’d love to help out in any way I can. Do you have ideas for programs that work particularly well in rural communities? Let me know. Drop me a line any time at 250-247-7878 or at adawley@virl.bc.ca.

Amy Dawley is the Customer Services Librarian II at the Gabriola Island branch of the Vancouver Island Regional Library.

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COLUMNS WE’LL LINK TO THAT

Jbrary’s Top 10 STEAM Online Resources

By Lindsey Krabbenhoft and Dana Horrocks

Summer Reading Club is right around the corner and this year’s theme is Build it! Many of the sub-themes have a connection to STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, and math), so we thought we’d round up our Top 10 STEAM online resources. There is so much information online that sometimes it’s hard to know where to start. Well, here are 10 websites that will get you inspired to plan STEAM programs for kids ages 0–12 years old.

1. THE SHOW ME LIBRARIAN: There is a reason why we think you should start with Amy’s page. Dubbed the STEAM Queen, Amy has created lists of science and STEAM programs she’s done with preschool and school age kids, other folks who are running STEAM programs and resources to locate nonfiction books and brush up on your science. We also love her emphasis on tapping into STEAM resources in your community. Truly a one-stop shop!

2. ABBY THE LIBRARIAN: But please don’t stop there.

Our friend Abby has a series 22 YAACING | SPRING 2015

called Preschool Lab in which she includes all the storytime gold we’re used to like songs, rhymes, flannels and books with explanations about what makes each of them great. But that’s not all, Abby also includes stations that allow her storytimers to get their hands around different scientific and mathematical concepts. She ends with her thoughts on how it all went, as well as additional ideas for caregivers to build on the ideas explored at home.

3. SIMPLYSTEM: This is a wiki started by students from Spring 2013 ALSC course “S.T.E.M. Programs Made Easy” as a

way to collect STEM resources and ideas floating around the interwebs. Check out their preschool and school age resources for lots of great tried and true ideas.

4. ROBOT TEST KITCHEN: This group of children and teen librarians blog about their failures and successes when it comes to programming with robotics in a library setting. We love their true confessions for thoughtful writing and lots of links and their reviews for learning about products we’ve only read about. In their words, two robot thumbs up!

5. LIBRARY MAKERS: This blog, which is connected to the Madison Public Library, includes all kinds of great STEAM program ideas in the WonderWorks series.

But don’t stop there, we love their Supper Club where they invite families to come eat dinner and take part in an app-based storytime, Toddler Art Class plus Craft Lab and NeedleReads for Teens.

6. SCIENCE SPARKS: Though not a librarian-run blog, this website is chockfull of fun and easy science experiments broken down into age groups. They’ve got ideas for preschool science all the way up to tweens.

The writers make a point to showcase activities you can do using commonly found household items. We especially love their book club posts which feature science experiments tied to popular children’s literature like The Lorax.

7. TINKERLAB: Run by a mom and arts educator named Rachelle Doorley, this blog features open-ended experiments

and art projects. She has one of the most user-friendly navigation bars, allowing you to easily search by art activity, science experiment, or age group. And her Resources page lists everything from what supplies she buys to books to read to her favourite blogs.

8. LITTLE ELIT: One of our favourite technology programming websites that specifically focuses on the role of libraries. Want to know what apps to use in storytime?

Want to get ideas for iPadbased programs? Little eLit is leading the way in innovative ideas and research on using new media in libraries with young children.

9. STARNET: StarNET provides science– technology activities and resources for libraries.

Created by a coalition of groups such as ALA, the Space Science Institute, and the Afterschool Alliance, when you join their community you get access to successful STEAM programs libraries across North America have run.

10. ALSC BLOG: We’ve been following the official blog of the Association for Library Service to Children for a long time, but we just recently discovered their STEM/STEAM Tag. This tag gives you access to their archive of all STEAM ideas bloggers have shared over the years. From booklists to conference sessions to grant writing to program ideas, just spending an afternoon reading through these posts is sure to inspire and educate.

Do you have a go-to STEAM resource that we missed? We’d love to hear about it, give us a shout at jbrary@gmail.com.

Dana Horrocks and Lindsey Krabbenhoft are Children’s Librarians currently working at the Vancouver Public Library.

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COLUMNS WHO’S ON THE FELT BOARD?

Ten in the Bed (Beard Edition) Based on makinglearningfun.com Felt Story by Taya Lawton

There were nine in the bed… [count down to one] There was one in the bed and the little bear said, “I’m sleepy, I’m sleepy. Good night!” [Stretch out arms wide and yawn]

Taya Lawton is a Library Technician at the Vancouver Public Library 24 YAACING | SPRING 2015

source: makelearningfun.com

There were ten in the bed and the little bear said, “Roll over, roll over!” [Shout with hands next to mouth] They all rolled over [roll arms] and the RED bear fell out. Boom! [smack knees]

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COLUMNS

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COLUMNS

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FEATURES A BILINGUAL PRESCHOOL STORY TIME (ENGLISH/FARSI)

FRIENDSHIP ‫یتسود‬

by Nikky McCarvill and Shideh Taleban

Welcome Song Welcome Friends x3 We’re glad you came today Let’s have lots of fun x3 We’re glad you came to play In Farsi: ‫اه هچب مالس مالس‬ Salam salam bache ha ‫اه هچنغ مالس مالس‬ Salam salam ghoncheha ‫مالس هک دینک مالس‬ Salam konid ke salam ‫هرایم یتمالس‬ Salamati miare

Song: The Ship of Friends (with felt hands to put on the board) Tune: “The Farmer in the Dell” Come join our ship of friends, Come join our ship of friends, Come sail away today, Come join our ship of friends.

If your hand is pink, If your hand is pink, Come sail away today, If your hand is pink.

If your hand is blue…

If your hand is yellow …

If you hand is purple …

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FEATURES Book: Two Bunny Buddies Kathryn O.Galbraith (2014) Illustrated by: Joe Cepeda

Action Rhyme: Head and shoulders Head and shoulders, knees and toes (x3) Head and shoulders, knees and toes Eyes, ears, mouth and nose In Farsi: ‫( اپ و وناز هنوش و رس‬۳) Sar o shouneh, zanoo o pa (x3) ‫اپ و وناز هنوش و رس‬ Sar o shouneh, zanoo o pa ‫ مشچ‬، ‫شوگ‬، ‫غامد و نهد‬ Cheshm, goush, dahan o damagh

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Felt Board: Box of Crayons I had a box of crayons, All shiny, straight and new.

I lent a friend one crayon, And--oops--it broke in two!

My friend said she was sorry, But I said "I don't care, 'Cause now we both can colour, With one crayon--we can share!"

Puppet Story: Mr. Rabbit and Little Mouse (Story in English, Song in Farsi) Book: Monkey and Me Emily Gravett (2007) A little girl and her monkey go to see animals.

Fingerplay: Lili Lili Hozak (In English and Farsi) Lili Lili Hozak, the little birdy, wanted to drink from the hozak (pool) and fell in!

(Open your hand and draw a circle with index finger) This one took it out (Fold pinky finger into the hand) This one helped it (Fold the ring finger into the hand) Felt Board/Song: Farsi Numbers This one gave it water and food (Refer to the vocabulary table) (Fold the middle finger into the hand) This one asked: “Who pushed it?”

Rhyme: Tick Tock (Fold the pointer finger into the hand) Tick tock tick tock This bigger one said: ME! ME! THE BIG ME! Listen to the little clock (Shake the thumb with the other hand) Tick tock tick tock Now it’s time for us to stop In Farsi: ‫کات کیت‬، ‫کات کیت‬ Tick tock tick tock ‫دینک شوگ تعاس هب‬ Be saat goosh konid ‫کات کیت‬، ‫کات کیت‬ Tick tock tick tock ‫مینک مومت هشتقو‬ Vaghteshe tamum konim

Book: Alone Together Suzanne Bloom (2014) Bear wants to be alone, but goose and fox want to be together. ⊲⊲⊲

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FEATURES

Action Rhyme: Up, Down Up, down, turn around, Touch the sky and touch the ground.

Jiggle your tummy, blink your eye.

Blow a kiss and say Goodbye!

In Farsi: ‫الاب‬، ‫ نییاپ‬، ‫دیخرچب‬ Bala,paeen, becharkhid ‫دینک سمل ور نیمز و نومسآ‬ asemoon o zamin ro lams konid ‫دیدب نوکت ور نوتمکش‬، ‫دینزب کمشچ‬ shekametun ro takun bedid, cheshmak bezanid ‫!ظفاحادخ دیگب و دیتسرفب سوب‬ boos befrestid o begid khodahafez Goodbye Song Goodbye friends (x3) We’re glad you came to play We had lots of fun (x3) We’re glad you came today.

Nikky McCarvill and Shideh Taleban are MLIS students at the University of British Columbia iSchool. This program was originally developed for LIBR 527 – Services for Children.

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FEATURES A STORYTIME FOR TODDLERS

Wild and Wacky Animals

by Alyssa Hamer Welcome Song Up, down, turn around Touch the sky, touch the ground Wiggle Fingers, wiggle toes Wiggle shoulders, say “hello”

“Slowly, Slowly, Slowly,” said the Sloth

by Eric Carle

The Eensy, Weensy Sloth The eensy weensy sloth Climbed up the coconut tree Down came the coconut And bopped him on the knee - OW! Out came the jaguar and roared his mighty roar And the eensy weensy sloth Alyssa Hamer is a dual MAS/MLIS student Climbed up the tree once more at the University of British Columbia iSchool.

This program was originally developed for LIBR 527 – Services for Children. ⊲ ⊲⊲ ⊲⊲ ⊲

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FEATURES Elephants in the Bathtub One elephant in the bathtub, going for a swim, Knock knock, splash splash, come on in!

Two elephants…

Three elephants…

Four elephants…

Five elephants in the bathtub, going for a swim, Knock knock, splash splash, they all fell in!

Little Green by Kieth Baker I Went to the Jungle One Day (sung to the tune: “London Bridge”) I went to the jungle one day, jungle one day, jungle one day.

I saw a lion on the way and this is what he said, “ROAR”! (repeat with other animals)

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Goodbye Song Up, down, turn around Touch the sky, touch the ground Pat your belly, blink your eyes Blow a kiss and say “goodbye”

Credits Songs, Rhymes & Stories Hello/Goodbye Song LibrarianLindsey YouTube Channel (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V650iBkWCUA) The Eensy Weensy Monkey (adapted) VPL Mount Pleasant BabyTime Songs pamphlet (February, 2014) Elephants in the Bathtub Story & Felt patterns http://sunflowerstorytime.com/2010/11/19/in-the-jungle/ I went to the Jungle one day http://sunflowerstorytime.com/2010/11/19/in-the-jungle/ “Slowly, slowly, slowly,” said the Sloth Eric Carle. New York: Philomel Books, 2002.

Little Green Keith Baker. San Diego: Hartcourt, 2001.

Thanks also to jbrary.com for organization ideas Images All images are licensed for the public domain and have been provided courtesy of: www.pixabay.com

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FEATURES

A Review of Books Celebrating Mothers and Grandmothers on May 10th Through Everyday Stories

By Mehjabeen Ali

Amidst cards filled with crayon written messages and special meals celebrating Mother’s Day are great stories. Passed orally over generations or those found in beautifully created books, the stories present unique moments, some going on to become deeply cherished.

1. Minji’s Salon by Eun-hee Choung (2008). La Jolla, CA: Kane Miller Books Colour, an active imagination, and a desire to surprise mom combine in this delightful story. Applying a brilliant “mirroring” effect of momat-salon and Minji-at-home, Choung gives us the story of spunky Minji as hairstylist, coiffing up her dog’s hair (and face!). As mom’s hair is coloured at the salon, the dog’s is coloured with ice cream and paints.

As rollers are applied to mom’s hair, crayons and pens are rolled onto the dog’s.

What follows is a cross section of picture books celebrating mothers and grandmothers. While not written specifically for Mother’s Day, they honour these amazing women in their own way, exemplifying that everyday selflessness, humour, and unique love that is motherhood. As such, they will complement any Mother’s Day display of Minji knows “beauty takes time”. books. Representing families of several cultures, there is also a story in which mother While beautiful mom is definitely and daughter speak in sign language as they surprised coming home to the newly fashioned family pet, she spend a day at the beach.

is also tickled. And she takes Minji up for an appointment when Minji offers her very edgy style expertise.

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2. Every Year on Your Birthday

by Rose Lewis (2007). New York: Little Brown and Company A woman conveys her joy and love for a daughter she adopted as a baby from China in this story. Reminiscing “every year on [her daughter’s] birthday” the story reads more like a letter to her daughter interweaving expressions of joy for example about how the daughter’s “gurgles have turned to giggles”, with proud moments on the occasion of her first five birthdays. Celebrating their life together yet also keeping the memory of her heritage and birth family alive, the story concludes with the word “family” written in Chinese calligraphy, a word synonymous we are told with “home.”

This is a moving book every parent and child, particularly adoptive parents and children, will cherish.

3. Hands & Heart by Donna Jo Napoli (2014). New York: Abrams Books for Young Children The language as gentle as the watercoloured landscapes of sand and waves at the beach, this story reads as a poem about the sweet bond between this mother and daughter who communicate through sign language. In this idyllic seaside setting, a daughter expresses her excitement for the things they will do and

see throughout the day. Readers will enjoy the illustration, text, and the invitation to sign words such as “water,” “swim,” saying “hello” to waves and watching the “sunset” from the tent they build on the beach. It is a charming book for reading on Mother’s Day (and given the weather generally warming, maybe outdoors!)

4. My Mother’s Sari by Sandhya Rao (2006). New York: NorthSouth Books Yards of fabric—textured, smooth, solid in bold colours, or intricate in patterned designs—feature prominently in this little girl’s description of what she simply calls “my mother’s sari”. The long, seamless fabrics which women across the Indian subcontinent have traditionally donned for the most mundane activity (household chores) to celebratory occasion is affectionately depicted for all the warm, fun, comforting qualities this girl sees in them—qualities which mom, the lady who wraps, tucks, and transforms them into beautiful saris, has herself.

5. Grandma’s Gift by Eric Velasquez (2010). New York: Walker This memoir is a touching story about a very special Christmas holiday. Sprinkled with Puerto Rican phrases and questions ⊲⊲⊲

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FEATURES from Velasquez’s grandmother who does not know English, this memoir conveys his bond with his grandmother and her part in his decision to become an artist.

It is almost Christmas Day and there is lots to be done. She asks him to choose the music to fill her apartment while she tirelessly prepares pasteles, a traditional dish. Christmas preparations do not distract her though and despite being quite lost beyond her neighbourhood, she sees to it that his homework assignment—a report about a famous painting at the Museum of Metropolitan Art—is completed. A story of their warm relationship, here is also a story of a grandmother gifting a young Velasquez with a pivotal moment in his young life.

While each mother’s words are presented in English and respective first language, these men from many cultures, dressed in traditional garb standing side by side, say in unison “I listened to what Mama said” and conclude with “[a]nd now I am a man.”

This book celebrates motherhood everywhere, highlighting its special universality.

6. Mama Says: A Book of Love for Mothers and Sons by Rob D. Walker (2009). New York: Blue Sky Press Twelve mothers, twelve sons, twelve languages. The imagery and wisdom passed from mother to son will resonate. This book carries a beautiful unifying strength through the cross-cultural language of twelve mothers’ love embodied in the words they impart to their sons. Conveying mothers’ guidance and care page after page, the book culminates with a poignant illustration accompanied by the collective voice of the men these sons become.

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Mehjabeen Ali is a Newcomer Family Services Librarian with Surrey Libraries.

REVIEWS BOOK REVIEW

I Spy With My Little Eye Review by Sadie Tucker

Gibbs, E. (2011). I Spy with My Little Eye. Sommerville, Mass.: Templar Books/Candlewick Press.

This book is a beautiful rendition of the popular game “I Spy.” The game is a great way for children to practice their colours and also to learn new words. The repetition inherent in the game is a great way to scaffold children’s acquisition of new nouns and lends itself to young children’s use of stock phrases. It also makes waiting in restaurants much more bearable! While many North American families will be quite familiar with this game, the book presents an opportunity to introduce it to those who have never played it.

The book alternates “eye spy” with beautifully illustrated pictures of various animals (the animals that were “spied” in the preceding page). While the illustrations are gorgeous, they take some artistic license and less realistic illustrations may impede children’s acquisition of new labels. Something that is unique to this publication is that the “eye spy” page has a small hole cut into the right hand side so that the reader can see the colour being discussed, but not the bigger picture (i.e., which animal is being spied).

This may help to overcome toddlers’ difficulties with distinguishing an object’s qualities from the object as a whole, otherwise known as the whole object constraint. The only things “spied” in this book are animals, operating within a single category which can help children learn new words.

I Spy with My Little Eye is good for a range of ages. It can be limited to a simplistic colour-animal labeling exercise, but it also has little details which can appeal to an older audience. For example, each animal’s eye is singled out on the “eye spy” page and each hole has a word bubble underneath it which gives an additional clue to the animal’s identity (e.g. “I am the biggest animal in the whole world”).

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REVIEWS BOOK REVIEW

Chu’s Day Review by Sadie Tucker

Gaiman, N. (2013). Chu’s Day. New York, NY: HarperFestival/HarperCollins.

Bad things happen when Chu, a baby panda, sneezes. While out at various locations in town, Chu’s parents ask if he is about to sneeze, he responds with “aah, aaah, Aaaah… No”. Unfortunately, when Chu really is about to sneeze, his parents are too distracted by a circus performance to hear his warning!

This book has lovely, busy illustrations that are sure to keep a child interested throughout the story. Chu’s “aah, aaah, Aaaah…” catches the reader’s attention and builds suspense. When the sneeze finally happens, the repercussions are felt as far away as the other locations Chu had visited that day. This is depicted over several textless illustrations. This invites the child to think back on previous parts of the story and encourages the child and caregiver to discuss what all those poor animals must be thinking as they are blown away! The ending is a little out of place, with Chu going to bed, and the book may have been better served by removing that portion and replacing it with another scene of false alarm. This would have incorporated more repetition into the story and further built up the suspense. Turning this story into a felt or puppet show would permit these adjustments to be made.

Due to the detailed illustrations and relatively complicated text, this book is best suited to two-year-olds as much of the story would likely be lost on a toddler.

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REVIEWS BOOK REVIEW

Lots of Kisses (board book) Review by Sadie Tucker

Crozier, L. (2014). Lots of kisses. Victoria, BC: Orca.

This sturdy board book contains lovely, vivid photos of babies and their parents. The pictures of faces will help hold young readers’ attention. The book has a nice balance between repetition (“If I kiss…”) and novel text. The repetition helps babies become familiar with the cadence of the story and supports language development. The poetry engages the adult reader’s attention and is lovely to read. The pictures accompanying the text are relevant and subtly encourage the caregiver to mimic the photos. The colours used are primarily pastels, so there is not as much contrast in the book as one might wish; however, the photos are clear and relatively easy for a little one to decipher.

Parents will be hard-pressed not to kiss their babies after (or while) reading this book!

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CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS YAACING is published four times per year and is always looking for submissions that might interest children’s and teen specialists in BC libraries. We accept news pieces, articles, program descriptions and ideas, conference reports, and much more. If you would like to write a regular column, send us a brief pitch.

Submissions should be no more than 2500 words, sent in an editable format (not PDF).

Please include a byline with your job title and workplace, or for students: your school, program and class information, if applicable.

YAACING invites your contributions to our Reviews and Felt Stories sections: Reviews: Please send us reviews of books, blogs, websites, or other resources. Submissions should be no more than 300 words. Longer reviews may be considered for publication as featured articles.

Felt Stories: Share your creativity! YAACING is looking for felt story patterns. Submissions should include a printable pattern, photograph of the finished product, and related rhyme or note about the origin of the story.

The deadline for the Summer 2015 issue of YAACING is May 15, 2015. Email your submissions to the editors at YAACING@gmail.com.

www.bcla.bc.ca/yaacs

NEWSLETTER OF THE YOUNG ADULT AND CHILDREN’S SERVICES SECTION OF BCLA