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School Librarians On Trial

It’s like a horror novel, except it’s really happening. The Los Angeles Times reports that teacher-librarians are being interrogated in court to prove that they use their teaching credential. If they can’t, the district will cut their positions. Apparently, showing up with lesson plans is not enough.

I returned to school for a SECOND GRADUATE DEGREE and teacher certification, to the tune of thousands of dollars, so I could be a school library media specialist. This makes me want to cry.

With the school librarians on trial and school libraries on the verge of closure, is it any wonder that children don’t read?

Posted on May 17, 2011 by , 2 comments

Giant Princesses

Around Halloween, my daughter decided she wanted to be a princess. Cinderella, specifically. I personally think Cinderella is a kick-butt princess, so that was cool with me. I wasn’t all that keen on a Disney Cinderella costume, though. They looked kind of cheap, plus Disney’s Cinderella isn’t my favorite version of that particular princess.  I like Jim Hines’ version a lot, but then I can’t exactly read his stuff as bedtime stories to my three year old. Now, her older brother had an obsession with dinosaurs that had lasted a long time, and right around then it started to morph into an obsession with dragons. Finding a cool dragon costume is a challenge, let me tell you, but we found one that rocked. My mother found an elegant, sparkly royal blue princess dress with a hoop for my daughter, and she was in princess heaven. But her princess wasn’t going to be the victim of any dragon. She announced that she was a “giant princess” who could beat the dragon. And she has steadfastly stuck to that. She insisted on wearing the dress to our Mother’s Day brunch, and was really cute, but whenever someone tried to compliment her appearance, she announced indignantly “I’m a GIANT princess”!

Our zombie editor, the lovely and talented Michele Lee, has brought a link to my attention that makes me think of my daughter’s princess attitude (although she’s a little young to share it with). She likes Disney princesses, but sometimes she just doesn’t get why they act the way they do. Princesses that can take out dragons, now that she can understand.

Posted on May 17, 2011 by , 1 comment

Thirteen Reasons Why

When I mentioned Jay Asher’s Thirteen Reasons Why a few days ago, I knew it was a major YA bestseller as well as a powerfully emotional, horrifying book. What I didn’t know, and have since discovered via Publisher’s Weekly that there is a dedicated YouTube channel tied in to the book. The video itself is simple- you are watching an audiotape spool around and around on the most basic kind of tape recorder. What’s compelling is the voice on the tape, the accusatory voice of the now-dead Hannah Baker. You can also go the the novel’s website to find the videos as well as a comment tool.

Teens can also contribute to an online scrapbook, the Thirteen Reasons Why Project showing how the book has changed their lives, using either text, image, or video.

Thirteen Reasons Why is on its way into being a movie- but how a full length movie could do justice to the book, or have the impact of the short videos on YouTube, I cannot imagine. If you haven’t read the book, check out the videos. You’ll want to read the book.

Posted on May 16, 2011 by , Reply
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