The Loopy Librarian

During storytime one morning, I overheard two parents discussing various ideas on how to deal with uncooperative or disobedient children.  One parent said, “When my son is uncooperative, I just tell him we won’t go to Continue Reading »

If you want book suggestions for your child based on their interests and reading level, try the website Book Adventure http://www.bookadventure.com/. If you set up a free account for your child, he/she can even take quizzes on some of the books. I took the quiz based on Sideways Stories from Wayside School by Louis Sachar, and I was Continue Reading »

Do you want the latest, most up-to-date, country information for your student’s report?  The best site I’ve found is the CIA’s World Factbook https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/ As of this posting, the site was last updated on August 7, 2008.  And, here’s the best part: Continue Reading »

Having conversations with children is one of the best aspects of this job. The following conversation is a terrific example of why this is so. A child I recognized as one I had helped select picture books about police officers was back again, so I asked him how he liked the books. Referring to Sherman Crunchley, he said, and I quote, Continue Reading »

I saw a sign years ago that I would like to put up at the library. It states “Poor Planning on Your Part Does Not Constitute an Emergency on Our Part.” Such a sign would have been handy the other day when a patron came in requesting, as she put it, books about reading, math, social sciences, and biology. As my assistant worked to find books fitting this very generic description, the patron indicated that she was really in a hurry because Continue Reading »

If you are a fan of the Adams Family, then you may appreciate the darker humor of this series of books by Charles Ogden. The twins, Edgar and Ellen, are deplorable in their behavior and devise naughty schemes with which to trouble their neighbors. In Rare Beasts, the twins decide to steal the neighborhood pets and, with the help of glue, paint, and other supplies, turn the pets into exotic Continue Reading »

Twisted is a coming of age story about a boy of nearly eighteen who is facing many challenges in his life. He is no angel, but he is not the bad boy everyone seems to believe he is. His home life is troubled, and his future is uncertain. When he is falsely accused of a crime that could very well send him to prison, he loses hope and seriously contemplates Continue Reading »

Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key is about an elementary school student with attention-deficit disorder. Joey tries very, very hard to follow the rules, but between his disorder and his vivid imagination, he finds staying out of trouble to be quite difficult (often with humorous results). The author of the Joey Pigza books, Jack Gantos, does a phenomenal job of reaching into Joey’s head and Continue Reading »

For good reason, library policy states that only parents or legal guardians can sign for library cards for children.  I have met many well-meaning grandparents, aunts, uncles, and others to whom I’ve had to recite this policy.  As an extra precaution, we ask not “Are you the child’s mother?” but “What is your relationship to the child?” When someone does claim legal guardianship, we ask for Continue Reading »

Perhaps it’s the spring weather that has sprouted the Shakespeare phenomenon at my house, or perhaps it is mere coincidence, but Shakespeare is everywhere I turn lately. First a friend of mine invited me to see a Shakespeare play at the Shakespeare Tavern in Atlanta. Then, my sixth grade son began spouting lines from the oft-quoted balcony scene in Continue Reading »