Al Capone Shines my Shoes by Gennifer Choldenko (2009)

This sequel to Al Capone does My Shirts picks up right where the original leaves off. Moose Flanagan, who lives on 1935 Alcatraz Island along with his family and the families of the other prison guards, is frightened when he discovers that noted gangster Al Capone, a prisoner, wants a favor in return for helping get Moose's sister into a special school in San Francisco. The same cast of intriguing characters returns, perhaps a few too many for ease of keeping track. Communication from within come through notes in Moose's clothing, this time its his shoes. The story reaches its climax with a suspenseful prison break while the adults are occupied at a party leaving the kids to foil the escape. Fun and exciting. Ages: 12+

Are You there God? It's me, Margaret by Judy Bloom (1970)

Faced with the difficulties of growing up and choosing a religion, a twelve-year-old Margaret talks over her problems privately with God. Margaret's parents have no religion and are raising Margaret with none. Her father was born Jewish, her mother Christian and upon marrying they have forsaken both. The plot centers around Margaret's confusion about faith as she both longs for and fears physical development and growth. Blume writes openly about the physical manifestations of menstruation and puberty. Margaret is a strong-minded adolescent finding her way into adulthood. Controversial in its day for its straightforwardness. Ages: 9+

A Season of Gifts by Richard Peck (2009)

A companion novel l to A Long Way from Chicago and A Year Down Yonder, this incarnation of Mrs. Dowdel's adventures takes place some twenty-five years later and her grandchildren are grown. The story relates the surprising gifts bestowed on twelve-year-old Bob Barnhart and his family, who have recently moved to a small Illinois town in 1958, by their larger-than-life neighbor, Mrs. Dowdel. Bob's father is the new pastor of the run-down Methodist church in town with little to no congregation. Though, Mrs. Dowdel is no church woman, through her secret antics and peculiar ways, the church is set to right and the church prospers. Bob witnesses and participates in more than he plan on - with lots of hilarity along the way. Fun Christmas read! Ages: 9+

RSS Aggregators (3 of 23 Things)

I played around with adding RSS feeds to my Internet Explorer and a few website feeds to my Reader. Everything seem to go fine - but with all these feeds going I'm on information overload!! I think I'll lose the CNN feed - too many stories.

I think it takes a lot of finessing to get just the right amount of the right kind of current information fed to our online selves - I mean we all have different tolerances for the time spent sitting in front of a screen. I believe mine to be somewhat low. I often run screaming with dog leash in hand - oh, sorry I digress.

As far as a library tool for Youth Services, I don't believe RSS Aggregators will directly serve our young cliental, unless the "readers" are a manufactured setup rather than an individualized news source. Professionally, their value is obvious. Given the reality that a major portion of our day is spent online -we can stay abreast, via feeds, of a multitude of issues. One downside is mass duplication of news reportings. This, however, might be mediated by the aforementioned finessing.

Adult Services and, to a lesser extent, Teens will see more of a patron-driven interest in Thing #3.

Merry Christmas Merry Crow by Kathi Appelt (2005)

A busy crow flies around town picking up all kinds of interesting and unexpected items and uses them to create a beautiful Christmas tree. Rhyming text has a nice flow and young kids will enjoy finding our swooping bird as he makes his way through a festive holiday village on each beautifully illustrated two-page spread. Great for storytime! Ages:2+

I've Seen Santa! by David Bedford (2006)

Little Bear is so full of questions and concerns about Santa that he cannot fall asleep on Christmas Eve. Illustrations are bright and simple - great for a holiday themed storytime. The whole family ends up waiting up for Santa but alas sleep wins out. Wonderful ending. Ages: Preschool-3rd grade

Mooseltoe by Margie Palatini (2000)

Moose thinks he has all his Christmas preparations taken care of, but at the last minute he must come up with a substitute for the Christmas tree. Moose has everything "perfectly perfect" for Christmas, except for one major oversight. With a little imagination and innovation, the day is saved. Text rhymes nicely with rich vocabulary. A little long for very young kids but older preschool and elementary children will find it highly amusing especially if read with a flair. Ages: 4+

Hard Love by Ellen Wittlinger (1999)

After starting to publish a zine in which he writes his secret feelings about his lonely life and his parents' divorce, sixteen-year-old John meets an unusual girl and begins to develop a healthier personality. Told from the first person perspective of an emotionally troubled junior in high school, the plot centers around a straight boy falling in love with a gay girl. Through their love of zines they become best friends only to lose each other due to conflicting feelings. At the heart of this well-written novel, however, is an emotionally damaged boy who feels nothing rather than bear the weight of his true feelings. Through this unlikely friendship, John begins to feel and express himself so that whatever healing is possible can begin. Ages: 15+

Run, Turkey, Run! by Diane Mayr (2007)

The day before Thanksgiving, Turkey tries to disguise himself as other animals in order to avoid being caught by the farmer. Great for toddler or preschool storytimes. "Run, turkey, run!" is repeated throughout giving a great audience participation device. Onomatopoeia throughout making this picture book tons of fun and phonologically aware. Artwork is simple, yet vibrant and expressive. A twist at the end will give the preschoolers something to think about. My favorite outcome. A Thanksgiving must!!

Blog Readers (2 of 23 Things)

I am now officially the proud owner of a blog and a blog reader, or is that, I am now someone who writes blogs and aggregates feeds into a reader? Or no, perhaps it is that although I write blogs myself, it is the reader that aggregates my feeds and blogs so I that I can simply read them in a timely and organized manner?! By Golly, I think I've got it!

I believe I've got, at least, a basic understanding of the first two Things. I've set up my reader, but the real test will be to see if I use it. It makes all kinds of sense - I liken it to my browser tabs. I always open up the same six tabs when I sit down at a computer, one being a page of bookmarks. So everything I think I might need is at my fingertips. With a reader the same is true - but its a more dynamic connection because new "material" is regularly added by way of breaking news, new entries, and comments. This is an excellent organizational tool for librarians, simplifying their to-the-minute information needs.

I'm confused about using labels with the reader. I plan to play around with the available tools to increase its functionality for me. My brain is going fuzzy - so enough cyberspace for one day.

Signing off-

Everything is Fine by Ann Dee Ellis (2009)

Mazzy is "fine". Her severely depressed, mostly catatonic mother is fine. Her ESPN-anchor, absentee father is "fine". Everyone and everything is totally dysfunctional BUT fine. Mazzy (13) takes care of her mother and keeps neighbors and family-services investigators away, while her father is gone chasing his "big chance". This novel of sparse words and vignettes, told from Mazzy's perspective, gives glimpses into her existence over one summer and build into an understanding of the tragedy that brought her family to ruin. Written with humor and believable naivete, on Mazzy's part, and ignorance and self-centeredness, on her parents' part make for a realistic portrait of a family in crisis. Ages: 13+

Blogs (1 of 23 Things)

O.K. I've spent the better part of the afternoon, at home, working on my blog. What better way to learn new technology than to jump in and make it work for you. My dual-purpose blog will serve as my professional reading log and my Web 2.0 chronology. I found the blogging experience interesting, but time consuming. I'm sure the more I post to it the better and faster I will get. I played with fonts and colors, images and sizes and labels and when I encountered a problem with too many images in a post my son went in and fooled around with the html coding and got rid of one. Do not expect me to be able to do that!

I chose to make my blog a reading log so that it can travel with me to whatever computer I'm on, thereby making me more efficient at the library. I can't imagine many others wanting to read or comment on my little synopses, so I'm seeing my blog, after the 23 Things, as more of a personal resource. The labels are very handy for categorizing posts however you see fit. Love that!

I can also see blogging useful for group projects or perhaps on-going collaborations for subject bibliographies, for example. I'm told these posts need to stay succinct or they wouldn't be read, so I'm signing off.

Double Identity by Margaret Peterson Haddix (2005)

Thirteen-year-old Bethany's parents have always been overprotective, but when they suddenly drop out of sight with no explanation, leaving her with an aunt she never knew existed, Bethany uncovers shocking secrets that make her question everything she thought she knew about herself and her family.
The pace is a little slow and the plot somewhat far fetched; why wouldn't Bethany have rebelled or, at least, thought about rebelling against her oppressive existence prior to the novel's beginning? Most normal thirteen-year-olds would have figured out that something was amiss with their peculiar-acting family. Ages: 10+

Rules of Survival by Nancy Werlin (2006)

Seventeen-year-old Matthew recounts his attempts, starting at a young age, to free himself and his sisters from the grip of their emotionally and physically abusive mother. Written as a cathartic letter to his youngest half-sister, Matt details specific events so that she, and more importantly, he, himself might understand how they arrived where they are. Well written; this realistic fiction depicts how and why emotional (psychological) abuse is so difficult to detect but how devastating the effect on its victims. Suspenseful and heartbreaking, a real horror story. Ages: 14+

One is a Feast for Mouse by Judy Cox (2008)

Everyone in the house is napping off their Thanksgiving dinner, including the greeny-eyed cat, when Mouse ventures out of his hidey hole to investigate the leftovers on the dining room table. Starting with a single pea, Mouse's eyes grow bigger than his stomach , not to mention his grasp. He collects more and more food and then attempts to carry his feast back home. As his stash grows in size, Mouse's grasp of the situation becomes more and more precarious. Great flannel story! Lots of excitement as Mouse's meal towers above him. Ages: Preschool+

Dreamland by Sarah Dessen (2000)

"Perfect" older sister bound for her first semester at Yale runs away leaving behind 16 year-old Caitlin to deal with their parents and to make a new life without her. The sisters have always been close; Caitlin struggles to re-identify herself. Caitlin finds love with an unlikely and troubled boy; the relationship turns physically abusive and before Caitlin can figure a way out, things spiral out of control. Well-written, very realistic. Age: 16+