For Librarians

Celebrating Little Free Libraries and Their Founder

By on October 29, 2018   /   Articles, For Kids, For Librarians, For Parents, For Teachers, For Writers, News  

You’ve seen them, right? Little boxes on poles, filled with books, and standing in the most unexpected places.

Brunswick, ME has a Little Free Library down the street from the Brunswick Inn.

The Little Free Library movement began just nine years ago in Hudson, Wisconsin when founder Todd Bol crafted the first book box from an old door. Less than a decade later, there are more than 75, 000 Little Free Libraries in 88 countries.

Of course, Bol’s vision had everything to do with books and reading, but what many don’t know is that building a sense of community was Bol’s ultimate goal. Connecting people to books is one thing. Connecting people to people through books is what makes each Little Free Library so very special.

Ashlyn doesn’t wait to get home to start reading. The Little Free Library in Monroe, Indiana is one of her favorite places to visit.

Last week, Todd Bol died following a very brief illness. He leaves behind a successful non-profit organization that employs 13 people and has more than 75,000 volunteer stewards who maintain the Little Free Libraries around the world.  Author Miranda Paul and illustrator John Parra have been working on a picture book about Bol and his Little Free Library movement. The book is titled “Little Libraries, Big Heroes,” and will be released in 2019.

Listen to Miranda discuss the upcoming book and Bol’s legacy on NPR’s All Things Considered.

 

Little Free Libraries have sprouted up everywhere. They can be found in parks, neighborhoods, outside of businesses and on country roads. Authors Sherri Duskey Rinker and Jane Yolen have placed them in front of their homes.

One day, Sherri’s neighbor called and told her to grab her camera and look at what was happening outside. Sherri snapped this picture.

THIS is exactly what Todd Bol envisioned. Not book boxes on sticks. Hubs of community, sharing, reading, memory-making.

 

This Little Free Library stands outside the Exploration Station at Perry Farm Park in Bourbonnais, Illinois.

 

Recently, my daughter discovered a Little Free Library near her college campus in Illinois. On a rainy day, she placed copies of my books inside, snuggled next to Sharon Creech’s Heartbeat. Knowing that a young reader could wander by and find a story to enjoy there made my day.

 

The Little Free Library at Phoenix Farm, the home of author Jane Yolen.

At some time, I’d like to place a Little Free Library myself. I live on a sprawling, working farm, so my own property would only attract cattle and hogs. I will think of the perfect spot and I’ll carry on Todd Bol’s amazing legacy by signing up to become a Little Free Library steward. You can, as well, by clicking here.

Until then, I’ve resolved to keeping a box of books in my trunk. I won’t pass a Little Free Library without adding my contribution, in memory of and in celebration of Todd Bol.

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Celebrate National Hispanic Heritage Month with Charlie Hernandez & the League of Shadows!

By on October 8, 2018   /   Author Interviews, For Librarians  

To celebrate National Hispanic Heritage Month, MUF is featuring Charlie Hernandez & the League of Shadows, a middle-grade fantasy inspired by Hispanic folklore, legends, and myths. Talented new author, Ryan Calejo, has agreed to tell MUF blogger Annabelle Fisher about how he developed the ideas behind his magical, action-packed book.

AF:Your characters come from so many countries in Central and South America. Where are your ancestors from? Who were the storytellers among them?

RC:What an amazingly timely question! I just got the results back from an ancestry DNA test, so I’ve got graphs, pie charts—the works! The findings were as follows: 39.5% Cuban, 27% Spanish, 20.5% Portuguese, 9.3% French, and 3.7% Chullachaqui. The Chullachaqui comes from my mother’s father’s side according to the test (and some very reliable family sources).

The storytellers of the family would have to be my abuelitas (that’s Spanish for grandmothers). It was their wild and fantastical tales that instilled in me a love of stories and reading at a very young age.

AF: Your knowledge of Hispanic/Latino stories and myths is encyclopedic! How did you research the stories and characters? Did you travel, take classes, interview other authors—or live in a library? What books were most helpful?

RC: Haha! Yes, I did live in a library for a while—right between the children’s section and the gardening books, in fact. But honestly, I first heard about most of these myths from my abuelitas. As a child, I was a little . . . rambunctious, by all accounts, and my grandmothers really didn’t have any other way of keeping me under control other than to entertain me with myths and legends and then tell me that the creatures/beings from those stories would take it personally if I didn’t eat my lunch or go to bed on time or stop jail-breaking my cousins from their high-chairs. And sometimes it actually worked!

But I did do quite a bit of research at my local library. Perhaps the most helpful books were Mesoamerican Mythology: a Guide to the Gods, Heroes, Rituals and Beliefs of Mexico and Central America, and South and Meso-American Mythology A to Z, although there are many, many, MANY wonderful books on the subject! I also spoke with a whole bunch of my grandmothers’ friends and some of my older relatives who had grown up listening to these myths and they proved to be a valuable resource as well.

AF: Your use of humor is very effective in bringing your characters to life. Are you a funny guy?

RC: I’m definitely the clown of the family. I love making people laugh! I’m also a seasoned prankster. I believe I hold the record for “most consecutive pranks on a relative”; I’ve pranked my uncle (whose name I won’t mention here today so as not to shame the man) at every single family Christmas party since I was 11. And I’m proud to say the streak lives to this day!

AF: Did you ‘play superheroes’ as a child? Please tell us a bit about it.

RC: As a child??? I still play superheroes! But, yeah, I was a different superhero practically every day of the week. Just ask my poor mother who had to hand make most of my costumes. In fact, I still have the black cape and Darth Vader chest box that she fashioned out of a curtain chain, a crackerjack box, and a few shirt buttons during my Star Wars phase. I remember getting really upset when I would try to levitate something and it wouldn’t move, so my parents always had to be ready to toss something across the room—usually it was their car keys. I also remember one of my aunts being too embarrassed to walk into a grocery store with me when I was King Kong for a day and had shaved off most of my dog’s hair and glued it all over my body in order to give myself a nice Kong-like coat. Fortunately, my parents have always celebrated my eccentricities.

AF: Which of the mythical creatures in your book is your favorite and why?

RC: My favorite would probably have to be El Cadejo. It’s sort of a guardian angel that takes the form of a huge white dog. When I was little, one of my neighbors owned this ginormous White Shepherd I was convinced was the myth incarnate, because it would follow me around the neighborhood whenever I rode my bike. I always felt so safe! Those are some of my earliest and fondest memories.

AF: Charlie Hernandez and the League of Shadowshas been compared to The Lightning Thief. Congratulations! What are some of the differences between Hispanic/Latino mythology and Greek mythology?

RC: The biggest difference I’ve found between the two is the incredible amount of variation within Hispanic/Latino myths. There are countless examples where a mythological creature is called one name in a certain region and then something completely different just two hundred miles away. Many times you’ll even find subtle—and sometimes not so subtle—tweaks to the creature’s origin story! I find that little quirk particularly fascinating, because it provides us with unique insight into the psychology and the various regional and social challenges facing individuals from that time and place. Also, Hispanic/Latino mythology tends to be a whole lot scarier!

AF: Why did you think it was important to write this book? What do you hope young readers will take away from it?

RC: I wanted to offer children of all backgrounds a glimpse into the richness and beauty of Hispanic/Latino culture in a fun and engaging way. It was also of utmost importance to me to write a book that children who are of Hispanic/Latino descent could see themselves in, while at the same time introducing them to the myths and legends their ancestors grew up with. I hope young readers will come away with the knowledge that there’s something special in all of us—even if it’s not what we expected—and that it’s up to us to embrace it.

AF: I get the feeling that Charlie is going on “to the south and beyond the sea.” Are you working on a sequel?

RC: Yes! It’s almost finished and Charlie and Violet are in for another crazy adventure! Get ready for even more myths, mystery, and funnies!

AF: Thanks for your time, Ryan. Good luck on your terrific book!

 

Charlie Hernandez & the League of Shadows, Ryan Calejo’s first novel, will be released on 10-23-18 from Aladdin, Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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We’re talking nonfiction with a librarian!

By on September 24, 2018   /   Articles, Curriculum Tie-in, For Kids, For Librarians, For Parents, For Teachers, Nonfiction, STEM  

As an author of primarily nonfiction, I thought it would be interesting to interview a librarian about all-things nonfiction for middle grade readers.

Rachel Stewart, the children’s services librarian for the Maumee (Ohio) Branch of the Toledo Lucas County Library was kind enough to answer questions I had about the topic from her perspective. Rachel has been with the TLCPL for five years. Her background is in elementary education, taught in traditional as well as a Montessori school, where she also served as an administrator. As you would expect, she is an active reader, enjoying various genres and subjects

As a children’s librarian, what nonfiction titles/subjects do you find appeal to middle grade readers the most? Middle grade readers are drawn to books about making and doing. When filling our new nonfiction displays, I notice that books related to STEAM subjects go fast, especially those that involve LEGO building or crafts. The DK book series is a constantly popular one. It is so popular that we have a designated, ongoing display of those books for customers to browse. This tells me that kids have a natural curiosity about a wide variety of topics and enjoy the graphic layout and photographs within these books.

I know that in our library system, the biographies for children, from PB to YA are shelved with biographies for adult readers. Does this lessen the exposure to young readers? (As opposed to shelving them in with children’s books?) We keep a constant display of the “Who Was/is…?” series, which has been very useful to parents and children alike. We often do temporary displays of PB bios and are currently doing a long-term display of YA/adult bios. Most often, when a child asks about bios, it is about a specific person and we can point them in the right direction (if such a book exists). We frequently do juvenile nonfiction displays on a wide variety of topics and usually include bios. There are pros and cons to interfiling, however, a major positive is that interfiling encourages young readers to choose books that they may not be exposed to in the juvenile section. Interfiling also allows adults with a lower reading level to feel comfortable browsing for books on a topic of interest.

Do you find that MG readers are borrowing nonfiction titles simply out of curiosity or because of school assignments? I believe that MGs are borrowing for both reasons. The NF displays that we keep up are heavily trafficked and browsed. I will often recommend narrative NF to reluctant NF readers just to open that door.

Does the library do much programming in nonfiction for middle grade readers? Nonfiction programming is a priority within the Toledo Lucas County Public Library system. At Maumee we have a popular programming series for grades 1-8 called “No School? No Problem!” that is focused on STEAM activities and scheduled when the local schools are off. When presenting those programs, we always include a large selection of related books for attendees to browse.

Do you have any amusing experiences with middle grade readers relating to nonfiction topics you care to share? I enjoy loading a child up with books on a favorite topic. I witness visible excitement and anticipation as if taking that stack home will be like opening a gift. 

 I also happen to have an 11-year-old that is a voracious reader of both fiction and nonfiction. He is spoiled by new books almost daily and I love when he asks what I brought for him. He is a fan of the Nat Geo and Guinness Books about world records and amazing facts. I am amused when he feels the need to share (at rapid-fire pace) interesting trivia from those books while I am driving or getting ready for work in the morning.

What are some of your favorite middle grade nonfiction titles? I have a love of cookbooks and am thrilled whenever we get new juvenile titles. Cooking encompasses so many practical life skills and supports emotional well-being. I believe learning to cook and bake should be a core part of childhood.

Thank you Rachel for your time and input!

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