go blog go!

Just a reminder, folks, that you can add "keeping it small at OPPL" to your RSS reader (like Google Reader) if you've got one. Then you won't miss a post!

And we all really like it when we all post, so thanks for every time you get something up here!

I just can't stop using exclamation marks for this short message!

Your favorite blog-pushin' step-boss,
Rory

World's cutest library

This is a very clever and cute idea. Take a classic British phone booth and convert it to a lending library! Shelley--think your new building manager would go for it? :)

Annoying things that patrons say

This list of annoying things that patrons say is really funny. I like messages 6, 12, 26, 34...well, we librarians seem to have a lot to say on this topic. Share you own grievances here--it will be cathartic. Just today in my ST, a mom moved my very obvious storyteller's chair (you know, the only one at the front, facing the group--duh) and was using it so I had nowhere to sit when I came in!

Best Picks

SLJ has their best picks of 2009 on their website. Looks like alot of good ones!

click here for the list

Books are Fun. No, Really.

Liz B reposted her essay about encouraging kids to read over at A Chair, a Fireplace and a Tea Cozy. I think she has some great ideas - it'd be nice if we created a little hand out called "Tips for getting your child to read" and it was all about sharing books and being excited about books and the futility of choosing books based on Lexiles, etc etc.

Well done, Naperville.

Next time we should consider choosing a living author for our Big Read.

http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=338299

(And one who writes for kids and adults, sorry Elizabeth Berg.)

Books for the Holidays

Something we're all thinking about as we attempt to sell our favorite books of the year in 30 words or less, right?

A mom on one of my listservs pointed out that a lot of kids don't like to receive "just" a book. (If they are friends with writers like these, I can't blame them. I don't want a book from them, either! Except maybe Sarah Waters.) So the Children's Book Review put together a list of titles along with toys and other things that go well together.

Not a bad idea, really. I wonder what we could suggest for some of our titles - When You Reach Me = diamond ring, clearly. Little Oink = cup of dirt. Rhyming Dust Bunnies = Little Tykes vacuum cleaner....

Holding On

I asked Danny to help me revise our "Death & Dying" bibliography. He did. And then he sent me this email, one of my favorites all year:

Hey Rory,

It's Danny. I have added some and subtracted some from the death bib. You may notice I only subtracted from the Pets section. I figured we didn't need two more books about cats dying when we could address different human situations like the loss of pregnancy. I also included some chapter books.

I didn't do an exhaustive search of all our death materials so if I missed something by all means add it. I thought about adding the chapter book "The Beloved Dearly," and I struggled with where to put it because the summary was about a boy who's dog's death helped him come to terms with his mother's death. Death of a loved one or death of a pet? But then I looked at the book and it appears to be a whimsical comedy, so I left it off altogether.

Anyway, just wanted to update you on the death bib and all the death related stories I have been reading. It turns out that if we carry the memory of someone with us they never are truly gone. And talking about it helps too. Also something about wind in the trees.

And now that I've been writing this email for so long I don't want it to end. I just want to hold on for a few more words before I hit the send button. I know that all emails eventually must be sent, but why now? When I needed the email the most? WE WE'RE SUPPOSED TO SEE THE OCEAN TOGETHER. I NEVER PROMISED YOU A RAINBOW etc.

--Danny