Jean Darnell: Awaken Librarian

Whew! In less than 2 weeks, I will begin enjoying my much deserved SUMMER BREAK! My website will be on hiatus, unless something EXTRAORDINARY happens! But before I go, I want to share how we will prevent the "summer slide" in reading. Please check out Beanstack , as my district will use this to track our summer reading goals. There are more details located in this newsletter below: Summer Send-Off Newsletter by Jean Darnell

Nothing like being banned to help a teenager select a worthy book to read!!! :) I'm not saying that I do my part in ensuring students have books that they WANT to read but...I promise you and my kids, they will read stories about them, their lives and whatever other reflection they need to guide and govern themselves with intellectual freedom! For those of us librarians in Texas, we've been ordered and CENSORED by the GOP party/Govenor of certain Texans to remove 850 books. Never mind the mindset of "putting kids first" and "diversity is the fabric of life," books that represent all Texans are being pulled from the shelves . But guess what? My hometown, the Bayou City of Houston, TX is on to these suckers. To read more excerpts, click here . Or if you want to hear more of my thoughts on this scandulous, trumped up foolishness, then by all means, here you go . P.S.A.: The truth doesn't have to censor, hide or deny its mission. Having said ...

It's NATIONAL NINJA DAY!!!!! I'm super excited to post this and know some of my followers have already started the festivities! Here's my spin... @NinjasRead We're celebrating our #NinjaNames for #NationalNinjaDay ! Get ready, as we'll post our activities all day long! Sensei KuzuMotoki pic.twitter.com/1Mxp0RG5tE — AwakenLibrarian (@awakenlibrarian) December 5, 2016 If you want to learn your own Ninja Name , then check out Ninjas Reads.com to get more ninja resources like the following: Any librarian worth their salt, knows about the marvelous resources available via GetEpic ! Here's a wonderful resource for "How to Draw a Ninja !" Here's a collage of our drawings! We received the anointing nod of Mr. Shoo Rayner, the artist who taught us how to draw those aforementioned ninjas! @awakenlibrarian @EpicKidsBooks fantastic drawings. Well done ! — Shoo Rayner (@shoorayner) December 7, 2016 If drawing isn't your thing, but you...

I LOVE PUZZLES!! I actually feel my brain getting tired when I do them! I just think to myself: "Grow baby grow!" When I came across a "new to me" type puzzle, Fallen Phrases I became hooked. My immediate thought: "Wait until my kids get a load of this!" Discovery Education (another beloved resource) actually allows you to make your own Fallen Phrases puzzle ! So, what is a Fallen Phrases puzzle??? Here's a trusty slide-show explanation from Discovery Education! Check out the snapshot below (courtesy of Quidditch Mod Live Journal ): If you're looking for a mental Jedi mindtrick for some otherwise beguiling library characters, then give Fallen Phrases Puzzles a try! I was amazed how many kids didn't know what they were! I used the aforementioned Discovery Ed link to create this little ditty... You can use them to create clues for a new book release or as some reinforcement for our ELL learners! I had my own "In-the-libr...

Tomorrow is... We're kicking off our celebration with "Story Webs!" However, instead of a boring graphic organizer (LOL), I made it interactive with a ball of yarn, some giggle and one classic story! We featured a great updated version of the "Three Ninja Pigs" with Corey Rosen Schwartz and Dan Santat's " The Three Ninja Pigs " See all the excitement with our iMovie recap: International Literacy Day from AwakenLibrarian on Vimeo . Here's the campus wide challenge that we gave staff members: For more resources on how you can incorporation some literacy and reading fun check out 11 Creative Reading Incentives for You Classroom ! As a bonus, I came across this wonderful Eduphoria find for teaching literary analysis. I just had to share! :) Big Update: I ABSOLUTELY LOVE MY NEW PRINCIPAL! She's a former librarian and she loves reading to the students! Her SUPER-POWER is spreading the joy of literacy! Thank you, Mrs. Metoye...

As the school year comes to a close, let's not forget about the importance on learning, even when playing. Help us stop the "Summer Slide!" Here's a handy graphic from the National Summer Learning Association . Thank you to our Sienna Branch Librarians for coming out to spread the joy of their summer reading programs! TY #FortBend County #Librarians for inspiring our kids! Be sure to stop by & say hello to Mrs. Goss & Ms. Parra! https://t.co/H72rViU6LT — Goodman_Owls (@Goodman_Owls) May 24, 2016 Love our Sienna Branch #Librarians ! They're helping our kids stop the #reading #summerslide ! @SugarLandSun #FBISD pic.twitter.com/u3PHljg120 — AwakenLibrarian (@awakenlibrarian) May 24, 2016 Don't forget to join their Summer Reading Club ! The fun starts May 30! Look for the above graphic if you're in grades K-5! Look for the above graphic if you're going to MIDDLE SCHOOL! Before you head on over to Sienna Branch Library, b...

I've often said that this blog is my resume. It has all one needs to know about me as a librarian. I've covered the spectrum of abilities, but what I'm most proud of is that in one school year, I went from 15,000 views to 30,000!! That's an 100? increase and absolute affirmation that I'm on the right path advocating for the library. Thank you for all your support this year and I hope to continue pleasing my viewers! :) P.S. To check out last year's review, click here . Prevent the #SummerSlide in reading. Check out this tweet below...plus Chuck E. Cheese is even aware of the IMPORTANCE of #SummerReading! Stop the #SummerSlide in #Reading ! Join @BNBuzz 's campaign: https://t.co/l474TCJ5I3 #whatisschool #tlchat #WNDLibs pic.twitter.com/bT7LhmR4fv — AwakenLibrarian (@awakenlibrarian) May 13, 2016

Woo-hoo! It's National Library Week! Are you participating in the ALA National Library Week Challenge?? I am! :) @ALALibrary Here's my #bannedbook from the 2015 list! 😈 #LibrariesTransform #photochallenge #LoveMySchoolLibrary pic.twitter.com/vAOEJnU2lW — AwakenLibrarian (@awakenlibrarian) April 11, 2016 Happy #NLWD2016 Myself & Mrs. Noceja-my beloved Kindergarten #coworker / #friend !! #WNDLibs @ALALibrary pic.twitter.com/llmLkhufRB — AwakenLibrarian (@awakenlibrarian) April 12, 2016 The best part of my #library 's the entrance door: Seeing those kiddos' smiles, hugs & exuberance inspires me! #NLW16 pic.twitter.com/f50iA27vSq — AwakenLibrarian (@awakenlibrarian) April 13, 2016 Libraries inspire hope w/in the community& provide the resources needed to achieve their dreams! #LibrariesTransform pic.twitter.com/u6ZLZo3csg — AwakenLibrarian (@awakenlibrarian) April 14, 2016 Pls chk out how we've celebrated #NLW16 ...

Happy World Read Aloud Day! Please join the nation in celebrating #WRAD16 ! I've chosen one of my favorite books of all time... The Sneetches by Dr. Seuss! Oh how marvelously appropriate and exact was Ted Geisel in simplifying the prejudicial injustices of the world! Without delving too deep, we're still favoring those bellies with stars against those who have none upon thars! :)

On Saturday, I had the pleasure of reading a wonderful free book that touches upon the secret bond between a child and their grandparents! @Lemonstarfish I LOVED reading "Fishing with Pop!" The secret bond b/w a child/grandparent! https://t.co/4XhHQ9KPbW pic.twitter.com/7ab1p0NE4x — awakenlibrarian (@awakenlibrarian) February 20, 2016 Here's our little book tease... P.S. If you hurry, you can download it for free on Amazon.com I couldn't resist making a Vine: Thank you Mr. Davenport for the perfect library fish! We've an update!! Lemon Starfish Books loved our video and decided to send us treats! @awakenlibrarian Please message us your address, we would love to send you some goodies for your library. — Lemon Starfish Books (@Lemonstarfish) February 22, 2016 UPDATE: Here's the much awaited book trailer for Fishing with Pop: Fishing with Pop Children's Book Trailer Check out this super cute trailer for our new book, Fishing with Pop. Fishi...

Welcome to my 2015 SPOOKTACULAR: The Library of Gloom!!! For those that follow me, you know how much I enjoy this time of the year! I've created a non-fiction, but superbly spooky interactive video! Scan the code below and BE FoReWaRnEd!!! This post does contain frightening and unnerving videos as well as kid-friendly resources. However, please take caution if you're sensitive to scary movies...as there's plenty of that here! This next little feature is specifically for my students who wonder where "Robert the Doll" is...here's the book that started the madness about Robert! Here's a classic video on carving pumpkins... I've grown to LOVING GO NOODLE! For Halloween, they have a #GoNoodleween contest! Here's our "Bones" doing his dance! Lol! :) Need some tips on How to Write Horror? See what R.L. Stine says when writing fiction... I love R.L. Stein-- and it's not because Goosebumps is coming out o...