Jean Darnell: Awaken Librarian!

Part of my calling in life is to "awaken" others. Therefore, when I came into the #LibraryLife I wanted to leave my thumbprint on it! Looking over my profession, I noticed the absence of multicultural librarians. After further immersion in the librarian world, #WeNeedDiverseLibrarians took root in my heart. Yes, the timing coincides with the #WeNeedDiverseBooks/#WNDB . Absolutely! But I also know the role and subtle power of librarians... selector/arranger of books, gatekeepers of knowledge and advocates for all aspects of learning. And those are just my top three! When I started using the #WNDB hashtag, there were a handful of like-minded individuals. Thank you glimmer of hope! But if you know me, I take a glimmer and turn it into a spotlight. :) But how? Quite recently, my smoldering campaign for diverse librarians received a dose of gasoline. I came across the following slideshare about School Library Hero Worship: Hero worship from Gwen Lehman Upon first...

Happy International Women's Day! I'm happy to participate and remind you of the suffrage plight of the phenomenal women of our planet! :) Here's a humorous and poignant video about the gender gap in pay courtesy of The Daily Mail : Here's your Vitamin G...for girl! Vitamin W sounds weird! And how inspirational is this tweet? Meet four @NASA astronauts who can't wait to go to Mars #InternationalWomensDay https://t.co/sb0pDKGxvY pic.twitter.com/XmRegvNeE4 — Vala Afshar (@ValaAfshar) March 8, 2016 Check out this vlog: Today is International Women's Day! Protect and support! ALL women. @UN_WOMEN #IWD2015 pic.twitter.com/BMIWMHx5eZ — bernie sanders fan (@halsey) March 8, 2015 And last but not least, how many women inventors can you name? No worries...I'll wait! :) Need a resource? Find out more here . Can you name any women inventors? We asked girls who love science this question. #IWD2016 #MakeWhatsNext https://t.co/anRMnCibwn — Mic...

It's that time again, THE BOOK FAIR! This go-around I decided to do things a little bit differently. I created a "How-to" video for my kiddos, as well as some other digital tidbits! :) Please enjoy and will us some good favor/positive thoughts so that we reach our highest goal yet, $8,000! Now before you (my eager students) get too excited, remember our ground rules: 1. Check the back of the books/items for prices. 2. Put things back where you found them. 3. Ask for help. 4. Don't forget to include tax! 5. Books before bobbles! Bobbles being the gadget/toys you want to buy 1st! Like these... and we can't forget these... So, please come on out and support us next week! We'll see you in our LITERARY GALAXY! Book Fair's almost here! Shop online: https://t.co/3HrYrSvHXh . Grandparents Night Tues, 4-6 pm. TY for your support! pic.twitter.com/AkP9ZR5AId — Goodman_Owls (@Goodman_Owls) March 3, 2016 GRAND TOTAL FOR THE BOOK FAIR WAS $7,27...

Oh yeah...today is READ ACROSS AMERICA DAY! It's also known as Dr. Seuss' Birthday! Woo-Hoo! Please enjoy our celebration of the wondrous talent of Theodore Geisel ! Here's my son as "Thing 1!" Celebrating #ReadAcrossAmerica today! #FBISD TY @awakenlibrarian for your support! See here: https://t.co/AaWxsoFeKF pic.twitter.com/YXS25A8u0j — Goodman_Owls (@Goodman_Owls) March 2, 2016 Check out this blog post on the Seuss Memorial in Springfield, Massachusetts ! Here's a Vine of my students reading aloud on "Read Across America" Day! I'm super proud! We've a FANTASTIC update: Epic Reads responded to our tweet! Way to go!!! @awakenlibrarian This is adorable! Thanks so much for resending it, we're so glad we got to see this! We agree, he's amazing! :) — Epic! (@EpicKidsBooks) March 11, 2016

I love fairy tales, it's a hallmark for every literate culture! Today's National Tell A Fairy Tale Day ! Senorita Gordita by Helen Ketteman My rating: 4 of 5 stars For National #TellaFairyTaleDay, I dusted off this Latino version of "The Gingerbread Man" for my primarily bilingual campus! It's a wonderful rendition for inclusion of ELL learners! Instead of a gingerbread man, we have "Senorita Gordita!" Much like I would imagine a gordita would be if it came to life, Senorita Gordita is hot and sassy! But though she can "gas pass" her hungry enemies, it her wit, she needs to watch out for! I won't spoil it for you, but as an wise old owl said, "There's a time to be quiet and a time to speak." I'll ad-lib this "There's a time to diet and a time to eat!" Lol! Enjoy! :) View all my reviews Here's a wonderful collection of activities to do with Senorita Gordita, as well as other fairy-tales! E...

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...