Jean Darnell: Awaken Librarian

As those of you that follow my blog know, I enjoy having book fairs ! There's nothing like seeing eyes light up like fire-crackers at the presentation of so many wonderfully colorful and diverse books! In fact, this fair is the first that I've been able showcase over thirty books with Black Americans on the cover: @diversebooks Never have I been able to showcase 30 books w/faces like mine in the #library ! #ReflectionsInBooks This is why #WeNeedDivLibs ! pic.twitter.com/3hA7bpmgaL — AwakenLibrarian (@awakenlibrarian) October 11, 2016 Bit by bit, we'll erase tweets like these... Dear #kidlit Writers of Color: The odds are not in your favor. #amwriting #amediting #diversity #YA #WritersLife https://t.co/cv7ydsskzn pic.twitter.com/0LdXfIChQD — MayraCuevas (@MayraECuevas) September 30, 2016 because it's all too important for children to see faces like theirs on the cover and in the content of books. #WeNeedDiverseBooks As Walter Dean Myers wrote in his N...

In case you haven't heard, GET EPIC is a wonderful resource for FREE E-BOOKS! I can't stress enough how much I enjoy it! In fact, I just created a quiz on there to use along with their fractured fairy tale* book, Snow White and the Seven Trolls! Be sure the use the quiz and let me what you think! To get the kids psyched about the story and "fun-perk quiz" (if the answer's correct you get a treat) , I began with the upcoming movie release of Trolls... Then, I turned to my friends at GoNoodle because they have the most awesomely, groovy dance videos to get the cardio pumping and their bodies exhausted and receptive to a wonderful story...(imagine an evil librarian laugh!) There's nothing I love more than watching my kiddos boogie! Instant stress relief for an over-worked educator! Lol! Here's a bonus...if you sign-up today, then you can receive a cute coloring sheet for the little ones! BONUS Star*: Here's a fractured fairy-tal...

In honor of the movie release of James Patterson's Middle School: The Worse Years of My Life , I gave away a copy of the book during the morning announcements. The students were to give me a "Top 10 List" of the BEST things about middle school. My winner, Prince W., not only answered the call, but gave me a graphic representation of his list! How's that for visual note-taking ? Check out his HUGE smile for winning the book...he even gave me 3 hugs! He's a 6th grade sweetheart! And, WAY different from Rafe Kkatchadorian! These are the days I LOVE my job!!! #MiddleSchoolMovie Here's my book giveaway winner! He had to give a Top 10 list of the BEST things about mid schl! @TLA #snapshot #HISD pic.twitter.com/3p0TimGYDF — AwakenLibrarian (@awakenlibrarian) October 7, 2016 Here are some pages from the book, that you really should go out and buy TODAY before you see the movie! What can I say? I'm a librarian To conclude, this tidbit below is ho...

Before I begin, I must caution you: This post is for those 12 and up, questioning societal issues!! I overheard some students discussing their rights to protest during their extracurricular events. I didn't reprimand them, because (1) I was eavesdropping and what I heard wasn't dangerous; (2) it's ingrained in my librarian soul for students to exercise their rights to "intellectual freedom," SAFELY; and (3) I was on my way home for the evening. My mind blocked me from educator role; it was focused on leftover, homemade Swedish meatballs! Lol! Nevertheless, I kept tossing and turning that night in bed because I wondered if those students acted on their feelings...and HOW! Before I knew it, I jumped out of my bed looking for resources. I had to teach them how to organize their thoughts and release their emotions in a productive way. In my midnight scurry, I pop outta bed and hurried then obsessively buried my thoughts in Teaching Tolerance's The Soun...

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...

So...how many of you librarians have visual directives to assist students with returning items to the shelves? Well if you don't have any visual aides, you're in luck! This post is dedicated to shelfie conversations that "cutely" address how to treat the library books. If you have CHAMP behavior level expectations at your campus, then these Shelfie Talkers cover all facets! C -Conversation: Level is 1. The only discussion is for assistance with shelving materials. H -Help: The help needed is re-shelving books. Follow alphabet order for "fiction" books and numeric order for non-fiction! A -Activity: We're returning the books back to the shelves in alpha/numeric order. M -Movement: We're walking to the shelves without disturbing others. P -Participation: This activity benefits you & the librarian so books can be easily found next time. S -Success: I know exactly where that book is on the shelf! Enjoy!

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...