Review: Shattered

Shattered (Book #2 Alaskan Courage)
Dani Pettrey
Bethany House Publishers


The McKennas return for another suspense driven adventure. When her brother Reef becomes the prime suspect in a tragic murder, Piper McKenna is determined to prove his innocence. Deputy Landon Grainger wants to believe in his friend's innocence, but the evidence proves otherwise. Teaming up, Piper and Landon must find the truth before time runs out.

Pettrey has once again created a page turner with this second installment in the series. Readers who enjoy a mixture of love, danger, and suspense will definitely be waiting for the next one!

I received a free copy of this book from the publishers in exchange for this review.

Book Review: A Home in Drayton Valley

A Home in Drayton Valley
Kim Vogel Sawyer
Bethany House Publishers

 

Tarsie Raines is a woman in need of a change of scenery. When the opportunity arises, she joins her friends Joss and Mary Brubacher and their two children on a move from New York City to Kansas. When tragedy occurs, Tarsie and Joss are thrown together as they try to provide better lives for themselves and their family in a new home. Will past hurts and prejudices stop them from creating a better future?

Kim Vogal Sawyer has created a thought-provoking novel that will keep readers entertained from beginning to end. With a spunky female lead, and delightful supporting characters, I thought this book was an absolutely wonderful novel about loss, love, and forgiveness.

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for this review  from Bethany House Publishers and I received no monetary compensation.

Caitlyn's Blog

What words come to mind when you think about libraries....and....wait for it....homeschoolers??

Caitlyn has a post that will answer all of your questions. Or maybe even prompt you to think of some new ones.

Read it, and my comments, HERE!

Fabiana's Blog

Hey! One of my classmates has a great discussion about social media and the library. Check out my comments here!

2, 4, 6, 8, Why Don't We Collaborate?!

I stumbled upon this post on YALSA's blog which is the perfect compliment to our class discussion about collaboration last night! Even though we mostly talked about collaboration between public libraries and school libraries, YALSA takes it one step further and encourages libraries to think outside of the box when it comes to partnerships between different organizations.

Check out the original post, and my comment, HERE!

Martha's Blog

Once again, Martha has outdone herself with an AWESOME display that brings together some amazing things: kids, presidents, and library displays!

Check out her ideas, and my comments, HERE!

Hillary's Blog

Hillary is now a hero amongst library workers as she seeks to thwart the devious plans of "The Scribbler".

Confused? Check out her post and my comment here!

Stereotypes and Shoes!

I have the hardest time when it comes to stereotypes and librarians. I recently went to a new doctor, who, after just a few minutes, asked me what I was going to school for. When I told her I wanted to be a children's librarian, I got the typical response.

"Really? You want to work somewhere quiet all day? I wouldn't picture you doing that!"

Oh boy. If I had a nickel for every single time I have heard that, well, let's just say I would have library school paid off by now.

I think that it can be extremely hard to try to explain how interactive working in a library actually is. For someone as talkative as myself, I don't see this job as being a typical "desk job", which is how I think a lot of people picture it. Working in a school library, I'm talking all day long and interacting with teachers, students, and staff. Rarely, if ever, am I sitting in a quiet library. And NEVER am I reading a book (another common misconception of what a library worker does all day).

I think the problem is that libraries have come so far, but those who stick with the stereotypes are probably the same people who don't use their library, unfortunately.

So the next time someone wonders why a chatty, bubbly, 20-something adult wants to work in a library, well, you know what they say.....if the shoe fits.......

Martha's Blog

Martha does an AWESOME job describing emotions I think that a lot of people who work in any type of customer oriented job have! Take a look at her post and my response here.

Manicures in the Library

I love crafts. Obsessed with them, actually. Thanks to Pinterest, I have an idea board that will probably last me until I'm 100. So when I saw a post on YALSA's blog that talked about crafts in the library, I was hooked! 

Then, they just had to talk about doing manicures in the library.

Yup. That was all it took. As an avid nail painter (yes, I paint my nails at least 3 times a week....please don't judge) this was my kind of post!  I loved Christine Lewis' idea of having students come to the library afterschool to paint their nails pink to support Breast Cancer research. This is such a creative way to integrate the library into a school sponsored awareness day or event. As a teenager, I would have loved to be able to paint my nails at school! I'm definitely going to store this idea for later.

One thing I'm really grateful for are then many ideas that these various social networks provide. I think that it's so important to share ideas and get inspiration from colleagues who have such wonderful experience.

THANKS YALSA!!

Check out the original post here!

Celeste's Blog

I just read this post about incorporating movies into book displays. Love the ideas! Check out the original post and my response here.

Good Job Goodreads

So...I'm basically addicted to Goodreads. Yup, I've been hit by the Goodreads bug and I'm not ashamed. I discovered it less than a year ago, and have been using the website quite extensively ever since. However, yesterday I finally decided to explore it a little more, and discovered the giveaways section. Users can enter into contests to try and win free copies of books. I'm not typically a risk taker, but apparently books are my weakness (and the fact that they are FREE!) I'm crossing my fingers and watching my email to see if I won! Even if I don't, why not try?

Storybird

Just checked out Kate's blog about Storybird, a really neat online storyboard program. Check it out and my comments!

http://edtechlady.wordpress.com/2012/09/17/storybird/

Potty Mouths and Permission Slips

For one of my graduate courses, I am writing a research paper that dives into the issue of profanity and young adult/children's literature. I have to say, this has been an inspiring topic to research, particularly when it comes to how librarians handle challenges to literature.

Between pulling, burning, and censoring books, the most interesting technique has definitely been the permission slip tactic. Really, I would LOVE to see how a modern high school librarian deals with that. To be quite honest, once that item has left the library the librarian loses control of the item. That book can get read by anyone, not necessarily the person who checked it out. So, does the permission slip tactic really "fix" the issue?

It's kind of like that with a lot of things. Isn't it slightly human nature that if someone tells you that you can't do something, it just makes you want to do it more?? Really, I truly believe that the best thing parents who are worried about a book can do is communicate with their child. Encourage parents to read the book first, and take a look at issues that might come up. Have them talk with their kids! Sometimes, controversial books about tough topics can spark meaningful conversations that parents should be involved with.

So, really, the permission slip tactic might just make it harder for a kid to have access to a book, but that doesn't mean they won't get access somewhere else. Parents should look at the situation as an opportunity to discuss their values with their kids.

Pirates and Librarians Don't Always Get Along

Just in time for Talk Like a Pirate Day (September 19)! I recently found this post on the YALSA blog. I answer questions everyday about proper citation and copyrights, and I often find myself explaining that not everything on the Internet is "free game". Just because it is there does not mean you can use it however you want. So, maybe this blog will be as informative for you as it was for me. Take a look at my comment on the bottom!

http://yalsa.ala.org/blog/2012/09/24/the-copyright-quagmire/

Welcome

My first major assignment for graduate school is to create a blog for my Youth Services class. So, this is my attempt to accomplish that!