By Way of Introduction

I haven’t completely identified what shape this blog is to take. It is a given I will be discussing issues pertinent to Children’s lit and my job as a Elementary School Librarian, as it is pretty much impossible for me to speak with any sort of passion on any other subject, much to my children’s, husband’s and future grandchildren’s chagrin. But will I take the customary route and write reviews? I think not, at least not in the traditional sense. For one thing I don’t feel qualified, and for another there are so many others out there who are brilliant at it, rendering my opinion of little merit. If you are looking for a more comprehensive review of any book discussed, take a gander at some of the blogs listed on the right of which I choose to skulk.

What I’d really like to do when talking about a book, is hit on what I adored; who I think the readership might be among my students, and introduce a little device I am calling the Virtual Kid Lit Social Club (more on that pending).

Blogging is something I stumbled into without much awareness of what it was, or for that matter the scope it encompassed in the World of the Wide Web. Kind of like when you find yourself playing a game of hid-and-seek with your older siblings in an immense old home, and then run into a goatman in the snow.

Almost 2 years ago I was carrying on an e-mail conversation with a like-minded friend (see children's-lit-Nerd) about upcoming Newbery prospects. He directed me to a site or two of some Mock Newbery bloggers. At the time I didn't even know I was looking at blogs. I just thought they were some sort of ever changing web sites. I had heard the B word bandied about on NPR, but assumed that Blogs were merely for people that NPR would bother talking about. I also assumed that the act of blogging would actually involve spending large amounts of money. After all, getting your opinions, rants, innermost secrets out to the world at large should cost something, right? (Stop rolling you eyes, I'm sure you have been naive at some point in your life)

Subsequently I found I had some things I wanted to say about the upcoming Newbery and discovered, quite by accident, that my very own school district offered a blog site to all of its employees - free of charge. I believe it was supposed to be used as some sort of educational tool, but silly them, they did not designate it as such. I saw my chance to indulge my exhibitionist, needy side and hijacked the site for my own self-serving reasons. Intermittently I have used this blog, but a sense of self-restraint, frustration with it limits, and the knowledge that anyone with an Internet connection is allowed to blog, left me with the realization that moving day has come. Here I am.