tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-60059624488929176572012-01-30T04:36:32.168-07:00DaNaehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08433351609725965246noreply@blogger.comBlogger421100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6005962448892917657.post-53458049375612704412011-01-13T19:32:00.000-07:002011-01-13T19:32:15.734-07:00

Here is a rundown on what I know and think about the books honored at the Youth Media Awards this past Monday. Oh what a day of surprises it was.  We were able to watch it live in the library.  I had gotten permission to call the 5th and 6th graders who participated in the Newbery Club out of class.  There were also juice and muffins.  (Naturally I will only be mentioning books that pertain to

DaNaehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08433351609725965246noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6005962448892917657.post-43467210101473584122011-01-09T20:16:00.001-07:002011-01-09T20:44:52.721-07:00

The time cannot be put off for my annual prediction of the hoopla that will be happening tomorrow, known as the ALA Youth Media Awards. I’ve been gratified to know that I am not the only loon in the coop for whom the announcement of the Newbery, and her sister awards, is the biggest day of the year. Jonathan over at Heavy Medal compares it to waiting for a visit from St. Nick and Peter over at

DaNaehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08433351609725965246noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6005962448892917657.post-67526841921239785012011-01-06T15:07:00.003-07:002011-01-06T21:29:56.418-07:00

With the big awards ceremony just around the corner, it is time to dust off the old blog. Those of you familiar with this blogger’s obsessions will not question which awards ceremony I am referring to. I care very little for The Oscars, The Nobels, or Cub Scout Bridging Ceremonies (although there was a time when those little scarf-wearers figured prominently in my life). Naturally what I am

DaNaehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08433351609725965246noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6005962448892917657.post-23184796843224526492010-08-27T15:33:00.000-06:002010-08-27T15:33:30.501-06:00

I like to brag that I have the world most enjoyable job, and I will take on all the ice cream tasters and mattress testers who want to dispute my claim. Sometimes opportunities come along that take the enjoyable to the realms of enchanting. Recently Jennah Watters from the K-12 Recorded Books Blog offered me the opportunity to hold a summer book club starring one of the most extolled books of

DaNaehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08433351609725965246noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6005962448892917657.post-73974014222598758052010-07-19T17:52:00.002-06:002010-07-19T20:50:54.724-06:00

This past week I was lucky enough to attend the BYU Symposium on Books for Young Readers held a few mountain peaks south of me at the majestic Provo library in Provo UT. For kid-lit nerds it is two days of pure full-fledged geekdom. Each year the good people of BYU and the Provo library coerce (this may not be the most accurate verb as I believe other compensation is meted out) a selection of

DaNaehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08433351609725965246noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6005962448892917657.post-65314512349727850202010-06-07T21:37:00.002-06:002010-06-08T08:24:26.604-06:00

In an effort to swell my already healthy ego, my colleagues have requested that I put out a monthly list of the top 10 ten essential new books for our collections. It’s kind of like asking me to finish off that last piece of chocolate cheesecake. (Oh please, if you insist). Upon reflection what I think I’d like to do is a little of this, a bit of that, and some of the other. Meaning I will divide

DaNaehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08433351609725965246noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6005962448892917657.post-74481083277362554562010-05-30T21:46:00.004-06:002010-05-31T10:32:30.176-06:00

Creating the following list was much less wrenching than the compiling of my Top Ten Children’s Novels a few months ago. For one thing I had the luxury of making it twice as long, and for another there were more elements to the criteria. I had to have listened to the audio book, naturally. And although my public library system does an adequate job of feeding my greedy consumption of this

DaNaehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08433351609725965246noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6005962448892917657.post-80308241870748992242010-05-02T21:36:00.002-06:002010-05-02T21:38:13.522-06:00

I am, at times, asked how I have time to read all the books I do. The answer is two-fold: #1 – My priorities are skewed. Many of those asking, find that taking care of a household and family and having social life should precede the siren’s call of the unread page. I on the other hand will allow all sorts of duties to be neglected in order to satisfy my compulsion to see what happens next, in

DaNaehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08433351609725965246noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6005962448892917657.post-71308621064117817702010-02-11T19:16:00.007-07:002010-02-12T09:13:01.983-07:00

I look forward to the week every year. Not because I get showered with all the chocolate I am due, or because I have a secret hankering to create obscure poetry out of NECCO hearts, (which now that I have put the idea in this sentence I really do have a hankering for). I adore this week of love because I get to make 6th graders squirm. I have developed a sure fire reading list for my upper grades

DaNaehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08433351609725965246noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6005962448892917657.post-59709081986115068552010-01-31T20:11:00.002-07:002010-02-01T07:32:49.456-07:00

Here's something I did not know about the phenomena known as Social Media:  It is awash in challenges. In the past few months I have been made aware of the following blogging challenges: Blogging every day for a month - I was not even remotely tempted. Cleaning out the backlog of unfinished posts - yeah right, I will get on that one as soon as I get around to putting my Christmas decorations

DaNaehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08433351609725965246noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6005962448892917657.post-60707476852945902272010-01-26T15:41:00.022-07:002010-01-27T15:51:20.724-07:00

This past week marked the second year in a row an assemblage of well-read students from my school, gathered in the early hours of a January morning. They were eager to view the results of the ALSC awards announcement, and to discover which of the books, they have been cramming to read over the past couple months, came out on top in their own vote. Last year in an attempt to spread my Newbery

DaNaehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08433351609725965246noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6005962448892917657.post-49841788539140952532010-01-19T11:55:00.003-07:002010-01-19T12:38:26.167-07:00

Regardless of where in the country the Newbery and Caldecott medalists may be when they get the news, the very next thing they will be required to do is make travel arrangements to the NBC studios to appear on The Today's Show.EDITORIAL NOTE: Attempt to embed NBC video failed. We are blaming NBC.Here is a link to watch Jerry Pinkney and Rebecca Stead basking in the glow of their medals, (not

DaNaehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08433351609725965246noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6005962448892917657.post-2077937368140033342010-01-18T07:42:00.007-07:002010-01-19T10:01:30.223-07:00

It has been a very good morning indeed: a bit of snow, good companions, and TOTAL VINDICATION.Two of my intrepid Fantasy Newberyers, Matt and Shannon, joined me in the early hours of the AM in my more than frigid library to watch the proceedings. Also joining us, via speaker phone, was my sister in Portland who couldn’t master the connection. All events should have a disembodied voice in

DaNaehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08433351609725965246noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6005962448892917657.post-61747624958094872142010-01-17T21:43:00.009-07:002010-01-18T06:45:39.183-07:00

I think I’m developing a couple of disorders. First off I seem to be suffering from a bizarre form of Tourettes. Yesterday I told my daughter to turn the Newbery off. I told my husband that the Newbery was out of gas. And announced that I was much too tired to make Newbery and maybe we should just order pizza.My husband, who by day is a school psychologist, is worried his wife is becoming further

DaNaehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08433351609725965246noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6005962448892917657.post-76412860889070801992010-01-14T17:06:00.010-07:002010-01-20T14:03:45.384-07:00

I’ve been reading everyone else’s predictions regarding the upcoming AlSC awards on Monday and I want to play. As I mentioned before I will be hosting my own Mock Newbery for grown-ups this Saturday. Some of my students are in the midst of a Mock Newbery of their own, on which I also plan to post the results of at some point. In the mean time let me revert back to my tried and true method of

DaNaehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08433351609725965246noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6005962448892917657.post-91956526278817104892010-01-13T15:58:00.006-07:002010-01-13T17:20:25.399-07:00

Here is your official reminder about the 1st annual Northern Utah, East of the Great Salty Lake, West of the Rockies, Adult Mock Newbery. We will work on the name, never fear. As I mentioned last month, the meeting will be held at my school library:Snow Horse Elementary, 1095 Smith Lane, Kaysville, This Saturday, January 16th10:00 A M. It should be a swell time, with many thanks to my Principal,

DaNaehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08433351609725965246noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6005962448892917657.post-61346040351170523052010-01-10T21:26:00.010-07:002010-01-11T19:57:57.903-07:00

The Challenge: to pick, choose, classify, pigeonhole, endorse, and/or isolate the top ten middle-grade chapter books of all time. Oh, Sophie I feel your pain.That’s right folks Betsy Bird of Fuse #8 is at it again. After holding us enraptured last year as she, with the help of her readers, tallied up the 100 picture books of all time, she is now asking us to pick our top 10 middle-grade books, in

DaNaehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08433351609725965246noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6005962448892917657.post-29047251449687802682009-12-29T10:17:00.014-07:002009-12-29T12:42:15.443-07:00

With the end of the year rolling up on us, I thought it was about high time I updated the highest reviewed books of 2009. As of this year there are six sources of reviews for Children's books: School Library Journal, Publishers Weekly, Booklist, The Horn Book, The Bulliton of the Center for Children's Books and Kirkus Reviews. My dirty little secret is that with my meager district budget, I can

DaNaehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08433351609725965246noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6005962448892917657.post-41036062108736774892009-12-09T16:14:00.007-07:002009-12-10T10:16:59.319-07:00

Come January 18, 2010 the actual Newbery will be announced to the world at large, along with a passel of other awards. If you have ever dreamed of wielding a ghost of the power of the actual committee and live in Northern Utah join us for the first unofficial Mock Newbery of an as yet unnamed organization of Kid Lit enthusiasts.We will be meeting at my School Library in Kaysville, 1095 Smith Lane

DaNaehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08433351609725965246noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6005962448892917657.post-10498614254052335952009-11-30T20:18:00.006-07:002009-11-30T21:09:52.615-07:00

This is Forrest.For those of you who are still in the process of making saccharine aaawwwing noises, stop right there and let me set you straight.This is the adorable bug-eyed face of mayhem.In a moment of weakness I agreed to dog-sit for my son, while he went off for a carefree holiday weekend.After all how much trouble could one 15-pound canine get up to in a home with nearly 3 grown adults and

DaNaehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08433351609725965246noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6005962448892917657.post-49792599925818156332009-11-19T08:43:00.003-07:002009-11-19T08:51:01.985-07:00

That's "National Book Awards" for those of you more inclined to sports than literature.By all accounts this is one of the top books of the year. And I'm not sure what it means that I got my copy in the mail the same day the award was given. Does that make me as special as I would like to think?In an upcoming recap of Kid Lit Pie Night I will be announcing the picks for our Mock Newbery. Sneak

DaNaehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08433351609725965246noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6005962448892917657.post-42332152739521058162009-11-05T08:23:00.004-07:002009-11-05T14:03:56.218-07:00

Many of you reading this post may also be devotees of A Fuse #8 Production blog, AKA the world best blog. Possibly I should have qualified it as the world’s best Children’s Lit blog, but in my world there are no other blogs. This blog is brought to us supposedly by one Mrs. Elizabeth Bird, a lovely, witty, and prolific New York Public Librarian/soon-to-be published picture book author. I say

DaNaehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08433351609725965246noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6005962448892917657.post-57422982759173456612009-10-13T08:08:00.009-06:002009-10-14T22:24:47.823-06:00

Let me say this right here, right now, and then I will forever be silent on the issue.I am not excited for the forthcoming cinematic version of Where the Wild Things Are.There I said it - let hellfire rain down from on high.I have little doubt that Mr. Spike Jonze's flick will we a resounding success, both critically and with audiences. The trailers have been stirring and enchanting. It has been

DaNaehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08433351609725965246noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6005962448892917657.post-83129387227812081442009-10-09T21:38:00.009-06:002009-10-09T22:32:43.165-06:00

This week was fineThis week was dandyThis week me and my friends were happyWe found out that we like Sim. . el. . . We like Sim . . el. . .We like MO-CASTSWe also like PiggieWe like GeraldWe really like the funny, funny man Who dresses fancy to tell us funny storiesSometimes the funny man makes funny facesSometimes he makes funny sneezy noisesWe liked his pretend phoneWe don't think his pretend

DaNaehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08433351609725965246noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6005962448892917657.post-10382725142962384392009-10-02T08:19:00.018-06:002009-10-02T12:00:41.989-06:00

When it comes to purchasing books each year with the diminutive budget at my disposal, I feel that each and every book I buy must be heavily weighted to add substance, relevance and/or temptation to our collection as a whole. It’s a no-brainer to add the tempting books, all that is needed there is an eye to what is passing through the circulation desk at breakneck speeds, and find more of the

DaNaehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08433351609725965246noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6005962448892917657.post-38478707522463630862009-09-15T16:46:00.031-06:002009-09-28T15:52:56.173-06:00

WALKING THROUGH THE WORLD OF BEVERLY CLEARYThere are certain scenes from my childhood reading that remain indelibly etched in the crevices of my brain. With the smallest provocation they can be recalled clearly and tangibly, overshadowing the mundane moments of my actual childhood. Many, many of those moments can be claimed as a companion to the Klickitat gang - Henry, Beezes, and Ramona.I

DaNaehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08433351609725965246noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6005962448892917657.post-38892391925103121532009-09-08T21:35:00.011-06:002009-09-09T20:05:44.897-06:00

Brought to you in HaikuStand on Holy Ground Sacred to Book Addicts AllThe Temple of Powell's If this massive bookstore presiding in downtown Portland, with all of its gastronomic and cultural allures, were to be situated in a cornfield in Iowa, miles from any other touristy delights, it would still be worth a multiple day car-trip in a decrepit vehicle, with only mediocre hamburger stands

DaNaehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08433351609725965246noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6005962448892917657.post-6286801032060300042009-09-06T09:30:00.004-06:002009-09-06T10:57:26.191-06:00

The Chance be Fed by, and Dork-Out with My Little SisterWARNING: overly sentimentally personal and more food talkBorn ten years apart, at either end of six siblings, it took many years into our adulthood, for my younger sister and me to discover that our DNA helixes stored a frightening amount of identical code. Being a fully functional 10-years-old when she joined our family, I alternately found

DaNaehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08433351609725965246noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6005962448892917657.post-13599996828314191632009-09-03T21:19:00.005-06:002009-09-03T22:07:36.610-06:00

CARTLANDFood Part 2Imagine waking up every day and having the foods of the world at your beck and call all within a city block radius. If you were so inclined you would have the opportunity to breakfast in Europe, lunch in Eastern Asia, have a mid-day snack in South America and dine in the Middle East. Downtown Portland offers just such a wonderland. An entire city block, with some spillage onto

DaNaehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08433351609725965246noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6005962448892917657.post-69373543611234502842009-09-02T19:57:00.006-06:002009-09-02T21:24:34.549-06:00

The Portland City tour of Matt Cartwright’s Whimsy and FunctionAs I mentioned before my Brother-in-law is an artist who rescues unwanted objects from wasting away their retirement years in the wasteland of the municipal landfill, and resurrects them into amazing and whimsical pieces of functional art. I also stated before Portland is a biker’s paradise; the type of biker that might require a

DaNaehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08433351609725965246noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6005962448892917657.post-88163462476598877202009-09-01T22:16:00.010-06:002009-09-03T22:06:57.976-06:00

The Food, the Food, Oh-my-Sweet-Aunt-Agripa THE FOOD.There is many a bragging point the city of Portland, Oregon can print up and wave about. If you visit you won’t need to pump your own gas nor pay sales tax. There are possibly more bicyclists than motorists. OK most likely not the last one but it sure feels like it when your GPS interpreter (yours truly), malfunctions and sends the Little White

DaNaehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08433351609725965246noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6005962448892917657.post-14997726308317362392009-08-31T21:16:00.005-06:002009-08-31T22:29:19.570-06:00

Finally understanding the positive implications of the phrase, "But it's a dry heat".I in no way claim to be a wiz at mathematics, but I believed I was on solid ground in my belief that something as constant as a number, even the number 95, was equal in value whether referring to currency, cupcakes, or temperature. People in my neck of the country like to boast about our arid heat. I could never

DaNaehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08433351609725965246noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6005962448892917657.post-69622089387883258132009-08-30T19:11:00.011-06:002009-08-30T20:44:36.406-06:00

Stopping by the Maryhill Museum to get a gander at just a bit of my Brother-in-Law’s spectacular talent.Matthew Cartwright is a sculptor of undisputed creative and functional art. He reroutes would-be rubbish from the landfills of Portland, and shapes it into clever, amusing and downright magical landmarks. As we speak, his work is part of the Maryhill 2009 Outdoor Sculpture Invitational.This is

DaNaehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08433351609725965246noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6005962448892917657.post-80478193021015809462009-08-30T18:17:00.006-06:002009-08-30T18:57:39.554-06:00

Playing witness as the odometer tripped over the 200,000 milestone in The Little White Van. Way to go baby, here’s to another 200,000! Particulars: Location – 25 miles north of home up I-15.Musical accompaniment – The Proclaimers’, I Would Walk 500 Miles (How I Met Your Mother reference)Celebratory accoutrement – Fake Champaign in the form of sparkling cider. Cigars and real Champaign were out,

DaNaehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08433351609725965246noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6005962448892917657.post-76343471197268918182009-08-30T12:22:00.006-06:002009-08-30T18:16:59.467-06:00

Admittedly only peripherally related to kid lit, but we have the photographic evidence, and it is my blog, so allow a bit of self-indulgence, the link to kid lit will eventually be in evidence.Lest you think I value my offspring to lightly, I will clarify that the order of the countdown has more to do with chronology than esteem.#10 - Being accompanied by my vivacious and raucous 17-year-old

DaNaehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08433351609725965246noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6005962448892917657.post-62119623558135703972009-08-30T11:33:00.006-06:002009-08-30T18:12:32.612-06:00

I was blinded by insight this morning. I’m still blinking the residual flash of inspiration from my formally deluded sight. Theoretically I began this blog at the beginning of the year with grandiose thoughts of connecting children to reading, and to discuss my take on the collection, new and old, that is at the disposal of young readers and those not-so-young readers that prefer reading at a 4th

DaNaehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08433351609725965246noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6005962448892917657.post-20223405283660315302009-07-30T03:48:00.008-06:002009-08-30T18:09:03.790-06:00

If you were to stumble across my Goodreads profile you might mistake me for a precocious 10-year-old. That would most likely be the median age of the target audience of the books on my virtual bookshelves. Do I feel sheepish, shamefaced, or chagrined at having my childish reading exposed to the public at large? -- Not at all. Just because a book is intended for a young audience does not

DaNaehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08433351609725965246noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6005962448892917657.post-71138301072528562892009-06-15T07:03:00.009-06:002009-06-15T09:16:18.903-06:00

I would assume that if you are reading all the same blogs I am, you have been privy to the following revelations. In case you have missed these newsy bombshells let me share what gets my little heart skipping about in a conga line. From what I can gather 37% of blogging is reporting on what has been read in other blogs. Ihope to give credit where credit is due to breaking the news.Rob Reiner the

DaNaehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08433351609725965246noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6005962448892917657.post-71618836995884886112009-06-09T09:35:00.010-06:002009-06-19T17:55:10.511-06:00

What to say about a book that a reader should know nothing about before openingthe cover? One’s tongue must tread very carefully, while exuberantly bandying about ones utter enchantment with the work, least it slip and let out one of the book’s many, many delightful secrets. With a great deal of care and some trepidation, here are a few things that I would like to say:Some books have clever tight

DaNaehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08433351609725965246noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6005962448892917657.post-20652810157668306472009-06-06T19:03:00.013-06:002009-06-09T07:03:25.958-06:00

Monica Edinger is officially my favorite person this weekend. She, and I can only assume her utterly brilliant students, have brought me joy, heretofore only experienced by audience members gyrating in unseemly ecstasy in the pretense of Bob Barker, Drew Carey and possibly Dick Clark. She has made what by all accounts was to be a pretty decent weekend something worthy of the following gloat

DaNaehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08433351609725965246noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6005962448892917657.post-30794950946081494282009-05-06T14:38:00.007-06:002009-06-09T07:02:33.059-06:00

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?

DaNaehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08433351609725965246noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6005962448892917657.post-78808985994378987062009-01-01T08:55:00.009-07:002009-01-13T14:55:44.573-07:00

Hello, my name is DaNae and I am a listaholic. Distressing, I know. Thus far treatment has been ineffective. For the most part I am able to go about daily life with anonymity toward my affliction. Untill I am confronted with a newspaper sidebar boasting the promise of the top ten currencies used to purchase goat cheese, or a magazine article guaranteeing the top 14 ways to cure cat dandruff, or

DaNaehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08433351609725965246noreply@blogger.com1