Children's picture books are not really just for children and they certainly aren't just for pre-readers or new readers. Truth be told many picture books are filled with beautiful though provoking stories; some that make you smile or laugh and others that make you cry. Picture books are also great exposure to art, for most people it is their first exposure to art.
A picture book read aloud at the breakfast or dinner table or as a night time story can encourage meaningful discussion with your children as well as an inspiration to their imagination.
Often times as adults or parents we push our kids to advance from picture books to chapter books too soon, like it's some kind of contest. While we do need to continue to advance in our reading skills often the traditional picture book may contain complex words, sentences and ideas. It is a total boost to a child's self-esteem to finish a book so I really encourage a mixture a chapter book or two along with a few picture books just to keep things fresh.
As an adult who works in a library I need to read some of these picture books to have a feel for what's out there, what kids like, what experts are recommending and what would make a good read aloud. I have come across some children's picture books that are so fabulous that I have to go out and purchase a copy to have on hand at home for young visitors. I have learned a great deal from reading picture books and I have also been mesmerized by beautiful illustrations, sometimes I just can't wait to share those beautiful pictures with someone else.
Here is a list of some new and some old picture books that should be read by young and old alike:
"The Curious Garden" by Peter Brown
"My People" by Langston Hughes
"Red Sings from Treetops: a Year in Colors" by Joyce Sidman & illustrated by Pamela Zagarenski ~ a personal favorite.
"Farm" by Elisha Cooper
"Make Way for Ducklings" by Robert Mccloskey
"The Paper bag Princess" by Robert Munsch
"Yertel the Turtle" by Dr. Seuss
"The Lorax" by Dr. Seuss
"Mike Mulligan and his steam shovel" by Virgina Lee Burton
"Odd Velvet" by Mary E. Witcomb
"Blueberries for Sal" By Robert Mccloskey
"Horton Hatches the Egg" by Dr. Seuss
"Our Tree Named Steve" by Alan Zweibel
"Pink and Say" by Patricia Polacco
I could go on but half the fun of reading a good book is finding it first.
Friday, July 30, 2010
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
The Marketing Obession
I have an attraction to marketing books that I can't really explain. On some levels I find marketing the kind of thing I might be against, I mean when you think about encouraging people to purchase things that they don't really need or maybe even want. Let's face it, marketing isn't all about making sales; it's also about recognition, being heard, getting your message out there.
Most marketing books have some tidbit to garner, you may not want to swallow everything hook line and sinker but their is value from learning about other people's experiences.
Here are some things I found of value from books I have read and I will list the books at the end of this post.
Keep your web page clean and simple, don't list things below the fold. "Homepage Usability: 50 Websites Deconstructed" by Jakob Nielsen. I may have taken this advice a bit serious, our web page has become very minimal.
Include not only your businesses address but also it's location; for example across the street from the court house. ~ This is great advice I just can't remember which of the books I found it in so you might want to read them all.
Tell your story ~ don't make up a fake story ~ tell real story or maybe even the back story. "Baked In: Creating Products and Businesses That Market Themselves" by Alex Bogusky.
Encourage creativity, embrace mistakes, create chaos, work in cramped quarters to encourage collaboration and idea sharing ~ "Bang! : "getting your message heard in a noisy world" Linda Kaplan Thaler and Robin Koval, with Delia Marshall.
"The next evolution of marketing : connect with your customers by marketing with meaning" Bob Gilbreath.
"The new rules of marketing and PR : how to use social media, blogs, news releases, online video, & viral marketing to reach buyers directly" David Meerman Scott.
"Guerrilla marketing for nonprofits" by Jay Conrad Levinson, Frank Adkins, and Chris Forbes.
"Marketing without advertising" by Michael Phillips & Salli Rasberry ; edited by Catherine Caputo.
"Guerrilla marketing : easy and inexpensive strategies for making big profits from your small business" Jay Conrad Levinson ; with Jeannie Levinson and Amy Levinson.
"The new rules of marketing and PR : how to use news releases, blogs, podcasting, viral marketing, and online media to reach your buyers directly" by David Meerman Scott.
One book suggested pretty much only advertising in the Yellow pages, which I didn't think would fly in my neck of the woods.
The end story here is that you probably need to pull information from as many places as possible to see what works best for you and your business or organization.
Most marketing books have some tidbit to garner, you may not want to swallow everything hook line and sinker but their is value from learning about other people's experiences.
Here are some things I found of value from books I have read and I will list the books at the end of this post.
Keep your web page clean and simple, don't list things below the fold. "Homepage Usability: 50 Websites Deconstructed" by Jakob Nielsen. I may have taken this advice a bit serious, our web page has become very minimal.
Include not only your businesses address but also it's location; for example across the street from the court house. ~ This is great advice I just can't remember which of the books I found it in so you might want to read them all.
Tell your story ~ don't make up a fake story ~ tell real story or maybe even the back story. "Baked In: Creating Products and Businesses That Market Themselves" by Alex Bogusky.
Encourage creativity, embrace mistakes, create chaos, work in cramped quarters to encourage collaboration and idea sharing ~ "Bang! : "getting your message heard in a noisy world" Linda Kaplan Thaler and Robin Koval, with Delia Marshall.
"The next evolution of marketing : connect with your customers by marketing with meaning" Bob Gilbreath.
"The new rules of marketing and PR : how to use social media, blogs, news releases, online video, & viral marketing to reach buyers directly" David Meerman Scott.
"Guerrilla marketing for nonprofits" by Jay Conrad Levinson, Frank Adkins, and Chris Forbes.
"Marketing without advertising" by Michael Phillips & Salli Rasberry ; edited by Catherine Caputo.
"Guerrilla marketing : easy and inexpensive strategies for making big profits from your small business" Jay Conrad Levinson ; with Jeannie Levinson and Amy Levinson.
"The new rules of marketing and PR : how to use news releases, blogs, podcasting, viral marketing, and online media to reach your buyers directly" by David Meerman Scott.
One book suggested pretty much only advertising in the Yellow pages, which I didn't think would fly in my neck of the woods.
The end story here is that you probably need to pull information from as many places as possible to see what works best for you and your business or organization.
Monday, July 19, 2010
Gail's recent books, movies and music...
I just finished reading "If This was Happiness: A Biography of Rita Hayworth" by Barbara Leaming. I have been interested in Rita Hayworth for about 25 years, ever since a former employer made an interesting comment about her. After all this time I finally picked up a book about her and truthfully I could hardly put it down. You can always tell when a book has an impact on me because I talk and talk about; it's like every day I have to give my family, friends and co-workers the update.
Rita Hayworth lived a Hollywood life that really mirrors so much of what we read in the headlines about celebrities today. A tragic childhood, a string of unhealthy relationships and failed marriages, the paparazzi it just goes on and on.
I was surprised to learn that Rita Hayworth had been married to Orson Wells and that she had loaned him large sums of money. While I've always known that Grace Kelly was married to a Prince I didn't know that Rita Hayworth wayworth was married to prince.
Rita was first and foremost known for for dancing with her beginnings going to back to a dance routine she did with her father, a Spanish native and dancer back to vaudeville days. I really don't want to say too much but I assure this book is a trip down memory lane and ties famous people together in surprising ways.
I was really shocked at how many peole used Rita for her beauty, talent and earning power.
Sadly Rita fell victim to early onset Alzheimer's and died in her 60's, it also broke my heart that diagnoses came late and those early onset symptoms were thought to be the result of a drinking problem damaging Rita's reputation.
This book gave me a whole new respect for this legendary beauty.
So what do you suppose I have been watching? Nothing other than Rita Hayworth movies of course. For my viewing enjoyment I selected "Gilda" one of Rita's most famous performances and her performance of "Blame It On Mame" is fabulous. The movie had a "Casablanca" kind of feel to it, yet it stands on its own as a good film. The movie will leave no doubt in your mind that Rita was one of America's most beautiful actress of all times.
What did I add to my ipod after this Rita book and film fetish? Well of course Rita Hayworth. The album is "The Heat Is On." I did hear somewhere that she didn't actually sing, it was lip synching in her movies and I'm not sure who is singing on record ~ After a brief Internet search I cannot confirm who is really singing but I will let you know if I find out.
Rita Hayworth lived a Hollywood life that really mirrors so much of what we read in the headlines about celebrities today. A tragic childhood, a string of unhealthy relationships and failed marriages, the paparazzi it just goes on and on.
I was surprised to learn that Rita Hayworth had been married to Orson Wells and that she had loaned him large sums of money. While I've always known that Grace Kelly was married to a Prince I didn't know that Rita Hayworth wayworth was married to prince.
Rita was first and foremost known for for dancing with her beginnings going to back to a dance routine she did with her father, a Spanish native and dancer back to vaudeville days. I really don't want to say too much but I assure this book is a trip down memory lane and ties famous people together in surprising ways.
I was really shocked at how many peole used Rita for her beauty, talent and earning power.
Sadly Rita fell victim to early onset Alzheimer's and died in her 60's, it also broke my heart that diagnoses came late and those early onset symptoms were thought to be the result of a drinking problem damaging Rita's reputation.
This book gave me a whole new respect for this legendary beauty.
So what do you suppose I have been watching? Nothing other than Rita Hayworth movies of course. For my viewing enjoyment I selected "Gilda" one of Rita's most famous performances and her performance of "Blame It On Mame" is fabulous. The movie had a "Casablanca" kind of feel to it, yet it stands on its own as a good film. The movie will leave no doubt in your mind that Rita was one of America's most beautiful actress of all times.
What did I add to my ipod after this Rita book and film fetish? Well of course Rita Hayworth. The album is "The Heat Is On." I did hear somewhere that she didn't actually sing, it was lip synching in her movies and I'm not sure who is singing on record ~ After a brief Internet search I cannot confirm who is really singing but I will let you know if I find out.
Lars and the Real Girl, movie
Susan here.
Oh my goodness. I LOVED this movie! It is so sweet and quirky and inspiring. Lars is a diagnosably shy 27 year old who orders a life-size, anatomically correct doll whom he names Bianca. She is a "missionary" from Brazil with an illness that requires her to be in a wheelchair during waking hours! Lars' family and the whole town respond with love and goodwill toward Bianca, welcoming her and making her feel at home. Underneath it all is the story of Lars' childhood and healing.
I watched the film with five men and one woman. Everyone enjoyed it (or at least said they did) but none of the men said they would watch it again! I definitely would. We are purchasing it for the library and it will probably gain a place in the "What's Love Got to Do with It?" film series.
Oh my goodness. I LOVED this movie! It is so sweet and quirky and inspiring. Lars is a diagnosably shy 27 year old who orders a life-size, anatomically correct doll whom he names Bianca. She is a "missionary" from Brazil with an illness that requires her to be in a wheelchair during waking hours! Lars' family and the whole town respond with love and goodwill toward Bianca, welcoming her and making her feel at home. Underneath it all is the story of Lars' childhood and healing.
I watched the film with five men and one woman. Everyone enjoyed it (or at least said they did) but none of the men said they would watch it again! I definitely would. We are purchasing it for the library and it will probably gain a place in the "What's Love Got to Do with It?" film series.
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
Hello Readers! This Susan Sanford, again, library assistant.
I just finished alternately listening to and reading "The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society" by Mary Ann Shaffer and her niece, Annie Barrows. I have to admit to being delightfully surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. Sometimes I am disappointed in popular fiction but this one really charmed me. I laughed out loud and chuckled many times.
The book is written entirely in letters among a dozen or so characters with a couple of primary ones. In the case of this book, I definitely preferred listening to it over reading it, mostly because the audio book uses different actors/readers for each character and they all did such an excellent job. It piqued my interest in the Channel Islands (which I didn't know existed!) and life in England during World War II. This is Ms. Shaffer's first book. Her niece stepped in to help finish the book due to Ms. Shaffer's illness.
I just finished alternately listening to and reading "The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society" by Mary Ann Shaffer and her niece, Annie Barrows. I have to admit to being delightfully surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. Sometimes I am disappointed in popular fiction but this one really charmed me. I laughed out loud and chuckled many times.
The book is written entirely in letters among a dozen or so characters with a couple of primary ones. In the case of this book, I definitely preferred listening to it over reading it, mostly because the audio book uses different actors/readers for each character and they all did such an excellent job. It piqued my interest in the Channel Islands (which I didn't know existed!) and life in England during World War II. This is Ms. Shaffer's first book. Her niece stepped in to help finish the book due to Ms. Shaffer's illness.
Susan's Blog
Thursday, July 15, 2010
A Bitter Pill
Since I've never blogged before, I feel that I must tell you that I am Susan Sanford. I work at the Elbow Lake (Thorson Memorial) Public Library in Elbow Lake, Minnesota. Ours is the only library in Grant County, population approx. 6,000. If you look at the outline of Minnesota, we are half way up and down and about 30 miles from the Dakota border, just about where the hump stretches out to the west and North and South Dakota and Minnesota meet. We are a farming community, surrounded by rich, rich land producing mostly corn, soy beans and wheat...
Last night I finished reading A Bitter Pill: How the Medical System Is Failing the Elderly by John Sloan, M.D. Having spent the last decade tending to the needs of two very elderly parents, one who died of Alzheimer's Disease a year and a half ago, and the other 95 and in a nursing home, I was interested in what this Canadian medical doctor had to say. He weaves some pretty technical medical/political issues into anecdotes of his patients and their families.
If I can briefly summarize, Dr. Sloan describes the current medical system as one of "prevention and rescue" that works fine for younger folks and people with single disease pathologies but fails miserably for the elderly or fragile people who either have multiple pathologies or whose highest priority is NOT being rescued but rather being comfortable physically and socially. He advocates strongly for home care (his practice is entirely done in his patients' homes), keeping patients out of nursing homes and hospitals, minimizing medication (one of the side-effects of many of the common medications prescribed for the elderly is low blood pressure, which becomes a serious threat when each additional medication lowers the blood pressure further), and striving to see the elderly as individual human beings with extremely varying desires and situations.
I found the book inspiring and supportive for me personally. It was quite well written, at times dense and a bit repetitive but peppered with humor. I would love if medical administration people and policy makers would read it.
Any comments or questions?
A Bitter Pill
Since I've never blogged before, I feel that I must tell you that I am Susan Sanford. I work at the Elbow Lake (Thorson Memorial) Public Library in Elbow Lake, Minnesota. Ours is the only library in Grant County, population approx. 6,000. If you look at the outline of Minnesota, we are half way up and down and about 30 miles from the Dakota border, just about where the hump stretches out to the west and North and South Dakota and Minnesota meet. We are a farming community, surrounded by rich, rich land producing mostly corn, soy beans and wheat...
Last night I finished reading A Bitter Pill: How the Medical System Is Failing the Elderly by John Sloan, M.D. Having spent the last decade tending to the needs of two very elderly parents, one who died of Alzheimer's Disease a year and a half ago, and the other 95 and in a nursing home, I was interested in what this Canadian medical doctor had to say. He weaves some pretty technical medical/political issues into anecdotes of his patients and their families.
If I can briefly summarize, Dr. Sloan describes the current medical system as one of "prevention and rescue" that works fine for younger folks and people with single disease pathologies but fails miserably for the elderly or fragile people who either have multiple pathologies or whose highest priority is NOT being rescued but rather being comfortable physically and socially. He advocates strongly for home care (his practice is entirely done in his patients' homes), keeping patients out of nursing homes and hospitals, minimizing medication (one of the side-effects of many of the common medications prescribed for the elderly is low blood pressure, which becomes a serious threat when each additional medication lowers the blood pressure further), and striving to see the elderly as individual human beings with extremely varying desires and situations.
I found the book inspiring and supportive for me personally. It was quite well written, at times dense and a bit repetitive but peppered with humor. I would love if medical administration people and policy makers would read it.
Any comments or questions?
What we're reading, watching and listening to and how we feel about it~
Welcome to Throson Memorial Library's blog~ check back frequently to see what the library staff is reading, watching and listening to and how we feel about it. We welcome your reviews, ideas and comments so speak up and post your comments.
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