Module 1: Introduction to Children's Literature

For my first blog post for Literature for Youth, I have decided to include a review of one of the books about reading simply because I loved it so much.

The book is Bats at the Library, written and illustrated by Brian Lies.


Bats at the Library is about a group (flock? -- no, it's a colony) of bats who find an open library window and spend the night exploring everything the library has to offer. They read, they talk about their favorite books, they play games, and they even have storytime. I really did love this book. The text is rhythmic and clever, and the illustrations are filled with humor and detail.

Of course, you don't have to take my word for it (a small homage to the now canceled Reading Rainbow). Bats at the Library has received excellent reviews.

• From Booklist, "The rhymed narrative serves primarily as the vehicle for the appealing acrylic illustrations that teem with bats so charming they will even win over chiroptophobes. -- Perkins, Linda. Booklist; 10/15/2008, Vol. 105 Issue 4, p46, 1

• From School Library Journal, "Lies's acrylics are a successful fusion of fantasy and reality. The rhyming narrative is generally smooth, with enough humor and sophistication to propel readers along. And who can argue with the message? --Lukehart, Wendy. School Library Journal; Nov2008, Vol. 54 Issue 11, p92-92, 1/5p

Bats at the Library could be used in a storytime, but I really see it as an introduction to the library for young children. Children are like the young bats in the story who see the library as a playground, but the older bats know better. Young or old, they all get pulled into a good story.

Thing 19: Google Docs

I've used this for awhile. It's handy when you want to have access to a document without uploading it from your computer. It was also useful when I was creating an itinerary for my vacation and needed to share it with my husband. The only thing is formatting is a lot harder in Google Docs and if you paste something from a Word document or vice versa, there's a lot of editing to do to make it look like you want it to.

Wikis

Here's the reason I love Wikipedia: I can find a basic explanation of just about anything. I'd never use it as a research source, but it's great for becoming familiar with an unfamiliar topic. I've had to use it before in the library when a patron didn't really know what they were looking for and I had no idea what they were talking about and needed something quick and easy so I'd have a clue as to what kind of search would give them what they wanted.

I made a page and a subpage on DFW 23 Things, but for whatever reason, I could only make one subpage. Every time I tried making another subpage, it bumped me back to the main page. I do understand how it works, though. And I know that a lot of libraries and other organizations use wikis to provide information to employees.

LibWorm

I think this is a good idea in theory, but I'll probably stick to my own RSS aggregator. I did a few searches and looked at a few of the subject areas, but few of the results were even remotely close to the search term or subject area. Sorting by relevance definitely helped, but it meant dates were all over the place. If I want something relevant to my search that was written recently, I have to hunt for it. The site would be improved by being able to sort by relevance and only show results from a cetain time period.

I did find results that made for interesting reading, but if I'm following an issue, I want results that are both relevant and recent, and from what I can figure out, this site isn't capable of that.