The View from the Circ Desk

Things have been a bit quiet in the children's library, with multiple snow days and all. Favorites of late have been princesses, trains and a every possible book on snowmen, snow days, snow monsters, snow kidding!

I'm going to share a personal pet peeve of mine. I don't know who decides on the actual size a picture book will be. I'm sure the author has little to no say in it at all. As someone who selves and re-selves, hunts for books and watches children choose books...the over-sized or tiny sized books are a nuisance. They may look beautiful in a bookstore where there are loads of display shelves. Their covers look lovely for on-line shopping. However, on a crowded shelf with limited height, the over-sized ones are usually rotated so the pages rather than the binding/title show (nothing to attract a young reader to pull it out) The "mini" books often get hidden between taller ones and are overlooked. Just tiny rant from behind the circ desk.

A New Year and New Challenges

Well, I thoroughly enjoyed the PiBoIdMo in November and we are now through all the holidays. There's no more time for excuses, so I have decided to challenge myself by joining The 12x12 Challenge. I hope to take some of the ideas from last November and tweak, embellish and revise so I have a new picture book manuscript each month for 2015. I'm out of my comfort zone with all the technology involved, but so for the instructions have been incredibly user friendly. There is encouragement for the use of social media, another weakness of mine. I'm excited...and if you're not scared, you're not growing, right?

Another November is Here Already- PIBOIDMO is just around the corner

Go to Tara Lazar's website for information about registration. I love this year's logo created by Vin Vogel.

Picture Book Den: Out For The Count - (Guest Blog) by Jonathan Emmet...

Picture Book Den: Out For The Count - (Guest Blog) by Jonathan Emmet...: Why are publishers becoming adverse to longer picture book texts? An insightful article on the Picture Book Den.

What Fun!

This is so much fun. After critiquing a rhyming story of mine for RhyPoIdMo, Maria Cuesta did this watercolor of the main character which she was generous enough to share with me, all the way from Spain! Thanks Maria!

View From the Circ Desk, Part 2

Here's what's hot in the children's library for May/June:

Biographies- local classrooms are doing reports on "people who inspire you".
Gardening- the garden club has a children's garden and they have been sending children to the library to look for gardening books.
Summer topics
Summer reading lists- the librarian compiles a recommended summer reading list that goes home with all the school children

2014 Kids Summer Reading List

Horn Book came out their kidlit summer reading list! It was posted on metro kids.com. Time to hit the hammock with a good book.

2014 Kids Summer Reading List