#NYLibrarySpotlightDay

"Woke up. Got out of bed. Dragged a comb across my head...

...I read the news today, oh boy..."

-Sgt. Peppers Lonely Heart's Club Band

Happy #NYLibrarySpotlight Day.

Woke up. Got out of bed. Did NOT drag anything across my head. Yoga. Coffee...and...and the news? Well, oh boy is right.

Today was a good day for this New York school librarian.

I got up early in a panic thinking I had to get an email out to a teacher by 6:50.  Oops. Am I on Texas time?  It was SEVEN 50. Bonus hour to get things done.

Before 9, three first graders were in front of me eager to learn how to access SORA. Once they got their logins and a reminder to use their public library card, too, the world of books was exponentially opened up to them. Good feeling.

Answer and send emails.  

Read a picture book about the coronavirus.  There are a lot out there but what makes this one special is that it can be translated into 25 languages. Forward to my faculty and staff and the HS Spanish teachers.  One Spanish teacher immediately replies, "I love it."  Win. 

(CES Parents reading this: I have a whole folder of books like this on my resource page.)

It's almost time for the daily 10:30 read aloud. This week Grace Lin is reading her Newbery honor book, Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, via Facebook Live. I know my students would probably not watch on their own so I offer it up as a meet with me. Look at them, especially the one in the bottom left with his arms up. They. Are. Listening. It is always a challenge getting these things going, though. Every day. Today was unusually difficult so I finally pulled it up on my laptop and projected it on my school computer.  Crisis diverted. (CES Parents: So far the read alouds have been middle grade but next week they will be all picture books.  Meet code: 56reads.)

I try and take a brief break to watch Governor Cuomo's press conference.  Today was no exception. My son baked a loaf of sandwich bread last night and I ate the best peanut butter and jelly sandwich I ever had. I'm not kidding.

A belated book birthday party is better than no party at all, right? So for my 6th grade Dewey Duty lunch we celebrated Lauren Wolk's Echo Mountain. I just received the e-galley on Monday but lucky for me, I couldn't sleep that night so I got a bunch of it read before the release yesterday.  So far, amazing. Gripping. Can you really go wrong with Lauren Wolk?  I pulled out a cupcake, we read the first two chapters together and everyone was hooked.  Juliann was randomly picked to receive a copy compliments of me via Northshire Bookstore. She was SO excited! To this date, this is the 10th book I have given away. Money well spent that normally would have gone to coffee, gas, doughnuts,  theatre, Montreal, concerts...

Back to bookstores, Grace Lin gave us three tips today. Buy books and audiot books from: bookshop.org and libro.fm (to support indie bookstores) and check out her podcast, https://www.kidsaskauthors.com/. The podcast sounds awesome! Kids come up with questions for book creators and they answer. Great questions to remember for author/illustrator Skypes and school visits.

Faculty meeting. More emails. Plan. Walk. 

Facetime with a friend. Wait. She's key to this entire day. I would not have had it without her. 

In 2006 Val and I met at a party. She was a 3rd grade teacher, NOT a librarian. We just met. I was on maternity leave and ready for something new. She told me to become a school librarian. Seriously. I heeded her, a stranger's, advice. I did not know her AT ALL. Six months later I quit my job and enrolled full time.  The theme for National Library Week is "Find Your Place at the Library." Thanks, Val, for changing my life by helping me find my place and giving me today. 🧡📚😍

#NYLibrarySpotlightDay #NYLibraryWeek #NationalLibraryWeek #LibrariesTransform #SchoolLibraryMonth