Character Counts Booklist

Need to find books that teach specific character traits?

You can find a list at http://charactercounts.org/resources/booklist.php

The booklist includes books ranging from the Grouchy Ladybug to Jacob Have I Loved. It includes author, title, number of pages, type of book, and which trait the book illustrates. Some of the books seem a little outdated, but some books are still in demand and in the FLP system.

The 6 character traits are: trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring, and citizenship.

Signage

It's no secret that I LOVE making signs - the bigger and more elaborate, the better. I typically have 4 or so sign making binges a year. There are just times when I need to make signs!

Here's what I've been up to lately.

A simple sign made using Comic Sans font, colored paper, and twine. I used MS Publisher and set my paper to landscape format and then made the font as big as I could while still printing two letters a page. I needed the sign to be double-sided since it can be seen from both the book stacks and the circulation desk, but I also needed a sign that didn't require lots of taping, cutting, or lining up. So, I calculated the letters and then laid out each page with two letters like this: F N,I O, C I, T T, I C, O I, N F. After printing out the letters, I folded each sheet in half, used a little bit of tape to hold the fold together, reinforced the top edge of each (now) double-sided letter section using some book tape, punched a couple of holes in the top of each sheet, and then ran some twine through those holes.

I recently made a big shift with my non-fiction, including special collections like Biographies and Holidays. Among those niche collections relocated was my group of atlases. I've wanted to give the atlases a space of their own for while, if only because I had a great idea for a sign in mind. Once I had the books in place, all I needed was a few supplies: bright poster board, thick letters, and some ClipArt make up this sign:

I used Publisher (again) to make an oversized circle (I opted for a custom-sized poster as my layout blank). Then, I looked for the most elementary image of a globe using ClipArt. I wanted something abstract since I wasn't aiming for perfection nor was I intent on cutting out intricate shorelines or islands. Using MS Word, I was able to ungroup the ClipArt image and use just those portions that I wanted. Then, I upsized those little odd looking and non-geographical entities so that they would be semi-proportionate to my blue circle. I printed everything out, cut out the shapes and taped it all together. I think that aspect of sign making really appeals to the puzzle-lover in me - I get to piece it just so. I made the letters using over-sized black font and then cut them out using an Exacto. The whole sign took about an hour to make, start to finish, and it's my current favorite.

My old favorite sign is still going strong at the library:

Eager to assist my patrons, young and old, from the minute they enter the building, I made this sign with them in mind. The letters are angled towards the entrance and on a clear day (that is, a day that isn't 40+ child deep...), the sign is obvious from the circulation desk. I made this sign by blowing up the font to as large as it would go for a single page, taped the lettered sheets to one side of a manilla folder and on the other side, I taped the fronts of recycled book jackets:

Want a closer look at the construction?

I rounded out this display by incorporating old, empty VHS cardboard sleeves. This is definitely a sign that sticks out!

Sorry for the image quality on these - I took the photos using my camera phone!

1,000 Books Before Kindergarten

Earlier this week I came upon this program on some library websites. The goal is to get parents and guardians to read a lot of books to their young children. Some libraries run the program and some schools run the program.

Here are the basics:

• Kids 0-5 signed up. (In the preschool-kindergarten collaboration kids only participate from sept of last year of preschool to end the kindergarten school year.)

• Books are bagged in groups of 10.

• At certain milestones like 100th book, 500th book, etc. the child receives a prize. Prizes can be things like t-shirts, cds of nursery rhymes, etc.

• At the end of the program, kids get a big prize, certificate, and their picture in a local newspaper.

Example: I contacted the school that does the program. The woman I spoke with said that this is their 3rd year doing the program. They have 240 bags with unique titles (no repeats). This year they have 150 participants. Her school relied on donations for their books.

What I like about the program: It encourages parents to read to their kids and reinforces how important it is. At Oak Lane, I see a lot of elementary age kids, but not many preschoolers or babies.

Questions:

• How practical do you all think this program is?

• Would you bag up books? (I'm thinking that to start I'd have 20 bags and then switch them out every 3-4 months)

• Who would participate? Kids from birth to end of kindergarten? 3-5 year olds?

• Would you divide the bags into levels? Bag for toddlers, bag for 3-4s, bag for pre-readers and beginning readers? Or mix levels?

Overall, I think the program is worth doing. I will see if my Friends group is willing to collaborate and sponsor prizes. I think it will take me a month or two to get everything set up and organized.

The woman I spoke with is sending me an informational packet. Once I get it, I can I make copies and send it on to any that are interested. Let me know!