All posts by Angie

Academic, General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

Free gardening eBooks

FlowersWe are in the middle of that wonderful season in Minnesota that is springtime! Excited to get outside and begin your next garden or yard project? If you need a little extra help, consider checking out the eBooks MN collection for gardening books.(Not sure what I am talking about? Get caught up with our earlier CMLE posts on eBooks MN).

They have a variety of gardening books, for everyone from the beginner planning their first garden to the experienced gardener. They feature topics like miniature, container, and edible gardening.

This article recommends starting with the Beginner’s Illustrated Guide to Gardening: Techniques to Help You Get Started by Katie Elzer-Peters. The book features helpful color images as well as illustrated tools, tips, and tricks to help you in your next gardening venture!

Image credit: http://tinyurl.com/mcpp3y2, licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

 

Academic, General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

CMLE Weekly Review: 5/19/2016

This issue of the Weekly Review recaps our blog posts from May 13 – May 18, 2016.

CMLE Updates: State & Regional News
– Featured Book: May Day More
– Last edition: Where have all the media specialists gone? More
– Legislative Update: 5/15/16 More

Upcoming Events and Registration Information
– Looking for professional development? More

Tech Bits and Ideas
– Nine tricks for Google Calendar More
– Amazon and eBooks in NYC schools More

Resources You Can Use
– Books for teen writers and poets More
– Instagram and the ancient art of marbled paper More
– Helping preserve memories – public library creates memory lab More
– Need additional help stretching your budget? More
– AASL toolkit for preservice principals and teachers More

Food For Thought
– 2016 State of America’s Libraries Report More
– Misinformation spreads faster than Creeping Charlie More

Just For Fun
– Visit these 12 literary places! More

General, Public, School Media Specialist

Books for teen writers and poets

highlighted readingFollowing the month of April, which was National Poetry Month, we are coming up on summer! A time when teens may have more time available to read and write their own content. Looking for a way to encourage a teen writer or poet? Check out this booklist!

They feature several different categories, including one titled “Nonfiction: Writers on Writing” featuring familiar names like Stephan King and Stan Lee. Reading about the obstacles and challenges that faced famous writers may be just the encouragement a young writer needs.

Finally, for anyone struggling to encourage young readers to become interested in poetry, this may be the answer you need. You’ve probably heard of the musical Hamilton by now. The book Hamilton: The Revolution includes a behind-the-scenes look at the hip-hop musical about the life of Alexander Hamilton. The book also includes the hip-hop poetry of rapper and composer Lin-Manuel Miranda. Maybe putting poetry in a different context will make it more accessible and appealing to teens, and maybe even inspire them to write their own?

Happy writing!

Image credit: http://unsplash.com/(Jazmin Quaynor) licensed under CC0 1.0

 

 

General, Public, Special

Instagram & marbled paper

nature patternMost book-lovers agree that print books have a certain beauty, and some even enjoy the smell of a book, library, or bookstore. But have you ever heard of marbled book art?

The American Antiquarian Society has been sharing the beauty of this ancient art form over their Instagram feed, and their feature #MarbledMonday has become very popular. This art form used on historical book bindings is undeniably beautifully artistic – the papers, edges, and cloths of these books are enhanced with colors and swirling patterns and shapes. Another reason for the popularity of this feature is the fact that artists in the 18th and 19th century produced these complicated patterns without the help of modern equipment!

The way these designs are produced is by placing chemicals and pigments in a water bath, then the artist manipulates the floating pigments to create patterns, which are then put onto the book edges or papers.

In the early days of America, even currency was marbled to prevent counterfeiting! Check out the full article here for more examples and pictures.

Image credit: https://unsplash.com/(Sebastian Unrau), licensed under CC0 1.0

 

Academic, General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

Featured Book: May Day

May DayThis post is part of an original series created by librarians/media specialists across Central Minnesota featuring books.

Title: May Day by Jess Lourey
Review by: Angie Gentile-Jordan, Office Administrator at CMLE

Our event on May 5th featured a talk from author and professor Jess Lourey. Before the event, in an attempt to familiarize myself with her work, I began reading May Day, the first in her popular Murder-by-Month series.

The book is about assistant librarian Mira James, who moves to the small town of Battle Lake, MN from the big city of Minneapolis as a way to get a fresh start on her post-grad life. As she settles in, she encounters many characters that will be familiar to readers that have spent any amount of time in small-town Minnesota.

All seems to be going well for Mira. She even begins casually dating an archaeologist visiting the town on business. But when his lifeless body shows up (she stumbles across it in the library, no less!) Mira decides to find some answers.

I enjoyed reading this book for several reasons: the tone was light and clever, and I could picture many of the scenes playing out in northern Minnesota. I liked the way Mira bluffed her way through conversations about fishing to gain trust with the locals, throwing out words like “pan fish” not having any idea what it meant.

I’ve already purchased the next in the series, June Bug, and am looking forward to reading it from the boat while doing a little pan fishing of my own!