All posts by Angie

Books

We Heart MN: St. Paul books

In this series, we’ll pick some of our favorite things about Minnesota and share some related book suggestions. (We’re open to your suggestions! Comment below or email us and tell us some of your favorite MN things!)

This week library people from all over the state celebrated Minnesota Library Legislative Day by heading to St. Paul and meeting with legislators at the State Capitol.
So in order to help keep library advocacy fresh in your mind, our books this week all take place in St. Paul!


Our Minnesota State Capitol: From Groundbreaking Through Restoration by Denis Gardner
“The Minnesota State Capitol is both an architectural masterpiece and a revered public building. This beautiful Renaissance Revival structure is the heart of the state’s civic life, a place for celebrations, demonstrations, arguments, and accomplishments. It’s where history happens.”

Minnesota’s State Capitol: The Art and Politics of a Public Building by
Neil B. Thompson
“Tells the story of how private citizens, professional tradesmen, and public officials formed a coalition that got Minnesota’s statehouse designed and built. Drawing on extensive research, Neil B. Thompson relates how several governors, a decade of hard work, and four million dollars contributed toward creating this magnificent testament to the sovereignty of the state, opened to the public for the first time in January 1905.”

If you’re interested in learning more about the Capitol, the Minnesota Historical Society has this PDF which gives an overview of all the fine art in the building! The document has pictures, locations, and descriptions of the works of art.

The St. Paul Conspiracy by Roger Stellj
“The morning after Halloween the city of St. Paul awakens to find that a serial killer terrorizing the blue-collar working women of University Avenue has struck for the fifth time. The citizens of St. Paul are on edge.
The fans of John Sandford, David Baldacci and Vince Flynn will enjoy this fast-moving story of murder, greed, and treason, the cast of colorful characters, and its setting in and around historic St. Paul, Minnesota.”

A Grand Murder by Stacy Verdick Case
” A Grand Murder is the first book in the Catherine O’Brien mystery series. When a prominent local businessman and friend of the chief of police is murdered on the front steps of his posh Grand Avenue Hill home, Saint Paul homicide detective Catherine O’Brien a pithy, vertically challenged, St. Paul, Minnesota, homicide detective with a monstrous coffee habit and her partner Louise are given two days to find his killer. “

General

CMLE Recap: An Evening with Joyce Carol Oates

Angie’s recap:

On Tuesday night (just in time before our latest snowstorm hit) a large group of Central Minnesotan readers and book lovers gathered in the Escher Auditorium at the College of St. Ben’s to hear from distinguished author Joyce Carol Oates.

I was very excited to hear from her, especially because of the enormous body of work she’s created! We enjoyed hearing about the similarities between her hometown in upstate New York and Central Minnesota, mainly that they both get a lot of snow. She shared that she was first in her family to graduate high school and that getting a college degree was extremely rare, especially for a woman. She talked a lot about the changing roles in society for women and girls and how important it is for everyone to have access to education and to travel.

She read from a few different selections. Her first reading was about “Mr. Rooster” and the impact that caring for her family’s chickens had on her as a young girl. She said that caring for the rooster, in particular, was a learning experience that stuck with her throughout life. Some people just aren’t going to like us, no matter what we do! She had a quiet sense of humor and shared several pictures of roosters with us, just in case we needed a reminder of what they looked like. 🙂

Next she talked about behavioral psychology and the experiments that used to be conducted before there were ethical guidelines scientists needed to follow. She read from a poem she’d written about “Little Albert,” a real-life baby test subject.

She also talked about her latest book, The Hazards of Time Travel, and read a few small selections from the book. Finally, she answered audience questions. I found what she had to say about Twitter very interesting, especially since she’s been a Twitter user since the platform began.

It was so great to see so many members and other library people at this event! Thanks to St. Ben’s for providing a lovely evening!

Lydia’s recap:

What a great opportunity to be able to see such a distinguished author here so close to home. I love going to see authors when I get the chance and Joyce Carol Oates gave an excellent talk.

She is such an articulate speaker, which makes sense for someone who has published over one hundred books.

Her readings were excellent but I loved the way she would digress from her prepared material and speak extemporaneously about our current time and political situation, the changes she has seen since she began writing and her thoughts on a wide variety of subjects. Often times authors will just stand and read but she jumped around and commented on her work as she went which I found really interesting.

The theater was wonderful and I was lucky enough to have a great seat near the front and right in the middle so I really had a wonderful time and I hope that we can attract more and more great talent to visit us here in central Minnesota. I hope Ms. Oates wasn’t delayed by the storm but hopefully those in line to get books signed were able to. I always enjoy visiting St Ben’s and I have seen many great performances and presentations there.

School Media Specialist, Tech

AASL Recommended Apps: PBS Kids Games

In June, the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) announced their Best Apps for Teaching and Learning 2018. The apps encourage qualities such as creativity and collaboration and encourage discovery and curiosity.

This is our last of the apps from 2018! If you want to catch up on all our past apps check out the archive. Next fall we’ll be back with the Best Apps for Teaching and Learning of 2019!

This week we’ll look at PBS Kids Games! This app features favorite PBS characters to help kids learn about math, creativity, and more.

“Play free learning games with your favorite PBS KIDS characters anytime, anywhere. PBS KIDS Games features top shows and new games that are continually being added encouraging learners to engage in skills related to science, math, creativity and more in gameplay alongside their favorite characters!”

Platform: iOS, Android   
Grades: Preschool – 3rd
Cost: FREE

Common Sense Media has this review of the app, and Parents’ Choice recommends the app in this article. The app is also featured in this article from We Are Teachers that lists the best PBS apps to use in the classroom.

See some of the games available on this app!
Books

We Heart MN: Middle Grade Novels!

In this series, we’ll pick some of our favorite things about Minnesota and share some related book suggestions. (We’re open to your suggestions! Comment below or email us and tell us some of your favorite MN things!)

This week it’s all about middle grade books! Check out our list of middle grade novels set in Minnesota and leave a comment with one of your favorites!

Great Pumpkin Suite by Melanie Heuiser Hill
“Musically talented Rose is focused on winning the upcoming Bach Cello Suites Competition, while happy-go-lucky Thomas has taken up the challenge of growing a giant pumpkin in the yard of their elderly neighbor, Mr. Pickering. But when a serious accident changes the course of the summer, Rose is forced to grow and change in ways she never could have imagined. Along the way there’s tap dancing and classic musicals, mail-order worms and neighborhood-sourced compost, fresh-squeezed lemonade, the Minnesota State Fair — and an eclectic cast of local characters that readers will fall in love with.”

The Take Back of Lincoln Junior High by Roseanne Cheng
“Lincoln Junior High is out of money. For Andrew and Hannah, this means no sports, no music, and no fun. That is, until the principal begins a corporate sponsorship program to “Take-Back” the school. A few advertisements in exchange for cool programs and new technology can’t be that bad. Or can it?”

The Birchbark House by Louise Erdrich
“The sole survivor of a smallpox epidemic on Spirit Island, Omakayas, then only a baby girl, was rescued by a fearless woman named Tallow and welcomed into an Ojibwa family on Lake Superior’s Madeline Island, the Island of the Golden-Breasted Woodpecker. We follow Omakayas and her adopted family through a cycle of four seasons in 1847, including the winter, when a historically documented outbreak of smallpox overtook the island. 
The author’s softly hewn pencil drawings infuse life and authenticity to her poetic, exquisitely wrought narrative. Omakayas is an intense, strong, likable character to whom young readers will fully relate–from her mixed emotions about her siblings, to her discovery of her unique talents, to her devotion to her pet crow Andeg, to her budding understanding of death, life, and her role in the natural world. “


Resources, School Media Specialist

Ezra Jack Keats Foundation Mini Grants Available!

This sounds like a great opportunity for our members! Teachers and librarians from public or school libraries, check out this opportunity to get some funding for a program that “demonstrates creativity and a desire to make learning fun.” They’ll award approximately 70 grants up to $500 each! Deadline for submitting your application is March 31st 2019 so you have plenty of time. (Contact us at CMLE if you need help with yours!)

Here’s more info from their website:

“The Ezra Jack Keats Foundation, dedicated to supporting arts and literacy programs in public schools and libraries across the country, is encouraging qualifying educators to apply for a 2019 Ezra Jack Keats Mini-Grant. Applications are currently being accepted, and the deadline for submissions is March 31, 2019.

Approximately 70 grants, up to $500 each, will be awarded to teachers and librarians whose proposals demonstrate creativity and a desire to make learning fun. Decisions will be emailed to all applicants in May, allowing educators to plan for the 2019 – 2020 academic year.
“For over three decades, it has been our privilege to support the vision of the most innovative teachers and librarians, who inspire students to read joyfully, think creatively and support one another with generosity,” says Deborah Pope, Executive Director of the Ezra Jack Keats Foundation.

Since 1987, the Ezra Jack Keats Foundation has provided over $1,000,000 in support of EJK Mini-Grant programs spanning the 50 states and U.S commonwealths. The Foundation welcomes Mini-Grant proposals focusing on any subject or discipline. To learn more about EJK Mini-Grants, and to see the criteria for application, visit Ezra Jack Keats Mini-Grants.

“With the deadline fast approaching, I encourage all creative educators who want to put their new ideas into action to go online and apply for an EJK Mini-Grant now,” adds Pope.”