Reading With Libraries: podcast book group, with new genres, books, and beverages each week
So, yeah – we are big fans of podcasts! They can be such a good way to share ideas with your community.
Each week we are going to share a podcast from a library, or looking
at books, so you can join us in expanding podcast community and
admiring the work others are doing to share cool info!
This week we are celebrating Banned Books Week by admiring the podcast Banned Library. I really like his Twitter bio: “The worst library on the internet covering banned or challenged media and things in the dark stacks. ”
From his Patreon: ” Banned Library is a slightly ookie and incredibly kookie podcast focused on books and movies that have been censored or banned. Host writer and librarian ST Harker takes the audience through the weekly topic and tries to explain why someone would not want you to consume a story. He often is at a loss. “
All kinds of banned books are shared here, along with a lot of really useful information about where they were banned, reasons, and more information. Great stuff for people looking at this subject!
Hello and welcome to the 4th season of Reading With Libraries! Thank you so much for being here! We’re so glad you’re able to join our podcast book group.
This week we’re talking about books in the Own Voices category. Check out our full show notes page here, complete with links to the books we discussed, more background links, and links to the beverages we enjoyed here.
#OwnVoices is a term credited to author Corinne Duyvis, who suggested the hashtag on Twitter in 2015 to “recommend kidlit about diverse characters written by authors from that same diverse group.”
Are you joining in the fun, and supporting us on Patreon? If so: thanks so much! Official Office DogLady Grey is receiving bonus treats from you, and so appreciates it. (We’re also putting it toward our podcasting bills.)
And if not: we’d love to have you supporting at even $1/month. Lady Grey would be so happy – and the human staff members would also be thrilled to have more people joining us! Join today!
We have a lot of libraries that are working with kids, so a lot of library staffers that can have an opportunity to make an impact on their lives. One area of life library staffers can help their community members, including kids, is helping them find mental health resources.
Check out this article from the ALSC blog on materials they suggest for helping patrons to find good information they can use. (Read the excerpt below, and click on the link to get the full article, with all the good info!)
“According to the Child Mind Institute’s 2018 Children’s Mental Health Report,
anxiety affects 30% of children and adolescents, but 80% never get
help. Untreated anxiety disorders, which typically manifest between ages
11-14, increase the risk for depression, school failure, substance
abuse and suicide. What can we, as librarians, do to assist young people
and their caregivers in recognizing and dealing with mental health
conditions?
Being aware of the myriad mental health resources available is a great first step. In addition to the Child Mind Institute, which provides resources ranging from back-to-school tips to parent/caregiver guides on a plethora of topics, the following websites offer a wide range of information to support the mental health of young people…
Another way we can serve patrons in regard to mental health is through book recommendations. In preparation for World Mental Health Day (October 10th), check out these fantastic children’s titles – and maybe even put together a special display “
Each week we assemble a collection – a bouquet, if you will – of books you can read for yourself, or use to build into a display in your library. As always, the books we link to have info from Amazon.com. If you click a link and then buy anything at all from Amazon, we get a small percent of their profits from your sale. Yay!!! Thanks!!! We really appreciate the assistance! 💕😊
I’ve been traveling a lot this year, visiting all the states in the lower 48. And lately that has involved some time spent in airports. The only way to survive the soul-degrading experience of dealing with the security theater of the TSA (no need to applaud the show here), the very iffy food, and the overcrowded airplanes is to have a good book. To be safe – have about five good books! Trust me; you will be so happy you brought them.
So this week we look at books about airports and/or airplanes. You don’t even need to bother getting on a plane yourself; stay home and enjoy your life while you enjoy missing out on the misery of an airport – but enjoy some books!
Richard Scarry’s A Day at the Airport ” Join Richard Scarry’s beloved characters Huckle Cat, Sally, and Lowly Worm for a day of adventure and discovery at the airport. Airplane fans will get an up-close look at the terminal, the control tower, the runway, and more! Featuring over 70 labeled words and a sticker sheet! Have hours of fun with this busy adventure from the one and only Richard Scarry!”
A Week at the Airport, by Alain de Botton ” Given unprecedented access to one of the world’s busiest airports as a “writer-in-residence,” Alain de Botton found it to be a showcase for many of the major crosscurrents of the modern world—from our faith in technology to our destruction of nature, from our global interconnectedness to our romanticizing of the exotic. He met travelers from all over and spoke with everyone from baggage handlers to pilots to the airport chaplain. Weaving together these conversations and his own observations—of everything from the poetry of room service menus to the eerie silence in the middle of the runway at midnight—de Botton has produced an extraordinary meditation on a place that most of us never slow down enough to see clearly. Lavishly illustrated in color by renowned photographer Richard Baker, A Week at the Airport reveals the airport in all its turbulence and soullessness and—yes—even beauty. “
Birdmen: The Wright Brothers, Glenn Curtiss, and the Battle to Control the Skies, by Lawrence Goldstone ” The feud between this nation’s great air pioneers, the Wright brothers and Glenn Curtiss, was a collision of unyielding and profoundly American personalities. On one side, a pair of tenacious siblings who together had solved the centuries-old riddle of powered, heavier-than-air flight. On the other, an audacious motorcycle racer whose innovative aircraft became synonymous in the public mind with death-defying stunts. For more than a decade, they battled each other in court, at air shows, and in the newspapers. The outcome of this contest of wills would shape the course of aviation history—and take a fearsome toll on the men involved. “
The Skies Belong to Us: Love and Terror in the Golden Age of Hijacking, by Brendan I. Koerner ” In an America torn apart by the Vietnam War and the demise of ’60s idealism, airplane hijackings were astonishingly routine. Over a five-year period starting in 1968, the desperate and disillusioned seized commercial jets nearly once a week, using guns, bombs, and jars of acid. Some hijackers wished to escape to foreign lands; others aimed to swap hostages for sacks of cash. Their criminal exploits mesmerized the country, never more so than when shattered Army veteran Roger Holder and mischievous party girl Cathy Kerkow managred to comandeer Western Airlines Flight 701 and flee across an ocean with a half-million dollars in ransom–a heist that remains the longest-distance hijacking in American history. “
The Dog Who Could Fly: The Incredible True Story of a WWII Airman and the Four-Legged Hero Who Flew At His Side, by Damien Lewis ” Airman Robert Bozdech stumbled across the tiny German shepherd—whom he named Ant—after being shot down on a daring mission over enemy lines. Unable to desert the puppy, Robert hid Ant inside his jacket as he escaped. In the months that followed, the pair would save each other’s lives countless times as they flew together with RAF Bomber Command. Finally grounded after being injured on a flight mission, Ant refused to abandon his duty, waiting patiently beside the runway for his master’s return from every sortie, and refusing food and sleep until they were reunited. By the end of the war, Robert and Ant had become true war heroes, and Ant was justly awarded the Dickin Medal, the “Animal VC.” “
Prudence (The Custard Protocol #1), by Gail Carriger (Okay, this isn’t an airplane; but it’s the start of a great steampunk series that I really enjoy!) ” When Prudence Alessandra Maccon Akeldama (“Rue” to her friends) is bequeathed an unexpected dirigible, she does what any sensible female under similar circumstances would do — she christens it the Spotted Custard and floats off to India. Soon, she stumbles upon a plot involving local dissidents, a kidnapped brigadier’s wife, and some awfully familiar Scottish werewolves. Faced with a dire crisis (and an embarrassing lack of bloomers), Rue must rely on her good breeding — and her metanatural abilities — to get to the bottom of it all… “
It’s a year of STEAM at CMLE! Each week we admire some aspect of STEAM education that is being tried by people and organizations all over the place.
You are never too young to be exploring the world around you. And if you know teeny kids, you know they are good at exploring everything! You can incorporate this into a STEAM program in your library, and help introduce caregivers and kiddos to some good sensory concepts.
Check out this story about one library’s monthly program – in this month focusing on testing out different sensations in things they could feel and grab. How cool!!! (Click the link to get the entire story, and the adorable photos.)
“Crunchy, squishy, slimy and smooth
were all at the tips of fingers last Monday as the Safford Library held
its monthly STEAM night.
“It’s
a great way to grow their minds, and it really helps them develop.
That’s the thing; their brains are still developing, so it’s a great way
for them to explore and learn new things. This is the first time I’ve
learned about it (STEAM nights), from a co-worker who sent me the
flier,” said local mom Kaitlyn Shiftlett. “I think this is really good
for the kids; it really seems like they’re having fun.”
STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and math) nights at the Safford City-Graham County Library include family-oriented activities geared toward education. This month’s steam event focused on sensory exploration, which helps children engage in creative thinking, problem solving and innovation.”
Partnering with libraries for visioning, advocating, and educating
