She's Crafty | Papel Picado

El Día de los Niño, The Day of the Child, is this Thursday, April 30th.

On this festive day, the Cesar Chavez branch will have a special program featuring a visit from local children's author Jennifer Torres. She will be reading from her new book, Finding the Music/En pos de la Musica and the celebration will continue with crafts after the story. So, come down to the Cesar Chavez branch this Thursday at 3:30 PM.

To help promote the program and give our branch some festive style, I made papel picado banners and fluffy paper flowers to hang near the entrance of our library and over the Children's library information desk.

According to the Papel Picado page on the Museum of International Folk Art website, papel picado translates to "punched" or "perforated paper." Artisans who make traditional papel picado make a large stack of tissue paper, top it with a template, and use a set of special sharpened chisels known as fierritos to punch out the design.

To make mine I followed a tutorial I found at the Happy Thought blog, which you can read here. Ellen Deakin & Harry Olden of Happy Thought also created a very handy video tutorial to show crafters how to make their style of papel picado, which is soo very fun and easy! To make the designs they feature on their page and the ones I used for my banner, you can download three templates at Happy Thought. Just a note, you do have to join their mailing list to get the templates. If you don't feel like doing that, do an internet search for "papel picado templates" or make your own.

The papel picado you make following the tutorial at Happy Thought is cut with scissors. You fold a stack of tissue paper in half and slide it into one of their symmetrical templates.

You only have to cut one side of the design, but since it's folded in half, you cut the whole thing. I found eight sheets of tissue paper just about right. I tried 16 at first but it was torture on my scissor hand!

Once you have all your sheets cut out, time to "string" them together. At Happy Thought, they have you lay long lengths of masking tape sticky side up. Then you lay a single cut sheet on half of the width of tape and fold the remaining half over, sandwiching the piece of tissue within the tape.

Masking tape makes quick work of putting the banner together and making it ready for hanging. I'm thoroughly infatuated with the idea!

I also found a great paper flower tutorial on Happy Thought: Mexican Paper Flowers Tutorial. There you learn how to make incredibly easy and fluffy tissue flowers that will brighten any space. And I can't stress enough how easy peasy these flowers are.

Give creating your own papel picado banner a try and let me know how it goes. After the program this Thursday, let me know how much fun you had making music and listening to Jennifer Torres tell the story of Reyna and her abuelito's vihuela from her book Finding the Music/En pos de la Musica. Don't know what a vihuela is? Well, you'll just have to come on down to Cesar Chavez to find out!

Malia

Ms. Suzy Reads | And Then Gets a Pie in the Face?!?

Greetings reading friends!

I like pie. I really like pie. I like just about any kind of pie, but banana cream is my all-time favorite. Or at least it was my all-time favorite until last Thursday around 3:45 pm.

You see, last Thursday around 3:45 pm we were celebrating the End of Summer Reading Party at the Cesar Chavez Central Library. Like a few other SSJCPL branches, we at the Chavez Library challenged our young readers to read a total of 2,500 books this summer. That's a lot, right? The deal was: read 2,500 books and two children will be randomly selected to throw pies into the faces of Craig Bronzan, our Interim Community Services Director, and me. 

Oh, I hate to admit this, but I was sure the nice children at the Chavez Library would take pity on me. I knew they would be reading all summer, because they ARE readers, after all. But I figured they would take pity on me and just forget to turn in their reading logs. You see, we counted the reading logs to see how many books were read by Chavez Library children.

Alas, the children at the Chavez Library did not read 2,500 books. No, they did not. They read 3,500! Yes, you read that correctly.

So last Thursday, Craig and I found ourselves enjoying our favorite banana cream pie in a very new -- and interesting -- way. In our faces! Here is one picture of the event. If you can't view the link, stay tuned! We'll have other pictures on the Library's Facebook page soon!

I would write about a great book today, but alas, I still have some banana cream pie in my eyes! Stay tuned. I'll be back next Tuesday with great book recommendations!

Until then, happy reading!

 

Ms. Suzy Reads | And Gets Powerful

Here comes a confession: I used to not eat breakfast. I know, I know. This is not good for me! But I never seemed to find the time to eat breakfast. So I would wait until lunchtime to get a little nourishment, and for the record, by 10:30 am I was starving!

That's the old me. 

Then I met Jafra, Irene, Jessica and Veronica. They inspired me to change.

Jafra, Irene and Jessica are recent graduates of University of the Pacific. Veronica is a student at Stagg High School here in Stockton.

The four of them have come up with a totally FUN, free, and awesome learning opportunity for students in grades 4 through 6: Move, Play & Grow: How Carbs, Fats & Proteins Power Your Day. This special program will be held on three consecutive Tuesdays -- July 15, 22, and 29 -- from 3:30-4:30 pm at the Chavez Library. 

In this interactive program, children will learn about nutrition, energy and physical movement. They'll learn about how WHAT we eat helps us have the ENERGY we need to do the things we enjoy. It's a win win!

And if you're interested in learning about this right now, here's a book to help you do just that: Food and Energy: Striking a Healthy Balance by Kristin Petrie. This book will teach you about nutrition labels and serving sizes. It will teach you about the food pyramid. It will show you how to be healthy!!

So mark your calendars for Move, Play & Grow at the Chavez Library. Today at 3:30 pm. 

We'll see you there!

Happy Reading!

 

Teens Only | It's Probably On Your School Reading List

It being Farewell to Manzanar, Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston's 1973 memoir describing her family's experiences before, during and after their imprisonment at the Manzanar Concentration Camp. You are all aware, smart students that you are, of how the United States government imprisoned Japanese Americans in internment camps during World War II because of their potential threat to national security. I'm reading it right now, which is rather fitting because the first week of May is Asian Pacific American Heritage week. This date was chosen because two important anniversaries occurred during this time: the arrival of the first Japanese immigrants in America in 1843 and the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad (by many Chinese laborers) on May 10, 1869.

 

But back to the book. I'll finish it today because it's only 203 pages. If it's important to you to know our history, and to develop empathy through understanding the plight of others, then I highly recommend you pick up this book. Seriously. At some point it will show up on a school reading list.

 

Jeanne's father was actually sent to an internment camp in North Dakota before being reunited with his family at Manzanar. Here is what she writes about her father's time there:

 

Papa never said more than three or four sentences about his nine months at Fort Lincoln. Few men who spent time there will talk about it more than that. Not because of the physical hardships: he had been through worse times on fishing trips down the coast of Mexico. It was the charge of disloyalty. For a man raised in Japan, there was no greater disgrace. And it was the humiliation. It brought him face to face with his own vulnerability, his own powerlessness. He had no rights, no home, no control over his own life.

 

I'll just let you think about those words for a while. And I hope that you'll join me in reading this important book.

 

Empathy through understanding.

 

And by the way, the Chavez Library is looking for teen volunteers (age 14 and older) to be part of Summer Book Buddies -- a program that helps children entering the 1st, 2nd and 3rd grades with reading. Join us! You will feel really, really great about giving back to your community. Training is Saturday, June 7 from 10 am until 12 pm. Questions? Call (209) 937-7012.

 

Happy reading!

Teens Only | Scavenger Hunt

So when I was really, really young -- I think this might have been when I was a Camp Fire girl -- I participated in my first ever scavenger hunt. Doesn't "scavenger hunt" just sound so exciting? Of course, none of us really knew what a scavenger hunt was. 

In the days leading up to the big event, I started imagining a group of kids searching through dirty, smelly garbage cans. Let me tell you, the excitement over the upcoming hunt started to lose its allure.

What's a scavenger hunt, you ask? The American Heritage Dictionary defines a scavenger hunt as follows:  A game in which individuals or teams try to locate and bring back miscellaneous items on a list.

That scavenger hunt I was in turned out to be a lot of fun. Groups of us were sent off in search of odd things. We knocked on neighbors' doors and thankfully were met with nice people who were more than happy to help us in our quests. I can't remember what odd things we were sent to find, though. 

Sounds rather fun, don't you think? If you were making a scavenger hunt, what items would be on your list? I'd probably opt for "find a piece of pizza" (preferably fresh...for me to eat). Or maybe something like "find a popsicle stick" (with the popsicle still on it, of course). Hello. You know I'm always thinking of food.

I know what would be fun. Maybe I'd list "take a picture of a human pyramid."

Well, back to scavenger hunts. I've got some exciting news for you. There will be a YA Scavenger Hunt from October 3-6 -- starting and ending at noon. Looks like it's all about great new books and READING! And there are a ton of awesome prizes! You can learn more about it here. And here is the blurb from the website: 

What's This All About?

The YA Scavenger Hunt is a biannual online event that promotes collaboration between YA authors from different publishing houses, offering fans an opportunity to see the latest and greatest in young adult literature. During the hunt, we showcase exclusive bonus material, give readers access to top secret insider information, and offer fabulous prizes and giveaways for zealous YA fans. 

Looks like fun. 

In the meantime, if you want to meet an author live and in person, join us at 6 pm today -- at the Cesar Chavez Central Library -- when we will welcome Nina Sankovitch, author of Tolstoy and the Purple Chair, this year's One Book, One San Joaquin featured title. It promises to be a wonderful evening.

Happy Reading!

4 Kids | So Much To Do

It's Tuesday, July 23. Could summer vacation from school be coming to an end already? Don't despair! There's still plenty of time -- and plenty of things -- to do!

Today -- and any day -- check out the SSJCPL Calendar of Events. From our website, click on the News & Events tab and then on the calendar. You can search by library branch too, by the way.

So what's happening today?

The Mountain House Branch Library hosts the Shedskin Reptile Show today at 4 pm. Take it from me: you don't want to miss this one! Jeff and crew bring an amazing bunch of reptiles, including an anaconda, to inform and amaze any and every body! I highly recommend it. 

Feeling creative? Check out the Tracy Branch Library today at 4 pm for a sports mobile making program. 

And there's more! The Cesar Chavez Central Library hosts The Corny Crow Show, which is ventriloquist Steve Chaney and his puppet sidekick Cornelius Crow and all their hilarious antics. The program is at 4 pm, and everyone is invited.

So visit your public library! Check out some books! Attend a program! We're always happy to greet you!

Teens Only | Random Thoughts

Good afternoon!

As you may remember, I wrote about volunteer opportunities -- namely the Book Buddies program -- a while back. Well, well, well. I never, ever -- in my wildest dreams -- expected the turnout I received.

Our Book Buddies program (at the Cesar Chavez Central Library) is a summer reading help project for children entering the 1st, 2nd and 3rd grades. We've got about 50 kids coming to the library every Monday, Wednesday and Friday getting help with their reading. From the smiles on their faces and their excitement each time they sign in, I think this program is a huge success. They're enjoying reading! Hello!! 

This program would never have gotten off the ground without the dedication -- and I should say Dedication with a capital "D" -- of our teen volunteers. They arrive 30-45 minutes early each session and pull materials (books, activities, etc.) to share with their young person or small group of young persons. They read. They encourage. They build confidence. Oh my goodness: they are creating readers!!! Am I slightly over the moon about this? You bet!

I tell the volunteers all the time how much I appreciate them. I hope they hear me. I really do. I hope they know -- if not now, then someday -- what an incredible impact they are making on the lives of young people.

If they need a little help realizing their wonderfulness, here's a thought. And a thought for all of you.

Have you heard of the website www.futureme.org? Let me explain. It's a website where you can write a letter to your future self. Pretty cool, right? You can set the date for the letter to be emailed to you. Set it for a month. Set it for a year. Set it for 10 years. It's up to you. Of course, you'll have to keep the same email address, but that's not a huge thing. 

I'm going to write a letter right now to my future self. I'm going to write about the community spirit I have observed in my teen volunteers this summer. I don't know when I'll have the letter emailed back to me. But if it happens to arrive on a day when I'm in a blue mood, I know I'll be uplifted to remember this awesome group of teens and how they gave of themselves to help others. That will turn around any blue mood...most definitely.

So what are you waiting for? Write a letter to your future self. Have fun.

P.S. If you're wondering about volunteer opportunities at the library, stay tuned. There will be lots more wonderful chances to share your time come September.

In the meantime, be well.

Teens Only | Don't Believe Everything You Hear

You've seen that commercial -- and I can't even remember what it's advertising -- with the woman who says "It's true...I read it on the Internet."

We don't believe everything we read or hear, right?

Made me think of those urban legends. What's an urban legend, you ask? According to Merriam-Webster, an urban legend is an often lurid story or anecdote that is based on hearsay and widely circulated as true. 

The Library has quite a few books on urban legends, or urban folklore as the library catalog likes to say. One of them you might want to check out is Ngaire Genge's Urban Legends: The As-Complete-As-One-Could-Be Guide to Modern Myths. It's cool to figure out whether those legends are really true...or totally false!

I had always heard a "rumor" that there is a private club in Disneyland. When I went there a few years ago, I searched high and low for this private club. Couldn't find it. But then I asked my Disneyland expert, Amy, and she confirmed that one does exist! It's called Club 33 and it's in Disneyland's New Orleans Square. And not that I can't trust everything Amy tells me, but I checked snopes.com just to make sure; it's true. There is a private club in Disneyland. Who knew!?!

Then I started thinking about other things I've been told over the years. Are they really true or just some silly made up story? You probably remember being told by a parent or other adult not to swallow your chewing gum because it takes 7 years to pass through your digestive system. It freaked me out completely the first time I accidentally swallowed a piece of Juicy Fruit gum. That thing was going to be inside my digestive system for 7 years? OMG! So I went to snopes.com to check this out. 

Whew! Not true. You can find the explanation for the debunking of this childhood myth here. (But it's still not a good idea to swallow gum.)

If you're wondering what this snopes.com thing is, let me explain. Snopes.com is a website which researches urban legends, Internet rumors, e-mail forwards, and other stories of unknown or questionable origin. It is a well-known resource for validating and debunking such stories in American popular culture.

 

I think there's a good lesson here: don't believe everything you hear. You can always check snopes.com or, novel thought, visit the library and do the research on your own! Every library branch has a reference section filled with dictionaries, encyclopedias, and a whole bunch more.

 

And if you need another reason to visit the library, check out the calendar of events for exciting programs at a library near you, or if you want to volunteer to be a Summer Book Buddy at the Cesar Chavez Central Library, give me a call at (209) 937-7012.

Have a great week!

Teens Only | Read This If You Want To Make a Difference

Good afternoon!

Today I am presenting an opportunity that is sure to make you feel good, look great on your college application and future job resumes, and really, truly help others.

kidlutions.blogspot.com

This summer, the Cesar Chavez Central Library is hosting a Book Buddies program for children entering 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grades. This program is geared to those kids who are really struggling with reading. Reading, as you know, is the foundation for academic success. So we are trying to help these kids now so that their futures are bright!!

Summer Book Buddies needs volunteers! Teens must be 14 years of age and show proof of a 3.0 GPA or provide a letter of reference from a teacher or principal. All you have to do is fill out a volunteer application and show up for this exciting program.

The program will be held Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 3:30-4:30 pm from June 10 through August 16, 2013. Of course, we realize volunteers will have other things going on in the summer, but we hope you'll be able to come to most of the sessions.

A mandatory training will be held Saturday, June 8 from 11 am to 1 pm at the Chavez Library. The training will be repeated Saturday, June 15 as well. Lunch will be provided.

And did I mention that volunteers who attend at least 15 sessions receive a special gift at the end of Summer Book Buddies? It's true. I wouldn't lie.

Here's a chance to do something really positive this summer. And we'll give you training and all the materials you'll need. You'll see. It will even be fun.

If you are interested, please contact me at suzy.daveluy@stocktongov.com or call me at (209) 937-7012. Phone lines are open. :)

Still thinking about it? Consider this quote from Winston Churchill: You make a living by what you get, but you make a life by what you give. 

Make a difference!

 

 

4 Kids | It's All In the Game

Good morning!

With yesterday being the deadline for the Children's Book Week Writing Contest, I find myself quite busy sorting the thousands of entries into grade level. The entries will be judged soon, and you'll hear all about it next week -- Children's Book Week.

So please excuse my short post this morning.

epiac1216.wordpress.com

I do want to tell you about an exciting new program at the Cesar Chavez Central Library -- The Chess Club! Yep. You heard right. Thanks to volunteer Carlos Moreno, the Chavez Library just started a Chess Club for tweens and teens on Mondays from 6-8 pm. Last night was the first meeting, but we'll be here every week. So come on down and learn all about the game of chess. It's actually good for your brain! No signups are required. Just come to the Children's Program Room (located at the back of the Children's Room on the first floor) and be a part of this great new club!

And if you're in Tracy, stop by the Chess Club there on Saturdays at noon!

There is a whole lot going on at your library! Visit the events calendar to find out what's happening at a library near you!

Teens Only | In Honor of....

Black History Month....a couple of things to share on this Saturday afternoon.

Cesar Chavez Central Library Display

First of all, stop by the Cesar Chavez Central Library soon to view one of the most eye-catching displays you'll ever see. My colleague Kelly has put together three displays for Black History Month. They feature a collage of well-known -- and lesser known -- African Americans. Customers have stopped and spent some serious time appreciating the pictures, captions....and more importantly, the contributions of these many people. So don't miss it. Seriously.

And next, mark your calendar! Producer/director Tyrone Young will be at the Cesar Chavez Central Library on Monday, February 25th, to talk about his movie: "Filling the Gap: A Forgotten Chapter of American History." This program is part of the Live from Cesar Chavez! series, a collaboration of the Library & Literacy Foundation for San Joaquin County and the library. The movie was nominated for the NAACP Image Award and explores the lives of people who black history has forgotten. The movie will be shown at 5 pm, and then Mr. Young will speak and answer questions beginning at 6:30 pm. That's Monday, the 25th. You'll be inspired and captivated by Mr. Young's story. (And we'll have copies added to the library collection soon, so make sure to check one out!)

And FYI, University of the Pacific will also show this movie on Sunday, February 24th at 7 pm in the Janet Leigh Theatre. Mr. Young will also host a Q&A session after the movie showing. This program is free and open to the public.

By the way, just how good is your knowledge of black history? Let's just give it a little try....shall we?

1. Who was the first African American to play baseball in the major leagues?

2. Who was the first African American in space?

3. This famous musician learned to play the trumpet while living at the Colored Waif's Home for Boys. Who was he?

4. Before growing up to be a famous neurosurgeon, this person was required -- by his mother -- to read two library books a week and prepare reports on them. And his mother couldn't read! Who was he?

Check back here for the answers. In the meantime, visit any SSJCPL branch library and check out books on Black History. 

Teens Only | Imagine

Have you ever felt totally transported while listening to the lyrics of a song? That's what happens to me whenever I hear John Lennon's "Imagine," especially these lines:

Photo courtesy of uncut.co.uk

Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people sharing all the world...

So I was walking through the teen section at the Cesar Chavez Central Library, and came across this book: It's Our World, Too!: Young People Who Are Making a Difference: How They Do It -- How YOU Can, Too! In this book, author Phillip Hoose writes about his interviews of several young people ages 8 to 17 who took steps to change the world for the better. Their reason? It's our world, too! Although the young people came from a wide variety of backgrounds and places, they all cared about others. They weren't afraid to take risks. And they didn't give up easily. And here's something really cool that all the young people had in common: they believed they had power now, even though they couldn't vote yet and still lived under someone else's roof.

I know, I know...I'm sounding a little preachy. Apologies. But think about it. Think of the power that YOU have. 

Hoose's book is only on the shelves at the Chavez Library, but it's so worth placing a request on and reading it! If you're not sure about placing a request, ask a staff person to help you. I think you'll be glad you did. 

In the meantime, have you heard about the website Free Rice? It's an online vocabulary game. For every answer you get right, Free Rice donates 10 grains of rice through the World Food Programme to help end hunger.

Just something to do while you're on your computer. Thank you.

                                           

So I started this rambling blog with John Lennon's lyrics. Pretty powerful. 

And by the way, today, December 8th, marks 32 years since John Lennon was killed. 

Imagine...

Flickr: Taurus Photographix