WEBVTT 00:00:20.550 --> 00:00:24.670 Hello, I'm Patrick Adams. And I'm Caroline Lashir. 00:00:24.859 --> 00:00:27.780 And this is Librarians of Littles, a podcast 00:00:27.780 --> 00:00:30.539 where we review picture books, include makerspace 00:00:30.539 --> 00:00:33.820 ideas, and give tips and tricks for working with 00:00:33.820 --> 00:00:36.060 our youngest learners in the library setting. 00:00:36.840 --> 00:00:40.280 Today, we have two wonderful books to share, 00:00:40.560 --> 00:00:43.560 both of them coming from the Texas 2x2 list, 00:00:43.920 --> 00:00:45.960 a list that encourages children from the ages 00:00:45.960 --> 00:00:49.039 of two to second grade to read as many books 00:00:49.039 --> 00:00:51.950 as possible. Each year, the Texas Library Association 00:00:51.950 --> 00:00:54.829 comes up with this list of 20 wonderful books 00:00:54.829 --> 00:00:58.630 to share with young readers. Our first book today 00:00:58.630 --> 00:01:02.789 is titled Boop. It is published by Harper's Collins 00:01:02.789 --> 00:01:07.870 in 2023. The author is Bea Birdsong and the illustrator 00:01:07.870 --> 00:01:12.129 is Lindsay Hunter. As stated, this is a book 00:01:12.129 --> 00:01:17.170 that is on the Texas 2x2 Award List for 2024. 00:01:17.659 --> 00:01:20.659 Bee Birdsong is a former teacher. She lives in 00:01:20.659 --> 00:01:23.500 North Carolina with her husband, son, and rescue 00:01:23.500 --> 00:01:27.000 dog. She also does school visits. Some of her 00:01:27.000 --> 00:01:31.060 other books include I Will Be Fierce, illustrated 00:01:31.060 --> 00:01:36.900 by Nidhi Chanani, Sam's First Word, illustrated 00:01:36.900 --> 00:01:41.439 by Holly Hatem, How to Spot a Best Friend, illustrated 00:01:41.439 --> 00:01:45.879 by Lucy Fleming, and Goat is the Goat, illustrated 00:01:45.879 --> 00:01:49.959 by Kelly Murphy. And the illustrator, Lindsay 00:01:49.959 --> 00:01:52.379 Hunter, is an award -winning Scottish author, 00:01:52.719 --> 00:01:55.340 illustrator, and hand lettering artist based 00:01:55.340 --> 00:01:58.599 in Peckham, London, UK. She creates illustrations 00:01:58.599 --> 00:02:02.560 and hand lettering art for many different mediums, 00:02:02.780 --> 00:02:06.140 including magazines, toys, packaging, and advertising 00:02:06.140 --> 00:02:11.159 campaigns. And she has worked with the BBC, Nike, 00:02:11.479 --> 00:02:15.610 Hallmark, and Macy, just to name a few. Some 00:02:15.610 --> 00:02:19.069 of her other books include What If Pig, written 00:02:19.069 --> 00:02:21.909 and illustrated by herself, Lindsay Hunter, Little 00:02:21.909 --> 00:02:25.009 People Big Dreams, written by Astrid Lindgren, 00:02:25.810 --> 00:02:29.210 If You Had a Jet Pack, written by Lissell H. 00:02:29.449 --> 00:02:33.750 Deddelfson, and How to Write a Great Story, written 00:02:33.750 --> 00:02:37.830 by Carolyn Lawrence. And to get into the story, 00:02:37.969 --> 00:02:41.689 the book Boop is a cute story of many dogs and 00:02:41.689 --> 00:02:44.530 their snoots getting booped. This book introduces 00:02:44.530 --> 00:02:47.330 the concept of a snoot on a dog and how to boop 00:02:47.330 --> 00:02:51.150 it. It's a rhyming story with many dogs with 00:02:51.150 --> 00:02:55.150 snoots ready for booping. I really enjoyed this 00:02:55.150 --> 00:02:57.889 book. I am a huge dog lover. I have two dogs 00:02:57.889 --> 00:03:01.229 of my own, and I just thought that this was just 00:03:01.229 --> 00:03:05.710 a fun story for kids to read. There is rhyming 00:03:05.710 --> 00:03:08.310 that's going on. The illustrations are so fun 00:03:08.310 --> 00:03:11.270 and cute with all the different dogs, the different 00:03:11.270 --> 00:03:14.409 types, the different shapes and sizes of the 00:03:14.409 --> 00:03:17.750 dogs. and all of the dogs wanting their snoots 00:03:17.750 --> 00:03:20.949 to be booped. It just brought a huge smile to 00:03:20.949 --> 00:03:23.789 my face as I was reading through it and I've 00:03:23.789 --> 00:03:25.849 really enjoyed it and I'm looking forward to 00:03:25.849 --> 00:03:29.050 sharing it with my students because I know how 00:03:29.050 --> 00:03:32.449 much these kids love dogs and really just any 00:03:32.449 --> 00:03:36.430 kind of animal honestly. Most of these kids are 00:03:36.430 --> 00:03:39.310 very much animal people so dogs, cats, whatever 00:03:39.310 --> 00:03:41.349 they love them all and I just think that this 00:03:41.349 --> 00:03:46.900 book is So much fun. I do also love that there 00:03:46.900 --> 00:03:49.860 is a page at the beginning that Explains, you 00:03:49.860 --> 00:03:52.879 know, even though you love dogs You need to make 00:03:52.879 --> 00:03:55.759 sure that you speak with your adults and the 00:03:55.759 --> 00:04:00.479 dogs adults before you ever approach a dog You 00:04:00.479 --> 00:04:05.280 know, we don't want anyone to get hurt because 00:04:05.280 --> 00:04:08.439 a kid is just running up to a strange dog and 00:04:08.439 --> 00:04:11.139 trying to pet it So an important warning to say 00:04:11.139 --> 00:04:13.180 hey make sure it's okay with your adults, make 00:04:13.180 --> 00:04:15.539 sure it's okay with the dog's adults before ever 00:04:15.539 --> 00:04:18.420 approaching a dog touching it. Super important. 00:04:19.519 --> 00:04:23.339 But I just thought that this was a sweet and 00:04:23.339 --> 00:04:26.779 cute story and I love that the one dog that's 00:04:26.779 --> 00:04:30.180 on the cover kind of is in every single picture 00:04:30.180 --> 00:04:36.720 just wanting additional boops of his snoot. It's 00:04:36.720 --> 00:04:40.259 just such a cute story. Like I said, it just 00:04:40.259 --> 00:04:42.459 made me smile the whole time I was reading it. 00:04:42.560 --> 00:04:44.360 And if nothing else, I think that my students 00:04:44.360 --> 00:04:46.899 will enjoy it because of my enthusiasm while 00:04:46.899 --> 00:04:50.420 reading it because it's just such a cute and 00:04:50.420 --> 00:04:53.420 whimsical story. The illustrations are just so 00:04:53.420 --> 00:04:56.839 bright and engaging. I love the whole thing. 00:04:57.420 --> 00:04:59.860 The story itself, I think it's a little simplistic, 00:04:59.860 --> 00:05:05.819 but I still think that it is a fun read for the 00:05:05.819 --> 00:05:08.180 students. I think that it will be so much fun 00:05:08.180 --> 00:05:10.980 to read out loud and to kind of get the kids 00:05:10.980 --> 00:05:13.620 to go along on the journey with me as we read 00:05:13.620 --> 00:05:17.259 through the story. So I'm going to say that this 00:05:17.259 --> 00:05:21.480 is at least a four and a half out of five bookmarks. 00:05:21.639 --> 00:05:24.600 I'm thinking like at least four and a half, maybe 00:05:24.600 --> 00:05:29.779 five just because it's so much fun. I think that's 00:05:29.779 --> 00:05:31.920 fair. I thought I really liked the story a lot. 00:05:33.199 --> 00:05:35.240 i'm glad you mentioned about the disclaimer at 00:05:35.240 --> 00:05:37.060 the beginning because that was my only concern 00:05:37.060 --> 00:05:39.079 when i was reading it i was like okay kids are 00:05:39.079 --> 00:05:40.819 going to go to weird dogs they're going to touch 00:05:40.819 --> 00:05:44.879 them but no that's i i think that's uh i loved 00:05:44.879 --> 00:05:47.100 that they talked about having you know talking 00:05:47.100 --> 00:05:50.360 to your big people about um asking for permission 00:05:50.360 --> 00:05:52.639 first before touching a real life dog and i think 00:05:52.639 --> 00:05:54.379 another fun thing to do with this book would 00:05:54.379 --> 00:05:56.560 be to have everybody bring in like a little stuffed 00:05:56.560 --> 00:06:00.269 animal and um so they could boop the snoots on 00:06:00.269 --> 00:06:03.529 their little stuffies. And if they have a dog 00:06:03.529 --> 00:06:06.410 stuffed animal, great. That's a fun one to use. 00:06:07.009 --> 00:06:10.410 But I mean, really, it could be any kind of stuffy. 00:06:10.529 --> 00:06:12.290 I think that would be a fun addition to that 00:06:12.290 --> 00:06:15.649 and kind of having the kids read with their stuffed 00:06:15.649 --> 00:06:18.089 animals. I think they would really, really enjoy 00:06:18.089 --> 00:06:20.569 that. And then you could always bring in a couple 00:06:20.569 --> 00:06:23.610 of your own. If the kids don't have any with 00:06:23.610 --> 00:06:27.889 them, you could always use puppets or any of 00:06:27.889 --> 00:06:30.149 your displays around the library or anything 00:06:30.149 --> 00:06:33.670 else that you have lying around to kind of make 00:06:33.670 --> 00:06:35.490 it a little bit more engaging and let the kids 00:06:35.490 --> 00:06:38.509 interact with that a little bit more. So I agree. 00:06:38.689 --> 00:06:41.670 It was a super cute book and I love how interactive 00:06:41.670 --> 00:06:45.269 it was. I really enjoyed it a lot. Excellent 00:06:45.269 --> 00:06:49.120 choice. Thank you. I mean, the Texas Library 00:06:49.120 --> 00:06:51.519 Association, they picked a banger with this one. 00:06:51.600 --> 00:06:54.279 It's a great story. I really loved it. And I 00:06:54.279 --> 00:06:56.379 love that idea of having the kids bring in like 00:06:56.379 --> 00:06:59.379 a stuffy so that they can all boot the snoots. 00:06:59.740 --> 00:07:05.720 That's a great idea. And a makerspace activity, 00:07:07.120 --> 00:07:08.959 materials that you might need for this makerspace 00:07:08.959 --> 00:07:11.600 activity, pretty simplistic, those pattern blocks 00:07:11.600 --> 00:07:14.699 that like every single campus always has those 00:07:16.079 --> 00:07:18.300 yellow hexagons and the green triangles, the 00:07:18.300 --> 00:07:20.680 orange squares, the red trapezoids, those blue 00:07:20.680 --> 00:07:23.879 parallelograms and the tan rhombuses. You could 00:07:23.879 --> 00:07:26.079 also, if you wanted, you could stop there. But 00:07:26.079 --> 00:07:28.500 if you, if you wanted to go a little further, 00:07:28.720 --> 00:07:30.660 you could have a picture map with a pre -made 00:07:30.660 --> 00:07:34.379 image. But my idea is to take, to give those 00:07:34.379 --> 00:07:36.720 kids those pattern blocks and have them make 00:07:36.720 --> 00:07:39.720 their own dog or make their own other kind of 00:07:39.720 --> 00:07:43.759 a pet using the pattern blocks to build. their 00:07:43.759 --> 00:07:46.680 animal. In our book it shows different types 00:07:46.680 --> 00:07:48.339 of dogs so they were different shapes and different 00:07:48.339 --> 00:07:51.439 sizes and different colors so the kids can use 00:07:51.439 --> 00:07:55.019 those as ideas but then they get to build their 00:07:55.019 --> 00:07:58.100 own and we can kind of look at how every student 00:07:58.100 --> 00:08:00.579 makes theirs a little bit different and kind 00:08:00.579 --> 00:08:02.459 of unique just like all the students and all 00:08:02.459 --> 00:08:06.819 the dogs in the book. Yeah I love that it kind 00:08:06.819 --> 00:08:08.839 of gives the kids a little bit of creativity 00:08:08.839 --> 00:08:11.959 and takes some ownership over the story as well. 00:08:12.100 --> 00:08:15.839 Yeah. Yeah, that's great. And did you see online 00:08:15.839 --> 00:08:18.560 too, there was a story kit on the author's website 00:08:18.560 --> 00:08:22.019 that has like pre -made, yeah, there's like pre 00:08:22.019 --> 00:08:24.120 -made patterns on there that like you could, 00:08:24.540 --> 00:08:27.000 it was for, to make the puppets from the book, 00:08:27.000 --> 00:08:28.939 but it was like, it's the kind of puppets that 00:08:28.939 --> 00:08:31.980 you just cut out and you put on a popsicle stick, 00:08:32.240 --> 00:08:35.159 not like, not like paper bag puppets, but like 00:08:35.159 --> 00:08:38.779 the popsicle stick kind. So yeah, that would 00:08:38.779 --> 00:08:41.980 be a fun one to kind of, not the story needs 00:08:41.980 --> 00:08:44.529 like, particular reenactment you could probably 00:08:44.529 --> 00:08:46.590 reenact it with just like any of the stuffies 00:08:46.590 --> 00:08:49.490 or puppets or whatever you've got but to have 00:08:49.490 --> 00:08:54.250 the actual um illustrations from the story that's 00:08:54.250 --> 00:08:56.149 awesome that you could kind of act out too that 00:08:56.149 --> 00:08:58.830 was fun so we'll make sure that we include the 00:08:58.830 --> 00:09:01.830 author's website in the show notes so if anybody's 00:09:01.830 --> 00:09:03.610 interested in going there and finding those they 00:09:03.610 --> 00:09:07.190 can go through our show notes and it'll be linked 00:09:07.190 --> 00:09:11.769 in the description there we go cool I know we 00:09:11.769 --> 00:09:14.549 didn't really have anything down for management. 00:09:15.190 --> 00:09:16.929 Does that sound like an okay management tip? 00:09:16.929 --> 00:09:19.110 Or is that kind of? Yes, I think this is a good 00:09:19.110 --> 00:09:24.110 idea. Sometimes I don't know if it's too obvious. 00:09:24.750 --> 00:09:27.330 Well, here's my thought on that. My thought is 00:09:27.330 --> 00:09:31.389 that it's obvious to us because we've been doing 00:09:31.389 --> 00:09:34.470 it for so long. That's true. But we have a lot 00:09:34.470 --> 00:09:36.509 of, especially in the state of Texas, we have 00:09:36.509 --> 00:09:41.460 a lot of librarians that are kind of being thrust 00:09:41.460 --> 00:09:44.100 into working with Pre -K. That's a good point. 00:09:44.379 --> 00:09:46.779 And haven't had that experience before. So even 00:09:46.779 --> 00:09:49.799 if it seems obvious to us, I feel like sometimes 00:09:49.799 --> 00:09:53.659 going with the obvious because it's not obvious 00:09:53.659 --> 00:09:55.960 to everybody else is a good thing. I think it's 00:09:55.960 --> 00:09:58.000 a good idea. So I like this management tip. That's 00:09:58.000 --> 00:10:01.220 a good point. So let's go with it. All right. 00:10:02.559 --> 00:10:05.320 Okay, so today for our Librarians of Littles 00:10:05.320 --> 00:10:07.259 management tip, we're going to be talking about 00:10:07.259 --> 00:10:11.639 defined seating for students. A lot of our younger 00:10:11.639 --> 00:10:13.820 learners, our pre -k and kindergartners, they 00:10:13.820 --> 00:10:17.899 are still learning really everything and they 00:10:17.899 --> 00:10:20.460 are learning where their body is in space, which 00:10:20.460 --> 00:10:24.179 is kind of a hard concept to teach and it can 00:10:24.179 --> 00:10:26.139 be kind of a difficult thing to learn depending 00:10:26.139 --> 00:10:29.720 on the student and their life experiences and 00:10:29.720 --> 00:10:34.519 any of their Needs so I think both of our libraries 00:10:34.519 --> 00:10:38.039 We both have a colorful rug with squares to kind 00:10:38.039 --> 00:10:41.399 of show students where to sit when we're first 00:10:41.399 --> 00:10:43.980 learning how to sit in the library I kind of 00:10:43.980 --> 00:10:47.299 point out where the squares are on the rug and 00:10:47.299 --> 00:10:50.480 kind of noted have the kids notice like okay 00:10:50.480 --> 00:10:53.179 My spot is orange I'm gonna keep my body in the 00:10:53.179 --> 00:10:54.899 orange and I don't really care how they're sitting 00:10:54.899 --> 00:10:58.469 as long as they're kind of in the orange Somewhere 00:10:58.469 --> 00:11:00.570 and they're not sitting on their feet just so 00:11:00.570 --> 00:11:03.129 the kids behind them can see because a lot of 00:11:03.129 --> 00:11:06.289 kids will tend to sit like they'll sit like crisscross 00:11:06.289 --> 00:11:08.870 but like up on their feet kind of kind of so 00:11:08.870 --> 00:11:10.950 that they're like higher up and that makes it 00:11:10.950 --> 00:11:12.909 so that the kids behind them can't see so i do 00:11:12.909 --> 00:11:15.429 tell them they have to sit sit flat so that people 00:11:15.429 --> 00:11:18.070 behind them can see the book and kind of experience 00:11:18.070 --> 00:11:20.570 everything but then that colorful rug just makes 00:11:20.570 --> 00:11:23.379 it so that. the kids can kind of see where their 00:11:23.379 --> 00:11:25.779 body needs to be in space so they can kind of 00:11:25.779 --> 00:11:28.139 share their space a little bit better. For our 00:11:28.139 --> 00:11:30.659 kids who need a little bit more help with that 00:11:30.659 --> 00:11:33.419 we have something called cube chairs in our libraries. 00:11:33.919 --> 00:11:37.980 The cube chairs are about 18 inches by 18 inches 00:11:37.980 --> 00:11:40.700 by 18 inches and it's exactly like it sounds. 00:11:41.059 --> 00:11:43.879 It's just a chair, it's a colorful chair that's 00:11:43.879 --> 00:11:47.519 shaped just like a cube and it's incredibly durable. 00:11:47.759 --> 00:11:50.899 I think I've been using the same one for like 00:11:50.899 --> 00:11:55.539 the ones in my library I know are at least this 00:11:55.539 --> 00:11:58.759 is my 17th year working with pre -k kids and 00:11:58.759 --> 00:12:01.820 it's the same chairs that I've been using for 00:12:01.820 --> 00:12:04.679 17 years they're ridiculous they're kind of expensive 00:12:04.679 --> 00:12:07.960 I think it's like a hundred dollars a chair but 00:12:08.139 --> 00:12:11.960 It's lasted for 17 years and they're going strong. 00:12:12.659 --> 00:12:15.200 Sometimes if kids get a little bit too wiggly 00:12:15.200 --> 00:12:17.279 on the chair, kind of push up with their legs. 00:12:17.519 --> 00:12:20.259 You can, if you really need to, put Velcro on 00:12:20.259 --> 00:12:23.320 the bottom of it with the kind of rougher side 00:12:23.320 --> 00:12:26.620 and it'll stick to carpet really well. That doesn't 00:12:26.620 --> 00:12:29.139 stick to rugs very well at all, but it sticks 00:12:29.139 --> 00:12:32.259 to carpet ridiculously well to the point where 00:12:32.259 --> 00:12:34.120 you have to like kick it up. So if you need the 00:12:34.120 --> 00:12:36.659 chair to like stay down because the kid is like... 00:12:36.720 --> 00:12:38.799 Kind of pushing back on their chair too much 00:12:38.799 --> 00:12:40.559 and it's like dangerous for them. They might 00:12:40.559 --> 00:12:43.980 fall back and hit their head. You can put that 00:12:43.980 --> 00:12:46.379 rough side of the Velcro down on that so that 00:12:46.379 --> 00:12:49.259 they kind of stay. Their chair stays down and 00:12:49.259 --> 00:12:52.960 the kids can stay safe and they have their own 00:12:52.960 --> 00:12:56.379 very well defined space so that they can kind 00:12:56.379 --> 00:12:59.379 of keep their learn to keep their hands to themselves 00:12:59.379 --> 00:13:01.740 and really stay in their own space so that they 00:13:01.740 --> 00:13:03.320 can attend to the story a little bit better. 00:13:04.070 --> 00:13:06.870 I completely agree with you having that defined 00:13:06.870 --> 00:13:11.269 seating space, whether it's like an assigned 00:13:11.269 --> 00:13:13.710 spot on the carpet or just that they stay in 00:13:13.710 --> 00:13:15.590 their own square, whatever square they end up 00:13:15.590 --> 00:13:20.590 on on the carpet, absolutely. That's definitely 00:13:20.590 --> 00:13:23.809 important for those students. The only other 00:13:23.809 --> 00:13:26.309 thing I might add is that I do, like I let my 00:13:26.309 --> 00:13:29.210 kids sit. almost any way they want on the carpet. 00:13:29.289 --> 00:13:31.710 Like you said, not sitting up on their feet or 00:13:31.710 --> 00:13:33.750 on their knees because people behind them. But 00:13:33.750 --> 00:13:35.690 I also, the one other thing that I don't let 00:13:35.690 --> 00:13:37.509 my kids do is a lot of the kids want to do that 00:13:37.509 --> 00:13:40.769 W sit where their knees are kind of bent back. 00:13:41.009 --> 00:13:42.429 And that's the one other one there. And I'm like, 00:13:42.429 --> 00:13:43.950 I can't have you sitting that way. I don't want 00:13:43.950 --> 00:13:46.029 you to mess up your knees. Being as old as I 00:13:46.029 --> 00:13:48.590 am, it just hurts my knees just to look at it. 00:13:48.649 --> 00:13:52.490 But I also just, it's not good for the kids' 00:13:52.690 --> 00:13:56.159 legs. And so that's the one other. thing about 00:13:56.159 --> 00:13:57.820 sitting that I don't let my kids do they can 00:13:57.820 --> 00:14:00.299 if they want to sit with their legs to the side 00:14:00.299 --> 00:14:02.440 or something like that I'm totally okay with 00:14:02.440 --> 00:14:03.639 that as long as they're staying in their own 00:14:03.639 --> 00:14:07.200 space that visual that square that they're sitting 00:14:07.200 --> 00:14:09.940 on or the circle or whatever shape your carpet 00:14:09.940 --> 00:14:14.519 has it's just it's so helpful for them to see 00:14:14.519 --> 00:14:17.799 a boundary because otherwise they're they will 00:14:17.799 --> 00:14:19.820 they'll just kind of climb on top of each other 00:14:19.820 --> 00:14:23.740 half the time um and then the cube chairs are 00:14:23.740 --> 00:14:26.080 amazing and they The cool thing about the cube 00:14:26.080 --> 00:14:29.700 chairs is that they have two different, like 00:14:29.700 --> 00:14:31.659 you can flip it over. So there's like a higher 00:14:31.659 --> 00:14:33.100 side where they set up a little bit more. And 00:14:33.100 --> 00:14:34.620 then there's the lower side where they're kind 00:14:34.620 --> 00:14:38.899 of in the chair a little bit more. And then for 00:14:38.899 --> 00:14:41.440 even another substantial cost, I'm sure they've 00:14:41.440 --> 00:14:43.700 got those trays that can go over it so that they 00:14:43.700 --> 00:14:45.840 can sit in that chair and have. if they need 00:14:45.840 --> 00:14:48.720 like a fidget or something in that tray kind 00:14:48.720 --> 00:14:50.840 of helps give a little bit even more defined 00:14:50.840 --> 00:14:54.740 space if needed for some of our kids and or that 00:14:54.740 --> 00:14:56.500 just gives them a surface that they can work 00:14:56.500 --> 00:14:59.480 at. And the cube chairs are amazing and they 00:14:59.480 --> 00:15:03.019 are incredibly durable. Absolutely. I love them. 00:15:03.840 --> 00:15:06.519 They're they're such an expensive investment, 00:15:07.080 --> 00:15:10.059 but totally worth it. Absolutely. They really 00:15:10.059 --> 00:15:13.139 are. I know. I feel a little bit bad recommending 00:15:13.139 --> 00:15:15.559 something so expensive, but like it will last 00:15:15.559 --> 00:15:19.259 forever. Like the ones that I've got that are 00:15:19.259 --> 00:15:22.360 more than 17 years old. Cause they were already 00:15:22.360 --> 00:15:26.419 in existence before I started working. Like so, 00:15:26.580 --> 00:15:30.279 and they're, they've shown no signs of like where 00:15:30.279 --> 00:15:33.419 really like they're like, they're not super duper 00:15:33.419 --> 00:15:36.220 clean anymore, but they're not cracking or like, 00:15:37.039 --> 00:15:39.940 they're not, they're still, we still use them 00:15:39.940 --> 00:15:43.899 every day. I see no need to replace them anytime 00:15:43.899 --> 00:15:47.000 soon. So if it can last for, you know, 20 plus 00:15:47.000 --> 00:15:50.960 years, then it's a good investment. So for sure. 00:15:51.500 --> 00:15:54.059 Yeah, absolutely. And yeah, that defines seating. 00:15:54.740 --> 00:15:57.659 Such a hard concept like that. Like you said, 00:15:57.899 --> 00:16:01.059 keeping the kids and having them understand where 00:16:01.059 --> 00:16:05.700 their body is in space. Such a weird concept 00:16:05.700 --> 00:16:09.330 that you might not think about. you had to learn 00:16:09.330 --> 00:16:11.269 that at some point. And so we have to be the 00:16:11.269 --> 00:16:13.490 ones that help those students learn that so that 00:16:13.490 --> 00:16:18.269 they can be aware of it and understand. Very 00:16:18.269 --> 00:16:23.549 important. I agree. Yeah. All right. So the next 00:16:23.549 --> 00:16:25.529 book that we're going to talk about today is 00:16:25.529 --> 00:16:29.250 called Just One Flake. It's published by Abrams 00:16:29.250 --> 00:16:32.669 Books for Young Readers in 2023. The author and 00:16:32.669 --> 00:16:36.110 illustrator of this book is Travis Yonker. Is 00:16:36.110 --> 00:16:40.179 that how you say it? Yonker, right? This book 00:16:40.179 --> 00:16:44.539 has won many awards and is on many lists including 00:16:44.539 --> 00:16:48.059 the Texas 2x2 Reading List, the Minnesota Star 00:16:48.059 --> 00:16:51.539 of the North Picture Book Award List, the Missouri 00:16:51.539 --> 00:16:55.259 Building Block Picture Book Award, and the Wyoming 00:16:55.259 --> 00:17:00.600 Buckaroo Book Award K -3. Travis Yonker is a 00:17:00.600 --> 00:17:03.620 school librarian in Michigan. He also helps make 00:17:03.620 --> 00:17:05.940 a podcast about children's books called The Yarn. 00:17:06.619 --> 00:17:09.900 His father was born in the Netherlands and immigrated 00:17:09.900 --> 00:17:12.680 to Canada. He attended college in Holland, Michigan 00:17:12.680 --> 00:17:16.859 and met his wife. His other books include Caboose, 00:17:16.980 --> 00:17:19.880 illustrated by Ruth Chan, which came out of February 00:17:19.880 --> 00:17:22.980 4th of this year, The Ship in the Window, illustrated 00:17:22.980 --> 00:17:26.839 by Matthew Cordell, Blue Floats Away, illustrated 00:17:26.839 --> 00:17:30.740 by Grant Snyder, and The Very Last Castle, illustrated 00:17:30.740 --> 00:17:35.250 by Mark Pett. Before we get into this book, I 00:17:35.250 --> 00:17:36.970 want to tell you a little bit, just kind of a 00:17:36.970 --> 00:17:41.849 brief side note. Have you used teaching books 00:17:41.849 --> 00:17:44.609 for schools? Have you used that resource before? 00:17:45.089 --> 00:17:48.089 No. What is it? So this is a super cool resource. 00:17:48.369 --> 00:17:49.990 Like a lot of the public libraries have it and 00:17:49.990 --> 00:17:55.809 a lot of schools have it available also. So you 00:17:55.809 --> 00:17:59.690 can search for like most authors and it'll give 00:17:59.690 --> 00:18:01.509 you any kind of interviews that they've done. 00:18:01.509 --> 00:18:03.809 A lot of times it'll link to their personal websites. 00:18:04.250 --> 00:18:06.410 And one of the super cool things that it has 00:18:06.410 --> 00:18:09.789 is it will give you, oh, it gives the authors 00:18:09.789 --> 00:18:12.809 an opportunity to record a message where they 00:18:12.809 --> 00:18:15.390 tell you how to pronounce their names. Because 00:18:15.390 --> 00:18:19.390 some of these names are crazy, incredibly difficult 00:18:19.390 --> 00:18:21.990 to, to just like phonetically try and figure 00:18:21.990 --> 00:18:25.849 out. Yeah. Feel that. Yeah. And so, um, Travis 00:18:25.849 --> 00:18:29.930 Yonker. Did this and so that's where I kind of 00:18:29.930 --> 00:18:33.450 found it that they pronounce it yonker Apparently 00:18:33.450 --> 00:18:36.690 his dad was born in the Netherlands. They moved 00:18:36.690 --> 00:18:41.349 in so in Dutch It's yonker they move his dad 00:18:41.349 --> 00:18:43.930 was a child and immigrated to Canada when they 00:18:43.930 --> 00:18:46.369 got to Canada Everyone pronounced it Jonker with 00:18:46.369 --> 00:18:49.190 the J sound and that's how they pronounced it 00:18:49.190 --> 00:18:51.609 So when he was a kid, he pronounced it Jonker 00:18:51.609 --> 00:18:55.769 when he grew up. He went to a mostly Dutch area 00:18:55.769 --> 00:18:58.950 of Michigan, Holland, Michigan. That's where 00:18:58.950 --> 00:19:01.990 he went to college. That's where he met his wife 00:19:01.990 --> 00:19:05.009 and everybody there because they're from that 00:19:05.009 --> 00:19:08.410 Dutch heritage pronounced it Yonker. And so that's, 00:19:08.470 --> 00:19:11.869 so he's kind of gone back to that original pronunciation. 00:19:12.470 --> 00:19:14.890 That's interesting. Dad was a child, which is 00:19:14.890 --> 00:19:18.630 super cool. But yeah, teaching books for schools. 00:19:19.069 --> 00:19:21.569 If you find that resource, if you have access 00:19:21.569 --> 00:19:24.559 to it, like our local libraries, one of the local 00:19:24.559 --> 00:19:27.140 libraries in our area can give you access to 00:19:27.140 --> 00:19:29.740 it if the school district doesn't. My school 00:19:29.740 --> 00:19:32.420 district does have access to it also, but you 00:19:32.420 --> 00:19:35.259 can search for a lot of these authors and illustrators 00:19:35.259 --> 00:19:38.400 and it gives interviews, it gives their website 00:19:38.400 --> 00:19:43.099 links and not everybody does it, but a lot of 00:19:43.099 --> 00:19:45.799 the authors will make an audio recording telling 00:19:45.799 --> 00:19:48.019 you how to pronounce their name and give a little 00:19:48.019 --> 00:19:49.920 story as to why it's pronounced that way or how 00:19:49.920 --> 00:19:52.759 to pronounce it like with like it rhymes with 00:19:52.759 --> 00:19:55.920 this or whatever so super cool resource that's 00:19:55.920 --> 00:19:59.420 a little bit of a tangent but really cool resource 00:19:59.420 --> 00:20:04.680 um for for any librarian that's wanting to pronounce 00:20:04.680 --> 00:20:11.240 the names correctly so cool thank you all right 00:20:11.240 --> 00:20:14.240 so in this book it's about a determined little 00:20:14.240 --> 00:20:16.900 boy who struggles to catch a snowflake on his 00:20:16.900 --> 00:20:19.799 tongue during a snow day eventually he does catch 00:20:19.799 --> 00:20:22.599 a snowflake Although it is on his mitten, not 00:20:22.599 --> 00:20:25.160 his tongue. I thought this was a really cute, 00:20:25.359 --> 00:20:27.559 relatable story for children. I think that's 00:20:27.559 --> 00:20:30.319 probably the thing that most kids do first when 00:20:30.319 --> 00:20:32.660 they go outside for a snow day is try and catch 00:20:32.660 --> 00:20:34.819 that snowflake on their tongue if it's actively 00:20:34.819 --> 00:20:37.539 snowing. That's, I think, the number one thing 00:20:37.539 --> 00:20:39.799 is to catch your snowflake on your tongue. Second 00:20:39.799 --> 00:20:41.940 thing, go build a snowman. That's just what you 00:20:41.940 --> 00:20:46.279 do, right? So, yeah, and it is, it is hard to 00:20:46.279 --> 00:20:49.920 do. It's true. So I thought that most kids would 00:20:49.920 --> 00:20:52.460 really relate to this and kind of identify with 00:20:52.460 --> 00:20:56.539 the little boy in the book. It's got simple illustrations 00:20:56.539 --> 00:21:00.220 and simple text. It makes it really easy to understand 00:21:00.220 --> 00:21:03.240 for our little learners. It could be used as 00:21:03.240 --> 00:21:05.519 a launch point to discuss both social and emotional 00:21:05.519 --> 00:21:10.450 skills because the boy shows great perseverance, 00:21:10.849 --> 00:21:13.529 really struggling to catch that snowflake. And 00:21:13.529 --> 00:21:15.670 he tries several different ways to solve his 00:21:15.670 --> 00:21:18.670 problem. Or you could also do a STEM lesson about 00:21:18.670 --> 00:21:22.589 snow in general and individual snowflakes, because 00:21:22.589 --> 00:21:24.890 at the end of it he does catch that snowflake 00:21:24.890 --> 00:21:27.309 on his mitten and he kind of gets to really see 00:21:27.309 --> 00:21:30.450 what it looks like before it melts away. And 00:21:30.450 --> 00:21:32.990 then, of course, at the very end he makes his 00:21:32.990 --> 00:21:38.240 own snowflake out of paper. you could do lots 00:21:38.240 --> 00:21:41.039 of different lessons with this one, even though 00:21:41.039 --> 00:21:43.880 it's really short and really only takes a couple 00:21:43.880 --> 00:21:45.940 of minutes to read through, but you can really 00:21:45.940 --> 00:21:48.720 go a lot of different directions with it. So 00:21:48.720 --> 00:21:51.819 I enjoyed it a whole lot. Yes, I agree. This 00:21:51.819 --> 00:21:55.460 is a very cute story. I love that he had a goal 00:21:55.460 --> 00:21:57.299 in mind. And even though he didn't reach his 00:21:57.299 --> 00:21:59.460 goal, he was kind of content with himself, especially 00:21:59.460 --> 00:22:00.579 at the end of the book, where he was like, you 00:22:00.579 --> 00:22:03.400 know what? I caught it on my mitten. I've seen 00:22:03.400 --> 00:22:06.670 what it looks like at least and then he goes 00:22:06.670 --> 00:22:08.730 inside and he's like you know what the hot chocolate 00:22:08.730 --> 00:22:10.289 probably tastes better than the snowflake would 00:22:10.289 --> 00:22:13.210 anyway and but now that i've seen a snowflake 00:22:13.210 --> 00:22:15.549 i can make my own and he's able to do that so 00:22:15.549 --> 00:22:18.589 like even though he didn't reach his original 00:22:18.589 --> 00:22:22.829 goal he was still able to find some contentment 00:22:22.829 --> 00:22:25.529 in what he was able to achieve for himself and 00:22:25.529 --> 00:22:29.680 kind of move past Being slightly unsuccessful 00:22:29.680 --> 00:22:32.799 to to get to another goal of his of being able 00:22:32.799 --> 00:22:34.759 to make his own snowflakes Which is really cool. 00:22:35.039 --> 00:22:37.039 And that's a it's a good lesson for a lot of 00:22:37.039 --> 00:22:39.319 kids You know, sometimes we set goals that we 00:22:39.319 --> 00:22:43.140 just can't reach but if we Get if we learn something 00:22:43.140 --> 00:22:45.980 from it and can move forward with it then, you 00:22:45.980 --> 00:22:49.779 know Then it's still a success, right? And so 00:22:49.779 --> 00:22:52.019 yeah, I thought this is a really cute story. 00:22:52.019 --> 00:22:55.339 I like the simple illustrations to it I like 00:22:55.339 --> 00:22:58.210 that. It's just kind of like that relatable kind 00:22:58.210 --> 00:23:01.349 of art of like all of the snowflakes are just 00:23:01.349 --> 00:23:03.910 kind of they they're just white but they have 00:23:03.910 --> 00:23:05.690 that little crisscross in the middle of them 00:23:05.690 --> 00:23:10.670 and that kind of like that art style kind of 00:23:10.670 --> 00:23:14.730 just kind of reminds me back to when I was younger 00:23:14.730 --> 00:23:17.029 and I was trying to do drawing and stuff like 00:23:17.029 --> 00:23:18.730 that and like so it's kind of relatable in that 00:23:18.730 --> 00:23:20.970 sense as far as the illustrations go as well 00:23:20.970 --> 00:23:26.029 and I just like that the kid was just so determined. 00:23:26.309 --> 00:23:27.829 Like at one point I was reading and I'm like, 00:23:27.829 --> 00:23:30.789 he's just like eating himself towards that last 00:23:30.789 --> 00:23:32.630 snowflake. Like he just kind of jumps and goes 00:23:32.630 --> 00:23:35.410 for it. And that's just, it was just a fun story 00:23:35.410 --> 00:23:40.049 to read. I enjoyed it a lot. Yeah. Yeah. So for 00:23:40.049 --> 00:23:43.150 the makerspace activity for this one, it's a 00:23:43.150 --> 00:23:45.730 little obvious, but I think it was great because 00:23:45.730 --> 00:23:48.789 it was obvious where you just get white paper 00:23:48.789 --> 00:23:51.329 and scissors and cut out paper snowflakes with 00:23:51.329 --> 00:23:54.190 your students. There's a whole lot of I mean 00:23:54.190 --> 00:23:57.170 just if you just Google you know paper snowflake 00:23:57.170 --> 00:24:00.609 cut out like there are so many templates that 00:24:00.609 --> 00:24:03.009 you can use online where you can it shows you 00:24:03.009 --> 00:24:06.670 how to like fold up the paper and where to cut 00:24:06.670 --> 00:24:08.690 on the lines which I think would be a great place 00:24:08.690 --> 00:24:10.869 to start with it and then hopefully eventually 00:24:10.869 --> 00:24:14.410 your students would figure out, you could teach 00:24:14.410 --> 00:24:17.329 your students anyway, how to fold the paper appropriately 00:24:17.329 --> 00:24:20.190 and kind of make their own cuts so that they 00:24:20.190 --> 00:24:22.250 can create their own snowflakes. This would be 00:24:22.250 --> 00:24:26.730 a fun one to do around December, January. You 00:24:26.730 --> 00:24:29.710 can cut out all those paper snowflakes and then 00:24:29.710 --> 00:24:32.289 hang them up all over the library or maybe even 00:24:32.289 --> 00:24:34.609 in the hallways at school, like leading to the 00:24:34.609 --> 00:24:36.990 library so it kind of looks like it's snowing 00:24:36.990 --> 00:24:39.289 in the halls. I think kids would get a kick out 00:24:39.289 --> 00:24:42.250 of seeing all of their artwork. all over the 00:24:42.250 --> 00:24:46.490 place so yeah absolutely and as we've said in 00:24:46.490 --> 00:24:49.769 previous episodes you know using scissors and 00:24:49.769 --> 00:24:51.710 practicing those cutting skills is something 00:24:51.710 --> 00:24:54.750 that can be a challenge but this was a good way 00:24:54.750 --> 00:24:58.569 to practice those skills in a controlled setting 00:24:58.569 --> 00:25:02.539 where they can work on that grip with the scissors 00:25:02.539 --> 00:25:06.299 and cutting appropriate things and you know it's 00:25:06.299 --> 00:25:08.160 going to be something that some of the students 00:25:08.160 --> 00:25:09.660 will struggle a little bit more with but giving 00:25:09.660 --> 00:25:11.880 them that practice will help build those muscles 00:25:11.880 --> 00:25:14.299 in their hands so that they're successful and 00:25:14.299 --> 00:25:16.660 yeah because I mean being at the elementary school 00:25:16.660 --> 00:25:18.680 I still have students in like third and fourth 00:25:18.680 --> 00:25:20.579 grade that struggle to cut and I think it's because 00:25:20.579 --> 00:25:23.789 they didn't. always get these opportunities to 00:25:23.789 --> 00:25:26.190 practice. And so I think offering that to our 00:25:26.190 --> 00:25:28.710 younger students, giving them those opportunities 00:25:28.710 --> 00:25:31.009 to practice using the scissors in a controlled 00:25:31.009 --> 00:25:34.230 setting so that they can build up those muscles 00:25:34.230 --> 00:25:37.369 and get that practice in super important. And 00:25:37.369 --> 00:25:39.730 I love that idea. And I really like the idea 00:25:39.730 --> 00:25:41.930 of having the snowflakes like kind of hanging 00:25:41.930 --> 00:25:43.890 from the ceiling and hanging in the hallway. 00:25:44.170 --> 00:25:46.589 If nothing else, maybe even just kind of wishing 00:25:46.589 --> 00:25:49.309 that snow day into existence sometimes, right? 00:25:50.719 --> 00:25:54.180 Yeah. I wished for it real hard this week. It 00:25:54.180 --> 00:25:56.140 didn't quite happen, but that's okay. On my way 00:25:56.140 --> 00:25:59.119 to work this yesterday, it was snowing. There 00:25:59.119 --> 00:26:01.400 was, it was just random flakes. It wasn't sticking, 00:26:01.440 --> 00:26:04.680 but it was snowing and I was like, man, what 00:26:04.680 --> 00:26:10.500 good are you snow? Uh huh. in thinking about 00:26:10.500 --> 00:26:13.920 it just now too you could also do that same thing 00:26:13.920 --> 00:26:16.799 with a bigger piece of tissue paper so that it's 00:26:16.799 --> 00:26:19.180 just a little bit thinner and easier for the 00:26:19.180 --> 00:26:21.400 kids to cut through because once you do fold 00:26:21.400 --> 00:26:23.460 over that paper it will be a little bit thicker 00:26:23.460 --> 00:26:26.799 and a little bit more difficult to cut through 00:26:26.799 --> 00:26:29.220 but doing it with tissue paper might be a good 00:26:29.220 --> 00:26:33.019 way to kind of have a thinner thing that you're 00:26:33.019 --> 00:26:34.740 cutting through make it a little bit easier for 00:26:34.740 --> 00:26:39.509 the kids and i do like Cutting this way in particular 00:26:39.509 --> 00:26:43.009 too because it's not like you could do it on 00:26:43.009 --> 00:26:45.750 a line and you could print out a template for 00:26:45.750 --> 00:26:50.049 the kids to cut on but you could also just do 00:26:50.049 --> 00:26:53.690 snips in it and it's not necessarily like it 00:26:53.690 --> 00:26:56.829 doesn't have to be like particular shape that 00:26:56.829 --> 00:26:59.650 the kids are going for so if they don't you know 00:26:59.650 --> 00:27:01.769 if they mess up or if they just snip a couple 00:27:01.769 --> 00:27:04.809 of times like they're still successful, you know, 00:27:04.869 --> 00:27:08.829 yeah and on that same kind of Path I think I've 00:27:08.829 --> 00:27:11.490 also seen people do like coffee filters and stuff 00:27:11.490 --> 00:27:14.549 too. Oh, yeah coffee filters would be good So 00:27:14.549 --> 00:27:17.410 that might work too. Yeah, I love that Yeah, 00:27:18.049 --> 00:27:19.849 and but it's also like coffee filters also, like 00:27:19.849 --> 00:27:21.910 you said thinner than that printer paper for 00:27:21.910 --> 00:27:26.210 sure, too So I like that idea very cool Maybe 00:27:26.210 --> 00:27:28.930 someone is still getting some snow. It sounds 00:27:28.930 --> 00:27:31.269 like people a little bit further north than us 00:27:31.269 --> 00:27:32.730 They're still getting some snow. So maybe they 00:27:32.730 --> 00:27:35.430 can still use that idea this year. We'll see 00:27:35.430 --> 00:27:38.720 it probably can it's still I don't know when 00:27:38.720 --> 00:27:41.599 this will post. It's February for us! It's winter 00:27:41.599 --> 00:27:44.299 now. I don't know when this will post, but it 00:27:44.299 --> 00:27:47.819 would still be fun. Thank you all for joining 00:27:47.819 --> 00:27:50.299 us today on this episode of Librarians and Littles. 00:27:50.500 --> 00:27:53.259 We hope you found some fresh ideas for inspiring 00:27:53.259 --> 00:27:55.579 young readers. Please be sure to subscribe and 00:27:55.579 --> 00:27:59.440 connect with us on social media. Thank you for 00:27:59.440 --> 00:28:02.500 listening to this episode of Librarians of Littles. 00:28:02.839 --> 00:28:05.359 We hope that you've enjoyed it. Check back each 00:28:05.359 --> 00:28:09.509 Wednesday for a new episode. Librarians of Littles 00:28:09.509 --> 00:28:12.509 is a podcast produced and hosted by Patrick Adams 00:28:12.509 --> 00:28:16.710 and Caroline Ligier. Editor, Patrick Adams. Our 00:28:16.710 --> 00:28:19.930 theme song is performed by JD Adams. You can 00:28:19.930 --> 00:28:23.150 follow us on Instagram at Librarians of Littles. 00:28:23.509 --> 00:28:27.470 You can follow us on BlueSky at littleslibrarian 00:28:27.470 --> 00:28:32.069 .bsky .social. And you can send us your emails 00:28:32.069 --> 00:28:36.529 at librarianoflittlespodatgmail .com.