WEBVTT 00:00:20.650 --> 00:00:24.870 Hello, I'm Patrick Adams. And I'm Caroline Legere. 00:00:25.370 --> 00:00:28.649 And this is Librarians of Littles, a podcast 00:00:28.649 --> 00:00:34.039 where we discuss picture books, give ideas for 00:00:34.039 --> 00:00:37.299 makerspace incorporation activities, and we give 00:00:37.299 --> 00:00:40.880 tips and tricks for working with our youngest 00:00:40.880 --> 00:00:45.979 learners. Today, we have two great books to talk 00:00:45.979 --> 00:00:49.600 about with you. Today, the books that we chose 00:00:49.600 --> 00:00:54.240 to discuss, we were able to get copies from the 00:00:54.240 --> 00:00:57.600 authors at our recent visit to the Texas Library 00:00:57.600 --> 00:01:01.979 Association. And so these Picture books are newer 00:01:01.979 --> 00:01:06.060 picture books and they're wonderful and we're 00:01:06.060 --> 00:01:08.859 so excited to talk about them. The first one 00:01:08.859 --> 00:01:13.000 is Bear Suit Turtle Makes a Friend written and 00:01:13.000 --> 00:01:17.000 illustrated by Bob Shay. It is published by Abrams 00:01:17.000 --> 00:01:21.530 Books for Young Readers in 2025. This book has 00:01:21.530 --> 00:01:25.370 not won any particular awards just yet, but Bob 00:01:25.370 --> 00:01:29.129 Shay is kind of a legend and has gotten loads 00:01:29.129 --> 00:01:33.150 of awards in the past, including Publisher Weekly's 00:01:33.150 --> 00:01:37.530 best books list for 2021 for Shay Bob, Children's 00:01:37.530 --> 00:01:42.069 Favorites Award 2019 for Splash Crash Moo, Publisher 00:01:42.069 --> 00:01:45.829 Weekly's best books list for 2019 for Who Wet 00:01:45.829 --> 00:01:50.049 My Pants, Bob Shay is an award -winning author 00:01:50.049 --> 00:01:53.689 and illustrator of your favorite children's books. 00:01:54.370 --> 00:01:57.609 Bob has worked with Comedy Central. He's designed 00:01:57.609 --> 00:02:01.689 the Green Head PBS Kids logo, developed an on 00:02:01.689 --> 00:02:04.870 -air character for Playhouse Disney, worked with 00:02:04.870 --> 00:02:09.729 Nick Jr., and has appeared on Noggin and the 00:02:09.729 --> 00:02:13.569 Sunnyside Up Show, and worked on a super secret 00:02:13.569 --> 00:02:16.879 project. with really smart people at Google, 00:02:17.319 --> 00:02:24.240 and he is hilarious. Based on our interactions 00:02:24.240 --> 00:02:27.280 with him and seeing him interact with others 00:02:27.280 --> 00:02:31.719 at the Illustrator Sketch Off at TLA, he's got 00:02:31.719 --> 00:02:34.599 a great sense of humor. Yeah, he's pretty great. 00:02:34.680 --> 00:02:37.199 He's really funny. I haven't read this particular 00:02:37.199 --> 00:02:40.139 book by him, but everything that he's written 00:02:40.139 --> 00:02:43.189 or illustrated I think is just... hilarious, 00:02:43.710 --> 00:02:46.009 and it's wonderful for children. Some of the 00:02:46.009 --> 00:02:49.509 other books that Bob Shay has written include 00:02:49.509 --> 00:02:52.849 Who Wet My Pants, illustrated by Zachariah O 00:02:52.849 --> 00:02:56.150 'Hora, Kid Sheriff and the Terrible Toads, illustrated 00:02:56.150 --> 00:03:00.469 by Lane Smith, and Big Plans, illustrated by 00:03:00.469 --> 00:03:04.990 Lane Smith. And then some of the books that he 00:03:04.990 --> 00:03:09.689 has written and illustrated are Shay Bob, Ballet 00:03:09.689 --> 00:03:13.949 Cat, Unicorn Thinks He's Pretty Great, and Dinosaur 00:03:13.949 --> 00:03:19.990 Versus the Library. bear suit turtle makes a 00:03:19.990 --> 00:03:23.189 friend. This is the story of a turtle in a bear 00:03:23.189 --> 00:03:27.509 suit claiming to be a for real bear and he meets 00:03:27.509 --> 00:03:31.750 a turtle claiming to be a for real bear expert. 00:03:32.229 --> 00:03:35.449 The expert challenges the turtle in the bear 00:03:35.449 --> 00:03:38.289 suit to prove he is actually a bear by doing 00:03:38.289 --> 00:03:42.270 bear things like climbing trees and hibernating 00:03:42.270 --> 00:03:47.969 and it's pretty silly as the bear The turtle 00:03:47.969 --> 00:03:51.330 in the bear suit requires the bear expert to 00:03:51.330 --> 00:03:56.469 cover his eyes while he climbs the tree and then 00:03:56.469 --> 00:04:02.969 the bear suit turtle pretends to sleep for hibernating. 00:04:03.330 --> 00:04:10.889 In the end, the bear expert explains that other 00:04:10.889 --> 00:04:14.629 bear things include riding bikes and foraging 00:04:14.629 --> 00:04:18.610 for ice cream and playing pumpkin king. As the 00:04:18.610 --> 00:04:22.069 day progresses, the two get tired and hot and 00:04:22.069 --> 00:04:25.850 the question of swimming arises and both decide 00:04:25.850 --> 00:04:29.329 to tell each other the truth that they are not 00:04:29.329 --> 00:04:32.490 really what they claim, but they have discovered 00:04:32.490 --> 00:04:36.629 that they are now friends and can enjoy each 00:04:36.629 --> 00:04:40.810 other's company even when they're not who they 00:04:40.810 --> 00:04:44.490 originally claimed to be. This book, Bob Shay's 00:04:44.490 --> 00:04:47.009 books, are always funny. They're always amusing. 00:04:47.430 --> 00:04:50.910 This will definitely get the kids laughing. This 00:04:50.910 --> 00:04:54.910 is a very silly book that is engaging, and I 00:04:54.910 --> 00:04:57.290 really enjoyed the sweetness of this friendship 00:04:57.290 --> 00:05:00.089 that grows between the two characters. It reminds 00:05:00.089 --> 00:05:02.949 me a lot of how a lot of students interact with 00:05:02.949 --> 00:05:04.910 each other, trying to kind of one -up, like, 00:05:04.949 --> 00:05:09.689 I know this, I can do this, and... that's something 00:05:09.689 --> 00:05:11.829 that oftentimes becomes the basis for a friendship 00:05:11.829 --> 00:05:14.569 with the younger students. They kind of interact 00:05:14.569 --> 00:05:18.089 with each other. That's their first way of broaching 00:05:18.089 --> 00:05:21.850 that interaction and getting to know each other. 00:05:21.870 --> 00:05:25.589 And so this is really mirrored in the book. It's 00:05:25.589 --> 00:05:28.949 just a really great story about friendship. It's 00:05:28.949 --> 00:05:32.709 heartwarming and cute and, like I said, very 00:05:32.709 --> 00:05:37.050 funny. I strongly suggest this book. I think 00:05:37.050 --> 00:05:40.740 this is another Perfect Book by Bob Shay, five 00:05:40.740 --> 00:05:44.939 bookmarks, definitely. I think this is gonna 00:05:44.939 --> 00:05:47.740 become an instant classic for a lot of people. 00:05:48.120 --> 00:05:53.939 It's just so cute and fun. It's the classic kind 00:05:53.939 --> 00:05:57.779 of illustrations that Bob Shay is known for, 00:05:57.920 --> 00:06:01.180 kind of, I don't wanna use the word simplistic, 00:06:01.259 --> 00:06:08.050 but just very iconic illustrations. using lots 00:06:08.050 --> 00:06:11.870 of geometric shapes, lots of circles, lots of 00:06:11.870 --> 00:06:16.350 triangles, to just get that general outline or 00:06:16.350 --> 00:06:21.290 shape of the characters. And I think that's part 00:06:21.290 --> 00:06:23.769 of what makes it so endearing to the students 00:06:23.769 --> 00:06:26.329 is they're like, I can totally see what that 00:06:26.329 --> 00:06:30.050 is without it being incredibly detailed. I think 00:06:30.050 --> 00:06:32.850 this is going to be a great book that everyone 00:06:32.850 --> 00:06:37.569 is going to enjoy. as it, I'm sure, will continue 00:06:37.569 --> 00:06:40.930 to be, it'll get onto a bunch of different lists, 00:06:41.069 --> 00:06:43.889 and it'll get a bunch of different awards. I 00:06:43.889 --> 00:06:47.490 guarantee it. I think it's a great story. I'm 00:06:47.490 --> 00:06:50.449 sure it will. Like you said, everything Bob Shane 00:06:50.449 --> 00:06:53.790 touches turns to gold, really. And like I said, 00:06:53.790 --> 00:06:57.350 I haven't read this one yet, but I do love his 00:06:57.350 --> 00:07:01.250 art style. It always has that really bold colors, 00:07:01.250 --> 00:07:05.839 and I do think it's not... I might call it a 00:07:05.839 --> 00:07:07.959 little bit simple in the illustration style, 00:07:08.019 --> 00:07:11.180 but I think that's really great for Pre -K because 00:07:11.180 --> 00:07:15.319 the kids can see all the shapes that he uses 00:07:15.319 --> 00:07:18.639 to make the illustrations and it kind of makes 00:07:18.639 --> 00:07:20.399 it a little bit easier for the kids to imitate 00:07:20.399 --> 00:07:22.240 it themselves so they can kind of see themselves 00:07:22.240 --> 00:07:24.779 as authors and illustrators, which I think is 00:07:24.779 --> 00:07:27.420 really important for our kiddos. And it also 00:07:27.420 --> 00:07:30.019 like, it grabs their attention a little bit better, 00:07:30.180 --> 00:07:32.240 especially for younger kids or like our kids 00:07:32.240 --> 00:07:35.120 that may have difficulty seeing. We have a lot 00:07:35.120 --> 00:07:37.480 of visual, maybe not a lot, but we do have some 00:07:37.480 --> 00:07:41.160 visually impaired students that need those bold 00:07:41.160 --> 00:07:43.939 contrasting colors that he's kind of known for. 00:07:44.220 --> 00:07:46.720 So I kind of love that about his books and they're 00:07:46.720 --> 00:07:50.899 so, they're, I think the simplicity of them helps 00:07:50.899 --> 00:07:53.939 our kids grasp the concepts a little bit better. 00:07:54.399 --> 00:07:57.560 So. I have, like I said, not having read this 00:07:57.560 --> 00:08:00.279 particular one yet, I know I already love it. 00:08:00.519 --> 00:08:05.079 Dinosaur versus School is like one of my favorite 00:08:05.079 --> 00:08:08.480 ones to read with our incoming three and four 00:08:08.480 --> 00:08:10.379 year olds who have never been to school before. 00:08:10.620 --> 00:08:13.939 That's like a really great way to like ease them 00:08:13.939 --> 00:08:15.720 in. I usually pair that one at the beginning 00:08:15.720 --> 00:08:18.819 of the school year with another book that's a 00:08:18.819 --> 00:08:21.500 little bit... a little calmer I guess dinosaur 00:08:21.500 --> 00:08:24.980 versus school is just a really silly way to introduce 00:08:24.980 --> 00:08:29.180 school to our younger kids so yeah good choice 00:08:29.180 --> 00:08:32.559 I love it already and I will say that there is 00:08:32.559 --> 00:08:36.600 a youtube video where he explains how to draw 00:08:36.600 --> 00:08:39.539 bear suit turtle that's available so like you 00:08:39.539 --> 00:08:44.000 could if the kids because of the the art style 00:08:44.000 --> 00:08:47.080 and like we said some of those kids can use those 00:08:47.080 --> 00:08:50.379 shapes to help build soap Pairing this with that 00:08:50.379 --> 00:08:52.600 YouTube video where they can learn how to draw 00:08:52.600 --> 00:08:55.539 the bear suit turtle would be kind of a cool 00:08:55.539 --> 00:08:58.360 Activity that you could do. I also really love 00:08:58.360 --> 00:09:00.779 at the very end of the book It's a there for 00:09:00.779 --> 00:09:03.740 real bear facts and some of them are like obviously 00:09:03.740 --> 00:09:05.480 very real and then there's some others that are 00:09:05.480 --> 00:09:09.659 kind of silly an adult male black bear can weigh 00:09:09.659 --> 00:09:14.070 up to 600 pounds or 100 bear suit turtles If 00:09:14.070 --> 00:09:15.870 you see a grizzly bear, you should play dead. 00:09:15.950 --> 00:09:17.990 If you see a black bear, make yourself big and 00:09:17.990 --> 00:09:21.970 scary. Bears are apex predators, which means 00:09:21.970 --> 00:09:25.909 they aren't afraid of anything. Except spiders, 00:09:26.250 --> 00:09:31.570 because spiders are so gross. That's funny. He's 00:09:31.570 --> 00:09:35.769 just got a really good sense of humor and... 00:09:35.769 --> 00:09:39.509 Yeah. I love that... You can just kind of tell 00:09:39.509 --> 00:09:44.919 that he just really enjoys... his job and sharing 00:09:44.919 --> 00:09:49.019 that sense of humor With everybody that's around 00:09:49.019 --> 00:09:52.639 him, you know Which is just the cool? Absolutely 00:09:52.639 --> 00:09:55.860 attitude to have just being like hey I I know 00:09:55.860 --> 00:09:59.179 I'm goofy and funny and silly and I'm just gonna 00:09:59.179 --> 00:10:04.899 roll with it kind of you know Absolutely, yeah, 00:10:05.759 --> 00:10:09.120 all right So a makerspace activity for bear suit 00:10:09.120 --> 00:10:11.840 turtle makes a friend My idea this one's gonna 00:10:11.840 --> 00:10:13.879 cost a little bit of money, but I looked and 00:10:13.879 --> 00:10:18.620 Amazon has these pretty cheap you get 16 plastic 00:10:18.620 --> 00:10:24.200 turtles for about eight dollars and my idea is 00:10:24.200 --> 00:10:28.320 that You pull out the Legos and all of the kids 00:10:28.320 --> 00:10:33.659 Build a bear suit for a plastic turtle the plastic 00:10:33.659 --> 00:10:36.059 turtles are about two inches tall so the bear 00:10:36.059 --> 00:10:38.320 suit doesn't have to be huge but they can the 00:10:38.320 --> 00:10:41.500 kids can build their own little bear suit to 00:10:41.500 --> 00:10:44.200 put the turtle into and I thought that would 00:10:44.200 --> 00:10:47.120 be a fun little activity it's going to take a 00:10:47.120 --> 00:10:50.580 little bit more dexterity and maybe a little 00:10:50.580 --> 00:10:54.299 bit more planning but near the end of the year 00:10:54.299 --> 00:10:57.059 I think that's something that our pre -k students 00:10:57.059 --> 00:10:59.299 will be able to do and I like to challenge them 00:10:59.299 --> 00:11:02.110 because I've found that quite often if you give 00:11:02.110 --> 00:11:04.409 them a challenge, they will rise to the occasion. 00:11:04.490 --> 00:11:08.009 So I think this will be a fun activity to get 00:11:08.009 --> 00:11:11.409 them to be kind of creative and have to think 00:11:11.409 --> 00:11:13.769 a little bit more about how they use the Legos 00:11:13.769 --> 00:11:16.509 to make it so that the turtle will fit inside. 00:11:18.230 --> 00:11:20.710 Yeah, that sounds like a lot of fun. Something 00:11:20.710 --> 00:11:23.269 different. Yeah, and then once you buy the turtles, 00:11:23.470 --> 00:11:27.470 you can keep them. for years. So it's a upfront 00:11:27.470 --> 00:11:29.950 cost, but then you have them to use for other 00:11:29.950 --> 00:11:32.570 activities and things like that. So it's not 00:11:32.570 --> 00:11:36.009 too bad. No, it's not. You can reuse them for 00:11:36.009 --> 00:11:38.309 all the classes and everything. That's not, that's 00:11:38.309 --> 00:11:41.429 pretty cheap. I like it. That sounds like fun. 00:11:43.009 --> 00:11:47.309 We're going to move forward with our Library 00:11:47.309 --> 00:11:50.590 of Littles management tips. So this coming week 00:11:50.590 --> 00:11:54.049 you've got an author's visit So why don't you 00:11:54.049 --> 00:11:56.049 tell us a little bit about that what you've had 00:11:56.049 --> 00:11:59.610 to do kind of? To get that going like the setup 00:11:59.610 --> 00:12:03.370 process how you decided on the author if you 00:12:03.370 --> 00:12:06.590 know anything about like what the presentation 00:12:06.590 --> 00:12:10.009 is gonna look like as far as For pre -k that 00:12:10.009 --> 00:12:14.559 kind of stuff. What do you know? Yeah So I have 00:12:14.559 --> 00:12:18.080 the privilege of having Tammy Sauer come to both 00:12:18.080 --> 00:12:21.240 of my libraries next week. I'm so excited. It 00:12:21.240 --> 00:12:25.000 came about because, well, honestly, both of my 00:12:25.000 --> 00:12:26.620 libraries are closing, which is actually quite 00:12:26.620 --> 00:12:28.840 sad. So we had a little bit of extra money that 00:12:28.840 --> 00:12:32.240 we needed to spend kind of quickly. And Tammy 00:12:32.240 --> 00:12:34.799 Sauer came to a couple of the other libraries 00:12:34.799 --> 00:12:37.720 in my district just a month or two ago, actually, 00:12:37.820 --> 00:12:42.919 pretty recently. And so... emailed her and asked 00:12:42.919 --> 00:12:45.500 if she had any availability for the rest of the 00:12:45.500 --> 00:12:47.419 school year to find her information. I just went 00:12:47.419 --> 00:12:52.019 to her website and she has a tab called school 00:12:52.019 --> 00:12:55.779 visits and I just went there and quite a few 00:12:55.779 --> 00:12:58.080 authors and illustrators actually have this where 00:12:58.080 --> 00:13:00.179 there's just a form that you can fill out on 00:13:00.179 --> 00:13:03.299 their website and you just enter in your information 00:13:03.299 --> 00:13:06.240 and just has a few questions on it like how many 00:13:06.240 --> 00:13:09.740 kids and how many presentations and things like 00:13:09.740 --> 00:13:12.200 that that you would want to have for them and 00:13:12.200 --> 00:13:15.080 where you're located general information questions 00:13:15.080 --> 00:13:18.320 like that and she emailed me back within like 00:13:18.320 --> 00:13:21.039 two or three hours she's been kind of amazing 00:13:21.039 --> 00:13:25.139 with communication and she said that she had 00:13:25.139 --> 00:13:28.940 availability for this coming week so i got the 00:13:28.940 --> 00:13:32.279 paperwork started with on our end with the district 00:13:32.279 --> 00:13:35.299 and fortunately she was we were able to push 00:13:35.299 --> 00:13:36.799 everything through and she's going to come and 00:13:36.799 --> 00:13:40.240 visit us with she's coming to two of my schools 00:13:40.240 --> 00:13:42.539 she's going to do well i only have two schools 00:13:42.539 --> 00:13:45.019 but she's coming to both of them she was only 00:13:45.019 --> 00:13:48.139 available for a day and a half so she's going 00:13:48.139 --> 00:13:51.820 to start with a half day afternoon presentation 00:13:52.590 --> 00:13:56.210 this coming week on Wednesday and what we did 00:13:56.210 --> 00:13:58.690 for that one since it's a half day and she can 00:13:58.690 --> 00:14:01.870 only do two presentations that school is fortunately 00:14:01.870 --> 00:14:07.470 a little bit smaller and we only have about 250 00:14:07.470 --> 00:14:12.509 students so what we did is we're going to alter 00:14:12.509 --> 00:14:17.049 our special schedule so that everybody in the 00:14:17.049 --> 00:14:20.070 school gets a 30 minute specials in the morning 00:14:20.679 --> 00:14:24.480 And then in the afternoon, we're going to have 00:14:24.480 --> 00:14:29.740 a presentation from 1 .45 to 2 .15. And then 00:14:29.740 --> 00:14:31.580 we have a 15 minute break, and then we'll have 00:14:31.580 --> 00:14:37.840 another presentation from 2 .30 to 3. And Tammy 00:14:37.840 --> 00:14:41.100 Sauer has, I think most authors and illustrators 00:14:41.100 --> 00:14:43.500 who regularly do school visits do this anyway. 00:14:43.620 --> 00:14:45.519 There's like a list of presentations that you 00:14:45.519 --> 00:14:49.460 can pick from. And one of them is a, one that's, 00:14:49.480 --> 00:14:51.919 She advertises this for kindergarten first, so 00:14:51.919 --> 00:14:53.539 that's the one that we went with, and it's just 00:14:53.539 --> 00:14:57.139 a 30 minute presentation about how books take 00:14:57.139 --> 00:15:00.399 you places. And coincidentally, leading up to 00:15:00.399 --> 00:15:03.519 this, I have throughout the school year to teach 00:15:03.519 --> 00:15:06.340 kids about authors and illustrators. There have 00:15:06.340 --> 00:15:09.559 been like four books, I think, so far this year 00:15:09.559 --> 00:15:13.840 where I think it started with on Dot Day. I read 00:15:13.840 --> 00:15:18.919 the kids The Dot and then we did Peter Reynolds 00:15:20.449 --> 00:15:23.250 virtual author author visit and I told them that's 00:15:23.250 --> 00:15:25.330 what it was I told them I used that terminology 00:15:25.330 --> 00:15:26.950 and told them we're going to do a virtual author 00:15:26.950 --> 00:15:29.070 visit and explained what that an author writes 00:15:29.070 --> 00:15:32.129 the words in the book illustrator draws the pictures 00:15:32.129 --> 00:15:35.990 Peter Reynolds did both for the dot and showed 00:15:35.990 --> 00:15:39.129 them a video with Peter Reynolds drawing dots 00:15:39.129 --> 00:15:41.610 and making his own little creation there and 00:15:41.610 --> 00:15:43.250 it was just like a quick little five -minute 00:15:43.250 --> 00:15:45.970 thing but it was just to help the kids connect 00:15:45.970 --> 00:15:48.909 that you know he's the one who created the book 00:15:49.309 --> 00:15:51.730 And this is this extension activity with it. 00:15:52.210 --> 00:15:55.470 And so when I was talking to the kids this last 00:15:55.470 --> 00:15:58.129 week about how an author is going to come and 00:15:58.129 --> 00:15:59.610 visit us, they were like, the one that writes 00:15:59.610 --> 00:16:03.289 the words? And they were like, yeah. And it was 00:16:03.289 --> 00:16:05.710 pretty exciting so far. I think they're really 00:16:05.710 --> 00:16:07.330 making that connection, even though our kids 00:16:07.330 --> 00:16:09.970 are a little younger. They're only three, four, 00:16:09.970 --> 00:16:12.529 and five. But I think quite a few of them really 00:16:12.529 --> 00:16:15.409 are understanding that the author is the person 00:16:15.409 --> 00:16:17.409 who writes the words. And they create the books. 00:16:17.549 --> 00:16:21.080 And they can be. authors too and all the things 00:16:21.080 --> 00:16:22.940 so I'm pretty excited that she's going to get 00:16:22.940 --> 00:16:25.519 to come and visit us. With my other school the 00:16:25.519 --> 00:16:29.860 way the scheduling is working for that is I'm 00:16:29.860 --> 00:16:33.759 combining since we have a full day for her at 00:16:33.759 --> 00:16:35.720 that school that school's a little bit bigger 00:16:35.720 --> 00:16:38.519 so I'm glad that we have a full day there we're 00:16:38.519 --> 00:16:43.399 going to have all the specials meet in the school 00:16:43.399 --> 00:16:47.080 cafeteria for the presentation for 30 minutes 00:16:47.080 --> 00:16:50.250 and then for the second 30 minutes of their regular 00:16:50.250 --> 00:16:52.909 specials time they're going to go to their the 00:16:52.909 --> 00:16:55.149 rest of their specials. We normally have one 00:16:55.149 --> 00:16:58.889 hour total in specials so they'll do 30 minutes 00:16:58.889 --> 00:17:02.269 in with our author visit all together with all 00:17:02.269 --> 00:17:05.049 the specials teachers and all the paras kind 00:17:05.049 --> 00:17:08.009 of supporting our students so that we can all 00:17:08.009 --> 00:17:10.450 you know that's a lot of kids like it'll be about 00:17:10.450 --> 00:17:13.369 60 -ish kids all together in the cafeteria at 00:17:13.369 --> 00:17:16.509 once. So we'll all be there to kind of help support 00:17:16.509 --> 00:17:19.190 and help kids focus and stay on task and such. 00:17:19.269 --> 00:17:22.390 And then we'll go to our regular specials after 00:17:22.390 --> 00:17:25.690 that so that it'll be 30 minutes of author visit, 00:17:25.849 --> 00:17:27.730 30 minutes of specials, and we'll kind of keep 00:17:27.730 --> 00:17:29.869 doing that for the rest of the day. So it'll 00:17:29.869 --> 00:17:34.710 be a total of four presentations at that school 00:17:34.710 --> 00:17:39.440 on Thursday. So yeah. That's kind of how that's 00:17:39.440 --> 00:17:41.880 going so far. Obviously I haven't done it yet 00:17:41.880 --> 00:17:44.200 so I'll keep you guys updated on how that goes 00:17:44.200 --> 00:17:46.740 but I'm very excited and I think the kids are 00:17:46.740 --> 00:17:50.480 too and I'm glad that I accidentally, well I 00:17:50.480 --> 00:17:52.940 guess I didn't accidentally, I'm glad I taught 00:17:52.940 --> 00:17:54.559 them what authors and illustrators were this 00:17:54.559 --> 00:17:57.599 year but we've been kind of building toward it 00:17:57.599 --> 00:18:00.599 I think unintentionally and I'm really excited 00:18:00.599 --> 00:18:03.799 that we get this culminating activity at the 00:18:03.799 --> 00:18:05.920 end of the year. That's awesome. That sounds 00:18:05.920 --> 00:18:09.160 really cool. and she's amazing so I think you're 00:18:09.160 --> 00:18:12.380 gonna really enjoy it. I was fortunate I got 00:18:12.380 --> 00:18:15.099 to see one of her presentations for some of the 00:18:15.099 --> 00:18:19.099 older kids when she was in your district prior 00:18:19.099 --> 00:18:24.299 to spring break and her energy level is amazing. 00:18:24.519 --> 00:18:28.700 Like she's super engaging, she's moving around 00:18:28.700 --> 00:18:32.160 and super expressive. I think you're gonna really 00:18:32.160 --> 00:18:34.960 enjoy her presentation. I'm looking forward to 00:18:34.960 --> 00:18:37.130 it. Yeah she seems like she's gonna be really 00:18:37.130 --> 00:18:39.650 engaging for pre -k, which not everybody can 00:18:39.650 --> 00:18:44.069 do. So yes, I'm excited about that. I'm so excited 00:18:44.069 --> 00:18:46.769 about it actually that the next book that we're 00:18:46.769 --> 00:18:48.589 going to talk about is one of hers. It's our 00:18:48.589 --> 00:18:52.009 newest one. So this is the book that one of the 00:18:52.009 --> 00:18:54.609 books that you are very kind actually and gave 00:18:54.609 --> 00:18:59.390 to me from our TLA visit. The next book we're 00:18:59.390 --> 00:19:02.029 going to talk about is Mary Had a Little Jam. 00:19:02.150 --> 00:19:06.210 It was published by Union Square Kids in 2025. 00:19:06.509 --> 00:19:09.630 the author is Tammy Sauer and the illustrator 00:19:09.630 --> 00:19:13.309 is Vanessa Brantley Newton. This particular book 00:19:13.309 --> 00:19:17.990 has not won any awards yet, but Tammy has won 00:19:17.990 --> 00:19:20.430 quite a few awards for some other books that 00:19:20.430 --> 00:19:24.299 we'll list a little bit later. Tammy Sauer grew 00:19:24.299 --> 00:19:27.720 up on a small farm outside of the tiny town of 00:19:27.720 --> 00:19:30.420 Victoria, Kansas. After high school, she graduated 00:19:30.420 --> 00:19:34.140 from Kansas State University with a BS in elementary 00:19:34.140 --> 00:19:36.420 education and she married her high school sweetheart. 00:19:37.059 --> 00:19:39.359 They had two children and later moved their family 00:19:39.359 --> 00:19:41.900 to Edmond, Oklahoma. Tammy was a teacher and 00:19:41.900 --> 00:19:44.799 later a librarian, a library media specialist 00:19:44.799 --> 00:19:47.819 before becoming a children's author. She has 00:19:47.819 --> 00:19:50.859 written over 30 children's books to date, with 00:19:50.859 --> 00:19:53.519 more currently in the works. she still lives 00:19:53.519 --> 00:19:57.339 in Edmund with her family. Some of the other 00:19:57.339 --> 00:20:02.500 books that she has written include Not Now Cow, 00:20:02.759 --> 00:20:06.400 which is on six different state lists, Wordy 00:20:06.400 --> 00:20:10.140 Birdy, which is on 12 lists, Mary Had a Little 00:20:10.140 --> 00:20:15.079 Glam, which appears on five lists, Your Alien, 00:20:16.500 --> 00:20:21.599 and Nugget and Fang. The Illustrator, Vanessa 00:20:21.599 --> 00:20:24.960 Brantley Newton grew up in Newark, New Jersey 00:20:24.960 --> 00:20:28.079 during the Civil Rights Movement. Reading Ezra 00:20:28.079 --> 00:20:31.059 Jack Keats' The Snowy Day was the first time 00:20:31.059 --> 00:20:33.519 that she saw an African -American character in 00:20:33.519 --> 00:20:36.599 a book. Seeing herself reflected in a children's 00:20:36.599 --> 00:20:40.619 book was a defining moment for her and has influenced 00:20:40.619 --> 00:20:44.599 her art as an adult. She strives to include characters 00:20:44.599 --> 00:20:48.259 of all ethnic backgrounds in an effort to recreate 00:20:48.259 --> 00:20:52.670 that moment for others. She has been given 29 00:20:52.670 --> 00:20:56.029 awards and honors over the years for her work 00:20:56.029 --> 00:20:59.650 as an illustrator and author. Some of her other 00:20:59.650 --> 00:21:03.069 books that she has written and illustrated are 00:21:03.069 --> 00:21:06.210 Shake It Off, Nesting Dolls, which is on one 00:21:06.210 --> 00:21:09.509 state list, Becoming Vanessa, which is on three 00:21:09.509 --> 00:21:13.990 state lists, Just Like Me, Grandma's Purse, Don't 00:21:13.990 --> 00:21:17.390 Let Auntie Mabel Bless the Table, and Let Freedom 00:21:17.390 --> 00:21:21.250 Sing. She has also illustrated 27 books for other 00:21:21.250 --> 00:21:24.819 authors so far. And with this particular book, 00:21:25.180 --> 00:21:28.640 Mary had a little jam. The summary is one day 00:21:28.640 --> 00:21:31.339 when playing her ukulele, Mary decides it would 00:21:31.339 --> 00:21:33.859 be more fun to start a band and play with others. 00:21:34.339 --> 00:21:36.900 She recruits other characters from classic nursery 00:21:36.900 --> 00:21:40.059 rhymes such as Jack and Jill and Bo Peep. Together 00:21:40.059 --> 00:21:42.640 they form a band called the Nursery Rhymers. 00:21:43.000 --> 00:21:45.480 Initially the sounds clash when everyone tries 00:21:45.480 --> 00:21:48.579 to play their own songs simultaneously, but eventually 00:21:48.579 --> 00:21:51.039 they come together and learn that with practice 00:21:51.039 --> 00:21:54.329 and unity they can save their performance. I 00:21:54.329 --> 00:21:56.750 thought this was a really cute story. It teaches 00:21:56.750 --> 00:22:00.049 perseverance and teamwork. The illustrations 00:22:00.049 --> 00:22:03.750 are really vibrant. This is the third book in 00:22:03.750 --> 00:22:05.910 a series. The first one is Mary Had a Little 00:22:05.910 --> 00:22:08.910 Glam, and then there's Mary Had a Little Plan. 00:22:09.630 --> 00:22:14.309 There's lots of, it has lots of nursery rhyme 00:22:14.309 --> 00:22:16.130 characters in it, so naturally there's a lot 00:22:16.130 --> 00:22:18.509 of rhyming words in it. I think this would be 00:22:18.509 --> 00:22:20.880 a really good one to play. to maybe read at the 00:22:20.880 --> 00:22:23.859 beginning of the school year. I do this, I usually 00:22:23.859 --> 00:22:28.220 do nursery rhymes -ish type things with three, 00:22:28.279 --> 00:22:30.480 fours and fives toward the beginning of the school 00:22:30.480 --> 00:22:32.119 year because it's something that's a little bit 00:22:32.119 --> 00:22:35.779 more familiar when we're kind of getting to learn 00:22:35.779 --> 00:22:38.180 our routines and procedures and such. I think 00:22:38.180 --> 00:22:40.980 that's a good way to kind of get our kids more 00:22:40.980 --> 00:22:44.559 used to school, I guess, because they're usually, 00:22:44.559 --> 00:22:47.480 they know some nursery rhymes and have some background 00:22:47.480 --> 00:22:50.009 knowledge with that. So it's a kind of a good 00:22:50.009 --> 00:22:53.730 way to expand their knowledge and kind of appreciate 00:22:53.730 --> 00:22:55.730 reading a little bit because just because you 00:22:55.730 --> 00:22:57.869 have that little bit of familiarity with there. 00:22:58.029 --> 00:23:00.470 But yeah, I really enjoyed this story. I love 00:23:00.470 --> 00:23:04.250 that it focused on teamwork and I love the illustrations 00:23:04.250 --> 00:23:09.710 and how bold they are. Yeah, I think and with 00:23:09.710 --> 00:23:13.609 our particular curriculum, we have six weeks 00:23:13.609 --> 00:23:17.430 of just learning about music. So for our curriculum, 00:23:17.710 --> 00:23:20.170 I think I would probably give this one a 5 out 00:23:20.170 --> 00:23:23.609 of 5 because I'm always looking for music books 00:23:23.609 --> 00:23:26.730 to support our pre -k curriculum. Outside of 00:23:26.730 --> 00:23:30.210 the curriculum, I think I might go with a, just 00:23:30.210 --> 00:23:32.130 like reading it at home or just reading it for 00:23:32.130 --> 00:23:35.049 funsies, probably a 4 out of 5. It's still cute 00:23:35.049 --> 00:23:38.769 and it's still good. It's not particularly, I 00:23:38.769 --> 00:23:41.670 think it just doesn't stand out like a ton as 00:23:41.670 --> 00:23:43.750 just a standalone story, but it does support 00:23:43.750 --> 00:23:48.420 our curriculum particularly well. So for If you 00:23:48.420 --> 00:23:50.000 have something that you need to tie it in with, 00:23:50.400 --> 00:23:52.960 like music -wise, nursery rhymes, I think I would 00:23:52.960 --> 00:23:55.319 give it a 5 out of 5. As a standalone, probably 00:23:55.319 --> 00:23:58.559 4 out of 5. I agree. I think it's, like you said, 00:23:58.660 --> 00:24:03.079 it's a very cute story. It's fun to see the different 00:24:03.079 --> 00:24:06.259 nursery rhyme characters being represented in 00:24:06.259 --> 00:24:09.900 the book. I think Vanessa Brantley -Newton does 00:24:09.900 --> 00:24:15.779 an amazing job of having a wide range of diverse 00:24:15.779 --> 00:24:20.240 characters represented in the book. It's really 00:24:20.240 --> 00:24:23.279 cool to see all the different skin tones that 00:24:23.279 --> 00:24:25.839 are used to represent the different characters. 00:24:26.359 --> 00:24:29.140 So I think you're right. I think it's a really 00:24:29.140 --> 00:24:31.519 great book, especially considering the pre -k 00:24:31.519 --> 00:24:34.460 curriculum and the use of the nursery rhymes, 00:24:34.599 --> 00:24:38.000 the rhyming words, the music incorporation. And 00:24:38.000 --> 00:24:42.289 it's a solid story. It's not one that... Like 00:24:42.289 --> 00:24:45.589 is gonna be something that Everyone's gonna be 00:24:45.589 --> 00:24:48.269 like, oh, yeah, I've read all of the Mary had 00:24:48.269 --> 00:24:52.950 books, but it's a solid book It's really enjoyable. 00:24:52.950 --> 00:24:57.089 I think a lot of the kids will get a lot of enjoyment 00:24:57.089 --> 00:25:00.349 out of it So yeah, I think definitely a good 00:25:00.349 --> 00:25:03.619 choice For the makerspace activity for this book, 00:25:03.759 --> 00:25:06.319 I thought it would be fun to make shakers and 00:25:06.319 --> 00:25:08.339 have the kids make their own instruments, which 00:25:08.339 --> 00:25:11.200 is pretty easy to do. I've done it a couple of 00:25:11.200 --> 00:25:14.440 times in the classroom. I have not done it in 00:25:14.440 --> 00:25:16.180 the library yet. That just occurred to me. I 00:25:16.180 --> 00:25:17.940 really should. But that's a pretty easy one to 00:25:17.940 --> 00:25:21.180 do. You just get the cheap paper plates that 00:25:21.180 --> 00:25:24.579 we all love for, you know, all the pre -k class. 00:25:25.240 --> 00:25:28.519 pre -k crafts those little white ones that are 00:25:28.519 --> 00:25:31.180 paper and just really flexible but you color 00:25:31.180 --> 00:25:35.279 on the bottom of it and the kids decorate it 00:25:35.279 --> 00:25:38.940 however they want and then you put some dry rice 00:25:38.940 --> 00:25:41.799 or beans or anything else that was I I do rice 00:25:41.799 --> 00:25:45.259 or beans because it's cheap really but you just 00:25:45.259 --> 00:25:48.819 get a very small like very small little handful 00:25:48.819 --> 00:25:52.170 in there maybe like a teaspoon is even fine and 00:25:52.170 --> 00:25:54.250 just put it on top and then you fold the plate 00:25:54.250 --> 00:25:57.529 in half like a taco and then staple along the 00:25:57.529 --> 00:26:00.950 edge. Then it's magic. You have your own little 00:26:00.950 --> 00:26:04.210 shaker and then it's a great time. It's a little 00:26:04.210 --> 00:26:05.869 noisy. Maybe that's why I haven't done it in 00:26:05.869 --> 00:26:07.569 the library yet. I did it in the classroom though. 00:26:07.670 --> 00:26:08.950 I don't know why I haven't done it in the library 00:26:08.950 --> 00:26:12.710 yet. But it's cheap, it's easy, and it's fast 00:26:12.710 --> 00:26:16.069 and you can kind of encourage the kids to draw 00:26:16.069 --> 00:26:19.289 a little bit more on their plate and be real 00:26:19.289 --> 00:26:21.329 creative with that. You could, I guess with this 00:26:21.329 --> 00:26:23.750 one, you could even like try and get them to 00:26:23.750 --> 00:26:25.950 draw some nursery rhyme characters or some things 00:26:25.950 --> 00:26:29.869 that that they see in the book as well. Yeah. 00:26:30.630 --> 00:26:33.789 I love that idea. I think the kids would really 00:26:33.789 --> 00:26:36.769 enjoy that because then they have their own musical 00:26:36.769 --> 00:26:40.240 instrument they can They all love to make noise. 00:26:40.259 --> 00:26:42.900 So having that shaker going I'm sure the teachers 00:26:42.900 --> 00:26:44.839 will love it when they come back from the library 00:26:44.839 --> 00:26:48.019 with the shakers, too That that's will be their 00:26:48.019 --> 00:26:55.599 favorite But no, that's a super cute idea and 00:26:55.599 --> 00:26:58.920 like you said cheap and Just the kids will really 00:26:58.920 --> 00:27:01.519 enjoy it. It'll be a lot of fun Yeah, that's 00:27:01.519 --> 00:27:05.519 almost no prep, too That's the best. I like low 00:27:05.519 --> 00:27:09.549 prep and a little bit more unique ideas. Those 00:27:09.549 --> 00:27:12.609 are the best. Alright, well thank you guys for 00:27:12.609 --> 00:27:15.309 joining us today on this episode of Librarians 00:27:15.309 --> 00:27:17.890 of Littles. We hope you found some fresh ideas 00:27:17.890 --> 00:27:20.789 for inspiring our young readers. Please be sure 00:27:20.789 --> 00:27:23.730 to subscribe and connect with us on social media. 00:27:24.450 --> 00:27:27.329 Thank you for listening to this episode of Librarians 00:27:27.329 --> 00:27:30.150 of Littles. We hope that you've enjoyed it. Check 00:27:30.150 --> 00:27:34.549 back each Wednesday for a new episode. Librarians 00:27:34.549 --> 00:27:37.329 of Littles is a podcast produced and hosted by 00:27:37.329 --> 00:27:40.970 Patrick Adams and Caroline Legere. Editor, Patrick 00:27:40.970 --> 00:27:44.769 Adams. Our theme song is performed by JD Adams. 00:27:45.210 --> 00:27:47.849 You can follow us on Instagram at Librarians 00:27:47.849 --> 00:27:52.990 of Littles. 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