YAACING
Contents:
Message from the Chair Message from the Editors
Fall 2017
News PNLA Update Columns Jbrary: We’ll Link to That - Dana Horrocks and Lindsey Krabbenhoft Teens Only - Amy Dawley Features Making Book Trailers with Kids - Tess Prendergast Early Readers Book Club: Just the Facts! - Jane Whittingham Behind the Scenes: Filming BC SRC welcome video in American Sign Language - Cynthia Ford Read Across Canada: a Teen Summer Reading Challenge - Julia McKnight A Sports-Themed Family Storytime - Francesca De Freitas Something From Something: A Storytime Literacy Connection - Marianne Huang Felt Story The Parrot Song - Megan Edmunds Call for Submissions
Making Book Trailers with Kids Early Reader Book Nonfiction Book Club Teen Summer Reading Challenges SRC Accessibility! 1
NEWSLETTER OF THE YOUNG ADULT & CHILDREN’S SERVICES SECTION OF BCLA
YAACING Newsletter YAACING is a quarterly newsletter for teen and children’s librarians and library paraprofessionals that contains articles about library programs and events, book reviews, story time ideas, literacy tips‌ you name it! If you would like to submit something for consideration, please email yaacing@gmail.com.
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Contents: Message from the Chair Message from the Editors News 6 PNLA Update Columns 8 Jbrary: We’ll Link to That - Dana Horrocks and Lindsey Krabbenhoft 10 Teens Only - Amy Dawley Features 14 Making Book Trailers with Kids - Tess Prendergast 16 Early Readers Book Club: Just the Facts! - Jane Whittingham 18 Behind the Scenes: Filming BC SRC welcome video in American Sign Language - Cynthia Ford 22 Read Across Canada: a Teen Summer Reading Challenge - Julia McKnight 23 A Sports-Themed Family Storytime - Francesca De Freitas 25 Something From Something: A Storytime Literacy Connection - Marianne Huang Felt Story 29 The Parrot Song - Megan Edmunds Call for Submissions 30
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Message from the Chair Here we are again. Summer is behind us. We’ve shifted away from summer reading and launched into new school-year routines, programs for kids and teens, support for teachers and students and all the other amazing things we do. A number of positions on the executive have changed hands this year. Welcome to Marianne Huang who will be heading YAACS award members and Brittany Mardon our new Website and Social Media Administrator. Welcome also to Nikky McCarvill and Kate Wood, our 2 new Continuing Education Coordinators for Vancouver Island. Nikky and Kate have recently surveyed their library communities so stay tuned for some excited learning opportunities on the islands. The Youth Services Institute results are in! Overall, the feedback was very positive and supportive but you made it clear that learning from your colleagues – the afternoon of lightning talks – was the highlight of the day. We hope to offer an opportunity like this again. If you’re interested in reviewing the day, please visit the YAACS YouTube site. Have a great Fall everyone! Sarah Harrison YAACS Chair, BCLA sharrison@gvpl.ca
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Message from the Editors Is summer really over? Feels like just yesterday that it was sunny and beautiful outside. Oh well, break out the umbrellas and hot cocoa! We get pretty excited about fall here at YAACING. School is back in session and we have great articles for you on programming for kids and teens in BC libraries: storytimes, book trailer workshop, a make-and-take program for teens, an online teen summer reading challenge, the list goes on. There is no shortage of ingenuity or passion on the part of children’s and teen services in BC libraries! Every issue of YAACING fills us with a mixture of pride, excitement, and inspiration. We invite you to consider submitting an article to YAACING as a way of sharing your expertise with your community of library professionals. We want to hear from you this fall! All the best, Jane Whittingham and Julia McKnight YAACING Co-Editors yaacing@gmail.com
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NEWS
PNLA Young Reader's Choice Awards Since 1940 young readers in the Pacific Northwest have been participating in the Young Reader’s Choice Award. The award was established in 1940 by Harry Hartman, a Seattle bookseller, who believed every student should have an opportunity to select a book that gives him or her pleasure. The Young Reader’s Choice Award is sponsored by the Pacific Northwest Library Association and continues to be the longest running children’s choice book award. It is also the only international award with young readers in both the United States and Canada In case you missed them, here are the 2018 nominees: Junior Division (Grades 4-6) Roller Girl by Victoria Jamieson The Terrible Two by Mac Barnett Masterminds by Gordon Korman Unusual Chickens for the Exceptional Poultry Farmer by Kelly Jones Circus Mirandus by Cassie Beasley The War that Saved my Life by Kimberley Brubaker Bradley Crenshaw by Katherine Applegate Fuzzy Mud by Louis Sachar Intermediate Division (Grades 7-9) Magnus Chase – The Sword of Summer by Rick Riordan The Nest by Kenneth Oppel The Blackthorn Key by Kevin Sands Nimona by Noelle Stevenson Goodbye Stranger by Rebecca Stead Saint Anything by Sarah Dessen Illuminae by Amie Kaufman The Darkest Part of the Forest by Holly Black
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NEWS Senior Division (Grades 10-12) Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates Carry On by Rainbow Rowell Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas I was Here by Gayle Forman We Are All Made of Molecules by Susin Nielsen Finding Audrey by Sophie Kinsella I am accepting nominations for the 2019 PNLA YRCA! Nominations will be collected from students, librarians, teachers, and parents in the Pacific Northwest ~ Alaska, Alberta, British Columbia, Idaho, Montana and Washington. Nominations will not be accepted from publishers. Most importantly nominated titles must already be popular with young readers. Nominated titles must be published three (3) years prior to the award year (for example, for the 2019 nominees must have a copyright date of 2016), printed in the United States or Canada. Nominations may include fiction, nonfiction and graphic format titles. Nominations of books that are a sequel or part of a series may be considered. When nominating a title please include the following: Title Author Copyright Date (original copyright must be 2016 to be nominated for 2019) Division where you feel the title is most appropriate and any other information you would like to include about the popularity of the title. -- Junior Division: Grades 4-6 -- Middle Division: Grades 7-9 -- Senior Division: Grades 10-12 Please email me your nominations at nma75@shaw.ca Thanks, Noreen Ma BC Representative PNLA Young Reader's Choice Awards 7
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Columns
Jbrary: We’ll Link to That! Today’s column is all about research! Being familiar with child development research makes us better able to speak to the why behind what we do. So we’ve rounded up 10 of our favourite places to look for research articles and reports on child development and early literacy. Many of these resources focus on the early years, ages 0 to 5, as this time period is crucial for future brain development 1. HELP Reads and Literature Reviews: The Human Early Learning Partnership (HELP) at UBC compiles bibliographies and citation lists of child development research articles published by their staff and affiliates each year. The lists are extensive and organized by topic for easy browsing. You could spend hours here, folks! 2. Academic Journals: Reading peer-reviewed academic journals is a great way to stay on topic of current research. Check your library’s databases such as Academic Search Elite to see if you can get free access to Child Development, Journal of Early Childhood Research, or Early Childhood Research Quarterly for the newest findings. 3. Science of Early Childhood Development: The British Columbia Office of the Early Years provides free access to this incredible resource for those of us in B.C. This initiative is “designed to make current research accessible to anyone interested in learning more about the impact of early experience on lifelong health and well-being.” Includes interactive activities such as videos, questions for reflection, and links to further information. 4. Journal of Childhood Studies: This peer-reviewed journal comes from the The Canadian Association for Young People. All articles are published freely online and focus on issues “pertaining to young children in the Canadian context as well as Canadian young children in relation to the global stage.” 5. Center for Childhood Creativity: The CCC is the research and advisory division of the Bay Area Discovery Museum (BADM) and provides a link between academic research and 8
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Columns adults’ work with children ages 0-10. Their white papers, literature reviews, and position papers give evidence-based expertise in children’s creativity development. A great resource for planning school-age programs! 6. Saroj Ghoting’s Early Literacy Research Round-Up: The name says it all, Ghoting’s Round-Up covers a variety of topics organized by categories like demographics, child and brain development and literacy skills. She links to seminal works as well as collects wider ranging articles from diverse publications. An excellent place to start if you are new to the field or check back if you need some inspiration. 7. Zero to Three: Where to begin?! This site is a wealth of resources- all with an emphasis on supporting parents and caregivers. Check out their baby brain map, stay up to date with early literacy research and policy and point families to the articles on common topics like sleep, nutrition, social skills and so much more. 8. Handbook of Early Literacy Research, Volume 3: This third volume, edited by Susan B. Neuman and David K. Dickinson, provides updates to core topics like Basic Developmental Processes and Supporting Code-Related Abilities while expanding on Development among Diverse Populations. They then support this research with findings on early literacy interventions, curriculum and social policy. Lindsey refers to this as her early literacy Bible. 9. Reading Rockets: is an organization dedicated to “offering information and resources on how young kids learn to read, why so many struggle, and how caring adults can help.” They have an incredible section on early literacy research as well as printable materials for caregivers and teachers, videos and booklists. We like the focus on reading not just from the early years but well into school years. 10. Mind in the Making: The Seven Essential Life Skills Every Child Needs by Ellen Galinsky: There are many fabulous parenting books out there which cover early brain development but we particularly love Galinsky’s focus on the essential skills of “focus and self control, perspective taking, communicating, making connections, critical thinking, taking on challenges, and self-directed, engaged learning.” Where do you look for research on child development and early literacy? Send us an email at jbrary@gmail.com with your go-to resource. Dana Horrocks and Lindsey Krabbenhoft are Children’s Librarians with the Vancouver Public Library. 9
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Teens Only By Amy Dawley
Cheap, Easy, and Awesome! A DIY-to-Go Kit Program Round Up Over the last two years, the Vancouver Island Regional Library’s Teen Services Committee has been experimenting with what we’re calling “DIY-To-Go” kits. Back in the Summer 2016 issue of YAACING, I wrote about our first crack at trying the DIY-to-Go kit idea and what it looked like for our branches as part of VIRL’s Teen Summer Challenge. I am back to tell you that the idea was a smash success and I encourage libraries to give it a try, especially those small libraries who are feeling the programming crunch and who are having trouble fitting something for teens into the schedule. We’ve now offered two sets of DIY-to-Go kits as part of the last two Teen Summer Challenges in 2016 and 2017, as well as incorporating a DIY-to-Go craft as part of our first ever Spring Break Teen Mini Challenge this past March (I wrote about this lovely little program in the Spring 2017 issue of YAACING). In the spirit of sharing and to help make your life a little easier, here’s the roundup of DIY-to-Go kits we’ve offered so far, complete with blurbs and materials lists. All these kits have been tried and tested on real teens here on Vancouver Island, the Central Coast, and Haida Gwaii in libraries and 10
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communities of all shapes and sizes. They work, teens love them, and they are affordable—as part of 2017’s Teen Summer Challenge, we made over 1600 of these little kits! Practically speaking, DIY-to-Go kits are pre-stuffed little paper bags with everything the teens need to craft up their little whatzit, besides the usual glue, scissors, tape, etc. We invite branches to make these helpful items available to teens in the branch if possible, or to encourage teens to take their kits home to make. The kits are put out in a little basket in the branch somewhere near the teen shelves, or if space is at a premium, are instead located at the service desk. Teens find them, take them away, and have a little maker fun. DIY-to-Go: Origami! Blurb: Show off those origami skills. Drop by your local library branch to pick up everything you need—it’s yours for free! Materials: 2 x origami or square coloured paper 1 x print instructions DIY-to-Go: Make a Chevron Bracelet Blurb: Show us how crafty you are by completing this fun make-your-own bracelet kit. Drop by your local library branch to pick up everything you need—it’s yours for free! Materials: 6 x embroidery floss strands (2 of each colour, 3 colours total), at least 30” long each 1 x print instructions DIY-to-Go: Adult Teen Colouring! Blurb: Bored? Resurrect your childhood colouring talents to make your very own personalized bookmark. Drop by your local library branch to pick up everything you need—it’s yours for free! 11
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Materials: 1 x pre-cut printed bookmark on cardstock
DIY-to-Go: Mini Bow & Arrow Blurb: Mini maker challenge! Craft a mini bow and arrow using the popsicle stick, q-tip, and floss provided. Materials: 1 x popsicle stick 1 x length of floss (dental floss or embroidery floss) 3 x q-tips for arrows 1 x print instructions DIY-to-Go: Corner Cruncher Bookmark! Blurb: Show off your paper-crafting skills by making this bookhungry bookmark. Drop by your local library branch to pick up everything you need—it’s yours for free! Materials: 1 x corner cruncher printable 1 x print instructions
DIY-to-Go: No. 2 Pencil! Blurb: We bet you won’t be able to stop yourself laughing while you’re crafting this poop emoji-inspired pencil! Drop by your local library branch to pick up everything you need—it’s yours for free! Materials: 1 x pencil 1 x brown pipe cleaner 2 x googly eyes 1 x print instructions
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DIY-to-Go: Fuzzball Catapult of Doom! Blurb: Cement your rep as an engineering genius by creating your very own catapult… of DOOM! Drop by your local library branch to pick up everything you need (including fuzzballs)—it’s yours for free! Materials: 7 x popsicle sticks 7 x rubber bands 1 x plastic spoon 3 x fuzzballs (the kind from a craft store – available at dollar store too) 1 x print instructions While I fully acknowledge this idea isn’t overwhelmingly innovative or mind boggling, it is affordable, practical, and fun with just enough whimsy to make teens (and those of us who work with teens) giggle. C’mon, who wouldn’t want to craft up a poop emoji pencil or a fuzzball catapult of doom? Additionally, it’s worth noting that the beauty of little takeaway maker programs like these is that it’s accessible to teens. They can pop into their library, grab a kit, maybe-or-maybe-not interact with staff, and go on their way with something fun to do. It is a great Step 1 for library staff to begin to build relationships with teens that may be too shy to talk with people they don’t know. As we look forward to 2018’s Spring Break Teen Mini Challenge and Teen Summer Challenge, we’re casting our eyeballs around the internet for other weird and wacky ideas for fun and simple things teens can make. If we find any winners, I’ll be sure to share! I encourage you to consider trying a few of these out at your libraries—feel free to contact me and I’d be happy to provide our instruction sheets. Drop me a line any time at 250247-7878 or at adawley@virl.bc.ca. Amy Dawley is the Customer Services Librarian II at the Gabriola Island Branch of the Vancouver Island Regional Library and serves as the Chair of VIRL’s Teen Services Committee. In 2013 Amy received the British Columbia Library Association’s Young Adult and Children’s Service Award in recognition of exceptional service to children and youth in British Columbia.
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Features
Making Book Trailers with Kids For the past year and a half, the Vancouver Public Library Children’s Library has been offering a 4 hour book trailer workshop taken over 2 days. The first day we spend watching book trailers, discussing their purpose and learning how to find pictures, sound effects and soundtracks that will go into the book trailer. This day also includes some storyboarding/ planning time and complying with copyright rules. The second day is spent putting all the pieces together into a short (usually about 1 minute long) book trailer movie. We ask the parents and caregivers to come a few minutes early so we can watch all the book trailers together before the end of the workshop.
Caption: A still from one of the sample book trailers used in a book trailer workshop for children offered in the Inspiration Lab at Vancouver Public Library
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Features Here are some tips for making great book trailers.
Draft out what you want to say about your book in writing first. These sentences will eventually become the text you see on your trailer, or the narration you hear on your trailer. Think about images that evoke or suggest some of what you want to express. Images can be literal or symbolic, depending on what your book’s story is about. Or, draw your own pictures and photograph them! Simplicity is effective in book trailers! For example, if your book’s character always wears a baseball cap, just a photograph of a cap can be used when introducing a bit about the character. If the book you are using also exists as a movie, stay away from movie stills or pictures of the actors who are in the movie– these photos are usually not copyright free so it is best not to use them at all. Use metaphors from the book in visual ways. For example, if your character undergoes a transformation of some kind, you could show a butterfly. Or a tadpole! You get the idea! Try to be consistent with your transition, animations and text effects so the visual effect is not overwhelming – less is more! Remember to ONLY choose copyright free music and photographs. Just copy and paste the links and Public Domain Licenses into your word document as you go. Then you just need to cut and paste it all into the credits field at the end of the book trailer. A good book trailer leaves your viewers with room to wonder about what the book has in store for them so don’t tell them too much! Once your book trailer is saved as a movie file (mp4), you can easily upload it to Youtube or another video sharing site or just save it to your thumb drive to watch at home.
Supplies and equipment:
Computers with movie making software (MovieMaker, iMovie or something similar). Thumb-drives (kids can bring their own, or you can supply them) Headphones (kids can bring their own, or you can supply them) Paper and pencils for kids to storyboard their book trailers
Our favourite copyright free photo site is www.pixabay.com and our favourite copyright free music site is www.bensound.com, but there are many others that work well for book trailers too. Tess Prendergast is a Children’s Librarian with the Vancouver Public Library 15
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Early Readers Book Club: Just the Facts!
The Vancouver Public Library’s Early Readers Book Club for kids in Grade 1 – 3 encourages young children to develop a love of reading and make new friends in a safe, fun and welcoming environment using a blend of discussion and thematic activities. This fall the library is introducing a new version of the program called Early Readers Book Club: Just the Facts, which will celebrate all things nonfiction! Developed by VPL children’s librarian Katherine Parker, the program is designed to introduce children to great nonfiction titles and reinforce the idea of nonfiction as a valid option for recreational reading. Nonfiction is a massively broad genre that covers a variety of themes, topics, styles, tones, genres and formats, so there is probably a nonfiction title for just about everyone! 16
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The program has been carefully designed to be as low-barrier as possible. Recognising that children between the ages of 6 and 9 can present with a wide range of reading and language comprehension levels, as well as an equally wide range of reading styles and preferences, book club members aren’t required to read a specific book prior to attending the meeting. This allows children who aren’t registered to drop-in and fully participate in the program, which can be particularly meaningful for families with precarious living arrangements who might find it difficult to plan their schedules weeks in advance. Each month has a specific theme, and the group facilitator picks a book to read aloud with the group. Reading aloud is an extremely valuable experience for school-aged children, and one that many older children deeply enjoy. After the read-aloud portion the group can talk about the book together, sharing their thoughts on what information or images were the coolest, or the weirdest, or the strangest. Time is set aside each session for book-talking – the program facilitator presents several other books on the same theme, which kids can then check out at the end of the program. Books are chosen to reflect a wide variety of genres and formats with different reading levels, so that there is hopefully a book that suits each child. The final portion of the program is set aside for a themed activity, whether it’s a craft, a science experiment, a movement game, or any number of other fun activities. The options for monthly themes are nearly endless, and sessions have already been planned around the subjects of birds, plants, optical illusions, outer space, water, bats and toads, insects, the moon, and dinosaurs! Nonfiction is a fantastic option for so-called “reluctant readers”, who may not dislike reading so much as they dislike fiction. Encouraging kids to see nonfiction as something cool, interesting, and so much more than just dry and boring textbooks can help introduce them to a whole new world of reading possibilities! Jane Whittingham is a Children’s Librarian with the Vancouver Public Library
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Behind the Scenes: Filming BC SRC welcome video in American Sign Language Early one morning in August, as part of our initiative to increase language accessibility to the BC Summer Reading Club, a small crew of people gathered at a BC library to film a “welcome” video in American Sign Language (ASL). This video will be a permanent feature on the BC SRC staff website, and each year will be linked to the kid’s site. The experience was both fascinating and a tremendous learning opportunity. I thought you might enjoy a behind-the-scenes peek! Through Tess Prendergast (our Consultant, Inclusion Review Team), we were put in touch with ASL signer, Zoée Montpetit.
Caption: Meet Zoée Montpetit, our ASL signer
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Features Zoée is a self-professed "grammar nerd” and took painstaking efforts to understand what we were trying to communicate about the BC SRC. Text messages and emails flew back and forth as she worked to determine the best way to say things in American Sign Language. As ASL has no official written form, she used English gloss to represent certain signs to help me understand the process. Glossing is not a translation, but rather a description of what is being signed, including important body language. And because ASL and English are very different languages, complete with different grammars, the English gloss script Zoée showed me was a fascinating “view” into some of those differences. Here’s an example: English
English gloss
Welcome to the BC Summer Reading Club! It’s fun. It’s free. And all kids are welcome! To join, just visit your local library. When you sign up, you‘ll receive a free reading record to track your summer reading. And then, Read! Read! Read! All reading counts: in any language, at any time, in any place.
HELLO! THIS ABOUT WHAT? BC SUMMER READING C-L-U-B! *taps B handshape* FUN, FREE! ALL CHILDREN WELCOME. JOIN HOW? YOUR LOCAL LIBRARY, YOU GO-TO, INFORM THEY GIVE-YOU PAPER LIST LIST WHAT? YOU READ FINISH, TITLE PUT-ON LIST GOAL WHAT? EVERYDAY READLOTS ADD-TO-LIST THAT! UNDERSTAND, LANGUAGE SPECIFIC MUST? WAVE-NO, ANY LANGUAGE, ASL INCLUDED MEAN? ASL STORY SIGN YOU WATCH, FINISH, TITLE PUT-ON LIST CAN! YOU READ, WHERE? WHEN? ANY TIME, ANY PLACE!
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Features Our welcome video also includes captions in English. I learned that as part of BilingualBicultural education, this gives Deaf children a chance to learn English as they watch ASL. Very cool! On the day of the shoot, interpreter Denise Sedran arrived. Her first job was to facilitate communication between Zoée, myself, and the crew. I learned that when Denise spoke directly to me in English, she was typically “in" Zoée’s voice. So a simple request from Denise, such as “May I have a glass of water?”, was in fact a request from Zoée. Denise's second job was to do a voiceover in English. opIt was decided that from the sidelines, with the camera “rolling”, Denise would read the English script aloud, while carefully watching Zoée sign, in order to match her pacing. It was very cool to observe the dynamic connection between Zoée and Denise. Our film crew was made up of Samuel Wong and TJ Galmut. Their calm and friendly Caption: Zoée signing “Hello!” demeanour, along with plenty of reassurances that we would be able to do as many takes as necessary, made it a fun experience for everyone. What an amazing experience to work with this group of people! Can’t wait for you to see the video. I’ll be sure to let you know as soon as it is up! Many thanks to Julie Iannacone and Erie Maestro and the staff at Vancouver Public Library’s Kensington branch for letting us “borrow” their children’s department early one morning! And an extra big thanks to Ministry of Education, Libraries Branch, for their funding to increase language accessibility to the BC Summer Reading Club! In case you’d like to learn more: Zoée Montpetit has been an American Sign Language educator for a decade and is passionate about introducing ASL and Deaf Culture with an emphasis on social justice. She created Queer ASL, an ASL & Deaf Culture program, which focuses on creating a more accessible, affordable, and safer space for queer & transgender folk and their allies who 20
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Features want to learn ASL in Vancouver, BC. She has been currently expanding Queer ASL to include workshops, event promotions in ASL, and is excited to collaborate with organizations on projects. To contact Zoée, please email her at queerasl@gmail.com and more information about Queer ASL can be found at queerasl.com. Denise Sedran is a certified interpreter who has been working in the field for over thirty years. She is passionate about fostering capacity and competence in interpreters to ensure the highest quality of service provision. Throughout her career she has been a practitioner, mentor, educator, consultant and leader. She currently works fullCaption: Gathered around the camera to watch the footage. Of particular concern, was to time as a Professional ensure that none of Zoée’s signs had been cut off in the frame. Development Specialist with Sorenson Communications and when time permits, she enjoys interpreting in the community. She can be reached at dmsedran@me.com or 604-616-9007. Samuel Wong is a graphic designer who specializes in motion graphics, illustration, packaging and film. To contact Samuel or to see more of his work visit samuelwong.myportfolio.com TJ Galmut is a cinematographer from Chilliwack, BC. As a freelance filmmaker he films promos, commercials, live events. On his free time he journeys into the outdoors to abandoned places and mountain peaks. Cynthia Ford is the Provincial Coordinator for BC SRC bcsrc@bclibrary.ca 21
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Read Across Canada - An online Teen Summer Reading Challenge This summer Teen Services at Vancouver Public Library ran an online teen summer reading challenge called Read Across Canada. It was our first time trying this out and we were thrilled with the results! Here’s how it worked: teens in Vancouver registered online, selected their library branch, and regularly updated their reading. Each page they read was equal to travelling one kilometre across Canada, from one library to the next in each of the provinces and territories. Displays were set up in participating branches to show a car making its way across our great country. Cue the national anthem! Every week the number of kilometres travelled by teens at each branch was tallied up and recorded on our teen services blog, and the car on the physical displays in our branches was moved along the route as a visual marker of the teens’ progress. The branch with the highest number of kilometres travelled across Canada won a pizza party and at the end of the contest there was a randomized prize draw among all participants. Altogether 108 teens registered and there were 756 book submissions! It was a relatively easy program to run and the feedback from teens was overwhelmingly positive - everyone loves a contest! Now what should our theme be for next year? Julia McKnight is a teen services librarian at Vancouver Public Library 22
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Surrey Libraries Celebrates 30 Years of Creative Writing for Youth The Young Adult Writing Contest has been held at Surrey Libraries since 1987, making this the 30th anniversary of its inception. Over the years, we have grown it into a wellestablished program that teens look forward to annually. The contest is open to two age groups: 12-14 year olds, and 1518 year olds. A teen can submit short story, poetry, or comics—or even one for each category. To our knowledge, we are the only public library system in the Lower Mainland which celebrates the work of young people in these three genres every year. Each spring, the library launches a promotional campaign to all elementary and secondary schools. Throughout the summer, we support teens’ writing endeavours by providing writing programs in several library branches, such as the Teen Writers’ Camp in City Centre, and the Teen Writing Intensives at Fleetwood Library, and workshops led by Surrey’s Poet Laureate, Renee Sarojini Saklikar. Like all our library programs, these writing workshops are free to all teens, and provide the support and inspiration for young writers to develop their skills and confidence. By the August long weekend, teens submit their entries, and in the weeks following, staff create shortlists from the hundreds of entries, to pass on the strongest work to our amazing volunteer judges. This year, we received nearly 400 entries, and included a memoir category, to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the contest. Our judges come from the fields of creative writing, publishing, and teaching, and some have been volunteering their time for over 20 years. Right now, staff are busy contacting winners of the contest, and staff are kneedeep in organizing a special awards gala to celebrate the winners’ achievements that takes place in Surrey’s City Hall Council Chambers. 23
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Recognized by the youth of Surrey as one of the top arts and culture events of the year, I’ll let some of the winners of the contest speak to why it matters to them: “This contest is important because it creates opportunities for young writers to showcase their talent and share their stories and poems to an audience outside of friends and family. It helps them gain confidence in their work by knowing that someone read their piece and felt a connection with the words they have written and deemed it worthy of a prize. Of course, having a deadline to abide by motivates writers to complete a story and submit it and that itself is a great accomplishment. This youth writing contest also helps set a baseline for teen writers to inspire them to join bigger and more prestigious contest in the future and possibly to consider being a writer as a career. Overall the Young Adult Writing Contest is a great platform for teen writers to display their skill as well as meet other youth who share the same passion.” --Shaheen V. “My confidence in my writing skills had never reached such a peak. This is what it was like to write - to be able to connect with others through the fragments of my imagination with the help of ink and paper. That's exactly why the Young Adult Writing Contest is such an important event for Surrey Libraries to support; because young writers are able to create life on their own. And to think that these fictional lives can move our hearts so easily and save others from such a reality that seems to me like magic itself.” –Camille R. “Writing for the contest has shaped my confidence and experience because it taught me to think outside of my comfort zone. I believe the Surrey Libraries support in the making of this event is important for all writers, especially those trying to break out of their shells.”—Belle Z. Surrey Libraries is immensely proud of each teen who has the courage and vision to submit to the contest. We will continue to nurture values of literacy, creativity, and self-expression for teens in this contest, and look forward to many years of its success. Ellen Wu is a teen librarian at Surrey Public Library 24
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A Sports-Themed Family Storytime Outline
Welcome song: I Wake up my Hands Fingerplay/Action: Sports Balls Rhyme Book: Reading Tree (Jordan reads) Action: Sleeping Bunnies Fun: Stuck in the Tree felt story Action: Jordan’s choice? (or If You’re Happy and You Know it) Book: Clothesline Clues to Sports People Play (Francesca reads) Action: Sports All 'Round Vancouver Goodbye: Bread and Butter, Marmalade and Jam Stamp: TBD
I Wake up my Hands To the tune of Buffalo Gals, chords are here: https://storytimeukulele.wordpress.com/2016/06/30/buffalo-gals-and-variations/ Video with slightly different lyrics here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ZzvSxwQ8mM I wake up my hands with a clap, clap, clap a clap, clap, clap, a clap, clap, clap I wake up my hands with a clap, clap, clap then I wake up my hands no more. I wake up my arms with a flap, flap, flap I wake up my toes with a tap, tap tap Sports Balls Rhyme Chanted to the tune of The Grand Auld Duke of York The footballs are here. The footballs are there. The footballs, the footballs are flying through the air. The soccer balls are up. The soccer balls are down. We can kick the soccer ball on the ground. The basketballs are in. The basketballs are out. The basketballs are bouncing now, all about. The baseballs are low. The baseballs are high. The baseball makes a home run! We all say, Goodbye!
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Features Sleeping Bunnies C F C See the little bunnies sleeping till it's noon, G7 C G7 C Come let us wake them with a merry tune. C C Why so still, are they ill? G7 C Wake up! C Hop little bunnies, hop, hop, hop, C G7 C Hop little bunnies, hop, hop, hop. C Hop little bunnies, hop, hop, hop, C G7 C Hop little bunnies, hop, hop, stop! Stuck in the Tree Felt Story chant Adapted from: http://storytimesparks.blogspot.ca/2016_04_01_archive.html?m=0 Blue bird, blue bird, what do you see? What's stuck now, high up in your tree? (frisbee, soccer ball, kite, cat, helicopter)
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YAACING ~ Fall 2017
Features Sports All 'Round Vancouver To the tune of The Wheels on the Bus Chords are here: https://storytimeukulele.wordpress.com/2015/06/21/the-wheels-on-the-bus-andothers/ Downhill skiers go swoosh, swoosh, swoosh, Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh, Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh, Downhill skiers go swoosh, swoosh, swoosh, All through the snow. Lacrosse players go snatch and throw, all through the game. Competitive swimmers go stroke, stroke, stroke, all down the lane. Dragon boat racers dig and pull, all through the race. Volleyball players go volley and spike, all through the game. Grouse grind runners go huff and puff, all up the hill. Mountain bike riders go pedal and brake, all through the woods. Yoga practitioners bend and stretch, all round the town. Bread and Butter, Marmalade and Jam Example here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tx61o23Vvns Bread and butter, marmalade and jam, Let's say hello as happily as we can. Bread and butter, marmalade and jam, Let's say hello as sadly as we can. Softly/loudly Quickly/slowly Sportily/kindly Francesca de Freitas is a children’s librarian at Vancouver Public Library
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YAACING ~ Fall 2017
Features
Something from Something – Literacy Connections in Family Storytime Inspired by Sebastian Braun’s Meeow books, I started bringing a simple object with me to Family Storytime and then asking the kids what they could make or do with that simple object. For example, for my last storytime at Marpole Branch, I brought a piece of paper. I then asked the kids, what are some things they enjoy doing with paper? Answers varied from colouring and writing to paper ball fights and paper airplanes. We then went on to describe what shapes the kids thought their objects were, what colours they liked and so on.
There were no right or wrong answers – only awesomely funny and great ones! One child answered that they would make paper confetti in all sorts of shapes and colours that would cover their entire living room, kitchen and all the bedrooms in their house. The reaction on the face of the child’s grandparent was priceless and the entire group erupted in laughter. I then asked the children if they or even their adults could think of more ideas or projects they could do with paper or even recycled paper. They didn’t have to share, but maybe think about it on the way home or even after storytime while they are browsing for books. One little girl came up after storytime ended to share that she loved to make little cards to give to her family. When it comes to family literacy, never be afraid to think outside the box - or book! Marianne Huang is a Library Technician at Vancouver Public Library 28
YAACING ~ Fall 2017
Felt Story
The Parrot Song by Edouard Manceau This simple felt story is based on the book “The Parrot Song” by Edouard Manceau. As a repeat after me story, the transition into the felt medium was an easy choice. This is a vibrant, silly story that invites participation and enthusiasm. One can progress through the story as a simple chant, or even invent a tune to sing. Perfect for preschoolers, or as a call and response for baby time, it helps familiarize children with potentially new words and gives them an opportunity to practice speaking aloud by mimicking sounds in the context of a silly song. The whimsical logic also gives the song an airy, fun feel, and being a storybook published within the last few months, still maintains a certain novelty. It you are looking for a felt that hasn’t been overdone, this is a story book just waiting to be brought to life. Further, the simple design is easy to recreate. The Parrot Song One, two, three… Repeat after me! There once was a little cloud, It rained every colour, Red, yellow, green and blue, So the flowers grew and grew, Ready for us to pick a few, And bring them all the way to you, Knock, knock, knock. May I come in, Here’s a gift for my friend, Tim, He gave to me a box of blue, And three cheeky parrots popped up. Peekaboo, They are the ones who taught me how, To sing the parrot song, Let’s all sing together now! Megan Edmunds is Summer Reading Club Assistant and Reading Buddies Assistant at the Great Victoria Public Library, and a student of writing at UVic with a passion for early literacy.
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YAACING ~ Fall 2017
Call for Submissions YAACING is published four times per year and is always looking for submissions that might interest children’s and teen specialists in BC libraries. We accept news pieces, articles, program descriptions and ideas, conference reports, and much more. If you would like to write a regular column, send us a brief pitch. Submissions should be no more than 2000 words, sent in an editable format (not PDF). Please include a byline with your job title and workplace, or for students: your school, program and class information, if applicable. YAACING invites your contributions to our Reviews and Felt Story sections: Reviews: Please send us reviews of books, blogs, websites, or other resources. Submissions should be no more than 300 words. Longer reviews may be considered for publication as featured articles. Felt Stories: Share your creativity! YAACING is looking for felt story patterns. Submissions should include a printable pattern, photograph of the finished product, and related rhyme or note about the origin of the story. The deadline for the Winter 2017 issue of YAACING is December 1 2017. Please email your submissions to the editors at YAACING@gmail.com
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YAACING ~ Fall 2017