Category: OPINIONS!

• gate hate.

  I was fairly late to the twitter game. I didn’t really see much value in it, until I discovered that I could spend most of my time following people and not worry about creating my own content. Now I spend my twitter time enjoying the jarosity of Maureen Johnson and the pictures of food from…

  Miss Julie

  April 1, 2010

  authors, be the best you can be, censorship, kidlit, largely unsubstantiated, Librarians, librarians…for the CHILDREN!, OPINIONS!, personal experience, reader's advisory, reading, ya lit

• I need an idiot’s guide to ALA

  Not only do librarians have to have a master’s degree from an accredited university, we also subscribe to a Code of Ethics, a Freedom to Read Act, and almost every division of librarianship (from Youth Services to Young Adult to Reference Librarians) has competencies that they are expected to meet. Further, we have five laws*…

  Miss Julie

  March 29, 2010

  be the best you can be, censorship, Librarians, librarians…for the CHILDREN!, libraries now!, libraries…of the FUTURE, libraries…of the PAST!, library school vs. real libraries, library workers, OPINIONS!, personal experience, professional development

• (I am large, I contain multitudes.)

  That line, from Whitman’s “Song of Myself“, popped into my head as soon as I finished reading James Kennedy’s The Order of Odd-Fish, which I shall be reviewing forthwith. (In the spirit of full disclosure, I have met James Kennedy. We were both standing beside the treacle well. I was drawing treacle; he was drawing…

  Miss Julie

  March 24, 2010

  authors, books, fantasy, OPINIONS!, reviews, weirdnesss for the sake of weirdness, ya lit

• castration celebration.

  Fair warning: as you might guess from the title of this post, things get a little explicit. As someone who assisted with and witnessed many a pig castration as a young child, I must tell you that it is not something to celebrate, so rest assured that Mr. Wizner, in titling his novel Castration Celebration,…

  Miss Julie

  March 17, 2010

  authors, OPINIONS!, publishing, reading, reviews, ya lit

• kidlit breakfast

  On Saturday, February 2oth I attended the 10th Annual Children’s Literature Breakfast sponsored by Anderson’s Booksellers. Authors, eggs, coffee–what’s not to like? This event is chock-full of authors. Not only were there the keynote speakers listed, there were tons of local authors. The best part of this event is that authors rotate among the tables.…

  Miss Julie

  March 17, 2010

  authors, conferences, Librarians, OPINIONS!, professional development, ya lit

• chicago: the cubs, heroes, and playlists

  I don’t care much f or sports. I recently watched a football (rugby? It was Brits; I rooted for Liverpool, per the instructions I was given) game, and I greatly enjoyed myself (the pot of tea I had helped with that), but generally I don’t get excited about sports. If I were to call myself…

  Miss Julie

  March 8, 2010

  authors, awesomeness, interviews, largely unsubstantiated, listener's advisory, OPINIONS!, ya lit

• teaser post.

  Here’s what is forthcoming for you, dear readers: impressions of the Anderson’s Children’s Literature Breakfast a series of questions and answers with author Barry Lyga, wherein I answer questions about Chicago (he will be visiting soon) and he answers questions about his books brief review-lets of Caudill and Monarch books, because I am attending the…

  Miss Julie

  February 22, 2010

  authors, awards, awesomeness, conferences, events, libraries now!, libraries…of the FUTURE, libraries…of the PAST!, OPINIONS!

• another post affirming that librarians and libraries smell.

  Jessica of Jessica Hearts Libraries (AWWWW) has written a neat little post about libraries, rules, and everyone’s favorite, SIGNAGE.* A couple of my favorite parts: You’ve lost touch with reality when you think over-signage will stop the bathroom questions, and you’ve completely lost your mind once you insist the precious number two pencils be kept…

  Miss Julie

  February 19, 2010

  be the best you can be, Librarians, librarians…for the CHILDREN!, libraries now!, libraries…of the FUTURE, libraries…of the PAST!, library spaces, library workers, OPINIONS!, professional development

• grizzly murder in [redacted]

  When I was still in junior high, that was a headline in my local newspaper. I read the article eagerly, because I was so excited to read about the poor person who’d been mauled to death by a g.d. bear–in my hometown! As I read, I slowly began to realize that no, no one had…

  Miss Julie

  February 18, 2010

  literacy, OPINIONS!, personal experience, reading

• 6 by 6.

  The Johnson County Library has an excellent program called 6 by 6. The objective is to permeate all of their children’s programming (and even their library spaces) with ways to help kids master the six early literacy skills that they should learn by six years old to help them become successful readers for life. JoCo…

  Miss Julie

  February 8, 2010

  be the best you can be, early literacy, Librarians, librarians…for the CHILDREN!, libraries now!, OPINIONS!, personal experience, preschool, professional development, programming