PLA Blog

Is the fantasy genre a mystery to you? Wondering how to keep kids, especially boys, interested in reading now that the Harry Potter series is over, with no ideas on what to recommend? Love the Hogwart’s party concept, and looking for fresh ideas? A Practical Guide to Fantasy is the webinar is for you.

The webinar’s speaker, Nina Hess, is a Senior Editor at Mirrorstone, an imprint of the very famous and popular gaming company, Wizards of the Coast (publishers of Dungeons & Dragons, Magic: The Gathering, and much more). She edits fantasy fiction for children and teens. She is also the author of A Practical Guide to Monsters, which follows the company’s New York Times bestseller, A Practical Guide to Dragons. Needless to say, she is quite the expert.

I was invited to attend a preview of the webinar, and it’s an excellent Fantasy 101 crash course. Nina talks about:

• her experiences working at Mirrorstone (where she works in a “fantasy world”),
• why fantasy is so popular with kids, especially boys, and keeps them reading,
• the different flavors of fantasy plus a little on fantasy vs. science fiction,
• how fantasy and gaming can go hand-in-hand, and how tabletop role-play can lead to more kids in the library *and* more reading,
• program ideas that incorporate fantasy and fantasy reading

This webinar is a great place to start if you’re lost in fantasy, or just need a push in the right direction. Nina also talks about the many resources offered by her company (many of them free!) to help your library begin its journey into fantasy.

The program is coming up soon, so now is the time to register!

Event details:
A Practical Guide to Fantasy
Friday, September 28, 2007
11 a.m. - 12 p.m. Eastern Time [10 a.m. CT / 9 a.m. MT / 8 a.m. PT]
To Register: Send your name and contact information to . You may either email or call in your credit card information at 914-241-2117.
Cost: $50 per person
Group discounts:
10-49: $45/person
50-99: $40/person
100+: $35/person

What you’ll need: This is a Web-based seminar. Registered participants will receive participation instructions, log-on information and a toll-free number to dial in by telephone for the audio portion of the seminar upon payment of the registration fee.

I’ve never recorded a session for podcast and *not* sat in on the same session (my post of the session I attended is forthcoming), so this is something new. Many thanks to Melissa Faubel Johnson for minding the digital recorder!

The description for the session, which was presented Saturday, June 23, was as follows:

Audiobooks are a growing portion of library collections. Here is an event to celebrate and learn about the creation of quality audiobook products from the perspective of authors, narrators and producers who build the blocks that create great listening experiences. This program will focus on audiobooks for young adults and children and is cosponsored by ALSC and YALSA.

Many thanks to ALSC for working with us to record and podcast the session!

Here’s the list of when each speaker begins in the recording, and a little tidbit about each speaker’s segment. It sounds like it was a very interesting and entertaining recording, and I’m sad I missed it (even though I wouldn’t have normally attended this session in the first place), so I’m glad we have the podcast to share with all of you.

Intro: Mary Burkey, Moderator, Odyssey Award Committee Chair, introduces the session, and talks a little about the Odyssey Award, a collaboration between ALSC and YALSA.

5:37: Bruce Coville, Author, Full Cast Audio:

16:03: Judy Blume, Author, Books on Tape/Listening Library - very humorous presentation with bits about reading her books to audio. Her advice to writers is to read aloud!

31:00: John Green, Author, Brilliance Audiobooks - Creator/contributor to the videoblog Brotherhood 2.0 who has worked for NPR, includes bits on the relationship between text and audio.

47:00: Jack Gantos, Author, Books on Tape/Listening Library - Oh my word, he’s funny. Jack tells the story of how a reading of his book that was like “Miracle Whip on white bread” led him to read his own books for audio.

58:40: Question and Answer
Really interesting stuff about sending books to audio before print, behind the scenes at an audiobook recording from an author’s perspective, Fisher Price mp3 players, enhanced audio book CDs, and the fabulous emotion in audiobooks. Unfortunately, the recording stops short of the conclusionary comments, but we still got a good bit of it, and it’s still a good listen.

 

 Standard Podcast [79:37m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (360)

8:00 Bright and shiny, or at least awake, I arrived at the convention center for the first session of the day. Babies and Books Beyond the Library.

Rachel Payne, Coordinator of Preschool Services at the Brooklyn Public Library, spoke at the program Brooklyn Reads to Babies. She was followed by Susan Straub, author and director of the Read to Me program, and Sally Anderson, executive director of Mother Goose.

There are a number of initiatives to promote and foster early literacy, but the two I hear the most about at conferences are Mother Goose and Read to Me. The three most important things everyone needs to know about reading to babies:

• it is important to language development
• it helps children enter school ready to succeed
• it is an opportunity for parent/child bonding

The basics were covered, but they also talked about how to get the word out, saturating the area with publicity (e.g. beauty parlors, places of worship, messages on ATM screens). Sally Anderson spoke about working with smaller populations and less money than Brooklyn Public was blessed with, giving suggestions of who to invite to the table when planning an early literacy initiative.

Though not all the information was new it was a good session, and I’ve got a couple ideas I’m looking forward to utilizing.

10:30 From that session I tried moving across the hall to Bringing in the Boys: Using Multiple Intelligencces to Plan Programs that Appeal to Boys, but when I got there the room was packed, without any room left on the floor.

This month’s podcast highlight is produced by Mark Blevis, whom I met at Podcamp Boston back in September, and his wife Andrea, called Just One More Book. Every week, Mark and Andrea go to a local coffee shop and talk about children’s books they and their daughter love. The podcast also includes interviews, comments from littler readers, and more. Hear it the way they tell it by listening to the attached promo: click on the play button (if you’re here on the PLA Blog site), or open the attachment/link (see the help instructions for your news aggregator).

This podcast would be great for children and youth librarians who are looking for off the beaten path books to recommend, and feedback from young readers about what they did and didn’t like. And, it’s a great podcast to recommend to parents who are always on the lookout for books to read to their kids.

Podcasting still a blur to you? Watch the archives of the SirsiDynix Institute webinar on Podcasting (Part 1 - A Consumer’s Guide and Part 2 - A Creator’s Guide) by Greg Schwartz of the Louisville Free Public Library. Also, check out a great FAQ on podcasting developed by the Kankakee Public Library in Illinois. The link takes you to the archive of the library podcasts — which are very interesting and worth a listen — and the link to the FAQ is at the top of the page.

Does your library do a podcast that you’re particularly proud of? Have you seen a podcast in your listening travels that might be useful to librarians and/or patrons? Send us an email and let us know.

 

 Just One More Book promo [1:02m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (159)