We won!!

Last weekend, when the local store had their Free Comic Book Day contest, I encouraged as many of my kids to go and participate. Friday, when I asked who thought they could go, all 31 hands were raised. Monday, when I asked who had ACTUALLY gone, 5 hands were raised.

OK, so my own kids didn't help out too much. Most of them said that they had their First Communion on Saturday. My response was, "And did it last until 10PM?? You couldn't have gone then???" (Not really)

But kids from other grades must have really helped, because we learned yesterday that my school won! We get $250 worth of graphic novels for our library! And our librarian has let ME be the one to go and pick them out!!

This is a comic-junkie's dream come true.

No libraries?

Where is Colonel Mustard going to kill Mr. Body with the Lead Pipe??

Wait, no, we're not talking about THAT kind of library. Recent articles, including this one from TeachHub.com, bemoan the impending demise of the school library. A lot of schools are deciding that budget cuts have to be made, and the library and librarians are the place to start.

This becomes today's INTERACTIVE MONDAY topic. How valuable is your school's library/librarian? How much of a loss would it be to lose it/them?

We have had several librarians at my school since I began teaching. The one we have currently is AWESOME. She reads to the kids. She points out interesting new books. She instantly knows where a book is when a child asks for it, and she has the patience of a saint when checking books in and out.

The rise of ereaders like the Kindle and the Nook are, according to many, the heralds of the end of the paper book era. In these circles, traditional books are called DTBs -- Dead Tree Books.

Personally, I LOVE the advent of these ereaders, because it has allowed me to get my own book out to literally thousands more people than I would have otherwise. Yet I remain a DTB loyalist. I've read a few books on my iphone, and it's pretty neat and convenient. Yet I still enjoy turning a page, inserting a physical bookmark, and admiring the 3-dimensional cover of a "real" book.

I can't imagine a world without libraries. Yet that may be where we're going. What are your thoughts?

Get out those libary cards

Hey everyone,

I would like to ask for a favor, though it should be a rather simple favor to carry out. I have discovered recently that if you request a book at the library and they don't have it in stock, they will often order a copy to get it to you.

So I would like to ask everyone who has a card at their local library to request a copy of my book, Learn Me Good. It doesn't cost you anything, but it really helps me out by getting more copies out there for the reading public. Plus, if you haven't read it yet, then you can get it through the library!

Thanks so much.