I’m thrilled to announce that the latest addition to the READ CD product line is now here! The READ DVD Genres & Subjects can speak for itself, but I’m too excited to let it do all the talking. Here are the highlights:

We spoke to over 100 librarians to get their feedback on what the most popular reading genres and subjects are, and thanks to their feedback we now have art files that reflect everything from horror to adventure, crafting to cooking, mystery to science, and so much more! (Page 2 of this PDF shows the complete contents.)

Genres & Subjects is a DVD as opposed to CD because of the 23 READ poster files (15 .psd or “layered” and 8 .jpgs), 15 READ bookmark files, and 16 READ type files, which would have required multiple CDs but can conveniently fit onto 1 DVD. The majority of the type files fit the poster themes, but there are some additional ones like stained glass and architecture, which are great to mix and match with other READ CD products.

Cooking up READ Posters!

That’s another exciting thing about Genres & Subjects: it’s compatible with any past READ CD product and the art files are great to mix and match with posters and type files from the READ CD Box Set. Something else I love about this latest DVD is that thanks to theme, the art files have some awesome creative potential. For now, I’ll leave it at that, but be sure to come back in ensuing weeks to check out new creative ideas and samples!

And last but not least, you may be seeing a lot about the READ Design Studio now. That’s simply the inclusive name we’ve given all the products (READ CD 1, READ CD 2, READ CD Box Set, and READ DVD Genres & Subjects) you can use to create a customized READ poster.

[Note: The cooking art file pictured here does not include the "DVD", fork, or spoon. All the other elements are present on the file, though, and obviously more can easily be added!]

School is starting again in the next few weeks, and once again I’ll be heading back through the doors of an institution of learning. But this time it will be as an elementary school librarian instead of as a student.

I found out during my interview that the school I’ll be working at owns a number of those nifty Flip cameras, which means I’ve spent some time brainstorming how to use those. I decided that it’d be really fun to have the fifth graders make some movie trailers of the books the younger students are reading. I think it’ll be a fun way to foster a sense of a reading community and connect students of different ages over the same books.

I’m also planning, at the suggestion of my supervising librarian here in Texas, on doing a “One School, One Book” program, encouraging every teacher and student to read Ramona the Brave in the early part of the second semester since the movie will be coming out in the spring and the Ramona books tend to appeal to a large age group. In connection with that, I’m hoping to have every child make their own “Celebrity” READ poster with a copy of the book. How fun would that be?

I’m excited to use the READ software to do some really exciting and creative things in my new library. Any other good ideas?

Impossible. The beeping alarm sounds at least 3 hours too soon. No possible way it could already be 6:40am. But, alas, it is. Welcome to Monday morning. I rise and begin the daily routine: make the coffee, take a shower, check the weather, get some breakfast… This is the morning agenda. It unfolds this way because the repetition requires little thought from someone not known as a “morning person”. Any deviation from the routine can prove problematic.

Therefore when I tip the cereal box and only a few errant flakes fall into the bowl, the whole morning comes to a halt. My brain does not think of alternatives. It does not consider the full bag of bread and toaster oven just to my right. It does not remember that an apple also serves as breakfast when in a pinch. It only perceives the nearly empty bowl.

*   *   *

A question I have received often over the past weeks is in regards to installing Photoshop Elements, the software packaged with the READ CD Box Set. I can imagine these READ CD users, poised at their computers, ready to create READ posters, the folder opened to install Photoshop, only to find they have no cereal. Serial. The serial number! A serial number is required to install Photoshop Elements?? Where is it?!

That much-needed number is on page 3 of the Getting Started Guide. And indeed knowing where the cereal/serial is, helps with getting started in the morning.

There are some really terrific-looking book adaptation movies coming out this summer, including Where the Wild Things Are, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, and Angels and Demons. And that’s not even considering the ones that have already come out this year, like Confessions of a Shopaholic and Coraline.

I am a serious Harry Potter fan, and I am, like millions of others, desperately excited about the new movie and will probably go see it opening night.

Many libraries, including my local public branch, have had great success with programming associated with movies (whether it be a party or a screening). These recent or upcoming movies give libraries a chance to connect with their patrons and gather people with similar interests.

I love the idea of using the Read CD software to let patrons create their own movie posters at a library movie event. Imagine dozens of Harry Potter posters with teenagers in capes with glasses and scars. Or younger children with copies of Where the Wild Things Are. If your library has a decently high-quality printer, it would be ideal to let people print off their posters and take them home as a favor, rather than making extra work for the library staff to come up with some pricier and less-clever favor.

What’s black and white and re(a)d all over?

 Well, READ posters, of course!

In my family, my dad has acquired the jokester role leaving my mom to a more discplinarian role. My dad typically found an audience at the dinner table– where no one could escape. His telling of jokes really became his joke tell because he would, without fail, begin “–Insert friend’s name– was telling me that…” Immediately, you knew a joke disguised as a true story was coming. One day, however, my mom took us all by surprised and unleashed a little something. She posed the question, “What’s black and white and red all over?” My elementary mind mulled this over for about 30 seconds before begging for the answer. When “newspaper” was revealed, I thought it was genius. Both the memory and riddle have obviously stuck with me for a long time.

Recently, it appears as if the printing of finished READ posters has been a bit of a riddle to some. First know, there is a lot of flexibility with the printing of these posters. The files comes sized at 11″ x 17″ but can easily be increased or decreased in size in Photoshop. From a simple black and white rendition printed on 8.5″ x 11″ paper on the ol’ desktop printer to a full-size 22″ x 34″ printed in full color on a HPz2100 poster printer, the choice is yours!

Here’s some extremely helpful words from Alexandria Arnold, Assistant Director at the Summit Free Public Library in New Jersey.

On this page, there’s a link on the right to printers/supplies compatibility. It provids a list of large-format HP printers and all the paper model numbers that are recommended for use with them. It was just what I was looking for.

As to actually buying the paper, I finally went to Amazon.com.  Since I know how heavy paper is I was worried about shipping charges. Their prices were competitive with the vendors other librarians recommended on the PR list,  and by choosing carefully, I was able to get most of the paper with free shipping (according to Amazon, I saved about $50 in shipping on a $250 paper order). The paper arrived in three separate shipments, but all within 10 days of placing the order – the first shipment arrived the day after I placed the order!

Don’t forget that your local print shop is also a great resource. Not only can they print your posters if you supply them with the digital file on a thumb drive or CD, but they also have the paper and ink you need if printing yourself!

As always, please share your own printing methods or questions in the comments!

It seems like books are full of main characters who are just a little bit different – they think a little differently, they act a little differently, they make slightly different choices. This shouldn’t be a big surprise to me, since I think most of us think we are a little bit different than everyone else; we’re all our own special unique person, right?

The first character that came to mind was Marcus from last year’s book Little Brother. With Teen Tech Week having just come to a close last week, it’s no surprise that such a technologically savvy book was at the forefront. Marcus is willing to risk everything, even his freedom, to avoid giving up his rights and betraying the rights of those in his city of San Francisco. He absolutely refuses to conform.

But then literally dozens of characters who forge their own way or follow their own, unconventional dreams sprang to mind. Jo March in Little Women. Elizabeth Bennet in Pride and Prejudice. The whole group of teens in The Outsiders. Frankie in The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks. Ender in Ender’s Game.

I think we like these characters because they make us think that maybe we are brave enough or strong enough to throw off the expectations of our society or our family or our school and do what we really want to be doing.

Many of the celebrities in the READ posters are holding books that contain characters that march to their own beat. For instance, Alan Rickman holding Catcher in the Rye, Jeffrey Dean Morgan holding Watchmen, and Keira Knightley holding Pride and Prejudice.  Who is your favorite character that marches to their own beat? Who are the favorite unique characters of your patrons or students? Their answers could turn into a great READ CD Poster project for this month!

Last week, Marti Fritz at the Kalamazoo Public Library shared her library’s READ posters with me. Their Flickr pool showcases the great variety of not only kids and adults, but local patrons and celebrities, including Kalamazoo’s mayor, Kalamazoo Public Schools’ superintendent and dozens of principals, and Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra’s maestro/musical director. 

This wonderful mix of smiling faces appears on some incredibly well-made posters! I love how the patron is typically posing with their favorite book and one other prop, and then featured against a corresponding READ background for an incredibly cohesive effect.

This Batman in particular brought a smile to my face and seemed to fit in quite well with the profusion of comic books and graphic novels that have been debuting on the big screen of late. In the past year, we’ve seen Iron Man, The Dark Knight, Persepolis and, as of last Friday, Watchmen. (And as someone who is admittedly fairly naive about the genre, there are probably many more I’ve left out!)  

Like the READ CD Box Set, the genre seems to be particularly adaptable– reading well both off the page and off the screen. This led me to wonder what a comic strip of READ posters might look like… I’m going to have to ponder this, play around, and come back with my results later, but I challenge you to give it a try as well! Who says a READ poster has to be contained to just one frame?!

Despite my lack of knowledge on the subject, one thing is clear– once a fan, always a fan. Whether you’re our masked friend above or my winged friends to the right, trying to decide what to make for dinner, there’s always room for your love of superheroes on a READ poster!

At the end of the year, I published on my blog the complete list of books I’d read during 2008 (it totaled 149 books).

It’s a good feeling to finish that list off and begin a new list. So far, I’ve added three books to the “Books Read in 2009″ list, the most recent of which was “It’s Like This, Cat” by Emily Neville.

I picked that book based solely on the Newbery sticker on the spine of the book at the library. One of my goals this year is to read ten Newbery books I’ve never read before (this is an attempt to make progress on one of my lifetime goals of reading all the Newbery-winning books). “It’s Like This, Cat” makes for one down, nine to go this year. Not bad for twelve days into the year!

In addition to the Newbery goal, I have a few other reading goals, including reading all of the Printz-winning books and reading ten adult books. I tend to spend most of my reading time on young adult and middle grade books, so I’m trying to force myself to act like the adult my drivers license says I am.

I like reading goals because it stretches my reading comfort zones a little – it helps me find books I might not have picked up otherwise and makes me – I think – a more literate and well-read person (and it’s a lot more fun than trying to lose weight, which I hear is the number one most popular New Year’s resolution, to no one’s surprise).

What are your reading goals for 2009? Do you have some?

Image by florian.b

Banned Books Week is a great reminder of how good we have it. For all the problems America has, it is still a place where it is relatively hard to actually remove a book from public library shelves. Many attempts to do so are later overturned, either because of library policy or because of overwhelming public support. Makes me proud of both libraries and communities around the country.

Like my fellow posters, I often find that frequently challenged books make my “best of” lists. The reason is pretty easy to see- books that are banned have meat. There’s a reason they are frequently challenged: they are often controversial, sometimes hard to read, but they discuss issues that parents, teachers, and peers don’t mention. A reader can have a “conversation” of sorts with a banned book that he or she might find hard to explore with others.

Another thing I love about banned books week is that it invites such creative displays and promotions for libraries. Take this promotion by the Hatcher Graduate Library at the University of Michigan. Their “Celebrate Banned Books Week” set on Flickr has 72 images of staff enjoying their favorite banned books. The images are humorous and creative, and fun to look at.

Banned Books Week is also a reminder for me to stay aware of attempts to curtail free speech. Though I have faith in my country and my fellow citizens, I also know we have to continually revisit exactly why it is important to be free to read whatever we choose.

Happy banned books week!

I like book lists – I have several long lists of books to read, books I have read, books I should read, books I read in high school, and books I want to read to my children. I pick up the book lists that my local library puts out. I have a goal to read all the Newbery and Caldecott award winners. If it’s on a list, I want to read it. If I read a book, I want to put it on a list.

So, in honor of Banned Books Week, later this month, I’ve been indulging my love of lists by checking out the various lists of frequently challenged books on the ALA website. I particularly liked the list of the top 100 books from 1990-1999.

I counted up the ones I’d read and was surprised (and delighted) to see that I’ve read 21 of them. Some of them I’d hated, some of them I couldn’t remember why they might have been banned (James and the Giant Peach?), and few of them are among my all-time favorite books, particularly Bridge to Terabithia, The Giver, and To Kill a Mockingbird.

I read To Kill a Mockingbird my sophomore year in high school during the daily silent reading in my English class. I loved it from almost the first page. If someone had told me then that this book was considered by some people unsuitable for teenagers, I would have been appalled. I’m glad no one was telling me I couldn’t read it. For my part, I was deeply moved by the story and characters and motivated to be a better, more moral person. I didn’t think for a single moment that it was a “filthy, trashy novel” as the New York school district that tried to ban it claimed.

There are, of course, plenty of books on the list that I have no intention of reading for one reason or another (the Goosebumps series has never appealed to me, even when all my friends were loving them, because I am the world’s biggest wimp). But there are others on the list that I can’t wait to read, that I anticipate I’ll love, like The Outsiders and The Handmaid’s Tale.

So check out the lists – are there any of your favorite books on the list? Any books you want to read?