Make Your Own: Button Bracelets

I can't take credit for this program idea. Our awesome teen person planned this one and then accidentally scheduled it for her off day. So, obviously, I stepped in; I love craft programs. I couldn't get any actual teens to participate-- our group today consisted of a bunch of surly 16 year old boys who were unswayed by my "make something pretty for your girl or your mom" speech, but I managed to recruit a bunch of kids from upstairs and we had a great time making bracelets and talking about best friends and farts. Seriously, these kids love farts. 

You probably know the drill, there are tutorials all over the internet for these bracelets, but they're fun and easy and the sheer variety of buttons that you can find means that you can make these for days and they're always new and exciting.

 The actual how-to is pretty simple. Cut a length of elastic cord and tie a knot in one end. Then string the buttons. The key to making the buttons sit on top of each other like they do in the examples is in the way you thread the buttons.

Thread the first button by bringing the elastic from the bottom of the button up through the top and then back down again. The second button will be the exact opposite: bring the elastic through the hole from the top and then thread it back up again.

By alternating up-down-up-down with the buttons you'll achieve the much desired super concentrated look. Make sure you cinch the buttons close together and continue on until you've reached the desired length.

And voila! Lots and lots of beautiful fashion statements.

After making bracelets for a while we got creative and started making necklaces and headbands and every other type of button accessories imaginable. I think I even saw a very uncomfortable looking button ring at one point.

I think this program worked best with our group of 8 to 12 year olds, rather than the intended teens. When we do our other big fashion program later this summer, we'll definitely target the teens more. The button bracelets also attracted more boys than I expected: three boys joined us to make bracelets. One made a second for his mom- blue and silver to match her ring- but they all made their first bracelets for themselves. Just goes to show you that you should never make assumptions about your audiences. The mom loved her bracelet, by the way, she showed up at the end and fawned over both her son and the craft. It's so cool to see parents engaged in their kids' lives.

Flannel Friday: 5 Huge Dinosaurs

This started off as a finger play, but the temptation to make a bunch of flannel dinosaurs proved too great...

5 huge dinosaurs, fierce and mean

The first one said "I eat things that are green"

The second one said "I hatched from an egg"

The third one said "I have really strong legs"

The fourth one said "I fly through the air"

The fifth one said "I give everyone a scare"

The THUMP, THUMP, THUMP

Along came a T-Rex that day

And 5 fierce dinosaurs ran away!

Source (and a wealth of other dino finger plays and poems)

The Flannel Friday Round-Up is being hosted by StoryTime Katie today, and make sure you visit the official Flannel Friday website to learn more about all things flannel!

Theme Thursday: Dinosaur-rama

A lot of dinosaurs have tricky names, y'all. I found that the key was to fake as much confidence confindence as possible.

Song: Good Morning Dear Earth

Flannel: Little Mouse

Finger Play: 10 Little Fingers

Book: Dinosaurumpus! by Tony Mitton


Song: The Wheels on the Bus

Action Rhyme: Criss Cross, Line, Line

Flannel: 5 Green and Speckled Frogs

Song: Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes

Song: I'm a Little Teapot

Song: I'm a Little Dinosaur

Book: I Am a Tyrannosaurus by Anna Grossnickle Hines


Flannel: 5 Huge Dinosaurs

Book: How Do Dinosaurs Say I Love You? by Jane Yolen


Song: Turn Around from Getting to Know Myself


Make and Take Craft: D is for Dinosaur

Supplies:
-construction paper
-di-cut letter Ds
-gluestick
-googly eyes or eye stickers
-crayons
-construction paper shapes (triangles, ovals, rectangles)

Process: Before story time, glue 1 or 2 "D"s to each piece of paper, cut out construction paper shapes and make sure you haven't lost the eye stickers in the craft closet (whoops). After story time pass out the pieces of paper and show how the different shapes can be glued on to make the "D"s look like dinosaur bodies. The triangles can be spikes along the back, the ovals for heads, and the rectangles for legs, arms, necks and tails.

Time: Prep took about 45 minutes, craft took 30.

Lumatere Chronicles (Books 1 and 2), Melina Marchetta

     

My main focus at the library is children's services, but when I can I like to take a detour into YA and occasionally literature. My favorite author right now is an Australian YA author named Melina Marchetta. Her books are consistently heart-breaking, awe-inspiring, and just plain entertaining. Although she primarily writes contemporary, realistic fiction, she's also in the middle of releasing a fantasy trilogy. Or as I call them, books with maps.


And there's a bit of a problem because...


I don't read books with maps in them. Some people might call it high fantasy, I call it made-up geography and made-up names and it is simply not my jam. 


Two years ago, when the first book, Finnikin of the Rock came out I had a conversation with myself that went something like this:

"Do you see that book? There's a big sword with a ruby on the cover. There is no way we are reading that.""But it's Melina Marchetta. She brought Jimmy Hailer into the world. I think we should read it.""The main character's name is Finnikin. FINNIKIN. No way, no how.""But it's Melina Marchetta. Do you not remember the territory wars in Jellicoe Road?""Dude, there is not one but two maps on the inside covers. Uh-uh.""But it's Melina Marchetta."

This went on for a while until it became apparent that nothing Normal Miss Lucy said would outweigh Fan Girl Miss Lucy's insistence on reading anything Marchetta puts out. And so I read it. I wouldn't say that Finnikin of the Rock made me a believer in high fantasy, but it sure did cement my belief in Melina Marchetta. That woman can do no wrong.
I went back recently and re-read Finnikin and there are a few things I think you should know about it if you, like me, are wary of books with maps.

1) The quest (which all map books inevitably have) really is an EPIC quest. Imagine your home has been ripped in two by a curse from a terrified and dying witch. Imagine you and over half of your countrymen have been forced to flee your country's boundaries while others remained, trapped inside behind an impenetrable black fog and ruled by an impostor king. The same impostor king who brutally murdered the royal family, every last one of them. Although. No one ever did find the body of the heir (and your best friend). Now imagine it's your job, your responsibility, your burden to care for your country's refugees and you've just met a crazy, silent nun who says she can take you to the heir and back into your kingdom. Frodo Baggins ain't got nothing on you.

2) Finnikin is way better than his name. I had a hard time getting over it too, but he's a really great character. At 21 he's brash, arrogant, thinks way too highly of himself and way too poorly of himself when things go wrong. Although he's lived a life of privilege, he has a huge soft spot for the refugees of his homeland and feels keenly responsible for their well-being. He misses his best friend terribly and the prophecy of an old witchy woman has been haunting him since he was 11. In other words, he's an actual person who was handed a lot to deal with very early in life and has fought through and emerged the best way he knows how.

3) The Bald Nun of Awesomeness. It might be Finnikin's book, but it is most definitely Evanjalin's story. This bald novice (they shave their heads when they enter the nunnery and then never cut their hair again as a sign of devotion) is probably the single strongest female character floating around in YA right now. Move over Katniss, Evanjalin is on a mission to bring her people back to their war ravaged lands and she'll do whatever it takes to get them there including, but not limited to, walking through people's sleep, straight up lying about her identity, selling a thief (who tried to rape her) into slavery and then buying him back again. Because even the most wretched of her people deserve to go home.

The second book in the trilogy came out this year and I wrote another list, with three more reasons, why this fantasy series is my favorite thing going right now.

1) This book is about the most interesting character from Finnikin of the Rock AND it introduces the most spectacular new characters in the history of new characters. Normally when there's a sequel to a book I love, I get annoyed when the author introduces a bunch of new characters. "I don't care about them! Tell me more about the people I loved the first time around, what are they doing now?" But Froi of the Exiles takes the most interesting and complex character from the first book, Froi (duh), expands him and gives him a cast of supporting characters so engaging that when the book does go back to check in on Isaboe, Finnikin and Trevanion I'm like "Hold up, what's going on in Charyn? Take me back to Charyn."

2) Charyn. Whereas Finnikin of the Rock was all about an exiled people trying to get home, Froi of the Exiles is about a cursed people trying to survive in a harsh and war torn land under the rule of a paranoid and all around bad guy king. I thought Lumatere got a raw deal, but I don't even think it compares to Charyn, a land that's basically only known in-fighting and civil war between ethnic groups for its entire history. There's also a curse (all good countries in this universe have a curse) and it's a doozy. No children have been born in Charyn for 18 years. It's quite literally a country with no future. Of course there have been predictions for how the curse can be broken, but nothing has worked. Yet.

3) The most awesomely botched, bumbling rescue attempt ever. I don't normally think of Melina Marchetta as an action writer. She's got the political intrigue, the swoon, and of course the grief down pat, but action? Still, there's a sequence in Froi of the Exiles featuring a poorly planned rescue attempt gone hilariously awry that had me laughing out loud and picturing how the fast paced action would play out on a movie screen.

Flannel Friday: The Possibilities are Endless

Y'all!

We got a new flannel board! I have been asking for a new one since I started working here and look what just got delivered.

She is a beauty: flannel on one side, chalk/magnet on the other. The possibilities are truly endless. I might even splurge on office chair wheels!

Let's back up a moment and take a look at our old set up.

Yup, that's a large reference book holding the board upright. I was always terrified that a small child would pull it over on top of themselves. I often did finger plays or songs one handed while holding up the board just in case someone got a little too curious. And needless to say, it went right back into hiding as soon as story time cleared out.

But this new one? It can stay out all day long for EVERYONE to use, not just the story time crowd. To that end, I've come up with four basic flannel boards that I'll rotate through on a weekly basis, so there will always be something new and exciting to see, touch and explore.

The first one is the dragon set that I showcased a while back. I finally found a use for them!

The second is a set of "building blocks" first seen at Mel's Desk and Storytime Katie.

The third is a collection that I'm calling "Things that Go." It has cars, trains, ships, bicycles, airplanes and even a hot air balloon. I used embroidery floss on the School Bus and Fire Engine to add the words.

And the last one is a bunch of animals. I tried to make these exciting ones, like giraffes and alligators, that don't normally find a place in story time flannels.

There are two of each animal, each facing the opposite way, except the elephant. I didn't like how his buddy turned out. I'm particularly enamored with these guys though!

And there you go, flannel fun for all ages!

The Flannel Friday Round-Up is be hosted by Miss Mary Liberry today. For more information about Flannel Friday, check out the website!

Theme Thursday on a Tuesday: 4th of July

We had an outside performer at the library last Thursday, so no regular story time. But I couldn't let the 4th of July go by without celebrating, so welcome to this special Tuesday edition of Theme Thursday.

Yankee Doodle was in my original set list, but when it came time to do it I just couldn't do it. "And with the girls be handy"? Really? In this day and age? I used Grand Old Duke of York instead for our military song.

Melissa at Mel's Desk had some great 4th of July story time ideas that I used shamelessly, you should really be following her blog if you aren't already.

Song: Good Morning Dear Earth


Flannel: Where, Oh Where Has My Little Dog Gone?


Poem: I Had a Little Turtle


Book: Fiesta Babies by Carmen Tafolla



Book: Excerpts from Holidays Around the World: Celebrate Independence Day: With Parades, Picnics, and Fireworks by Deborah Heiligman



Song: Grand Old Duke of York


Song: Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes


Flannel: Let's Go Out on a Summer Night (with fireworks, for that 4th of July flair!)


Action Rhyme: Big, Big, Big


Book: Excerpts from This Land is Your Land by Woody Guthrie


Flannel: The Colors of the Flag


Song: Turn Around from Getting to Know Myself



Make and Take Craft: American Flags


Process: Before story time, prep the flags. My flags were half a sheet of white paper glued to the popsicle stick. Cut the red construction paper into thin strips, some the entire length of the paper and some half the length. Cut the blue construction paper in rectangles. The ratio of 1/3 a piece of blue construction paper to 1/2 sheet of computer printer paper worked well for me.


After story time was over I passed out the flags, blue rectangles, red strips, star stickers and glue sticks and let the kids go crazy.


Time: Prep took 45 minutes, the craft took 30.


The kids liked waving the flags around and there was an impromptu parade around the children's room after the craft was done.

Stonewall Hinkleman and the Battle of Bull Run, Michael Hemphill and Sam Riddleburger

The Teaser: Stonewall Hinkleman (yup, that's his real name) is not a happy camper. Literally. His parents have dragged him out to another civil war reenactment where he'll spend all weekend in the hot sun, pretending to blow a bugle and watch grown men and women running around playing "army." And all because his stupid ancestor went and got himself shot in the butt during the first Battle of Bull Run. But when a mysterious, magical bugle transports Stonewall back to the actual battle in 1861, he knows his days of just skating by as an anachronistic re-enactor and sneaking his gameboy onto the battlefield are over. Using what little knowledge he has from the future, Stonewall must escape the flying bullets and artillery rounds, figure out how to get back home again, stop another time traveler from changing the fate of the entire civil war, and just maybe save his ancestor from the inglorious fate of getting shot in the butt.


What Stands Out: Oh man, this was a fun read. Stonewall doesn't spend any time being shocked or not believing that he's actually traveled back in time, he just jumps right into the action. I knew exactly nothing about the Battle of Bull Run before I read this book and it does an amazing job of tricking you into learning by weaving historical facts into the non-stop action and hilarious hijinks. Stonewall is a kid I would love to know, he's funny and frustrated but quick to make decisions and doesn't waste any time with the self-pity that usually goes along with these people out of time kind of books. Ashby, the maybe love interest also named after a famous civil war figure, is another great character. She's determined and brave, she knows what she needs to do and she gets it done.


What Didn't Work: I'm still a little sketchy on how the time travel devices work, but it seems like they're setting up of a sequeal, so maybe things will become more clear in future installments. Not understanding this had zero impact on my enjoyment of the book though.


Anything Extra Special?:  I bet you don't recognize the name Sam Riddleburger, but you probably know who Tom Angleberger is, right? The guy behind Origami Yoda and the new Fake Mustache books? Well, Sam and Tom are actually one and the same. So if you liked the humor in those books, know that Riddleburger and his co-author Michael Hemphill bring the same brand of crazy to this book.