Why I Love My Job…

Even though it is totally nerdy to blog about this, I can’t help myself. I had a real “librarian moment” today at work that made my whole week. This morning my co-worker and I went to one of the elementary schools and booktalked about 20 books for a gifted reading class of 3rd-5th graders. They were such a great audience because these kids truly love to read, but that wasn’t even the best part.

One of the books that I talked about is the amazingly awesome “Skulduggery Pleasant” by the incomparable Derek Landy. I don’t even have to mention how great it is because the cover pretty much says it all. Well, this afternoon while I was sitting at the desk, a boy came up to the desk right at 2:30 (they get out of school early on Wednesdays here which is totally unfair) and asked for this book! He was real shy but his Mom said he had heard the book talks this morning and was really excited about this book!

I actually got through to a kid, and not just any kid, a boy!!! The fact that my two minute book talk was powerful enough to make him race to the library to get the book makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. (I am going to assume it was all my amazing booktalking and had nothing to do with the kickass cover.)

Jen

Cool Things About Being a Librarian

Sorry for the lack of posts from me lately.  Believe or not, there really hasn’t been anything in my life exciting enough to blog about (with the exception of the Dolly Parton Tea Party, which was pretty awesome).

But I have been really enjoying my job lately.  I am in my first year of being a real-live-children’s librarian.  One of the really cool things about my job is that I have fans!!!  I recently went to a preschool to do a storytime and one of the little boys who comes in all the time was in the class and he yelled, “It’s Miss Jen!  It’s Miss Jen!  She’s my teacher!!!”  My little heart melts and my knees turn to jello everytime someone calls me Miss Jen.  And there is nothing better than reading a story to a group of three year olds and hearing them all laugh out loud at the silliness of Mrs. McNosh and her wash or George from “Bark, George.”

I also love the fact that I get to buy the DVDs!!!!!  Putting me in charge of purchasing the children’s DVDs is like letting a fox into a henhouse………..I have waaaaay too much fun doing it.  I had a little bit of extra money because the year is drawing to a close, so I have been buying like crazy.  I think it is really healthy for me to get to spend so much money on DVDs at work, because then I don’t feel the need to spend as much of my own money to buy DVDs for me.  One of my recent purchases that I am super excited about is the First Season of “The Gummi Bears” on DVD!!!!!  You may all be way too young to know what that was, but it was all about these bears that lived in a forest and made this wicked gummi-berry juice that allowed them to jump super high!!!!  Okay, now that description is not the best, but if you watch this video, you will get the idea.

Now there are lots of other cool things about being a librarian, but I am too tired and lazy to list them all now.

P.S.  I totally watched “Honey, I Blew Up the Kid” on tv today, and I forgot how awesome that movie is!!!!!!!  So much better than the first one (because it made me cry when the ant died), so funny and cute.  Awww, it’s one of those movies that you never think about until it is on tv and then you have no choice but to watch it because it is so amazing!

Jen

Because we all know libraries make the hormones go wild….

I saw this post on EW.com (which if you can’t tell, I visit a lot) called “18 Sexy Trips to the Library.”

You should definitely check it out, but I am a little confused by what they mean by sexy (Ghostbusters, Goblet of Fire……really???).  But of course I do agree with Atonement, Beauty and the Beast, and Indiana Jones being included.

It got me thinking about what my favorite library scenes from movies and tv are………..

Since I had to compose this list on the fly, I am sure that I am missing lots and lots of library moments.

5.  Nova Lee meeting Forny in “Where the Heart Is.”  Because I wish there was a librarian like Forny working at my library with his curly hair and love of children (in the GOOD way, not the bad way).

4.  I am sure I should include a Buffy moment in here somewhere, since they spend half their time in the library.  Giles is a pretty sexy librarian if you ask me.

3.  Edward and Eleanor debating the position of the Nile in “Sense and Sensibility.”

2.  The scene in “Becoming Jane” where Tom shows Jane the ‘dirty’ book (that happens in a library doesn’t it?).

1.  Ephram’s dream sequence in “Everwood.”  In the very first episode of this phenomenal show, Ephram has a dream sequence where Amy is lookin’ all cute in a red dress and speaking French while roaming through the school library.  If only everyone could walk into a library and morph into a French-speaking Goddess.

Can you guys think of any more “Sexy” library scenes??

Jen

Sunny Days, Sweeping the Clouds Away….

I just smacked my laptop screen because it was taking too long to load something…….sigh………that is the kind of day I am having today, no wait, the kind of week I am having.

So when I need to cheer myself up, I crawl back into my childhood and remember the carefree, relaxing, nonstressful joys of being young. One of my favorite things as a girl was Sesame Street. I watched it religiously back then, and still think that “Follow That Bird” is one of the greatest movies ever.

So here is a tiny clip from Sesame Street done by one of my favorite children’s authors, Mr. Mo Willems. He does the Pigeon books and also the Elephant and Piggie books. He is pretty much fantastic in every way. We shall call him the “Meg Cabot” of the male persuasion.

And to continue with the Sesame Street theme, this is what I feel like on most days at the library (I am the librarian and not Cookie Monster).

Jen