Today NOT At The Desk....but, On A Plane!

Today would normally be my day to work the children's desk in the afternoon. Since school started yesterday, it probably would be very quiet for the first couple of hours, then maybe a few families trickle in after school.

But instead, I am on my way to the beginning of a new endeavor that is a bit of a risk financially, but I hope it will pay off in the long run. No, I haven't left my job; I am going back to school to get my MLIS! Though the program is online, there is an in-person orientation, and that is where I'm off to today. 

And the bonus? To get there (Valdosta, GA), I have to fly into Jacksonville, so I figured it would be a shame to be so close and not go to the beach, so after the orientation I am staying an extra two days at a beachfront hotel in Jacksonville before flying back to give myself a much needed mini-vacation!

I'm looking forward to starting on my MLIS, but I'm a little nervous, too. I was always a good student and I've already got one master's degree, but I'm not particularly excited about the online experience. I've never taken an online class, and I just think I'd get so much more out of an in-classroom experience and being able to talk to classmates and professors in person; I'm particularly concerned about doing group projects online. How does that even work?? But, online programs are about all there is in the field anymore, with a few exceptions, so I'll just have to adapt.

I'm also a bit concerned about whether it will pay off in the long run. Let's face it, graduate tuition isn't cheap and the job market stinks! I go into it knowing that there is a very good chance I may not live long enough to get a librarian position (this is my second career and I'm a bit older than the typical MLIS student), but I'm hoping it will at least get me something full-time, like a programming specialist in youth services or outreach. I definitely want to stay in public libraries and work mostly in youth services.

Now that I'll have more on my plate, I probably won't be able to post as often, but I hope to keep both my blogs going. I'll just have to see how it goes...

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by J. K. Rowling, John Tiffany, and Jack Thorn. July 31, 2016. Arthur A. Levine Books (special rehearsal edition). 320 pages. Ages 8 & up.

Summary 
Nineteen years after the defeat of Voldemort, Harry Potter is enjoying a rather mundane life as a husband and father of three, and working at the Ministry of Magic, where his old friend Hermione is now the Minister. 

However, his middle child, Albus, is having a much harder time dealing with the legacy of being Harry Potter's son than his older son James ever did. After Albus starts Hogwarts, he feels even more than he can never live up to the expectations put on him. He begins to become sullen and withdrawn, and angry at his father. To further set himself apart from his father, he chooses Slytherin House, and to his father's dismay, he becomes best friends with Draco Malfoy's son, Scorpius. 

Deep in his angst, a very mis-guided Albus decides he will right a perceived wrong of his father's in order to make a name for himself and convinces Scorpius to join him. After his first attempt not only doesn't work, but has unintended consequences, he insists on making a second attempt, which has catastrophic consequences that threaten all those he cares about, and his very existence! All the while, his father senses a dark presence, and begins to feel a familiar pain in his scar. Has the Dark One returned?

My Thoughts
So, after previously saying she was done with the Harry Potter world, J. K. Rowling has in fact returned to milk her cash cow, perhaps because of a less than stellar response to her adult fiction? But this time it comes in the form of a play written with the assistance of a theatrical writer and director, resulting in a book that is a script, rather than a novel [some bookstores/libraries may have it with the other Harry Potter books, others may have it shelved with other plays]. This format results in a book that is a littler harder to read, and probably a little less appealing for some, particularly kids.

The plot moves along at a very brisk pace, whizzing through Albus' first two years at Hogwarts in just a couple of very quick scenes before slowing down for the main action during his third year. Some parts of the plot are somewhat predictable, but there are some surprises, and overall, I enjoyed it, despite some of the story weaknesses. Perhaps not as much as any of the original 7 novels, but it wasn't bad, and I think most Harry Potter fans would be satisfied with the ending. As cynical as I am about Rowling's motivation for writing it, I must confess I had always secretly hoped there would be some kind of follow-up that would resolve Harry and Draco's conflict in a similar fashion and I was very happy with the ending.

This "special rehearsal edition" was released to coincide with Harry Potter's fictional birthday, which just happens to be J. K. Rowling's actual birthday, and just following the theatrical preview performance. Another edition, the "Definitive Collector's Edition" will be released in 2017 in order to squeeze a few more profits out of it, er, I mean incorporate all the revisions that occurred after the script's initial publication. I would have preferred a novelization of the script for easier reading and broader appeal, and I'm sure others would as well. Dare I predict we will likely see this script released in novel form in 2018 to further capitalize on the story?? Perhaps coinciding with a film adaptation??

I would recommend this to fans of the original Harry Potter books. While it may not be quite as good as the novels, I don't think many people really expect it to be, so some may even be pleasantly surprised. It might be possible to enjoy the story without having read the original series, but I think one really needs to know all the history preceding it, especially the relationships between Harry, Hermione, and Ron, the rivalry between Harry and Draco, and the Battle for Hogwarts to fully appreciate it.

Another Day At The Desk...

Yesterday was my last official shift at the desk of summer reading, though things won't really quiet down until after school starts in two weeks. It was pretty dead when I first started my shift after lunch, but steadily got busier as the day progressed.

I had several people turn in reading logs, and even one take one to start with just three days left, but no procrastinators looking for books to fulfill their required summer reading for school (which was a bit of a surprise). I got slightly flustered when I accidentally closed the circulation software and couldn't get it to open again, but our wonderful IT tech came down right away and saved me within a few minutes, thankfully. 

My little chubby-cheeked friend I made a few weeks ago came in, and was having a much better day that the last time I saw him. The last time, he had checked out some teen superhero graphic novels, which his father didn't approve of and dragged him back in and made him return. I wouldn't want a kid of mine checking out the teen books that young, either, but I hated the way the father handled it, lecturing him and embarrassing him in front of me and making him check out stuff he had absolutely no interest in instead of letting me help him select something age-appropriate that would interest him.

But yesterday I was happy to see him cheerfully returning a whole stack of juvenile superhero chapter books and graphic novels that he had read; fortunately he had been able to find something superhero that his father would allow. He proceeded to check out a new stack, and has gotten pretty good at navigating the catalog and the shelves by himself, with just a little help. He is normally so cute and cheerful, we all like having him around.

I also noticed a couple looking all around, and then taking pictures. I had my suspicions about who they were, which were confirmed when I asked them if they needed any help. The woman somewhat sheepishly said they were from out-of-state and were in town on vacation, and as I suspected, she was a librarian! I laughed and told her I was just about to ask her if she was, because only librarians go sight-seeing at libraries when they're on vacation, and she certainly wasn't the first. We chatted a bit and I answered their questions about some of our programs and the building, and suggested that they might want to check out our local/regional history room on the reference floor. It's always nice to talk to librarians from other systems and find out how they do things in their library.

And so Summer Reading 2016 comes to a close, and everyone can take a month or so to catch their breath, and then start planning for next year!

37 Things I Love by Kekla Magoon

37 Things I Love (In No Particular Order) by Kekla Magoon. October 15, 2013 (originally published May 22, 2012). Square Fish. 240 pages. Ages 13 & up.

Summary 
Ellis is approaching the end of her sophomore year, but unlike her classmates, her thoughts do not revolve around making fun summer plans. Instead, Ellis has spent the past two years dealing with her father being in a permanent vegetative state following a fall at a construction site, and now she is reeling at her mother's suggestion that it is time to remove life support and let him go.

Ellis finds herself unable to talk about what is going on with her two best friends, the pretty, popular, and self-absorbed Abby, and the sometimes too loyal Collin, who is besotted with Abby and lets her take advantage of him. Ellis is growing more and more disgusted by Abby's selfish, insensitive, and sometimes downright mean, behavior and with Collin for putting up with her abuse and letting her use him. As she begins to distance herself from Collin and Abby, she begins to renew her friendship with Cara, a childhood friend she and Abby had seemingly just drifted away from.

As Ellis' relationships with Abby, Collin, and Cara change and she struggles to accept her father's death, she turns to Cara for comfort more and more, and discovers the real reason their friendship was interrupted.  

My Thoughts
To be honest, I can't quite decide what I think of this coming of age story, or whether I liked it or not. In some ways, the writing and dialog are really good, but in other ways parts of the story just didn't seem to be integrated smoothly and there really wasn't any resolution to much of the conflict.

I found Abby to be a very unlikeable character, and I really would like to have seen Ellis and Collin finally get fed up with her crap and be done with her. I can't believe how much they put up with from her. Then adding in Cara turning out to be gay and Ellis suddenly becoming sexually confused, just seem to muddle things, especially since nothing was really resolved. The book just stopped.  Did Abby and Cara manage to remain civil so Ellis wouldn't have to choose between them? Or did Ellis and Collin finally tell Abby to take a hike? Are Ellis and Cara friends, or girlfriends? I like books to have more of an ending than that. I felt there was no real closure.

The other thing that annoyed me a bit, though certainly no fault of the book or it's author, is that I read it because I thought it was a recent book by the author of our community read this year, How It Went Down, which I enjoyed and found very powerful, because it was labeled as a "New" book. But as it turns out, it was only newly purchased, having actually been publish 4 years ago. 

I would recommend this book to teens interested in coming of age stories, particularly those interested in difficult and changing friendships, and interested in or open to LGBTQ storylines.

Other Books By This Author
Kekla Magoon is the author of several young adult novels, including the award-winning The Rock and the River and the above-mentioned How It Went Down, as well as non-fiction books on social issues and historical subjects that interest her.

DoodleBots - STEAM Program

 

Yesterday I got to do an awesome STEAM program with a group of school-aged kids, making DoodleBots (also known as ArtBots or ScribbleBots), which are simple robots that can draw using magic marker legs and a vibrating motor to produce movement. Electric toothbrushes from the Dollar Tree proved to be an extremely cost effective resource, providing the motor, battery case, circuit, battery, and switch, all for a dollar. There are many articles on the web about these, but I first got the idea from Anne of "So Tomorrow" and followed the link she provided to another article by the Cheshire Public Library.

Recommended Ages: 5-12    

Recommended Group Size: The smaller the better, maximum of 20. 

Time:  1 to 1-1/2 hours  (we managed in an hour, but I would strongly recommend 1-1/2 hrs)

Budget:  $1.50-$2.00 per bot

Supplies 

• GB or Luminant brand electric toothbrushes from the Dollar Tree ($1 ea)
• Foam pool noodles, cut in 4.5" pieces ($1 ea, one noodle makes 10 pieces)
• Markers, 3-4 per person ($1/set of 12?)
• Rubber bands
• Electrical tape
• Duct tape
• Glue, glue dots, hot glue
• Misc. craft supplies (googly eyes, pom-poms, pipe cleaners, feathers, jewels, etc)
• Large rolls of art paper (the smoother the surface, the better)

Directions

*Note - Although this program worked ok the first time, the second time we did it with a larger group, we had significant technical difficulties with the tape stretching and causing the connections to loosen and the motors not to work properly.

If you are working with teens who can deal with trouble-shooting themselves, then you might want to stick with this method so they can really see the motor and circuit, but if you are working with younger and/or easily frustrated kids, then skip steps 1-5 and follow the alternate protocol.*

1. Start with the cheap Dollar Tree toothbrush, which comes with a AA battery, and disassemble it by pulling off the cap containing the switch, then remove the battery holder and motor. I found the easiest way is simply to bang the bottom once or twice against the table to get it to come down to the end and gently remove. 

2. You will end up with the brush (which can be discarded or saved for another use), the motor, the battery case, the cap with switch, and the battery. If you're careful, the motor and battery holder with spring should come out still connected, but if not, re-connect the spring to the right-hand terminal, and hook the metal piece on the outside to the left-hand terminal.

3. Tape the motor and battery case together and insert battery into cap, positive end up.  

4. Turn the switch to "On" and push cap and battery into motor assembly until you get good contact between the two metal pieces, as evidenced by strong vibration from the motor. 

5. Tape the cap & switch in place, being sure to maintain a good connection. Turn off and set aside.

For kids 8 & under, I would do this part for them in advance, and just prep one as a demonstration so they can see what the parts are, where they came from, and how they work together, unless you have lots of adults to help. For older kids, part of the fun is taking something apart and turning it into something new, and part of the learning process is figuring out the connections and troubleshooting, so let them do it all themselves (allow a little extra time). 

 

*Alternate Protocol

 

Instead of removing the motor and additional circuit components from the toothbrushes, leave them in, and simply cut off the toothbrush head, leaving everything nice and cozy inside the handle so that connections can't loosen. I used a bandsaw, but you could use a handsaw or heavy duty snipers as well. Be sure to at least show the kids what the whole motor assembly looks like and how it works.

 

 

Next, take a 4-1/2" piece of pool noodle and use 2 or 3 rubber bands to attach 3-4 markers as legs [you can later experiment with the number of legs, placement, and length to see how it affects the patterns your bot draws]. If desired, the markers may be taped or hot glued permanently in place, or left with rubber bands so they can be changed.  

Now, get creative and decorate your bots using whatever random arts and crafts supplies you have!  One note of caution: resist the urge to over-decorate, or your bot may end up being too heavy to move. Pipe cleaners are great to make arms, antennae, glasses, or coils, and can be stuck right into the foam.

After the bots are decorated and all the glue has dried, it's time to test them out. Cover a large table or floor with paper, take the caps off the markers, turn the motor on, insert into the center of the pool noodle, and turn it loose! See how each one will draw in a slightly different pattern, and that patterns will change when the marker positions are changed even slightly.

(This one is a "peacock from Hawaii")

(The video below was accidentally shot in slo-mo)

Leftover toothbrush heads can be used for cleaning, spatter painting or bristlebots (I have not tried these yet.)

Troubleshooting

There is always the possibility of a dud motor or dead battery [though out of 24 toothbrushes and batteries, we didn't have any duds], so it's a good idea to buy a few extra, and test the toothbrushes to see if they work before continuing.

 

The most likely problem you will run into is loose connections. If your motor seems to be weak, or it stops working after previously working well for a short time, it is almost certain to be a loose connection, usually where the metal piece from the battery holder connects with the metal piece from the cap/switch. Remove the tape and see if you can push the two pieces back together to get good contact and regain motor function. If so, re-tape while holding it in that position. You may have to repeat this. If this doesn't work, double-check the connection to the motor itself, and if that doesn't work, try changing the battery.

 

Other issues may require adjustment of the marker positions and attaching them more securely if they are slipping too much, or trying glossier paper.

How It Went 

The only problem we had was with loose connections due to the electrical tape stretching and loosening after I had pre-assembled all the motors a few days earlier. I am going to have to play around and try to prevent that by using different tapes, or maybe even a couple of dots of hot glue in addition to taping [I also might try just cutting the toothbrush heads off and retaining the handle as a case to keep everything together]. It required some scrambling and re-taping during the program, but the kids were all good sports and didn't get frustrated (though I might have a little!). Other than that, the program was a hit!

 

We had 10 kids, ranging in age from 5 to 12. I started the program by reading Robo-Sauce by Adam Rubin and Daniel Salmieri, a fun story about a boy pretending to be a robot, then using a secret formula to turn himself, everyone else, and even the book into robots! They all seemed to like the story and thought it was neat how the book had a hidden cover folded into it that transformed it into a robot book.  

The kids seemed to really like all parts of the program: the story, decorating their bots, and the bots themselves. Some of them really got into the decorating! I really liked how this program had technology and art both, allowing them creativity in decorating their DoodleBots, and the art that their Bots created. Several of them asked if we would come back next week and do it again, and said it was the best program ever! I even got a couple of hugs, which I didn't really expect from school-aged kids.

 

This was my first school-aged program, and my first STEAM program, and I was very happy with how it went, and I plan to do it again with another group, once I get the loosening-tape issue worked out (and stock up on more toothbrushes!).