Book Places Sign

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I made this sign for my library this summer.  It turned out really well and was very cheap.  If you are handy, I highly suggest you try it!  I'm sorry I didn't take step by step pics but I will try to explain it the best I can.  I used old fence boards that someone was throwing out for the pointed sign places.  I downloaded all the fonts I wanted from http://www.dafont.com/ And typed up all the places in the fonts that coordinated.  I have an artsy friend who did all the lettering for me but really, I was going to use a projector and just trace it on to the boards myself.  Then I painted the words black and sealed it with polyurethane.  That made it darker so I sanded the boards, and repainted the letters.  I bought a $3 sample of black paint at Home Depot and didn't even use half of it for the entire project.  Then I bought a fence post for another $4 at Home Depot and had them cut it for me there so I knew it would be a straight cut.  I painted it black and measured how many boards I had and how wide they were and the spacing between them, etc... I put finishing nails on the post where the boards went and then drilled corresponding holes in the boards so that the sign disassembles and can be moved easily.  Then I made a base like you would put on a Christmas tree to help keep it stable and not fall over.  And there you have it!  This was not a super easy project, but I think anyone with a brain and a drill, and just a bit of artsy skills can get it done. :)

I know it looks really dark in the pic, but it doesn't look that dark in real life.  The places I used are: 100 Acre Wood, Hogwarts, Narnia, Whoville, Camp Halfblood, Mr. McGregor's Garden, Wonderland, and Yellow Brick Road.

2012-2013 Texas Bluebonnet Award Winner Postcards From Camp

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By now every librarian in Texas has heard that the winner for the 2012-2013 Bluebonnet Award is Postcards From Camp by Simms Taback.  (insert cheers here).  I was quite honestly surprised that this book won because the majority of kids at my school and in my district voted for Zita the Spacegirl.  But I am glad that Postcards won cause it's fun and interactive and quirky and I like that.  Anyways, it doesn't matter what I think because the beauty of the Texas Bluebonnet Award is that students get to vote and choose the winner. 

So, kudos to Taback (who died about a year ago :( ), librarians everywhere for encouraging a love of reading, and the one student at my school that voted for Postcards From Camp!

Each year we have a voting party and I'm always looking for some new ideas to stress out over and try.  In years past we have tried playing pictionary in small groups with the book covers but that didn't go over so well as I have a limited time and my students aren't very Pictionary savy.  I have also done book cover bingo, but that gets old after a few years.  So this year I kept it simple.  I printed up the book covers and cut them into puzzles.  When they came in, there was a puzzle at each table for them to work on while they waited to get some ice cream and vote.  Then I had a backdrop with bluebonnets on it and some of the book covers and they got to take their picture with the book they voted for "in the bluebonnets".  And that was it.  Boom!  30 minutes.  Done.  Obviously very low stress.  Another librarian friend of mine had a hotdog party and did a whole window display that said, "Hot Diggity Dog, you are coming to the Bluebonnet Party!" or something along those lines.  I thought that was pretty genius.  I could've done some other kind of theme to go along with one of the books.  So, I'm going to keep that in mind for next year.  We could do a whole Macy's Parade balloon theme or something.  (Can you tell I only know about one of the books for next year's list?)  Anyone else have ideas that worked well for you?

Heros!

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In my career as a Super Librarian, I have lots and lots of ideas that I want to keep track of and also share with everyone, so I'm starting this blog, Library Heros to do just that!  My first post will be about Captain America...because he is my favorite Avenger guy.  Abdo Publishers had some deal that if you ordered a certain amount from their company, they offered a puppet or a cardboard cut out.  And I chose Captain America...my hero.  *swoon*  And now I make him say things like this: