Red Hot CHILIS News

A Publication of CHILIS, the Children's Librarians of New Hampshire

Spring/Summer 2006

In this Issue:

Calendar / Conferences / Executive Board / From The Editor
Book Awards / Library Happenings
News You Can Use / Newsletters Online / Summer Reading

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Calendar

CHILIS Board: September 15 at 9:00 a.m. at the Local Government Center in Concord. 
YALS: October 26 9:30 a.m. for coffee, 10:00 a.m. meeting at the Dunbarton Public Library.
CHILIS Fall Conference:  October 19 in Rindge.

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Summer Reading

Southern New Hampshire Children's Librarians might be interested in the New England Pirate Museum located in Salem, MA.  Where it is stated as a New England museum, and about 1 hour and 15 minutes away I felt comfortable asking for a summer reading program donation.  I wrote an e-mail with the same information I would put in a typed donation request - explaining our summer reading program with prizes as incentives, the theme, and the impact this program has on our young readers. Then I asked if they would be willing to donate.  I went on-line to their website www.piratemuseum.com, clicked on their contact e-mail and asked if they would donate tickets.  Within a week I received a complimentary pass for (4) to their museums (along with the Pirate Museum they also have a Witch Dungeon Museum and a Witch History Museum).  Good luck.  Wendy Rowe, Children's/YA Librarian, Barrington Public Library

Would you like an opportunity to share ideas and questions about this year's Summer Reading Program (or any other topic)--without having to travel to meetings?  Now, you can! Ann Hoey has set up a discussion forum on WebJunction called "Treasure Reading."  You can join this discussion at your convenience and ask questions, respond to others and get some ideas about summer reading.  Here's how it works:   Go to: http://nh.webjunction.org/  In the top right hand corner you will see words that say "select a WebJunction community."  In the drop down box below, select New Hampshire and go the WebJunction NH page..  At this point, if you have not registered, please do so now.  Be sure that you choose WebJunction NH as your affliate as you go through the registration process.  There is no cost to register.  If you have registered, please sign in now.  On the WebJunction NH page, you will see a bright Treasure Reading graphic and a link to the Treasure Reading discussion.  Click on the Treasure Reading link and this will take you to a set of discussion topics.  Click on the topic--Treasure Reading 2006.   You will see postings.  You can hit reply and post a message if you would like.  Try it!  If you have any problems, let Ann know and she will try to help you.  There are already several good suggestions already posted.  You can also choose to "watch" the topic, which will generate an email to you any day that there are new postings.  There are several other topics of interest on the site as well.

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News You Can Use

You can now find a directory of NH Children's Authors and Illustrators who do library and school programs on the CHILIS website at http://www.chilisnh.org/directory.html.  The information comes directly from the authors and illustrators themselves and includes a program description, target audience and fee information.

Congratulations to Chris Tarrio and her family on the birth of her granddaughter, Athena-Marie Tarrio Staley, born March 8.  Chris is taking time off to help care for Nena, and we welcome Sheila Vanderhorst as the new children's librarian in Jaffrey.

Check with the Derry Public Library for their "I Love Reading" silicone bracelets.  These were designed by the Teen Library Council as a fund raiser.  At $2.00 each, they make great prizes and gifts.   The white bracelets have debossed lettering, with a heart in place of "love".  The letters can be colored in if you choose.  For further information or to purchase bracelets, just call Derry Public Library at (603) 432-6140.

If you received a Kids, Books, and the Arts grant this year, please don't forget to send your evaluation in after your program.  Also, remember that the KBATA checks are addressed to your library's Trustees at your library address, so your library will need to issue a check for the performer.  If you have any questions, please contact Ann Hoey at the State Library.  Also, don't forget to do a final confirmation a week or so before your event, to help prevent last minute glitches or 'no shows'.

Did your summer reading include a book that you love and want to share with other NH readers? Please visit the NH Center for the Book "Granite State Readers Recommend" webpage at http://www.state.nh.us/nhsl/bookcenter/programs/gs_recommend.html and let us know about it.  Some of the recommended titles have been included in Book Notes - The NH Center for the Book newsletter. All the suggestions will be included on the webpage.  To date, there haven't been many children's or young adult titles recommended, so let's get going!

The Harvard Family Research Project has developed a "Family Involvement Storybook Corner" to promote family involvement in literacy education and family-school-community partnerships.  Check out the resources they've gathered at http://www.gse.harvard.edu/hfrp/projects/fine/resources/storybook/index.html

The ALSC International Relations Committee has worked long and hard on a series of bibliographies called "Growing Up Around the World: Books as Passports to Global Understanding for Children in the United States."  Through "Growing Up Around the World," the committee hopes to make books that accurately depict contemporary life in other countries more widely available to American children. The project includes bibliographies representing five regions: Africa; the Americas; Asia and the Middle East; Australia and New Zealand; and Europe.  All five book lists are available on the ALSC Web site at: http://www.ala.org/ala/alsc/alscresources/booklists/GrowingUpAroundWorld.htm

Anchor Books is sponsoring the O. Henry Short Story Competition for Young Writers.  The competition is for writers between the ages of 14 and 22.   The contest runs from May 15, 2006  to September 22, 2006.  Top Prizes include $100.00 cash and online publication. Stories must not exceed 1,000 words.  Please visit: www.ohenryprizestories.com for more information!  Best of luck to all your fabulous young writers!

The Children's Librarian's Coop met Friday, June 16 at the Plaistow Public Library to discuss summer reading programs, and other things we have issues or concerns about.  The group usually meets on the 3rd Friday of each month at 9:30 a.m.  Contact Deb Hoadley for more information about the group.

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Executive Board

The next CHILIS board meeting will be September 15, 9:00 a.m., at the Local Government Center building in Concord. (Behind Home Depot, near the Steeplegate Mall)  A By-laws committee met in August to review the by-laws and recommended changes needed to update them.  All potential changes have been sent to all members along with the October conference registration.  Changes will be discussed and voted on during the business meeting portion of the conference.

At the PLA Conference in Boston, CHILIS purchased THREE Die Cut Machines, as well as a few die sets.  These are being placed around the state.  Check the WebJunction Forum for detail on where they will be availble.  Any CHILIS member can contact the hosting library to set up a time to use the machine...just remember to bring your own paper or craft foam!

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Conferences

The CHILIS Fall Conferencewill be held on October 19, 2006 in Rindge.  Registration forms have been sent on the van to all members and libraries.  They are also available on the CHILIS website.

Since the CHILIS Fall '05 conference, we have continued to look into the copyright issues of adapting books into puppet shows.   It is apparent that one must contact the publisher for permission, even if the performance is educational (for use in a library/school - not a paid performance).

For those who attended the CHILIS Spring Conference, we had forgotten to thank Fred Reidy of Puppet World for his generous donation to the raffle.  Fred sent all of the puppets and two of the treasure chests to the conference.  If you would like to purchase any of these items, you can contact Fred via his website at http://puppetworld.net/aboutus/aboutus.htm.  Thanks also to Gail Drucker for all of her hard work in putting together this conference.  Pictures from the conference are available here.

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Book Awards

We have a winner for the first ever Flume: NH Teen Readers' Choice Award! Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code received the most votes from NH teens around the state.  Jodi Picoult's My Sister's Keeper and Mark Haddon's The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time placed second and third in the vote tally.  Thank you to the 34 schools and public libraries that participated.   The 13 nominees for the 2007 Flume Award are now available at the following link:  http://www.nashualibrary.org/YALS/documents/FlumeAward2007Nominees_000.pdf  The annotated brochure, along with other promotional materials, will be ready at a later date .  We hope you will join us in promoting this new book award among students in grades 9-12.  Happy Reading!

Skippyjon Jones by Judy Schachner received 4,982 of the 13,936 votes cast for the 2005 Ladybug Picture Book Award making it the winner.  Congratulations to Judy Schachner and Dutton Children's Books for producing such a great book!   Voting for the 2005 Ladybug Picture Book Award occurred during Children's Book Week in November. Children from pre-school through the 3rd grade were eligible to vote, and more than 100 New Hampshire preschools, elementary schools and public libraries participated in the voting.   You can view the list of nominated titles for the 2006 Award at http://www.state.nh.us/nhsl/bookcenter/programs/ladybug.html. Voting will take place during Children's Book Week in November. Ballots will be available on the website in June 2006. Ladybug stickers are currently available for sale and an order form can be printed from the website.  Thank you to the members of the Ladybug committee for all of their hard work and for selecting ten great picture books!

Voting for the 2006 Isinglass Teen Read was extended until May 31, and the winner is One of Those Hideous Books Where the Mother Dies by Sonya Sones.  It was VERY close this year and every vote counted!  We had 17 communities vote with 952 total votes.  I'd love to see this number double or triple next year as we become a recognized statewide award with backing from CHILIS.  If anyone is interested in reading and becoming one of our selectors for the list, please let me know.  We always welcome new blood!  Most meetings are held in the seacoast area in the late afternoons but we also welcome those who wish to read and send feedback via e-mail on a regular basis.  The new list of nominees can be found at .  Bookmarks are available at $6.00 per pack of 100.  Contact Amy Inglis to order:  blibrary@metrocast.net or visit www.barringtonlibrary.com 

The Great Stone Face winner for 2006 was announced at the NHEMA Conference...and the winner is The Legend of Spud Murphy by .  Total votes = 7940.  Last year we had 6124 votes.  That's a 22.9% increase!!  Your votes are very important!!   Thank you to all who participate!  


Nancy Keene is adding the GSF nominees to her daily podcasts.  Since she only does one booktalk a day, it will take 25 days to get it done.  To listen to the podcasts on the computer, go to http://www.nancykeane.com/rss.html and click on the one you want to listen to.  To subscribe to the daily podcast, start up itunes, click on "Advanced" at the top, "Subscribe to Podcast" and when it asked for the URL, type in http://www.nancykeane.com/rss.xml.

The Cochecho Award is currently sponsored by the Dover Public Library and is selected by 3rd and 4th graders.  The nominees for the 2007 award can be found at http://www.dover.lib.nh.us/Childrens'Room/childrenpages/Cochecho.htm.


A listing of ALA award winners and information on the New Hampshire Awards can be found here.

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Library Happenings

The Richards Free Library hosted Newport children’s author John Lunn for the launch of his latest novel THE AQUANAUTS in December.

Lorreen Keating, North Hampton Public Library, recently had a super program with author/illustrator Laura Rankin.    Her new book "Rabbit Ears" is very cute and got a very good review in Booklist.  She also has a beautiful book coming out in June about her childhood pets (a dog and a duck).   The kids loved the program and we got to keep the three pages of pictures the kids made up as a story.  Her fee is $250 plus travel beyond 20 miles.  She's a wonderful artist and storyteller and also works part time as a librarian in Maine!  Her contact info: Laura Rankin, phone and fax  207-363-7608, York Harbor, ME, Lauraran@aol.com

Kathy Tracy, Tracy Memorial Library, New London, reports that they have a therapy dog who has been coming in for several months, once a week, after school.  Daisy is an absolute sweetheart and the children love her.  We picked a place out of the main stream and the time for each child is just for them.  We encourage other children not to hang right over the area so that the reader will feel more comfortable reading, which of course, is part of the idea.  The owner is very good with the kids as well.  We have decided to continue the visits this summer, but switch to mornings when there is more activity here and not have a sign-up, just do it very informally.  The children read to Daisy for different reasons, but it's been just great and fairly low "maintenance" for me. 

You're all invited!  The dedication for our new Moultonborough Public Library addition will be at 10am on Wednesday, July 12th.  There will be speeches (short, we hope) and cake and strawberry punch.  We'd love to see all our fellow librarians who have helped us so much over the years.  Nancy McCue, Moultonborough PL, mpublibrary@adelphia.net



DURHAM PUBLIC LIBRARY News

A Child Identification and Safety Session with Durham Police Department was held during the February vacation.  Children had the opportunity to meet a police officer and be fingerprinted.  Parents received a Child Safety and Identification Packet.  The Durham, Lee and Madbury Public Libraries hosted a February vacation concert by Steve Blunt. A Reading Rainbow Young Writers and Illustrators Workshop was held for children in kindergarten through fifth grade to learn the art of creative writing.  

A Stick Puppet Workshop was held in March, followed by a Marionette Puppet Workshop series in April.  Andrea Benton, a student in the UNH Dept. of Theater worked with kids ages five and older to design and create their own puppets.  In conjunction with UNH Education Department's Seacoast Reads program, DPL offered a Reading Buddy program February through early May.  The Chess Knights meet twice a month through June.  Tales for Tails: Read to a Dog!  Reading to a Delta Society trained therapy dog allows a child to practice reading skills without judgement and criticism and allows him to associate reading as a pleasant and special activity.  The Book Eaters, a middle school book group facilitated by Ruth Wharton-McDonald meet once a month on Wednesday afternoons at 2:45.  They have recently discussed Alosha by Christopher Pike, Blood Trail by Nancy Springer, and Uglies by Scott Westerfeld.

April vacation programs included a Scrap Booking Workshop for Kids.  Furry Friends! found Paula Parisi, Humane Education Coordinator at the New Hampshire SPCA, and her 'assistant" Nellie, a long-haired Chihuahua, explaining how the NHSPCA helps homeless animals to find new forever homes.  A flannel board story about an abandoned dog named Sam was followed by Nellie demonstrating all the tricks she knows!  They also talked about proper pet care and kindness towards animals.  Cinderella And Other Tales was presented by Roaring Duck Puppets at Oyster River High School.  Nancy Sander is a professional puppeteer and has been delighting audiences with her performances throughout New England for over twenty years.  She adapts classical tales into zany skits and designs and creates her own fanciful puppets and stages.  This event was provided for through a grant by Jane Kaufmann and was sponsored by the Durham, Lee and Madbury Public Libraries.  Future playwrites had the opportunity to work together to write a one act play and perform a reader’s theater version of it.  The workshop was facilitated by Christopher Crossen-Sills, a senior UNH Theater Education major.
       

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From the Editor

The newsletter will soon have a new editor!  Kathy Marciniak of Hillsboro will be taking over the newsletter.  For now, you can continue to send the news to Chilisnews@aol.com.   You can also email any pictures you'd like to share!

The Red Hot CHILIS News  is a web-only newsletter. If you have absolutely no Internet access, you may request a print copy. These will be sent only to CHILIS members who request it. Notices of new issues will be sent to the Chilis-l listserv. If you don't wish to subscribe to the CHILIS list, you can request e-mail notification of new issues by sending a request to Chilisnews@aol.com .

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Newsletters Online

Granite State Libraries: http://www.nh.gov/nhsl/gsl/index.html

YALS:  http://www.nashualibrary.org/YALS/

Red Hot CHILIS News: http://hometown.aol.com/chilisnews Issues from the past year are available.

CHILIS web site: www.chilisnh.org

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Red Hot CHILIS News
Nancy Lang, Editor
c/o Dunbarton Public Library
1004 School Street
Dunbarton, NH 03046

A Publication of CHILIS, The Children's Librarians of New Hampshire
A Section of the New Hampshire Library Association
Posted 8 September, 2006.

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