PASSIONATE ABOUT SCHOOL LIBRARIES
Crumbs
– Danie Stirling –
Etch/Clarion Books
Published 19 July 2022
♥♥♥♥♥
Another beautiful graphic novel that will delight and entrance readers. Crumbs is the story of a young seer, not sure what she should do with her unique powers, and a barista who dreams of the stage and music. They meet each day in a bakery where each delicious baked good can cast magic. But falling in love and choosing a future might be hard when their dreams each lead them in different directions.
If you are in the Northern Hemisphere, you are probably finding all those lost books, putting together your end of year report and generally finishing up for the year. Down here in the Southern Hemisphere we are nearing the middle of the year. Whether you need some PD for your break or some inspiration to keep you going, I’ve got some reading, listening and viewing for you.
I love graphic novels but that love doesn’t come close to how much my students love graphic novels. They adore them. I’ve seen that time and again at all the school libraries I’ve worked in. However, their engagement with the graphic novel collection always varied and that’s because the graphic novel collections in all of those libraries varied significantly. Some were tidy and small, others large and outdated and one was big, plentiful and beautiful and let me tell you the students adored it!!
So, when I took over as head of library this year, I knew one of the first things I wanted to do was show the graphic novel collection some love. Lots of love.
The start of a new month means just one thing…. It’s time for more professional learning. If you are like me, you still haven’t caught up on last month’s list. That’s okay – that’s kind of the point of me putting them all in a list so we can go back and access these resources whenever we can. I’d love to hear from you if you have registered for an event or have recently listened to a great podcast or read a great article so I can include it and share it in the next list. Until then, happy learning.
Sorceline
– Sylvia Douye, Paola Antista (illustrations) –
Andrews McMeel Publishing
Published 3 May 2022
♥♥♥♥♥
Sorceline is a beautiful graphic novel translated into English from its original French. I’ve heard booksellers wax poetic about French graphic novels and I can see why. Sorceline is divine. Perfect for middle grade readers, and older teens will also enjoy this story.
Enter a magical school that will delight fans of Harry Potter and meet magical creatures that are at once familiar and also delightfully fresh and new and also slightly scary.
Continue reading
The start of April means the start of school holidays here in Queensland. I don’t know about you, but I am ready to just take a break for a week. If you are continuing work or maybe looking to do a bit of professional learning during your break, I have a wide range of webinars, reports, podcasts and Twitter threads to you to enjoy.
I love creating displays. I love the design process, the coming up with ideas, the crafting, but I especially love the double-takes students and staff give an eye-catching display. I love when books just fly off the display shelf. We’ve done a range of displays this term, which have been lots of fun. These are some of my favourites.
Thunderous
– Mandy Smoker Broaddus, Natalie Peeterse, Dale Ray Deforest –
Dynamite Entertainment
Published 26 April 2022
♥♥♥♥♥
I am always on the lookout for new graphic novels for my school library and Thunderous is going to be a must-buy.
A beautiful story of adventure and identity, Thunderous is the story of Aiyana. She just wants to fit in at school, get followers online and be liked. She’d rather not listen to yet another Lakota story from her grandmother or her dorky cousin. When on a school field trip, three girls who Aiyana wants desperately to impress, deal Aiyana to climb on top of a building in a storm, Aiyana finds herself accidentally plunged into a strange world where animals talk and she must complete four challenges if she is to be allowed to return home.
Well, March is upon us. Already the year seems to be slipping by. The upside is another month means another great range of webinars, posts and resources perfect for professional learning, meeting your professional goals.
Just Pretend
– Tori Sharp –
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Published 18 May 2021
♥♥♥♥
I’m enjoying diving into some new graphic novels and Just Pretend is delightful, with bright panels and a heartwarming story of growing up. It is actually part memoir, as the author shares her own teenage story within the pages.
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