Pictures from the South Carolina Workshop

Deborah Hotchkiss just sent me a link to the Flicker slideshow of the training workshop I recently did in South Carolina. Look at all the great flannel board pieces people made! Also, there is a brief YouTube video. Check it out!

Tony Chestnut

During the Flannel Board presentations at the workshop in South Carolina, I heard some wonderful new songs. One of them was Tony Chestnut, which was taped and uploaded to YouTube. Have a look at this cool song:


Try it some time at your library!

Workshops in Pennsylvania

Regina and I will be leaving for Pennsylvania today, where we will be doing two workshops in Washington and Butler, and then another two workshops next month.

If anyone lives in Pennsylvania and would like to attend the workshops, check for more details on this Website:

http://mgolworkshops.wetpaint.com/

NEW Training workshops in Baltimore

It's Official!!!!!!

On Monday, May 18, the very first Mother Goose on the Loose training workshop for individuals will be held in Baltimore, at the Port Discovery Children's Museum. If you would like to learn how to run Mother Goose on the Loose programs at your library, museum, or childcare center, this is your golden opportunity!

And, if you would like to learn how to run Mother Goose on the Loose programs in Spanish (even if you don't speak Spanish), come to the "Escucha y Disfruta con Mamá Gansa: Mother Goose on the Loose Program for Spanish-speaking Families"">which will be held at Port Discovery on the following day (Tuesday, May 19)!

For more information and registration, write to: mgol@mgol.net

Chickens in New Hampshire

For the past few days, I've been up in New Hampshire, working on a new CD for the Spanish language version of Mother Goose on the Loose. With Rahel (guitarist for all of the Mother Goose on the Loose CDs), Jim McClure (owner of Betsy's Folly Studio), and Iris Cotto (an inspiring librarian who recorded a great deal of the Spanish script), a few chickens, one protective rooster, much laughter, and sandwiches from the corner store, all of the necessary recording was finished.

Now it's time for the busy work... listening to every single bit of the recordings, deciding what to keep and what to discard, making note of the times and position of each relevant piece, and deciding what needs to be edited.

This morning I read a new review of Booktalking Bonanza from School Library Journal. It's a nice review, but my last name is spelled incorrectly!

DIAMONT-COHEN, Betsy & Selma K. Levi. Booktalking Bonanza: Ten Ready-to-Use Multimedia Sessions for the Busy Librarian. 240p. illus. photos. reprods. appendix. bibliog. further reading. index. Web sites. CIP. ALA. 2008. pap. $40. ISBN 978-0-8389-0965-2. LC 2008015371.

Librarians looking for ways to engage media-obsessed children need search no further. Originally a presentation called "Booktalking with Pizzazz," presented at the 2004 American Library Association's Annual Conference, this volume is a collection of scripts for multimedia-enriched booktalks. After an introductory chapter that explains the reasoning for this approach, 10 scripts are outlined. Books, music, video, and Web sites are included for each one. The programs are geared toward elementary-aged children, although suggestions for adapting them for a middle or high school audience are included. The script for the ALA program is included, as is a concluding chapter with further advice and tips. Librarians can follow the scripts included in the book, adapt them for their own resources and needs, or use them as a place to start their own programs. Of particular interest to teachers and school library media specialists, especially those who are experienced booktalkers, this guide will help lead the way to a new kind of presentation.—Melissa Rabey, Frederick County Public Libraries, Frederick, MD