Media Odds & Ends

I have started a little weekly (well, we'll see how "weekly" it becomes) newsletter for my teachers. I hope that it will be info. about what is going on in my media center, but also some odds and ends of information that I find in magazines, newspapers and the Web (especially my fiends in the blog world!). here is an excerpt from this weeks. Most of the odds & ends pertain to happenings in Atlanta, but if you are in or near the ATL, you might want to take a look!

I attended the Decatur Book Festival this weekend and heard presentations from author Melinda Long (who I am trying to have come visit our school this year) and an illustrator panel with Caldecott award winner Chris Raschka (The Hello Goodbye window), Judy Schachner (Skippy Jon Jones book) and two local illustrators. It is always interesting to me to hear from creative people like this and how they come up with ideas and how children’s books actually get produced, it amazes me how LONG a picture book can be in production. I also got lots of STUFF. Here are some interesting things I picked up:

Where the Wild Things Are exhibit: Until September 30th at the Breman Museum in Midtown Atlanta. Original art by Maurice Sendak and children’s activities related to his books.
Visit http://www.thebreman.org/ for more info.

16th annual Book Festival of the MJCCA. November 3 – 17th. Some great authors will be giving presentations, including Markus Zusak, author of The Book Thief, lawyer and author Alan Dershowitz and the authors of the book Three Women, Three Religions, One Quest for Common Ground. Check out the website for more details: http://www.atlantajcc.org/index.php?src=gendocs&ref=SE-BF07&category=SignatureEvents (I am going to try and attend the presentation by Markus Zusak on Sunday November 11, if anyone is interested in joining me!)

The Wren’s Nest, the historic home of author Joel Chandler Harris located in Atlanta is offering lots of programs for students this fall. One program is a reading challenge. Read five Brer Rabbit stories, then go to the website (see below) and download the Reader’s Tee form. Have a parent or teacher sign the form then visit the Wren’s nest and receive a COOL free t-shirt. Visit their website for details on this contest and other activities. http://www.wrensnestonline.com/

I picked up a flyer that looks VERY interesting. It is called Paper Back Swap. It is an online book club of people who “swap” their paperback books for just the price of shipping the book. I have not tried it YET, but I think I will be checking it out. Their website is http://www.paperbackswap.com/

One of my FAVORITE things to do in Decatur is go to the children’s book store Little Shop of Stories. It is just a great place, what is there not to love about a book store that has an ICE CREAM parlor attached to it! They have some great activities and book clubs throughout the year. Sign up for their newsletter and check out what they have to offer. They also host MANY authors throughout the year and do special educator presentations with some of these authors. They hosted Patricia Polacco last year and she was FABULOUS! Their website is http://www.littleshopofstories.com/

I picked up a flyer about Georgia Project WET. Their website includes information on Project WET (which is water education programs for teachers), Georgia River of Words (an environmental poetry and art contest) and also information about volunteer opportunities with Adopt a stream and Rivers Alive. Check out all this great environmental information at http://www.gaprojectwet.org/

One more thing I found over the weekend. The Atlanta magazine SKIRT! Is having an essay contest for girls in grades 5-8. Pass along this info, to anyone you know who might be interested.
“To celebrate the historic moment of a women running for the White House, skirt! Wants to hear from girls in grades 5 though 8 about why they should be President and how they would make a difference in the world if they were elected.
Your Campaign Package: be creative…design your own bumper sticker. Be Thoughtful…tell us about your campaign issues. Have Fun///Hillary Clinton’s campaign song is “You and I” by Celine Dion. What would yours be? Surprise us with your ideas and presentation.”
Prizes in each grade level will receive $150 and selected entries will appear in the magazine in January 2008. Entry deadline is November 15, 2007 and must include name, address, phone number, age, grade level and school. Send entries to: Skirt! 107 West Paces Ferry Road, Atlanta, GA 30305 or e-mail Stephanie.davis@skirtatl.com