A great benefit of ebooks is that they have a basic level of accessibility–you don’t necessarily have to hold the book, and since ebooks can be read across a variety of devices including computers, you can use assistive input devices like speech recognition or pointing devices to read.
Tuesday afternoon was a time for celebrating the relaunch of My StoryMaker with magical stories, life-sized characters, and ,of course, cupcakes. My StoryMaker was named “One of the Best Websites for Teaching and Learning” by the American Association of School Librarians, a division of the American Library Association. Children from all over the world in their homes and classrooms connect to Carnegie Library of Library of Pittsburgh to tell their imaginative tales.
Greg Gardiner, from the Idea Foundry, coordinated My StoryMaker’s upgrade and visited the festivities. He quickly engaged the children from our Homeschool Tuesdays group to tell a story with him using My StoryMaker. Soon, he and the kids wove a fantastic tale involving a magical book, a dinosaur, and several knights dancing across the pages. Just as the story was about to conclude, Greg invited them to write their own ending. Everyone took off to the computers to make their own stories come to life!
My StoryMaker is an exciting part of our mission to engage the community in literacy and learning. It is also a part of the storytelling legacy of the Children’s Department. Visit us online or in person and experience the magic of a good story!
We’re so proud of our local authors (and librarians)!
Rebecca O’Connell, author of The Baby Goes Beep and Danny Is Done with Diapers, has written another fun book for busy babies.
The Storytelling and Folk& Fairytale Collection in the Children’s Department contains both circulating and historic reference books that beckon children, parents, caregivers, students, and educators. It is a vast resource for anyone interested in a fascinating story. Our department has picture book folk and fairy tales, collected tales (both circulating and reference), books on storytelling, and historic volumes that are significant to the history of children’s literature. The stories are from around the world and reflect diverse cultures and traditions. They are all there just waiting to be shared and enjoyed.
As our colleagues in Teensburgh remind us, the National Educators Association urges us to celebrate Dr. Seuss’ birthday on March 2 by reading to a child. Dr. Seuss himself provides plenty of options:
There are lots of other wacky books to read:
There are Theodore Seuss Geisel Award and Honor winners:
And many wild choices:
And well, You’re Only Old Once:
You might want to check out Seussville and visit Whoville, Mulberry Street, McElligot’s Pool and the Jungle of Nool.
We in the Main Children’s Room will offer Dance around the World and Hear a Story Too at 2:00 PM. And when you’re at our Events site, amble around and see the many opportunities available for your little one to hear stories. Stop in. You never know what surprising Places You’ll Go, when you visit the library.
Tina Zubak
to get out your dancing shoes or your two left feet . . . either are acceptable and welcome at “Dance Around the World . . . and Hear a Story, Too!” We’ll start at 2:00 pm on Saturday, March 2.
And while you’re at it, you may want to check out some of these dance titles:
Dance / written by Andrée Grau
Even as an adult, I find the common sense of Mr. Rogers tremendously comforting and wish we grownups wouldn’t forget it so quickly. We have his books, though, giving gentle guidance on topics from divorce, adoption and step families to disability. I love that he engaged with kids without talking down to them; his respect for them was subtle and strong at the same time. Check out this Post-Gazette article honoring Pittsburgh’s best neighbor on the anniversary of his death: Mister Rogers still a favorite neighbor
Today is Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day, dedicated to the memory of Sally Ride. In addition to the science resources mentioned in the Sally Ride post, check out these biographies of women who changed science:
Ada Byron Lovelace: the lady and the computer. The daughter of famous poet Lord Byron, she turned impatience and imagination onto mechanical inclinations, ultimately writing an Analytical Engine that was a prototype for computer programming. “The Analytical Engine has no pretensions whatever to originate anything. It can do whatever we know how to order it to perform.”
Marie Curie: scientist who made glowing discoveries. Like two new elements.
