Tag Archives: Kids

#BookFaceFriday “Sidetracked” by Diana Harmon Asher

On your marks, get set, #BookFace!

School is out, and that means Summer Reading Programs all over the state are gearing up. With this #BookFaceFriday we’re racing to the finish line with “Sidetracked” by Diana Harmon Asher (Harry N. Abrams, 2017.)

It’s available for checkout as a book club kit or as an eBook or audiobook from Nebraska Overdrive Libraries. The 2023 Summer Reading Program theme is “All Together Now,” kids will be reading all about Kindness, Friendship, and Unity, the topics for this year’s program. You can find a list of other titles on the Nebraska Library Commission 2023 SRP Book List, created by Sally Snyder, our Coordinator of Children and Young Adult Library Services.

“An entertaining mix of events, conversations, anxieties, and reflections, Joseph’s first-person narrative engages readers on page one and never lets up…Justice is sweet when bullies get their comeuppance in this rewarding first novel.”

– Booklist

Find this title and many more through Nebraska OverDrive! Libraries participating in the Nebraska OverDrive Libraries Group currently have access to a shared and growing collection of digital downloadable audiobooks and eBooks. 188 libraries across the state share the Nebraska OverDrive collection of 21,696 audiobooks, 35,200 eBooks, and 3,964 magazines. As an added bonus it includes 130 podcasts that are always available with simultaneous use (SU), as well as SU ebooks and audiobook titles that publishers have made available for a limited time. If you’re a part of it, let your users know about this great title, and if you’re not a member yet, find more information about participating in Nebraska Overdrive Libraries!

Love this #BookFace & reading? Check out our past #BookFaceFriday photos on the Nebraska Library Commission’s Facebook page!

 
 

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#BookFaceFriday “My Ocean is Blue” by Darren Lebeuf

It’s an ocean of possibilities with #BookFaceFriday!

School is out, and that means Summer Reading Programs all over the state are gearing up. So we’re diving in with this #BookFace, “My Ocean is Blue” written by Darren Lebeuf and illustrated by Ashley Barron (‎Kids Can Press, 2020.) It’s a part of the”Oceans of Possibilities” collection in Nebraska OverDrive Libraries Kids & Teens, a list of titles specially curated for the 2022 Summer Reading Program. It’s available for check out as an eBook, along with the 285 other titles in the collection. “My Ocean is Blue” is also on the Nebraska Library Commission 2022 SRP Book List, created by Sally Snyder, our Coordinator of Children and Young Adult Library Services.

“My Ocean is Blue … strikes just the right note as Lebeuf and Barron share a day at the seaside through a poetic text that is beautifully mirrored by exquisite watercolour, pencil crayon and collage illustrations.”

The Globe and Mail

Find this title and many more through Nebraska OverDrive! Libraries participating in the Nebraska OverDrive Libraries Group currently have access to a shared and growing collection of digital downloadable audiobooks and eBooks. 188 libraries across the state share the Nebraska OverDrive collection of 21,696 audiobooks, 35,200 eBooks, and 3,964 magazines. As an added bonus it includes 130 podcasts that are always available with simultaneous use (SU), as well as SU ebooks and audiobook titles that publishers have made available for a limited time. If you’re a part of it, let your users know about this great title, and if you’re not a member yet, find more information about participating in Nebraska Overdrive Libraries!

Love this #BookFace & reading? Check out our past #BookFaceFriday photos on the Nebraska Library Commission’s Facebook page!

 
 

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Pretty Sweet Tech: Machine Learning on Code.org

Happy holidays everyone! This post will be short and sweet as we get ready for the holiday week. I stumbled across this Machine Learning activity on Code.org to help kids learn about the impact of artificial intelligence. The lesson has eight sections and is jam-packed with good information!

It starts with a video from two practitioners in the field, speaking without jargon for a younger audience. Honestly, this activity is fun and informative for adults as well!

You’ll learn how machine learning learns how to read data to make predictions about incoming data. The activities in this set are all ocean themed! Start by teaching the AI algorithm how to tell the difference between what is a fish, and what isn’t a fish to sort pollutants out of our water. Then, move on to find out how bias can enter the equation.

Eight sections later, and you will have learned the basics of how machine learning works, along with some of the pitfalls. Extend the activity by trying to apply it to other situations. Which occasions work best for machine learning in the real world? What doesn’t work as well?

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#BookFaceFriday “Because of Mr. Terupt”

This #BookFace is going back to school, back to school!

…to prove to dad I’m not a fool. Just kidding, #BookFaceFriday never has to prove that. As all the kids, teachers, families, and librarians gear up for another year, we’ve got a great start to your youth book clubs! Check out “Because of Mr. Terupt” by Rob Buyea (Yearling, 2011). Written from the perspective of seven fifth graders, this children’s chapter book has a character that every type of kid can relate to. As a part of our NLC Book Club Kit collection, this read would be a great start to any school year.

“The characters are authentic and the short chapters are skillfully arranged to keep readers moving headlong toward the satisfying conclusion.”–School Library Journal

This week’s #BookFaceFriday model is Gabe Kramer, our  new Director of Talking Book & Braille Services. Learn all about him in his recent NLC Staff profile!

Love this #BookFace & reading? Check out our past #BookFaceFriday photos on the Nebraska Library Commission’s Facebook page!

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#BookFaceFriday “Rosie’s Glasses”

Sometimes all you need is a new perspective . . .

This week’s #BookFace is all about rocking that perfect pair of specs! “Rosie’s Glasses” by Dave Whamond (Kids Can Press, 2018). It’s a wordless picture book that speaks volumes about learning to find the bright side and beauty in life. Young Rosie discovers that a change in perspective can change the way we experience the world.

“… an excellent tool for discussing how good and bad moods can alter perspectives.” — School Library Journal, September 2018

This week’s #BookFaceFriday model is Laura England-Biggs, Librarian at Keene Memorial Library and presenter in Wednesday’s episode of NCompass Live. Check out the recorded show, “Picture Book City: Reorganizing Our Storybooks by Subject” in our NCompass Live archives.

This title comes from our large collection of children’s and young adult books sent to us as review copies from book publishers. When our Children and Young Adult Library Services Coordinator, Sally Snyder, is done with them, the review copies are available for the Library System Directors to distribute to school and public libraries in their systems. Public and school library staff are also welcome to stop by and select some titles for their library collections. Contact Sally Snyder for more information.

Love this #BookFace & reading? Check out our past #BookFaceFriday photos on the Nebraska Library Commission’s Facebook page!

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#BookFaceFriday “Lemons”

When life gives you lemons, we make #BookFace!

NLC’s #BookFaceFriday is joining forces with Nebraska’s Reading Classic Committee!  Reading Classics is a statewide competition that promotes and encourages Nebraska Schools to form teams and recognize outstanding young readers. They just launched a friendly #BookFace competition as students await the new 2019-2020 reading list. “Lemons” by Melissa Savage (Yearling, 2018). It’s one of the 10 nominated titles for the 2019-2020 Golden Sower Chapter Books list!

“Nine year old Lemonade Liberty’s mom taught her that when life gives you lemons, you make lemonade.  Lemonade learns how to make lemonade out of rotten lemons.  Those lemons come from losing and leaving everything and moving to a small town of Willow Creek, California with a woolly beast lurking in the woods.   This is a debut novel packed with humor, mystery, friendship, family secrets and even Bigfoot!”Cyndi Shinn

The Nebraska Reading Classic Committee chooses books for the reading list for each Division with input from coaches, team members, and many other sources. The list includes award-winning books such as Caldecott,  Newbery, Golden Sower, and many other awards. We snapped this week’s #BookFace while members of the committee were discussing titles to add or remove for the 2020 reading list. Specifically the 2019-2020 Golden Sower nominees.

This week’s #BookFace models are committee members, Cyndi Shinn, and Marjorie Brubaker!

Love this #BookFace & reading? We suggest checking out all the titles available for book clubs at http://nlc.nebraska.gov/ref/bookclub. Check out our past #BookFaceFriday photos on the Nebraska Library Commission’s Facebook page!

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#BookFaceFriday “Jane Austen: Her Heart Did Whisper”

“The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid.”
― Northanger Abbey

Jane Austen really knows how to tell it like it is. This week’s #BookFaceFriday is a tribute to this favorite author and all her works. “Jane Austen: Her Heart Did Whisper” by Manuela Santoni (Graphic Universe TM, 2018) is a unique graphic novel for kids and teens introducing them to the life of the author.

“It is a truth universally acknowledged that a young woman in possession of a keen mind must be in want of a husband . . . This graphic work of historical fiction, translated from the Italian, examines the life of beloved author Jane Austen. The story begins with spreads from the end of Jane’s life as she writes to her sister, Cassandra, remembering their time together as children, progressing into womanhood, and recounting how she cultivated, with the support of her father, her love of reading and writing.  The author shows faith in younger readers by including some challenging vocabulary that may have them reaching for dictionaries. However, the illustrations and context clues make the work accessible. A lovely, quick read.”―Kirkus Reviews

This title comes from our large collection of children’s and young adult books sent to us as review copies from book publishers. When our Children and Young Adult Library Services Coordinator, Sally Snyder, is done with them, the review copies are available for the Library System Directors to distribute to school and public libraries in their systems. Public and school library staff are also welcome to stop by and select some titles for their library collections. Contact Sally Snyder for more information.

This week’s #BookFace model is Aimee Owen, NLC’s Information Services Librarian!

Love this #BookFace & reading? We suggest checking out all the titles available for book clubs at http://nlc.nebraska.gov/ref/bookclub. Check out our past #BookFaceFriday photos on the Nebraska Library Commission’s Facebook page!

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