Oopsie Daisies!

So Tuesday night when I was at work, we had a Daisy Troop touring the library. Our supervisor was leading the tour, taking them around to the different sections of the library before bringing them in the back. I was working in the bomb room at the time, and when the tour reached me, I ran around to the lobby and threw some heavier books into the bookdrop so they would get the full effect of what it's like in there when books are returned. Then they were allowed to take turns checking in books on the RFID reader we have before continuing on their way. They seemed to be excited about the whole thing, which was really cute.

Once they had left and finished their tour, my supervisor came back to the bomb room. She let out a huge sigh of relief (I guess they had been a little loud and crazy), and asked me if I wanted to hear a funny tour story. I, of course, said yes.

Apparently, when she had taken them back to where the crates were for the books that are being sent to other branches, she was greeted with this:

Yes, my friends, that is one of like... 3 Parental Advisory books we have in our ENTIRE collection right on top. And being little girls, they started to giggle and point, at which point my supervisor was like, Ooookaaay, time to go this way! Whoops!

James, 3rd Grade Boy Genius

So yesterday I was shelving in children's. There were two younger boys who decided it would be a good idea to start running around and playing tag, so I asked them to stop running. One of the boy's mothers promptly appeared and chastised her son for running ("Were you running? We don't run in the library!"), and made him stay with her for the rest of their visit. The other boy had no parent in sight.

I continued shelving, and every once in a while I'd hear rapid footsteps. At one point I peeked around a shelf, just in time to see him halt to a walk, and he said "I'm not running..." in that sing-songy mocking voice that just drives you crazy.

Then, I was at the dvds, and he came over to me. This is the conversation that ensued:

Boy: "So, what? Are you just doing some work?"

Me: "Yes, that's what I'm doing."

Boy: *Pauses* "Do you know who I am?" (in that tone of voice and hand gestures that insinuate that I should indeed know who he is because is all-mighty and important)

Me: "No, who are you?"

Boy: "I'm James, 3rd grade boy genius."

Me: *trying not to laugh* "3rd grade, huh? That's a good grade."

Boy: *nods and walks off*

I just about died. When this kid grows up... he's going to be terrible.

Mini Update

Things are back in swing at the library with school being back and the after school special has returned. Luckily, since today was Friday and we close at 3, most of the kids didn't show, but the other afternoons have been full of misbehaving and/or loud adolescents.

There have, of course, been a few cute kids that haven't fit into the above category. My favorite was yesterday. I was shelving in children's, and this little girl (maybe 7 or so) came up to me.

Girl: "So.... where do you guys keep the good chapter books here?"
Me: "Well, that depends on what you mean by good."
Girl: "Ummm.... books about butterflies. Or insects."

So, if you're looking for a good chapter book, pick one about butterflies or insects!

Mama! Mama! Mama! Mama! (or, Stickers fix Everything)

If you read the title of this post... you will see what I sat and listened to for about half an hour while shelving over in children's today. This little girl, who was probably 4 or 5, kept yelling "Mama! Mama! Mama" over and over and over. And over. In a shrill, little girl voice, with that upward inflection at the end. She was sitting at one of the KiddiMacs, and her little brother, who was probably about two, was sitting at a different one, pounding his fists away on the keyboard.

"Mama" was wandering around the children's section on her phone.

I was about three steps away from grabbing my supervisor to have her talk to them, when "Mama" finally went over to them to stop them from misbehaving. After dragging them away from the computers ("Mama-ing" and fussing the whole time) and trying to get them to sit down and read, they continued to be loud. It was just headache-inducing.

Apparently the answer for fixing misbehavior is bribery. With stickers. After a couple of minutes, my only male co-worker, and older gentleman, came over to the children's section. I gave him a grateful look, knowing that he was going to say something to them. He sat down at the little table with them, and gave them each a sticker. I'm not sure what he said, but it was probably you can have a sticker if you're quiet. Which, they were. Mostly. With

a lot of shushing from "Mama."

And while there was another screaming children family, there were a couple of kids and parents today that asked for my help, politely, so that was nice :)

And here's a random book I found while shelving a bit ago....

What's wrong with this picture...?

Hi!

Hello lovely readers (if any of you are still with me)! Sorry to have been away so long!

I only have two short things to share with you all today, but I wanted to get a post out anyway.

Firstly, our Dummies books are coming home this Wednesday (August 3rd). Yay! They're having a reception/celebration at HQ, if any of you in the area want to come help us celebrate! We'll also be putting stickers in all of the books to mark that they were won in the contest, and so you can come help with that as well :) For more information, check out the fb event.

Secondly, we had the most ridiculous thing happen yesterday involving a Terry Goodkind fan/library patron. I walked behind the help desk and saw this huge stack of Terry Goodkind books, probably 8-9 tall. I made a comment to my supervisor along the lines of "Wow, somebody's a Terry Goodkind fan."

She replied, "Yeah, such a fan that she took all of the barcodes and RFID tags off. And she's had these since February."

Apparently, this woman came into the library, placed the stack of books on the counter, said that they were "lost" and that she had found them, and that she was in a hurry so to just "let her know" about charges and such. But she had taken off all of the barcodes and RFID tags off... meaning that there was no way to track the books. And, because both of those things are really stuck on, ripping them off pretty much ruins the books' appearance. Luckily, one of the books was covered in Mylar, and she didn't manage to get that barcode off, so she could be traced in the system and be charged appropriately (meaning she gets the maximum late fee charge on EVERY book). But seriously? Who does that?

Sweet-tastic Children's Books

I'm pretty sure I've said it before, but one of my favorite things about working over in the Children's Section so often is getting to find and read through some pretty awesome books. The artwork, the stories themselves, and the characters are just so interesting to me. So today, I wanted to share some of the more sweet-tastic ones I've found recently with you all.

The Crows of Pearblossom by Aldous Huxley - What first caught my eye about this book was the artwork on the cover. I love the style it's done in. Then I saw that it was written by Aldous Huxley (author of Brave New World), which I thought was pretty awesome. I read through it, and in true older children's story fashion, it's very... blunt, and somewhat violent. Huxley wrote it in 1944 (it was the first of two children's stories he wrote) for his niece. You can read more about it here.

Crazy Hair by Neil Gaiman - Another book that I was drawn to by the artwork on the cover. It's so unique, and very unlike any illustration style I had seen in a children's book before. The story itself is very out there, revolving around a man who has crazy hair (surprise!) and a young girl who wants to tame it, but is warned not to because of all of the things that live inside of it. It's wild, and I love it. (You might recognize Neil Gaiman... he wrote Coraline several other science-fiction novels.)

Mr. and Mrs. God in the Creation Kitchen by Nancy Wood - Alright, I'll admit it, when I first saw the title of this book, I was a little skeptical. But then, when I read through it, I was pleasantly surprised. Not only is the artwork beautiful, the message in the story is pretty great as well. Obviously, it leans more toward the creationist side of explaining how the universe/world came into existence, but it does so in a more progressive manner (taking into account geological estimates of the age of the earth and how long it would have taken for everything to come about). I thought it was very well done, and appreciated it's novelty.

Not much has been happening at work lately. Lots of bomb room work and shelving in children's because of the SRP. I have encountered some really adorable, and some really bratty, children lately though, which has made things fun. My favorite was this little girl from the other day who was probably about 9 or so. I was shelving, and I had a book that she wanted to see in my arms, so she said, "Excuse me, if you don't mind may I please see what that Great Illustrated Classic is?" So polite, I was pretty much blown away.

Another entertaining conversation I overheard was:

2 children asking for something and acting kind of hyper.

Adult says no.

2 children ask again.

Adult says "N. O. What does that spell?"

"No!" chorus the two children excitedly and they pretty much start behaving.

I just had to laugh... I can only wish that someday my children will be that excited about being told "no."

Also, another shout-out to everyone that's been participating in my Summer Reading Program! You are all awesome, keep reading! :)

Sesame Pasta Chicken Salad and Updates

So it was announced on Tuesday that we have two people transferring from our branch. One of whom is B, my supervisor. :( I'm really bummed, things just aren't going to be the same without him there. But I am happy for him -he's leaving because he's been promoted to Assistant Branch Manager, which is really great. His last day is tomorrow, and luckily I'll be working. It's going to be a bittersweet day, I'm sure.

On Wednesday, we had a going away luncheon for him and the other girl who is leaving (she also got a promotion, yay!). I don't work on Wednesdays, but I went in anyway for the luncheon because I wanted to be there, and brought a pasta salad. When my co-worker who was in charge of putting the event together told me to bring a pasta salad I was like... "uh... I've never made one of those, but okay!" (I associate pasta salads with mayonnaise, which I can't stand.) So I checked my favorite recipe site and found a recipe for a "Sesame Pasta Chicken Salad." Here's the link to the original, but here it is with the alterations I made:

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup sesame seeds
• 1 (16 ounce) package bow tie pasta
• 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/3 cup soy sauce
• 1/3 cup rice vinegar
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 3 tablespoons white sugar
• 1/2 tablespoon fresh ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 3 cups shredded, cooked chicken breast meat
• 1/3 cup chopped green onion
• 1 red bell pepper
• 1 yellow bell pepper
• 1 cup julienne carrots

Directions:

1. Heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Add sesame seeds, and cook stirring frequently until lightly toasted. Remove from heat, and set aside.
2. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta, and cook for 8 to 10 minutes, or until al dente. Drain pasta, and rinse under cold water until cool. Transfer to a large bowl.
3. In a jar with a tight-fitting lid, combine vegetable oil, soy sauce, vinegar, sesame oil, sugar, sesame seeds, ginger, and pepper. Shake well.
4. Pour sesame dressing over pasta, and toss to coat evenly. Gently mix in chicken and vegetables.

It was so good, and definitely gets better the longer it's refrigerated so the flavors can meld together.

I'm so looking forward to people's participation in the SRP now, especially after getting your comments on my last post! And 2 people have already filled out the form! Yay! I also got to fill it out for the first time, because I finished Charlaine Harris's latest, Dead Reckoning, today before work (review to follow soon)!

Work was rather bizarre today... the storms threw everyone off I think. We lost power briefly, and the lights kept flickering enough to shut the computers off a couple of times. It was crazy to watch out in the parking lot with the rain just pouring down and the trees been blown practically sideways. Someone also managed to drive their mini van up on the sidewalk when they were trying to leave. We had a leak inside the building.

And, when I was on my break and sitting in the breakroom, I noticed this woman walk slowly by the opening, but I couldn't see her very well at all so I just ignored it because she went into the staff bathroom. Then, as she was leaving, I got a better look at her and it was a mom with a walking toddler and a baby in a stroller. And it was a "huh, that's weird, she shouldn't be back here but maybe she was sent back here for some reason," moment, and then I heard one of my co-workers say, "Ma'am?" When she was confronted about it, she said she had seen the sign for the bathroom, when the sign clearly says "STAFF ONLY." And then she went on to just shrug it off and ask if she could check books out off the cart. T, my co-worker, said she was clearly not all there, and the first time she had seen her that night she was just hanging out on the floor next to our hold shelves. Go figure.

The last day of school is tomorrow! That means no more after school special. And, we're only open until 3 because it is a Friday, so it'll be a short one!

Happy Birthday Baby Face :)

Happy Friday everyone! Here's a laugh to start your weekend :)

The following was found during the after school special (the magical time when the local high and middle school students swarm and hang out at the library) yesterday. In case you can't read it, I have provided a transcription for "easy" reading.

Happy Birthday Baby Face :)

Waddup Baby face

I remeber the 1st time we met was at your game

You was shy and you didn't even wanna give me a kiss instead you gave me candy LMAOO!!, but after that we became friends

I love you like a fat kid love cookies!!!

Better yet more than you love basketball!!! and we know that a lot.

Whenever I got some bad goin on I always talk to you about it. You never seem to fail me. I'm writting this b/c this is how I feel about from the bottom of my heart. You are so important to me like an heart and a liver :)

I love our silly convos and your goofy stories. It always cheers me up

I apprieciate God for [giving] me one of his best angles we[?]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BABYFACE!

Love,

Teddy bear

Books Your Kids Could Read Someday...

Today was a rather uneventful day comprised of shelving, hunting for books, and working in the bomb room, so I decided to share a few childrens' books I've come across that I find amusing...

This is a board book based on a childrens' book called Underwear! I think it's slightly creepy that Zachary the Zebra looovvesss underwear. I have a feeling that Zachary is going to grow up having a couple of issues...

In case you can't read the little part in the corner... this gem is brought to you by the adventures of Marshall and Art. Clever.

Yeah... this one's self-explanatory.