December 2008 CMC Newsletter

Children's and YA Literature Database Reaches Milestone!

The 5,000th title, How Many Ways Can You Catch a Fly?, was added to the Children's and YA Literature Database on November 20, 2008. The database went online in May 2006 with a little over 1,500 titles, and has grown to over 5,000 titles in just 2.5 years. The database allows patrons to search for children's and young adult books at various reading levels in 40 genres, such as alphabet books, historical fiction, and the newest genre, books in French. All new trade books are added to the database as soon as they arrive in the CMC.

Visiting Author

Children's author and illustrator Will Hillenbrand visited the Centennial Library on November 13, 2008. Addressing approximately 30 students, faculty, and staff in the Curriculum Materials Center, Mr. Hillenbrand spoke about the importance of story in the lives of young people. He stressed the responsibility of teachers and parents to engender a love of story and reading in young children and suggested ways to encourage children to use their imaginations while listening to a story. Mr. Hillenbrand showed examples of his work and explained the processes by which he creates his stories and illustrations. Hillenbrand's books include Down by the Station, Asleep in the Stable, Kiss the Cow, and The Biggest, Best Snowman. The audience was treated to a sneak preview of illustrations from several of his upcoming books, including Don't Slam the Door! A reception was held in the CMC following his presentation. Mr. Hillenbrand's visit to Cedarville was made possible by Rebecca Stroble, elementary librarian for the Xenia Community Schools.

Spotlight on Realia

The Realia collection in the CMC numbers approximately 50 items. The term realia refers to actual artifacts, as opposed to pictures or models. The collection includes such things as peacock feathers, petrified wood, wooden shoes, cocoons, and porcupine quills.

INFOhio

The November issue of The RECORD, INFOhio's online monthly newsletter, is available on the INFOhio website. Visit the "Document Library" section of "About INFOhio" to read prior issues. INFOhio, a state-funded initiative for K-12 schools, is similar to OhioLINK in that it provides a number of databases to all public and private schools across the state.

Puppet Collection

The puppets have been separated from the rest of the teaching aids and placed on special racks to facilitate browsing the collection. The puppet collection now includes nearly 80 puppets of all types - stage puppets, hand puppets, and finger puppets.

New Award Book Added to Award Plan

The E. B. White Read Aloud Award, established by the Association of Booksellers for Children in 2004, "honors a book that reflects the universal read aloud standards that were created by the work of the author E. B. White in his classic books for children: Charlotte's Web, Stuart Little, and The Trumpet of the Swan." In 2006, in recognition of the fact that reading aloud is a pleasure at any age, the award was expanded into two categories: The E. B. White Read Aloud Award for Picture Books and The E. B. White Read Aloud Award for Older Readers. The CMC award plan now includes 24 different awards.

New Materials

During November, over 150 new items were added to the CMC collection. Click here for a complete list.