The Nerdy Book Club-Blog Share

 The Nerdy Book Club

Do you consider yourself a book nerd? If so, this is the blog for you! 

Nerdy Book Club

The Nerdy Book Club offers children's and young adult book reviews, podcast, and even their own book awards! Let's check out some of the great information below.

Nerdy Site News

One section of the blog offers "Nerdy Site News". Bloggers discuss topics like the pandemic, whether or not to join a book club, and interesting news and happenings with the site. I personally enjoyed the post, Do You Want to Join a Book Club? by Donalyn Miller. The post describes the advantage of book clubs and even how reading children's and young adult literature benefits educators. (Which is so true!) Finally, the blogger includes a list of books read in the book club which can be incredibly helpful to new librarians/media specialists.

2020 Nerdy Book Awards

Another great section of this blog is the book awards. Every year, the site announces the nerdy book club winners in the following categories:

• Picture Books: Fiction,
• Picture Books: Nonfiction
• Early Readers/ Chapter Books
• Graphic Novels
• Poetry and Novels in Verse
• MG/YA Nonfiction
• Middle Grade Fiction
• Young Adult Fiction

Viewers and subscribers can vote on their favorites each year. I love this! This gives readers the chance to say what books they enjoy and recommend it to others! When I started the program, I was positive I wanted to work in the elementary school library. However, after taking a course in young adult literature, I have found a passion for that too. If I decide to pursue middle grades, I will use recommendations from blogs (Like this one!) and reviews to help me recommend and select books while I read more YA novels myself.

SOCIAL MEDIA ALERT!!!

Another huge selling point of this blog is their big social media presence. They are on Facebook and Twitter. I don't know about y'all, but I get a fair share of my information from social media, so this is a big deal for me! I love that I can like Nerdy Book Club on Facebook and get the latest news, videos, and blog posts while playing on my phone. 

The latest post gives suggestions for Down Syndrome Awareness Month. How cool is that? I know that is something practical I could use in the library to help with programming. They also have some great videos with educators, authors, and librarians. I have included a link below to a video with Colby Sharp (a fifth grade teacher) and Megan Freeman the author of Alone. The link to purchase the book is also below.

 Link to Facebook Video

Purchase Alone by Megan Freeman

I hope you all get a chance to check out this blog and all the great information available on the site and social media accounts. I can't wait to read your comments and see what features you find most helpful and could use in the library!

References

Freeman, M. E. (2021). Alone. Aladdin, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing Division.

www. Facebook.com

Nerdy Book Club. Facebook. (n.d.). Retrieved October 28, 2021, from https://www.facebook.com/nerdybookclub/.

Nerdy book club. Nerdy Book Club. (n.d.). Retrieved October 28, 2021, from https://nerdybookclub.wordpress.com/.

Storytelling Reflection #2

Blog Post #4 

Storytelling Reflection #2

Link to photo

    Hello readers! Today's blog will be another reflection of my last storytelling experience. This time, we will look at the planning process of telling a story with props and also the execution of that plan. Hopefully my experience will help you learn or better prepare for your own storytelling experience in the future.

    First, I looked at some of my options for props. There are quite a few choices out there. Finger puppets, hand puppets, and the felt board were just a few of the options. In the past, I have used both finger puppets and hand puppets and found them difficult to manage. As a new storyteller, I feel like both finger and hand puppets are for more advanced storytellers because they are simple visuals. I personally believe they require a more detailed account of the story, voice inflections, and an experienced storyteller to deliver a good performance. However, the felt board has more pieces which I hoped would make me feel more supported in this storytelling experience. (I hope that makes sense!) 

The problem was, I didn't have a felt board! I put a video in one of my previous blog posts about how to make your own felt board. Unfortunately, I don't have the resources to make all the storybook characters and pieces to do a good retelling. Therefore, I began searching. I was looking for both a felt board and also some premade felt characters that would fit the retelling experience I was hoping for. During my search I came upon this felt board on Etsy. (The link is below.)

I selected this board specifically for two reasons. I am 

going to filming myself and I need something on the smaller side. This board is 12x13 which is still visible to my audience, but not too large it is cumbersome. 

Second, it has this nifty hand strap which makes it so easy to hold! I thought this would be incredible helpful while filming, but also in the library! 

After selecting this board, I needed the actual story pieces to be able to use it! I started searching the same Etsy store and couldn't believe how many choices there were! There were felt characters and pieces to stories like Little Red Ridding Hood, Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, Pete the Cat and so many more! She offers bundles too! I highly encourage you all to check it out!

Link to Felt Board

Link to Felt Stories

So I bet you're wondering what story I selected! Well, I saw a family favorite and had to have it! If you Take a Mouse to School by Laura Numeroff. This is one of my daughter's favorites so I knew I had to pick it! Plus, the characters and pieces included in the set where too cute! The link to them are here. If you Take a Mouse to School Felt Set

This set was perfect! Now I just needed to plan and practice the retelling before filming. The physical book I had was a miniature version which actually was helpful because It was small and I could keep it hidden while using the props and doing the retelling. After a few tries. I learned it was super helpful to line the props up in order as they were introduced in the story. This kept me on track and helped me make sure I didn't miss anything. I tried several times retelling without the book, but this particular story has so many parts, I really needed the book to make sure I didn't leave anything out. Here is the video if you didn't get a chance to watch it last week.

Looking back on that retelling, I feel like a did an okay job as a beginner. I am glad I asked questions to my audience in an effort to make them feel a part of the story. However, I wish I had more inflection in my voice. This experience was the first time I was worried it wouldn't keep the attention of young children. So I tested that theory with my five year old daughter. I had her watch the video to see if she was quickly bored or if she stayed engaged. It was a success! She watched the whole thing and never took her eyes off the screen. This was very comforting. However, this experience has encouraged me to get better. I have been researching the benefits of using the felt board and watching some other storytellers use them. I have included a list of benefits and some great videos. Check them out below for some great examples. 😊

Link to picture site

I hope my experience, tips, and resources were helpful. Thanks for checking out my blog. :)

References

Numeroff, L. (2002). If you take a mouse to school: Laura Numeroff; illustrated by Felicia Bond. HarperCollins.

Why felt? the benefits of felt board storytelling and play. Story Time Felts. (n.d.). Retrieved October 21, 2021, from http://www.funfelt.com/benefits-of-felt.html.

Post 3-Storytelling Reflection

 Post 3- Storytelling Reflection

We just completed our second storytelling experience which required us to retell the story without the book. This experience was harder than our first assignment where we were able to have the words in front of us and did not need to rely on cues or memory to tell the story. I have included my video below.

Knowing that this assignment did require more planning, I used a lot of information from chapter 4 in our textbook, Storytelling Art and Technique by Ellin Greene and Janice Del Negro. This chapter is all about the planning process and it gives tips and strategies to help achieve a successful storytelling experience. 

After reviewing chapter four, I created cue cards for the retelling of Mrs. Wishy Washy by Joy Cowley. Although this is short story with repetitive text, I wanted to be prepared in case I got nervous and forgot a part of the story. I included a link to some examples of cue cards for reference or as a tool for others to use in future storytelling experiences. 

Storytelling Cue Cards

Along with using the cueing technique, I also found this great video of a children's librarian and also professional storyteller giving 5 important tips for storytelling. Karrie Korroch's key suggestions are:

 1. Voice- Think about your voice and pay attention to your volume and speed.

2. Content-Tell the story from your own life.

3. Know the Parts of the Story- Don't just memorize, it can easily distract you and the audience will notice it! Think about beginning, middle, and end. Try a map! 

4. Audience-Think carefully about who is listening to you.

5. Prepare-Tell your story to friends, family, or anyone who will listen. The more you tell, the easier it will be!

After selecting my book and knowing the strategies I wanted to use for this experience, I searched for a few additional videos of people storytelling without books and props. I noticed that this was very difficult to find.  Most videos were digital storytelling or used the book or props. I knew it would be more difficult to keep the attention of my audience without a visual aid, so I brainstormed how to make my story more engaging without these. That's when I decided to tell my story in character with a costume. I emailed my professor and asked permission and here is the result.

I think adding the costume and putting some mud on my face really helped make the story more exciting and gave my audience something to look at instead of just hearing the story.  I also made sure to use voices which made the retelling more of a performance than just a reading. 

Overall, I am happy with how this experience turned out. I got positive feedback from both my classmates and my instructor. It did take more preparation than the first storytelling experience, but I think that hard work showed in my video. Also, it pushed me out of my comfort zone, which really helped me grow as a storyteller. I am excited to continue this! I will end this post with a  few quotes. Remember the importance of every storytelling experience!