A new year approaches....and I have a plan.  Wishing all a joyous 2013 filled with friends, family, and lots and lots to read! Click to enlarge.

First Impressions

First impressions are so very important.  When considering our libraries, children and adults both have very strong, emotional memories tied to those spaces and the people in those spaces.  Some are very good, and some....well, the rumors of library dragons don't come from nowhere.

Recently, we had a student from Sweden attend our school for a few months.  He had mastered very little English when he started, but jumped right in and learned so much that he was able to achieve quite a bit, especially in reading.  Could I have read The Hobbit in Swedish in 3rd grade?  Not sure if I could have managed it all.  He read the book in English and loved it! His mother was a visitor to our school library, and even brought grandmas in (as they were visiting the family in America) to look around too.  Now, after reading through a few of her blog posts about life in America, I realize school libraries as we know them are not a big part of the Swedish educational system.  But us?  We made a rocking first impression!  The blog "Books in Between" is in Swedish, but thanks to Google translator and Chrome, the gist is understood. 

Thank you Susanna and Björn for visiting our library.  Glad we could help you!