Kids love to hear stories about animals. They love it even more if they discover that it’s a story written that’s based on a real animal. Now, with the age that I work with it’s sometimes hard to convince them that it’s about a real animal if it’s an illustrated picture book. So I introduced Dewey: There’s a Cat in the Library by explaining that it was written by a librarian, Vicki Myron, in memory of her library cat, Dewey. Before reading the story, I showed this video to get them excited and let them see actual photos of Dewey and Vicki:

It’s kind of a goofy video, but they like it and dance in their seats. It’s a good intro to the story, which is such a cute one. Then after reading it, I show this “interview” of Dewey and Vicki at the Spencer Public Library from 1998.

The looks on their faces when they hear that someone put Dewey in the book return and he nearly froze to death is heartbreaking. Then, of course, they all want to know if Dewey is still alive. I explain to them that he passed away in 2006 after a long and happy life with his friends in the library.

On the grad school front this week, I’ve been working on my School Climate presentation. I talked my professor into letting me use Prezi instead of PowerPoint, and I’m so proud of how it turned out! So, of course, I must share it!