KAY WINTERS ROARS FOR LIBRARIES

I've known Kay Winters online for years, but we didn't get a chance to meet until ALA this summer. When I asked if she'd like to stop by this blog to share her Library Love, I got an enthusiastic YES!   

 

 

Please start by telling us a little about yourself. Take it away, Kay!

I am a children’s book author, who was a classroom teacher, reading specialist and teacher of teachers.

I was fortunate to be a consultant for the American International Schools in exotic places like Egypt, India, Nepal, Italy, Jordan, Israel and Greece. I was also an adjunct instructor   At Marywood College and Lehigh University, teaching graduate courses in Reading and Language Arts. But I always wanted to write children’s books. I took early retirement in 1992, after 29 years of teaching, and started my new career. Since then 18 books have been published. Many have won awards, prizes, and been put on state reading lists.

 

One of my favorite parts of being an author is doing school visits and speaking at libraries and conferences. I feel really lucky to be able to follow my dream.

(School visit in El Segundo,  California) 

 Library Love When You Were A Cub:

The first time I went to the library, I was five.
I couldn’t believe my luck.
All those books!
You could pick out ten, take them home, read them and get new ones.
And it was free!

 

   

 

(Kay - first time with library book – at 5)

In the 40’s when I was in elementary school, children’s books were not as plentiful as they are now. Neither was the money to buy them. I roller skated to the library with a big blue sack on my back filled with books to return and filled it with new ones to bring home.  At the library I found fairy tales, poetry, and realistic stories about children, and books that brought history to life. Treasures! The next week, more tantalizing tales were waiting to be discovered.

I was an only child. We moved frequently. I was in three first grades. Books were my companions. At the library I always felt at home.

More Library Love: Can you share your present day love for libraries from an author’s perspective?

Today my love of libraries has only increased. As a classroom teacher, college instructor, and now a children’s book author, I depend on libraries for ideas for new books, for reference materials for books I am currently developing and for my daily diet of learning about the past, the present, and the future.  Because of libraries and their riches I am never bored. We go to California for a month in the winter and New Mexico for a month in the summer. I read e-books on my ipad on the plane, but as soon as we arrive, we drive straight to the local library where I get my temporary card and fill up my sack with books to savor in our new surroundings.

I am a frequent presenter with my writer’s group at the NJ- SLA conference in the fall.

And this year I also presented at the Pa. SLA conf. with Pat Brisson.

(photo with some of the members of Bucks County Authors Books for Children: Wendy Pfeffer, Pam Swallow and Pat Brisson our panel for the  NJSLA conf. )

Author’s Roar: Funding for libraries, especially school libraries, is currently under threat. As an author, what are your thoughts about that?  

Unfortunately most politicians, the general public and even some school administrators have no idea what school librarians actually do. Librarians as a group are generally not publicity oriented. They are busy doing their job, not describing it with specific details to the press, and the public. Hence the popular assumption is… well we don’t need a trained person to do that job, librarians just check out books.

 Nothing could be further from the truth.

The school librarian is key to helping students and teachers delve deeply into their curriculum's, key to suggest sources and resources for students and teachers to use, key to introducing busy teachers to new books and materials, and helping students move beyond Wikipedia to do their research. Education is not about scoring well on tests, or filling in the blanks.  Education is about learning how to learn, and creating an environment where students catch the excitement so they want to learn. A school librarian is a key component in that equation.

 

(Rita Wingle librarian  from Conrad Weiser Elementary School in Pa.)

She even drove to my house on a Saturday  to collect the books she had pre-ordered for the students. There were too many for me to sign at the visit.

Hooray for ALA! 
I have gone to ALA many times. Twice I signed and autographed my own books there. Abe Lincoln: The Boy Who Loved Books was signed  at the Simon and Schuster booth and  in June 2012, Pete and Gabby: The Bears go to Town..at the Albert Whitman booth.  I go because it is so nourishing to be at a convention where the focus is on books and love of books. The educational conferences these days seem to focus on testing.

 (ALA at the Albert Whitman booth.)

A Lion’s Pride of Programs:

School librarians are often the people who book me for school visits. They are usually the staff members in the school who prepare the children for the visit by introducing them to my books before I arrive. Some encourage students do projects. Others share the books with the teachers, and they supervise activities that connect to the books.  The immediate recognition from the children when the familiar titles flash on the screen, the writing projects the children have created themselves, or the bulletin boards using the format or theme from one of my books make the visit so worthwhile for both the author and reader.

(K with librarian Sharon Edelberg, Burnet Hill Elementary School under welcoming banner… and she marked my parking spot with balloons! A great way to start the day.)

Library Lion’s Roar: ONE LAST BIG ROAR
My local library is my favorite place to go! I depend on the librarians to get me copies of reference books from other Pennsylvania libraries for various research projects that precede a new book. I read other children’s books to get ideas for new ones. Going to the library, which I do on a weekly basis, makes my day!

Let’s Link Up : 

Website: http://www.kaywinters.com  

Facebook:  www.facebook.com/public/Kay-Winters  


Thank you, Kay for sharing your Library Love with us!

Love Libraries? Give a Roar in “Comments” below.

Note to Librarians: If you’re a Youth Librarian working in a school or public library we’d love to hear about you and your library. Contact Janet at jlcarey@hotmail.com for an interview slot. 

 

AUTHOR TRUDI TRUEIT'S LIBRARY LOVE

Welcome to Library Lions interviews Raising a Roar for libraries and the outstanding librarians serving youth in schools and public libraries across the U.S. Please Roar today’s guest author Trudi Trueit here to share her Library Love with us.

 

Welcome Trudi. Tell us a little about yourself.

I’ve been writing professionally since I was 13 years old (I guess I knew my destiny early on!). My first job was writing a teen column for my hometown newspaper in Kent, WA. After graduating from college with a B.A. degree in Broadcast Journalism, I worked as a TV news reporter and weather forecaster in Yakima, WA then Spokane, WA. I’ve published 87 fiction and nonfiction books, including the Julep O’Toole series (Penguin) My new tween novel, Stealing Popular (Aladdin) is debuting this month.

 

Secrets of a Lab Rat series (Aladdin). 

 

I also have five more titles in my nonfiction Backyard Safari series (Marshall Cavendish) being released in September, so it’s an exciting time!

 

I’ve been married for 27 years to my college sweetheart, Bill, a high school photography teacher. I love the 3 c’s: cats, chocolate, and cupcakes.

Picture of Trudi Trueit and blog host Janet Lee Carey at Borders book signing. 

Library Love When You Were A Cub:

When I was eight, my family moved from the city to the suburbs. New, shy, and awkward, I started ducking into the school library during recess. It was against the rules to do this, but Mrs. Peek, the librarian, let me do it anyway. She started sharing her favorite books with me and I devoured titles like Kidnapped, Little Women, Charlotte’s Web, Chronicles of Narnia, and anything by Judy Blume and Beverly Clearly. It was there, reading in the library at recess, I discovered everything that was missing from my life—mystery, adventure, compassion, laughter, friendship.

More Library Love: Tell us about your present day love for libraries and your experience from an author’s perspective.

It really pretty simple, I couldn’t do what I do without libraries. In my nonfiction work, I can require up to 200 sources per book, so I heavily rely on the wonderful resource librarians that go the extra mile to make sure I have what I need. A few years ago, I was doing research for a book about the Boston Tea Party. I learned that a shoemaker by the name of George Robert Twelve Hewes was one of the last surviving members of this historic event. In the 1830’s a book had been written about him and his memories of the Tea Party. Imagine my surprise when my local reference librarian found me an actual first-edition copy of the book! I remember trembling as I held it in my hands. I could feel the history steeped in each wispy, marvelous page. There I was, holding a book written in 1834 with direct quotes from a brave soul whose actions helped chart a new course for our nation. It was exhilarating!

Hooray for Librarians!

A big roar for the librarians of the Everett, WA School District, who are A-MAZ-ING. I’ve had the chance to speak at a number of schools within the district, and am always blown away by how dedicated these librarians are to their students.

Emerson Elm. Everett

Whittier Elm. Everett


Barbara Stolzenburg, the librarian at Jackson High School in Mill Creek is incredible.

She is always doing something to inspire students to read and write, such as bringing in authors to speak, hosting workshops, and holding contests and fairs. Her passion for her work is infectious!

A Lion’s Pride of Programs:

I love visiting libraries! It’s a joy to connect with readers, share my path to publication, and answer their questions. One of my favorite things to do is hold writing workshops, because that’s when we get to have fun writing together. I’ve done writing workshops for middle schoolers on various topics, like how to plot their own novels or write humorous stories. The level of creativity that kids bring to the workshops is fantastic. Honestly? I think they inspire me more than the other way around. At a workshop at the Marysville, WA public library, I surprised the kids by giving away an original signed sketch from Jim Paillot, who illustrates my Secrets of a Lab Rat series. Jim was so gracious to donate the sketch, and the lucky winner was thrilled.

 

Photos Marysville Writing Workshop

 

Author's Roar: Funding for libraries, especially school libraries, is currently under threat. As an author, what are your thoughts about that?

Cutbacks in library funding astound and trouble me. A library is the heart of any school or community. It is a forum for art, science, politics, music, religion, and free-thought. To sacrifice that is to jeopardize our future. How can we expect children to learn and thrive without giving them the resources they need? What kind of nation will we become if don’t properly prepare and educate the next generation? It’s up to all of us to support our libraries in whatever way we can. Voting for levies, getting involved in fund raising, and donating your time are some of the ways that we can help our communities understand the value of libraries. It’s just so critical to keep our libraries thriving.

Librarians are my heroes. I would not be a writer today if it weren’t for one librarian, who took the time to show a geeky, awkward girl in cat’s eye glasses that there was more to the world than what she saw. So never underestimate your importance or influence. Who knows? That child that you are handing a book to today, may be tomorrow’s next great thinker, politician, musician, artist, scientist, or even writer!

Thanks again for sharing your Library Love with us, Trudi!

Let’s Link Up Blog:  Trudi Trueit          

Website:  Trudi Trueit.com       

Facebook:   Facebook Trudi Trueit    

 Love Libraries? Give a Roar in “Comments” below.

Note to Librarians: If you’re a Youth Librarian working in a school or public library we’d love to hear about you and your library. Contact Janet at jlcarey@hotmail.com for an interview slot.