scholarly journals Tinybop. Me: A Kid’s Diary by A. Seixas

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Allison Sivak
Keyword(s):  
Elementary Education ◽  
Young Children ◽  
University Of Alberta ◽  
The Public ◽  
The People ◽  
Library And Information Studies ◽  
Information Studies ◽  
Audio Recordings ◽  
The University ◽  
Colour Hair

Seixas, Ana. Tinybop. Me: A Kid’s Diary. 2016. Apple App Store, https://itunes.apple.com/app/apple-store/id1126531257?mt=8.  Ages 3-7 (depending on parent assistance)Cost: $2.99 This app allows young children to create a digital diary filled with their own writings, photos, audio recordings, and drawings. The child creates an avatar from a varied array of options for skin colour, hair colour and style, facial features, and accessories. The app then encourages the child to respond to prompts, such as, “A song about me would be titled…,” “This is an interesting fact about my family,” and, “If I were an animal, I would look like this.” Some questions require a textual response, while others ask the child to draw, record, or take a snapshot of their response to the prompt, thereby taking advantage of the affordances offered by a tablet or phone. Other activities include the option to create a family tree, to create avatars of the child’s friends, and to answer all kinds of questions about the people in the child’s life. A child can draw, record, and photograph daily activities, such as their life at school. Children can use the app to explore their own ideas, experiences, and feelings through both serious and silly questions. A Kid’s Diary takes a simple process and makes it even more accessible to quite young children. Ana Seixas’ illustrations use eye-popping colours, with good use of contrast and negative space to make clicking easy. The language of the questions is simple and displayed in a large font. Younger children should be able to use this app with the help of caregivers reading the text for the children’s answers. Caregivers should know that the company foregrounds their privacy policy on the developer site, noting that the app does not collect information about the users through the application itself. It is highly recommended as a fun way for children and their caregivers to learn more about themselves and the world they observe around them. Highly recommended: 4 out of 4 starsReviewer: Allison Sivak Allison Sivak is the Public Services Librarian at the University of Alberta Libraries. She is currently pursuing her PhD in Library and Information Studies and Elementary Education, focusing on how the aesthetics of information design influence young people’s trust in the credibility of information content.

scholarly journals Big Brothers Don't Take Naps by L. Borden

2013 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Allison Sivak
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Elementary Education ◽  
University Of Alberta ◽  
Big Brother ◽  
Library And Information Studies ◽  
Information Studies ◽  
Family Secret ◽  
The University ◽  
Actual Size ◽  
Older Siblings

Borden, Louise. Big Brothers Don't Take Naps. Illus.Emma Dodd. New York: Margaret K. McElderry Books, 2011. Print.A sweet, playful look at what older siblings do for their adoring youngers. The book is large-format, and Dodd often draws the children actual-size, which can make for an immersive feel of being in the page. The drawings are fairly simple ink drawings, which emphasize the emotions of the characters well, and they use much colour. The design also plays with fonts and text layout, making space for the adult reader to be a bit more playful in the reading – for example, the rocket ship countdown. As well as naming all the things big brothers can do, the story hints at a family secret: a new baby sister is coming, so Nicholas can himself now be a big brother. The book is a warm, positive story that children up to Kindergarten age will love.Recommended: 3 out of 4 starsReviewer: Allison SivakAllison Sivak is the Assessment Librarian at the University of Alberta Libraries. She is currently pursuing her PhD in Library and Information Studies and Elementary Education, focusing on how the aesthetics of information design influence young people’s trust in the credibility of information content.

Darkest Light by H. Goto

2012 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Allison Sivak
Keyword(s):  
Elementary Education ◽  
University Of Alberta ◽  
Library And Information Studies ◽  
Information Studies ◽  
The World ◽  
Physical Presence ◽  
Wise Woman ◽  
Almost All ◽  
The University ◽  
Good And Evil

Goto, Hiromi. Darkest Light. Toronto: Razorbill Canada, 2011. Print. Darkest Light is a sequel, of sorts, to Goto’s 2009 fantastic allegorical work Half World. However, Darkest Light takes on a more nuanced approach to its characters’ struggles, asking the question, ‘Can a person who has done wrong rehabilitate himself?’ Half World drew its lines of good and evil in a more traditional way, with an outcast heroine battling an evil force living in the world between the dead and the living. In contrast, Darkest Light slowly unravels the mystery of the life of its protagonist, Gee. We see the recurrence of some of the same characters from Goto’s first book in the series, including the knowledgeable wise-woman, Ms. Wei, and the outcast heroine, Melanie Tamaki. But Darkest Light turns its focus on Gee, the baby brought out from Half World by Melanie, and who is now sixteen, having lived with Ms. Wei since. Illustrator Jillian Tamaki has collaborated on this book as with the Half World, and the style of her shadowy sketches captures Goto’s descriptions of Gee. Gee has grown up lonely, his Popo (Ms. Wei) his only friend; there is something about his ghostly physical presence and his deep-black eyes that put off almost all others, humans and animals alike. After a confrontation with two classmate bullies, he meets neo-Goth, Cracker, a young lesbian who feels some kinship with Gee’s physical and emotional difference. When Ms. Wei’s life is endangered by some of the demons of Half World, Gee and Cracker enter the world to save her. Goto has taken an interesting path to investigate the question of how to atone for one’s wrong actions by going into the world of fantasy, where the most evil of all the Half World demons tries to change, tempted by his old lovers and friends, as well as by the power he used to wield. Goto’s writing can, at times, read as flat, and the demons in Half World are exaggerated enough to be more cartoonish than frightening. But the emotion she evokes between Gee and his grandmother and Cracker is quite moving, and her book is likely to appeal to young readers who recognize the struggle to find their own paths in the world that doesn’t welcome difference. Recommended: 3 out of 4 starsReviewer: Allison SivakAllison Sivak is the Assessment Librarian at the University of Alberta Libraries. She is currently pursuing her PhD in Library and Information Studies and Elementary Education, focusing on how the aesthetics of information design influence young people’s trust in the credibility of information content.

scholarly journals Granta 114: Aliens

2012 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Allison Sivak
Keyword(s):  
Elementary Education ◽  
Science Fiction ◽  
Visual Art ◽  
University Of Alberta ◽  
Library And Information Studies ◽  
Reading Materials ◽  
Information Studies ◽  
Cover Design ◽  
Roberto Bolano ◽  
The University

Aliens. Thematic issue of Granta: The Magazine of New Writing. 114 (Spring 2011)   Granta is a quarterly magazine of new writing from both established and emerging writers; although aimed primarily at adult audiences, it could easily be considered as a journal with appeal to young adults particularly due to its diverse content and style, offering readers a greater scope of choice. Granta could often, I suspect, serve to pique the interest of older adolescents  due in part to the periodical's contemporary approach to cover design, and its integration of visual art and poetry with prose, along with the obvious diversity and strength of the writing in general. An issue organized around the theme of 'Aliens' seems tailor-made to easily cross over from an adult to an adolescent audience. The black and silver cover with the hovering planet suggests science fiction; however, on closer look, the figures walking towards the planet wear suits and head coverings, and suggest displacement in earthly realms rather than within the final frontier. Indeed, most of the writings in this issue speak to feelings of alienation and alien environments. While stories are united by the emotional impacts of the characters’ strangeness in new environments, the works cover a broad scope; compare, for example, Chris Dennis’ fiction piece on a young drug addict facing life in prison, with Ann Patchett’s observations of a nun who taught her in childhood, who is now facing life outside the convent.  The writing in this issue is strong, and at times, explicit in its sexuality and violence, although not gratuitously so. Librarians and teachers may feel some hesitation in subscribing to Granta for their students due to restrictions around students’ reading materials; this would be unfortunate, as such a publication provides students exposure to such important contemporary writers as Roberto Bolaño, Madeleine Thien, and Paul Theroux. Recommended: 2 out of 4 stars Reviewer: Allison SivakAllison Sivak is the Assessment Librarian at the University of Alberta Libraries. She is currently pursuing her PhD in Library and Information Studies and Elementary Education, focusing on how the aesthetics of information design influence young people’s trust in the credibility of information content.

scholarly journals Born Ugly by B. Goobie

2012 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Allison Sivak
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
Elementary Education ◽  
School Bullying ◽  
The Novel ◽  
University Of Alberta ◽  
Home Life ◽  
Library And Information Studies ◽  
Information Studies ◽  
Part Time ◽  
The University

Goobie, Beth. Born Ugly. Markham, ON: Red Deer Press, 2011. Print. Beth Goobie writes unflinching books. Even so, Born Ugly may be the toughest of hers I’ve read yet. Narrated by Shir Rutz, a 15-year-old girl without friends or caring family, this novel is both a realistic portrayal of high school bullying and a thriller that plays with perceptions of “goodness” in people. Goobie spends most of the novel focusing on the story of Shir’s problems, however, ultimately to the detriment of the thriller plot, which subsequently blocked me from a full immersion into the latter section of the book. Goobie is at her best when she is staring directly into the tough situations in which Shir finds herself, primarily through her status as the ugliest girl at her school. Shir is relentlessly targeted every day by a group of popular boys who offer her quarters in exchange for kisses, with the punch line that it is worth paying to kiss someone as ugly as her. She is known around the school as “dog face,” and is forced to eat a sandwich of dog feces. Her home life is little better. Her mother clearly prefers her younger sister, who is prettier and better-behaved. Shir’s father has long since vanished, and Mrs. Rutz only mentions him when she is putting her daughter down, saying that Shir is an ugly drunk, just like her dad. Shir’s sister often knows about the pranks planned for Shir, and stands and watches from the sidelines without offering any help or comfort. While Shir drinks heavily to erase the pain of her days from her mind, she has two small lights of hope: her part time job for Mr. Anderson delivering groceries, as well as an unexpected friendship with a boy she meets at her favourite hiding place under a town bridge. However, the job is not all it seems; Mr. Anderson has started to ask her to deliver packages to people and places that seem shady, and acts nervous if she asks too many questions. About the last third of the book follows the mystery to its revelation and climax. Goobie’s descriptions of the dull inevitability of a bullied teenager’s life are extremely well-written, and painfully realistic. Shir is highly believable in her voice and actions, which gave me a real sense of the slow, awful path it can be through high school. It is also a relief to read the scenes between Shir and one of her delivery clients, an elderly woman who meets her with great kindness, and provides moving descriptions of how someone can respond to even the smallest bit of warmth. The slow pace of Shir’s daily life is the strongest story here, as compared to the mystery, which makes sense but is told far too quickly, and is wrapped up too neatly to seem authentic. Nonetheless, this is a book in which I think many teenagers will find some echo of their lives. Recommended: 3 out of 4 stars Reviewer: Allison SivakAllison Sivak is the Assessment Librarian at the University of Alberta Libraries. She is currently pursuing her PhD in Library and Information Studies and Elementary Education, focusing on how the aesthetics of information design influence young people’s trust in the credibility of information content.

scholarly journals Fostergirls by L. Shaw

2011 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Allison Sivak
Keyword(s):  
Elementary Education ◽  
Foster Parents ◽  
Group Home ◽  
Information Design ◽  
The Novel ◽  
University Of Alberta ◽  
Library And Information Studies ◽  
Information Studies ◽  
Birth Family ◽  
The University

Shaw, Liane. Fostergirls. Toronto: Second Story Press, 2011. Print. The first-person narrator of this novel, Sadie, tells the story of her placement in a group home for girls with few options left open to them. She has lived with several foster parents over the years, and knows nothing about her birth family, other than that she has a brother, and they were both abandoned by their mother. Now Sadie is 15, and due to problems with her latest “pseudofamily,” as she calls them, has been moved to a small town, living in a group home with two workers and five other girls. Sadie is cynical about the move, and cynical that the move will bring any positive changes to her life; she is biding time until her next birthday, when she can apply for emancipation. Sadie's voice reads as authentically adolescent in tone and language, with the exception of the lack of actual swearing, which I find always renders teenage characters as unrealistic.  There is a density to the writing as well, in which Sadie’s thoughts are immediately followed by her explanation of those thoughts. This serves to tell too much about Sadie’s feelings, rather than allowing space for readers to interpret Sadie’s reactions on their own. In this way, the novel at times can read didactically, directing readers towards understanding; it would have benefited from more space for the writing and the characters to emerge without being pushed by the text. Novels about marginalized characters require a more delicate touch, in order to avoid presenting as heavy-handed. Overall, the novel is an honest effort to shine a light on some of the difficulties and stigma that foster kids face, which will likely be interesting for readers who have not had these experiences, and may very well appeal to those who have. Recommended: 3 out of 4 stars Reviewer: Allison SivakAllison is the Assessment Librarian at the University of Alberta Libraries. She is currently pursuing her PhD in Library and Information Studies and Elementary Education, focusing on how the aesthetics of information design influence young people’s trust in the credibility of information content. 

scholarly journals Black Cat Bone: the Life of Blues Legend Robert Johnson by J. P. Lewis

2012 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Allison Sivak
Keyword(s):  
Elementary Education ◽  
Picture Book ◽  
Historical Context ◽  
The United States ◽  
Older Children ◽  
University Of Alberta ◽  
Library And Information Studies ◽  
Poetic Text ◽  
History Of ◽  
The University

Lewis, J. P. Black Cat Bone: the Life of Blues Legend Robert Johnson. Illus. Gary Kelley. Mankato: Creative Editions, 2006. Print.Although this book is designed as a large-format picture book, Black Cat Bone is more likely to appeal to older children (middle school and adolescents) as a poetic text, with its rich illustrations and unusual narrative flow. The foreword of the book addresses a reader who knows some about blues musicians, as well as has some hint of the history of blues music in the United States. The language of the text is not trying to tell a linear story, but to be more evocative of a time, and of some of the historical context. The book actually has several texts: the address of the historical context that bookends the work, the bluesy poems which make up the majority of the text, excerpts from Johnson's own lyrics, and a footer running throughout the book, which provides aphoristic summaries of Johnson's story: “He was destined for legend not a field hand's work.” Each text tells a part of the interpretation of Johnson's story. With the images, it adds up to a faceted narrative of the man and his musical legacy. The illustrations alternate between impressionistic pastels in deep dark colours, reinforcing the air of mystery around Johnson's life as understood by popular culture. Kelley's other illustrative style is reminiscent of Indonesian shadow-puppets, dramatic and exaggerated in their execution. A particularly lovely example is show in full on the cover, a depiction of Johnson and the devil facing each other, each with a hand on the guitar. This image is reproduced in the text, split by the page turn in a clever design turn. Recommended: 3 stars out of 4Reviewer: Allison SivakAllison Sivak is the Assessment Librarian at the University of Alberta Libraries. She is currently pursuing her PhD in Library and Information Studies and Elementary Education, focusing on how the aesthetics of information design influence young people’s trust in the credibility of information content.

scholarly journals Zen Studio Meditation for Kids by P. Bonita & B. Silverman

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Cori Sanderson
Keyword(s):  
Graphic Design ◽  
Radio Station ◽  
Design Elements ◽  
University Of Alberta ◽  
Spare Time ◽  
Library And Information Studies ◽  
Information Studies ◽  
Second Year ◽  
The University ◽  
Age Range

Bonita, P., & B. Silverman. Zen Studio Meditation for Kids. Edoki Academy, 2016. Vers 1.15. Apple App Store, https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/zen-studio-meditation-for-kids/id1051358262?mt=8  Suggested age range: 4+ Cost: Free with in app purchases (complete version $3.99 USD) Edoki Academy has effectively created an app that allows children to appreciate music and art as relaxation aids. Their Zen Studio Meditation for Kids is a painting app that allows children to virtually finger paint by filling in a grid of triangles with colours as music notes simultaneously play. The free version of the app offers two blank canvases and two canvases with tutorials that they can follow. The app is designed well and is intuitive enough that is does not need the clutter of menus or instructional detours. The only instances where guidance is visible are when new spaces on the grid are exposed to guide users to the next colour, or when the congratulatory confetti explodes on the screen to signify that a tutorial is completed. It is important to note that once a tutorial is completed the music continues to play and children can continue painting over the triangles as they please without the pressure to move on to a new tutorial. There is no feedback or time limit given for the tutorials because the point is to relax and enjoy the process. What makes the app unique is the layering of music that happens when the background meditation music blends with the notes that play each time a triangle is filled in with colour. This allows children to relax to the background music and be encouraged to create their own melodies as they are painting. The graphic design elements are simple and clean and there are no words that prompt you to select a canvas or a tutorial. Instead of words, the app uses animation and magnification to show that a selection has been made. It is very clear when a choice has been made because it appears in colour and the universal “play” triangle symbol appears, leading the user to click there to begin the painting.  A handbook for parents and teachers is also included in the app. This additional document provides information on mindfulness and the intentions behind Edoki Academy’s Zen Studio Meditation for Kids. It also offers some learning exercises and questions that parents or teachers can supplement with the app. This app is recommended for creative children who enjoy music and painting, or those who would benefit from learning new ways to reduce stress or anxiety and practice mindfulness. Screenshot of the homepage showing the two blank canvases and two tutorial canvases.   An example of a tutorial of a firetruck almost at completion. Recommended: 3 out of 4 stars Reviewer: Cori Sanderson Cori is in her second year of the Master of Library and Information Studies program at the University of Alberta. In her spare time, she listens to podcasts and volunteers at her local campus radio station where she participates in a monthly library-centric radio show.  

Seraphina by R. Hartman

2013 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kymberly Sobchyshyn
Keyword(s):  
The Novel ◽  
Ancient History ◽  
University Of Alberta ◽  
Non Fiction ◽  
Library And Information Studies ◽  
Information Studies ◽  
Second Year ◽  
Multiple Species ◽  
The University ◽  
New Religion

Hartman, Rachel. Seraphina. Toronto: Doubleday Canada, 2012. Print.Rachel Hartman’s debut novel, Seraphina, is a fantastical journey into a world where humans and shape shifting dragons live among each other. The novel follows Seraphina, a strong and intelligent female character with a talent for music, as she is caught between two races. Hartman has masterfully created a new religion, culture, language, political system, and multiple species in order to fully immerse the reader in Seraphina’s world.Hartman’s dragons, a unique breed of cold, unemotional mathematicians, are mostly intrigued and confused by what they consider to be overly emotional and artistic humans. The strong differences between the two races are cause for tension, but Seraphina has a mysterious gift of being able to understand how dragons think and why they react to humans in such curious and sometimes dangerous ways.Seraphina is a story of political unrest and adventure, with a little romance added in for good measure. Not only is the book a quick and entertaining read, but the glossary is not to be missed. That’s right, the glossary! Hartman created much of the foreign vocabulary in the novel, and the glossary is the place where her sense of humour and criticism of the world she has created really shine through. Some of the more challenging vocabulary in the novel is defined in the glossary so readers who might feel discouraged by the language should know that the author has invented most of these words. For a good laugh and some added detail about Seraphina’s world, the glossary is a great way to finish. Seraphina is the first in what Hartman has planned to be a series.Recommended: 3 out of 4 starsReviewer: Kymberly SobchyshynKymberly is currently in her second year of schooling to obtain a Master’s in Library and Information Studies at the University of Alberta. In her free time she enjoys traveling, ancient history, and reading of the fiction and non-fiction variety.

scholarly journals The Reluctant Journal of Henry K. Larsen by S. Nielsen

2013 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tami Oliphant
Keyword(s):  
Mental Illness ◽  
Academic Libraries ◽  
Public Libraries ◽  
The Novel ◽  
University Of Alberta ◽  
New Novel ◽  
Library And Information Studies ◽  
Information Studies ◽  
The University ◽  
Journal Entries

Nielsen, Susin. The Reluctant Journal of Henry K. Larsen. Toronto: Tundra Books, 2012. Print. Susin Nielsen is the acclaimed author of Word Nerd and Dear George Clooney: Please Marry My Mother. She has won several writing awards and has consistently created compelling, charismatic, and fully drawn characters. In her new novel, The Reluctant Journal of Henry K. Larsen, Nielsen explores dark and uncomfortable themes such as mental illness, bullying, violence, tolerating differences, and the quiet desperation felt by those who must refashion their lives after a tragedy. For readers concerned that the novel will break their heart, it does. And then it fills that broken heart with joy. Through his affecting journal entries, readers come to know 13-year-old Henry K. Larsen. His therapist recommends that he write about his thoughts and feelings in the aftermath of “IT”—hence the ‘reluctant’ diary. However, Henry’s diary entries are laugh out loud funny on one page and provoke tears on the next. Henry has an extraordinary voice that is unlike any other narrator. He is angry, confused, saddened, shamed, and lost after “IT” happened. He has moved with his father to Vancouver to try to piece together a new life but in reality, his family barely manages to make it through the day. Henry is leery of other people, pushes them away, and he cannot find a place for himself or make sense of his emotions after “IT.” The last thing that Henry anticipates is that he will open up to anyone about “IT”—not to his wonderful new friends Farley and Alberta, to his therapist, or to his two new neighbours. However, incidents at school and at home force Henry to talk about Jesse and the “IT” that changed everyone’s lives forever. The Reluctant Journal of Henry K. Larsen is a quick and deeply satisfying read. This book is required reading. Despite the darker themes, the emotional payoff is not only gratifying, but inspiring. Highly Recommended: 4 out of 4 starsReviewer: Tami OliphantTami Oliphant works as a research librarian at the University of Alberta Libraries and for the School of Library and Information Studies at the University of Alberta. She earned her Master of Library and Information Studies from the University of Alberta and her doctorate from the University of Western Ontario. She has worked in academic libraries, public libraries, communications and planning, and as a sessional lecturer and researcher at the University of Alberta and the University of Western Ontario.

scholarly journals The Remember Balloons by J. Oliveros

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Deanna Townsend
Keyword(s):  
Junior High School ◽  
Memory Loss ◽  
Loved One ◽  
University Of Alberta ◽  
Area Of Interest ◽  
Learning Commons ◽  
The People ◽  
Library And Information Studies ◽  
Aging And Memory ◽  
The University

Oliveros, Jessie. The Remember Balloons. Illustrated by Dana Wulfekotte, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Children – Simon and Schuster, 2018 This beautifully written story tells of a young boy and his dear relationship with his aging Grandfather. Connected through balloons that hold memories and stories, the young boy notices his Grandfather begins to lose his balloons and eventually his memory, even of knowing his beloved grandson. Confused and upset, the young boy cannot understand why this is happening and tries in vain to save his Grandfather’s balloons. Saddened, the boy seeks his parent’s help whereby they show him that he now has a whole new set of balloons—his Grandfather’s. In acquiring these treasured memories, the young boy discovers a new way to be with his Grandfather through retelling him all his old stories. Illustrated in pencil sketch with minimal colour other than the varied and vibrant balloons, Oliveros speaks to children in a beautifully relatable manner about memories and stories and the connections to the people we cherish. It gently acknowledges the difficult changes in relationships as a loved one experiences the changes of aging and memory loss and guides the reader to find new ways to experience their stories and build new connections. The subtle acknowledgement of mixed-race families and friend groups also lends itself to a realistic and contemporary view of family and culture, further strengthening the relatability of this story to a wider readership. Recommended and appropriately written for ages 5-9 years, the book’s themes of keeping our memories close in our varied balloons and maintaining our connections with family even as relationships change, lends itself to a far greater age demographic. Highly recommended: 4 out of 4 stars Reviewer: Deanna Townsend Deanna Townsend is currently an Open Studies student and prospective graduate student with the Master of Library and Information Studies program at the University of Alberta. She is currently working in the Learning Commons/Library of an Elementary-Junior High School with Edmonton Public School Board. Her keen area of interest is in the transformation of school libraries/learning commons to modern, usable education spaces that inspire children to explore and learn beyond the classroom.

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