Welcome to my blog. I am a student in the MLS (Masters of Library Science) program at Texas Woman’s University, studying to be a school librarian.
I love to read; it sustained me through a painful adolescence. This fond memory could be one of the reasons I still love children’s and young adult literature so much. Books were my trusted friends, my mirrors, offering humor, perspective, comfort, excitement and connection.
Great writing in any genre connects us, allows us to see ourselves and the universe through new eyes. My mission (as a teacher and a future librarian) has been to help students find books that will deliver connection, excitement and friendship to them. To give them not only physical access, but also help them to gain intellectual access to these works through explicit instruction. I am a huge fan of readers and writers workshop. I was a literacy coach in the MS. Delta for 2 years, and it was my job to support teachers in using the workshop method to teach reading and writing. I hope to bring my experience with and passion for literacy to my job as a school librarian.
While the creation of this site is a project for my Literature for Children and Young Adults class, I plan to maintain and update it with quality literature reviews beyond this class and into my school library career.
So what else do you need to know about me?
If you want to know some of the ways I identify myself:
mother (to a toddler, to a teenager), daughter, sister, wife, step-mother, step-daughter, step-sister, in-law, human, Caucasian, woman, 33, student, feminist, activist, writer, teacher, American, Texan, South Texan, friend, first generation college graduate, graduate student, TFA alum, poor, emotional, Cajun, Sagittarius, liberal democrat (for now)…
Any connections yet?
The ways that I identify myself connect me and separate me from millions of others in millions of ways: If I peel away those layers of identity, I am left with sameness, oneness. Great literature helps peel away those layers of identity, connecting with us first on superficial levels (this character is like me because I am a girl…etc.), and then drawing us deeper to the universal connection, a place where we all have access, a place where we find truth.
Thanks for visiting, and I hope you find something of value here.
