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Aspiring Student Journalists

As an aspiring journalist, you’re probably craving some inspirational reads! Here are three great titles on our YA shelves. You can either check them out in person or reserve them through FDL’s online catalog.

Looking to do journalism professionally? We’ve included some articles, academic links, and scholarship info as well!

A NewsHound’s Guide to Student Journalism by Katina Paron and Javier Güelfi (Non-Fiction)

Covering the basics of journalistic values and practice, this graphic textbook offers cub reporters a primer on the drama, adventure and ethical conundrums that make journalism rewarding and fun. Using ripped-from-the-headlines examples, the authors challenge students to engage with the big issues. – annotation from the publisher

Sources Say by Lori Goldstein (Fiction – Elections/High School Newspaper)

The newsroom is Cat’s home away from home, and now, as a high school senior, she is finally editor-in-chief of the school paper. Not that anyone reads it: Her earnest exposé of an unhealthy student culture don’t sit well with many. Her sister, Angeline, is a popular social media influencer who has worked hard to make her YouTube channel, “Ask an Angel,” a success, even though Cat dismisses the work and focus that go into being a vlogger. The upcoming student council election sees Angeline and her ex-boyfriend, Leo, running for class president in a very public battle. While Angeline starts by making campaign promises based on popular demands, she comes to realize there are real problems that need to be addressed. Meanwhile, Cat’s reporting skills and journalistic ethics will face their greatest challenge against the competition of social media and the danger of fake news. – adapted from jacket

Hearts Unbroken by Cynthia Smith (Fiction – Photojournalism/Native American Heritage)

When Louise Wolfe’s boyfriend mocks and disrespects Native people in front of her, she breaks things off and dumps him over e-mail. She’d rather spend her senior year with her family and friends and working on the school newspaper. The editors pair her up with Joey Kairouz, an ambitious new photojournalist, and in no time the paper’s staff find themselves with a major story to cover: the school musical director’s inclusive approach to casting The Wizard of Oz has been provoking backlash in their mostly white, middle-class Kansas town. As tensions mount at school, so does a romance between Lou and Joey. But ‘dating while Native’ can be difficult. In trying to protect her own heart, will Lou break Joey’s? – adapted from jacket

Articles

The Future of the News Industry, According to Student Journalists by Rainesford Stauffer (TeenVogue)

Student Journalists Are Fighting for Protection After Covering the Crises of 2020 by Raines Stauffer (TeenVogue)

How to Fact-Check Social Media Posts and Avoid Fake News Online by Cindy L. Otis (former CIA Analyst)

Five Reasons You Shouldn’t Be Afraid of “Fake News” by Cindy L. Otis (former CIA Analyst)

Journalism Media and Technology Trends and Predictions 2021 (Reuters Institute) by Nic Newman (former BBC journalist)

How Young People Consume News and The Implications For Mainstream Media (2019) by Flamingo (commissioned by the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, Oxford University)

Helpful Links

Code of Ethics – Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ)

Journalism Guidelines during COVID-19 Pandemic (2020) (University of Massachusetts)

Ethics Guideline for Student Media

Visual Ethics Guideline for Student Media

**Reporting Safely and Ethically (SPJ)

**Guide to Legal Rights in the U.S. (SPJ)

**Your safety is more important than the story – please be extra cautious when covering public speeches, protests, social unrest, and/or other events that may escalate and become dangerous. If you wish to be present, please contact event organizers and law enforcement before attending the event. They will help you strategize a safe way to observe and report the event. NEVER PARTICIPATE – it’s against professional journalistic practice! Also, never let your purpose for being there be in doubt – meaning, you should wear large, visible media credentials that clearly mark you as a member of the press – and NEVER GO ALONE.

Organizations

Journalism Education Association*** (In addition to scholarships, JEA has middle school & high school award opportunities!)

Society of Professional Journalists*

National Student Press Organization*

Quill & Scroll*

* scholarship opportunities for members

*** scholarship opportunities without membership

– Katie Smith, Reference Specialist

Katie Smith2021-05-06T13:03:29-05:00May 6th, 2021|

Story Time (Online) – Gardens

Song: Clap and Sing Hello!

We clap and sing hello.
We clap and sing hello.
With our friends at story time.
We clap and sing hello!
(Wave and sing hello; stomp and sing hello.)

Fingerplay: The Itsy-Bitsy Spider

The itsy-bitsy spider,

Went up the water spout.

Down came the rain,

And washed the spider out.

Out came the sun,

And dried up all the rain.

And the itsy-bitsy spider,

Went up the spout again.

Song: Dance like Snowflakes

(Tune: Frere Jacques)

Dance like snowflakes,

Dance like snowflakes

In the air,

In the air

Whirling, twirling snowflakes

Everywhere, everywhere

Source: Songs4Preschool

Movement: Big Round Sun

Big round sun in the summer sky (hold arms in circle overhead)
Waved to a cloud that was passing by (wave)
The little cloud laughed as it started to rain (wiggle fingers downward)
And out came the big round sun again (hold arms up in circle again)

Source: Pasadena Public Library

Book: Grandpa’s Garden Lunch

Written by Judith Caseley and published by Greenwillow Books, an Imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.

Flannel Board: Out in the Garden

Out in the garden
growing in the sun
Were 5 pretty flowers
and my mommy picked one!

Out in the garden
growing in the sun
Were 4 pretty flowers
and my daddy picked one!

Out in the garden
growing in the sun
Were 3 pretty flowers
and my brother picked one!

Out in the garden
growing in the sun
Were 2 pretty flowers
and my sister picked one!

Out in the garden
growing in the sun
Was 1 pretty flower
and I picked that one!

Source: Pasadena Public Library

Book: Up, Down, and Around

Written by Katherine Ayres, illustrated by Nadine Bernard Westcott, and published by Candlewick Press.

Movement: Here is a Green Leaf – Story Time Scarf Rhyme

Here’s a green leaf, and here’s a green leaf (hold out left hand, then right)

And that you see makes two (hold up 2 fingers)

This is the bud that makes the flower (hold palms together)

Now watch it bloom for you (slowly separate palms)

Source: Jbrary

Flannel Board: Butterfly Colors

The first to come to the garden bed
Is a lovely butterfly of brilliant RED.
Then in comes another and that makes two.
Fly right in, my friend of BLUE.
“The garden is fine, the best I’ve seen,”
says the butterfly of softest GREEN.
Our garden needs a sunny fellow,
Fly on in, butterfly with wings of YELLOW.
Little friend of PURPLE, fly in too.
The garden is waiting for a color like you.
ORANGE, orange, you’ve waited so long.
Fly right in, where you belong.
Butterflies, butterflies, you’re such a sight!
Flying together – what a delight!

Source: Storytime Katie

Book: Counting in the Garden

Written by Kim Parker and published by Orchard Books, an Imprint of Scholastic, Inc.

Craft: Cupcake Liner Flowers

Craft kits are available from the Youth Services department or the drive-up window while supplies last.

Kit Supplies:

Blue cardstock for the background
Green cardstock paper for grass, stems, and leaves
Cupcake Liners

Home Supplies:

scissors
glue

Directions:

Press the cupcake liners out flat. Cut slits around each cupcake liner to make petals. Make sure to stop your cut at the center circle line of the liner. (This is great scissor practice for preschoolers. You might need to help hold the cupcake liner for your child if they are new to cutting.)
Cut leaves and grass out of green paper.
Glue the large cupcake liners to the blue cardstock paper.
Glue the small cupcake liner inside the large cupcake liner.
Glue the flower stems underneath the cupcake liner flowers.
Glue grass to the bottom of the paper and the leaves to the stems.

Source: I Heart Crafty Things

Book: One Little Seed

Written by Elaine Greenstein and published by Viking, an Imprint of Penguin Random House.

Song: We Wave Goodbye like This

We wave goodbye like this.
We wave goodbye like this.
We clap our hands for all our friends.
We wave goodbye like this.

(Repeat)

– Kris, Youth Services Specialist

Beth Weimer2021-04-22T12:02:35-05:00April 22nd, 2021|

FDL Reads: A Game of Birds and Wolves

A Game of Birds and Wolves: The Ingenious Young Women Whose Secret Board Game Helped Win World War II by Simon Parkin

Reviewed by: Beth Weimer, Communications Specialist

Genre: Nonfiction, History

Suggested Age: Adults, Teens

What is This Book About?: By 1941, Great Britain was close to losing WWII because of the relentless success of the Nazi U-Boats in the ongoing battle of the Atlantic. Aside from the damages to the Royal Navy, the U-Boats were sinking thousands of merchant ships full of food and fuel, pushing Great Britain to the brink of starvation – the extent to which even some members of Churchill’s cabinet were unaware. In desperation, Churchill formed a top-secret unit called the Western Approaches Tactical Unit (WATU). Operating from an underground bunker in Liverpool and led by retired Captain Gilbert Roberts and a team of ten Women’s Royal Naval Service members (known as Wrens), WATU developed complex wargames to figure out how the U-Boats operated and create new antisubmarine tactics. The young Wrens developed innovative battle maneuvers and trained thousands of British naval officers through the wargames, and Wren officer Jean Laidlaw developed a counter-maneuver called Operation Raspberry that turned the tide of the war in one of the greatest convoy battles in 1943. Despite their role in these victories and the countless contributions made by the more than 70,000 Wrens who served throughout the war, the Wrens collectively received only one formal, public message acknowledging their service from the government – no awards or honors.

My Review: Full disclosure, I randomly selected this audiobook because I misread the title as “Indigenous” rather than “Ingenious” and was intrigued. So once I got over my initial confusion, (wait, why is everyone British?) and despite any previous knowledge or interest in submarine warfare, I did enjoy it more than expected. I was disappointed that most of the book focuses on the male British and German commanders involved, but the context is relevant and, as Parkin acknowledges, not much information is available about the Wrens. The role of the WATU Wrens is incredible, and it’s infuriating that so much history has been lost because they were forbidden from talking or writing about their experiences for 50 years. It’s so sad to me that many of the women never even told their husbands or families about their experiences, even later in life. One exception is that fearless Vera Laughton Mathews, Director of the Wrens who also served in WWI, wrote her autobiography in 1948. Hopefully, this book will inspire a documentary or more official recognition of these women and their proper role in history.

Three Words That Describe This Book: Detailed, Fascinating, Heroic

Give This a Try if You Like… Fly Girls: The Daring American Women Pilots Who Helped Win WWI by P. O’Connell Pearson, The Splendid and the Vile by Erik Larson, Code Name: Lise by Larry Loftis

Rating: 3.5/5

Find it at the library!

About FDL Reads

FDL Reads is a series of weekly book reviews from Fondulac District Library.

Susie Rivera2021-03-24T13:21:45-05:00March 5th, 2021|

We’re hiring!

The library currently is hiring for two full-time positions: Business Manager and Circulation Specialist. Please visit https://www.fondulaclibrary.org/about-us/jobs for more information, including job description and qualifications.

genna2021-01-25T14:19:10-06:00January 25th, 2021|

FDL Reads: The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek

The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek

By: Kim Michele Richardson

Reviewed by: Melissa Friedlund, Reference Assistant

Genre: Historical Fiction

Suggested Age: Adult, Teen

What is This Book About? This book combines two historical anecdotes of Depression era Kentucky: the Pack Horse Library Project and the blue people of Troublesome Creek. With an ailing, coal-miner father and few prospects for a husband, Cussy Mary Carter, also called Bluet, is a nineteen-year-old who holds her own as a Pack Horse Librarian and one of the last blue people of Kentucky. She is proud of her library work, providing reading materials to the isolated and desperately poor inhabitants of eastern Kentucky in 1936. Despite the treacherous trails on her route through the hill country, Cussy Mary navigates a world filled with dangers and struggles…some because of her work and some because of her blue skin.

My Review: I listened to the e-audiobook available on hoopla and would definitely recommend it. The vivid, descriptive writing stood out immediately when I began listening to this book. Richardson has done a masterful job of drawing a picture for the imagination to render. I found the story to be interesting and engaging. Although it is a purely fictional account, both the Pack Horse Librarians and the blue people of Troublesome Creek were real. The author’s note at the end provides more factual context for both. Cussy Mary’s book route introduces the reader to the wide diversity of hill folk and their stories; stories that are both heartwarming and heartbreaking.

*For anyone who needs a forewarning, there is a depiction of rape and the N-word in this book.

Three Words That Describe This Book: Unexpected, Gritty, Bittersweet

Give This a Try if You Like…The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes, The Book of Lost Names by Kristin Harmel, The Book of Lost Friends by Lisa Wingate.

Rating: 5/5

Find it at the library!

About FDL Reads

FDL Reads is a series of weekly book reviews from Fondulac District Library.

Susie Rivera2021-02-04T09:26:13-06:00January 21st, 2021|

Take & Make: Snowflake Experiment

Brrr, it’s cold outside! If you and your child want to enjoy the snow from the cozy comfort of your home, pick up a craft kit from the library this week and create a beautiful homemade snowflake that will stay icy all year long. This craft can also be used to help introduce your child to the science concept of how snow is formed. Follow the link below to see a list of nonfiction children’s books in our catalog that teach kids all about snow.

This craft is recommended for children ages 6 and up and requires adult supervision and assistance since boiling water is involved. Craft kits are available from the atrium or drive-up window while supplies last.

Books on the Science Behind Snowflakes:

The Story of Snow: The Science of Winter’s Wonder by Mark Cassino and Jon Nelson

Over and Under the Snow by Kate Messner
Snow by Helen Frost
Snowflake Bentley by Jacqueline Briggs Martin
Curious About Snow by Gina Shaw

Snowflake Experiment Instructions:

Using the instructions below, create a beautiful homemade snowflake you can enjoy in every season. You and your child will create a pipe cleaner snowflake and let it soak in a homemade solution for one to seven days. Watch the snowflake as it slowly grows crystals and turns into an icy treasure! This is also a great activity to introduce the science concept of how snow forms.

***These steps should be closely monitored by an adult for children of all ages since there is boiling water involved. Children may help stir the solution, but if there is any doubt your child may harm themselves, then do this part yourself and have them watch from a safe distance.***

Supplies included in the kit:

Pipe cleaners
Small piece of yarn

Supplies needed at home:

Wooden pencil (not plastic)
Borax, sugar, or salt
Borax will create crystals in about 5 hours, while salt and sugar will need about one week to form
Wide mouth glass jar or heat-safe cup
Large measuring cup or heat-safe bowl
Boiling water

Instructions:

Make a Snowflake:

Twist the pipe cleaners together to create a snowflake shape. Start by making a T shape with two pipe cleaner pieces. Twist the last two pieces around the center diagonally to the T shape.

Tip: The snowflake will need to fit inside the mouth of the jar, so you can trim the pipe cleaners to fit if necessary. Keep one branch of the snowflake a little longer than the others. This will be the branch we will use to hang the snowflake.

Preparing the Snowflake and Jar:

Tie the piece of yarn into a loop.
Bend the long branch of the snowflake around the bottom of the yarn loop and then twist it back onto itself to secure it to the yarn.
Thread your pencil through the loop of yarn.
Let the snowflake hang in the jar while the pencil rests on top.

Making Your Snowflake Solution:

ADULTS ONLY. You will need to boil water to use in your mixture. To save time, have your water boiling as you make your snowflakes.
ADULTS ONLY. Pour the boiling water into a large measuring cup or heat-safe bowl.
Add 3 tablespoons of Borax, sugar, or salt for each cup of water. Add the tablespoons one at a time. Stir in between each tablespoon until the powder is dissolved.

Making the Crystal Snowflake:

Use a washable marker or a piece of tape to mark the place on the jar where the water will fully submerge the snowflake but not the yarn loop.
Remove your pipe cleaner snowflake from the jar.
ADULTS ONLY. Pour your solution into your jar to the fill line. The solution should look a little foggy.
Hang your snowflake in the jar as before, but now it will be submerged in the solution.
If you used Borax, let the jar sit undisturbed for about 5 hours or overnight. If you used salt or sugar, it will take about one week for the crystals to form.
After removing the snowflake from the solution, let it dry on a folded paper towel. You can now enjoy snow all year round!

Credit: blissfullydomestic.com and realfoodrn.com

– Haley, Youth Services Assistant

Beth Weimer2021-01-13T13:01:09-06:00January 13th, 2021|

FDL Reads: The Magic Fish

The Magic Fish by Trung Le Nguyen

Reviewed by: Atlas Agunod, Circulation Assistant

Genre: LGBTQ, Graphic Novel

Suggested age: Teens and Adults

What is This Book About? This book is about 13-year-old Tien, the son of two Vietnamese immigrants. Tien’s mother speaks mainly Vietnamese and Tien speaks mainly English. This makes it hard for Tien and his mother to communicate, but it makes it even harder for Tien to come out as gay. The story follows Tien as he comes to terms with his identity and figures out how to tell his parents.

My Review: I loved this book so much. I identify as LGBTQ myself, so I related to the concept of coming out a lot, but I can’t imagine how hard it would be if there was also a language barrier between me and my parents. The author told this story so beautifully, and the art was just beautiful. I really appreciated this story and I think anybody who is struggling with their identity should give it a read.

Rating: 5/5

Three Words That Describe This Book: moving, beautiful, touching

Give this a try if you like: The Princess and the Dressmaker, The Witch Boy, Heartstopper

Find it at the Library!

About FDL Reads

FDL Reads is a series of weekly book reviews from Fondulac District Library.

Susie Rivera2020-12-10T17:05:58-06:00December 10th, 2020|

#FDL: Book Giveaway!

Put your name in the form below to win one of these books with a wintery theme!

The Bear by Andrew Krivak

In an Eden-like future, a girl and her father live close to the land in the shadow of a lone mountain. They own a few remnants of civilization: some books, a pane of glass, a set of flint and steel, a comb. The father teaches his daughter how to fish and hunt and the secrets of the seasons and the stars. He is preparing her for an adulthood in harmony with nature, for they are the last of humankind. But when the girl finds herself alone in an unknown landscape, it is a bear that will lead her back home through a vast wilderness that offers the greatest lessons of all, if she can learn to listen.

Migrations by Charlotte McConaghy

Franny Stone has always been the kind of woman who is able to love but unable to stay. Leaving behind everything but her research gear, she arrives in Greenland with a singular purpose: to follow the last Arctic terns in the world on what might be their final migration to Antarctica. Franny talks her way onto a fishing boat, and she and the crew set sail, traveling ever further from shore and safety. But as Franny’s history begins to unspool—a passionate love affair, an absent family, a devastating crime—it becomes clear that she is chasing more than just the birds. When Franny’s dark secrets catch up with her, how much is she willing to risk for one more chance at redemption?

Snow by John Banville

Detective Inspector St. John Strafford has been summoned to County Wexford to investigate a murder. A parish priest has been found dead in Ballyglass House, the family seat of the aristocratic, secretive Osborne family. The year is 1957 and the Catholic Church rules Ireland with an iron fist. Strafford—flinty, visibly Protestant, and determined to identify the murderer—faces obstruction at every turn, from the heavily accumulating snow to the culture of silence in this tight-knit community. As he delves further, he learns the Osbornes are not at all what they seem. And when his own deputy goes missing, Strafford must work to unravel the ever-expanding mystery before the community’s secrets, like the snowfall itself, threatens to obliterate everything.

The Glass Woman by Caroline Lea

Rósa has always dreamed of living a simple life alongside her Mamma in their remote village in Iceland, where she prays to the Christian God aloud during the day, whispering enchantments to the old gods alone at night. But after her father dies abruptly and her Mamma becomes ill, Rósa marries herself off to a visiting trader in exchange for a dowry, despite rumors of mysterious circumstances surrounding his first wife’s death. Rósa follows her new husband, Jón, across the treacherous countryside to his remote home near the sea. There Jón works the field during the day, expecting Rósa to maintain their house in his absence with the deference of a good Christian wife. What Rósa did not anticipate was the fierce loneliness she would feel in her new home, where Jón forbids her from interacting with the locals in the nearby settlement and barely speaks to her himself.

*Annotations provided by each publisher

#FDL is a weekly update on all things Fondulac District Library and East Peoria.

Susie Rivera2021-02-04T09:26:45-06:00December 4th, 2020|

FDL Reads: American Dirt

American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins

Reviewed by: Becky Houghton, Reference Assistant

Genre: Social issues thriller

Suggested Age: Adult

What is This Book About?: American Dirt is the story of a mother and son and their journey to escape cartel violence in Acapulco, Mexico that has killed their entire family. Lydia and her son Luca witness the violent murder of Sebastian, their husband and father, after he publishes a newspaper story about the Los Jardineros and their leader Javier. Sebastian along with eleven members of his extended family are killed by the cartel. Escape is the only avenue left to them – escape to the United States. The remainder of the book details the journey northward and the other migrants that they encounter on that journey.

My Review: I highly recommend this book. Lydia and her son, Luca are very realistic, sympathetic and well- developed characters and their struggle to escape from a Mexican cartel that murdered their family is a frightening, thriller tale, but this book is so much more than just an exciting and riveting tale. Cummins has written an almost poetic book filled with the love between a mother and son and those that they come to view as “family.” The journey that Lydia and Luca undertake from their home in Acapulco to Mexico City and on north toward Nogales and eventually into the United States is filled with danger and fear, but it is also filled with people–other migrants from throughout Central America. Many of these men, women and children on the train known as “La Bestia” become a new family as they share the trials and atrocities encountered along the journey. There is violence, rape, hunger, death and most of all fear throughout their travels, but the love between mother and son and their companions over shadows and triumphs over trials. Human courage is displayed. American Dirt was called “the most anticipated book of 2020” and “The Grapes of Wrath of our times” in its early reviews. I agree that it is a beautifully written, but violent tale of the struggles faced by some citizens of Mexico and other Central American countries forcing them to seek a better life in the United States. The book and author have also been criticized as unauthentic. I strongly disagree with this characterization. This is a work of fiction and Cummins never portrayed it as “truth.” Neither is this a treatise on immigration. It is a well-written work of fiction and one that I am glad to have read!

Three Words That Describe This Book: Heroic, Compassionate, Dramatic

Give This a Try if You Like: John Steinbeck’s Grapes of Wrath or Griffin’s Hazardous Duty

Rating: 5/5

Find it at the Library!

About FDL Reads

FDL Reads is a series of weekly book reviews from Fondulac District Library.

Susie Rivera2020-12-02T13:27:52-06:00December 2nd, 2020|

FDL Reads: One Day in December

One Day in December by Josie Silver

Reviewed by: Dawn Dickey, Library volunteer

Genre: Romance

Suggested Age: Adults

What is This Book About?: Laurie is on a bus one wintry day, on her way home after a grueling week of work. She’s so tired that she can barely stay awake despite the crowd, the coughers, and the noisy holiday shoppers. At one bus stop, she peers out the window and notices a guy “perched on one of the fold-down seats in the bus shelter.” He’s engrossed in reading a book, oblivious to all the commotion around him. Laurie is intrigued by his sandy hair, “the coolness . . . of his attire,” and his book. As she wipes the steamed-up bus window to try to see what the man is reading, the man looks directly up at her. Suddenly, neither can look away. Laurie feels impelled to hop off the bus, and the guy is torn by the impulse to get on the bus. While both ponder whether they should follow the impulse, the bus pulls away. Laurie tells her roommate and best friend, Sarah, about “bus guy.” They spend a lot of time trying to find him, with no luck. A year later, Laurie meets Sarah’s new boyfriend and – surprise! – it’s the bus guy, Jack.

My Review: This book follows Sarah, Jack and Laurie through a decade of life’s ups and downs. The text, sweetly and evocatively written and read in both Laurie’s and Jack’s voices, reveals the characters’ love for each other, their friendship, integrity, happiness, and sadness. This makes it easy, as a reader, to sympathize with the characters and put yourself in both Laurie’s and Jack’s shoes: Does love at first sight exist? You think it might, and you feel happy until, devastatingly, you find it slipping away. Listen to or read the book to find out whether Laurie, Jack and Sarah find lasting happiness! Highly recommended!

Three Words That Describe This Book: sweet, poignant, romance

Give This a Try if You Like… The Light We Lost by Jill Santopolo or books by Jasmine Guillory or Sophie Kinsella

Rating: 5/5

Find it at the Library?

About FDL Reads

FDL Reads is a series of weekly book reviews from Fondulac District Library.

Susie Rivera2020-09-24T14:02:09-05:00September 24th, 2020|