First of all, let's address the elephant in the room ... I haven't blogged in almost a year -- but, as always, I have a good excuse — multiple ones, in fact. Here's what I've been up to in the past 12 months (brace yourselves for some pretty big Life-altering milestones, folks): 

-Getting settled in my new home after buying my first house and all the work that goes along with it
-Graduating with my Master's Degree in Library and Information Science
-Starting my first full-time job and adjusting to a new schedule and workload
-Planning my wedding (that is exactly one month from today!)

Pretty good excuses, right? Yeah, I thought so too. So between all that going on and trying to, I don't know ... do the dishes, sleep, have a social life, complain about how busy I am, etc. ... I just didn't have any energy to blog in my very limited "free" time. But now that I have some big news to share, I figured I'd better get back to blogging, and more consistent blogging at that!

Hello dear reader, and happy Monday! I have some pretty exciting news: You're reading the words of the South Milwaukee Public Library's new youth services intern! After three different interviews for entry-level youth services positions at public libraries across southeastern Wisconsin, I've finally managed to land a position that will serve as a giant stepping stone toward working as a youth services librarian full-time after finishing graduate school.

I will still be working as a library assistant at the Community Library locations in Salem, Twin Lakes and Silver Lake; however, I am extremely excited to be able to start working more directly with children and their parents at the South Milwaukee Public Library. I am especially looking forward to leading storytime programs for kids of all ages. Now all I have to do is find a way to juggle these two library positions on top of going to grad school full-time and attempting to keep up with this blog on a regular basis . . . Good thing I'm going on vacation next week – I have a feeling it's going to be the last of my relaxation time for quite a while! 

It's somehow already August (!?!) and that means the summer is going to be over before we know it! But don't break out the back to school supplies just yet – there's still plenty of time for trips to the beach, weekend getaways and, of course, summer visits to your local library!

It's no secret that summertime is when public libraries shine most. Ask any youth services librarian and they will tell you it's hands down their busiest time of year. Not only do summer reading programs like those offered by libraries decrease the effects of summer slide, they also are a great opportunity for kids (and adults) to foster their love of literacy and win some cool prizes in the process!

Of course, libraries aren't the only ones with some awesome summer reading programs – and there is still time to take advantage of many of them before those trees change from green to brown. Here are a few other neat summer reading programs going on across the nation.

Earlier this month, Scholastic announced that 500,000 books were successfully distributed to young children wellness checkup sites across the country. This donation was made through work of the Scholastic Possible Fund and Reach Out and Read, a program focused on educating parents and caregivers about the importance of reading aloud to children from birth. 

This generous donation of books is essential for even the earliest of learners, with research showing the massive amount of brain development that takes place in a child's first three years of life. These early years of development are primed for parents and caretakers to help their babies' brain develop by doing things like reading aloud, talking, singing and rhyming (Remember, your child will not receive the same benefits by watching T.V. or listening to a CD about rhyming – they need your human contact)!

What better way to educate parents about the importance of promoting early literacy skills than to encourage parents to read to children at the doctor's office?

According to Scholastic's blog On Our Minds, "The book donation and distribution are part of a national partnership announced by former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton at the fourth annual Clinton Global Initiative America Meeting (CGI America) in June, 2014. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), Reach Out and Read, Scholastic and Too Small to Fail are using a multi-pronged approach to ensure that medical caregivers have the information, tools and books they need to help families make reading aloud with their infants a daily practice."

Massive book distributions like this are one of the many reasons I absolutely love Scholastic and miss being able to say that I work there (even if it was only a summer internship). The organization's belief that literacy is the birthright of every child is something that I could not agree with more. The right book at the right time can change a child's life! And the benefits of reading go far beyond the actual skill of literacy. The beauty of building strong readers is watching their young minds flourish and their confidence grow. 

Scholastic prides itself on striving to “Open a World of Possible” for every child around the world, and for that to be possible, access to the books kids want to read is key. 

To view the distribution details of the first shipment by state, click here. According to Scholastic, the second shipment is scheduled for early summer.

The previously mentioned authors are of course most popular for their more "grown-up" material, but their lesser-known children's books are nothing to be glanced over. I recently discovered some of these literary gems, and can't wait to get my hands on the rest of them! To view all seven authors' children's books, click here. Otherwise, here's a look at my top three favorites!

In 1865, the man behind Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn did something totally unexpected – he wrote a children's book. Written in a scaled-back version of the trademark satire Twain is known for in his adult work, Advice to Little Girls serves as a sort of manual for what to do (or not do) in normal situations that everyday girls might find themselves in. As if the words themselves weren't comical enough, Vladimir Radunsky's illustrations elevate the book's humor even higher.

With the first week of grad school under my belt, I'm already feeling even more connected to the library and information science field, particularly to public libraries. For the first week of my Library Services for Children and Young Adults class, we were instructed to observe a children's storytime at our local library. So, last Monday, I went to the Northside Public Library in Kenosha to observe its weekly toddler storytime and the only way I think I could have enjoyed it more is if I was the librarian interacting with the kids. 

Here's a look at what the storytime looked like from my perspective:

At just before 10:30 a.m., approximately 25 children and their parents, relatives and caretakers gather in the small, colorful storytime room in the southeast corner of the library. The excited hum of the children spikes every so often with a shrill shriek until the librarian enters the room and starts preparing the kids for storytime with the welcome song.

Some of the kids answer enthusiastically in mumbled toddler talk, others simply nod or shake their head; one girl continues to twirl her mother's hair, completely unfazed by the activity around her.

"Great listening!" the librarian exclaims as she closes the now finished book. "I'm feeling sort of happy, how about you?" She begins to sing "If You're Happy and You Know It, Clap Your Hands," and the kids soon begin to chime in.

After the song ends, the librarian picks up a brown, potato-shaped fabric cut-out and places it on a felt board.

"Who do you think this is?" she asks.

A few youngsters pick up on it immediately.

"Mr. Potato Head!" they giggle.

"He looks a little different ... I think he's missing a few things. What does Mr. Potato Head need to be able to see you?"

"EYES!" yell a few kids, as others nearly poke themselves in the pupils, pointing to their own peepers.

The activity goes on as the librarian asks them to identify the body parts used to do things like smell, taste, hear, run and clap. The kids are almost all smiling by now, fully attentive to what their beloved librarian will have them do next. She picks up another book, this one called Hooray for Hat! by Brian Won.

The book is about a group on animal friends who cheer one another up by giving each other fun hats to wear. Every few pages big, colorful letters encourage the children to shout aloud with the librarian, "HOORAY FOR HAT!" as they throw their little arms up toward the sky.

"Good reading! Give yourselves a hand!" the librarian says. "Now let's get up and moving!"

She leads the children in a rousing group rendition of "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes," repeating the song three times – faster and faster with each repetition.

After the story, we pick up another hat-themed activity. This time, the librarian uses a felt board to put up different types of hats, such as a red firefighter helmet, a blue policeman's hat, a puffy white chef's hat, a sparkly crown, a purple sombrero and more. After identifying all the hats, the librarian brings out a small felt cut-out of a sleeping gray cat, who she explains likes to sleep underneath hats.

As the children close their eyes and count to ten, the librarian hides the cat under one of the hats. When the kids open their eyes, she has them attempt to find the cat by identifying the color of the hats.

"Little cat, little cat, are you under the green hat?" the children croon along with the librarian. "NOOO!? Little cat, little cat, are you under the black hat?"

They eventually find the cat sleeping under the orange construction hat and all rejoice excitedly.

With the sleeping cat now safe and sound, the group jumps along to a counting CD and uses their fingers to get all the way up to ten before sitting back into their seats.

"Look at the time!" the librarian says. "It looks like storytime is over! But not before we sing the thank you song!"

The children sing along, clapping their hands and stomping their feet before they roll their hands in small circles in front of their tummies and wave goodbye.

To watch the group of diverse children all so eager to listen and learn was really special. As you can see, storytimes aren't just for reading to children; they're also to work on age-appropriate developmental skills! If not for free services like this offered at public libraries, I wonder how many of these kids would still be getting similar mental and physical stimulation at home, daycare, or even school?

Watching this tender and invaluable interaction between the librarian, the kids and their caretakers made me incredibly excited for my upcoming class assignment to propose with my own storytime program. Getting a first-hand look at some examples of intellectually stimulating (and fun!) storytime ideas reinforced a lot of the information I've been reading about for my class and gave me some new ideas for future literacy programs of my own!

To learn more about the Kenosha Public Library's weekly storytimes, click here. They're fun – and free!