Happy New Year’s Eve!

No New year’s resolutions for me.This is the first year, though, that I am taking up the idea of One Little Word. My OLW for 2015 is

.

Shift can be a noun and a verb, so there will be actions and consequences.

Here are the main reasons why I chose this word:

A shift can be a small change or seismic.

I want to shift the way I think about my job. I’ve had 4 jobs in 4 years since the library job was eliminated. This is the year I plan to make my final shift. Either I will get a middle school job, or I will shift my thinking about being an elementary school teacher and stay there.

We are talking about instructional shifts at school. There’s been some resistance. I’m going to do my best as we go down this road and shift my thoughts away from the negativity I hear from colleagues who are less excited about these changes.

I will shift the way I spend my free time.  My spare time has been full of reading,  knitting and dog rescue, but some committee work I’ll be part of this year will require changes (shifts) in how I spend my spare time.

Starting tomorrow, I will be a Cybils Round 2 judge. This committee meets virtually until mid February.

Even more exciting than that, I have been selected to sit on the 2016 William C. Morris YA Debut Committee.This is a commitment that runs from Feb 1,  2015 tho Feb 1, 2016.

 This means I will be reading A LOT of YA debut fiction. I might not have time to knit. OMG! According to everything I’ve been told so far, this might become an all-consuming extra-curricular activity. But I’m excited about it. I will have to go to ALA meetings in June 2015 (San Francisco) and January 2016 (Boston).  I’m willing to shift some priorities to make this happen.

Self help through picture books

Welcome to self-improvement season. It’s the one in which people make resolutions and try to be better in a variety of ways. Fortunately, picture books can help us navigate the sea of possibilities and discover what is most important.

Like Mo does, in Mo’s Mustache  by Ben Clanton.

When Mo decided to start wearing a mustache, everybody liked it.

Unfortunately, everybody included a lot of copycats, which was disappointing.

Mo worked his way through a series of fashion changes in an effort to be unique, only to be copied time after time. Finally losing his temper, Mo asked his copy-catting friends why they keep copying and is surprised by the answer, which gives him a new perspective and makes for a situation in which everyone can be happy.

In Carnivores written by Aaron Reynolds and illustrated by Dan Santat, the beasts at the top of the food chain are feeling a little left out.

So, they set about on a self-improvement plan to fit in better with the other wildlife. The ones they used to eat.

It doesn’ t really work out very well for them and, ultimately, they embrace their carnivore nature.

So whether you are trying to make a change or embrace your essence, these two books are full of humor that will help you on your journey.