Hopping Dinners Fact Feast

Think you know a thing or two about hopping dinners?  Test your knowledge with an early readers (children's) book, Fun Facts About Frogs!,  by Carmen Bredeson (Berkeley Heights, NJ: Enslow Publishers, 2008).

This is a fantastic readaloud for the early literacy crowd.  There are colorful images galore, with pages packed with interesting frogger facts that will surprise and amaze you.  Some hopping dinners are mighty huge!  I had thought they were all rather tiny, but some were as big as moi.  Think I'll have tuna-in-oil instead.

I think this book would be an excellent selection for Wild Thang and Toucan Sammy's early literacy blog about the Letter F f.  If you missed it, take a look.  I can wait.

Since that blog has been posted, however, perhaps Wild Thang and Sammy could add an update featuring our book trailer.  Just saying.

Be sure to take a look-see at Explore to Learn: Early Literacy Fun for the Letter J j, which stands for jellyfish, jewels, and Wild Thang (i.e., Miss Jaymi), but not necessarily in that order.

Wild Thang had to fly solo this week when writing her early literacy blog for Thanksgiving, because Toucan Sammy was under the weather.  (Too much late-night partying in Fort Wayne, Indiana, at the Indiana Library Federation [ILF] Conference, eh, Sammy?  Just saying.)  You may recall that Sammy and Wild Thang were featured performers (as was Broadway Gal) in my Animal Odyssey: Marketing With Library Animals workshop a couple of days ago.  Sammy must have been attending the conference, too, if what I heard was any indication.  A librarian I spoke with told moi that Broadway Gal had included Sammy (and Wild Thang), as well as moi (or, at least, "Flat" Cauli), in Broadway Gal's ILF workshop about homeschool programming at libraries.  Sorry I wasn't there in the crowd, Broadway Gal, but there were some swimming dinners at a nearby restaurant with my name on them.  Plus, I had to go drag Scowl-Face bodily from an Italian restaurant across the street.  Honestly, you'd think he never saw pizza before.

Fortunately, Sammy was well enough to wish blog readers a happy Thanksgiving, as you can see.

Fantastic Pilgrim Hat!  I Want!

I want one of those cool Pilgrim hats, too, Wild Thang.  Check out my blog photo to get an idea of my hat size.

We've been enjoying quite a bit of book trailering and video-crafting lately, thanks to a massive influx of new original compositions from The Music Man.  Keeps us jumping, that's for sure!  But it's a labor of love.

Happy Thanksgiving, Everybody!

Cauli Le Chat

MPL Roving Reporter

Early Literacy News Beat

P.S.  Kermit the Frog is probably the most famous frogger around.  Here he spoofs Frank Sinatra, singing "This Frog," from the classic children's television series, Sesame Street.

2011 ILF Conference Update

Twenty-eight librarians walked away with some really cool bags of Cauli Le Chat and Beatrix Butterfly giveaways when they attended our workshop called Animal Odyssey: Marketing With Library Animals at today's Indiana Library Federation (ILF) Conference in Fort Wayne, Indiana.  The workshop was a joint effort between Beatrix, moi, and our minions from Greenwood Public Library (Greenwood, Indiana) and Mooresville Public Library (Mooresville, Indiana), respectively.  This was the final day of the 2011 ILF Conference, and we wanted attendees to have something memorable to take home with them.  What could possibly be better than goodies with MY image emblazoned on them?  Well, Beatrix's, too.  Win-win, I'd venture.

Minions and "Flat" Cauli III presented a PowerPoint slideshow with some fun videos and cool music by my Library's composer, whom I call The Music Man.  Courtesy of Greenwood Public Library and Baskets From Junior's Farm, Beatrix gave away a free prize, an official Beatrix Butterfly basket filled with Hershey chocolate bars!  Beatrix knows what makes librarians happy.

There were many thoughtful questions and comments following the presentation, and one particularly caught my good ear.  You have probably already heard about service slobberdogs who help improve human literacy skills by having humans read to them.  (Incidentally, I call all canines slobberdogs.  They slobber.  Just a fact, Jack.) Well, libraries without resident animals (or which have decided not to have resident critters) could form partnerships with groups such as Paws to Read or Furry Friends, whose service slobberdogs could visit libraries to interact with patrons.  In effect, these slobberdogs would become honorary "spokescritters" of the libraries, even though they don't actually live there.  Once again, it's a marketing win-win for both libraries and animal-promoting literacy organizations.  There might be some forms to sign for permissions, but that's for the library bosses to hammer out.

This is just one example of how slobberdogs could join us kitties, bunnies, birds, rodents, reptiles, fish, insects, and other critters in promoting our libraries and their activities, programs, or collections.  Slobberdogs are great marketing dudes, as everybody loves them, even though they slobber relentlessly.  Human's best friend, and all that, so they say.  Of course, we felines are superior company--we're superior everything--but I value slobberdogs for their many virtues, and your libraries would do well to bask in the goodwill they could generate.

We hope everyone who attended our workshop today enjoyed it and was inspired to use "spokescritters" to promote their libraries.  Hey, just this week my blog passed 40,000 viewings!  Somebody's reading my insightful comments.  Now they just need to send me some canned tuna-in-oil.  Name brand, if you please.

The Beatrix & Cauli Brands Are Top-Flight, Sure Enough,

Cauli Le Chat

MPL Roving Reporter

ILF News Update

P.S.  Marketing is all about brand name recognition, and this is true of libraries as everything else.  Brands have been included in song lyrics for as long as I've been listening to music, which, counting each of my nine lives, is a long time, for sure.  Consider as an example of the genre this classic by Carl Perkins, "Levi Jacket (and a Long Tail Shirt)" (1958), recorded during his Columbia Records days.  Perkins crowned the rockabilly style and influenced everybody in pop music.

"Tippecanoe" and Tyler, Too

Minions and "Flat" Cauli III are waiting outside our workshop room at the Grand Wayne Convention Center in Fort Wayne, Indiana, where the 2011 Indiana Library Federation (ILF) Conference is winding up its last day.  I would be sitting with them, but a roving reporter must scurry about gathering breaking news.  What's more, I had to sneak into the facility, since there apparently is some silly rule against felines being inside the building.  But I'm a workshop presenter!  Someone has to keep those minions on script.  Anyway, I'm keeping a low profile.

I would have taken some photos to share, but we already exceeded our carrying capacity, what with all the giveaway goodies, laptops, and what-nots for the workshop.  So I'll describe some things to you.  We're scheduled to appear in the Harrison C room, named after Harrison Ford (just kidding!)  Actually, it's named after William Henry Harrison, who was Governor of Indiana Territory and, later, President of the United States for about five minutes (okay, maybe a bit longer).  He caught pneumonia after giving his inaugural address and died on his 32nd day in office.  Major bummer.

Well, it's about time to haul our cargo into President Harrison's C room (not C for comfy chairs, I can assure you), so I'll keep this report short.  You can provide the sweets.

Testing, 1-2-3, Is This Microphone On?  Just Asking,

Cauli Le Chat

MPL Roving Reporter

ILF News Beat

P.S.  Johnny Horton sang "The Battle of New Orleans" on a television program (1959).  Not the best video or audio quality, but, hey, it was eons ago.  Thinking of William Henry Harrison ("Tippecanoe" was his presidential campaign nickname, since he was a bigwig in the War of 1812 at the Battle of Tippecanoe just north of present-day Lafayette, Indiana, in a town called Battle Ground).

Thankful for Flying Thanksgiving Dinners!

Thanksgiving is fast approaching, and, as a cat, I am personally thankful for the flying Thanksgiving dinners (F.T.G.D.) that have invaded my Library.  Decorinator always outdoes herself when she decorates the Library.  Some are "flat" flying dinners, sort of like "Flat" Caulis, while others look more substantive.  Don't know if they're edible, but I guess there's a way to find out.  Minions, make it so.

This Flying T.G. Dinner Looks a Tad Bit Chewy

"Flat" Flying T.G. Dinner From Wild Thang's Early Literacy Groups

"Flat" F.T.G.D. Has Thankfuls Attached to Feathers

Smokey-the-F.T.G.D.?

An F.T.G.D. Riding a Slobberdog

Willie Was a Pilgrim? 

 Hank as a Native American

Willie makes a nice pilgrim, but Hank is a better Native American.  After all, he wrote Hiawatha: a Poem (1855).

Two F.T.G.D.s Guard Nicely-Carved Faux Pumpkins

Peanuts Characters Snoopy & Woodstock

Are All Set for Thanksgiving

Looks Like My Library is Decked Out for Thanksgiving, For Sure,

Cauli Le Chat

MPL Roving Reporter

Thanksgiving News Beat

P.S.  Thinking of Thanksgiving reminded me of "Be Thankful," by Natalie Cole, from her album Thankful (1977).

Photo Ops!

As a feline roving reporter, I come across many news stories at my Library.  So do the human reporters at our local newspaper, The Mooresville-Decatur Times.

Click to Bigify

You remember Casey at the Bat, whom my Library hired back in September?  Here she is sharing a Clifford book at my Library's recent Celebrate Clifford event.  Of particular interest is Marley, the Golden Retriever, who helped launch the festivities.  (Marley is not a "library critter" as such, but his presence did assure a successful program.)  Ordinarily, all things slobberdogish would try my patience, but I'm down with Celebrate Clifford.  Who wouldn't like a big red slobberdog?  Plus, there was a collection for the Morgan County Humane Society.  That's going to help lots of adoption-ready slobberdogs and kitties!  But what they really need is your love and adoption.

Click to Bigify

Speaking of recent newbies, here's a photo of three newly-hired Library staff.  You already know Casey at the Bat (center, in photo); now meet Toni the Tigress (left in photo; see what "Cauli name" you get when you wear leopard spots?) and School Media Master (shown on the right).

Click to Bigify

Here's a great news story (with photo) of Wild Thang's early literacy blog.  Why no picture of Sammy the Toucan?  Just asking.

As you can see, there is always big news happening at my Library.  Of course, there was no story about, or photo of, moi (or "Flat" Caulis, for that matter), but newspapers have limited space, so some important items must fall by the wayside.  (Thanks, William Tyndale, for that catchy phrasing, and for trying to help ploughboys become more educated than the elitists in your society.)

"To Plough Once in the Winter Sowing," etc.,

Cauli Le Chat
MPL Roving Reporter
New Staff News Beat

P.S.  Speaking of ploughmen, "The Background to History, Part IV," opened side two (or was it three?) of the THREE-sided LP album, The Monty Python Matching Tie & Handkerchief (1973), now available on CD sans the three-side gimmick that made the vinyl record so innovative.  All the humorous content remains on the CD, of course.  "Background to History" presents some authentic historical snippets, and the songs are really catchy.  Python Terry Jones is a real historian, and all the Pythons held degrees from Oxford or Cambridge.  We even have a book trailer about one of Terry Jones' history books.  Naturally, we would.  The book is available in the Evergreen Indiana catalog.  Matching Tie & Handkerchief is also available in the E.I. Catalog.  Monty Python is grown-up humor, so parents, be forewarned.