@ExlibrisMrHunt

Today’s #LibrarianSoundtrack as I check in Books for the morning is a welcome earworm loop of Regina Spektor‘s song Blue Lips, which is really fantastic song…

True.
Some hard weeks.
Working w/ 500 kids & adults, all their needs, all the many transitions in a day can be draining—esp when you’re an introvert (me) in an extroverted role…but when things are firing well, it’s really something. And there’s still no other job within education I’d rather do.

Sadly, I suppose I have to clarify that it’s the best job ever *in my particular and specific time & place right now” as it isn’t so rosy in many places, and I’ve certainly have some major struggles with cuts and contract shredding, plus rise (and, luckily, fall) of local book banners in my career.

c3po from star wars says curse my metal body Alt: C-3PO, from the earlier and best Star Wars trilogy ever, says “curse my metal body, I wasn’t fast enough” while gesticulating an awkward robo-arm flail toward a nonplussed R2-D2.

Classic!

a duck is running down a road with the words `` lucky duck '' written on it . Alt: GIF: A duckling is waddling gawkily and very rapidly down a road straight into the camera lens…with the words ``LUCKY DUCK!!!'' written along the bottom of the image in white all-caps.

Teacher-Librarianship = best gig ever.

I regularly acknowledge it, but, still, really hits all over again some days.

Tons autonomy, building love of reading, multi-grade curricula, ordering books…

This week: woodworking sci/STEAM, friction racecars, social justice hist + zines, pencil&paper games

😧😢
On behalf of Canada, I issue an apology that the geese named after our country were ever-so-rude-and-vicious to that student. They can be like that. Little provocation is justification for a Canada goose.

Please don’t allow it to reflect poorly upon all of us Canadians.

Poor geese.

Poor misunderstood geese.

They’ve each got a heart of gold in there somewhere.

🤪

Wow! That book really sounds like my kinda thing—experimental in a way that promises to pull together in a satisfying way that goes well beyond merely clever (but is also plenty clever)…? Yes, please.

I can second the motion for Jumper; it’s really great. The spider POV images and various angles are skillfully enhancing all of the factual content. Engaging narrative nonfiction.

I’m definitely curious about the other one…

Poster thingy I made ages ago: Black background, white faded-effect-font in all caps, says… ANYBODY AND EVERYBODY LOVES TO BE READ TO... YOU CAN CALM A ROOM, GET THE MOST UNFOCUSED TO SETTLE, JUST BY READING WELL WITH EXPRESSION. IT'S SOME SORT OF VISCERAL COMFORT CONNECTION: THE POWER OF ORAL STORYTELLING MIXED WITH THE MEMORIES OF LAP TIME READING (OR THE LONGING FOR THAT LAP TIME THAT NEVER HAPPENED). READ ANYTHING YOU THINK IS GREAT, THAT YOU WANT TO SHARE, AND WATCH THE SELFREGULATION SPREAD THROUGH THE ROOM. A NOVEL, A PICTURE BOOK, A GRAPHIC NOVEL, NONFICTION, WHATEVER IT IS, IF YOU LOVE IT AND PRESENT IT AS A READ ALOUD, THEY WILL LISTEN, WRAPPED IN THE SOUND OF YOUR VOICE... RAPT. @EXLIBRISMRHUNT

Library lockout averted as FVRL staff accept offer - Chilliwack Progress Four-year contract must still be ratified by union

Glad to see that local public librarians are getting a contract offer that is likely to be accepted (because some level of fairness was offered to them last minute).

theprogress.com/2026/03/05/l...

Canada Geese: ungovernable. Locally, they regularly take over roadways outside my school. They’re not afraid of cars. Take their time.

I love it.

Also, they’re somewhat mellow and majestic and polite looking—until they’re not. Then, they suddenly snap back, flap, hiss, charge…

O Canada (Goose!)

A picture of the search-and-find book Elephants On Tour, which has mangled, torn, chewed areas on the spine and covers…with a hand-written Sharpie pen note reading, “To Mr Hunt, My dog ate my library book [sad face drawing] Here’s money to replace it. Sorry [sad face drawing] It arrived with $20 to cover the cost.

Sad story, true story.

#BookMourning

Cool. Thx for the rec.

By Jacques Goldstyn… The cover shows two foregrounded green-clad, rifle-with-bayonet carrying, rucksack wearing soldier buddies glancing down at a wild-growing poppy as they get behind their fellow troop in the background, walking through a rural war-torn scene, bombed house, mother and child collecting wood in a wheelbarrow…

YES!
Love that book. Have used it for #ReadAlouds.
Similarly, The Eleventh Hour is phenomenal.

Screenshot of my entry from the #50PreciousWords Wordpress site: The Meanderer He meandered off to explore the woods alone (first time). Watched a spider… followed a squirrel… He was lost! Stay Put! Dad’s voice. He plunked himself down. Ate blueberries… Watched ant colonies… Later…heard his name drifting… Mom, on the back porch, calling him to lunch. He got up, meandered home…

My post…

Can’t get this one l’il story idea out of my head, so I’m submitting it…

Love the challenge of only 50 words to attemot something still meaningful.

#50PreciousWords

Picture of No!, by David McPhail. Shows a large shouted NO! word bubble title, which is coming from a very young child coming through a doorway (dressed in little brown boots, overly large greyish coat, red mittens and red ear flap hat).

War, by José Jorge Letria… A stark, muddy greenish greyish background sky cut into by a black cliff jutting in from the left side; on the cliff top, looking out toward the sky is a vague general type figure, oversized greyish background-black trench coat, helmet with plume, hands crossed together behind his back.

Why War Is Never A Good Idea, by Alice Walker, illustrated by Stefano Vitale…one of her poems made into a picture book. Features a bright, beautiful jungle scene mostly blocked out by thick black bars running across much of the cover (on which the title words and author/illus credits are printed).

GREAT book!

#HatTrickLit or #FourScores:
See also: pair w/ these anti-war books—virtually wordless No!, up through slightly incr word counts, still quite minimal…carefully chosen minimal language evokes the theme in much more depth and pain than extra words would, and as enhanced by the artwork.

Cool. I’m really enjoying the design aesthetic in a lot of those posters. Also trying some of the punk bands that I don’t know (not that I’m a connoisseur, lol; I dabble). Doing a sampler of The Raincoats—they’re blowing my mind.
#LibrarianSoundtrack

Cool. I’m really enjoying the design aesthetic in a lot of those posters. Also trying some of the punk bands that I don’t know (not that I’m a connoisseur, lol; I dabble). Doing a sampler of The Raincoats—they’re blowing my mind.
#LibrarianSoundtrack

A picture of the book What Do Brothas Do All Day lying open so that back and front covers are visible. Shows a variety of Black men of different ages, hair/clothing styles, uniforms, etc…in a digital line drawing/graphic design style.

A sneak peek, a partial view of the the hidden board covers under the dust jacket. I’ve shown just enough to get the sense there’s a large portrait of a brotha on the front cover and that the back cover is a view of the back of his head.

An angled partial view of the front interior endpapers with a grid of 30+ thumbnail digital line drawing portraits of Black men of all ages and hairstyles, facial hair styles…all drawn from various angles.

Going through a box of new books…

#ThisBookTheseReasons

@ajuanmance.bsky.social’s celebration of Black men’s joy and varied roles also has a great #SecretCover and stylish “wallpaper pages” (I often call endpapers that) with tons of portraits.

#RepresentationMatters

Another #RecodeTheBarcode moment…ISBN from the back cover of Corey R Tabor’s Fox and the Jumping Contest.

“nutso logistics of an already kooky premise”

Dang! I’m in.

You meant in the best possible way, and quirk in books is something I can’t resist. Going on potential future orders list.

… Definitely interested in that for a future orders list

View of me walking past some library shelves in the picture book section, wearing the outfit described in next two picture ALTs…

Black jeans, black Converse shoes close up, standing on Storytime carpet green and yellow dots…funky pseudo-camo print socks partially visible in orange, black, blue, yellow tones.

Selfie, closer view… Me: rounded black plastic glasses frames, trim l’il beard, short faux hawk hair. Wearing: Black button up shirt, wild coloured (orange, blue, etc) paisleys tie, granny squares crochet cardigan in a variety of vivid colours. A clashy-clashy sorta matchy-matchy!!

Yesterday, in #LibrarianFashion

A clashy-clashy sorta matchy-matchy!!

My fave aesthetic.

#FashionCrime or #FashionSublime

I feel the same as Phoebe some days. Tired defending comics as literature and “real” reading to some naysayers. Nuh-uh will have to suffer for today! I love the Phoebe and Her Unicorn series!

And the getting up here in slightly less than pitch blackness now is much appreciated.

3 kid hands holding their finished rainbow scratch pad notes up against the dark blue door before going to put them up on the hallway walls. Small cardstock-thick squares, approximately 3” x 3” with rainbow colours in a lower layer, which are hidden until the black top coat is scratched off via writing or drawing with a harder object…toothpicks as the scratchers in this instance. Revealed messages, now in rainbow colours, showing through say… 1. No colours are boy colours and none are girl colours. 2. You’re amazing (with a big heart). 3. Be kind, no matter what.

2 kid hands holding their finished rainbow scratch pad notes up… Revealed messages, now in rainbow colours, showing through say… 1. You Are Great! 2. You got this.

A kid hand holding their finished rainbow scratch pad note up… Revealed message, now in rainbow colours, showing through saying …. Big and small, you can change the world, too! (Features a stylized globe with stick people holding hands around the circumference, a rainbow heart beneath it.)

Rainbow Club:
Library, lunch today; teacher sponsors tied activities to #PinkShirtDay … Watching a video from a founder of the day talk about the roots (anti-homophobia bullying; resisting ideas of gendered clothing colours), + kindness boomerang video… Then, made rainbow scratch pad notes for halls

The Performance of Pink The Performance of Pink: Some Reflections on Pink T-Shirt Day I always find it difficult to articulate my feelings around Pink T-Shirt Day, but this year I thought it was worth the effort.  Recentl…

Always important not to lose sight of #PinkShirtDay roots as an anti-homophobia movement.

General kindness = fabulous message, but obscuring the roots can cause erasure of ongoing 2SLGBTQIA struggles—see Gidinski’s writing on this:
www.lostboysconsulting.ca/uncategorized/the-performance-of-pink/

No, it isn't parents who should decide what kids can read.

No, it isn't politicians either.

And no, it isn't librarians.

Readers are who should decide what they read. Age doesn't come into the right to read.

Not sure how many different ways I can say this.