JCLC--The Reader, Summer 2001

	SPECIAL REPORT:
	KIDS GONE WILD by April Moon
	EDITORS NOTE: It is happening all over the city. Kids are going wild, rampaging a public building that heretofore has been a sacred shrine to knowledge: the public library. Descending on area libraries in droves, kids are wreaking havoc with circulation statistics all over the Birmingham-Jefferson County area. Circulation numbers almost too high to count have been reported in precincts in these areas. In order to find out why our kids have gone wild over libraries, we sent our ace reporter, Booker "Wildman" Read, into the fray to try to catch some of these "kids gone wild." (Please note: the names have been changed to protect the innocent.) With the public library system in the state of Alabama adopting a Summer Reading theme of "Go Wild, Read!"* for the summer of 2001, it is no surprise that kids are doing just that-going WILD. I have spent the last several days in the midst of this reading frenzy and have managed to catch a few of these wild readers in action. Here are some of their comments: Blair, age 10, from Southside library: "It feels like I am in school for about 68 hours a day! I go to the library so I can hang with my fiends. Plus, if I have any homework, I can usually get some pretty good help from the library lady. The building is really clean, too. You can sit on the floor without gettin' your pants dirty. My mama-hates it when I get my pants dirty." Sandy, age 6, from Homewood library: "My mama said she wasn't buying me any books anymore because she said that her taxes were paying for that library and I could read what they had. Which is pretty neat, because they have, like, a bejillion books, and I don't have enough space in my room at home to put that many books anyway." Hunter, age 9, from Mountain Brook library: "Our library wasn't here for, like, a year or something, and I really missed going over there after school and playing on the computer. Now it is back and I hear they have 20 or 30 computers so I probably will be there every day, except the days I have soccer or karate or something better." Toby, age 13, from Springville Road library: "Yeah, I hang here a pretty good bit. I don't know why, really, except the librarian is pretty cool and she doesn't rag you about a lot of little nit-picky things. Plus, I kinda like being called a 'young adult,' 'cause most folks in other places just call me a kid." Baby Missy, age 1, from Hoover library: "Ga, ga, goo...caa-caa, goo-goo." (translation by her mother: "I love the board books. They taste really yummy!") Jessie, age 8, from Leeds library: "I LOVE to go to the library, because my little brother is too little to come and that is the only place I can go without being bugged by him. He is two and believe me, you would not want him here! He is only quiet when he is asleep and that is only about 2 hours a day." John, age 9, from Birmingham Public library: "You CAN NOT go to the library and run around like you are on the playground, but if you try really hard, you can be still enough to have a good time because there are some really cool books there. And you can see some neat programs if you happen to be there at the right time." So there you have it: documentation of our kids gone wild over their public libraries! And who could blame them? Where else can you get friendly customer service, entertaining programming, the best and latest in books, videos and CDs, internet access and a pleasing and relaxing environment - all for FREE? No place, of course, which is why we adults need to join our kids and all make a visit to our local library and GO WILD, READ!
	by Leslie West		An Interview With Charles Ghinga Alabama Author
	Tell us a little about your background. I moved to Alabama from Florida in 1974 and taught creative writing at the Alabama School of Fine Arts for eighteen years. I signed a four-book contract to write children's books with the Walt Disney Company in 1992 and have been writing full-time ever since. When did you start writing seriously, and how did you break into the ranks of a published book author? My poems first began appearing in literary magazines when I was in college. "The Alabama Wiregrassers" appeared in Harper's Magazine in September 1974. My first children's poems began appearing in the niid- 1980's in such magazines as Highlights for Children, Cricket, Humpty Dumpty, Jack & Jill, Ranger Rick and others. My first books for children began appearing in the niid-1990s. How do you choose your topics? My topics choose me! Most of my poems for children are about nature, animals, word-play, sports, and the celebration of childhood. Do you stick to a writing schedule? Yes! I write everyday -- almost all day -- whenever and wherever I can. How do you maintain success? By waking each morning with a humble heart grateful for being allowed to do what I love. And by keeping my editors happy! Do you have any advice for aspiring authors? Yes. Get yourself a notebook and write in it EVERY night for two weeks. Then stop - if you can. If you can't you're a writer. Write of your passions, your loves, your fears, your joys. Find your writer's voice by listening deep inside. What books have you read recently that you would recommend? The 20th Century Children Poetry Treasury, Knock at a Star: A Child's Introduction to Poetry, and Talking Like the Rain. For more information, please visit the Father Goose web site at: http://www.charlesgmgna.com

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VULCAN VOICE
By Rochelle Sides-Renda

Hit me! The Vulcan Voice, a new Web site especially for teens, is looking for visitors. Students from schools in Jefferson County came together to create a site by and for teens. Now, what the Vulcan Voice needs is other savvy, talented students to add their thoughts, works, and computer skills. This new voice for teens is a way for middle, junior, and senior high students to publish their ideas and art (drawings, paintings, poetry, short stories) online. Visit the Vulcan Voice to see what concerns are coming to the Birmingham area or to find out what's in and what's not. Look for articles on what's new in town for teens, peer reviews on good reads, and interviews with the stars. The address for this great new site is http://www.jclc.org/vulcanvoice. Visit, submit, join - the Vulcan Voice needs you to make this the best teen site in town.