The fabulous irony of all this is that Lovecraft was an early proponent of fanfiction, shared universes, and remixing, so in a sense these authors are working in a tradition he encouraged, but use it in subversive and creative ways. And often that sense of otherworldly eerieness and creeping dread that is central to cosmic horror is even more vivid and terrifying than ever. Delve into this strange new world with the books below.
“Enjoy the little things. For one day you may look back and realize they were the big things.” – Robert Brault
Life is full of unknowns and uncertainties. Children of all ages are sensitive to stress in their families' lives. Children feel emotions very strongly, but they don't always have the words to describe how they're feeling. Talking with even very small children about fears and sadness can help them feel more secure. And talking to them about gratitude can help as well!
Take time to pause and notice aloud the people and things you are thankful for every day. Kids are always listening and they pick up on our moods - negative and positive. Gratitude, or thankfulness, feels good! And it is really good for us, too! Scientists who study the brain tell us that positive emotions like appreciation and gratitude are good for our brains, our minds and even our bodies.
Being thankful lets us balance out the negative emotions like fear, anger and anxiety that creep in. The incredible thing about gratitude is that it grows and increases the more we practice it. One positive thought can lead to dozens more. This type of positive thinking decreases stress and anxiety in people of all ages.
It's been said that gratitude is like taking a U-turn on complaining and negative thinking. A game my family sometimes plays is "Unfortunately, Fortunately." It's fun for road trips or even when sitting around the dinner table. "Unfortunately, all my soccer games have been canceled, but, fortunately, we have had extra time to play lots of games together."
It's about focusing on what's good in our lives and being thankful for the things we have. "Unfortunately, Poppy can't come and visit us on Sundays now, but, fortunately, we can draw pictures to send to him! And we get to walk to the mailbox!"
Teaching children an attitude of gratitude is as simple as helping them look at different situations from a positive point of view. It’s about focusing on what’s good in our lives, noticing the small things, appreciating and being thankful. We can model gratitude and appreciation for our children. We all take things for granted, but taking time to name those things reinforces trust, calm and joy.
Here are some things you can try with your family:
And of course, there are always books! The titles below can help you start conversations about gratitude with the young folks in your life.
Want to learn more tips on talking with kids, please sign up for our Family Newsletter. And we are always available to help support families, especially through Home Learning. Connect with us at learning@multcolib.org.
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Do you read Facebook or Twitter for news? Subscribe to a newspaper? Peruse websites, or watch videos? In an era of so many choices for information, how do you make a judgement about what's fact, what's slanted and what's just completely untrue?
Here are some tips for evaluating what you are reading, listening to or viewing.
For more about being a smart information consumer, check out the infographic, "How to Spot Fake News", provided by The International Federation of Library Associations. If you're more of a visual learner, take a look at the CRAAP test video from librarians at California State University. If you'd like to engage in some deeper learning, try this 3 hour online course, Check, Please!
And remember, if you're looking for reliable information, get in touch with us. We're always happy to help.
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Discover some of the ancestors of peoples now living in modern day Mexico to Peru from these websites and books about the Aztecs, Incas and Mayans.
The British Museum in London has artifacts from around the world, representing people, places and cultures from the past two million years. Khan Academy has detailed information about the Aztecs, Incas and Mayans. Click on photos to find out more about that object and its importance.
Have fun exploring the Mesoamerican Ballgame -a sport of life and death. Check out the video below about the rubber balls used for the game and see an example of how a version of the game was played.
If you want or need more help, contact a librarian. We're just a click away!
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Long before white settlers arrived on the Oregon Trail, the Portland area was home to the Multnomah people, a band of the Chinook Tribe. One of their leaders was Chief Kiesno (sometimes spelled Cassino). Tragically, many of the native inhabitants of our area died from diseases brought by the Europeans.
John McLoughlin is often called the Father of Oregon. He moved to the area in 1824 and established Fort Vancouver just north of Portland. Later, his general store in Oregon City became the last stop on the Oregon Trail.
Abigail Scott Duniway is famous for fighting for women’s rights, especially the right to vote. After many tries, she finally succeeded in Oregon in 1912. Intriguingly, Abigail’s brother, Harvey Scott, editor of The Oregonian newspaper, was opposed to letting women vote.
McCants Stewart was the first African American lawyer in Portland and started a newspaper, The Advocate. Dr. DeNorval Unthank is well-known for his role in fighting for civil rights for African Americans and was named Doctor of the Year in 1958. A park in North Portland is named for him.
Some other famous Portlanders include children’s author Beverly Cleary, Matt Groening (creator of The Simpsons), and Phil Knight, the co-founder of Nike.
For more information on famous residents of Portland, visit the Oregon History Project’s biography page, or search the Oregon Encyclopedia.
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Located between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in present-day Iraq, the cultures of ancient Mesopotamia made remarkable achievements in writing, art, and agriculture.
This Khan Academy video provides a short introduction. For older students, here’s a John Green Crash Course video with more details.
The University of Chicago has an amazing collection of artifacts from ancient Mesopotamia, and at their website, you can examine them in depth, learn about what daily life was like, listen to interviews with archaeologists, or even go on a virtual archaeological dig.
At the British Museum’s Mesopotamia site, you can find maps and information about the writing, mythology, buildings, and astronomers from various Mesopotamian cultures.
Ancient Mesopotamia covers geography, religion, economics, and the government of Mesopotamian cultures.
Several different empires existed in region of Mesopotamia, including the Sumerians, Babylonians and Assyrians. The Sumerians were known for inventing cuneiform writing. You can see what your monogram would look like in this writing system. They also wrote the first superhero story, the Epic of Gilgamesh, and played board games. One Babylonian ruler is famous for creating Hammurabi’s Code, a collection of laws. Ziggurats, large step pyramids like the one shown in the photo, were built by the Sumerians, Babylonians and Assyrians.
If you didn’t find the information that you need, please contact a librarian for more assistance.
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The Golden Age of Islam spanned from the mid 8th to the mid 13th century A. D., although recent scholars have extended it into the 15th and 16th centuries. It encompasses the life of the prophet Mohammad and the beginnings of the Islamic religion. Medieval Islamic culture also influenced Western civilization. The Golden Age of Islamic Culture included many innovations in science, medicine, mathematics, astronomy, Hindu-Arabic numerals, and words. It was a time of inventions and exploration. The Golden Age ended with the siege of Baghdad in 1258 A.D. and with the rise of religious dogma, discussed here by Steven Weinberg and Neil deGrasse Tyson.
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Hollywood movies and TV shows are full of stereotypes. To find the truth, you need to do good research.
When I start my search, I make a list of all the names I know that might be good to search. Many tribes have both their own name and an anglicized name (for example, Diné and Navajo) and it’s good to search under both. For more general searches, search multiple terms such as: Indian, Native American, First People or First Peoples,or try searching ”culture” and “indigenous” with the geographical area, for example American indigenous culture.
When doing online research on Native Americans I check not only what the website says, but who is providing the information. Techniques for Evaluating Native American Websites provides good tips on what to look for. Another website post with good information is Tips for Teachers: Developing instructional Materials about American Indians. Does the website present a view that the people it describes support? Is the information current? Does the information come from Native Americans themselves? Many new age sites and commercial websites that are trying to sell you something take Indian culture and rewrite it for their own needs. If the website is created by an institution like a museum, or government agency, remember that it might represent that institution’s perspective, but not necessarily the perspective of Native peoples.
When looking at historical issues of newspapers, like The Historical Oregonian I have to consider that many of those stories will include racism and one-sided views that were common at the time.”Historic Newspaper Accounts of Oregonian Native Americans” provides some good insight into the slant of these articles over time, both good and bad.
Need more help? Contact a librarian to be sure you get what you need.
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This video explores the integral role horses played in Nez Perce history and how they relate to the tribe’s culture today.
When researching Native Americans of Oregon, the Oregon Blue Book provides a good introduction to Oregon tribes, and has information on current tribal leaders and the economy of the tribe, plus an overview of the tribe’s history and culture.
Native Languages of Americas provides information about the original inhabitants of Oregon and includes a map of where they were located.
The Northwest Portland Area Health Board provides history and geographical information for the nine tribes that make up its membership in Oregon, as well as many tribes in Washington and Idaho.
The Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians provides information about their history, natural resources, economic development and tribal government.
Access Genealogy contains an overview of the history Oregon tribes, and links to many tribes' individual websites.
You can also search the library’s catalog, or do an online search for a tribe’s name. Many tribes have their own websites, which contain current information about tribal affairs, and might also include historical material.
Many resources about Indigenous people include biased information, so please also read How to Evaluate Native American and American Indian Websites, which provides help evaluating books too.
If you still need more help, contact a librarian to be sure you get what you need.
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Searching for information on Native American tribes and Native nations? These big web sites may be able to help you.
Whose land are you on? Native Land is an interactive website and an app that allows you to search any location and see who are the original inhabitants of the land, worldwide. The website also features a blog with updates and a page for Territory Acknowledgements, with the ability to search specific locations to get tribal affiliation, language, and treaties associated with that area.
You can search tribes alphabetically to learn about them, and learn about native languages as well as native culture. Try putting the name of the tribe you are looking for in the search box to see what other information they list, or scroll down to find the names of tribes listed alphabetically.
If you would rather search by location using a map, you can find state-by-state information, covering historic and contemporary information, languages, culture and history.
Many resources about Indigenous people include biased information, so please also read How to Evaluate Native American and American Indian Websites, which provides help evaluating books too.
If you still need more help, contact a librarian to be sure you get what you need.
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Did you know that young children begin to notice and point out the differences they see in people as early as six months? This ability to put things into categories like "safe to eat" and "hungry animal to run away from" has helped humans survive over hundreds of thousands of years. But if we aren't paying attention, it can also lead to making oversimplified generalizations about people, and those stereotypes can be harmful.
Because even babies are starting to sort people into categories, it's never too early to start talking with children about the stereotyping they will observe in the world around them, and help them question and push back against it. Here are some ideas for talking about stereotypes in a very kid-friendly way:
These activities can be done any time of year. Here in the U.S, November is a time when we celebrate Native American Heritage Month and Thanksgiving, which gives extra opportunities for non-Native families to talk about stereotypes specific to Native Americans and Indigenous people. For example, ask your child to draw a Native American dwelling or home. Talk about how most Native and Indigenous families live in houses and apartments. They are modern, vital people in our society, not just historical figures.
For some additional resources, I recommend this article about teaching preschool and kindergartners about Native and Indigenous peoples. You can also find info in this A Racial Justice Guide to Thanksgiving to help you tell the factual story of the holiday. We also have more book lists in this post Celebrating Native American Heritage month!
Like language, stereotyping is learned over time. It is never too early - or too late - to talk with children about kindness and fairness and diversity, and to demonstrate the many ways we can treat all people with respect and dignity.
This post is part of our "Talking with kids" series, and was featured in our monthly Family Newsletter. Sign up for the newsletter here, and email us at learning@multcolib.org if you have any questions.
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Gun rights and gun control are topics that come up often these days. It can be hard to find good resources that present multiple viewpoints on issues like this, and provide quotable sources.
An excellent electronic resource is Opposing Viewpoints in Context. It provides links to articles, videos and audio files from multiple viewpoints (you will need a library card # and password in order to access this electronic resource from outside of the library).
For the legal history of gun control, check out Infoplease’s Milestones in Federal Gun Control Legislation which covers laws up until 2013.
L.A.R.G.O. Lawful and Responsible Gun Owners and the N.R.A. National Rifle Association both support gun ownership in America. The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence and The Violence Policy Center both work to reduce gun violence. The Violence Policy Center is also a good resource if you’re looking for statistics related to gun violence (including drive by shootings and suicide).
This Guardian article compares gun crime in individual states and FindLaw shares Oregon Gun Control Laws. FactCheck looks at statistics in the media after the Newtown shootings, and reports on Gun Rhetoric vs. Gun Facts. Looking towards changes in the law, gun control is supported by more women than men, and that may have an effect on future legislation. But right now, despite repeated pleas for change after every mass shooting, nothing seems to change.
Need some specific gun facts or laws we haven’t covered? Contact a librarian and we’ll be glad to help
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For centuries, Europeans have explored places unfamiliar to them. The big push to explore happened from the 1400s to the 1600s and is known as the Age of Discovery or the Age or Exploration. Here are some sites that will help you learn more about individual explorers, the places they went, and the tools they used to get there.
For a broad website on exploration that includes biographies of explorers, information and illustrations ships and navigation tools, plus an interactive map showing voyages of the most ancient explorers through the 1920s, check out Ages of Exploration from the Mariners Museum. Here's another link to exploration info at the museum.
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Ah the stories of King Arthur and his knights, the cute thatched cottages, the banquets, the country life, and the bustle of growing cities! What’s not to like about the Middle Ages and Medieval period in history? Well, the smell for one. And let’s not forget the plague. Get all the dirt on what life was really like in Europe during this time.
Click on the different people in the street in the Camelot International Village to learn more about their craft or trade and how they lived in the Middle Ages. Find out about entertainers, peasants, traders, thieves, knights, church and religion, women, and lords of the manor.
For a funny and informative video series about the Middle Ages, watch Terry Jones’ Medieval Lives. Each 30 minute episode examines a different type of person important during the time period like kings, knights, monks and damsels.
Learn more about the lives of everyday people in What Was Life Like in Medieval Society? and then take the quiz to test your knowledge.
The Internet Medieval Sourcebook is super boring to look at, but amazing in its amount of primary source material (letters, legal texts, religious documents etc.). It’s a comprehensive collection of online texts from the entire medieval era, organized by topic and chronologically.
Now that you’ve learned a lot about the Middle Ages, test your knowledge here.
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She’s amazing. She attends Howard University School of Medicine, New York and Columbia universities. She believes everyone has a “Right to Sight.” She invents the Laserphaco Probe and procedure to improve cataract surgery results. She’s the first African American woman doctor to patent a medical invention. She’s the first African American woman surgeon at the UCLA Medical Center. She’s the first woman on faculty at the UCLA Jules Stein Eye Institute. Again, she’s amazing!
Further Exploration: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/changingthefaceofmedicine/physicians/biography_26.html
Available at Multnomah County Library: Patricia's Vision; The Doctor Who Saved Sight by Michelle Lord
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In 1884, a Chicago furniture store owner named Sarah E. Goode invented a folding cabinet bed to fit in small homes. Goode wanted to make it possible for people living in small homes to have furniture that fit in restricted space. When folded, the cabinet bed looks like a desk. Goode is now known as the first African American woman to receive a patent, on July 14, 1885. Today, there’s a Science, Technology, Engineering and Math education school in Chicago named after Sarah E. Goode.
Further Exploration at BlackPast.org.
Available at Multnomah County Library: Sweet Dreams, Sarah by Vivian Kirkfield
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Oregon has an extensive geologic history, which is viewable from roadside videos. There are also videos of various landforms in the state created by geologic actions. Like other Pacific Northwestern states, Oregon has many volcanoes. Mount Hood and Mount St. Helens are two volcanic peaks close to Portland. The geologic history of the whole Pacific Northwest was influenced by the great Missoula Floods which has left its mark, in the creation of the Columbia River Gorge. The geology of Eastern Oregon also features the mammal fossil beds at John Day, which include the Painted Hills. The Pacific Northwest also faces the potential of a massive earthquake, due to the Cascadia subduction zone.
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Kids aren't born knowing how to use a keyboard. But in today’s keyboard-centric world, kids need to learn to type. Luckily, there are some good free online typing programs aimed at students.
9 Fun Typing Games for Kids shares some fun typing games.
BBC iWonder: Dance Mat Typing.
There is also Sense-lang.org (though not a kid-oriented, it is still kid friendly).
The article Ed Tech Ideas: Keyboarding Sites for Kids lists many links to other free typing games.
Need more help? Contact a librarian.
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Enseñar a los niños cómo funciona el gobierno desde una edad temprana ayuda a fomentar la responsabilidad cívica en el futuro, especialmente cuando se trata de votar. Las familias pueden ayudar a los niños a aprender a través de juegos explicativos, información sobre las elecciones así como llevar a los niños a las urnas o mostrarles la boleta para votar y la guía para votantes que contiene información general de los candidatos y las propuestas de ley.
Otra forma de educar a sus niños sobre el sistema político es hablar con ellos sobre las elecciones actuales. Empiecen por lo que sus niños saben o han escuchado a través de las noticias, amigos y familiares; luego busque momentos de enseñanza durante la campaña que reflejen los valores que desea para sus niños, como el respetar diferentes puntos de vista y buscar la verdad.
Las conversaciones sobre los derechos y responsabilidades cívicas no terminan con la votación, su familia puede continuar aprendiendo durante todo el año sobre las votaciones y el sistema gubernamental en Estados Unidos y lo que significa ser un buen ciudadano.
Escrito por Delia P.
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Start with what your children know or have heard from the news, friends and family. Be sure to discuss the importance of respecting different points of view and seeking the truth. You can also read books, play games with younger and older kids, and show them your ballot and the pamphlet with the candidate's information. Take them with you when you drop off your ballot or put it in the mail. Maybe even hold your own elections at home!
And it doesn’t end with voting - your family can continue to learn throughout the year about the government system in America and what it means to be a good citizen. Below are some book lists for all ages that will help!
This post is part of our "Talking with kids" series, and was featured in our monthly Family Newsletter. Sign up for the newsletter here, and email us at learning@multcolib.org if you have any questions.
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