No More Votes, Please--We Have a Winner!!

A huge "thank you" goes out to everyone who voted and tallied votes at their libraries for this year's DCF voting. The winner of the 2007 Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Book Award is Flush by Carl Hiassen. We're not sure if he'll be able to come to Vermont to accept the award, but we'll try to lure him here. Full details of the DCF Award Ceremony later this spring will appear here as soon as they are arranged.

DCF Voting...Unfinished

After what has to have been our LAST snow day of this school year (of course, I probably jinxed it right there), we're back at school this Tuesday. One benefit of an extended weekend was the opportunity to count almost 4000 votes from Vermont kids. Right now, sixth graders are in the lead, with 1,192 of them casting votes. Fifth graders are a close second, with fourth, seventh, and eighth grades trailing.

Oh, the books? You want to know which books are leading in the voting? Well, not all the votes are in yet, but feel free to make a prediction. Which book from the 2006-2007 DCF List do you think will win? See the complete list HERE. Feel free to make your case here on the blog.

Nova Booktalk Unplugged

Since you asked, here it is--the list of books booktalked yesterday for Nova students and teachers, along with the songs that suggested the titles of the books.

The Magical Monkey King by Ji-Li Jiang -- The Magical Mystery Tour (Beatles)

Supercroc by Christopher Sloan -- Superfreak (Rick James)

Can You Feel the Force? by Richard Hammond -- Can ...Love? (Elton John)

See You Later, Gladiator by Jon Scieszka -- See Ya Later, Alligator (Bill Haley)

Crossing the Wire by Will Hobbs -- And Through the Wire (Peter Gabriel)

Penny From Heaven by Jennifer Holm -- Pennies From Heaven

The Green Glass Sea by Ellen Klages -- And the Green Grass... (Pete Seeger)

Are there more? You bet! Come up to the library when you have a song that fits a book. Remember--you'll have to sing it!

Peregrine Falcons--A Vermont Success Story

Able to swoop from the skies at 150 mph! Able to spot a pigeon at a distance of 5 miles!! It's a bird, it's a bird, it's a bird!!! Well, yes, the peregrine falcon.

This fabulous flier has had a long history in Vermont, but it hasn't always been a successful one. Between 1970 and 1974, only ONE wild adult peregrine falcon was sighted in Vermont. Thanks to an extensive recovery program, its numbers have shot back up in our state. Although the pesticide DDT was the biggest reason for the decline in peregrine population, humans were responsible in other ways as well. It is only fitting that we help bring back these birds to their habitats. Check out Mike Unwin's Peregrine Falcon (598.9 UNW) for a great look at this awesome predator.

You may also want to take a look at these sites:

Vermont Institute of Natural Science report on peregrines in Vt.

Fact sheet from Vermont Fish and Wildlife