Popular music can be a rich and engaging teaching tool. Children often intuitively gain complex layers of experiential meaning more readily from music than other forms of plot-driven media where their narrow focus on literal interpretation and plot recitation can bring thoughtful conversation to a halt. However, integrating popular music in the…

"Princess Mononoke," "Akira," and "Cowboy Bebop" may not be household names. But in the world of anime, or Japanese animation, they are among the top 10 films ever made. With its complex plots and moral messages, anime is as intelligent as some of the best feature films. From the epic fantasy "Ninja Scroll"…

Art, like beauty, as the adage goes, is in the eye of the beholder. Art also is a living, breathing thing that evolves over time, so what is considered "art" is ever changing--how many of the great artists whose works today sell for fortunes were failures during their lifetime? The 20th century unknowingly gave birth to new variations of art that…

Rare is the inspirational, spontaneous, transformative moment shared among 20 million people. In the summer of 2010, people around the world were moved by the sighting of a double rainbow--almost a triple rainbow--"all the way across the sky" in Yosemite National Park. Caught on video and posted to by YouTube by Paul Vasquez in January 2010, the…

This article provides a list of books for librarians. The list is grouped by type: pop fiction, literary, trillers, science fiction/fantasy/horror, romance, western, mystery, and Christian fiction.

This article features "Pop Culture Universe," which received the 2009 Dartmouth Medal honoring the creation of a reference work of outstanding quality. School librarians will find "Pop Culture Universe" a wonderful resource for assisting middle school and high school students with research projects on significant historical events that focus on…

Henry Jenkins, director of the Comparative Media Studies Program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and keynote speaker at the 2007 American Library Association's "Gaming, Learning and Libraries Symposium" in Chicago is a visionary leader in the areas of new media and media convergence. In a white paper on digital media and learning…

Recently, many new and veteran authors have begun creating modern vampires that are seducing readers with their tales of mystery, suspense, and hunger. Their audiences span most age groups, but teens especially seem to be drawn to these books. As such, librarians must develop a better understanding of which vampire stories really stand out. In…