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exlibrismrhunt.bsky.social
@ExlibrisMrHunt
@exlibrismrhunt.bsky.social
3.6K followers 870 following 2.7K posts
Teacher-Librarian, K-5
Hands-on STEAM; kidlit fanboy; love graphic novels; inclusive col’n; he/him.

Co-host of The Sartorial Librarians Podcast.
@sartoriallibrary.bsky.social
Spotify: spoti.fi/3ANgYge
Apple: apple.co/4e4mM3h
Instagram: bit.ly/4dCh09b
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exlibrismrhunt.bsky.social
@ExlibrisMrHunt @exlibrismrhunt.bsky.social · Dec 1
Getting to know me, @ExLibrisMrHunt…

[Ex Libris roughly can mean “from the library of” and used to be on bookplates (stickers) inside book covers so that people knew who the borrowed item belonged to…it’s Latin, ‘cause I’m all fancy and stuff.]
exlibrismrhunt.bsky.social @ExlibrisMrHunt @exlibrismrhunt.bsky.social · Dec 1
Hello new (or past) followers,

My bio says most of what you need to know, including that I’m co-host with @paulvinelli.bsky.social of a #LibrarianFashion & #kidlit podcast…

BUT,
here are 5 more “special”things (no particular order) I’d like you to know about content I share here:

1) I use ALT ⬇️
exlibrismrhunt.bsky.social
Some great examples past and present of this gamification approach to nonfiction for kids, books that can approach “commercial nonfic” more consistently…

Any Jenkins books.

Could do well w/ book talk promo: Strangest Thing in the Sea…
(not series, yet, but could be)
with gamified guessing & flaps
Cover of The strangest thing in the sea : and other curious creatures of the deep written by Rachel Poliquin ; illustrated by Byron Eggenschwiler. "In this weird guessing game, the most peculiar and little-known marine animals vie for the title of strangest thing in the sea. Each bizarre beast, disguised as a preposterous thing, will give clues about its true identity. Open the flap to reveal the real creature and all of its quirky adaptations, along with lots of facts!"--Back cover.
December 5, 2025 at 3:10 AM
exlibrismrhunt.bsky.social
#LooseParts learning is the best— #PlayLearning, #StoryStudio, etc…with or without mentor text prompts…so many applications…

#TLsky
#Skybrarians
📚
exlibrismrhunt.bsky.social @ExlibrisMrHunt @exlibrismrhunt.bsky.social · Jan 22
Years ago, I built up a cart full of a collection of funky junk #LooseParts for some #StoryStudio #PlayLearning.
Gist:
Give kids building prompt tied to curricular learning; they make a scene; then, do either/both oral/written reflection/story/pres about what they’ve created to show knowledge.

1/2⬇️
The “loose parts” cart. It has rolling wheels for easy transporting, three tiers of shelves to stack bins on, and is approximately 1 foot wide by 4 feet long. Mostly, the goal is to have non-representational objects (other than the plastic animals and some toy cars, which often aren’t needed/used) to build with imaginative creativity. Bins of paper tubes, various building block items, pipe cleaners, feathers, burlap strips, ribbons, pine cones, various sticks items…etc, etc. A picture of some bear dens that the kindergarten class next-door made when the teacher borrowed the loose parts cart to have them do a little story studio to reinforce the learning they’ve been doing about bear life cycles in hibernation. Sometimes we co-teach a lesson like that and other times when my blocks for team teaching are all filled, people just borrow the cart and wheel it to their class. A second picture of some bear dens that the kindergarten class next-door made with the loose parts cart. If possible, will sometimes leave the kids scenes put together off to the side, somewhere to come back to on another day for further reflection and storytelling. Other times if things need to be cleaned up at the end of a session, we take photos of the scenes so they can be put on screen or print it out later for further work.
December 4, 2025 at 9:27 PM
exlibrismrhunt.bsky.social
#ThisBookTheseReasons
Just putting this out there #TLsky folks:
If you want a “nailed it!” zany book that the K & Gr 1 set think is absolutely absurd & hilarious, it’s this one—especially if you play up the comically exasperated/confused narrator stuff.
Used it the last week or two—big hit.
📚👍
Cover of Little Freddie Two Pants featuring a white dog with brown spots/ears that is wearing two pairs of pants…on hind legs and forelegs.
December 4, 2025 at 8:50 PM
exlibrismrhunt.bsky.social
For #TLsky #skybrarian colleagues in children’s librarianship, these really are all-time fave sources for purchasing ideas going into the new year—tons of things I may have missed along the way, things I put on future orders lists but was unsure of, all thoughtfully/creatively summarized/evaluated.
December 4, 2025 at 3:46 AM
exlibrismrhunt.bsky.social
YES!
@fuse8.bsky.social
31 yr end lists!

(Since my wishes to receive all new #kidlit publications delivered to me—for my reading pleasure, for follow-up public review, then into col’n dev for my school—have gone ignored another year…I’ll settle for these…)

afuse8production.slj.com/2025/12/02/3...
31 Days, 31 Lists: 2025 Picture Book Readalouds
Whether you want to pep up your average storytime session or you're just starting out and in need of inspiration, here's a list of those picture books that just beg to be read out loud to large groups...
afuse8production.slj.com
December 4, 2025 at 3:41 AM
exlibrismrhunt.bsky.social
Today in #LibrarianFashion:

Featuring a T-shirt creation that I had a local printer make for me that has the logo I created for my “ #zine company,”
Chilliwack-A-Doodle Ol’ School Zine Machine.
Me standing in front of the story corner throne with courtyard windows in the background, low library shelves for picture books behind the story throne, various books on display on the low counter behind me as well. I’m wearing black jeans, red converse shoes, the bright red T-shirt with my logo on it, and cardigan that is brown wool with orange vertical stripes. I have a thin trim beard and chunky plastic black frame glasses with short fauxhawk hair. Logo on my shirt is in a white background with a thick, scratchy black outline, inside of which are black strips of letters that look like they were punched out of an old tiny LabelMaker, which says the company name mentioned in the post, which name is a play on the name of our town, Chilliwack, and the weird and silly word whackadoodle.
December 3, 2025 at 11:32 PM
exlibrismrhunt.bsky.social
I now have 9 of these tree sculptures that I’m dusting, putting in window ledge display spaces in the library.

They were made years ago by my father-in-law (who just died in hospice last week); made out of recycled old telephone wiring, papier mache, found rocks…
(More pics⬇️)

We kept a few of our…
A photo of a tree sculpture sitting on a window ledge that looks into my library office. There’s an amorphous base that looks like a piece of forest floor covered in grass/moss, with the tree sculpture rising up out of it; it’s a birch tree, white with black bark patterns; though you’d never be able to tell for sure, the trunk and all the branches are made of thicker and thinner and thinner twists of old telephone wire, which is then coated in thin layers of papier-mâché and painted; till they resemble real trees, bare, without leaves, as if at the end of autumn or into winter. All of the tree sculptures are about 18 to 30 cm tall and spread out approximately 18 to 30 cm wide. Another photo of a tree sculpture, this one sitting on a window ledge that looks on the hallway into the main room of the library. It’s a different birch tree than the other photo. There’s an amorphous base that looks like a piece of forest floor covered in grass/moss, which has a rock mounted in it, with a tree growing up out of soil on top of that rocky outcropping, with the tree sculpture rising up out of it; it’s a birch tree, white with black bark patterns; though you’d never be able to tell for sure, the trunk and all the branches are made of thicker and thinner and thinner twists of old telephone wire, which is then coated in thin layers of papier-mâché and painted; till they resemble real trees, bare, without leaves, as if at the end of autumn or into winter. All of the tree sculptures are about 18 to 30 cm tall and spread out approximately 18 to 30 cm wide. ALSO: Of note, next to it, is a paper wasp nest that was donated to the library several years ago and is about four times the size of the tree sculpture, and it is perched in the window, too.
December 3, 2025 at 11:15 PM
exlibrismrhunt.bsky.social
Today’s prep time #LibrarianSoundtrack is my playlist I made called Soul Music to Soothe Your Soul.

Doors closed, processing books, organizing projects, grooving. Kinda wish I was alone in here without my volunteer around so I could fully dance like a loon when the James Brown numbers come up.
Screenshot of my playlist pic, featuring thumbnails of albums by Aretha Franklin, Sam & Dave, Valerie June, Otis Redding.
December 3, 2025 at 9:32 PM
Reposted by @ExlibrisMrHunt
mstewartscience.bsky.social
Looking for some great books for curious kids?
Check out the @npr.org @scifri.bsky.social Best Science Books for Kids list.
tinyurl.com/bpfuatuy
#TLsky #Skybrarians #educsky #kidlit #schoollibraries
@steamteambooks.bsky.social
@charlesbridge.bsky.social
2025’s Best Science Books For Kids
Kid lit experts weigh in on some of the year's best science titles. Plus, what to look for when choosing a book for the child in your life.
tinyurl.com
December 3, 2025 at 12:26 PM
exlibrismrhunt.bsky.social
46 x 12 = 552 ZINES!!

(46 envelopes x approx 12 zines in each)

Shifting old Zine-O-Matic subscription col’n from jumble in a cupboard to under-the-bed storage bin.
BUT,
going to go through them all soon, find faves, then think of a way to store/display best o’ the best in our living room…hmmm….
A large, low profile black tote (for sliding under a bed frame) with zipper-open top slid back and to the side to reveal rows/stacks of large mailing manila-style envelopes (in standard yellowy-orange or in either grey-blue or neon green), each featuring the Zino-O-Matic logo over a bizarro jam-packed doodle of tons of cartoony weird faces of people, animals, monsters.
December 1, 2025 at 2:31 AM
exlibrismrhunt.bsky.social
Going to need to sit down and read through all the good stuff in the latest journal from @cdnschoollibrary.bsky.social
cdnschoollibrary.bsky.social Canadian School Library @cdnschoollibrary.bsky.social · 6d
We are thrilled to announce our latest issue of the Canadian School Libraries Journal is LIVE at journal.canadianschoollibraries.ca/!!
I know what I will be doing this evening by the fire! #readingacrossthenation #schoollibrariesmatter
November 29, 2025 at 7:22 PM
exlibrismrhunt.bsky.social
“It’s no accident that people who become librarians tend to have restless, questioning minds. They’ll follow a rabbit hole just to see where it goes. They’ll read five articles so a teacher doesn’t have to read fifteen. They share knowledge freely, not competitively.”

Librarians are SO open source!
November 28, 2025 at 9:34 AM
Reposted by @ExlibrisMrHunt
drleonj.bsky.social
You know what we won't need once handwriting recognition software has done its thing? Archivists, curators, conservators, catalogers, codicologists, or paleographers. We won't need archives either. We won't need diplomatics, editorial theory, book or media history, or material culture studies 🗃️🧵
November 26, 2025 at 10:12 PM
Reposted by @ExlibrisMrHunt
fuse8.bsky.social
I may have gotten a little carried away with how many books I did for this year's @npr.org Books We Love list for 2025. I CARE NOT! #kidlit 📚👍 apps.npr.org/best-books/#...
Books We Love
Here are 380+ great reads from 2025 handpicked just for you by NPR staffers and trusted critics.
apps.npr.org
November 24, 2025 at 12:27 PM
exlibrismrhunt.bsky.social
#ThisBookTheseReasons

I swear I could stock a fairly stellar personal library collection for a kid just from very funky books that Wide Eyed/Quarto puts out…
This is a very engaging #scienterrific insect book; fact-packed; great text; cool facts (not only standard fare); fab layouts; cool art!
Cover of Respect The Insect by Jules Howard and Gosia Herba. Bright yellow background with horizontal rows of bug characters in bright colours, cross between cartooning and graphic design style.
November 25, 2025 at 3:30 AM
exlibrismrhunt.bsky.social
MORE TEA songs, folks?

Evening #LibrarianSoundtrack vibes, this song…tea:
open.spotify.com/track/15WaCk...

I always pause Storytimes w/ “commercial breaks” “brought to you by___” (whichever tea I’m sipping).

See (hear) also:
open.spotify.com/track/4mZN7A...

Bonus if song rec fits mellow vibes.
The Tea Song
open.spotify.com
November 25, 2025 at 2:48 AM
exlibrismrhunt.bsky.social
1/
This morning in the library:
A squirrelly Gr 1 group came w/ a replacement teacher (so were extra wild), but got somewhat focussed once building their #LooseParts treasure map stories…then, turns as listener/storyteller…but, not so sure that major quality happened for this #StoryStudio session…
A double table set up with a bunch of loose parts bins on one side and two brown construction paper placemats the other side, each with a treasure map scene built out of loose parts—two storytellers are narrating their stories to two listeners. (Though amount of listening was dubious; stories for most seemed barely there; last session with this group was much better.) Tables and rolling bookshelves pushed aside to also create some floor space for building stories. One brown construction paper placemat with a treasure map scene built out of loose parts—one storyteller is narrating their story to two listeners.
November 24, 2025 at 10:24 PM
exlibrismrhunt.bsky.social
More on #BookProcessing to withstand the rigours of kidlet readers…strengthening unique, tricky, ultra funky books (that many libraries might not add to collections) so that they achieve longevity…

vt.tiktok.com/ZSfUaMFD7/
TikTok - Make Your Day
vt.tiktok.com
November 24, 2025 at 8:23 PM
exlibrismrhunt.bsky.social
Speaking of #BookProcessing ingenuity…(I was speaking of it, in another post)…here’s my system for super high interest books with super weak cover hinges and bad bindings…to attempt/achieve some longevity…

vt.tiktok.com/ZSfU542b2/
TikTok - Make Your Day
vt.tiktok.com
November 24, 2025 at 8:18 PM
exlibrismrhunt.bsky.social
Thx!
I definitely don’t shy away from amazing books that take a little more processing ingenuity…
Here’s an example:
vt.tiktok.com/ZSfU5c1Jr/
November 24, 2025 at 8:14 PM
exlibrismrhunt.bsky.social
#ThisBookTheseReasons
Wow! The gatefold (?) in the middle of the story…a huge, four-page, upward foldout is quite spectacular (though I’ll need to do some creative strengthening processing before putting it into kids hands hands).
November 23, 2025 at 8:45 PM
exlibrismrhunt.bsky.social
My latest #RecodeTheBarcode funkiness: On this book, the barcode just *has* to be broken too (functional one in top left corner).
Cover photo of X. Fang’s Broken, which features a kid in frozen panic pose with shocked cat peeking around their legs, with N in the title offset (broken off) from the title, and a mug shattered into three large pieces on the floor… Plus, I ripped the barcode and offset the pieces in the bottom right corner of the cover, under the broken mug, next to the author name. Because barcodes should be fun, too!!
November 23, 2025 at 8:03 PM
exlibrismrhunt.bsky.social
#TransRightsAreCharterRights

www.facebook.com/share/v/1Cw9...
Redirecting...
www.facebook.com
November 22, 2025 at 1:37 AM
exlibrismrhunt.bsky.social
I’m totally excited because we’re about to (next week or so) revisit this creative writing project I dreamed up with a Gr 5 teacher two years ago…pseudo-letters to Santa from various characters…all put together in an innovative #zine format—take a look…
exlibrismrhunt.bsky.social @ExlibrisMrHunt @exlibrismrhunt.bsky.social · Dec 6
Currently prepping Gr 5 team-teaching character study writing project

Inspiration: Jolly Postman books.
A sorta “zine” with
recycled envelopes (from all my book order labels) as 3 “pages”

Kids to write letters to Santa or family re: gifts wanted—but in the voice of different well-known characters…
November 21, 2025 at 9:47 PM
exlibrismrhunt.bsky.social
Noticed lately that our #makerspace books weren’t circulating, so…display, display, displayed them, book talked them today for several classes; replenished each session; also gave out Illustoria mags as bonus books to artsy kids to encourage future checkouts of those fab things
#TLsky #skybrarians 📚
A table laid out with books about sewing, art projects, lettering design…some Illustoria mags on the next table over… Backs of Illustoria mags visible on stands on far side of table; near side has books/GNs about cartooning, making your own graphic novels…also cookbooks… Some magic and wizard (non-HP) crafty books, robotics GNs, tinkering books, book about patents/inventions, the very excellent Thing Explainer book… Various drawing books standing on display on a table, along with Ed Emberley, drawing and finger/thumb print drawing books, various other items, such as my origami maker space kits, and some optical illusions books…
November 21, 2025 at 8:34 PM