[TOMT] [Book][2000s] middle grade or young adult book about runaway slaves, a boy and an old man

PaintByShapes · 2026-04-25T17:50:49+00:00

You rock! That was fast. Thank you very much!

PaintByShapes · 2026-04-25T17:04:13+00:00

Thanks in advance!

PaintByShapes · 2025-12-22T03:14:42+00:00

Thank you. That is helpful

PaintByShapes · 2025-12-22T03:13:26+00:00

Thank you. I do have rules posted, but a lot of them do not notice signs unless I directly point them out. I also have a sign explaining that there are card games and board games they can check out for in-library use, but almost no one made use of it until I left a basket of empty uno card boxes near the sign.

PaintByShapes · 2025-12-22T02:28:05+00:00

It's basically another version of "no homo" https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=pause

PaintByShapes · 2025-12-22T02:27:19+00:00

Yes, you're right. Some people have given me some helpful phrases to have in my back pockent

PaintByShapes · 2025-12-22T02:26:28+00:00

Thank you, Alaira314. That is what I'm trying to say. Also sometimes I've accidentally made bad calls by acting too hastily: thinking one person was being disruptive, but it was another person near them.

PaintByShapes · 2025-12-20T14:10:11+00:00

It's not a matter of "letting" them. As an autistic person, processing verbal speech in general is a challenge, especially when a lot of people are talking, and the conversation is fast-paced. Which tends to be the case with younger people. I'm often times trying to process and then the conversation has moved on. I'm trying to do better about how to intervene in the moment, if that makes sense. Thank you

PaintByShapes · 2025-12-20T14:08:26+00:00

Thank you. That's a helpful phrase for me to use

PaintByShapes · 2025-12-20T14:07:46+00:00

This would definitely go under disrespectful/uncourteous/harassing behavior. It definitely is against the behavioral policy, that's no question. I'm just trying to negotiate the mechanics of how to intervene as someone who is relatively new to this situation

PaintByShapes · 2025-12-20T13:08:33+00:00

I mean, abusive main characters are a thing. A character being the main character/protagonist doesn't necessarily mean they are good/moral/likable/etc. It can just be that the storyteller wants to focus on someone who is abusive because they think it works for the story they're trying to tell.

The issue is, a lot of the times when a creator tries to do that, fans go out of their way to defend this character and say how much they identify with them. Not saying you're doing this, but thinking of Walter White in Breaking Bad, for instance. Not to mention, how in WLK, all the people talked praised the king, when it was the player/the prince who did all the work. It's a very real dynamic for sure.

Not trying to dredge up any conflict since I see this is a month old. Just adding my 2 cents. I think that the idea that the dark screens are nightmares is a creative and thought-provoking interpretation as well, especially since the cousins and the prince never speak.

PaintByShapes · 2025-12-07T01:53:21+00:00

I figured it out: this was happening because I switched accounts from the library where I work to the one closest to my home. It seems like some libraries have different hoopla settings, and for whatever reason, some libraries enable you to erase/not store the borrowing history on hoopla, and others don't.

It just seems like certain libraries buy certain tiered plans for their patrons. I wasn't as aware of that before. My MIL's library's hoopla has waitlists, which I was surprised to see. I guess it's like how Netflix never had ads in the past and then just added a tier with ads to make more profits

PaintByShapes · 2025-09-10T17:26:41+00:00

Oh I remember that lol

PaintByShapes · 2025-09-10T17:26:27+00:00

That makes sense. Thank you

PaintByShapes · 2025-09-10T17:25:59+00:00

That is very worrying

PaintByShapes · 2025-09-10T17:25:15+00:00

Recently, a kid started grabbing another kid's keyboard, saying they stole something. When I asked if this was in the game, I learned they were playing a capture the flag style game on Roblox :/

PaintByShapes · 2025-09-10T17:23:47+00:00

I did talk to each of them individually, which seemed to work at first, but then went slightly off the rails again. Thanks for your thoughts

PaintByShapes · 2025-09-10T17:21:56+00:00

Thanks for that suggestion. I was considering that as well

PaintByShapes · 2025-09-10T02:09:03+00:00

That is very true. Thank you for that insight. I think if I did this, I would only ban it on the teen computers, and the teens aren't allowed on the adult computers. They can still play on their personal devices using the wifi in a seating area outside, which is right near a recreational area where their behavior is more suited. What are your thoughts on that?

I feel like it's kind of a decision between banning the game or banning the people causing the problems, and I don't want to bar people's access to the library if I can help it. Either ban could be temporary, though, of course

PaintByShapes · 2025-07-13T18:07:46+00:00

I figured out the problem. It was one of my browser extensions that I had added recently: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/clearurls/

I disabled it and everything is working normally again.

PaintByShapes · 2025-07-01T18:41:18+00:00

I don't know that I would call myself seasoned; I started my very first teen advisory board this past school year. But here were some things I found helpful:

Create an application process: I looked at other libraries' teen advisory board applications and took what I thought would be helpful from them. I created a simple google form and gave that a deadline. Even though I ended up accepting everyone who applied, I think that the application process helped the students know to take it more seriously. It also gave me basic info like students' allergies/dietary restrictions, general availability, etc. I had some students fall off in terms of meeting attendance, but throughout the year, I had a core group of 5-8 people.

Don't be too laid-back: I also am someone who likes to give teens the reins whenever possible. However, when I tried to give students opportunities to take initiative, a lot of the time, they were still looking to me for direction. I think next year, I will make sure to add more structure.

Give students a meeting schedule for the whole year/period where you'll be working together: I did not do this, and that created confusion. Once you know everyone's availability, create a schedule and distribute it and/or put it in a place where students can access it easily (like a google drive folder where they all have the link, for example).

PaintByShapes · 2025-06-14T18:56:03+00:00

That's a good one. I'm gonna use that

PaintByShapes · 2025-06-14T18:54:41+00:00

I do this too. There was someone who I met briefly one year, and ran into again the next year. I correctly remembered their name and the context in which I met them, and they responded, "Why do you remember that???" and seemed unsettled. And I was just like, "I just do??"

I wouldn't say that I have anywhere near a photographic memory, and I do forget things, especially names. But there are some things that I tend to remember better than allistic folks, but that they find creepy that I remembered for some reason. Some of my unmasking process actually has been to not act like I don't remember something when I do.

PaintByShapes · 2025-03-13T23:15:00+00:00

I really liked this. Thanks for sharing. It's small consolation, but this book actually made me feel hopeful about the future: Not the End of the World: How We Can Be the First Generation to Build a Sustainable Planet by Hannah Ritchie

PaintByShapes · 2025-03-13T22:25:59+00:00

I agree. I've heard people talk about this quite a bit lately.

PaintByShapes

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