Reference Challenge - Week #1.B World Book!

Hey look! I am finally doing week #1.....in week 3.

I am a public librarian, therefore I will be working the 1.B public library questions.

Part 1, we are asked to research an animal. My choice for this way.....(drumroll please)....the PRAIRIE DOG!

Why, you may ask (or not but I will still tell you), is because I HATE these things. After driving by miles and miles of open stretches of HWY 212, I sincerely detest these wee scourges of the Earth. So, I figured I could research more into them. Get to know my enemy better.....

Here you shall see an image of this enemy of mine. I opted not to use the one they had, due to the overall cutesy factor of it (they are NOT CUTE), and I figured, "what the hey! it's a painting anyways! Let's show the REAL face of the wee devils."



This one is slowly plotting your and my demise. This image is courtesy of Google.

Here is some information I have found out about the rodent (not an insult, it's legit).

Prairie dogs are small animals that live underground in grasslands called prairies. Prairie dogs are not dogs (I REPEAT, THEY ARE NOT DOGS!). They are rodents, or gnawing animals, and they belong to the squirrel family. They get their name from their warning call (just run at this point), which sounds like a dog's bark. They live in large groups called colonies, or towns. Prairie dogs have short legs, sharp claws, and a short, flat tail. Adult prairie dogs have light-brown fur. There are two kinds of prairie dogs - black-tailed prairie dogs and white-tailed prairie dogs. Black-tailed prairie dogs are the most common. They live from southern Canada to northern Mexico. White-tailed prairie dogs live in areas from Montana to Arizona and New Mexico.*

*information is taken from World Book Online for Kids...every word, I promise. I added nothing. :D

Part 2 of this was to go research "prairie dogs" in the World Book Student. This site provides a bit more information on this critter, such as some in-depth detailing of the body shape and size and on its horrific fangs and claws...blood-thirsty little devils they are. It was also interesting to see some of the information about how the animal lives, such as the social nature of them, their birth numbers, and their natural enemies, as well as their taste for human flesh (ok, I added this one). It also included a sound, which is always good to know your enemy's battle cry.

I am also surprised that the article does detail some of the rancher beliefs and the struggle of dealing with these rodents, although it doesn't go as far into detail as I would like. However, the amount of information is quite appropriate for the level of user that the WB Student is designed for.

Part 3 was to search for a country. I opted to choose Ireland, as I believe I had to have been Irish in a previous life. I've been there, had lots and lots and LOTS of fun there, and will go back again. Am I Irish? Not a drop. However, doesn't stop me from pretending.

As for searching WB Advanced, there is a great deal of info! That is so cool! I found it pretty awesome that there were sound bytes that could be accessed, some really great encyclopedia articles, as well as some pretty stellar maps (I really like maps). I was a bit sad that there weren't any "antique" maps, but meh, beggars cannot be choosers. I have seen some awesome maps that show the ancient kingdoms of Ireland, and its old families that lived in areas (one is on the wall of a certain Irish pub in Spearfish), and I would have loved to have seen some older content in the maps section. Going further into the map feature, it was very cool to see links to individual counties along the left that would provided further details and information on those areas.The timeline feature was also cool, but it only went as far back as 400BC. I know for a fact that many, many things happened prior to then, such as Neolithic monuments being created (ahem, Newgrange, Pol Na Bron Dolman being erected between 4200 BC and 2900 BC, etc.). Just to name a few.

As for what OUR patrons would have found the most beneficial, I cannot say. However, the articles were great, as well as the maps. They would probably be used the most. Oh, and maybe the images. There aren't many, but they do hit the highlights of Ireland.....



I highly recommend this. It was fun.....and NO! I don't believe the staff of Blarney Castle pee on the stone. Urban legend - Ireland style.


Yay!!! Week #1 DONE!! That was fun!