INTERVIEW WITH A TEACHER LIBRARIAN

Roslyn J. Motter visits many schools throughout the year. During the course of her travels she
meets many teachers and many librarians. On this page she'd like to honour some of the truly
wonderful teacher librarians that she's met.

Our first teacher librarian interview is with Mrs. Di Imison.
Mrs. Imison is a great friend of the Doofuzz Dudes and we know that you'd all love her just like we do.
She loves her students and can't do enough to bring the magic of books into all their lives.

School:   I am the Teacher Librarian at two suburban Sydney public schools - one day at Telopea and three days at Carlingford.  Fave DD story: "The Princess Detector". I really like the way your own personal skills are woven into the action, with Lady Joan providing a special treatment for the Dreezle king. Sometimes when you read a good story, parts of it become unbelieveable because the author doesn't really 'speak' with authority of the subject matter, but this isn't true here!  Fave Character:   The boys are really quite believable and react in different ways to the same situation, as in real life. But I'm rather fond of Zarundok who adds quite a bit of sparkle when he appears in the stories - he's wise and sensible, has a sense of humour, and what a wand to provide a spread when they're all out together! I'd like to see that!  Any Children: yes, we have two wonderful children - Michelle who has been an Australian Youth Ambassador with AusAid to Bangladesh for 12 months, and is currently at University. And David who has been living and working in London for the past 4 years... he works in IT.  Any pets? No pets  but we do love to encourage native birds to our garden at home by having a few native plants (especially grevilleas and  bottlebrush), and a bird bath which birds of all shapes and sizes love to splash in! We really enjoy their antics.  I have been a primary school teacher  for many years, becoming a teacher librarian in the past 12 years - it's just THE BEST JOB!!! I love what I do, who I work with, and of course the children and the books! Not only do I get to introduce great books/ silly books/ sad books/ etc (even the odd 'yucky' book!)  to the children I teach - and that's everybody in the school, from Kindergarten to Year 6 - but they share their favourites with me too. There's always a pile of books beside my bed, next to my chair, and in my bag when I go on a train or a  bus...my mother called me a bookworm when I was a little girl, and I still am!

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Our next teacher librarian is Ruza Santos, a lovely and very enthusiastic lady
who loves both her students and books.

School: I am Teacher Librarian at Shelley Road Public School, and have been for the past 10 years. Children: I have 2 children - a boy who is 18 years old and a girl who is 23 years old. Pets: We don't have a pet at present but have always had 1 or 2 cats. When my father passed away I gve my mum my very affectionate cat, Kitty, to keep her company. He is now king of mum's castle, and her very best friend. That is why one of my favourite stories is Scallywag, by Jeannette Rowe. You just have to love a cat that is savvy enough to cleverly use all of the people who think he belongs to them. Even after he is sprung he still manages to go out and find another family that will supplement his feeding habits. Favourite Doofuzz Dudes book: My favourite Doofuzz Dudes book is the first one, Rescue Moondar. It provides a great example of how to introduce and develop characters, settings and situations.   Favourite Doofuzz Dudes character: My favourite character is Toby. I just love to see the underdog rise to every situation that presents itself. I also think his purple eyes are cool. Have you ever travelled anywhere interesting: I did a bit of travelling before my children were born. When the kids were old enough we did a fair bit of travelling around NSW, visiting Hill End, Sofala, Bathurst, Kiama, Gerringong, Kangaroo Valley, Abercrombie and Jenolan Caves, Berrima, Orange, Ulludulla, Berry, up and down the Central Coast, Canberra etc. There are so many great places to visit in our state. The one place I haven't been that I would really like to visit is Greece, and in particular, the Greek Islands. I will do that when I retire!