Scrub a Dub Dub: The Reading Tub

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The Conference Wrap-ups: Why I Love Conferences with Books

July 21, 2010 - 11:46am

June got away from me, and before July is gone, too, I thought I had better write my promised conference wrap-up. Now that both BookExpo America and the American Library Association (ALA) Annual Conference are (as they say) in the book, I thought I’d blend them into one post that contrasts and compares my experiences.

The Real People ~ One of the reasons I have put off writing this post is because there are so many people I want to thank and shout-out to, and I don’t want to forget ANYONE . I was feeling so guilty that I actually started writing down names at ALA, but even that got unwieldy and I know I am missing people. I will say, though, being able to reconnect – ever so briefly – with so many of the folks I met at last year’s Kidlitosphere Conference made the Book Blogger Convention and ALA extra special.

I got to hang with some of the crew I met through Booklights – Susan Kusel, Pam Coughlan, and Ann Neely. Whenever I saw Michelle from Galleysmith her timing was exquisite. Just when I needed a pick-me-up, I got an enthusiastic “hi” and “how are you?”

I can’t tell you how many times Tricia Stohr-Hunt (Miss Rumphius Effect) and I were literally crossing paths in between exhibits. We saw each other in the aisles in DC than than we see each other at home, and we live only 50 minutes apart!

I had to go to DC to finally meet Anne Marie Pace and Kathryn Erskine – who live in Charlottesville! And all the way to New York to meet author Sarah Sullivan who lives in Charleston, WV, where I spent my teen years and went to college.

But even with seeing lots of people, there were still folks I missed — like Abby (the) Librarian (among others) — whom I still haven’t met! I was going to create this fancy schmanzy slideshow – and even bought a camera just for conferences – but you have to USE it to get pictures, and I wasn’t very good at that either!

In terms of feeling like you’re talking with people, ALA wins hands down. I love the energy at BookExpo and I see a lot of people, but it just seemed more frenzied. At ALA the staff in all of the booths are far more personable, too. Every booth I went into, I felt welcomed and we talked books. At BEA, if you aren’t there for an appointment or aren’t ready to write a purchase order, the reps are looking past you to the next person.

The Famous People ~ I’m going to keep this one short and sweet. There were lots of authors and illustrators, and some we saw everywhere (Mo, Jon Scieszka, and Lane Smith come to mind). I loved meeting Grace Lin and Mitali Perkins, two of my heroes! Meeting many of the DC Kidlit Book Club at Tami Lewis Brown’s was amazing … as was meeting National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature Katherine Paterson. Last but not least, when Harriet Ziefert learned I was looking for easy readers and picture books that could double as easy readers, we spent AN HOUR talking books and early reading.

At BookExpo there are two places to see authors and celebrity authors: in the Autographing Corral or in the booths. At ALA, authors sign only in the booths. I like that better – I also like that there are fewer celebrity children’s authors. Don’t get me wrong, there are children’s authors who are celebrities, but it is because of what they wrote or drew, not because they were an actor first.

The Books ~ At BookExpo America, all of the books are free. The authors sign and give away books in the Corral or in the booth, and you can also find Advance Review Copies (ARCs) being given away. At ALA, the ARCs are free, but finished copies of books must be purchased ($5 for paperbacks; $10 for hardcover), regardless of whether or not you are getting an autograph.

I thought I would mind that, but I didn’t. It made me more selective in what I purchased which isn’t a bad thing, and I still came home with plenty of books. I could have come home with more from BookExpo America, but I was very selective this year. I knew I would see much of the same content at ALA, where I could load the books into my car and not pay for shipping.

The Atmosphere ~ I didn’t walk the floor for “book purposes” at BEA because I was working for a client. That said, I was far more impressed with the variety of exhibits at ALA. There were publishers I’d never seen before, and I am so happy to have found Cinco Puntos Press, Enchanted Lion Books, and the Rainbow Book Company. I am also excited about Carl Bloom and the opportunities to design a workable, long-term fundraising plan for the Reading Tub.

The one knock on ALA in the exhibits is that there isn’t a Children’s Pavilion like at BEA. I understand the logistics of that may not work, but it would make for easier browsing.

Both BookExpo and ALA have their share of folks who grab everything left and right. In both places, the 9 o’clock opening looks and sounds like a beehive, and frankly, people can be rude, even librarians. I can appreciate why the reps get testy! I didn’t notice quite as much of that at BEA this year I think, in part, because the conference was mid-week, and there were fewer citizen-bookies spending their weekend on the floor gathering books and autographs. Still, there were plenty of grumblings and you’d walk by a booth and here “excuse me, that’s for display.”

Lessons Learned ~ Yes, with every conference you learn something new. As none other than Fuse 8 (aka Betsy Bird) will attest, comfortable practical shoes are a must. Thanks to my incomparable roommate Julia, I learned that I need to bring a sheet of pre-printed labels with my company name and contact information. Applying those stickers makes it easy to enter many of the drawings (iPad!) that the vendors have going on.

I also need to bring Julia along to every conference as a good luck charm. She and I attended the Scholastic breakfast together and sat right behind Brian Selznick! Not only that, but she won the centerpiece: A copy of Selznick’s 2007 Caldecott Medal-winning book The Invention of Hugo Cabret (which she got signed), a lithograph (also signed) and a copy of Dinosaurs Of Waterhouse Hawkins, Selznick’s Caldecott Honor Book (2002).

Last but not least, I cannot recommend the Kidlitosphere Annual Conference enough! Making those personal connections for those two days is so valuable in understanding the dynamics of the children’s literature culture from a multitude of angles. It also made ALA and BEA more meaningful, because it was easy to spot friendly faces in the crowds.

Before you conclude that I think ALA rocks and BookExpo America doesn’t, let me say they both have different purposes. I love BookExpo America. It is a fabulous event, and one I have gone to for four of the last six years. Given how expensive it is (aside from the shipping), if it wasn’t good, I wouldn’t go back! If it were not for those BEA experiences, I doubt my first ALA Annual Conference would have been so wonderful. Now, to start saving pennies for next year.

Note: The Invention of Hugo Cabret cover is linked to amazon.com. Purchases made by following that link may generate income for the Reading Tub.

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Categories: Early Literacy Feeds

Monday Blurb: A Couple of KidLit WOWs!

July 19, 2010 - 11:30am

Happy Monday y’all … As I mentioned in yesterday’s roundup, there is no shortage of really cool stuff going on in the Kidlitosphere. Here are a couple of things that will get you pumped on a Monday morning!!

Sarah Neal has a fantabulous I Can Read carnival going on over at In Need of Chocolate. It’s not been opened 24 hours and she already has a dozen contributions!! If you’ve reviewed or talked about easy readers or short chapter books any time in the last year, go on over and share! I am having a hard time picking a favorite from Sarah’s collection. Sarah herself has a great list of short chapter book series, and I loved Zoe’s post about using picture dictionaries for early readers at Playing by the Book, and the interview, and …

The other REALLY cool thing I discovered (via the Big Fresh, the Choice Literacy Newsletter) is the Book Flights and Book Pairings over at Lit for Kids. With Book Flights, the idea is that people (family, class, book club) read books on the same subject, but they read different books, based on their reading ability. From Lit for Kids: “It gives parents and children or teachers and students a shared learning experience, but lets everyone bring something different to a discussion of ‘what I’m reading’.”

I had not thought about the “book flight” idea before I wrote my post about Taking Books on Vacation for Booklights today. My emphasis was on audiobooks, periodicals, and music, but I love the visual of everyone sitting around reading something similar but different!

Categories: Early Literacy Feeds

Children’s Literacy and Reading Roundup – mid-July 2010

July 18, 2010 - 1:33pm

In our house, summer is both flying by and crawling along at a snail’s pace. We have tons to do and the weekend is here before you know it, but the list of fun things we want to do never seems to get any shorter.

It seems that news about literacy and reading is in that same time warp. Given the number of items in my reader, the perception that things are “slower” in the summer is clearly an illusion! Admittedly, I haven’t been particularly vigilant, but I’ve crossed enough trending topics and other discussions to know there is plenty going on. I know there are tons of great items awaiting me in my reader and Twitter history, but right now, even with my strict filters in place, the best I can do is follow up on the occasional Google Alert. Thank goodness for my pal Down Under – Susan Stephenson!! Just this morning she sent me to some really cool stuff. So here goes …

Events

Unfortunately, one of the trending events for the summer has been library cuts and closings. Over at Book Browse you will find a great list of statistics on why libraries are important and why they are the most economically viable entity in a community. Once you get past the statistics, though, editor Davina Morgan-Witts includes a comment from Book Browse’s Facebook page. In a nutshell: people have been calling the library to tell the librarians they are a waste of taxpayers money. I wanted to apologize to the librarians in NJ on the behalf of these people. They OBVIOUSLY have too much time on their hands if they can muster that much vitriol to call the library. I would suggest they go to the library, borrow some books, and fill their days by reading books if they need something to do!

Can you believe it has been 10 years already? The Library of Congress has just announced the theme for its 10th Annual National Book Festival: A Decade of Words and Wonder. The President and First lady Michelle Obama will serve as Honorary Chairs for what is always an incredible celebration of books and reading. As always the “stars” that appear cover many audiences, from children to adult. Check out this short list from among the 70 authors now slated to appear: international best-selling author Ken Follett; Rae Armantrout, winnervof this year’s Pulitzer Prize for Poetry; National Book Award winner Julia Glass; Pat Mora, one of the nation’s most beloved writers for children; and Elizabeth Kostova, author of the worldwide sensations “The Historian” and “The Swan Thieves.” Mark your calendars for Saturday, Sept. 25, 2010, to attend this FREE event that runs from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on the National Mall.

Literacy Programs and Research

This via The Inside Story, The Reading Connection (TRC) newsletter: Kids, parents, staff and volunteers at Carpenter’s Shelter, Independence Place and Sullivan House began an expanded Read-Aloud program as soon as school ended for the summer. The summer program, called “We Are Readers,” includes tons of new books, projects and special guests, all chosen with the aim of increasing kids’ background knowledge, one of the essential ingredients for literacy.

That goes very nicely with Anastasia Suen’s retweet: RT @CherylRainfield: Study shows giving kids books can be as effective as summer school. http://ht.ly/1SKzQ via @FirstBook

I am guessing this has already been around the web a time or two, but my thanks to Susan Stephenson of the Book Chook for sending it to me. The video is filled with stats, but I particularly liked how the Buck team showed what happens when we change the odds and improve education. Combine this documentary project with the InfoWhelm and Information Fluency video and wow! The landscape of “educating kids” has changed significantly.

In the July edition of literacy tools and resources, I mentioned that one of my new favorite blogs is From the Mixed up Files… If you haven’t been over to visit, hurry, you’re missing a lot of great stuff. Sydney recently wrote a post where she shared what her dormant readers say they look for in a book. Check out Reluctant Readers Speak Up.

A great complement to Sydney’s article is this one from the National Literacy Trust (UK) blog. A Book of their Own offers research and more to explain why it is so important for kids to own their own books. This isn’t a surprise to most of us, as we have seen tidbits from the NLT’s study and the University of Nevada report (also mentioned in the article); still, every time I see this statement, it stops me in my tracks:

The report also found that young people who did not own their own books were nearly twice as likely to agree with negative statements about reading, for example “reading is more for girls than boys”, “reading is hard” and ”I only read when I have to.”

If you need further affirmation of the power of books, read Fiona Ingram’s personal story about adopting her 11-year old daughter. In an interview with A Word Please, Fiona talks about her daughter’s growth from scoring 17% on her English tests to now reaching 75% and complaining that she needs to do better to be a writer. You may recall that we interviewed Fiona, a South African author, about a year ago. It is great to hear the next chapter in her story. Some of you may already know this, but I found this Telegraph (UK) article about the links between gardening and “formal” learning fascinating. There were the obvious points about cross-program learning (science, ecology, life skills) and personal growth (self esteem), but the ripple effect on literacy and problem solving caught me by surprise.

In her post about Read o’clock and Write o’clock, Susan reminds us that literacy is more comprehensive than “just” reading … it’s writing, too. Being a model for literacy is a priceless, FREE gift we can give our kids. Susan’s analogy about making time for family TV really hit home with me.

Thorn & Oak Metaphysical is not a blog I would normally stop by, but there is an interesting essay about Invented Spelling. The discussion is not about “texting language,” but the problems of not helping kids learn to spell things correctly.

Unwrapping Literacy

At eHow.com, Michelle Matthews has a nice article with some Literacy Games. “If you ask almost any kid, they will tell you that they don’t like homework. Studying isn’t fun. Games, on the other hand, are awesome.” Several of her suggestions I knew about (Boggle Junior, road trips), but I loved the idea of Deal-a-Word. (via eHealthJunction.com).

Along the same lines, Susan sent me some literacy-based games that are part of the Literacy Collection on the BBC Web site. Try the pirate spelling game, Matey! You’ll find these games and more at the Bits and Pieces Place, an EduBlog website that offers the “bits and pieces to help with your teaching.”

Have you seen the Book Chook Cook Book? I LOVE those Rolo Pretzels! You only need 3 ingredients (opt for the pecans) and can make them in 10 minutes. Then spend the rest of the afternoon reading and chowing down. S-W-E-E-T!

How cool is this? Don’t worry, you don’t have to understand Japanese to love this Bullet Train Library. It seems only appropriate to start and end with the library this week!

Categories: Early Literacy Feeds

Make a Splash @ Your Library – Week 5

July 16, 2010 - 10:06am

I can’t believe we’re already at week 5. If I remember correctly, the official program only lasts two more weeks. While I can appreciate that August means everyone is starting to think about school, but it would actually go faster - and maybe increase enrollment – to have the program continue until mid-August. Why? Because all of the summer sports finish at the end of July and people (**cough*PARENTS*cough**) are looking for ways to fill their kids’ time … and “cram” on all that summer reading they didn’t do earlier in the season.

Okay, enough soap box! As you can probably tell from the slideshow, we expanded on “scary” this week and went for ghosts. Dinosaurs Of Waterhouse Hawkins by Barbara Kerley fascinated Catherine, so I picked up a couple more dinosaur-type books. I will say, though, that I was very disappointed that after three weeks she didn’t pick up Bridget Fidget and The Most Perfect Pet by Joe Berger. I thought it was adorable!

En route to the library this week the girls watched Barbie and the Diamond Castle. Normally we don’t have DVDs in the player for local trips, but I was so tired after Wednesday’s swim meet that I didn’t take it out of the car. The silver lining: to tap into that interest, I headed over to the J 398 section and pulled out a couple of “twin” fairy tales (i.e., books with two identical copies on the shelf). I found The Dragon Prince: A Chinese Beauty & the Beast Tale by Lawrence Yep (I love his YA stuff) and Beauty and the Beast by Jan Brett. The girls settled on the Jan Brett version.

Here is the rest of our catch … in no particular order.

Scary Fright, Are You All Right? by Scott Gibala-Broxholm ~ Catherine’s BFF was so excited when I picked up this book from the librarians. The girls ran to the children’s area and started reading. Then another girl joined them to listen. She asked the girls if she could read it and they (quite reluctantly) let her, but I let everyone know that I had already checked it out and it needed to come with us.

Horace by Holly Keller ~ We read this a long time ago, but since we are getting lots of questions about adoption and how families work again, I decided to borrow it this week.

I’m Sorry by Sam McBratney ~ On the way to the library today, Catherine was did not have her best BFF attitude. I picked up this quiet book to share and remind her about how friendship works.

Dinosaur Discoveries: How to Create Your Own Prehistoric World (Craft Books) by Robin West ~ As I mentioned above, the library program will be ending soon, but the need for playdates and activities will continue for several more weeks. Catherine has recently discovered the fun of paper airplanes, and I’m hoping making paper dinosaurs is just as cool!

Beauty and the Beast by Jan Brett ~ It’s a princess story AND it’s Jan Brett. ‘Nuf said.

Hoot by Jane Hissey ~ This one was calling my name from the top of the display shelf. Just look at that Teddy bear and owl! Aren’t they adorable?

Miss Brooks Loves Books (And I Don’t) by Barbara Bottner ~ From the New Arrivals shelf, just for me! It’s a theme I love, I’ve heard great things, and I will actually be able to scratch off a book from my wish list – that makes THREE this summer.

Sweethearts of Rhythm: The Story of the Greatest All-Girl Swing Band in the World by Marilyn Nelson ~ Catherine is enjoying the Jazz for Kids CD, so I thought this would be fun to have as back story, in addition to being a “girl power,” story too!

Ghost Town at Sundown (Magic Tree House) by Mary Pope Osborne ~ Another BFF-recommended book.

Magic Tree House Research Guide #20: Ghosts by Mary Pope Osborne ~ I found this before the girls found Ghost Town at Sundown. Even thought this is a A Nonfiction Companion to A Good Night for Ghosts, I am hoping it will be interesting and encourage her to pick up that book.

Spider Kane and the Mystery at Jumbo Nightcrawler’s (Spider Kane) by Mary Pope Osborne ~ We found this as we were searching through the Magic Tree House collection. The girls liked the blue-green guy with four hands playing a clarinet on the cover. It fit with their “spooky” theme.

All in all another great set of reads. Last night she was too wrapped up in getting ready for her play today (The Trial of Gold E. Locks) to think about reading anything other than her lines (she’s the Tin Woman – a lawyer. Go figure!) It is always fun to see what she picks up first!

Categories: Early Literacy Feeds

Wednesday Blurb: Reading Magicians, and more

July 14, 2010 - 9:41am

Happy Wednesday, all! There is a lot of stuff coming up in the next two weeks, so I am trying to share a little bit now and save a little bit for later.

First up, Sarah Neal will be hosting the I Can Read carnival this month at In Need of Chocolate. She hasn’t officially opened the carnival, but she’s given us a hint at her contribution: she just reviewed It’s Best To Leave a Snake Alone by Allam Fowler, part of the Rookie Read-About Science series. You’ll find Sarah’s review and 25 other suggestions in this week’s Nonfiction Monday Roundup at Abby the Librarian blog.

As you know, we make a weekly trip to the library. While the girls are off searching the card catalog or sitting in the children’s area (such that it is), I can be found perusing the stacks for “identical twins” (two copies of the same book). I usually pick two or three short chapter books that look interesting, and set them down by the girls. Invariably, they pick up the book and instantly decide thumbs up or thumbs down based on the number and size of the illustrations. They’ll say “yes” to a thicker book with lots of illustrations; and “no” to a thin book with few images. What’s a Mom to do?

Well, yesterday’s Bookworm Basics post at Booklights looks at that very subject. The post covers three questions that can help you find the “magic” book that will spark a love of reading in your child. This weekend I discovered that for whatever reason, last week’s post published but didn’t go “live.” Now that’s fixed and you can read last week’s post about reading partners.

Categories: Early Literacy Feeds

Make a Splash @ Your Library – Week 4

July 10, 2010 - 12:10pm

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Given the heat yesterday – and the need to have a quiet afternoon before our swim meet – we made our trek to the library late morning. I’m not sure what the librarians were thinking, though, when they selected these rubber “poppers” as the prize this week. You take the sphere, turn it inside out and then wait for it to explode from whatever surface you set it on. Those things were going everywhere, with lots of squeals by the kids who set them off and the ones who unexpectedly had one land on them.

Luckily the girls moved on quickly and headed to the card catalog to search for “scary” books that were suitable for them to read. They were very happy to have find two copies of In a Creepy, Creepy Place: and Other Scary Stories (Trophy Chapter Book) by Judith Gorog. Both have been checked out! Here are the other books in the stash this week.

The Cat Barked? by Lydia Monk ~ Catherine’s BFF had checked this out last week and they had fun reading it on the way to the library.

Cinderella by Ruth Sanderson ~ The moment the girls saw this on the end cap it was “ours” for the week. I’d swear they have some type of princess laser vision. I went by that encap a bunch of times and never noticed it.

Dinosaurs Of Waterhouse Hawkins by Barbara Kerley ~ This Brian Selznick’s Caldecott Honor book. I had put a hold on it for this week.

Human Body (Insiders) by Linda Calebresi ~ Catherine found this one. She is fascinated by anatomy and how all our parts fit together.

Moose’s Big Idea (Moose and Hildy) by Stephanie Green ~ I came across this series while searching the stacks for Scary Fright, Are You All Right? by Scott Gibala-Broxholm. The cover looked cute and I thought the illustrations would attract the girls. So far, no takers but me.

Uh-oh, Cleo (Uh-Oh Cleo) by Jessica Harper ~ This is another of my finds. I thought it would be perfect for Catherine’s BFF, one of six kids in her family. She checked it out and looked it over in the car, but then left it behind. Guess it’s mine, now.

So what should I look for next Wednesday?

Categories: Early Literacy Feeds

Friday Blurb: Tune In Tomorrow

July 9, 2010 - 12:46pm

… when I’ll be Frank Gromling’s guest on “Cover to Cover,” a weekly radio program that broadcasts from northeast Florida and streams worldwide every Saturday. This week, Frank and I talk about literacy and reading with kids in his Book Publishing Rocks! segment. From the Ocean Publishing Facebook page.

Tune in at 11:45 ET/8:45 PT on WNZF 1550AM/106.3FM and www.wnzf.com. Tune in when the show starts at 8:30 to hear Stephen Schochet, author of “Hollywood Stories: Short, Entertaining Anecdotes About the Stars and Legends of the Movies!” (http://www.hollywoodstories.com/) shares fascinating tales about the greats in the business.

Categories: Early Literacy Feeds

Monday Blurb: Today is July 5, 2010

July 5, 2010 - 2:39pm

I was at a loss for a title today, so we’re going with the obvious. I hope you had a wonderful weekend and had a quiet Monday and aren’t actually reading this until Tuesday!

There is something ironic about staying indoors (its climbing over 100 here) and holding a blazing hot computer on your lap. Better to just focus on the content, so here goes …

The incredible Carol Rasco has posted the month’s end literacy and reading roundup for June. As always, she has packed it chock full of great stuff. She has some great links to science-related content (with a literacy bent) and tells you about a recent study on elementary science that surprised her. She floored me with news that the Department of Defense has never had a summer reading program … until this year. I am STILL stunned.

Speaking of news … did you know that there are 8.5 million children in Tanzania with limited access to formal education? Sesame Workshop, which produces Kilimani Sesame, the Tanzanian version of Sesame Street, has commissioned a study to see if media intervention can help. Researchers from the Bloomberg School of Public Health (Johns Hopkins University) in full collaboration with a Dar es Salaam-based research team, are assessing the impact (or not) of a six-week intervention delivering Kilimani Sesame content to 223 children in the rural district of Kisarawe and the city of Dar es Salaam. Do I dare say it? Stay tuned. (via AfricaContent.com)

I found this 40-minute video from Agenda, an Ontario, Canada-based program. The program explores the literacy revolution, which looks at reading and learning in the 21st century. There are four guests: Alice Robeson, professor of English at Arizona State University; Nicole Pinker, Director of Innovation, University of Chicago’s Urban Education Institute; Mark Federman, researcher at Boise, the Ontario Institute of Studies in Education; Andrea Lunsford from Stanford University. The discussions about how books have changed – visually, not just in format; how literacy goes beyond text consumption; and whether schools aren’t preparing kids or whether colleges haven’t kept up.

Categories: Early Literacy Feeds

Books We Read – June

July 5, 2010 - 8:56am

We are now flush with books … as if we weren’t before ;-) I was pretty proud of myself for bringing home a record-low 45 books from BookExpo America this year. HOWEVER, after the American Library Association (ALA) Annual Conference … well, it is an embarrassment of riches: 60 ARCs/chapter books; 21 picture books/PB galleys; and 2 audio books. This picture includes just the end-of-month incoming from publishers (on the shelf) and ALA (the floor).

Neither the numbers nor the picture include the dozen or so books I got autographed for my personal collection, including Where The Mountain Meets the Moon (this year’s Newbery Honor Book) and The Red Thread by Grace Lin; and The Lion and the Mouse by Jerry Pinkney (this year’s Caldecott Medal winner).

We have been busy reading – mostly library books – but are way behind on reviewing. I expect to remedy that in the coming weeks. If you have read and reviewed one of the books, please feel free to add it to the Website; add a link in the comments here; or send me an email at thereadingtub [at] gmail [dot] com with “book review” in the title. By linking back, I can send traffic your way, and I am happy to do it.

Received: 41 (+ 128 from conferences)
New Reads: 18
New Reviews: 3 (with 5 on their way)

Note: Our book widget includes links to Indie Bound (you can mouse over “Indie Bound” to get more info), Amazon, and Tapestry Books. Covers with links go to amazon.com for general literature and Tapestry Books for titles with adoption themes.

Favorite Re-Reads (kid picks)

nonfiction Ant Attack! (Science Solves It)
by Ann James and Anthony Lewis WorldCat⋅GoodReads⋅LibraryThing⋅Shelfari⋅Google Books⋅BookFinder⋅IndieBound⋅Amazon
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Ivy + Bean Doomed To Dance, by Annie Barrows WorldCat⋅GoodReads⋅LibraryThing⋅Shelfari⋅Google Books⋅BookFinder⋅IndieBound⋅Amazon
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The Tale Of Despereaux: Being The Story Of A Mouse, A Princess, Some Soup, And A Spool Of Thread, by Kate DiCamillo WorldCat⋅GoodReads⋅LibraryThing⋅Shelfari⋅Google Books⋅BookFinder⋅IndieBound⋅Amazon
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Fast Food
by Joost Elffers and Saxton Freymann WorldCat⋅GoodReads⋅LibraryThing⋅Shelfari⋅Google Books⋅BookFinder⋅IndieBound⋅Amazon
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our book talk Little Whistle, by Cynthia Rylant WorldCat⋅GoodReads⋅LibraryThing⋅Shelfari⋅Google Books⋅BookFinder⋅IndieBound⋅Amazon

Reading Beyond the Books

nothing new this month

Bilingual Books (All Audiences)

What Can You Do With A Rebozo?, by Carmen Tafolla WorldCat⋅GoodReads⋅LibraryThing⋅Shelfari⋅Google Books⋅BookFinder⋅IndieBound⋅Amazon

xxxx

Picture Books (All Audiences)

our book talk A Horse's Tale: A Colonial Williamsburg Adventure, by Susan Lubner WorldCat⋅GoodReads⋅LibraryThing⋅Shelfari⋅Google Books⋅BookFinder⋅IndieBound⋅Amazon
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kid pick How Are You Peeling?, by Saxton Freymann, Joost Elffers WorldCat⋅GoodReads⋅LibraryThing⋅Shelfari⋅Google Books⋅BookFinder⋅IndieBound⋅Amazon
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How Do You Wokka Wokka?, by Elizabeth Bluemle WorldCat⋅GoodReads⋅LibraryThing⋅Shelfari⋅Google Books⋅BookFinder⋅IndieBound⋅Amazon
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kid pick our book talk
Interrupting Chicken
by David Ezra SteinWorldCat⋅GoodReads⋅LibraryThing⋅Shelfari⋅Google Books⋅BookFinder⋅IndieBound⋅Amazon
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our book talk
Quincy Finds a New Home
by Camille Matthews, illustrated by Michelle Black
WorldCat⋅GoodReads⋅LibraryThing⋅Shelfari⋅Google Books⋅BookFinder⋅IndieBound⋅Amazon
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Walter Wick's Optical Tricks, by Walter Wick WorldCat⋅GoodReads⋅LibraryThing⋅Shelfari⋅Google Books⋅BookFinder⋅IndieBound⋅Amazon
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When You Meet A Bear On Broadway, by Amy Hest WorldCat⋅GoodReads⋅LibraryThing⋅Shelfari⋅Google Books⋅BookFinder⋅IndieBound⋅Amazon

Easy Readers (for New and Developing Readers)

nonfiction Cool Crime Scene Basics: Securing The Scene, by Esther Beck WorldCat⋅GoodReads⋅LibraryThing⋅Shelfari⋅Google Books⋅BookFinder⋅IndieBound⋅Amazon
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review coming Hot Pursuit, by Stacia Deutsch WorldCat⋅GoodReads⋅LibraryThing⋅Shelfari⋅Google Books⋅BookFinder⋅IndieBound⋅Amazon
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In A Dark, Dark, Room And Other Scary Stories, by Alvin Schwartz WorldCat⋅Read Online⋅GoodReads⋅LibraryThing⋅Shelfari⋅Google Books⋅BookFinder⋅IndieBound⋅Amazon
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review coming Father Abraham, by Wells, Rosemary.WorldCat⋅GoodReads⋅LibraryThing⋅Shelfari⋅Google Books⋅BookFinder⋅IndieBound⋅Amazon
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Second Grade Rules, Amber Brown, by Paula Danziger WorldCat⋅GoodReads⋅LibraryThing⋅Shelfari⋅Google Books⋅BookFinder⋅IndieBound⋅Amazon
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review coming Sid the Science Kid: What’s That Smell?
by Jennifer Frantz WorldCat⋅GoodReads⋅LibraryThing⋅Shelfari⋅Google Books⋅BookFinder⋅IndieBound⋅Amazon

Illustrated Short Chapter Books

Little Wolf's Book Of Badness, by Ian Whybrow WorldCat⋅GoodReads⋅LibraryThing⋅Shelfari⋅Google Books⋅BookFinder⋅IndieBound⋅Amazon
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kid pick Super Cluck, by Jane O'Connor WorldCat⋅Read Online⋅GoodReads⋅LibraryThing⋅Shelfari⋅Google Books⋅BookFinder⋅IndieBound⋅Amazon

Middle Grade Chapter Books (Fiction and Nonfiction)

Beyond Freedom
by Patricia Q. Wall
our book talk WorldCat⋅GoodReads⋅LibraryThing⋅Shelfari⋅Google Books⋅BookFinder⋅IndieBound⋅Amazon
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Under Alien Stars, by Pamela F. Service WorldCat⋅GoodReads⋅LibraryThing⋅Shelfari⋅Google Books⋅BookFinder⋅IndieBound⋅Amazon
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review coming Zora and Me

by Victoria Bond WorldCat⋅GoodReads⋅LibraryThing⋅Shelfari⋅Google Books⋅BookFinder⋅IndieBound⋅Amazon

Young Adult Chapter Books (Fiction and Nonfiction)

review coming The Dreamer
by Pam Munoz RyanWorldCat⋅GoodReads⋅LibraryThing⋅Shelfari⋅Google Books⋅BookFinder⋅IndieBound⋅Amazon

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Note: Book cover images link to Amazon.com; per title bookseller links go to Indie Bound and Amazon.com. When you buy a product via one of our links, we earn a small commission from the sale. You are under no obligation to purchase through them.

Categories: Early Literacy Feeds

Roundup of Resources for Literacy and Reading – July 2010

July 1, 2010 - 12:51pm

Holy canoli, where did June go? I’m going to kick off the July edition with a newly discovered blog: From the Mixed Up Files … of Middle Grade Authors. Don’t you love the name? Maybe I do because it closely resembles the name of one of my all-time favorite books. From the inaugural post: “Named in honor of the iconic middle-grade book by E. L. Konigsburg, this group blog and website is dedicated to bringing attention to middle-grade books and the people who write them. And we hope to have a little fun along the way, too. (For the truly curious, you can read more about us on our About Us page. You can also view our Contributing Member Bios. )” Thanks Gregory K … Middle Grade Fabooness indeed!

Here’s a resource everyone can enjoy: a list of Printz read-alikes. This year, the Michael L. Printz Award, administered by YALSA and sponsored by Booklist, celebrated its tenth year. The Printz Medal is presented to a book that “exemplifies literary excellence in young adult literature.” I love read-alike lists and this is a great way to help kids with read-alikes for non-series books. (source: Booklist Online via American Libraries Direct)

21st Century Literacies

Mary Burkey, a member of the Kidlitosphere Yahoo! Group, shared lots of great information about SYNC, “an online community that seeks to build the audience for audiobooks among readers 13 and up.” Beginning July 1 (and running through September 1), SYNC will give away 2 FREE downloads each week. They will pare a popular Young Adult with a Classic title that appears on Summer Reading lists. SYNC is hosted byAudiobook Community, a new social networking site for the discovery of audiobooks. Don’t you love that banner?

I thought I was doing Okay with accounts for LibraryThing, Goodreads, and Shelfari. Then Susan Stephenson (The Book Chook) sent me an article with Ten Websites for Book Lovers … and probably another ten recommendations in the comments! How can you not love that people love to talk about books? [How did I not know Amazon owned Shelfari?]

An inevitable, integral piece of 21st century literacies is the Worldwide Web. At iKeepSafe.org, you will find lots of information about keeping kids safe, and links to resources (like Comcast’s award-winning documentary on cyberbullying). There are resource centers for parents, kids, and educators. (via Seb Schmoller on Friendfeed)

Creative Literacy for Kids

BookAdventure has a kid-oriented book search tool that helps them narrow down potential books of interest by looking at grade, what level they like to read, and up to five genres. Thanks to School Library Journal for the link.

BookChooser on the Reading Matters website offers a similar function. I like how it lets you pick the elements using a scale. For example, if you want very low scary, medium funny and high animal interest, The Rescuers will be on your list. The presentation on this site is a little “cleaner,” so older kids might prefer this one to the brightly colored, fun-font BookAdventure.

Kidzui turns Firefox into a fun, kid-safe browser and online playground for kids 3-12. Over a million kids games, YouTube videos, and websites are approved by parents and teachers. KidZui also organizes content in a kid-friendly way. (via rockyourfirefox.com)

Moving Picture Books is a multi-layered website that helps kids with reading. You can read along, have the book read to you (with word highlights) and also answer “ponderables” about the story. Kids will find stories they recognize (Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed) and characters they love, including many of their Sesame Street friends. There is a free download available, but this is largely a subscription service. (via my brother)

WebRangers is the (US) National Park Service’s online Junior Ranger program for youth of all ages. Students can play more than 50 games and learn about our national parks, monuments and historic sites. They can also investigate the newest WebRangers Activity, Investigating Global Connections, and share park stories and pictures with other WebRangers around the world in My Community. Herea re the links: WebRangers in English and WebRangers en Espanol. (source: Delta Publishing Company/Raven Tree Press ELL Newsletter)

Literacy and Reading Tools for Parents

Little Learners -Vanessa Rough, the blogger behind Silly Eagle Books, started a new blog on a site called Georgia.com. Vanessa will continue to share craft and learning activities to do with kids, but unlike Silly Eagle, she’ll branch beyond pairing the theme to a book. From Vanessa: “my goal is that it be a resource for parents who want to encourage a life-long love of learning in their children.” If you are interested in having a project or activity featured, you can contact Vanessa.

Literacy and Reading Tools for Educators

Periodic Table of Visualization Methods – Who knew? It looks like THE periodic table, but is a lot more fun than atoms and molecules (at least to me). (via Melissa Angle on Twitter)

When it comes to 21st century literacies and using technology in the classroom, there are few better than Franki Sibberson, who partners with Mary Lee Hahn at A Year of Reading. She recently spoke about a tech learning event at a friend’s home, and not only described her experience, but also packed the post with lots of links. The list of 100 Best Teaching Tools (most of them free) on EduDemic is da bom! And I am oh-so-jealous that Franki is getting an iPad! I just love Mary Lee’s monthly mosaics … and this one has my favorite flower in it (daisy!). This month there’s a bonus … Mary Lee also has a mosaic of sky images.

I am still well behind the eight ball but hoping to get back to bigger blocks of time in the office next week. There is a lot of catching up to do, and I miss not hanging out in some of my favorite virtual spots.

Categories: Early Literacy Feeds

Make a Splash @ Your Library – Week 3

June 30, 2010 - 2:59pm

I am still recovering from the American Library Association Annual Conference and promise to write about it soon. Since I got home it has been run-run-run, so today I was intent on being Mom first and keeping our Wednesday trip to the library in tact.

As I mentioned last week, Catherine’s BFF was awaiting her shiny new library card. Long story short, she didn’t have ID with her address on it (what 7-year-old carries ID? Really!). So they were sending her a postcard, which probably got lost in the unbelievably damaging microburst last Thursday. Today, though, they gave her a shiny new card! She was so worried that she couldn’t come with us now that she has her own card.

There is no worries about that happening! I have been trying for a year(!) to get Catherine to read a Magic Treehouse book. Not because I think they’re the end-all of literature, but because they will push her into new areas. Leave it to her BFF to pull two titles from the shelf and booktalk them for Catherine. Sweet!

The girls didn’t like my choices for books they could both read, but they did enjoy The Headless Horseman (Step-Into-Reading, Step 3) on the way home. Here are some of the other treasures of the week.

Summer of the Sea Serpent (Magic Tree House, No. 31) ~ Catherine’s BFF recommended this to her. It is her favorite of the two she selected.

Monday with a Mad Genius (Magic Tree House, No. 38) ~ Another recommendation from Catherine’s BFF. She described it as “funny.”

Bridget Fidget and The Most Perfect Pet ~ I found this on the New Arrivals shelf. The cover is adorable and it has “perfect pet” in the title. I’m betting on this one to be a hit.

Voyage to the Pharos ~ This is a picture book with meat. I love the image on the front and that history is woven into the story.

The Jellybeans and the Big Book Bonanza ~ Another book on the New Arrival shelf. Since I am building a master list of books about books/reading, I thought I’d check this out (no pun intended).

Wingwalker ~ This is one of several post-ALA selections. Sitting directly behind Brian Selznick at the Scholastic breakfast, I realized that I had not read enough of the books (award-winning and otherwise) he’s got a hand in. I was looking for The Dinosaurs of Waterhouse Hawkins (which my roommate won), but no luck this week.

Big Old Bones: A Dinosaur Tale ~ I happened upon this runner-up book for Dinosaur Hawkins in the picture book bin while looking for something else.

Me Oh Maya! ~ Jon Scieszka was E-V-E-R-Y-W-H-E-R-E at ALA. I love his books and while searching for some books with two copies, I came upon this Time Warp Trio title. The girls weren’t interested, but I am!

I am really excited about this week’s finds. There isn’t any true nonfiction in the batch, but there are several titles that have factual details woven into them. What should I look for when we go to the library next week? I’d love to hear your suggestions.

Categories: Early Literacy Feeds

Make a Splash @ Your Library – Week 2

June 24, 2010 - 6:14am

I must admit, I was quite surprised that Catherine read as many books from last week’s stash as she did. Many of them she initially rejected, but I left them on the coffee table and voila! within days she had most of them devoured. Some, like Little Wolf’s Book of Badness and Walter Wick’s Optical Tricks we’re still reading. Actually, she did better than me, as I haven’t yet started The Dreamer by Pam Munoz-Ryan. I am reading three books that I want to finish before I pick up something new.

I can’t remember if I mentioned it, but last week we took Catherine’s best friend to the library with us. Catherine’s BFF didn’t have a library card, so we got the form and she took it home to be signed. This week I took the signed form with us and she got her shiny new library card!

As the girls sit and read to each other (semi-quietly), I scour the shelves for books where there are two copies. What I saw last week was that they both like having the same book to read, so I mixed in a few easy readers and short chapter books. Catherine’s BFF is a rising second grader and a very good reader. I must admit that I was particularly frustrated that NONE of the 29 titles on the “Books for Grades 3 and 4″ were available – and that includes any titles in a series (like Babymouse, Bunnicula, Phineas McGuire).

Buffalo Girls by Bobette McCarthy ~ This is one of my nonfiction picks this week.

How Big Is the Ocean? (Time Life’s Library of First Questions and Answers) ~ My pre-beach nonfiction book selection.

How Do You Wokka-Wokka? by Elizabeth Bluemle ~ Catherine and her friend read this aloud on the way to the library, and then Catherine returned it so her friend could check it out with her brand-new library card.

Stuart’s Cape by Sara Pennybacker ~ I couldn’t find two copies of this book, but I selected Stuart’s Cape and Stuart Goes to School as companion books the girls might read at the pool together.

Super Cluck (An I Can Read Book) by Jane O’Connor ~ Catherine’s BFF checked this out, too. They read this aloud as partners on the way home from the library (it’s a 30-minute drive).

Yoga for Common Ailments (Common Ailments Series) ~ This is Catherine’s “cover up” book, as in I am covering up the fact that I wanted to run in the library and ran away from mom saying “I see a book I want …” It was nice to see that she was using her X-Ray vision, because there were no end-cap books near the Circulation Desk!

Because we kept many of the books we still had from Week 1, we kept this stash small. I am just about done my three short-chapter books and plan to take The Dreamer with me to ALA Annual this weekend. More on that later today!

Also, based on Catherine’s inquiry last week to have a chapter book to read during the swim meet, I packed a few … did she want them? No, but as a parent I know you’re not surprised!

Categories: Early Literacy Feeds

Thursday Blurb: American Library Association Annual Conference, Here I Come

June 24, 2010 - 4:20am

I love New York – it is one of my favorite cities … and I love BookExpo America, but spending the weekend in my old home town with people who have my dream job? That R-O-C-K-S!

This 5-day party is already starting, but I won’t get there until tomorrow morning. I must admit, I’m a little nervous. After all, these are librarians and they really know books. My roomie is a children’s librarian, which will be fun, but also a little intimidating.

My five BEA experiences will come in handy, but unlike BEA which is in one place, there are Conference events all over town. The other thing I’ve noticed is how much more engaged the vendors are in communicating with attendees. For BEA, I see little to no correspondence, and certainly no invitations. Since my initial registration, I have had a steady stream of emails, tons of postcards (many with giveaway offers), and some invitations, too. The hard part is keeping my schedule “reasonable,” and I could use your help.

Friday afternoon I’ll attend ALSC 101, a seminar sponsored by the Association of Library Services for Children (ALSC). This is for those of us who are new ALSC members (check) or those of us attending our first ALA conference as a children’s librarian (sigh!).

Then it’s off to Kidlit Drinks Night in DC – the ALA Edition. The Mid-Atlantic region of the SCBWI is sponsoring the event, being held at R.F.D. Washington (Regional Food and Drink). I get to reconnect with folks I met at last year’s KidLitCon in DC, and hopefully meet some folks of the DC-Kidlit Book Club (which I belong to but lament never being able to attend).

Saturday afternoon, it’s over to the Dupont Circle area to an event with Katherine Paterson, the National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature at an event planned in her honor. I’m planning a quiet Saturday night, as Sunday morning it’s rise-and-shine with an early breakfast sponsored by a publisher; a panel on Children’s and YB Book Blogs with Pam (MotherReader), Elizabeth Burns (Tea Cozy) and Travis Jonkers (100 Scope Notes); a day on the exhibit floor; and (drumroll) attending the Newbery/Caldecott Awards Banquet. (squee!) Thank you, thank you, thank you Susan Kusel (double squee!)

Since this is my first ALA, I thought I’d spend the majority of my time at the main exhibit hall (DC Convention Center) getting a sense of everything. I purposely didn’t spend a lot of time wandering at BookExpo, so I am looking forward to hearing about many of the titles others already mentioned in their BEA wrap-up posts.

I am totally floored by the number of authors signing books. Even leaving off some of my all-time faves, there are still too many people to meet. Here’s where you can help … I started putting this list together, and it is just too much. I need your help picking “A” or “B” when there is a schedule conflict. Clearly, I need to be cloned from 2 o’clock until 3 o’clock on Saturday!

Friday, 25 June

5:30 to 7:p

Tameka Brown Around Our Way On Neighbor’s Day
Nancy Rains Day, On a Windy Night
Fred Bowen Fred Bowen Sports Story Series

Saturday 26 June

10:am to 11:am

Erica Perl Dotty
Matt Phelan The Storm in the Barn
Tad Hills How Rocket Learned to Read
Candace Ransom Hello, Virginia!

11:am to 12:n

Jen Bryant A River of Words: The Story of William Carlos Williams
Laurie Halse Anderson Chains

1:p to 2:p

Moira Rose Donohue Penny and the Punctuation Bee ~ I met Moira @ KidlitCon and hope to say hi
Rosemary Wells ARC of On the Blue Comet (1:30-2:30)
Yuyi Morales Just in Case (1:30-2:30)

2:p to 3:p

Amy Bates, Bear in the Air
Daniel Kirk Library Mouse: A World to Explore
Amy Malaspina Finding Lincoln
Kate Messner The Brilliant Fall of Gianna Z
Laura Amy Schlitz The Night Fairy (2:30-3:30)
Bill Galvan The Scrapyard Detectives (til 4:pm)
Laurie Halse Anderson Wintergirls(plan b if 11a doesn’t work out)
Jerry Pinkney Three Little Kittens
K. Michael Crawford Trouble in Troublesome Creek
Kekla Magoon The Rock and the River
Cheryl Rainfield Scars ~ I just hope to meet Cheryl in person

3:p to 4:p

Joe Hayes Dance Nana, Dance / Baila Nana Baila (til 5:p)
Brad Sneed The Boy Who Was Raised by Librarians

4:p to 5:p

Laura Numeroff, Otis

Sunday, 27 June

9:a to 10:a – I am bummed because this hour may not work. I have a breakfast and Pam’s panel

Grace Lin Where the Mountain Meets the Moon

10:a to 11:a

Tanya Lee Stone Almost Astronauts: 13 Women Who Dared to Dream (10:30 to 11:30)
Toni Buzzeo Adventure Annie Goes to Kindergarten (til 1o:30) – Toni was the first author to send books to the Reading Tub! and I’ve never met her!!
Candace Fleming The Great and Only Barnum: The Tremendous, Stupendous Life of Showman PT Barnum

11:a to 12:n

Jerry Pinkney The Lion (Plan B if Saturday doesn’t work)

1:p to 2:p

Mitali Perkins Bamboo People (’til 3:p)
Erin Sexton The Boy and the Freckles (’til 3:p)

2:p to 3:p

Andrew Smith The Marbury Lens
Mary Amato Edgar Allan’s Official Crime Investigation Notebook
Pamela Zagarenski Red Sings from Treetops
Brian Pinkney Sit in: How Four Friends Stood Up by Sitting Down

3:p to 4:p

Lane Smith It’s a Book

Categories: Early Literacy Feeds

Tuesday Blurb: Books for Nashville and Children’s Literature Documentary

June 22, 2010 - 12:09pm

I am still trying to get into a summer groove, and my reader is at the bottom of my daily to-do list right now. These two events came to my attention through Email, so I apologize if you’ve seen them already.

Rebecca Brothers, who blogs at Reader with a capital “R” turned a passionate plea to send books to Nashville schools into a book drive. A Dry Read: New Books for Nashville is an effort to place books we don’t want with people who desperately want or need them. The Pencil Foundation, a Nashville nonprofit that collects, stores, and then distributes books lost more than 2,000 books in the flood. In October, “The Pencil” will host a book fair in October, and if last year is any indication, they’ll give away 6,000 books in one day. Head over to Rebecca’s blog to learn more about how and what to donate.

The other item came from Greg Pincus, of Gotta Book and The Happy Accident via the Kidlitosphere Yahoo! Group. Head over to Library of the Early Mind, the production blog for a feature-length documentary film of the same name. In the first trailer, you’ll see interviews with Mo Willems, Lois Lowry, David Small, R.L. Stine, among others. Edward J. Delaney and Steven Withrow, director and co-producers, are set to release the documentary at Harvard University this fall. If the trailer is any indication, hoo-boy, is this gonna be good!

That’s it for today! Things here are blazing hot … a perfect afternoon for some lemonade and a book, or two, or three!

Categories: Early Literacy Feeds

Make a Splash @ Your Library – Week 1

June 18, 2010 - 7:43pm

This year, our weekly trips to the Jefferson-Madison Regional Library will be on Wednesdays … swim meet day. It is the perfect opportunity to get out of the house, and yet have a low-key activity. This year the American Library Association (ALA) theme for summer reading centers around water, which is an added bonus!

Imagine my shock when we were at our swim meet and my DS-loving daughter asked “Mom, did you bring a chapter book?” Truth be told, she wanted a chapter book because the (older) brothers of her best friend were sprawled on the lounge chairs reading. [Even at 50 paces I could tell it was was Rick Riordan's The Red Pyramid!] I promise, next week, I’ll have a chapter book!!

So here’s what we picked up this week …

Amazon.com Widgets

Cool Crime Scene Basics: Securing the Scene by Esther Beck – You-know-who wants to be a detective, so when I saw this on the new arrivals shelf, it was a must-pick. The bonus: it helps with nonfiction reading.

The Dreamer by Pam Munoz Ryan – This one’s for me. When I mentioned on Twitter that it was pathetic that I hadn’t read any of the Horn Book Award winners, Carol Rasco (@RascoFromRIF) said to start with The Dreamer … so I am.

A Horses Tale: A Colonial Williamsburg Adventure by Susan Lubner – One of our reviewing families submitted this and loved it, so I thought we’d read it, too.

How Do You Wokka Wokka? by Elizabeth Bluemle – This one is on my wish list/virtual TBR shelf.

In a Dark, Dark Room and Othe Scary Stories retold by Alvin Schwartz – Catherine and her best friend checked out both copies of this book so they could read it together.

Little Wolf’s Book of Badness by Ian Whybrow – This is an illustrated chapter book that looks like it has the kind of humor Catherine would like.

Second Grade Rules, Amber Brown by Paula Danziger – I’m trying to include books of different lengths.

Stompin’ at the Savoy by Bebe Moore Campbell – Catherine loves When Louis Armstrong Taught Me Scat and

Under Alien Stars by Pamela F. Service – Recommended by Jennifer Wharton at Jean Little Library

Walter Wick’s Optical Tricks by Walter Wicks – In my search for variety, I wanted to find some books that are just for exploring, not reading.

What Can You Do with a Rebozo? by Carmen Tafollo – This is on my virtual TBR shelf/wish list.

When You Meet a Bear on Broadway by Amy Hest – Found this on the new arrivals shelf.

With a hot weekend on tap, I’m sure we’ll get lots of reading in.

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Note: Book cover images and titles link to Amazon.com, with which we have an affiliate relationship. The Reading Tub can earn income from purchase made through these links. You are not obligated to purchase the books nor buy through these links.

Categories: Early Literacy Feeds

Children’s Literacy and Reading News Roundup – mid-June 2010

June 15, 2010 - 9:32am

Welcome to the sixth edition of the new bimonthly children’s literacy and reading news round-up brought to you by Jen Robinson’s Book Page and Scrub-a-Dub-Tub. As Jen had mentioned in March, she and her husband Mheir were expecting their new Baby Bookworm to arrive this month. With Baby Bookworm now home, Jen is still enjoying the best of both worlds … as a mom and a reader. She periodically sneaks a peak at what’s going on in the Kidlitosphere … so just in case she’s reading, here’s what’s going on!
Roundups aren’t quite the same without Jen, so I was particularly tickled Sunday when I saw the @JensBookPage Tweet about the Coolest Bookstore, with a link to this Mercury News article about teacher Nan Caldwell and the bookstore run by her second graders. (thanks @Franki22 aka Franki Sibberson)

Events

With Father’s Day just around the corner, I thought I’d round up some links where dads talk about reading with their kids. I WAS going to draw your attention to a cool MEME I discovered about dads, kids, and books a couple Fridays ago, but when I went back to find it I hadn’t saved it! [Hate when that happens.]

Because we tend to think about here-and-now, you may have missed this March 2007 post about why dads should read to their children at Be a Good Dad. I love all of Good Dad’s points, but this one seems especially apropos for Father’s Day: “The physical closeness of story time and the cuddling are going to bring you closer to your kids. You will end up tickling them more often. You will end up hugging them more often. You will stroke their hair more often. That’s called bonding and your kids will love you for it.”
As the great folks at Colorín Colorado point out, “there is nothing like reading a favorite story with Dad or Grandpa!” They even offer a Father’s Day booklist, with stories from a number of different cultures on their website. [They also have a new bilingual soccer booklist in honor of the World Cup.] [image credit: ArtFavor on OpenClipArt.org]

Summer is already here for some of us and just around the corner for the rest. There is a lot of chatter on the Web about the summer reading (link to my own post at Booklights). Why? Because we want the best for the kids in our lives, and reading can help them get there. Here are some spots to find some really great suggestions.

At Lit for Kids you’ll find series recommendations for early readers. As the authors note: “Early readers can share their older siblings’ (and parents’) pleasure in immersing themselves in book worlds that continue through several stories.” You might also check out their recommendations for tweens and teens. (via The Big Fresh, Choice Literacy newsletter)
Also from the Big Fresh – Keep Tweens and Teens reading all summer by hooking them on a new series. Ruth Shagoury at the Lit for Kids website shares a book list of favorite new Young Adult series
Over at Reading Rockets check out 10 Weeks of Summer Reading Activities that gives families lots of ideas on preventing the summer slide.
At Best Book I Have Not Read, Kristine shares a chart she found that explains what it takes for a reader to move up to the next level. As she points out, the take-away is that you can you can improve your ability just by reading a book. Her reading level chart is definitely worth a look … and could come in handy for kids who like to “compete” with themselves.

I don’t know about you, but I was shocked to learn (via Liz B @ Tea Cozy) that Ireland has just named its first Children’sLlaureate (Laureate na nÓg). The video is fabulous, and Siobhan Parkinson will grab you with any number of observations. I loved this one: My wish as laureate would be that every child in the country would have access to a nice, bright, warm, cheerful, comfortable library where they can go and find the books that are going to open their minds and bring them off to wonderful imaginary places. That sense of excitement and that sense of joy over books I want every child to talk about and not all children do get that.
First Book and the family of Cheerios cereals have teamed up with Jon Scieszka, author of Junkyard Fort and the former National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature, to help distribute 100,000 books to children in need across the country. By answering the trivia questions featured in the challenge, you can help select the states that will receive new books for local kids. Visit www.firstbook.org/scieszka today to be a part of the 100,000 Book Giveaway!
Here’s another Giveaway … From now until 24 September 2010, teachers can sign up at www.pictureliteracy.com for a chance to win a graphic novel prize package. The grand prize is a $1,000 package, second place is a $300 package, and two runner ups will each receive a $100 package. Each package comprises award-winning children’s graphic novels and titles designed to motivate reluctant readers. Every signup is an entry, so schools may enter multiple times. Learn more at PictureLiteracy.com.

Literacy Programs and Research

If you are rethinking your library (personal, school, classroom) or trying to deal with the bulging bookshelves and carpet of books, you might consider donating your gently used books to Kingston Springs Elementary School in Nashville, TN. As you may remember from Give a Book Help a School, Shelli Johannes’ post at Market My Words, this elementary – and many others – suffered unspeakable losses during the May 2010 floods.
According to this June 11, 2010 Angola Press announcement, nearly 5,000 citizens in Caxito (Northern Bengo Province) attended literacy lessons this year. “In 2009 8,460 people were enrolled, 4,014 of whom ended the academic year with good result, being 1,066 men and 2,948 women.” Pretty impressive.
The headline for a new (UK) National Literacy Trust study is that children as young as seven are more likely to own a mobile phone than a book. The meat of the article, though, points to other more valuable data. Ninety-three percent of the 17,000 students (ages 6 to 16) had books of their own AND believed that reading was important to succeed in life. For those who didn’t own books, only 80 percent saw reading as important to life success. Please do read Sarah Harris’ article in The UK Daily Mail, as she contrasts the NLT effort with recent US and Australian studies.
Kati Haycock’s quote about the impact of teachers on student success (2010 Literacy Trust study) has resurfaced (Bacon’s Rebellion 26 May 2010 and Newsweek March 2010) as the discussions of education funding start heating up. Here is the quote

The research shows that kids who have two, three, four strong teachers in a row will eventually excel, no matter what their background, while kids who have even two weak teachers in a row will never recover.

There is another interesting analysis of the teacher-student relationship in the recent edition of Science Centric. This time, the study looked at how a teachers’ confidence in their teaching abilities affected children’s learning progression in language and literacy skills. After 30 weeks …

students whose teachers had high self-efficacy showed gains in one measure of early literary skills called print awareness, in which students were asked questions like ‘Show me just one letter on this page.’
children only showed gains in vocabulary knowledge skills when they had a classroom that offered emotional support in addition to having a teacher with high self-efficacy.

Can a child be too young to learn to read? Sarah Ebner recently posed this question in an article for the Times (UK) Online. In Wales, children follow a play-based curriculum until they are seven. Because of the findings of a recent study (could not find it online), the debate about the impact of early schooling – particularly as it relates to learning to read – is heating up. As you might imagine, there are well-entrenched positions on both sides. This is a perfect article to read alongside a BBC broadcast (video) about why Finland’s schools get the best results.
The Metropolitan Nashville District school system decided that rather than try to force students to fit their model, they are changing their model to fit the students’ needs. After looking at a 72 percent graduation rate (2008), Superintendent Jesse Register went behind the numbers to see what was going on. What he found were English-language learners, young parents, or teens being raised by single parents; and most were working full or part time to help make ends meet. Last year, he established the Academy at Opry Hills, a nontraditional high school built around a modified structure that meets these kids’ needs in a way that keeps them in school through graduation. You can read more in Dakarai I. Aaarons’ article in Education Week.

Un-Wrapping Literacy

I sure could use your help coming up with a real title for this section (hint! hint!)
I love the 60 Second Parent channel on YouTube. Whatever the topic, the advice is not only practical, it is action-oriented. This video is about reading aloud with your child. Be sure to check out the kinds of things to read (hint: it’s more than just books).
Do you (or your kids) love Stanley Lambchop? Christianne shares the story (and photos) of Flat E at Little Page Turners. Flat E is a twist on the Flat Stanley stories by Jeff Brown that have been the basis of social studies projects for decades. Are you up for some new adventures? With summer here, I could totally see a Fractured Flat Stanley MEME. Are you in?

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Note: Book titles and cover images link to Amazon.com, with which the Reading Tub has an affiliate relationship. The Reading Tub may earn income from purchases through those links, though you are under no obligation to buy the book or use the link.

Categories: Early Literacy Feeds

I Can Read: A Carnival Celebrating New Readers – June 2010

June 13, 2010 - 8:15am

WELCOME to the June carnival for celebrating emerging and new readers is here at the Reading Tub. I Can Read! is a three-day, mid-month carnival whose host rotates each month. We share reviews of easy readers and short chapter books, as well as ideas for helping new readers hone their skills.

If you’re not sure what an Easy Reader or Short Chapter Book, we have a detailed description in the inaugural carnival. In a nutshell, an Easy Reader is a book designed for children learning to read. Many of them have a banner or label that says “learning to read” in some form, but others look like picture books. A short chapter book is also sized for the reader’s hand (i.e., 6″ x 9″). They also have illustrations, usually black and white, and the placement will vary. In some books, an illustration fills one page and text the opposite page. You can also seek books with half-page illustrations on both pages and then smaller illustration on one page of a two-page spread.

We would love for you to participate in the carnival. Your post can be up to one year old, so posts back to June 2009 can be included!! Feel free to add your post via Mr. Linky or leave a link in the comments. The carnival runs from 14 June to 16 June 2010, and I’ll be adding comments/links until 18 June. UPDATED to fix inLinkz problem.

I am so excited about all the contributions this month! Yes we have books, but we have some ideas to share, too.

At Imagination Soup, Melissa Taylor lists some of her favorite wordless picture books, and shares a story about reading Pancakes for Breakfast by Tommy De Paola with her son. She reminds us that kids are naturals at “decoding” pictures and with wordless picture books they can also learn to sequence events in a story. Here’s Melissa’s suggestion: “as your child ‘reads’ you the story, stop and say what YOU predict will happen next. Do this often. The next book you read, have your child stop and predict what they think will happen next in the story. After hearing you make predictions, this will become easier for them to do and help them learn sequencing.”

Also, be sure to check out Michelle Breum’s ideas at Beginning Reading Help, too. She not only describes various readers, but also shares how kids use these books to develop their skills. She even shares a short video of her daughter reading Mort and Sport from the Now I’m Reading series. This is an excellent visual for helping you see AND HEAR how new readers sound and see how you can engage them by asking questions.

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Easy Readers

Going Camping This Summer? At 5 Great Books, Anastasia Suen recommends five easy readers that will get the kids laughing and excited.

Amelia Bedelia Goes Camping by Peggy Parish (ill. Lynn Sweat) Amelia Bedelia does everything (exactly as she’s told).
Camping Out by Mercer Mayer - Little Critter and Gator camp out in the backyard, but can’t fall asleep.
Fred and Ted Go Camping by Peter Eastman - Fred and Ted are good friends, but they do things very differently!
The Scary Night by Anastasia Suen (ill. Mike Laughead) - How can Robot and Rico go to sleep after that scary campfire story.
Turtle and Snake Go Camping by Kate Spohn - Turtle and Snake look for the perfect spot to go camping.

Back in May, I wrote about Arlo the armadillo who is the star of Wendy Wax’s books Arlo Makes a Friend and Arlo Gets Lost. They don’t have the “I Can Read” label that goes with most easy readers, but these picture books perfectly wrap a good story in reading practice. Here’s the review on Scrub-a-Dub-Tub.

Short Chapter Books

Alien Encounter by Pamela Service (ill. Mike Gorman) – Series books are great ways to keep kids reading, and Jennifer Wharton says this book (the fourth in the series) will fit that bill. From her post at the Jean Little Library: “This is THE science fiction series for beginning chapter readers, as well as any kids who like a funny story and a good plot. No repetitions or stereotypes here! Pamela Service handles ideas about tolerance, futuristic science, human behavior, and family dynamics in an age-appropriate, humorous, and fast-paced read. Every book is highly recommended for public and school libraries!”

Doubles Troubles by Betty Hicks (ill. Simon Gane) – From Anastasia Suen: “Henry really wants to win the doubles tennis trophy, but his partner Rocky keeps messing up…This is a new chapter book about tennis, a fun summer sport.” You can also read a snippet at Weekend Reads, Anastasia’s newest blog just for short chapter books.

Duck for a Day by Meg McKinlay (ill Leila Rudge) – Susan Stephenson, the ever-clever Book Chook offers this summary in her review: “As you may have guessed, with that lightning-fast wit that Book Chook readers are renowned for, [this junior] novel is about a duck. But what a duck! His name is Max, and he arrives at Abby’s school with new teacher Mrs Melvino. The kids are enthralled with this new class pet, and hope they can take turns to bring him to their homes. But it turns out that Max has demands about the sort of homes he will go to.”

If you are interested in hosting a future carnival – and 2011 will be here before we know it, please send me an email at terry [at] thereadingtub [.] com.

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Note: Book cover images link to Amazon.com. The Reading Tub has an affiliate relationship with Amazon and can earn income for our literacy work from purchases made through those links. By including these images, we are not implying that you should purchase these books or use these links.

Categories: Early Literacy Feeds

Thursday Blurb: BookExpo America and the Book Blogger Convention

June 10, 2010 - 11:16am

Lest you think I have completely forgotten BookExpo America (aka BEA) and BookBloggerCon and been totally swept up by the American Library Annual Convention (squee!) … I haven’t. Most of this week has been consumed by organizing the volunteers for swim team and … the end of school.

My 8-year-old is telling everyone and anyone that she really doesn’t want school to end. I can promise you that there will be lots of real tears tonight, tomorrow morning, and tomorrow afternoon. This morning she flummoxed (love that word) two of our neighbors by telling them that she wanted school to go on all summer … one of them later stopped me to talk about how incredible and unique she is. Yep, that’s my girl!

Oh, but we were talking about BookExpo and Book Blogger Con. As I may have said before, this year I was there to help out at a client’s booth, so most of the nuts-and-bolts things about blogging and promotion I will post on the Mom’s Choice Awards blog. Here are the posts that are in progress …

Seth Godin’s remarks about the future of publishing at the Publishing University lunch sponsored by the Independent Book Publisher’s Association (Thank you again Florrie Kichler and Dan Nathan!) Great stuff that is relevant to bloggers, too.
Notes from Social Media Marketing Basics: Beyond the Hype, emceed by Marika Flatt, PR by the Book, with paneliests Dave Marx, PassPorter Travel Press and Tolly Moseley, PR by the Book. Fascinating stuff.
Maureen Johnson and Ron Hogan‘s remarks at Book Blogger Con. Why over at Mom’s Choice … because I want to make sure their incredible perspectives are shared with as broad an audience as possible. They are THAT good. I promise to link them here.

One of the better things about BEA this year is that it was a little lighter on the wallet. I was VERY selective in the number of books I picked up and only came home with 3/4 of a box (still 30 pounds). Instead of picking up books I wrote down LOTS of titles because I’m sure I’ll see a lot of the same stuff in Washington, DC … where I can DRIVE the boxes home instead of paying for shipping.

I want to do a shout-out, though, to Lara Starr of Chronicle Books for taking the time to chat about the entire fall lineup. We met at 4 o’clock on Wednesday, and Lara had been at this all day, but she still had great enthusiasm for every book she shared … and I fell in love with a lot of them! Two favorites. First, I love books that make themselves stand out on a shelf, and Katie Williams’ The Space Between Trees does just that. Click on the image, but it doesn’t do the cover justice … that is a laser-cut tree. Just beautiful.

Just after Lara book-talked Prisoners in the Palace: A Novel of Intrigue and Romance About How Princess Victoria Became Queen with the Help of a Maid, a Newspaperman, and a Scoundrel, I was in line getting an autograph and who should I meet? Michaela MacColl, the author! We had been chatting about the children’s author breakfast and Sarah Ferguson. She mentioned that she wrote a book about Queen Victoria and that since she knew Sarah Duchess of York was a Victoria afficianado, she stood in line to get an autograph and also offered her one of the ARCs. Michaela was surprised when the Duchess said yes she’d love a copy … and then Sarah wanted to know if was autographed. When it wasn’t, she promptly asked Michaela to sign it. How cool is that? The cover on this one is pretty cool, too. It’s metallic.

My other shout goes to Ryan Milligan of Campfire Books (a division of Steerforth Press). Campfire is taking classics (think The Invisible Man, Gulliver’s Travels) and other books with more formal language and turning them into graphic novels. What I particularly love is that they are using almost ALL of the original narrative and only changing the vocabulary to polish it for more modern times. I am really looking forward to seeing more of these and gauging their reaction with our readers.

Book Blogger Con … what can I say that hasn’t already been said? It was an incredible day and a perfect way to round out BEA. If you weren’t there this year, be sure to pencil pen it in for next year. Hopefully it won’t overlap with just walking the floor … I really like that it’s a day unto itself. I had hoped that maybe there would be a Linky-type post at the Book Blogger Con so I could send you to everyone’s thoughts in one place. There is a great wrap-up at Stiletto Storytime, complete with some ideas for next year: T-shirts, ways to meet everyone in the audience (speed dating?).

The enthusiasm was a great send-off for an incredible week. Having had such a wonderful time in New York and ending the week on such a high note has me all the more excited about my first ALA Annual Conference. There is more to come on that, too.

Categories: Early Literacy Feeds

Answering the Mail: Books for Kids with Autism

June 8, 2010 - 7:25am

In her presentation at the Children’s Author Breakfast at BookExpo America, Mitali Perkins talked about books as windows and mirrors. A way to introduce worlds and characters beyond ourselves, and yet reflections of our own experiences. As I mentioned in my first post about BookExpo America, Mitali added another dimension to the way I view stories and books. This is how her gift worked just last week. [image credit: Dawn of She is Too Fond of Books]

A colleague who works in a non-literacy business asked me to recommend some books that would be “good for moms to read with their kids who are autistic.” He was talking about books you’d read with very young children. At first I was stuck because I’ve yet to find a picture book with an autistic character of the “must read” or “quality read” caliber, or where the story elements and the target audience meshed well.

Autistic kids are incredibly discerning, and they know very early in their lives that they are “different” than their peers. Whether it is their ability to communicate, their sensitivity to noise or activity, or the ability to keep up physically, they know. Someone once told me that if you have met one child with autism, then you have met. one. child. with. autism. Autism Spectrum Disorders manifest themselves uniquely in each person, it isn’t like having a cold where everyone has varying degrees of the same symptoms. This is a spectrum of diagnoses. How do you write a children’s book for that?

Holding the mirror for my daughter, I could not think of any stories that would reflect her experiences or perceptions of herself. But when I took a step back, I saw the window. I have read lots of picture books that autistic children would love to hear; and I know there are hundreds more. [image credit OpenClipArt Library of Johnny Automatic]

I started thinking about toddler and preschool books about love. The most precious gift we can give our children is unconditional love … to help them understand/see/feel that they are loved for who they are. In the “real world,” these kids struggle to make friends, knowing that there are people who accept them is so important to their sense of self. There are lots of books with do-you-always-love-me themes for this audience.

Autistic kids see themselves as different … what we want them to celebrate is that they are unique. Books for this audience often embrace the themes of individuality and self esteem. They are perfect choices for sharing with your autistic child.

Last but not least, we can’t forget the universal ideas of love, acceptance, and having a positive sense of self. Books with these themes help us raise our children to be confident, successful people. Our kids see themselves in No, David! and Ladybug Girl alike. Reading stories that mirror universal experiences helps them see that other kids have the same experiences/think the same things/ have the same feelings … just like them.

Sharing a book with a child is an opportunity to share special time together, create great memories, and communicate in ways that ordinary conversation can’t match.

We don’t parse our love by the conditions our child does or doesn’t have … so do we need to parse their stories that way? Is there a place for books about kids with autism? Absolutely … when one in every 100 kids is diagnosed with an Autism Spectrum Disorder, we need those books. The question, though, is are these books a mirror for the autistic child or a window for those on the outside?

If you have some recommended reads where children of autism are featured in the storyline or as a main character, I sure would love to hear about them.

Categories: Early Literacy Feeds

Roundup of Resources for Literacy and Reading – June 2010

June 3, 2010 - 9:51am

Wow! May flew by, didn’t it? Welcome new subscribers to the monthly collection of new-to-me toys tools that may hold the key to creating a life-long reader. This edition of the roundup is a little less chatty than usual … thank goodness for the ability to schedule posts. So while you’re reading, I’m digging out from being away last week.

I especially want to send my thanks to Susan Stephenson for pointing me toward What’s Next, an online search tool managed by the Kent (MI) District Library. Use What’s Next to find the next book in a series. Also, if you haven’t yet seen the fifth edition of Literacy Lava, click here now! That cover is so cool … and I’ll bet Susan tells us how she did it, too!

Via Education Week’s Digital Education blog, I discovered The Internet Archive, a nonprofit organization that is building an Internet library of resources available on the Web. What caught my attention in Kate Ash’s post is that the “[Archive] has made about one million books easily accessible for people with disabilities such as blindness or dyslexia by converting the books to a new format called DAISY, which can be downloaded to devices that can read the books aloud.” Books in all languages are welcome, and you can donate them via the Open Library book drive. welcome. Since this is an EdWeek article, Online Books for Students with Disabilities naturally talks about the tool’s value in a classroom setting. Just know that the Open Library Accessible Book collection is open to anyone and you don’t have to subscribe to use it.

21st Century Literacies

Ever wondered how do define 21st Century Literacies? Susan Stephenson found this definition that I think will make it easy. Leave it to the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) to make clear, concise, and easy to remember.

Twenty-first century readers and writers need to

Develop proficiency with the tools of technology
Build relationships with others to pose and solve problems collaboratively and cross-culturally
Design and share information for global communities to meet a variety of purposes
Manage, analyze and synthesize multiple streams of simultaneous information
Create, critique, analyze, and evaluate multi-media texts
Attend to the ethical responsibilities required by these complex environments

Read Books Online Free is a Blogger blog that offers a number of classic books, poetry, short stories, in eBook format AND includes a link to the wikipedia article about it. So far: Catcher in the Rye, Jane Eyre, The Alchemist, To Kill a Mockingbird, and a few others. (via @booksonlinefree)

Creative Literacy for Kids

Benny and Penny and Their Friends blog – Toon Books just launched this blog that is designed for emerging readers. From the press release: “The vocabulary, visuals, and activities target the needs of early reading and writing. Parents and children can tune in every Monday for a great new story with Benny, Penny, and their friends in a weekly comic strip. Visit the blog every Wednesday for a new cartoon featuring a caption contest.” (Image credit: cropped from blog header)

AccessMyLibrary School Edition is an iPhone application that lets kids remotely search their school’s library. “This latest K-12 version [created by Gale] asks students to enter a password, then search for their local school library. Once in, they can pull up the vast array of Gale online resources within a 10-mile radius that were purchased by their media specialist.” (via School Library Journal’s Extra Helping).

Literacy and Reading Tools for Parents

StorySnoops.com is the brainchild of four moms. The site is designed to be searched to help you find books for readers ages 9 to 18. “StorySnoops offers children’s book reviews from a parent’s perspective. Want to find fiction that interests your 9-18 year old? Curious about its content? Find it on our site and we’ll give you the scoop! We read it so you know what’s in it.”

Literacy and Reading Tools for Educators

The Poem Farm I found Amy and the Poem Farm via the Kidlitosphere Yahoo Group. Here is how she describes her blog: “The Poem Farm is my poem-playground, a place to share teaching and writing ideas, and a cozy spot to highlight poetry in classrooms.” I love that she’s showing us how poetry can be part of our lives every day!

Wired for Books is an incredible resource that will engage kids with the authors they know and love. Dave Kurz, of Ohio University has pulled together some of the author interviews that Don Swaim did for CBS radio “way back when.” He has put together a wonderful selection of digital recordings of authors reading their works, as well as a number of unabridged readings of children’s classics. In the Kids Corner, you’ll find Beatrix Potter books in several languages, with English and Japanese texts available for reading online.

In a similar vein, Judy Freeman has put together a list of 68 children’s author and illustrator websites on the Read Kiddo Read Ning/website.

Categories: Early Literacy Feeds

Scrub a Dub Dub: The Reading Tub

The Conference Wrap-ups: Why I Love Conferences with Books

Monday Blurb: A Couple of KidLit WOWs!

Children’s Literacy and Reading Roundup – mid-July 2010

Make a Splash @ Your Library – Week 5

Wednesday Blurb: Reading Magicians, and more

Make a Splash @ Your Library – Week 4

Friday Blurb: Tune In Tomorrow

Monday Blurb: Today is July 5, 2010

Books We Read – June

Roundup of Resources for Literacy and Reading – July 2010

Make a Splash @ Your Library – Week 3

Make a Splash @ Your Library – Week 2

Thursday Blurb: American Library Association Annual Conference, Here I Come

Tuesday Blurb: Books for Nashville and Children’s Literature Documentary

Make a Splash @ Your Library – Week 1

Children’s Literacy and Reading News Roundup – mid-June 2010

I Can Read: A Carnival Celebrating New Readers – June 2010

Thursday Blurb: BookExpo America and the Book Blogger Convention

Answering the Mail: Books for Kids with Autism

Roundup of Resources for Literacy and Reading – June 2010

Colorado Libraries for Early Literacy

Early Literacy Services