Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Children's Book Week

If you are interested in celebrating Children’s Book Week, you have just over a week to go. What is Children’s Book Week? Children’s Book Week is sponsored by The Children’s Book Council, an organization dedicated to promoting children’s literature. It used to be that you paid a onetime fee and then would receive a booklet four times a year with author information, plus a wonderful section where you could write for promotional materials such as bookmarks, postcards, posters, teaching guides, and other free items. All you paid was the postage for them. I am not sure if they do this any longer, but if I find out they do, I will let you know.

This year Children’s Book Week is May 12 - 18. You can go to the website and see loads of ideas for celebrating. Don’t be overwhelmed, but just pick one or two that you like and ignore the rest. Here is what my school will be doing this year.

I have an author coming for a small group presentation to the 3rd and 4th graders. (I got really lucky here. Sandy Zaugg lives in the Portland area now and called to see if she could do an author visit. She came to our school a few years ago and gave a talk to our school, so it will be nice to have her visit again for a small group.)

We will have a Read-In for an assembly period. The students will bring a pillow from home if they like and settle down with books to read for about 10 – 15 minutes. All books will be checked by the classroom teachers before they come to assembly to make sure the books are suitable for our school. I would like to go longer, but we have a limited time period, so I am not sure if we will have time to last longer than 15 minutes.

Each classroom will decorate their classroom door to promote children’s literature. Some classrooms may assign a small group to do the decorating, or they may choose to do it as a class. That will be at the discretion of the teachers themselves. The students will go in groups to visit each door as part of another school assembly and will evaluate the doors according to attractiveness and neatness. Since we have fifteen classroom doors, it will take a little while.

Take a look at the website and see if you are interested in celebrating Children’s Book Week this year, too.

www.bookweekonline.com

Also, check my blog (sdalibrarian.blogspot.com) for previous questions and information.
Have a good week and weekend!
Audrey

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Historical Fiction titles

Hello,
This week my focus is on Historical Fiction. (If you don’t like to word “fiction”, you can use the term one of our teachers here uses – “Historical Realism”.) Many of these authors write other books that you might also like to check out. In most cases, I have listed just a few of the books from each author.

Avi – Avi is one of my favorite authors. He is very prolific and also write in a variety of genres. Watch out for some of his fantasy books. I enjoy them, but I would not put them in my library.
Crispin, the Cross of Lead
Iron Thunder
The Secret School
Night Journeys
Never Mind (not historical fiction)
Nothing But the Truth (not historical fiction)

Christopher Paul Curtis – African American author and Newbery Medal Winner
Bud, Not Buddy
Elijah of Buxton

Will Hobbs – writes books about the Yukon and Alaska and Pacific Northwest. I read one of his books a few summers ago and went back to the library all summer to read every book of his that they had. Now, many of them are in our school library. Junior high students, especially boys, enjoy these.
Far North
Jason’s Gold
Down the Yukon

Elizabeth Winthrop – I don’t know anything about this author, but we have this one book of hers about children who had to quit school to work in the mills. Grace is left-handed and replacing the bobbins is a right-handed job. Grace makes mistakes which costs precious pennies.
Counting on Grace

Gloria Whelan – writes about foreign countries
Angel on the Square – St. Petersburg, Russia 1914
The Turning – Russian ballerina wants to escape Leningrad in 1991
Homeless Bird – India, a thirteen-year-old widow forced to beg for her living
Listening for Lions – Rachel Sheridan’s parents are missionaries in Africa and are stricken by influenza. Rachel’s story of being sent to England, forced into a life of deception until she can take control of her own destiny.

Laurence Yep – Chinese American author. Don’t be worried by the words in his titles such as “Dragon”, he writes about the Chinese immigrant experience.
The Cook’s Family
The Dragon’s Child – his ancestors’ immigrant experience at Angel Island

Elizabeth George Speare – She only wrote four books, but they are still in print for a reason; they are wonderful stories.
The Witch of Blackbird Pond – A Quaker woman is accused of witchcraft in Puritan New England
Sign of the Beaver – Boy is left alone to care for the cabin while father returns to bring back mother and siblings. Boy makes friends with local Indian tribe.
The Bronze Bow – Biblical fiction occurring during the time Jesus was preaching in Capernaum.
Calico Captive – Based on actual narrative diary of teenager Miriam Willard who is taken captive in an Indian raid.

Richard Peck – Some of his books might not be books you want in your library, so be sure to read them first just in case. He writes a number of humorous books, such as The Teacher’s Funeral in three parts. Some may not want that one in the library based on the title. I have not read that one, but the ones below I have read myself.
A Year Down Yonder – girl spends time with eccentric grandmother reluctantly at first, but gets to know her grandmother and respect her.
Fair Weather – Chicago World’s Fair story. The experiences of a family who unexpectedly is able to attend the fair.

Ann Jaramillo – Not really historical as in long ago, but this one book is about illegal immigration from Mexico to California from the immigrant’s point of view.
La Linea

One wonderful source of historical fiction is the Dear America series written in diary form. The Dear America books are about girls, the My Name is America books are about boys, and the My America books are easier and shorter books. I also have a set of Dear Canada books.

I hope some of these titles are helpful for some of you who are making lists for purchasing books during the summer for next school year.

Have a good week,
Audrey

Monday, April 13, 2009

Biblical Biographies

Hello.

Lots of us have old Adventist-published titles in our libraries especially old mission story books. I hope many of you are also adding newer Adventist-published titles to your libraries. I happen to really enjoy the historical stories about Biblical characters. I remember a teacher read the book Deborah by Margit Strom Heppenstall which is a story about the little captive maid in Naaman’s house. That story helped to bring Biblical characters to life for me. I also like the newer books in this same genre such as Ruth and Boaz, Samuel, and so forth. The authors of these Biblical biographies today have usually done quite a bit of research into ancient culture and it is very interesting to learn what the culture of Bible times was like. One consideration that a teacher may need to make is to note that a few of these books may contain some adult material. They were written for an adult audience. This is usually not graphic sexual content, but instead may be implied. If you are concerned about this you may want to be careful which of these books you place in your library. On the other hand, most of them are so thick that only your better readers will likely tackle them. I often make the comment to the students that are checking out these Biblical biographies that this book is meant for a “sophisticated reader.” If you are concerned about this type of book and you don’t have time to read these books yourself to look for adult themes, try asking a parent who loves to read. Ask the parent if they would be willing to read a book or two and check for any material they feel might not be appropriate for your school. This is a way that parents can help the school in a constructive way.

Recently I used these books in a unit for advanced students in our junior high. We used Ruth and Boaz as a literature set and they finished out their assigned pages by using other historical Biblical biographies of their choice. We discussed Biblical lifestyle and culture and compared it with our lifestyle today. These books really help to bring Biblical characters to life and add a great deal of interest to the simple Bible stories we learned as children.

Check out your local ABC and upcoming camp meeting sales to find books to add to your library. Meanwhile, here are a few titles in the Biblical historical characters genre you might like.

Young Readers
• Bible Arch books – These are easy to read picture books. May be available from your local Christian book store.
• Ruth Redding Brand – Abraham, Adam and Eve, Joseph, Jacob. Available at the ABC.

Middle Readers
• Carl Haus – faith-building stories for kids. Available at the ABC.
• Thurman C. Petty – Fire in the Gates, Siege at the Gates. Available at the ABC.
• Detective Zack books by Jerry D. Thomas. Available at the ABC

Older Readers –
• Samuel, One Small Light by Daniel J. Drazen
• Hannah by Lois N. Erickson
• Leah, a Love Story by Lois N. Erickson
• Joseph by Terri L. Fivash
• Dahveed: Yahwey’s Chosen by Terri L. Fivash
• Esther by Trudy Morgan-Cole
• Deborah and Barak by Trudy Morgan-Cole
• Ruth A Love Story by Ellen Gunderson Traylor
• John, Son of Thunder by Ellen Gunderson Traylor
• Hagar God’s Beloved Stranger by Hester Thomasen
• Peter, Fisher of Men by Noni Beth Gibbs
• The Prodigal by Bradley Booth
• Malchus by Noni Beth Gibbs

All of the above and more may be available at the ABC.

Have a great week.
Audrey

Monday, April 6, 2009

More Science titles

Question: What are some good science titles to add to my library?

Response: Science books are difficult to recommend since they become outdated rather quickly. Keep an eye out for books that your students will enjoy reading. Choose books that you want to read or that look interesting to you. Here are a few that are quite popular in my school.

• What Einstein Told His Barber by Robert L. Wolke. Also, What Einstein Didn’t Know, and What Einstein Told His Cook.
• Gonzo Gizmos: Projects and Devices to Channel Your Inner Geek by Simon Quellen Field
• Animals Attack! Series. This series is perfect for the reluctant reader. Each book is short (40 pages or so), interesting, and can be gross which delights many students!

Check and see if you have any books on science experiments or science fair projects. Students love to try out experiments. Look for those that have photos to illustrate each step. Dorling Kindersley (DK Publishing) usually has a good selection for this. While you are looking at DK Publishing, check out the Eyewitness series. If you don’t have any Eyewitness books, get as many as you can!

Another science series is the Science on the Edge books. These offer information on cutting edge developments. One title in the series is Test Tube Babies. The book discusses the pros and cons of the procedure.

An important section of your library that you may need to supplement would be books on particular health issues that students or their families may be facing. We have a few books on anorexia nervosa and bulimia. A few years ago one student checked out each book we had on eating disorders. I learned that she had a sibling who was suffering with an eating disorder and she wanted to educate herself. I was glad I had information for her. Think also of students with dyslexia, ADD, ADHD, and other issues. What about the student whose parent is dealing with cancer? Do you have information for them in your library? Seriously consider adding to this section of your library.

Have a great week,
Audrey