Book Week is off and running.  Your student my already have had an author visit their room to read a story, discuss the process of writing or just talk about being an author.  If they haven’t yet, they will before the week is over.

Starting on Wednesday, December 10th, drop by the 6th Avenue auditorium and pick up a holiday gift or two, as there will be a vast array of books for all age groups (adults, too) for sale, including those written by the visiting authors.  The sale runs on Wednesday from 3-6, Thursday from 8-6 and Friday from 8-6.

In the library, appreciation for a good book is high.  Book Week is the perfect way to spread the love.

Given how popular the recent acquisition of Batman: the Story of the Dark Knight (by Cosentino) has been (we literally cannot keep it in the library for a full day), it seemed like a good time to throw out a couple of other related suggestions. It’s no surprise, I’m sure, that super-heroes are particularly popular with boys and they can be a great way to attract reluctant readers and give them a running start into a wider range of subjects.

For instance, start with Super Hero ABC (by McCleod), filled with one ridiculous hero for each letter of the alphabet. Then go with Kapow! (by O’Connor), the story of a young boy and girl playing good guys and bad guys, who end up learning a big lesson about actually being a super-hero. Then have a look at Dex: Heart of a Hero (by Buehner) about a dog who transforms himself into a super-hero. Then pop over to Superhero Max (by David) about a boy who is seeking the perfect super-costume for the big class costume party. Then move on to Master Man: a tale of Nigeria (by Shepard), an African folk tale told in comic book form about a fellow who believes himself to be the strongest man in the world . . . until he meets the real strongest man in the world. Then you’re ready to move into mythology, with tales of ancient heroes and heroines, gods and goddesses and gruesome monsters. Mythology fills our 290’s section, but just speak to a librarian, who would be delighted to recommend a title to you or your child. Super-heroes are really just the beginning.

Finally, just a reminder: Family Book Night is tomorrow evening (Wednesday, November 5th, that is) at 6:30 pm in the 6th Avenue auditorium. Please come have a look if you’re free.

I usually save this for later in the year, but since our Family Book Night is devoted to the subject this year, I thought I’d hit you early.  Still fending off an association with infantile material, the format has had an uphill battle to reach the place of respect among many parents and educators that it has achieved.  However, kids have known all along how engaging and substantive they can be.  Even for younger students, the format has a great deal to offer in heightening  reading comprehension and (most importantly) getting the student to want to read more.

If you’re not familiar with the format, an excellent place to start would be with the Babymouse books (by Jennifer Holm), The Fog Mound series (by Susan Schade) and The Arrival (by Shaun Tan).  If you know your stuff already, maybe you’d like to try out Satchel Paige (by James Sturm) or The Courageous Princess (by Rod Espinosa).  They’re all available in the library, but you better hurry, otherwise your kids are going to snatch them up first.

The aforementioned Family Book Night is coming on Wednesday, November 5th at 6:30 pm and will feature a line up of graphic novel authors and artists, not to mention your very own school librarians.  You should start to see more information about it around the school shortly, but if you can’t wait to know more, please feel free to stop by and ask.

Allow me to introduce myself. I’m Jesse, the Early Childhood Librarian. I’ll be one of the two Lower School Library bloggers here (the other being Stacy, the Lower School Librarian). I see all of your 4s, Early Kindergarteners and Kindergarteners once a week, every week. We’re going to read books, talk about books, talk about libraries and how they work and talk about what makes books great. My goal is to make your kids love books (or love them even more than they do already), so that they will know a book is something they can engage in and use to exercise their imaginations for the rest of their lives.
Please drop by the library at your convenience to say hello and have a look at our selction. Bring your kids along, too!

    There’s something very comforting about jumping into a new adventure with a character you already know.  Character familiarity makes a new book less intimidating and the act of reading itself more inviting.  It’s one of the things that’s kept the Cat in the Hat and Curious George getting into trouble for as long as they have.

For younger readers, some books you may not have heard of with recurring characters in them are the Elephant & Piggie books by Mo Willems (of Knuffle Bunny fame), the Teeny Tiny Ghost books by Kay Winters and Pigsty, One Halloween Night and Lost and Found by Mark Teague.

We have copies of all of these on the library shelves, but they get snatched up pretty fast.  Come have a look.

Last week, in honor of Thanksgiving, I read the fours class Green Eggs and Ham.  The good doctor plumbed sheer genius from a book composed entirely of one syllable words (excepting, of course, the single three syllable word, “anywhere”)  Naturally, they had almost all heard it before, but that just pulled them in even harder.  By the end, we were all reading it together, really.  I’m sure you know Dr. Seuss as well as anyone, but I urge you to consider having another look, even for older kids who might not have latched onto the author’s sublime weirdness.  Here are a few Dr. Seuss titles you may be less familiar with: I Had Trouble In Getting to Solla Sollew, Hooray for Diffendoofer Day!, If I Ran the Circus; I Can Read with my Eyes Shut!

    Kids cannot get enough of them — super-heroes, humor, mystery, adventure, and the non-fiction, too.  Many parents, meanwhile, are still dubious of the form.  In large part this must be due to the reputation of the graphic novel’s forbearer, the comic book, which was once thought of as being little good for anything more than  lowbrow entertainment.

There are worthwhile reads in every genre within the form and as accomplished artists continue to explore the medium, more beautiful and artistically sophisticated works are added to the list every year.  I urge you to have a look at some recent notable choices like the Babymouse series by Jennifer Holm or, as I will continue to proclaim from every mountaintop I can find, The Arrival by Shaun Tan (a contender for the greatest graphic novel ever).

You will find story-telling that, like in the best picture books, combines the visual and the written word in a way that engages the eye, the mind and the heart like nothing else.

http://www.education.wisc.edu/ccbc/books/graphicnovels.asp has more information on the subject.

Welcome to the lower school library blog!

This is going to be a place to find some book reviews, book lists, interesting literacy tidbits, and library news.

I am always on the look out for new and exciting ways to engage children in reading. The National Center for Family Literacy has just release a free e-magazine called “Cultivating Readers: A Magazine for Parents” that is filled with some great ideas about raising readers.

Enjoy!