When learning history, a major thematic understanding is time, continuity, and change. As those of us who work with elementary school aged children know, this understanding doesn’t come easily, and it does not come automatically. We teachers continuously point out changes over time, knowing full well that this understanding is slow to develop. Our students […]
Featured Articles
Choosing to Read: Helping Students Want to Make Choices,By Sheilah Egan
“Choosing to Read” is an oxymoron for many students. Why would they choose an activity that is frustrating and, for them, actually unpleasant? Can the choice of reading materials make a decided difference in whether or not a student “chooses to read.” Having had the opportunity to discuss this subject with a variety of educators […]
Truth or Fiction: What’s the Deal with Historical Fiction?,By Peg Glisson
Historical fiction, creative nonfiction, and fictionalized nonfiction — what do these terms mean? How much truth needs to be in historical fiction? Is there room for bending of the truth? Interpretation? I’ve read and reviewed two books in the last few months have caused me to ponder this topic, to talk about it with colleagues, […]
Nonfiction: What It Is and What It Can Be,By Sheilah Egan
Ask a younger reader what nonfiction means and you will most likely hear, “true.” Ask an older reader and the response may be more complicated, including explanations of: ” not fiction,” “true” or “real” or “factual.” A humorously, intelligent teenager of my acquaintance replied, “You cannot imagine it.” Authors who write nonfiction are (or should […]
Interview with Philip Lee, Publisher
By Sharon Salluzzo Sepetember 2013 There is an old saying: “Actions speak louder than words.” Philip Lee is a man of action. He is also a man of words. More specifically, he is a publisher of books. About twenty years ago he co-founded Lee & Low Books when he saw a need for multicultural titles. […]
Emergent Readers and Early Literacy: What Does It Mean?,By Peg Glisson
Author Ann Hassett often referred to emergent readers and early literacy in our conversation elsewhere in this Newsletter. Children must learn about reading and writing before they can actually read or write. This is considered early literacy. Emergent readers are developing phonological awareness skills, such as phonemes, syllables, and rhyme. Higher level emergent readers know […]
Serving Those With Special Needs,By Peg Glisson
This month’s Deaf Awareness Themed Reviews and all my reading for the Schneider Family Award has me thinking about serving young library patrons with special needs. Certainly the passage of Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in 1990 spurred not only making physical accommodations in libraries (like wider aisles between shelving, Braille signage) but more importantly […]
For Rapt Attention Try Adding Elements of Music to Your Storytime!,By Carol Erion
Through the ages young students have enjoyed listening to books read to them by their classroom teacher or school librarian. Because even very young students today are quite familiar with our new digital world, the time-honored practice of listening to a book may need new “hooks” for these young but media-savvy listeners. How can we […]
Summer Reading = Lifelong Learning,By Peg Glisson
Lifelong learning is a phrase we often hear and use. Typically it’s applied to our young patrons or our students. Do you apply it to yourself? How do you stay current in our chosen profession? What do you do to learn new ideas, strategies, and information? There are a myriad of ways to “keep up” […]
Go Outside and Play!,By Sheilah Egan
“Go Outside and Play!” may have been a command you heard as a child, depending on where (and when) you grew up. Of course, the idea of children “playing” has changed dramatically as history and life styles have evolved. Most children in the U. S. are not expected to work, per se, and the advent […]
Common Core: Turn On to Poetry
By Peg Glisson Turn on to Poetry! Is Common Core a Roadblock? What do we adults do to poetry? Youngsters love it, but by high school many are turned off. A favorite library class of my elementary students was our poetry days—days when they would come in to tables stacked with poetry days, which they […]
NYPL Diversity Panel Recap
This past weekend, authors Zetta Elliott, Sofia Quintero, and I sat on a panel discussion hosted by librarian and School Library Journal blogger Betsy Bird. The panel, titled Diversity and the State of the Children’s Book, was part of the Children’s Literary Salon series, held at the New York Public Library. About 80 attendees filled […]
Awards, Honors and Prizes: Cream of the Crop
By Peggy Fulton With yet another Hollywood awards season in full swing, it’s not unusual to see headlines in the newspapers. Recently, one featured the SAG (Screen Actors Guild) Awards, for 2014, where scheduling challenges are fraught with the Olympics and the NFL games. Also sharing the limelight, are the Products of the Year USA, […]
Common Core & Preschoolers: All Work and No Play?
By Peg Glisson While there are no official Common Core State Standards for preschool education, there are implications. Given the more stringent expectations for youngsters in the early elementary grades, do preschools and library programs for young children need to change and become more academic? In 2007, the journal Early Childhood Research & Practice reported […]
Select Books: Unlocking the Wealth
By Peggy Fulton It’s definitely award season — Golden Globes, Grammys, Oscars, have been or are about to be named! In the world of children’s and young adult literature, eyes and ears were tuned to the January 28 ALA Youth Media Award Announcements. To help you stay on top of not only the ALA awards […]
Common Core: Winners All! Newbery Books and Common Core
By Peg Glisson Yes, being at ALA Midwinter is work, but there are fun perks, too. A big one this year was a panel at the Seattle Public Library, hosted by Random House and moderated by Nancy Pearl, featuring seven (count them, seven) Newbery authors: Christopher Paul Curtis, Jennifer L. Holm, Kirby Larson, Louis Sachar, […]
Common Core: Librarians to the Rescue!
By Peg Glisson At a recent book club gathering, several fifth grade teachers were bemoaning having to “give up” their Survival Literature Unit because of Common Core. I know how much their students loved that unit and share their pain-so much so that it’s been on my mind since having that conversation. As I thought […]
Common Core: Mining For Treasure: Finding Those CCSS Books
By Peg Glisson While it’s true that the CCSS raised expectations regarding reading and ELA has meant public and school librarians need to rid collections of their “dead wood,” it doesn’t mean the books in your library are worthless. Of course they aren’t! It does mean thinking differently about your collection and your recommendations to […]
Common Core: Refurbish Your Collection with CCSS in Mind
Common Core: Refurbish Your Collection with CCSS in Mind By Peg Glisson Time to put your money where your mouth is! You’ve weeded at least some areas of the collection; you’ve talked with your administrator about the need to add to the collection to support CCSS, particularly its on-grade-level thrust and emphasis on nonfiction. It’s […]
Giraffes and Common Core: A Booklist for Primary Grades
Giraffes and Common Core: A Booklist for Primary Grades By Sharon Salluzzo A child’s natural curiosity about an animal is a good starting point for a science unit in the primary grades. Allowing the child to select their report topic is important and means you need to have books on a wide range of animals. […]
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