Picture this: a room filled with children silently reading in comfy chairs, gentle music playing softly in the background, lights dimmed, and a magical sense of peace floating in the air… Does this seem too good to be true? I’m here to tell you that it can be done! The Silent Book Club phenomenon has taken the art of reading independently into a social event. It’s an excursion for readers to share a connected space of imagination as they read their own book while physically being in a group setting. These events have predominantly taken off in adult circles, but they have started to trickle down into teen and children’s spaces as well.
Category: Book Clubs
5 Things I’m Doing Differently In My Elementary School Library
As December roared to a close, I looked at my curriculum tracking document with all my check boxes and wanted to exhale, but I was already thinking about the next six months ahead. By the end of the fall semester, I had gotten into a good rhythm with my teaching in the school library, and I was happy with what we had accomplished. I knew I needed to make a few changes though—not just to make my life as a school librarian easier, but to better serve myself and my students in the months ahead.
Native Youth Leadership and Initiatives
As the United Indians of All Tribes Education Coalition (UIATEC) wrapped up our annual retreat to reflect on our 2024–2025 initiatives, I wanted to take a moment to highlight some of our key learnings and findings—especially from our Native Youth Reading Challenge.
Starting a Graphic Novel Book Group at Your Library
Graphic novels are wildly popular with kids–and librarians also know that they can help build visual literacy skills, increase reading confidence and strengthen vocabulary knowledge. Kids who read graphic novels also show increased reading motivation. So why not offer a graphic novel book group at your library?
Welcome to the Book Club: Cultivating Reading Culture
A month after #alaac24, I’ve unwittingly found myself in not just one book club but three, including one for The Secret Lives of Booksellers and Librarians: True Stories of the Magic of Reading by James Patterson and Matt Eversmann and one for Leading a Culture of Reading by Lorraine M. Radice. (ALA members can join the former through the Library History Round Table Reads.)
My First Book Club
After hearing how successful an early reader book club was at an area library (thanks, Katie Burke from Indian Trails Public Library District), a colleague and I decided to launch My First Book Club at our library. Already it has become a very popular program!
Elephant & Piggie Book Club!
When it comes to crafts, games, and storytimes, children tend to flock to these programs and have fun. Ironically, book clubs are the tough ones to sell to my youngest library patrons. This does not mean that first and second graders are not interested in books; on the contrary, there are several popular series and authors that they gravitate towards and these books could be used to build book clubs.
The 2023 Mock YMA Election Results Page is Now Open!
We are approaching one of my favorite times of the year. You might think it’s watching the first major snow of the season, but no. It is the time of year to participate in mock discussions and elections of recent children’s books, and to submit YOUR Mock YMA Election Results.