Pursuing excellence for library service to children
This May, Soman Chainani returns to the scene with his first original novel in over ten years. Young World, published by Penguin Random House, is a political thriller set in the not too distant future where countries around the globe are on the brink of collapse. Chainani blurs the lines between fact and fiction on and off the page to make us all think: Wait, is this really happening?
If you work with kids, know any kids, or have left your house any time in the last six months, you have undoubtedly heard of KPop Demon Hunters. The popular Netflix film follows Rumi, Mira, and Zoey who make up the popular k-pop band HUNTR/X. Using the power of music, they protect the world from demons. At my library, kids ask for books about KPop Demon Hunters, just like they want books similar to Taylor Swift, Stranger Things, and other pop culture topics.
I don’t need to tell you that it is a challenge to match a child with a book they will love on their reading “level”. I don’t need to tell you about the numerous conversations that I’ve had with adult caregivers reassuring them that their child can check out books above or below their reading “level”. Or that they can check out graphic novels or comic books or magazines and still get practice with reading. This practice is frustrating for librarian, child, and caregiver. On the recommendation of an educator, my team recently listened to the Sold a Story: How Teaching Kids to Read Went So Wrong podcast by APM Reports. I was shocked to learn that the reading programs that have been just a nuisance to me, are actually harming children. Essentially, a 60-year-old unscientific theory on how children learn to read has been turned into a multi-million dollar industry and it…
Summer READing prep you say? So, preppers are prepping like crazy for summer reading. But, let’s face it: it’s still winter! Spring ain’t gonna spring anytime soon and the groundhog’s only just thinking about making some French press. While you’re doing your headless chicken routine hiring and lining up summertime performers, have a gander here for some great ideas for sort of now-ish! Don’t let the icy conditions slip you up! Okay, no more puns…for now! ; )) Feb Planning! 1 Students learn about George Washington Carver with this reading passage. [READ MORE] 2 This art-based idea focuses on the work of Langston Hughes, a well-known African American author who wrote poetry and plays. [READ MORE] 3 With adventurous characters, exciting plots, and three to five chapters per book, Leaves Chapter Books check all the boxes to engage beginning readers. [LEARN MORE] 4 Want more activities for Black History Month? [READ MORE] 8 Fun Facts about…
Reading and intellectual freedom are inextricably linked, placing librarians at the center of all the recent discussion about what books should be actively recommended to patrons, who should or should not be given book deals, and the extent to which publishers take responsibility for false or misleading information in books they print.
This Is Not Another “Best of” [input year] Post I promise you this is not another Best of [input year] post. In fact, if I were to rename it, it’d be The Most Exciting Stuff in the Youth Services World, like, right now; right now. I like pointing these things out so much I create a biweekly Youth Services newsletter for my colleagues. [mysteriously] Who knows, maybe I’ll unleash it upon the internet in 2021? [strokes goat goatee] It’s loaded with all things frabjous, from live webinars with authors whose work we drool upon to easy crafts, programming ideas, news – [foreign accent] your interest is piqued, no? Oh! And this stuff is all totes free! Sans fees! Gratis! Famous Authors Live! This subheading should read “Not Another Webinar” Probably the most important webinars For the Parents and Caregivers we serve This is not a section about stuff to do…
A question I see asked all the time from librarians is “How do I get advance copies of books?” While I love getting physical review copies, seeking out digital review copies may be a lot more accessible for some and they’re certainly easier to come by. Whether you are making purchasing decisions, keeping up with trends for reader’s advisory, or evaluating books for storytime potential, digital review copies are more available than ever right now, so here’s a handy guide to some sources.
To quote from my colleague Betsy Brainerd, an Early Literacy Librarian for the Arapahoe Libraries in Centennial, Colorado, and a fellow member of the ALSC Intellectual Freedom Committee (IFC), in her ALSC IFC blog post from October 2016: