...you forced yourself to expand your reading horizons?
As a teacher, I used to love coercing my students into reading a book that I just KNEW they would love. There were a few eager readers in every class, but for the most part, my kiddos were pretty resistant to independent reading time. Being the book lover I am, I refused to believe that it was possible for someone to actually not like reading - the unbeliever just hadn't been introduced to the right book yet! After they had been coaxed/compelled/bribed to expand their reading horizons a bit... I would venture to say that at least 95% of them became, at the very least, book likers. If you're a teacher or librarian, can you relate?
BUT... what about US? You and me, the ones who already love to hunker down with a good book? How often are we willing to branch out and try a new genre? For me, the answer is not often. I'm pretty darn content with my often-dystopian-or-post-apocolyptic-sci-fi-fantasy-with-the-occasional-romance-thrown-in
(did you know that was a genre?). And, lucky me, the YA book world has no shortage of novels that fit that description.
BUT... that also means I'm missing out on quite a lot of book loving goodness.
That's why every year I just can't wait for the excellence that is
School Library Journal's Battle of the Kids Books. I know I've already talked about it here, but as I've been reading through this year's list of Contenders
(have to finish before the 12th!) I've been struck over and over again by the amazing-ness that I would have missed had the BOB not forced me to try
(many!) new things. Who would have thought I'd end up rather obsessed with a book about the atom bomb? Or bonobo apes? Or a woman who designs cow enclosures for a living?
So tell me book lovers, when was the last time you read out of your comfort zone?
More than 80 Los Angeles school librarians are being interrogated in a downtown basement. Much like many districts all over the country, the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) is facing drastic budget cuts that will force at least 85 school librarians out of their media centers and back into the classroom. That is, if they get to keep their jobs at all.
The interrogations are meant to determine whether or not these librarians have actually "taught" a class within the last five years. If they haven't, then it seems that they can kiss their jobs goodbye.
Now for those of us who actually understand the inestimable value of a truly great librarian, this whole process seems asinine. School librarians teach all subjects, work with all students, and collaborate with all teachers. But during these interrogations many must "confess" that they are not "real" classes because they don't have to take attendance. Wow.
For more information, check out
"The disgraceful interrogation of L.A. school librarians" in The Los Angeles Times.
Image from here.
Yikes! Life has been busy lately. Immediately after wrapping up our SoMIRAC presentation, I started working on a Children's Literature Workshop for Baltimore City teachers and librarians. I was super excited and flattered to be asked to be a facilitator. I had been to just a couple of workshops in the past, and they were absolutely fabulous: full of terrific (free!) children's books and overflowing with different ways to use them with kiddos in the classroom.
At the same time... that's a little bit intimidating! My wonderful partner and I had been given a fantastic collection of books to work with, and we wanted to make sure that our workshop measured up to the high standard set by our predecessors. Ultimately, I think things turned out pretty well :) Our participants laughed, asked questions, and had their fair share of "ooooooh" and "aaaaaaah" moments over the gorgeous texts and illustrations. Here is a peek at a few of the books we shared...
This one made my first grade readers laugh out loud. My favorite part? The airport security style gum detector.
I love, love, love this true story about a librarian in Iraq. Books truly are a national treasure!
Such an incredible (true!) story to use in a History or Math classroom! I'm telling you what, children's lit is the best thing to happen to content-area curriculum in a long time.
When I read all of the books aloud to my 6th graders, Library Lil was their favorite!
I LOVE this book. Hands down, my favorite of the bunch. Written in a gorgeous, lilting Appalachian dialect, That Book Woman is the story of an Appalachian pack librarian who changes a boy's life forever. SO, SO GOOD.
And now that the worksho
Because that would probably be me. There is something about piles of clutter that just makes me feel very unsettled. Over the years I have developed a reputation among some of my friends as someone who loves to throw things away. For a while I actually thought I had thrown my college diploma away, but that is a whole other story...
So all of this being said, you would never have known that I was the anti-hoarder by looking at our guest bedroom. When I switched schools at the end of last year, I had to take everything from my classroom and move it into our guest room. You would think that all of that school-related-paraphenalia would now be happily residing in my new school, but my work space is still under construction. In the months since June, those once-organized piles have begun to take on lives of their own...
Last weekend I decided to finally take control. I actually filled 3 big shopping bags with books, and another bag with once-read magazines. Of course, these things are not trash! So where did I take them?
The Book Thing.
The Book Thing is an amazing non-profit organization in Baltimore. You can drop off gently used books and magazines, or you can go there to pick up reading material for FREE. Yes, free. It's basically like GoodWill for readers...
except free. I know a lot of teachers who visit every Saturday to pick up new material for their classroom libraries, and I got a great big smile on my face at the thought of all of the kiddos who will soon be reading my already-loved books.
Does your city have anything like The Book Thing? It is the best!
And in case you were wondering, here are the "After" shots of my
(mostly) clutter free guest room:
Yup... those pesky little piles are still waiting for a new home in the soon-to-be ready library :)
A while back I learned about a fantastic blogger/artist from Brenna at Literary Musings. The artist's site is Stuff No One Told Me (but I learned anyway). Here is one of my favorite, recent-ish posts:
A good message for all of us educators (and human beings) to remember...
And here's a bonus, just because:
...Is is just me, or are unicorns becoming "a thing" right now?
Have a wonderful morning Book Lovers! And if you are looking for something to make you smile, go
here.
As an educator, there is nothing that I want more than to help every single one of my students to fall in love with reading. I know, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that reading opens doors to the future. If you are a reader, you will be able to acquire the words, tools, and skills to accomplish anything you want in life.
However, I also know that gettings kids to love reading can be far easier said than done.
Maybe all of their "required reading" has been boring, maybe reading is "uncool," maybe reading has just always been a personal struggle... there are so many reasons why some kids just do not like to read.
I am on a mission to combat all of those reasons. And author
Paul Volponi is my newest ally.
Volponi spent six years teaching incarcerated teens on Rikers Island. He spent another six years teaching teens in drug day-treatment centers. When it comes to writing about kids in trouble, this man knows what he is talking about.
All of his young adult novels focus on high-interest topics: race, relationships, addiction, family, gangs, drugs, and tough choices. Without ever becoming overly preachy, each book has a clear message that is expressed through a difficult choice faced by the protagonist. Readers of Volponi's novels are forced to put themselves in the shoes of the main character and really question what choice they would make in that same situation. There is some adult language, but it is never used gratuitously. One of my favorite things about Volponi's writing is that it is accessible to
struggling readers. The vocabulary is very simple, so I would feel comfortable putting these books in the hands of high schoolers (or upper middle!) at
any reading level.
Side-Note: Up till now, my go-to books for male, struggling readers have been the
Bluford High series. Again, these books focus on very high-interest topics and have clear messages about making good choices. Even better, Bluford books are a series (that can be read out of order!) so kids love seeing the same characters pop up again and again.
They are perfect for middle school readers and my kids eat them up like candy. They constantly go missing from my classroom library so I've had to re-purchase the series at least 3 or 4 times. But, I do not mind for two reasons. #1:
Blufords make kids love to read! I would buy 50 more sets just for that reason. #2: Their publisher, Townsend Press, is freaking amazing and will sell the series for a dollar a book. Who can beat that?
PS: Girls get obsessed with these books just as quickly, but in my experience boys are harder to hook so I always point them toward the Blufords first.But we are really here to talk about Paul Volponi! I'm hoping that Volponi's books will do for my high school kids what the Bluford
For the past four years I have been extremely blessed to work at one of the best public middle schools in Baltimore City. I could have never, ever asked for better co-workers or better students.
And yesterday was my very last day of school. My classroom has gone from this...
to this...
So empty, I almost don't recognize it! As much as I've loved my school, I am thrilled that I will be starting the next school year as a school librarian. I love new challenges and new adventures... and this will definitely be a big one.
Here's where I need
your help! I know many of you are school librarians. What advice would you give someone just starting out? Any do's and don'ts? Please tell me everything!
I honestly cannot remember a single book that I read for class in middle school. I have been thinking about it all morning (surely, there must have been one!) but I can only recall the big, fat anthology that we used in sixth grade. What did we do in middle school English??
If there's one thing I do know, the middle school kiddos at my school should have absolutely no trouble recalling what they've read... because we read some fabulous books! I've already mentioned my affinity for historical fiction in class (love it!). Here are a few of the other books that our 6th-8th graders read in Humanities:
The Skin I'm In by Sharon G. Flake -
An intense and moving story about a young girl coming to terms with herself. I have yet to meet a single student (male or female) who didn't love this book.The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins -
Best Book Ever. Truly.
The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan -
Such a great compliment to our unit on ancient Greece.Bronx Masquerade by Nikki Grimes -
Alternating prose and poetry, this is the story of a diverse group of students who come together through weekly poetry slams. Again, I have not yet met a student who didn't love this book.Zlata's Diary by Zlata Filipovic -
For whatever reason, students just seem to love diaries and epistolary novels. Zlata's Diary is a vivid look at war-time Sarajevo through the eyes of a middle school-age student.
As a middle school teacher, I frequently find myself fighting a self-censoring battle between my students and the books that I'm reading. It's just so difficult to discern how young is too young when it comes to Young Adult literature. Here is a recent prime example...
13 Reasons Why came up in a YA lit class I was taking. Now just so you know, this is a book that at least 17.6 million people had told me to read, but I just hadn't ever gotten around to doing so. In this class, the teachers and librarians present argued back and forth about whether or not the text was appropriate for middle school students. I listened and thought,
"Hmmm... a girl takes her life because of some extreme bullying at school. I actually have a few fairly intense bullies in my class. It sounds like this book would be a great way to get my kids to really think about their actions..." and the very next day I checked it out of the library.
As soon as I started reading, I was hooked. Clearly those 17.6 million people were on to something. When I was barely half-way through, I did a book talk on it for my class and several girls wrote it down as something to look for in the library. Then I kept reading... and reading... and realized that there was no way that I wanted my 11-year-olds reading this book. Don't get me wrong, I think the overall message is fabulous! I just strongly believe that some of the more graphic scenes are really far too graphic for my kiddos.
For those of you who are wondering how I back-peddled... I quickly compiled a stack of other fabulous (and more age-appropriate) reads, each of which featured similar themes of peer-drama, female friendships, and bullying. I was very honest with my students, telling them that while
13 Reasons Why is a great book, I just wouldn't recommend it to them anymore. It wasn't that they weren't allowed to read it on their own, I just had a feeling that they would like it a lot more in a few years. Before they were able to really start grumbling, I whipped out my stack of alternatives, giving my most compelling book talks in an effort to put their attention on something else.
What have I learned? Well for starters, I will fully
finish the books that I'm reading before recommending them. But even then, how do you determine how young is too young for YA lit? Many of my students are only 11 or 12, but they have dealt with some extremely adult situations in their real lives. So where do you draw the line?
Wow... this site is wonderful.
Awful Library Books will make you simultaneously laugh out loud and scratch your head in wonder that these books ever existed in the first place.
Here is just a sampling from the book to the left's table of contents:
Chapter 3.
The Care and Feeding of GirlsChapter 6.
How to Be A'Okay as a DateChapter 8.
Politeness - Is it All That Jazz?Some other Awful(ly Wonderful) books found on the site:
-
Those Amazing Leeches- Training You to Train Your Cat-
The Complete Book of Family BowlingI love it! To all of the librarian Book Lovers out there... What gems have you found while weeding your shelves?
What a fabulous list! When I first stumbled over "Thirteen Ways to Raise a Nonreader" at The Secret Adventures of WriterGirl, I was nodding my head and giggling out loud. For all of you parents out there, how many of these guidelines do you NOT follow?!
So
Betsy Bird from A Fuse #8 Production recently compiled a list of the
100 Best Children's Books. Whew, what a task! Right? Well with the help of her fantastic fanbase of avid readers, she made it happen. As you can well imagine, this list is full of treasures. There is a wide variety of
Roald Dahl, old favorites like
Anne of Green Gables, and new loves like
When You Reach Me and
The Invention of Hugo Cabret. Of course,
Stargirl made the list well.
(I love you, Stargirl!)As if the list alone wasn't enough, Mama Librarian made
this Animoto of the entire list! I had so much fun watching her video, exclaiming over the books that I've read and keeping an eye out for new titles I want to read.
(Pssst: If you, like me, have no idea what Animoto is... click here!)What do you think, Book Lovers? Are there any titles you would add to the list? And what do you know about making Animotos? And which one of you is going to create the list of 100 Best YA Books? I already can't wait to read it!
Whether we are reading it or writing it ourselves, historical fiction is an amazing classroom tool. Rather than slogging through page after a page of a textbook
(although textbooks have their place!), historical fiction allows students to absorb the facts, faces, nuances, and varied perspectives of the past from characters who they can relate to. The books below are just a few of the ones that my students have particularly enjoyed (and learned from!).
Copper Sun by Sharon Draper is one of my all-time favorite books, and I have yet to find a student - male or female - who hasn't also been drawn in by its magic.
Copper Sun is the story of Amari, a fifteen-year-old girl growing up in a small village in Africa. But then one day the "milk-faced visitors" arrive, and shatter the only world Amari has ever known. The pale-faced men kill many of Amari's friends and family as she watches. Then the survivors are chained together, forced to walk through miles of jungle, shipped across the ocean to America, and sold to the highest bidder.
After Amari is bought as a birthday present for a wealthy farmer's son, she meets Polly, an indentured servant. From that point on, Amari and Polly take turns narrating the rest of the story. Through their voices, the horrors of life on a southern plantation are given a human face. Although there is no shortage of cruel, white stereotypes, Amari and Polly learn that nothing is completely black and white. After a failed attempt to help cover up their mistress's scandalous secret, the two girls must work together to find their way to freedom.
I honestly cannot say enough good things about
Copper Sun. Sharon Draper is an incredible storyteller, and as the granddaughter of a former slave, her depiction of the past is something that no reader will soon forget.
47 by Walter Mosley is a very, very different kind of story about slavery in the south, blending together both historical and science fiction. Fourteen-year-old 47 is a slave on the Corinthian Planation, going through the motions of every-day life, believing Mama Flore when she says, "
White peoples gots as many ages as you can count, but slaves on'y gots four ages. That's babychile, boy or girl, old boy or old girl, an dead." But all of that changes the day he meets Tall John, a man who portrays himself to the master as a runaway slave. To 47, Tall John reveals that he can "
read dreams, fly between galaxies, and make friends with any animal no matter how wild." He explains that he has come to the planet to defeat the evils of the Calabash, who have manifested themselves through 47's master and others like him. In order to win against them, he needs 47.
As he prepares for the ultimate war against the Calabash, Tall John works to re-train 47's mind, to show him that all people are meant to be equal, frequently repeating the refrain, "
Neither nigger nor master be." I love the way this passage reveals how the young boy's perceptions were slowly transformed:
"
...back th
.jpeg?picon=3604)
2 Comments on Beyond Classroom Classics, last added: 6/1/2010
My reading mood is like a tide. It changes and I never know what the tide will bring in. 2 ago I was all YA. A year ago I was all Middle Grade. These days I'm into dramatic Adult Fiction. I'm always challenging myself to try different style, genres, and subjects. Otherwise I get bored. I don't know how people who alllways read the same genre do it really.
GReat topic!
LOVE this topic, Katie!
I recently tried 'New Adult', but that wasn't really out of my comfort zone, it was kind of like around the corner from what I usually read!
Last time I was really out of my comfort zone was when I read Rick Riordan's Red Pyramid and loved it!
My fifth grade teacher was always trying to get me to read out of my comfort zone, but I ONLY wanted to read The Princess Diaries series, lol!
Katie, you constantly inspire me to pick up books that I wouldn't normally! I'm on my library's waiting list for Wonder, can't wait to read it! :)
@Juju - That is seriously fantastic - I am striving to become more like you: a well-rounded reader :)
@Katie - I totally remember when you read Red Pyramid! And I loved the Princess Diaries too :) Seriously, your comment completely made my day. I hope you love Wonder!
I have watched how my reading tastes have changed over time, but there are still some genres that don't interest me much at all (hello fantasy!), and even though it might be good to read those genres from time to time, I also think that I want to enjoy what I am reading. But I do laugh - you are right - we are always encouraging kids to try new genres.