By: Aline Pereira,
on 10/14/2009
The Thailand Reading Association recently held a two day conference entitled “Reading Literacy for Quality Education”. One of the organizers, Tuk, has just informed me that photos and information from the conference (including downloadable speeches and reports) are available here on the Thailand Reading Association’s website and also here on Tuk’s blog.
By: Aline Pereira,
on 5/25/2009
Skipping Stones is an award-winning, nonprofit magazine for youth that encourages communication, cooperation, creativity and celebration of cultural and environmental richness. Founded in 1988 and published five times a year, Skipping Stones provides a forum for sharing ideas and experiences among youth from different countries and cultures. Art and original writings submissions in every language and from all ages are always welcomed.
Each year Skipping Stones recognizes outstanding authentic books and teaching resources with the Annual Skipping Stones Honor Awards. The honored books, published by both large and small publishers, promote cooperation and cultivate an awareness of our diverse cultures. Together, they encourage an understanding of the world’s diversity, ecological richness, respect for differing viewpoints and close relationships in human societies. Bound to provide a great reading adventure, they offer a variety of learning experiences. Reviewers aged 8 to 80, from many backgrounds and life experiences, help select the winners and their reviews are published in the Summer Skipping Stones issue.
The 2009 winners are broken down into 3 categories - Multicultural & International Awareness, Nature and Ecology Books, and Teaching and Parenting Resources; and winning titles include:
Secret Keeper by Mitali Perkins,
The Storyteller’s Candle by Lucia Gonzalez, illustrated by Lulu Delacre,
Grandfather’s Story Cloth by Linda Gerdner and Sarah Langford, illustrated by Stuart Loughridge.
For a complete list of the winners, click here: I just printed it off and will be heading to my local library this afternoon to see what treasures I can find!
By: Aline Pereira,
on 10/11/2008
This month marks the second annual celebration of book groups as the Women’s National Book Association launches National Reading Group Month. Across the United States, publishers, bookstores, libraries, authors, and readers are all coming together to show their appreciation of the act of shared and thoughtful reading.
At PaperTigers, we are excited and happy that book groups are receiving the attention that they deserve, and that blogs all over the country are providing helpful tips for successful meetings and lists of suggested titles. We hope, as we all pay attention to book groups, that we pay particular attention to book groups for young readers.
It’s easy for reading to take a back seat to all of the other activities and preoccupations that usurp our free time, and for no one is that more true than for children. By making reading a sociable and scheduled activity, we give it a special priority that assures that it won’t get lost in the shuffle of daily life, and by coming together to discuss what we have read in a group of friends, we find ourselves reading more slowly, more thoughtfully, and with great pleasure. What better way is there for our children to spend their time than to share what they have read with friends who have read it too?
We at PaperTigers have our own book group, The Tiger’s Choice, where adults and children come together online to read and discuss a book that all ages can read with equal pleasure. Over the past ten months, we have explored different cultures and different countries from Cambodia to Germany during World War Two. We read with the desire to bring the world closer, and to make multicultural literacy a global undertaking, not merely a national one. We believe that children who learn to appreciate and understand the cultures of other countries will grow to be people who will live harmoniously and respectfully in the world.
As we celebrate National Reading Group Month, we invite you to join our own reading group, and ask you to let us know what reading groups you offer for children. What are you reading? What has worked for your reading group and what has not? Let’s talk!
We haven’t sung De Colores yet but I’m sure we will and
meanwhile, the words and pictures are as warm and bright as the music will be.
And we have all fallen in love with Jorge Luján’s whimsical poem, which is definitely to be savoured and re-read – even at the same sitting. It makes a lovely, gentle bed-time read and sends the imagination floating away towards the land of dreams. Jorge, let us know if it is ever turned into a video like Tarde de invierno / Winter Afternoon!
1. Beacon Hill Boys by Ken Mochizuki (Written for older readers, this novel explores teenage rebellion, parental expectations, and racial stereotypes with humor and perception. This is a perfect book for boys who are reluctant readers–by the end of the first page they’ll be hooked.)
2. On Thin Ice by Jamie Bastedo (Through entries in Ashley’s diary that she keeps while visiting family in an Inuit village, this book addresses the issue of climate change in Arctic Canada, where the polar bears are coming far too close for comfort.)
3. Woolvs in the Sitee by Margaret Wild (Who are the “woolvs” who terrify Ben and keep him sequestered in a place where he is safe from them? This is another title for older readers, and one that will keep them reading.)
4. Kira Kira by Cynthia Kadohata (Winner of the Newbery Medal, this is a novel that takes a serious look at serious issues, through the lives of an extended Japanese-American family who are struggling in tough times.)
5. Cinnamon Girl: Letters Found Inside a Cereal Box by Juan Felipe Herrera (The tragedy of 9/11 as seen through the eyes and voice of thirteen-year-old Yolanda, whose uncle had “inhaled Twin Towers of dust,” while delivering flowers at the moment that the planes struck.)
6. The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne (This is a book group selection for all ages, and when we chose it for our own book group, the discussion was thoughtful and lively–much to think about in this slender little volume.)
And there is our baker’s half-dozen–what suggested titles would you add to this little list? Let us know!