Category: easy readers
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No, really, let kids choose what they read
In case you need something to tide you over while you wait for your copy of Reading Unbound to arrive, here are some more quotes about why we need to let kids choose what they read. We want to help our students fall in love with books in ways that foster a life-long devotion to…
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Why Kids Need to Read What They Want
In the most recent edition of Cover to Cover by K.T. Horning, there are no early childhood, middle grade, or ya distinctions in books for children. Encompassing fiction and nonfiction, the breakdown is: Picture books (including board books) Readers/Beginning Readers/Easy Readers Transitional books Chapter books That’s it. We have those formats, and within those formats, every genre is…
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Stuck in the Middle With You
I don’t like the term middle grade, even though I love a lot of books that fall under that umbrella. Middle grade books are not for middle schoolers, but the confusing terminology flummoxes a lot of teachers and parents. If you’re also unclear, here’s the breakdown: Middle grade= a publishing classification; literature for 8-12 year olds.…
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Let’s Get Digital
I’m using Digital Storytime and the CYBILS site to curate a collection of early literacy apps for my library’s iPad. I’d really like to offer these apps to my patrons who are interested in items such as Your Baby Can Read and Hooked on Phonics, but I’m not sure of the best way to circulate…
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shortlists!
The short lists for the Cybils are out today! I was so pleased and honored to be a panelist for the Easy Reader/Early Chapter Books category. Go see what made the cut and maybe find some great new reads for January!
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five fast ones
Fly Guy Meets Fly Girl by Tedd Arnold The first Fly Guy book was on the Monarch List a few years ago, so I’m well aware that the character is popular with kids. This addition to the series seems to be more of the same, which means it’s well-written and illustrated and kids will read…
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Ling & Ting: Not Exactly the Same
It would take a cold, cold person to resist the charm* of Grace Lin’s Ling and Ting: Not Exactly the Same. Ling and Ting are twins who are, as the title implies, similar but not completely the same. In the first story, The Haircuts, we see Ting get terribly butchered bangs because she can’t sit…
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Rick and Rack and the Great Outdoors
Rick and Rack and the Great Outdoors by Ethan Long Rick and Rack are a raccoon and a deer, respectively, and in this slight graphic novel they go on three different outdoorsy adventures, including fishing, tracking, and paddling around the lake in a canoe. There is really no through-line to the three anecdotes, and this…
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Porky and Bess
Porky and Bess by Ellen Weiss, Marsha Winborn, Mel Friedman (link to Goodreads book page) Porky and Bess is the story of two best friends–Porky, a bachelor pig, and Bess, a single mother with three kittens. They could not be more different, and really, I could not puzzle out why they were friends, or if…
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Falling Behind
September went by in the blink of an eye! I was on vacation for the first part of the month, spend the middle part enduring and enjoying my robust programming schedule (note to self: cut back on both programming and pastry and you’ll be much happier for it), and at the end of the month…
Hi, Miss Julie 