Global Read Aloud 2014

The Global Read Aloud is a global literacy initiative for kids from kindergarten through grade 12.  Children from all over the map are connecting, through technology, to communicate about books that have been pre-selected.

Meg & Olivia's 1/2 Class and Sierra's 3/4/5's kicked off the GRA with International Dot Day.  They read Peter Reynolds' The Dot, and created projects with their own dots.  These projects are captured in movies here, which we shared with other classes in other parts of the country.  Have a look!

Olivia & Meg's class is continuing reading Peter Reynolds' books and sharing ideas with a class from the Shipley School in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. 

Sofia's 4/5 class has been reading Jennifer Holm's The Fourteenth Goldfish.

And if you have a student in Sofia's class, ask him/her about the book.

There are 891 classes around the world registered in The Fourteenth Goldfish book group! We have a discussion board on the Edmodo website. You can see a trailer for the book (below):

Kindness

After reading Jackie Woodson's Each Kindness, with second and third graders, we came up with ways that we can be kind in the library.

Teaching with Text Sets

For families in NYC public schools, June 5 (Chancellor's Day) means a day off from school.  For teachers, it means professional development.  We are so fortunate to have Mary Ann Cappiello and Erika Dawes of Lesley University to lead us in a workshop on "Teaching with Text Sets," a way of looking at multimodal (i.e., different forms) texts (books, art, film, websites, maps, drawings, etc.) to support, drive, and energize curriculum.  Mary Ann and Erika are authors of a professional book, and Mary Ann co-authors the terrific blog for teachers called The Classroom Bookshelf, which reviews new books.  

Summer Reading 2014!

Wherever your family is this summer, your child can be part of a summer reading community. The New York Public Library has launched its 2014 Summer Reading Challenge, a safe, online network where children can build a virtual shelf and collect badges as they complete various tasks (you get a badge just for signing up).  The Library has a recommended list of diverse books (organized by grade level).  In addition, readers can take--or create--a quiz based on a book. (There's a recommended book list and sign-up for adults, too).  Children's librarian extraordinaire Thea Taube will be visiting classes from TNS and S.T.A.R. to to get kids excited about the Library's Summer Reading Program.  

Other organizations are offering prizes for recording the books that children read this summer (It's okay to double dip! You can fill out multiple reading logs).  Here are some:

Scholastic Reading Under The Stars
Pizza Hut Book It! Read Your Heart Out
TD Bank Summer Reading Program (for account holders)
Barnes & Noble Imagination’s Destination (read 8 books and get a free book)

Do you have an electronic reading device (e.g., iPad, Kindle, Nook, iPhone, or other smartphone)?  The library also offers tons of books to be uploaded to your device for free.  I will be offering a demonstration for parents on how to upload these to your device (date to be announced).

However or wherever you read, keep on reading together!

Love, Your Librarian, Cheryl

New Books!

Take a look at all our new books (and this is just a partial list)!  Thanks to all who have donated books from our Wish List.

Follow McKinley Library's board New Books January 2014 on Pinterest.

Author Visit: Sheila Keenan

On Thursday we welcomed author Sheila Keenan to our library to talk to 4th and 5th graders about her new book, Dogs of War.  Illustrated by Nathan Fox,  Dogs of War is historical fiction, in graphic novel format, about the canine rescue heroes of World Wars I, II, and the Vietnam War.  It's a collection of fictional stories inspired by the real military dogs who served as messengers, scouts, and rescuers.  Sheila talked about the seed for the story (a photo she found in her neighbor's garbage, of a soldier in the trenches with his German shepherd), and the process of collaborating with the artist, and the multiple revisions (she has worked as editor of several well-known graphic novels, including the Amulet, Explorer,  and Hereville series).  Her recommendation to aspiring graphic novelists:  self-publish and sell your books cheap or even give them away.  Have a friend read your writing to get feedback.  And, to writers in general: the secret is to just write!  Each child got to take home a copy of the book, signed by the author.

Sheila Keenan is a cat owner,
but after her research for the book
she would like to own a dog.

Graphic Novels in Our Library

Graphic novels are hugely popular with our students.  Comic-book adaptations of the '80s series The Babysitters' Club; Smile, a "dental autobiography" by the same author; and the Lunchlady series are among the highest circulating items in our library's collection.

What is a graphic novel?  Simply put, graphic novels are book-length comics. They are not just about superheroes.  Graphic novels can teach about ballet, history, and mythology, and be science fiction, adventures, biographies, and folk tales. They also vary in reading level from beginner readers to the highest reading level.  Manga is a sub-category of graphic novels, written in the Japanese style (the book is read from right to left, and so are the story panels. (Anime is the animated version of manga).  

What are the benefits of graphic novels? Reluctant readers are very often attracted to the format.  The context clues provided by the pictures are helpful to children who are struggling with decoding words.  Graphic novels also provide an opportunity for kids to develop their visual thinking skills.  Not only must a reader figure out what’s happening inside a panel, s/he must also figure out what is happening between the panels.  Do not worry that your child will choose nothing but graphic novels.  Graphic novels are often a gateway to more reading.  As children can confidence in their reading, they almost always transfer their enthusiasm for reading to different formats.  

In our library, I apply rigorous selection criteria to choose graphic novels for our library, and make sure that our graphic novels have an "all ages" rating for content.  If your child brings home a graphic novel, what can you do to support his/her reading choice?  Read alongside you child if s/he will let you.  Ask her/him to tell you the story that occurs between the panels, discuss the panel shape and size.  See if s/he can read a character’s emotions from his expression or postures.  Get to know your child’s favorite comics!  

Some of our finest writers were avid readers of comics when they were young:  Ray Bradbury, Cynthia Rylant, and John Updike.  Maybe your child will follow in their footsteps!

Resources for Parents:

No Flying, No Tights -- Reviews by librarians of graphic novels for kids and teens.  

A Parents’ Guide to Anime

ToonBooks - great for beginning readers; the site contains activities that coordinate with these easy-to-read “indie” line of comics.  

adapted from the Internet Public Library, http://www.ipl.org/div/graphicnovels/gnsSchoolsNLibs.html

and Sarah Kresberg, Librarian, Allen-Stevenson School