100 Best Book Blogs for Kids, Tweens, and Teens

Here is a link to a list of book blogs for kids : '
http://www.onlineschools.org/2009/10/27/100-best-book-blogs-for-kids-tweens-and-teens/

Links and one line annotations in the following categories :

• Picture Books and Younger Readers : From picture books to beginning readers, these blogs focus on books for the youngest book connoisseurs.
• Tweens and Teens and Young Adult : This category of books shares the prestige of being enjoyed by both teens and adults alike. Discover the best of the best with these blogs.
• Well-Rounded Book Blogs : These blogs feature literature across several age ranges and between many different genres to produce well-rounded kid’s lit reading.
• Multicultural Book Blogs : These blogs seek out the best books helping readers to identify with their culture or learn about cultures outside their own.
• Poetry : Find a great selection of poetry books as well as original verse among these blogs that feature children’s poetry.
• Children’s and Adult Literature : These blogs feature quite a bit of children’s and young adult literature, but they also feature adult literature as well.
• Graphic Novels and Comic Books : With a focus on graphic novels, comic books, and manga, these blogs feature both recent and past literature from this genre.
• From and For the Professionals : Listen to what these professionals have to share, from librarians to writers to publishers, all from the world of children’s literature.

Author birthday celebrations

Monday 13th September (Monday of week 9 of term) is Roald Dahl Day - his birthday - and the website has various resources to celebrate it, including a Quiz Pack with 3 levels of questions Supereasy , Easy and Hard, and a Sports Day Pack with ideas, posters, certificates etc http://www.roalddahlday.info/Resources.aspx

The US readwritethink website http://www.readwritethink.org/ (IRA and NCTE) has a great calendar viewable by day, week or month with author birthdays and other literary celebrations with links to classroom activities, websites and related resources...
http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/calendar-activities/?month=09&year=2010&main-tab=week#main-tabs

Types of Calendar Activities :
Authors & Texts - Birthdays, publication dates, and more
Historical Figures & Events - Notable people and happenings in history
Holidays & School Celebrations - Special days and how to observe them
Literacy-Related Events - Celebrations that promote and encourage literacy

See also http://school.discoveryeducation.com/schrockguide/authordate.html for a list - by author or by date

and here is an enthusiastic blog http://www.happybirthdayauthor.com/

Celebrating children's literature was a joy for me as a special education teacher in the classroom. I decided to share my ideas with parents, homeschoolers, and enthusiastic teachers, as I take time off to be a stay at home dad. I hope you enjoy the format of this blog to study an author each week to celebrate their birthday. Check back often to celebrate more children's author birthdays!

Here are some September posts http://www.happybirthdayauthor.com/search/label/September - Shel Silverstein, Tomie de Paola, Jack Prelutsky, Jon Scieszka...

Teen Read Week - YALSA

Teen Read Week is in October in the USA is organised by YALSA - Young Adult Library Services Association :

For more than a decade, librarians and educators nationwide have joined together in October to encourage teens to "Read for the Fun of It" during YALSA's annual Teen Read Week celebration. This year's theme—Books with Beat @ your library—serves as a creative starting point for developing dynamic events in schools, public libraries, and bookstores, that will inspire young adults to discover new genres, check out poetry, listen to audiobooks, and much more. No matter what direction you take the theme, this event is a great way to encourage teens to visit the library and read for sheer enjoyment!

Here is the website http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/yalsa/teenreading/trw/trw2010/home.cfm

and I recommend checking out the wiki which is full of ideas for this and previous year's themes - 2008 was Books with bite picking up on the vampire craze...
http://wikis.ala.org/yalsa/index.php/Teen_Read_Week#Introduction

Teach with picture books

I've just come across another really useful blog called Teach with Picture Books by Keith Schoch http://teachwithpicturebooks.blogspot.com/

"The main purpose of this site is to help teachers and homeschooling parents in grades 3-8 use picture books to enhance their instruction. If you'd like to know the reasons why you should be using picture books in your classroom, visit the sister site called Teaching with Picture Books Across the Middle Grades."

The Tuesday 2 March 2010 post describes Ten Not-to-Be-Missed Picture Book Reference Sites Check it out - it will lead you from one wonderful resource to another.

I also liked this post with suggestions for ways to share picture books (with upper primary / intermediate age students) http://teachwithpicturebooks.blogspot.com/2010/01/ways-to-share-picture-books.html

This is his related wiki which includes "focused reading skills" which is being developed collaboratively... http://atn-reading-lists.wikispaces.com/Focused+Reading+Skills

UK World Book Day - 4th March 2010

In celebration of World Book Day this year in the UK there is a website with free downloadable resources - this was shared by Angela Soutar, Librarian at Sunnynook Primary on the list serv.

Downloadable activities for the classroom and school library are divided into three sections:
Pre-school, Primary and Secondary.

http://www.worldbookday.com/pages/content/index.asp?PageID=115

Battle of the books

An idea shared on the LM-Net listserv Feb 2010...
Maybe it would make a good warm up or an alternative for the Kids' Lit Quiz ?

Thanks to everyone who sent me great suggestions for 5th grade Battle of the Books fantasy titles. Even if I don't add them to the battle, I will be ordering them for my library.

For those of you that asked about how I run Battle of the Books, it's a fifth grade reading incentive program.

• I have a list of 12 books and the students are broken up by class into teams of 4 to read the books. The may read as little as 3 or all of them.
  
• During the months of March-May when they are reading the books, they write questions about the story that all begin with "In which book...".
  
• At the end of the three months, we have a competition where teams compete against each other by answering questions from the books. The winning team from each class then goes on to the school competition to find the grand final winning team.

The fantasy titles suggested for the battle list include:

• Gregor the Overlander by Suzanne Collins
• Mister Monday by Garth Nix
  
• Redwall
  
• Merchant of death
  
• Revenge of the witch
  
• Amulet of Samarkand
  
• Black Book of Secrets
  
• The Game of Sunken Places by M.T. Anderson
  
• Atherton: House of power
• The Magic Thief by Sarah Prineas
• Bruce Coville
• Magyk by Angie Sage
  
• Invention of Hugo Cabret
• Inkheart
  
• Eragon
  
• Midnight for Charlie Bone
  
• Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer
  
• Hunger Games
  
• Skulduggery Pleasant
  
• The Indian in the Cupboard by Lynne Reid Banks
• Wrinkle in Time
• When You Reach Me
• Charlie Bone books by Jennie Nimmo
• Ranger's Apprentice from John Flanaghan
• Only You can Save the World by Terry Pratchett
• Half Magic by Eager
• Dragon's Milk by Fletcher
• Fablehaven by Brandon Mull
  

Megan LaConte, Library Media Specialist, Tamaques Elementary School, Westfield, NJ 07090 mlaconte@westfieldnjk12.org

Chris Cleave The Other Hand

WOW! The most startling book I have come across in years - run don't walk to your bookshop (you will want to keep this one). Funny, tragic, thrilling and his writing is glorious. And have a look at his website - www.chriscleave.com (or similar)...
From Jill Hatherly

My "not to be missed books" for Term 4

Here are a few recent favourites :

• Isabella's garden by Glenda Millard illus by Rebecca Cool, Walker - cumulative rhyme a la the house that Jack built - This is the soil, all dark and deep, in Isabella's garden... Gorgeous bold colour naive illustrations, wonderful language These are the flowers that waltz with the wind that ruffles the buds, all velvety-skinned... http://www.walkerbooks.com.au/Books/Isabellas-Garden-9781921150333

• A book by Mordecai Gerstein, Roaring Brook Press - a clever picture book about a family that live in the pages of a book and wake up when the book is opened - ah, but what is their story - each character tells a different one and it includes the reader - wonderful. Sorry, no NZ edition, you'll have to borrow it from NLNZ http://www.natlib.govt.nz/cis-online-request or get it through Amazon.

• The rabbit problem by Emily Gravett, Macmillan Children's Books - another brilliant, inventive picture book by Emily Gravett - no two are the same - this is as a calendar, telling the story month by month - the book even hangs vertically from a hole like a calendar, of one lonely rabbit, joined by another and then nature takes it's course with a rabbit explosion neatly illustrating the Fibonacci sequence. Each month includes an element of "ephemera" - an invitation, a knitting pattern, a ration book.. and an amazing pop-up at the end. http://www.emilygravett.com/
  

• The magician's elephant by Kate Di Camillo, Candlewick Press - another classic in the making from Kate with this magical, old-fashioned tale with a very Eastern European feeling about love, hope and magic- quirky and heartfelt, amazing language, with all the impossible, remarkable chain of events and characters coming together at the end - would be a good read aloud. http://www.katedicamillo.com/ There is a teacher's kitetc available at http://www.candlewick.com/authill.asp?b=Author&pg=1&m=actlist&a=&id=0&pix=n&dlisbn=0763644102

• Grace by Morris Gleitzman, Viking (Penguin) - a story told in the first person by Grace, a Australian girl whose family belongs to a religious sect which is becoming increasingly strict and controlling. When Grace's father starts to rebel he is separated from his family, and Grace has to find a way to bring everyone back together. She is a redoubtable character, speaking in the language of her religious upbringing, trying to make sense of what she has been taught. The book opens "In the beginning there was me and Mum and Dad and the twins. And good luck was upon us adn things were great and talk about happy families, we were bountiful. But it came to pass that I started doing sins. And lo, that's when all our problems began." Read more here http://www.morrisgleitzman.com/books/fst_grace.html

• The hunger games by Suzanne Collins - intermediate up, un-put-downable novel based on the desperate premise of teenagers fighting for their lives in "televised games" in a future world - I didn't think this was a book for me from the sound of it but is great - strong characters, fast moving plot - I can't wait to read the second in this trilogy. http://www.suzannecollinsbooks.com/the_hunger_games_69765.htm

• The disreputable history of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart, Hyperion - strong female character who resents the "old boys club" at her boarding school and cleverly infiltrates and undermines it, risking relationships in order to assert her own individuality - clever, funny, readable. I've done posts about this book earlier in this blog. E. Lockhart has a great website http://www.e-lockhart.com/ and here is a link to a video of her acceptance speech for the Michael Printz award http://blog.booklistonline.com/2009/10/20/e-lockharts-2009-printz-speech/

PhotoStory software

PhotoStory is wonderful free software which enables you to turn a collection of digital photos into a "video" complete with your own narration, text and music background. It is lots of fun and very easy to use... It could be a great tool for the classroom with students of all ages for a variety of purposes, and in the library maybe for doing book reviews ? It could be a good resource to promote to families in the school newsletter too perhaps ?

Here is the website http://tiny.cc/Photostory610

There is a guide to making a video using a single photo which is also very effective, if a bit more complex ! http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/digitalphotography/photostory/tips/create.mspx

School library blogs

Have a look at the great King's High School blog run by Bridget Schaumann - it is full of interesting information, book promotion, library happenings etc and uses various web 2.0 applications such as Twitter and Shelfari... http://thekingslibraryblog.blogspot.com/
King's High is a boys' high school in Dunedin with 700 students.

Here are a few other NZ school library blogs I've come across :

• Botany Downs Secondary College Library http://bdsclibrary.blogspot.com/
• Fendalton Open Air School Library http://foslibrary.blogspot.com/
• Golden Bay High School Library http://gblibrary.blogspot.com/
• Mount Aspiring College Library http://maclic.wordpress.com/
• Hillcrest High School Library http://hillcresthighlibrary.blogspot.com/

Tommy Donbavand "Too Ghoul for School"

Each month, the National Literacy Trust (in the UK) interviews a well-known figure in the world of reading and literacy. Here, international bestselling author Tommy Donbavand talks about how to get kids excited about books, the necessary trend for authors to embrace new media and the importance of setting up a positive school reading environment.

http://www.literacytrust.org.uk/About/interview_tommydonbavand.html

When asked "If you could change one thing about schools what would it be?" his answer started, "Tough question! When I arrive at a school for a visit, I immediately get a sense of whether it is a 'book school' or not. From shelves of books in prominent, easy to reach places to wall displays and more - book schools appreciate the importance of reading and writing and help bring stories to life. Some other schools, however, simply don't do it that way...

And on the subject of technology he has this to say... "I appreciate that some people fear the use of new media will lead to the death of books (it won't, of course) but, simply put, a story is a story whether it's read from the pages of a novel, between the covers of a comic or by browsing a website. Teachers, librarians and authors should capitalise on this explosion of technology rather than try to fight it." and "I see the proliferation of blogs and social networking sites as vital to the future of books. Children embrace new media as a completely natural method of communication and, as that's where our potential readers are, that's where authors should be as well."

Northland Storylines 2009

The Northland Storylines Festival family fun day is a celebration of books and reading for children and their families, on Saturday 29th August from 10am to 2pm at The Centre, Cobham Road, Kerikeri. Free, and all welcome...

Listen to wonderful stories with guest Storyteller Lesley Dowding, and author Kyle Mewburn and “Auntie Elsie” from Kiss, kiss, yuck, yuck, and other guest readers all through the day…
Meet authors and illustrators – writers Maria Gill and Kyle Mewburn, illustrator Bruce Potter and comics artist Dylan Horrocks plus local authors to meet and talk to about theirs and children's work…
Explore the science of world around us – volcanoes, birds and oceans…and take part in various writing, art and craft activities for all ages – torn paper collage, bookmaking, mazes, quizzes, postcards, bookmarks, origami…
Be entertained by Mike the Magician, making balloon animals, exploding paper and other tricks
Learn some Maori games – mu torere, whai, and other activities with Harko Brown
Celebrate The Very Hungry Caterpillar’s 40th birthday with cake, candles, song and stories…
Dress up in fancy dress as your favourite book character and take part in the parade – spot prizes
Enter the competitions – two age categories 4 – 8 and 9 – 12 years old, lots of prizes – writing, illustration, comic strip and colouring competitions…
Meet some of your favourite book characters – Mrs Wishy-Washy, Spot, Wally (where?!), Clifford, Peter Rabbit, Geronimo Stilton, Lucky, Winnie the Pooh, and the Cat in the Hat…
Take part in the launch of Kyle Mewburn’s brand new book Old huhu
Have your face painted !
Buy a book from the Take Note bookshop and meet the author at a signing session
Enjoy the food and music in the Courtyard – popcorn, sausage sizzle and refreshments…

It will be a fun time for families to share the delight of books and reading - please do come along and take part !
Contact Jeannie at jeannie.skinner@natlib.govt.nz if any questions or if you would like to help in any way on the day…

Speedbooking - book promotion

Here is a post from the list serv from Clenda Wockner, Director of Library & Information Services, Waimea Collegewr@waimea.school.nz

"Found an idea on OZTL-Net a while ago and decided to give it a go. It is a heap of fun and has resulted in great borrowing. We have offered the option to our English teachers with their reading classes and so far have had 6 classes of Year 9 and 10 students participate – all successfully. It’s called speed booking – a bit like speed dating with books. We put out about 25-30 titles on each of the tables in the library (we have 8). The books are a combination of fiction, non-fiction and true story type titles. The class comes in and sit 4 to a table. They have a look at the books on the table and after about 3 minutes we ring a bell. They all then move to the next table. We allow them to carry one book with them to the next table which they can then continue to carry or change for another book. They don’t have to carry books on of course. We usually go through about 4 or 5 table changes and then they can borrow a book they have found or sit and read or continue to peruse the tables.
We have found that the kids enjoy the experience. The magazine borrowing in those sessions has been hugely lower than usual. I have no problem with magazines but it’s good to see kids finding a book! I think it’s having books in front of them that they may not normally pull off the shelf. They can see a much wider variety of books in one session than if they are trawling the shelves too. Now all we have to do is find a way for the left over books to find their own way back to the shelves! Having said that, I firmly believe that it is worth the work. It is interesting to put out books that have not moved off the shelf and have them borrowed. "

There have been many good follow-up posts about how effective this technique is, at all ages... This sort of information is a good reason to join the school library list serv if you haven't already ! See the post in this blog for directions, or go to the SLANZA website www.slanza.org.nz