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Category Archives: School Library
Top Three ways to change a child’s future
I’m an advocate for reading. Reading to me opens the doors to an education every child should be able to access. Without basic literacy skills your child will fall behind. They will struggle at school and in their future years.
We need to invest time and effort into helping our children learn and grow.
So my top three pieces of advice to make this happen is:
- Turn off the electronic devices. Yes that includes your phone, tablet and computer. Sit down beside your child with a real book, and read the book together. At first it will be you doing the reading, but as your child grows in confidence, they will join in. Then one day they will read to you. Trust me that is the day you reap the reward for turning off the devices and reading together.
2. Model Reading. So yet again I’m asking step away from the electronic, and pick up a magazine, a newspaper a book – something real and tangible. Pick it up and be caught reading by your child. You don’t have to be reading for long, your child will gravitate towards you if you’re sitting still reading. They might climb up beside you, or onto your lap. Make it time for the both of you to be together.
3. Walk the Talk. Talk about what you’re reading, and ask what they might like to read. Open up the conversation and talk about different genres, about fiction and non fiction. If you need help, talk to a Teacher, Librarian, neighbour, friend – anyone who is a passionate reader. Trust me they will help. Or drop me a line and I can help, I’ve been where you are, and my own child is now a passionate, active reader.
We make a difference in a child’s life when we open the doors to reading – it’s the gift that keeps on giving.
Top 10 Most Challenged Books of 2017: Resources & Graphics
Top 10 Challenged Books of 2017 taken from the Banned and Challenge website:
The ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom tracked 354 challenges to library, school and university materials in 2017. Of the 416 books challenged or banned in 2017, the Top 10 Most Challenged Books are
1. Thirteen Reasons Why written by Jay Asher
Originally published in 2007, this New York Times bestseller has resurfaced as a controversial book after Netflix aired a TV series by the same name. This YA novel was challenged and banned in multiple school districts because it discusses suicide.
2. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian written by Sherman Alexie
Consistently challenged since its publication in 2007 for acknowledging issues such as poverty, alcoholism, and sexuality, this National Book Award winner was challenged in school curriculums because of profanity and situations that were deemed sexually explicit.
3. Drama written and illustrated by Raina Telgemeier
This Stonewall Honor Award-winning, 2012 graphic novel from an acclaimed cartoonist was challenged and banned in school libraries because it includes LGBT characters and was considered “confusing.”
4. The Kite Runner written by Khaled Hosseini
This critically acclaimed, multigenerational novel was challenged and banned because it includes sexual violence and was thought to “lead to terrorism” and “promote Islam.”
5. George written by Alex Gino
Written for elementary-age children, this Lambda Literary Award winner was challenged and banned because it includes a transgender child.
6. Sex is a Funny Word written by Cory Silverberg and illustrated by Fiona Smyth
This 2015 informational children’s book written by a certified sex educator was challenged because it addresses sex education and is believed to lead children to “want to have sex or ask questions about sex.”
7. To Kill a Mockingbird written by Harper Lee
This Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, considered an American classic, was challenged and banned because of violence and its use of the N-word.
8. The Hate U Give written by Angie Thomas
Despite winning multiple awards and being the most searched-for book on Goodreads during its debut year, this YA novel was challenged and banned in school libraries and curriculums because it was considered “pervasively vulgar” and because of drug use, profanity, and offensive language.
9. And Tango Makes Three written by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson and illustrated by Henry Cole
Returning after a brief hiatus from the Top Ten Most Challenged list, this ALA Notable Children’s Book, published in 2005, was challenged and labeled because it features a same-sex relationship.
10. I Am Jazz written by Jessica Herthel and Jazz Jennings and illustrated by Shelagh McNicholas
This autobiographical picture book co-written by the 13-year-old protagonist was challenged because it addresses gender identity.
Catching Teller Crow by Ambelin and Ezekiel Kwaymullina
Nothing’s been the same for Beth Teller since she died. Her dad, a detective, is the only one who can see and hear her – and he’s drowning in grief. But now they have a mystery to solve together. Who is Isobel Catching, and what’s her connection to the fire that killed a man? What happened to the people who haven’t been seen since the fire? As Beth unravels the mystery, she finds a shocking story lurking beneath the surface of a small town, and a friendship that lasts beyond one life and into another.
Read it because:
Catching Teller Crow is an original tale that both surprises and informs. Told by two different narrators, whose different styles in narration are marked either by prose or verse, we are drawn into their worlds. I was carried forward through a tale of institutionalisation of children, missing girls, grief and loss.
The book for me is proof that you can tell a story with strong Indigenous female characters. Catching, Teller and Crow are drawn from the streets of every regional town I’ve been to. The authors have drawn a regional town that could be anywhere in Australia. A town, and society, that is still hiding the secrets of shame from its past and the presence.
The lead characters encounter racism, violence, terrible historic injustices and corruption within the police force, all of which are still current themes that need to be discussed openly. The last half of the book sensitively addresses what happens when people turn a blind eye to violence and allow it to flourish and destroy lives.
The topics of grief and loss are sensitively handled, and allow an opportunity to discuss how grief and loss are addressed in our society. Through the characters journeys we gain a better understanding of how hard grief is as an emotion to deal with, especially for those who have no coping mechanisms.
This is book that can be used to teach historical and contemporary themes, as well as opening up the conversation about violence to women. Catching Teller Crow can also be used to supplement the Australian curriculum topic of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and Cultures.
Information literacy resources for librarians and their library users — a 2018 update
A great list of tools and resources, from Elsevier Library Connect, that can be used to inform your practice in the world of Information Literacy.
Six things you can do to get boys reading more by Margaret Kristin Merga
I found this excellent list by Margaret Kristin Merga at The Conversation. What I would say is that you can use these tools to also encourage all reluctant readers no matter who they are. The important thing is model the reading you want your child to do…..Get caught up in the pages of a real book, and show that you value the time to sit down and read. Try it for a month, see how it works – I would love to hear. It worked for me and my son. Now we read, bookclub and spend hours arguing over books….it’s great fun!
