Daughter of Earth

School Library Journal has a lovely tribute article to Caldecott award winning author and illustrator, Gerald McDermott. He died on December 26 at the age of 71. I only found out recently, and was terribly sad to hear it. There is one book of his that I use frequently for all the grades in my library. Even the 5th and 6th graders are still enchanted with it. It's unlike McDermott's usual work, it is obscure, and tragically, out of print. Daughter of Earth: A Roman Myth tells the Roman version of Persephone and Hades, or, in their Latin names, Proserpina and Pluto.

Children of all ages are enthralled by Greco-Roman mythology. It's a great way to help them on their path to cultural literacy, giving them much needed content knowledge to succeed in high school and college. This breathtaking picture book has striking, colorful illustrations that clearly tell the story. I'm floored that it didn't win a Caldecott, and indeed, went out of print. So if you find this book used online, or in a second hand bookstore, or at a flea market, grab it and treasure it.

For a fun, here is a link to the most adorable, child friendly site about Greek mythology I have ever seen.

Infant Literacy

Anyone who has cared for an infant knows that babies have no attention span, are wiggly and impatient, and not the world's best audiences. So is it even possible to do literacy activities with them? Yes! Since I have a 13 month old son, this subject is of interest to me too. The best part is, everything you can do with a baby is pretty much free. These activities take no special training or materials, and anyone in the family can do them. (I would strongly encourage older children to help out). Here is a helpful link.This PDF from ZERO to Three is short, too the point, and has helpful information of what to pick up at the library as your baby develops.

It's important to remember that you don't have to read an entire book to a baby. You don't need to start on the first page or finish it. In fact, instead of reading the text straight up, try talking about the pictures, pointing to characters and saying what they are doing. "There is the doggy! He's chasing the cat! Our dog likes our cat, though." Let your baby handle the book herself, if she likes. And let her catch you in the act of reading her books on your own. Even if she can't understand the words or sit through the whole books, she's getting great benefits. She is learning that reading is pleasurable and fun, she is picking up vocabulary, and she is learning about the wonders of books.

Even If The Movie Isn't As Good As The Book.....

This is an old subject, but I think I'll post about it. The common wisdom about movies and books is that if a book is turned into a movie, no one will bother with the book anymore. I completely disagree. My informal research and experience indicates otherwise.

The Lightning Thief series are excellent books, but they are large, thick books with tiny print, and would seem ambitious to many of my students. But I don't go a week without several of them being checked out, with numerous requests for renewal, and to reserve the next installment. Why?

They've all seen the movie. Since they loved it, they are certain that the book is also good, and can't wait to give it a try.

So if there is a book you would like your child to read, like Charlotte's Web or Holes, and he/she is skeptical, try sharing the movie!

The Results Are In!

My informal survey is finished, or rather, the data collection is. Let's start with 4th grade. 50 students were surveyed.

90% have read a book and saw its movie.
52% read before falling asleep.
70% have made something by reading directions.
40% have gotten a book as a gift.
84% have parents who like to read.
56% read parts of the newspaper.
46% like nonfiction better than fiction.
80% like to hear stories read aloud.
78% like to read books by the same author.
74% read the cereal box at breakfast time.
50% own at least ten books.
16% prefer mysteries.
20% have read all the Harry Potter books.
42% have magazine subscriptions at home.

I bolded two of the results because they concerned me. While we have RIF books each year, and books are not hard to come by, half our fourth graders claimed they owned fewer than ten books. Less than half are given books as gifts. I suspect one reason is that Bridgeport has no functioning book store, and the nearest book store is at least 20 minutes away. We know that students read better when they are surrounded by books. One solution may be to make parents aware that many online book stores sell even fairly new books used, often at extremely low prices. A better solution would be for a book store, retail or used, to open in the city. Frankly, transportation and disposable income are the biggest obstacles- 93% of 4th graders at Black Rock School said they owned at least 10 books. Black Rock students usually have more access to transport.

Let's see how the 5th graders did. 35 were surveyed.

74% have read a book and saw its movie.

71% read before falling asleep.
100% have made something by reading directions.
69% have gotten a book as a gift.86% have parents who like to read.

57% read parts of the newspaper.

46% like nonfiction better than fiction.

80% like to hear stories read aloud.

83% like to read books by the same author.
80% read the cereal box at breakfast time.

71% own at least ten books.

51% prefer mysteries.

0% have read all the Harry Potter books.

91% have magazine subscriptions at home.

I bolded the numbers that interested me.  I am puzzled that only 74% of 5th graders said they have read a book and watched its movie, compared to 90% of the 4th graders. The demographics are slightly different, which may explain it. I am happy to see that roughly 70% of 5th graders had gotten books as gifts and own at least ten. My guess is they request books as gifts more often. I would like to increase the numbers to be as close to 100% as possible.

Numbers like these, however, really do emphasize the fact that we need programs like RIF and the more programs we have, the more our students benefit.

While I teach at two elementary schools, I am a big fan of Teen Librarian Toolbox, a blog about youth services in public libraries. There's plenty of food for thought to be found there, and students as young as fourth grade can start reading young adult literature. But this post really caught my attention. Here is a quote from the author Stephanie Wilkes:

The discussions continued and as we got to know each other a little more, I realized that my teens were looking for characters that identified them but not necessarily by race, gender, or even life situations...they were looking for key traits in characters or even sometimes, just a certain feeling evoked by a genre.  For example, some of my boys were madly in love with a set of Sarah Dessen books that I brought.  SARAH DESSEN.  For incarcerated African-American male youth.  Seriously.  And even though I never wish to judge my teens to wonder what they are reading...it blew my mind. 

I don't work with incarcerated teens, obviously, but her work can be applied to all young readers this way: basically, all readers want the same things. They want good plots and interesting characters, but they also want escapism and wonder. For the same reasons we watch comedy shows and cartoons and dramas rather than solely the news, young readers want to be taken away by a book. They don't want to be lectured however creatively, and they don't always need a familiar situation to enjoy a story, otherwise fantasy wouldn't sell.

I find that the best fiction has characters that are relatable due to character traits. That shouldn't dismiss relatability by age, race, gender, or orientation. But the readers should view the characters as people, not flat symbols for an issue or moral. While I'm a fan of fiction that addresses current issues, I think such fiction should be guided by the characters first, plots second, and the issues will become brighter and more important as a result.

Know Your Readers!

After many surprising life changes and generally overwhelming schedules, I am now able to blog again about Bryant School and the literacy issues we face as a school.

Currently, I am doing some (perhaps unscientific) research on our students. While it's helpful to look at trends in School Library Journal and other library blogs, it always pays to get information directly from your own students.

I modified a questionnaire activity from Stretchy Library Lessons: More Library Skills called "Know Your Readers." Using it, I am surveying the 4th, 5th, and 6th grades. While not all the data has been gathered yet, I did get enlightened on a few things: first off, surprisingly few of my students have read all the Harry Potter books. I thought this was a classic stand by, but my students don't think so. Rick Riordan books are more current, my students said, and they do circulate like hot cakes. I was also surprised that so many students enthusiastically said that they liked Charlotte's Web, since my classics don't circulate well.

What I liked about the questionnaire is that it is completely non-judgmental. There are no questions like "how many minutes or hours do you read after school?" or "do you read chapter books above your grade level?" The students didn't walk away wondering if they are good enough. Instead, they walked away realizing that they liked reading better than they thought. Since success builds on success, an epiphany that they don't actually dislike reading will encourage them to read more!