Last week I posted about the rise of the Graphic Novel - a phenomena almost no elementary parent could miss! This week, I wanted to touch on some super cool new series we have in the Library for our beginning chapter book readers. If your child is a little daunted by or doesn't quite have the stamina yet for the more traditional chapter book, with it's dense pages & thicker volumes, these series might just be the ticket. New to us this year is Doreen Cronin's Chicken Squad. A backyard group of chicken friends, this series follows their adventures as they solve mysteries....and simultaneously cause a touch of trouble! Eerie Elementary, by Jack Chabert is perfect for the month of October! A "scary" series revolving around the main character Sam Graves & his friends who have to defend themselves against a school that seems to be - wait for it... ALIVE! While I'm confident there won't be any nightmares after reading this, it does provide entertainment for those students who are seeking a horror & thrills genre! Also new to Reed is Tracey West's Dragon Masters series - tales of a "bygone" era of Kingdoms, Dragons & a ton of adventures. This fantasy read is yet another one perfect for early chapter book readers & with plenty of adventures, we might just be creating some early Game of Thrones fans! And finally, if you haven't already met the Owl Diaries by Rebecca Elliott, then don't be surprised if you do this year. Eva the Owl is the central focus on this series and each tale has really positive messaging for our young readers. Reflective of the values we want our children to be developing, Eva's adventures offer not only a fun read but a takeaway also.
0 Comments
These past few years, the Graphic Novel genre has seen a huge increase in popularity. An updated version of the comics many of us grew up with (I devoured Archie back in the day), these pieces of fiction are a magnificent means to get kids reading. Some kids are proficient readers, others are emerging, some in between - they all get there in the end. All the same, I see my job as pivotal in making sure they have access to something they want to read - a book that sparks interest, passion & most importantly, a book that gives them confidence so that they want to read more! Access to reading can take so many forms when books arrive home from the Library - it might be a parent, babysitter, Grandparent reading to a child; a child using illustrations or photographs to follow & infer from the the story - or a child simply reading to themselves. Whatever it is, my goal is to cater to all. And that's why I have really worked to bump up our Graphic Novel collection - it's a genre easily accessible for emergent readers & from what I've experienced so far, loved by all too. You may be very familiar with the now iconic Dogman series by Dav Pilkey - these spend little more than an hour on my shelves because once returned, they're snatched up by the next class. Raina Talgemeier's works have proved equally popular - Smile, Ghosts, Drama have kids giggling & wanting more. In addition to these, the Bird & Squirrel series by James Burkes, although not as well known, have proved a hit. And these are just the most popular of the selections that I have! I post about these series this week as part of my efforts to share with our Reed community what we hold here in the Library available for our students... & to also encourage us all to remember that whatever we can get to help our kids love reading, let's give it to them! Some Graphic Novels are higher level than we anticipate - there are so many more that you may discover as your children grow, the genre caters to young readers right through High School. This is the first of a number of installments I plan to bring you on what's new in the Library shelves. Next week, I want to introduce some exciting new Chapter Book series that will be making their appearance. I have some amazing new works that truly bridge the gap from emerging Chapter Book readers to the proficient. Exactly what some of our students need to remind themselves they truly are readers! This week we met Woolly the Mammoth - Woolly is highly interested in going to the Library, with reeeaallly good intentions. However.... Woolly just isn't suited for the Library. Best intentions aside! Woolly is however, a great example of what we do and don't do in the Library with books and Library bodies.... we don't bellow or thump around like a Mammoth would; we care for our books carefully, keeping them in a safe spot at home & returning them each week so we can enjoy checking out a new book. This was a super fun way to kick off our first day of check out! And we followed up by embarking on a quick Scavenger Hunt of the Library - students had to find every spot we have from Nonfiction & Biographies, to the check out station & the cozy reading nook; they found our magazine shelf, the Spanish shelf, the Kimochis corner and more! It was the perfect segue into book hunting & I can tell you, they were really ready to hunt down a book to enjoy it at home for the week. For me personally it really was such a highlight seeing how enthusiastic & passionate our kids are for Library time - they really do just love choosing a book & that's what it's really all about for me: creating a safe, welcoming spot for children to access anything the inspires them to read, read, read. Library has begun! We are off to a great start this week & it has been so magical getting all our Reed students into the routine - so many familiar faces & so many hugs! This week has been all about students getting to know me & "meeting" my family of boys (& cats!). We also shared in a sneak peak of our beautiful library, taking a small tour to prepare ourselves for the upcoming scavenger hunt where they really need to know where & what is going on amongst the shelves! I also shared with students two of my favorite books - Julia Donaldson's Hairy Maclary & Brittany Jacobs The Kraken's Rules for Making Friends - don't miss a peak at these gems. The coming two weeks, we focus on how to take care of our very precious library books from the moment we search for them, to the best way to keep them safe at home.
Our scavenger hunt will show our students where to check out, return, find shelf markers, seek out fiction, nonfiction, chapter books, graphic novels, ABC books, Spanish books, magazines & more!!! Once students have all the basics down, they'll be more than ready to find a book they love and bring it home with share with you! Watch this space for more on Library Orientation! |
Ms CahillWelcome to the on-line home of Reed Library! I'm so pleased you came to visit & hope you keep coming back to read my blog on our latest happenings, new books & our exciting digital citizenship program! Archives
January 2019
Categories |