Brooke's Books - Families

Brooke Newberry, La Crosse Public Library, is back with her monthly column sharing recommendations on great picture books for your collection. 

Families, as we know, come in all different shapes and sizes. This month’s books highlight some of my favorite new picture books depicting diverse families and celebrating their love. 

I Sang You Down From The Stars

Tasha Spillett-Sumner

Little Brown, 2021

A mother embraces the love she feels for her baby as she awaits its arrival in this picture book filled with Native cultural detail. 

We Became Jaguars

Dave Eggers

Chronicle Books, 2021

While a grandmother watches her grandson, they experience an epic adventure by transforming into jaguars. Gorgeous illustrations and storytelling make this book a great choice to introduce imaginative play. 

Watercress

Andrea Wang

Holiday House, 2021

A girl discovers more about her Chinese heritage is this autobiographical picture book. Lush illustrations and simple text create an emotionally accessible book for children and adults of all ages. 

Fatima’s Great Outdoors

Ambreen Tariq

Kokila, 2021

After a long, hard week, a family experiences their very first camping trip in this delightful picture book. The families sticks together and has a wonderful camping adventure that many kids will be able to relate to.

My Dad

Susan Quinn

Quarto Kids, 2021

This beautiful celebration of dads highlights the extraordinary things a dad does during the day. Sparse text and appealing illustrations make this a great choice for storytimes. 

An Article on Reader's Advisory to Beginning Readers

As families are returning to our library or calling for selection services for curbside pickup, I am fielding more requests for books for pre-readers and beginning readers. This blog post Bookmatching: Readers’ Advisory for Developing Readers has tips for library staff and parents on helping children choose books that are right for them and support their reading and learning. 

A couple of other posts from the ALSC blog address Readers' Advisory in a Pandemic and Virtual Readers' Advisory: Helping Readers at Home.

We'd love to hear about how you are practicing your Readers Advisory skills or resources you'd recommend to your colleagues around the state and beyond.

Pixabay

A Shout Out to the CCBC and their Picture Book List for Older Readers

Every day brings a new question. Monday, it was a request for picture books for older readers, as in middle school age. Well, I knew about Demi, Paul O. Zelinsky's illustrated fairy tales, and Patricia Polacco's stories, but I wanted to provide  a wide field of titles for the reader to choose from to satisfy their request.

This is where the Cooperative Children's Book Center comes in and earns a shout out from a grateful librarian! The CCBC has a myriad of lists to consult and share including the one I needed today: Never Too Old - Picture Books to Share with Older Children and Teens. Compiled by Megan Schliesman and updated annually, this list is organized topically. If you haven't used the CCBC booklists lately, do yourself a favor and see the wealth of resources available to you.

Finding Sex-free, Swear-free, Magic-free Reads for Young and Young Adult Readers

As librarians, we devote effort to making sure that our collections include something for everyone and that we stand up for the freedom to read. Often this means books that are challenged for content like sexuality, realistic issues, race, ethnicity, LGBTQ characters or families and so on. However, it also means making sure we have reads on the shelf and the ability to provide readers advisory for our patrons on reads that don't involve subjects like magic, swear words, sex, drugs and so forth if that is what they desire.

Maybe you've already developed strong skills in this area, but I've discovered that it is an area where I could grow. To that end, it would be great if you'd share your book lists, resources, favorite series and titles, or publishers for conservative reads in the comments.

This article on Serving Conservative Teens from School Library Journal published on March 4, 2015 has good suggestions on inclusive services for this audience in general, as well as some title suggestions.

Teen Readers' Advisory in the Age of the Smartphone

YALSA

YALSA's new Book Finder app and database is something I'm excited about introducing to teens and other readers of YA literature. Using either the desktop or the mobile app, which is slick and graphically pleasing, anyone can access the entirety of 4,000 titles from YALSA's awards and other lists of titles.

One major benefit is that this database is searchable and not limited to the chronological award lists that had to be accessed individually. Librarians, teens, and parents can download the free app to find new reads on either Android or iOS devices. The Book Finder is searchable by award/booklist, author, genre, or award year. Find out more about the database HERE or about the app HERE.

Enhancing Your Readers' Advisory Skills and RA from YSS Members

At January's YSS Retreat, the YSS members and board members who attended brought a book (or several books, after all we are librarians!) they've loved to booktalk. Here is a shortlist of those titles for you to read or recommend and a brief note on appeal or themes:

Booktalks

Diary of a Tokyo Teen - graphic memoir

Roseblood - new take on the Phantom of the Opera

Wolf by Wolf - alternative history of WWII in which Hitler won the war, there is a sequel

Sophie's Squash Goes to School - diverse

Frontline - another alternative history

The Best Man by Richard Peck - depictions of masculinity and male role models

Ghost by Jason Reynolds - themes of family violence and anger management but trauma is not the only thing about the character that we know

Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake

Winter Woes - out of print, but it is a great Storytime readaloud by Marty Kelley

Delia Dirke - graphic novel series

Need - YA thriller, set in WI, examines the dark side of social media

Learning to Swear in America - YA

Garvey’s Choice by Nikki Grimes - novel in verse

We Were Liars - readalike The Accident Season

Radiant Choice: The Story of Young Artist Jean-Michel Basquiat - award winner

I Kill Giants - graphic novel, pairs with A Monster Calls

Lilliput - a good readaloud for middle schoolers

Walking in a Winter Wonderland - picture book

Brushing up on Readers' Advisory skills can help with booktalking or connecting the right person with the right book. NoveList is a handy resource and the folks there have put together a list of links and some guides to genres and appeal terms updated for 2017. You can view those HERE.

Booktalks are a great icebreaker or professional development activity at your system Youth Services Meetings, too, and a fun way to learn about some new titles.

Books, Reading Levels and Lesson Plans

While many public libraries don't level their books, some do and so do some school media centers. Whether we do or don't level books is a discussion for another day.

Today's post shares resources for answering questions our patrons ask about the Lexile level of a book, the Accelerated Reader points for a given book, or where to find books at their level. Some library catalog records will indicate the reading level of a given book, but many do not and due to the variety of leveling systems, records may not include the one a patron wants.

In addition, patrons may want resources for homeschooling, for their children, or for their classrooms. Readers' Advisory can get an added boost from these tools, too.

A sampling of resources:

Many Novelist K-8 entries include information on Lexile and other reading levels or points. Parents can be shown how to obtain Lexile information themselves if they are interested. All users can access Novelist K-8 and Novelist through Badgerlink, Wisconsin's Online Library, with a Wisconsin library card.

Scholastic's Book Wizard provides six different types of level information including Lexile, AR, and Guided Reading. This is a beta version geared for teachers, but useful for librarians, students, and parents or caregivers.

Scholastic also has a handy Leveling Chart that provides general leveling information across grade and age. View it HERE.

AR BookFinder also provides a tool for searching books for different audiences including librarians, students, parents, and teachers. Entries provide information about reading levels, as well as awards, ratings, and summaries.

Another resource for guiding readers to the right book, TeachingBooks.net is also available through Badgerlink and has an abundance of resources for users. Lesson plans, book trailers, author interviews, and more like the ability to browse by grade level or subject make this a helpful tool.

Snapchat and Libraries

Library use of social media is deeply interesting to me. Libraries are not exactly like businesses but they aren't exactly like individuals either. So, how we make use of social media and apps to connect with our patrons and our communities is constantly changing just like trending apps.

Snapchat

Today, I'm examining the potential of Snapchat for libraries to highlight books and services. Spurred on by an article #SnapSeptember and Snapchat in the Library on the ALSC blog, I followed the link to Alanna Graves' School Library Journal article on How To Use Snapchat for Readers' Advisory, which covers Snapchat basics and libraries and bookish accounts to follow.

As these things often do, it led to several more articles of interest:

BookRiot's 8 Bookish Snapchat Accounts You Should Be Following
David Lee King's Snapchat Content Ideas for Libraries
New Jersey State Libraries Marketing Portal's Marketing Public Libraries to Millennials Using Snapchat

Librarian Enumerations' Libraries on Snapchat listing
and Small Business Trends How To Start a Snapchat Account for Your Business.

If you are using Snapchat to reach youth in your library, we'd like to hear about it. Just email scournoyer (at) mwfls (dot) org.

June Is Audiobook Month: Audiobooks for Summer Reading

Submitted by Sharon Grover, Youth Services & Audiobook Literacy Consultant

Co-author, Listening to Learn: Audiobooks Supporting Literacy

Yes, you read that right, audiobooks are a legitimate way to read and should be part of every summer library program. In the summer, when everyone’s on the go, an audiobook can be an especially good way to squeeze in summer reading lists, reading for pleasure, or a shared family literature experience. If you're looking for great audiobook titles to include in your recommendations for summer reading, here are some suggested sites that will make it easy:

Sound Learning (http://soundlearningapa.org)

This terrific toolkit for teachers and librarians from the Audio Publishers Association is one-stop shopping for information on audiobooks and literacy-development, as well as a treasure-trove of teacher tips, suggestions for audiobook promotion in public libraries, and loads of great titles for every occasion, including summer reading.

Sync Audiobooks for Teens (http://www.audiobooksync.com)

This free program includes 30 titles (2 titles each week for 15 weeks) that can be downloaded and kept as long as you like. Geared toward teen interests and learning themes, this is an exciting, easy way to promote listening for teens ages 13 and up. Many adult listeners will find this list appealing as well.

Audiobooks for Kids and Teens (http://www.audiofilemagazine.com/kids-teens/)   

AudioFile magazine’s comprehensive list of titles is divided by age group and even includes titles particularly recommended for family listening. The large mix of genres, themes, and narration styles provides plenty of suggestions for all types of listeners. The AudioFile blog also offers ways to encourage discussion of what kids have read with their ears (https://blog.audiofilemagazine.com/category/audiobooks-literacy/).

Listen-Alikes for Grades 5-12

AudioFile also offers this broad selection of genres and themes paired together for listening and discussing. Check out the digital edition of the magazine for these titles in a five-page spread: http://digital.audiofilemagazine.com/i/657727-april-may-2016/21

And when you're doing audiobook Readers’ Advisory, don't forget the wonderful lists available from ALA: Notable Children's Recordings (http://www.ala.org/alsc/awardsgrants/notalists/ncr), Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults (http://www.ala.org/yalsa/amazing-audiobooks), and the premier Odyssey Award, jointly administered by ALSC and YALSA (http://www.ala.org/yalsa/odyssey-award). You also don't want to miss titles selected for the Audio Publishers Association Audies Awards, exciting audiobooks for all ages and interests (https://apa.staging.t-r.io/uploads/pdf/Audies_Nominations_Release.pdf).

Happy listening!

ALSC 2016 Summer Reading Lists

The Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) recently published their great summer reading lists. The lists are in brochure format and can be downloaded, printed, and distributed for free! They make great handouts and reader's advisory tools for kids of all ages. Find them here: http://www.ala.org/alsc/2016-summer-reading-list

Early Word: Be in the Know

Want to keep up on publishing and author news, galley chats,  and trends in children's and YA books? Try Early Word. You can subscribe to the email newsletter or check the blog every day. This is a resource that was described in the Readers Advisory for All webinar given by Becky Spratford and hosted by the Indianhead Federated Library System. You can view the recording of the webinar at this link. You can learn more about Becky at her blog RA for All.

Summer readers or year round readers, librarians can benefit from learning about appeal terms (think adjectives), speed reading techniques, and how to hear what a patron is really looking for in order to make a positive connection between book, reader, and you.

Quick Link to ALA Notable Children's Books

Lists of the Notable Children's Books from 1995 to 2015 are available on the ALA website. Click here to view.

"Each year a committee of the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) identifies the best of the best in children's books. According to the Notables Criteria, "notable" is defined as: Worthy of note or notice, important, distinguished, outstanding. As applied to children's books, notable should be thought to include books of especially commendable quality, books that exhibit venturesome creativity, and books of fiction, information, poetry and pictures for all age levels (birth through age 14) that reflect and encourage children's interests in exemplary ways" (ALSC website).

The 2016 list is available here.

A 2016 selection.

Read-Alouds for the School Set

Image from School Library Journal

During the summer and into the school year, my library gets a lot of questions from parents (and teachers!) looking for great read-alouds to share with their kids. They've read just about as much Magic Tree House as they can stand, and they're looking for something new. School Library Journal has compiled a list of great read-aloud chapter book recommendations from librarians across the country. The books span a wide range of ages and literary tastes. You can access the list here. Which books do you like to recommend?