We want to help create motivated and engaged young readers. This blog is about children's and YA literature (especially New Zealand), literacy research, and ways to get, and keep, kids reading.
An interesting blogger, Donalyn Miller aka "The book whisperer" did a post in April (2010) on Twitter and how she uses it to keep in touch with the children's literature world.
She states, "Instant access via Twitter to book reviews, author appearances, and links offers teachers and librarians opportunities for finding books, resources, and like-minded colleagues beyond the walls of our schools, and streamlines the unwieldy process of following blogs and book marking review and author websites…"
flickr image by niallkennedy
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Some great library blogs to explore, from the quirky to inspirational…
Here is a link to Salem Press http://salempress.com/Store/blogs/blog_home.htm and their 2010 blog winners. These blogs are a fascinating mix of the trivial (try the truly awful but funny Awful Library Books) and serious.
Libraries and Transliteracy features a wonderful posted slide show on digital literacy and inquiry.
General Library Blogs
First place: Libraries and Transliteracy
Second place: Centered Librarian
Third place: Librarian.net
Quirky Library Blogs
First place: Awful Library Books
Second place: Library History Buff
Third place: Going Green At Your Library
Another Third place: Judge a Book by its Cover
Academic Library Blogs
First place: No Shelf Required
Second place: ResourceShelf
Third place: The Kept-Up Academic Librarian
Public Library Blogs
First place: Agnostic, Maybe
Second place: Blogging for a Good Book
Third place: Library Garden
School Library Blogs
First Place: Bib 2.0 "exploring the integration of technology into the library and classroom"
Second Place: Not So Distant Future
Third Place: 100 Scope Notes - has an amazing list of children's lit blogs in the right sidebar
Not so distant future blog has a post with Twitter advice to new library school students :
Getting Started
On Monday, a group of library school students is coming to visit my library, so today I asked my colleagues on Twitter to share their advice to new or incoming librarians…
If I had to express my advice in 140 characters, I think it would be:
embrace the new, support and collaborate with teachers, put students first, always learn, share your passion, always reflect, lead change
And this is totally unrelated to libraries but a heartwarming animal story shared as an "end of year" post on Bib 2.0 blog…
http://bib20.blogspot.com/2010/06/i-love-this.html
Any librarian will tell you that the books that go first in the library are always the ones on display. Great school library displays are a powerful incentive to get and keep kids reading. Often, very effective displays can be put together with just a little bit of thought and a pinch of creativity.
And that's where the School Library Displays blog comes in. Elaine Pearson, Librarian at Horowhenua College, Levin, who creates the blog says:
Having searched the internet in vain for ideas for inspiring library displays I thought I would share a few of my own!
Elaine's displays are designed to be quick, easy and low cost. Her latest idea is a display on "fun books," set up for April Fool's day. The display includes fiction and non-fiction books that are purely for entertainment. As Elaine says, this display can be set up any time of the year, not just the first of April!
Other recent display ideas on the blog include one titled "help yourself" about (you guessed it) self-help books; one on "who's in the news" with cuttings about achievements of the school's students; and "reading is in fashion" highlighting fashion and design books.
We like this blog so much, that Create Readers gave it a "butterfly award". Check it out, here.
Donalyn Miller is a 6th grade (NZ Year 7) teacher in Texas. She writes a blog called The Book Whisperer and has just published her book "The Book Whisperer: Awakening the Inner Reader in Every Child."
The Book Whisperer blog is inspirational. Its full of practical ideas to create readers, and keep them reading. Donalyn Miller talks about the books that she and her students love to read, and her blog entries make you wish that you were in her classroom enjoying them too. This blog is so good, that Create Readers has recently presented it with a Butterfly Award!
Recent entries talk about reading aloud (with some great books) for upper primary to intermediate age students, and engaging gifted readers,
Donalyn says she has yet to meet a child she couldn't turn into a reader. On average, her students read between 50 and 60 books a year; last year, one of her students read 300 books.
Want to find out how to do this? I've just read three articles by Donalyn Miller, written for Teacher Magazine, which are full of great, practical ideas to create readers. Here are some of them:
For reluctant readers, Donalyn says:
I would look for a short, easy-to-read book that taps into a personal interest. I often slip kids a new book that no one has read yet (except me, of course) so they can be the “first” or give them the first book in a high-interest series such as On the Run by Gordon Korman. Don’t attach any “teacher strings” to the book, no report, no comprehension questions, just a conference perhaps to see how it is going.
She also recommends books to hook readers, has a list of 13 books to read before you turn 13, and answers teachers' and librarians' questions about creating readers. Here are links to these excellent articles. Read them!
Creating Readers Part 1 and 2
Creating Readers Part 3
I've been really enjoying this cool teen blog, from Wellington City Libraries which I just have to share with Create Readers readers.
I've been really enjoying this cool teen blog, from Wellington City Libraries which I just have to share with Create Readers readers. In fact this blog is so cool, we gave it a Butterfly Award last week!
This blog would be useful for teens and anyone with teens in their life who wants to keep up with new and great teen books.
It includes blog posts on Wellington City Libraries' "most wanted" books each month, as well as reviews and new books. There's also the libraries' latest music CDs, or themed selections, complete with playlists to listen to.
The blog also has some great booklists. Here's a recent Top 10: Strong Females List. Go here for their top 10 top 10 lists!
Wellington City Libraries Kids Blog is also well worth checking out.
Last Friday we announced that Create Readers has won a Butterfly Award!
Last Friday we announced that Create Readers has won a Butterfly Award!
This week we're proud to pass on the award by presenting these outstanding blogs with their very own Butterfly Award.
Wellington City Libraries Teen Blog
The Book Whisperer
School Library Displays
We have chosen these blogs as ones which extend the Create Readers experience in quite different ways. Have a look at them and see what you think. Comments about your favourite blogs are also very welcome.
Over the next few weeks, we'll be posting blog entries about these blogs, to keep you busy on your Professional Reading over the school holidays.
This is a meme award and the rules for passing it on are:
1. Put the logo on your blog.
2. Add a link to the person who awarded you.
3. Award up to ten other blogs.
4. Add links to those blogs on yours.
5. Leave a message for your awardees on their blogs.
Last month, Stephalie Rosalia, a humble elementary school librarian, made the front page of the New York Times, in an article titled "The Future of Reading: In Web Age, Library Job gets an Update," by Motoko Rich. (You can view New York Times articles for free, but you do need to quickly register first.)
This article became the most emailed story of the day, receiving 78 comments from readers and being mentioned on blogs around the world.
It shows Ms Rosila teaching students how to judge the accuracy of web sites, collaborating with teachers on information literacy lessons, and showing students online newspapers on the interactive whiteboard. She also encourages reading, weeds, and buys cool new books!
This month, the School Library Journal features an interview with Stephalie Rosalia, where she talks about her role in the school, and what it was like being the subject of the article.
I particularly liked what she said about books v. computers. It makes me mad when people think there has to be a fight to the death between the two, and that we have to choose which side we're on.
This is what the "poster-girl of school libraries" has to say on the topic:
I take issue with the few comments that seem to suggest that one media is better or worse than another. I am an unabashed bibliophile and I always promote books and tell my students that if the grid goes down, they can stand in the sunshine and read a book. However, it is my job to bring all media and sources of information and reading to my students. They have to learn to gather all information from all sources and assess it all. Print is NOT dead; Internet is NOT evil.
(From the School Library Journal article.)
This article is third in a series about the Future of Reading. The others are Literacy Debate: Online R U Really Reading, about what it means to read in a digital age (receiving 166 online comments!), and Using Video Games as Bait to Hook Readers.
Why should you be interested in all this? If you have become professionally registered as a librarian (or are considering doing so), you know that you need to keep up with your professional development, including professional reading. Looking at the hot off the press School Library Journal online, for free is one good way to do this. I subscribe to a weekly e-mail, SLJ Extra Helping, that tells me about the latest School Library Journal articles, here.
And whoever we are, whatever we do for a living, these issues around "The Future of Reading", are rapidly moving from science fiction to everyday reality all around us. Why not read the New York Times over a nice hot coffee, and have a ponder about our future and the part you want to play in shaping it …
We have been chosen by Paper Tigers as one of their favourite blogs! They have passed on a Butterfly Award to us “for the coolest blog I ever know.” Thanks Paper Tigers! Paper Tigers blogs about multicultural books for children and young adults, and looks like a pretty cool blog too!Sometimes it's hard to find the right image to go with your book review.
Say you want a photo of …
Sometimes it's hard to find the right image to go with your book review.
The All Blacks playing the Wallabies
Where do you go? Well, I go to the photo-sharing site Flickr www.flickr.com, and head to their Advanced Search page http://www.flickr.com/search/advanced
At the bottom of the Advanced Search page, you can check an option that will limit your search to Creative Commons licensed images. Creative Commons allows creators (like photographers) to change their copyright terms from 'All Rights Reserved' to 'Some Rights Reserved'.
There are several different forms of CC licence, with terms covering things like whether the licensed item can be redisplayed, altered, or used for commercial use. All forms of the licences specify that the item must be attributed to the creator.
This all sounds a bit technical, but when it comes to looking for images in Flickr, it's pretty easy. Heaps of people have added a CC licence to their photos in Flickr, which means that by following the terms they have selected, you can reproduce their photos on your blog. Here's how.
1. Go to the Advanced Search page and limit your search to CC items
2. Search for your keywords - "New York marathon" or "Anzac Cove".
3. Look through the results, and click on the ones you like. On the left hand of the screen, you'll see some blue text that says 'Some rights reserved'. Clicking this will tell you what you can & can't do with the photo.
4. Download the image (if you're not a Flickr member, don't worry, just right-click the photo and choose 'Save image as' from the menu that will appear).
5. Use the image on your blog, obeying the terms of the licence. Below, you can see how I've attributed the images: by giving the name of the photographer, and then turning their name into a hyperlink, which links to the photo on Flickr.
Easy-peasy. All it takes is a bit of practice. If you have any questions, feel free to leave them in the comments!
Photos, from top to bottom
2006 New York marathon, by doctormike
Anzac Cove, by odoyle81
Pasifika Festival 2008, by Richard Sihamau
Bledisloe Cup Eden Park July 2007, by Stan_L
National Library School Services in Auckland recently ran a successful introductory seminar for the 2007/2008 "Reading @ the Beach" summer reading programme for teachers. School services staff were asked to write"mini" reviews of some of their favourite books and these were put on display (with the books) for the participating teachers to peruse.
Judging by the number of "gaps" on the shelves after the teachers had left, we figured that the reviews were pretty effective selling tools! Over the next few weeks, I'll post some of these reviews under the title "Quick picks for summer" - so keep a lookout if you need suggestions for something to read over the holidays.
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