So many books, so little time!

I am inundated with Young Adult fiction books to read and become familiar with. I have a huge pile on my desk at school as well as on my bedside table at home and I just can't keep up with it all. I am finding myself relying on students to read books that I have been meaning to read for awhile and then telling me their thoughts afterward, so I can use their experience to sell the book to another student.

I am finding the middle school students ask mainly for books with 'action' and books that are 'funny'. The students in lower grades 3- 5 are little bit more vague, and tend to ask me to help them find books that 'I will like'. Either way it is always a challenge. I don't make my reading task any easier by spending 15 minutes browsing the shelves and finding 6 more books that look interesting that I should probably read. On the upside, at least I enjoy reading Young Adult fiction - there are some excellent books out there!

On the picture book front - I am enjoying Keiko Kasza's books right now and have read Badger's Fancy Meal to the 5 year olds right through to the 8 year olds and they have all enjoyed it. I love this book as the illustrations tell so much more than the text does, and the children love to see the small illustrations in the corners of the pages and other story lines happening almost 'behind the scenes' as the story unfolds.

This makes me realise how powerful illustrations are in picture books. I am reminded of parent/teacher conferences in the classroom when parents proudly told me that they cover up the pictures in books so their child has to only read the words - because looking at the illustrations is cheating! Between gritted teeth I remember telling parents, as politely as possible, that this isn't a good idea and that children need the illustrations to give them clues as to what is happening in the text and that sometimes more of the story is being told in the illustrations than in the text. You can't or shouldn't have one without the other. That is the whole point of a picture book and reading- it is an experience to be enjoyed.

Family Reading Afternoon

On Thursday 10th February I held the first Family Reading Afternoon in the RVIS library. It was a successful afternoon with lots of families reading and sharing books together. Our principal came by to read aloud one of her favourite stories and each student went into the draw to win a new book to take home. I had positive feedback from some of the parents who attended with their children, so I think the Family Reading Afternoon will become a regular part of the library program. I liked it as it was easy to organize, it didn't impact on the daily schedule as it was after school, and it was great to see families enjoying books together. A great end to the week!

Some ideas for upcoming reading afternoons are:

• Bring along a teddy (lower grades)
• Library scavenger hunt
• Poetry
  
• Fairy Tales
• Arabic
• Dr. Seuss