Picture Book Fun….

Inly’s third graders have begun taking their first “spring steps” toward Upper Elementary (4th-6th grade), and part of their journey includes an extra weekly library class where we have time to go beyond a story and checking out books. This year we are focusing on the Caldecott Award and picture book illustrations.

During the first week, we looked at Molly Bang’s classic Picture This: How Pictures Work. Published in 1991, Bang’s book shows how shape and color impact the way a story is told and how those components impact our emotions. This past Friday, the kids were faced with a big stack of Caldecott Medal and Honor Books – dating back to Madeline, which received a silver Honor Book sticker in 1940.  Post-it notes on the covers stated the year a book won, but they were all mixed up. The kids put them in order from oldest to newest around the circle in the library. After that, they chose their seat and began looking!

Next week we will look at the many books that were predicted to be contenders for the 2019 Medal. The award has already been announced, but we will start with a big pile of books and see if they agree with the committee’s decision. Ultimately, the kids will choose which illustration style they like the best and then we will move on to the creative phase.  More to come on that….

In other picture book news, you have to check out Greg Pizzoli’s new book, Book Hog. In fact, book lovers may want to add a copy to their personal library. Pizzoli’s sweet and brightly colored story is a celebration of books. The main character, a pig, loves books. His problem is: “He didn’t know how to read. He had never learned.” There are lots of charming touches here – a kind librarian, the way the book spines change as the Book Hog learns to read, and my favorite: Wilbur’s is the name of the local bookstore (check out the upstairs window)!

Finally, Mary took this picture of the light shining on the walls of the library this week (while we were setting up for a meeting). It’s the perfect picture to represent what a library does…

 

A Short Trip to New York….

We were only in New York for two days, but that was plenty of time to visit two new (to us) bookstores, hear an author speak, and go to an exhibit about Corduroy!

Our first stop was the Museum of the City of New York where the exhibit, A City for Corduroy, is there until June 23.  The famous stuffed bear – who is missing a button on his green overalls – was “born” in 1968 when Don Freeman published his most well-known book, Corduroy.  Freeman also published numerous other picture books for children (including my favorite, Norman the Doorman) and was equally well-regarded for his illustrations of Broadway in the 1930s.

I learned that the original Corduroy story did not include Lisa’s mother’s saying to her daughter: “not today dear….I’ve spent too much already.” In the first draft, it was only the missing button that prevented Corduroy from going home with Lisa that day. “I’m sure we can find a perfect bear for you,” she tells Lisa:

Another priority for this trip was to branch out from our regular go-to NYC bookstores, McNally Jackson and the Strand, and visit two stores on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. Kitchen Arts and Letters, on Lexington Avenue, is a legendary cookbook store.

Even though I’m not capable of cooking much more than Annie’s Macaroni and Cheese, I am lucky to be married to a wonderful cook – and he loved this store. In fact, he seemed kind of overwhelmed by the selection. According to their website, Kitchen Arts and Letters has over 12,000 cookbooks in stock. The website also says that Laurie Colwin was one of the store’s early customers. That was enough for me. Laurie Colwin is one of my all-time favorite writers so I was happy to be in a place she loved.

Another store on our list was one I’d seen on Instagram, but never visited. The Corner Bookstore opened in 1978 (five years before Kitchen Arts and Letters) and it is a true reader’s paradise. This bookstore is smartly curated; every book in the store is the best of what’s available in travel, art, fiction, nonfiction, and biography. It was wonderful to browse in The Corner Bookstore because all of the work (weeding through junk) has been done. I bought a short biography of the artist Bellini and a recently published literary biography of Capri, Pagan Light: Dreams of Freedom and Beauty in Capri.

An added bonus: The Corner Bookstore’s cash register. It caught my eye because of the name on the front:

Made in 1906 by the National Cash Register Company in Dayton, it suits the store perfectly and still works.

As we walked toward our next stop, we were held up by this scene:

They were filming a new HBO series called The Undoing. Based on the novel You Should Have Known by Jean Hanff Korelitz, the series stars Nicole Kidman and Hugh Grant.  We had a feeling this filming was different than others we’ve walked by in NYC. The extras were standing on the corner, and even they had beautiful clothing and professional make-up. There were two catering stations and lots of people who appeared to be very busy.

Later that evening, we heard E.O. Wilson speak at the 92nd Street Y. The New York Times science writer Claudia Dreifus led a conversation with Wilson about his new book, Genesis: The Deep Origin of Societies.

The conversation focused on Wilson’s work in understanding tribalism, a word we hear a lot today. Wilson said the fundamental force of evolution was the physical growth of our brains. That growth, which allows us to behave and think as we do today, occurred through formation of groups, conflicts, empathy, and most importantly – alliances. Of course, the two-time Pulitzer prize winner, also discussed ants, a subject about which he is the world’s expert.

I am not the best person to write a reliable report on a scientist’s talk, but I enjoyed every minute of listening to Wilson. He was introduced as a “worthy son of Charles Darwin,” and everyone in the room was keenly aware that we were in the presence of greatness.

Back to school on Monday!  I have 30 pages left to read of The House of Broken Angels by Luis Alberto Urrea. It was a perfect vacation book – the story of a big and complicated Mexican-American family celebrating the last birthday of their patriarch.

Happy Reading….

 

 

 

Two New Montessori Books….

If you are a Montessori parent or teacher – or a parent who wants to learn more about integrating Montessori principles into your home – there are two new books to add to your collection.

The Montessori Toddler: A Parent’s Guide to Raising a Curious and Responsible Human Being by Simone Davies will be out on March 19. I don’t have the “real” book yet, but thanks to Amazon’s “Look Inside” feature, I’m able to see the wide range of topics Davies covers: an Introduction to Maria Montessori, Setting Up the Home, Nurturing Cooperation and Responsibility, What We Need to Know About Toddlers, Montessori Principles, and Montessori Activities – among other topics.  In true Montessori fashion, the book is simply and beautifully designed.

The book’s author, Simone Davies, has been a Montessori educator for 15 years and is associated with the Jacaranda Tree Montessori playgroup in Amsterdam. She also has a wonderful blog (that I just spent way too much time on!) called The Montessori Notebook. (https://www.themontessorinotebook.com/blog/)

If I had one wish as a librarian at a Montessori school, it was for a simple biography of Maria Montessori. It is one of the most requested items in the library, and outside of a page about the Italian educator and physician in Goodnight Stories for Rebel Girls, there is no contemporary children’s books about the woman whose name is on the front of over 4,000 schools in the United States. But now….

One of the most recent installments in the The Little People, Big Dreams series of picture books is about Maria Montessori. I think of the Little People, Big Dreams series as a younger version of the popular “Who Was” series. The Who Was books are divided into chapters and can go into a bit more detail than the Little People books, but both series provide introductions to well known people:

Because of limited space in the library, I have resisted the urge to purchase all of the Little People series, but the Maria Montessori volume will be on display right after spring break, and I’m sure it will be read aloud in many of our classrooms.

Happy Reading!

 

Reading on a Snowy Saturday….

It’s Saturday and snowing. We haven’t had a particularly snowy winter, but now that it’s March, winter seems to be reminding us not to get too excited about spring just yet.  I spent the morning finishing a new “upper middle grade novel” called Genesis Begins Again by Alicia D. Williams.

Upper middle grade is an evolving subcategory of children’s books. There are not defined rules for what makes a middle grade novel an upper middle grade novel, but it’s an important distinction. The protagonists of middle grade novels are usually between 9 and 11 years old. Upper middle grade novels feature characters who are 12 or 13.  Upper middle grade also addresses topics that are typical of young adult novels: sexuality, war, identity, and more complicated family issues.

Genesis Begins Again fits squarely in the upper middle grade category. At the center of the novel is Genesis, a thirteen-year-old African American girl who is embarrassed by her dark skin.  She desperately wants to look like her light-skinned mother. Instead, she looks like her father, who is unreliable and often drunk. Genesis also struggles at school, desperate to make friends while carrying the pain of her family’s precarious economic situation and her increasingly painful (for her and the reader) efforts to lighten her skin. Her grandmother does not help. She carries a deep and misguided belief that “”marrying up” means to marry someone with lighter skin.

Genesis has loving people in her corner though: her supportive mother, new friends, and a chorus teacher who recognizes Genesis’ gifts and encourages her to use her voice. It’s a moving and powerful book, one that I’ll encourage some of our students to read over the summer.

Before that, I read a book opposite in every way from Genesis Begins Again – Jeeves and the King of Clubs by Ben Schott.  Here’s how I decided to read a new novel based on the classic stories by P.G. Wodehouse:

While I was on medical leave, I read alot. I wrote about most of those books in my last blog post. When I finished Belonging, the graphic memoir by a woman uncovering her family’s WWII story, I felt exhausted. All of the books were wonderful and interesting in their own way, but between the books and the real life daily news, I was ready for something brighter. I looked back at my list and realized that my reading had addressed: the Holocaust (Belonging), race and identity (Inventing Victoria), Brexit (Middle England), a woman who feels alienated from society (Convenience Store Woman), WWII (Someday We Will Fly) and an intelligent but complex story about the lives of two young women in Dublin (Conversations With Friends).  I started thinking a palate cleanser was in order – too many strong flavors!  And just in time, I read a wonderful review of Ben Schott’s “homage” to Wodehouse’s Bertie Wooster and his valet, Jeeves, Jeeves and the King of Clubs.

It was perfect. The pages were almost fizzy, and something on every page (usually incredibly clever wordplay) made me laugh out loud. The plot is entertaining: taxi chases, a dinner that goes wrong, lots of bubbly at various clubs, and, of course, Jeeves reliably being two steps ahead of everyone.

Time to start a new book, but here are two pictures from this past week in the library….

Winter Reading….

There is one bonus to being on medical leave during the winter – lots of time to read!  While I’ll be happy to return to school soon, it has been nice to look at the thermometer, remember I don’t have to go outside, and reach for my book.  Here’s what I’ve been reading for the past six weeks….

Middle England by Jonathan Coe

At over 400 pages, this novel took the longest to read. I first read about it on a few English newspaper websites, but this endorsement from the author John Boyne tipped me over into the “buy” column: “Millions of words have been and will be written on Brexit but few will get to the heart of why it is happening as incisively as Middle England.”  Maybe I was tired of reading about the dysfunction in my own country so I decided to dive into another flavor of anxiety.  What I really like about Middle England is its broad sweep. The novel begins eight years before the Brexit vote and follows a cast of characters representing multiple points of view. By the time Coe reaches the actual “stay or leave” vote, I had a deeper understanding of England – and America’s – identity crisis.

Belonging: A German Reckons with History and Home by Nora Krug

This acclaimed memoir by a German woman learning about her family’s history during WWII is an immersive experience. A blend of a graphic novel, a scrapbook, and a memoir, Krug’s book is demanding and thoughtful. It is not a traditional reading experience – rather I found myself engaging with each page visually and emotionally. I felt like I was traveling alongside the author as she uncovers her family’s story and asks hard questions. Krug understands that history exists in the grey space – she does not conclude with a list of who was right and who was wrong. History and family are more complex than that. You reach the end of her memoir shocked again at the atrocities of Nazi-era Germany and thinking about your own cultural heritage and the meaning of “home.”

Someday We Will Fly by Rachel Dewoskin

I read this young adult novel in advance of adding it to Inly’s middle school summer reading list. At the center of the story is Lillia, a fifteen-year-old Polish girl who, with her father and baby sister, escape to Shanghai during WWII. Lillia’s parents were circus performers in Poland, but during a chaotic raid, her mother disappears, leaving the rest of her family to hope for her return. As Lillia makes a new life in Shanghai, she struggles with missing her mother and trying to find ways to make money to help her family survive. The most interesting part of the book was learning about the Jewish community that lived in Shanghai during WWII. China was occupied by Japanese forces at the time, but the Japanese allowed the Jewish refugees to stay because, as Lillia’s dad explains to her, “Apparently the Japanese believe Jews are powerful…..as long as they believe we control Western governments, we should be fine. Who knew there’d be such a silver lining to anti-Semitic conspiracy theories?” A good pick for mature teenagers who enjoy historical fiction.

Inventing Victoria by Tonya Bolden

Continuing the young adult historical fiction segment of the list, I read Tonya Bolden’s new novel about Essie, a young African American woman living in post-Civil War Savannah. At the opening of the novel, Essie lives with her mother in a brothel. Her mother calls the men who visit “uncles,” but Essie knows there is no future with her mother, and with the support of a friend, finds a housekeeping position in a respectable boardinghouse. One of the guests, an African American woman named Dorcas Vashon, gives Essie an opportunity – to be her companion. “I seek out young women of promise,” Dorcas tells Essie. Essie takes the opportunity, renames herself Victoria, and begins a new life among the African American elite in Baltimore. This book addresses race, status, and identity – and it’s perfect for readers ages 14 and over. I really liked this one.

Conversations With Friends by Sally Rooney

Since reading about the meteoric rise of Sally Rooney, the twenty-seven year old literary superstar, I’ve wanted to read both of her novels: Conversations With Friends and Normal People. Rooney’s press has been glowing. A New Yorker profile is captioned: “The Irish writer has been hailed as the first great millennial novelist for her stories of love and late capitalism.” Normal People was longlisted for the Booker Prize and was the 2018 Waterstones Book of the Year. So, with that as background music, I enthusiastically jumped into Conversations With Friends.  The writing is brilliant – I was so dazzled by some of the sentences that I would stop, reverse direction, and re-read a passage. But overall, I felt like I did when I would occasionally watch Girls, the Lena Dunham HBO series: that this is a generation I don’t recognize. The novel is compelling, kind of dark, and for me, a look inside a world that is far from my experience. That’s not a complaint. I’m grateful for Rooney’s honest look at the concerns of modern twenty-somethings. I’ll recommend Conversations with Friends to people in their 20s and 30s – and those who want to better understand what it feels like to be young today.

While I’ve been out of school, Mary has sent me lots of pictures from the Library. Here are two that I love and make me excited to go back to school:

A few more days at home – time to fit in one more book from my “to read” pile….

A Year-End Mix….

One of the most common questions we hear in the Inly Library is about recommending books to young readers who can read beyond their age level. It can be challenging to identify good books for an eight-year-old who has the reading skills – but not the emotional maturity – of a twelve-year-old. This article from last Sunday’s NYT Book Review has some good suggestions:

Another topic that parents regularly ask about is rereading. Some kids love reading the same book over and over again – it can be confusing to their parents, but makes perfect sense to the new reader. Children alternate through periods of reading things that are very familiar and comfortable before being ready to move into new kinds of books and more challenging material. That back-and-forth is completely age appropriate and important to their growth as readers.

The book I’m currently reading, Bookworm: A Memoir of Childhood Reading by Lucy Mangan, includes this paragraph:

“But for children, rereading is absolutely necessary. The act of reading is itself still new. A lot of energy is still going into (not so) simple decoding of words and the assimilation of meaning. Only then do you get to enjoy the plot – to begin to get lost in the story. And only after you are familiar with the plot are you free to enjoy, mull over; break down and digest all the rest. The beauty of a book is that it remains the same for as long as you need it. It’s like being able to ask a teacher or parent to repeat again and again some piece of information or point of fact you haven’t understood with the absolute security of knowing that he/she will do so infinitely. You can’t wear out a book’s patience.”

Finally….one of the best parts of working in a school library is finding notes like this one – a reminder of how important this work is and how lucky we are to be part of the journey…

This blog will return in February 2019. Until then, I wish you a Happy New Year and lots of good books!

 

My Year in Reading

As regular readers know, I’ve kept a list of every book I read since 1992. No comments. No thumbs up or down. Just the title and author. I looked at Volume One (1992-1998), and the first book I recorded was Song of the Lark by Willa Cather. I loved that book!  In December 1998 I read The Tortilla Curtain by T.C. Boyle. That was a good one too.  Here are four of my five notebooks. One seems to be missing – and I will turn the house upside down to find it!

My average is about 60 books per year, give or take. During the school year there are lots of Inly-related books (for classes or summer reading) and books I’m reviewing for School Library Journal. The summer break is obvious because the titles become things from my own “to read” list. This year, Michelle Obama’s memoir, Becoming, is #58 so I’ll be able to reach #60 by the time Ryan Seacrest is in Times Square counting down to 2019.

My ten favorites among the books I read this year are:

99 Glimpses of Princess Margaret by Craig Brown

Asymmetry by Lisa Halliday

Up at the Villa by Somerset Maugham (I didn’t plan to read this and absolutely loved it. It’s a novella set in 1930s Florence about a woman caught up in a scandal. So good and a quick read)

Love to Everyone by Hilary McKay

There There by Tommy Orange

House of Dreams: The Life of L.M. Montgomery by Liz Rosenberg

Calypso by David Sedaris

The Maze at Windermere by Gregory Blake Smith

Educated by Tara Westover

Front Desk by Kelly Yang

Technically I have not finished reading one of the books on my list. There are about 50 pages left, but from the opening chapter, I knew Love to Everyone was special. Reminiscent of novels like Anne of Greene Gables and The War That Saved My Life, the setting of McKay’s novel is WWI-era England where Clarry Penrose lives with her widowed father and brother. Clarry is born at the beginning of the 20th century, and the novel spans the course of her life which is rich in both happiness and heartbreak. Much of the heartbreak comes during WWI which initially feels “vague and distant” to Clarry. Of course, it lands on her doorstep.

McKay’s beautiful writing is part of the pleasure of reading Love to Everyone. I love this passage about the seasons:

“The long cold winter was passing. The light grew brighter, even in the Miss Pinkses’ fume-filled classrooms. The air was wet and salt-tanged from the sea. There were birds above the chimney pots and daffodils to be spotten on Miss Vane’s chilly walks, and it was spring with summer on the horizon. Summer was shining bliss. Summer was opals and topaz and lapis and diamonds flung down from the sky. Summer was Cornwall.”

A few days ago I was in Boston waiting for a friend who texted to say she would be late. No worries. My book was in my bag and I was standing in front of a Starbucks. I started reading and soon enough, the lights beaming from all of the laptops and phones faded away, and I was back in Cornwall with Clarry.

And now the books to read in 2019 begin to stack up. Last night we were at the Coop in Harvard Square and, although my “to read” list is completely unrealistic, I could not leave the store empty handed.  I remember seeing something about David Litt’s memoir of working as a speechwriter for President Obama, but a combination of two things made me buy it:

1 – I finished Becoming a few days ago and was forced to re-enter the real world. The contrast proved too great, and I wanted to jump back down the rabbit hole and return to less chaotic days.

2 – The recommendation that a staff member at the Coop wrote about the book. Those staff notes are really persuasive!

Of course, now I want to listen to David Litt on The Moth.

But first….I need to return to Clarry’s story.  Happy Reading….

 

 

 

Best Children’s Books of 2018

 

It was a pleasure to spend Sunday afternoon talking about the best children’s books of the year with Nancy Perry, the children’s librarian at the Norwell Public Library, during our annual program at the James Library. The rain made it a perfect day to be in a cozy room looking at books. Below is an abbreviated list of the books we talked about:

Picture Books

Hello Lighthouse by Sophie Blackall (hands down the most beautiful picture book of the year!)

Stories of the Night by Kitty Crowther

Mary Poppins by P.L. Travers and Genevieve Godbout (this would be a good gift to pair with movie tickets to see Mary Poppins Returns!)

The Elephant by Jenni Desmond

Night Job by Karen Hesse (my favorite picture book of the year – a warm and beautiful story about a father and son)

Kitten and the Night Watchman by John Sullivan

Middle Grade

Louisiana’s Way Home by Kate DiCamillo

Saving Winslow by Sharon Creech

The Season of Styx Malone by Kekla Magoon

Love to Everyone by Hilary McKay

Inkling by Kenneth Oppel

My Beijing: Four Stories of Everyday Wonder by Nie Jun (four sweet graphic adventures about a little girl and her grandfather)

Gift Books

Atlas Obscura Explorer’s Guide for the World’s Most Adventurous Kid

Lovely Beasts by Kate Gardner

Everything & Everywhere by Marc Martin

A History of Pictures by David Hockney and Martin Gayford

Sing a Song of Seasons: A Nature Poem for Every Day of the Year edited by Fiona Waters

One book on our list came to life when Sophie Blackall, the author and illustrator of Hello Lighthouse, visited  Inly this past Friday!

And the best picture of the week…..a student waiting for her book to be signed!

Happy Reading!

Holiday Book Edition….

I love holiday books. There’s a big box of them under our guest room bed that I look forward to getting out during Thanksgiving weekend. When my son was young, we would read a different one each night before he went to bed, but even now (when he’s 23), I find myself adding one or two new ones every year. The cozy scenes, rich colors, and dancing nutcrackers can really brighten a dark and cold day.

Two new ones stand out this year:

All-of-a-Kind Family Hanukkah by Emily Jenkins and illustrated by Paul O. Zelinsky

It’s too bad this book may be tucked away after the holidays because it’s a beautiful story for any time of the year. Based on the 1950s series All-of-a-Kind Family novels by Sydney Taylor about five sisters and their parents in New York City’s Lower East Side at the turn of the century, this new picture book about preparing for Hanukkah takes place in 1912. The story centers on the youngest of the sisters, Gertie, who is too young to help prepare the potato pancakes, but her father finds the perfect way for Gertie to celebrate the holiday.

Santa Bruce by Ryan Higgins

From the appearance of Higgins’ first picture book about a bear and a group of goslings who think he’s their mother, these books have been a hit – with kids and adults. The contrast between the grumpy (kind of) bear and the cute yellow ducks makes these books laugh-out-loud funny and incredibly sweet. Since 2015, there’s been Hotel Bruce, Bruce’s Big Move and now……Santa Bruce! As someone who is not a big fan of winter, I can relate to Bruce who “used to stay in bed all winter long and skip right through the whole business.” But the geese and the mice have other ideas – they want to celebrate Christmas!

Here are some of my other favorites…

The Nostalgic Favorite

The Sweet Smell of Christmas by Patricia Scarry

Originally published in 1970 – and still in print – The Sweet Smell of Christmas was my younger sister’s favorite book. It’s a “Scratch & Sniff” story with the smells (using that term loosely) of hot chocolate, apple pie, and a few others. When we were little girls, the three of us loved this book, and I was under the mistaken impression that the hot chocolate smell was really good. It’s not, but the orange is nice. Just opening this book brings me back to my childhood.

My Favorite Story

Henry Bear’s Christmas by David McPhail

This is a cozy Christmas book with a good story that celebrates friendship and the holidays. Henry Bear loves everything about Christmas, especially the tree. But when he gets his heart set on a tree that’s being raffled, his “chances” of getting it aren’t great. The fact that he loses the tree because he’s distracted by doughnuts and hot chocolate makes this book relatable and incredibly sweet!  For reasons I don’t understand, Henry Bear’s Christmas is out of print, but check your local library or get a used copy on Amazon.

The Classic

Mr. Willowby’s Christmas Tree by Robert Barry

Every collection of Christmas books should include a copy of this one. Published in 1963, this is a cheerful story – perfect for the holidays. The hero, Mr. Willowby, buys a Christmas tree that, as he learns when he gets it home, doesn’t quite fit. He asks his butler, Baxter (it’s dated) to take a little off the top. The new “little” tree is given to the upstairs maid, but guess what!  You get the idea. Not necessarily original, but there’s a charm to this book that keeps in steady rotation.

A New York City Love Story

Red and Lulu by Matt Tavares

Red and Lulu live happily in an evergreen tree, until….the tree is cut down and transported to New York City with Lulu in it!  The tree is on its way to Rockefeller Center where, after a challenging search, the birds are reunited. This is a good gift for children who have seen the famous tree.

The Best Christmas Book of…..2017!

The Little Reindeer by Nicola Killen

This gentle and magical story deserves a place in every collection. It reminds me a The Snowman by Raymond Briggs. A perfect gift for kids who leave snacks for Santa’s reindeer!

A Stretch to Call it a Christmas Story….

Little Penguins by Cynthia Rylant and illustrated by Christian Robinson

Technically, not a holiday book, but it would certainly not look out of place under the tree!  A toddler bedtime book about the joy of waiting for snow.

A Mix of Holidays and History

Oskar and the Eight Blessings by Richard Simon and Tanya Simon

Published in 2015, this book has become one of my favorites. It’s about miracles and a boy named Oskar whose parents have sent him to America to escape the rise of the Nazis. He arrives in New York City on the seventh day of Hanukkah which also happens to be Christmas Eve.

And a few others–

So many choices. The Polar Express, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and Twas’ the Night Before Christmas come to mind as essential Christmas books. We own several versions of Clement Clarke Moore’s famous 1823 poem, A Visit from St. Nicholas, which we know as Twas’ the Night Before Christmas, but the one my son always requested is the Little Golden Book Version illustrated by Corinne Malvern.

A holiday gift note…

I’m about half-way through Becoming, Michelle Obama’s memoir. It’s an incredible story, thoughtful and inspiring. It would be the perfect gift for your friend, sister, mother, grandmother – any woman in your life. I was in the Jabberwocky Bookshop in Newburyport last night and noticed it was not available. I asked the woman working at the sales desk about it, and she told me they were sold out. I am not surprised. I thought I knew Michelle Obama’s story, but it was just the biographical details. This is a book about hard work, genuinely wanting to make a difference in people’s lives, and love for family, friends, and country.

Happy Reading!

 

 

 

 

 

Notes from the Inly Library….

Every so often, when the kids least expect it, I “close” the graphic novel section.

I love graphic novels as much as they do, but after a few months of watching our Lower Elementary students making a bee-line for the graphic novel section every time they walk in, I thought the rest of the library may be feeling ignored.   That’s the joy of being a teacher-librarian, rather than working in a public library where this action would not be an option. The “teacher” part of my work means I have a responsibility to introduce kids to all kinds of books and to create an environment that encourages curiosity and browsing.

After the anticipated moans and groans, the kids begin exploring areas they haven’t visited in a while: the Who Was series, stand-alone early chapter books, and even picture books. The graphic novels will be available for check-out next week, but truthfully, I think the kids kind of enjoyed the chance to venture beyond Dog Man.

Some of the students had fun trying to persuade me to change my mind. It didn’t work.

Our Lower Elementary students have been talking about race and skin color. There are a number of excellent age appropriate books to spark meaningful conversations with young children. Here are four of my favorites:

Skin Again by bell hooks

The Colors of Us by Karen Katz

Happy in Our Skin by Fran Manushkin

The Skin You Live In by Michael Tyler

If you’re looking for good information about how to talk with kids about race, check out this resource from the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association.

Talking with Young Children (0-5) about Race

As part of their work, the children in one classroom used a lens to look closely at their hands and then “made” their hand using multicultural construction paper. Here are three especially wonderful results:

After reading another glowing review of Inkling, Kenneth Oppel’s new middle grade novel, I read it last week.

It’s wonderful, and will definitely be added to my Best of 2018 list. From the novel’s opening pages, it felt like something fresh and new. Inkling is the story of…..an inkblot. Not your typical protagonist, I know, but this inkblot has personality. The human at the center of the novel is Ethan, whose father is a famous graphic novel artist. Naturally, Ethan’s friends think Ethan must be just like his dad so they make him the artist for a joint school project.  But then he meets Inkling who can draw, among other talents. One of the many cool things about this book is that the pages themselves have ink blotches on them, giving the reader an immersive experience. This is the perfect book for a graphic novel fan or a budding artist.

My list of middle grade and middle school novels to read is long, but I’m now reading Michelle Obama’s book, Becoming. I’ve been looking forward to it for months, and I’m finding it to be a relief from the daily onslaught of unsettling news. It’s a good choice for the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday.

Happy Reading and Happy Thanksgiving!