Find the Perfect Book Match for Your Summer Reading

I'm so excited to tell you about this great opportunity--just a click away. How many times during the summer when your mom or dad suggests you do some reading, you say, "But I don't have any good books."???

When you follow this link to Lexile's Find a Book, you'll be able to enter your grade and what type of books interest you. Presto! Find a Book will zap out a list of titles for you to check out faster than you can slurp down an ice cream cone on a 90-degree summer day.

Pick out a few titles which sound too good to miss. Go online to your local library. See if they have the books. Put holds on them and plan a trip to the library. In no time at all, you can be relaxing with the best of summer reads.

Not so much into reading...no worries. You can indicate what your reading level is when you enter your info into the Find a Book database. A long list of just-right books--for your interests and  correct reading level--will magically appear.

Yeah, but why bother reading during the summer. It's vacation from school time.

So true, but a professor of education at Harvard University, James Kim, did a study. He found that students who don't read over the summer can fall behind in their reading levels by as much as two months. That means you'll have lost ground during the summer. You'll start next school year just trying to catch up to where you left off the year before. That doesn't sound like fun.

But, according to the professor, if you read at least 8 interesting books at your reading level during the summer, you won't fall behind. In fact, you'll probably increase your reading level.

Awesome! Wouldn't that be a cool surprise for your new teacher as well as your parents.

Public libraries usually have great summer reading programs. You may be able to earn prizes reading this summer and beat the summer slide--loosing ground on your reading skills. 

So this summer, do your sliding into home plate--not down hill on your reading.

Libraries are truly COOL places to hang out in this summer. Check one out.

Let me know how you do with your reading and what's the best book you read this summer. 

Summer Reading, Websites, and Recipes for Kids

Holly and I took a field trip to the dog park today. There we met Joey and his mom and their beautiful and friendly Irish Setter, Flash. After Holly showed Joey all the cool tricks she can do, we humans eventually got around to the really fun stuff--talking about books.

Joey was on the lookout for some good summer reading. I offered him a couple of favorites:

THE GOLLYWHOPPER GAMES by Jody Feldman

THE GRAVEYARD BOOK by Neil Gaiman

The Gollywhopper Games received the 2008 Midwest Choice Book Awards Honor for Children's Literature. And the book is also up for possible readers' choice awards in both Alaska and Texas.

The Graveyard Book won this year's Newbery Award as well as honor book in the recently announced Boston Globe-Horn Book Awards. Follow the link for the other selections.

Of course, a library is a great place to visit this summer for expert advice on good books. Plus, they usually have special programs designed for kids of all ages. 

Some other fun things to do this summer can be found online. Visit the AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION's list of great websites for kids. I've mentioned a few of the websites before, like

ReadKiddoRead and Giggle Poetry. But there are lots more suggestions for summer adventures from math to art to science to film making.

Joey also shared with me that he enjoys cooking. Yum! Yum! Don't forget that I have some tasty recipes on my website. Dirty Worms seems like an appropriate dish for summer fare. For more recipes, click on this link. There you'll also find games, crafts, puzzles, and more reading adventures.

National Library Week, National Poetry Month, Earth Day, and More

This has been a busy week. It's NATIONAL LIBRARY WEEK, so I certainly hope you've visited your local library at least once this week. I'm reading Elise Broach's fun mystery story for middle grade readers called, MASTERPIECE. A cockroach named Marvin is the main character. He has an amazing talent which takes him on an adventurous quest. Click on the link and hear the author read from the book.

And it still POETRY MONTH. I've been writing a poem a day. How about you? One of my favorite young adult novels is written in free verse poetry--OUT OF THE DUST by Karen Hesse. Or another free verse novel, this one a middle grade read by Sharon Creech, is LOVE THAT DOG. This story is wonderful also.

Monday, April 20, is EARTH DAY. Here are 3 suggestions for green activities:

• cut two minutes off your morning shower to conserve water
• pick up trash in your neighborhood
• plant a tree or some wildflower seeds

What else can you think of do? 

Last, but not least, I invite you to visit MY LIGHT magazine for the April issue which features my article on St. Catherine of Siena, a 14th century young adult celebrity. 

National Gaming Day at Your Library

This Saturday libraries across the United States are sponsoring a NATIONAL GAMING DAY.  Of course, we all know how much fun it can be to visit a library on a regular day--with all the books, magazines, computers, videos.  Not to mention story times, book talks, and special programs.

NATIONAL GAMING DAY will be "the largest, simultaneous national video tournament ever held." How cool is that? This could possibly make it into Ripley's Believe It or Not, don't you think?

And Hasbro has donated a PICTUREKA game to every public library branch in the U.S. so board games can be played as well. They'll try to set a record for the most people playing a board game in the U.S. as well as a video game. It sounds like your local public library is the place to be this Saturday.

To find out more information about NATIONAL GAMING DAY at your library, call your closest branch. Or click on the link above and read all about it. There is an online map you can use as well.

If you can't join in the fun on this Saturday (or if your library isn't taking part in National Gaming Day), you can try The Library Camp Out game at my website.  Or the Breezy Geography Match Up game would be great one to take along to the library. And if you want to check out one of the coolest stories about gaming, try Jody Feldman's THE

 GOLLYWHOPPER GAMES.

Here's to good games and good reading!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to the OLDEST LIBRARIAN

On September 15, Martha Smith of Vinland, Kansas, celebrated her 103rd birthday! Congratulations to Ms. Smith, who according to the American Library Association, is the oldest librarian. 

Ms. Smith has been working almost non-stop at the Vinland Public Library since 1926. The Library first opened in 1859 and is now filled with historic finds--like Ms. Smith herself. She has never ventured farther away than Nebraska.

According to a story about her in the Kansas City Star online newspaper, Ms. Smith follows John Wesley's motto, "Do all the good that you can to all the people that you can and by all means that you can as long as you can."

Best wishes, Ms. Smith, and thanks for all the good that you've been doing for so long!

LIBRARIES Lead the Way to Fun and Education

Libraries Are the Popular Place To Be

More than 1.3 billion library visits were recorded in the last year, according to the American Library Association's newsletter of August 28. The leading cause for this increased use is the declining economy. While the poor economic state is not good news, it is good news to see Americans making use of the great services and products which public libraries provide.

 

If you haven't visited your library for a while, now is the time. You'll be pleasantly surprised to see what a wide variety of materials and services they have available. With the new school year just under way, you'll be happy to hear that more than 83% of the libraries offer online homework resources as well as live tutors. Now that's something to smile about. 

A couple other fun and educational places for students are AskKids.com and Merriam-Webster's WordCentral.com.

NATIONAL LIBRARY WEEK April 13-19

Nancy Pearl, world renown librarian immortalized with her very own action-figure, is pictured to the left to announce that today, April 13, is the start of NATIONAL LIBRARY WEEK.

The American Library Association's website provides a brief history and explanation of this special week promoting libraries:

What is National Library Week?
First sponsored in 1958, National Library Week is a national observance sponsored by the American Library Association (ALA) and libraries across the country each April. It is a time to celebrate the contributions of our nation's libraries and librarians and to promote library use and support. All types of libraries - school, public, academic and special - participate.

The entire month of April is School Library Media Month. I know I'll be celebrating with school students in the St. Alban's School Library on Wednesday when I spend time with two first grade classes and their extremely well-organized and energetic librarian, Christy Bobbit.

How do you plan to celebrate libraries this week? Here are some suggestions:

• Check out a library book--or two or three or more


• Say an enthusiastic "THANK YOU!" to your librarian


• Send your favorite library (librarians) a "Just Because You're Special Card"


• Donate time or money to your favorite library


• Attend a library story time with your children


• Soak up the zen when you stop by your favorite library for some quiet reading time