Let's talk about labels

I literally mean labels...on books.  It might seem like a librarian issue, but it can have an impact on a student's freedom to read. I was inspired to write about this after participating in a Twitter conversation on best practices for teachers with the hashtag #bproots and led by educators, Donalyn Miller @donalynbooks and Teri Lesesne @ProfessorNana

I'll start by criticizing myself.  Yes, we still have AR labels on many of our books, although we no longer use the program.  Why? Guess what happens when you peel these labels off?  You're left with a sticky mess. Any advice on how to deal with this would be helpful. I need to start the process of removing these labels.

At least the label from the book from my library could be removed.  Not the case here:

What's wrong with these labels? Book levels and age recommendations are readily available online for teachers, librarians and parents who need that information.  When we slap a label on a book, kids feel pressure (at least indirectly) to only read books recommended for their age level or reading level.  Also, if you read below grade level, who wants to carry around a book that announces that?

I checked out this book yesterday:

We live in NC, and I have two words to describe the mindset here: red state.  However, I must give major props to my public library for having this book available.  I wouldn't mind reading this book in public and would welcome questions about it, but what about a teen who is unsure of their sexuality?  This book could change their life, but maybe they are afraid to be seen reading it, or to even check it out.  

I think we should let books stand on their own.  A big topic of discussion from #bproots was trusting students in regards to reading.  We need to trust students to choose books without relying on labels.  Too often, kids are restricted when making their own reading choices, and these restrictions contribute to a culture of nonreaders.  Labels provide restrictions. Librarians are champions of reading and I do not believe anyone means labels to be harmful, but maybe we should rethink our use of them.

Indies Rule!

So I've been an Amazon.com shopper for a long time.  I also have frequented B&N and Borders, before its demise. Then I read this post by author/illustrator Peter Brown.  My heart sank a little bit.  No more Amazon?  But, but, but...it is so easy, so convenient, so cheap.  However, I respect Peter Brown too much not to at least explore other options.  So I searched the IndieBound site and found a local independent bookstore about 20 miles away.  It is called Scuppernong Books and is located in downtown Greensboro, NC.  I do not balk at paying the list price so my biggest fear was shipping costs, but they have this cool option - pick up in the store.  I was impressed to get a personal email from the bookseller telling me that my order had been placed.  I was able to actually to respond to the email and ask a question about their store.  I was so impressed with the correspondence that I ordered 3 more books.  Two came in that very week so I made my first visit on Saturday.  Below are my purchases and some pictures that I took at the store.  As for Amazon.com, I will definitely be buying other things there, but books?  Not anymore.

Newbery Challenge 2001

My Newbery Challenge is to read all of the medal and honor books from starting with the present and going back to 1922. Since this challenge is going to take years, if not decades, I decided not to read books again that I've read since I began my reading record in 2003.  Here is a list of Newbery books I have read.

In 2001, the medal winner was:

I read this in 2004 and Grandma Dowdel is one of the most memorable characters in children's literature.  It is definitely deserving of its medal!  If you haven't read this one, you should, and when you do, get ready to laugh and laugh.

Honors:

I also read this in 2004.  Oh how I love this book!  Thanks to Kate DiCamillo, a dog named Winn-Dixie, a mouse named Despereaux and a squirrel named Ulysses are among my heroes.

I read Joey Pigza Loses Control earlier this year and could only see it through the lens of a parent.  Joey goes to stay with his father and his paternal grandmother for six weeks. Unfortunately, the trip is NOT wonderful, and Joey winds up in real danger. This book terrified me! Entrusting your child to someone else and then having them completely fail to live up to that responsibility is one of the worst things that can happen to a parent.

Sophie is an adopted child (this is Sharon Creech after all) who travels with her two uncles and cousins across the Atlantic Ocean to England.  I am not a fan of boats and had bouts of psychological seasickness while reading about her journey.  I enjoyed the stories she told about her grandfather most of all.  My favorite Sharon Creech book is still Ruby Holler, which was not recognized by the award committee.

I recently finished this one and it is a good reminder that the Newbery criteria states that books for children up to age 14 are eligible for this award.  Hope lives with her aunt and has moved around a lot.  She is a teenager who loves being a waitress.  Interestingly enough, she was originally named Tulip and actually changed her name to hope.  She and her aunt move to Wisconsin to help a diner owner who is diagnosed with leukemia.  A mayoral race is a large focus of this book, and the small town politics make for an interesting read.

On to year 2000!

Books = Community

So I've mentioned this on Twitter before, but as a child, reading was an escape for me.  I had a stuttering problem, and I was quiet and shy.  As I grew up, reading also helped me to escape from things I didn't want to face, particularly the break up of my family.  I always knew I wanted to be a librarian because I loved books.  Even though I've outgrown my shyness as an adult, my reading life was something I held private, escaping to my own little world when the stress of real life got to be too much.

I started blog hunting in order to help me find books to order for my library.  The first one I followed was authored by two teachers (although I think Franki was a librarian back then) in Ohio,  A Year of Reading.  I quickly added A Fuse #8 Production and Heavy Medal.  Then I hit the mother load - Nerdy Book Club, a community of readers, a community that anyone who loves reading can join and instantly belong.  I came out of lurking mode to actually make a post.

Then the Twitter revolution came.  I had a Twitter account, but found it to be so overwhelming.  I've since learned how to use it and it is now my favorite social media site.  I love being able to talk to children's book authors/illustrators.  Just this week, I've exchanged tweets with Peter Brown, Amber McRee Turner, Jess Keating and Natalie Lloyd.  Then there is the never ending PLN with so many great teachers and librarians; there are quite literally too many to name, and I'd hate to leave anyone out.

My online community has influenced my real life in that I am much more eager to share my reading life with others.  It defines who I am, so if I hide it, I'm not showing anyone the real me.  This year, I held a workshop for teachers on inspiring the love of reading and recently, one of the new teachers in my building said she and I should start a book club next year because we both love reading.  I have learned so much from Nerdy Book Club nation and I can't express how grateful I am to all of you for making me a better teacher, librarian, parent and reader.  For me, reading is no longer a way to escape; it is a way to connect.

Best of all, my online reading community and my real life will overlap when I go to nErDcamp MI this summer!  My 11-year-old daughter is going to nErDcamp Jr.

We were talking last night about how far Michigan is from NC.  When I showed her on the map, she gasped, "It is farther away than Pennsylvania!"  Yep, 624 miles!

Organizer Colby Sharp gives you 10 Reasons Why You Should Come to nErDcamp MI!  Post from 2013, but all the reasons still apply. And check out this cool trailer.  I'll see you there!

My Summer Reading List

As a librarian and member of the Nerdy Book Club, summers = reading.  While I have school until June 13th, Memorial Day Weekend feels like the beginning of summer.  Like any respectable book nerd, I have a planned list of books I want to read.  I know I'll read graphic novels and picture books, but my favorite books to read are MG fiction with a little bit of YA and nonfiction thrown in.  I plan to participate in the #bookaday challenge (Donalyn Miller will tell you all about it) and review/list/tweet about what I'm reading.  Here's a visual representation:

Of course there will be many additions to the list throughout the summer.  I've already preordered Revolution by Deborah Wiles and Circa Now by Amber Turner. I lucked out and won a copy of Boys of Blur by N.D. Wilson from Mr. Schu's blog giveaway.  When book nerds are not reading, they are adding books to their TBR list.  Here is the list on GoodReads.

I also plan to continue my Newbery Challenge, reading all medal and honor books beginning with the present and going backwards to 1922. I'm starting on year 2000, which means I'll finally get around to reading Bud, Not Buddy.

What are your summer reading plans?  Any recommendations?

No Limits

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Nerdy Book Club, but a post I read last week did cause me to feel ashamed. It was this post from May 2nd.  Sara Kieffer Kizzier, a reading recovery teacher from Iowa talks about her "take-a-book, leave-a-book" program for struggling readers with no books in their homes.  While, I certainly applaud her efforts, her words about the school library caused a lump to form in my throat:

"As a teacher who works with struggling readers I had first-hand experience with children who had no books at home.  They could borrow one book at a time from our school library, but they could only visit our library once every six days.  If they lost the book or forgot to return it….well, to mangle a famous Seinfeld episode quote, “NO BOOK FOR YOU!”

Should school libraries (or libraries in general) be guardians of books, denying access to children who through the process of being children lose or damage a book?  Are we sending a message to our poorest students that books, reading, literacy and success in life are inaccessible to them because they cannot afford to pay a book fine?

Sadly, I was one of those librarians for the first ten years of my career.  Even sadder, I wasn't taught that way.  My library professor proclaimed that we should throw out circulation limits and fines.  And, behind her back, we called her crazy.  A place where students can take as many books as they want and lose them, tear them up, draw in them, get food on them, etc.  How IRRESPONSIBLE!

Fortunately, I have broken free from such a system.  Not sure where the epiphany happened. As with any change, this happened a little at a time, not all at once.  Through the years, I have steadily increased the amount of books students could check out. From two to five.  This school year, as I read professional books about reading and met Donalyn Miller, author of The Book Whisperer and Reading In the Wild, I thought to myself, why limit book checkout to five?  One day a student asked me if they could check out six books. I said yes.  Then they asked to checkout seven. I said yes.  Now I say on a daily basis, "You can check out as many as you want."  I am no longer the gatekeeper to reading; I'm the welcome wagon.

The results?  Amazing.  Things like this:

These statistics come from a second grader's patron status page.  She has already checked out more than 3 times the books she checked out last year.

There are still library fines, but they never keep a student from checking out another book.  And if they can't afford to pay them?  We ask for book donations and I'm setting up a service program that students can participate in to eliminate those fines.

The librarian of my recent past felt shame at Ms. Kizzier's comment.  The librarian of my future: shame free.

School Lunch Hero Day

Today we celebrated School Lunch Hero Day!  I read students in second, third and fourth grades Lunch Lady and the Video Game Villains and showed them the videos posted on the School Lunch Hero Day website.  The dancing lunch ladies were a hit!

Here are some of the great cards my students made:



We presented the cards along with flowers and cupcakes this morning.

Here is a picture of our lunch ladies and some of our students.  Unfortunately, we had some bad lighting and I'm a poor photographer.

 

 

Thank you to Jarrett Krosoczka for his great graphic novel series and his encouragement of a day dedicated to celebrating our child nutrition professionals!