New Program: The Reading Circle

You’re never too old to listen to a story! Our read-a-loud book club meets every week and features the book club Narrator reading a chapter or two from the current selection. Participants are invited to practice their own read-a-loud skills in a friendly, no-pressure environment. Missed the last meeting? No worries, we have a quick recap at the start of each session. Ages 5-10

This was a new program that I am very excited to start but, as I am currently in transition, am unable to get up and running at the moment. I figure many of you may be interested in starting this program at your locations.

When I thought of this program, I wanted a program that required minimal prep, would not stress staffing level, and would be a program that I could offer on Saturdays, and any staff member could take over if needed. This program also addresses the gap in reading-based programming for children who are too old for storytime.

My vision for this program is to create a safe and relaxing environment for kids to enjoy a read-a-loud story done by the facilitator. The last 10 minutes of this 30-minute program would allow kids who want to partake in the read-a- loud to do so. Kids can pass on the opportunity if they choose - there is no read-aloud requirement for participants. If all the kids pass, the facilitator would continue to read to the kids. Like the description stated, this is a no pressure environment. I want the kids to enjoy the program and in doing so develop their listening and comprehension skills as well as foster the love of stories.

The first two books I planned were:

Sideway Stories from Wayside School by Louis Sachar
Each chapter in this book is a story about one of the students on the 30th floor of Wayside School. I love this book for its wacky, silly stories. The great thing about this book is that the kids will not be lost if they missed the previous meeting. We had an opportunity to read this book to kids during Camp Houston and it went very well so I know this would be a great first book for this program.

Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein (or any other title in the series)
This book contains numerous long and short poems that all have an element of the absurd. Patience Agholor and I passed this book around to the kids during one of our down time sessions of Camp Houston. We sat in a circle and the book was passed around. Whoever had the book had a moment to look through it and pick a poem to read out loud. I think the youngest kid we had in the circle was about 5-6 yrs old and he had no problem picking out a short poem to read. The thing to remember about this part of the session is to let the kids read and figure out the words themselves. We are not looking over their shoulders. We do not pressure them to read.

Other Book Ideas:
Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (series) by Alvin Schwartz …great for October Meetings

Homer Price by Robert McCloskey contains 6 short stories about Homer’s adventures in his small town and would be a good fit for this style of program.

Do you have any suggestions for books that would be great to read for this program?
Please comment with your ideas.

Do let me know if you end up doing this program at your location and how it went.
- Nhu @ STE/Currently at PAR & BRA

Nominations!

Did you know that you can suggest titles for reading lists, even if you aren't on a reading list committee? You can! If you see an amazing book that you think people on the committees need to know about, nominate it! While committees do get a lot of books from the publishers, they don't get everything that is published in a year, so if you see an awesome book that you think should be on a reading list, suggest it!

Some tips:
1. Know the requirements of the titles for the reading list. For example, the Texas 2x2 list is for children age 2-grade 2 (so a YA book would not be good to nominate for this list!) and the books have to be published in the last year (so it has to have been published in 2017 to be included on the 2018 list).

2. Nominating titles is a great thing to do, especially for committees that you might be interested in joining in the future! I know that for the 2x2 application, it asks what you have done to promote the list, and if you have nominated any titles. Nominating titles can give you a bit of an edge to get on the committee!

3. You can also see what titles have already been suggested by the committee on their awards' webpages. I think it's interesting to see what the reading lists are considering, and it's fun to see how what I think is great matches up with what the committee is looking at. 
 
Suggest a title for the 2x2 List
Suggest a title for the Bluebonnet List  
Suggest a title for the Little Maverick Graphic Novel List
Suggest a title for the Lone Star Reading List
Suggest a title for the TAYSHAS Reading List
Suggest a title for the Maverick Graphic Novel Reading List 

I'd love to see public library employees (especially HPL!) get more involved with the Texas state reading lists! This is a nice way to practice. Happy reading!

-Sara

Why Audiobooks & Graphic Novels are NOT Cheating!

You've probably heard the phrase "audiobooks are cheating!" or "comic books don't count" more than a few times.  You've probably even heard parents make similar remarks about audiobooks or graphic novels or make their kids choose different books.  But audiobooks and graphic novels (GNs) are in no way "cheating"!

Both forms of literature are just as valid as  traditional texts and here's why:

They're complex!
GNs require the reader to create meaning using "multiple modalities". Readers must process and interpret multiple information sources (visual, textual and spacial) to decipher a story. Audiobooks require a different level of concentration; it's much easier to interrupt someone who is reading than someone who is listening.

They do a brain good!
Audiobooks and GNs are often formats that reluctant readers are more likely to embrace. Research shows that reading stories has a significant impact on our brains; reading a compelling story increases neuron activity for days after the story is finished.

Different - not bad! 
The visual nature of GNs allows the reader to experience a story in a very different way than traditional text.  Readers can explore details in an image that are often left out of traditional stories. As for audiobooks, there is actually some research that suggests that audiobooks are better at allowing the reader to visualize the story. Reading and visualization both require visual representation which uses the same part of the brain - in effect that part of your brain is working twice as hard. Many readers must pause after a description in a written text to allow their brain to build the picture. Listening allows for a faster creation of that image, since your brain isn't have to recognize and interpret text.

The details matter!
Details abound in GNs; readers know to pay attention to the details in the images. There may be a villain sneaking up in the background, or the item the heroes are searching for is hidden on the top shelf of the bookcase in a certain panel. Similarly, when you listen to an audiobook the reader is required to listen to every word of a sentence. Readers who are reading a text often skip words or even sentences and can lose precise details of a scene.

Comprehension is comprehension!
Listening comprehension correlates to reading comprehension. You brain forms understanding and memories differently based on the input (text, audiobook, GN) but different doesn't mean better or worse. In fact, one study showed that listeners are quicker to glean deeper meaning faster than readers.