Matt de la Pena is one of my favorite authors. He is also a parent raising his own reader. Here is an article from him where he talks about some of his favorite picture books to share with a young child. Hopefully after you read some of these books with your child, you will hear that wonderful chorus of “Again!”
Click the following link to read the article. https://www.npr.org/2019/12/16/788399531/kids-books-to-read-again-and-again-and-again-and-again-and-again-and P.S. We have all of the books Matt talks about in the PJA library so come on in and check them out!
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It’s time to clean out your bookshelves to make room for all of the awesome new books you’re going to pick up at the sale in March! We take all kinds of books (except encyclopedias) so from toddlers to grandparents, clean ‘em out and bring ‘em in!
Please label your boxes or bags with the teacher’s name and the number of books donated so your donation can count toward the class contest. The class that brings in the most books will win a class party with a special treat! Kids take this contest very seriously. Have you noticed the newest books in our library often feature people of color or other diverse backgrounds (religion, ethnicity, socio-economic status, neurodiversity, and more)? That’s not an accident. The movement We Need Diverse Books brought the nation’s attention to the appalling whiteness of our children’s books. All children should be able to see themselves in books. Likewise, the books we provide our children should reflect an accurate representation of the world they live in--a world that is full of all kinds of people. So for several years our library has been striving to provide “windows and mirrors” to our readers. Windows into the world beyond our front doors and mirrors to reflect their own identities. Here’s an article about diverse libraries and how teachers (and families) can use them to enrich the reading lives of their children.
Let’s light the Menorah! As our days grow shorter and darker it must be nearing time to light the Hanukkah candles again. Plan ahead and find a new Hanukkah book or two to share with your children as the candles flicker and dance. Here’s a nice collection of favorite Hanukkah books. We have these and other Hanukkah books on our shelves too. Please stop by and borrow a few to enjoy during your own festival of lights.
School Library Journal (SLJ) is my most trusted professional resource. At this time every year they start compiling their “best of” lists. Here is the SLJ Best Middle Grade fiction list for 2019. I am pleased to report that we have just about every book on the list so if any of them look like a good fit for your middle grader (3rd-7th grader) feel free to borrow it!
I’ve started a new wellness class for middle schoolers this trimester. It’s called “Relax and Read” and we do just that for 50 minutes on Friday. I make tea, dim the lights, play soft music, and we read. My hope is that our time together will help these middle schoolers remember that reading is a joyful activity. In a world where there are so many competing options for ways to spend our free time, I hope they will remember that books bring a unique and precious kind of happiness.
This is an article about ways you can help your child love to read. I like some of the suggestions. I especially agree with the part about books being easy to access: “books should not just be available, but virtually falling into children’s laps.” That’s why I’m always putting new books up on display in the library and sometimes being a little too pushy about getting books into kids' hands. One of the best parts of having the library at the center of our school is that kids can’t avoid interacting with books--especially when there’s a stalwart “book-pusher” on duty in the space. I will keep pushing books at school and you keep pushing books at home. And if you ever need recommendations for your family, I’m always glad to give them! Our PJA Book Fair at Annie Bloom’s Books was a wonderful success!
Thank you to everyone who bought books during our fair. Together we raised $871.18 for new books for our library. So as promised, I will go buy that new Mighty Jack/Zita the Spacegirl book and several of the other books kids suggested during the fair. It’s always a joy to share the excitement of books with our kids in a new setting. Thanks to the teachers who were willing to walk over with their classes and for the family members who took time to chaperone the groups. I hope a good time was had by all! Here are a few photos of the moments. As November stretches into December and the darkness falls before dinner time, it’s the perfect season to read a spooky story by the flickering light of candle and fire. Here are three new books on our shelves that might raise the hair on the back of your neck. Reader beware! Scary Stories for Young Foxes by Christian McKay Heidicker
The haunted season has arrived in the Antler Wood. No fox kit is safe. When Mia and Uly are separated from their litters, they discover a dangerous world full of monsters. In order to find a den to call home, they must venture through field and forest, facing unspeakable things that dwell in the darkness: a zombie who hungers for their flesh, a witch who tries to steal their skins, a ghost who hunts them through the snow . . . and other things too scary to mention. Featuring eight interconnected stories and sixteen hauntingly beautiful illustrations, Scary Stories for Young Foxes contains the kinds of adventures and thrills you love to listen to beside a campfire in the dark of night. Fans of Neil Gaiman, Jonathan Auxier, and R. L. Stine have found their next favorite book. Out To Get You by Josh Allen Get ready for a collection of thirteen short stories that will chill your bones, tingle your spine, and scare your pants off. Debut author Josh Allen masterfully concocts horror in the most innocent places, like R.L. Stine meets a modern Edgar Allan Poe. A stray kitten turns into a threatening follower. The street sign down the block starts taunting you. Even your own shadow is out to get you! Spooky things love hiding in plain sight. The everyday world is full of sinister secrets and these page-turning stories show that there's darkness even where you least expect it. Readers will sleep with one eye open. . . . Trace by Pat Cummings Trace Carter is still feeling out of place at his new home in his Auntie Lea's brownstone in New York, trying to forget the terrible accident that killed his parents, when one day he takes a wrong turn in the Public Library only to run into a crying little boy with tattered old clothes, who seems to be a ghost. Trace discovers the ghost has ties to his own history, and the accident, and that if he learns what the ghost boy knows he may finally be able to move on himself. The latest in this best selling author’s long line of hits Guts is already flying off our shelves at school. This is a true story from Telgemeier’s own life. It delves into the realities of living with anxiety and will give kids insight into how to cope with bullies and fear. Here’s a description from the publisher: Presents a graphic novel featuring a true story from the life of the author, Raina Telgemeier. One night, Raina and her mother both wake up with terribly upset stomachs, but they both think it is just a bug. When Raina returns to school, however, and the trouble doesn't go away, it only serves to feed her worries about changing friendships, school, and food. She has to find out what is going on, and fast.
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AuthorSafranit Molly is the librarian at Portland Jewish Academy. Archives
November 2019
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