Have fun with SUMMER READING

Looking for summer reading ideas? Please check out our suggestions on this libguide.

And be sure to catch up on reviews in 2022 as we Continue the Conversation. 

Enjoy!!! Happy Reading!!

Summer reading ideas ...

Looking for summer reading ideas? Please check out our suggestions on this libguide.

And be sure to catch up on reviews in 2021 as we Continue the Conversation. 

Enjoy!!! Happy Reading!! 

Reading, Reading, Reading!!

Happy Labor Day – here are a couple of great resources to help with the "work" of developing a love of reading! 

 

HOW TO RAISE A READER by Pamela Paul (My Life with Bob) and Maria Russo is a fabulous resource from the editors of The New York Times Book Review.  In this very helpful text geared to parents, Paul and Russo use four sections (Born to Read, Growing a Reader, Your Middle Grade Reader, and A Reader for Life) to offer ideas and titles for young people from babies to teenagers. As a high school librarian, I was most interested in the fourth section where the authors point out that “literature can provide powerful company” and “many lifelong readers remember adolescence as a time of intense immersion in books, a period in which you read to help figure out who you were, what you believed in, and where you stood in the world.” They define a Young Adult (YA) book as one which “plunges the reader directly into the experience of being a teenager – that confusing, exhilarating, hormone-fueled, high stakes time when you really don’t know what the future will hold for you or what adulthood is really like.” In addition, they mention several sites like Book Riot, The YA Bookshelf, and Girl Plus Book, which help readers stay informed about new YA titles. Paul and Russo also offer a lengthy lists of themed books (dealing with fear and bravery, kindness and empathy, family stories, etc.) for ALL ages. The choices are informed and varied – we plan to check the YA recommendations against our high school collection, but a quick review says we have many they recommend on our shelves already. Please stop by if you would like to discuss HOW TO RAISE A READER with any of our librarians.

 

JIM TRELEASE'S READ-ALOUD HANDBOOK is now available in its 8th edition, revised and updated by Jim Trelease and Cyndi Giorgis.  This title is truly a “classic” work worth consulting by anyone with children younger than 8^th grade. Trelease has spent decades advising on children’s literature.  In 2010, Penguin named THE READ-ALOUD HANDBOOK as one of the 75 most important books it had published in its history. This new edition has chapters about the Importance of Dads and on the Impact of Electronic Media on Reading. Giorgis is currently a professor at Arizona State University where she, too, promotes the importance of reading aloud, especially to younger children. 

 

Another 2019 title worth considering is Meghan Cox Gurdon’s The Enchanted Hour; this first book from the Wall Street Journal’s children’s book reviewer received a starred review from Library Journal.  

Best Books in 2018

Looking for book gift ideas?   Once again, here is our annual compilation of some of the “Best of the Year” lists:

Notable books from The New York Times: There is also a top ten list on their site and links for children’s books.

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/11/19/books/review/100-notable-books.html

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/books/review/holiday-books-for-kids.html and remember that you can access these and other articles from The New York Times by following directions on our ClassLinks page.   

From School Library Journal: https://www.slj.com/?page=best-books-2018  Adult books for teens and much more.  https://www.slj.com/?detailStory=best-adult-books-4-teens-2018   

Plus Publishers Weekly:  https://best-books.publishersweekly.com/pw/best-books/2018   And there is a children’s list which splits into picture books, middle grade and young adult.

Or Kirkus Reviews https://www.kirkusreviews.com/issue/best-of-2018/section/fiction/lists/ which helpfully shows best fiction by category; separate lists for non-fiction and for best teen books

https://www.kirkusreviews.com/issue/best-of-2018/section/young-adult/lists/

And Goodreads has released its Choice Awards across several categories for 2018: https://www.goodreads.com/choiceawards/best-books-2018   

LibraryReads: Primarily for Public libraries, listed top favorites for 2018.

http://libraryreads.org/favorite-of-favorites-2018/  monthly updates throughout the year

National Book Awards: https://www.nationalbook.org/awards-prizes/national-book-awards-2018/   

Chicago Public Library Recommendations -- with suggestions for all ages: https://www.chipublib.org/news/cpl-best-of-the-best-books-2018/

Winnetka Public Library Staff Recommendations for books and movies: https://www.winnetkalibrary.org/books-movies/best-of-2018/

National Public Radio lists 319 titles and shows their covers in a fun, interactive way. https://apps.npr.org/best-books-2018/     PBS’NewsHourbookshelf has interviews with many authors.

Enjoy!!! Happy Reading!!!

1000 Books to Read ...

We have a huge interactive display in our library for the Great American Read and should anyone finish those titles, they might want to start in on the recently published 1,000 BOOKS TO READ BEFORE YOU DIE by James Mustich. His compilation has a page or so devoted to each of the wide–ranging (the publisher says: poetry, science fiction, memoir, travel writing, biography, children's literature, the novel) 1,000 titles.  One aspect I really liked was Mustich’s comments on “if you like this, you’ll like that” recommendations in addition to his frank assessments.  Several years ago someone gave me the gift of the original 2006 version of 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die edited by Peter Boxall.  Both collections are immense fun to explore.

This fall has definitely felt like a case of "so many books, so little time" for me. I hope to make that up and will be adding several posts about a variety of exciting new books spanning several interests.  In the meantime, have fun browsing through the many, many suggestions that Mustich profiles.