Category Archives: Kids Korner

Reviewing Media for Our Children

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One of the most common questions I get from parents of voracious, high-level readers is “How can I make sure what they’re reading is appropriate?” It’s a tricky question. We all have different levels of comfort with what our children read, different definitions of what is “appropriate.” And while some of us would like to be able to screen everything first, that often isn’t possible.

Stetson University’s Christopher J. Ferguson ran a small study showing that reading banned books “is associated with both increased civic behavior and little risk of antisocial behavior.” Click here for the full study. In other words, there don’t seem to be consequences for children reading questionable material. Children often “self-censor” what they read, and will ask questions to understand better. That being said, you know your child best, and you know what they will understand and enjoy! So, how can you stay one step ahead of your prodigious reader?

One of my favorite websites is Common Sense Media. Their goal is to review media – books, movies, games, apps, and even YouTube channels – and track content so that parents, caregivers, and educators can make informed decisions. They give an age recommendation for media and also specifically note what kind of content it contains. Let’s run through a quick example: the oft-banned Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. They recommend the book for children 8 and older. They note positive messages for the book, “Full of positive messages about the power of love, friendship, and self-sacrifice. Also about not letting your background dictate who you become.” There is also a note about violence and scariness, “Kids are in peril often, but it’s mostly at the hands of fantasy creatures…” The description goes on to outline each of these scenarios, so that you know how intense the book will be. If you have an issue with language, you may be happy to know that there is one instance of “Damn.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Common Sense Media also provides parent and child reviews, as well as a rundown of each book. There are lists of recommended books, so if you’re looking for something new it can be a great place to start.

Of course, not everything has been reviewed. You may not be able to find every book your child is interested in. If you have any further questions or need more resources, our librarians at GPL are more than happy to help!

 

Choose Your Own Adventure through Creative Writing

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It may seem hard to find adventures since we’ve been cooped up at home. But reading and creative writing are a couple of ways to escape to anywhere you want! Some great books to check out right now are the Choose Your Own Adventure and similar series. Right now, you may only get to decide which room in your house to do e-learning. But with these books, your choices lead to so many different adventures! If you have never read one before, each book starts out introducing the main characters and setting. At the bottom of each page you are instructed on which page to turn to next. On many pages, however, you are given two different options. For example, it may say something like “If you decide to stay on the beach, turn to the next page. If you decide to board the pirate ship, turn to page 30.” The way the story ends depends on the choices you make. What makes these books fun is that you can read them more than once, and come up with different endings!

We have several adventure books available to check out through our curbside service! Some recommendations include “Owl Tree” and “Smoke Jumpers” by R.A. Montgomery, or “Your Grandparents Are Zombies!” by Anson Montgomery. E-books to checkout on Overdrive include “Clawed!” by Dottie Enderle, “A Really New School” by Jan Fields, or “The Terror of the Bigfoot Beast” by Laurie S. Sutton.

If you are looking for an even bigger adventure, try creating your own story! Here are some tips to get started:

  1. Create your main character. What is her name? How old is he? Where does she live?
  2. Think about your first setting. What is your character doing?
  3. Now, come up with two or more choices for your character to make.
  4. Continue writing your story for each choice. Add additional choices from each of these, and create multiple endings. The chart below shows an example of choices and sub-choices. You can write as many as you want!
  5. Put it all together! Number your pages so that they match up with each choice.
  6. Have even more fun with it by creating a cover and illustrations.

Have fun with your reading and writing adventures! Comment below and share a little bit about the story you’ve created, or a favorite book you’ve read!

Sample plot chart for your story: 

A Glowing Recommendation: The Indiana Early Literacy Firefly Award

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When I was a kid, my favorite book was Harold and the Purple Crayon. I loved the idea that, with enough imagination, one could create their own magical world, just by thinking it so. Picture books serve an important role in early childhood development. They promote early literacy and language development and provide a special opportunity for children and their caregivers to spend quality time together.

The folks at the Indiana State Library’s Center for the Book think these books are important, too. The Indiana Center for the Book program, an affiliate of the Library of Congress’s program of the same name, sponsors events and serves as an information resource at the state and local level promoting reading, writing, literacy, and the literary heritage of the state.

Each year, the Center for the Book grants the Indiana Early Literacy Firefly Award to one outstanding children’s book. Now in its sixth year, the Firefly Award aims to encourage caregivers and young children to enjoy exceptional picture books with each other. Past winners include There’s a Monster in Your Book by Tom Fletcher and Noisy Night by Mac Barnett.

How the award process works

Youth librarians from across the state send in their nominations to the Center. The Indiana Early Literacy Firefly Committee, comprised of Indiana librarians, caregivers, and program coordinators involved in early childhood development, then selects five titles to be finalists for the award. Finally, children five years and younger are encouraged to vote for one of the five nominated titles, and the title with the most votes is that year’s winner.

This year’s nominees

B is for Baby

Written by Atinuke and illustrated by Angela Brooksbank

“Baby’s brother is getting ready to take a basket of bananas all the way to Baba’s bungalow. What about his little baby sister? Will she come along for the adventure too?”

 

 

Don’t Blink!

Written by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and illustrated by David Roberts

“A page turns every time you blink, bringing you closer to the end of the book–and bedtime– Win the staring contest and you don’t have to go to bed! An interactive bedtime story that gives young readers a chance to avoid bedtime, provided they don’t blink, but for every blink, a page turns, bringing the end of the story and sleep closer.”

 

Firefly Home

Written by Jane Clarke and illustrated by Britta Teckentrup

“When Florence is lost, she has to decide which bright lights in the night sky are home.”

 

 

 

Pirate Jack Gets Dressed

By Nancy Raines Day and Allison Black

“Through illustrations and simple, rhyming text a pirate invites the reader to help as he selects his very colorful outfit.”

 

 

The Rabbit Listened

By Cori Doerrfield

“A person dealing with grief or depression often needs someone who will just sit quiet and listen.”

 

 

Find out more

Check out the Firefly Award webpage at https://www.in.gov/library/firefly.htm. There, you will find information on past nominees and winners, as well as activities related to this year’s stories for your child to do at home.

You can also view recordings of each of this year’s nominees being read by a librarian and decide which is your choice for #1!

The winner of the 2020 Indiana Early Literacy Firefly Award will be announced in July.

Please note: Book descriptions were taken from Worldcat.org

 

Young Hoosier Book Award

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Voting Open until June 1st

The Young Hoosier Book Award is a program that encourages students to read books for their own enjoyment. Every year Indiana teachers and librarians get together and read hundreds of books to find the best 20 books that students will enjoy reading on their interest level. The first category is for Kindergarten to Third Grade and is made up of picture books.  The YHBA Intermediate for 4-6th graders. 

To vote students need to read at least 12 of the picture books and 5 of the intermediate books and then click on the Voting Link. 

YHBA Picture Voting 

YHBA Intermediate Voting

These books will be available for curbside delivery by placing them on hold or through our online resource: Libby. Students may listen to audio books or have the books read to them. I have served on the Intermediate Committee a number of years so I can suggest my favorites for this year:

Restart by Gordon Korman

This was my very favorite book of the year!!! It has great humor and is thought provoking. A boy falls off his roof at home and then awakens from a coma with amnesia. He doesn’t even remember his family. When he returns back to school he realizes that everyone is afraid of him and that he was a jock/bully with a bad reputation. The mystery unfolds as to why he was on the roof and if he will decide to make changes in his new life.

 

Superstar by Mandy Davis

This book has great Indiana appeal. A young boy with high functioning autism has to move back to Indiana since his astronaut father was killed in a space accident. He has been home educated but must go to public school so his mother can return to work as a librarian. See how he adapts to all the changes in his life and contends with a mother who has great fears about his future.

 

Unlikely Story of a Pig in the City by Jody Kendall

A great story about a big family in a small city apartment who rescues and tries to raise a baby pig.

 

 

 

Chester and Gus by Cammie McGovern

Chester has failed to pass the canine service dog test and goes to live with a young boy with severe autism.

 

 

 

 

I hope you will enjoy some of the books for this year’s award and participate in voting!

 

Social Emotional Learning & your Child’s Emotional Development

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If you’ve been to our library’s Exploration Stations, you’ve most likely seen the “Conversation Station” on the coloring table, with questions that use Social Emotional Learning (SEL) competencies as a framework. That’s not to say that these conversations are only for young children – we know that everyone benefits from developing their social and emotional skills, even adults!

You might be wondering, what is Social Emotional Learning? It’s the tools we have to regulate our emotions and reactions. It’s how we understand and manage emotions, set and achieve positive goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain positive relationships, and make responsible decisions. But why is this something we encourage at the library, and what are the long-term benefits? 

We as librarians want to promote evidence-based practices, and there is a wealth of research demonstrating the lasting benefits of social emotional development. In short, studies have shown that early education can improve childhood non-cognitive skills in a lasting way. We know that students who have a solid SEL foundation have better grades, test scores, and attendance than their peers. They are also more emotionally stable and have an easier time forming positive relationships. 

Especially in the current climate, it’s important to develop these skills in our children, to help them process the changes they’ve experienced over the last couple months. Developing these skills isn’t as challenging as it may seem – modeling the behavior you want to see is a great first step. And then, of course, the conversations we encourage in our programs. Atlanta Public schools have a wonderful infographic (see right) explaining the SEL competencies, and you can build your questions from there.

Here’s a sample of some of the questions we included in our Conversation Station booklets:

 

Self-Awareness

  • What makes you special?
  • How are you feeling right now?
  • What sorts of things do you need help with? 
  • Why are you important in your family?

Self-Management

  • How do you handle stressful situations?
  • How do you act when you are excited? Nervous? Scared?
  • What do you want to do today?
  • How do you get what you want?

Social Awareness

  • How can you tell when someone is sad?
  • What makes your friends special?
  • What are your friends good at?
  • How can you tell when someone needs help?

Relationship Skills

  • What does it mean to be a good friend?
  • How do you ask your friends for help?
  • What do you do when someone is mean to you?
  • How do you show your friends that you care about them?

Responsible Decision Making

  • What are you not able to do on your own?
  • Do you think about what will happen after you do something?
  • Who do you trust? Why do you trust them?
  • If someone has something you want, what do you do?

It may seem like some of these questions have obvious answers–– but we know that children are not born with this knowledge. They are either taught how to interact and manage themselves, or they learn from the people around them. Additionally, you may already use these questions in your home! How often do you ask your children what they want to do? It’s part of many of our days, once our children are able to voice their preferences. But this simple action develops several skills: it shows children that their opinion matters and increases their sense of self-worth and self-awareness. It models to them how they can interact with other people, by caring about what others want. For you as the “grown-up,” practicing these conversations also helps build a foundation for future emotional development with your child.

If you have any questions about SEL, feel free to contact us. For more information, here’s a few great SEL-related resources:

Social Emotional Learning Overview, Roger P. Weissberg & Jason Cascarino

The Impact of Enhancing Students’ Social and Emotional Learning: A Meta-Analysis of School-Based Universal Interventions, Joseph Durlak, Roger P. Weissberg, Allison Dymnicki, Rebecca Taylor, & Kriston Schellinger

The Positive Impact of Social and Emotional Learning for Kindergarten to Eighth-Grade Students, John Payton, Roger P. Weissberg, Joseph A. Durlak, Allison B. Dymnicki, Rebecca D. Taylor, Kriston B. Schellinger, Molly Pachan