Children’s Literacy and Reading News Roundup – End of December / Start of January
Like you, Jen Robinson (Jen Robinson’s Book Page), Carol Rasco (Rasco from RIF), and I were off enjoying the holidays and a busy end of year. It was nice to take a more leisurely slide into the new year (not to mention a lot of exciting news awaiting us on January 1!) so Carol has just recently posted the December in Review edition of the Children’s Literacy and Reading News Roundup!
Carol and Jen always seem to find the coolest stuff. Their pieces of literacy news are like presents that you needed but didn’t even realize it.
Like the Little Free Library project. I want one of those boxes in my yard! In the coming year the project is going international, so it will be really fascinating to see all the answers to the question: “What books would I put in a Little Free Library based on what I read last year?”
Like Carol, I have fallen in love with The Nerdy Book Club blog. The posts are great, but what hooked me was Brian Wilhorn’s recent post The Non-Reading Reader. Anyone who has been or who knows a dormant reader will L-O-V-E this post. Here’s a sneak peak …
Many words and phrases were used to describe me from age ten to twenty-one. “Not working up to potential” was the report card’s way of saying “slacker.” One teacher told my parents that I “socialized excessively.” She probably told fellow teachers that I “never shut up.” On the other hand, “reader” was never used. And I believed it. I was not a reader in the eyes of my teachers and therefore not a reader in my own eyes.
Click over, read the whole piece, and then come back. I’ll wait here.
Isn’t that awesome? Did you read the byline? Brian is a middle school teacher now. With his frame of reference, you know he is the BEST kind!! It wasn’t until just the other day that I learned Donalyn Miller (The Book Whisperer) is part of this group … now you know it HAS to be good! I hope someone comes up with a little badge for her I Resolve to Read tagline.
We often highlight other activities, like the Carnival of Children’s Literature. [Here is the link to December 2011 Carnival at Jean Little Library.] What stood out for me, though, was Carol’s explanation of how she is going to use the information: “I have posted the URL on my calendar for late October to review and pick up some new features for my family’s and RIF staff’s holiday activities.” So often we forget to do that!
And speaking of forgetting …
I forgot to put out a call for bloggers to host the I Can Read Feast for New Readers. This is a monthly event where bloggers post ideas and tips for helping kids build their reading skills, and/or offer suggested reading with reviews of easy reader and early chapter books.
If you are interested in hosting, you can send an email to thereadingtub [at] gmail [dot] com, or add a comment to the I Can Read! Event page.