Reading News and Children’s Literacy Roundup

Welcome!We are taking a break from our Cybils Countdown series to catch up on some children’s literacy and reading news!

The mid-September edition of the Children’s Literacy and Reading News Roundup brought to you by Jen Robinson’s Book Page, The Family Bookshelf, and Quietly is now available at Jen Robinson’s Book Page.

Jen has a jam-packed post with lots of really great literacy stuff, and I’m adding a few tidbits here, including a few Literacy Tools and Resources.

I was remiss in spreading the word about RIF‘s new multi-year early learning initiative to promote science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics (STEAM) via their multicultural book collection program. Thankfully Jen covered it! Over the next year, RIF will distribute 650 of these collections to libraries throughout the country! Here is my favorite Carol quote:

The next Mark Zuckerberg may be that 8-year-old child RIF serves whose only books are the ones we provide.

As a regular Washington Post reader, I am saddened to report that I totally missed this article by Nancy Carlsson-Paige. The question, Is technology sapping children’s creativity? is an incredibly important one as we often turn to technology as a way to engage kids … particularly reluctant learners. Like Jen, the points raised have forced me to rethink some ideas.

It is particularly interesting to read that aricle next to Lauren Barack’s article about U.K. Kids Reading Less, But Digital Formats Pick Up in this week’s SLJ Extra Helpings. A study by the National Literacy Trust found that …

Although kids today say they enjoy reading just as much as their peers did in 2005, they’re actually reading far less each day because they’re busy doing other things. The report found that in 2005, four young people in 10 read daily outside of class, but at the end of 2011, only three young people in 10 enjoyed leisure reading.

Tasha Saecker, librarian and kidlit blogger, parses and comments on the study at her blog, Waking Brain Cells, some of which Jen included in her round up. Collectively, the articles suggest that we have a lot to talk about when it comes to technology, literacy, and reading.

Jen also introduced you to one of my recent discoveries: the blog Growing Book by Book. The Jack-and-the-bookstalk theme is adorable, and the posts are concise and actionable. Like this post: Building a Library on a Tight Budget. Jodie offers lots of literacy and reading ideas, and though we may “know” them all, we may not always remember them! I particularly liked the idea of a book swap party.

Earlier this week, Teachers with Apps talked about the 50 best iPad Apps for Reading Disabilities. What stood out for me in Rosa Ray’s post was that the goal in integrating these tools into a student’s literacy diet was not just to improve skills, but also to “get a boost in confidence and learn to see school as a fun, engaging activity, not a struggle. (via Carissa Kluver, via Scoop.it)

Here’s a great opening line for an email, don’t you think: Ever help a guy find food in the refrigerator? It came from the School Library Journal and is the pitch for a …

“fun and informative webinar [where] you’ll discover how some everyday observations – like that time you maybe helped a guy find the mayo that was right in the front of the fridge – are really vital clues for thinking about getting boys to read in your library.” Go here to register.

Thanks for your continued interest in our children’s literacy and reading news collections. Carol is up next with a September wrap-up post, packed with great literacy news, for sure! We also (mostly Jen!) chat about literacy and reading on Twitter from @JensBookPage @CHRasco and @ReadingTub.