LP Reads Debuts on Goodreads.com

In our ongoing effort to provide LP readers (and their parents) with resources for finding that next great book, the LP Reads Team has started an account on Goodreads.  If you aren't familiar with Goodreads, think of it as an online place to peruse the bookshelves of all of your friends in one place.  While you are there, you can read what your friends think of their books, how they rate them (one to five stars), and find out what else they are planning to read in the future.  You can also create your own bookshelves (using any categorization system you choose), review books you have read, and keep a running list of books that you'd like to read some day.

To date, the LP Reads bookshelves are stocked with more than 2,400 books!  We currently have shelves for each grade level for summer reading and the kids' favorite books.  Other shelves include Parents' Picks, Caldecott Winners, Newbery Winners, Favorite Read Alouds, and Moraga Library Recommended Books (by grade).  We are beginning to do a finer sort of the existing books on shelves dedicated to genre and topic (friendship, determination, dogs, etc.) as well.

To become a friend of LP Reads on Goodreads, sign up for your own account by following this link and then add LP Reads as a friend (don't search for us as a group).   If you get hung up along the way, just email us and we'll walk you through the sign up process.

CYBILS! The 2010 Winners are Here

If you haven't yet checked out the CYBILS (the Children's and Young Adult Bloggers Literary Awards) website, today is the day you should head on over!  CYBILS describes the award program as the place where books with "literary merit [AND] kid appeal" unite.

On Valentine's Day, while we were all feeling the love for our spouses, families and friends, CYBILS announced the books that the groups' esteemed judges are heralding as the best of 2010.  The results are handily broken down by age (Elementary & Middle Grade as well as Young Adult) and by genre (Fiction Picture Books, Non-fiction, Easy Readers, Short Chapter Books, Poetry, Graphic Novels, Fantasy & Science Fiction, and Middle Grade Fiction).

We've listed the Elementary and Middle Grade winners below, but be sure to visit the site for a review of each book to see if it might spark your young readers' interest.   If you are looking for more options, you can also checkout the finalists for 2010 that we reported on in an earlier post.

Congratulations to all of the winners and happy reading LP!

Cleared for Content?

Is Harry Potter too scary for your second grader?  Is Twilight appropriate for your 4th grader?  When questions like this come up, it is sometimes difficult to know the answer unless you plunk yourself down and start reading the book in question yourself.  Add that to the list of to do items you are already trying to plug through in a day, and you might find yourself either prohibiting or approving books based on too little information.

Enter Storysnoops.  One of the Snoops (Eden) started her children's literature blogging adventure because her then 4th grade girl was "reading up" and based on a friend's advice, allowed her daughter to read Twilight because according to her friend, nothing really happens in book one.  Like so many young (and dare I say 30- and 40-year old) Twilight readers, Eden's young daughter was quickly swept away into world of Forks and continued to read her way through all four books in the series.  Unfortunately and much to Eden's dismay, her daughter had finished book four before her friend circled back to say that while the characters didn't even kiss in book one, by book four, Bella was pregnant. Yikes!

As with a lot of media, books are best previewed by parents, but unlike movies and video games, books don't come with ratings.  It remains the case that some books are just not appropriate for kids at certain ages, and as parents and teachers, we need tools for assessing whether or not we are ready for our children to read certain books.  For children's literature, especially literature written for the 8 to 12 year old set, Storysnoops is a fantastic resource.

The site allows you to search for books by title, author, or keyword (like friendship or bullying) and each review provides you with a parent's perspective about the appropriateness of each book's content and subject matter.  Take for example, the Snoops' review of Big Nate Strikes Again by Lincoln Peirce.  In it, the Snoops are careful to point out that

Nate is not always the best role model -- he often goofs off in class, and gets in trouble on a somewhat regular basis. Language is mild and mostly silly (jerk, idiot, butt naked, loser, bonehead) and mild bullying takes place. 

While the issues of Nate's behavior and language pale in comparison to a pregnant Bella, the Snoops' review empowers parents with the information they need to decide if they want to encourage or discourage the reading of that particular book.  On the positive side, the Snoops also note that "Nate learns a valuable lesson about combining the strengths and weaknesses with a partner for the greater good," and thus, again, parents are equipped to decide if the book's good points outweigh the bad and if it should be a go- or no-go-book for their child.  The Snoops' reviews also have the added benefit of pointing out the issues raised by each book, which can serve as a great way for parents to start conversations and connect with their children about books they are reading.  

One of the best features that Storysnoops offers is the ability to search for books by age group (Tweens 9-12 and Teens 13-18), by category (like Books for Boys Who are Reluctant Readers and Tweens Reading Up) and by topic (like self-confidence, sportsmanship, aliens, honesty, slavery, tolerance, and MUCH more).

The functionality of the site and the depth of the Snoops' coverage makes Storysnoops a parents' must-have-tool for guiding young readers.  Whether you use it to find the next good book for your child or to help you navigate the "appropriate content" waters of tween reading (without having to dive in yourself), Storysnoops is a great site to bookmark and blog to follow.

Are you a Story Snoop too?  What books would you recommend for LP readers and which ones would you caution other parents about?  Let us know! 

Short and Sweet

Do you ever feel like your children tire of hearing you yammering on about things like manners, good behavior, contributing to the household, being kind to others, and such? There have been a time or two when I have seen my sons' eyes glaze over when I thought I was just getting started on imparting the wisdom of the world.

I have found that reading my kids picture books with targeted messages can be a great way for me to reign in my tendency to run on at the mouth while still exposing them to story lines that introduce themes like being a good friend (as in "My Friend is Sad" by Mo Willems), overcoming fear (as in Horsefly by Alice Hoffman), or determination and passion (as in "Brontorina" by James Howe.  I like this approach because it lets the kids sip from the fountain rather than the fire hose and hopefully plants a seed somewhere in their developing minds.  Now, I have to say, they are kinda on to me and books with messages don't always garner high marks from my young reviewers when read in rapid succession, so I try to use them sparingly, but I do intentionally weave them into the good night reading repertoire nonetheless.


So what other lessons are there that parents might want to address with their children via picture books?  Well, they abound of course, but on the heels of the Parent Education program a few weeks back about bullying, I thought that it might be nice to point to some reading resources that take on that topic.  Over at Books That Heal, elementary school counselor Roxanne, has a strong affinity for bibliotherapy and includes books as part of her work with the children she counsels.  Over the past few weeks, she has been reviewing a book for adults about bullying, "Little Girls Can Be Mean: Four Steps to Bully-proof Girls in the Early Grades" by Michelle Anthony and Reyna Lindert, and she has also been tagging her reviews about bullying-related books as part of her blog for some time.  Her book reviews are fantastic and like those nuggets of wisdom I hope to impart on my kids ... they are short and sweet.  For each review, she tells you "Why it is on my Bookshelf," which is a helpful resource for parents wondering why or how a school counselor might use a particular book.

A few bullying-themed books that Roxanne recommends are Spaghetti in a Hot Dog Bun, The Juice Box Bully, Just Kidding, Confessions of a Former Bully, One of Us, Stand Tall Molly Lou Melon, The Hundred Dresses, Sorry, and of course, no good children's book list would be complete without one from Patricia Polacco -- Thank you, Mr. Falker.

Have you come across a good children's book about bullying or other topics of interest?  Let us know