March Madness for Books

This one is for the parent readers out there!   This morning I learned about a fun event to follow that is run by The Morning News.  The event is called The Tournament of Books and it begins tomorrow.  Over the next month, 16 of this year's best books will be pitted against one another March Madness style.  Literary reviewers will read the contending books and write up their take on who should advance to the next round.  While you may not be up for the gauntlet of reading that such an endeavor might entail, this is at least a good list of books to peruse if you're looking for your next good read.  Check it out!

LP's All Ears Favorite Honors Girl Scouts with a New Book

Be sure not to miss seeing Ginger Wadsworth (who some of you may know from your child reading to her beautiful dog Willa at the LP Library) this coming Saturday, March 10th at 1pm at Orinda Books.  She'll be introducing her new book, "First Girl Scout: The Life of Juliette Gordon Low."   This year marks the 100th anniversary of the Girl Scouts, so her book is well-timed.

According to Orinda Books,

Ginger Wadsworth is the author of many nonfiction titles for young readers, including, for Clarion, Words West: Voices of Young Pioneers, which was named a nonfiction Honor Book by VOYA and received the Western Writers of America Spur Award. She lives in Orinda, California. You can learn more about her at: www.gingerwadsworth.com

 If you miss seeing her at Orinda Books, please contact Dustie Robeson at dustie @ spiffychicks.com to schedule a time to read with her and Willa in April or May during the All Ears program at the LP Library.

Literature and Global Citizenship

You often hear adults talk about literature in a way that makes it clear that they are connecting what they read to their lives in meaningful ways.

This past week, I had an opportunity to see how second graders can also make very profound text-to-world connections.  While attending a Technology Symposium for the San Ramon Valley Unified School District, I joined a break out session hosted by the district's literacy coaches.  They shared about their work with teachers across the district to both teach and inspire young readers.

One of the ideas they touched on was using "text sets" to help children create real world connections through literature. Poking around a bit, I discovered that a "text set" (a collection of books based on the same theme - fiction and/or non-fiction) can be an inspiring way to launch a myriad of associated learning opportunities.

In the video shared below, these second grade teachers and coaches created a moving, long-term project with the following books:

• The Librarian of Basra
• Beatrice's Goat
• Listen to the Wind
• Ruby's Wish
• Nasreen's Secret School
• Four Feet, Two Sandals
• Fly Away Home

To round out the set, they also included a video ("Story of Ruby Bridges") and a song ("We Shall Overcome").

The below video summarizing their work speaks volumes and for the few friends who have previewed it, some tissues have been required.

Leave it to literature to touch so deeply -- and leave it to skilled professionals (teachers) to make that connection happen for children.  Thank you authors and thank you teachers!