eBooks Galore for Young Readers

It is always fun to "meet" new Tweeps. Today, I happened upon Matt B. Gomez, a passionate kindergarten teacher from Texas.  Poking around a bit, I discovered his passion for digital citizenship, global collaboration, virtual field trips, and of course reading!

Check out his recent post, "170 eBooks for Young Readers" for a little eBook inspiration.  And, lest you be a little skittish about eBooks for youngsters, stop over at Slow Family's recent post, "How to Raise Readers in the Digital Age," where she points out that despite the fear that "the expansion of digital technology into our children's lives will result in them reading less than kids of previous generations," children are in fact, "reading more than ever, in both digital and print forms" (Her source: Scholastic Kids and Family Reading Report).

As LP students continue to incorporate "listen to reading" into their language arts time via the Daily Cafe, I hope these resources will be helpful to teachers and parents alike.  Thanks Matt!

Reluctant Reader Inspiration and Helpful Reader / Research Resources

The road to becoming a reader isn't always paved with shouts of glee and boundless enthusiasm.  In fact, many parents struggle with trying to motivate their children to pick up any book, let alone the many necessary to complete things like a summer reading program.  For those parents and readers out there, check out Media Specialist Julie Greller's handy pamphlet, "Books for Reluctant Readers: K-12."

Greller's blog "A Media Specialists Guide to the Internet" is packed with resources for librarians and teachers; however, parents may also find some of her pages interesting and useful.  Check out her Author Page for popular writers for the elementary school set; a recent Guest Post about Great Audiobooks for Kids; her References Page for online research resources; and her Graphics Page for Creative Commons and Public Domain images (meaning you can use them without worrying about infringing on anyone's rights).

Greller's blog in general is a great place to get a glimpse at the evolved role that school librarians are playing in schools as the Information Age blurs the line between librarians and technology coaches. For more on that topic, check out her recent guest post by Arlen Kimmelman "You Already ARE Your School's Technology Coach" and the graphic created by Kimmelman below.

A Wholesome Family Read

As a family with a first grader, third grader, and fifth grader, we sometimes struggle to find books that will keep everyone interested.  Too often the books that my fifth grader are drawn to aren't ones that I'm too keen on having my first grader listen to just yet (think "39 Clues" or the final books of the Harry Potter series).  So when a book  comes along that comfortably bridges the gap AND is a series, I'm elated.

In the fun of summer reading, we discovered "Lion Boy" by Zizou Corder.  Having knocked out the first part of this innocent adventure story about a boy who talks cat and is on a mission to save his talented scientist parents (who have been stolen away to prevent them from sharing their newly discovered cure for asthma), we are on to the second book "Lion Boy: The Chase" and eagerly anticipating the third, "Lion Boy: the Truth."

If you are looking for a family read that has enough adventure for the older kids and the wholesomeness we used to be able to expect from children's literature ... this could be your next read!

Biblionasium Winner!

Congratulations to Scott L. for winning a $15 iTunes gift certificate from Biblionasium for being a consistent logger of his reading this summer.  We are glad you earned some extra rewards for your reading this summer Scott!

For all of our other summer readers, there are just a few days left of summer reading, so keep logging those pages and enjoy the last lazy days of summer!

Instructions for submitting your reading logs will be out in the next few days and will be posted here and on the LP PTA Website.

Happy reading everyone!