Ms. Kathy's Book Circus

Romiette and Julio by Sharon Draper

2011-07-11T02:59:00.000-07:00

Romeo and Juliet in Cinci with high school gangbangers and online chat. Sharon Draper, a former teacher, shoots and scores again! Romiette and Julio by Sharon Draper is available in Y Fiction and YA Paperbacks

Reading By Example: We Both Read Series

2008-05-19T11:50:00.000-07:00

I really love the We Both Read series of beginning reader books. These books come in several reading levels and when opened, the left-hand page is for the adult reader and the right-hand page is for the beginning reader, which makes reading a shared experience. These books are incredibly popular and more titles are being added to the CCPL collection all the time.

Click here to see the We Both Read series!

Pictures Speak: Wordless Books

2008-05-19T11:48:00.000-07:00

Wordless books let the pictures tell the story. Older readers and visual learners will pick up more "cues" from the beautiful artwork in these stories.

Un Brella by Scott E. Franson

The Red Book by Barbara Lehman (Caldecott Honor)

Author/Illustrator David Wiesner has created many beautiful award-winning wordless books

Flotsam (Caldecott Winner)

Tuesday

Sector 7

Free Fall (Caldecott Honor)

For more wordless books from the CCPL collection, click here to search for the subject heading, "stories without words - juvenile".

Pictured is Yellow Balloon by Charlotte Dematons

Sci-Fi 411

2008-03-22T10:26:00.000-07:00

What is "science fiction"? Answer: fiction that contains some plot elements based on actual or imagined science. Examples of science fiction plot elements include space exploration, "mad science" using chemistry, "time travel" using machines (if time travel occurs through magical means then it is not "sci fi"), and sustaining life despite adverse conditions in the future or in unusual places like outerspace or underground without "magic". Dystopian, futuristic fictions of society gone awry also fall into the science fiction category because they often describe the societal impact of fictional government sponsored eugenics or communities surviving some sort of cataclysmic breakdown that may have resulted from overpopulation, disease, or war.

Most sci fi for younger readers is silly stuff like the Captain Underpants series by Dave Pilkey where two friends use a machine to hypnotize their principle to turn him into Captain Underpants. The darker, more intense sci fi novels are for older children, teens, and adults.

Sci Fi Series for Younger Kids (9 and under)
Franny K. Stein by Jim Benton
Horace Splattly: The Cupcaked Crusader by Lawrence David
The Zack Files by Dan Greenburg
Andrew Lost by J.C. Greenburg
Magic School Bus Chapter Books
Ricky Ricotta by Dave Pilkey

Sci fi Series for Older Kids (ages 9 to 12)
The Tripod Series by John Christopher
Butt Wars by Andy Griffiths
Star Wars: Junior Jedi Knights by Rebecca Moesta and Nancy Richardson
Star Wars: Jedi Apprentice, Jedi Quest, and The Last of the Jedi by Jude Watson
Danger Boy by Mark London Williams

Sci Fi Series for Young Adults (ages 10 and up)
Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer
The Uglies Series by Scott Westerfield

Science Fiction Novels for Older Children and Young Adults
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
The Giver by Lois Lowry
I Am the Cheese by Robert Cormier
The House of the Scorpion and The Eye, The Ear, and the Arm by Nancy Farmer

Classic Adult Sci Fi Novels
(author bios are from Biography Resource Center (a CCPL database)- click here for access instructions)
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson
Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne
War of the Worlds and The Time Machine by H.G. Wells
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

Family Literacy: Families Read Better When They Read Together

2007-12-29T14:25:00.000-08:00

Family Literacy helps boost a child's individual literacy skills.

For tips to increase your family's literacy from the NCFL (National Center for Family Literacy), CLICK HERE.

More ways to build family literacy:

Listening to audiobooks with your child(ren). Audiobooks allow families to listen to the same story and then to practice the skills listed in the NCFL tips website. Time spent in the car or preparing meals becomes a rich literary experience when audiobooks are added to the mix. Audio books are great for reluctant readers and help "hook" them and keep them engaged till the end of the book. They also increase listening comprehension.

Have siblings (or other family members) read to younger siblings or to each other. We now have a new series of books at CCPL called We Both Read that is perfect for this kind of activity. These books come in a variety of beginning reading levels, from pre-kindergarden to Level 2-3. The left hand page is for the adult or fluent reader and the right hand page is for the beginning reader.

Read poetry with your children. Poetry helps engage younger children and reluctant readers. Short humorous poems are fun and appealing to children and can be easily memorized. American poetry is found under the call number, "J 811" and British poetry, such as the classic, A Child's Garden of Verses, by Robert Louis Stevenson, is found under "J 821" in the Children's section.

Get Graphic! Graphic Novels Are Good Reading

2007-12-29T08:46:00.000-08:00

"Graphic Novel" is a term used to discribe books that use a comic book type of format. "Grapic Novel" describes ficion and nonfiction works of this type.

Why are graphic novels such a hot print format?

1. They are great for reluctant readers, visual learners, EFL (English as a Foreign Language) readers, and readers who read below the reading level of the text for any other reason.

2. They provide visual information about the setting of the text. This is useful with graphic novel histories and biographies where readers are able to get more information about the clothing and environment of the time period of the work. This is especially nice for student reports requiring a visual display.

3. They are fast, exciting reads, full of color and action.

To find graphic novels on the shelves at CCPL branches, just look for the light blue "Graphic Novel" label on the spine.

In the library catalog search under the subject heading, "graphic novel". Use the subject heading "graphic novel and juvenile" to locate graphic novels in the Children's area.

For great reviews of graphic novels visit the website, No Flying No Tights (www.noflyingnotights.com).

Guys Read

2007-12-29T08:27:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite literacy websites is author, Jon Scieszka's, Guys Read. Guys Read has reading suggestions for guys of all ages and links to author websites and more. The site is also extremely visually appealing with bright graphics and moving pages that help keep the user's attention.

Dr. Jean's Got the Prescription for Childhood Literacy!

2007-12-29T08:02:00.000-08:00

Dr. Jean Feldman is an awesome educator, artist, and source of emergent, family, and pre-school literacy goodies. She did a wonderful presentation for Charleston County Library Children's Services staff members several years ago where I picked up a lot of tips and tools for improving my story time techniques.

CCPL has added a nice selection of Dr. Jean's CD's to its collection. Supplement these with her website (www.drjean.org) in order to get the maximum mileage from her fantastic compilation of songs, games, etc.

Bending It Like a Girl

2007-12-10T21:42:00.000-08:00

What do Sixth-Grade Glommers, Norks and Me by Lisa Papademetriou, Down the Rabbit Hole (Echo Falls series) by Peter Abrahams, and Millicent Min, Girl Genius by Lisa Yee all have in common? Soccer-playing heroines, that's what!

Soccer means different things to each of these girls, however. For Allie Kimball, the main character in Papademetriou's novel, soccer is an escape from the social pressure of starting sixth-grade. Allie's biggest worry is the change in her best friend, Tam, who morphs into a glommer, a girl who has to be with another girlfriend all the time, and Allie is not the friend that Tam is glommed onto.

For Ingrid Levin-Hill, another athletic teen heroine, her favorite red pair of soccer cleats play a major part in pulling her "down the rabbit hole" and into the heart of an adult-sized murder mystery. Ingrid is confronted with a lot of "mysteries" in Abrahams' novel, not all of which get solved, very much like real life.

Yee's eponymous heroine, Millicent Min, an athletically-challenged, eleven-year old high school student and all-round brainiac, finds herself being forced to play soccer by her well-meaning parents, who want Millicent to interact more with kids her own age.Whether you play soccer, or like Millicent Min, are completely clueless, you'll find something familiar about the situations these girls face. Figuring out how to handle family issues, friends, school, extracurricular activities, and the challenge of "fitting in" and becoming an adult are pretty mysterious to most people!
Millicent Min, Girl Genius and Sixth-Grade Glommers, Norks, and Me were on the SC Junior Book Award List in 2006 and 2007.

Down the Rabbit Hole (An Echo Falls Mystery) was recommended for YAs on NPR.

Fairy Tales for Tweens and Teens

2007-12-10T21:40:00.000-08:00

For Tweens

Irish writers, Eoin Colfer and Herbie Brennan, have revamped the fairy tale genre into a high action/suspense fantasy for guys.
Colfer is the author of the Artemis Fowl series, whose eponymous anti-hero, is indeed a foul, sneaky genius. The fairies are the good guys in this story.
Brennan is the author of Faerie Wars, a contemporary, high-action fantasy, with epic overtones full of magic and battles like Tinkerbell crossed with the Terminator Check out Artemis Fowl and Faerie Wars !

For Teens

Female writers of this genre, Holly Black, author of Tithe, and Francesca Lia Block, author of Weetzie Bat, both focus on contemporary, urban, outsider teens dealing with serious real world problems. Block is in L.A. and Black in N. J. They take the fairy tale to a different, darker, but no less fascinating place. Check out Tithe and Weetzie Bat !

Facing Bullies

2007-12-10T21:10:00.000-08:00

Can there be a school without bullies? Bullies are a real problem for kids; some kids face them and some kids are them.5th grader, Gabe, in The Liberation of Gabriel King, by K.L. Going, gets help facing his 6th grade tormenters from Frita, a whip-smart, outgoing African-American girl who is Gabe's best friend (courtesy of integration), in rural 1976 Georgia.

In The Revealers, by Doug Wilhelm, Russell bands together with two other victims to take on and expose the bullies in his seventh class using the student email system despite the insistence of the school's principal that bullying is not an issue at "Darkland" Middle School. Visit author, Wilhelm's, Revealer's website (click here) for more info on the impact of this book. Both books appeared on the 2007-2008 South Carolina Junior Book Award List. These books are recommended for ages 9 and up.

For Older Readers: The Bluford High Series

The Bluford High Series books are in Y Fiction and Young Adult Paperbacks. Most are written by Paul Langan, author of The Bully, and Anne Schraff. These honest and highly engaging books, that show teens dealing with uncomfortable and dangerous situations, are recommended for tweens and teens.

Rules by Cynthia Lord

2007-12-10T21:09:00.000-08:00

Twelve-year-old Catherine works hard trying to help her autistic brother, David, get along and remember how to act normal. Her main strategy is making lists of rules: rules for how to act, what to wear, how to eat, what to do, what not to do, and more. It's summertime and Catherine wishes she could have an ordinary life and that everything at home didn't seem to revolve around David. She wants to make friends with the new girl next door and then there's that guy she met at David's therapist's office, who liked her drawings. Find out more about Catherine in Rules, Cynthia Lord's Newbery Honor winning book.