[the YA books in my libraryare] all appropriately reviewed, of course, and many of them are award winners, some several times over-but when it comes to content, they don't pull any punches.
So it shouldn't really come as a surprise that I recently got my first book complaint.
As librarians, we tend to talk a lot about intellectual freedom and defending our teens' right to read whatever they want. But when push comes to shove, how do we really respond to book challenges in the heat of the moment?
I feel lucky that I have not had to defend a book. I hope I would listen to the parent's concerns, arrange a time to respond to that concern, check our division policy again, do some reviews, and then respond.
I try to read all the books of an older nature for a K-8 library, so I know the content. In some cases I've sent books on the Jen at NBCHS, because they are to mature for our students, but are still great books.
I know I should spend more time researching the books before I buy them, but sometimes I am buying them based on a student's recommendation.
The 54 books annotated below were selected as the best of the year from the 5700 books reviewed in SLJ's pages in 2009. We think children and teens will find them enlightening, entertaining, or evocative.
A wonderful blog about books, reading and school libraries by a teacher-librarian in a dual-track French-English elementary school. She had been teaching for 11 years.
''Really cool widgets to add to your library page. "To embed the Peek Inside the Book Widget, Hunger Games Audio Files, or the Catching Fire Trailer into your website or blog, select all the code in the box underneath each, then copy the code and paste it into your website or blog."
I've talked to some elementary librarians who are a reluctant to order many graphic novels because they're afraid there aren't any good ones for our younger students. Another issue is whether or not graphic novels are important or useful for our students' literacy development. I'm going to tackle both of these issues here.
We recently purchased a graphic novel series called BabyMouse. We can't keep it on the shelf. Boys and girls in grade 2 read it as well as girls in grade 5. They haven't been read by anyone else because the students just rotate them through their class. All the art is done in pink white and black. I think its a good example of a graphic novel good for younger students.
""One reason we like Kindles better than using a book because we can change the font size. We like the largest font because it makes us read faster. Another nice thing is to use the dictionary when we don't know what a word means right away. Also, another feature is we like the fact we don't have to carry around alot of books because the Kindle has a variety of titles downloaded onto it.""
Search a wide variety of social media all in one spot. "Mashpedia presents an organized mashup of results from Wikipedia, YouTube, Twitter, Flickr, Google News, Books, Blog Posts, and further contextual information, thus providing a quick, practical outlook for every topic. "
Fifteen tales challenge the boundaries of suburban life, including a foreign exchange student from another species, intercontinental ballistic missiles in backyards, and an expedition to the Earth’s edge. The renowned Australian author/illustrator combines magical graphics and playful texts that juxtapose the everyday with the fantastic.
Review: "Part of the nine-volume "Canadian Aboriginal Art and Culture" series, these books provide information about a variety of topics, including homes, clothing, food, tools and weapons, religion, celebrations and ceremonies, music and dance, language and storytelling, and art. In fact, with only one or two exceptions, all the chapter headings in these three titles are identical. " Recommended but NOTE: This series provides just enough information for elementary school students.
Review: "'Canadian Citizenship in Action' is a series of four books intended to help middle years's students understand just what living in a democracy like ours means, and how each person can participate, as well as what barriers may be encountered."