This past weekend I read an outstanding essay in The New York Times “Book Review” section by Brian Morton, the director of the writing program at Sarah Lawrence College. In it, he describes an encounter with a college student who had been… Read More ›
New Year’s Resolution fanatics take over New York salad eateries! Not the exact headline, but reports noted that there were record lines at restaurants like Just Salad and Sweetgrass instead of McDonald’s. Eating healthy is a popular resolution. Another one is… Read More ›
The preschool program at my school focuses on using the students’ interests and the world around them to guide classroom themes. Being from Michigan, we see very distinct seasonal changes. What animals do during each season is often observed by… Read More ›
As a kid I always enjoyed my holiday breaks, but my family wasn’t the kind that went on vacation or did anything special. My parents worked like normal and I occupied myself during my days off. As a school librarian… Read More ›
At the 2018 School Library Journal Summit in Brooklyn, I had the privilege of hearing George Takei talk about his childhood experiences in Japanese-American Internment Camps during World War II. The talk was timed for his forthcoming graphic novel for… Read More ›
In elementary school, librarians try very, very hard to start the school year on the right foot with proactive book care lessons. We remind ourselves every September that for some of our kids, this may be the first time they’ve… Read More ›
Students now more than ever are accessing television through streaming services such as Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime. A large percentage of programs and movies that are popular right now started as novels that we have in our school libraries…. Read More ›
Book Clubs Are Great! Except… I think we can all agree that book clubs are great. They encourage a sense of community and collaboration as the group reads and discusses their reactions to the texts. They foster students’ sense of… Read More ›
Research has shown that students who have parents that read to them consistently have better reading skills. Furthermore, parents who are involved in their child’s education, particularly reading, perform better in school. Parents empower students for reading success. The question… Read More ›
An administrator recently told me, “We don’t really need a school library. Let’s face it…in 10 years…wait, FIVE years…we won’t need print books anymore. Nobody reads books anymore. They can Google everything they need!” I’m guessing the look on your… Read More ›