It's Celebrate Teen Literature Day!

You are growing up in a day and age where there are so many great books written for young people.  So much in fact that adults are loving to read this type of literature too. From Harry Potter to The Hunger Games to The Hate U Give to The Fault in Our Stars to so many other great books, adults are finding lots to read in YA and children's literature.  Now, maybe I'm a bit biased, being a librarian, but if I think back to my childhood growing up I can only remember a slight few books that were aimed at tweens and teens that were any good. 

I do remember one book I got from the Scholastic Book Fair that I was in love with. It was a sad book (I have always apparently loved sad/depressing stories) called I Want to Live by Lurlene McDaniel.  It is a book in a series but this is the title I most remember.  I read it many times.  I was surprised to see it, and other McDaniel books are still being published and read!  I guess maybe there was a reason this book was one I remembered. But other than that book, I don't recall reading anything in my tweens and teens that was aimed at my age group that was memorable.  

As a lover of books and a librarian for tweens and teens I am so happy to see so many amazing, literary, relatable books being written for this age group.

When the MMSD Middle School Librarians pick books for Battle of the Books we try to pick books we know are great, but that may not be the first book a student picks up.  I think we did a good job this year based on the feedback we have received:

The Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) puts out a list each year of the Teen's Top Ten that you can access here.  

What are your favorite books???  Share them here if you would like to have them posted on the blog this month!

Let's talk Booktok...

I had not yet joined the world of TikTok until recently.  In preparing to celebrate this year's School Library Month I came across something called Booktoks.  You can read more about them here, and see some good examples. In short, they are TikTok videos where people share books they love, books they are reading, the experience they have/had while reading a book, etc.  They can show the person or not; the person can be talking or not; they can use music or not; but ultimately all of them show the book(s) they are talking about.  

Here are a few more examples that I came across when looking up what Booktoks were.  I discovered that there are several Pinterest boards that save these Booktoks. (Make sure when you open the links to click on the video so the sound comes on.)

• Books that had me hooked from the first sentence
• YA fantasy novel tiktok would devour if they knew about it
• Books that had me sobbing at 3am

I was intrigued that this is such a popular thing on TikTok, and excited that people like to create these to share what they are reading!  I just recently made my first TikTok, which is a #booktok and I realized TikTok is not as easy as it looks 😄.  Here is my first attempt... I wanted to share all the books I liked as a kid... but I only had the one that I read as a kid (the first book in the video).  The others I read as an adult.  Again, first go at it, but wanted to share it with you.  

@schmitzie77

##booktok ##firsttiktok

♬ When You Were Young - The Killers

I'll keep trying things out and would love to see what you SHMS students have to share!  

You don't have to use TikTok to create one!  You can use a screencast software like screencastify or loom, or you can use Canva as they have TikTok templates you can use and walk you through what to do! You can also use Awesome Screenshot which is a Chrome extension and allows you to do videos and screenshots.

If you want to share your Booktok or anything else to be featured in these posts during April, fill out this form!  Thanks!

Today is National Library Worker's Day!

Here is one of my favorite authors and humans, Jason Reynolds, talking about libraries and librarians (it is from a few years ago). 

I'd like to thank all of the librarians and library aides and student aides I have had the privilege to encounter and work with! Most of you at Spring Harbor probably don't remember Mrs. Lazorik, but she was the nurses aide and library aide when I started working here and she was such a joy to work with!  She loved the students and helped me, new to middle school and being a full time librarian, find my way!  She also kept the library clean and the circulation desk organized! I have not done a great job of the clean and organized desk since she left 🤔.  When we can have visitors back in the school building maybe you will meet her because she is such a great human (another one of my favorite humans) that she comes in and volunteers to help shelve books or process books... in other words, she comes in an volunteers to do the job she used to get paid for!  Thanks Mrs. Lazorik!

And... if you need any reminders about why school librarians are important see below... (click on the first image to open it up so you can zoom in to read it better).

It's School Library Month!!!

 

April is School Library Month (and this week is National Library Week) and we will be celebrating all month long!  Each day I will post something about the library or other library related things... and will also be highlighting what YOU want to share!  I'll be asking YOU to share some of your favorite books, booktoks, stories about the library, etc. to feature on this blog. 

As a librarian, I buy all types of books so that everyone can see themselves represented in stories AND so that you can also read about people unlike yourself, to see how other people navigate the world.  I believe in Intellectual Freedom and the Library Bill of Rights, that you have the choice to choose what you read or do not read.  I mention this, because in September/October each year we celebrate Banned Book Week... that is not a time to celebrate the banning of books though... this is a week where we talk about Intellectual Freedom and the freedom we have to read what we want.  We look at what books have been banned and challenged and many of them are some of your (and my) favorite books. 

I know it is April, and not Banned Book Week, but today is the day that the American Library Association released the most banned/challenged books of 2020. One of the things I love most about the book talks I do with students around banned/challenged books is the outrage I see and hear about "Why is this book banned?" and that, "This is my favorite book ever!"  I hear you and I see you! Look over this years list of the top 10 most banned/challenged books and the reasons for them. You can see former lists here as well. 

Here is a video presenting 2020's top 10 that shows reasons why they have been challenged"

Here is a list with some more explanation of the reasons for being challenged (if you open the link you can zoom in so you can read the explanations clearly).

Here are reasons for books being challenged... the words that appear bigger are the reasons that were brought up the most.

Celebrate Pride Month!

Celebrate Pride Month by reading some great LGBTQ literature!

MMSD's ebook/audiobook platform Sora (also known as OverDrive) has a collection to celebrate Pride Month.  Once you sign in scroll down a bit and you will see a link to the collection: 

You can also click on the collections link from the upper right of the main page, and see this and other collections. 

Recommendations from me: 

The Gravity of Us, by Phil Stamper - I listened to this and thoroughly enjoyed it!  We have it as an audiobook or an ebook on Sora.

I'll Give you the Sun, by Jandy Nelson - I can't tell you how wonderful this book is!  Everyone who I know who has read it, teachers and students, has loved the story and the characters. We have this only available as an ebook. 

If you want some nonfiction I recommend The 57 Bus, by Dashka Slater that tells a story about not only LGBTQ issues, but also about criminal justice. 

Black Lives Matter

Resources for anyone and everyone to check out about the Black Lives Matter movement and how to be antiracist. I'm working everyday to educate myself on the history of racism in America, the systems in place to keep racism going, and how to be a better ally and co-conspirator to Black and brown people and to truly live my life as an antiracist.  

A padlet full of antiracism resources for people of all ages!

From the National Museum of African American History and Culture - information on being antiracist.

If you are a student looking to learn more about race in America and the Black Lives Matter movement, check out this document that tells you how to access books on these topics for free online.

Simmons University has a great list of resources and links on the topic of antiracism. 

A terrific Google Doc of Antiracism Resources listing a variety of articles, shows, movies, books, etc. to read in your journey to be an antiracist.

Here is an interview - you can read and/or listen to it on this website - with Dr. Ibram X Kendi the author of the book How to be an Antiracist. This was published article and listen are from 2019.

Today he (Dr. Kendi) published an article on The Atlantic website entitled: The American Nightmare: To be black and conscious of anti-black racism is to stare in the mirror of your own extinction. This is a powerful piece about some of the history of racism and how we have come to where we are today... June 1, 2020. 

I also highly recommend reading Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You by Jason Reynolds, which is a book adapted for young people of Dr Kendi's scholarly book Stamped:From the Beginning.  Reynolds adaptation is interesting, entertaining, thought provoking and this book will teach you about some of this history you were not taught before... you will learn about the history of racism and you will learn how and why to be an antiracist.  I can't recommend this book enough!  We have it through OverDrive/Sora with MMSD... if you are looking for it and can't get it, let me know and I'll see if I can't hurry that up for you!

Post Edit:  I took many of the resources I have found and created a website for families, students, and educators... although a work in progress and not quite full of content on all pages yet, it has many of the resources that I feel will help us all learn more about being antiracist and the systemic racism that we need to eliminate from our country. 

New book - for free online - from J.K. Rowling

If you didn't know... now you do...

J.K. Rowling just announced that she will be putting out an unreleased book called The Ickabog and will release a chapter each weekday from today (May 26, 2020) until July 10.  If you click the link above you will get a little more info about what this book is about.  It is NOT a Harry Potter story... or from that world, just so you know that going into it.  

You can read the book here and also find out more information about the illustration contest!!! Wouldn't it be so cool if something you drew/illustrated became a part of the physical book that will be published in November?  This is great way to pass our time  in the summer as we continue to strive to maintain our health and safety as we slowly start to venture back out into the world! 

Project LIT!

What is Project LIT? Here is what they are all about, taken right from their sign up form:

"Project LIT Community is a national, grassroots literacy movement, a team of dedicated educators and students who work together to:

• EMPOWER our students as readers, writers, and leaders
• PROMOTE a love of reading in our schools and communities
• NURTURE authentic reading identities by increasing access to high-quality books, building community, and fostering a sense of belonging
• CHAMPION young people and books that reflect their lived realities, communities, and identities
• ADVOCATE for literacy policies and practices that will build lifelong readers
• SUPPORT AND INSPIRE one another as we improve our practice and pedagogy
• READ, DISCUSS, AND CELEBRATE books that make our students feel seen, heard, affirmed, and valued
• DEVELOP our cultural competence and EXPAND our thinking, regardless of individual starting point
• AMPLIFY voices and stories of students and educators of color
• REWRITE the narrative about which texts and authors are deemed worthy of academic study
• PROVIDE students with as many positive literacy experiences as possible"

I've been following the ProjectLIT Community on Twitter for almost a year now and am inspired and encouraged by their message and the enthusiasm this movement is bringing to students and engaging them in not just reading great literature, but instilling the love of reading in students and bringing many new voices to the table.

I'm proud to say we already have these books in our library, or they have been ordered(due to the delays with COVID-19 have not arrived but should be on the shelves when we return to school).

If you are looking for something to read over the summer... consider a book on this list. Or visit their Twitter and see the previous lists. So many good books to read and experience!

Brain Yoga

Can you tell that I love pretty much everything Jason Reynolds does?!?! 

It's pretty hard not to, actually....

Last week I watched his Instagram Live (I watched it after the fact) where he was doing what he calls Brain Yoga.  In this one (I'm not sure if it is the same for all of them) he holds up 2 cards and ask you to think of a new invention combining the 2 things on the cards. 

He then invites people onto the live feed to give their response and if he chooses you, he was giving away a $60 gift card to a your bookstore!  It was entertaining to watch, so if you have Instagram - he still has some of the episodes on his feed. See the image below for his Instagram to view his feed and start following him.  And play along if you want.  I think he is doing this every Friday at 1:30 EST - so that means 12:30 pm our time! 

Have some fun - and do some Brain Yoga!

May the 4th Be With You - It's Star Wars Day

I am a HUGE Star Wars fan and so of course I want to celebrate May 4th which has been dubbed Star Wars day in recent years.  Here are some activities to do to celebrate Star Wars day if you would like...