Articles by CLiF Staff
General / If you're a parent and...
When it comes to good grandmas, my son, Emmett, hit the jackpot. Twice. He inherited not one but two nurturing grandmothers who ooze affection for him and are thrilled to spend every waking moment giving him attention and endless snuggles. But where Emmett’s winnings failed him is that both of his grandmothers live TOO FAR AWAY. … Continued
Wow, it’s been a busy, fun month. Over the past two weeks six of our eight CLiF Year of the Book schools had kickoff celebrations, and next week we’re finishing the tour in Laconia and Manchester, NH. That means I’ve had little backlog in the links I collect for this occasional Friday Links Library series. So you’re getting … Continued
CLiF wishes kids, parents, teachers, librarians, and school staff a great first week of school! Illustration by Grace Ahmed
Book Recommendations / If you're a parent and...
You may witness a multitude of emotions within any given day – unfettered giggles rising from deep in his belly, tender moments of quiet affection, loud protests of untamable anger, and tears of heartbreaking sadness. Sure, all toddlers carry a strain of drama queen. At least half the time my son cries, his crocodile … Continued
General / CLiF Spotlight / Book Recommendations
I’m so excited: I’m reading the manuscript of a friend’s just-finished mystery novel. I love reading more than pretty much any other activity (besides, maybe, eating), and reading a friend’s work — especially when it’s great — is so much fun. The dialogue! The suspense! The inside jokes! I’m very proud of him for having the focus … Continued
The Friday Links Library has been enjoying its summer vacation. We’re back this week with a short edition… Yesterday was Harry Potter’s (and J. K. Rowling’s) birthday, marking 16 years since readers first met the boy wizard. A recent study suggests that reading Harry Potter makes children more empathetic or tolerant toward minority groups or people … Continued
General / Book Recommendations / If you're a parent and...
…then you are quite familiar with “the look. It’s no longer the oblivious, “Gee, climbing on top of the couch is such fun!” expression. At least that one carried pure ignorance to the actual danger or unlawfulness of the behavior. No, this “look” is a new level of testing, of pushing boundaries of which he … Continued
General / CLiF Spotlight / How You Can Help
Remember the book you read one summer? You never forgot how it made you feel. Maybe you shared it with your own children. Since May we’ve been keeping a list collecting your favorite summer reads. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Yu9ulw3YYs&w=400&h=300&rel=0 Now, for just $5 per book, you can share your favorite with a child served through CLiF’s Summer Readers programs. CLiF will serve 3,700 … Continued
Ahh, summer sun! We’re soaking up the vitamin D, smelling the peonies, mixing the lemonade, and planning weekend beach reads. Here are a few links that caught our eyes this week: CLiF advisor Michele Tine has published new research showing that after a few minutes of aerobic exercise low-income kids score better on reading comprehension tests. … Continued
General / CLiF Spotlight / Book Recommendations
Harry Potter. The Hunger Games. The current nationwide phenomenon The Fault In Our Stars. Classics coming soon to the big screen: The Great Gilly Hopkins and The Giver. And way back when, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and in the beginning, The Wizard of Oz. Great children’s books have always been made into beloved movies. Still, the TFIOS … Continued
General / CLiF Spotlight / Book Recommendations
All about YA today. Because our focus is on kids from birth through age 12, we give away more board, picture, early chapter, and middle grade books than we do YA. But we do keep some on our shelves, we read it, and we keep our antennae up for what’s happening. And friends, YA is happening. So … Continued
June is here! We’re celebrating lots of grant program finales and are gearing up for summer… Summer Readers in particular. Let’s take a breather to catch up on some literacy news. Just in time for Father’s Day next weekend, here’s the #DadsRead campaign. The campaign, “designed to encourage fathers to read with their kids and celebrate dads who … Continued
My husband Tom and I are expecting our first baby in July. As the current Program Manager here at CLiF, I get to see on a daily basis the positive impact that strong reading habits have on children and families. But, like most first-time parents, I’m also getting a healthy dose of information and advice from … Continued
On May 10, Meredith and I went to Kids Day in Burlington, Vermont’s Battery Park. Hundreds of kids (and quite a few parents) stopped by our booth to write poems using magnetic poetry and their imaginations. Everyone who wrote a poem got to choose a book to take home. Here are a few young poets with their masterpieces. … Continued
General / CLiF Spotlight / Book Recommendations
Lots of news over the past two weeks! Here’s the roundup: First, happy Children’s Book Week! In the brilliant ideas department: Florida kids (and Salt Lake City, and a few others) with overdue books are allowed to read down their library fines–instead of having their borrowing cut off until they scrape together fees. Way to keep the library accessible to the … Continued
General / CLiF Spotlight / Book Recommendations
We’re starting to think about summer. Specifically: favorite summer books. Recently, this conversation sparked a debate among CLiF’s voracious readers: What makes a book a great summer book? Is it a picture book, like Blueberries for Sal, that captures the long, hot days of the season? Is it a classic book you associate with read-alouds and campfires, like Treasure Island? Is … Continued
General / CLiF Spotlight / Book Recommendations
You may have noticed I’ve been following the growing outcry over the lack of diversity in children’s books in these Friday posts. Over the last several days, authors and readers all over the world began demanding wider representation from publishing companies and pledging to buy and read books that represent our world’s diverse cast of real-life characters. To … Continued
We love reptiles because kids love reptiles. And when third, fourth, fifth, and sixth graders know they’re going to meet some snakes, you can bet they’re excited to read about snakes. Cutler School in West Swanzey, NH is a 2013-2014 CLiF Year of the Book school. Literacy teachers and Year of the Book coordinators … Continued
CLiF has served over 350,000 children since 1998.