Picture: Books — Back to School Bus
CLiF wishes kids, parents, teachers, librarians, and school staff a great first week of school! Illustration by Grace Ahmed
What’s New
Book Recommendations / If you're a parent and...
If you’re a parent and… you’re raising a sensitive child
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
August 8 Friday Links Library
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
General / If you're a parent and...
If you’re a parent and… you’re teaching kindness
New research from Harvard’s Making Caring Common Project offers suggestions on how to raise kind children. I read this with interest because recently, in a deep conversation about our strengths and weaknesses as parents, I shared with a friend that my biggest hope for my child is she be kind. As parents of only children, these hopes are … Continued
August 1 Friday Links Library
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...
If you’re a parent and… your toddler is toying with naughty words
…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
Middle Ground: Fizz, Boom, and Read this Summer!
In a public library, summer is the time of year when the children’s room truly comes to life.
General / CLiF Spotlight / How You Can Help
Share your favorite summer book!
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
General / If you're a parent and...
If you’re a parent and… it’s July 4th!
Happy July 4th! This holiday inspires me to read books about American history: presidents, symbols, battles, trivia, monuments, houses – there are some great stories! Tomorrow we’ll wrap up a day of parades, candy, fireworks, barbecues, and swimming with two of my daughter’s favorite books: Looking At Lincoln and So You Want to Be President. She read one … Continued
CLiF Spotlight: Back to Camp!
On June 25 I donned shorts and flip-flops and traveled to Bethlehem, NH to visit Copper Cannon Camp (CCC) located on 128 acres adjacent to the White Mountain National Forest.
June 20 Friday Links Library
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
Which is better: the book or the movie?
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 / If you're a parent and...
If you’re a parent and… weather interrupts vacation
Today is the last day of school – let summer vacation begin! Planning child care, camps, vacations, work obligations, and family visits has been a three month process. And we all know that despite these best-laid plans, our carefully structured calendar will be rocked by the unforeseeable – beach days interrupted by afternoon thunderstorms or … Continued
General / CLiF Spotlight / Book Recommendations
Friday Links Library: The YA Debate
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 6 Friday Links Library
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
If you’re *almost* a parent and you want to start good reading habits…
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
Middle Ground: What the DCF Ceremony is All About
Last Tuesday, about five hundred young readers filled the seats of Judd Hall at Vermont Technical College for the 2014 Dorothy Canfield Fisher Book Award Ceremony.
CLiF Spotlight: The Man Behind the Book Nook at UVM
On May 14, Gretchen, Julia, and I attended the Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility (VBSR)