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
The last time I was volunteering at a book giveaway, where we let each child in the school pick out a new, free book to take home, I had several middle school aged boys say to me “There’s nothing here I want.” Or “I don’t see anything I like.” It’s times like that I try not to … 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 / Book Recommendations / If you're a parent and...
I love a good story. But making them up on the spot doesn’t come naturally to me. I dread when my child asks “tell me a story.” She usually asks when I feel least creative – driving to school, waiting in the doctor’s office, or sitting in her bed in the middle of the night after … 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
Every couple of months, I meet and discuss books with a group of some of the most critical and thoughtful readers I know. They’re insightful, articulate, and extremely smart. They’re also in grades 4 through 8.
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
When daffodils begin to peer, With heigh! the doxy over the dale, Why, then comes in the sweet o’ the year; For the red blood reigns in the winter’s pale. The Winter’s Tale (4.3.1-4) Happy Birthday, Bill!
It’s National Library Week! This week celebrates our public and school libraries as trusted, relevant, and committed community resources and raises awareness of challenges libraries face. CLiF is honored to partner with many rural libraries that bring incredible value to their communities–often on shoestring budgets. This week the American Libraries Association (ALA) released the State … Continued
I need no words to help you understand my mood. Snow – it’s beautiful when it gently blankets the countryside and reminds us all of a hopeful, cozy winter memory. But when you’ve finally reached mid-April, your kids have recovered from multiple stomach bugs and endless head colds, and all you want is a glimpse … Continued
General / Book Recommendations
Could it be? Is that… sun? Are those… green sprouts coming out of the ground? Here are a few notable stories we saw over the past several sunny, springy days: Charlotte Albright of Vermont Public Radio visited Lowell, VT to talk with CLiF Year of the Book students and Natalie Kinsey-Warnock about their Story Keepers … Continued
General / If you're a parent and...
A very talented friend of mine designs modern family trees, and when I had my child, I decided to get her one. This turned into a much bigger project than I expected. I was so thankful that family members have been collecting my family’s and my husband’s lineage. I love the design and the history in … Continued
March. In like a lion, out like a… cold wet lion. Couple of goodies for your Friday Links Library this week: From WBUR’s On Point: host Tom Ashbrook on Goodnight Moon and the University of Wisconsin study we noted last week. The discussion asks “what we seek and share in young children’s books.” With guests … Continued
Probably most adults could not coherently discuss the differences between the 1840 and 1860 census how a daguerreotype differs from a tintype or the repercussions of the 1890 census being destroyed in a Department of Commerce fire. But the children of Island Pond and Lowell, Vermont can. Funded in part by CLiF Year of the … Continued
Happy Spring! Kind of. Nobody’s putting their skis away around here. Lots of interesting tidbits in the news this week. Here’s the roundup: Last week, the New York Times printed op-eds by father and son authors Walter Dean Myers and Christopher Myers on why we all critically need to see children of color better represented in … Continued
Last week, on a school day, our alarm went off and my husband and I did not jump out of bed. We lay there looking at the ceiling for a few minutes, you know, in dread. It was, as we call it, “time to wake the donuts,” and man, we really didn’t want to. Truth … Continued
General / Book Recommendations
Happy Friday! We’re digging out after Vulcan dumped two feet of fresh snow over Vermont. Which means all this weekend we’ll be doing our two favorite activities: reading and skiing. Here are some clips from the last two weeks. Meredith found a lot happening in Ohio to help third graders pass reading tests: When more … Continued
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