Tag Archives: Reading

Books, Children's services, Programs, Public, School Media Specialist

New study says toy “sleepovers” can help kids’ literacy

Getting young kids involved in activities that involve reading is important to encourage their literacy skills. And when the kids can bring their favorite stuffed animals along, everyone can participate in the fun!

You may remember a few months ago CMLE’s office mascot Orville got to take part in a great Stuffed Animal Sleepover program offered by the St. Cloud Public library.

These events are becoming increasingly popular all across the world, and thanks to a new study, can even promote early literacy skills. This article from School Library Journal explains just how useful these events can be to get young kids interested in reading!
Continue reading New study says toy “sleepovers” can help kids’ literacy →

General, School Media Specialist

AASL Recommended App: Books: Metamorphabet

metamorphabetIn June 2016, the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) announced their 25 Best Apps for Teaching and Learning. The apps encourage qualities such as innovation and active participation, and are user-friendly.

Metamorphabet is an app that makes the alphabet come to life! Using animation, letters are able to morph into images that portray vocabulary words. This engaging alphabet book could also be used with ELL to build and develop vocabulary.

Check out reviews of the app from Common Sense Education here. School Library Journal shares their thoughts and examples from the app in this article.

Cost: $3.99

Level: Elementary
Platforms: iOS and Android

Watch the trailer here:

Books, General, School Media Specialist

Book Pirates help early literacy

Don’t mess with the Book Pirates! The name sounds tough, but this organization has a great goal in mind, and works to promote literacy with kids.

This article from the LITA Blog introduces the “Book Pirates,” or as they are called in their native Germany, “Buecherpiraten.” The goal of the Pirates is to “use the combined powers of digital publishing and self publishing to empower children and young people ages 3 to 19 to tell their own story, in their own mother tongue.”

Kids (of all ages!) can make their own picture book with artwork and stories which gets published on the Book Pirates website. Then, the book is available for free download in first and second language of choice, and can be created into several different formats (tablet, regular book, etc).

It makes sense that this program has been very successful with refugee children. It provides a place to tell their story, which can then be read in their native language, as well as in their new language.

You can make your own picture book, become a translator, or just get more information by visiting their website.

Books, CMLE, General

March Monthly Topic: Reader’s Advisory

Reading-booksWe are continuing to provide ideas, materials, and suggestions for you in our Monthly Topics! These were all taken from our annual Needs Assessment of our members – ideas identified as areas they need more information in for their work.

March’s topic is Reader’s Advisory!

This is a fun topic, because we all like to talk about books (regardless of format!), and to share our love of reading! And of course it’s tough to do sometimes, because none of us can know everything about all the books.

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/253538653992984835/

This month we will share some suggestions on making your RA skills sharper and broader. You should also feel free to write in and give some of your best suggestions!

Let’s talk about books together!!

Books, General

Cool ways to display your books

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Bookshelves are awesome!

Library people love books, and they usually tend to own quite a few. Keeping these books organized can present challenges, especially if you own a lot of them.

This article from Buzzfeed has some really unique, yet totally do-able ideas for organizing and displaying your books. Check it out and discover:

  • using an old ladder as a shelf and wall decoration
  • incorporating plants into your bookshelves
  • using rope lights to highlight your collection

Follow the hashtag #bookshelf on Instagram for more pretty inspiration, or check out this article that features 15 Instagram accounts especially for book lovers.

And of course, Pinterest has a wealth of bookshelf ideas to enjoy. Just be warned – you could spend a lot of time perusing all the shelving options!

Orville watches over some of the books and plants here at CMLE Headquarters. Do you have your books or bookshelves organized in an interesting display? Send us a picture!