READING WITH CHILDREN May 30, 2008
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As we said in the Summer Reading Booklet, reading with children is an amazing gift to them that only requires some time and attention from you. The easiest way to get started is to just take your little sisters or brothers, cousins, or the kids you baby-sit to your local public library and explore the children’s section. Or take them for story hour and pick up some tips by watching the librarian or story-teller do it. You can also volunteer to help at story hour or other children’s programs at the library.
If you’re looking for ideas about what to read, use the NoveList database (Res has a subscription). Click on the ”Award Winners” link under either the “Younger Kids” or “Older Kids” categories in the left-side menu. The “Literary” section has awards like the Caldecott Medal and Honor Books, the Boston Globe-Horn Book Awards, the Charlotte Zolotow Award and Honor Books, and the Newbery Medal and Honor Books. Take a look at some of the other lists as well. Most states, including Illinois, run their own book award programs and many of their lists can be found on NoveList.
Some of the same lists can be found on the Association for Library Services to Children (ALSC) website: http://www.ala.org/ala/alsc/awardsscholarships/awardsscholarships.cfm. Click on the “Literary and Related Awards” and the “Children’s Notable Lists” for more than a summer’s worth of ideas.
Sometimes children have some pretty specific ideas about the books they like — and that’s great. But help them mix it up a bit by exploring fiction, nonfiction, fairy tales and tall tales, and poetry with them.
Kids who are beginning to read or who can already read love the chance to read to someone else. Your job is just to be a good audience — and maybe help them with a difficult word or two. It’s good practice for them and it takes most of the pressure off you because, in my experience, the kids can pronounce the names of all those dinosaurs WAY better than we can! I’m sure my nephew Nathan was motivated to take over the duties of reading his favorite, The Star Wars Dictionary, when I kept pronouncing “Queen Amidala” as “Queen Armadillo.”
Reading with children is one of life’s simplest pleasures, so just have fun with it!
THE SECRET LIVES OF TEACHERS, PART 3 May 29, 2008
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Here’s the last of our reading ideas from the Res staff. If you missed them, read Part 1 and Part 2. Feel free to let us know what you’re reading this summer.
Though he fears students will find his choices “boring,” Mr. Lascon is planning to read The First Crusade : A New History by Thomas Asbridge, The Everlasting Man by G.K. Chesterton, The Apostles by Pope Benedict XVI, and 1453 : The Holy War for Constantinople by Roger Crowly. He recommends Life of Pi by Yann Martel, The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien, and any book by Mitch Albom.
Mrs. Roy has a number of mysteries on her list, including Careless in Red by Elizabeth George, Dead Run by P.J. Tracy, books from the Kathryn Swinbrook series by C.L. Grace and the Magdalene La Batarde series by Roberta Gellis, both of which are set in the Middle Ages. She’s also planning to read The Worst Hard Time : The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl by Tim Egan and I am the Messenger by Markus Zusak. (Read more about these books in Mrs. Roy’s post on the Res Library blog.) And she also wants to read the 8 months of National Geographic that have piled up on her coffee table!
Mr. Mallen awaits the new edition of the NCAA Football Rules and the CCA Officials Mechanics (you need to ask him for an explanation of this one). Anticipation of exciting rules changes has him all atwitter.
Indulging her love of history, Ms. Lenihan will be reading Basilica : The Splendor and the Scandal : Building St. Peter’s by R.A. Scotti and The Intellectual Devotional : American History by David S. Kidder and Noah D. Oppenheim. She will also try to fit in some of Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot mysteries. If you like historical fiction or mysteries, she says The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher : A Shocking Murder and the Undoing of a Great Victorian Detective by Kate Summerscale has received great reviews. If you’re not historically-inclined, she recommends Tim Gunn : A Guide to Quality, Taste, and Style by Tim Gunn and Kate Moloney.
Mrs. McMahon is going to read The Shop on Blossom Street and A Good Yarn, both by Debbie Macomber. Earlier this year she read Back on Blossom Street and decided she wanted to read the two earlier books with the same theme.
Mrs. Elliott likes the adrenaline rush from the scary stuff, so she recommends Stephen King and Robin Cook.
While she’s trusting to serendipity to provide her own summer reading, Sr. Berchmans recommends The Memory Keeper’s Daughter by Kim Edwards, On Wings of Eagles by Ken Follett, and the Jan Karon Mitford novels.
Even if you’re not taking her “Understanding and Experiencing Disabilities” course next year, Ms. Riggs recommends George and Sam : Two Boys, One Family, and Autism by Charlotte Moore. She says it’s a fascinating look at autism.
Ms. Boe will be spending most of her summer reading time on what she calls “mind candy” – fun, quick reads in fantasy, mystery and even an occasional romance! She’s going to start, however, with inspiration in Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Relin. It’s a short but true story about a doctor who used the Islamic tradition of the third cup of tea making you “family” to build schools in Afghanistan. Then on to some of that “mind candy”. Living in Chicago, she recommends you try the Jim Butcher series about a wizard named Harry Dresden who lives in Chicago. Great fun! Julia Quinn is her pick for a Regency period romance with “real women.” She figures she has to read something vaguely historical, so she’s picked an alternative history: One Thousand White Women: Journals of May Dodd, by Jim Fergus. When the Cherokees realized they were going to lose to the whites, they proposed something native Americans had always done to create peace – marry your enemy. A letter to the President didn’t get the 1000 white wives the Cherokees had requested, but this novel pretends that the white women did go West.
Mrs. Giustino highly recommends This I Believe : The Personal Philosophies of Remarkable Men and Women, collected essays originally heard on NPR. She plans to read Belong to Me by Marisa De Los Santos and The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz.
THE SECRET LIVES OF TEACHERS, PART 2 May 28, 2008
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We posted Part 1 a couple of days ago. Here are more reading ideas from the Res staff:
We’ve put Mrs. O’Connell’s full list up on the blog, but here are some highlights. She’s going to finish Three Cups of Tea and re-read Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. She’s also going to read Welcome to the Wisdom of the World and Its Meaning for You by Joan Chittester and Forever Blue by Ann Brashares, the 4th book in the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series, which was a Mother’s Day gift from her son. She highly recommends a trip to Women and Children First, a bookstore in the Andersonville neighborhood of Chicago. They have a great selection of books by women authors as well as author events. She says, “Have fun reading and, no, reading e-mails does not count as real reading nor does reading your friends’ Facebook pages!”
Although hoping to have time for even more, Mrs. Johann is sure she will read Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, which is the story of 2 boys growing up in Afghanistan, Change of Heart by Jodi Picoult, and at least a couple books by Sue Grafton.
Ms. Heneghan will be reading Three Cups of Tea : One Man’s Mission to Promote Peace…One School at a Time by Greg Mortenson and David Relin. She says the work and life of Greg Mortenson is fascinating and inspiring. She’ll also be reading My Life in France by Julia Child and Alex Prudhomme. Child’s memoir celebrates the creation of an amazing person and a great master chef. Her last title is Yoga Mind, Body & Spirit : A Return to Wholeness by Donna Farhi, a book to read eagerly the first time and return to again and again. (Read more about these choices on the Res Library blog.)
Ms. Klemundt will be dividing her reading time between the classics, including Little Women by Louisa May Alcott (a book she inexplicably neglected to read in her wonder years) and mysteries, including Murder in Jerusalem by Batya Gur. She recommends Singing the Dogstar Blues by Allison Goodman and The King of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner.
Mrs. Berke plans to read The Memory Keeper’s Daughter by Kim Edwards, Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen, Nineteen Minutes and My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult, Bipolar : An Insider’s Story by Teri Cheny, Angels Fall by Nora Roberts, Murder on Location by Laura Lippman, and Stolen Innocence : My Story of Growing Up in a Polygamous Sect, Becoming a Teenage Bride, and Breaking Free of Warren Jeffs by Elissa Wall and Lisa Pulitzer.
Mrs. Devine recommends In the Lake of the Woods by Tim O’Brien. She says the plot offers several theories about the mysterious disappearance of the main character’s wife and leaves the reader pondering what really happened.
Mrs. DiSandro recommends Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult and Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert.
Jodi Picoult might be our most popular author! Mrs. Martin also has Picoult on her summer reading list. She recommends The Memory Keeper’s Daughter by Kim Edwards, Up High in the Trees by Kiara Brinkman, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon, and any of Mitch Albom’s books.
Mrs. Campeotto is going to read Three Cups of Tea : One Man’s Mission to Promote Peace…One School at a Time by Greg Mortenson and David Relin.
Mr. Miller is taking an Astronomy class this summer, so he’ll be reading Horizons : Exploring the Universe, 10th ed. by Michael A. Seeds.
Mrs. Ulczak says her summer reading will be “the best of times and the worst of times” as she will be taking her last class towards her Masters degree: Study of the British Novel : Dickens. Since she won’t be doing any reading for “fun” this summer, you’ll have to do it for her. She highly recommends The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory for a fun look at “life at court.”
Stay tuned. We’ll post the last group in a couple of days.
Library Club Officers 2008-2009 May 27, 2008
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Elections for next year’s Library Club officers were held during Spring 2008. The newly elected officers are: Jennie Johann as President, Molly Forrest as Vice-President, Robin Norwood as Secretary, Erin Collins as Treasurer, and Sam Schrantz as Public Relations. Many thanks to last year’s officers: Lisa Domian – President, Taylor DePasquale – Vice President, Deanna Ortiz – Secretary, Emily McDermott – Treasurer, and Jennie Johann – Public Relations, for their guidance and help during the 2007 – 2008 school year.
MS. HENEGHAN’S PICKS May 27, 2008
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Here is the full text of Ms. Heneghan’s reviews of her summer reading suggestions. We didn’t have room to print all of it in the our booklet.
Three Cups of Tea: One Man’s Mission to Promote Peace… One School at a Time by Greg Mortenson & David Oliver Relin
Three Cups of Tea is the inspiring journey of mountain climber Greg Mortenson, who develops a relationship with the people of Pakistan and Afghanistan following his failed attempt in 1993 to summit a peak in the Karakoram Mountains. Mortenson loses his way on the journey down the mountain and is brought back to health by villagers in Korphe, Pakistan. Mortenson returns home and works as a nurse and fledgling fund-raiser in order to raise $12,000 to build a school in Korphe. Since the struggle to build that first school, his organization, The Central Asia Institute, and an off-shoot program, Pennies for Peace, has worked to build over fifty-five schools in an area that has been dominated by the Taliban. The school building projects have a strong focus on educating girls and balancing out the religious extremism taught by Taliban led schools. The work and life of Greg Mortenson is fascinating and inspiring.
My Life in France by Julia Child with Alex Prud ‘homme
The memoir of American born French chef Julia Child is an amazing story. Child was an unlikely candidate for the print and television star she became with her cookbook Mastering the Art of French Cooking and tv show The French Chef. She was born in 1912 to an upper middle-class, conservative family in Pasadena, California. Because she had an adventurous nature, she joined the Office of Strategic Services (OSS, the precursor to the CIA) in 1941 after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. She then accepted jobs with the OSS in Washington, D.C, Sri Lanka and China. Child met her husband, artist and intellectual Paul Child, in Sri Lanka during World War II and together they accepted a post in 1948 in France. The memoir focuses on their years in France from 1948-1954 in Paris, Marseille and Provence. At the age of 36, newlywed Julia Child knew nothing about cooking and did not speak French, but she fell in love with French food and culture. A wonderful, fun and engaging book that takes us on a journey into post-war Europe, to the famous Cordon Bleu cooking school and through the writing and publishing process of a cookbook that revolutionized American cuisine. In this memoir we have the opportunity to witness the creation of a fascinating person and great master chef.
Yoga Mind, Body & Spirit: A Return to Wholeness by Donna Farhi
Donna Farhi unites teachings from various schools of yoga in this book. She presents the basic principles of yoga philosophy, breath work and physical practice. Farhi is a gifted yoga instructor and writer who gives detailed instruction on moving in and out of yoga postures. The book provides clear anatomical drawings and photographs that illustrate proper alignment – the text and illustrations are great for beginners and experienced yogis. Donna Farhi offers her insights about meditation, the nature of the mind and the process of engaging the whole body. A book to read eagerly the first time, and then to refer back to for many years to come.
Also, a yoga student in my morning class is reading Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict by Laurie Viera Rigler and suggested Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli. I have already added those two novels to my summer reading list. I want to read more novels since tend to get caught up in biographies and other non-fiction.
MRS. O’CONNELL’S PICKS May 27, 2008
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Here’s the full text of Mrs. O’Connell’s summer reading ideas. We didn’t have room to print it all in our booklet.
“First off, I love books by women writers so I will try to go back and see what’s on my shelf that were authored by women that were Oprah picks… either back when or now. Next, I want to re-read a book called Eat, Pray, Love by, I believe, Gilbert which explores a woman’s solo spiritual journey and her search for everything by traveling to the countries of India, Indonesia, and Italy. I especially want to re-read this one because next summer I hope to do a solo journey to Europe. I am also in the middle of reading Three Cups of Tea – one man’s mission to fight terrorism and build nations in which he talks of the schools he’s built in Afghanistan. Another book I recently became aware of is When No One Understands : Letters to a Teenager On Life, Loss, and the Hard Road to Adulthood by Brian Sachs. It looked liked a book I would use as a resource in my classes. I love the writings of a Benedictine nun whose name is Joan Chittister. I want to read her new book : Welcome to the Wisdom of the World and Its Meaning for You as I am studying to become a Benedictine oblate. Last but not least, I want to re-visit a favorite of mine: The Red Tent by Anita Diamant. The Red Tent tells the story of Dinah, daughter of patriarch Jacob and his wife Leah. Dinah’s story is found in the book of Genesis. I am thinking of how to incorporate the book in my Women’s Ways class. Oh and I almost forgot for Mother’s day my son gave me Forever in Blue which is the 4th book in the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series. (He knows I use the Traveling Pants movie when I give my retreats to other high schools.) I just finished it and I really enjoyed it.
So have fun reading and, no, reading e-mails doesn’t count as real reading nor does reading your friends’ Facebook pages! There’s a book store in Chicago in the Andersonville neighborhood called Women and Children First which is amazing. It’s on Clark street north of Foster. They have a great selection of books by women authors as well as author appearances and speakers. So check it out this summer. Have a great read. ”
READING IDEAS May 27, 2008
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We didn’t have room in the Summer Reading Booklet for all of the information about where to find more ideas for good books to read or interesting ways to approach your reading.
One of the best places to start is your local public library. They have resources online as well as in print. And don’t forget the librarian! Most public libraries have someone who specializes in “teen” reading. They can help you find new books to read based on what you currently like to read. Just so you know the jargon, libraries call this “Reader’s Advisory.” Speaking of jargon, libaries also use “Young Adult” for those in their early teens through early twenties. This might help you navigate their websites! Here are the web addresses for some local public libraries:
- Chicago Public Library (http://www.chipublib.org/forteens/index.php)
- Niles Public Library (http://www.nileslibrary.org)
- Eisenhower Public Library District (http://www.eisenhowerlibrary.org)
- Park Ridge Public Library (http://www.parkridgelibrary.org/ya/yaindexorange.html)
The Chicago Public Library has brochure called “The Best of the Best” highlighting some outstanding books for teens that were published in 2007. We have a stack in the Res Library so stop by and pick up a copy. The Niles Public Library is running their Summer Reading Program starting June 9. You can read any books in their adult or young adult collection and even your required English reading counts toward your total. More information is available at the Niles Public Library.
The Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), a division of the American Library Association, sponsors many book awards each year. They post the list of winners at http://www.ala.org/yalsa/booklists and this is a terrific way to find “good reads.” Unfortunately, they usually don’t provide any description of what the book is about. However, you can use the NoveList database (Res has a subscription to this) to find out more about award winners that sound interesting. Some titles also have Book Discussion Guides, which might be handy if you are part of a Book Club. You can also use Amazon.com to look up a book, then scroll down to the “Editorial Reviews” section where you can find a plot summary or description as well as reviews.
My buddies at Palatine High School run a reading program for their students during the school year called “The Top 16.” They very graciously post their lists on their website and the lists include short plot summaries. When I’m browsing for something good to read, I often start with one of the Top 16 lists.
In the Summer Reading Booklet we mentioned GoodReads (http://www.goodreads.com) as an online site where you can track your reading, provide reviews, get reading ideas, etc. Two other sites like this are LibraryThing (http://www.LibraryThing.com) and Shelfari (http://www.shelfair.com).
Shake up your reading by reading “up” or reading “down.” Read “up” by tackling some adult books. For some authors, NoveList provides a “Read A-Likes” section where they will give you ideas about what other authors to read if you like, for example, Barbara Kingsolver. Libraries also provide “Reader’s Advisory” services to adults, so feel free to stop and talk with that person about what you like to read. He or she should be able to suggest some titles to try. Read “down” by reading some books for middle school students. They’ll be quick reads for you and they’re usually fast-moving storylines.
Spice up your summer reading by picking a theme. Read only a certain genre (historical fiction or mystery or westerns) or a certain author. Read only biographies or immerse yourself in learning about a hobby or your special interest. Have a Books-To-Movies theme – read the book and then rent or go see the movie version of the book. Read books (fiction or nonfiction) by or about people in other countries. I could probably go on and on, but you get the idea!
A little later this week we’ll post some resources for reading with children — although, really, all you have to do is plunk yourself down on the floor of the children’s section in any library or bookstore, pull out a book, start reading, and probably 5 little kids will come over and plunk themselves down next to you for an impromtu “story hour”!
THE SECRET LIVES OF TEACHERS, PART 1 May 26, 2008
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So what DO teachers do on their summer vacation? Well, for one thing, they read! As part of a Summer Reading Booklet the library compiled, we surveyed staff here at Res about what they were planning to read this summer and we ended up with quite a fascinating list. In fact, our staff are such big readers that we couldn’t fit it all in one post, so we’ll split it up into a few parts. Here’s the first installment:
In her stack of “to read,” Dr. Saccaro has Book of the Dead by Patricia Cornwell, The Asian Journal by Thomas Merton, Dine Bizaad banahoo’aah: Rediscovering the Navajo Language by Evangeline Yazzie (to learn how to speak Navajo), and China : People, Place, Culture, History from DK Publishing (to learn more about the country where her niece and her husband are missionaries).
Mrs. Yonkus enjoys reading David Baldacci, Jan Karon, Adrianna Trigliani, and James Patterson. She also reads biographies, including books about Marie Antoinette, Thomas Jefferson, and Hemingway. She recommends the Mitford novels by Jan Karon and works by Adrianna Trigliani.
Swapping Res for Hogwarts, Ms. Bernardin plans to re-read all of the Harry Potter books. She also has Elizabeth I, CEO : Strategic Lessons from the Leader Who Built an Empire by Alan Axelrod and a few of Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot mysteries on her list.
Mrs. Skiba is taking her Kindle (e-book reader) to St. Louis where she plans to sit on her son’s deck and read Audition by Barbara Walters. She’s also a science fiction nut, especially Star Trek, so books by L.A. Graf and Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens are on her reading agenda.
Mr. Longo is planning to read this year’s “One book, One Chicago” selection: The Long Goodbye by Raymond Chandler. He will also be reading The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova and Blood and Thunder by Hampton Sides, and re-reading Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte.
Drawing on her eclectic reading tastes, Mrs. Kaye recommends The Beginning of Wisdom : Reading Genesis by Leon Kass, The Dyer’s Hand by W.H. Auden, The Mirror and the Lamp by M.H. Abrams, and The Need for Roots by Simone Weil.
Ms. Schneider, finally finished with grad classes, is looking forward to reading for fun! Her list starts with Misfortune by Wesley Stace, Bleak House by Charles Dickens, Sin in the Second City by Karen Abbott, The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood, The Professor and the Madman : A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary (P.S.) by Simon Winchester, and The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion.
Mrs. Carlson envisions herself lying on her hammock in the backyard taking a trip with Elizabeth Gilbert in Eat, Pray, Love. In addition, Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Relin is on her list. And she’s planning to finish A New World by Eckhart Tolle and go online with Oprah for a discussion once a week on each chapter. She recommends The Faith Club : A Muslim, A Christian, A Jew : Three Women Search for Understanding by Ranya Idliby, Suzanne Oliver, and Priscilla Warner.
Mrs. McGovern plans to read all of the Anita Shreve and Jodi Picoult books she can get her hands on. She also has the ambitious goal of reading every book on Oprah’s Book Club list. She is starting, however, with Goats by Mark Jude Poirier.
Mrs. Pischke is currently reading Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen which she says is “pretty good.” She recommends The Honk and Holler Opening Soon and Where the Heart Is, both by Billie Lotts.
We’ll post more later this week.
BOOK REVIEW May 15, 2008
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“Hattie Big Sky” by Kirby Larson
16 year old Hattie receives a letter, in 1918, explaining she has inherited from her uncle a homestead in Montana. In order to retain ownership all she needs to do is pack up her belongings, leave Iowa and “prove up” a 320 acre prairie homestead. And so Hattie’s adventure begins. With humor, tears, grit , romance and help from neighbors Hattie begins to make her home.
Hattie chronicles her misdaventures, fun, friends, successes, sorrows and contentment in letters to her uncle in Iowa and to her good friend who is fighting in France during World War I.
Don’t miss this truly enjoyable story—–a perfect summertime read.
“The Hearts of Horses” by Molly Gloss
In 1917, 19 year old Martha Lessen travels to farms in Northeastern Oregon offering to break horses. She tells skeptical ranchers “I can gentle anything that has four feet and a tail.” Broncobusting is, obviously, an unconventional role for a woman in 1917. At this time in the US, most men are in Europe fighting a war. Martha’s plan is “to live a footloose cowboy life and see the places she’d read about in Western romances.”
Discover how Martha’s life unrolls while traveling between the ranches, working with the horses and becoming drawn into the lives of the people whos horses she gentles.
This is truly an engaging story. You can find this book at your local library or book seller. Enjoy your summertime stories.
GET OUT THERE! May 14, 2008
Posted by Ms. Klemundt in Uncategorized, Web Resources.add a comment
So I’ve encouraged you to sit in front of your computer and watch animals and I’ve encouraged you to sit on your couch and read about animals, and now it’s time to GET OUT THERE and really experience nature. Here are some websites to help you find a place to hike and explore.
- Chicago Wilderness Site Finder (www.chicagowilderness.org/explore/sites/index.cfm)
- North Park Village Nature Center (www.chicagoparkdistrict.com) Click on “Parks & Facilities and use the drop-down menu on the right to find North Park Village Nature Center.
- Chicago Park District Nature Areas (www.chicagoparkdistrict.com) Click on “Parks & Facilities” and scroll down to the “Nature in the City” paragraph.
- Morton Arboretum (www.mortonarb.org) Located in Lisle, there is a fee to enter the Arboretum.
- Chicago Botanic Garden (www.ohwow.org) Located in Glencoe, there is a fee to enter the CBG.
- Cook County Forest Preserve (www.fpdcc.com) Click on Nature Centers in the “Quick Find” menu or click on “Recreation” on the top menu and look for the Hiking and Walking link.
