Henry wants more

Librarian Recommended!

by Book Reviews and RecommendationsBooksReading
Here are some favorite selections from Terry McDougal, Head of Children’s Services at Kanawha County Public Library

Pre-kindergarten to first grade

Henry wants more Henry Wants MORE! by Linda Ashman, illustrated by Brooke Boynton Hughes

Whether spending time with Papa, singing songs with Grandma, playing games with Lucy, or racing with Charlie, toddler Henry wears his family out until bedtime, when Mama is the one who wants more.

 

My Bike

My Bike by Byron Barton

Tom tells about his bicycle and riding by trucks, cars, even elephants, and his work as a circus performer.

 

 

Bee Dance

 

Bee Dance by Rick Chrustowski

A honeybee searches for nectar, then returns to the hive to tell the other bees. She does a waggle dance, moving in a special  pattern to share the location of the food. Vivid and active images bring these amazing bees to life!

 

 

Froggy Goes to the Library

Froggy Goes to the Library by Jonathan London,  illustrated by Frank Remkiewicz

When Froggy, Mom and Pollywogilina set out for the library, Froggy brings a wheelbarrow to hold all the books he plans to borrow, but he is so excited that he forgets to use his indoor voice.

 

One Big Family

One Big Family by Marc Harshman, illustrated by Sarah Palacios

A family reunion brings summer fun and adventures in this cheerful celebration of family ties and the joys of summer.

 

First and second grades

 

Max's Math

Max’s Math by Kate Banks, illustrated by Boris Kulikov

Max and his brothers drive to Shapeville and Count Town searching for problems, and are able to use their skills in arithmetic and sleuthing to prepare for a rocket launch.

 

 

Bike On, Bear!

Bike on, Bear! by Cynthia Liu, illustrated by Kristyna Litten

Bear is an extraordinary genius who can do anything except ride a bike. Can he get on two wheels?

 

 

 

Clark the Shark Afraid of the Dark

Clark the Shark Afraid of the Dark by Bruce Hale, illustrated by Guy Francis

At a sleepover, Clark the Shark braves his fear of the dark with the help of music and friends.

 

 

 

Dreaming Up

Dreaming Up: A Celebration of Building by Christy Hale

A collection of concrete poetry, illustrations and photographs that shows how young children’s constructions, created as they play, are reflected in notable works of architecture from around the world.

 

 

The Quickest Kid in Clarskville

The Quickest Kid in Clarksville by Pat Zietlow Miller, illustrated by Frank Morrison

Growing up in the segregated town of Clarksville, Tennessee in the 1960s, Alta’s family cannot afford to buy her new sneakers—but she still plans to attend the parade celebrating her hero Wilma Rudolph’s three Olympic gold medals.

 

 

Mid to upper elementary

Trombone Shorty

Trombone Shorty by Troy Andrews, illustrated by Bryan Collier

A 2016 Caldecott Honor Book and Coretta Scott King  award winner. Hailing from the Tremé neighborhood in New Orleans, Troy “Trombone Shorty” Andrews got his nickname by wielding a trombone twice as long as he was high. Along with illustrator Bryan Collier, Andrews has created a lively picture book autobiography about how he followed his dream of becoming a musician, despite the odds. The book is a celebration of the history of New Orleans and the power of music.

 

One Today

One Today by Richard Blanco, illustrated by Dav Pilkey

A lyrical, patriotic commemoration of America from dawn to dusk and coast to coast.

 

 

 

Ira's Shakespeare Dream

Ira’s Shakespeare Dream by Glenda Armand, illustrated by Floyd Cooper

A biography of Ira Aldridge, an African American actor who is considered one of the greatest Shakespearean actors of the nineteenth century.

 

 

Fourth to sixth grades

 

The Treasure of Way Down Deep

Treasure of Way Down Deep by Ruth White

In 1954, when mine closings bring an economic crisis to Way Down Deep, West Virginia, Ruby Jolene Hurley makes a thirteenth-birthday wish to find the treasure rumored to have been buried by one of the town’s founders.

 

 

 

Crenshaw

Crenshaw by Katherine Applegate

Jackson and his family have fallen on hard times. There’s no more money for rent, and not much for food, either. His parents, his little sister, and their dog may have to live in their minivan. Crenshaw is a cat. He’s large, outspoken and imaginary. He’s been gone for four years, but has come back into Jackson’s life to help him.

Collaboration for Imagination

by Book DistributionBooksChaptersEventsNewsPartnersReading

By Sara Busse

Country music legend Dolly Parton has a dream: to put books in the hands of young children across America. Thanks to Marion Tanner, that dream is becoming reality in Fayette County.

On May 7th, the Fayette County Read Aloud chapter hosted an event to launch Parton’s program, Imagination Library, to the families of the area. According to Tanner, it was a day to remember.

“Seeing all of those young families bringing in their babies with ribbons in their hair and all dressed up to get books—I haven’t seen anything like that in a long time!” Tanner exclaimed.

Tanner and Linda Cole are chapter co-presidents of Read Aloud in Fayette County. They are expanding the organization to put readers in all county elementary schools. The introduction of Dolly’s program will supplement their efforts by providing access to books for the areas youngest residents.

“We have so many kids who come to kindergarten that have never held a book,” the compassionate retired teacher said. “This encourages them to start libraries of their own.”

Cole and Tanner attended Read Aloud’s summer conference in 2015 and heard Nancy Hanna speak. Hanna works with the Greenbrier County Campaign for Grade Level Reading and talked about resources they were utilizing in the county. Imagination Library was one.

Parton’s initiative provides a book a month to children, ages birth to five, who are registered with the program and living in an area with a sponsor, like Read Aloud in Fayette County. The local group procures money to pay for mailing the books to the children.

“It’s $2.10 per student each month,” Tanner explained. “At the Read Aloud conference, [Hanna] talked about Early Literacy Grants—and one of the things they could be used for was to purchase Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library for their school system. I asked the Title One people in our county what they spent that money for, and found out we could apply.” Tanner received a grant through the state and through the Fayette County Board of Education.

Tanner and Cole are members of Delta Kappa Gamma, an international group of women educators, instrumental in organizing the Fayette County Read Aloud program. Many of the Fayette chapter’s members were on hand for the launch of Imagination Library on May 7th in the Oak Hill High School cafeteria.

“It was really rewarding for so many of us from Delta Kappa Gamma. We have all been teachers in the area, and nearly every young parent there was someone we had in school. Now they were bringing in their babies to get books,” Tanner said. The members of Delta Kappa Gamma did face painting and hosted a story corner with  Clifford the dog. Many other community organizations participated in or donated to the event.

“Kroger donated water, Marquee Cinemas in Beckley gave us popcorn,” Tanner said. Other participants included the Fayetteville Women’s Club with a “Jack and the Beanstalk” theme, complete with “magic beans” for the children to plant; the Mount Hope Lions Club with a fishing game as well as eyesight testing; The National Park Service with “Furs and Skulls” (from animals you could find in the New River Gorge such as skunks, otter, fox, etc.); and the West Virginia Treasurer’s office promoting Smart 529 college accounts.

Tanner credits Robin Taylor, Program Director of Imagination Library, of the West Virginia Department of Education and the Arts, with making the Fayette program possible. The department gave the Fayette group a $500 grant to kick off the program.

“We used that money to buy books—we gave books to the brothers and sisters who came in so every child could get a book at the event,” Tanner said. “We registered 160 kids at the event.” After the event, the Fayette Read Aloud group went to the Meadow Bridge library and the Montgomery Library and registered children there, as well. The public libraries in the county will have registration forms, and families can also register online.

While the event was a great success, Tanner is realistic and knows there is a lot of work ahead.

“There are 2,600 kids eligible for the program,” she explained. “When I was a middle school teacher, there were kids who were so far behind because they couldn’t read. But we did something that just might make a difference.

“This is a labor of love—you want them to be successful. It was one of the best days I’ve had in a long time.”

For information on the Imagination Library program, visit www.imaginationlibrary.com. For information about other Imagination Library programs in West Virginia, contact Robin Taylor, Program Director, of the West Virginia Department of Education and the Arts, at robin.j.taylor@wv.gov.

Sara Busse is a long-time Charleston resident and community volunteer. Her work at Trinity’s Table earned her recognition as a 2016 YWCA Woman of Achievement.

 

Photos (l-r): Christie and Grant Campbell registered their children, Christian (l) and Destiny (r), for Imagination Library at Oak Hill High School, May 7; Kathy Coleman (center), Delta Kappa Gamma member, read Jack and the Beanstalk to Brooklyn (l) and Maxx Davis.  The Fayetteville Women’s Club provided materials for children to plant their own magic beans.  Kathy is also a member of the FWC; Clifford, the Big Red Dog was a big hit with young listeners at the launch event.

The community that reads together

by BooksChaptersEventsNewsReadingSupporters

By Nikki Moses

If you asked, “What are YOU Reading?” in Randolph County last winter, you most likely heard a resounding retort: To Kill a Mockingbird. The GFWC Elkins Woman’s Club, the Rotary Club, students from Elkins Mountain School and others came together to read Harper Lee’s classic in February.

The effort was led by Randolph County’s Read Aloud President, Mary Boyd, and supported by the Women’s Club, which gave $100. They challenged the Rotary to read, hosted an essay contest with a $50 prize and invited the community to a screening of the movie version of the book at the Old Brick Playhouse in Elkins.

The essay prize was captured by a tenth grader at Elkins Mountain School. Teacher Heidi Jeffries “took this project and ran with it,” Boyd said. “She read the book with 60 students, and they really connected with it.”

One was the young man who walked away with the essay prize. “He was over the moon,” Boyd said.

People were asked to write about what, if any, prejudices exist against African Americans. The essay contest winner responded that although prejudice is less prevalent  and less evident than it used to be, it still exists, and not for African Americans alone.

“The prejudice portrayed in the book is something I know firsthand. I am not an African American, although I’ve been discriminated against due to size, attractiveness and ethnic background. I am treated differently because I’m in placement and I also don’t have a family and am made fun of because of it. I tolerate this on a daily basis, and know it won’t stop but will continue.

One time I was at school when another kid found out that I was in a placement facility as a ward of the state and didn’t have a family. They announced that no one should make acquaintance with me or hang out with someone like me. I heard another student make a comment about me, ‘He doesn’t have a family and he’s a juvenile, he’s bound to be trouble; and if you hang around someone like that you’re bound to be in trouble too.’ All of my friends or the people that I thought were my friends instantly quarantined me. It was a big blow and this hurt. In these circumstances it didn’t end justly.”

Boyd said preliminary plans are underway for another reading event in the fall. She is a Randolph County pediatrician who has also participated in the Reach Out and Read program, where patients ages six months to five years receive a book each time they visit her for a checkup, for more than 20 years.

Nikki Moses is the former editor of the Read Aloud newsletter and a board member. She is an active volunteer in the Charleston community.

 

Photo courtesy of Mary Boyd: Boyd and teacher Heidi Jeffries visit with the winner of the To Kill a Mockingbird essay contest.

A creative upcycling endeavor. Faculty and students worked together to turn outdated books into a festive literary holiday book tree.

Library wake up: a makeover draws in teens

by BooksReading

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By Nikki Moses

It was lonely in Buckhannon-Upshur High School’s library when Angie Westfall became the media specialist there. Few students were dropping in

and fewer were checking out books. “How can I change this?” she wondered.

Westfall began by talking with students and listening carefully to their answers. She partnered with the West Virginia Library Commission. She culled library shelves of outdated books and began replacing them with volumes popular with teens. She decided to think like a marketer and she made visiting the library fun. At the end of her first year, a remarkable total of 1,340 books had been checked out.

West Virginia Library Commission

Angie Westfall is quick to say that she could not have done this alone. The staff of the Library Commission consulted with her on pulling outdated books from the shelves, and they established an interlibrary loan system.

And what happened to the old books? Westfall, students and faculty worked together to build Christmas “book trees.” One was six feet tall and was built with more than 1,000 volumes. Artistic students took the most battered and created book art from them. Old magazines became decorative snowflakes.

“We up-cycled,” she said. “The students loved it.”

Theme of the Month

Westfall uses a theme every month to pique student interest. October’s theme centered on murder, mayhem and mystery. November’s themes included hunting and fishing, cooking, family and politics. She uses props like stuffed bear heads to create interest, and she displays pertinent literature prominently.

“I try to get students in, and I ask them what they are interested in. Then I say, ‘I have a book about that.’”

Thinking like a marketer

Westfall and other teachers create displays in the library, and she puts magazines in wall racks at the back so they are highly visible and so that students have to walk through the library. She displays books in key spots “like Wal-Mart displays things on the shelves’ end caps,” she explained.

Her library might be the only one in the state where, during October, it looked like a crime scene. She used tape to create the outline of a body; students streamed in to pose and take “selfies.” Another time she had funny glasses, mustaches and hats for another round of selfies.

“Kids come in, and then they bring their friends,” she said.

Wait. There’s more!

West Virginia authors Bill Lepp and Traci Loudin presented workshops in the library. Any interested student was welcome to attend.

Angie takes her students to nearby Wesleyan College so they can experience and become comfortable with a college library. She alerts the public library that students are working on particular projects so they can prepare.

And always there is her listening ear. “Why do you come to the library? What do you like about it?” she asks.”

She summarized, “If I can get them in, maybe I can get a book in their hands.”

Nikki Moses is the former editor of the Read Aloud newsletter and a board member. She is an active volunteer in the Charleston community.

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A creative upcycling endeavor. Faculty and students worked together to turn outdated books into a festive literary holiday book tree.
A creative upcycling endeavor. Faculty and students worked together to turn outdated books into a festive literary holiday book tree.
Buckhannon-Upshur librarian Angie Westfall (pictured here with author and story-teller Bill Lep) is drawing students in to the high school's library by appealing to their interests.
Buckhannon-Upshur librarian Angie Westfall (pictured here with author and story-teller Bill Lep) is drawing students in to the high school’s library by appealing to their interests.
Westfall poses with WV native Tracy Loudin in front of a “Welcome Home” sign made for the author’s workshop visit.
Westfall poses with WV native Tracy Loudin in front of a “Welcome Home” sign made for the author’s workshop visit.
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A Long Walk to Water

Book, reader inspire Greenbrier students to take action

by BooksNewsVolunteer Readers

By Nikki Moses

When Kim Curry read A Long Walk to Water to students at Eastern Greenbrier Middle School, she set off a chain of events that culminated in a highly successful drive for backpacks and school supplies for kids in Haiti.

A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park is a true story about Salva, a Sudanese lost boy, and a fictional girl, Nya. Nya cannot attend school because she must spend her days carrying water from a far away pond for her family. Author Park brings their lives together when Salva helps build a well in Nya’s village, thus enabling her to attend school.

Curry had witnessed the same water problems in Haiti, where she has traveled six times through Mountains to Mountains, a program of Trinity A Long Walk to WaterUnited Methodist Church in Ronceverte.

“That has been my experience in Haiti,” she said. “Some children can’t go to school because they have to carry water.”

Curry said she “took photographs of community wells, water jugs, people carrying water, on my trip in March with the purpose of sharing them with the students because I had read A Long Walk to Water to them.” Seeing this lack of access to clean water in Haiti (like in Sudan), along with class discussions, inspired Greenbrier students to help Haitian kids by conducting the backpack drive. Soon students at Greenbrier East High School became involved.

Curry said, “Brindi Anderson did the legwork for the drive. She provided all of the structure the kids needed. I just read the book. The kids jumped in and Brindi provided guidance.” Anderson is a teacher at Eastern Greenbrier Middle School.

The students needed money for shipping costs, so they held three-point basketball competitions, bake sales and more. They raised more than $130 and sent the supplies to Ecole-Shalome School in Croix des Bouquets outside of Port-au-Prince.

Curry, who is a retired teacher and school principal, and a Read Aloud coordinator and reader, hopes to further the relationship between students at the two schools through Skype, letter writing and emailing.