Public libraries play an important role in students’ lives during the summer months. They provide books and other media that entertain and educate. They present creative programs. And, of course, they offer (air conditioned) places to enjoy those resources and programs.
In this month’s post, we highlight multimedia materials on a sampling of titles that will be promoted by libraries across North America this summer. Be sure to let families, teachers, and your local librarians know about these free resources.
Early Literacy Program: Dream Big Read! from the Collaborative Summer Library Program (CSLP)
Hear how playing outdoors helped Janell Cannon appreciate “the strangeness and beauty” of all creatures—including bats—and how she came to write Stellaluna (Harcourt, 1993).
Watch Caldecott Medalist Kevin Henkes in his studio as he paints the protagonist of Kitten’s First Full Moon (Greenwillow, 2004) and shares text and design drafts for the book.
Children’s Program: Dream Big Read!, from the Collaborative Summer Library Program (CSLP)
Share Ed Young’s Caldecott winner, Lon Po Po: A Red-Riding Hood Story from China (Penguin, 1989), with this video excerpt produced by Weston Woods.
Experience Catherine Thimmesh’s research process as she discusses her Sibert award winner, Team Moon: How 400,000 People Landed Apollo 11 on the Moon (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2006).
Teen Program: Own the Night, from the Collaborative Summer Library Program (CSLP)
Hear how Adam Gidwitz’s novel A Tale Dark and Grimm (Penguin, 2010) grew out of a library read-aloud session.
Listen to Maggie Stiefvater pronounce her name, discuss the importance of mood, and read a selection from her young adult novel Shiver (Scholastic, 2009).
All ages, from the Candian TD Summer Reading Club
Watch as illustrator Barbara Reid sculpts The Subway Mouse (Scholastic, 2005) in clay.
Hear how the characters of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s “Sherlock Holmes” stories and Victor Hugo’s The Hunchback of Notre Dame inspired author Arthur Slade to create a shape-shifting secret agent for The Hunchback Assignments (Random House, 2009).
And Last but Not Least…
Before introducing books to young people this summer, visit the TeachingBooks.net “Author Name Pronunciation Guide” to ensure you say the authors’ names correctly. Can you pronounce LeUyen Pham?
Posted by Nick Glass, Founder & Executive Director of TeachingBooks.net
I love A Tale Dark and Grimm! It is my favorite book for this year. My students love the narrator’s warnings, the campy “gore”, and the fractional fairy tale genre.