READING UP IS NOT ALL IT'S CRACKED UP TO BE

Can you name a few titles that many second and third graders are asking to read these days?

If you said Ivy & Bean or Ramona or Cam Jansen or the adventures of Humphrey the hamster, you’d be wrong.

What kids tell us they are reading are Twilight, the Hunger Games, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, and The Lightning Thief.

Educators call this Reading Up.

Reading Up means a child is reading books that are beyond their maturity and comprehension, though maybe not their actual reading level. For example, a first grader may be able to read War and Peace, but that doesn’t guarantee they can understand the content. Reading Up is certainly not a new phenomenon; it has gained momentum ever since Harry Potter, The Hunger Games, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Lightning Thief, and Twilight came on the scene. Before, precocious readers would gravitate towards the classics or A Secret Garden, Anne of Green Gables, the Saturdays, Half Magic, Wizard of Oz, Little Women, A Wrinkle in Time, or Pippi Longstocking.  I knew a third grader who loved Charles Dickens.

I don’t see any negative impact when they Read Up, except when they venture into literature whose intended audience is for those ages 14 and up; books that offers a hefty dose of drugs, violence and sex.

Recently, I read Books in the Home: Reading Up written by author Rosanne Parry in the Horn Book Magazine. Not one to censor what any of her four children read Parry was thrilled when her youngest daughter decided to read Harry Potter as a way to keep up with her older siblings. It wasn’t until years later that Parry lamented the fact that children who Read Up are uninterested in going back to simpler fare. Would a second grader who just finished reading Twilight be interested in the less eventful life of Clementine by Sara Pennypacker or the Mallory series by Laurie Friedman? Lois Lowry’s The Giver lacks the same punch as the dark and very violent Hunger Games.

I always wonder what young children are taking from books that are written for a more mature audience. Take Twilight. The whole premise of this book is the lust and love Bella and Edward feel towards each other. Can a prepubescent child understand the heavily layered sexual tone of Twilight? (And don’t you hope that is the farthest thing from their young minds?) Something else to point out is the fact that Edward is an abusive boyfriend. High schools across the country use the Twilight series to teach teenagers how to identify and get out of an abusive relationship. A young child will not understand that and can grow up thinking that kind of behavior is okay.

Parry states about her youngest daughter who spent a year reading all seven Harry Potter books, It took her so long to read them, that much of the momentum of the stories were lost in the work of decoding, so she never found them as exciting as her older siblings. Perry goes on to say, my younger two often find YA books a little bit stale. John Green, (Looking for Alaska) whom they used to love when they were in grade school, seems a little silly to them now. And that’s a shame.

Precocious readers take only a shallow spoonful of what is available in a mature text. They may appreciate jokes from Green’s book, An Abundance of Katherines, but the substance of the story they just glossed over. The downside, too, is that after wading through books for older readers, children often are no longer interested in books that are age appropriate, which is so sad because then they miss out on the more innocent stories, such as The Secret Language of Girls by Frances O’Roark Dowell, Olive’s Ocean by Kevin Henkes, Probably the world’s Best Story about a Dog and the Girl who Loved Me by D.J.Smith, or The Summer Sherman Loved Me by Jane St. Anthony. Parry also observed that compared to their older siblings, her two youngest daughters spend less time reading.

Sex and violence as entertainment for children who don’t have a concept of what it all means can confuse, scare, and desensitize children. They don’t see what adults see. Children learn that violence is how you settle a conflict or a controlling boyfriend/girlfriend is okay. Getting drunk at a party is acceptable and having sex or taking drugs is pretty cool. As a parent, you want your child to learn empathy for others, not develop numbness to how others feel. We all want our children to grow up to treat others with respect, make healthful decisions, and be kind to others.

I do understand how difficult it is to keep your child(ren) from reading popular books, especially those made into movies. At times it seems that everything is marketed to young children. Yet, you as a parent have the power to guide your children into reading more appropriate material, which will in turn make them lifelong readers. Let us help you.

Visit the public library for some great recommendations.

Helping children after a tragedy

Many parents have been in this week asking for suggestions in how to talk with their child(ren) about the recent tragedy in Newton, CT. Here are some excellent web sites with sound advice.

The Maine Department of Education has many helpful resources.


Talking with your kids about News from pbs.org


Here is another great article from Kidpower Teenpower Fullpower International, a global non-profit leader in teaching positive, practical personal safety skills to protect people of all ages and abilities from bullying, molestation, abduction, and other violence.

Other sites that include a listing of books:
Galley Cat's list of library books to help kids talk about the Newtown Tragedy:

School Library Journal




Beside listening to your child, reading books, any book, will help ease their anxiety. Shelf Awareness: From My Shelf: lists her favorite Comfort Books.

We can also supply you with an armful of wonderful books to share with your family.

Zombie Makers by Rebecca L. Johnson

Yikes! Zombies!
Just thinking about these brain-sucking creatures gives me the creeps. Yet, day after day, children of all ages ask me if we have any books on Zombies. (“Zobmies,” asks a savvy 3-year-old) According to Rebecca L. Johnson, zombies do exists, only more of the insect variety. Whew!

In Zombie Makers: True Stories of Nature’s Undead we learn about a few things that can take over the bodies and brains of innocent creatures, turning them into senseless slaves. Find out about the fly-enslaved fungus, suicide worm, and the Jewel Wasp that lays its eggs inside a cockroach. When hatched, the jewel wasp larvae feasts on the roach’s organs. Delicious!

 The book’s cover is eye-catching. All in red, we see a close-up photograph of a jewel wasp attacking a cockroach. 5 chapters, each four pages long, includes color photographs of the subject and side bars with scientific facts. The writing is entertaining and informative, and Johnson includes a phonetic pronunciation for all the scientific names. Readers will learn how the fungus, insect, or virus attacks its victim and then takes total control. Hey, it’s nature!

Take, for example, the hairworms (Paragordius tricuspidatus). They take control of crickets, the hairworms true host. Tiny insects, those that begin life in the water, are infected by tiny young forms of the hairworm. The hairworm larvae didn’t hurt the insect they infected. They just curled up to form little balls, called cysts, inside them. The larvae waited as cysts until the insects died and were eaten by crickets.  Once inside the cricket the larvae nibble on their host and grow until nearly 3 feel (1 meter) long. To fit inside the cricket it must loop, coil, and knot itself.  Once fully grown and needing the water to reproduce, the worms release a chemical inside the crickets brains that makes the cricket think it needs water. (Crickets can’t swim) The crickets hurl themselves in the water and drown, at which time the hairworm quickly wiggles out of their dead or dying host. It’s not a pretty sight.

In an afterword, Johnson explains why zombie makers go to so much trouble to invade and control their hosts.  All living things reproduce to make more of their own kind. If they didn’t do it, they’d die out. An author’s note, glossary, source notes, selected bibliography, web sites, and an index rounds out this fascinating look at insects.

Share this with your children and you might find them sitting in the corner reading, completely absorbed.

Other books about parasites include: What’s Eating You: parasites---the inside story by Nicola Davies and Gross Universe: your guide to all disgusting things under the sun by Jeff Szpirglas.

Abraham Lincoln

Have you seen the movie, Lincoln, directed by Steven Spielberg? It is now in theaters. After watching it,  you may yearn to learn more about our 16th president.

Candace Fleming’s book The Lincolns: a scrapbook look at Abraham and Mary will keep you reading far into the night. The book covers their childhood and their tumultuous courtship, the loss of their three children, the issue of slavery, the civil war, and their own tragic deaths.

Before reading The Lincolns, I didn’t have a very high opinion of Mary Todd. I was led to believe she was vain, a tyrant, and a social climber. Though those accusations are true, there was another side to Mary I did not know. She was well-educated. Oftentimes, Mary was the most educated and articulate person in the room! Of course, being an educated woman in the 1850’s was looked very highly upon by most men. In fact, meant most men she meant after becoming Mrs. Lincoln were appalled by her knowledge of current events. Yet, Mr. Lincoln, as she referred to him in public, adored her. It is true that towards the end of her life, Mary did seem a bit crazy, but so would you be if three of your four children died and you witnessed your husband’s assassination.

The book’s design is unusual but works very well here. It resembles a scrapbook that is chock full of maps, engravings, and photos, some by Matthew Brady.  Fleming also includes the recipe for Lincoln’s favorite white cake!

Another great book for younger children, illustrated by New Yorker artist Maira Kalman is Looking at Lincoln.Using simple, yet direct language the book's narrator, after seeing a man dressed similar to Lincoln while walking through a New York City park, goes to the library to learn more about this remarkable man.

Come to the Library for other great books on Lincoln.

Pajamarama

Look what we made at Pajamarama night on November, 6!

 

 

Our next Pajamarama will be on Tuesday, December 4, 2012 at 6:30 PM. See you then!

What do you want to be when you grow up?

Children love pretending. They dress up as a police officier, sanitation worker, fire fighter, cook, nurse, doctor, veterinarian, to name a few.  We enjoy seeing children in their costumes when they visit the Library. To spur on their imagination, we have a variety of books that talk about the different occupations.

Can you guess the occupation?

In Martin’s Hats by Joan Blos; illustrated by Marc Simont, young Martin has many adventures whenever he tries on a different hat.

Photographer Margaret Miller, in Who Uses This?, presents photographs of various objects and asks readers to guess their purpose and who uses them.

Kitten Red, Yellow, and Blue by Peter Catalanotto, Mrs. Tuttle finds homes for fourteen other colorful kittens after placing the red kitten with Dave the firefighter and the blue kitten with Francine the police officer.

Hardworking Puppies by Lynn Reiser is a rollicking read where, one by one, ten energetic puppies find important jobs as dogs who help people in different ways, including by pulling sleds and saving swimmers.

Keith Baker’s humorous story, LMNO Peas finds busy little peas introducing their favorite occupations, from astronaut to zoologist.

New to the Library

A Day in the Life series is a new addition to the Library. Each book follows a different community workers as they describe what their typical day is like.  There is doctors, nurses, day care workers, dentist, fire fighter, and more.








          We have lots of other books about occupations you and your family may enjoy.

Stop in and see!

"You can't read that book!"
How would you feel if someone said that to you? Yet, that is exactly what teachers are telling your child each time they say, "You can only read books within your Lexile range."

A little over a year ago, I wrote about the downside of selecting books for your child based soley on the Lexile Rating System. I bring it up because testing is over and teachers, once again, are assigning children to read a book based on that darn Lexile number. "Sorry, but you can't read this book you've been waiting to read because, well, it doesn't have the right Lexile number. Intead, you must read this one!" What a way to destroy any love of reading, don’t you think? Go here to read how author, Ilsa Bick (Ashes) feels about Lexile.

Remember, Lexile is a product that fits into a standardized test. Publishers must pay to have their books analyzed and assigned a number. If a book does not have a Lexile number, it will not appear on a recommended list. 

The more you know about Lexile and how it is marketed, the better you can relax and see it as one tool in helping your child select a book. It should never, ever be the sole way to choose a book.