LOL Librarian

            Why should kids read graphic novels or comics? Simply because children want to read them.  There are some truly fantastic tales that have complex story lines and strong characters.  And they are not just for boys, a couple of my favourties feature powerful girls like Zita the Space Girl  and Amelia Rules . These novels come in a range of genres: humour, mystery, fantasy, adventure, wordless, biography, myths, historical fiction and science fiction.  They do help reluctant readers but they can be enjoyed by all. Even as an adult, I enjoy reading them for a change. Think of it as a throw back to your youth! Like any book, there are some that are only appropriate for older children. This has been a struggle in the library since different parents have different views on violence in literature, much more so when it is visually represented rather than in text. What one parent considers as a rather chaste picture of violence in a cl...

As an educator I wish I could use words as powerfully as Maya Angelou . She weaves tales that can be straight forward (tell it from the hip) that there is no misunderstanding her meaning, which the children love. In her adult literature, messages are shared symbolically, beautifully so, and her book  I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings  she be required reading for any student of life. Ms. Angelou's values are solid; she encourages young people to be strong, stand up for their beliefs, to be honest, understand their fears, follow their dreams and be the power behind change. In our libraries we have a handful of her work. The elementary has a wonderful book called 'Life Doesn't Frighten Me'. My hope is our students of the future will continue to be inspired, empowered and enthralled by her words. Life Doesn't Frighten Me by Maya Angelou Shadows on the wall Noises down the hall Life doesn't frighten me at all   Bad dogs barking loud Big ghosts in a cloud Life doesn...

Children love picture books, and this is not surprising but what may be surprising is their fondness for books that are in different languages. We discovered that children were interested in checking out books that weren't in English or their mother tongue. They happily sat and made up stories of their own and pointed out other features of text like sentence length, word endings or how the words looked.  Dual language books are a wonderful thing, and in an international school it helps children to learn about another language and their culture, thereby creating tolerance. There are some really interesting blogs and articles about the power of dual language books. I wish there were more available, somebody should be making a fortune of translating favourites into dual language tales.