With all the news about e-books, it’s easy to overlook an online reading resource always available with any internet connection – no downloading necessary! Through the Glen Ellyn Public Library Kids webpage, we have a few alternative ways for your child to read with you, or independently. BookFlix and the TumbleBookLibrary are two options for your child to read and watch books come to life from the computer.  Both services are available in the library or at home. BookFlix requires a Glen Ellyn library card number for home use.

TumbleBooks provide you with a collection of animated picture books that feature audio and visual delights that get children excited about reading. The selection features many popular picture books and accommodates different reading proficiencies, including read-along text and the options for manual or automatic page turning.  If you are having trouble picking out just one book, TumbleBooks provides preselected playlists of books to be played in succession along with the opportunity to create your own. Each book description gives the reading level, and our library is also subscribed to the next step for readers: TumbleReadables, for those who are ready to read alone and start beginner chapter books. Both of these products feature titles compatible with iPad.

With the Scholastic BookFlix database you choose your subject of interest followed by a pair of books to watch and read. The child watches an animated video of one of their favorite stories followed by a separate nonfiction book on the same subject. Each of these books features the option of highlighted text that progresses with the audio. After the two books, your child can participate in several story-related games and activities that all contribute to their growing literacy skills. In addition to all of these features, the child is also provided with fun facts about the author and web links related to the story subject. BookFlix are a great resource for at the library, at home, or even on the go.

Both of these options provide your young reader with bilingual or alternate language choices. Explore our web page, or ask a librarian to take advantage of these great services today!

Change is good when you look back at it. Transitions from playing with toys to diaper changing, preschool to all day Kindergarten, college to work, staying to going, are hard. As hopeful as the future is, it is hard for all ages to leave the present.

This is the time of year a lot of transitions happen in the lives of our children and it can help to anticipate and plan for them.  The Glen Ellyn Public Library is glad to help!

Going to school – Look for the School Bus sticker on the spine in the Picture book collection or on a special back to school display. These books help children express their fears and anticipate a positive outcome.

Summer reading catch up time – Award nominees for Monarch, Blue Stem, and Caudill are on display as well as books from the public school reading lists. If your early elementary child needs to practice, look for books with red and purple dots in the JE section and books with an owl sticker in Jfiction.

Coming and going – It is time for staff transitions at the library, too. I am headed for Morocco to teach English and then on to whatever experience is next. I have appreciated the families of Glen Ellyn sharing their smallest children with me in literacy programs and the area preschools for welcoming me in to share literature for the last three years. I will miss you all!

Robin Currie

PS I will be blogging my work in Morocco at rcmorocco2012.blogspot.com. Come along for the adventure!

Is that a familiar cry at your place as summer vaults on and swimming, baseball and TV have more appeal for the relaxing mind? Here are some tips to keep Summer Reluctant Readers in top form for next fall! Check any of these out at Glen Ellyn Public Library.

image via woodleywonderworks on Flickr

• Librarians know books and kids. Sometimes just the suggestion from a different adult can sell a book a parent can’t. Best of all is when the child comes on his or her own and asks, but parents often stop by and take some recommendations home.
• Read along with a CD. Any difficult words will be easier and the interesting narrator voices will keep readers engaged. Or get a CD for the family to start together in the car. Then have the book ready to read all set to go.
• Magazines have short articles on specific topics from yukky bugs to basketball tips! Magazines  seem more approachable and will fill a short interest span.
• How about a book “everyone” is reading?  Try one of the Monarch, Bluestem or Caudill books that other kids will be reading to vote on in the fall.
• Graphic novels are not comic books! They require a different kind of reading, but it is reading and helps over the summer slump.
• Choose information books. Fiction is fine, but many times those reading above grade levels prefer fact-filled books. Ties them to the fiction they are reading: books on Greek history and gods with Percy Jackson. Or get some books on the vacation location or favorite school subject or sports tips.
• Adult attention is still most important. Read books together, every other page or paragraph or check out two copies and read the same book. Make reading a family priority on the back porch or by the pool.

It’s a little more work than popping in another video, but worth the effort when school starts. All too soon!

-Robin C., Early Literacy Librarian

Traditionally, early literacy programs at libraries have focused on children. Storytimes and other programs might model strategies that parents can use to develop early literacy skills, but parent education is not typically the primary intent.

The Public Library Association (PLA) and Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) concluded that public libraries could have an even greater impact on early literacy through an approach that focused on educating parents and caregivers. If the primary adults in a child’s life can learn more about the importance of early literacy and how to nurture pre-reading skills at home, the effect of library efforts can be multiplied many times. Visit everychildreadytoread.org to learn more.

My grandson reading to a cat!

The most recent update of Every Child Ready to Read @ the Glen Ellyn Public Library lists five skill areas to increase reading success. In our programs for ages birth to age 3, we offer activities that support these areas. But it is only a start.

Here’s how to build on these skills at home!

Talking

Use the transitions that are difficult for little ones as a teaching moment. Share a rhyme or action poem as you buckle the car seat belt or work at the changing table.

Singing

Music is different from speaking because of rhythm, rhyme and repetition! Check out CDs to play on the numerous short trips in the car every day.

Reading

Read a variety of books from our board book, picture book, and J Easy collections (Don’t know what these are? Ask a librarian! Call 630-468-0879, visit GEPL or comment on this article). Each one provides a different experience and new vocabulary to increase imagination.

Writing

Large pieces of paper, a chalk board or a white board in the kitchen will make meal prep time into a family scribbling, drawing and writing opportunity. Tablet computers and iPads also have letter tracing games.

Playing

Unstructured events and time alone allow creative and imaginative play. Just listen to the conversation from the next room when the technology is off!

Summer programs at the library include pre-literacy sessions: Level 2 for birth to 24 months, Level 3 for 18-36 months. Call the library at 630-469-0879 or register online at gepl.org/calendar.

-Robin C., Early Literacy Librarian 

Do you have a brand new kindergartner or 3^rd grader or middle school student in need of summer reading? Glen Ellyn Public Library has 100,000 books. Where to start?

Start with the smiling faces at the Desk as you enter Youth Department! We love summer reading and helping find just the right book!

The 5 Finger Test for all ages: read any one page out loud. Each time you come to an unfamiliar word, hold up a finger. If you get to five fingers on any one page, choose an easier book. If you read two or three pages and know all the words, maybe you are ready for something more difficult!

School list books are on special displays to make them easy to find. This includes all grade level books, plus Monarch, Bluestem and Caudill award nominees.

Beginning reader books have reading level indicated by a color dot. Easiest pre-readers are green and they get progressively more difficult through yellow, orange, red, and purple.

Easy chapter books are located in the fiction collection and are marked with an owl sticker.

Graphic novels are located in a separate area and are organized by character.

Information books are a good choice for kids reading at an advanced level. Pick a subject area of interest and the choices range from beginning readers through middle school. Great for those kids reading at 4^th grade but entering 2nd!

Magazines are a good choice for reluctant readers. Choose an interest area like sports or animals and select from our back issues for check out.

YA sticker are placed on books in the Youth fiction collection which will be of interest to Middle School students. Books listed in the computer catalog as “YA” are located in the upstairs Teen Scene.

Reading by ear? Books on CD, Playaway, Playaway Views, videos, or digital downloads.

Reading and eating, eating and reading. This summer Reading is So Delicious! with GEPL’s summer reading program.

-Robin, Early Literacy Librarian

Pam Withers at keenreaders.org writes:

“Here’s the best-kept secret about reading buddy programs: The teens who saunter into a room wary of reading to some restless youngster, typically end up gaining as much as their “little reading buddy.” They gain self-confidence, reading skills, academic growth and a new desire to read. Why? Because they thrive on having someone look up to them, and they’re able to read easy books that boost their own confidence; sometimes backing up to an easy book is just what a struggling pre-teen or teen reader needs, but won’t do on his own.

With just 15 hours of reading buddy contact, one group of fourth and sixth graders in Oregon gained the equivalent of more than 2.5 years in reading abilities (rainbowreaders.com). Even students with as few as five hours of contact gained the equivalent of a year and a half.”

And according to a U.S. Department of Education study reported by Teacher Vision:

“Improvement in academic performance amongst those reading below grade level: Reading buddies, 25%; others, 12%

Improvement in classroom behavior amongst poor readers: Reading buddies, 16%; others, 3%

Poor readers who said they often or always enjoyed reading: Reading buddies, 55%; others, 31%

After one school year, “both teacher reports and student self-reports found significant gains in reading attitudes, self-esteem, library use and academic performance.” (source)

Book Buddies

The Glen Ellyn Public Library supports national summer reading initiatives with a variety of programs including tracking minutes read for prizes, book discussions, and literature sharing activities. However, the best motivation for reading is the personal interest of another person. For this, the library offers a special program with a personal touch called Book Buddies.

Book Buddies matches a Middle School student with a reader age 4 through grade 5. Each week at a mutually chosen time, the paired students choose the books they want to share and pick a comfortable location in the Youth Department. For 30 minutes they enjoy reading together.

For the younger student this is an opportunity to practice reading, an essential part of the skill retention necessary for school in the fall for all levels of students. In addition they build a relationship with an older student role model who can encourage their interest in a variety of subjects and library use.

For the Middle School reader it is a volunteer opportunity that can be added to a resume for later jobs. They benefit from sharing their interest and skills with an upcoming learner and their own interest range will be widens as they choose books they will both enjoy.

Forms to take part in Book Buddies are available now in Youth Department. The program begins with orientation on June 8.

-Robin, Early Literacy Librarian

Want to sign up for and track your summer reading progress online? Here’s how:

Don’t forget to pick up your summer reading sign up prize at the library after you sign up!

If your child reads while eating or eats while reading, this summer is for you! The Glen Ellyn Public Library’s summer reading theme is Reading Is So Delicious!

Here are some ideas on how your family can embrace our summer reading theme:

• Savor vacation before you go. Get a taste for your destination with an information book on WDC, presidential pets, a biography in a graphic novel, or a 4^th of July craft.
• Sink your teeth into a subject of interest. Did a class at school offer just a taste of rainforest animals but not a full course? Summer is time to devour information on the jungle cats and lizards through the library’s books and videos.
• Share an entrée. The whole family can gorge on a read aloud or audio book together.
• Develop a taste for something new. Nibble a little from a format you don’t normally use. GEPL offers tons of ways to enjoy reading: Playaways?  Audiobooks? Downloadables? All on our menu!
• Gepl.org is all ready for you to register for programs and GEPL’s summer newsletter and online calendar have complete details. Watch for it in your mailbox or check it out online!

SPECIAL sign-up program this year: Whet your appetites for the summer by registering early for summer reading at the library beginning May 21! The early bird gets the worm, and so do kids who sign up early for summer reading – a gummy worm, that is.

You can also join GEPL at the Taste of Glen Ellyn this weekend to learn about summer reading, play The Hunger Games trivia, and win prizes.

-Robin, Early Literacy Librarian

Reading with my grandson, James.

What do Curious George, Frog and Toad, Hardy Boys, and Peter Pan have in common? If you recognize those characters and your children do as well, that is your answer! These books have been read and loved and passed on for at least two generations. Here’s some ways to celebrate Children’s Book Week with kids and classics.

Browse the library for familiar titles. In Picture books, Easy readers, and Juvenile fiction are old friends waiting to be reintroduced. Many have been reissued with new covers or pictures so don’t just look for Old Books.

Reread them yourself. Was it the pleasure of the language or the setting of the story? Did it carry you far away or make your own life come into focus?

Read them aloud. Books written in the early 1900s may have challenging language for young readers. Instead of seeing a simplified version, share them aloud, a chapter at a time. Take time to talk about unusual words.

Share an audio tape. Hearing a book gives us insight into inflections and accents of the charters. Try it on the next family trip.

Try a new format. Many familiar classics are available as e-book or download making them transportable on the road or outdoors.

Talk about the story. Tell your children why you liked the book and what it meant to you. Was it one your bother read as well? Call grandma and see if she remembers.

Here’s a starter list of stories generations of librarians have loved. What titles would you add?

Caps for Sale by Slobodkina
Charlotte’s Web by White
Corduroy by Freeman
Curious George by Rey
Frog and Toad by Lobel
Harold and the Purple Crayon by Johnson
A Light in the Attic by Silverstein
Little House books by Wilder
Little Women by Alcott
Mother Goose rhymes
Peter Pan by Barrie
Peter Rabbit by Potter
Very Hungry Caterpillar by Carle
When We Were Very Young by Milne

Read more about Children’s Book Week at: http://www.bookweekonline.com.

-Robin, Early Literacy Librarian

It seems like a small step across the library from the picture books surrounded by toys and trains to the emergent or easy reader section, but for children making the move it is a big step and an exciting one.

via San Jose Library on Flickr

Emergent reading begins when the child at any age begins to notice there are words on the page as well as pictures. The next step is identifying specific printed letters, usually those in the child’s own name. Then the child will then begin to connect the marks on the page with the sounds they make. These pre-reading stages can be encouraged by frequent reading of picture books, sharing rhymes and songs, and joining other children in these activities in school or the library. Each stage is a cause for celebration!

When the child begins to assemble sounds together and recognize them as words, the most helpful books are not in the picture book section. For this activity, children need a very few words on the page and larger print as the brain makes the connection between eyes and ears into comprehension. Now it is time to make the Big Jump to the Emergent or beginning reader books!

Many of us remember these beginning readers as the stilted tales of no relevance to children today. The publishing world has discovered the emergent reader market and met the need in colorful active exiting ways. At GEPL, just past the computers, is a set of low shelves just the size for browsing by the emergent reader. One way to tell if a book is too easy or hard for your child is the Five Finger test: Start reading on page 1. When the child comes to the first word they do not know or can’t figure out, hold up one finer. If by page 3 or 4 you have up five fingers, a book form a different color category may be better matched to the child’s success level.

Programs for Emergent Readers at the Library

On May 15 at 6:30 p.m. or May 16 at 10:30 a.m.,  emergent readers and the parents are invited to a 30-minute introduction to this literary and developmental transitional time. Children may stay with parents or watch a film while Childhood Literacy Librarian Robin Currie discusses reading readiness and moving from picture books to early readers. Register online for the May 15 or May 16 programs.

-Robin, Early Literacy Librarian