Parent Education Night Survey

I am planning to offer a few Parent Education Nights to be held in the library to provide some extra information or resources that may not be readily available to parents on a variety of topics related to information skills, reading, and the library. An additional goal of mine is to get to know more Ridgecrest parents and families. I know your children, now I want to know you better.

I have put a short survey online to help inform my decisions about the Parent Education Nights, including what days of the week and times are best, and also a list of possible topics from which you can choose.

If you are interested in possibly attending a Parent Education Night, or if you want to see what possible topics are listed or offer your own topic, please complete the survey. It will take no more than five minutes of your time.

Parent Education Night Survey

Thank you very much.

Book Review Sources

In conversations I have been having with 5th grade students about censorship, banned books, their reading choices, and the freedom to read, we have also talked about family values and discussing with others in our families the books we read.

My mother read incessantly. More times than I can count I found her asleep with a book on the floor that had dropped from her hand as she fell asleep reading. I was never told not to read a book and was aware that I could ask her questions about what I was reading. I don't know if she was reading all the books I read, but I wouldn't be surprised. She volunteered in my elementary library and always made it clear that she valued reading both for academic purposes and for pleasure.

I know that families are curious about what children are reading and don't always have time to read every single book their child brings home. I have gathered a few sources for book reviews that families can consult, either to find out about books already being read, or to find new books to read and/or share together.

• Bookwink - http://www.bookwink.com/ - short summaries of books for grade 3+
• Facts on Fiction - http://www.factsonfiction.org/ - summaries of books, with specific information about themes that might determine the appropriate age of a reader for a title
• KCLS Books and Reading - http://www.kcls.org/booksandreading/ - scroll down to Databases for Readers for Novelist and Fiction Connection databases (can only be accessed by KCLS library card holders, enter your number to use the databases)
  

There are many other sources for good reviews. Sometimes Amazon.com includes professional reviews from School Library Journal or Booklist, which are two resources I use when selecting books for the Ridgecrest Library. However, in the end there is no substitute for reading what your kids are reading. You can discuss the book with them and help them understand difficult parts or words, plus they will be thrilled you are taking an interest in what they are reading! Stretch yourself, read a graphic novel or a fantasy, even if those have never been your cup of tea.

Global Reading Challenge Books

The list for the 2008-09 Global Reading Challenge, sponsored by the King County Library System, is now available on the KCLS GRC website. They are a mix of classics, fabulous recent books, and a few I haven't read, so I'm excited to re-read favorites and some new titles.

• Looking for Bapu by Anjali Banerji
• Room One: A Mystery or Two by Andrew Clements
• Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo (pronounced "dee-CAM-ill-o" I learned last year)
• Inkheart by Cornelia Funke
• Rules by Cynthia Lord
• Silk Umbrellas by Carolyn Marsden
• Project Mulberry by Linda Sue Park
• Hatchet by Gary Paulsen
• Holes by Louis Sachar
• Emma-Jean Lazarus Fell Out of a Tree by Lauren Tarshis