The Library League Newsletter
For Parents,
Teachers and Caregivers
May 21 - August 11, 2007
Great Summer Reads
Whether your child has trouble fitting in all the books they want to read over the summer or has trouble reading enough books to finish the Summer Reading Program, here are some lists to help you, help them.
Beginning Chapter Books
Children ready to move up from the Beginning Readers collections often have a hard time finding books just right for them. Our juvenile fiction collections consist of books that vary widely in reading level. An easy way to determine whether your child is ready for a book is to have them read the first page and count their problem words. If they have more than five they might feel more confident with another choice. The staff at your local branch library can show you books appropriate for your child’s reading level.
Here are some terrific books and series written for children just venturing into the Chapter Book shelves.
| Emma (series) Lucy Rose (series) Keeker (series) Henrietta: There’s No One Better Clementine (series) Gooney Bird Green (series) Frannie K Stein (series) How to Save Your Tail Martin Bridge (series) |
Wiley and Grampa’s Creature Features (series) Melvin Beederman Superhero (series) Rosalie, My Rosalie Horrible Harry (series) Ike and Mem Stories (series) Jigsaw Pony Rosy Cole (series) Flat Stanley (series) |
These authors have written several beginning chapter books.
Anne Fine
Stephanie Greene
Patricia MacLachlan
Alexander McCall Smith
Comic Novel Format
Recently we have begun to add more graphic novel formatted books to our children’s collections, both fiction and non-fiction. This format highlights the use of sequential artwork, usually in frames, to tell a story. The Tulsa City-County Library has always carried some Peanuts, Garfield and Calvin and Hobbes comic books in the 741 call number area, but these new additions will be cataloged in fiction by author’s last name and in the non-fiction call number area for the given subject. To make it easy for children, and their parents/caretakers, to find these books in the catalog we are using the term “Comic Novel” to designate graphic novel formatted books that are for children. Many of the publishers we are selecting from are using this format to convey character education (Graphic Sparks), history (Graphic Library) and just plain fun storytelling (Babymouse series) .
There has been much written about the popularity of graphic novels and whether or not students gain or lose anything by reading them. Many studies show that for reluctant readers graphic novels are a great way to get them reading and once their confidence grows they move on to more text based books. The vocabulary used in graphic novels is not much different than that of text based books; rather, the comic panels offer clues as to the tone of the text. To read more about the growing popularity of this format and how it encourages children who are reluctant readers or are visual learners, check out this bibliography of articles from educational and library journals.
Pirates and Girl Detectives
This summer Pirates and Girl Detectives are hitting the big screen, so why not use them to catch your child’s interest with some of these great books.
Pirates Picture Book Pirates |
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Pirate Readers
Let the Good Times Roll With Pirate Pete and Pirate Joe – A E Cannon
On the Go with Pirate Pete and Pirate Joe – A E Cannon
Way Out West with Pirate Pete and Pirate Joe – A E Cannon
Pirate School – Cathy East Dubowski
Who’s a Clever Girl – Rose Impey
Captain and Matey Set Sail – Daniel Laurence
Pirate Fiction
How to be a Pirate by Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III - Cressida Cowell.
The Giant Rat of Sumatra, or, Pirates Galore - by Sid Fleischman
Fundorado Island : Redbeard's discoveries and his adventures too / by yers truly, Captain Redbeard ; (with help from a lucky Penny) - D.W. Gibson and Micro Tryon
Pirates of the Caribbean; Jack Sparrow (series) - Rob Kidd
Grace the Pirate – Kathryn Lasky
Not So Jolly Roger - Jon Scieszka
Treasure Island - Robert Louis Stevenson
Pirate Non-Fiction
The Best Book of Pirates - Barnaby Harward
Real Pirates : Over 20 True Stories of Seafaring Sculduggery - Clare Hibbert
1001 Pirate Things to Spot – Rob Lloyd Jones
Everything I Know About Pirates : a Collection of Made-up Facts, Educated Guesses, and Silly Pictures about Bad Guys of the High Seas - Tom Lichtenheld.
How to Be a Pirate – John Malam
You Wouldn't Want to be a Pirate's Prisoner! : Horrible Things You'd Rather Not Know - John Malam
Girl Detectives Nancy Drew Mystery Stories – the original series |
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Trixie Belden – reprints of the original 50 year old series starring 13 year old Trixie Belden.
Cam Jansen – 10 year old Cam uses her photographic memory to solve community mysteries. For younger readers try Young Cam Jansen books in the Beginning Readers.
American Girl Mysteries – these historical mysteries are from the creators of the American Girl books.
Herculeah Jones – 13 year old Herculeah has a policeman for a father and a private investigator for a mother.
Chasing Vermeer and The Wright Three – Sixth graders Calder and Petra solve mysteries involving famous works of art and architecture.
Hannah West – 12 year old Hannah West of Seattle solves a variety of mysteries in this new series.
Meg Mackintosh – Search the pictures for clues to help Meg solve mysteries in this interactive series.
Sammy Keyes – Mysteries just seem to follow seventh grader Sammy Keyes.
Sly the Sleuth – Sly, whose real name is Sylvia, solves mysteries for her neighbors.
A Tulsa City-County Library Web Site
