September is..
National Library Card Sign-Up Month! It originated in the late eighties as a way for librarians to remind kids not to forget to get their most important back-to-school supply. Yep, a library card.
When I visit schools, I ask the students how many of them have a library card. Most hands go up. When I ask how many actually use it, at least half the hands go down. Boo! What good is having one if you don't use it? Out of those who have one, at least a quarter of them say it's their mom or dad's card. Boo again! Kids should have their own. It's a pretty powerful thing to have in your pocket. Pretty much one of the most important things a person can own.
I think every child born should be given a library card before leaving the hospital. Blanket? Check. Suction thingy. Check. Bill? Check. Library Card? Check. Why not? It would send a powerful message to parents.
Around here, getting your own card was a reason to celebrate. Here's Matthew signing his own card when he turned four. I still remember how Sarah squealed in delight after he signed his name. She hugged him so hard that he had a red mark around his neck for an hour.
Although we had them at home, he checked out these two books:
This is one of the slides I use in my school visit presentation. It's the Mullarkey's cards. If you click on the pic, you can see the large periods that both kids wrote after their names. Don't all beginning writers tend to do that? Makes me smile every time I see them. I still remember how hard the kids concentrated to write their names and in such a small space.
When I show this slide, I do sort of a warm-up with the younger kids and sing the "Library Card Song" written by yours truly, Sarah and Matthew. It's sung to the tune of the "Army march" song and kids repeat each line after I sing it:
I don't know what you've been told...
But a library card's worth more than gold...
Sign up now and get the power (show muscles!)
Feel your brain grow by the hour.
Read Caldecotts and poetry too.
Scary Stories, Boo to you (always "scare kid near me with the Boo)
Sign Up
Today
Sign up
Hooray!
I use this song as a springboard to explain that song writing is just one of the many forms of writing they can explore. Many kids associate writing/creating with words means books only.
It probably won't surprise you to learn that one of my favorite books is Jerry Spinelli's The Library Card.
In June 2008, I sat next to Jerry at lunch at an SCBWI event. Lucky me- we had assigned seats! When I told him my favorite books of his was The Library Card, he shared two things with me: He was tickled pink because no one ever named that book and it was optioned two weeks prior for a movie.
Can you believe I forgot to bring my copy to get signed? Ugh! But he did sign other books that I bought that day.
If you're a teacher and looking for a great book to share with intermediate grades, look no further. It's four short stories. In each one, a little blue plastic card mysteriously appears and rescues the characters in some way. Only Spinelli could pull this off without sounding preachy. Boys especially love the first story of Mongoose and Weasel.
Here's a short study guide: http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/collateral.jsp?id=1007_type=Book_typeId=3750
Okay, I'm off. Guess where I'm going? Nope. It's not the library. I'm off in search of some chocolate! Yum!
When I visit schools, I ask the students how many of them have a library card. Most hands go up. When I ask how many actually use it, at least half the hands go down. Boo! What good is having one if you don't use it? Out of those who have one, at least a quarter of them say it's their mom or dad's card. Boo again! Kids should have their own. It's a pretty powerful thing to have in your pocket. Pretty much one of the most important things a person can own.
I think every child born should be given a library card before leaving the hospital. Blanket? Check. Suction thingy. Check. Bill? Check. Library Card? Check. Why not? It would send a powerful message to parents.
Around here, getting your own card was a reason to celebrate. Here's Matthew signing his own card when he turned four. I still remember how Sarah squealed in delight after he signed his name. She hugged him so hard that he had a red mark around his neck for an hour.
Although we had them at home, he checked out these two books:
This is one of the slides I use in my school visit presentation. It's the Mullarkey's cards. If you click on the pic, you can see the large periods that both kids wrote after their names. Don't all beginning writers tend to do that? Makes me smile every time I see them. I still remember how hard the kids concentrated to write their names and in such a small space.
When I show this slide, I do sort of a warm-up with the younger kids and sing the "Library Card Song" written by yours truly, Sarah and Matthew. It's sung to the tune of the "Army march" song and kids repeat each line after I sing it:
I don't know what you've been told...
But a library card's worth more than gold...
Sign up now and get the power (show muscles!)
Feel your brain grow by the hour.
Read Caldecotts and poetry too.
Scary Stories, Boo to you (always "scare kid near me with the Boo)
Sign Up
Today
Sign up
Hooray!
I use this song as a springboard to explain that song writing is just one of the many forms of writing they can explore. Many kids associate writing/creating with words means books only.
It probably won't surprise you to learn that one of my favorite books is Jerry Spinelli's The Library Card.
In June 2008, I sat next to Jerry at lunch at an SCBWI event. Lucky me- we had assigned seats! When I told him my favorite books of his was The Library Card, he shared two things with me: He was tickled pink because no one ever named that book and it was optioned two weeks prior for a movie.
Can you believe I forgot to bring my copy to get signed? Ugh! But he did sign other books that I bought that day.
If you're a teacher and looking for a great book to share with intermediate grades, look no further. It's four short stories. In each one, a little blue plastic card mysteriously appears and rescues the characters in some way. Only Spinelli could pull this off without sounding preachy. Boys especially love the first story of Mongoose and Weasel.
Here's a short study guide: http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/collateral.jsp?id=1007_type=Book_typeId=3750
Okay, I'm off. Guess where I'm going? Nope. It's not the library. I'm off in search of some chocolate! Yum!