The Reader's Bill of Rights, Daniel Pennac

Have you read Daniel Pennac's wonderful book on creating readers, Better Than Life?  It was published in the '90s, and it's a gem. 

The front cover features a quote by Regie Routman that sums up the essence of the book well. "Anyone who loves to read and wants our young people to develop a similar passion will savor Better Than Life--an enchanting, beautifully written, and wise book."

"The Reader's Bill of Rights" is one of the best and most quoted parts of the book.  Many versions exist online, including an illustrated one that has changed the original wording, but I like Pennac's version the best.

If we are to develop the love of reading in young children and teens, it is critical to allow them the freedom that these rights afford. 

The Reader's Bill of Rights, Daniel Pennac

1.  The right not to read.
2.  The right to skip pages.
3.  The right not to finish.
4.  The right to reread.
5.  The right to read anything.
6.  The right to escapism.
7.  The right to read anywhere.
8.  The right to browse.
9.  The right to read aloud.
10. The right not to defend your taste.

Happy reading, friends!

Old dogs can...

I have a sign in-sheet in our library now. That may not seem too strange, but for me it's a little like admitting our library is quiet (see previous post).

In my former job as a library coordinator, I remember (with a bit of a red face) that I encouraged our librarians to get rid of sign-in sheets. I thought that signing in might be a barrier for kids to come to the library. Maybe it would send the message that we don't really want them to come.

Our head of upper school recently suggested a sign-in sheet here. Our building is huge--over 300,000 square feet and four floors. Sometimes an administrator on the third floor is looking for someone. It's handy for them to call the library (we're on the first floor), and I can look at the sign in and see that the student was here last block, for example.

What I have realized is that signing in is not so much a barrier, but that it's simply a procedure. It only takes a minute, and our kids don't mind it. It hasn't cut down on library usage.

What I didn't expect is that it has a couple of benefits. First, it helps me learn kids' names, which is great. It's also good data to use for promoting the library.

As I count the names on the sign in at the end of each day, I realize that I have underestimated how many students use the library. Yesterday I was excited to see that 92 students came to the library on their own. With 400 students in upper school, 92 is great. That doesn't count the classes who came with a teacher, and it doesn't count the kids who forgot (or just didn't) sign in.

This morning an administrator remarked that the library must be pretty empty with the upcoming holidays.  When I told him that 92 kids came on their own yesterday, he was amazed.  

A sign-in sheet is a little thing, but it's nice to know that old dogs like me can still learn.

Save the date--Naomi Nye

If you live in the Dallas area, I hope you will join us for the Parish Literary Festival on Thursday, January 17 from 4:00-5:00 in the main library.  Parish Episcopal School is located at 4104 Sigma Dr., Dallas, TX 75244.

Acclaimed poet and author Naomi Nye will be featured speaker at the event.  Books will be available for purchase, and Ms. Nye will sign books at the close of the event.

The Parish Literary Festival is free and open to the public.  If you're in the area, I hope you'll come and bring a friend!

What happiness smells like...

Here's a conversation I overheard from two middle schoolers entering the library this morning:

Student one: "Aahh.  The library smells like happiness."

Student two:  "No, that's just a vanilla candle."

For a split second there I was in librarian's heaven.  Because you know what?  The library does smell like happiness.

Happy day in the library to all!

Dia de los Muertos connections in the library

Our library has looked particularly festive for the past couple of weeks due to a project by one of our Spanish III teachers on Dia de los Muertos.

The teacher brings her students to the libray to research Day of the Dead and the associated customs. Students choose an artist or performer and create an altar to this person that accurately reflects elements of traditional altars. Students come to the library to give a presentation on their altar, and the difficult part is it's totally in Spanish!


All their altars and a beautiful one dedicated to Frida Kahla are on display in the library for the week prior to Dia de los Muertos.

In additions to great connections with the Spanish classes, the displays have generated a lot of traffic for the library in the way of parents, administrators, teachers, and other students who want to see these beautiful projects.

Do you have similar connections that you'd like to share here?

In the beginning...leads in the library.

I was thrilled when one of our new middle school English teachers came to me recently and wanted to connect their classroom learning on writing leads to the library.

After the class arrived, we recapped what they have been learning about leads.  Leads come at the beginning of a piece of writing.  They are designed to hook a reader, set the tone, and/or provide background information.  They may vary in length and style.  All types of genres have leads, and the writer should keep the audience and purpose of writing in mind when crafting the beginning of the piece.

Next I read the one-page prologue from Kay Honeyman's The Fire Horse Girl (Scholastic, 2013) because it so beautifully talks about how the author carefully chooses the first words of a story.

Then I read leads from 4-5 books.  Although these varied from period to period, a few were as follows:
Brain Jack, Brian Falkner (suspense)
What Jamie Saw, Carolyn Coman (repetition for effect)
Notes from a Midnight Driver, Jordan Sonnenblick (humor)
The Extraordinary Adventures of Alfred Kropp, Rick Yancey (author speaks to readers)Full Tilt, Neal Shusterman (one sentence lead)

I also included two informational books about Issac Newton.  One was a standard series biography with a pretty standard lead.  The other was Kathleen Krull's much more interesting lead to her Issac Newton book from the Giants of Science series.

Afterward, students were given a few minutes to find a good by going to the stacks and perusing books of their choice.  Then they partnered up, shared the leads they found with the other person, and decided which they felt was the better lead. 

Finally, they paired up with another duo to make a group of four.  After reading the four leads aloud, they selected the strongest from the group. We reconvened the class, and the student who had selected this lead read it to the large group. 

The kids were engaged, and they seemed to enjoy sharing what they found. Best of all, several students wanted to check out some of the books. 

Cool tools: Ikea display stands

Sometimes cool tools can be low tech (and inexpensive), as evidenced by these great display stands I found at Ikea for .99 each (search Tolsby on ikea.com).

I'm using them right now for several things, as you can see in the photos. 

Last week I used them as table numbers for the book pass activity (see previous post).  The numbers are clip art that I re-printed in color this morning to spiff them up a bit.

The students of one of our Spanish teachers are getting ready to do a big Dia de los Muertos project in the library, complete with a large altar to Frida Kahlo and smaller, individual altars to relatives and personal heroes.  I put related pictures in the display stands and will set these on library tables to compliment their projects.

Finally, I'm working on a new display, Read Any Good Movies Lately? After poking around on IMBD, I discovered that we have almost all of the books that correspond with the top 40 or so books-to-upcoming movies on their site. I'll display the books themselves, the IMBD list, and a handout of the books.  I'm including the display stands with 4 x 6 color copies of the book covers so the display won't be bare if (hopefully when) the books are checked out.


What other uses have you thought of for these low tech cool tools?

Book Pass

In the spirit of Steal Like an Artist, by Austin Kleon, another of our summer professional reading books, I have happily borrowed a wonderful idea from a neighboring teacher.

Kay Honeyman, brand new author of The Fire Horse Girl, blogs about holding a book pass in the library.  Her librarian is a friend, the terrific Jill Bellomy.  Their book pass sounded like so much fun that I decided to give it a go.

A book pass is just what the name implies.  Students come to the library to pass around books set out for them to examine.  They make a list of ones that sound appealing and add to the list throughout the year.  The goal is for this "to read" list to contain lots of books that they will enjoy reading for pleasure.

I did a book pass with sixth graders today, and it went really well.  Even the pickiest (er, most discerning) reader left with two or three books they want to read this year.

I modified yesterday's book pass due to a short period with the sixth graders, and I'm including the steps here:

1.  Set up enough tables so that your class will be sitting in groups of three or four.
2.  Number each table.
3.  Make a book pass sheet for students to write down the books they want to read. 
4.  Place 8-10 books at each table of various genres.
5.  Before the students start, ask them how they choose the books they read for fun.  Ask them to use these strategies for the book pass and to write down any books they might like to read.
6.  Give students 4-5 minutes at each table, rotating tables until each group has been to each table.
7.  If you see a group that's not really interested in the books on their table, walk by and add a few different books to the mix.
8.  Ask students to star books on their list that they are most excited about, and then give them the opportunity to check out books from any table.  If more than one student wants a particular book, place holds.
9.  Allow students to share what interests them about the books they have selected.
10.  Tip:  Since the tables will be mostly empty after one period, use books that the previous group has just returned to the drop box or good books from your shelving cart to replenish the tables.

Let us know how the book pass worked for your students!  Happy reading...

The Poetry Friday Anthology: Poems for the School Year with Connections to the TEKS

The Poetry Friday Anthology is a great book to infuse poetry into your elementary classroom or library. The book offers one poem each week for each grade level K-5, or 216 poems in all. Each poem is accompanied by a short, lively Take 5! activity designed to engage students. For Texas teachers and librarians, TEKS correlations have been helpfully provided. Short on time? The book is well organized, easy to use, and the compilers suggest that a five-minute poetry break is an effective way to use transition time on Fridays or any other day. An excellent volume for elementary teachers and librarians by well-known compilers Dr. Sylvia Vardell and poet Janet Wong.

Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain

ShelfConsumed has been on a bit of a hiatus as none of you has probably noticed!  May was a blur with all those things we do in the library at the end of school.  The summer was a wondrous time of grandsons, books, and doing just what we wanted when we wanted.  Bliss!

But today was the first day back at school, so I think it's time to get back to thinking about libraries.

One of the best books I read this summer is Susan Cain's Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking.  Whether you consider yourself an introvert or an extrovert, I think you'll enjoy what Cain has to say and that you'll find yourself applying her words to situations with friends and family.

I didn't expect was to find implications for education and for the library.  Cain's book made me realize that not all students want to "share good books" with friends.  It may be hard for some students to go around the table and talk about an author they enjoy.  Many students may prefer to work alone rather than in a group.  In our rush to collaborate and share, we may be isolating many students who prefer quiet.

I hope you'll find time to read this powerful book and also to find a bit of quiet in your hectic schedule this new school year.