The books we Read

I recently read this article, entitled Darkness too Visible in The Wall Street Journal, and thought that it raised many important issues for me as a Teacher-Librarian. I think it is worth sharing so that all of us can better understand some of the issues that are quite apparent in YA literature these days.

Are the themes within these books to dark? Do we have a responsibility to be discussing these issues?

I will need to think about the points the author raises, and give a more detailed response at a later time.

World Read-a-Loud Day

Today is a day to celebrate the wonderful activity that has filled so many lives with joy: The reading aloud of great words.

So take time today to read aloud to someone.

Read a favourite story.

Read a thought provoking article.

Read a poem.

Whatever you choose to read-a-loud today, know you are continuing a tradition that has helped generations of people learn to love reading.

Kids Lit Quiz

Well, after long moths of training, we sent our team to the Canadian finals of the Kids Literary Quiz. This is a competition that began in New Zealand and has now spread around the world. This is the second year that SAM has sent a team to this event. I am proud to say that our team (Janaan, Jenny, Rachel, Michelle, Gabrielle, Aloka and Ka Lee) did very well. They finished with 76 points out of a possible 110. This was good enough for us to place 10th. (This placing is calculated by allowing all teams with the same score to be in the same place.) There were actually 14 teams ahead of us.

This year's competition saw schools from across southern Ontario competing in this fabulous sport of reading.

Check out the article, "Toronto School's ace Kids Lit Quiz," that was written about it in the Toronto Star.

This is an awesome way to promote reading. I am already thinking about ways to prepare for next year.