San Mateo Library

       I wanted to share the darling flyer created for me by the San Mateo Public Library for

     my appearance there on Wednesday, September 25. I hope the children will have fun

     talking about wedding traditions, trying stop sneezing methods, making tissue paper

      flowers and reading my book together.

          I know I will!

Don't Sneeze At the Wedding

     My new book, Don't Sneeze At the Wedding, is officially published! It tells the story of a little girl, Anna, who is going to be the flower girl at her Aunt Rachel's wedding. On the morning of the wedding she wakes up with an - "Ah-Choo"! "Please don't sneeze at the wedding", her mother and father tell her. They, along with everyone else involved in the wedding preparations, tell her tips about stopping a sneeze. She makes it through most of the ceremony without sneezing, but just as the groom is about to step on the glass, a Jewish wedding tradition, Anna sneezes! Fortunately, the sound of the breaking glass and the guests cheers drown out the sound of her sneeze.

      Coincidentally, my daughter was married this May. Here are pictures of Rebecca and Jared at their wedding, just as Jared is about to step on the glass.

                                    

Mazel Tov!

Where Have All the Readers Gone?

     I have worked as a children's librarian in all sort of libraries, big and small, urban, suburban and rural, rich communities and poor communities. For the past few years, I have had to ask myself the unhappy question - Where have all the readers gone?

     In every type of setting there once were dedicated child readers, those children who came in on a weekly basis and left with a large stack of books. And let me emphasize this part - a large stack that they picked out by themselves. They were the book lovers who roamed the shelves, picked out books, read first pages, and chose. They rarely needed my services, except for me to expertly keep the shelves stocked with well written books, because they were perfectly capable of figuring out that they wanted to read.

    They seem to have disappeared.

     What has replaced them is their parents, armed with lists of "best" books, and no others will do, that they choose for their children who are, for example, in "first grade but read at the sixth grade level". They will decide what their children read, and when and how many pages per day. Whether any of these books are ever read or enjoyed I do not know. I never see the children. They are pushed, motivated by parents readers who read as an accomplishment rather than as a pleasure.

    Or I see a child who comes to take out one book, that his friend or his teacher has told him about.
Only the one book. No other will do as no one has told him about any other. They will read and they will enjoy this one book, or say that they do. But will they continue with a joy in reading? Again, I do not know.

     The picture book shelves are packed because nothing gets checked out. Modern parents are not aware of the old adage about a picture book being a child's first art gallery. If they ask for anything, it is Franklin or Dora, fine, but definitely not an art gallery. Or they bypass the picture book section completely, somehow they have been told that the contents are too babyish for their advanced children. They take them straight to the beginning readers. I love beginning to read books, but they are for beginning readers to read to themselves. It's not the same as picture books, designed for parents to read to their children. Designed with a nod to wonder, to enchantment, to childhood. They sit, their beautiful contents unrevealed.

     The computers are busy. Educational games, a plus. They are not the same and they do not, can not, replace books.

     Where have all the readers gone? Far far away, and not to the land of Oz. Just to a reality that is packed with action and short on wonder and dreams. They may never return, and the saddest part is that they won't even know how much they have missed.

   

Story Comprehension Reading - Part ll

     I just read an interview with Bob Staake in Children's Bookshelf, about his new wordless picture book, Bluebird. I was really struck by something he said in the interview:

" I love writing visually, and wordlessly, because this is was how I read books as a kid. I didn’t really read, but I was a voracious page turner. Nothing would delight me more than pulling out old National Geographics and encyclopedias and looking through the pictures. For years, I have said that this is how children learn how to read. They don’t read, they look. Parents sometimes denigrate the importance of looking in favor of reading the words. It is just as important."

  This is the same philopshy as my Story Comprehension Reading Method - and seeing this meant so much! It also emphasizes the fact that the wordless book component of the method has to be expertly done for this method to actually work. Anyway, I will continue to research it.

     On another note, Publisher's Weekly had a column today asking what book first made you love reading? For me it was the Old Mother West Wind books by Thornton Burgess. I remember going to my local public library and visiting them on the shelf, along after I had first read them, as if going to see an old friend.

    What was the first book that made you love reading?

    And do those books seem like old friends to you?

  

Story Comprehension Reading

    I have been working on a new method for teaching reading. It is called the Story Comprehension Method. It is based on the premise that story is first and foremost what encourages one to read, and to love to read. Therefore, reading should start with reading story, and be followed by reading words.
    After years of working as a children's librarian in the public library I have witnessed parents and children looking for books to spur the love of reading. I have seen children who are adept at reading words, yet gain little love from their reading as their comprehension is not at the same level. I have seen children pushed to the point of finding reading to be a hated task, with little joy. My method works in a simple manner. The child reads for story first, and reads words afterwards..
     When I was a young mother and I wanted my children to learn a new skill, I broke it down into sections. Once the first part was learned, we went on to the second. I remember teaching my two year old daughter to go down a particular slide at the playground. The first time we walked up the steps together and she slid down in my lap. The second time we held hands going up the steps, and she slid down alone, after me. The third time she completed the entire task on her own. Story Comprehension Reading is also a three part method.
     It begins with a wordless picture book. The child is given the book to "read" the pictures. Being able to follow a story, a sequence of events, is an important step to reading fluently. It is also fun.
    Many lovely wordless picture books are in the public library. You can try my method at home using one of those books. A recommended list will follow. Eventually I will create my own books for the method. For now, let's use the popular book Good Dog, Carl by Alexandra Day to follow the method. This is a wordless picture book featuring a baby and a dog.
     Start by asking the child to "read" this book. Looking at pages one and two, the child may say something like, "The dog is looking out the window. The baby is standing up in her crib. The baby gets on the dog's back."
     On the next page, "The baby rides the dog. The dog and the baby get on Mommy and Daddy's bed." Let the child keep reading the book, to herself at first if she wants, and then to you, laughing together as Baby and Carl get into mischief and Carl cleans up. Hopefully this will be an enjoyable experience for you both. This is part one of the Method.
      In part two you will create a series of captions for the book. Eventually, when my Method is published it will be a three book set. For now, we will do the same thing on our own. For example, on the first page you will have three captions, which are the words, Dog, Baby and Crib.Continue with adding simple words to each page of the book, Mirror, Bed, Swim, Dance, Bread, Butter, Grapes, Tub, Wash, etc. Have the child read the story again, this time sounding out the words that have been added. This is part two of the Method.
      In Part Three, you will compose a simple story, using the same words that were in part two, but arranging them into sentences. "The dog looks out the window. The baby is in the crib.The baby makes a mess. The dog cleans the baby." Using the works of others in this way, you don't need to strive for a poetic story. The point is to see how words complement the telling of story, how it works to create a whole, words and pictures. Let the child read the book again with his new knowledge.
     Do not force the child to read the book the three ways one after another. Let the child take her time and get to know the story and the words at her own pace, before adding the complete sentences. Remember always that the point is to create joy in reading and stories.
      I would be very interested to know how this Method works for you and your child. If you could take the time to comment it will be much appreciated. A list of wordless picture books found at the public library follows. A one word caption on each page may be enough to start. Remember too that the point is not to overwhelm the child, but to work with her or his natural curiosity and intellect.
    This is designed for school aged children who already know the alphabet and have begun learning to sound out words at school. It is not for babies and toddlers.For this age group, please keep reading and singing to the child, reciting poetry No known advantage has been recorded for forcing children to read before they are developmentally ready. This method is designed to instill a joy in reading.

Suggested Books:

Aliki. Tabby, A Story in Pictures.
Day, Alexandra. Good Dog, Carl.
De Paola, Tomie. Pancakes for Breakfast.
Lehman, Barbara. Rainstorm
Pinkney, Jerry. The Lion & The Mouse
Raschka, Christopher. A Ball for Daisy.
Spier, Peter. Rain.
     

Everything I Need to Know I Learned in High School

   Life is a lot like high school, filled with emotional highs and lows and subject to certain rules. Here is my list of life's rules from high school.

1. There is an "in" crowd. Unfortunately, you will never be a part of it.

2. You have to say "hi" to everyone.

3. What you wear matters.

4. Do your homework.

5. Said homework will take longer and be tougher than you imagined.

6.  There will be a test.

7. Get involved.

8. You have to have friends.

9.  No one will ever understand what you are going through.

10. Poetry and literature help.

       What did you learn about life from high school?