Book haul : Little Free Libraries (Fall/Winter 2022)

There are several Little Free Libraries within easy walking distance in my neighborhood. Here are four middle-grade books, plus one book for Young Adults, which I discovered recently.

Book response: ‘Felix Ever After’

I’ve been going through tasks and charting possible titles for Book Riot’s Read Harder Challenge for 2023.

Having read and enjoyed Kacen Callender’s middle-grade offerings, King and the Dragonflies and Hurricane Child; reading Felix Ever After seemed a natural choice for prompt #1, “Read a novel about a trans character written by a trans author.”

The author describes Felix Ever After as a “deeply personal story,” one that they “put [their] heart and soul” into, as well as a “strong dose of vulnerability.”

Federal investigation of book censorship in Texas school district

The U.S. Education Department has launched what appears to be the first investigation of its kind, one explicitly tied to a nationwide movement to ban books from school libraries that address sexuality and gender. The investigation concerns a North Texas school district, where the superintendent ordered school librarians to remove LGBTQIA+ books.

Book challenges : Limited awareness outside library profession

Despite “some very high-profile outlets” reporting on efforts to ban books in libraries, “public awareness of this issue is extremely low.” At Knowledge Quest, Steve Tetreault expresses that “book challenge fatigue” hit him all over again when he saw a post to Twitter by account-holder Mrs. Singer.

“I learned over the holiday weekend that laypeople think that a book challenge and a reading challenge are the same thing. Alas, no.”
- Mrs. Singer (@librariansinger), Nov. 28, 2022

Tetreault opines that “[M]ost Americans prefer intellectual freedom, representation, and honesty for all our students. And they don’t realize those preferences are being undercut. Taking a moment to let them know could make a tremendous difference for our students.”

ALA supports Missouri librarians

The American Library Association supports Missouri librarians in opposing administrative rule 15 CSR 30-200.015, which “threatens to diminish library programs and services for all Missourians.”

Happy winter break!

I hope that everyone has a joyous and restful winter break, and I look forward to seeing everybody in a brand new year, in January 2023. Special thanks to our parents’ group, SACO, which purchased beautiful T-shirts for school staff.

Hiding books : Don’t be that person

What do these books all have in common? I found every one of them hidden in the library. Students, please don’t be the selfish person who hoards books and hides them from other readers. If there is a book you’d like to borrow that you cannot currently check out, you can ask me to place it on hold. And adults, please help to reinforce good library citizenship. Thank you.

First-chapter Friday : Flying Lessons (Grace Lin)

Each Friday I share the link to a read-aloud preview of a book from SRCSA library. The “First-chapter Friday” selection for Dec. 16, 2022 is Flying Lessons and Other Stories, featuring contributor Grace Lin.

‘Read harder’ and library reading challenges

I’m reading a couple of adult-interest books (as well as a book for younger readers) in an effort to complete the 2022 Book Riot Read Harder Challenge. I’ll also be counting minutes spent reading for the Winter Reading Challenge through Sonoma County Library. Be sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel if you are enjoying my videos.

First-chapter Friday : Hidden Figures

Each Friday I share the link to a read-aloud preview of a book from SRCSA library. The “First-chapter Friday” selection for Dec. 9, 2022 is Hidden Figures, Young Readers’ Edition, by Margot Lee Shetterly.

Book haul : D&D books!

Students asked for these, and here they are! Dungeons & Dragons manuals, and a couple of graphic novels available at our school library.

Book Riot’s 2022 Read Harder Challenge

Among avid readers, who else has tackled Book Riot’s 2022 Read Harder Challenge? The purpose of these “24 tasks (an average of two per month)” is to encourage readers “to explore settings, characters, formats, genres, and perspectives [they] might not otherwise have tried.”
https://bookriot.com/read-harder-2022/

Here is my list of books to meet this year’s Read Harder Challenge.

First-chapter Friday : Three Times Lucky

Each Friday I share the link to a read-aloud preview of a book from SRCSA library. The “First-chapter Friday” selection for Dec. 2, 2022 is Three Times Lucky, by Sheila Turnage.