Using the Yahoo search engine I found a website called Reading Rockets.org. This site is focused on all things concerning children's literacy. It is a project designed to assist parents, teachers, librarians and anyone else interested in encouraging literacy in children by offering tips on how to get children to read, find out why some struggle and what you can do to help. Some features of the site include the ABC's of teaching reading, classroom strategies, helping struggling readers, and articles about research conducted concerning literacy. I picked this site because it specifically covers all that my blog is dedicated to which is promoting literacy. Below is a link to their website, I encourage you to visit the site for it has some very useful information.
http://www.readingrockets.org/
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Multimedia
There has been a noticeable trend of children's books being turned into movies for the big screen. Books such as the Harry Potter series, Twilight, and now most recently Maurice Sendak's "Where the Wild Things Are." Another children's book the Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan can now be added to that list. In 2010 the movie Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief based off of the first book, will come out.Turning children's books into movies is a great way to capture kids and teens attention to how interesting and fun reading can be. Once they see the movie then maybe they will want to read the book that the movie was based on. Below is a trailer for the movie inspired by the Percy Jackson series.
Monday, October 26, 2009
Databases
Databases:
For this compentency I was to search four different databases for my search query and apply at least four different search techniques. I decided to use LibLit, JSTOR, ERIC, and Project Muse. I used the following techniques: building block search, the most specific first search, the snowballing approach, and the successive fraction approach.
My search query: The evolving trends in children’s literature.
Search 1: LibLit Database , Building Block Search Technique
My three facet components include trends AND children AND literature.
S1-trends received 3499 results
S2- children received 21,819 results
S3- literature received 33,395 results
When I combined all three facets using the Boolean operator AND, I received back a very narrow list of 129 records. One of the records found was:
Freitas, D. (2008). The Next Dead Thing. Publishers Weekly, 255(46), 23-4. Retrieved October 26, 2009, from Library Lit & Inf Full Text database.
I decided to narrow my search a bit further and change literature to non-fiction books.
This time my search returned only 12 records. Looking over each of the records they seemed all to be relevant to my search including:
Op de Beeck, N. (1996). The great gross-out. Publishers Weekly, (243) 34-5. Retrieved October 26, 2009, from Library Lit & Inf Full Text database.
I decided that my results were to low and I needed more so I decided to try the following:
(Trends OR patterns) AND (children OR kids) AND (literature OR fiction books)
As a result I received 154 records. I found that I narrowed my search too much when I added fiction books. It helped when I added the additional search terms because then my search was broadened.
Search 2: JSTOR, The Most Specific First Approach
Breaking up my search terms I searched the most specific term first .
Fiction books AND trends AND children
As I suspected, fiction retrieved the least amount of hits with 5073 records founds followed trends with 16,771 records and children receiving 28,137 records including the following:
Taxel, J. (1986). The Black Experience in Children’s Fiction: Controversies Surrounding Award Winning Books. Curriculum Inquiry, 245-281. Retrieved October 26, 2009, from JSTOR database.
Search 3: ERIC, The Snowballing Approach
When I searched trends and children and fiction I received 59 records.
One of the articles suggested that I use children’s literature---history and criticism which gave me 4505 records. Of the records found, the 9th hit was relevant to my search:
Pavonetti, L. M. (2004). Children's literature remembered: Issues, trends, and favorite books. Westport, Conn: Libraries Unlimited.
Search 4: Project Muse, Successive Fraction Approach
I began my search with the term trends. I received back an astounding 15,891 hits, not surprising since trends is a broad term.
I then tried trends AND children’s fiction and got back 1587 records.
I decided to narrow even further by trying trends AND children’s fiction NOT non-fiction. This time I got 1507 hits which helped narrow my search a bit more by excluding any records that dealt with non-fiction.
Miskee, J. & McGee, C. (2007). My Scars Tell A Story: Self-Mutilation in Young Adult Literature. Children’s Quarterly (32), 163-178. Retrieved October 26, 2009 from Project Muse database.
Conclusion:
After researching for records relevant to my topic I found that my terms when used together were very specific so I usually got a narrow list of records relevant to my search. If you know what you are looking for and use the right terms then you should have no problem finding records appropriate for your search query.
For this compentency I was to search four different databases for my search query and apply at least four different search techniques. I decided to use LibLit, JSTOR, ERIC, and Project Muse. I used the following techniques: building block search, the most specific first search, the snowballing approach, and the successive fraction approach.
My search query: The evolving trends in children’s literature.
Search 1: LibLit Database , Building Block Search Technique
My three facet components include trends AND children AND literature.
S1-trends received 3499 results
S2- children received 21,819 results
S3- literature received 33,395 results
When I combined all three facets using the Boolean operator AND, I received back a very narrow list of 129 records. One of the records found was:
Freitas, D. (2008). The Next Dead Thing. Publishers Weekly, 255(46), 23-4. Retrieved October 26, 2009, from Library Lit & Inf Full Text database.
I decided to narrow my search a bit further and change literature to non-fiction books.
This time my search returned only 12 records. Looking over each of the records they seemed all to be relevant to my search including:
Op de Beeck, N. (1996). The great gross-out. Publishers Weekly, (243) 34-5. Retrieved October 26, 2009, from Library Lit & Inf Full Text database.
I decided that my results were to low and I needed more so I decided to try the following:
(Trends OR patterns) AND (children OR kids) AND (literature OR fiction books)
As a result I received 154 records. I found that I narrowed my search too much when I added fiction books. It helped when I added the additional search terms because then my search was broadened.
Search 2: JSTOR, The Most Specific First Approach
Breaking up my search terms I searched the most specific term first .
Fiction books AND trends AND children
As I suspected, fiction retrieved the least amount of hits with 5073 records founds followed trends with 16,771 records and children receiving 28,137 records including the following:
Taxel, J. (1986). The Black Experience in Children’s Fiction: Controversies Surrounding Award Winning Books. Curriculum Inquiry, 245-281. Retrieved October 26, 2009, from JSTOR database.
Search 3: ERIC, The Snowballing Approach
When I searched trends and children and fiction I received 59 records.
One of the articles suggested that I use children’s literature---history and criticism which gave me 4505 records. Of the records found, the 9th hit was relevant to my search:
Pavonetti, L. M. (2004). Children's literature remembered: Issues, trends, and favorite books. Westport, Conn: Libraries Unlimited.
Search 4: Project Muse, Successive Fraction Approach
I began my search with the term trends. I received back an astounding 15,891 hits, not surprising since trends is a broad term.
I then tried trends AND children’s fiction and got back 1587 records.
I decided to narrow even further by trying trends AND children’s fiction NOT non-fiction. This time I got 1507 hits which helped narrow my search a bit more by excluding any records that dealt with non-fiction.
Miskee, J. & McGee, C. (2007). My Scars Tell A Story: Self-Mutilation in Young Adult Literature. Children’s Quarterly (32), 163-178. Retrieved October 26, 2009 from Project Muse database.
Conclusion:
After researching for records relevant to my topic I found that my terms when used together were very specific so I usually got a narrow list of records relevant to my search. If you know what you are looking for and use the right terms then you should have no problem finding records appropriate for your search query.
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Tagging
I picked the book Reading Matters: What The Research Reveals About Reading, Libraries, and Community. Below are the tags associated with this book as well as the librarything link. I picked this book because I think it could be a valuable resource for librarians working in the public library who will be working with children.
numbers
show all▼Tags
2009(1) Accountability(1) adult(1) Adult Non-Fiction(1) assigned reading(1) Aug 07(1) books(2) books and reading(2) borrowed(1) carnegie library of pittsburgh(1) cultural studies(1) education(2) graduate school textbook(1) INFO(1) information science(1) information studies(1) librarians(1) librarianship(3) libraries(11) Libraries Unlimited(1) library and information science(1) Library Reference(1) library science(1) LIS(2) lis590lrl(1) literacy(5) LS 5643(1) MLIS(1) My Home Library(1) non-fiction(4) not reviewed(1) office(1) Pop Lit(1) professional(3) Professional Library(1) public(1) public services(1) read(1) read in 2008(1) reader's advisory(4) readers(1) reading(16) reading promotion(1) reading research(2) Reading-social aspects(1) Reading. Literacy. Libraries.(1) research(2) returned(1) school(1) school books(1) school library media(1) Spring 2008(1) teaching(1) teen(1) teenagers(1) textbook(1) TWU(1) UW-SLM(1) YA(1) Z1003(1) Z1003.R75(1) Z_(1)
Below is a review of the book taken from Amazon.com
From BooklistDrawing upon a wealth of published data, this book synthesizes current knowledge on pleasure or leisure reading, the role of public libraries in supporting literacy, and community backing for libraries. Inspired by the latest research as well as by myths surrounding the declining rates of reading and literacy among youth, the authors place findings within the context of the important roles that public libraries have played, are playing, and should continue to play in fostering literacy and lifelong reading. Chapters cover childhood reading, the "boy problem," patterns of reading among young adults, and readers' advisory for adults. Recommended reading for library administrators, staff, and students. Diana KirbyCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Saturday, October 10, 2009
RSS Feed
I chose the New York Times RSS feed regarding children's books. I chose this particular feed because it concerns all news about children's books and any commentary related to children's books. Below is a link to this feed.
http://topics.nytimes.com/topics/reference/timestopics/subjects/c/childrens_books/index.html?rss=1
http://topics.nytimes.com/topics/reference/timestopics/subjects/c/childrens_books/index.html?rss=1
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Podcast from YALSA
While searching YAHOO search engine using the keywords " young adult literature" and the term "podcast" I came across the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA). http://yalsa.libsyn.com/
This site's mission :
YALSA’s mission is to advocate, promote and strengthen library service to teens, ages 12-18, as part of the continuum of total library services, and to support those who provide library service to this population.
Their site has an area where they list various podcasts dealing with any and all issues concerning young adult literature which I found was suited to my topic.
I listened to podcast #74 titled "Words in Your Ear: Conversations with Young Adult Authors-Lizzie Skurnick. Lizzie spoke about her book titled "Shelf Discovery: The Teen Classics We Never Stopped Reading." Other topics discussed included the sophistication of books from the 60's and 70's era and how these books dealt with what would be called "realistic fiction." She also talked about how YA books are seen as "simplistic and childlike" to the point where some see them as "stupid." So there seems to be a bias when it comes to girls vs. boys and teen fiction. Another topic brought up was the issue of "electronic reading" and the "death of the print book review." It seems that more and more book reviews are being published online rather then in periodicals or magazines. Also touched on was the new method of reading books electronically and so the Kindle was mentioned. Lizzie felt while books reviews in print may be in trouble, she didn't see that books in print will be jeporadized by technology because of items like the Kindle, because too many people still love the feel of a book in their hands.
This site's mission :
YALSA’s mission is to advocate, promote and strengthen library service to teens, ages 12-18, as part of the continuum of total library services, and to support those who provide library service to this population.
Their site has an area where they list various podcasts dealing with any and all issues concerning young adult literature which I found was suited to my topic.
I listened to podcast #74 titled "Words in Your Ear: Conversations with Young Adult Authors-Lizzie Skurnick. Lizzie spoke about her book titled "Shelf Discovery: The Teen Classics We Never Stopped Reading." Other topics discussed included the sophistication of books from the 60's and 70's era and how these books dealt with what would be called "realistic fiction." She also talked about how YA books are seen as "simplistic and childlike" to the point where some see them as "stupid." So there seems to be a bias when it comes to girls vs. boys and teen fiction. Another topic brought up was the issue of "electronic reading" and the "death of the print book review." It seems that more and more book reviews are being published online rather then in periodicals or magazines. Also touched on was the new method of reading books electronically and so the Kindle was mentioned. Lizzie felt while books reviews in print may be in trouble, she didn't see that books in print will be jeporadized by technology because of items like the Kindle, because too many people still love the feel of a book in their hands.
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Related blog
2B.
I found a very interesting site called Scrub-A-Dub-Tub http://childrens-literacy.com/
using Google Blog search. I picked this site because it was full of useful information releated to my topic. Below is a short entry of what you find when you visit the website.
Why Read?Reading unlocks the keys to all other learning, and learning to read begins at home. When you share a book with a child, you open worlds, help them in their journey toward lifelong success, and create great memories. The Reading Tub is a nonprofit for children's literacy. Here on our blog, you'll find news, book reviews, and reading ideas. Visit our website to learn more.
I found a very interesting site called Scrub-A-Dub-Tub http://childrens-literacy.com/
using Google Blog search. I picked this site because it was full of useful information releated to my topic. Below is a short entry of what you find when you visit the website.
Why Read?Reading unlocks the keys to all other learning, and learning to read begins at home. When you share a book with a child, you open worlds, help them in their journey toward lifelong success, and create great memories. The Reading Tub is a nonprofit for children's literacy. Here on our blog, you'll find news, book reviews, and reading ideas. Visit our website to learn more.
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