CNet has an interesting article about the possibility of schools using video games in classroom instruction.  I hate the title of the piece, “More Video Games, Fewer Books at Schools?” because I see it pitting one form of communication against another.  While I will always side with the power of books for education, I wouldn’t want to blindly and blithely assume that video games could not be used to reach children who shun books.  This is certainly something that we as librarians as well as educators need to keep our eye on.  Perhaps this is a way for more truly educational games to be created, especially for older children that we could then offer at public libraries?  Sounds exciting to me!

Destiny’s Book Reviews is a book review site written by a ten year old!  She reads the type of books that kids take out of the library by the armload, rather than the more literary works that the rest of us are discussing.  She has a refreshing voice, a great writing style, and her blog is a joy.  Nice to know that there are kids like Destiny out there reading, loving and sharing books.

I love, love, love hearing about libraries that are successfully reaching teens. Tween, teen girls find literary haven tells about the Forest Park Library’s program for tween girls. Obviously it is a success due to the skill and devotion of Emma Peterson:
“She’s always happy and brings fun things for us to do,” Martha said.
Exactly! She’s not frowning and waiting for trouble. She’s happy, energetic and thrilled to be working with teens. Every library needs an Emma!

VOYA has a list of the Top Shelf Fiction for Middle School Readers. The criteria for inclusion on the list were that the book be of particular interest to 11 to 13 year olds or kids in grades 6-8 and that it be published between October 2005 and September 2006.
I must say that I haven’t read a lot of the titles, but those I have I completely agree are top of the line books. My personal favorites are Rash by Pete Hautman, Black Duck by Janet Taylor Lisle, Dairy Queen by Catherine Gilbert Murdock, and Skin by Adrienne Maria Vrettos.
I have happily added the others onto my future reads list and will share the list with my newly tween niece who will love it.

Using Mentor Texts to Lift the Level of Writing in My Classroom is a fascinating blog. An anonymous NYC teacher uses mentoring texts to help her students write better. I enjoy her enthusiasm as she talks about each of her students, her reactions to her student teacher, and her recommendations for books. This is a unique look at using books to inspire, educate and teach the teacher.

LiveScience.com offers news about innovative and interesting science. There are sections on animals, health, nature, the environment, technology, and history. Make sure you scroll down to check out their video collection, reader favorites, view photo galleries, and take part in their polls.

BBC News has an article: Call for boys’ own bookshelves that quotes British Education Secretary Alan Johnson has saying that “We need a boys’ bookshelf in every secondary school library in the country, containing positive, modern, relevant role models for working class boys.” Um, or you could just hire a librarian who would happily build a collection that would not have to be labeled and distinct because he/she could also be there to fit the best book to that particular child. Sounds like collection development is needed not a special boy shelf. And what happens when the boys read through those boy books? As we would all want them to. Are they then shunted to the pink and glittery shelf of girls’ books? How about we just build great school libraries that will speak to both boys and girls of all social classes. There are so many books out there that will capture children heart, line and sinker. I know that boys are falling behind, that reading is looked on as being somehow not masculine enough, and that there are books that boys will appreciate, but segregating them on a separate shelf is not the answer. I have no problem with recommended lists or websites full of great boy reads. But we have to keep our libraries equal and accessible to all.

Looking for an article with good news for libraries and reading? Don’t think such a thing actually exists? Well then head to: Teens buying books at fastest rate in decades which is an article that talks about the new glory of teen literature as well as the teen readers themselves. Hurrah!

Yahoo!  has a fascinating buzz log that shows what people are searching for.  The latest buzz log is the Top 50 Children’s Books being searched for. 

Some that you would expect are there:  Harry Potter, Blood & Chocolate, Captain Underpants, and Charlotte’s Web.  But there are so many classic books!  It is a joy to see The Snowy Day, Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry, The Secret Garden, Winnie the Pooh, and Little Women.  Does a librarian’s heart good.

Thanks to Neat New Stuff for the link.