Monday, November 20, 2017

What's New in Children's Literature

I was so fortunate to attend What’s New In Children’s Literature presented by Deborah Ford on Tuesday, November 14.  I look forward to this workshop every year.  I always come away with ideas to use in the library and to share will Lower School Wheeler/Hamilton teachers.  Here are a few takeaways.


Refugee by Alan Gratz

I cannot wait to read the book Refugee by Alan Gratz.
There has been a lot of buzz about this on some of the listservs I am on. Deborah also raved about it.

The book follows the story of 3 characters. Josef is a Jewish boy who lives in Germany just as WW II begins. He and his family must flee Germany for a new home. Isabel escapes Cuba on a raft in 1994 to try to find a new home in the United States. Mahmoud has to leave Syria in 2015, which is in the midst of a violent war, to find a safer place to live in Europe.



I will pass along these great links of books and resources from the presenter Deborah Ford to teachers. Watch the video to explore some of the resources Deborah shared.


I will start using more book trailers to promote books as kids arrive for class in the library as a way to get them settled.  This trailer for the book Wishtree by Katherine Applegate is pretty outstanding! I shared this last week with a 5th grade class and it worked. The book now has a waiting list.