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.

Books

101 Mostly Free Online Resources

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.