Kid’s Corner: Family Read-aloud

As parents and librarians we know that reading is the single most important activity we can do to help our children learn to read.

BUT, what about when our little ones become readers? Should we still read to them?

Yes, Yes, Yes!  Everyone enjoys being read to. Why not make family time read-aloud time?

                                                                                   

The Read-Aloud Handbook  by Jim Trelease 

This is a fantastic resource to guide you in choosing books to read aloud to your children. This book includes suggestions of age-appropriate books as well as current research on reading. This is a “must read” for all parents.

                                 

My family’s all-time favorite read-aloud is My Father’s Dragon by Ruth Stiles Gannet.

 Elmer Elevator runs away to Wild Island to rescue a small dragon. Armed with ribbons, chewing gum, lollipops, a toothbrush and rubber bands, Elmer has lots of adventures. This is the first in a trilogy that children ready to listen to short chapter books will surely enjoy. Sweet, clever and charming, this is a timeless classic.

By Beverly, Youth Services

New in Reference: 1001 Books You Must Read / 2nd Edition

At the library, and stumped for what to read next? Try this wonderful browsable mega list of the best fiction ever. Part of the series, “1001 …. before you die”,  this compendium of what to read in fiction was updated and released in March 2010. Find your favorite author or title using their website list, or browse the one-page reviews while at the library for ideas of things to check out. The layout and format, with hundreds of photographs of authors, places, and book covers to inspire your next great read. Find the book in the Reference section under REF 011.73 near the Information Desk at CMCL, or ask a librarian for assistance.

Beautiful books about birds and stories

It’s great to see new books that use graphics and art so well, particularly in smaller formats. This week we received a new, fully revamped Peterson Field Guide to Birds of North America (also available for checkout) plus a copy of 500 Essential Graphic Novels: the Ultimate Guide. Both books pack a lot of information and beauty in a small package.

Retold Classics

A recent NPR story featured a couple of great new adaptations of Shakespeare’s Hamlet set in the Great Lakes area. Read or listen to the full story here.  Lin Eiger’s Undiscovered Country, set in Minnesota, kicks off with a hunting “accident” that mirrors the death of Hamlet’s father. In The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski’s “Hamlet” is a mute Wisconsin farmboy who uses sign language to communicate with his dogs and the people around him. Also mentioned in the story is Jane Smiley’s A Thousand Acres, a retelling of King Lear, relocated to an Iowa farm.

Retelling an old tale is not a new notion. The strong themes and archetypal characters easily lend themselves to adaptation. Additional books not mentioned in the NPR story that fans of retellings may also enjoy:
Ahab’s Wife by Sena Jeter Naslund retells Moby Dick from the wife’s point of view.
Finn by Jon Clinch focuses on Huck Finn’s dad.
Lady Macbeth by Susan Fraser King relates the story of Queen Gruadh (better known as Lady Macbeth) from Shakespeare’s Macbeth.
In Lavinia by Ursula K. LeGuin, Aeneas’ second wife Lavinia, a minor character in Virgil’s The Aeneid gets her own book.
Mister Pip by Lloyd Jones expands upon Great Expectations by Charles Dickens.
With The Penelopiad, Margaret Atwood retells The Odyssey from the wife’s point of view.
And for fans of Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, Linda Berdoll, Carrie Bebris, Pamela Aidan write series that expand upon the original.

Books That Changed the World

Over the past year, I’ve noticed several books purporting to be ‘biographies’ of important books that have changed the world.  NPR’s Talk of the Nation even takes the time to look at these new works occasionally.  You can listen to their series on these books here. We are fortunate to have several of them in our various libraries.  Click on each link to place holds on the books below.

Homer’s the Iliad and the Odyssey: a biography by Alberto Manguel
The Bible: a biography by Karen Armstrong
Thomas Paine’s Rights of Man: a biography by Christopher Hitchens
The Qu’ran: a biography by Bruce Lawrence
Darwin’s Origin of Species: a biography by EJ Browne
Plato’s Republic: a biography by Simon Blackburn
Clausewitz’s On War: a biography by Hew Strachan (book on CD only)
Marx’s Das Kapital: a biography by Francis Wheen