Wednesday, January 19, 2011

What a Concept

Ms. Miles' Early Childhood students have created concept books for the Creative Enrichment class (ECE152), and their original works are on display in the library. Some of the topics featured in the concept books include: numbers, animals, and shapes.

What are concept books, and why they are important for young children? Concept books are designed to give information to young children about a specific subject or concept like shapes, colors, letters, and time. Reading concept books to young children teaches them about a specific subject and introduces them to new words, allowing them to develop their reading and language skills. (Vardell, 48, 239).

If you want to learn more about concept books the library has a great resource titled Children's Literature in Action by Sylvia M. Vardell; R 025.55 V291c. Here is a website that lists concept books for children. You can also visit the Lexington Public Library's site for tips on reading books with children.

Without further adieu, the library staff invites you to come and view the concept books created by students in ECE152.

Source cited: Vardell, S. (2008). Children's Literature in Action. Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited.

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

The Oscars of the (Children’s) Book World






Yesterday morning the American Library Association announced the winners of the Newbery, Caldecott, and other children's book awards. These awards have been around for decades, and they are given to authors and illustrators for excellence in children’s literature.

The Sullivan University Library & Learning Resource Center in Lexington has some of the titles that either won or received an honor yesterday. If you want more information about the American Library Association’s awards click on the award. For more information about the individual books, click on their titles. You will be taken to the library’s online catalog that has reviews and other information about the books.

Caldecott Winner (this is given for excellence in illustration)

A Sick Day for Amos McGee written by Philip C. Stead and illustrated by Erin E. Stead; JF S

Caldecott Honor Book

Interrupting Chicken by David Ezra Stein; JF S

Newbery Honor Book (the Newbery is given for excellence in writing)

Heart of a Samurai by Margi Preus; JF P (see the previous blog post about this title)

Schneider Family Book Award (given for excellence in expression of the disability experience)

The Pirate of Kindergarten by George Ella Lyon; illustrated by Lynne Avril; JF L

The author Tomie DePaola won a lifetime achievement award. The library has several of his titles for you to borrow. Look in the children’s section for the call number JF D to see his titles.

You are more than welcome to borrow any of these titles; just come to the library and one of the librarians will be glad to assist you.