Are you missing the opportunity to recommend great children's and young adult books during the long summer months? Disappointed because your adult friends who don't work in education have no interest in the latest literary masterpiece for kids? If so, then look no further than Thursday night's learning program, the Booktalking Bonanza!
Participation in this is not optional as this activity counts for CTLE and PD credit. Literature connection has been requested in evaluations for the last few years and we are designing this to be fun.
The new National School Library Standards from the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) start with the Common Belief that “reading is the core of personal and academic competency” (p. 13). School librarians LOVE recommending books to kids because, when a student loves to read, they build literacy skills and read more books for pleasure, for information of personal interest as well as for assignments. One goal of school librarians is to build a climate of learning in their schools that encourages students to read and read and read some more. To this end, let's go "back to the book" at Thursday evening's post-dinner, pre-auction interactive Booktalking Bonanza!
At this booktalk networking experience, interested participants will contribute two slides prior to the Institute to a shared Google Slides presentation, one focusing on a book that they will booktalk and one on one way they cultivate a culture of reading in their libraries. Submissions will be categorized and grouped based on responses to a brief survey; participants will spend a glorious hour or more sharing with and being inspired by each other in a small group setting and, in so doing, they will become more effective at meeting the new Standards. The Shared Foundation Explore, for example, states that "the school library focuses on the development of a culture of reading, supports reading for learning and personal enjoyment, and provides opportunities for learners to read for pleasure" (p. 55).
A particular topic of interest is Woke Books (i.e., books that "challenge a social norm, give voice to the voiceless, provide information about a group that has been disenfranchised, seek to challenge the status quo, or have a protagonist from an underrepresented or oppressed group"). Check out this recent article from School Library Journal for more information and examples and consider booktalking a title that fits into this category during the session! Other topics will emerge as slides are submitted.
If you are interested in participating in this event as a "book talker" sharing your favorite book(s), please fill out this quick form -- remember that this session counts towards your CTLE hours!