Book Lists & Book Reviews to Help School Librarians Choose Books!

Book Lists & Book Reviews to Help School Librarians Choose Books! - I don't do books...but there are school librarians who do. Here are the booklists and book reviews that help me choose quality books for students, and they may help you, too. #NoSweatLibraryI don’t do books. … Wait…what?!

I realize this is a startling statement from a School Librarian, but let me clarify.

I’ve never been much of a “literary” reader, so I’m not adept at Fiction booktalks or book reviews nor can I “find the perfect book for a student.” As a former science & social studies teacher, I’m definitely a NON-fiction School Librarian.

So, when it comes to the Fiction area of our school library, I rely on book lists & book reviews from other library and education professionals, both to purchase books for our school library and to recommend books to students.

Here are the book list and book review sources I use to help me choose high-quality books for students. I think they can help you, too.

GREAT LISTS OF RECOMMENDED BOOKS

State Reading Lists

I love that here in Texas we have 10 different reading lists, for preschool to adult, all chosen by our Texas School Librarians. Half of the lists offer selections appropriate for the middle school students I serve:

  • Lone Star – fiction & nonfiction for middle school: I get at least 2 copies of all of these every year.
  • Tayshas – fiction & nonfiction for high school: I buy selected titles for our YA collection aimed at 8th graders.
  • Maverick Graphic Novels – for grades 6-12: Nearly 3 dozen titles for middle-school-aged students.
  • Spirit of Texas – by Texas authors & illustrators for grades 6-12: up to a half-dozen choices for middle school.
  • Tejas Star – Bilingual/multicultural for ages 5 – 12: I ask Spanish teachers to select appropriate titles to support our IB second language program.

If your state offers reading lists—either from librarians or literacy teachers—take advantage of those vetted titles and buy two or more copies of every book that’s appropriate for the age & grade of your students.

You may also want to use other state award lists for additional titles to buy. A great source for those is Simon & Schuster’s Current State Award Master List webpage. Just click on a state in the list or on the map for their list of award or recommended books.

Association & Organization Book Lists

There are a few organizations that I trust to recommend great books for students. Here are my favorites:

The American Library Association is a one-stop shop for book lists. Their Association for Library Services to Children (ALSC) and their Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) have a variety of book lists:

The American Literacy Association has 3 “Choices Lists” elected by their readers: Children’s Choices, Young Adult Choices, and Teachers’ Choices.

The National Education Association‘s Read Across America has partnered with Colorín Colorado to create 10 lists to promote diversity, culture, and equity, including a list of books whose settings are in each U.S. state. They also offer 6 other organizational sources of book recommendations.

Book Vendors

Many large school library book vendors, such as Follett, offer customized lists or advanced sort features that produce a customized list. For example, you can sort by “popular” books or “best sellers” to find what other school librarians have purchased. I do this in the early spring to pick up titles I may have missed for my final book purchase of the school year.

You can also use the drop-down checklist of professional book review journals, such as School Library Journal and Voice of Youth Advocates, so you can specify starred or highly recommended titles to create your own quality list. This feature has rescued me from having to comb through piles of professional magazines for reviews of the best books to purchase.

There is one publisher with a book review site that I heartily recommend. Brightly, from Penguin Random House, offers thematic book lists & recommendations at 5 different age levels. Their Tween (ages 9-12) and Teen (13+) sections are very helpful for middle and high school librarians.

BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS FROM LIBRARIANS

Book Reviews By Librarian/Teacher Bloggers

School Librarian Bloggers With GREAT Book Reviews! - Many folks review books on their blogs, but School Librarians specialize in books for kids in grades PreK through 12. Here are some School Librarian bloggers that have helped me choose quality books for our middle school library. #NoSweatLibraryA number of School Librarians have created online book reviews for students and fellow librarians to learn about “good reads.” Here is a list of LM_NET and TLC listserv folks I rely on for good book reviews:

  • Richie’s Picks – Richie reads a book nearly every week and posts his review to the LM-NET listserv. If you’ve missed them, you can search the LM-NET archive, but it may be easier to browse Richie’s Pbworks wiki-web site.
  • Pamela Thompson is one of my favorite school librarians. She’s been reading and reviewing books for years and has a huge compilation on her website Young Adult Books-What We’re Reading Now.
  • Mrs. Readerpants is another of my long-time favorite librarians. She has quite a few book reviews on her website, along with some “Genre Personality” information that can be helpful for students to identify their favorite reads.
  • Barb Langridge has a wonderful collection of book reviews on her website, A Book and a Hug. Some have been contributed by teachers and students. She also has a Reader Personality Survey form for young folks to fill out and submit for an overview of their type along with a visual list of books they’ll enjoy reading.
  • Laurie Evans reviews elementary & middle school appropriate books, which she has curated on her website, Blazer Tales. She offers 3 ways to sort and find the perfect books.

Here are other librarian & teacher bloggers who do regular book reviews, including student reviews which can be insightful for buying multiple copies of books. You may recognize a couple names as nationally-known authors:

  • Nerdy Book Club is a group of 4 teachers, including Donalyn Miller of Book Whisperer fame, who write reviews of books for elementary through high school.
  • Pernille Ripp is a middle school teacher who’s a passionate promoter of reading. Each year her students compose Our Favorite Books, a list with reviews of their favorite reads for the year.
  • Books in the Middle are reviews from 5 librarians and teachers who work with middle school students. Their reviews cover a wide range of topics/genres.
  • Literacy with Lesley is written by a teacher with 40-years experience in reading & writing. She regularly reviews books & compiles book lists on various topics, and has a wealth of ideas for book clubs.
  • Libres is a website of professional book reviews by librarians & teachers in southeastern Michigan. They’ve been receiving publisher copies and reviewing books for 4 decades and once reviewed, the books are donated to schools and libraries in their geographic area.
  • Gaijin School Librarian, aka Ashley Hawkins, hails from a high school in Brooklyn NY where she writes book reviews and recommended lists for manga graphic novels and anime. She has links to other places to find manga information.

Other sites recommended by fellow librarians:

Book Talks & Book Trailers

There’s nothing quite like a book talk to get students interested in books. Since I’m no good at booktalks, I rely on other sources to interest students in books.

One of those resources is the public library’s Youth Services Librarian. Our school boundaries encompass 2 different public libraries, and both allow crossover access for our students. I have the benefit of 2 wonderful ladies who I invite to our school 4 times a year for booktalks and to promote public library activities to our students: early fall after school begins, and before our winter, spring and summer breaks. It’s a WIN-WIN for me, for them, and especially for our students.

Combining the best of booktalks and online book reviews are online video booktalks. Here are two you won’t want to miss:

  • Naomi Bates has written book reviews for years on her blog, YA Books & More. Now she’s upped her presence to a vlog—a video blog—where she booktalks a new book nearly every week. You can also use the playlists on her YouTube site to show a series of video booktalks while your students are browsing for books!
  • Colby Sharp, one of the “nerds” from the Nerdy Book Club, has an amazing YouTube site with lots & lots of video booktalks!

Students love book trailers, and so do I. They’re like movie previews only better, because you can create a QR link code and tape it onto the book so kids can use their smartphones to view the trailer when they pull a book off the shelf. Here are two good resources for book trailers:

PROMOTE READING WITH FIRST-LINERS & BOOKMARKS

Easy Reading Promotion with First-Lines & Topical Bookmarks! - As a NON-Fiction School Librarian, I read aloud the first-lines of fiction books so students know why reading the first page is on our checklist. And I create 21 different topical & series bookmarks to give students additional choices for story types they already like. #NoSweatLibraryOne way I help students find a book that appeals to them is with my IT IS FOR ME checklist, where the F is for the First page of the book. When I get new books in, I scan the first pages to find really catchy first lines. At a library visit I read these first-lines to students to emphasize why opening the book and reading the first page is worthwhile.

Though I’m not so good at book reviews or booktalks, I put special effort into creating “if you like this, you’ll also like…” bookmarks for students. I have templates for 21 different topical & series bookmarks, which I place in Demco acrylic displays on top of the circulation counter. Our Fiction area is organized by Subjects using color-coded sticker labels & transparent label covers. so I copy bookmarks to cardstock that matches the color for the Subject so students know where to go to find the books.

Many School Librarians love reading books from their school library and doing booktalks & book reviews. For those of us who don’t, we can benefit from these folks and return the favor by blogging about what we do do best!

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The School Librarian & TeachersPayTeachers vs Open Education Resources

Teachers Pay Teachers vs Open Education Resources for the School Librarian - Teachers Pay Teachers offers a mixed bag of instructional materials at prices ranging from inexpensive to very costly. OER offers completely free and open licensed instructional materials from an array of educational institutions. Here's my reasoning for choosing TPT. #NoSweatLibraryEducators are sharers, and School Librarians are super-sharers as evidenced by the 12,000+ members of LM_NET listserv. Through my 13+ years as a Middle School Librarian I’ve created documents for Library Lessons through online service providers and freely offered these to other School Librarians who asked for ideas.

After retiring I put my Library Lessons and administrative documents into my Google Drive and shared them. Then one day—when I’d exhausted my monthly stipend paying some unexpected bills—I realized I might earn some extra retirement money by selling my library lessons & management materials on Teachers Pay Teachers.

My first hurdle was an emotional one: overcoming a natural reluctance to charge for teaching materials. Then, as I looked through the Properties settings on my computer files, I realized that nearly all of my work had been created here at home, in the evenings and on weekends—because what school librarian has any time to work on such things during the day? These lessons were my intellectual property, and while I’m perfectly willing to share ideas, if someone wants the work done for them, I deserve to get something and they should be willing to pay for it.

TEACHERS PAY TEACHERS

Teachers Pay Teachers logoTeachers Pay Teachers stated goal is “to make the expertise and wisdom of all the teachers in the world available to anyone, anywhere, at any time” and they provide an online “marketplace where teachers share, sell, and buy original educational resources.”

I established a brand—”No Sweat Library“—and since TPT asks sellers to give away their first upload, I offered, for free, my Library Lesson Planner Template which I’d amalgamated from the best of other planners I’d used over the years. I also offer some of the same free materials I share here on my blog. (click on the FREE Librarian Resources link in the menu bar!)

I began to update my Library Lessons to current content standards and National School Library Standards. So began the long (and continuing) process of making my Library Lessons worth a purchase. Considering the countless hours I’ve put into updating and improving my intellectual property, I feel completely comfortable with the reasonable prices I’ve attached to each product. (My hourly rate x time it takes to create=how much time & money I’m saving them & their school district!)Gender Equity & Marketing Our Teaching Materials - Teachers Pay Teachers has become a valuable educational resource for teachers all over the world. Learn why I chose to contribute and why I think it's important. #NoSweatLibrary

Recently I read an explanation about selling from a gender equity standpoint. I’ve never come across this approach before and it’s extraordinarily powerful, especially for teachers and librarians who are predominately women.  I have permission from the author, Monica Froese at Redefining Mom, to quote from her article:

Most women struggle with asking for money. … I don’t struggle with asking for money for my hard work. … I am 100% unapologetic about it and let me tell you why.

  • FAMILY CURRENCY: For every minute I’m sitting at my desk creating amazing content and resources for the world to consume, I’m taking time away from my kids. That is some pretty serious currency. The tradeoff for spending time at work is making money so I can give my kid’s a better life. I can’t do that if I don’t get paid.
  • EXPERT STATUS: It takes a lot of energy and mental capacity to be an expert on a topic. … It’s not only a valuable skill…but it requires a lot from me to live up to my promises of being an expert. If I didn’t charge people…you wouldn’t take it seriously and I’d be wasting my time.
  • VALUE: People don’t value what they don’t pay for. Period.

It is not wrong to be compensated for your hard work. I spent a lot of years being in the room with c-suite male executives. Men have no problem talking about money, asking for money, or stating how much they are worth. The reality is having open conversations about money is important for gender equality. I choose to exist in a world where my daughters see me working hard and being fairly compensated for it.

This wonderful article has made me more determined than ever to provide high-quality resources for teachers and other school librarians…and to appreciate that they are willing to reimburse me for the time I’ve saved them!

OPEN EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES

Open Educational Resources LogoLately I’ve also been pondering the growing trend toward Open Educational Resources. What is OER? First proposed at a UNESCO conference in 2000, it became reality a year later when Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) put their 2,000 courses online. Making this university-level content available began what the MIT president called “the global intellectual commons” and since then more than 300 colleges and universities around the world have contributed OER courseware and materials. The purpose is best expressed on the Open Education Consortium-About Us webpage:

…probably the most basic characteristic of education … is sharing knowledge, insights and information with others, upon which new knowledge, skills, ideas and understanding can be built. Open Education combines the traditions of knowledge sharing and creation with 21st century technology to create a vast pool of openly shared educational resources.

OER Commons - Open Educational ResourcesPublic K-12 education has stepped into the OER movement through the OER Commons, which offers over 40,000 items for primary and secondary educators. As a partner with FutureReady Schools and FutureReady Librarians, OER Commons promotes research-based and personalized lessons that comply with Common Core ELA and Math Standards, NextGen Science Standards, the C3 Framework for Social Studies, and AASL National School Library Standards.

Most importantly for us, the Open Educational Resources initiative doesn’t just mean access to free—as in no-cost—materials but it also means free as in openly licensed, that is, we can copy, modify, and redistribute OER materials! Here are some examples of the “5Rs of OER”:

  • Retain: House them in a digital cloud space, such as Google Drive.
  • Reuse: Once in a digital cloud space, the teacher has access to frequent use as needed.
  • Revise: Teachers make edits so that the content best fits the readiness needs of their students.
  • Remix: In some cases, content is taken from one source like a lesson or online textbook, and merged into something completely different, such as a video, which is more accessible to the learner.
  • Redistribute: Acquired resources can be shared with as many people as desired, without a cap on numbers.

The beauty of the OER Commons is the huge number of contributors: universities; public institutions, like the Library of Congress, the Getty Museum, TED, and NASA; and several educational providers, like Khan Academy and Read Write Think. In addition, here are more OER online sources from which to find materials:

For the School Librarian, OER sites don’t seem to offer much in the way of middle school library lessons, so I will continue to provide products for sale on TPT to best benefit my colleagues. Eventually I can make some of my products available to the OER Commons to supplement what’s there and give my lessons a wider exposure to public education.

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