Book Awards & Pre-literacy Kits

Library folks all across the country this past week eagerly awaited announcement of the American Library Association's annual book awards for children's and young adult books. A column written this time of year would not be complete without mention of the winners of those awards. Drum roll please…For the Caldecott award (outstanding picture book illustrations) went to A Ball for Daisy by Chris Raschka; the Newbery award (for outstanding chapter book) was presented to Dead End in Norvelt by Jack Gantos; the Theodore Geisel award (outstanding easy reader book) went to Tales for Very Picky Eaters by Josh Schneider. Other categories include the Coretta Scott King Award which recognizes both an African American author and illustrator. The author award went to Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African Americans by Kadir Nelson, with Underground: Finding the Light to Freedom by Shane Evans capturing the illustrator award.

The Michael Printz, which is awarded to a young adult novel found a winner in Where Things Come Back by Corey Whaley. Pura Belpre' awards for both a Latino author and illustrator whose children's books best portray, affirm, and celebrate the Latino cultural experience were given to Diego Rivera: His World and Ours, illustrated by Duncan Tonatiuh. Author accolades went to Guadalupe Garcia McCall for Under the Mesquite. These are just some of the award categories. Each category also recognized honorable mention books. What an honor to even be in contention for one of these prestigious awards!

This week's column will feature a highlight of a few of items that are beneficial to preschool-aged children. Several years ago, a special populations grant made possible the creation of 28 pre-literacy kits. Clear plastic backpacks were secured and items focusing on specific themes were gathered for each kit. The purpose of the kits was to assist parents in acquiring or reinforcing skills in their little ones which are necessary for success in school. An added bonus is that these kits contain some really fun things!

From your home computer, you can find out what each kit is by going to our website at www.lmlibrary.org. Across the top bar, click on 'Youth Pages' and select 'kids' corner'. Once you have that page open, scroll down the left side and select 'pre-literacy kits'. That page yields a brief description of each of the kits, but clicking on any title will bring up a full description, including the contents of the kit.

If you select the Insect kit, here is what you will find:

• The Insect kit features fact-based books and fun books which include The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Waiting for Wings, In the Tall, Tall Grass, Bugs for Lunch, and There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly.


• Manipulatives found in the kit are Bugs Floor Puzzle, Old lady with all the things your child can help her swallow, Child figure with fly attached to yarn, Insect lacing set, and more.
  


• The two CDs in this kit are Four Baby Bumblebees and The Old Lady Who Swallowed the Fly. Also included are poems, rhymes, fingerplays, and songs. Each kit addresses certain skills.

The kits vary in the items they contain, but each has narrative guidelines for using the kit. This is just a starting off point to get adults going. Lots of other ideas will occur to parents as they use the kits. Each kit contains a number of items in Spanish, including the narrative guidelines. Ask at the circulation desk to see the notebook containing the list of pre-literacy kits. The kits may be checked out, one per patron, for a two-week period.

When the kits were created, the library formed a partnership with the Family Resource Center at Washington Elementary School. Ten of the kits may be accessed at their facility and are traded off with those at the library periodically.

As you look at the options in the left column of Kids' Corner, below pre-literacy kits is 'puppets'. The circulation desk also maintains a notebook showing all the puppets that are available for check out. Letting your child use his or her imagination through the puppets is a wonderful way to build narrative skills as he or she makes up stories with the puppet and stages presentations for family members. If your child makes a beeline for the in-house puppet collection every time you come to the library, why not check out one to take home? Even if your child hasn't expressed interest, why not give one a try? One more thing, be sure to mark your calendar for March 3 and the Children's Healthy Fun Fair. This will be the ninth year for the event which will take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Ag Building on the Seward County Fairgrounds. See you at the Children's Healthy Fun Fair and at Memorial Library!