Books That Make A Difference
Welcome to the inaugural post of my blog, Barefoot Librarian.
Are you an educator or school librarian for children from newborn through age 10? (Parents and other adults in children’s lives, this includes you!)
Are you associated with the International Baccalaureate Programme (especially the PYP ages), the Montessori program or similar educational programs?
Are you an educator who knows that books are essential for the children in your life?
Are you in need of high quality children’s books that make a difference?
If you answered yes to any or all of the above questions, please read on. (Otherwise please feel free to roam elsewhere on the Internet.)
So if you are still reading, you are my target audience and I welcome you to my new blog. Here is what I offer if you follow me on my blog journey. First, reviews and recommendations of children’s books that make a difference and will go far beyond a summary of the story.
- I will note how one book can be used to teach across your curriculum. (Language Arts, Science, Social Studies, Math, etc.)
- I will provide extra resources to enhance and extend your use of the book in the classroom when available.
- I will point out how books will support social and emotional intelligence (empathy, respect, tolerance, appreciation, caring, integrity, cooperation)
- I will indicate how books align with IB themes, unit of inquiry, learner profile and character traits.
I will not only talk about specific books, but I will also blog about topics that are relevant to educators like you. This could range from why reading aloud is important (even to high school students); to diverse resources that contain accurate portrayals; to using picture books to introduce difficult topics; to matching fiction and non-fiction books to introduce a new unit; and other timely topics.
At this point, you are probably asking:
- Why should anyone trust the recommendations of this blogger?
- Why do the books reviewed and recommended on this blog matter to me?
Here’s Why…There are at Least 5 Good Reasons…
- I have several decades of experience in children’s literature as a parent, an educator and librarian (MLIS), including over 8 years as a school librarian for grades K-8.
- I have been in the educator’s world as well as being a librarian, so I have unique eye for books that are suited for classrooms and libraries.
- I have been selling children’s books at educator conferences and book fairs since 2007.
- I read reviews, blogs, articles and children’s books daily.
- I have developed a huge personal library.of children’s titles.
The books I select make a difference for many reasons. Here are the Top 10:
- I read them before I recommend them
- I look at the books through a librarian’s and an educator’s lens.
- I keep the IB PYP, Montessori and other similar educational programs in mind.
- I connect the books whenever possible to educational concepts.
- I research to find books from small and independent publishers and self-published authors that do not get much publicity. (These are often the hidden gems!)
- I look at publishers outside of U.S.
- I gravitate to books that focus on nature, diversity, different cultures, being a good world citizen and folk tales with universal messages.
- I look for books that cross curriculum and age groups.
- I look for books with rich language and engaging illustrations.
- I look for books that you will use and cherish for years to come.
So, I hope that you will join me on this journey to get books that matter into your hands and ultimately into the hands of thousands of children. With my extensive experience, you can trust me to do the researching and reviewing, saving you hours of your valuable time. Since my blog posts and book reviews will delve deeper, I plan to deliver quality over quantity. Expect to hear from me on average twice a month. However, you can always email me at eve@barefootlibrarian.com. Welcome aboard!
Click here for my first recommendation of a book that will make a difference.