BY LINDA GROOT, ELEMENTARY TEACHER LIBRARIAN

I like to regularly highlight new titles with my library classes to help create student interest in reading. Sometimes, this can lead to interesting conversations with students:

Student: “Hi, Mrs. Groot, I’m looking for a book you showed us last week.”
Me (excited): “Sure! What’s it called?”
Student: “I don’t know, but the cover is yellow.”
Me (surprised): “Yellow? Well, do you remember what it’s about? Or the name of the author?”
Student: “Um, not really. (Thinks for a minute, then brightens) Oh! I think it’s about a dog!” Smiles sweetly and looks at me with great expectation.
Me: (groaning inwardly, as we have 715 books on dogs) “Um, okay, let’s take a look at what books we have about dogs.”

And so the quest for the yellow book about a dog begins…

I Love Reading

I read every day. It’s one of my favourite ways to relax after a busy day. Or a slow day, or a rainy day, or on a holiday. Actually, I don’t even need a reason. To me, there’s nothing like settling down with a good book to take my mind off life for a while. I feel anxious if I’m almost done a book and don’t have another one handy, and I panic if the public library closes before I can get there. Some people swap recipes; I swap book recommendations. I am excited when boxes of new books arrive for the library; it’s better than Christmas, because I know I won’t be disappointed.

So, I am very blessed to be a teacher-librarian at ACS Elementary. Every day I am surrounded by books—picture books, graphic novels, novels, and non-fiction. To me, it is a little bit of heaven. And I get to share my love of books and passion for reading with all the students, trying to get them as excited about books as I am.

There’s Nothing Good to Read!

Probably the most distressing phrase a student can utter in the library is “there’s nothing good to read!” To me, that’s like walking into Purdy’s Chocolates and announcing there’s nothing good to eat. At ACS, we are so blessed to have an administration that supports literacy by providing a budget to buy good, quality literature. At the elementary campus, there are over 24,000 items in the library collection; almost all of these are children’s books, on every topic, and at every reading level.

Take Me to Your Reader

Our library plays a central role in encouraging and improving student literacy, as well as being a resource center for students, staff and parents. One of the main goals of the library is to connect readers to books. When a student laments “there’s nothing good to read,” to me, it means that they haven’t found a book or series that they have connected with. As librarians, we take this challenge very seriously. We talk with the student to find out their interests, their reading level, and to help them find a “just right book.”

Last June, a grade 5 student lamented the fact that he wasn’t ready for middle school because he hadn’t read all the books in the elementary library yet.

Mission accomplished.

Read anything good lately?