10 Reasons to Know and Use Your Child’s Texas School Library

By Dorcas Hand, School Library Advocate, Students need Libraries in HISD

As the TLA and TASL Awards season gets active, I’d like to talk about a project that developed from my service for the TASL Legislative and Advocacy Committee a few years ago. Some things just take awhile to come together. The Shirley Igo Award goes to a PTA in a Texas school that collaborates with it’s school library. There are two key words in that sentence: collaborate and school library. And PTA: the award is intended to raise awareness in PTAs the benefits of school libraries, and to inspire collaboration to build stronger libraries in as many schools as possible. While Susi Grissom and I worked with TASL and TLA leadership to rebuild the relationship with the Texas PTA, we also realized that the TASL website and the TPTA website could benefit from access to information that can be handed directly to parents about school libraries.

With that in mind, Susi and I have pushed forward - and can share today one result which you can find posted to the TASL Advocacy page and linked here. In two forms.

First, a generic flyer that can be used by any school library advocate to remind parents anywhere in Texas why they should “Know and Use Your Child’s Texas School Library.” This will be posted to the TASL Advocacy page for easy access.

Also posted there will be an CUSTOMIZABLE version. Texas school librarians will be able to add their school logo at the top, their contact information at the bottom. There will also be a spot to add the TexQuest login details.

Both flyers are one page only, easy to print, even in only black and white if that’s what is needed.

Please download these flyers to put them to use in your school as soon as possible. You might even share with your local public library for display in the children's and YA areas.

https://txla.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/TASL-10-Reasons.pdf 

Tejas Star Reading List: Mirrors and Windows in Spanish and Bilingual Children’s Literature

by Priscilla Delgado, doctoral student at St. John’s University, Tejas Star Reading List Committee Chair

What do Sonia Sotomayor, Chelsea Clinton, Frida Kahlo, Don Quixote and Jacqueline Woodson have in common?

They all have books either written by them or about them on this year’s Tejas Star Reading List!

The Texas Library Association has numerous reading lists for readers of all ages and interests, and the Tejas Star Reading List curates a yearly list of high-quality Spanish and bilingual books for ages 5 to 12. The Tejas Star books are intended to be read for recreational purposes (not to support a specific curriculum) and to discover the benefits of bilingualism and multilingualism. The stories selected on the list provide windows and mirrors into multiculturalism.

The 2019-20 Tejas Star Reading List features 18 titles that include fiction and non-fiction picture books, chapter books, and graphic novels with themes of immigration, identity, poetry, as well as stories of famous and important historical figures.

Several books on this year’s list are Spanish translations of bestselling English titles, including Amor (Love) and Los deseos de Carmela (Carmela Full of Wishes) by Newbery Award author Matt de la Peña, Ella persistió alrededor del mundo (She Persisted Around the World) by Chelsea Clinton, and El día en que descubres quién eres (The Day You Begin) by Jacqueline Woodson.

The theme of immigration and identity is evident in some of the books on this year’s list. Pura Belpre Illustrator and Tomás Rivera Book Award winner Soñadores (Dreamers) by Yuyi Morales shares her personal immigration story, as does author Alfredo Alva with Deborah Mills in La Frontera: el viaje con papá/My Journey with Papa. Caldecott Honor book Alma y cómo obtuvo su nombre (Alma and How She Got Her Name) by Juana Martinez-Neal celebrates the history and significance of the name given to Alma by per parents. Lola (Islandborn), a story of culture and belonging by Junot Díaz, reminds readers that “Just because you don’t remember a place doesn’t mean it’s not in you.”

Frida Kahlo has become a cultural icon, and this is reflected in the two books about her that are on the reading list. Pura Belpre Illustrator Honor book Frida Kahlo y sus animalitos (Frida Kahlo and Her Animalitos) by Monica Brown is a picture book about the animals that inspired Frida’s art and life. Frida, el misterio del anillo del pavo real y yo (Me, Frida and the Secret of the Peacock Ring) by Angela Cervantes is a middle-grade novel about a search for a lost ring that once belonged to Kahlo.

Graphic novels featured on this year’s list include Los tipos malos (The Bad Guys) by Aaron Blabey, the first book in a hilarious, adventurous series, and La Matadragones (The Dragon Slayer) by Jaime Hernandez, a collection of Latin American folk tales.

Miguel y su valiente caballero (Miguel's Brave Knight) by Margarita Engle is a story of Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, who would go on to write Don Quixote, which is considered by many to be the first modern novel. Las orejas de los animales (Animal Ears) by Mary Holland is a non-fiction work with engaging photographs and information on how animals’ sense of hearing works. Querido Dragón de Komodo (Dear Komodo Dragon) by Nancy Kelly Allen is a humorous exchange of letters between pen-pals.

Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor tells her life story to young readers in Pasando Páginas (Turning Pages). Rafael Lopez’s We’ve Got the Whole World in Our Hands/Tenemos el Mundo Entero en las Manos celebrates the lives of all young people in a modern take of the famous song “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands.” Tomás Rivera Book Award winner Quizás algo hermoso (Maybe Something Beautiful) by F. Isabel Campoy and Theresa Howell is the true story of a community’s effort to add beauty to their surroundings.

Did you know that Tejas Star used to be a book award? Originally created in 2007 by the Region One ESC Library Advisory Committee, the Tejas Star Book Award was a statewide reading program in which children who read the books could vote for their favorite. In hopes of maintaining continuity and reaching a wider audience, Tejas Star became part of the Texas Library Association as a reading list in 2012.

The Tejas Star Reading List committee will be presenting activities and resources to use with this year’s titles at the Texas Library Association conference on Wednesday, April 17, 2019 at 2:45 pm. Make plans to attend to learn more about the reading list and to take home an activity guide with ready-to-use resources. The activity guide, as well as downloadable bookmarks and posters, will be available on our website: txla.org/tejas-star.

There is an old Spanish saying that goes, “El que sabe dos lenguas vale por dos,” meaning that a person who knows two languages is worth twice as much. It is the hope of the Tejas Star Reading List committee that these books will play a part in making this a reality for readers.

SPOT Reading Program

by Rebecca Novotny, lead librarian in Cypress-Fairbanks ISD, TxASLTalks Editorial Board

   

https://txla.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/20181015_SPOTMiddle_287.jpg

https://txla.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/20181015_SPOTHigh_287.jpg

Hello Texas librarians! Do you know what SPOT is? Have you ever heard of it? Are you in need of great programing for your library? Then you really need to know SPOT.  

SPOT is the Spirit of Texas Reading Program for Middle School and High School. The Spirit of Texas reading program aims to encourage students in grades 6-12 to develop an appreciation of books about Texas or written by Texas authors. The lists consist of 6-8 books that are recommended by the general public and librarians around the state. The final list of authors that meets the program criteria is voted on by a committee of school and public librarians.  For each author on the list, the librarians on the committee create several programs that can be used in school libraries, public libraries, and classrooms. There are academic programs that include TEKS, active and passive programs for both types of libraries, as well as read-a-like lists, book trailers, quote lists, and reading quizzes. For each activity, all the instructions as well as any handouts that might be needed are included. 

The 2019 SPOT authors are amazing. The middle school list includes: Lauren Baratz-Logsted (I Love You, Michael Collins); Karen Blumenthal (Bonnie and Clyde: The Making of a Legend); Angela Cervantes (Me, Frida and the Secret of the Peacock Ring); Suzanne Crowley (Finding Esme); Varian Johnson (The Parker Inheritance); and Mike Lupica (Lone Stars).

The high school list includes: Emma Berquist (Devil Unto Dust); Laura Creedle (The Love Letters of Abelard and Lily); A.V. Geiger (Follow me Back); C.C. Hunter (This Heart of Mine); Heather Kaczynski (Dare Mighty Things); and Caroline Leech (Wait for Me and In Another Time).

For me, the SPOT lists have been a great way to refresh my collection, get display ideas, and find passive programing as I am working with my students and teachers. These are also great lists and activities to share with teachers because “the purpose of the list is to encourage youths in grades 6-12 to explore a variety of current, quality books from Texas authors and illustrators, develop critical reading skills, and to encourage greater interaction between Texas authors and illustrators, Texas librarians, and Texas youth.” (https://txla.org/tools-resources/reading-lists/spirit-of-texas-middle-school/spot-middle-school/)

I hope that you will take a look at this year’s amazing list as well as the past lists that are available on the TLA website. They will help you find some ideas to help you introduce Texas authors as well as great books to your patrons.

“SPOT-Middle School.” Texas Library Association, txla.org/tools-resources/reading-lists/spirit-of-texas-middle-school/spot-middle-school/.