About this Website
Collection Development is one very important element of a librarian's job. Librarians must be able to choose quality books and materials that are age-appropriate, linked to the school curriculum, diverse, and of interest to readers. One way to select quality books is to find book awards given by recognized organizations or associations. Another way to select quality books is to use selection aids, such as review journals, to determine the positive and negative aspects of a book. A third way to select a quality book is to talk to other librarians to determine the appropriateness of a book for a particular curriculum unit, age group, or theme. The books showcased in this website were chosen using these selection criteria.
A second important element of a librarian's job is to assist teachers in linking quality books with the curriculum and the lessons they are teaching. This website showcases promotional ideas after each showcased book. There is also a section titled "Promotional Ideas" which goes into more specific detail on how to promote books to teachers and to students. I hope you will find this information informative and useful.
A second important element of a librarian's job is to assist teachers in linking quality books with the curriculum and the lessons they are teaching. This website showcases promotional ideas after each showcased book. There is also a section titled "Promotional Ideas" which goes into more specific detail on how to promote books to teachers and to students. I hope you will find this information informative and useful.
Book Selections
Newbery Award
The Newbery Award is an award for the most distinguished children's book that was published in the previous year. It is awarded by the American Library Association. The award dates back to 1922. Each year, one book is chosen as the Newbery Award Winner and other books worthy of consideration are awarded the title of Newbery Honor Books.
Caldecott Award
The Caldecott Award is also an award given by the American Library Association. The Caldecott Award goes to the most distinguished picture book published in the previous year. The award is given for the illustrations in the book. The Caldecott award dates back to 1938. Like the Newbery Award, the Caldecott Award is given to one book each year, while other books worthy of consideration are named Caldecott Honor Books.
Poetry Books
The genre of poetry includes many different styles of writing. Poetry is published in books showcasing single authors or in anthologies where several different authors have works included, generally because they have something in common. I have included a review of a book of poetry by a single author and an anthology in this project.
Fiction
Fiction is a large genre of literature that is written using ideas from the author's imagination. The genre includes contemporary fiction, historical fiction, fantasy fiction, science fiction, young adult fiction, and more. The reviews included in this website showcase works of fiction for students in grades 6-12.
Informational Books
Informational books are books that are written to provide factual information to the reader. These books are also referred to as Nonfiction. Informational books are written for individuals of all ages and cover a wide variety of topics.
Picture Books
Picture books are books in which the illustrations are as important, or even more important, than the text for telling a story. Picture books are generally written for children.
Book Promotional Ideas
Selecting quality books for the library is not enough. Librarians must also make sure that these books are being read and are used in conjunction with the curriculum. This section includes several of the books showcased in the website and provides in depth ideas for ways to promote the books to students, teachers, parents, and the community.