Literacy Today May/June 2016

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Windows

and Mirrors

• Discovering the world through

children’s literature

• Fostering empathy and love

with diverse books

• The best new titles to

add to your summer

reading lists

May/June 2016

Volume 33, Issue 6

LITERACY TODAY

Contents

LITERACY TODAY

Volume 33, Issue 6

May/June 2016

EDITORIAL STAFF

Managing Editor Colleen Patrice Clark

Intern Nicole Lund

ILA LEADERSHIP

Executive Director Marcie Craig Post

Associate Executive Director Stephen Sye

2015–2016 BOARD MEMBERS

Diane Barone, University of Nevada, Reno,

President; William H. Teale, University of Illinois

at Chicago, Vice President; Gwynne Ellen Ash,

Texas State University; Donald Bear, Iowa State

University; Julie Coiro, University of Rhode

Island; Catherine E. Collier, Chesapeake Public

Schools, Virginia; Lori DiGisi, Framingham

Public Schools, Massachusetts; Bernadette

Dwyer, St. Patrick’s College, Drumcondra,

Dublin City University, Ireland; Laurie A.

Elish-Piper, Northern Illinois University; Rachel

A. Karchmer-Klein, University of Delaware;

Julianne Scullen, Anoka-Hennepin School

District, Minnesota

ADVERTISING

For information, contact Megan Ferguson at

800-336-7323 ext. 417 or advertising@reading.

org. Acceptance of advertising does not imply

endorsement.

ABOUT US

Literacy Today is the bimonthly membership

magazine of the International Literacy

Association, a nonprofi t that strives to

empower educators, inspire students, and

encourage teachers with the resources they

need to make literacy accessible for all.

SUBSCRIPTIONS

Literacy Today (ISSN 2411-7862, Print; 2411-

7900, Online) is included in the cost of ILA

membership. To join, visit literacyworldwide.

org. POSTMASTER: Send address changes

to Literacy Today, PO Box 8139, Newark,

DE 19714-8139, USA. CANADIAN GST:

Registration number R-129785523.

Publications Mail Agreement No. 40033039.

Return undeliverable Canadian addresses

to PO Box 503, RPO West Beaver Creek,

Richmond Hill, ON, L4B 4R6.

CONTACT US

CUSTOMER SERVICE

800-336-7323

customerservice@reading.org

EDITORIAL

800-336-7323 ext. 446

literacytoday@reading.org

Write to Literacy Today, PO Box 8139, Newark,

DE 19714-8139, USA.

MAILING LIST RENTALS

ILA rents mailing lists only to groups approved

by the Association. Members can have

their names removed from lists rented by

writing to ILA Customer Service or e-mailing

customerservice@reading.org.

© International Literacy Association

10

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EDITOR’S NOTE

4

LIT BITS

6

OUR VIEW

LITERACY LEADERSHIP

8

Combining Research to Boost Comprehension

and Confi dence

CHILDREN’S LITERATURE

10

2016: A Win for Diverse Books

12

Online Exclusive: Interviews With This Year’s Belpré and Corett a Scott

King Award Winners

14

ILA’s Arbuthnot Award Winner on Her Top Tips and Book Suggestions

for Teachers

16

The Unspoken Language of Wordless Picture Books

18

ILA Choices Reading Lists: Perfect for Summer Reading

20

The Power of Fiction and What It Teaches Us About the World

24

Why You Should Be Incorporating LGBT Books in Your Classroom Library

THE ENGAGING CLASSROOM

28

How the Whole Class Is Impacted When the Teacher Loves

Children’s Literature

30

Using Technology and Other Tricks to Play With Literacy

32

Strategies for Increasing Engagement Through Reading and Writing

ILA 2016

34

Why You Can’t Miss the Putt ing Books to Work Panels

36

Lace Up Your Sneakers to Benefi t Literacy Development

THE ILA NETWORK

38

How One Community Is Using Tricycles to Boost Summer Reading

40

EVENTS

42

MEMBER SPOTLIGHT

Discovering

the World

Through Books

Colleen Patrice Clark

Managing Editor

cclark@reading.org

EDITOR’S

NOTE

feel incredibly fortunate to have a daughter

who’s an avid reader. At 8 years old, she devours

a good book, anything from George R.R.

Martin’s The Ice Dragon to Nick Bruel’s Bad Kitty

series. She loves nonfiction, too. I once read to

her How They Croaked: The Awful Ends of the

Awfully Famous as a bedtime story. And if it’s

bug, dinosaur, or cat related, it’s on her shelf.

I feel lucky, but luck has little to do with it.

It is not random, and her passion for learning

goes well beyond family influence. This love

of books is fostered by deliberate, purposeful

engagement on a daily basis.

Like any student, my daughter is

surrounded by educators who are influencing

her in ways she doesn’t realize, like the teacher

she had last year who recognized her interest

in science and steered her toward books other

girls her age weren’t interested in. This year, the

librarian is always ready with recommendations

and even holds books specifically for her. There

are others—and I know there will be more—

and I’m already thankful for what they will help

teach her about our world.

Those lessons are what our Children’s

Literature Issue is all about. There’s a unique

power in children’s and YA lit that is worthy

of celebration. It provides the foundation for

all learning and can set our children up to be

well-rounded, empathetic global citizens.

My top recommendation: Have a pen and

paper handy. There are more than 100 titles

mentioned in this issue, and they’re all worthy

of celebrating. Start by adding them to your

summer reading or your fall library. Then

watch as students reap the benefits.

Warmly,

WORTHY OF

CELEBRATION

Take a sneak peek inside all

of ILA’s journals – for FREE!

� Sample issues of The Reading Teacher, Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, and Reading

Research Quarterly

� Virtual issues on key themes in literacy education

� Peer-reviewed open access articles by leading researchers in the literacy field

� Additional free articles in Wiley Education Collections

Discover these free resources and more at literacyworldwide.org/journalresources.

To add a journal to your current membership, contact ILA Customer Service at

customerservice@reading.org, 800.336.7323 (U.S. and Canada), or 302.731.1600 (all other countries).

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May/June 2016 | LITERACY TODAY

Inspire young writers with

KWAME ALEXANDER

Video-supported lessons allow you to bring the

Newbery Medal winner into your classroom!

To place an order, visit scholastic.com/pagetostage

or call 1-800-387-1437

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Kwame Alexander’s

Page-to-Stage Writing

Workshop

Awakening the Writer, Publisher,

and Presenter in Every Student

978-1-338-02681-8 • $89.99

176 pages plus poster and

companion website

Valdosta State University (VSU) in

Georgia hosted its 10th annual Read Fest

celebration in April to recognize National

Library Week. The event brought some

240 prekindergarten students together

for a day of literacy-rich activities

including puppet shows, crafts, read-

alouds, and more—and each child was

sent home with a goodie bag packed

with a new book donated by the ILA

student council chapter at VSU.

LIT BITS

A Reading

Celebration

■ Registration for our Steps to Advance Literacy 5K on July 10 is now open! Join us in Boston

as we take to the streets to support local nonprofit Reach Out and Read and raise funds

for ILA’s literacy initiatives. This is a fun run/walk, so all fitness levels are encouraged to join.

(ilaconference.org/5k)

■ Tickets are now on sale for Literacy Night at the Ballpark on July 8. Join us and the

Boston Red Sox as we celebrate teachers and the work they’re doing to advance literacy.

(ilaconference.org/literacynight)

■ A free cross-journal virtual issue on multiliteracies—pulling some of the most popular articles

from The Reading Teacher, Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, and Reading Research

Quarterly—is now available. This comprehensive (and complimentary) resource can be

viewed through September. (literacyworldwide.org/multiliteracies)

What’s new?

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May/June 2016 | LITERACY TODAY

Professional resources, for less

As part of our commitment to provide members with

access to quality resources, we are proud to announce

our new Professional Books Discount Program. This

new member benefit enables you to purchase leading

professional development and research titles from top

publishers such as Routledge, Stenhouse, and Wiley

(including Jossey-Bass) at discounts of up to 35% off.

Now you can enhance your teaching skills, further your

career, help students succeed—and save money. Get

started at literacyworldwide.org/probooks.

BY THE NUMBERS

100th

The birthday celebrated

last month by beloved

author Beverly Cleary.

Fans around the world

celebrated, too, including

the New York Public

Library, which collected

100 stories from patrons

and librarians about their

love of her books.

108

Percent increase

of the number

of female public

school principals

from 1988–2012,

according to a new

demographics

report from the

National Center for

Education Statistics

11,000

Number of

classroom projects

funded through

Stephen Colbert’s

#BestSchoolDay

campaign, which has

led to $14 million in

funding for projects

in 47 states on

DonorsChoose.org

$10,000

First-place

Entrepreneurship Across

Yale prize awarded to

StoryTime, founded by

student Phil Esterman,

which sends free stories

via text messaging apps

to low-income families

to help close the early

literacy skills gap

18.2

Average number of extra

minutes of sleep per night

found to increase elementary

students’ academic

performance, according

to researchers at McGill

University and the Douglas

Mental Health University

Institute, in partnership with

the Riverside School Board in

Montreal

Leaders for

Literacy

Day 2016

A panel of

cross-sector

leaders came

together

at the

Institute of

International Education in New York

City on April 14 for ILA’s second annual

Leaders for Literacy Day, which focused

on literacy leadership as a critical

driver to advancing literacy around

the globe. Panelists included Steven

Duggan, Microsoft; Leslie Engle Young,

Pencils of Promise; Jody Spiro, The

Wallace Foundation; Christie Vilsack,

USAID; and Marcie Craig Post, ILA’s

executive director. For full coverage, visit

literacyworldwide.org/L4L.

Now is the time for reform

To support literacy learning adequately, we must resist a

one-size-fits-all approach. To provide a roadmap toward

that goal, ILA released a new white paper—Frameworks

for Literacy Education Reform—which offers guidance

on developing and evaluating literacy education reforms.

Each of the suggested frameworks focuses on a specific

component of the education sector: literacy teaching

and teachers, schools

and schooling, student

support, and families

and community.

To view the

white paper, visit

literacyworldwide

.org/frameworks.

LITERACY TODAY | May/June 2016

nternational children’s and young adult books matter, and publishers, teachers,

and parents in the United States and Canada should be paying much more

attention to them.

Between the United States and Canada, approximately 6,000 books a year for

children and young adults come into the market. Among them are some of the best

books in the world. Thus, young people in these two countries are fortunate to

have access to works of such high literary quality, appeal, and lasting impact.

Why, then, should we care about books from other countries? This is a

question that calls for adults who serve as gatekeepers to what children read to

consider their roles in introducing works to children. And it is a question of what

our hopes and aims are for children’s literate and global lives.

International books are those originally published outside of the United States

and Canada and, if necessary, are translated from the original language. These

By Junko Yokota & William Teale

Why we all need access to more literature

from around the world

Junko Yokota

(junko.yokota@mac.com),

an ILA member since 1983,

is a professor emerita of

reading and language at

National Louis University

in Illinois, and the director

of the Center for Teaching

Through Children’s Books.

William Teale

(wteale@uic.edu) is a

professor in the Literacy,

Language & Culture

Program at the University

of Illinois at Chicago and

the director of the UIC

Center for Literacy. He is

president-elect of ILA’s

Board of Directors.

INTERNATIONAL

BOOKS MATTER

OUR VIEW

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May/June 2016 | LITERACY TODAY

books do something that those authored

and illustrated by domestic creators do

not: They provide stories, world views,

information, and images that arise from

cultures and contexts that have the

potential to enlarge the perspectives and

knowledge bases of children and youth

living in the United States and Canada.

The role we play

The call for including more international

literature in children’s lives has

important implications. Teachers and

librarians can strive to include more

international literature in their core

curriculum, book club activities, and

classroom and school libraries. It is also

important to realize that, unlike many

other countries that have 20%–35% of

their children’s books originating from

outside the country, less than 5% of

children’s books for sale in the United

States and Canada are international.

This means that teachers should

realize their students may not find

international literature easily on their

own; therefore, the more teachers are

aware of what is available, the better for

their students.

into new countries. Although the

primary goal of the fair is to conduct

business related to publishing, much

of the activity focuses on related

interests and goals. The fair is attended

by illustrators, authors, translators,

book advocates, critics, members of

the publishing community, and various

related organizations.

The number of educators who

attend is small, but their impact can

be significant. Teachers and librarians

who work directly with children

have an opportunity to broaden their

perspectives and understandings

about how literature from countries

outside their own can influence their

students’ awareness of the wider

world. If an educator can’t attend,

remote participation is made possible

through live webcasts and stored video

presentations, social media, and more.

Making a commitment to expand

the reading our students do means

continuously keeping our own

awareness and reading international.

In this way, we can broaden the global

perspectives of our students and give

them access to the best literary works

from around the world.

This also has profound implications

for publishers, who should be pressured

by all educators to be more assertive in

seeking out good children’s books from

other countries.

Raising awareness

What else can teachers and librarians

do? Become aware of the organizations

and activities that support international

books.

The United States Board on Books

for Young People (USBBY) and IBBY

Canada are the national sections of the

International Board on Books for Young

People (IBBY), a nonprofit devoted

to building bridges of international

understanding through children’s and

young adult books.

Since 2006, USBBY has selected

an honor list of outstanding books

published in the United States that

originated from other countries. The

list can be found at usbby.org.

Another venue to explore is the

annual Bologna Children’s Book Fair in

Italy. Each year, publishers from around

the world gather to introduce, sell, and

buy rights for books to cross boundaries

Spread the word about ILA and inspire others to join the movement.

Visit literacyworldwide.org/ilatoolkit today!

HELP US SPREAD THE WORD

ABOUT ILA!

It’s easy!

Visit literacyworldwide.org/ilatoolkit

to get everything you need to share

information about ILA in person and

with your social network.

Show your aspiring teachers,

administrators, council members, fellow

educators, friends, or community how

ILA transforms lives through literacy.

LITERACY TODAY | May/June 2016

luebird is the pseudonym my vivacious sixth-grade student chose for herself.

Bluebird is always happy, fluttering gracefully with her many friends. Her mother

is a literacy specialist. One morning, she stopped by my classroom. The term-end

Scholastic Reading Inventory (SRI) scores indicated her daughter’s scores were

below grade level, as they had been throughout her elementary years.

“Can you talk me off a cliff?” she said with tear-filled eyes. She described

testing and interventions she had done with Bluebird in an effort to improve her

scores. We discussed Bluebird’s progress and the work we were doing in school.

I described research on reading interventions using the Neurological Impress

Method (NIM), developed by R.G. Heckelman in the 1960s. NIM involves an adult

and a struggling reader, sitting side by side, simultaneously reading aloud at a

rapid rate using challenging text. This method was designed to expose readers to

correct reading and greater quantities of material while providing scaffolding for

difficult text.

By Lisa Trott ier Brown

Finding solutions for struggling readers

Lisa Trottier Brown

(pbslbrown@msn.com), an

ILA member since 2014,

has taught third and sixth

grades in the Davis School

District in Utah. She is

currently working toward

a PhD in curriculum and

instruction in literacy at

Utah State University.

LITERACY

LEADERSHIP

RESCUING

BLUEBIRD

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May/June 2016 | LITERACY TODAY

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