Children's Choices for 2005 (continued)

Tips for Parents, Primary Caregivers, and Educators

Initial book activities

One of the easiest ways to begin telling the story of a book is through the use of illustrations. Most books for young children are illustrated in great detail, and noting important details related to the characters, plot, and setting will provide a wholesome first literacy activity.

• Set aside a regular time and place for books so that reading books becomes as natural as eating and sleeping.

• Browse through books to help the child become familiar with books and how they are handled.

• Read the story while the child points to the pictures. Adult and child can repeat interesting sounds, repetitive word patterns, and distinctive word features to the delight of both.

• Have the child tell the story using the illustrations, while the adult reinforces the telling. The two can predict outcomes, discuss how the characters feel, and relate the events to their own experiences.

• Read the book to the child and enjoy it together. Retell the story together and talk about the characters, setting, plot, and life experiences.

• Compare the similarities and differences of children's books available as video productions.

• Have children make responses to the books read through art reproductions such as drawings, or by using clay, papier-mâché, dioramas, or fingerpaints.

• Make regular trips to the library and attend storytelling sessions. Visit bookstores together to begin a personal library for a child.

Beginning reading-level activities

Children at this level should be encouraged to browse through books and pretend to read the story, an initial step toward becoming an independent reader. Children may tell the story to themselves or attempt to read frequently highlighted words.

• Read the story as the child points to the pictures on each page.

• Let the child pretend to read the story as the adult points to the pictures.

• Read alternate pages, ask each other questions, and discuss the story. The adult models what he or she thinks of when reading the page so the child gets a variety of perspectives on the ways words have different meanings.

• Use computer programs to expand a child's interest in specific topics and to provide valuable information for later curriculum study.

• Compare and contrast video adaptations of children's books for this and more advanced literacy levels.

Primary-grade book activities

• Continue to spend time reading with the child; set aside a specific time and place.

• Be familiar with Children's Choices books and other high-quality children's literature.

• Become aware of the interests of your children and books that extend life experiences so they know what happens in the world around them.

• Encourage children to share books read in school with parents and caregivers at home. Parents and caregivers should encourage children to share books they've read at home with their teachers and schoolmates.

• Continue to extend the information and knowledge bases through computer programs and other technology that capitalize on topics initiated through reading.

Independent reader activities

• Challenge readers to compare and contrast books.

• Encourage children to develop an interest in a variety of genres such as biography, historical fiction, and poetry.

• Encourage children to read books related to beginning career and vocational choices.

• Seek a balance between school book activities; home and school literature activities; and familiarity with newspapers, magazines, and other text media that address contemporary social, cultural, and civic issues.

Develop the desire to be a lifelong reader

• Have students bring what is read to bear on what is viewed on film, television, and computer and other media technologies.

• View technology in the reflection of the literature.

• Keep in mind that the most memorable conversations are often filled with anecdotes from literature.

• Relate what has been read to the solution of problems. By internalizing what has been read, we use knowledge and wisdom to solve personal problems, to make significant decisions related to career choices, to find solutions to community and social problems, and to develop healthy attitudes toward a positive world environment.

IRA/CBC Liaison Committee

Deborah Wooten, 2004–2005 Cochair

Phoebe Yeh, 2004–2005 Cochair.

More About Children's Choices

Who is on the IRA-CBC Joint Committee and who are members of the review teams?

Cochairing the 2004–2005 IRA-CBC Joint Committee were Deborah Wootten, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and Phoebe Yeh, HarperCollins Children's Books, New York, New York. Representing IRA on the committee were Elizabeth Schmar Dobler, Colleen Gilrane, Donna L. Knoell, Teri S. Lesesne, Becky Rees, and Richard L. Allington; those representing CBC were Kathleen Calhoun Nettleton, Terry Borzumato, Sharon Hancock, Aimee Jackson, and Judy Zylstra. CBC administrative staff coordinated the teams' work.

The review teams described below coordinated the project at each of the following five test sites:

• Team 1: Knoxville, Tennessee, consisted of one inner-city middle school, one inner-city elementary school, two suburban elementary schools, and one rural elementary school. Team leaders: Deborah Wootten and Amy Broemmel. Support team leader: Susan D. Bishofberger.

• Team 2: North Las Vegas, Nevada, consisted of two suburban elementary schools and one suburban middle school. Team leaders: Lorna Tobias and Michelle M. Truman. Support team leader: Linda Baum.

• Team 3: Des Moines, Iowa, consisted of one parochial elementary school, six suburban elementary schools, one urban elementary school, and one rural elementary school. Team leaders: Jill Caton Johnson and Donna Merkley. Support team leaders: Carol J. Fuhler and DeDe Small.

• Team 4: Briarcliff Manor, New York, consisted of seven inner-city elementary schools and three inner-city middle schools. Team leaders: Diane Mallett and Debra Conroy.

• Team 5: Missoula, Montana, consisted of six suburban elementary schools; one suburban middle school in Missoula; and one middle school in Florence, a small town. Team leader: Jan LaBonty.

How can I become a team leader?

Team leaders are selected by the IRA-CBC Joint Committee based upon numerous factors such as location within the United States; cooperation between team leaders, school administrators, and library media specialists; and ability to attend orientation sessions at the International Reading Association's annual convention. Information about how to become a team leader is available from the Children's Book Council, Attn: Team Leader Information, 12 W. 37th Street, 2nd Floor, New York, NY 10018-7480, USA. All applications remain on file, and periodically CBC reconfirms applicants' interest. For additional information about this project and a downloadable application form, visit CBC's website at www.cbcbooks.org.

How can I order copies of this list?

Offprints of this annotated 2005 Children's Choices list (publication #9106)are available from the International Reading Association. Single copies are US$1.00 when you send a self-addressed 9" x 3 1/2" envelope to the attention of Department EG. Single copies of each Choices list may also be downloaded as a PDF file at www.reading.org. To order bulk copies by phone with a credit card, call (in the U.S.and Canada only) 1-800-336-7323, or send your order to Order Department, 800 Barksdale Road, PO Box 6021, Newark, DE 19714-6021, USA. Bulk copies are also available at www.reading.org.

Are other booklists available?

The International Reading Association prepares two additional annual booklists. Teachers' Choices describes approximately 30 new trade books published for children and adolescents that teachers themselves have found to be exceptional in curriculum use. The list appears each year in the November issue of The Reading Teacher and is also available in bulk as a separate reprint and on the Association's website at www.reading.org. Young Adults' Choices lists approximately 30 new trade books that middle, junior high, and senior high school students have selected as being particularly appealing for their age group. This list appears each November in the International Reading Association publication Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy and is available as a separate reprint and on the Association's website at www.reading.org.

Copies of either Teachers' or Young Adults' Choices lists are available from the International Reading Association, Attn: Dept. EG, 800 Barksdale Road, PO Box 8139, Newark, DE 19714-8139, USA. Prices for each annotated list are the same as for the Children's Choices offprint. Prepaid orders for bulk copies should be sent Attn: Order Department at the same address. To order bulk copies by phone with a credit card, call (in the United States and Canada only) 1-800-336-7323, ext. 266.

Annual lists distributed by the Children's Book Council (CBC) are Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People, a project of the National Council for the Social Studies-CBC Joint Committee, and Outstanding Science Trade Books for Children, a project of the National Science Teachers Association-CBC Joint Committee. For a single copy of the Social Studies list or Science list, send US$2.00 and a self-addressed 6" x 9" envelope stamped with 76¢ U.S. postage to CBC, 12 W. 37th Street, 2nd Floor, New York, NY 10018-7840, USA; Attn: Social Studies List, or Attn: Science List. Multiple copy rates are available on the CBC website www.cbcbooks.org.

How can I use these books in my classroom?

The International Reading Association has a publication full of ideas for making the most of these books. Celebrating Children's Choices: 25 Years of Children's Favorite Books (2000, ISBN 087207-276-2) is a collection of practical classroom applications of books from the lists. The book can be purchased through the Order Department for US$19.16 for members, US$23.95 for nonmembers. To order a copy by phone with a credit card (from within the United States and Canada only), call the International Reading Association at 1-800-336-7323, ext. 266, or call (from outside North America) 1-302-731-1600, ext. 266. This publication is also available through the Association's online bookstore at www.reading.org. Book rate shipping is US$3.00 for orders under US$25.00.

How do publishers obtain information about submitting titles for future lists?

The Children's Choices project is open to all U.S. publishers of children's books. Publishers who are not members of CBC pay a per-title administrative fee to submit books for consideration. Submission information is available in early April. Publishers may request submission notification by filling out a form at www.cbcbooks.org/readinglists/bibliosubs.html.

CBC welcomes publishers, large and small, to join its diverse membership. For membership information, write to CBC, 12 W. 37th Street, New York, NY 10018-7840, USA.

How can I find out more about the Children's Book Council?

For a complete listing of CBC's activities and publications, visit their website at www.cbcbooks.org.