By Kitty Felde You might call them Book Clubs for Introverts. Imagine a room full of readers, sharing the experience of reading, but not talking. That’s the idea behind Silent Book Clubs. The rules are simple. There is no assigned reading, everyone brings whatever they want to read. Any format […]
St. Matthew Lutheran Church to Host Children’s Easter Party
By Southwester Staff The annual children’s Easter party will be held in St. Matthew Lutheran Church’s courtyard on Saturday March 30, from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. There will be games to play, crafts to make and refreshments to enjoy, as well as a chance for families to take home […]
Young Readers: Kids Can’t Keep their Hands Off these Giftable Books
By Kitty Felde Kids are reading less. A lot less. Just one in three children read every day for pleasure. According to the National Literacy Trust, daily reading by kids between ages eight and 18 has dropped 26 percent over the past two decades. Librarian Rebecca Opalka says she’s been […]
Young Readers: No Book Shaming
By Kitty Felde I just got back from the American Library Association annual conference in Chicago. It was the perfect place to ask the experts about how to get a kid to pick up a book. Librarian Arlene LaVerde from Queens, New York says kids have been inundated with school […]
Young Readers: Kindles, Kindles Everywhere
By Kitty Felde If I open the kitchen pantry door and there’s a bag of chocolate chips in there, I eat them. I can’t help it. On the other hand, if the bag of chips is stashed in the back of the shelf, I don’t bother to look for them. […]
Young Readers: Stopping the Summer Slide
By Kitty Felde There’s still a few weeks of summer left, the perfect time to kick back with a cool drink and read – which may be the last thing the child in your life plans to do with their precious time away from the classroom. But months without reading […]
Young Readers: Fan Fiction Gives Familiar Characters A Second Life
By Kitty Felde Ever wonder why networks keep rebooting old TV shows? There’s a special place in our hearts for characters we wish we could spend time with again and again. But what happens when we run out of episodes? Fan fiction. These are original stories by writers who “borrow” […]