Partnering with Parents: Boosting Literacy for All Ages

by Mary Schreiber

Overview

Caregiver involvement is key to a child's reading success story, and libraries are in the perfect position to provide the guidance needed for parents and caregivers to embrace their role as their children's first and most enduring teachers.

Libraries offer many programs and services for children, but sometimes caregivers are left out of the equation, especially once children start school. Nevertheless, parents and caregivers are an integral part of literacy development, and libraries are a great place for them to witness modeling practices and participate in engaging family programs that encourage early literacy.

Mary Schreiber combines personal experience and professional research with the programming expertise of youth librarians from across the country in this guide for libraries looking to make an even greater impact on the level of literacy attained by the children they serve.

In Partnering with Parents, readers will find a wealth of information on how to talk to caregivers about the different stages of a child's reading life, what books to recommend to excite both caregivers and children about reading, and ways to encourage parent and caregiver participation in library programming, with additional information on working with and providing programming for diverse families. Whether you are a veteran in the profession or brand new to working with families, you will find something in this book that will help you to make your library a more integral part of the education community.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781440863936
Publisher:	ABC-CLIO, Incorporated
Publication date:	04/01/2019
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	208
File size:	3 MB

About the Author

Mary Schreiber is a collection development specialist at Cuyahoga County Public Library, Parma, OH, USA, where she has selected youth and world languages materials and worked closely with library branches and area schools for more than a decade. Before that, she was a children's librarian. Schreiber is an active member of ALA's Coretta Scott King roundtable and ALSC division. Through Kent State University's School of Information, she has taught collection management and served as an advisory board member for the Virginia Hamilton Conference on Multicultural Literature for Children. Schreiber is the author of Partnering with Parents: Boosting Literacy for All Ages.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments xi

Introduction xiii

Chapter 1 Helping Parents Get It Right from the Beginning 1

Fundamentals of Early Literacy 1

Collection Development and Merchandising: Young Child 4

Reaching Families with Young Children 12

Building Your Readers Advisory Toolbox 18

Chapter 2 Apps, Blocks, Cartoons … What Is a Parent to Do? 19

Play in the Library 19

Technology in the Library 21

Collection Development and Merchandising: Play 23

Programs That Promote Family Play 27

Building Your Readers Advisory Toolbox 36

Chapter 3 Flow Do I Teach My Child to Read? 39

When to Start 39

The Challenges of Leveling Books 40

Collection Development and Merchandising: From Pre-Reader to Reader 42

Programs and Services for the Beginning Reader 52

Building Your Readers Advisory Toolbox 61

Chapter 4 Supporting Parents of Developing Readers 63

When Reading is Not Happening as Expected 64

Working with Developing Reader Families 65

Collection Development and Merchandising: Alternate Formats 67

Programs to Support Developing Readers 71

Building Your Readers Advisory Toolbox 75

Chapter 5 My Child Isn't a Reader-Now What? 77

The Apathetic Reader 77

Empowering the Reader 78

Collection Development and Merchandising: High-Interest formats 81

Inviting Parents into Library Programs 87

Building Your Readers Advisory Toolbox 98

Chapter 6 Parents of School Age Children, the Library Is Still Here for You! 101

How to Gee Parent? on Board for Enjoyable Reading 101

Readers Advisory Straight from the Stacks 103

Collection Development and Merchandising: School Age 104

Family Programs for School Age Kids 109

Building Your Readers Advisory Toolbox 120

Chapter 7 Does the Library Offer Anything for My Family? 123

Public Libraries Are for Everyone 123

The Inclusive School Library 124

Collection Development and Merchandising: Diversity 125

Community-Focused Programming 130

Building Your Readers Advisory Toolbox 146

Chapter 8 A Parent's Job Is Never Done 149

Independent Reader + Parent Reader - Book Conversations 149

Collection Development and Merchandising: Genres 150

Connecting with Parents 154

Building Your Readers Advisory Toolbox 163

Epilogue Partnering with Parents' Putting It into Action 167

Programming with Parents in Mind 167

Readers Advisory for the Librarian 168

Your Action Plan 168

Happy Reading! 169

Appendix A Baby and Me Plan: Every Child Ready to Read, Part 2, Cuyahoga County Public Library 171

Appendix B Large Print Order October 2017, Cuyahoga County Public Library 173

Appendix C Book Buddies Sample Plan, Cuyahoga County Public Library 177

Appendix D Family Graphic Novel Book Group, Little White Duck 4th-5th Grade Discussion Questions, Multnomah County Library 179

Appendix E Predicting the 2018 Caldecott Winner, Dayton Metro Library 183

Appendix F 50 Book Challenge, Euclid Public Library 187

Appendix G Adapted Story time, Cuyahoga County Public Library 195

Appendix H Winter Reading Challenge, San Mateo County Libraries 197

Index 203

What People are Saying About This

Marianne Martens

"In this valuable resource for youth services librarians, Mary Schreiber provides a holistic approach to literacy by focusing on parents and caregivers. Even beyond the family, Schreiber considers literacy as a community-wide effort, promoting partnerships and innovative outreach, from farmers’ markets to barbershops. Covering children’s literacy needs from babies to middle-schoolers, each chapter includes hands-on tools for collection development, programming, and building a readers’ advisory toolbox."

Christy Estrovitz

"As a library leader and parent, I’m pleased to say that this book serves as the new handbook for literacy programming ideas, family engagement strategies, and diverse collections support. It’s a trifecta of resources for the modern public library."

Kacie V. Armstrong

"This is a must-read for every parent, educator, and literacy professional committed to their student's success. Partnering with Parents: Boosting Literacy for All Ages carefully outlines the proper steps parents of early readers should take and how your local library can help your child reach the highest potential. As a long-term librarian, Mary Schreiber’s expertise will help caregivers keep their child on the right literacy track!”

Editorial Reviews

Part parent resource, part librarian guide, this volume provides many ideas on how to work with parents both in and outside of the library. Especially useful for new public librarians.” —School Library Journal

“Partnering with Parents is helpful for new librarians who want to ensure best practices, and for seasoned librarians who may want to try a fresh approach with parents and beginning or non-readers. This title is essential for every children's room reference collection or professional book shelf.” —Baker & Taylor Staff Pick

From the Publisher