SLAV Online Book Club – February 16th, 2023 – Book to Film Adaptations

Our thanks to those of you able to join us for our February 16th, 2023 online book club meeting to discuss books that have been made into films. As always, so many of you had so many wonderful contributions to share with us, and it is very appreciated.

We were also delighted to be joined by Jenny from The Younger Sun Bookshop in Yarraville. The Younger Sun have created a beautiful window (pictured above) to celebrate our first book club meeting!

Jenny’s List can be downloaded here. 

Reinas’ Lesson Plan can be downloaded here – Lesson 13- Books into Movies

This was our first book club meeting for 2023, and we want to say a very special thank you to all who have attended and contributed to these informal and informative meetings.

We cannot wait to see you at our next meeting! You can see our full list of planned topics for 2023 HERE.

Disclaimer: The lists generated as a result of Book Club discussions are not, by any means, an exhaustive list of all titles or authors for each genre/category discussed. Nor will all titles be suitable for all libraries. We advise staff discretion when referencing these lists, to properly confirm individual title suitability for individual libraries, school and student’s needs. These are suggested titles only, shared by our members and inclusion on, or exclusion from, a list does not suggest SLAV endorsement or rejection of a title.

TOPIC – Books that are Films

Book to film or film to book this is a popular genre that includes many tried and true titles.  Often an accessible option for reluctant readers the film tie can help readers visualise the action.  What titles have worked for you?  What move tie-ins have disappointed?  What books would you like to see made into a film?

Books Discussed

Blueback by Tim Winton

The Bad Guys by Aaaron Blabey

The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper

The Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula  Le Guin

Lockwood & Co. by Johnathan Stroud

Enola Holmes by Nancy Springer

His Dark Materials by Phillip Pullman- great TV adaptation via Binge

A Boy Called Christmas by Matt Haig

Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead

Eragon by Christopher Paolini

Shadow & Bone by Leigh Bardugo

Heartstopper by Alice Oseman

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snickett

Inkheart by Cornelia Funke

The Spiderwick Chronicles by Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi

Clueless the Movie for Emma by Jane Austen

Holes by Louis Sachar

Dune by Frank Herbert

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Hogfather by Terry Pratchett

Dungeons & Dragons Series

Anne with An E television series for Anne of Green Gables by Montgomery

Little Women by Alcott

Charlottes Web by E.B White

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

Queen’s Gambit by Walter Tevis

Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly

Women Talking by Miriam Toews

Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Barnes

The Amazing Maurice by Terry Pratchett

Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendack

Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall Series

The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S Lewis

The Dressmaker by Rosalie Ham

Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan

NEW MOVIE ADAPTATIONS – Coming Soon

Wonka

Peter Pan and Wendy

The Magicians Elephant

Percy Jackson TV Series

Eragon – 2024

Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins

Goosebumps TV Series

Turtles All the Way Down by John Green

Uglies by Scott Westerfeld

Wicked by Gregory McGuire

Heartstopper Season 2

Shadow and Bone season two

Ready Player Two

The Silo Series

Whitebird

The Messenger

One Piece is coming out as series on Netflix.

Nimona coming out as a movie, but might not be this year.

The White Girl by Tony Birch

What We Are Reading – Adult Books

Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver

Limberlost by Robbie Arnott

The Offing by Benjamin Myers

Cairo by Chris Wormersley

The Lie Tree by Frances Hardinge (YA)

Weywood by Emilia Hart

Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr and Bodies of Light by Jennifer Down

A Man Called Ove by Fredrick Backman

Encyclopedia of  Fairies by Emily Wild

Horse by Geraldine Brooks

Philippa Gregory’s Dawnlands which is the third in the Tidelands about First Nations people in

The Seed Keeper by Diane Wison.

Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks

The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O’Farrell

Burial Rites and The Good People by Hannah Kent

True North by Catherine Deveny

We Who Hunt the Hollow by Kate Murray (YA)

The Bookbinder of Jericho by Pip Williams

Cold Enough for Snow by Jessica Au

SLAV Online Book Club – November 17th, 2022 – Sport

Our thanks to those of you able to join us for our November 17th, 2022, online book club meeting to discuss sport titles. As always, so many of you had so many wonderful contributions to share with us, and it is very appreciated.

This was our last book club meeting for 2022, and we want to say a very special thank you to all who have attended and contributed to these informal and informative meetings. We cannot wait to share the Topics we have planned for 2023 and look forward to welcoming you all back to SLAV Online Book club next year!

Disclaimer: The lists generated as a result of Book Club discussions are not, by any means, an exhaustive list of all titles or authors for each genre/category discussed. Nor will all titles be suitable for all libraries. We advise staff discretion when referencing these lists, to properly confirm individual title suitability for individual libraries, school and student’s needs. These are suggested titles only, shared by our members and inclusion on, or exclusion from, a list does not suggest SLAV endorsement or rejection of a title.

Titles Discussed

Existing lists on the internet and at Readings

https://www.scottishbooktrust.com/book-lists/fab-football-books-for-children/

https://www.readings.com.au/collections/books-for-sporty-kids

Little Ash by Ash Barty – junior fiction series

Sam Kerr Series by Sam Kerr and Fiona Harris

Game Day Series by Patty Mills

Specky Magee Series by Felice Arena and Gary Lyon

AFL Little Legends by Nicole Hayes and Adrian Beck

As Fast As I Can by Penny Tangey

Diary of a Soccer Star Series by Shamini Flint

Boss Ladies of Sport by Philip Marsden

Foul Play Series by Tom Palmer (soccer and crime)

My Spare Heart by Jared Thomas – basketball

Grace On Court & Grace Back On Court by Maddy Proud – netball

Mike Lupica has written a number of American sport novels.

Take the Shot by Sue Whiting

Elsewhere Girls by Nova Weetman and Emily Gale

Wizenard Series by Kobe Bryant

The Mamba Mentality: How I Play by Kobe Bryant

Felice Arena’s Sporty Kids series

The Unstoppable Flying Flanagan by Felice Arena

Ultimate Football Heroes by Mike Oldfield

Bouncing Back by Scott Ostler

The Crossover by Alex Kwaeme

Eddie Betts Biography

Sport Titles Published by Barrington Stoke– for students with dyslexia or difficulty reading

Game Changer by John Hickman

Pitch Invasion by Tom Palmer

Break the Fall by Jennifer Iacopelli

The F Team by Rawah Arja

Shoe Dog A Memoir by the creator of Nike, Phil Knight

Review for The Hard Way https://www.shelftalkers.slav.vic.edu.au/review/the-hard-way/

The Boys Club, power and politics and the AFL.

Bios – Soul Surfer by Bethany Hamilton and Layne Beachley – Beneath the Waves

All In by Billie Jean King

Andrew Jobling, does school visits about goal setting etc and has published a few books for adults.

https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/series/DWY/who-was

Chessboxer by Stephen Davies

Sports Beat Mysteries by John Feinstein

Kick by Mitch Johnson

Little People, Big Dreams Series

Japarrika Rises by Tiwi College Students

The Selwood Boys by Tony Wilson and the Selwoods

Kicking Goals by Adam Goodes and Anita Heiss

The Jammer by Nova Weetman

Boy 21 by Matthew Quick

ADULT – What We Are Reading

I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy

Mr. Carver’s Whale by Lyn Hughes

Motherthing by Ainslie Hogarth

Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus

A Kind of Magic by Anna Spargo Ryan

Different, Not Less by Chloe Hayden

SLAV Online Book Club September 8th 2022 – LGBTQI Books

Our thanks to those of you able to join us for our book club meeting to discuss titles and strategies for displaying LGBTQI Books in school libraries. As always, so many of you had so many wonderful contributions to share with us, and it is very appreciated.

This was our sixth book club meeting for 2022, and we look forward to chatting with you again at our next meeting on October 13th to discuss the topic – Climate / Environment Focus. Either in fact or explored in fiction, the environment and climate are issues of significance. What texts are of interest to your young readers as they grapple with these issues?

Disclaimer: The lists generated as a result of Book Club discussions are not, by any means, an exhaustive list of all titles or authors for each genre/category discussed. Nor will all titles be suitable for all libraries. We advise staff discretion when referencing these lists, to properly confirm individual title suitability for individual libraries, school and students needs. These are suggested titles only, shared by our members and inclusion on, or exclusion from, a list does not suggest SLAV endorsement or rejection of a title.

 Articles

Attwell, V. (2021). “In all areas, I cater to the majority”: An investigation of LGBT+ provision in school libraries from the librarian’s perspective. Synergy, 19(1). Retrieved from https://slav.vic.edu.au/index.php/Synergy/article/view/492

Byrne, C. (2021). Mirrors, windows and sliding glass doors: LGBTIQA+ perspectives. Synergy, 19(2). Retrieved from https://slav.vic.edu.au/index.php/Synergy/article/view/530

Day, N. (2019). Windows and mirrors: visibility and representation in Australian LGBTQIA+ YA fiction. Synergy, 17(1). Retrieved from https://slav.vic.edu.au/index.php/Synergy/article/view/v171196

Discussion in chat about display ideas in school libraries

  • Popular LGBTQI+ books in our high school library. They have a rainbow spine sticker and searchable subject codes.
  • any ideas on whether we should identify books by a genre sticker or in a reading list…seems to be mixed ideas. Is consulting our rainbow group at school enough?
  • I have purchased a rainbow sticker but I haven’t used them yet as I believe that some of the students at my school would feel victimised about reading LGBTQI+
  • I told my junior campus colleagues to read holden shepherd as I felt it was too graphic for yrs 7&8
  • We place the rainbow sticker inside the book on the date due slip or back cover of the book
  • Sorry I don’t have microphone or camera today… Our ‘Pride Group’ meet every Tuesday in our meeting room and I show them new books I have purchased and/or they suggest titles to me.  When I was generifying I also consulted them about where to place the rainbow stickers – inside back cover with another genre sticker on spine for second subject.  I also add LGBTQI+ as a subject/genre in the catalogue
  • We don’t use rainbow stickers – our student parliament didn’t like that idea when we asked their opinion. We do have reading lists and do lots of displays around the various LGBTQI+ events throughout the year.
  • I made a libguide 🙂 https://libguides.ecmelb.catholic.edu.au/c.php?g=942347&p=6823320 and we do displays of rainbow stories pretty regularly
  • Our books are interspersed within our generified collection (obviously with appropriate subject headings and tags) and we do displays to highlight titles as well. I bought stickers (which I was thinking I would put inside the back cover; I remember it was mentioned in a previous book club) but I have not got there yet…
  • Today we have just put up a ‘Diversity’ display which the students have put together – covering not only LGBTQI but also neurodiversity –
  • I’m making sure I have plenty of queer titles as eBooks – all boys’ school so some of the boys are more comfortable borrowing online rather than in person sadly.
  • Back to earlier discussion: We consulted with our LGBTQIA+ club as to how they wanted our books displayed and how they could best access them. We trialled several different ways of presenting the books, including stickers, displays for special days & a stand-alone collection as well as some multiple copies interspersed. We have lists on our OPAC as well.

Links to Lists and Resources

Hi Everyone, sorry joining late, here is a link to our Course Reserve of some books in our middle (secondary ) collection (am at K-12 scl may be of interest https://bialik.on.worldcat.org/courseReserves/course/id/17526105

thinking of ebooks /eAudio you may like to check out EPIC Books – teachers can sign up for free and can share books with students https://www.getepic.com/app/search

Readings https://www.readings.com.au/collection/lgbtqia-books-for-teens

Diverse Book Finder https://diversebookfinder.org/content/lgbtq/

New Yorker Article https://www.newyorker.com/news/annals-of-education/lgbt-books-kids-ban

Buzzfeed List of upcoming 2022 books https://www.buzzfeed.com/dahliaadler/new-lgbtq-young-adult-books-summer-2022

Titles Discussed

Graphic novels:

Heartstopper Series (obviously 😊 )

Kiss Number 8 – Colleen AF Venable

Séance tea party – Reimena Yee

Bloom – Kevin Panetta

Mooncakes – Suzanne Walker

Snapdragon – Kat Leyh

Verse novels:

The Black Flamingo – Dean Atta

Other fiction we love:

Wayward Children series by Seanan McGuire (#1 Every Heart a Doorway) – yr 9 and up

Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas

Take a Bow, Noah Mitchell – Tobias Madden

The First Third by Will Kostakis

The Sidekicks by Will Kostakis

Dancing Barefoot by Alice Boyle

We Could Be Something – Will Kostakis COMING May 2023

The House by the Cerulean Sea – TJ Klune

Heatwave by TJ Klune

Julian is a Mermaid by Jessica Love

Where You Left Us by Rhiannon Wilde

Aristotle & Dante. Film adaptation produced by Lin Manual coming out soon.

Lost Soul be at Peace by Maggie Thrash (senior graphic novel)

All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson. A memoir manifesto about growing up black and queer

Red, White and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston

I Kissed Sarah Wheeler by Casey McQuiston

Cinderella is Dead by Kaylnn Bayron

This Poison Heart by Kaylynn Bayron

This Wicked Fate by Kaylynn Bayron

Highway Bodies by Alison Evans has Horror/ Zombies and LBTQI

Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee

Boy from the Mish by Gary Lonesborough

Dread Nation by Justina Ireland – zombies and lgbtqi

The Comediennes Guide to Pride by Haley Thompson

What We Are Reading

The Marriage Portrait – Maggie O’Farrell

Here Be Leviathans – Chris Flynn

Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch

The Rising Tide by Ann Cleeves

Indira Naidoo’s The Space Between the Stars

The Dictionary of Lost Words – Pip Williams

Legitimate Sexpectations – Katrin Marson

 Sources for Reliable Reviews

Goodreads lists

Novelist – I found a public library that subscribes to Novelist so I don’t have to pay

Readings Monthly and Website

Common Sense Media (although sometimes with a grain of salt)

Read Plus

Oz Print

Magpies

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SLAV Online Book Club – August 10th 2022 – Reluctant Readers

Our thanks to those of you able to join us for our book club meeting to discuss titles and strategies for engaging Reluctant Readers. As always, so many of you had so many wonderful contributions to share with us, and it is very appreciated. This topic has been one of our most popular book club meetings and our third discussion on this subject. It was wonderful to engage with new recommendations, revisit old favourites and consider strategies that help school libraries support their reluctant readers.

This was our fifth book club meeting for 2022, and we look forward to chatting with you again at our next meeting on September 8th to discuss the topic LGBTQI+ titles. We will discuss across all age groups which texts are working well for those wishing to engage with LGBTQI+ experiences? How are these texts positioned in your school library to support and bolster inclusion?

Disclaimer: The lists generated as a result of Book Club discussions are not, by any means, an exhaustive list of all titles or authors for each genre/category discussed. Nor will all titles be suitable for all libraries. We advise staff discretion when referencing these lists, to properly confirm individual title suitability for individual libraries, school and students needs. These are suggested titles only, shared by our members and inclusion on, or exclusion from, a list does not suggest SLAV endorsement or rejection of a title.

Books that have been adapted for TV and Movies

Heartstopper Series by Alice Oseman (YA)

The Babysitters Club by Ann M. Martin (MG)

Sandman by Neil Gaiman (Mature Readers)

Enola Holmes by Nancy Springer (MG)

Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett (YA)

Love and Gelato by Jenna Evans Welch (YA)

High Engagement Reads

School of Good and Evil by Soman Chainani (MG)

The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells

Fart Boy Series by Adam Wallace

Ninja Kid/Wolf Girl/ Weirdo Series by Anh Do

Anything by Colleen Hoover (Mature Readers)

The Crossover by Kwame Alexander (the original verse book and the graphic novel version)

John Scalzi books suit those who want something a bit outside the box. We have Redshirts (sci fi) and Lock In (mystery/suspense)

Warcross by Marie Lu (YA great gamer tie in)

Football Superstar series (soccer) – easy on the eye layout, not much text. Super popular with boys not confident with reading

Making Friends by Kirsten Gudsnuk

Diary of a Wimpy Kid Series by Jeff Kinney

A number of our Year 7-8s love ‘Electric State‘ by Simon Stålenhag – it’s a bit more expensive, but it’s beautiful and the illustrations are amazing!

Verse Novels

Verse novels by Sarah Crossan have worked will with students who wanted Colleen Hoover books

The Poet X is a fantastic YA verse novel, Other Words for Home for a slightly younger reader

Bindi by Kirli Saunders is a beautiful verse novel too

I sell the verse novels to reluctant readers by pointing out that they are a super quick read, but you’ve read a whole book!

Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo

Steven Herrick verse novels are well used at our boys school, including as class texts Yr 9-12

When the Stars Wrote Back by Trista Mateer (mature readers) – poetry

NCACL verse novel database

Other titles that work well

The Other Side of the Sky Series by Amie Kaufman, Meagan Spooner

(Horror) Dark Hunter books by Benjamin Hulme-Cross

Flowers in The Attic by Virginia Andrews (YA)

Gordon Korman books have been popular with boys who reject other things e.g. Restart and The Unteachables Planning to buy War Stories, Linked, Notorious, and The Fort (His books cover many genres)

Stormbreaker Series by Anthony Horowitz (novels and graphic novels)

A Spoonful of Sadie by Lana Spasevski, Joanie Stone (Illustrator) (soccer)

The Fox Swift Series by Cyril Rioli (AFL)

I Can Be Series … Belinda Clarke (etc) Phil Kettle author (sport)

Ash Barty Junior Fiction Series – Little Ash (tennis)

The Life and Times of Gracie Faltrain by Cath Crowley (girls soccer story fiction)

More Than a Kick by Tayla Harris

Chessboxer by Stephen Davies is amazing – suitable for secondaries

Bulletcatcher is a well-written series (Barrington Stoke) by Chris Bradford

Virtual Kombat trilogy by Chris Bradford  www.barringtonstoke.co.uk

We recently bought the Investigators series, and the primary students love them

I’m pretty sure LMERC have audio books if you join them https://lmerc.softlinkhosting.com.au/oliver/libraryHome.do

I Survived graphic novels are great

Strategies Shared

Try matching books to video games https://screenrant.com/ten-best-video-games-based-books/

Making book lists on our catalogue e.g. Bring the Tissues, At Least One Explosion, Enemies to Lovers, etc

Getting them to talk with their peers about books they recommend

Flip Guides to assist them with choosing

Display or list of banned books – everyone wants read something that they are not allowed to!

Create a short / quick or easy book collection

Have students choose the book they will study for English and buy it or have them choose books from a bookshop for the library.

Invite students to choose from our Lamont book boxes to be added to our collection

Definitely do displays based on Booktok and Bookstagram trends. Latest is the “He’s a 10 but…” meme.

Our students recommend books – a tick is added on the cover and it’s displayed faced out

For the students who don’t know what they want to read we have top 30 lists for different year levels and top 6 lists for all of our different genres. They use them far more than I thought they would

Invite the author to speak

Promote the audio of the book

We have a ‘Bookflix’ window for trending books

I always ask them what they enjoy watching and go from there

Adding book promos to our library promotional trailer (runs over lunchtime) is very successful

What We Are Reading Adult Titles

A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles

Salt and Skin by Eliza Henry Jones

Tanith Lee novels

In by Will McPhail is a great adult graphic novel.

Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey

Partway through ‘Wake’ by Shelley Burr

The Crimson Thread by Kate Forsyth

Her Majesty’s Royal Coven by Juno Dawson

Dinner with the Schnabel’s by Toni Jordan

 

 

 

 

 

Guest Blog Post – SLAV Spotlight On Series

SLAV Spotlight On Sessions

Over the past couple of months I have had the pleasure of completing a virtual placement with SLAV as I near the end of my studies in librarianship at CSU. A major part of the placement included my attendance and participation in a variety of professional development sessions and events offered by SLAV. One of these sessions—and possibly the most influential and impactful, were the Spotlight On Sessions.

These sessions featured three guest teacher-librarians, who gave virtual tours of their respective libraries. We heard about a number of programs including ‘Summer Reading Challenges’ and innovative online/web-based programs to support such challenges, as well as forward-thinking initiatives to support digital literacy and future-ready skills for students. Guests shared information about some of the ways wide reading is supported within their schools, how teacher-librarians build and maintain relationships with teaching staff, and how the use of LibGuides can be maximised to support educational outcomes for students.

It was nothing short of inspiring to hear from librarians who are continually striving to develop best practices to support their students and colleagues in an environment that like many others, has had to pivot and embrace the online space due to Covid-19 and associated challenges. After attending the Spotlight On sessions, what became clear to me was that this kind of professional learning allows one to get an intimate glimpse of how colleagues within the profession continually strive for excellence in their respective roles. In turn, this exchange of ideas can help us to constantly adapt and grow as information professionals, whilst also ensuring the best possible outcomes for the communities in which we serve.

 – Vanessa Carnevale – From 2022 Community Hub Manager – Plenty Valley Christian College

SLAV Online Book Club List for November 18th 2021 – Books Every Library Should Have

Our thanks to those of you able to join us for our recent book club meeting to discuss titles that you believe every library must have. As always, so many of you had so many wonderful contributions to share with us, and it is very appreciated. Sadly, we only had an hour, so there are many, many titles missing, but we believe the list below is great start.

This was our last book club meeting for 2021, but we look forwarding to welcoming you all back next year! Watch this space for a new list of topics and a link to register.

Disclaimer: The lists generated as a result of Book Club discussions are not, by any means, an exhaustive list of all titles or authors for each genre/category discussed. Nor will all titles be suitable for all libraries. We advise staff discretion when referencing these lists, to properly confirm individual title suitability for individual libraries, school and students needs. These are suggested titles only, shared by our members and inclusion on, or exclusion from, a list does not suggest SLAV endorsement or rejection of a title.

Books that every school library should have
What books do you think are essential for a school library? Popular or important, award winners or timeless but maybe not a classic? There are various criteria one could use – what are your must haves?

We Are Wolves by Katrina Nannestad
The Yield by Tara June Winch
Burial Rites by Hannah Kent
His Dark Materials Series by Philip Pullman
Once Series by Morris Gleitzman
Earthsea Series by Ursula Le Guin
Anything by Rebecca Stead – Liar & Spy and When You Reach Me
Billie B Brown, Hey Jack and Polly and Buster Series by Sally Rippin
Cherub Series by Robert Muchamore
All books by Stephen King
All books by Matthew Reilly
Tomorrow When the War Began Series by John Marsden
The Wonder Books by R.J. Palacio
Mortal Engines Series by Phillip Reeves
Angel Creek by Sally Rippin
Coraline by Neil Gaiman
Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren
Fault in Our Stars by John Green
Papertowns by John Green
Wandi by Favel Parrett
Things a Map Wont Show You Anthology Edited by dr. Susan La Marca and Pam McIntyre
The First Third by Will Kostakis
Holes by Louis Sachar
Red Dirt Diary by Katrina Nannestad
Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
Obernewtyn Series by Isobelle Carmody
Aurora Rising by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff
Mapmaker Chronicles by Alison Tait
A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness
On the Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta
Two Wolves by Tristan Bancks
Mr Romanovs Garden in the Sky by Robert Newton
Charlotte’s Web by E B White
Pony by RJ Palacio
Laurinda by Alice Pung
Rangers Apprentice by John Flanagan
Alex Rider by Anthony Hoowitz
Sister Heart by Sally Morgan
Rich and Rare short story collection
Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus by Dusti Bowling
Of a Boy by Sonya Hartnett
Scythe Trilogy by Neil Shusterman
Unwind by Neil Shusterman
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
When Michael Met Mina by Randa Abdel-Fattah
The Handmaids Tale by Margaret Atwood
The Peacock Detectives by Carly Nugent
New Kid by Jerry Craft GN
Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys
Land of Stories Series by Chris Colfer
The Left Handed Booksellers of London by Garth Nix
Detention by Tristan Bancks
Nimona by Noelle Stevenson GN
All books by Maxine Beneba Clarke
Future Girl by Asphyxia
Girls in Boys Cars by Felicity Castagna
Changing Gear by Scott Gardner
The Philip Bunting fiction and non-fiction books
Young Dark Emu by Bruce Pascoe
All books by Poppy Nwosu, Sara Epstein, Kay Kerr, Anna Whateley
Diary of a Minecraft Zombie Series
Invisible Boys by Holden Shepperd
Boy from the Mish by Gary Lonesborough
Crow Country by Kate Constable
The interrogation of Ashala Wolf by Ambelin Kwaymullina
Breath by Tim Winton
Non-fiction – National Geographic Kids
Daisy Meadows Rainbow Fairies Series
Horrible Histories – Murderous Maths etc.
Andy Griffiths and Terry Denton – The Treehouse Series
Bren MacDibble – The Dog Runner, Across the Risen Sea and How to Bee
Are you there Buddha? by Pip Harry
The Spellslinger Series by Sebastian deCastel
Midnight Zoo by Sonya Hartnett
Real Pigeons Fight Crime Series by Andrew MacDonald and Ben Wood
The Bad Guys Series by Aaron Blabey
Where We Begin by Christie Nieman
Rabbit, Soldier, Angel, Thief by Katrina Nannestad
Tokyo Ghoul and Promised Neverland for the manga fans
Kingdom of Silk series by Glenda Millard’s
Between Us by Clare Atkins
In The Dark Spaces by Cally Black
Number the stars by Lois Lowry
Silver Sword by Ian Seraillier
Goodnight Mister Tom by Michelle Magorian
I Am David by Anne Holm
Words in Deep Blue by Cath Crowley
The Librarian of Auschwitz – Antonio Iturbe
The Book Thief by Markus Zusack
The Road to Winter Trilogy by Mark Smith
Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

Adult – What We Are Reading
Devotion by Hannah Kent
Bruny by Heather Rose
Louise Penny books
Liane Moriarity – has some great reads
The Nowhere Child by Christian White
The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
The Riviera House by Natasha Lester
The Women of Chateau Lafayette by Stephanie Dray
The Mountains Sing by Nguyen Phan Que Mai
Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
New Anthony Horowitz – A Line to Kill
Behind the Scenes at the Museum by Kate Atkinson
Are you smarter than a chimpanzee – test yourself against the amazing minds of animals by Ben Ambridge
99 other bad arguments by Julian Baggini
Girt, True Girt & Girt Nation by David Hunt
West with Giraffes by Lynda Rutledge Stephenson
The Wattle Island Book Club
The Passage by Justin Cronin
Peter May novels
Barbara Vine novels
Love stories by Trent Dalton
Rewilding the Urban Soul by Claire Dunn
Helen Garner How to End A Story
The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett
Once There Were Wolves by Charlotte McConaghy

 

 

 

 

 

SLAV Online Book Club – August 11th 2021 – Strategies and Titles to Engage Reluctant Readers

Our thanks to those of you able to join us for our recent book club meeting to discuss strategies and titles that have worked with reluctant readers. As we discussed in the meeting, there is an important difference between readers who are reluctant because of barriers to reading (low literacy levels, learning difficulties, etc.) and readers who are simply reluctant to read, despite being good readers. Readers who need to be encouraged and engaged. As always, so many of you had so many wonderful contributions to share with us, and it is very appreciated.

Below is the hugely diverse and broad list of titles and series shared and discussed. Some titles may have an indicated suitable age range next to each title, however this is merely a guide and we encourage you to use your own judgement, as you know your students best.

We look forward to seeing you at our next meeting on September 9th 2021 to discuss Culturally Diverse books.

Disclaimer: The lists generated as a result of Book Club discussions are not, by any means, an exhaustive list of all titles or authors for each genre/category discussed. Nor will all titles be suitable for all libraries. We advise staff discretion when referencing these lists, to properly confirm individual title suitability for individual libraries, school and students needs. These are suggested titles only, shared by our members and inclusion on, or exclusion from, a list does not suggest SLAV endorsement or rejection of a title.

Books for Reluctant Readers
Subjects/ formats of current interest –
DK Guide to Rocks and Gems
Science Comics, I Survived Series are good non-fiction graphic novels
Magazines
Non-Fiction Choose Your Own Adventure
Almost anything about cars
World War 1 & 2 nonfiction
The “Who is…?” and “Who was…?” biographies
Sporting/Athlete Biographies
Secondary – AFL and Cricket biographies are popular
Non-Fiction about sustainable living is really popular with secondary students
Younger format Biographies such as the Little People Big Dreams
All things Minecraft – guides and fictional stories to support the world building
National Geographic Weird but True
Dylan Alcott Biography
Anything about Skateboarding
We’ve had some interested in books about the share market
Recipe Books
Anything diary related is also popular.
We have had a huge resurgence in reading Stephen King novels (Secondary students)
Horror
Choose Your Own Adventure
True Crime

Strategies shared
Borrowing out both an audiobook and text version of the same book can be a great support. We’ve done that for struggling readers that want to take part in our Readers Cup challenge
Create a List of Dyslexia Friendly Books.
We’re trialling a Read Aloud option with our Year 9 boys who struggle. So far it’s working well with the boys keen to start each week… and others in the larger reading cohort wanting to join
We are doing the Premier’s Reading Challenge and we have a “quick reads” trolley with short and sharp novellas.
Build up a short story collection
For teachers: Jim Trelease’s The Read-aloud Handbook has great suggestions across all ages for books with a vibrant narrative voice(s). I’ve consulted it over the years — now in its 8th edition.
We have moved our books on film to the DVD stands
I’ve been working on pairing books with audio books that are exactly the same
My favourite thing to say “you won’t believe that will happen in Chapter 4” and the kids come back saying “OMG, you won’t believe it”.
Have Students recommend books. Display these face out with a tick on them (spine & front cover)
We do book chats in groups and students recommend books to other. The power of the friendship recommendation is strong.

Book Suggestions and Chat Discussion
Verse Novels
Steven Herrick
One and Also We Come Apart by Sarah Crossan
Love that Dog and Hate that Cat (great read aloud)
Bindi by Kirli Saunders

Graphic novels can be helpful
Alex Rider
James Patterson
Maximum Ride
Macbeth
Bartolo
The I Survived Series by Scholastic
Rod Serling’s The Twilight Zone
New Kid by Jerry Craft

Barrington Stoke Series
Other Suggestions

Guinness Book of Records
Factopedia
Amulet Series
Wings of Fire Series
My Hero Academia (Manga) The Boy Who Became a Dragon: Bruce Lee Story – Jim Di
Onjali Rauf, The Boy at the Back of the Class (refugee story).
Jack Heath’s short stories 200, 300 minutes of….
All Manga
High Interest Publishing – Canada – can be great for VCAL seniors, Literature Circles, class novel. Short snappy novels.
Horrible Histories
The Little Bookroom’s Recommendations for Reluctant Readers
Tried and true: Wonder Compendium by R.J Palacio (a boy I taught once said “This book feels like it’s reading itself to me”).
George Ivanoff’s Survival Series
Science Comics, I Survived series are good non-fiction graphic novels As well as: They Called Us Enemy by George Takei, The Best We Can Do by Thi Bui
Dropping In by Geoff Havel
Bubble Wrap Boy by Phil Earle
Biographies such as the Little People Big Dreams and the DK books. Students don’t have to commit too much time and can be used as a launching pad for more
Wonder is great and there are a few other titles that we market as ‘read alikes’ such as Ugly by Robert Hoge.
Bad Guys Series by Aaron Blabey
Anh Do’s Series – Wolf Girl, E-Boy, Sky Dragon all work well with Year 7 struggling readers
Hatchet by Gary Paulsen
Real Pigeons Fight Crime Series – by Andrew McDonald and Ben Wood – this is being adapted for an animated series on Nickelodeon
Primary School: try the Little Gem books by Anna Zobel they’re also good for children who have dyslexia. Billie. B. Brown and Hey Jack by Sally Rippin. School of Monsters by Sally Rippin
Our Australian Girl Series
Anything by Raina Telgemeier, Babysitters Club
Leigh Hobbs Old Tom which is a compilation of 4 to 5 picture books also works well with EAL readers. It is simple but looks like a big fat book.
The Cherub Series by Robert Muchamore is really popular with year 7 and 8 boys. Also Ultimate & Classic Football heroes books are very popular with boys who don’t usually like to read
The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo is great for older readers
Babysitters Club very popular. Start with the Graphic Novels and then show them the actual novels . Under 150 pages, good size text and easy language.
Anything by Gary Paulsen
F.L.Y. Financially Literate Youth is a good one for finance interests
Neal Shusterman – Unwind, Dry Lex Thomas – Quarantine good for reluctant but capable readers
Once Series by Morris Gleitzman
Dork Diaries, Tom Gates, Geronimo Stilton/Thea Stilton, and Adventure Time books also good for reluctant and/or EAL kids + early teens
I have students wanting to read about real stories / murder mystery e.g. OJ Simpson
Counting by 7s Holly Goldberg Sloan
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by J.K. Rowling
Geek Girl got one of our reluctant readers started. Also agree with verse novels
Keeper of the Lost Cities’ Series by Shannon Messenger great for Harry Potter fans
Becoming Muhammad Ali by James Patterson is very popular. More inclusive books seem to work with our school community.
Quick Reads that connect to their interest area – Soccer (Ultimate Football Heroes)
Parvana is also available in Graphic Novel
My son loves The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien
The Crossover by Kwame Alexander’s
Daughter couldn’t put down Highway Bodies by Alison Evans
Anything Roald Dahl is really popular in my school at the moment
Scythe by Neal Shusterman walks off the shelf after book talking
My little sister started reading more in Year 12, she has read: My Best Friend’s Exorcism, Lonely Castle in the Mirror, Before the Coffee Gets Cold, and Convenience Store Woman. But not sure how some of these would do in high school libraries
We have had a huge resurgence in reading Stephen King novels with reluctant readers…the more horror the better
We had a book called ‘Crime Time: Australians behaving badly’ that was a collection of chapters timelining the history of Australian criminals. That was very popular when students were aware of it! Not so recent, but goes back to Ned Kelly times etc.
Risk by Ferris Fleur with students who don’t identify as readers. Mysteries such as One of Us is Lying by Karen McManus
Great Escape by Felice Arena is great to get kids interested in historical fiction.
Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
Minecraft novels appeal to players
Five Nights at Freddies Series is based on a video game. Quite scary.
We’re bringing in more Legend of Zelda Manga into the collection for the primary school children
D&D is very popular
Gamer trilogy by Chris Bradford (short, gritty, dystopian video gaming future). Chris Bradford, amazing author
Cry Blue Murder by Kim Kane & Marion Roberts also appeals because it breaks up the text
The Road to Winter by Mark Smith is very popular for year 9 very topical and fast moving. Any student that liked Tomorrow when the War Began by John Marsden will love it!!
None Shall Sleep by Ellie Marney
Red Eye Series, scary, thrilling, horror
They Both Die in the End Adam Silvera
Roller Girl by Victoria Jamieson
Making Friends by Kirsten Gudsnuk
Heartstopper GN Series by Alice Oseman
Reluctant readers have shown to like or seek books like Bro – similar background Lebanese
This is Where it Ends Marieke Nijkamp
Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo is moving through our Year 8’s at the moment.
Carousel by Brendan Ritchie is popular
Wilder Girls by Rory Powers
One of Us Is Lying by Karen McManus – I would recommend for year 8-9 and good year 7s
After Wings of Fire – for primary, junior sec – The Dragon Prince by Aaron and Melanie Ehasz
Animorphs Graphic Novels
Warriors GN
Lumberjanes GN
This is How We Change the Ending by Vikki Wakefield
Kids are loving medical supernatural mysteries – Whisper/Weapon, The Program/The Treatment/The Remedy
A Trio of Sophies by Eileen Merriman is another one that I’ve had success with for students who have liked the one of us is lying series
Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones
We can’t keep Fleur Ferris books on our shelves, always being borrowed.
Lightfall: the girl & the Galdurian by Tim Probert is another good graphic novel
Robert Cormier’s novels: oldies but goodies. We all Fall Down for Year 9+
Starters and Enders has had a resurgence at my school
Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan
Attack on Titan!! Love them
Manga readers are not reluctant and highly sophisticated in my view.
Manga most popular in my school – shelves always empty
Dog Man is really popular and really funny – Dav Pilkey
Captain Underpants, Toffle Towers, Nat Amoore’s books, Dog Man are all good humour
I know that there was a written anthology of short stories around “Attack on Titan” Manga, however I don’t know what reading level it is.
The Tokyo Ghoul manga series also has some companion novels, I have had some students use them as a bridge
Treehouse Series by Andy Griffiths and Terry Denton
Mercy Watson for the Preps and Year 1s
Atticus Von Tasticus by Andrew Daddo and Stephen Michael King
I have found the kids who read Manga are often interested in Art/Gaming so have spent money on the ‘Art of Manga’ and some have moved onto these nonfiction
The Bolds Series by Julian Clary
Some manga that’s popular in primary: Spirited Away, Legend of Zelda, Pokemon, Haikyuu!, Sailor Moon, Card Captor Sakura: Clear Card, Yuzu the Pet Vet, Chi’s Sweet Home,
Robert Muchamore’s CHERUB series and Henderson’s Boys series
Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer is funny too
The Funny KId by Matt Stanton series for lower/mid primary
Don’t Call Me Ishmael by Michael Gerard Bauer is very funny.
I agree that our Manga readers are thinkers and will happily bridge to a chapter book if it complements what they are reading in their Manga.
I think we often focus on “wide reading” and this lends to us trying to move readers “off Manga” rather than the skills of the student or the content of the Manga.
A Dog’s Purpose by W. Bruce Cameron
A Million Things by Emily Spurr – more adult but mature readers would probably like it too
Marley and Me by John Grogon
Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DeCamillo is good
Aussie Nibbles, Bites, Chunks collections.
Pawcasso by Remy Lai
Warriors Series by Erin Hunter
Middle Grade Read -Living Next Door to Doctor Death – Spider Lee. Great short cliff hanging chapters. Both boys and girls love it.

What We Are Reading/ Adult Reading
Migrations and Once There Were Wolves by Charlotte McConaghy
The Prison Healer by Lynette Noni (YA)
The Dressmakers of Yarrandarra Prison by Meredith Jaffe
Anxious People by Fredrik Backman
The Paris Library by Janet Skelian Charles
Locust Summer by David Allan-Petale:
The Deep by Kyle Perry
Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart
Disappearing Earth by Julia Phillips
Lonely Castle In the Mirror by Mizuki Tsujimura
Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
The Mother-In-Law by Sally Hepworth
The Funny Thing About Norman Foreman
Codebreakers by Alli Sinclair
The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
A Good Girls Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson (YA)
Penguin Bloom by Bradley Trevor Greive
Before You Knew My Name – by Jacqueline Bublitz
Who Gets To Be Smart by Bri Lee
Songlines – Lynne Kelly
Surprising Power of a Good Dumpling by Wai Chim
Women and Other Monsters by Jess Zimmerman
The Silence of the Girls by Pat Barker
Ariadne by Jennifer Saint
Nemesis by Roth
The Golden Age by Joan London
Silent Footsteps by Sally Hepworth
The Pull of the Stars by Emma Donoghue
Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams

 

 

 

The Importance of Reading and School Libraries

Library professionals have long known the benefits of school library spaces, managed and staffed by qualified library staff. We are all very aware of how vital school libraries are, for a myriad of reasons.

COVID19 has had an enormous impact on how our students learn, access books, resources and libraries. It has also had a significant impact on student wellbeing. Much is being written about the importance of reading for continued well being, including this excellent article written by Dr. Margaret. K. Merga and published on The Conversation on August 9th 2021.  She writes “We know that adults who are avid readers enjoy being able to escape into their books. Reading for pleasure can reduce psychological distress and has been related to mental well-being. Reading-based interventions have been used successfully to support children who have experienced trauma. In a recent study, around 60% of young people agreed reading during lockdown helped them to feel better.” 

The article draws upon findings from her important research into Libraries as Wellbeing Supportive Spaces in Contemporary Schools published in July of 2021.

Dr. Merga’s findings further reinforce the important work that SLAV completed in 2020. During June 2020, the School Library Association of Victoria surveyed its members in order to gain a picture of what remote learning meant for school libraries during term two. 269 people responded to 20 questions in an online survey.

From the Executive Summary – “The results of this survey clearly indicate the vital role of school libraries in our school communities. There are many examples here of trained library professionals displaying creativity and flexibility in responding to the learning and teaching needs of remote learning. Results clearly demonstrate how a well-staffed and well-resourced school library supports and enriches a school community. This is vital for learning and teaching, but also in support of the general well-being of staff and students and the common pursuit of developing resilient, life-long learners.” You can read the full report which includes a comprehensive reference list – here 

From SLAV Executive Officer Dr. Susan La Marca – “The spread of articles published during this period both online and in our journals, on this topic, are excellent examples of best practice responses to remote learning. They also indicate a high level of engagement with the issues related to learning and teaching by school library professionals during a time of disruption. These teacher librarians, and their school library teams, have also demonstrated a level of proactivity, expertise and reflection that is to be celebrated.”

 

Continuing To Work From Home – Some Ideas

With the recent lockdowns and remote learning continuing on and off, many of our members have been sharing (through our discussion forums) tasks they are prioritising and assigning library staff during our time working from home. We thought it might be helpful to share a list of those here for you to reference and, if needed, to jog your memory for tasks that can be done remotely at this time.

These two articles from Knowledge Quest offer food for thought:

The School Library Is Still Open! Ten Ways to Change Our Physical Spaces into Virtual LibrariesThe New

Virtual Reality: Surviving and Thriving as a School Librarian during a Pandemic

Other tasks you might like to consider and schedule are:

Revisit, revise or update policy statements on library operation
Update procedures manual
LMS
• Reconsider home page
• Revisit loan period dates
• Fix cataloguing errors
• Maintain authority file
• Update patron records
• Reassess genre lists
• Update cover images
• Update keywords and subject headings

Professional learning
Reading – FYI and Synergy
• Access past event material in the members only area of the SLAV website
• Access webinars on your particular LMS, databases etc

Update the library website
Promote ebooks and databases to staff and students
• Create user guides

Promote your availability for one-on-one online support to staff and students
Promote online competition options for students
Consider opportunity to attend more faculty area meetings
Curate resources to support projects and tasks across remainder of 2021
Liaise with teachers to incorporate research skills into future units of work
Plan displays and library activities for remainder of 2021
Begin compiling statistics and data for annual report to school admin / council

What can you work on now to ease the load in 2022? If you have any ideas or suggestions, or you think of something we may have missed, please feel free to contribute in the comments.

 

SLAV Primary Conference Poster Gallery – May 24th 2021

Gallery

This gallery contains 6 photos.

SLAV Primary Conference Poster Gallery – May 24th 2021 Our thanks to those conference attendees who participated in the poster gallery competition! We had 6 wonderful submissions, all sharing great ideas. The criteria specified for our poster gallery submissins were … Continue reading