Reading Aloud

World Wide Knit in Public Day – June 9, 2018

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Tired of Knitting Alone?

Be Bold.  Be Brave.  Go Public!

Join your fellow knitters for one day of knitting in public.  Saturday, June 9, 2018 is World Wide Knit in Public Day.

The needle arts have long been a popular and one of the most popular of needle arts is knitting.   If you don’t knit you can read about knitting.  There are a surprising number of children’s books that feature the needle arts and knitting in particular.  McLure has many of these titles ready for you to check them out.  Check out the following titles at McLure Education Library.

Cover Image of Tiny and Hercules

Tiny & Hercules

Five short stories about the lives of two unusual friends: Tiny, an elephant with a fear of ice skating and a newfound love of knitting, and Hercules, a mouse with a heart of gold and a desire to learn to paint.

Cover Image of Extra Yarn

With a supply of yarn that never runs out, Annabelle knits for everyone and everything in town until an evil archduke decides he wants the yarn for himself.

A classical take on knitting – and its consequences.   The 1974 Caldecot winning children’s book Duffy and the Devil makes for a rollicking read.

Cover Image of Duffy and the Devil

The spinning and knitting the devil agrees to do for her win Duffy the Squire’s name and a carefree life until it comes time for her to guess the devil‘s name.  Then there is the Devil to pay.

For a historical perspective on knitting take a look at this book.

Cover Image of Knit Your Bit

When his father leaves to fight in World War I, Mikey joins the Central Park Knitting Bee to help knit clothing for soldiers overseas.

For those interested in knitting something for themselves, McLure has a book help get you started.

Cover Image of Kids Knitting

Provides step-by-step instructions covering the basic stitches, knitting tools, and finger-knitting, with directions for twelve easy projects.

Knitting in public is not for everyone or every time.  When you want to knit alone, this is the book for you.

Cover Image of Leave Me Alone!

Grandmother wants so badly to be left alone to finish the knitting for her grandchildren that she leaves her tiny home and her big family to journey to the moon and beyond to find peace and quiet to finish her knitting.

But if you are tired of knitting alone?  Then.  Be Bold.  Be Brave.   Go public.

Get those needles and that yarn and take your knitting out of the closet, your room, or your house.  Knit while you eat that Big Mac.  Knit while you sip your Starbucks.  Knit at your local bookstore while you listen to a recorded book.  Or best of all, read aloud to kids while they knit.

Retired?

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Who knew you could retire a color?  Aren’t the colors a constant?  Unchanging?  The color spectrum a scientific fact?

On the morning of March 31, 2017 Crayola will retire a color from it’s classic 24 count box of crayons.  Exactly which color is going to be retired has been a well kept secret, and the world anxiously awaits this announcement.

This exciting event in the life of the coloring box can be a learning opportunity for the classroom.  Here is a list of crayon read-alouds that can be used in the classroom.

Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt

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Day the Crayons Came Home by Drew Daywalt              Cover Image

Red: A Crayon’s Story by Michael Hall

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Bad Day at Riverbend by Chris Van Allsburg      Cover Image

Not in the House Newton by Judith Heide Gilliland

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Reading Aloud: Picture Books

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By Leslie Grant, Graduate Assistant, McLure Education Library

Reading is one of the first things we learn in school and for good reason. Education in almost any subject relies on the ability to read. Strong readers are much more likely to succeeding in future academic endeavors, whether it be a standardized test or a college diploma. This might seem obvious, but for further proof, look at articles like “Reading Can Make You Smarter!” by Anne Cunningham and Keith Stanovich.

So how do we create good readers?

In his book, The Read-Aloud Handbook, Jim Trelease advocates (as you might have guessed from the title) for more time spent on read alouds. Reading out loud to children is one of the best ways to improve their reading and listening skills, as well as foster a love of books. Throughout the book, which I would highly recommend reading, Trelease discusses the importance of reading and reading aloud. Additionally, he shares tips and techniques for reading to kids of all ages. The last section includes his “treasury” of books well suited to reading aloud, including a brief description and age range.

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Here are a few suggestions of picture books good for reading aloud:

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by Bill Martin, Jr.; Illus. by Eric Carle (PZ8.3.M418 Br 1983bx)

Corduroy by Don Freeman (PZ7.F8747 Co 1990x)

Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak (PZ7.S47 Wh)

Froggy Gets Dressed by Jonathan London; Illus. by Frank Remkiewicz (PZ7.L8432 Fro 1995x)

If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Joffe Numeroff; Illus. by Felicia Bond (PZ7.N964 If 1989x)

Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst; Illus. by Ray Cruz (PZ7.V816 Al 1984)

Miss Nelson is Missing! by Harry Allard and James Marshall (PZ7.A413 Mi)

If I Ran the Zoo by Dr. Seuss (PZ8.G276 If)

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs by Judi Barrett; Illus. by Ron Barrett (PZ7.B2752 C)

These are just a few of my personal favorites, all of which are available here in the Education School Library downstairs. And don’t forget to browse through the oversized books, which are great for sharing with classes!