This video and blog post are part of聽Build Your Stack,鈩⒙燼 new initiative focused exclusively on helping teachers build their book knowledge and their classroom libraries. The video was recorded by 起点传媒member Colby Sharp. In case you don鈥檛 enjoy watching videos, we have reformatted it into a blog below鈥攂ut we highly recommend watching the video, as Colby鈥檚 energy and love of books are contagious!
I鈥檓 going to share with you the five things that I do to stay on top of the latest and greatest in children鈥檚 literature.
1. Go to independent bookstores and talk to the people who work there.
People who work at bookstores know books so well; their livelihood depends on them knowing books. One of my favorite bookstores is Bookbug in Kalamazoo, Michigan.
2. Find friends who love books.
People who love books love nothing more than sharing the books they love with other people. The more book friends you have, the more book recommendations you鈥檒l get.
3. Follow people who love books on social media.
Whether it鈥檚 Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram, if you follow people who LOVE books, you鈥檙e going to get all kinds of great book recommendations.
4. Subscribe to publishers鈥� channels on YouTube.
Once you鈥檝e subscribed, I recommend clicking the bell icon; every time a publisher puts out a new book trailer, it gets emailed to me and I get to watch it. That really helps me to stay on top of and know what鈥檚 coming out and get really excited about it. Then I can show those trailers to my students, and we鈥檙e all book-crazy-excited!
Here are a few publishers that I recommend:
5. This is the most important: Listen to your students.
My students are readers; my students love books; my students have favorite authors. I know that if I鈥檓 reading for them, then I should be looking at what they鈥檙e reading, what they鈥檙e talking about. I should be paying attention to how they browse the classroom library and how they shop at a book fair. My students know what they like, so if I鈥檓 going to be the best teacher that I can be for them, I need to be reading the books that they鈥檙e loving.
How do you stay on top of the latest and greatest in children鈥檚 literature? Let us know on social media using #BuildYourStack!
Colby Sharp is a fifth-grade teacher in Parma, Michigan. He is the editor of The Creativity Project, coauthor of Game Changer! Book Access for All Kids with Donalyn Miller, Vice President of the Michigan Reading Association, and co-host of The Yarn Podcast with Travis Jonker.