What is Your "Home-Run" Book? (And other favorite titles)

This post is just for fun. :) Today, my professor asked us what our "home-run" book was? (What book got you hooked on reading because it was so totally awesome?) 

I thought I would list my "home-run" book here and a list of some of my "favorite" books (most of which were the result of Free Voluntary Reading, some were required for a class).

Feel free to comment with your own. I look forward to hearing what other people's favorite books are.

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MY LIST

First home-run book: 

Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes by Eleanor Coerr. Reason: It was the first book that made me cry (I was in third grade). 

Favorite Books:

From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E. L. Konigsburg

The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin 

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

Little House on the Prairie series by Laura Ingalls Wilder

Harry Potter series by J K Rowling 

Flowers in the Attic and Ruby series by V. C. Andrews

Stranger with My Face by Lois  Duncan

Edgar Allan Poe's Tales by Edgar Allan Poe

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

In My Hands: Memories of a Holocaust Rescuer by Irene Gut Opdyke

Home by Marilynne Robinson

In Cold Blood  by Truman Capote

Nathaniel Hawthorne's Tales by Nathaniel Hawthorne

Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins

Divergent trilogy by Veronica Roth 

Matched trilogy by Ally Condie

Delirium trilogy by Lauren Oliver

Across the Universe trilogy by Beth Revis

Under the Dome by Stephen King

*All Books are linked to Goodreads.com so you can see a summary for the titles if you want. :)

Voluntary Reading Vs. Rewarded Reading

Stephen D Krashen's case study, The Power of Reading discusses the importance of "Free Voluntary Reading (FVR) and how "fun" reading can be better for kids then structured, graded, rewarded readings. In fact, Krashen directly responds to the question, "Do Rewards Work?" Krashen says that according to Smith, rewarded reading can actually be detrimental, proving to children that reading should always have a price attached to it and that coercion is only reason to do something (Krashen 116). Additionally, research offers no support for using rewards and suggests that rewarded reading my be harmful (117). 

This argument against a reward system proves contrary to the case studies posted on the "Accelerated Reader" website. Those studies show that their quiz based reward system for student reading is shown to improve students' scores on state proficiency tests (http://www.renlearn.com/ar/casestudy.aspx). Obviously, their website is attempting to promote the program and displays the studies who's finding show the effectiveness of the program. 

Additionally, The Institute of Education Sciences What Works Clearinghouse has released findings about the effectiveness of the "Accelerated Reader" program. Their studies have shown that,  "Accelerated Reader was found to have no discernible effects on reading fluency, mixed effects on comprehension, and potentially positive effects on general reading achievement." 

From these three sources, I could surmise that a reward based reading system may have some positive effects across a large group setting, such as a school, in order to improve overall test scores; however, FVR would be more beneficial on a child by child bases, to encourage better reading habits and lifelong love of reading.

Sources:

"Accelerated Reading." U.S. Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences, the What Works Clearinghouse. http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/InterventionReport.aspx?sid=12

"How to make an entire city smile: An AR Case Study." Accelerated Reader Enterprise. Renaissance Learning. http://www.renlearn.com/ar/casestudy.aspx

Krashen, Stephen D. The Power of Reading: Insights from the Research. 2nd Ed.  Westport, Connecticut: Libraries Unlimited, 2004.

Teens, Technology, and Online Safety

"Teens & Social Media in School & Public Libraries: A Toolkit for Librarians & Library Workers"

This handout offers great information about Teens and Social Media. Most importantly is the positive aspects of social media for learning. This handout, created by the YALSA, the young adult division of ALA, discuss the positive and negative aspects of social media on Teens.
http://www.ala.org/yalsa/sites/ala.org.yalsa/files/content/professionaltools/Handouts/sn_toolkit11.pdf

"Libraries Help Keep Teens Safe Online"

In addition, the "Libraries Help Keep Teens Safe Online", shows how internet and social media safety can be achieved without completely eliminating access for teen. In an age of ever increasing technology use by children, teen, and adults across a wide range of outlets, business, schools, and personal use; the removal of access to technology can be detrimental to teens; however, there also needs to be measures in place to insure online safety for teens. This handout, created by the YALSA offers some tips for understanding Teen computer use.
http://www.ala.org/yalsa/sites/ala.org.yalsa/files/content/guidelines/issuebrief/IssueBrief_TeenOnlineSafety.pdf

Why Teens Use the Library?

I recently read a very interesting article about a study done at two public libraries. The survey was taken to find out why Teens come to the library in order to make libraries more teen friendly. To me the findings of the study were both expected and somewhat unexpected.

Denise Agosto's article, "Why Do Teens Use Libraries? Results of a Public Library Use Survey" examines the finding of a research survey done in public libraries about Teen use. Her article briefly introduces the need for a survey specifically designed for Teens because, while library records can show popularity and collection use, it is unable to interpret why people need and use the library. In order to have a clear picture of why people use the library, teens must be analyzed separately because, as her study shows, what teen look for in the library are not always on par with what adults are looking for in the library.

The finding of the study show that most teens come to the library get information, which was not unexpected. The library as a source of information is relatively agreed upon to be the main function or role. However, in addition to this relatively normal response, there was also a significantly large response to the question that showed teens come to the library for social interactions. They use the library as a space to hang with friends or meet other teens. Another interesting finding was the responses that showed teens came to the library for its physical environment. The reasons were either to use the library as a refuge from a poor home situation or a safe place to be after school. Agosto acknowledges that some of the finding of this study do not correlate with what other experts in the field believe the library's role should be. In particular, the library as a safe space has been largely overlooked. She says that for teens, the physical space of the library and the social space of the library should not be overlooked because, as her study shows, teens need and want their library to have these physical and social spaces. 

Agosto, Denise.  "Why Do Teens Use Libraries? Results of a Public Library Use Survey." Public Libraries, 46.3 (2007): 55-62. EBSCOHost. Web. 5 September 2012.

 

Bloomington Public Library Teen Party "Epic Fail" photo hunt. An example of the Library as a Social Space for Teens. 

http://www.ala.org/yalsa/sites/ala.org.yalsa/files/content/advocacy_final.pdf

A helpful guide for Teen Advocacy in the Library. Prepared by the Young Adult Library Services Association. A great resource for Teen Librarians.

Speed Dating with Books

http://barrowmediacenter.wordpress.com/2012/03/06/book-tasting/

Here is the link to the "Speed Dating" program.

Teen Programming on Pinterest

Pinterest Teen Programming Collaborative Board

A very fun board for those of you on Pinterest.com. A lot of these ideas look really fun. I particularly like the "speed dating with books" program.