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Advancing Literacy Beyond the Classroom is designed for families, caregivers, and educators who want to support young readers and writers at home. From early literacy to essay writing, AI tools to choosing great books, we're covering it all for PreK-12 students. Join us each month for a new episode where we'll explore practical strategies grounded in the latest research. Learn more about Teachers College Advancing Literacy at https://advancingliteracy.tc.columbia.edu/ .
00;00;03;19 - 00;00;26;09
Emily Smith
Welcome to advancing Literacy beyond the classroom. Our goal is to provide space for families and caregivers as they aim to support the literacy learning that goes on outside of school. We know that literacy learning is a life thing and not just a school thing. As family members and caregivers, we know your role is central to your kids literacy development.
00;00;26;12 - 00;00;38;25
Emily Smith
You may have preschoolers, young children, kids, preteens, and or young adults. We have suggestions that will support their literacy journey. Let's get started. I'm Emily Smith.
00;00;39;00 - 00;01;06;01
Kristin Smith
And I am Kristin Smith. We are staff developers at Advancing Literacy at Teachers College in New York City. We are a center within the Teacher Education and Community Partnerships Division, providing professional development for school districts in the New York City metro area, across the country and worldwide. This school year, we will be offering over 20 free workshops for families, caregivers, and educators.
00;01;06;03 - 00;01;19;12
Kristin Smith
You can find our events and future workshops on our social media pages at TC Advancing Lit and our website: advancingliteracy.tc.columbia.edu.
00;01;19;14 - 00;01;41;04
Emily Smith
Great. Thanks, Kristin and thanks for joining me today. Our title for today's workshop is Fostering a Love for Fiction Reading and Kids of all Ages. And we'll do this in three parts. We have the first part, we'll talk about some research that we think is relevant and useful. And the second part, we'll talk about some hopefully very practical recommendations for families and caregivers.
00;01;41;07 - 00;01;54;03
Emily Smith
And then to wrap things up, we'll share some books. Kristin, if you would get us started. And when we look at that title, fostering a love for fiction reading and kids of all ages, what research comes to mind for you as particularly important?
00;01;54;06 - 00;02;28;04
Kristin Smith
Yeah, I think one of the things that comes to mind is the work of Dr. Rudine Sims Bishop, and thinking about her work with windows, mirrors and sliding glass doors. So I'm going to start us off with a quote and then talk a little bit about her research. One of her quotes about fiction reading is when there are enough books available that can act as both mirrors and windows for our children, then they will see that we can celebrate both our differences and similarities, because together they are what makes us all human.
00;02;28;07 - 00;02;55;28
Kristin Smith
I just love this research because I think it really points to fiction being more than just what's happening in the classroom or our reading stories, but really getting to know each other. She says that books are mirrors when children see themselves, their families, communities and dreams reflected in what they read and their windows when children can look into someone else's world and learn about lives that are different from their own. What greater purpose?
00;02;56;00 - 00;02;57;21
Kristin Smith
Then thinking about that as we read.
00;02;57;21 - 00;03;18;23
Emily Smith
It feels almost. There's a visceral thing to this. If you see yourself or your community, whether that's about place or whether that's about your culture or your race, or just thinking about your interests, seeing yourself inside of books feels like such a visceral, kind of thing that we want for all kids. Absolutely. Yeah, I think about that, too.
00;03;18;24 - 00;03;44;12
Emily Smith
Like growing up and reading, I think more often I found myself drawn to books where I also was learning about other places and people. And so I think the mirrors are certainly important for that sense of representation and seeing yourself inside of something. But also, I felt like a lot of the books that I read were more about me learning about other people and places and their experiences, which was captivating too.
00;03;44;14 - 00;04;04;27
Kristin Smith
Yeah, one of the things that she also reminds us of that I think is important, is also that kids who only always only see themselves in books can develop an over inflated sense of self. So reading about others can help us to grow empathy and have a broader sense of humanity. And that's really like the heart of why reading matters.
00;04;05;04 - 00;04;32;10
Emily Smith
Yeah, I think that's interesting because it relates to some of the research I've been thinking about. This is Marshall's work that was featured in the British Journal of General Practice, and really thinking about the idea that, combined with the power of stories to persuade and manipulate by emotionally engaging us, it's understandable why stories are used extensively to teach children important life lessons, because it really is helping them to learn about life.
00;04;32;16 - 00;04;55;29
Emily Smith
And also that fiction has the power to enhance real world, empathetic responses. So the idea that when we read fiction, it gives us a sense of what other people have experienced. It gives us a greater ability to empathize. And it can teach us about life and about the kind of lives we want to live. Feels super powerful.
00;04;56;00 - 00;05;22;27
Kristin Smith
Last night I actually watched Rita Carter's TEDx talk, Why Reading Matters, and she talked about some brain research that was out of the University of Emory and how when kids read fiction passages, that there were certain parts of their brains that activated as though they the situation was actually happening to them. So it actually changes our brain chemistry helps us literally walk in the shoes of those characters.
00;05;22;27 - 00;05;35;04
Kristin Smith
So I thought that was really interesting. And she argues that it might be even more important than any other kind of reading, because it does grow empathy. It's a good workout for the brain. But she says that it's a good workout for society, too.
00;05;35;05 - 00;05;55;03
Emily Smith
It's so funny that you say that because I just had a little flashback to a moment that I had with my son when I was reading to him. It was a Henry and Mudge book. I remember he, Charlie, my son was probably I don't know, five maybe. And I was reading the book to him. And in the book Henry is stung by a bee on his hand.
00;05;55;03 - 00;06;13;02
Emily Smith
And I remember as I read the part, Charlie took his hand and covered it over and press down on it as though he was being stung by a bee. And it just it's so silly that it stuck with me. But I had such pride. I was like, oh, he's really getting it. He's empathizing with the characters. So I think that's just a physical.
00;06;13;04 - 00;06;19;02
Emily Smith
Again, a physical reaction, a sort of visceral thing of what reading fiction can do for us.
00;06;19;04 - 00;06;40;01
Kristin Smith
Yeah, I think also it just helpful to to think about any problems that our own kids might be facing or challenges that they have. Sometimes reading a story that has that same challenge and talking about the characters and how they handle it or how they should handle it, allows you to have some big conversations or open up big conversations with your own kids.
00;06;40;01 - 00;06;42;26
Kristin Smith
I feel like my daughter and I do that a lot, so it.
00;06;42;26 - 00;06;55;16
Emily Smith
Might be also preparing for some of those negotiations. I might not have happened yet, but you might want to think, what would you do in that in that situation? Good conversations to have. There's some other research you wanted to have.
00;06;55;16 - 00;07;15;27
Kristin Smith
Oh, yeah. Hayes and Ahren’s research around vocabulary. I read a quote that said children's books have 50% more rare words in them than does adult prime time television. And conversation of college graduates. Wow. That's shocking.
00;07;15;27 - 00;07;28;17
Emily Smith
I think I have to say that again, children's books have 50% more rare words on them than does adult prime time television. And the conversation of college graduates. It might be helpful for us to unpack rare words for a minute.
00;07;28;20 - 00;07;48;20
Kristin Smith
What does that mean exactly? That means that as kids are learning new words that maybe they wouldn't in conversation, right, there maybe a little bit more specific. Maybe there are what we would call tier two words, possibly even tier three words specific to a topic that they're learning them through the books they're reading.
00;07;48;20 - 00;07;54;00
Emily Smith
If you might say, oh, that's really cool. Instead, in the book they might say stupendous.
00;07;54;00 - 00;07;55;25
Kristin Smith
Or that's a grand idea.
00;07;55;28 - 00;07;56;27
Emily Smith
Yeah. More rare.
00;07;56;27 - 00;07;58;05
Kristin Smith
Yeah.
00;07;58;08 - 00;07;58;17
Emily Smith
Stupdenous to grand. Rare.
00;07;58;17 - 00;08;24;24
Kristin Smith
Yeah. So it's just thinking about how printed texts can enrich kids vocabulary. So that means when you read to your child even a short picture book at bedtime, they're hearing richer, more sophisticated words than they get from a lot of other places. And that matters because those rare words like delicate, enormous, shimmering, determined are building blocks for reading comprehension later on.
00;08;24;26 - 00;08;42;10
Kristin Smith
And kids can't learn the words that they don't hear. When caregivers read aloud, they're giving kids access to the kind of language that helps them to understand more complex ideas, express themselves more clearly, and success in school, too.
00;08;42;12 - 00;09;00;29
Emily Smith
I feel like that's another thing, just to say that again, because sometimes we might think, oh, it's just picture book reading, or it's just like bedtime reading. But there's a lot of academic work that's involved or the academic foundation that can support, especially in this case, vocabulary development.
00;09;01;06 - 00;09;16;03
Kristin Smith
Yeah. And so I think it's also important to know that you don't have to stop and define every word you want to read for enjoyment. The goal is exposure. So even hearing the words in context can build confidence and allow kids to use it.
00;09;16;03 - 00;09;47;10
Emily Smith
And then they will have heard it over time or they're just raising awareness to it. Okay, amazing. I think we've also thought about and in our work with teachers and in schools, we think a lot about the importance of text sets and having kids read across multiple texts on a topic is helpful. You could think about that for families and caregivers and some of the research, if you would talk to us a little bit about some of the research about what texts can do for us, especially when we're thinking about fiction.
00;09;47;13 - 00;10;11;14
Kristin Smith
Yeah. So this research is from Gilles and it's from talking about books. Juxtaposing fiction and nonfiction builds on the natural curiosity of students. The fictional accounts draw readers into the story so they pull you in, while the nonfiction texts add facts and depth to readers or students understanding.
00;10;11;14 - 00;10;26;07
Emily Smith
I feel like that's my life whenever I'm watching something historical, like I love little historical dramas, and whenever I'm watching those, I'm always checking, like, did this really happen? Or what really happened about this? And what's the truth behind this?
00;10;26;07 - 00;10;43;20
Kristin Smith
Yes, I remember when I was in sixth grade and it was the first time I read Number the Stars, which is a historical fiction by Lois Lowry. Amazing book, withstands the test of time, and I remember feeling so drawn to that part where they're getting in the boat. And I was like, oh my God, are they going to are they going to escape?
00;10;43;20 - 00;11;12;20
Kristin Smith
Or is somebody going to find out? And then finding that moment where the dogs I don't know if you remember that, where they sniff the rag and then don't actually find who they're hiding in the boat. And I remember saying, what was that on that rag I made my parents drive me to the library, and we were doing some research at the public library, and I read about what they put on a substance there that paralyzed the the dog sense of smell.
00;11;12;20 - 00;11;30;27
Kristin Smith
But it just is interesting because as you read, you think, could this really happen? What is the what's the facts here? It just deepens that knowledge and understanding too. And so I think that's helpful to how we compare story with facts. And then we can turn that curiosity into learning.
00;11;31;01 - 00;11;46;24
Emily Smith
So this idea that we're really thinking about the love of fiction reading, but the love of fiction reading is not exclusive. It can expand into nonfiction and and that people learn. You could learn about history. You can you can learn information from fiction reading, too.
00;11;46;26 - 00;11;51;23
Kristin Smith
Totally. Yeah. And I think even experiences to I would pair with that nonfiction. Right.
00;11;51;23 - 00;11;53;19
Emily Smith
There's a lot of learning that can happen.
00;11;53;21 - 00;11;54;16
Kristin Smith
Totally. Yeah. Yeah.
00;11;54;19 - 00;12;19;25
Emily Smith
Wonderful. Wonderful to think about this. Okay. One more piece of research that I think is especially compelling and this is from the Scholastic Kids & Family Reading Report from 2022. And what's important about this reading report that I think is on a lot of people's minds now in 2025, is the essentially the mental health of our kids, especially our adolescents.
00;12;19;27 - 00;12;52;03
Emily Smith
And really thinking in this report, they uncover that Reading's impact on teen mental health. And there's a real, I would say, significant, difference between frequent readers mental health and infrequent readers mental health. And so in again, in this 2022 report, they found that frequent readers might be nervous or anxious 39% of the time, but infrequent readers might be feeling that same, nervousness or anxiety 50% of the time.
00;12;52;03 - 00;13;20;08
Emily Smith
So the statistically significant difference there, and similarly frequent readers were less likely to be sad or depressed. And were also less likely to be lonely. So I think another aspect to this, we've been talking about all different parts of research is very broad in terms of fostering a love of reading and thinking about empathy and thinking about vocabulary development and knowledge building and learning.
00;13;20;11 - 00;13;31;20
Emily Smith
But also that reading is also about mental health, that regular reading can have a real impact on our kids mental health. And of course, we want to support that as well.
00;13;31;21 - 00;13;54;15
Kristin Smith
Yeah, it reminds me of that, there's a quote by C.S. Lewis and I think I'm getting this right, but it was we read to know we're not alone. And I feel like that always stood with me. That you feel connected. It offers a sense of connection, which I think can really help on some of those dark days, to just feel like you are there with others.
00;13;54;15 - 00;13;57;20
Kristin Smith
And even if you don't want to talk to anybody, you can get lost in that book.
00;13;57;20 - 00;14;20;23
Emily Smith
Yeah. Amazing. Now, so funny that you say that. It reminds me of a Maxine Greene quote. She was a professor here at Teachers College and let me try to get this right. She said or wrote. It has been said that the arts cannot change the world, but they can change a person who can change the world. And I just think that's similar in the sense that this a story.
00;14;20;25 - 00;14;51;12
Emily Smith
Fiction can really have a huge impact on a person's life. So let's get into some of the practical things we can do. Hopefully we've built a case for a fiction reading, and now we want to talk about some of the things that parents and caregivers can do to support support kids at home and beyond the classroom. So first and foremost, I think it's really important to both model your own love of reading and and also include kids in that love of reading.
00;14;51;12 - 00;15;12;03
Emily Smith
I've mentioned this before. I'm a parent, and I'm really conscious of making sure that my kids see me read and also see me engrossed in books, and also that I read to them, and that we talk about books all the time. So I think that's one of the big, big things. Kristin in anything that you do, especially at home, to model your love of reading or.
00;15;12;06 - 00;15;29;27
Kristin Smith
Yeah, one of our little Saturday routines on the way home from gymnastics, her, not me, is that we stop at the library, so we load up with books for the week, and that's just been really nice. And thinking a little bit about, can you pick out some books for me? Can you pick out some books for yourself?
00;15;30;02 - 00;15;39;05
Kristin Smith
So then it just feels like being part of the library, celebrating. That can definitely help to model that love of reading.
00;15;39;08 - 00;15;57;19
Emily Smith
I'm just laughing a little bit because last night my daughter was not really wanting to go to bed and we were talking about two books we found off the shelf, and one was the graphic version of The Great Gatsby. Oh, and I haven't read it. Sounds fun, I know, but I was. I want to get into this. But she gravitated towards it.
00;15;57;19 - 00;16;13;10
Emily Smith
I was like, darn. Yeah. So it's we're starting to get it in a place where we read the same books, which is fun. When your kids hit adolescence and they share some of your interests. Yeah, yeah. So that love of reading needs to be modeled. Not that we can't read them together, but yeah, good to model that and share that.
00;16;13;10 - 00;16;18;26
Kristin Smith
Another thing that I do is I think about setting up routines to make reading part of our every day.
00;16;18;28 - 00;16;22;01
Emily Smith
So not just Saturdays, right?
00;16;22;04 - 00;16;42;12
Kristin Smith
Yeah. But I really try. It's hard because there's I don't feel like there's so much that has to happen after school day, but we try to not make it the last thing always of the night, but to maybe unpack, have a snack and then read together. And sometimes we'll do a little bit of it could look differently. My daughter right now is in second grade, so sometimes I'll do partner reading.
00;16;42;12 - 00;17;01;14
Kristin Smith
Like I read a page, she reads page, I read a page, she reads a page or she'll read to me, and then we stop and talk about it. But I think just getting into the routine and then we do always end the night with a book, but usually I'll read that book to her. So just thinking about where in your daily space could reading exist?
00;17;01;14 - 00;17;08;15
Kristin Smith
And I know it's hard to find those routines because it's there's so little time, I find after a long day.
00;17;08;15 - 00;17;31;04
Emily Smith
Yeah, I think we both live in the city, so we don't drive everywhere, but I also know friends of mine, family members that, yeah, are in a more driving space and time. And so they'll often have books on tape that they're listening. That's nice. And I think that's a nice thing because it feels like it's a routine. And you can, if you've got a novel that you're listening to, it also makes it like, oh, let's get in the car.
00;17;31;04 - 00;17;52;26
Emily Smith
Let's hear what happens next. There's a sense of that time is spent. I can have some conversations, certainly on road trips. That's a nice routine to have in place, too. Which books are we going to listen to? So that's a nice routine. I also had a little tradition when I was traveling for work. I would always make sure that I one of the last things I did before I left for a trip was to read aloud a book to my kid.
00;17;52;26 - 00;17;53;21
Kristin Smith
That's really nice.
00;17;53;24 - 00;18;26;14
Emily Smith
Feel connected to them. I was like, I have to be away for a few days, but let's have a little snuggle and reading time just to think about the messages we're sending, about what's important. Another thing that I'm aware of, that I think could be a fun way to encourage more fiction reading and a love of fiction is to encourage some connections between reading and writing, and I think kids get captivated by either characters or a time period or a style, and then they want to try that out.
00;18;26;14 - 00;18;31;22
Emily Smith
I've seen that certainly in my own children, but also in the kids that I've taught in classrooms.
00;18;31;22 - 00;18;32;18
Kristin Smith
That's really nice.
00;18;32;24 - 00;18;53;29
Emily Smith
Yeah. So just at that is also a way to foster a love of reading. If it's if they like Piggy and Elephant books and want to write some that are like those, or if they like superheroes, like the Marvel Universe and want to write some stories that are spin offs on that, it's a great way to keep kids engaged in fiction reading and thinking.
00;18;54;01 - 00;19;21;18
Kristin Smith
Oh yeah, that's really nice. Another thing too, that I was thinking about is just sharing stories as a family so they could be stories that you all experience together. I always like looking at old pictures on my phone. I feel like my camera role is so full, but sometimes I will look at pictures from years past. We'll talk about the day or we talk about stories that have happened even before my daughter was born.
00;19;21;20 - 00;19;42;23
Kristin Smith
And I think storytelling is really nice and important, and I think it's how we connect to each other, stories, just making that more a part of any experience. What was your favorite part of the day, or if we went on a trip or we went to the museum just to tell a little bit of a story about that.
00;19;43;00 - 00;19;44;18
Kristin Smith
So trying to tuck it in.
00;19;44;20 - 00;20;09;15
Emily Smith
Yeah. Again, it goes back to this. Stories are part of our humanity. Yeah. And if we're doing either we're reading stories or we're telling stories, it's all going to support a love of fiction reading one way or another. Another thing this is something I actually love, is that we will often use television shows or movies as springboards, either into reading or after reading.
00;20;09;15 - 00;20;10;00
Emily Smith
So.
00;20;10;00 - 00;20;10;21
Kristin Smith
Oh that's nice.
00;20;10;23 - 00;20;37;05
Emily Smith
Yeah. Super nice. So like the Baby-Sitters club was a series, obviously a series of books that came out a long time ago and then had a resurgence and then had a new television show. And when the television series came out, we watched it, and then we got hooked back in to reading those books or any other. I'm thinking about Hunger Games or any of the any of the movies that come out that are depicted in stories can be super helpful to generate interest in reading.
00;20;37;05 - 00;20;55;28
Emily Smith
And and I think we're always thinking about entry points. So the entry point might be a story that you a family story that then you're like, read a picture book that's like that, or it could be a television show or movie, and then that can give us that. It can also be a way to celebrate once you've finished a book or a series, then to watch the movies.
00;20;56;00 - 00;20;58;12
Emily Smith
Yeah.
00;20;58;15 - 00;21;00;15
Emily Smith
A couple other tips I think we have. Right.
00;21;00;20 - 00;21;21;18
Kristin Smith
Yeah. I think something else I was thinking about was just talking while you read stories. I think that's also really important. People in the world are parts of book clubs and conversations around literature. So making it feel social, I think is really important, not just retell what happened on that page. But what do you think about the character right here?
00;21;21;18 - 00;21;29;12
Kristin Smith
Was there ever a time where you felt sad when a friend, maybe had a friend, got into an argument?
00;21;29;14 - 00;21;51;15
Emily Smith
I think commenting on it to have a conversation about it. And I also think another thing that we know in terms of reading research is that when there I think alouds that really helps kids with comprehension. So I also think about this as a, as a parent, when I'm reading aloud to kids of all ages, I'm thinking about how I model my own comprehension.
00;21;51;15 - 00;22;10;08
Emily Smith
So it might be like a lot of it easy stuff around prediction like, oh, I have a bad feeling about this. And frankly, I do it in television shows and movies too, because I want to make sure that's active, that we're not just passively taking things in, but we're actively thinking about this doesn't seem like it's going to go very well, right?
00;22;10;10 - 00;22;16;16
Kristin Smith
Or there's this music that seems like it's leading us to know that a problem is about to come.
00;22;16;16 - 00;22;41;25
Emily Smith
I see something amiss here that monitoring for comprehension and predicting, How could this go? Oh, I've seen how this goes in other stories. This is a bad thing. Ominous T is a rare word. That can be helpful to think about using words that are rare in those conversations. So even if the book the book doesn't say this child is meddlesome or you.
00;22;42;00 - 00;22;46;27
Emily Smith
So we could use some of our own rare words in conversation to which would be helpful.
00;22;47;00 - 00;23;08;00
Kristin Smith
Yeah, just the other day I was reading a Katie Woo book to my daughter and I think, oh, it was Emma Everyday. And Izzy did not want to play soccer. She didn't like soccer because she didn't think she was very good at it. And my daughter said, oh, she seems so sad. And I said, oh, I feel like she's sulky because she's not really wanting to do this.
00;23;08;00 - 00;23;26;25
Kristin Smith
So then we spent some time talking about that word, and then as we read on, we realized that maybe that was a more precise, better word for how she was acting. So I think just even dropping them in occasionally can be nice, too. It just provides kids access with more specificity to talk about characters and things that are happening and stories.
00;23;26;26 - 00;23;27;04
Kristin Smith
Yeah.
00;23;27;05 - 00;23;51;00
Emily Smith
So our talk could be a huge space for learning too. Awesome. Okay. And then I think, another thing that can help to foster a love of fiction reading is really to think about author and series books, especially when choosing books in order to support more reading volume and also to support future selections. So I'm super into series book reading.
00;23;51;00 - 00;24;09;21
Emily Smith
I have been a series book reader pretty much my whole life at this point, and I find it really comforting to get hooked into a series, in part because it can provide a little bit of escape for me, as if I know that I've got ten books in a series or 13 books in a series that's really helpful.
00;24;09;21 - 00;24;35;05
Emily Smith
Like, I often like also how the characters connect over time, or rather characters grow and change, and that the plot lines develop over time. Even if the book itself is about a different topic. There's usually some development across books and that feels engaging to find out what's going to happen next with the characters. And it just takes a little load off finding the next great book, and especially for kids when they might read a book in a couple of days.
00;24;35;05 - 00;24;42;04
Emily Smith
You are wanting to keep those routines and habits up, it can help to have a series that they get hooked into.
00;24;42;07 - 00;25;06;27
Kristin Smith
Yeah, I think it just offers a reading plan when you're in a series, you're set up. And also I think then you could also think, if your child likes this series, what is there another series that is like that? Maybe the writer also writes with a humorous tone, if that's what they like, or a character who also likes a specific sport or, you know, just I think that's really nice.
00;25;06;27 - 00;25;11;23
Kristin Smith
It gives kids just access to a lot of books, right, volume.
00;25;11;26 - 00;25;30;04
Emily Smith
And I think with authors, it doesn't always have to be series books. There might be authors that, you know, if you loved one book by an author and then you if you have some authors that can carry you through that can be helpful to to promote a sense of understanding of reader writer relationship like that there is an author who's writing for kids.
00;25;30;06 - 00;25;34;14
Emily Smith
And also that might be matching your tone or interests, etc..
00;25;34;14 - 00;25;50;11
Kristin Smith
Yeah. And also to piggyback on about like how you can have one series and think about other series that are like it. Sometimes if you look at the back of a book, you could see the authors who will give them a shout out in the field. And so typically they might have the same style. So yes, I like to also look at that too.
00;25;50;12 - 00;25;53;19
Emily Smith
Yes. The other authors who blurb the book for the yeah.
00;25;53;22 - 00;25;54;14
Kristin Smith
It's a good place to look.
00;25;54;14 - 00;26;14;04
Emily Smith
Absolutely. Okay. We hope that those are some really practical tips that you can tuck in to your repertoire or make use of. And obviously, you don't have to do all of these things. If there are a couple things that you can add into your daily life with your kids, we recommend that you do. And that will help to foster that love of fiction reading.
00;26;14;06 - 00;26;23;02
Emily Smith
And then a nice segue for us is to recommend some books. So we usually wrap up with some suggestions. So Kristin, you're going to start us off with two favorites that you have.
00;26;23;04 - 00;26;56;29
Kristin Smith
Yeah. So one of my new favorites that I've learned about is The Coquíes Still Sing by Karina Nicole Gonzalez. It's a beautiful picture book about a little girl who lives in Puerto Rico and Hurricane Maria comes through and tears apart the village and the community is left just to rebuild. So it's like those moments when there is a big disaster that happens and it's of course, so upsetting, but also a time for people to come together too.
00;26;57;02 - 00;27;13;09
Kristin Smith
So it's just a beautiful story. And we read it last week with some, some fifth graders in a school that we were in, and I don't know who was more captivated by the story me or them. But yeah, they were definitely like rooting for the community. So it's a beautiful book.
00;27;13;14 - 00;27;35;12
Emily Smith
Yeah. Absolutely beautiful. And I think also important to think about when we have picture books talking about the illustrations, too, because the illustrations are often an entry point for kids. This one, the language is beautiful, the story is beautiful. It teaches some major life lessons, right? But also the illustrations by Krystal Quiles are beautiful too.
00;27;35;12 - 00;27;58;03
Kristin Smith
Yeah, and also they set the tone too. You can the colors. You can tell when the problem is emerging and when things are starting to resolve too. Beautiful use of color. And then another book that is more of a middle grade novel is El Niño by Pam Muñoz Ryan, published, I think, back in May. It's about a teenager who's a swimmer.
00;27;58;03 - 00;28;29;13
Kristin Smith
His name is Kai, and he loses his sister and he's training for the swim meet, and he sees this kind of glowing mirror image underwater myth, and it brings in this exploration of loss and also working toward something. So it talks about navigating grief and loss and also brings an imagination. So I love Pam Muñoz Ryan. I think she's written a lot of other really special books for kids.
00;28;29;16 - 00;28;42;12
Kristin Smith
I remember reading Esperanza Rising to my fifth graders many moons ago, and they were also enthralled by that story, and she's written some other really nice ones, Becoming Naomi León, along the way.
00;28;42;12 - 00;28;43;09
Emily Smith
Beautiful writer.
00;28;43;09 - 00;28;50;01
Kristin Smith
Yeah. So a lot of, I think hard themes and written in such a beautiful way.
00;28;50;03 - 00;29;14;24
Emily Smith
Absolutely gorgeous. Love her books. So she's a great author to watch out for. Okay, I have a couple of suggestions as well. One is The Bletchley Riddle. This is new just out. And actually I'm doing like what you're not supposed to do. I'm recommending something I haven't read, but I'm recommending it based on the authorship. So Steve Sheinkin is, really prolific writer and often writing about history.
00;29;14;24 - 00;29;35;11
Emily Smith
And this again, also goes one I'm excited to read because it goes into World War Two history and code breakers. And so it's a mystery. So if you know about World War Two and the British codebreakers, the Bletchley Circle, Bletchley was a place where they were breaking code. So I think this is going to be an exciting one.
00;29;35;11 - 00;29;52;24
Emily Smith
And so that's one recommended, recommendation I have. And again going back to Steve Sheinkin, and he's got lots of other books. So again it's one of those things where if you get hooked on an author and if a kid likes this author, then that's going to read a lot of other books to read. And similarly, I also recommend Grace Lin’s Chinese Menu.
00;29;52;24 - 00;30;23;10
Emily Smith
Grace Lin is an author illustrator and just has the most beautiful books. This is her most recent, and it is telling stories and legends that go along with your favorite foods, Chinese foods, and so just really beautiful illustrations that match the text. And what I really appreciate about Grace Lin. Again, a very prolific author illustrator. So if kids get hooked into her work, they can find lots of other texts to explore.
00;30;23;13 - 00;30;48;27
Emily Smith
But she also has books for kids of all ages, so she has really young picture books that are really wonderful for very young readers. I think they're probably some of her picture books are made into board books for toddlers, but she also has novels like the, Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, and these are more for middle grade and middle school readers and really beautiful stories and illustrations, usually that are accompanied.
00;30;49;00 - 00;31;17;16
Emily Smith
So she's a great author to look out for. Okay, so those are hopefully some nice recommendations for all of you. And we just want to say thank you for being with us. And we hope that this has been helpful to you. And and we hope that this series of workshops continues to spark curiosity and conversation, supports literacy growth, and provides enjoyment and connection in your families.
00;31;17;17 - 00;31;38;20
Emily Smith
You can find our next workshops on our website at AdvancingLiteracy.tc.columbia.edu and please share this information with others in your community. All are welcome. If you're interested in bringing professional development to your families, schools or district, please reach out via our website and we hope you'll join us again. Yeah. Thank you, Kristin, for being with me today.
00;31;38;20 - 00;31;39;26
Kristin Smith
And thanks for having me.
00;31;39;26 - 00;31;47;26
Emily Smith
Yeah, it's been really lovely. Keep advancing literacy one word, one book and one conversation at a time. Thank you.
00;31;48;02 - 00;31;48;23
Kristin Smith
Thank you.