African American Daily Quote for Kids

"A hard head makes for a soft behind."
—Traditional

African American Daily Quote for Kids

"I'm three years older than the last time

I was here. That means I know ten times 

as much as I did then." (Geeder)

—Virginia Hamilton, Zeely

African American Daily Quote for Kids

"The measure of a man is in the lives he's touched."

—Earnie Banks

GET BOYS READING: A Recommended Reading List #1

RECOMMENDED BOOKS FOR AFRICAN-AMERICAN BOYS

October, 2011

Ages 4-8

Barnes, Derrick and Boyd, Aaron, Low-down Bad-day Blues, NY, Scholastic, 2004

Daly, Nikki, The Boy on the Beach, NY, Bloomsbury, 2004

Ford, Bernette and Kindert, Jennifer, Hurry Up!, NY Scholastic, 2004

Grimes, Nikki and Lagarrigue, Jerome, My Man Blue, NY, Dial, 1999

Holman, Sandy and Kometiani, Lela, Grandpa, Is Everything Black Bad?, CA, Culture Co-op, 1998

Holt, Lenny and Ransome, James. How Many Stars in the Sky?, NY, Tambourine, 1991

Johnson, Angela and Mitchell, Rhonda, Daddy Calls Me Man, NY, Orchard, 1997

Smalls, Irene and Hays, Michael, Kevin and His Dad, NY, Little Brown, 1999

Strickland, Michael and Holliday, Keaf, Haircuts at Sleepy Sam’s, PA, Boyds Mill, 1998

Williams, Karen and Cooper, Floyd, A Beach Tail, PA, Boyds Mill, 2010

Ages 9-12

Barnes, Derrick, We Could Be Brothers, NY, Scholastic Press, 2010

Boyd, Candy D., Chevrolet Saturdays, NY, Simon & Schuster, 1993

Draper, Sharon, Ziggy and the Black Dinosaurs: The Buried Bones Mystery, NY Simon & Schuster, 2006

Grimes, Nikki, Dark Sons, NY Jump At The Sun, 2005

Hansen, Joyce, The Captive, NY, Scholstic, 1994

Lyons, Kelly Starling, NEATE Book 4: Eddie’s Ordeal, NJ, Just Us Books, 2004

Mead, Alice, Junebug, NY, Yearling, 1995

Myers, Walter, D and J. A. Sims, Sniffy Blue, Ace Detective: the Case of the Missing Ruby and Other Stories, NY, Little Apple, 1999

Patrick, Denise, The Longest Ride, NY, Henry Holt, 1999

Weatherford, Carole B., Obama: Only in America, NY, Marshall Cavendish, 2010

YA

Berry, Rachel, A Slip in the Right Direction, WA, Kimathi Enterprises & Publishing, 2010

Draper, Sharon, We Beat the Street, NY, Puffin, 2005

Garcia, Rita Williams, Fast Talk on a Slow Track, NY, Bantam, Doubleday Dell, 1991

Harper, Hill, Letters to a Young Brother: Manifest Your Destiny, NY, Gotham, 2007

Hansen, Joyce, Which Way Freedom, NY, Avon, 1986

Hunter, Travis, Two the Hard Way, NY, Dafina Books, 2010

Madison, Book T., Unsigned Hype, MI, Revell, 2009

Mowry, Jess, Babylon Boyz, NY, Aladdin, 1997

Myers, Walter, D., Harlem Summer, NY, Scholastic, 2007

Wright, Simeon and Boyd, Herb, Simeon’s Story: An Eyewitness Account of the Kidnapping of Emmett Till, IL, Lawrence Hill Books, 2010

September, 2011

Ages 4-8
Collier, Bryan, Uptown, NY, Henry Holt, 2004

Curtis, Gavin and Lewis, E.B., The Bat Boy and His Violin, NY,
Aladdin, 2001

Evans, Shane W., Olu’s Dream, Katherin Tegen Books,
an Imprint of Harper Collins, 2009

Hudson, Wade and Ford, George, Jamal’s Busy Day, NJ, Just Us
Books, 1991

Nelson, Kadir, He’s Got the Whole World in His
Hands, NY, Puffin, 2005

Pinkney, Brian, Max Found Two Sticks, NY, Aladdin,
1997

Steptoe, Javaka, The Jones Family Express, NY, Lee
& Low, 2003

Steptoe, John, Stevie, NY, Harper Collins,
1986

Tarpley, Natasha and Lewis, E. B., Bippity Bop Barbershop, NY, Little
Brown, 2009

Winans, Carvin and Harrington, Leslie, Conrad Saves Pinger Park, NJ,
Marimba Books, 2010

Ages 9-12
CLE, Troy, The Marvelous Effect, NY, Simon& Schuster, 2008

Curtis, Christopher Paul, The Watsons Go To Birmingham –1963, NY, Laurel Leaf, 2000

Elliott, Zetta and Strickland, Shadra, Bird,NY, Lee & Low, 2008

Ferguson, Dwayne, Kid Caramel: The Case of the Missing Ankh, NY, Just Us Books, 1997

Haskins, James, Freedom Rides, Journey to Justice, NJ, Sankofa Books, an imprint of Just Us Books, 2005

Medina, Tony and Watson, Jesse J., I and I: Bob Marley, NY, Lee & Low, 2009

Nelson, Kadir, We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball, NY,
Jump at the Sun, 2008

Tyree, Omar, 12 Brown Boys, NJ, Just Us Books, 2008

Walters, Mildred Pitts, Justin and the Best Biscuits in the World, NY,
Amistad, Reprint Edition, 2010

Woodson, Jacqueline, Locomotion, NY, Speak, a Puffin Imprint (PB), 2010

YA
Curtis, Christopher Paul, Bucking the Sarge,NY, Laurel Leaf, 2003

Draper, Sharon, Forged by Fire, NY, Simon-Pulse, 1998

Draper, Sharon, Tears of a Tiger, NY Simon-Pulse, 1996

Lester, Julius, Guardian, NY, Amistad, 2008

McDonald, Janet, Brotherhood, NY Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2002

Myers, Walter Dean, Handbook for Boys, NY, Amistad, 2003

Myers, Walter Dean, Slam, NY, Scholastic Paperback, 2008

Nerie, G, Ghetto Cowboy, MA, Candlewick, 2011

Woodson, Jacqueline, Behind You, NY, Puffin, Reprint Edition, 2010

Yep, Lawrence, The Star Maker, NY, Harper Collins, 2010

African American Daily Quote for Kids

"The sun cannot be hidden."

—Egypt

Getting Boys to Read

Getting Boys to Read—Part One

If you’re trying to get the reluctant young male reader in your life to read more often—or read at all—you might already know it can be a challenging feat. According to a national survey conducted by the Young Adult Library Services Association in 2001, boys (average age of 14) who weren’t interested in reading pointed to the following reasons:

          boring/no fun--39.3%

• no time/too busy--29.8%
• like other activities better--11.1%
• can’t get into the stories--7.7%
• I’m not good at reading-- 4.3%

So how can a parent/guardian, teacher or librarian overcome these challenges? One way is to pay attention to what boys are reading. Smith and Wilhelm, authors of Reading Don’t Fix No Chevys: Literacy in the Lives of Young Men, say boys differ from girls in the choices they make of reading material:

• Boys are more inclined to read informational texts,magazines, and newspaper articles.
• Boys are more inclined to read graphic novels and comic books.
• Boys tend to resist reading stories about girls, whereas girls do not tend to resist reading stories about boys.
• Boys like to read about hobbies, sports, and things they might do or be interested in doing.
• Boys like to collect things and tend to like to collect series of books.
• Boys read less fiction than girls.
• Boys tend to enjoy escapism and humor, and some boys are passionate about science fiction or fantasy. With those points in mind, here are some tips that can help encourage boys to read

Tips and Strategies

Model reading. Studies show that when parents read and have books around, both boys and girls are more likely to be readers.

Give your boy a book. Giving books as gifts shows young people that books are special, valuable and important.

Read aloud. Reaching out loud has been called the single most important activity to building success in reading.

Make reading social. Invite boys to talk about something they’ve read—a book, newspaper article, or a story on the web. Encourage the social connection. People like to talk about what they’ve seen, done, experienced, and boys are no different. The right book can give boys something to connect with their friends about.

Encourage men to read with boys.“Studies show that 90 percent of elementary school teachers are female,” says Michael Sullivan, director of the Weeks Public Library in New Hampshire and author of Connecting Boys With Books: What Libraries Can Do. “Seventy-five percent of high school teachers are female.” Most people who boys see connected with reading are female, he says, but boys identify with men.

Getting Boys to Read, copyright 2008 and 2011 by Just Us Books, Inc. All rights reserved. For permission to reproduce please contact Rights & Permissions, Just Us Book Inc. e-mail: justusbook@aol.com http://justusbooks.com/ 973.672.7701

Getting Boys to Read—Part Two

If boys see their fathers or other important male figure, reading, they’re more likely to read. “They need to see men and books together,” he says.

• Start with what he loves. If your son or student loves sports, find fiction books that focus on sports or non-fiction books about his favorite athlete. If he’s into detective movies or t.v. shows, try introducing him to mystery books. This is a particularly effective way to introduce reading to a boy who protests that he “hates reading.”
• Show reading can be fun and entertaining. “Humor is underrated on school reading lists, but boys love it,” says John Sciezska, author, The Stinky Cheese Man. “Calvin and Hobbes, Lemony Snicket, those books get them excited about reading, because it’s fun. It’s important for parents and teachers to accept these things as reading, instead of acting like it’s not ‘real’ reading, like there’s something wrong with them. Those books will get boys hooked on reading.”
• Help boys find books that relate to who they are or what they’re doing now. “Boys like to read what’s toolish, not schoolish,” says Jeff Wilhelm, associate professor of English education at Boise State University and one of the nation’s leading authorities on boys and literacy. By “toolish,” Wilhelm is referring to anything that connects to boys’ daily life, interests, and imagination.

“Boys prefer reading things that have something they can immediately use, talk about, argue about, or do something with,” he says. “They are very, very impatient with the reading they do in school, because it’s not useful or interesting to them. Even worse, they then have to take a test on it.” Wilhelm points to a major study of boys grades 6 to 12 as an example. “These were great kids, very smart. Some went on to places like Harvard and MIT. But they were all cynical about reading, as it was promoted at school and by many adults in their lives,” he says.
• Expand your own idea of what reading is. Don’t discourage boys from reading what they like. Unfortunately, sometimes what boys like to read isn’t recognized or supported by their schools or families. “Teachers and parents often conceived of reading narrowly, as ‘literature’ only, and failed to see that there’s all kinds of reading that boys do, like magazines and even formulaic novels,” Wilhelm says. “Even expert adult readers go through phases of reading pulp fiction or romance novels. It’s something boys outgrow, but it helps develop skills.”
• Allow boys to choose their reading material. “Reading choices made for boys frequently do not reflect their preferences, since girls are clearer and more vocal about what books they want, elementary school teachers are predominantly women, and mothers rather than fathers select reading materials for their children,” says Wendy Schwartz in the article “Helping Underachieving Boys Read Well and Often.” (http://www.blogger.com/www.ericdigests.%20org/2003-2/boys.html). Male perspectives need to be considered in the selection of reading material. Boys who read the sports page or instruction manual should be applauded, Schwartz says. “The reading that boys do should not be dismissed as inconsequential even though it often does not include the novels and other traditional materials usually read by girls,” Schwartz says.

“The genres preferred by boys can be equally helpful in their development of reading, thinking, and problem-solving skills, and should be considered key resources in their education.”

Getting Boys to Read, copyright 2008 and 2011 by Just Us Books, Inc. All rights reserved. For permission to reproduce please contact Rights & Permissions, Just Us Book Inc. e-mail: justusbook@aol.com http://justusbooks.com/ 973.672.7701

 
Getting Boys to Read—Part Three

 

Sullivan suggests parents and teachers let boys read what they want, no matter how gross or fantastical, and avoid getting caught up in a book’s page count or reading level. “
Kids don’t read to their reading level,” Sullivan says. “Kids read to their interest level.” Experts say even graphic novels, comic books, and video game guides are good reading material.

“Reading is reading and the more practice kids get reading on their own, and the more they hear books read aloud, the more skills they pick up,” says Lisa Von Drasek, head children’s librarian at Bank Street College of Education in New York City. “They are hearing and seeing words, building a vocabulary that they will recognize as they read, and that makes reading easier. They know how words sound, what they mean and what they look like in print. It’s all part of expanding literacy.”

Add stimuli to a boy’s environment. Boys’ and girls’ brains are stimulated differently, Sullivan explains. A boy might not be as willing to sit in a chair for two hours and read. “He needs something to wake up his brain,” he explains. Consider letting him sprawl out on the floor, move around or have the television or radio on. Adding sound, color, motion and kinetic energy to a boy’s environment will encourage him to read, Sullivan comments.

Remember the importance of reading to relate. “Boys, like all children, want to see characters like themselves sometimes,” Helping Underachieving Boys Read Well and Often (http://www.blogger.com/www.ericdigests.org/2003-2/boys.html), notes. “Therefore, materials should feature people of different ethnicities, races, and backgrounds who live in a variety of types of homes and communities.”

And remember, boys typically like reading books written about boys. “We’ve seen that when children, particularly Black boys, see themselves reflected in books, they’ll be more likely to read,” says Wade Hudson, co-founder of Just Us Books and author of several books featuring Black boys, including Jamal’s Busy Day and Anthony’s Big Surprise. “So it’s that much more important to provide our boys with books that reflect people, neighborhoods, cultures and experiences they can relate to.”

Getting Boys to Read, copyright 2008 and 2011 by Just Us Books, Inc. All rights reserved. For permission to reproduce please contact Rights & Permissions, Just Us Books, Inc. 356 Glenwood Avenue, East Orange, NJ 07017 973.672.7701 http://justusbooks.com/

Getting Boys to Read—Part Four

TIPS FOR TEACHERS AND LIBRARIANS

Patrick Jones and Dawn Cartwright Fiorelli, authors of “Overcoming the Obstacle Course: Teenage Boys and Reading,” (Teacher Librarian magazine, Feb. 2003) say there are immediate steps that educators can take to improve boys’ attitudes about reading:

1. Plan programs aimed specifically to boys.
2. Host book talks in the classroom that include a lot of nonfiction.


3. Display posters that feature males.


4. Encourage coaches of boys’ sports teams to participate in a “guys read” program in which athletes read to younger children.


5. Increase the number of periodicals, magazines, comic books, and newspapers in the library.
6. Actively recruit boys to work in the library.


7. Survey boys about their reading.
8. Buy books that boys recommend.


9. Place books where the boys are: next to the computers, copy machines, and study tables
   Allow boys to find reflections of who they are and what they like in a library. It just may encourage a return visit.

Additional tips, resources and book recommendations are available from the following resources:
Black Books Galore! Guide to Great African American Children’s Books about Boys by Donna Rand and Toni Trent Parker, Black Books Galore
“Boys and Books,” by Jane McFann

“Affirming African American Boys,” by KaaVonia Hinton, originally published in Booklinks, January 2005, available at: http://www.acrl.org/ala/booklinksbucket/affirmingafricanamericanboys.pdf

“Author Provides Tips for Getting Boys to Read,” Carroll County Times, March 15, 2006
Guilderland School District, Parents Corner (http://www.blogger.com/www.guilderlandschools.com)

“Getting Black Boys to Read Books,” by Anthony Asadullah Samad, http://www.blogger.com/www.NewAmericaMedia.com


Getting Boys to Read, copyright 2008 and 2011 by Just Us Books, Inc. All rights reserved. For permission to reproduce please contact Rights & Permissions, Just Us Books, Inc. 356 Glenwood Avenue, East Orange, NJ 07017 973.672.7701 http://justusbooks.com/

African American Daily Quote for Kids

"Your child doesn't belong to you, and you must prepare your child to pick up the burden of his life long before the moment when you must lay your burden down."
—James Baldwin, The Devil Finds Work

African American Daily Quote for Kids

"You cannot harvest vegetables quicker than they grow."
—Ethiopia



"You cannot harvest vegetables quicker than they grow."
—Ethiopia

African American Daily Quote for Kids

I've known rivers; I've known rivers ancient as
the world and older than the flow
of human blood in human veins.
My soul has grown deep like the rivers.
—Langston Hughes, "The Negro Speaks of Rivers"

African American Daily Quote for Kids

"When spider webs unite,
they can tie up a lion."
—Ethiopia


taken from Kids' Book of Wisdom: Quotes from the African American Tradition
compiled by Cheryl and Wade Hudson, Just Us Books

African American Daily Quote for Kids

"One good deed deserves another."
—Aesop

African American Daily Quote for Kids

"The price of yo' hat ain't the measure
of yo' brain."
—Traditional

African American Daily Quote for Kids

"Use your head every day.
Use medicine only in time of need."
—Yoruba

A Back to School Special from Just Us Books

“The role of the teacher remains the highest calling of a free people. To the teacher, America entrusts her most precious resource, her children; and asks that they be prepared ... to face the rigors of individual participation in a democratic society.” —Shirley Mount Hufstedler

For picture books, chapter books, biographies, series, books for young adults, classroom activities and resources that reflect our nation’s diversity visit http://justusbooks.com/ and http://www.justusbooksonlinestore.com/.

25% Discount

on all orders during the Month of September!

WE SUPPORT OUR TEACHERS!!!

JUST US BOOKS, INC. MARIMBA BOOKS

356 Glenwood Avenue East Orange, NJ 07017

(973) 672-7701

African American Daily Quote for Kids

"Our children must never lose their zeal for
building a better world."
—Mary McLeod Bethune

African American Daily Quote for Kids

"Don't let your enemies get in the way
of your work."
—Hausa

Getting Boys to Read: Parts One — Four

Getting Boys to Read—Part One

If you’re trying to get the reluctant young male reader in your life to read more often—or read at all—you might already know it can be a challenging feat. According to a national survey conducted by the Young Adult Library Services Association in 2001, boys (average age of 14) who weren’t interested in reading pointed to the following reasons:

• boring/no fun--39.3%

• no time/too busy--29.8%

• like other activities better--11.1%

• can’t get into the stories--7.7%

• I’m not good at reading-- 4.3%

So how can a parent/guardian, teacher or librarian overcome these challenges? One way is to pay attention to what boys are reading. Smith and Wilhelm, authors of Reading Don’t Fix No Chevys: Literacy in the Lives of Young Men, say boys differ from girls in the choices they make of reading material:

• Boys are more inclined to read informational texts,magazines, and newspaper articles.

• Boys are more inclined to read graphic novels and comic books.
  

• Boys tend to resist reading stories about girls, whereas girls do not tend to resist reading stories about boys.
  

• Boys like to read about hobbies, sports, and things they might do or be interested in doing.
  

• Boys like to collect things and tend to like to collect series of books.
  

• Boys read less fiction than girls.

• Boys tend to enjoy escapism and humor, and some boys are passionate about science fiction or fantasy.
  

With those points in mind, here are some tips that can help encourage boys to read:

Tips and Strategies

• Model reading. Studies show that when parents read and have books around, both boys and girls are more likely to be readers.

• Give your boy a book. Giving books as gifts shows young people that books are special, valuable and important.
  

• Read aloud. Reaching out loud has been called the single most important activity to building success in reading.
  

• Make reading social. Invite boys to talk about something they’ve read—a book, newspaper article, or a story on the web. Encourage the social connection. People like to talk about what they’ve seen, done, experienced, and boys are no different. The right book can give boys something to connect with their friends about.
  

• Encourage men to read with boys.

“Studies show that 90 percent of elementary school teachers are female,” says Michael Sullivan, director of the Weeks Public Library in New Hampshire and author of Connecting Boys With Books: What Libraries Can Do. “Seventy-five percent of high school teachers are female.” Most people who boys see connected with reading are female, he says, but boys identify with men. (to be continued tomorrow in Part Two)

Getting Boys to Read, copyright 2008 and 2011 by Just Us Books, Inc. All rights reserved.
For permission to reproduce please contact Rights & Permissions, Just Us Book Inc.
e-mail: justusbook@aol.com http://justusbooks.com 973.672.7701


(continued from page one: Getting Boys to Read—Part Two)

If boys see their fathers or other important male figure, reading, they’re more likely to read. “They need to see men and books together,” he says.

• Start with what he loves. If your son or student loves sports, find fiction books that focus on sports or non-fiction books about his favorite athlete. If he’s into detective movies or t.v. shows, try introducing him to mystery books. This is a particularly effective way to introduce reading to a boy who protests that he “hates reading.”

• Show reading can be fun and entertaining. “Humor is underrated on school reading lists, but boys love it,” says John Sciezska, author, The Stinky Cheese Man. “Calvin and Hobbes, Lemony Snicket, those books get them excited about reading, because it’s fun. It’s important for parents and teachers to accept these things as reading, instead of acting like it’s not ‘real’ reading, like there’s something wrong with them. Those books will get boys hooked on reading.”

• Help boys find books that relate to who they are or what they’re doing now. “Boys like to read what’s toolish, not schoolish,” says Jeff Wilhelm, associate professor of English education at Boise State University and one of the nation’s leading authorities on boys and literacy. By “toolish,” Wilhelm is referring to anything that connects to boys’ daily life, interests, and imagination. “Boys prefer reading things that have something they can immediately use, talk about, argue about, or do something with,” he says. “They are very, very impatient with the reading they do in school, because it’s not useful or interesting to them. Even worse, they then have to take a test on it.”

Wilhelm points to a major study of boys grades 6 to 12 as an example. “These were great kids, very smart. Some went on to places like Harvard and MIT. But they were all cynical about reading, as it was promoted at school and by many adults in their lives,” he says.

• Expand your own idea of what reading is. Don’t discourage boys from reading what they like. Unfortunately, sometimes what boys like to read isn’t recognized or supported by their schools or families. “Teachers and parents often conceived of reading narrowly, as ‘literature’ only, and failed to see that there’s all kinds of reading that boys do, like magazines and even formulaic novels,” Wilhelm says. “Even expert adult readers go through phases of reading pulp fiction or romance novels. It’s something boys outgrow, but it helps develop skills.”

• Allow boys to choose their reading material. “Reading choices made for boys frequently do not reflect their preferences, since girls are clearer and more vocal about what books they want, elementary school teachers are predominantly women, and mothers rather than fathers select reading materials for their children,” says Wendy Schwartz in the article “Helping Underachieving Boys Read Well and Often.” (www.ericdigests. org/2003-2/boys.html).

Male perspectives need to be considered in the selection of reading material. Boys who read the sports page or instruction manual should be applauded, Schwartz says. “The reading that boys do should not be dismissed as inconsequential even though it often does not include the novels and other traditional materials usually read by girls,” Schwartz says. “The genres preferred by boys can be equally helpful in their development of reading, thinking, and problem-solving skills, and should be considered key resources in their education.”

Getting Boys to Read, copyright 2008 and 2011 by Just Us Books, Inc. All rights reserved.
For permission to reproduce please contact Rights & Permissions, Just Us Book Inc.
e-mail: justusbook@aol.com http://justusbooks.com 973.672.7701



(continued Getting Boys to Read—Part Three)

Sullivan suggests parents and teachers let boys read what they want, no matter how gross or fantastical, and avoid getting caught up in a book’s page count or reading level. “Kids don’t read to their reading level,” Sullivan says. “Kids read to their interest level.”

Experts say even graphic novels, comic books, and video game guides are good reading material. “Reading is reading and the more practice kids get reading on their own, and the more they hear books read aloud, the more skills they pick up,” says Lisa Von Drasek, head children’s librarian at Bank Street College of Education in New York City. “They are hearing and seeing words, building a vocabulary that they will recognize as they read, and that makes reading easier. They know how words sound, what they mean and what they look like in print. It’s all part of expanding literacy.”

• Add stimuli to a boy’s environment. Boys’ and girls’ brains are stimulated differently, Sullivan explains. A boy might not be as willing to sit in a chair for two hours and read. “He needs something to wake up his brain,” he explains. Consider letting him sprawl out on the floor, move around or have the television or radio on. Adding sound, color, motion and kinetic energy to a boy’s environment will encourage him to read, Sullivan comments

• Remember the importance of reading to relate. “Boys, like all children, want to see characters like themselves sometimes,” Helping Underachieving Boys Read Well and Often (www.ericdigests.org/2003-2/boys.html), notes. “Therefore, materials should feature people of different ethnicities, races, and backgrounds who live in a variety of types of homes and communities.”
  

• And remember, boys typically like reading books written about boys. “We’ve seen that when children, particularly Black boys, see themselves reflected in books, they’ll be more likely to read,” says Wade Hudson, co-founder of Just Us Books and author of several books featuring Black boys, including Jamal’s Busy Day and Anthony’s Big Surprise. “So it’s that much more important to provide our boys with books that reflect people, neighborhoods, cultures and experiences they can relate to.”

Getting Boys to Read, copyright 2008 and 2011 by Just Us Books, Inc. All rights reserved. For permission to reproduce please contact Rights & Permissions, Just Us Books, Inc. 356 Glenwood Avenue, East Orange, NJ 07017 973.672.7701
http://justusbooks.com



(continued Getting Boys to Read—Part Four)

TIPS FOR TEACHERS AND LIBRARIANS

Patrick Jones and Dawn Cartwright Fiorelli, authors of “Overcoming the Obstacle Course: Teenage Boys and Reading,” (Teacher Librarian magazine, Feb. 2003) say there are immediate steps that educators can take to improve boys’ attitudes about reading:

• Plan programs aimed specifically to boys

• Host book talks in the classroom that include a lot of nonfiction

• Display posters that feature males

• Encourage coaches of boys’ sports teams to participate in a “guys read” program in which athletes read to younger children
  

• Increase the number of periodicals, magazines, comic books, and newspapers in the library
  

• Actively recruit boys to work in the library

• Survey boys about their reading

• Buy books that boys recommend

• Place books where the boys are: next to the computers, copy machines, and study tables
  

• Allow boys to find reflections of who they are and what they like in a library. It just may encourage a return visit.

Additional tips, resources and book recommendations are available from the following resources:

1. Black Books Galore! Guide to Great African American Children’s Books about Boys by Donna Rand and Toni Trent Parker, Black Books Galore
2. “Boys and Books,” by Jane McFann
3. “Affirming African American Boys,” by KaaVonia Hinton, originally published in Booklinks, January 2005, available at: http://www.acrl.org/ala/booklinksbucket/affirmingafricanamericanboys.pdf
4. “Author Provides Tips for Getting Boys to Read,” Carroll County Times, March 15, 2006
5. Guilderland School District, Parents Corner (www.guilderlandschools.com)
6. “Getting Black Boys to Read Books,” by Anthony Asadullah Samad, www.NewAmericaMedia.com

Getting Boys to Read, copyright 2008 and 2011 by Just Us Books, Inc. All rights reserved. For permission to reproduce please contact Rights & Permissions, Just Us Books, Inc. 356 Glenwood Avenue, East Orange, NJ 07017 973.672.7701
http://justusbooks.com

African American Daily Quote for Kids

"No one can travel by someone else's star."
—Swahili

African American Daily Quote for Kids

If you are building a house and a nail breaks,
do you stop buildig, or do you change the nail?
—Kwanda Burundi

Getting Boys to Read—Part Four

(continued—Part Four Getting Boys to Read)

TIPS FOR TEACHERS AND LIBRARIANS

Patrick Jones and Dawn Cartwright Fiorelli, authors of “Overcoming the Obstacle Course: Teenage Boys and Reading,” (Teacher Librarian magazine, Feb. 2003) say there are immediate steps that educators can take to improve boys’ attitudes about reading:

• Plan programs aimed specifically to boys

• Host book talks in the classroom that include a lot of nonfiction

• Display posters that feature males

• Encourage coaches of boys’ sports teams to participate in a “guys read” program in which athletes read to younger children
  

• Increase the number of periodicals, magazines, comic books, and newspapers in the library
  

• Actively recruit boys to work in the library

• Survey boys about their reading

• Buy books that boys recommend

• Place books where the boys are: next to the computers, copy machines, and study tables
  

• Allow boys to find reflections of who they are and what they like in a library. It just may encourage a return visit.

Additional tips, resources and book recommendations are available from the following resources:

1. Black Books Galore! Guide to Great African American Children’s Books about Boys by Donna Rand and Toni Trent Parker, Black Books Galore
2. “Boys and Books,” by Jane McFann
3. “Affirming African American Boys,” by KaaVonia Hinton, originally published in Booklinks, January 2005, available at: http://www.acrl.org/ala/booklinksbucket/affirmingafricanamericanboys.pdf
4. “Author Provides Tips for Getting Boys to Read,” Carroll County Times, March 15, 2006
5. Guilderland School District, Parents Corner (www.guilderlandschools.com)
6. “Getting Black Boys to Read Books,” by Anthony Asadullah Samad, www.NewAmericaMedia.com

Getting Boys to Read, copyright 2008 and 2011 by Just Us Books, Inc. All rights reserved. For permission to reproduce please contact Rights & Permissions, Just Us Books, Inc. 356 Glenwood Avenue, East Orange, NJ 07017 973.672.7701
http://justusbooks.com

Getting Boys to Read—Part Three

(continued—Part Three Getting Boys to Read)

Sullivan suggests parents and teachers let boys read what they want, no matter how gross or fantastical, and avoid getting caught up in a book’s page count or reading level. “Kids don’t read to their reading level,” Sullivan says. “Kids read to their interest level.”

Experts say even graphic novels, comic books, and video game guides are good reading material. “Reading is reading and the more practice kids get reading on their own, and the more they hear books read aloud, the more skills they pick up,” says Lisa Von Drasek, head children’s librarian at Bank Street College of Education in New York City. “They are hearing and seeing words, building a vocabulary that they will recognize as they read, and that makes reading easier. They know how words sound, what they mean and what they look like in print. It’s all part of expanding literacy.”

• Add stimuli to a boy’s environment. Boys’ and girls’ brains are stimulated differently, Sullivan explains. A boy might not be as willing to sit in a chair for two hours and read. “He needs something to wake up his brain,” he explains. Consider letting him sprawl out on the floor, move around or have the television or radio on. Adding sound, color, motion and kinetic energy to a boy’s environment will encourage him to read, Sullivan comments.
  

• Remember the importance of reading to relate. “Boys, like all children, want to see characters like themselves sometimes,” Helping Underachieving Boys Read Well and Often (www.ericdigests.org/2003-2/boys.html), notes. “Therefore, materials should feature people of different ethnicities, races, and backgrounds who live in a variety of types of homes and communities.”
  

• And remember, boys typically like reading books written about boys. “We’ve seen that when children, particularly Black boys, see themselves reflected in books, they’ll be more likely to read,” says Wade Hudson, co-founder of Just Us Books and author of several books featuring Black boys, including Jamal’s Busy Day and Anthony’s Big Surprise. “So it’s that much more important to provide our boys with books that reflect people, neighborhoods, cultures and experiences they can relate to.”

Getting Boys to Read, copyright 2008 and 2011 by Just Us Books, Inc. All rights reserved. For permission to reproduce please contact Rights & Permissions, Just Us Books, Inc. 356 Glenwood Avenue, East Orange, NJ 07017 973.672.7701
http://justusbooks.com

African American Daily Quote for Kids

"He who is not courageous enough to take risks
will accomplish nothing in life."
—Muhammad Ali

Getting Boys to Read—Part Two

(continued from page one—Getting Boys to Read)

If boys see their fathers or other important male figure, reading, they’re more likely to read. “They need to see men and books together,” he says.

• Start with what he loves. If your son or student loves sports, find fiction books that focus on sports or non-fiction books about his favorite athlete. If he’s into detective movies or t.v. shows, try introducing him to mystery books. This is a particularly effective way to introduce reading to a boy who protests that he “hates reading.”

• Show reading can be fun and entertaining. “Humor is underrated on school reading lists, but boys love it,” says John Sciezska, author, The Stinky Cheese Man. “Calvin and Hobbes, Lemony Snicket, those books get them excited about reading, because it’s fun. It’s important for parents and teachers to accept these things as reading, instead of acting like it’s not ‘real’ reading, like there’s something wrong with them. Those books will get boys hooked on reading.”

• Help boys find books that relate to who they are or what they’re doing now. “Boys like to read what’s toolish, not schoolish,” says Jeff Wilhelm, associate professor of English education at Boise State University and one of the nation’s leading authorities on boys and literacy. By “toolish,” Wilhelm is referring to anything that connects to boys’ daily life, interests, and imagination. “Boys prefer reading things that have something they can immediately use, talk about, argue about, or do something with,” he says. “They are very, very impatient with the reading they do in school, because it’s not useful or interesting to them. Even worse, they then have to take a test on it.”

Wilhelm points to a major study of boys grades 6 to 12 as an example. “These were great kids, very smart. Some went on to places like Harvard and MIT. But they were all cynical about reading, as it was promoted at school and by many adults in their lives,” he says.

• Expand your own idea of what reading is. Don’t discourage boys from reading what they like. Unfortunately, sometimes what boys like to read isn’t recognized or supported by their schools or families. “Teachers and parents often conceived of reading narrowly, as ‘literature’ only, and failed to see that there’s all kinds of reading that boys do, like magazines and even formulaic novels,” Wilhelm says. “Even expert adult readers go through phases of reading pulp fiction or romance novels. It’s something boys outgrow, but it helps develop skills.”

• Allow boys to choose their reading material. “Reading choices made for boys frequently do not reflect their preferences, since girls are clearer and more vocal about what books they want, elementary school teachers are predominantly women, and mothers rather than fathers select reading materials for their children,” says Wendy Schwartz in the article “Helping Underachieving Boys Read Well and Often.” (www.ericdigests. org/2003-2/boys.html).

Male perspectives need to be considered in the selection of reading material. Boys who read the sports page or instruction manual should be applauded, Schwartz says. “The reading that boys do should not be dismissed as inconsequential even though it often does not include the novels and other traditional materials usually read by girls,” Schwartz says. “The genres preferred by boys can be equally helpful in their development of reading, thinking, and problem-solving skills, and should be considered key resources in their education.”

Getting Boys to Read, copyright 2008 and 2011 by Just Us Books, Inc. All rights reserved.
For permission to reproduce please contact Rights & Permissions, Just Us Book Inc.
e-mail: justusbook@aol.com http://justusbooks.com 973.672.7701

African American Daily Quote for Kids

If you learn it while young, you can do it when old.
—South Africa

Getting Boys to Read—Part One

If you’re trying to get the reluctant young male reader in your life to read more often—or read at all—you might already know it can be a challenging feat. According to a national survey conducted by the Young Adult Library Services Association in 2001, boys (average age of 14) who weren’t interested in reading pointed to the following reasons:

• boring/no fun--39.3%

• no time/too busy--29.8%

• like other activities better--11.1%

• can’t get into the stories--7.7%

• I’m not good at reading-- 4.3%

So how can a parent/guardian, teacher or librarian overcome these challenges? One way is to pay attention to what boys are reading. Smith and Wilhelm, authors of Reading Don’t Fix No Chevys: Literacy in the Lives of Young Men, say boys differ from girls in the choices they make of reading material:

• Boys are more inclined to read informational texts,magazines, and newspaper articles.

• Boys are more inclined to read graphic novels and comic books.
  

• Boys tend to resist reading stories about girls, whereas girls do not tend to resist reading stories about boys.
  

• Boys like to read about hobbies, sports, and things they might do or be interested in doing.
  

• Boys like to collect things and tend to like to collect series of books.
  

• Boys read less fiction than girls.

• Boys tend to enjoy escapism and humor, and some boys are passionate about science fiction or fantasy.
  

With those points in mind, here are some tips that can help encourage boys to read:

Tips and Strategies

• Model reading. Studies show that when parents read and have books around, both boys and girls are more likely to be readers.

• Give your boy a book. Giving books as gifts shows young people that books are special, valuable and important.
  

• Read aloud. Reaching out loud has been called the single most important activity to building success in reading.
  

• Make reading social. Invite boys to talk about something they’ve read—a book, newspaper article, or a story on the web. Encourage the social connection. People like to talk about what they’ve seen, done, experienced, and boys are no different. The right book can give boys something to connect with their friends about.
  

• Encourage men to read with boys.

“Studies show that 90 percent of elementary school teachers are female,” says Michael Sullivan, director of the Weeks Public Library in New Hampshire and author of Connecting Boys With Books: What Libraries Can Do. “Seventy-five percent of high school teachers are female.” Most people who boys see connected with reading are female, he says, but boys identify with men. (to be continued tomorrow in Part Two)

Getting Boys to Read, copyright 2008 and 2011 by Just Us Books, Inc. All rights reserved.
For permission to reproduce please contact Rights & Permissions, Just Us Book Inc.
e-mail: justusbook@aol.com http://justusbooks.com 973.672.7701

African American Daily Quotes for Kids

Knowledge is like an ocean;
no man's arms can embrace it.
—Swahili

Few (are) too young, and none too old,
to make the attempt to learn.
—Booker T. Washington, Up From Slavery

Check out this book as a reference for Back to School

African American Daily Quote for Kids

Believing in yourself takes courage.
Facing the future takes hope
Carry both in your heart.

—Rosa Parks, 1995
from Dear Mrs. Parks: A Dialogue with Today's Youth

Remembering the Historic March on Washington, 1963

The March on Washington

Written By James Haskins

Award-winning author James Haskins turns his attention to the historic March on Washington in this timely look at one of the pivotal events of the Civil Rights movement. Haskins skillfully traces the history of the movement and details the planning, progression, and outcome of that momentous march.

Reading Level: 9-12; Paperback: 98 Pages

http://www.justusbooksonlinestore.com/products/JAMES-HASKINS-SERIES-%252d-THE-MARCH-ON-WASHINGTON.html

African American Daily Quote for Kids

"The tortoise is the wisest. He carries his own home."

—Bambara

Getting Boys to Read

Look for this four-part series starting September 1, 2011.

African American Daily Quote for Kids

Take courage my soul, and let me journey on.
For the night is dark and I am far from home.
Thanks be to God, the morning light appears.
The storm is passing over...Hallelujah!
— lyrics, African American Spiritual

It's Back to School!

“The role of the teacher remains the highest calling of a free people. To the teacher, America entrusts her most precious resource, her children; and asks that they be prepared ... to face the rigors of individual participation in a democratic society.” —Shirley Mount Hufstedler

For picture books, chapter books, biographies, series, books for young adults, classroom activities and resources that reflect our nation’s diversity visit http://justusbooks.com/ and http://www.justusbooksonlinestore.com/.

25% Discount

on all orders during the Month of September!

WE SUPPORT OUR TEACHERS!!!

JUST US BOOKS, INC. MARIMBA BOOKS

356 Glenwood Avenue East Orange, NJ 07017

(973) 672-7701

African American Daily Quote for Kids

"Love is the most durable power in the world.
This creative force is the most potent instrument available
in mankind's quest for peace and security."
—Martin Luther King, Jr., Strength to Love

African American Daily Quote for Kids

"If you are in one boat you have to row together."
—South Africa

IN THE NEWS

Margo Sorenson, author of the picture book Aloha for Carol Ann, published by Marimba Books, will be a featured author at the Duarte Festival of Authors on Saturday, October 8, 2011, at the Westminster Gardens in Duarte, CA. Margo will also make an appearance by Skype at the 3^rd Annual Literacy in a Multicultural World Conference at Edinboro University of Pennsylvania on Monday, October 10.

Wade and Cheryl Hudson will be among 500 African-American History Makers who will participate in the 2^nd Annual Back to School program on Friday, September 23, 2011. The program is sponsored by the History Makers, the nation’s largest African-American video oral history archive. The African-American history makers will visit schools across the country, sharing personal and professional stories that they hope will motivate and encourage students as they begin a new school year. Among those participating include Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick, former Ambassador Andrew Young, actor/rapper Common, singer/actress Melba Moore, Broadway choreographer George Faison, poet Nikki Giovanni, actress Marla Gibbs ("227," "The Jeffersons"), Ambassador Carol Mosely-Braun, actress T’Keyah Crystal Keymah ("In Living Color," "Cosby" and "That's So Raven") and poet/author Sonia Sanchez. Wade & Cheryl will visit a school in East Orange, NJ.

Wade and Cheryl will also attend the Virginia Library Association Annual Conference on October 27 and 28 at the Portsmouth Renaissance Hotel in Portsmouth, VA.

On Sunday, October 30, the Hudsons will speak and autograph books at the Douglass Park Elementary School in Portsmouth, VA from 2:00 to 4:30. The event is hosted by the Gamma Delta Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha , which sponsors an annual bookfair or author event with Just Us Books every year. The event is free and open to the public.

African American Daily Quote for Kids

"It takes a whole village to raise a child."
—West Africa

African American Daily Quote for Kids

"We are one, our cause is one, and we must help each other if we are to succeed." —Frederick Douglass, 1847 (taken from Kids' Book of Wisdom, Just Us Books)

Welcome to Just Us Books' New Web Site!!!!!!

During the month of April, Just Us Books experienced some technical challenges that made it difficult for our readers to access our web site.
  But we’re happy to report that our web site is back—new and improved.

We’ve created a new user-friendly web site with lots of new features. Look for:

· A brand new online bookstore where you can purchase Just Us Books and Marimba Books titles
· Exclusive special offers and discounts on our extensive list of multicultural children's books

· An expanded Teacher/Librarian Center, featuring Teacher’s Guides for our books, newsletters, tips and other free classroom resources

· Articles, features and other updates about our authors and illustrators

· A news feed featuring articles about children's literature, the publishing industry and other related news

Follow us at www.Twitter.com/justusbooks	Fan us at www.Facebook.com/justusbooks

 

And log into YouTube from time to time to catch our latest book trailers and videos.

Thanks for your continued interest and support.

A CONVERSATION WITH AUTHOR OMAR TYREE

Omar Tyree Writes a “Mr. Creative”

Book For Boys

Omar Tyree is a New York Times best-selling author whose 18 published books have sold nearly two million copies worldwide. A graduate of Howard University with a degree in Print Journalism, Tyree has been recognized as one of the most renowned contemporary writers in the African-American community. His contributions to literature have earned him a 2001 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literature in Fiction, and a 2006 Phillis Wheatley Literary Award for Body of Work in Urban Fiction. Tyree is also an informed and passionate speaker on various topics.

A tireless creator, Tyree makes his children’s book debut with 12 Brown Boys, a collection of short stories that focus on the lives of Black pre-teen boys.

Just Us Books: What's your goal in writing 12 Brown Boys? What do you hope to achieve by publishing the book?

Omar Tyree: There is a gigantic hole in the published world for content featuring urban American boys. Therefore, urban American boys are really not being engaged as young readers. They don't have a wealth of material that represents who they are or what they think about. So I wrote 12 Brown Boys to begin to supply a steady stream of content for this lost and forgotten group of American readers who end up becoming non-reading men. And my goal here is to turn urban boys on to reading, and then plot to keep them reading by supplying them with more books—with great content in development—for the future.

JUB: Why did you decide to begin writing children's books?

Tyree: I have two sons myself, and they are both still young. And it’s embarrassing for me as an African-American male writer of more than a dozen adult novels to take my sons to the book stores and find less than a dozen books with brown boys’ faces on them. So my reason for writing children's books, particularly for urban boys, is the same reason I started writing books for African-American adults more than fifteen years ago. I want to add content to the book shelves that represent our world. And many children's book publishers have not been very interested in doing that.

JUB: What do you think constitutes a great recipe for a book that will captivate young black boys--particularly middle readers (ages 8-12)?

Tyree: Well, it has to be a fun read, number one. So it has to get the young reader engaged and excited. A lot of new readers also like to relate to the material, so [I] create content that is close to who they are and what they go through in life. And boys, of course, love sports, doing things their own way, and getting involved in adventure. So adding that strong ingredient to the mix is also a plus. And if you can add some kind of moral lesson to the content without sounding too preachy, then that brings the book all the way home for a win. And that's the formula I plan to use for an upcoming library of many more books for urban American boys.

About 12 Brown Boys

Best-selling author Omar Tyree makes his children's book debut with 12 Brown Boys, a collection of short stories for middle readers that focus on the lives of Black pre-teen boys.

Readers will connect with Tyree's engaging characters. There is Red Head Mike who hates his nickname, but hates his red hair even more, and Chestnut, who is sent to live with relatives down South to keep him out of trouble in his Brooklyn neighborhood. There is Santa Monica super kid William, whose status as a scholar and entrepreneur has even his best friends hating him, and Wayne who resents his role as the oldest child until a tragedy strikes the family. There’s Taylor, a star baller and aspiring video director who just might be getting his first big shot in the industry; and rough and tumble T.C., from St. Louis, who’s struggling to find his place as a young man in a house full of girls.

Tyree has assembled a wide range of characters that reflect the diversity of experiences of Black boys—characters that are funny, serious, edgy, street-wise, studious, and all unforgettable.

To purchase 12 Brown Boys, visit www.justusbooksonlinestore.com

COMING SOON From the Teacher/Librarian Center: GETTING BOYS TO READ

For more information on Omar Tyree’s work and titles, please view his web site www.OmarTyree.com

A CONVERSATION WITH MARIMBA BOOKS AUTHOR MARGO SORENSON

This month, Marimba Books releases Aloha for Carol Ann, a picture book about an eight-year-old who moves to Hawaii and struggles to feel at home in this new place until she discovers the true meaning of aloha, a Hawaiian term that means "hello," "welcome" and so much more.

Meet the Author: Margo Sorenson

Marimba Books: Do you remember when you began writing? What was your first piece?
Margo Sorenson: I wrote my first "book" at age 6, titled LEO AND BO-PEEP, and I illustrated it, too (unfortunately!). I still have it, and it makes me giggle. When I do school visits, the students always ask me this same question, so I show them the tattered and ancient "book," much to their glee!
MB: How did you get started in children's book publishing?
MS: I taught high school and middle school English for many years, and I was lucky enough to have excellent mentoring from writing instructors in the teaching of writing, including the UCLA Writing Project. Parents of my students would ask me why I didn't write, and I always answered that I could teach students to write, but I couldn't write, myself. My mother, also an author of children's books, encouraged me to go to an SCBWI workshop with her. I went — kicking and screaming — and have never looked back.
MB: What was your first published book and how many have you had published so far?
MS: My first published book was one I co-authored with Anne Polkingharn, the wonderful and legendary librarian of the California K-8 school at which I was teaching, Harbor Day School. It was a reading record book with multiple activities for students to report on their reading, titled HOW TO SNEAK UP ON A GOOD BOOK (Perfection Learning), which is now out of print. At the same time, I had just begun working on Aloha For Carol, and I was writing a work-for-hire for Bantam Sweet Dreams series, under my pseudonym Marcie Kremer, titled ALOHA LOVE (Bantam, 1994, out of print), a very "demure" teen romance about two debaters at Aina Hau School (Punahou School, where our daughters attended and where I taught) in Honolulu. ALOHA FOR CAROL ANN is my twenty-seventh published book, but, I have probably eighty to ninety unpublished manuscripts!
MB: You have an interesting story of perseverance regarding the publication of Aloha For Carol Ann Can you share that?
MS: I first began writing Aloha For Carol in 1989, and I would read the various versions aloud to my middle school students, who would make comments, trying to spare my feelings! I began submitting it to publishers, and it was rejected many, many times. When I'd get feedback from editors, I'd revise it again, and I'd ask my fellow teachers for help, as well. I believed in the story, because I'd seen it reenacted so many times during our ten years in Hawaii, and I wanted to share the aloha spirit that our family had found there. Twenty-two years later, I was still keeping an eye out for a publisher that I thought might be interested in the story, and lo, and behold, Marimba Books was founded, the perfect publisher for this story. I queried, was asked to send the manuscript, and the Hudsons acquired it, much to my and my family's joy!
MB: Aloha For Carol is about a girl who is a new student in a new place: Hawaii. Why did you pick Hawaii for the setting of this book? Do you have any personal connections to Hawaii?
MS: Our family lived in Hawaii for ten years, and, so often, I saw what a difference kids could make in welcoming someone new to such a different and unusual place. The aloha spirit of kindness and welcoming others is part of Hawaii, and the multicultural setting seemed perfect for the story I wanted to tell. We return to Hawaii every year, and we still have dear friends there whom we visit and who come to the Mainland to visit us, as well. Living in Hawaii has become an integral part of the fabric of our family's life, and I am so grateful that Marimba Books has made it possible to keep these special memories alive and to share them with young readers.
MB: Where did the inspiration for this book come from?
MS: After we moved from Hawaii, we missed it a great deal. I wanted to keep those memories alive for our family, so I began writing the story. Carol Ann is actually a real person (she gave me permission to use her name!), a young Marine wife we met at our church, who was having a difficult time adjusting to life in Hawaii, and she ended up loving it there because of people's welcoming attitudes. Carol Ann's story seems to span the generations, both young and old, and watching kids exemplify the aloha spirit by welcoming others in our daughters' classrooms and in my own classroom inspired me to share the story with young readers who also might have to move somewhere new and different, or might have someone new come to their school. The acclaimed author Virginia Hamilton once wrote, "Writing is what you know, remember, and imagine," and that's how Aloha For Carol came to be.

Learn more about author Margo Sorenson at her website: http://www.margosorenson.com/