This must be the question I am asked the most as a teacher-librarian. And my answer is usually along the lines of, "Well, they're all good books, but what kind of book are you interested in?" What one person loves, another person...not so much...The key is to find a book on a topic or in a genre that interests you, and to make sure that it's written in a way you can understand and enjoy. We will be working on this at different levels throughout the year, but here are some quick pointers for picking a 'just right' book for yourself:
~ Look beyond the front cover -- look at the back cover or inside the dust jacket to see if the author has written a summary of the book. If it is a non-fiction book, check the table of contents to see what the book will be talking about.
~ Read a bit! A bookseller once recommended that reading page 40 of a novel will give you a great sense of whether or not you enjoy the author's style. It's also an opportunity to check the level of language -- you probably won't enjoy reading a book in which you have to look up every third word. It's good to have a few words that you don't know, because this keeps you learning as a reader.
~ Figure out the genres of books you have read and loved. Search for (or ask for help finding) other books in these genres. Genres can include mystery, adventure, realistic fiction, historical fiction, fantasy, science fiction, and so on).
~ Know your authors ~ If you have enjoyed a book, try to remember the name of the author. It's then easier to look for books by the same author or ask about authors who write in similar styles.
~ Award Nominees/Winners ~ Every year, there are many books deemed wonderful enough to be nominated for awards. Check out the right hand column of this page for links to pages that list these books (Newbery Medal, Red Cedar Award, Surrey Schools Book of the Year, Surrey Schools Picture Book of the Year, etc...)
~ Book Reviews ~ I can already tell that we have keen readers here at Laronde. Hopefully some of you will write some book reviews for this website. In the meantime I will post some of my own reviews under Mme. McQuillan's Picks. Sometimes reading what other people thought of a book can inspire us to want to try reading it ourselves.
~ Recommendation Websites ~ In the right hand column you can also find links to Goodreads and KidsReads, two great sites for book recommendations. There is also a site called "What Should I Read Next" that will generate recommendations based on books titles/authors you type in.
Those are just a few tips to get you going. I will add more as I think of them.
Bon lecture!
Mme. McQuillan
~ Look beyond the front cover -- look at the back cover or inside the dust jacket to see if the author has written a summary of the book. If it is a non-fiction book, check the table of contents to see what the book will be talking about.
~ Read a bit! A bookseller once recommended that reading page 40 of a novel will give you a great sense of whether or not you enjoy the author's style. It's also an opportunity to check the level of language -- you probably won't enjoy reading a book in which you have to look up every third word. It's good to have a few words that you don't know, because this keeps you learning as a reader.
~ Figure out the genres of books you have read and loved. Search for (or ask for help finding) other books in these genres. Genres can include mystery, adventure, realistic fiction, historical fiction, fantasy, science fiction, and so on).
~ Know your authors ~ If you have enjoyed a book, try to remember the name of the author. It's then easier to look for books by the same author or ask about authors who write in similar styles.
~ Award Nominees/Winners ~ Every year, there are many books deemed wonderful enough to be nominated for awards. Check out the right hand column of this page for links to pages that list these books (Newbery Medal, Red Cedar Award, Surrey Schools Book of the Year, Surrey Schools Picture Book of the Year, etc...)
~ Book Reviews ~ I can already tell that we have keen readers here at Laronde. Hopefully some of you will write some book reviews for this website. In the meantime I will post some of my own reviews under Mme. McQuillan's Picks. Sometimes reading what other people thought of a book can inspire us to want to try reading it ourselves.
~ Recommendation Websites ~ In the right hand column you can also find links to Goodreads and KidsReads, two great sites for book recommendations. There is also a site called "What Should I Read Next" that will generate recommendations based on books titles/authors you type in.
Those are just a few tips to get you going. I will add more as I think of them.
Bon lecture!
Mme. McQuillan