New Programs Feature Kids’ Books Online

Two new initiatives highlight conversations with authors and beach reads, all for kids

By Laura B. Weiss -- School Library Journal, 7/1/2005

Looking for a chance to chat with prominent authors of books on topics of interest to librarians, educators, parents? Then you’ll want to visit a new bimonthly online discussion forum called “Talktime Live! Book Chat,” launched June 8 and sponsored by Connect for Kids (www.connectforkids.org). The nonprofit group provides tools for caregivers and educators to improve the lives of children, teens, and families.

The discussion forum’s inaugural guest was author Cheryl Coon, who talked to visitors about using fiction to help kids ages two through 10 face day-to-day issues like coping with divorce. Coon is the author of Books to Grow With: A Guide to Using the Best Children’s Fiction for Everyday Issues and Tough Challenges (Lutra Press, 2004).

The book, which was developed with the aid of educators, grew out of Coon’s efforts, begun in 1998, to identify and annotate the best children’s fiction and organize it under 100 different topics.

During the chat, Coon was asked for advice about books that might seem too mature for their kids. The author said, “My first recommendation is read it yourself. Consider whether your child may already know about this issue or may be curious to read about it. You can always say yes, but that you’d like to talk about it before or after.”

Meanwhile, the Children’s Book Council (CBC) has launched its first “Summer Reading Extravaganza,” a list of 50 summer-themed titles, beach reads, and other paper­backs for vacation reading from CBC member publishers (www.cbcbooks.org/cbcmagazine/showcase/summer2005.html).

Some of the featured titles include The Dog of Knots (Eerdmans, 2004) by Kathy Walden Kaplan, and Inkheart (Scholastic/The Chicken House, 2003) by Cornelia Funke.

“If adults take summer to do some lighter reading, kids should too,” says Paula Quint, CBC’s president.