The Olympics are right around the corner! Get the collection in shape with Marilyn Taniguchi’s “Going the Distance,” a focus on Olympics-related books.
Alice Waters isn’t just one of this country’s most influential chefs—she also invented the modern school lunch movement in the mid-1990s with the Edible Schoolyard at Martin Luther King Junior Middle School in Berkeley, CA. It’s a program that integrates organic gardening and fresh seasonal cooking into the school’s curriculum and lunchroom—and a growing number of people are trying to do the same at their schools.
SLJ talks to Waters about kids and obesity, and why revamping school lunches is still so hard.
Are you surprised that it’s still an uphill battle to get healthier foods into schools?
I’m not surprised at all because we, as a nation, haven’t ever paid attention to what we’re eating. And as support for public education has dwindled, the budgets have gotten very, very tight and consequently even less money goes into feeding children. read more...
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What Are They Reading for Fun?
More summer reading highlights for teens and tweens:
Linda Beck, Indian Valley Public Library, Telford, PA:
Most kids don’t keep up with new titles except by word of mouth and are happy to browse when they come in. We try to display books, audiobooks, and DVDs together by theme–trucks, pets, fantasy, mysteries not in series, and so on. It’s pretty much true that whatever is on display gets checked out as long as there are multiple copies of titles and they look fairly new, not dog-eared and yellow. Fantasy and horror are extremely popular with readers in grades four and up. Among the titles that we expect to be big this summer are: C. S. Lewis’s The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (HarperTrophy), in conjunction with the movie release; Erin Hunter’s Warriors: Cats of the Clans (HarperCollins, 2008); James Patterson’s Maximum Ride: The
Final Warning (Little, Brown, 2008); Mike Lupica’s The Big Field (Philomel, 2008); Jeff Kinney’s “Wimpy Kid” books (Abrams); and Sarah Dessen’s Lock and Key (Viking, 2008). read more...
What’s one thing you shouldn’t tell an overweight teenage girl? To get dieting advice from a magazine.
In fact, frequent reading of magazine articles about weight loss and weight control can result in unhealthy behavior such as skipping meals, fasting, and smoking cigarettes, says a new study published in the June issue of Pediatrics. read more...
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools has received a $1.9 million federal grant to launch a pilot pay-for-performance program aimed at rewarding teachers and administrators for student academic performance, the district says.
Funded by the U.S. Department of Education, the program will be tested at six schools next year and will be expanded to include 10 additional district schools in the next few years, officials say. read more...
Just the mention of a school talent show can send young ones into orbit—those who know they have a talent want to show it off, while those who don’t often feel inadequate. And what if your best friend wants to do something different than you? When it comes to talent show time in your school, put these titles on display to give students some pointers on handling different scenarios.
D’AMICO, Carmela. Ella Sets the Stage. illus. by Steven D’Amico. Scholastic/Arthur A. Levine Bks. 2006. RTE $16.99. ISBN 978-0-439-83152-9 PreS-Gr 2— Ella so wants to be part of the talent show, but is convinced that she has nothing special to offer like the other young elephants in her class. read more...
On June 15, 1752, Benjamin Franklin proved that lightning was a form of electricity by launching a kite with a key attached to its string during a storm (not the wisest or safest thing to do!). This June 15, teach kids about electricity by having them safely duplicate Ben’s kite experiment on this cool site. In addition to trying out different versions of Ben’s kite, kids can also build their own lightning rod and see how well it works to protect a virtual house. If kids are interested in finding out more about lightning, direct them to A Lightning Primer, created by NASA. —
Work in the heart of the Rockies, in a scenic area offering 300 days of sunshine each year, and easy access to world-class skiing, hiking, bicycling, and the beauty of the American West! read more...
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Alice Waters isn’t just one of this country’s most influential chefs—she also invented the modern school lunch movement in the mid-1990s with the 
