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Singapore Children's Lit Group

Page history last edited by Katie Day 15 years, 1 month ago



May ??, 2009

 


April ??, 2009

 


March ??, 2009

 


February 19, 2009:  Children's Fantasy -- discovering the lesser known titles

 

The idea is to discuss children's fantasy that is not Artemis Fowl. Harry Potter, Narnia, Lord of the Rings etc.   Instead, let's highlight for each other lesser known titles worth reading.

 

The time/location will be a little different this month as we have a special guest we'd like to attend.

 

Kate Forsyth, an Australian author who writes fantasy for both adults and children, will be doing workshops at Barb's junior library at Tanglin that week, and she is giving a talk on writing fiction after school -- for adults -- on Thursday, Feb. 19th, so Barb and I thought it would be perfect to combine taking Kate out for dinner (which we librarians usually do with visiting authors) with our children's book group. 

 

Having Kate join us should hopefully lead to an interesting discussion -- though we will not be discussing her books specifically (NB: you can find them at Bookaburra, Page One, and the National Library of Singapore -- as well as at some school libraries, e.g., both UWCSEA campuses have her most recent young adult title, The Starthorn Tree).

 

If you want to attend Kate's talk, just let Barb know so she can arrange tickets.  The event is free and will be held at Tanglin from 4:15--5:00 PM.

 

After the talk, Barb has booked The Balcony at One Rochester (because it is very handy to Tanglin) at 5.30 PM.   Some snack food will be available and then we can all pitch in for a couple of bottles of wine.  If anyone wants a more substantial meal there is an a la carte menu.

 

So start thinking re fantasy books you think deserve a wider audience.  Here are a few links to get you going.

 

Fantasy awards:

  • Aurealis Awards -- annual Australian awards for the best fantasy, science fiction, and horror fiction -- see this year's finalists, which includes best children's novel, best young adult novel, etc.
  •  

 

Booklists: 

 

[More to be added...  if you have some to suggest, send them to me and I'll put them up here...] 

 


Long holiday break!


November 20, 2008:  Great books for kids with a high reading ability at a young age

 

WHEN:  Thursday, Nov. 20 -- 7:00 for 7:30 PM start

 

WHERE:   Fiona Hodgkins's house...Address is 8A Shelford Road, S’pore 288351 – off the Dunearn Road just by the Adam/Farrer Road junction.  Home phone for people who need more directions is 65198939 and mobile is 90689858.

 

WHAT:   At the next meeting we want to share book/author suggestions for kids reading far beyond their years and discuss the issues connected with this.

 

Why don't we try to look at four groups of such readers? 

  • Lower Primary -- e.g., a 6-year-old
  • Upper Primary -- e.g., a 9-year-old
  • Middle School -- e.g., a 12-year-old
  • High School -- e.g., a 15-year-old

 

How best to collect/share the lists we come up with?  Use an online tool?

 

As you know, I like to play with different Web 2.0 tools to keep track of things online and I have used LibraryThing to create lists of the books we've talked about in the past.  But LibraryThing is more of a catalog than a list-making tool (though they are working on a feature called "Collections" which will allow more temporary groupings of books to be identified).  And Amazon lets you create lists to share with the world.

 

I'm going to use WorldCat this time to log the books I want to recommend for each age group.  Once you register with WorldCat (it's free), you can create lists and write reviews (and even tag books for the world to see -- a new feature). They even have a video up on YouTube showing you how to create lists.

 

Anyway, see my profile and the four new lists I've set up:  Very proficient 6-year-old readers, Very proficient 9-year-old readers, Very proficient 12-year-old readers, and Very proficient 15-year-old readers.  I just set them up so there are only a few items in each at the moment, but I'll be adding to this in the next few weeks and beyond.

 

Don't feel you can't show up with a paper list -- or just a pile of books you pull out of a bag.  This is just a suggestion of something you might try -- or might find useful in some other arena of your life. 

 

-- Katie

 


October 2, 2008:  Award-winners

 

WHEN:  Thursday, Oct 2 -- 7:00 for 7:30 PM start

 

WHAT:   The topic for our next meeting will be children's book awards -- read a winner from the past few years and come prepared to share your thoughts.  What is the value of awards?  What effect do they have on children? on the book industry? on supporting quality literature?

 

WHERE:   Katie's apartment:  #08-11 Glendale Park (tower B3 -- just to the right of the guardhouse/fountain), 25A Hillview Ave, off Upper Bukit Timah.

 

If you want to check out some of the major national awards:

 

UK:  2008 winners -- Carnegie and Greenaway -- from CILIP (Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals)

 

USA:  2008 winners -- Newbery, Caldecott, etc. -- from the ALA (American Library Association)

 

Australia:  2008 winners -- from the Children's Book Council of Australia

 

Canada:  2008 Children's Book of the Year  -- from the CLA (Canadian Library Association)

 

 


 

May 21, 2008:  Special Needs / Learning Difficulties

 

WHEN:  Wed. May 21 -- 7:00 for 7:30 PM start

 

WHAT:   The topic for our next meeting will be books on children with learning difficulties or special needs, whether ADHD, dyslexia, physical disability, or whatever.

 

WHERE:   Katie's apartment:  #08-11 Glendale Park (tower B3 -- just to the right of the guardhouse/fountain), 25A Hillview Ave, off Upper Bukit Timah.

 

I've started a LibraryThing list already -- called special_needs -- and the login/password are both the same:  special_needs.  Feel free to add books to it.  

 

Other online lists to have a look at:

 

 

April 2008:  Mother Earth and the Future

 

WHEN:  Wed. April 23 -- 7:00 for 7:30 PM start

 

WHAT:   The topic for our next meeting will be books on the environment, consumerism, the future, global citizenship, etc. - in honor of April 22 as Earth Day and April 23 as World Book Day

 

WHERE:  at Liz Watt's house:  22 Yew Siang Road - Block 22, #02 - 01 Flynn Park -- off Pasir Panjang Road, about half-way between South Buona Vista and Alexandra Roads. Some parking for guests is available - for those of us who drive!    Home phone - 6479 8589 / Hand phone 8322 5676 - should you get lost!

 

Lists to have a look at:

 

FINAL BOOKLIST forthcoming!

 


 

February 2008: Graphic Texts

 

p.s.   Have a look at the list of graphic texts we discussed (NB: not all for children).  See also these two links that recently came to my attention:

 

p.s. from Lynette:  Anyway we have recently got in The Hobbit (graphic novel) and there is also Stormbreaker (graphic novel) (in stock) and Point Blanc (graphic novel)

(on order) by Anthony Horowitz as well as Nancy Drew (graphic novel) and Hardy Boys (graphic novel) (some in stock).  The newest and most

popular at the moment appears to be Totally Spies.

 

WHEN:  Wed., Feb. 20th -- 7:00 for 7:30 PM start

WHAT:   The topic for our next meeting will be graphic novels (i.e., comic books)

WHERE:  Katie's house

DIRECTIONS:  It's off Upper Bukit Timah -- a stone's throw from the Rail Mall (if you know that). The condo is called Glendale Park -- which is at 25A Hillview Ave (where Hillview Ave meets Hillview Road).  When you enter past the guard house there is a round fountain area. You want to head for the tower and entrance just to the right of the fountain (don't let the guards send you anywhere else).  Apartment #08-11.   Telephone: 8233-2922

 

Websites/articles to check out:

 

  •  Blog:  Kids' Comics -- an online publication of RAW Junior, LLC, publisher of the Little Lit Library and TOON Books
  • TOON books website, including comics they're creating for beginning readers

 


January 2008:  Historical Fiction

 

WHEN:  Thursday, Jan. 17th -- 7:00 for 7:30 PM start

WHAT:   The topic for our next meeting will be historical fiction

WHERE:  At Liz's house:

 

22 Yew Siang Road - Block 22, #02 - 01 Flynn Park

 
Off Pasir Panjang Road, about half-way between South Buona Vista and Alexandra Roads. Some parking for guests is available - for those of us who drive!
 
Home phone - 6479 8589 / Hand phone 8322 5676 - should you get lost!

 

 

 

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