Introduction
Goals and Purpose
The goal of the Texas Reading Club is to encourage the children of Texas to become library users and lifelong readers. The purpose of this manual is to assist library staff who serve youth by suggesting ideas for programs that will attract children to the library. Our hope is that when youth of all ages discover that the library is a friendly, fun, welcoming place, they will avail themselves of the library collection, programs, and services. Then we will have succeeded in achieving our goal.
Using this Manual
The programs in each chapter of this manual feature a combination of the following components:
- Books to Share, Show, and Booktalk
- Bulletin Boards, Displays, and Decorations
- Fingerplays, Rhymes, Poems, and Songs
- Riddles, and Jokes
- Crafts, Games, and Activities
- Guest Speakers
- Musical Recordings, Videos, Web Sites, and CD-ROMs
- Reader's Theater Scripts, Puppet shows, Stories, or citations to books in which they may be located
The fun begins with an original Texas Reading Club theme song by composer and children's musician, Willy Welch. It is entitled "Reading Across Texas" and will be used in 2002 and in future years. Look for it on Willy's next CD!
A theme song written especially for the 2002 Texas Reading Club by Sally Meyers follows. It is entitled, "Read Across Texas!" and is sung to the melody of "Pick a Bale of Cotton." You may listen to both of these songs on the Texas State Library web site at www.tsl.texas.gov/ld/projects/trc/2002/index.html.
The manual begins with a "Texas Hoe Down" to kick-off the Texas Reading Club and a "Rodeo Roundup" to celebrate its completion. The suggested bulletin boards in these programs are based on the clip art in the back of this manual. You may choose to display them all summer long!
This year's manual features a chapter of puppet plays, stories, and reader's theater scripts. These are ideal to promote the Texas Reading Club during school visits and to enhance programs for children of all ages in the library. More stories, puppet plays, and reader's theater scripts are included in individual chapters.
The Toddler and Preschool Program chapters have suggestions for programs specifically designed for youth in those age groups. They include a wealth of original songs and fingerplays.
The Elementary Programs chapter suggests many wonderful books, crafts, activities, and other programming ideas that will appeal to school age children.
The Spanish translation of this year's theme is, "¡Por Texas viajamos con libros en mano!" The Bilingual Programs chapter features very useful suggestions for books, games, crafts, songs, rhymes, stories, and puppet shows for children and families. English and Spanish translations for each are included. Foreign publishers are cited in the bibliography for many of the titles. As indicated at Amazon.com, many of these titles may also be purchased from distributors in the United States. A list of U.S. distributors and publishers of bilingual and Spanish books is included at the end of the Bilingual Programs chapter.
All of the chapters have similar formats, with the exception of the Young Adult Programs chapter, which uniquely addresses the interests of that age group. To attract more young adults to the library and to encourage them to read, the Young Adult chapter outlines a separate reading club on the theme "Travel Quest!" as well as many wonderful programming ideas.
Bibliographic information for titles in all chapters and in all formats is compiled at the end of the manual in the bibliography. The bibliography is divided into sections for books, videos, audio recordings, and CD-ROMs. Your collection may contain many additional titles relating to the program themes. Many of the books and professional resources cited may be ordered through interlibrary loan from the Library Science Collection of the Texas State Library and Archives Commission (TSLAC) or from other Texas libraries if you do not have them in your collection. You may check holdings on the TSLAC web site at www.tsl.texas.gov. For more information, please contact Anne Ramos at 1-800-252-9386 or anne.ramos@tsl.texas.gov.
Clip Art
The clip art included at the back of this manual may be used for crafts, programs, or to decorate your library. Make mobiles with the clip art using sturdy paper plates. Punch holes around the edge with a hole punch and use yarn or string to attach the clip art. Enlarge or reduce the art depending on your needs, but do not alter it in any other way. Cut out the patterns and color them. For more guidelines, please read the section in this manual entitled, "Acceptable Use of Clip Art."
Clip art may also be used for creating:
- Bulletin board decorations
- Tabletop decorations
- Program "favors"
- Take home coloring sheets
- Refrigerator magnets (Copy, color and laminate. Buy a roll of magnetic tape from craft a supply store and glue to the back of the clip art.)
- Ceiling, window, or door decorations.
Library Outreach
Encourage as many children as possible to participate in the Texas Reading Club and to use the library resources through outreach programs and deposit collections. Take the Texas Reading Club to as many children as possible in underserved groups, such as those who are financially limited or without transportation. For instance, children in childcare centers might not have access through their providers. In order to reach them, bring library resources and programs to them. Sponsor reading clubs in schools, childcare centers, family health centers, free food distribution sites, and other locations in your area of service.
Establish a depository collection at each outreach site so the children will have access to books. Plan programs such as puppet shows, crafts, storytelling performances, and story hours at these sites. Order extra Texas Reading Club logs, bookmarks, and certificates, and allow the organizations to administer the program and report their participation to you. The increase in your statistics will demonstrate the value of your outreach program to your library administrators and local government officials. Make every effort to publicize your successful outreach programs in your community newspapers using the samples on the following pages.
Serving Children with Disabilities