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 children of all ages discover that the library is a friendly, fun, welcoming place, they will avail themselves of the library collection, programs, and services.
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, Joe McDermott entitled "Mission Possible". A sound file for this song is on the Texas Reading Club website at www.tsl.texas.gov/ld/projects/trc/index.html.
A piggyback theme song written especially for the 2003 Texas Reading Club by Sally Meyers follows. It is entitled, "Mission Possible - Spy a Book!" and is sung to the melody of "Grandfather's Clock".
This year's manual features a chapter of puppet plays, stories, and reader's theater scripts. The programs begins with a suggestions for two kick-off celebrations, "Mystery Parade!" and "Spy Games!" and two end-of-summer celebrations, "Spy a Celebration!" and "Mission Accomplished!" These are ideal to promote the Texas Reading Club during school visits and to enhance programs for children of all ages in the library. The Toddler, Preschool, and Elementary programs chapters have suggestions for programs specifically designed for youth in those age groups. They include many wonderful books, songs, fingerplays, crafts, activities, and other programming ideas.
The 2003 Spanish slogan is, "¡Acción, espionaje, aventuras...en la biblioteca!" The Bilingual Programs chapter features many wonderful suggestions for books, games, crafts, songs, rhymes, stories, and puppet shows for children and families. English and Spanish translations for each are included.
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 "Operation Top Secret!" 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, magazines, videos, audio recordings, and CD-ROMs. Your library's collection may contain many additional titles relating to the program themes that you may wish to substitute for the books suggested in the chapters.
Foreign publishers are cited in the bibliography for some of the titles in the bilingual chapter. Many of these titles may also be purchased from distributors in the United States or through Amazon.com. A list of U.S. distributors and publishers of bilingual and Spanish books is included at the end of the Bilingual Programs chapter.
Many of the books and professional resources cited may be ordered through interlibrary loan, from the Library Science Collection (LSC) 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 LSC holdings on the TSLAC web site at www.tsl.texas.gov. For more information, please contact Library Development Division at at 1-800-252-9386 or ld@tsl.texas.gov.
Clip Art
The clip art by G. Brian Karas 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