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What makes a reader?
Why some read a lot and others very little |
 Jim Trelease, author of The Read-Aloud Handbook and reading advocate extraordinaire, has devoted decades to encouraging people of all ages to pick up a book....or a newspaper, magazine, or any other form of the printed word. He's also puzzled over what turns some people and not others into readers. He claims to have found a big part of the answer in the work of Wilbur Schramm, who developed a formula called the Fraction of Selection. Schramm's fraction is made up of a dividend that consists of the rewards people expect from an activity and a divisor that's made up of the effort it takes to get the reward. The quotient is the frequency with which the activity in question is performed.
Simply put, people - especially kids - will read more often if the benefits of the pastime outweigh the difficulties.
Some of those benefits may include the pure pleasure of reading a good book, the desire to get good grades, or the need for information. Difficulties might come in the form of distractions, a lack of printed material (homes with low literacy scorers tend to have the least amount of reading material around), or a lack of quiet space.
The moral of the story, then, is that if parents and educators want to raise readers, the trick is to maintain - both in the home and at school - strong reward factors and keep the effort factors to a minimum. That means not loading your kid up with every innovation in technology that comes out in the market, keeping the TVs out of the bedroom, and limiting video game time to a reasonable portion of the day. |
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Coming up at the Wallkill Public Library  Wednesday's 4 p.m. Art Club with Miss Christine is such a hit that that particular session is now full!
The good news is that Art Club is also being offered at 4 p.m. Fridays, starting today. Make sure to register and then come and enjoy the many different and creative projects Miss Christine has to offer! Coming up next week at the library: Tuesday: Mommy & Me takes place at 10:30 a.m., followed by Book Buddies at 11:30 a.m. The Non-Fiction Book Club meets at 7 p.m. Wednesday: Toddler Story Time is offered at 10:30 a.m., followed by Book Buddies at 1 p.m. The Art Club meets at 4 p.m. (unless you're already registered for that session, it's full). Thursday: Ages 5 and up are invited to design their own wall art with Landscape Painting at 4 p.m. The Knit/Crochet Club meets at 6:30 p.m. Friday: Toddler Story Time takes place at 10:30 a.m. Art Club is offered at 4 p.m. Registration required. Saturday: The Shawangunk Environmental Management Council will be hosting an Earth Day celebration from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the library lawn. Clean Sweep: Wallkill will also meet at the library from 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. - those interested in volunteering in the local cleanup effort should call 256-0446.
Coming up in May - Cinco de Mayo falls on a Saturday, this year! Come celebrate a fiesta at the library from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. that day - we'll read stories, make masks, listen to music, and make our own tacos!
Remember to get your Renegades tickets! Geek the Library Night is June 30, when the team will be playing the Staten Island Yankees. Tickets include the price of post-game fireworks! Call the library at 895-3707 or stop at the circulation desk for more information! |
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2011's Most Challenged Books list out The American Library Association has released its list of the Top Ten Most Frequently Challenged Books of 2011. Pick up a couple today!
1. ttyl; ttfn; 18r, g8r (series), by Lauren Myracle (offensive language; religious viewpoint; sexually explicit; unsuited to age group)
2. The Color of Earth (series), by Kim Dong Hwa (nudity; sex education; sexually explicit; unsuited to age group)
 3. The Hunger Games trilogy, by Suzanne Collins (anti-ethnic; anti-family; insensitivity; offensive language; occult/satanic; violence) 4. My Mom's Having a Baby! A Kid's Month-by-Month Guide to Pregnancy, by Dori Hillestad Butler (nudity; sex education; sexually explicit; unsuited to age group)
5. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie (offensive language; racism; religious viewpoint; sexually explicit; unsuited to age group)
6. Alice (series), by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor (nudity; offensive language; religious viewpoint)
7. Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley (insensitivity; nudity; racism; religious viewpoint; sexually explicit)
8. What My Mother Doesn't Know, by Sonya Sones (nudity; offensive language; sexually explicit)
9. Gossip Girl (series), by Cecily Von Ziegesar (drugs; offensive language; sexually explicit)
10. To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee (offensive language; racism) |
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Apple, publishers accused of price fixing  Some of the nation's largest publishers and Apple have been hit with a federal antitrust lawsuit for allegedly conspiring to fix eBook prices.
Prosecutors say five book publishers conspired over a four-year period with Apple in an attempt to force online retail giant Amazon to stop charging a deeply discounted $9.99 for new eBooks.
It's estimated that the alleged scheme cost readers $100 million in inflated eBook prices.
The publishers named in the pending suit are Macmillan and Penguin Group.
Hachette Book Group, HarperCollins, and Simon & Schuster have agreed to settle the lawsuit and end the anticompetitive practices alleged by the government. |
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Dear Dumb Diary box set is here!  Author Jim Benton chronicles a middle-school girl's experience through jornal entries and cartoon drawings in volumes 1 through 12 of the popular tween series, Dear Dumb Diary. Jamie Kelly is cool (sometimes), nice (mostly), and funny (always), and she promises that everything in her diary is true....or at least as true as it needs to be. Inside these books, readers will learn how Jamie feels about everything from her vengeful beagle, Stinker, to her crush, Hudson Rivers, to her worst enemy, Angelina, the prettiest, most popular girl at Mackerel Middle School. |
Reality makes for great film fodder 
Political and scientific legends take center stage in three of this month's new DVD releases:
Iron Lady - Meryl Streep plays Margaret Thatcher, who talks to the imagined presence of her recently deceased husband as she struggles to come to terms with his death while scenes from her past life, from girlhood to British prime minister, intervene. J. Edgar - The powerful head of the FBI for nearly 50 years, Hoover (as portrayed by Leonardo DiCaprio) looks back on his professional and personal life in this Clint Eastwood-directed film. A Dangerous Method - A look at how the intense relationship between Carl Jung (Michael Fassbender) and Sigmund Freud (Viggo Mortenson) gave birth to psychoanalysis War Horse - Young Albert enlists to serve in World War I after his beloved horse is sold to the cavalry. Albert's hopeful journey takes him out of England and across Europe as the war rages on in this acclaimed film by Steven Spielberg. |
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Historic piece follows Catherine to throne
The Winter Palace
by Eva Stachniak
 Her name is Barbara-in Russian, Varvara. Nimble-witted and attentive, she's allowed into the employ of the Empress Elizabeth, amid the glitter and cruelty of the world's most eminent court. Under the tutelage of Count Bestuzhev, Chancellor and spymaster, Varvara will be educated in skills from lock picking to lovemaking, learning above all else to listen - and to wait for opportunity. That opportunity arrives in a slender young princess from Zerbst named Sophie, a playful teenager destined to become the indomitable Catherine the Great. Sophie's destiny at court is to marry the Empress's nephew, but she has other, loftier, more dangerous ambitions, and she proves to be more guileful than she first appears.
What Sophie needs is an insider at court, a loyal pair of eyes and ears who knows the traps, the conspiracies, and the treacheries that surround her. Varvara will become Sophie's confidante - and together the two young women will rise to the pinnacle of absolute power.
With dazzling details and intense drama, Eva Stachniak depicts Varvara's secret alliance with Catherine as the princess grows into a legend - through an enforced marriage, illicit seductions, and, at last, the shocking coup to assume the throne of all of Russia.
Impeccably researched and magnificently written, The Winter Palace is an irresistible peek through the keyhole of one of history's grandest tales.
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Crafty site for your little artists
 Looking for something to do with your kids on a rainy day? Busy Bee Kids Crafts might be the site for you!
The site offers loads of inexpensive and simple activities for children ranging in age from pre-school to school age! The crafts are labelled according to age-appropriateness, so parents don't have to waste time researching the activity and trying to figure out if it's right for their child.
Kid-friendly recipes are also available on the site. Themed and seasonal activities are featured, as well, so if your child's current obsession involves pirates, dinosaurs, or some other subject, you can find the perfect craft for him!
It's a site worthwhile bookmarking for those long summer days that are coming up! |
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School budget vote coming up in May The annual budget vote for the Wallkill School District will be May 15.
Those interested in running for the Board of Education can pick up a petition from district clerk Sherry Palen at 19 Main St. Petitions must be filed in the clerk's office between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. by April 16. Each petition must be signed by at least 27 voters within the district. Candidates must have lived within the school district for at least a year.
For more information, call the clerk's office at 895-7101. |
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Library board trustees needed soon!
 Help Wanted! Position openings for board trustee. Help grow your library!
In September, we hold our annual budget vote and trustee election. Four board trustee positions will be open at that time. This is an unpaid, elected five-year term. A petition requiring 50 signatures of eligible voters from the Town of Shawangunk, Wallkill School District, is necessary to place your name on the ballot. In order to run, you must reside in the Wallkill School District.
The success and growth of our library depends on the commitment of forward-thinking individuals who care about the programs, collections, and services we offer to our community and want to see them flourish in the years to come. Are you committed to the library? Has it made a difference in your life or the lives of your family members? Do you want to join a group of hard-working people and be a part of developing exciting ideas and plans to expand and enhance library services?
There will be an open house coming up soon to introduce prospective board members to the library, the roles and responsibilities of a trustee, and our strategic plan for the future. It's a great opportunity to see if this is something you would be interested in and have the time to dedicate to. We would like you to be there! Please call me at 845-895-3707 or email me with your interest and any questions you may have: mlcarolan@rcls.org. I will make sure you receive the invitation to our open house. Thank you for your consideration.
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