Title: Guinness World Records 2021

Genre: Informational Text

Citation: Guinness World Records (2020). Guinness World Records 2021. Guinness World Records.

Summary: The Guinness World Records 2021 has a lot of records held for all kinds of different things like fastest runner, largest potato, and the most expensive foods. This book is accessible to children ages 6+ because of the vast pictures within the text. (Many children ages 6-7 may not be able to read the entirety of the content but will be able to use the pictures for understanding.) This would be a great book to use for programming purposes in a town library by publishing a newsletter or posters for children who read the most books of a genre or attended the most story hours.  

Title: Who Would Win? Green Ants vs. Army Ants

Genre: eBook

Citation: Pallotta, J. (2019). Who Would Win? Green Ants vs. Army Ants. Scholastic Incorporated.

Who Would Win? Green Ants vs. Army Ants is a book available as an eBook. In this eBook, the reader is delighted by informational graphics of ants and walked through the critical thinking process of comparing and contrasting various types of ants. The graphics in the book are plentiful and there are also games at the end of the book, though the reader is unable to fill them out on the computer. The book shares a lot of information, though, and can engage the reader with the balance of pictures and words. This book could be used as an independent reader for children ages 8+.

Title: Gimkit

Genre: Educational Game

Citation: https://www.gimkit.com/

Gimkit is a considered an online learning game and is often used with middle grades students (grades 4-8). Users of Gimkit can set up questions to answer and then earn “money” for their correct answers. Gimkit can be used by youth to study and to review books or any other content materials. The site has preloaded (by other educators) quizzes and has the option to upload one’s own, so that materials can be catered toward specific content or more general material.

Title: Common Sense Media

Genre: Educational Website

Citation: Reviews for what your kids are into (before they get into it): Common sense media. Common Sense Media: Ratings, reviews, and advice. (n.d). https://www.commonsensemedia.org/

Common Sense Media is an educational website that can be used for a range of things through librarianship: It can be used to access media reviews (books and movies), used to create lessons on digital media and Internet safety, and used as a resource for apps, games, and other media forms. Common Sense Media is includes a number of educational resources, not only for teachers and students but for parents and families as well. The website is user-friendly and has sub-headers for different media types, for parents, for educators, and for advocates; there is also a link that informs users of their research. Overall, Common Sense Media offers a user-based experience and allows its users the opportunity to understand media in a more in-depth capacity.

Title: Call of the Wild

Genre: Film

Citation: Sanders, C. (Director). (2020). Call of the Wild. United States. Paramount.

Summary: The Call of the Wild was released as an original movie in the 1970s and was remade in 2020. This movie has vivid graphics that match up with the words in the Jack London classic. Watching films with children that mirror books they have read allows for discussion around critical thinking and offers readers a different vantage point to participate in. Using a film like this in a public library setting could work with library programming by hosting a panel discussion on which was better, the book or the movie; it can also serve as a piece of a whole program on comparing/contrasting books and their corresponding movie versions. This particular book and movie combo would work out nicely for children ages 9-14, but this type of program can be extended for older students by watching the movie O and reading Othello or watching Ten Things I Hate About You and reading Taming of the Shrew.