"My son is a Level G.  Can you show me that section?"

"My daughter's teacher just informed us that Katie is between a I and a K.  How to I find books at her reading level?"

"Where do you keep your C books?"

These are questions that we children's librarians are asked almost every week.  Parents, caregivers, and children will frequently come to us with a Leveled Reading list or instructions from their teachers to find books on the Guided Reading scale (this method of reading instruction, also known as the Fountas and Pinnell system, uses a scale from A to Z to indicate increasing levels of book difficulty.)

Since public libraries are organized and arranged to facilitate browsing, searching, and to inspire a lifelong love of reading, you won't find our Children's Library organized by the A to Z levels.  So, how do you locate books that are appropriate for your child's reading level? 

Here are a few ways to find great books for your child:

1. Ask a Children's Librarian. 

We pride ourselves on knowing great children's literature and enjoy making recommendations.  We will usually begin by asking you or your child what kinds of books you've read recently and whether those books felt "just right" or not.  We can help you find similar titles, ones that are a little harder, or a little easier. 

2. Check out our F5 Learn to Read and/or our Kids I Read section. 

For children just learning to read on their own, a great place to browse is in our F5 Learn to Read area.  These books, also known as beginning readers, are designed to help newly emerging readers recognize common vocabulary, anticipate rhyming words, construct meaning through carefully placed illustrations, and build confidence. 

For children who are reading independently but not quite ready to delve into Harry Potter, check out our Kids I Read section.  Filled with popular chapter book series, these books help keep new readers engaged but not overwhelmed. 

3. Use the Five Finger Rule.

What is a level H or K or D anyway?  What does it mean?  It can be frustrating for both parents and children to locate books on their assigned Guided Reading level.  Oftentimes, the Guided Reading lists given to parents contain titles that are out of print or unavailable. 

One simple and effective way to judge whether any given book is too hard or too easy is The Five Finger Rule.  Here's how it works:

- Ask your child to start reading a page from the book.  Anytime they come to a word that they cannot pronounce or don't understand, hold up a finger.

- One finger means the book in question is probably too easy.

- Four or five fingers means the book in question is probably too hard.

- Two or three fingers means the book is probably JUST RIGHT.

Looking for more information on finding great books for your child?  Stop by the Children's Library anytime or contact us at childrenslibrary@darienlibrary.org. 

photo of child reading courtesy of Flickr user John-Morgan; photo of hand courtesy of Flickr user Phineas H.

The New York Times' recent article on baby talk and babbling confirms what generations of parents (and children's librarians) have know for years: those "ba ba" and "da da" utterances that babies make are more than simply adorable; they are the precursors to language development. 

According to one expert, infants begin by making squealing sounds without any identifiable syllables.  By the age of six months, babies (typically) start forming vowel sounds ("aaa"  "ooo") and with practice, consonant sounds ("mmm") by the end of their first year. 

An interesting takeaway from the NYTimes piece was this advice derived from the results of a recent study on language accquisition of babies:

"....if a baby looks at an apple and says, “Ba ba!” it’s better to respond by naming the apple than by guessing, for example, “Do you want your bottle?”  Offering new vocabulary words, even to children too young to form those words, helps strengthen their understanding of language and ability to name new objects. 

Perhaps the most important result of all these new studies on language development was the discovery that "Babies have to hear real language from real people to learn these skills."  There is something irreplacable about the face-to-face contact between a parent and a child that television, even educational programs, cannot duplicate. 

One of the best ways to facilitate this brain-building interaction is by sharing a book with your baby.  As Horn Book editor Martha Parravano so elequently states in A Family of Readers, "Despite all of our society's technological advances, it still just takes one child, one book, and one reader to create this unique space, to work this everyday magic."

Interested in learning more about early brain development?  Charlie Rose has a wonderful series of videos on the brain.  The Developing Brain video may be of particular interest to parents. 

incredibly adorable baby photo courtesy of Flickr user koka_sexton

Registration for Creative Music with Miss Debbie is now closed.

You can view our drop-in program schedule for June online, which includes our popular music and movement program Wee Like to Move.

During  the summer Wee Like to Move "moves" to Wednesdays at 10:45 am, starting June 23.

Winter 2 Storytime Registration is currently closed. 

Storytimes are for babies, toddlers, and children up to age 6.  The Children's Library offers a variety of  Drop-In programs for children up to age 12.

Register: Monday, March 1 - Monday, March 15

Session 2: Monday, March 22 - Friday, April 30

Registered Storytimes are for children whose parents are Darien residents, employed in Darien full-time, or contributors to the Darien Library Annual Campaign at the $300 level.

How to Register

Register infants and 1-year-olds based on their ability to walk.  For two-year-olds and up, please register children based on their age at the start of the storytime session.  The programs are developmentally appropriate for the stated ages, though there is a two-week grace period for soon-to-be birthdays.

Registration is a lottery and you will be contacted by Saturday, March 20, 2010 for Winter 2 placement.

Click on the name of the storytime for which you'd like to register

Giggles and Rhymes:  pre-walking babies and a parent/caregiver

• Mondays 11 - 11:30 a.m.
• Tuesdays 9:30 - 10 a.m.

Born to Read: walkers up to 24 months and a parent/caregiver

• Tuesdays 10:30 - 11 a.m.
• Wednesdays 10:30 - 11 a.m.
• Thursdays 10:30 - 11 a.m.

Side by Side: 2-year-olds and a parent/caregiver

• Tuesdays 11:30 - Noon
• Wednesdays 3:15 -3:45 p.m.
• Thursdays 9:30 - 10 a.m.

Totally Preschool: 3 and 4-year-olds

• Tuesdays 1:30 - 2 p.m.
• Fridays 9:30 - 10 a.m.
• Fridays 10:30 - 11 a.m.

Bookworms: 5 and 6-year-olds

• Wednesdays 4:15 -4:45 p.m.