Nine-year-old Kim Chu who lives in New York City's Chinatown searches for her father's special umbrella that Kim left in an umbrella stand in the library.

Includes indexes.

Book clubs are sprouting up all over, and so are book club guides—but not all book club guides are equal. Many focus on a specific type of book club, or they take a generic approach of one size fits all; and most do not take into account the special needs of librarians and educators working with young readers. This guide has it all, and it will help you ensure that your book club meetings are both fun and educational. Focusing on children in grades 3-8 (and their families), the book offers 100 ready-made book club instructions for popular children's and YA titles—from newer releases, such as Theresa Nelson's Ruby Electric and Blue Balliett's Chasing Vermeer to perennial favorites and award-winning classics, such as Johanna Hurwitz's Much Ado about Aldo and Gary Soto's Baseball in April and Other Stories. Along with thought-provoking discussion questions, you'll find all the background information you need to conduct lively book discussions with a variety of readers-plot summary, themes and characters description, genre, reading level, author and award information, related reads, and more. The guide describes four types of family-oriented book clubs—family, mother/daughter, father/son, and readers' rap—as well as a book club for kids only. The author provides practical instructions for making each type of book club successful. For each title, she provides a plot summary, characterization sketches, questions to use for provocative discussion, and follow-up bibliographies on similar reads. Notes on genres, themes, and reading levels are also provided. The selected titles reflect some of the best, most current, and most popular children's literature. In addition, a broad scope of genres and multicultural titles are included. Perfect for public library programs and after school book clubs, this is a one-stop resource, with practical, ready-made plans that can easily be adapted to multiple environments. Grades 3-8.

Out of his years of experience in working with children, Zingher identifies some of the powerful and evocative themes of childhood, and explores why these touch children so deeply. He encourages professionals who work with children in school, camp, club and library settings to consider using these themes to develop thoughtful and creative programs and units of study. Included are recommended books and videos that illustrate each theme, questions for discussion, possible starting points (readalouds, stories to be told, sensory experiences, interesting objects etc), follow-up activities, and examples of fully described and developed thematic journeys. In this time of standards and accountability, this book reminds us of the joy of teaching and learning, and the power of the imagination.

Few stories have the power to stay with us the way the tales we hear in childhood do. Great children’s book authors have at their disposal countless techniques to channel young imaginations and appeal directly to their audience's tender sensibilities. They craft colorful characters whose circumstances and actions resonate with readers in a way that carries through well into adulthood. The creators of some of the most whimsical, witty, thought-provoking, and powerful children’s books of all time—including Lewis Carroll, Dr. Seuss, Beatrix Potter, Maurice Sendak, and Laura Ingalls Wilder, among many others—are presented in this exciting volume.

Want a quick way to check to see whether a student has read a book? This is it. Quizzes contains objective reproducible tests for well-known children's books, all of which are likely to be found in school and public libraries. Titles include award winners and runners-up; classics; popular books; and books by such children's authors as Cleary, Fox, and Norton. With a new organization and layout, this revised edition offers users an improved and more durable resource. Flexible and convenient, the reproducible tests are great for helping track independent reading programs.

Provides articles covering children's literature from around the world as well as biographical and critical reviews of authors including Avi, C.S. Lewis, J.K. Rowling, and Anno Mitsumasa.