July/August
2004
Dear
Fellow Book Lovers:
LET
THE GAMES BEGIN
Children
and young adults all around the globe will be watching in
August as the summer Olympics are televised from Athens, Greece.
When the flame is lit in the birthplace of the world’s greatest
sporting event, maybe our young will see beyond the stiff
competition and the battle for gold, and realize the original
significance of the Olympics—to bring people of the
world together in peace. The individual competitions are exciting,
but the real harmony is in team sports. Women’s softball is
now a legitimate sport, and swimming relays demonstrate the
all-important lesson of working together. What does it feel
like to be the “best team in the world” in gymnastics? How
is a Golden team in basketball, soccer, or synchronized swimming
chosen? What is the thrill of walking into the stadium of
the XXVIII Olympiad to the cheering crowds at the opening
and closing ceremony? What is it like to live in the Olympic
Village? How does this translate to what we can do as librarians
to promote sports, and teamwork? Here are my suggestions:
- Develop reading
programs with slogans like: “Leap into Books,” “Race into
Books,” “Dive into Books,” “Tumble into Books,” “Sprint
into Books,” etc.
- Promote teamwork
by dividing kids into groups and conducting a trivia contest
about the Olympics. Find questions for them to search for
in books like Magic
Tree House Research Guide: Ancient Greece and the Olympics
(Ages 7-9) by Mary Pope Osborne and Natalie Pope Boyce.
Allow the team to organize in anyway they wish, but time
them so that they will understand the importance of working
together to get the job done.
- A similar
trivia contest might be tried with families, where each
family works as a team.
- Give them
books about the fear related to learning a sport. An example
is Otherwise Known as Sheila the Great (ages 3-6) by Judy
Blume. Talk about the fact that all sports heroes were once
beginners like Sheila who takes swimming lessons, but is
afraid of the water.
- Sponsor an
essay contest where kids write about how they learned a
particular sport. Ask them to share their essays and to
find 3 books about their sport to share with the group.
- Sponsor a
reading team marathon with a sports theme. Allow readers
to read fiction or nonfiction about their favorite Olympic
team sport. Make Gold, Silver, and Bronze Medals for the
winning team. Sponsor a medals ceremony. Kids may enjoy
designing an emblem or symbol for their team.
Random
House books that they may want to read include:
Baseball
Baseball’s
Best: Five True Stories (ages 8-12) by Andrew Gutelle;
illustrated by Cliff Spohn
Baseball’s
Greatest Hitters (ages 8-12) by Sydelle Kramer
Basketball
Hoops
(ages 12 up) by Walter Dean Myers
The
Outside Shot (ages 9-12) by Walter Dean Myers
Basketball’s
Greatest Players (ages 8-12) by Sydelle Kramer
Gymnastics
I
Love Gymnastics! (ages 8- 12) by Jane Feldman
Cat
on the Mat (ages 6- 8) by Susan Schade
Soccer
Soccer
Sam (ages 7-9) by Jean Marzollo
We
Love Soccer (ages 5-8) by Peggy Harrison
You
may email me at pscales@scgsah.state.sc.us.
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