CHESS Christian Library

What's New!

October 20, 2019

As the first quarter of the school year comes to a close, it's time for a quick library update!

Our first reading rewards program of the year was more hurried than we would have liked, but was a success! Students enjoyed collecting Chipotle rewards, and I enjoyed hearing about what they were reading, even if it was "just" school reading. For the record, though, students read - and will continue to read - some great books for their language arts classes. As I reminded them, this is valid reading for a reading program and can be just as enjoyable as books they choose on their own. At any rate, we definitely plan to include Chipotle Reading Rewards in future programs, and expect to be able to do so in a less last-minute fashion (presumably we won't be building a school or moving into one in future years!).

Class visits have been another highlight of the library this quarter. I've been able to visit some of the lower school classes for story time (with some very fun books!) and classes have also been visiting the library on a regular basis, for students to choose their own books. We've also enjoyed having upper school students visit at least twice a week (yes, that's mandatory and just for dismissal purposes...BUT I still love the bustle of students in the library, and definitely count it as positive exposure to great books).

Another exciting development in the library has been the addition of two computers! Currently their most extensive use has been for Minecraft collaboration among some of our students (which is certainly not without merit)…however, their intended use is to expand the information available in the library! While we will always promote the timeless value of real, living books, we do want to make good use of the vast resources available to us online, so as the year progresses, we'll be encouraging students to use our new technology updates to check out InfOhio.org, especially for information we may not have available in book form. Each site includes information curated for the respective age range, and also has instructions for correct citation in papers and research projects. Find the links, as well as our recommendations, here!

Exciting things are always happening in our library, and we're excited for the next quarter. Come by to see what's new, find a great book, or just to say hi!

There's always something new in the library!

-Mrs. Meester

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It's Back to the Library...with Books and Burritos!

September 07, 2019

So...we're back to school, and it has been SO good to see so many familiar faces in the halls of our new building these past couple of weeks, and wonderful to meet new ones! Everyone was so busy getting the new space ready for classes (what an adventure!), and then with starting school and getting acquainted with teachers, classmates, books, and rooms...but now we're a little more settled and we're ready for the library to be up and running at full speed. Many of you have dropped by our lovely new space, but it's time for everyone to get fully acquainted with our layout, our books, and everything the library has to offer. Back to the library we go!

Good literature and other engaging resources to feed curious minds are central to the CHESS philosophy of contagious learning, and we strive to make the library a welcoming place in which to collect and share those resources. We love having teachers and students visit and interact with our collection, but we also welcome our families to make good use of the library. In fact, we strongly encourage parents to familiarize themselves with what we offer in the library, and to set their own guidelines for their families in regard to its use. (Please see our Library Guidelines page for more information.) We work to curate a collection that supports a thorough and well-rounded education and that helps to develop and exercise a solid Biblical worldview, so we do our best to make sure that the books and materials we offer do not actively undermine that purpose. Keep in mind, however, that ours is not an exclusively Christian collection and we do not guarantee that all of our books and materials will meet the specific standards of each family; in fact, we know that they will not! We discourage relying on the "Christian" label to assume a book is "safe," in any library, or to assume that not having that label renders a book unfit. Instead, we strongly encourage our students to use the critical thinking skills and the worldview lens they are developing in their CHESS classes to examine and evaluate any of the books they encounter, and we encourage their parents to be participants with them in that process. Above all,we encourage all of our readers, young and old, to look for how a book promotes the understanding of truth, beauty, and goodness, whatever its source.

We believe our growing collection contains a wonderful assortment of books and materials that do just that, and we invite our students and their families to come see for themselves. And this week, there will be a extra reason to visit, as we're launching our first reading program of the year - Chipotle Reading Rewards! Our goal for this program this year is just to get students into the library, and to give them a bit of encouragement for the reading they're already doing, so it's really the easiest one we've ever done, and everyone can do it! You can find the details on our Programs and Events page, and you can pick up materials in the library any day next week. (If your student will be absent next week, no worries! Email Mrs. Meester at library@chesschristian.com for info and supplies.)

We look forward to seeing every one of our students in the library soon, and we're excited about a great year of reading, learning and growing. (And some Chipotle is a nice bonus, too!)

-Mrs. Meester

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Summer Listening

audiobooks May 27, 2019

As many families embark on vacations this summer, and kids are captive audiences in the car, it's a great time to utilize a sometimes overlooked method of reading for kids - audio books! Audio books are a completely valid way to experience books, and for certain books, they can be the best way to experience them. Kids may not be enthusiastic listeners at first, but I encourage parents to push past any initial resistance and insist on some family listening time anyway. The benefits can be priceless, and even if they never admit it, the kids will probably find they don't hate it. And I say all this as someone who is not an audiobook person myself! I much prefer to have a book in my hand, and it takes some extra mental effort for me to focus on listening to one instead. But I have found that there is value in making the effort, both for the benefit of those of my kids who are audio learners, as well as for whole family.

A key to enjoying an audiobook experience, however, is finding the right one. No one likes listening to a narrator with a grating voice, and if that's the case for one you begin, don't feel guilty about not finishing! There a plenty of good ones, though, and it's worth the time in finding them. Personal tastes will vary, of course, but here are a few I would recommend:

1 Rascal, by Sterling North, narrated by Jim Weiss. (Pretty much anything by Jim Weiss, actually, as he has a soothing voice and unparalleled storytelling ability.) Rascal tells the tale of the author's adventures with his pet raccoon in 1918, and it's at once humorous and touching.

2. Echo, by Pam Munoz Ryan, various narrators. At ten and a half hours in length, this is one for particularly long trips! It's a fascinating mixed-genre tale that is part fairy tale/fantasy and part historical fiction. The audio version includes musical sound effects that greatly enhance the listening experience, and it's altogether enchanting and compelling.

3. The Tale of Despereaux, by Kate DiCamillo, narrated by Graeme Malcom. This is a fantasy tale about a mouse, but the threads of forgiveness, love, and redemption are very real, and it's wonderful as a read-aloud or as an audiobook.

4. Charlotte's Web, by E.B. White. Try to find the version also narrated by White, as it's particularly charming and heartwarming. I have read that it took him numerous takes to record the chapter in which Charlotte dies, because he kept choking up with tears, and that emotional connection with his beloved characters is evident in the telling.

5. Gregor the Overlander, and the rest of the Underland Chronicles, by Suzanne Collins, narrated by Paul Boehmer. I know I keep mentioning this series, and waving it in the student's faces every time they ask for a book recommendation...but I really love it! It's a great series, and the audio version is pleasing.

The links all lead to Amazon's Audible versions, but that's just one way of accessing them. You can also try your local library's digital collection, especially if they have Hoopla or Overdrive, and of course you can find CD versions in a library's Audio CD collections.

Share your own audiobook recommendations by posting in the comments below! And if you listen to any of the ones above, I'd love to hear what you think of them!

-Mrs. Meester

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