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March 30, 2009 by Travis Jonker

On Hold @ the Library: March

March 30, 2009 by Travis Jonker   13 comments

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My goal is to make perfect scrambled eggs. My other goal is to bring you children’s lit information at its most unfiltered. Which books do kids want to read? Just like those perfect eggs, it’s more complex than it may seem.

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Bestseller lists are biased because it’s usually parents doing the purchasing. It isn’t a true reflection of what kids want. It’s like saying I enjoy wearing lead bibs because my dentist takes x-rays of my teeth every other visit – I like having teeth that work, but I didn’t ask for that x-ray (most incoherent analogy ever).

Most book awards don’t reflect what children are reading because it is adults doing the choosing. There are exceptions to this, of course, but most of the high-profile “best of” lists are selected by adults.

So how can we discover the unfiltered truth about the books kids want? Here’s my plan: each month I’ll show you which books are on hold at the schools where I work. Students can place a hold on any book they choose that is currently checked out. Seems to be a pretty legitimate way of determining interest, right?

I work in four school libraries ranging from kindergarten up to 6th grade. While parent, teacher, and (ahem) librarian influence is still a factor on holds placed, it plays less of a role. This month we’re going to start at the 5th and 6th grade school. This group of books has not been tampered with in any way:

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Not too shabby!

Edward’s Eyes by Patricia McLachlan. This one was a bit of a surprise. I really liked it (read my review here), but to have students basically lining up to read it was unexpected. Welcomed, however.

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Coraline by Neil Gaiman. Interest in this title probably has to do with the recent release of the film (read my review of said film here), since this one wasn’t on hold much before the last few months. Good to see.

Kira-Kira by Cynthia Kadohata. The appearance of this book on the shelf is testament to the power of good teachers. Not one that is typically clamored-for, a Language Arts teacher has been promoting this one to her students.

Middle School is Worse than Meat Loaf by Jennifer L. Holm. This is always on hold. It’s an inventive book (the story is told through a collection of items – notes, posters, receipts, etc.). I think the subject matter hits home with this age group, who will soon be making the jump to middle school.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw by Jeff Kinney. The opposite of Edward’s Eyes.

Knucklehead by Jon Scieszka. I’m thrilled to see this one has caught on. We did a giveaway for this book earlier in the year and it’s been getting good circulation since we added a copy into the collection.

Inkspell by Cornelia Funke. This fantasy series continues to show it’s legs, maintaining popularity and frequently showing up on the hold shelf.

Look for more books on hold next month.

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About Travis Jonker

Travis Jonker is an elementary school librarian in Michigan. He writes reviews (and the occasional article or two) for School Library Journal and is a member of the 2014 Caldecott committee. You can email Travis at scopenotes@gmail.com, or follow him on Twitter: @100scopenotes.

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Comments

  1. Miriam says

    March 30, 2009 at 2:34 am

    What a great idea. It’s got me thinking about what goes on at our school (yr1-6). I find many reserved books don’t get picked up promptly at all, leaving a long queue of readers waiting and waiting. Perhaps our 2 week borrowing period isn’t long enough for them to get through the books they already had… more investigation needed. Adding that to my to-do list now 🙂

  2. Mary Lee says

    March 30, 2009 at 6:18 am

    Interesting new perspective on what kids want to read!

  3. Susan (Chicken Spaghetti) says

    March 30, 2009 at 8:53 am

    Great idea for a series.

  4. Terry says

    March 30, 2009 at 11:59 am

    This is a wonderful idea. I really like this.

  5. Elizabeth says

    March 30, 2009 at 3:43 pm

    On the first goal: Mark Bittman’s How to Cook Everything may help. The most common problem is overcooking. I am a terrible, terrible cook, but I eat eggs 1-2 meals per day, so I’m learning.

    On the second: This is a great idea for a blog series! I bet, though, that the number of copies the library owns also strongly influences the pattern of holds over time, no? Or do school libraries tend to just get one of whatever they get?

  6. Karen says

    March 30, 2009 at 9:19 pm

    I love this idea of sharing the books on “hold”. I have to say MS is Worse than Meatloaf and Knucklehead are both in high demand in my classroom, as well. I also have a huge following for the Ember books — after I read aloud City of Ember, then we went to see it at the movies together, it just took on a life of its own.
    Fun to compare interest of two different sets of students. Thanks for sharing!

  7. Scope Notes says

    March 30, 2009 at 9:47 pm

    Thanks for your thoughts, Karen. It’s always good to hear that folks are reading City of Ember aloud – that’s such a great book! Also, thanks for letting me know my school is not alone in its love of Knucklehead and Middle School is Worse Than Meatloaf.

  8. PhantomMidge says

    April 5, 2009 at 10:47 pm

    I can’t get any bites on Knucklehead…or Horseradish for that matter. I think they both look too “grown-up” to appeal to the casual cover surfer (OK, so maybe a big tank isn’t too grownup…).

    Jeff Kinney is flying off the shelves, of course, but so is anything by Rick Riordan.

    Our big troubles are that the schools won’t let us come and do book talks or even collaborate with the school librarians. Not sure why, but I am guessing they must have had a bad past experience long ago.

  9. Kelly says

    April 7, 2009 at 1:08 am

    Love love love this idea! Please keep doing it! 🙂

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Trackbacks

  1. A Busy Monday | Scrub-a-Dub-Tub says:
    March 30, 2009 at 11:59 am

    […] Scope Notes has just published On Hold @ the Library, a great little window into the books kids really want to read.  You’ll get a look across […]

  2. New on SLJ: 100 Scope Notes | School Library Journal says:
    November 30, 2012 at 7:07 pm

    […] “Holdshelf Gallery” features images of books placed on hold by his students and brief comments on why they’re […]

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