Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion Gifted learners and the library

When my son was in 1st grade he had 2 pull out classes each day. He was also in a reading discussion group 2 times a week. So he was always on the go especially for a 1st grader. On his way back to class from his pull outs he would stop by the library grab a book off the shelf and sit down and start reading. I got a note from his teacher one day stating he had done this. He told me he did this all the time. I told him to check the book out and get back into class. He told me he already had 2 books out already and couldn't check out another till he returned his others.
He said he has read several books this way. He never really got into trouble just something to watch out for.

He absolutely adored his librarian his 1st grade year. She let him check out any book he wanted no matter which level it was. I bet she was breaking some rules.

I have had to author emails to the appropriate authorities for the same school in two separate school years that said, in essence, "My DD should not be prevented from accessing any material she is interested in at the school library." I'm working from an assumption that an elementary school library is mostly free of controversial and/or mature content, and the only issue is reading ability... which for our DD, is not an issue.

Yes! Our public school has a one book limit and my DS6 has to choose a picture book. He's reading on a 4th grade level but his DRA does not reflect that so he's stuck with the picture books.

We ran into some difficulty last year when my DS was a first grader was interested in anatomy. He had been given free access to the library and came home with a book about how to deal with the bodily changes that accompany puberty. The book discussed issues like how to deal with comparing genitalia in the locker room and how to deal with hair growth on specific parts of the body. We had to ask the librarian to monitor his reading a little more closely because he read the entire book before he arrived home from school.

There are all levels of picture books because tons of picture books are meant for the adults to read and not the kids....thinking Steig, Kellogg, some Avi....lots and lots are fourth grade and fifth grade. My son tried to read every Caldecott winner off the poster if the library had it in first grade for his picture book and every Geronimo Stilton and Goosebumps book for his chapter books (had to get permission to read those high level chapter books, but he did) but no one was helping him find other books. I helped and his teacher helped last year in second grade.

Oh I wholeheartedly agree, Sweetie. We have a much loved picture book collection at home. I just wish he'd bring home something equivalent from school.

We love our public library! We are very fortunate to live near one that seems to be quite well funded, new books regularly, book sales several times a year. (However, I learned the hard way that my child is a glutton for books and while my back is turned will buy many since they are 10 cents each. But I digress...)

Knowing the books/genres well is what has distinguished one librarian in particular at our library. She loves that DS is such an advanced reader and makes excellent suggestions based on his interests. She told me she maintains a book list in her work binder of new books or ones she's remembered reading that are good for advanced/prolific readers.

We have also been fortunate in that the private schools DS7 has attended seem to allow him open access to their library books.

My child's biggest barrier at the library is tall shelves, so my #1 wish would be plenty of easy-to-move stools that young children can use to browse shelves that are higher than eye level.

Also book clubs. Also a great collection of high-quality books, especially series books that kids love and some of the newer non-fiction books. The genre is changing a lot right now. Also a general interest in helping all children find books that are a good match for them. Also the ability to check out books after school.

My child's library is very dated. There is no librarian. Children are allowed to check out one book at a time and must keep it in the classroom. I remember the library pretty much saving my life when I was a kid. THAT was where I learned the most in school. My child doesn't have that.

We mainly use the public library. I must drive her, so she doesn't get the joy of exploring the library by herself. The shelves are really high at our public library. Sometimes my child tells me what she is interested in and I pull a selection off the shelf for her to look through, but most of the time she finds the books online and we "order" them from the library. It pretty much kills the concept of browsing.

Lots of amazing tips. Thank you everyone. My previous school librarian limited book selection based in grade rather than reading level and it has always bothered me too.

I am a subversive library aide at our school. I've helped with K-2 for the last several years. I understand limiting them to certain parts of the library for the first few weeks while they are getting used to things. After the first few weeks, if a kid comes and asks for something that is not in the reading circle area (picture books and easy readers), I either grab the book for them or accompany them to that section - I'm not about to carry over all of the Magic Treehouse books! I quickly get a reputation with the kids as the lady who will let you get "big kid" books.

I hate when I hear the librarian say that that probably isn't a "just right" book. I know that the librarian doesn't believe that some of these kids read these things but I talk to them. Some of them do read them and some of them have parents or older siblings who read the books to them. As the parent of a 2e kid, I get super frustrated by the attitude that I child shouldn't have access to a book that they can't read themselves. If the child is interested in the book that is a stretch, aren't they more likely to work with an adult to access the content? I always tell the kids that if the book ends up being harder than they thought, they always can bring it back early.