I recently had the opportunity to attend a webinar with renowned bibliotherapist Ella Berthoud. She notes that many of her clients are struggling to focus on reading right now. If you are in a reading rut, she recommends:

• Giving yourself permission to read something light. Berthoud says while we may be tempted to think that we should pull out those classics we have always wanted to read, now may not be the time for Dostoevsky.
• Reading aloud to yourself or someone else. Reading to someone else can be especially effective in helping you re-engage in reading.
• Reading while doing something active. Berthoud hula hoops when she is too restless to sit and read. She has clients who read while walking or knitting.
• Listening to audiobooks. Many of us feel pressured to be productive. Audiobooks allow you to to read while completing mundane tasks like dusting.

While many publishers are relaxing copyright guidelines in order to accommodate read alouds (namely of picture books), they are doing so with certain provisions. Among these are restrictions for where content can be posted, terms for notifying publishers of your read aloud, and timelines for taking down content.

Please contact me with the title, author, publisher, and copyright date of the text that you would like to use, and I can help you make a fair use determination.

Epicurious.com: Huma Siddiqui talks about cooking for Ramadan in Pakistan

NPR.org: NPR looks at how Covid-19 is impacting the celebration of Ramadan

Tolerance.org: Teaching Tolerance provides teaching resources on Ramadan

Here are some of my favorite young adult titles celebrating the Asian/Pacific Islander Experience:

When Dimple Met Rishi, Sandhya Menon

The rom-com everyone’s talking about! Eleanor & Park meets Bollywood in this hilarious and heartfelt novel about two Indian-American teens whose parents conspire to arrange their marriage.

P.S. I Still Love You, Jenny Han

In this charming and heartfelt sequel to the New York Times bestseller To All the Boys I've Loved Before, we see first love through the eyes of the unforgettable Lara Jean. Love is never easy, but maybe that's part of what makes it so amazing.

Frankly in Love, Frank Yoon

As Frank falls in love for the very first time, he’s forced to confront the fact that while his parents sacrificed everything to raise him in the land of opportunity, their traditional expectations don’t leave a lot of room for him to be a regular American teen. David Yoon takes on the question of who am I? with a result that is humorous, heartfelt, and ultimately unforgettable.

Patron Saints of Nothing, Randy Ribay

A powerful coming-of-age story about grief, guilt, and the risks a Filipino-American teenager takes to uncover the truth about his cousin’s murder.

Darius the Great is Not Okay, Adib Khorram

Darius Kellner speaks better Klingon than Farsi, and he knows more about Hobbit social cues than Persian ones. He’s a Fractional Persian—half, his mom’s side—and his first-ever trip to Iran is about to change his life.

The Astonishing Color of After, Emily X.R. Pan

Leigh Chen Sanders is absolutely certain about one thing: When her mother died by suicide, she turned into a bird. Leigh, who is half Asian and half white, travels to Taiwan to meet her maternal grandparents for the first time. There, she is determined to find her mother, the bird.

Saints and Misfits, S.K. Ali

Saints and Misfits is a “timely and authentic” (School Library Journal, starred review) debut novel that feels like a modern day My So-Called Life…starring a Muslim teen.

Book descriptions courtesy of publishers.

Our database vendors have opened access to some additional collections during this time. Visit our Trial Resource Libguide to access content that you can use with students or for your own lesson planning. Libguides are protected with the same password that we use for our library database page. Please contact me if you need that password.

Please use email for contacting me during building closures.

Email: jennifer_strege@webstercsd.org
Website: https://www.websterschools.org/districtpage.cfm?pageid=890
Phone: 585-670-5006
Twitter: @wshslmc