The 2016 Picture Book Month is On!

The 2016 Picture Book Month is on!

Head on to the website of Picture Book Month and read the post for the day. Today's featured author is Carmen Oliver. Read her essay on Why Picture Books Are Important and learn about her published books. You will also find a Literacy Activity to the theme of the day, which is on bears, recommended books to fill up your classroom library, your personal book collection, or your picture book collection in the school library, and links to the Teacher's Guide on using picture books in the classroom across subject areas.

There is also 2016 Picture Book Month Calendar (in colored and B&W) that can be downloaded for free!

Being a Picture Book Month Champion in 2013, I remain an ambassador of this awesome campaign on books, reading and literacy development through picture books!

For old time's sake, click this link to read my essay on the importance of picture books. I am not the lone Filipino in the roster of champions. Sergio Bumatay III was a 2012 Picture Book Month Champion. His illustration of Tight Times (Patindol, Adarna House 2012) was featured as well.

So, he believes that -

Picture books are important simply because they open the door of imagination. My love for books and art as a grown-up probably blossomed from the wonderful books when I was young. There is truth in saying that books are magical and that they can bring us anywhere we can imagine, no matter how cliché the statement seems. Picture books offer fun and adventure in ways that no toys nor gadgets can. Like works of art, they replenish our souls. Great picture books always stay in our memories.

On November 19, our very own, Isabel "Pepper" Roxas will tell us why this industry of books and magic making is very much important in the lives of children age 0 to 92!

November is Picture Book Month! It is an international literacy initiative that celebrates the print picture book during the month of November. Founder, Dianne de Las Casas (author & storyteller) www.diannedelascasas.com, and Co-Founders, Katie Davis (author/illustrator) katiedavis.com, Elizabeth O. Dulemba (author/illustrator) www.dulemba.com, Tara Lazar (author) taralazar.wordpress.com, and Wendy Martin (author/illustrator) wendymartinillustration.com, put together their worldwide connections to make this happen.

Read*Share*Celebrate!

Picture Book Month and Picture Books In A High School Library

Our Learning Support Teacher, perusing picture books in the library

As I am now working in a high school library, my collection development program is based on the needs of high school learners as well as their reading interest and developmental levels. There is the curriculum to refer to and I often use it side by side with my selection and acquisition procedures. Pedagogy and instructional philosophy are contexts I latch on as I grow and develop the collection.

So, if you visit our small library, you will find the required General Collection, Filipiniana, Reference Collection, AV and Online resources, and Fiction Collection. Over the years, I have acquired a good number of graphic novels and picture books too.

Yes, our high school library has them.

I think, picture books are important in our high school library because, we involve our students in the process of creating them. While many of them grew up reading picture books, knowing new titles and classic ones help them in creating their own. A few years back, our school project was the creation of picture books for K-3 readers. We called it Early Readers Online. We have started a good collection of stories made by our high school students. The stories in the collection are used by our students during their tutorials with K-1 students of Loma Elementary School. You can view them online through our school website. The link is here: The Beacon Academy: Community and Service.

Picture books are useful tools to teach a second language too. Our learning support teacher uses them to introduce Filipino to our foreign students. Illustrated story books about the Philippines add to context building in learning the Filipino language. The techniques and strategies to learn a new language are many. Using picture books is one of the strategies as it inspires the learner to create one.

Speaking of picture books, Picture Book Month is just around the corner. It is an international celebration of picture books and reading. It is an advocacy started by the sparkling, Dianne de Las Casas, award winning author and storyteller.

Back in 2013, I was part of the gang as one of its champions. Read more about it here: Picture Book Month 2013. This year, another Filipino creative made it to the list. Isabel "Pepper" Roxas is a 2016 Picture Book Month Champion! Head on to the Picture Book Month website! You will discover a wealth of resources to use in your library when you promote reading, picture books and literacy in general.