Thing #19 - Podcasts

I first listened to a "pondcast" of a Minnesota Wild game with my son. We played it on iTunes. I looked at the four resources suggested but didn't find anything that really "rang my chimes," as my dad is so fond of saying. I then did a google search for book review podcasts and found the "Just One More Book" website that featured a podcast of a book that I had recently purchased for our Media Center - Greatness, Gratitude and Generosity: Piano Starts Here by Robert Andrew Parker. However, one could actually play it from the site. It wasn't required that one download the podcast - it was called a "podcast." Was it?

Then I subscribed to WPSU Bookmark and listened to several young adult book reviews, including Deadline by Chris Crutcher.I recently read Before I Die, which sounds as if it has a similar plot to Deadline. They would be great to pair together. I love Chris Crutcher and will definitely put this book in my future read pile. I also listened to a review of The Coldest Winter Ever by Sister Souljah. The young woman who reviewed the book was clearly impacted by the book. The Coldest Winter Ever was one of few "Urban Fiction" titles we had in our collection until recently. I noticed that our African American students kept coming to this book over and over. I also noticed that there was a group of kids whose needs we weren't meeting. I bought a few "Urban Fiction" books and started using the term in my book talks. Soon the students were using the term and asking where the books were that were about them. So I totally expanded this part of our collection and have found a whole new group of readers coming back to our library over and over! Some "Urban Fiction" books are seen by some as very "edgy." However, some of our students come from very "edgy" lives. All students deserve to see themselves reflected in the literature they read. There needs to be something for all of our readers. Jim Trelease tells us that all it takes is one "homerun book" to make a reader of a non-reader. For many of our students, the Urban Fiction collection is where they found that "homerun book." Eventually, they will spread their wings and gravitate to other things.

The WPSU podcast site was an awesome find. I will use it with my students!