OTHER IDEAS (reported
in 2004)
From ELLEN
COLE, Librarian, Temple Isaiah's Levine Library, Los Angeles, CA
• "From Rain to Rainbows" - a hotly
contested reading contest during Jewish Book Month.. Religious
School students in grades 2 to 6 read for fun and prizes.
The contest theme, Noah’s Ark, introduces
readers to dramatic biblical characters. For four months,
students in the Noah’s Ark Reading Contest read “From Rain
to Rainbows.” Students read any type of Jewish book
at their grade level, then report on it to Librarian, Ellen Cole.
Each book gives students a point toward prizes. Biblical stories
count double. The more competitors read, the bigger they win.
The competition has two divisions: picture books and chapter books.
Contestants receive a theme folder in which to list their books and
a poster on which to mark their progress with Jewish theme stickers.
Posters exhort “Rise Above the Flood, Read!” Library class lessons
compare the bible story with midrash on Noah
Five points board readers on the ark:
they earn a certificate for a yogurt treat at a popular
Temple Isaiah neighborhood shop.(The Bigg Chill) Ten points
or more float readers under the rainbow : they win prizes at the
special Religious School-wide assembly on Sunday February 27, 2005.
Last year’s contest, the Colonial Roots Read, which celebrated the
350th anniversary of the first Jewish community in America, broke
records. The winning reader in the picture book division read
99 books, the second place winner, 90! The winner in the
chapter books read 47, and the second place reader, 44. This
year the contest promises to set new heights. For Jewish Book
Month, the Library encourages parents to read a Jewish book while their
children read their contest books.
View photos of
documents: Flyer to advertise contest; Rules for contest;
Progress poster for stickers, and Folder to report on books' read.
Local Authors -- always
a good Jewish Book Month program
• Local author, Hava Ben-Zvi, speaks at local synagogues,
day schools, public schools, and senior groups about Eva's Journey:
A Young Girl's True Story. The book, a memoir of Hava's adolescence
in German-occupied Europe, has received very favorable reviews. For
more information, see Hava's
website. Hava is the former Library Director of the Jewish
Community Library of Los Angeles.
• Other local authors
attended our West Coast Children's Literature Conference.