Book Collections
Picture Books
Yes, picture books are for elementary kids. Many picture books use sophisticated language. Authors and illustrators like Patricia Polacco, Ed Young, and Allen Say use the picture-book format to create historical fiction for grades 2 and up.
Early Reader
There is nothing easy about easy readers, a primarily fiction collection targeted at five to seven-year olds learning to read. A beginning reader has large clear fonts, short sentences, and illustrations that mirror the text.
Guided Reading
Supporting the HCPSS Guided Reading curriculum, these non-fiction materials are organized by guided reading levels from A to K.
First Chapter Book
Aimed at newly independent readers, First Chapter Books help build reading confidence while allowing children to develop a sense of themselves as they read.
Children’s series
Classic series such as the Boxcar Children, Choose Your Own Adventure, and Magic Treehouse are joined by new popular series like Cupcake Diaries, Geronimo Stilton, and You Choose. There are fairly short reads with lots of titles in each series.
Children’s Fiction
Children’s Fiction contains a rich diversity of style, content, and form to satisfy all fluent readers through fifth grade.
Children’s Graphic Novels
These are real books, demanding many of the same skills that are needed to understand traditional works of prose fiction. Navigating narratives presented through websites, games, television, films, and interactive media, learning and maintaining visual literacy is a necessary skill.
Children’s Nonfiction
Children are inherently curious about themselves and the world around them. Nonfiction must be accurate, informative, and current, and is selected in a range of reading levels and interests as wide as possible. Animals and Biography are popular subjects.
Children’s World Language
Currently representing 22 languages, this is a small collection of titles for speakers of languages other than English and students who wish to practice their foreign language skills. The languages added and maintained here reflect community needs and requests.
Other collections
Children’s Read-alongs
Research shows that hearing and seeing words at the same time can improve reading success rates.
Children’s Audiobooks
When children listen to audiobooks, they hear firsthand the proper pacing and intonations of reading, how punctuation should sound, and how reading should sound. Ideally, they will transfer that knowledge to their own reading, both independently and aloud.
Playaway Launchpad learning tablets provide children ages three to ten with hours of educational, fun, interactive learning. They are ready to play and available for you and your child at HCLS.
