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Not Broken: An Aromantic/Asexual Spectrum Booklist

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The other day, I was (re)watching the Netflix show Heartstopper, based on the Webtoon/ graphic novel series by Alice Oseman. I was glad the plot put some focus on the character Isaac, who comes to understand he’s aroace (aromantic/asexual). Aromantic means he feels no romantic attraction to anyone, and asexual means he feels no sexual attraction to anyone.

Often the A in LGBTQIA+ feels as much of an outlier as students struggling to understand what’s different about them; trying to define a personality trait by an absence rather than a presence of something. Though everyone on the ace spectrum experiences it differently, it can be common for kids to feel that they are “broken” or lacking in some way. Also common is worrying, quite realistically, about their future: being alone, not being anyone’s priority, not being “enough” as just themselves, and dealing with the aphobia of people trying to “fix” them or make them “normal.” Many may also mourn the loss of a future they assumed they would have, in our geared-for-pairs adult society.

For these students, knowing they are not alone in feeling the way they do can be a huge relief, as can reading about how other aro/ace people have handled their own challenges. Knowing that relationships and futures don’t need to follow set courses to provide satisfying lives is the first step on the path to building those futures. And fortunately, there are more resources and representation available to students on the ace spectrum than there have been in the past. Below is a lengthy list of books with middle school, high school, and college level protagonists on the aro/ace spectrum. Check them out!

For more information about the ace spectrum, check out AVEN, The Asexual Visibility and Education Network.

Middle School

Some of these have high-school-age protagonists, but are appropriate for 7th-8th grade.

Just Lizzie by Karen Wilfrid.

Eighth grader Lizzie’s study of asexuality in science class leads her to understand her own asexual identity as she embarks on a journey toward self-discovery and self-advocacy.

Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger.

Elatsoe lives in a slightly stranger America. She can raise the ghosts of dead animals, a skill passed down through generations of her Lipan Apache family. Her beloved cousin has just been murdered, in a town that wants no prying eyes. But she is going to do more than pry.

Rick by Alex Gino.

At 11, Rick is growing uncomfortable with his best friend’s explicit talk about sex and his father’s jokes about girls, then he discovers the Rainbow Spectrum club at school, where he can explore his identity and learn that maybe he is asexual.

Clariel: the lost Abhorsen by Garth  Nix.

In the Old Kingdom, Clariel has blood relations to the Abhorsen and the King. She dreams of a simple life but discovers this is hard to achieve when a dangerous Free Magic creature is loose in the city, her parents want to marry her off to a killer, and there is a plot brewing against the old and withdrawn King Orrikan.

A-okay by Jarad Greene.

“When Jay starts eighth grade with a few pimples he doesn’t think much of it. But when his acne goes from bad to worse, Jay’s prescribed a powerful medication that comes with some serious side effects. Meanwhile, school isn’t going exactly as planned. All of Jay’s friends are in different classes; he has no one to sit with at lunch; his best friend, Brace, is avoiding him.” –Publisher.

Hazel’s theory of evolution by Lisa Bigelow.

Hazel loves reading encyclopedias, but has no answers for the questions of eighth grade. How can she make friends when no one understands her? What’s going to happen to one of her moms who’s pregnant again? Why does everything have to change?

Every bird a prince by Jenn Reese.

After she saves the life of a bird prince and becomes their champion, seventh grader Eren Evers must defend a forest kingdom, save her mom, and keep the friendships she holds dear–if she is brave enough to embrace her inner truths.

High School

The lady’s guide to petticoats and piracy by Mackenzi Lee.

“Felicity Montague must use all her womanly wits and wiles to achieve her dreams of becoming a doctor–even if she has to scheme her way across Europe to do it.” –Amazon.com.

Arden Grey by Ray Stoeve.

“Sixteen-year-old Arden Grey finds escape in her love of film photography as she navigates toxic relationships and how they influence her identity.” –OCLC.

All out: the no-longer-secret stories of queer teens throughout the ages edited by Saundra Mitchell.

“And they don’t kiss at the end” by Nilah Magruder. Maryland, 1976. Dee loves roller-skating but has been avoiding the rink ever since she broke up with Vince. No one can understand why she did it, and she does not know how to explain it. It’s just that she does not understand why people like kissing and dating, and she has no words to express that.

“Walking after midnight” by Kody Keplinger. Upstate New York, 1952. At 18, Betsy is a washed-up movie actress stranded in a small NY town, at midnight, having missed a train. While looking for a hotel, she encounters a diner waitress named Laura. Even though Betsy has never felt any urge to do anything even remotely intimate with anyone, maybe Laura will be different. 

Vanilla by Billy Merrell.

Told in a series of blank verse poems, two boys Van (called Vanilla) and Hunter tell of their relationship which began before they were teenagers, but foundered in high school, mostly because Hunter thinks they should be having sex and Vanilla is not so sure.

Radio silence by Alice Oseman.

When Frances and Aled spend the summer collaborating on her favorite podcast, they realize they understand each other in a way no one else does.

Is love the answer? By Uta Isaki.

Manga. “A poignant coming-of-age story about a young woman coming into her own as she discovers her identity as aromantic asexual.”

Here goes nothing by Emma K. Ohland 

When eighteen-year-old Beatrice comes in frequent contact with neighbor Bennie, she starts to question her asexual identity, her place in her friend group, and her plans for the future. Adaptation of Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing.

Planning perfect by Haley Neil 

Summer vacation quickly becomes complicated for Felicity Becker as she tries to plan a perfect wedding for her mom, figure out her feelings for her friend Nancy, and wonder what dating will look like for her as an asexual person.

Aces wild : a heistby Amanda DeWitt

After recruiting his closest friends—the asexual support group he met through fandom forums—all Jack has to do is infiltrate a high-stakes gambling club and dodge dark family secrets, while hopelessly navigating what it means to be in love while asexual. Easy, right?

Love Letters for Joy by Melissa See

Joy starts to wonder if she has missed out on a quintessential high school experience. She is asexual, but that’s no reason she can’t experience first love, right? She writes to Caldwell Cupid to help her, and finds herself falling for the mysterious voice behind the letters. 

Paper planes by Jenni Wood

Graphic novel. After a life altering incident, Dylan and Leighton are sent to a summer camp for troubled youth. They both need a good evaluation at the camp. Otherwise, they’ll be sent away, unable to attend high school with their friends. 

Love points to you by Alice Lin

“When Angela Wu offers Lynda Fan the chance to design characters for her Otome game, Lynda discovers things she never knew about herself or her heart.” — Publisher.

Immoral code by Lillian Clark

Told from five viewpoints, high school friends Bellamy, Nari, Reese [aroace], Keagan, and Santiago team up to hack into Bellamy’s absentee billionaire father’s business accounts to skim enough money for her MIT tuition

The rhythm of my soul by Elin Dyer

Taryn Foster has her eyes set on becoming the first aro-ace ballerina in Roseheart Ballet Academy’s company of professional dancers, and all she needs to do is graduate. But she’s haunted by the ghost of her dead sister-and now she’s living for the two of them. 

Tash hearts Tolstoy by Kathryn Ormsbee

Fame and success come at a cost for Natasha “Tash” Zelenka when she creates the web series “Unhappy Families,” a modern adaptation of Anna Karenina—written by Tash’s eternal love Leo Tolstoy.

Beyond the black door by AdriAnne Strickland

Soulwalkers—like Kamai—can journey into other people’s souls while they sleep. But no matter where Kamai visits, she sees the black door. It follows her into every soul, and her mother has told her to never, ever open it…

College

Loveless by Alice Oseman.

Georgia has never kissed someone or particularly even wanted to; at the prom afterparty she is surrounded by couples making out, and she really does not know what is wrong—but in college she comes to understand herself as asexual/aromantic, and to capture the part of her identity that has always eluded her.

Hullmetal Girls by Emily Skrutskie.

Aisha Un-Haad, seventeen, and Key Tanaka, eighteen, have risked everything for new lives as mechanically enhanced soldiers, and when an insurrection forces dark secrets to surface, the fate of humanity is in their hands.


Being ace : an anthology of queer, trans, femme, and disabled stories of asexual love and connection edited by Madeline Dyer.

Discover the infinite realms of asexual love across sci-fi, fantasy, and contemporary stories. Whether adventuring through space, outsmarting a vengeful water spirit, or surviving haunted cemeteries, no two aces are the same in these 14 unique works that highlight asexual romance, aromantic love, and identities across the asexual spectrum.

Dear Wendy by Ann Zhao.

Aromantic and asexual students Sophie and Jo, engaged in an online feud as the creators of popular relationship advice accounts “Dear Wendy” and “Sincerely Wanda,” unwittingly become real-life friends and navigate their shared aroace identities as they face the challenges of college life.

Tell me how it ends by Quinton Li.

Iris can predict the future and uncover secrets with her tarot cards. Marin comes to her for help to rescue a falsely imprisoned witch. Marin is aromantic, asexual, nonbinary, and has ADHD.

Until the last petal falls: a queerplatonic retelling of Beauty and the beast by Viano Oniomoh.

When Eru was eleven years old, he met an unforgettable boy, and then forgot him. Ten years later, after his parents’ sudden deaths, Eru uncovers some truths and finds that the fate of the village, and that of the boy he’d been made to forget, could lie in his hands.

Let’s talk about love by Claire Kann

Alice, who is asexual, is done with dating. But then she meets Takumi and she can’t stop thinking about him or the rom com-grade romance feels she did not ask for. Is she willing to risk their friendship for a love that might not be reciprocated—or understood?

Ace of hearts by Lucy Mason

When a sports injury loses Felix his scholarship, bestie Hesper proposes a year-long marriage of convenience for free tuition at the college where she works. When Hesper reveals her asexuality, Felix must reassess everything he thinks about love and sacrifice.

Process, Not Product: 7th Grade Research Projects

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By Rebecca Moore and Connor Middleton

I have been fortunate to work with many, many social studies teachers who put together thoughtful research projects for their students. I love helping teachers find resources to give the students a good, reliable start to their research, and I love that teachers then let me work with the students on citations for the project. Assessing citations through NoodleTools lets me help the students asynchronously one on one, and I can also spot unreliable sources and help the students understand why they need to find better sources—and help them find those sources if necessary.

              One grade I work with throughout the year is 7th grade social studies, as those students complete several yearly research activities. Past undertakings include studying endangered languages and researching Middle-Eastern locations and professions to create a Moth-inspired story “from” a fictional resident. The 7th grade’s current teacher, Connor Middleton, is no exception in creating interesting, thoughtful, and thought-provoking projects; projects that not only improve students’ research skills, but improve their understanding of how the world works and why they should care about it. Because I so admire his research activities, I thought I would interview Connor about them. With the help of Flint AI, I turned my interests into focused questions for him. Connor’s reflective answers are below, with minor edits from me.

Topic: Coming Up With Projects

Question: What’s your process for designing a new research project? Where do you start?

Connor:I usually start with a concept or question that I want students to delve into. For African Geography I ask students: “How do we justify buying products that we know come from exploitation?” The related concepts include globalization, economic interdependence, and geographical based exploitation. This leads me to building an assignment in which students learn about the history of the rubber trade in the Congo under King Leopold, and compare it to modern companies’ involvement in the country as they seek the cobalt needed for smart phones and electric cars. We engage in research, discussions, and projects from there. The starting point is always asking: “What is the bigger meaning? Why does this matter?” I always aim to make my projects feel meaningful in that way. I want them to be the kind of lessons you remember as mind-blowing moments during your growing up that helped you see the world in a new light. 

LibGuide for Connor’s Africa project.

Question: How do you know when a topic will work well as a research project versus other types of assignments?

Connor: Research projects usually lend themselves to topics with multiple viewpoints. Finding quotes, reviewing claims, evaluating sources for credibility, and seeing multiple perspectives to an issue are often key in researching these topics. While sometimes a topic does not produce as great a project as I’d hoped, when it does, it usually contains one or more essential questions that lend themselves to finding the answer, rather than being told the answer through lecture. 

Topic: Research Topic Selection

Question: What criteria do you use when choosing research topics for 7th graders?

Connor: Personally, I see most global issues as suitable for 7th grade. This is a time of life when students test boundaries, explore new freedoms, and want to share their opinions on the world and be heard. So my usual criteria involve finding topics that are somewhat high level and hold high expectations for students to meet. My criteria is often: “Is this something I would have been interested to learn about in 7th grade?” 

Question: How do you incorporate current events or relevant issues into your research projects?

Connor: As we complete regional studies, we often study the current issues of each place covered. In some shorter research assignments students evaluate a current event, with our most recent being the bombing of boats outside Venezuela, as part of our South America unit. We always take some time in each regional unit to explore events happening in the area today, and do research to better understand particular issues. On the other side, I usually identify some key concepts for each region that serve as the spine of each unit. For example, European key concepts include expansion and supranational organizations with the EU, and Latin American key concepts highlight globalization and economic interdependence. 

Topic: Essential Research Skills

Question: What are the most important research skills you want 7th graders to walk away with?

Connor: Identifying AI, identifying bias, evaluating multiple perspectives, and finding reliable sources they can use for their own continued learning of the world.

Question: What do you see as the biggest challenges students face when learning to research, and how do you address them?

Connor: AI and mis/disinformation. This is a monumental challenge, one that I as their single social studies teacher in one lone school year cannot entirely fix. The world is only worsening with the flood of ever-increasing content and misleading “news,” to the point at which I worry how students will grow into their adult lives with a sense of common truth or reality. While this is all a little doom and gloom, the true effects of what is currently happening are hard to accurately gauge in terms of potential negative impacts. I try to address this by showing students the inaccuracies of AI, the business models of news corporations, and the bias of algorithms. 

Topic: Balancing Process and Content

Question: How do you balance teaching research methodology with ensuring students learn the historical/social studies content? Do you find that one reinforces the other, or do you sometimes have to make trade-offs?

Connor: I often feel they serve one another. Students tend to dislike “stand and deliver” instruction. Giving them the task of taking on their own learning often provides a good step in increasing their knowledge of historical or social studies content, within the guidelines, expectations, and skills we give them regarding research. I also would rank research skills, or skills in general, in a higher category of importance than content knowledge. Especially with middle school, students can forget much of the content we teach, but repeated skills and habits stick much more strongly. It is there I want to invest more of my time. 

Topic: Reflection and Impact

Question: What’s been your most successful research project, and what made it work so well?

Connor: The Human Rights Portfolio. I partner with my English 7 colleague and we have students pick a particular human rights issue and compile multiple projects in a portfolio to end the year. We combine skills in each class and work together to help our students actively choose a topic and become an expert (of sorts) on it. It works so well because we collaborate on the different skills we want students to exhibit, and the extra class time and student choice allows for more buy-in and less stress. 

Question: How have your research projects evolved over the years?

Connor: They have mostly evolved in the ways I try to limit unnecessary work for students, such as work that overvalues product over process. Students have different amounts of time, help, resources, etc. available to them, and I want to help make it a more equitable process; a process in which students focus more on learning and less on producing a product to achieve a high grade. This can be somewhat difficult. Creating awesome projects is part of the fun, but I also try to balance that with my rubrics, to focus more deeply on the real skills at hand and less the on the “flashy project.”

Question: How do you see these research skills serving students beyond 7th grade?

Connor: I hope students take their research skills and feel confident moving into the world with their own claims and opinions. I want students to be open minded, to learn from others and not jump to judgement, but also to hold the line on what they value. I want them to use their skills to question what they hear, and get to know the world around them through their own work and process, instead of simply accepting what others tell them.

Conclusion

Many thanks to Connor for taking the time to write such detailed, well-thought-out responses!

“Please ensure your seatbelt is securely fastened”: preparing to leave your library

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Regardless of the reason for leaving one’s library – whether a new opportunity, retirement, or something else – there is obviously business to attend to before departure. Everyone’s circumstances are unique, and you may not have the luxury of time to attend to things as you wish. If you do, here are some things to consider before heading off into your next chapter, with thanks to Liz Gray, Sandy Gray, and Dave Wee for their insights!

Get your collection in order.

An inventory and/or weed may be overdue, so this is the time to get work done that you’ve been putting off. Perhaps this means dealing with a non-fiction print collection that is underused, with the goal of creating valuable extra space. Don’t forget about attending to your digital collection as well!

Have policies, procedures and lessons updated, documented and organized in one place. 

Use a shared drive (Google or school network, depending on school policy) to house all library documents, ensuring that nothing is left living solely on your own computer’s hard drive. 

Be specific, for example: ” When a box of new books arrives, here is a bulleted list of the 14 things that need to be done before the book gets placed on the new book display for students to check out” (Wee, 2024). 

Sandy remembers an AISL conference where recently retired Sara Kelley-Mudie presented on this topic, discussing “high-level considerations right down to explicitly labelling all keys”. She suggested not only leaving contact information for all vendors but also reaching out to them to introduce your successor (if known).

Leave a detailed budget with supportive documentation to support line items

Provide your successor with as much data as possible to support budgetary decisions & priorities. 

Address any personnel issues within your staff

Similar to getting your collection in order, do this to make your successor’s transition much easier.

During transition, focus on function and avoid the drama

Approach the transition with an objective mindset. In Liz’s words, “one woman’s nemesis might end up being another woman’s best friend, and the person who never collaborated with me might end up making beautiful music with my successor.” This is relevant for both internal & external hires.

Make sure your job description is up to date

This is particularly important if the people hiring are less familiar with your day-to-day work, especially regarding changes that have occurred since your hiring. You want the description to reflect what you currently do, with an eye to the future as well.  

And if your successor is a current colleague, include them in decision-making processes (such as database renewals, lesson planning, and acquisitions) wherever possible. Have them invited to meetings alongside you, and ensure they are included on relevant email distribution lists.

Library & Tinkering Collaboration by Liz Lee

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Exploring Book Genres through Makey Makey & Scratch
Fifth graders combined literacy and technology in a unique project.
Step 1: Read & Analyze
Each student pair read a Caldecott Award–winning book and explored its genre, discussing story elements, themes, and illustrations.

Step 2: Write & Script
After identifying the genre, students wrote short scripts that captured key aspects of their book—like a mini book trailer or dramatic reading.

Step 3: Code & Create
Using Scratch, they programmed their recordings and animations to tell their story.

Step 4: Tinker & Play
Finally, they connected their projects to a Makey Makey, turning physical objects (like book covers) into interactive controls to play their recordings!
Visitors can press a touch a sensor to hear students’ book summaries and learn about the genre and book—an engaging blend of reading, writing, coding, and hands-on tinkering!

Gingerbread Competition! Evelyn Pratt

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Hello again! I am back with the promised Gingerbread Competition!
I took what I learned hosting the pumpkin carving and made some changes and we ended up with a 60 (!!!) gingerbread houses decorated this past week. Riding a sugar high over here.



This time, I advertised the program starting the Monday before. We shared a flyer in the student e-news, displayed it in the library, and ran it on the TVs around campus. I skipped advance sign-ups and instead made it clear that supplies were first come, first served, with a limit of ten houses per day. This took some logistical pressure off me.
I gathered all the supplies the week prior and built the first round of houses on Friday before the weekend. Gingerbread is a bit of a misnomer here, as the houses were built with graham crackers. I pre-built everything for two reasons: children are messy creatures, and graham cracker houses need time to set before decorating. I wanted students to spend their time creating, not waiting for walls to stop sliding apart!

Full disclosure, I have been building these houses for groups for years. I am pretty good at them. A middle schooler timed me this week, and I can assemble a house in 42 seconds! If you want a tutorial, I am always happy to share. My two biggest tips are to use Walmart brand graham crackers and the cheapest store-bought icing you can find. That icing dries like concrete.
We set the houses out on plates around a large table covered in plastic dollar store tablecloths. I offered icing in disposable piping bags in both white and green. Do not dye green icing yourself! You can buy tubs of it at the dollar store and save yourself the trouble.


For decorations, we had lots of options, but the most popular were Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal, mini candy canes, mini M&Ms, pull-and-peel Twizzlers, pretzels, and of course the icing. All candy was kept in bowls on a table where I stationed myself, and students came up to select what they wanted rather than having free access at the decorating tables. This encouraged more intentional choices and allowed us to gently remind them not to eat the candy, given how many hands had been in those bowls.

They still ate the candy. I did what I could!
Monday was slow, and I once again had to remind myself that the beginning of a program is not a measure of its success. Students do not read emails, and word of mouth takes time. I recruited a few of my frequent library visitors to decorate that first day, and later that evening an entire basketball team came in for study hall and enthusiastically built houses they were genuinely proud of. After that, the floodgates opened. Students streamed in all week asking about the gingerbread houses!
This time, we posted the ribbon categories ahead of time, and several students decorated very intentionally with winning in mind. I recruited our Head of School to award a ribbon as well this time, and the kids thought that was particularly exciting. They checked back regularly to see when prizes would be awarded, and the students who earned ribbons were incredibly proud. As they should have been!



Watching this program unfold was such a joy, and I cannot thank the Vision to Reality Grant team enough for funding this kind of library fun. I will be back in February with another program and, if all goes according to plan, another full library!


Digital Citizenship Jeopardy

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I’m showing my age here, but I sometimes feel as though the “I have many skills” tagline of Xena, Warrior Princess, needs to apply to every school librarian. However, I think we all have skills at which we excel more than we do at others. My kryptonite? Goal setting. I have no objection to having goals, but for some reason, trying to articulate them turns off the creativity switch in my brain. So, since I needed to familiarize myself with our subscription classroom AI, Flint, I asked it to help me. After some manipulation, it actually came up with a long list of goals I really liked—but the list was much too long! With the help of a colleague I narrowed it down to a couple of solid goals, including improving students’ digital citizenship knowledge. I then asked Flint to divide the goal into fortnightly goals, which it did.

And…that’s where things kind of went off the rails.

For the first fortnightly goal, Flint suggested creating one fifteen-minute lesson for teachers that they could run during homerooms. Great! But when I started thinking about it, I thought, one lesson? To cover all aspects of digital citizenship for grades 5-8 in fifteen minutes? And I had to complete it in two weeks? Umm… Something had to give. As to what that was, I’ll just say that I set up the goals in October, and am still working on the first fortnightly goal!

First, I decided not to reinvent the wheel. CommonSense Media recently came out with an updated series of lesson plans covering six aspects of “Digital Literacy & Wellbeing”:

  • Digital Footprint & Identity
  • Cyberbullying & Online Harms
  • Privacy & Safety
  • Relationships & Communication
  • Information & Media Literacy
  • Healthy Habits

They divided the lesson plans into eighteen individual lessons for each grade, three per aspect. I thought that gave me a good framework for what to cover in the overview lesson I hoped to create. Fortunately, CSM does allow adapting and modifying their lessons under the Creative Commons license: CC BY-NC-SA (Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International). Adapters must credit CSM for the original lessons, and must share any adapted/modified lessons under the same license.

Since I like gamifying lessons, I decided to create a Jeopardy for each grade that would give a brief overview of the first five aspects of digital literacy noted above (I decided “Healthy Habits” didn’t fit the remit). Most of the CSM lessons include scenarios for discussion and I adapted these to fit into a Jeopardy board. Using three scenarios for each aspect, I created a board of fifteen squares for each grade. Each scenario question has four possible answers, and most include multiple correct answers. After viewing correct answers, students see an additional slide summing up the topic, mostly copied from the CSM lesson’s sum-up slide.

Currently, I have finished grades 5-7, and am working on grade 8. I created the Jeopardies in PowerPoint, and to use them, teachers will download the file from the library website. Fair warning, THESE HAVE NOT BEEN PLAYTESTED. I haven’t had much luck in getting teachers to try this out during their homeroom slots, despite a bribe of homeroom cookies! I will get to test it with 6th grade later this week, though, and will report back as to success or changes needed. I hope that homerooms or classes will divide into teams to play, earning “Green and Gold” points for their school “team,” which might increase interest. They may play as many or as few of the squares as they want.

Obviously, at best this is only an overview, but it’s a start I hope will increase interest in delving more deeply into these important topics. One of the personal counselors and I have also spent a lot of time creating a series of fifteen minute lessons for seventh grade on this and related issues, and my favorite is the video several teachers (including our video teacher) helped us create, about privacy levels in social media. We’re still working on getting the curriculum completed and integrated, though.

If you would like to test out these Jeopardies, please do, and report back to me on what works and what doesn’t!

Playtest Update: I was able to run the 6th grade Jeopardy with all sections of 6th grade, and it went quite well once I’d ironed out a few technical difficulties (aka “user error”). I divided the class in two, and we went through a few scenarios pretty casually, without keeping track of points. I was not able to complete the jeopardy in fifteen minutes; it would probably take two sessions to cover everything. The “summary” slides were a bit long to read aloud, so I summarized the summary. That’s not ideal, but I do think the information is important to cover. Overall, I was pleased, and the kids seemed to enjoy it! They had good instincts for the correct answers, which is heartening as well.

Bringing Financial Literacy to Life December 2025 by: Liz Lee

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Welcome to my first AISL blog post!
This is my second year as a K-5 independent school library media specialist and eleventh year as an elementary school educator. Thanks to the generous award of the AISL Vision to Reality Grant, I was funded and able to host an author visit for second through fifth grade students. We were thrilled to welcome Shamim Okolloh and her son, Liam Sprinkle, co-authors of the 2023 children’s book Ella the Banker. Both authors are Native Arkansans based in Little Rock, and they made the trip to visit our school in Fayetteville, AR.
Their book focuses on the importance of introducing financial literacy at an early age through the story of Ella, a second grader who takes a field trip to a bank and learns about its behind-the-scenes operations and the different types of banking. The message aligns beautifully with a beloved project at our school—the second grade Holiday Store.
Each year, our second graders visit a local bank, apply for (and receive!) a loan to purchase
materials for the crafts they create. They then sell their handmade items at school, and the
funds raised are used to buy gifts for families in need within our school and community.
Ella the Banker provided the perfect narrative connection to this real-world learning experience, and having the authors on campus made financial literacy and banking feel even more exciting, real, and accessible to our students.
Ella the Banker is available for purchase at Walmart, Target, Barnes & Noble, and Amazon. Add a copy to your library, more than 5,000 copies have already been sold!

Short Story Summaries

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Some years ago, I got annoyed by the lack of summaries in short story collections. Teachers often asked for recommendations of stories featuring a particular theme, but most short story collection reviews or summaries did not detail the plots of each story. While asking AISL colleagues was a good work-around, I decided that I needed to start summarizing and reviewing every short story I read in a collection, and post my reviews on GoodReads. So I did. While it certainly takes more time to stop after each story (whether read in print or listened to in audio) and write up a summary/review, I’ve now amassed a decent if somewhat eclectic collection of short story summaries that I can share with teachers.

Then it occurred to me that I could share my summaries more broadly by posting them on a LibGuides page. I cobbled that together a few days ago, though I don’t think the organization or layout is the best. Perhaps someone reading this will offer some good advice? I ended up posting the books in a tabbed box, with tabs for different genres, and a table of contents on the side. I wish the lengthy texts didn’t sprawl all over the page, impeding browsing, but the two options for hiding text remove all of the line breaks differentiating the stories. For ease of reading, I capitulated to the text-on-page option. In addition, middle school and YA titles share space in some genres, so I put the middle school titles at the top.

As an example, here’s the text of my reviews for “You are here: connecting flights” by Ellen Oh.

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“Paul: Something to declare” / by Christina Soontornvat. Paul and his family are flying to Thailand, his parents’ and his grandmother’s home country. Paul is very close to his grandmother, who does not speak English. She has something unusual in her carry-on that she doesn’t want Paul’s mother to know about. That will change when they get to security. I liked this one. It was affecting and touching, to see the close relationship between Paul and his grandmother, and the way he wonders about his own connection to a place that he’s only ever visited. And, of course, the microaggressions, always, and always—but also those who understand.

“Jae: Ground rules” / by Linda Sue Park. Jae’s mother works at the airport, and when his babysitter fell through, she had to take him to work with her. Her supervisor is mean about it, but Jae promises to stay in the break room. While he is watching the airport monitors, though, he sees a toddler wander away from her family at security, and they don’t notice. He decides he has to rescue her. I liked how this one showed how different people regarded Jae, so totally differently in such a short period of time. It really illustrates the stereotyping and racism people in his position face every day. It’s also a good story to talk about when is it a good decision to break the rules?

“Mindy: Standing up” / by Meredith Ireland. Mindy was adopted from Korea as a baby by her two dads. Now they are in the airport on their way to Korea so she can “reconnect with her culture.” Problem is, she really doesn’t want to because she feels no connection with it at all. After a racist incident on the concourse, in which her fathers stand up to the racist and make Mindy feel uncomfortable because she is just not the stand up and be noticed type, she runs off to be by herself. And she’ll learn something about herself. I liked this one too. I liked the tension between what Mindy thought she should be like and what she really was like, and how she found a way to understand that and still do something about it, I also thought that her feelings about being either too Asian or not Asian enough were poignant and understandable.

“Lee: Jam session” / by Mike Chen. Lee is 12, it is flying by himself to see his uncle. Lee has his Stratocaster guitar with him, and two security guards hassle him because “of course” no Asian kids play guitar. This was a painful one to read. I hate it that some adults in positions of authority can be so mean to children and so racist at the same time. I really liked Lee’s perspective, which I think will resonate with a lot of kids. I also thought the details were really well done.

“Ari: Guidelines” / Susan Tan. Ari is traveling with her six year old brother. When their flight is diverted because of weather, she is stuck with trying to entertain her brother, and also stuck with someone from the airline as a chaperone, who, like, seemingly everyone else, is totally confused how Ari can be both Asian and Jewish. In the Food Court, something happens that makes Ari realize that maybe she is ready for her bat mitzvah after all. I liked the plot of this one, and can see how frustrating it is when people stereotype you, and think that there’s no way you can be something you are. What I found irritating, in terms of the writing, were the endless numbered lists. I realize that was a representation of how the main character thought, but I found it annoying—though that’s only personal taste!

“AJ: A kind of noble” / Randy Ribay. AJ’s mind always lingers on ways that he has failed. Now he’s at the airport with his basketball team, thinking about how badly he played in the last game. Then he stands in line behind two of his meaner teammates, and hears them being racist and trash-talking the only other Filipino kid on the team, who could not come to the international tournament with them. That kid also happens to be AJ’s best friend. Will AJ be strong enough to stand up and say something? I liked how this showed how small acts, both negative and positive, can affect you, and how you can build on the positive acts and change the highlight reel in your mind.

“Natalie: Costumes” / by Traci Chee. Japanese American Natalie is going on vacation with her white best friend Beth, and Beth’s family. While at the airport, Natalie has a lot of uncomfortable feelings with some of the comments Beth’s parents make, as well as comments that Beth makes. Can she get Beth to understand why it’s not OK to say things like that? I like this one as well, with its vivid ways of describing the different feelings that Natalie has in different situations. I also liked the up to date knowledge about Manga and anime. This is another situation that I’m sure happens all the time in friendships among kids, and it is good to see a representation of it, and a representation of how Natalie decides to deal with it. One of the most memorable quotes from the book, for me, was: “My face is not a costume.”

“Henry: Grounded” / Mike Jung. Henry is with his dad in the airport. They are both Korean, American, and autistic. Henry wishes there were any books about characters like him, because both he and his dad, who is a librarian, love books. Henry has an idea about what his book character would be like, and that serves him well when a bully tries to mess with him. This was a quiet story, with a lovely relationship between father and son, understanding each other. I liked the intersectionality of it, because Henry is right.

“Camilla: Big day suitcase” / by Erin Entrada Kelly. Camilla‘s mother is Filipino, and her father is white. Camilla and her sister Greta, are in the airport with her mother, on their way to the Philippines, so they can see where they came from. Camilla does not feel Filipino, since she is white-passing, as she learns when her best friend says that she looks “normal.“ Then Greta tells Camilla about always having to be “it” when kids at her school play Chinese tag about Covid. It gets Camilla thinking. This was another fairly quiet story about family relationships and those microaggressions that kids like Greta face every day, and Camilla realizing what is happening. This is a good one for kids who don’t feel part of their genetic heritage.

“Jane: Questions and answers” / by Grace Lin. Jane is Taiwanese American, and she is in the airport with her mother, her little sister, and her grandfather, who was injured in what he and Jane’s mother insist on calling in “accident.” Jane knows it was not an accident because she was there, and she wonders if it really is the right thing, not to call attention to themselves and to the bigger issue at hand. Jane’s family is reflective of many of the other families described in this anthology, in not wanting to draw attention to the anti-Asian microaggressions and hate. I liked Jane really thinking about it and making her own decision.

“Khoi: Lost in translation” / by Minh Le. Khoi is Vietnamese American, and he is at the airport with his parents, getting ready for his first trip ever to Vietnam. He’s worried that he will be a disappointment to everyone, but a strange dream helps him sort some things out. This was a short one, and the only one so far without any microaggressions or bullying. I think a lot of kids in Khoi’s situation probably have this same feeling, so they can sympathize with him, and hopefully also come to feel as he does about his trip.

“Soojin: You are here” / by Ellen Oh. Soojin and her parents live in New York, but after a hate crime destroys their business, Soojin’s mother insists on moving back to Korea, while her father insists on staying. Soojin desperately wants to stay in New York, but her mother is dragging her to Korea. When they get stuck in the Chicago airport for a while, they encounter all the other characters from all the other stories, and Soojin’s mother begins to see that perhaps there are more reasons to stay and then go. I liked this one for all the people who stood up to the bullies, and for the hope that there’s still enough good in America to make it worthwhile. I thought the author incorporated all the other characters really well, and it was fun to remember their stories as well.

“A note from the editor” / by Ellen Oh. The author talks about why she decided to put this anthology together, the origins of the term “Asian American,” and why it’s so non-descriptive of all the people from that part of the world.

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Feel free to explore my reviews if you are in search of stories with specific themes for your teachers or students!

From Pumpkins to Programming: Building Library Community Through Friendly Competition by Evelyn Pratt

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Welcome to the first post in my series about luring students into the library—with programming, not bribery. Though honestly, both can be effective.

This is my second year as Director of Library Services, and my focus for the year is building community. Last year was all about the logistics—reworking the collection, rearranging furniture, and figuring out which light switches controlled which parts of the library. This year, I’m leaning hard into the fun stuff: being everywhere, doing everything, and getting students to do all the library things.

Thanks to the AISL Vision to Reality Grant, I get to go big with that goal. My proposal centered around the idea that a little friendly competition can go a long way toward creating community—and filling the library. I’ve always believed libraries aren’t just quiet study spaces or shelves of decorative books. They’re safe, lively spaces where everyone should feel like they belong. And when programming makes the library approachable and fun, the books practically start walking off the shelves themselves.

Our school is a 6–12 boarding school, with about half our students local and half international. One thing they all share? A deep, abiding love of competition. Give them a ribbon, a pin, or even bragging rights, and they’re all in. And let’s be honest—sometimes the lower the stakes, the higher the bragging rights. So this fall, I kicked off our competitive programming with something delightfully old-school: a Pumpkin Carving Contest. Nostalgia meets rivalry—it’s the perfect recipe. In just three days, 35 students carved pumpkins. I call that a serious programming win.

How It All Came Together

Step one: confirm I was, in fact, allowed to give students sharp objects. (An underrated but essential step.)

Once I had the official thumbs-up, I started promoting the event about two weeks out. It’s hard to identify a sweet spot for programming —too early and they forget, too late and they’ve filled their schedule with other Very Important Teenage Things. But two weeks seemed to work out for this.

Promotion went out in the weekly student e-news, on the TVs around campus, by the library sign-in station, and via a community-wide email. Students signed up through a simple SignUpGenius—five slots per class block for upper schoolers, and a separate lunch option for middle schoolers. About two-thirds of our carvers signed up in advance, which, for a first run, felt like victory.

Then came the pumpkin hunt. I checked local farms and big box stores, but Walmart’s $3.97 pumpkins beat everyone else’s $10 price tags. Supporting local business is wonderful—but so is staying within budget. I enlisted my oldest child and my husband to help me and we relieved a few local Walmarts of their pumpkins purchasing 40 pumpkins overall and drawing a lot of attention from other shoppers.

Our activities department already had carving tools, so all I needed were blue ribbons for prizes and battery-powered tea lights from the dollar store—three for $1.25. Librarian math loves a bargain.

Our campus is spread across multiple buildings, with the library being its own building, so I was able to hold the event outside. Facilities set up tables, chairs, and a giant trash barrel, and I silently prayed to Mother Nature. Thankfully, she came through. I also pre-scooped all the pumpkins myself—partly to save students time, and partly because I didn’t want pumpkin guts decorating the front steps.

The Big Carve

When we returned from fall break, the library patio was ready for action. The first day started slow, so my library assistant and I began the old-fashioned way: walking up to kids and asking, “Hey, want to carve a pumpkin?” The secret? Never ask just one student. Ask a pair. Peer pressure for good, not evil. Also don’t limit yourself to the library. I asked kids at lunch, during class, whenever I saw them around campus. There was no escaping me!

By the end of day one, I’d gone from worrying about leftover pumpkins to wondering if we had enough. The windows along the library’s front made perfect viewing for the pumpkin action outside. We popped out to chat, admire designs, and offer the occasional pep talk. Most students proudly called us over to admire their finished masterpieces—because no one, no matter how cool, ever outgrows wanting praise.

On Friday afternoon, I placed tea lights inside all the finished pumpkins and lit them up. The whole display glowed through the weekend, and it looked amazing. We awarded ribbons in five categories: “Ms. Pratt’s Favorite,” “Ms. Stiefel’s Favorite,” “Spookiest,” “Cutest,” and “Most Traditional.” The students were thrilled to see either their or a friend’s pumpkin get chosen!

Lessons Learned

All in all, a smashing success! I’ll absolutely run it again next year. There’s something magical about recurring programs—they become little traditions students actually look forward to.

Next time, I’ll lean harder into the competition side. Bigger signage for categories, maybe display the ribbons ahead of time, and definitely turn the awards and lighting into a mini-event. I picture pumpkins glowing after dark, hot cocoa in hand, and everyone pretending to be serious judges.

Also, note to self: wipe tables daily. Dried pumpkin residue can rival super glue in strength. 

How You Can Adapt It

I’m lucky to have outdoor space, supportive colleagues, and a schedule that allows time for carving chaos. But even without those things, you can absolutely do your own spin.

Try smaller sugar pumpkins with acrylic paint pens, or paper jack-o’-lanterns hung in the library windows. The key ingredients—creativity, friendly competition, and a dash of seasonal spirit—are free.If you have questions or want to trade programming ideas, feel free to reach out. And stay tuned—next up in my quest for programming domination: gingerbread houses.

Teaching Technology Guidelines to Fifth Grade

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At the start of the year, the library/technology team (ILT) introduces our fifth graders to the technology they will use throughout the year. This includes Canvas, Veracross, PaperCut, Microsoft 365, and all its related apps. One thing that we and the teachers felt was missing, though, was more about Overlake’s philosophy around technology.

One of our fifth grade’s overarching goals is instilling a set of values called “Citizen Owl.” These tailor Overlake’s values for our youngest students: Compassion, Community, Curiosity, Integrity, Respect, and Independence. The fifth grade teachers work hard to integrate these values into their curricula and SEL lessons throughout the year. Likewise, the ILT team, instead of an acceptable use policy, hasGuiding Questions for Responsible Use of Technology.

So with both of those things in mind, we designed a lesson to get the kids thinking about how we can use technology to support Overlake’s mission and values. We started with a basic PowerPoint to share the values, and the guiding questions that connect them to technology:

Compassion: How will we use technology to show compassion, care, and kindness to others?

Curiosity: How will we use technology to explore, research, and find out about the world?

Integrity: How will we use technology honestly?

Inclusion & Equity: How will we use technology to create environments that include everyone equally?

Respect: How will we use technology to show respect for ourselves and our community?  

From there, we broke the kids into five groups, and assigned each one a specific guideline. We gave each group a list of possible technology uses/scenarios, with the instruction that the group should decide which ones applied to their guideline. Each group had a poster-sized post-it with the value on it, and two columns: Yes and No. They also got a pad of small post-its, and if the group decided a use/scenario qualified as something that people SHOULD do, they wrote it up and put it in the “yes” column. If the use/scenario qualified as something people should NOT do, it went on a post-it in the “no” column. We also asked the groups to come up with their own examples for each column.

On the screen, we showed examples for each guideline:

Compassion: For example, communicate electronically with the same care and caution as you would in person, recognizing that electronic communication has limitations.

Curiosity: For example, learn and inquire within school-appropriate boundaries, exploring relevant topics safely and responsibly.

Integrity: For example, represent yourself and your work honestly, giving credit where it is due.  

Inclusion & Equity: For example, help everyone feel welcome and included when communicating online. For example, avoid assuming everyone has access to the same technology.

Respect: For example, consider the appropriate time, space, and tools for each class, audience, etc. For example, demonstrate responsible use of technology when you are on your own. 

Here are the scenarios we gave the students:

•            Eating or drinking next to laptop

•            Searching for Taylor Swift tickets while I’m supposed to be researching the US Constitution

•            Spamming a chat group with silly (appropriate) gifs and memes

•            Walking across campus with my laptop open

•            Having Flint (AI) quiz me on science topics before a test

•            Playing a bloody first-person shooter game

•            Sending emails during class

•            Using someone else’s Veracross id number to print 

•            Creating a meme from an embarrassing pic I took of my brother

•            Sending a message to my teacher that is all emojis and says “’sup?”

•            Interacting with people on my Discord server during class

•            Sending messages to my parents during class

•            Playing games on my Apple Watch

•            Listening to a podcast on my AirPods during class

•            Listening to a podcast at home 

•            Surfing YouTube or TikTok for funny videos

•            Taking pictures of people and posting without permission

•            Using my friend’s computer to send a message as them to a teacher or student

•            Sharing my password with a friend

•            Sleeping with my laptop in my bed

•            Having ChatGPT write my report on Ancient Mesopotamia for me

•            Using my laptop in the bathroom/restroom

•            Doing research for class

•            Using Canva AI to create images for a PowerPoint

•            Sending a nice message to someone who is having a bad day

•            Emailing a teacher to ask for help on an assignment

•            Storing my laptop safely

•            Working with a teacher to set up a virtual author visit

•            Setting up a group chat on Teams for an assignment

•            Having Flint (AI) help me brainstorm story ideas

So, how did it go? We thought it went reasonably well. Clearly the kids thought about the questions, and in the end maybe that’s all you can ask of fifth graders! We will definitely make some changes next year, though. First, we had all 33 kids together due to scheduling complications, and that didn’t work so well—the rooms are not designed for that number of kids, and it got rather chaotic. Splitting into two groups would have worked better. Also, we thought that it would work better to offer the kids scenarios specific to their guideline as well as the general scenarios; they had trouble applying specific scenarios to their guidelines, though they had less trouble identifying negative and positive uses of technology in general.