“Librarian’s Shelf” by  Brad Hruska

"Language Helpers!! Last month, I recommended the “Making Math Easy” series to parents looking for materials to assist them in helping their children with math homework. Now, I’d like to highlight a wonderful new collection called “The Magic of Language” for parents with students struggling in the area of Language Arts. The Columbus Public Library already owns the first part of this series, which deals with the parts of speech. We recently received the second half that covers topics like the different morphemes, sentence structure, and punctuation. Most children easily grasp the rules that govern the spelling of words. However, some students have not yet understood concepts like “i before e, except after c.” The book entitled Spelling Rules provides easy instruction for those individuals struggling in this area. This text breaks down the spelling rules and provides a “spelling list” for each rule. When it comes to reading comprehension, it is important for children to understand that prefixes like “re-“ and suffixes like “-ly” drastically change the meaning of words. Students who do not understand this concept may miss the meaning of sentences. The book Prefixes and Suffixes will help those having difficulties in this area. As a child’s reading and writing skills advance, different types of sentences are encountered. These highly developed word structures often involve complex punctuation. The volumes Sentences and Punctuation do an adequate job explaining the rules that apply to the more complex sentences in terms that children will easily understand. The English language is saturated with components like antonyms and metaphors. Children exploring literature may become easily confused when hearing phrases like “a feather in his cap” or “you are my sunshine.” They may honestly believe that someone really does have a feather in his cap or that one actually does give off rays of light like the sun. To help children better understand such word structures, parents are encouraged to check out the book Similes and Metaphors. The books clarify common phrases and show children how to identify them. If your child is struggling in his or her Language Arts class, remember that the Columbus Public Library is “as good as gold” when it comes to help with English homework. If you have any questions regarding the “Magic of Language” series or are looking for texts in other subjects, feel free to contact me at 564-7116 opt. 4. Patrons are reminded that the “One Book, One Columbus” reading program will continue on through May. Copies of the book, “Goodnight, Nebraska” are available at the checkout desk. The various workshops and book discussions are “stand alones”, so if you missed both or any one of the first two program, you can attend any or all of the remaining programs without feeling as though you missed out. Call the Library at 564 7116 to reserve a copy of “Goodnight Nebraska”.