Book Buzz

• Only 15 minutes of daily reading aloud exposes a child to over one million words per year.
• Children who are read to regularly score higher on reading and comprehension tests, even into middle and high school.
• Reading aloud is the number one predictor of school success, regardless of socioeconomic background.
• Hearing books read aloud increases vocabulary by up to 40 percent.

(Source: The Read-Aloud Handbook by Jim Trelease, 2006)

Pre-K students began library time on Monday, August 17. Pre-K classes visit the library every Monday for storytime and checkout. One-, two-, and three-year-old classes visit the library every Tuesday for storytime.

Pre-K students will begin checking out books in a few weeks. For now, these books will remain in classrooms to be read during the school day. This helps students learn how to find and select the books they like and to properly care for library books. Books will start coming home in early 2027 (see below for how you can help with this).

A list of each week's read-aloud books will be in the weekly College Heights Connection newsletter and will be posted on the library door. Kids love to talk about what they are reading at school!

Hello, and welcome to your library! I'm Leslie Joiner, and this is my fifth year as the school librarian here at College Heights. Before that, I was the media clerk and a Kindergarten paraprofessional at Oakhurst, and I also taught at Decatur Presbyterian Children's Community for several years. I'm an Atlanta native, and my family and I have been in Decatur since 1998. You might see me walking Charlie, my goofy Golden Retriever, around Oakhurst, where I live with my husband Brad and our two boys, Owen (20) and Matthew (24). I enjoy reading (of course!), running, traveling, and cooking.

My passion is connecting students and families with great books. Some of my all-time favorite children's books include: Ox-Cart Man by Donald Hall, Nobody Hugs a Cactus by Carter Goodrich, The Scarecrow by Beth Ferry, anything by Sophie Blackall, and the oldie but goodie The Country Bunny and the Little Gold Shoes by DuBose Heyward. I invite you to stop by the library, tell me some of your favorites, and come check out some new books to share with your little ones.

Check out books and resources

• Click here to create a family library account. Families can check out up to five books at a time and keep them for up to two weeks.
• Visit the library and check out books! Current hours are posted at the entrance to the library. Additional times are available by appointment, and self-checkout is an option (see below).
• No time to come in? No problem! Email me a list of your child's current interests and other books they've enjoyed, and I will curate a selection of books to send home in your child's backpack or cubby.
• Click here to access the library catalog. Children's interests vary widely - often in just one day - so just enter a keyword such as "dinosaurs," "vehicles," "mermaids," or "cooking" and see what books we have. You can email me and I can put books aside for you to pick up, or I can drop them in your child's backpack or cubby in their classroom.
• Do you have a specific concern? Potty training, making friends, dealing with big feelings, sibling rivalry/new baby, death of a family member or pet - we have books on all of these topics and many more.
• Check out our Bunny Bags! These are bags full of great board books, picture books, and activities grouped by topics like sports, weather, ABCs and 123s, colors, animals, friends, and family. Pick up a bag and keep it for up to two weeks. Kids love our Bunny Bags! Special thanks to Girl Scout Troop 12571 for this wonderful resource.
• Stop by the lobby (across from Ms. Caretha's desk) and browse our DEI book cart. Created through a grant from the Decatur Education Foundation (and recently updated with new titles through a generous donation from Angela Gabriel and Charis Books & More), this is a self-service cart full of amazing diverse books for all ages, including grownups. Simply select the books you want and write them down in the checkout notebook in the front of the cart.

Self-checkout procedure

If you would like to check out books for your student and I'm gone for the day, there is a clipboard directly across from the circulation desk. Select the books you want (five maximum, please), and write down the information on the sheet. You can keep the books for two weeks, then please return them to the book drop by the library entrance. Please make sure you have established a family library account before checking out books (see instructions above).

Birthday Book Program

Honor your College Heights student's birthday and support your school library at the same time by "buying" a library book.

After your donation is received, your child will select a brand-new book during their birthday month (if your child had a birthday this past June or July, we will celebrate them in August). This book will be added to our library catalog and will feature your student's name, their birthday, and a dedication bookplate with a message of your choice.

Your child will get to take the new book home for two weeks. After that, you'll return it to the library to be enjoyed by other children for years to come. We will email you a photo of your child with their birthday book as our way of saying "thank you" for helping us grow the College Heights library! We will also post these pictures on the bulletin board by the front desk.

Click here to access the online form or return the paper form that was sent home in student folders last week.

Many thanks to the College Heights PTO for helping make the Birthday Book program possible.

Book Fairs

Volunteer for one of our two book fairs! We will have books for all ages, and a portion of the proceeds benefits the school. The Fall Scholastic Book Fair happens during Literacy Week, October 26-30. The Spring Little Shop of Stories Book Fair will be March 15-19.

Author Visits

College Heights partners with Little Shop of Stories to offer Pre-K students (and Preschool, in the spring) the opportunity to meet authors and illustrators of children's books. Families can purchase a signed copy of the author or illustrator's new book, and a portion of the proceeds benefits College Heights. Past guests include Caldecott winners Sophie Blackall and Brendan Wenzel, as well as A.G. Ford (Construction Site series, pictured here). We look forward to announcing our fall visit details soon!

Book Donations

We gratefully accept your gently used board and picture books. Anything we can't use will be placed in the College Heights Little Free Library.

College Heights PTO Auction

Your child could be Librarian for the Day! Don't miss this annual fundraiser scheduled for this winter. More details coming soon.

Pre-K Checkout Volunteers

In early 2027, Pre-K students will begin bringing books home to share with their families. We would love to have volunteers to help with the checkout process. It's lots of fun to volunteer when your student's class visits the library. Email Mrs. Joiner if you are interested.

You are always welcome at the library! Please email with any questions or stop by. See you soon!