April Adventures Deliver Unique Journeys of Escapism

| By Gale Staff | Great reads can send you to faraway places, transporting you both physically and emotionally. Or, they can make you feel as if a mirror is being held to your life, capturing your state of being. Our April selections have the potential to do both as they explore the lives of … Read more

2020 Vision – Set Your Sights on Great Reads

| By Gale Staff | Ready to review some great new titles to help readers dive into another year of discovery? This month we’re featuring a poignant story of a shattered Syrian family, a novel cited as both funny and disturbing, and a historical novel that explores the life of a powerful yet overlooked woman. … Read more

We’re Wrapping Up 2019 with Big Reads

| By Gale Staff | With the new year approaching, we’ve got perfect picks to reflect on the past while looking toward the future. Three titles serve up historical perspectives while a fourth considers troubling times ahead. Thank you for another year of allowing us to provide you and your readers with the very best … Read more

Celebrate Banned Books: September 23-29

| By Traci Cothran | I just LOVE Banned Books Week.  Don’t get me wrong: I don’t like that we need a Banned Books Week, it’s just that I love thinking about all the books I’ve read that are on various banned lists, as so many of them are near and dear to me.  Then … Read more

Gale’s Holiday Book Sale Raises Funds for Reading Is Fundamental

| By Jennifer Stock | This year, I became the new project editor for the Something About the Author series. Featuring emerging and established authors/illustrators in the fields of children’s and young adult literature, this series includes images of the entrants, as well as numerous book covers and interior illustrations. Each of the books that have images … Read more

American Western Standing Order Plans Now Shipping Monthly

We received your feedback and we heard you! Offering you the best in Western and American Historical fiction — subgenres on the rise — Thorndike Press and Wheeler Publishing are proud to announce our Western standing order plans will now release in monthly shipments. Benefits of Monthly vs. Quarterly: Keep patrons coming back with new stories arriving … Read more

Books Bring People Together

| By Lisa Joyce, acquisitions editor, Thorndike Press | “I live with some of the most interesting people, but never know until I read their obituary.” I always remember this comment from a senior patron. As the Outreach Librarian at Portland Public Library (Maine) for nearly 25 years, I spent a great deal of time making deliveries at a senior residence and … Read more

A Look Inside Gale’s Reading Mentor Program

| By Caroline Drexler |

Background

I began my career at Gale as a library sales consultant in February of 2000, moving to my current customer success manager role in 2016. Within my first two years at Gale, I heard about an organization working with students at the local elementary school since 1998 called the Hillside Mentor program. At the time Laurie Fundukian was heading up this program, she worked in the editorial department at Gale for over 17 years.

Typically, each fall the Hillside Mentor team reaches out to the school to determine the start date of the program—we solicit Gale folks to get volunteers. Normally, we get about 30 volunteers, but there is no limit due to the massive amount of kids requesting help. Usually, one or two students are assigned a mentor, for one hour every week. We meet with the student in the library or classroom and read to them while they eat lunch, while trying to encourage them to read to us. Some days, we play a game or talk but as a mentor, our job is to improve their skills by encouraging them to read.

Dylan’s Story

When I joined the program I was assigned a student who was not only a poor reader, but also had many challenges at home.  His name was Dylan, a kindergartner at Hillside Elementary, who was living with his grandparents. He was never read to as a child and dealt with the immense struggles of a missing father and drug addicted mother. I could tell he was a very curious child, but had issues focusing on a specific task.

Read moreA Look Inside Gale’s Reading Mentor Program

April 2017 Picks

| By Elyse Monahan |

April Editors’ Picks 

Jump to the Library Reads List 

Jump to the Indie Next List 

Hand-picked titles from our expert editorial team are here! At Thorndike Press, our editors have a knack for picking the next great reads. They have been doing so for over thirty years! Here is a list of April titles they know your patrons will enjoy.

Read moreApril 2017 Picks