Your Holiday Gift Guide!

"A Book is a Gift You Can Open 

Again and Again."

-Garrison Keillor

The holiday season is upon us!  As you put together your shopping lists, here are some links to help you find the perfect match for the special people in your life...

RICBA Nominee

If you're shopping for a 4th grader, consider selecting a book from this year's Rhode Island Children's Book Award nominee list.  All students in these grades have been challenged to read at least five of these books.  Students who do will qualify to participate in the "Rooster Games", so you'll be helping them along!  The link above will provide you with summaries as well as suggested grade levels for each book.

 For readers of all ages, take a look at the list of 2014 Notable Children's Books created by the Association for Library Service to Children.  This list is intended to contain "the best of the best in children's books".  There are separate sections for younger, middle, and older readers.

While you're searching for the perfect book, there are two websites that will not only provide a myriad of fantastic suggestions but also plenty of other great information as well.  You really can't go wrong spending some time exploring these:  

A Mighty Girl is a website that was "founded on the belief that all children should have the opportunity to read books, play with toys, listen to music, and watch movies that offer positive messages about girls and honor their diverse capabilities.  Girls do not have to be relagated to the role of sidekick or damsel in distress; they can be the leaders, the heroes, the champions that save the day, find the cure, and go on the adventure."  Click here to go straight to their recommended books page!  

Guys Read is a web site with a mission "to help boys become self-motivated, lifelong readers".  Founded by author Jon Scieszka, the site is filled with loads of recommended reading lists with titles like Creepy and Weird, People Being Transformed into Animals, and Realistic Kids in Realistic Situations.  There's also a section of reading lists created by authors like Dan Gutman and Gordon Korman called By Some Guys and For Other Guys.  There's lots of other great stuff to be found on this site, but you can click here to go straight to the Main Book Page.  

Whether it's a traditional book, an electronic book or an audio book, please consider sharing the joy of reading with someone you love this holiday season!

A Rainy Monday Won't Get Them Down!

Did today's rainy Monday get you down?  Not these first graders!  They turned the "indoor recess" announcement into an extra opportunity to visit the library and swap books! 

I always tell my students that they don't have to wait until their next library class to return their books.  Any time their teacher says it's okay, they are welcome to visit!  If I'm not here, they can drop off items in the book return and try again another time.  Today the first student who entered the room saw me at my computer and joyfully announced, "She's here!"  Look at those smiles...do I have the best job or what??  :)

Elephant and Piggie Love the Library!

 Elephant and Piggie love the library, 

and so does the first grade!

As a culminating activity for our unit on taking care of books and library procedures, my first grade classes created a book featuring two of our favorite characters: Elephant and Piggie from the stories by Mo Willems! 

I have an Elephant and Piggie poster that has been hanging in the library, and it occurred to me that the illustrations could be used in a book.  The students worked in pairs to write their own words to go with each picture. 

We spent a lot of time talking about the different punctuation marks that could go at the end of each sentence and how that would change how the words would be read aloud.  Then, when all of the groups were finished, each pair stood up in front of the class to "perform" their work for the class.  They were so proud!

Here are some of the pages from our book.  You can click on any picture to make it bigger.  Enjoy!

 

More Book Festival Fun!

One of my 4th graders got her book signed by Jeff Kinney!

Last weekend was the fantastic Rhode Island Festival of Children's Books and Authors at Lincoln School in Providence.  I look forward to this incredible event all year!  As always, I'm happy to offer you a glimpse of just some of the fun this day had to offer!

The very first event of the day was a presentation by Diary of a Wimpy Kid author Jeff Kinney.  He talked about the process he follows when writing a book and what the experience is like for him.  It was really exciting to see a page from his idea sketch book.  The words and pictures were so tiny!  He tried to fit as many thoughts as possible onto each page.  He explained that he has since switched to using a computer program so he wouldn't have to worry about losing his notebook!  [If you click on either picture below, you can view a larger version!]

Jeff admitted that it can be really hard for him to concentrate while working.  Here are some of the pictures he shared to prove it:

Covering himself in a blanket helps him focus (and provides an excellent opportunity to nap or avoid housework).

It's hard staying inside to work on a sunny day!

The most surprising thing I learned from his presentation is that he uses a computer program to create his illustrations.  He draws on an over-sized tablet and then adjusts the lines as needed.  Check it out:

One small part of a very, very long line!

As soon as his presentation was over, I rushed to get into line to have one of the library's copies of his book signed.  It was the longest line to meet an author that I have ever seen.  It spilled out of the gym, wound down the hall and around the perimeter of the cafeteria, went out the door, down the stairs, and along the sidewalk outside!  I stayed for as long as I could, but I didn't want to miss Jon Scieszka's presentation so I bowed out.  (I did get back into the line after that and was one of the last to meet him before he left -- woohoo!)

Jon Scieszka and his five brothers

As I expected, Jon Scieszka's presentation was extremely entertaining.  He is a remarkable storyteller and recounted many of his own life experiences in the process of answering some commonly asked questions.  For example:

When did you do your first book?

Where do you get your ideas?

Why did you become a writer?

  
What kind of car do you drive?

 As always, a heart-felt and enormous thank you to the amazing Meagan Lenihan of Lincoln School for organizing this event every year.  It is so thrilling to see people coming together to celebrate the joy of books!

The "Rooster" Books Have Flown the Coop!

Just a few of the fourth graders who signed out a "Rooster" book today!

I've begun promoting the nominees for the 2015 Rhode Island Children's Book Award to our fourth graders, and I am so excited about all the wonderful choices!  Once again I am challenging them to read at least five of the nominees.  All of the students who do will be allowed to participate in the Rooster Games at the end of the school year!  (Click here to learn more about the games!) 

The nickname "Rooster" comes from the award sticker that is placed on the winning book; it features an illustration of our state bird, the Rhode Island Red!

These students are ready for the long weekend with "Rooster" books at the ready!

One of the ways I've encouraged the students to check out these books is by showing them "book trailers".  These short presentations are like the movie trailers you see at a theater, but these commercials are intended to entice their viewers to read!  There are lots of them available online.  Here are a few of my favorites -- click on the book's title to launch the video:

Charlie Bumpers vs. the Teacher of the Year

Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library

Rump

Doll Bones 

(warning: it's a very creepy trailer for a very creepy book!)

While there are lots of book trailers available online, not every story has one.  I've attended a couple professional development workshops about creating book trailers, and this year I finally made a few of my own to promote some of the "Rooster Books".

One of the books, Gone Fishing, is a story told in poetry.  I wrote a script that included one of the poems and then found some willing performers. Click here to watch the trailer for Gone Fishing!

Quiet on the set!  Estelle, Mr. Bresciano, and Joseph bring the story Gone Fishing to life as I record their voices using my iPhone!

I made another book trailer for Kelsey Green: Reading Queen using a fun, free online site called PowToons.  Click here to watch my book trailer for Kelsey Green!

Every fourth grade student was given a red book mark with the list of books printed on it.  They are encouraged to read as many as they can!  Our library owns at least one copy of each book, but they don't have to borrow the book from the school for it to count.  Rather than waiting for their turn on the "hold" list, the students can visit one of the public libraries, borrow a book from a friend/teacher/sibling, or even buy a personal copy. (Many of the students did this at last week's Scholastic Book Fair!) 

It doesn't matter how they get their hands on the book...

what matters is that they're reading!

Observant 1st Graders Investigate the Evidence!

In first grade we are reviewing how to take good care of our library books and why it's important to do so.  This week I handed out a pile of books that I had selected from the shelves and challenged the students to examine them for evidence of mishandling.  To help them "focus" on their task (and to make it more fun!) I gave each student a magnifying glass to use while making their observations.  Not only did they stay on task, but they did a remarkable job of identifying problems and predicting what might have caused them. (Plus, they made the connection between this activity and their practice of observing and predicting in science -- yay!)

At the conclusion of the lesson, I asked the class if they were surprised by what they saw.  I reminded them that all of the books had come straight off the shelves and not from the "hospital shelf" of books needing repair.  They were dismayed at all of the problems they found and confidently explained what students should do to keep library books safe from damage.  First on the list was always keep your library book in its "special place" whenever you're not using it!  Great job, first graders!

It's Going to be a SUPER Year!

Click for a larger view!

I was SUPER excited to find this fun bulletin board idea on Pinterest this summer, and Mrs. Mitkowski volunteered her time (and scrap booking supplies) to bring it to life!  (Thank you, Mrs. M!)  I adapted the original design to create an anti-bullying message of kindness, bravery and sticking up for your friends, and I love how it turned out! 


Inside the library I created a superhero book display to compliment the bulletin board.  I ordered a lot of new superhero books for the students to enjoy this year because there never seems to be enough to meet the demand!  (The display stretched out across the window sill and completely filled up the wire rack, but I waited too long to take the picture and this is all that was left!) 

I love hearing the students' enthusiastic cries when they spot a book that they are so excited to bring home from the library.  Whether it's a book about Spiderman, puppies, dirt bikes, or any one of the books populating our shelves, it's so gratifying to connect a child with book that results in an expression of pure joy. 

It's going to be a SUPER year!   :)