Welcome to the Book House of Horrors!

If you went into a House of Horrors, what do you think might be inside that would scare you?  A ghost?  A witch?  A vampire??  Not if you were a book!  If you were a book, you would be frightened by things that could damage your pages, hurt your cover, or even break your spine!

My first graders have been creating a story about a Book House of Horrors.  They began by examining books from the library's "Sad Bag".  I asked them to discuss with each other what might have damaged these books, and then we came up with a list of "horrors" (fruit punch, dogs, rain and scissors, to name just a few!).  Then each student drew a picture that showed one of the dangers that a book might face if it's not kept in a safe, special place!  They created these illustrations on white paper using oil pastels, and then in art class they brushed black watercolor paint over the entire page.

Not only did the colors POP, but it also made the drawings look as though the setting was really inside a dark, scary house!  (Thanks for the great idea, Mrs. DiFranco!)

Dog attack: Before

Dog attack: After!

Back in the library, the students used a "Beginning - Middle - Ending" chart to organize the sentences of the story.  Then we brainstormed some details we could add to make the story more interesting.  Since they're learning about the five senses in health class, I had them try to imagine what the characters might have seen, heard, smelled, felt or tasted.  (Yes, we actually managed to include taste!)  Finally, we recorded the story so that we could watch it as a video using PhotoStory for Windows.  I hope you enjoy the students' work, and please remember...

Always keep your library book in a safe, 

special place at home when you're not reading it.

Don't let YOUR home become a 

BOOK HOUSE OF HORRORS!

ABOVE: story by Mrs. Austin's class

BELOW: story by Mrs. Gigliotti's class

No book wants to live in the "Sad Bag"!

Our kindergarteners have started taking home books, which means they've taken on a big responsibility!  We spend a lot of time in class talking about how to take good care of their library books.  One thing I ask all the students to do is to find a special place at home to keep their library books whenever they're not reading them.  Not only does that make them easy to find, but it also protects them from getting damaged.  To illustrate this idea, I show the students the Sad Bag.  This is a big envelope that's filled with books that have gotten hurt.  They are sad because now they can't travel to students' homes, which is something all library books love to do!

All sorts of bad things can happen to books that aren't kept somewhere safe.  There are books in the Sad Bag that have been colored in, rained on, chewed up, ripped, cut with scissors, and drenched with fruit punch.  Oh no!  If you haven't already picked a safe, special place for library books in your house, please...do it right now!!!

A Book Festival on a Sunny Saturday...Life is Good!

The weather on Saturday was sunny and cheerful, which was a perfect match for my mood!  I spent the day at the incredibly marvelous Rhode Island Festival of Children's Books and Authors at Lincoln School in Providence.  It was my first time attending and I was simply amazed.  I got to see presentations by some of my favorite authors and illustrators, and every single one of them was interesting and entertaining.  (Not surprisingly, my "books to read" list got quite a bit longer!)  I also enjoyed browsing the displays for books to purchase for the school and selected several that fit in perfectly with lessons I'll be doing this year.  The icing on the cake was getting to meet the authors/illustrators while having the books signed for our school library.  It was an exciting day and I'm already looking forward to finding out who will be appearing next year!

I took lots of pictures and video to show to my students during the school year, but here are a few to give you a taste of the day.  My sincerest thanks to organizer Meagan Lenihan and everyone who helped to make this event happen!

Chris Van Allsburg hides Fritz, a small white dog, in every book he illustrates.  At least, that's the theory.  But there are two books in which neither I nor any of my past students have been able to locate him.  (I'll admit it: finding the answer to this mystery was one of my reasons for attending the festival!)  I'm delighted to report that Mr. Van Allsburg shared the information I was looking for.  But of course, I'm not going to reveal the answer here; my fourth graders will have to wait until we go on our Fritz Hunt! 

video: Chris Van Allsburg on the creation of his second book, Jumanji

Illustrator Michael Emberley asked the audience, "What do you think an author or illustrator of children's books does each day?"  His answer was that they make mistakes.  Here he sketches himself sitting at his light table, which he uses to trace the multiple versions of his drawings until he gets the image just right.  Later he added the waste basket that holds his many, many drafts.  I wish all my students could have heard his message of perseverance and that the first draft is just a step toward the final copy.  Plus, he was hilarious!

Gail Carson Levine shared this picture of when she got to be on the set of Ella Enchanted, and she discussed how much (or how little) input she was able to give to the filmmakers.  (Overall, she said she enjoyed the film!)

Steve Jenkins and Robin Page discussed how they collaborate to create their gorgeous cut/torn paper illustrations.  Much of their time is spent researching the animals.  They find images and information in books and online, and they visit museums to inspect the dioramas.  They also shared some pretty adorable pictures of their kids!  This was my favorite:

(Although I'll admit that the picture of their son with his hair sticking straight up from static electricity was pretty adorable, too!)

Welcome Back to the Scholastic Book Fair!

Thanks to the continuing support and efforts of our wonderful PTO, the Scholastic Book Fair has returned to Ashaway School.  All of the classes have already visited the book fair, and I've seen lots of enthusiastic readers!   The displays will be set up again tomorrow during school for students who might not have gotten to it, and then tomorrow night is the big event: the Ice Cream Social will take place 5:30-7:30!  Families can come in and enjoy free ice cream sundaes and then browse the terrific selection of books for sale.  Don't forget: every single book sold benefits the school and will result in even more new books in the library!  Now I call that a Win-Win!  For more information, please click here to visit the PTO's Book Fair info page.  I hope to see you there!

Friends Old and New at Open House!

A former student, two current students, and a future student!

Monday night was Open House, can you believe it??  (I am always amazed by how quickly the time flies!)  It was, as always, a fun evening.  I got to see lots of my new kindergartners who proudly showed off their library to their families, led them to where they sit, and of course made introductions to Bear.  I always enjoy getting to see all the students and their families who stop in, but it's a special treat to see my former students return with their families!  I got to discuss "Rooster Books" with many of the middle schoolers, and we compared notes on which titles were our favorites.  Some even brought books they were reading with them to share with me, and I now have a list of recommended titles on my desk!  It's so wonderful to see that they love their libraries!

Well, they're new to us!

Are the kids starting to get antsy now that the summer is beginning to fade?  Or maybe a rainy day has you looking around for something to do?  Well, here's an activity that will help free up some of your space and benefit the library as well.  One of our third grade students took advantage of her extra vacation time and went through her bookshelves at home.  Knowing she'd see me at the HopRec reading program, she brought in two crates stuffed full with books that she no longer reads to donate to our library!  I'm happy to accept donations all year round.  I add books that our library can use to the collection, and the rest are put aside for our free book swap during Reading Week.  I can tell that this young lady takes excellent care of her books at home because all of the copies are in great shape.  You'll see many of these titles appear in our "New Book" display at school in September!

Donations don't have to be in perfect condition to be accepted.  

Even a worn book can find new life in the hands of an eager reader!

Fourth Grade Fable Theater!

Our group meeting last Thursday consisted of only three students!  Fortunately vacationing children didn't put a damper on our fun.  After all, "The show must go on!"  I made some quick changes to a play that I had on hand, took on a non-speaking role, and away we went!  They had almost as much fun performing this story as they did watching the resulting video.  Enjoy!