Bluebonnet Club and A Little Book Tasting

#ReadYourWorld

One of my favorite things to set up is a book tasting in the library. One of the third grade teachers approached me last week to discuss a unit in Social Studies over different cultures. She asked if we could do a book tasting. I was so excited!! So, of course I said YES!! 

I had a table for each of the following types of books: nonfiction, biography, traditional literature, picture books, and chapter books. All of the books were about a different culture, or had a character from a different culture. The students had a sheet where they could record books they want to read later. 

Students look at biography books about people from
other countries, or another culture. 

This student looks through a biography about a female architect from the
same country her mom grew up in.

So many students wanted to check out the books, we decided to let the teacher check them all out and leave them in the classroom for a few weeks. 

Bluebonnet Club

Each year, books are chosen to be a part of the Texas Bluebonnet List. Students in grades 3rd - 5th at our school read at least 5 of the books in order to be a part of the Bluebonnet Club. In January, we meet as a group in the library to discuss the books and vote on our favorite book from the list. 

I bring the dessert and drinks, and the kids bring their lunch. It is a HUGE deal to get to eat their lunch in the library. The kids had lots of fun discussing and debating which of the 20 books were the best. 

Students conduct the voting online. 

This year, 24 third, fourth, and fifth graders took part in the club and were given a vote. The winner for our school was the book SOAR by Joan Bauer. This was one of my favorites, as well.

Bauer, Joan. SOAR. Viking, 2016.

I was very happy that coming closely in second were also two of my other favorites from the list: THE GIRL WHO DRANK THE MOON by Kelly Barnhill and SOME KIND OF COURAGE by Dan Gemeinhart. You don't think my book talks had anything to do with this, do you?! 

            

LITTLE CAT'S LUCK by Marion Dane Bauer

Little Cat's Luck by Marion Dane Bauer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book has a charming cover which appealed to me from the beginning. I love free verse novels, so I was excited to read this book, and it did not disappoint.

Patches, the little cat, is mesmerized by a falling golden leaf, and she falls out of the window. Wondering off following the leaf, Patches loses her home and has trouble finding her way back. On a mission to find the perfect special place, Patches meets an unlikely friend. Gus is the meanest dog in town, but why is he so mean?

Kids, 2nd - 4th grade, will love this free verse novel, especially if they are fans of animals. I am pleased that this on our Texas Bluebonnet list this year.

Some other reviewers complained that the human characters did not have their cat spayed or microchipped. Remember, this book is written for elementary age children that will fall in love with the animal characters. This is a must for every elementary school library.

View all my reviews

Bluebonnet Voting Party

One of my favorite book lists is the Texas Bluebonnet List put out every year by the Texas Library Association. It is a selection of 20 books, fiction and nonfiction, chosen by librarians and teachers in the state of Texas.  Students in 3rd through 6th grade who read 5 or more of the books from the list get to vote on the winner of the Texas Bluebonnet Award.

In my library, we made the Bluebonnet list a huge deal! Students that read 5 or more are invited to join the Bluebonnet club. I host a special party on our voting day, complete with decorations and cookies.

The winning book for Texas will not be announced until sometime in February, however, I counted the votes from our students, and ROLLER GIRL by Victoria Jamieson came in first place. The students don't know it yet, but I have a signed copy of this book that will be raffled off at our Reading Night in March!! 

I can't wait to hear the announcement next month for the winning BlueBonnet Award Book! 

Now, I'm off to plan a Making Inferences lesson for 3rd grade next week and Civil Rights Movement for 4th grade.  

Kinder Learns Nonfiction

This past week, our kindergartners learned about nonfiction here in the library. We looked at books about penguins, some fiction and some nonfiction. They had been reading the book TACKY THE PENGUIN in the classroom. It is one of my favorite picture books for the month of January.

 

Lester, Helen. TACKY THE PENGUIN. illustrated by Lynn Munsinger. 2010. Scholastic, Inc. 

In the library, I introduced nonfiction by reading PENGUINS, PENGUINS, EVERYWHERE by Bob Barner. We discussed the difference between the fiction character, Tacky, and the real penguins. I then had them draw and write about something they learned about penguins. 

Barner, Bob. PENGUINS, PENGUINS, EVERYWHERE. 2007. Chronicle Books. 

 

Bluebonnet Voting Time

The votes are in!! Students that read 5 or more of the Bluebonnet nominees were invited to a lunch in the library on Thursday. We had blue table cloths, blue kool-aid, and blue cookies. Then the students were able to place their votes for favorite Bluebonnet book. These votes count for the winner of the Texas Bluebonnet award for 2015-2016. 

The winner for Hillside is.....

We are anxiously awaiting the announcement of the Texas winner for the Bluebonnet award! 

 

Kinder meets I.Q. and More!

The second week of school has passed already, and what a week it was! Especially Friday!! Everyone wanted new books for the long weekend. By the end of the day on Friday, I felt like books were flying at me from all directions. But, that is a good thing, because that means my Hillside Scholars are reading and loving books.

 

Kindergarten met our library mouse, I.Q. In the book, I.Q. learns to find books on the shelf and use his library card. We learned what a library card is, and everyone checked out a new book. 

 

 

 

First grade read Wild About Books by Judy Sierra, which is about a librarian who accidently takes her book cart to the zoo. The animals love the books so much, they decide to start their own zoobrary. It is a fun, rhyming book. Then first graders watched a video on how to use the shelf markers, and they practiced using the shelf markers correctly while choosing their books. 

 

 

 

 

Second graders reviewed ways to take care of our books and be responsible. We watched the video, based on Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus, which is a favorite at our school.  Of course, we laughed while watching the video, then they talked at their tables about what the pigeon did that he should not have done to the library books. 

 

 

 

 

Third, Fourth, and Fifth graders were introduced to the Texas Bluebonnet Club, and I showed them how to access the BlueBonnet Book Response form. I already have some that have filled their response forms out and have their names on our bulletin board outside the library.

 

 

I just finished reading The Lost Planet by Rachel Searles, and I highly recommend this book! It is filled with adventure. What are you reading this week?