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Giggles and Eggs

We just had a four day week, which usually seems to creep by when we have a short week. However, things are a little different in the library. I saw 5 days worth of classes in only 4 days, and the day before a holiday is always BUSY! Everyone seems to want a brand new book before the long weekend. That's fine though, it makes the days go by fast, and I love that my students love to read so much.

Willems, Mo. NAKED MOLE RAT GETS
DRESSED. Disney-Hyperion, January 2009.

Lots of fun was had this past week, and lots of giggles in first grade and kindergarten! In my kinder classes, we have been doing an author study over Mo Willems. The students were very familiar with Piggy & Elephant, and the Pigeon. I decided I would introduce them to two other Mo Willems characters. Last week, I read KNUFFLE BUNNY FREE, and this week I introduced them to the hilarious NAKED MOLE RAT GETS DRESSED. We learned that there are three things you must know about naked mole rats:

1. They are a little bit rat.
2. They are a little bit mole.
3. They are all naked. 

My sweet kindergarteners nearly fell over laughing so hard. Next week, they will vote on their favorite Mo Willems book that we have read this year. 

First graders were introduced to the Texas 2x2 Reading List. We read MOTHER BRUCE by Ryan T. Higgins, which is about a grumpy bear that hates cute little animals, but loves eggs. Unfortunately some of his eggs hatch and he is mistaken for their mother. What is a bear to do? This is a silly, delightful story, with illustrations that complement the story. We laughed and laughed at the funny antics in this fun new book. 

Second grade made text-to-text connections with a poem and a nonfiction book. I chose a poem from THE POETRY FRIDAY ANTHOLOGY FOR CELEBRATIONS compiled by Sylvia Vardell & Janet Wong. Just two years ago, I was a student in Sylvia Vardell's poetry class where I learned about pairing poetry with books in the classroom and the library. If you do not have this book in your library, I highly recommend it! It contains fabulous poems, along with activities and picture books to pair with the poems.

The poem I chose was titled BREAK AN EGG by Stephanie Hemphill. I paired the poem with the nonfiction book, CHICKENS AREN'T THE ONLY ONES by Ruth Heller. It teaches about animals, besides chickens that lay eggs. The students made connections between the poem and the book, then they made text-to-self connections and discussed ways that they use eggs for their Easter celebrations.

I cannot believe that we are already to the end of March! Where did this year go? Next week, I will be assisting in monitoring the STAAR test for our 4th and 5th graders. Before we know it, this school year will have ended and I will have survived my first year as a librarian! 

ECHO by Pam Muñoz Ryan

This book! It is hard to put in words how I feel about ECHO by Pam Muñoz Ryan. This book is why I love reading! Winner of the 2016 Newbery honor, ECHO will make you feel every emotion and you will fall in love with each character you meet in this novel, and they will live in your heart forever.

I hope I can do justice to this book in my summary and book review, but here goes.....

First, let me say that I love books, REALLY love books. However, rarely do I just really rave about a book the way that I have raved about ECHO. When I first held this book in my hand knowing it is a 2016-2017 Texas Bluebonnet book, I was not sure of how I felt. First of all, rarely do the larger books ever win the Bluebonnet award because so many 3rd - 6th graders don't want to read a book this size. So, typically the smaller books win the award. My hope is that with enough book talks I can encourage my students to read this book.

ECHO is divided into four parts. The first 3 parts introduce you to characters that each come across a harmonica with a magical background. We meet Freidrich, who lives in Germany and is witnessing the rise of Hitler's power. He witnesses cruel injustices happening to his friends and his father and must escape to survive and save his father. Next we meet Mike and Frankie, orphans living in America just before World War II. Mike, only 11 years old, must take care of his younger brother, Frankie and ensure that they not be separated.  The final main character that we meet is Ivy, who is the daughter of a migrant farmer in California. Ivy has to deal with moving to new places, as well as injustices at a new school because of the color of her skin. 

All three main characters are linked by the great musical talent, and in part four we see how their lives are connected by the simple harmonica that they have each come in contact with. 

”Your fate is not yet sealed.
Even in the darkest night, a star will shine,
A bell will chime, a path will be revealed.”

From the very beginning of this book to the last page, ECHO was inspiring, heartbreaking, and enchanting.  The historical content is well told and detailed, and while the book does not contain a lot of historical detail, the historical setting is very important. Each character lives in a time of great historical struggle and some of the darker eras in our history. The reader will be inspired by Ryan's strong characters and the way they overcome the struggles of their time.

FUZZY MUD by Louis Sachar

Sachar, Louis. 2015. FUZZY MUD. New York: Delecorte Books for Young Readers. 

Tamara is a fifth grader who does the right thing no matter what. Teachers love her! Marshall is her seventh grade friend and neighbor that she walks home with because she is not allowed to walk home by herself. Chad is the new kid that has decided to bully Marshall, and no one knows why.

One day, Chad tells Marshall they are going to fight after school, so Marshall decides to take a shortcut home to avoid him. Tamara knows something isn't right, but she reluctantly follows. They get lost and come across some strange looking mud that appears fuzzy. Things get worse than they could ever imagine!

Review

Louis Sachar does an amazing job combining science, government, and suspense in his latest book. Sachar is great at scaring children and creating suspense. The characters in this book are fabulous. Sachar introduces each of them and builds them up so that the reader understands their actions. I would have liked to have had more story about Chad to understand him more throughout the book. Sachar does a wonderful job of running three story lines parallel to each other, then having them meet together at the end. 

This is a wonderful book full of friendship and acceptance. It will be a great read for young readers and middle grade readers that like scary books and suspenseful books. 

Happy Valentine's Day

What a fun week in the library! Valentine's Day is one of my favorite holidays. The library is very festive, with shiny hearts hanging from every corner. The students have had fun this week being a part of the decorating. The fifth graders were given the chance to write their favorite books or book series on my "We <3 Books" bulletin board. It has been interesting reading everyone's favorite. I was surprised that I didn't have many duplicates of books. I love that the students at my school are individuals and they know what they like to read.

I forgot to take a picture, but outside the library I have a large tree. I call it my tree of kindness, and the first graders have been adding their acts of kindness to the tree. We read BEAR GETS SICK by Karma Wilson. We made text-to-self connections and compared how the animals helped Bear to how people have helped us. They also learned the meaning of the word 'compassion'. 

These books about BEAR are some of my favorite picture books. 

My second graders listened to the story THE VALENTINES BEARS by Eve Bunting. They made text-to-text connections and noticed that the illustrator of this story, Jan Brett, is also an author of a book they had read in the past. This was actually not the lesson that I had intended, but I went with it when the students noticed and recognized her name. So, we talked about the illustrations and how they were similar to her illustrations in THE MITTEN. I love it when the students guide the lesson. 

Fourth grade and fifth grade are both learning steps to research and how to correctly cite their sources. I am over the top excited that next week I will be collaborating with the fourth grade ELA teacher! Fourth grade will be coming to the library next week to do research over Texas Battles, and together with the ELA teacher, I will be helping the students conduct their research. I hope that by doing this, more teachers will jump on board and allow me to collaborate with them more often. Stay tuned for my post next week to see how it goes! 

CIRCUS MIRANDUS by Cassie Beasley

Micah Tuttle, 10 years old, lives with his Grandpa Ephraim. Micah loves to hear his grandpa's stories of a magical circus, Circus Mirandus. Unfortunately, Grandpa Ephraim is sick and dying. Great-aunt Gertrudis has moved in to take care of Grandpa. Micah hoped she would be as fun as Grandpa Ephraim, but Great-aunt Gertrudis does not approve of the magical stories and forbids Micah to go into Grandpa's room. She doesn't want Micah to annoy a dying man, and she doesn't want Grandpa telling silly stories to a child. 

Micah and Grandpa sneak around Great-aunt Gertrudis to see each other and Grandpa continues to tell his stories about Circus Mirandus and the LightBender. Micah seeks out the magical circus and takes along his skeptical best friend, Jenny. Micah believes the LightBender can heal his grandfather and prolong his life. 

Beasley, Cassie. 2015. CIRCUS MIRANDUS. Dial Books.  

Review

I found myself very intrigued by the characters, especially Micah and his grandfather. Their relationship is fantastic and you fall in love with them immediately. Aunt Gertrudis is a very cruel character, such as the stepmother in Cinderella. She is over the top cruel and abusive to Micah, but the author portrays her very well. The reader will definitely be angry with her on many levels. I am still undecided about Jenny. I could almost do without her in the story. She is very skeptical and refuses to believe in magic. Her scientific reasoning for every magical event is borderline obnoxious. 

This is a wonderful fantasy book and will have young readers clinging to the pages until the very end.  Circus Mirandus is a place that kids and adults will want to explore. 

2016 Texas BlueBonnet Nominee

It's Already February!

I cannot believe that we are already into February! What is happening to this school year? I have taken all the snowflakes down and replaced them with hearts all throughout the library. I just love the way the library looks when it is decorated for the season.

What's Happening This Week

Second graders are learning about biographies and have been assigned a Biography Report and Project. Last week, I read each class biographies and we learned where to find biographies. We also talked about how they are organized in the library compared to other books. This week, we talked about the different features in many biographies, such as table of contents, timelines, and index. By now, every 2nd grader has chosen their person they will research. 

Fourth graders reviewed the difference between biography and autobiography, and I introduced them to one of my favorite autobiographies, BROWN GIRL DREAMING by Jacqueline Woodson. You can see my review of this book on my blog. 

Fifth graders were taught the importance of siting our sources with images we use in projects. We also talked about copyright policies, then reviewed steps to adding images to our book trailers. I am hoping that someone from Hillside wins the Book Bytes Contest!

Third grade classes had some deep discussion about the book, THE OTHER SIDE by Jacqueline Woodson. We discussed concepts in poetry, specifically how the poet uses objects to represent something much larger.   In this picture book, which is written in free verse, Jacqueline Woodson uses the fence as a main object in her poem. The fence represents something much larger. If you haven't read this book, you absolutely must! THE OTHER SIDE will lead to a rich discussion with your students, and it is one of the most uplifting books dealing with the subject of segregation. 

Woodson, Jacqueline. 2001. THE OTHER SIDE. illustrated by E.B. Lewis. G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers.

Making Connections

My first graders have been enamored with learning about the different awards that books are given. In January, I taught them about the Caldecott award. I showed them some of the past winners, and read them 2015 winner, THE ADVENTURES OF BEEKLE by Dan Santat.

After I showed them some of the past winners, they noticed that some of the books also had an award that looked like a black triangle. I made them wait in anticipation for that one. :) So, finally, this week, I talked to them about the Coretta Scott King award. Unfortunately, I don't have TROMBONE SHORTY by Troy Andrews and illustrated by Bryan Collier, which won the Corretta Scott King award for illustrator, in my library yet. I haven't been able to place my spring book order. (story for another blog post). But, I did have an honor book, and fittingly, this book is also a Caldecott honor book for 2016. 

The students were so excited! I pulled this book out of the box, brand new!! I had not even finished processing the book yet. After I read the book, the students and I paused to really look at the last page. I was proud that one of the first graders made the connection to the recent tornado that went through our city. He said that this book reminded him of how people in Garland helped the people that lost their homes in the tornado. 

Da Le Peña, Matt. 2015. LAST STOP ON MARKET STREET. illustrated by Christian Robinson. G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers.