It's Wednesday! What's happening in the Sommer Library?

We are in a new cycle of read-alouds and lessons in the library this week!

Kindergarteners are paying attention to shapes, word patterns and unanswered questions in Mac Barnett's Triangle, illustrated by Jon Klassen.

Second graders are discussing feelings, the senses, and art interpretation with Niko Draws a Feeling by Bob Raczka, illustrated by Simone Shin.

First graders have a checkout week.  Third and fourth grades are receiving a mini-lesson on using our online catalog and finding good-fit books.  Fifth grades are reviewing genres and getting a taste of our Bluebonnet Award nominees with our Bluebonnet Genre Mashup game.

Are you interested in volunteering in our library?  After completing our district's volunteer requirements, you may sign up to shelve books, prepare for book fairs, and help with other tasks.  We have a busy library, so a helping hand is always welcome!  Click here to sign up. 

The new books are on display and being snatched up by our students!  Here are a few still available:

Meanwhile, some oldies-but-goodies are being displayed, just in time for fall celebrations.  Here are some books for our beginning readers:

Something old, something new--something for all of our Stallion readers!

Stay tuned for upcoming details on our Fall Scholastic Book Fair!

It's Monday! What are you reading?

I am nearing the end of my Bluebonnet Award Nominee reading pile!  This past weekend, I finished Amina's Voice by Hena Khan.

Amina is a Pakistani-American middle schooler learning to find her voice as she navigates through changing friendships, differences in cultural norms, and overcoming fears to share her talent.  Her best friend, Soojin, wants to change her name to suit her new status as an American citizen.  Soojin also wants to include Emily in their circle of friends, even though Emily was rude to them all through elementary school.  A visit from a Pakistani relative makes Amina question her musical talents, and the destruction of their Islamic mosque makes her wonder about the acceptance of their community.  

The heartwarming ending to Amina's Voice reminds us that the best things happen when people of all faiths and backgrounds come together and support one another.  This would be a great read-aloud in class, especially if you have students with Islamic and Middle Eastern backgrounds who could embellish upon the cultural details covered in the book.  Perhaps a food tasting would be in order upon completion!

It's Monday--have you read a book lately that opened your eyes to a new-to-you culture?

It's Wednesday! What's happening in the Sommer Library?

There were more Summer Beach Blanket Bingo diners in the library on Monday!  

We are winding down our "weeding by students" project.  Several books have been "rescued" by students from the tops of our shelves.  Ms Margocs and the teachers will evaluate the books that are left to decide what stays in our collection, and what can be donated to classroom and pop-up libraries.

What's next to display?  Books on autumn, scary books, and NEW books to read!

We have our first author visit coming up in two weeks!  Donna Janell Bowman, author of Bluebonnet Award Nominee Step Right Up, will be visiting with fourth graders in the library to hone their library skills.

Read-alouds and lessons this week

Kindergarteners are reading along with Egg, by Kevin Henkes.  They squeal at the surprise twist, and Ms Margocs loves the ending that focuses on friendship.

First and second graders are studying our Depth and Complexity icon of "Big Ideas" with Oliver Jeffers' Here We Are: Notes for Living on Planet Earth.

Third graders are exploring the databases on our iPads, fourth graders are reviewing genres and getting a taste of the Bluebonnet nominees, and fifth graders are logging in to Noodletools and practicing citations.

Next week, we will begin our countdown to our Fall Scholastic Bookfair; stay tuned!

It's Monday! What are you reading?

It may have been a bit warm today, but the previous days of rain and cooler temperatures have my thoughts turning to fall.

The books pictured are from my own shelf at home.  I loved buying seasonal books for my children and reading with them when they were little, then pulling them out again in years to come when they were reading on their own.

We've got some wonderful books in our library collection on autumn, including:

We can help you find a great book about this upcoming season! 

It's Monday; what are your favorite autumn books to read?

It's Thursday! What's happening in the Sommer Library?

We had diners in the library this Monday!

Our readers who earned level C and D prizes on their Summer Reading Beach Blanket Bingo sheets redeemed their "lunch in the library" tickets.  Level D tickets included a friend!

This week in the Book Nook, we are listening to two different books.  Kindergarteners share the excitement of upcoming birthdays in When's My Birthday? .  We review the months of the year afterwards by polling the same question.

The first half of second grades are listening for big ideas in Oliver Jeffers' book Here We Are: Notes for Living on Planet Earth.  Jeffers wrote the book for his own newborn; his advice to be kind, take care of our bodies and the earth, and know that we are never alone on this planet tie in nicely with our emphasis on social-emotional learning this year.

First grades have a checkout-only week.  Third graders are exploring our online resources, fourth graders are reviewing genres and getting a taste of our Bluebonnet Award nominees, and fifth graders will be learning how to use NoodleTools for citations (along with Ms Margocs, who is learning about NoodleTools, too!).

Laptops and books for fifth and iPads for third, oh my!

In case you missed our Tweet:  Ms Margocs and Mrs. Woodul like to joke with patrons who check out cookbooks by saying they have to make something for their teachers and library staff.  In five years, only two students have taken us up on our joke.  The second treat arrived in the form of Princess Popcorn!

Reminders:

• K-1 students were issued a large plastic bag for their library books.  Please remember to keep their books in the bag when they are not reading them.
• Water and food are the top causes of book damage in our library.  Please keep water bottles separate from library books in backpacks, and don't eat over your books.
• Page rips are also common.  Students are taught to turn the pages at the corners, not the middle.  Older students need to be especially careful of removing sticky notes from their books.
• Books are due two weeks after checkout! 
• Sommer PTA's "Stuff the Boots" fundraising campaign begins Monday, September 17th!  Our library benefits in many ways:  funds for author visits, library supplies, club needs, and books for the library and classroom book clubs.  Your generous donations go far in providing great opportunities for our students!

It's Monday! What are you reading?

When I started graduate school to become a librarian, I also started collecting books about libraries.  I was so excited when I heard about this book that I pre-ordered it, and it arrived a couple of weeks ago!

Lost in the Library: A Story of Patience and Fortitude is by Josh Funk and illustrated by Stevie Lewis.  It's based on the two lion statues outside the New York Public Library:

Photo from Flickr by Dave and Margie Hill,
https://www.flickr.com/photos/the-consortium/3062026995

Fortitude loves hearing Patience's stories, but just before dawn, he awakens and finds Patience gone!  We get an inside peek at the highlights of this historic building while Fortitude explores the library in his search for Patience.  He eventually finds his partner--and the source of those stories.

I love collecting library-themed books!  Do you collect books on a specific topic, too?  What is the theme and your connection to it?

It's Wednesday! What's happening in the Sommer Library?

Welcome back from our long weekend!

We are in the second week of a lesson cycle, which means the other half of fourth and fifth grades are delving into our research resources, while the other half of third grade is reviewing genres and our new Bluebonnet Award nominees.

Third through fifth grades: remember that you can access the signature pages for our Bluebonnet Reading Program on our Sommer Library website.  Read five to vote in January on your favorite nominee!

We will be focusing a lot on social-emotional learning in the library this year.  This week, kindergarteners are recognizing the importance of including others while we read the book Can I Join Your Club? by John Kelly.  We've also discovered that Ms Margocs does not know how to make a proper elephant trumpeting sound; she would not be able to join the Elephant Club.  (But that's okay, because Duck's club is much more inclusive!)

Thank you to the volunteers who have begun shelving books, and to our teachers who are adapting to our new book return schedule!  Our circulation desk is running a bit more smoothly thanks to their efforts.

Once our September weeding-by-checkout is done, we will be displaying our newest books!  Here's a sneak peek at some of the upcoming titles:

See you soon in the library!