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

Our Fall Scholastic Book Fair is going on right now!

Our volunteers are super-CREATIVE!

Thank you for loaning us your unicorn, Mrs. Manning!

Our amazing volunteers have created an enchanted forest for book shopping.  Purchases support our library program:  online databases, author visits, Bluebonnet Breakfast, library supplies, professional development, and of course--books!

We have two opportunities for giving back at our book fair this fall!

Teacher wish list bins are located on top of the shelves.  They are filled with books the teachers would love to add to their classroom library.  Purchase a book or two, add a gift sticker, and get ready to receive a huge THANK YOU from your classroom teachers!

Our local Girl Scout troop is collecting book donations for Bluebonnet Elementary, another RRISD school.  There is a basket for donations at the gift giving counter.

There is still plenty of time to shop!

Our shopping hours are:

Thursday, 11/1     715a-415p

Friday, 11/2      715a-615p (PTA Movie Night!)

Monday, 11/5      715a-noon

Can't find what you like?  Shop online through November 9th!

Book orders are individually packaged and delivered to the school with no shipping fees.  Online purchases still benefit our library!

Thanks for supporting our library program!  Happy Book Shopping!

Ms Margocs was feeling gnome-y for Book Character Day!

Thank you, Mrs. Varljen and Mrs. Wafford, for supporting our book fair!

It's Monday! What are you reading?

Last night, I began reading a book that I picked up from the review table at our last librarians' meeting.

I may have mentioned that I'm drawn to titles with the word "library" in them...so naturally, I chose The Extraordinary Journeys of Clockwork Charlie: The Library Machine by Dave Butler.  

I read the dust jacket summary, and realized that this was a continuation of a series.  I haven't read the previous books, but decided to give this a try; some series don't have to be read in order to understand the story.  This one does, I think.  I was quickly greeted with terms I didn't understand, and an archenemy with a backstory that I need to know to appreciate the plot.

This much I did figure out:  The Extraordinary Journeys of Clockwork Charlie is an adventurous steampunk series involving a mechanical boy and a group of his friends who are fighting the evil Iron Cog.  There are machines and mythological creatures coexisting in Butler's reinvention of our own world, which includes settings in real countries--this story opens in Germany.

I'm going to abandon this book for now, and seek out the first two books in this trilogy.  I think I'll enjoy the story much more by doing so!

It's Monday!  What books have you started and put down?  What series have you been reading lately?

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

THANK YOU for your donations to our annual Coins for Coats fundraiser!

Our school raised over $1220 to help buy coats for students in need right here in Round Rock ISD. Mrs. Baker's class in K-2 and Mrs. Knicky's class in 3-5 were our top contributors!  They received their prize of mini squishies yesterday.

In other news...our book fair arrived yesterday!

We will set it up on Monday.  Teacher preview is Monday after school; K-2 student preview is on Tuesday, and we will open for shopping after school that day!  If you would like to volunteer, please click here. 

Here are our shopping hours next week:

October 30th, Tuesday:  230p-430p

October 31st, Wednesday:  715a-415p

November 1st, Thursday:  715a-415p

November 2nd, Friday:  715a-615p (PTA movie night!)

November 5th, Monday:  715a-noon

Library read-alouds and lessons this week:

Kindergarten classes are listening to the nonfiction Baby Penguin's First Waddles, aligned with their animal study unit: 

First grade classes have a checkout week.

Second grade is finishing up The Bad Seed, discussing emotion management and empathy.

Third through fifth grades are taking a tour of our nonfiction shelves to become more independent in their use of the library.

Please note:  the library is closed this Thursday and Friday for hearing and vision screenings.  Ms Margocs will be doing read-alouds and lessons in the classrooms for those that are missing library time.  We will have library in the lobby those days for those who need to return and check out books.

Hope to see you at our book fair next week!

It's Monday! What are you reading?

I have to admit, I was never one who liked princess stories much...until I read Gail Carson Levine's Ella Enchanted.  I liked the movie, and I loved the book.  Levine's princesses are strong and skillful protagonists, and I was excited to see Stolen Magic on the review books table at our librarians' meeting.

Elodie isn't a princess...but she is an assistant to Meenore, a dragon who can sense when something is wrong and is a specialist in solving puzzles and finding lost things and people.  They are accompanied by an ogre, His Lordship Count Jonty Um and his dog, Nesspa.  This story begins on a boat as they near the island of Lahnt, Elodie's homeland.  

The group plans on journeying to Elodie's parents' farm, two weeks away by oxcart.  Just days into their travels, they are caught in a blizzard and rescued by High Brunka Marya--who has a problem in need of solving.  If a missing statue isn't found, the whole island may be in danger of a volcanic eruption!  Can Elodie and the detective dragon save Lahnt?

Fast paced books with a touch of magic are fun reads for me!  What are some favorite themes and details of books you like?

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

Our library was THE popular venue on Monday!

After broadcast, we started with the fourth and fifth grade spelling bee rounds.  Over twenty students from each grade competed for ten final slots.  Good luck to the twenty total spellers moving on to our campus spelling bee in November!

Library set up to host preliminary spelling bee rounds

The afternoon brought fifth grade to the library to present their PBL on the American colonies.  Their task was to convince fourth graders to settle in their colony, using dioramas, persuasive speech...one group even had a song!

Ms Margocs met with her PTA Library Support team to discuss decorations for our upcoming book fair.  Less than two weeks to go before students and parents will get to shop in our Enchanted Forest of books!

Ms Margocs has her gnome hat ready!

Our Coins for Coats drive starts TODAY, and lasts through Friday.  Your spare change can go far in helping Round Rock ISD students stay warm this winter!  The K-2 class and 3-5 class with the biggest donation amounts will win a class set of mochi squishies!

With our wet weather, we are seeing more wet books.  Please protect your books in your backpack from rain and water bottles; placing them in a large plastic bag helps.

Lessons this week:

Kindergarten through second grade students are listening to The Bad Seed by Jory John and discussing empathy and emotion management, two of our social-emotional learning concepts.

Third through fifth grades are wrapping up our district technology survey.

And we have a few new books in the library!

Keep on reading; see you in the stacks!

It's Monday! What are you reading?

There are all sorts of spooky and mysterious books on display in the library right now.  One of them is Lemony Snicket's The Composer is Dead:

Written with the same snarky humor as Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events, this unrelated picture book is illustrated by Carson Ellis and includes a CD of music by Nathaniel Stookey.  It opens with the demise of a composer, and takes the reader on a tour of the orchestra in search of the culprit.  The instruments are questioned section by section, and we are left to solve the mystery.  Perhaps listening to the CD will help?  Fans of classical music and Snicket's unique writing style will enjoy the wordplay in this quick read.

It's Monday!  What's your favorite mystery or spooky book?

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

Our annual Coins for Coats fundraising challenge will begin next Wednesday!  Please donate your spare change to help provide coats for RRISD students who are on the free/ reduced lunch program.  Every penny helps!  The collection runs from Wednesday, October 17th through Friday, October 19th.


We've had staff development and parent conferences for the last two days, so it's a short week for students.  Our focus for this week is to get new books into everyone's hands, so kindergarten through second grade will be checkout only this week.

Our district tech survey window opened, so third through fifth graders will be taking the survey during their library visits.

Ms Margocs compiled the library's August and September statistics yesterday, and...wow!  Look at those circulation numbers for the first six weeks of school!

We couldn't keep up with our shelving without the help of volunteers and WatchDOGS.  Sign up to volunteer!

Can you believe that our Fall Scholastic Book Fair is less than three weeks away?  There is a special incentive for the first five $75-or-more purchases--a giant squishy!  The funds we raise through our book fairs are used for online databases, books for students, our Bluebonnet Reading Program and Breakfast, library supplies, and professional development.

Thank you for all the ways you support our library and our community!

It's Monday! What are you reading?

Every time we get a box of new books for our library, it feels like Christmas!  I start shopping for books months ahead of the actual purchase (I've already started my Fall 2019 list!), and I tend to put in big orders, so I often forget what's coming in until it arrives.

Such was the case this past week.  While putting the new books on display, I came across Aaron Becker's A Stone for Sascha.

I was already in love with Becker's work from his Journey trilogy of wordless books, which is why, I'm sure, I ordered this new one.  A Stone for Sascha opens with an emotional bang as we watch a family bury a beloved pet.  It quickly cuts to a beach where the family is vacationing.  As the young girl grieves her loss by tossing stones in the ocean, we are whisked through time, back to the dinosaurs and asteroids and catastrophic earth events.  Large stones become monoliths, then carved totems, breaking down as time marches on.  

Becker reminds us--and the girl--that there are cycles to life, of building up and breaking down.  This book is intended for elementary students, but is so epic that all ages can bring their perspective to this story.  A Stone for Sascha is a beautiful gift to those who are grieving, going through tough transitions, or just need to be reminded of the grandeur of time.

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

New books, scary books, fall books--it's what students are checking out these days!

Screenshot from a search for "scary" in our online catalog--just a few examples!

Ms Margocs is reading three different books to our K-2 crowd:

Kindergarten--is Frank still a spider if he only has seven legs?


First grade--did Square really plan a sneaky trick on Triangle?













Second grade--how does art make us feel?

It's the second week of the lesson cycle for 3-5 grades, so the other half of third and fourth are learning about using the online catalog to find good fit books, while fifth grade is reviewing genres and this year's Bluebonnet Award nominees.

Using Nearpod on the iPads to learn about our online catalog.

Fourth grade will be visiting with Donna Janell Bowman tomorrow for a writing workshop in the library!

We had another baker bring us goodies last week, using a cookbook from our library collection.  Yummy butterscotch fudge!

One of our favorite local authors, Bethany Hegedus, has written a picture book biography of Harper Lee, author of To Kill a Mockingbird.  We're excited to add Ms Hegedus' book to our collection!

We are seeing more wet books in the library.  Please keep water bottles away from library books in backpacks and on desks, and make sure they are protected from rain. 

We circulated over eight thousand items in September!  That is why we are so grateful for our volunteers who help shelve our books.

Our Fall Scholastic Book Fair is less than a month away!

Hope to see you in the stacks this week in our Sommer Library.  Keep on reading!

It's Monday! What are you reading?

I am in scanning mode as a reader again, with four books going on at once.

One for pleasure:


Two for professional development:




And one more towards completing the Bluebonnet nominee list:


So in the interest of having a completed book to review, I chose an impulse buy--The Little Book of Fika: The Uplifting Daily Ritual of the Swedish Coffee Break by Lynda Balslev.

It really is a little book--just four by five inches, and not even an inch thick.  But it holds 160 pages extolling the virtues of the simple life, such as taking a break for coffee, sweets, and camaraderie.  Many of the pages are thought-provoking quotes about appreciating what you have, and others are simply fun, such as "Coffee doesn't ask silly questions.  Coffee understands." (page 46).  There are several recipes for drinks to warm the soul and sweets to tempt the tastebuds.   After reading this little book, I was convinced to delete several shopping emails and make myself a cup of herbal tea to send me off to sleep--not a bad influence for a book, I think.

Tonight, I'll get back to those four books with tasks attached.  This morning, however, I will take a moment to savor my coffee.

It's Monday!  What are you reading, and how has it influenced you?