Monday, April 29, 2019

It's Monday! What are you reading?

There are times when, as a librarian, I feel the symptoms of "imposter syndrome".  It happened a few months ago; I was about to meet Kate DiCamillo and Chris Van Dusen, and realized I had not read a single Mercy Watson book, didn't even know they were on our library shelves!  (In my defense, we have over 20,000 items in our collection, and I'm still finding new-to-me books every day.)

Lately, the Roald Dahl collection has been calling my name.  I grew up reading Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator, but that was the extent of my experience with Dahl's work.  And then the ads for the Broadway production of Matilda graced my television screen...it was time I got caught up.
Image result for image of matilda by roald dahl red cover
This is what I'm reading this weekend.  I've set aside a half-dozen other half-read books to enjoy this tale of a neglected, brilliant child who is trying to find her place in the world despite the obstacles plunked in her path by her parents, headmistress, and school bully.  Just reading the descriptions of Matilda lost in a story makes me think of my own bookish childhood.  My reading stamina was much greater then!

It's Monday, and I'm getting caught up on a classic.  What classics are your favorites?  Which ones do you feel you missed reading, and can add to your to-read pile now?

Wednesday, April 24, 2019

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

More new books to finish out the school year!


Thank you to all of our second through fifth grade students who completed our end-of-year library survey.  We had 831 respondents!  Here are two of the questions:
Forms response chart. Question title: How was your library experience this year?. Number of responses: 831 responses.
Forms response chart. Question title: Did you find books you like to read?. Number of responses: 831 responses.
Here's what students like about our library:
A big thank-you to Mrs. Mensing, Ms Melton, and Mr. Weaver for taking care of the library while Ms Margocs was at the annual Texas Library Association conference!  You can read about her week here.

Lessons this week:

Kindergarten through second grades are reviewing our Armadillo books in preparation for voting for their favorite one next week!

Third graders are learning about internet safety--protecting personal information, being wary of strangers in online communication, and being kind digital citizens.

Fourth graders are working through a Nearpod lesson on reading comprehension by self-quizzing using the "W + H" questions.

Fifth graders are learning how to take notes and using advanced search with our Gale digital resources.

This is our last round of lessons in the library!  Summer reading materials will be going home in a few weeks.  All books are due back in the library on May 10th!

See you in the library this week!