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

Our Arctic Adventure Scholastic Book Fair, that's what's happening!

We have fabulous volunteers and a great artist/library assistant who take this

and turn it into this

Our shopping hours are:

Wednesday, October 30th 230p-430p

Thursday, October 31st 715a-415p

Friday, November 1st 715a-615p (PTA Movie Night!)

Monday, November 4th 715a-noon

Don't forget to treat your teachers to something nice, too!  Check out their wishlist boxes to purchase books for your children's classroom libraries.

The funds we raise from book fairs help pay for author visits for every grade level, our Bluebonnet Reading Program, library books and supplies, books for our classroom and literacy libraries, and professional development opportunities. 

Thank you for supporting our library program by purchasing books

 at our Arctic Adventure Scholastic Book Fair!

It's Monday! What are you reading?

I finished Scar Island, the book by Dan Gemeinhart that was featured in last week's post.  Then I moved on to The Bridge Home, a book we purchased for the library last year.  

Emily Kupersztoch, the librarian at Elsa England Elementary, mentioned it the other day when we were discussing "windows and mirrors" books, so I thought it would be good to check it out.

We know from the dust jacket blurb that Viji and Rukku are sisters living on the streets of Chennai, India; we find out why within the first few pages.  Instead of dwelling on the reasons, the story moves quickly to the sisters leaving home.  Viji feels responsible for her cognitively-impaired older sister, and is resourceful in finding work, food, and shelter.  She intuitively avoids the dangers posed by predatory adults, a detail that may escape younger readers as the situations aren't always fully explained by the author.  

I've read a third of The Bridge Home, and I'm hoping for a happy ending for Viji and Rukku, even as the story's opening hints at their separation.

Imagine my surprise when I glanced at the new 20-21 Bluebonnet Award Nominees list, just announced this weekend!

Do you see it, down in the bottom right corner?  We also have Greystone Secrets #1: The Strangers, No More Poems, What Do You Do With A Voice Like That?, and If I Built a School already on our shelves!  Whoohoo!  Of course, we'll be buying more copies in the spring so our students can get a jump start on the Bluebonnet Reading Program for next year.

It's Monday, and I'm reading one of the new Bluebonnet Award Nominees!  What are you reading this week?

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

New books arrived last week!
Favorite series, updated nonfiction, and some new-to-us titles.

We are adding diverse books to our collection, as well as updating our holiday offerings. 

We are back on a regular schedule this week--and it's read-alouds for EVERY grade level!  Our older students are always asking to return to the Book Nook, so they get to listen this week, too:

Halloween Pie by Michael O. Tunnell is one of Ms Margocs' favorites.  It looks scary, but is really about an act of kindness.  Students have a chance to use their inference and visual literacy skills as they figure out just what happened to the graveyard creatures.

We are one week away from our Fall Scholastic Book Fair!  

Click here to volunteer at our Book Fair!  

Please note that there may be incorrect dates on the flyer stickers.  Our shopping days and times are:

Wednesday, 10/30  2:30p-4:30p

Thursday, 10/31  7:15a-4:15p

Friday, 11/1  7:15a-6:15p (Late night--PTA Movie Night!)

Monday, 11/4  7:15a-noon

Thank you to all who donated to the Round Rock Area Serving Center's Coins for Coats fundraising drive!  We will announce our totals soon.  Ms Leal's first grade class and Mrs. Solis' third grade class were our biggest contributors; each class will get five books to add to their classroom library!

Thanks also to Mrs. Whitney's first grade class for writing persuasive letters, convincing me to reopen our magazine section.  They have promised to spread the word about keeping it neat and organized.

Wishing everyone a happy Diwali celebration this weekend!

It's Monday! What are you reading?

This book has been sitting on my to-read pile for awhile.  It seemed fitting to read it in these days leading up to Halloween, with its scary-sounding title:

I really liked Dan Gemeinhart's Some Kind of Courage and Coyote Sunrise.  This story does not begin like either of those!  Scar Island opens as our handcuffed main character, Jonathan Grisby, is transported via motorboat to a reformatory school--really a prison--for delinquent boys.  The former "insane asylum" resides on a small, crumbling island.  The adults who run the "school" remind me of the crass, brutish characters in Dickensian stories.  We don't have to witness their cruelty for long, however; a twist of fate brings a moment of nature's fury upon the wardens, and frees the boys from their abuse.

What happens next makes up the crux of the story.  Should the boys attempt to go home, or stay on the island unfettered by adult rules?  I'll be reading Scar Island this week to find out.

It's Monday!  What book on your to-read pile are you reaching for this week?

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

A writing workshop with Stephen Swinburne--that's what happened today!

Our fourth graders were treated to a visit with Stephen Swinburne, where they learned about his books and how to write with vivid details.  We had four sessions to fit in all eleven classes; Mr. Swinburne is a trooper!!

Students were still able to return and check out books from our Library in the Lobby during our author visit.  Thank you, Mrs. Melton, for keeping that open today!

It will be another Wonky Week to finish us out.  We have checkouts by class appointment all day Thursday.  On Friday, Ms Margocs is pronouncing the words for the Spelling Bee in the library in the morning; we'll reopen for checkouts by class appointment for the rest of the day.  

We'll be on a regular schedule next week.  The week after is....BOOK FAIR!!!

Please consider signing up to volunteer for the fair.  We need help with decorating, setup, student preview, running registers, and takedown.  

Sign up to volunteer!

Many thanks to our regular volunteers who come in weekly and shelve books!  You are greatly appreciated!

It's Monday! What are you reading?

I'm catching up with a book from our librarian meeting review table today.

I have a sentimental attachment to Calpurnia Tate; a friend gave me a signed copy of  Jacqueline Kelly's book, The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate, as a gift when I earned my library science degree.  Kelly has since written a sequel to the original title, and more recently embarked on a related series for younger readers--Calpurnia Tate, Girl Vet.  I picked up the third book, Who Gives a Hoot?, in which Calpurnia rescues a barn owl from the San Marcos River.

The Girl Vet series is a wonderful introduction to the world of Calpurnia Tate.  The setting is turn-of-the-century Texas, not too far from our home here in Austin.  These are short books--only 106 pages or so--perfect for beginning chapter readers.  In Who Gives a Hoot?, Kelly inserts some facts about history (Grandpa fought in the Civil War, for the South), archaeology (Calpurnia and Grandpa were returning from a fossil hunt when they rescued the owl), and biology (including scientific names of animals and interesting owl habits).  There's a nod to human's ecological impact when Calpurnia figures out just how the owl fell ill.

Calpurnia Tate: Girl Vet will appeal to budding scientists and historians alike.  It's Monday; what are you reading today?

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

There's a bit of remodeling going on in our library!

In the interest of more floor space and visibility, we're moving our touchscreen LCD panel off the cart and onto the wall.  Lowering the shelving is the first step.  We had some empty shelves on that side of our nonfiction section, so there should be a minimum of rearranging once we get the books back where they belong.

We've received another round of new books!  

Our "windows and mirrors" collection is expanding.  We have also included more books in languages other than English for our Spanish, Korean, Hindi, Chinese, and Vietnamese speaking readers.

Lessons and read-alouds this week:

Kindergarteners are thinking about animal needs, community helpers, and kindness as we follow Arfy's attempts to find a home in Can I Be Your Dog?.

Lights out in the library as our first graders explore our solar system and beyond with the SkyView app on our iPads!  They've been able to spot several of the planets in our solar system, as well as the Moon, constellations, the Hubble Telescope, the Sun, and the International Space Station!

The other half of second grade is learning about Mary Edwards Walker, one of the first women to wear pants and the only woman (so far) to receive the Medal of Honor for her service as a surgeon in the Civil War.

The second half of the third grade classes is taking the district summer reading survey.

Fourth and fifth graders are learning about this year's Bluebonnet Award Nominees, and what it takes to earn their invitations to vote, attend the Bluebonnet Breakfast, and get a free book off of next year's list!  We're doing a review of genres and watching the Bluebonnet book trailers to practice.

Next week, Stephen R. Swinburne will be here to teach our fourth graders how to write with great details!

Our Fall Scholastic Book Fair is around the corner!  First day of shopping will be after school on October 30th.

See you in the stacks at our Sommer Library!

It's Monday! What are you reading?

We can learn a lot from picture books.  And by "we", I don't just mean little ones sitting at our knees, being read to before bedtime or in the library.

Case in point:  over the last two weeks, I've read Sun: One in a Billion by Stacy McAnulty and Mary Wears What She Wants by Keith Negley.  
                         

I've learned some interesting facts as a result.  It may have something to do with the number of times I've had to read each book (we have a large campus, and I share our Armadillo Readers Choice books twenty-six times apiece).  I'm pretty sure the facts started sticking in my brain by the second or third read-aloud.

Details about the sun, such as

• the surface is hot enough to melt diamonds
• it takes eight minutes for the sun's light to reach Earth
• there are Southern Lights, like the Northern Lights
• the middle of the Sun rotates faster than its poles 
• the Sun's age--4.6 billion years down, 6 billion to go.

As for Mary wearing what she wants...I don't remember hearing about Mary Edwards Walker in my American history classes.  She broke societal taboos by insisting on wearing pants, got arrested several times for doing so, and went on to become a surgeon in the Civil War on the Union side.  She is the only woman yet to receive the military Medal of Honor.  Trailblazers like Dr. Walker provide the human interest stories that bring history to life!

It's Monday--what picture books have you learned from lately?

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

We are back to our regularly scheduled programming!  (At least for the next two weeks.)

October's book display themes:  fall, Halloween, night, being scared, scary books and mysteries.  (There are scary and creepy stories in fiction, too; Ms Margocs just forgot to take pics!) 

Our STEAM topic of the month is space--planets, stars, astronauts, and rockets.

Lessons this week:

PPCD/TWC is jumping into autumn with Who Loves the Fall?

Kindergarteners are learning more about objects in space--and the Depth and Complexity icon "Rules"-- listening to A Place for Pluto, a Texas 2x2 book.

First grades are also studying objects in the sky, so they are learning a lot of details about the center of our solar system with an Armadillo Readers Choice book,  Sun: One in a Billion.

Second graders are learning that sometimes rules are meant to be broken, applauding the efforts of Mary Edwards Walker in Mary Wears What She Wants, another Armadillo Readers Choice book.

Third graders are completing a district-wide summer reading survey.  The district is attempting to measure the impact of summer reading on academic progress during the school year.

Fourth and fifth graders are watching book trailers for our Bluebonnet Award nominees, and identifying the genre(s) for each book.

Speaking of summer reading...prizes for our Beach Blanket Bingo will be distributed over the next two weeks!  We will have a lot of friends enjoying a lunch in the library with friends of their choosing for completing all twenty squares.

It's October, which means we are officially counting down to our Fall Scholastic Book Fair!

Money from book fairs help fund author visits for all grade levels, library supplies, magazines, books for students and the library, Bluebonnet Award program registration and our Bluebonnet Breakfast, and professional development opportunities.  Please consider volunteering your time for setting up, running, and taking down our book fair.  The volunteer link will be going live soon.