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

 It's the second week of our regular library visits via Google Meet!  On deck this week:

PreK has been talking about community helpers in class, so Ms Margocs is reading Can I Be Your Dog? by Troy Cummings.  Arfy asks several community members to take him in, but in the end, a helpful person asks him to be her dog!

Kindergarten classes are Going on a Book Hunt--and if they are at home, they will go on a book hunt of their own!

First and second graders are going to review how to request books from the library and booktalk with Ms Margocs.

Third, fourth, and fifth graders are practicing the language of readers by reviewing book genres using a matching exercise on Schoology.  We're working together during the lesson, and they can have the opportunity to review it on their own afterwards.  We'll be using this knowledge to learn more about this year's Bluebonnet Award Nominees in a couple of weeks.

Speaking of Bluebonnet Nominees...there is a new way to track your Bluebonnet books on our library website--just fill in a Google form!  You must be logged into Chrome with your student account to access the form.

Ms Moss has been working hard to clean up our library; we are about halfway through!  We've also made a new Harry Potter section so all of our Potter fans will know where to go when we get back to in-person library visits.  Rick Riordan's books are on the other side of the shelves, for you Percy Jackson readers.

There will be big news soon about a new ebook resource coming to our library; stay tuned!

It's Monday! What are you reading?

 We are smack dab in the middle of Hispanic Heritage Month, which runs September 15-October 15.  So what better to add to my personal collection of books about libraries and librarians than Planting Stories: The Life of Librarian and Storyteller Pura Belpré by Anika Aldamuy Denise, illustrated by Paola Escobar.

I've been curious about Pura Belpré since I studied to become a librarian, when we were looking up literary awards to evaluate and enhance library collections.  From the American Library Association:

"The award is named after Pura Belpré, the first Latina librarian at the New York Public Library. The Pura Belpré Award, established in 1996, is presented annually to a Latino/Latina writer and illustrator whose work best portrays, affirms, and celebrates the Latino cultural experience in an outstanding work of literature for children and youth."

I now work in a dual-language campus, and we already have this book in Spanish in our collection.  I'm glad to add it to my own, and enjoyed reading how Belpré, an immigrant from Puerto Rico, became a librarian who made Latinx people feel welcome, seen, and heard in public libraries throughout New York and beyond.

I am also tackling another Bluebonnet Award Nominee this week:  Sweep: The Story of a Girl and Her Monster, by Jonathan Auxier:

I feel like I'm reading a modern version of Charles Dicken's Oliver Twist as told from the chimney sweep's perspective in Walt Disney's "Mary Poppins", with maybe a bit of little orphan "Annie" thrown in for good measure.  Nan was raised, and then orphaned by, a chimney sweep; it's the only life she's known.  She becomes an indentured servant of a cruel sweeper who puts a roof over the head of a ragtag bunch of children who work for him but offers little else in the way of comfort.  Nan is an expert climber of chimneys, but it's a dangerous job...and one day, she gets stuck.

I haven't read past that part yet!  I know that there's got to be a magical element about to appear, because of the title and the piece of charcoal that Nan has saved since her early childhood, the one that always seems to be warm...and now looks like it might have eyes...

It's Monday, and I'm celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month with a new picture book and working through the Bluebonnet Nominee list.  What are you reading this week?

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

We got new books for our library!

  

We are working on increasing the diversity in our collection and updating our nonfiction with relevant subjects.  Many of the new picture books are appropriate for older grades to share and discuss--so don't forget the picture books when using our Grab & Go delivery, third through fifth graders!

We added some fiction titles for older readers, too; Ms Margocs already checked out the first book in the Keepers of the Lost Cities series to read this coming weekend.

Regular library "visits" have started!  Ms Margocs is using Google Meets to maintain social distancing.  This is what we're doing this week during our fifteen minutes together:

PreK has been talking about how we are the same and different, so we're reading Happy in Our Skin by Fran Manushkin, illustrated by Lauren Tobia.  I've been told that the belly button pages are the favorites so far. 

Kindergarten and first graders have been talking about how they can be scientists, and first grade will be learning about plants soon, so we are sharing Seeds Move! by Robin Page.  We are being great observers, remembering the different ways seeds can be distributed.

Second grade will be discussing how government works for us, so we'll be sharing I Voted! Making a Choice Makes a Difference by Mark Shulman, illustrated by Serge Bloch. It's one of our Armadillo Readers' Choice books.

Third through fifth graders are being reminded about the process for getting books via our Grab & Go Curbside Delivery service, whether they are learning at home or at school.  We are also sharing the books we are currently reading--our classmates can be the best way to get book recommendations!

We still have several books out from the spring, and we have a new way to return them--our return bins have arrived!

There will be one placed on the portable side of the school each day for our at-home learners to drive up and return books.  Bins will also be placed in the two main hallways for our at-school learners.  Books will be "quarantined" for seven days prior to being checked in and placed back on the shelves.

Emails have started going out to remind our students about books checked out last spring that need to be returned ASAP!  If you have returned your books already--thank you!

It's been nice seeing your faces in our Google Meets, 'Dillos!  Keep on reading!

It's Monday! What are you reading?

I was saddened by the cancellation of our annual Texas Library Association conference this past spring, but it's hard to be sad about this result of the cancellation:  random shipments of advance reader copies of books, gifts from publishers, landing on my doorstep.  These showed up yesterday, from Chronicle Books/ Levine Querido imprint:

I was in the mood to read something hopeful, and The Blue Wings by Jef Aerts seemed like it might fit the bill (pun intended).  Right away, I was introduced to the family at the heart of the story:  narrator Josh and his older brother Jadran, their mom and her boyfriend Murad, who has just moved in with his daughter, Yasmin.  Without being told the diagnostic terms, we learn that Jadran, affectionately called Giant, has intellectual differences that cause impulsive and persevering behavior.  Jadran also has a giant caring heart, and when the family comes across a wounded crane, he insists on bringing it home and teaching it to fly once more.

The Blue Wings covers a lot of realistic fiction territory--blended families, teen angst, intense sibling love, neurodiversity, and the relationship between animals and humans.  It's a tender story, recommended for fourth graders on up.

The nation lost a powerhouse of law contained within the diminutive body of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Supreme Court Justice, who passed away last Friday.  We have a colorful biography of Ginsburg on our shelves in the AME Library--Ruth Bader Ginsburg: The Case of R.B.G. vs. Inequality, written by Jonah Winter and illustrated by Stacy Innerst.

Next on my list:  Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You: A Remix of the National Book Award-winning Stamped from the Beginning, by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi.  I will be reading it with fellow librarians in our district for a book study this fall.  I am looking forward to this collaboration, after reading Kendi's How to Be An Antiracist this past summer. 

It's Monday, and I'm reading an ARC and a book study assignment.  What are you reading for learning and for pleasure?

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

Thank you to the families that picked up books yesterday at our Grab & Go Curbside Delivery service!  Seems the new time might be a better fit for our learning community.

We still have quite a few requests on hold; be sure to pick them up at this Thursday's Grab & Go time from 5p to 630p.

Some of our students arrived on campus yesterday!  It was great to see them in the hallways and classrooms as we delivered some books that had been requested last week. 

This week's library lessons are asynchronous as teachers, students, and your library staff get used to the new schedule.  Kindergarten through second graders get to listen to our first Armadillo Readers' Choice book of the school year:  The Book Hog, by Greg Pizzoli.  It's a gentle reminder that books are for reading, and library books need to be returned!  On-campus students can return their books in the bin right outside the library door for now.

Second through fifth grades have a couple of videos to watch to remind them how to access our MackinVIA ebooks and find the ones that are a good fit and suit their interests.

Teachers are being asked to sign up for weekly fifteen minute library times for Phase 2 of student learning, so that we can have "live" lessons via Google Meet!  Weekly library time for book talking and skillbuilding helps to support literacy efforts in our school.

We had an in memoriam book request for the library.  Mr. Partida's father loved horses and horse racing; here are the books chosen in his memory:

Next week, we'll go over the procedures for in-class book delivery and book quarantine to keep our students and staff healthy.  Keep reading, 'Dillos!

It's Monday! What are you reading?

If ever I had an incentive to learn Spanish, I have one now--my "new" library gig is on a dual language campus.  And while my aptitude to retain foreign languages has been lacking in the past, my ability to pronounce words in Spanish, Italian, French, and German has always been pretty decent.  There is a large collection of books in Spanish in the library, and so I chose one with a subject dear to my heart--monarch butterflies.

I love the layout of Señorita Mariposa by Ben Gundersheimer, illustrated by Marcos Almada Rivero.  The lines alternate between the Spanish and English translations, making it a perfect book for our dual language classes.  It is considered an "Everybody" book, but does have factual information about the amazing journey of the monarchs from the northern regions of the United States to Mexico and back again.

Here are some photos of butterflies I helped along, from a few years ago: 

It's been fun practicing my Spanish as I read aloud Señorita Mariposa.  When I get the chance to share it with a class, I think I'll read it once through in English, then again in Spanish, so everyone can enjoy the rhythm of both languages.

It's Monday, and I'm reading a book to help me learn a new language!  Have you tried learning a new-to-you language using picture books?

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

Teachers came back to campus yesterday!  Ms Margocs and Ms Moss were busy checking kits and materials in and out as teachers prepared their rooms for virtual and face-to-face teaching.  We won't have students come to the library for awhile yet, as we will be avoiding traffic in common areas, but we will offer book delivery to classrooms when students return!  Ms Margocs is also working with administrators for scheduling more synchronous lessons with both virtual and at-home learners.

All classrooms received a new screen, including the library!

It is super-cool--a touch screen and computer all-in-one!  It's going to be fun to use as we practice library and research skills, even if from a distance.

Ms Margocs has been meeting with classes during their morning time with teachers, and students have been asking some great questions.  One question was about the library--will it look a lot different when students can come back to it?  It will look a little different--we haven't moved furniture yet, but we have moved some books.  The graphic novels now have their own short shelves.

This has given us more room to shift nonfiction books.  We're also weeding out some books that no one has checked out for over four years to make room for newer books--which are on the way!  Our first shipment arrived today-- Bluebonnet books and new read-alouds. 

Don't forget about our Grab & Go Curbside Delivery Service!  We have quite a few books checked out that haven't been picked up yet.

Tuesday mornings were not bringing any visitors, so next week, Tuesday pickup times are changing to the afternoon--130p to 230p.  Thursday pickup times will remain from 5p to 630p.  Remember that the pickup is on the portable side of the school.  Grab & Go service will continue as long as we have at-home learners.

We'll see your faces in Google Meets this week, 'Dillos!  Keep on reading!

It's Monday! What are you reading?

 Well, 'Dillo readers, it is Monday...and I have no new books to report.  I am still working on the last three I picked up--Echo Mountain, They Call Me Güero: A Border Kid's Poems, and The Everything I Have Lost.  Seems I have bitten off more than I can chew at the moment!  

This is a good time to remember that reading isn't just something we do with books.  We read words in all sorts of ways:

• cooking directions on food containers
• emails
• blogs (you're reading now, right?)
• text messages
• medicine bottles
• Facebook and Twitter posts
• shopping signs and websites
• road signs
• weather reports
• video game chats and narration
• captioned commercials
• washing instructions on clothes tags.

I came up with a dozen ways we read; can you add some more?  This is why learning to read, and to do it well, is so important--we use reading every day!

It's Monday, and I'm still working through three different books--have you ever taken a long time to finish a book?  Do you think about all the reading you do every day besides books?

(Tags for sale on Etsy by SeanLabels.)

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

 

Our Grab & Go Curbside Delivery Service began yesterday!  We had some orders for books, but didn't have any pickups; be sure to come by tomorrow evening from 5p to 630p to get your books!  We will keep placed orders on hold for one full week, so yesterday's orders will be held through next Tuesday--then they get checked back in.

Don't remember how Grab & Go works?  Head on over to our library website for directions on how to place a hold or request a book bundle and curbside hours.

 AME Library Website

Ms Margocs has been visiting classes during their Meet times with their teachers.  After introductions, we've been reviewing curbside service with the older students and learning our read-aloud prep songs with our PreK-1 classes.  PreK-2 classes also got their first "lesson" pushed out on Schoology--a read-aloud about library book care.  (A shout-out to Mrs. Mensing, the librarian at Sommer Elementary, for the title reminder!)

Ms Moss and Ms Margocs are still working on straightening up the library and making room for the new books that are being ordered this week!  We will have all the new Bluebonnet Nominees soon, as well as our Armadillo Readers Choice and several Texas 2x2 books for our read-alouds.

Hope to see you soon at Grab & Go Curbside Delivery, 'Dillo Readers!