It's Monday! What are you reading?

I switched over to a middle grade book that's been on my to-read pile for the past few months:  The Other Half of Happy, by Rebecca Balcárcel.

Quijana is a seventh grader whose family is refocusing on their Guatemalan roots to reconnect with family, at a time when all she wants is the familiarity at home to soothe her from the uncertainties of middle school.  She wants to fit in, not stand out!  This is a universal theme that crosses cultures, the adolescent need to form relationships outside of family and forge one's independent identity at the same time.  I hope to learn more about Guatemalan culture through this award-winning book.

I am still working through my bedtime reading of Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, and my morning personal growth books 180 Days of Self-Care for Busy Educators and Think Like a Monk.  My goal is to pick up a professional book to start this week, perhaps reading it during my lunch break.

It's Monday, and I juggle different kinds of reading by assigning times of the day for each.  Do you read more than one book at a time?  How do you organize your reading?

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

We are finishing up beginning-of-year preparations so that library visits can begin next week.  Our Story Castle is almost ready to be used again, too!

Back-to-school books are on display, as well as teachers' favorite children's books.

Our bulletin board outside the library shows that teachers are readers, too!  They have been doing a lot of reading for personal learning and professional growth.

We are continuing ID card making for our students this week, so they'll be ready to use for checkout next week.  This year we will return to smaller checkout limits, since students will be coming to the library weekly:

PreK and Kindergarteners--1 book a week

First and Second Grades--2 books a week

Third and Fourth Grades--3 books a week

Fifth Grade--4 books a week

We are excited to share stories and books with you again, Dillo Readers; are you excited about coming back to our library?

It's Monday! What are you reading?

I finally sat down to finish Scary Stories for Young Foxes, a Bluebonnet Award nominee and first in a series by Christian McKay Heidicker (the second one comes out next week):

I surprised myself by reading this book all the way through, because animal stories are not my preferred genre; I get too sad when animals get hurt, and this book had many scenes that tugged on my heartstrings.  I'm glad I did finish, though, because I was satisfied by the ending.  I think Scary Stories for Young Foxes will appeal to my animal loving students as well as those who like adventures through adversity, and I'm going to recommend it to my upper grade teachers as a read-aloud.

I'm moving on to another Bluebonnet nominee, Ways to Make Sunshine by Renée Watson.  This realistic fiction book is a bit shorter, focusing on family dynamics and changes that our school-aged scholars will certainly relate to:  dealing with older siblings, moving to a new house, problems at school.  Ryan, the main character, handles it all with kindness and a positive attitude.

It's Monday, and I'm working my way through this year's Bluebonnet Award Nominees!  What are you reading now, and what will you be reading next?

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

Welcome back to school, Dillo Readers!  The library program won't be in full swing for another week, but that doesn't mean we're sitting around reading books--wouldn't that be lovely, though!

We're welcoming students in the halls each morning, and welcoming classes to the library for ID picture taking. Batman Ducky is helping scholars focus on the camera. 

EVERYONE is getting a new badge this year, with a breakaway lanyard to wear it around their neck for library visits.  (Lanyards coming soon.)

Ms Margocs will be spending the next week rearranging some shelves, planning the year's read-alouds and getting the Story Castle ready for visitors sharing those books, setting up the library schedule with teachers, and prepping orientation lessons to help us be safe, respectful, and responsible in the library.

We're adding a new section in our collection: beginning chapter books!

There are lots more to shelve:

Dillo Readers, we're looking forward to seeing you in the library for your first regular visit soon!

It's Monday! What are you reading?

I finished The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune, and it was absolutely lovely.  I was laughing out loud and sighing with happiness as I read the last fifty pages or so.  YA readers on up, grab yourself a copy and prepare to be soothed and satisfied at the end. 

I have a stack of to-be-read books at the ready, and remembered this summer purchase:

I just started reading Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia last night, so I'm only a few pages in.  It begins like a Cinderella story, though the main character/ narrator is aware her life is similar to the fairy tale and dismisses the comparison.  I'm intrigued by the author's voice in this story, and by the casual acceptance that Mayan gods can walk among us mere mortals.  This will be an interesting bedtime read.

My kidlit choice of the week is to finish Scary Stories for Young Foxes, one of the Bluebonnet Nominee books that I started reading to myself during summer school:

We are hearing the scary stories involving the kits on the cover as they are being told to another group of young foxes.  Every now and then, we are jerked away from the stories to the storyteller talking with the group, reminding us of the actual setting.  This writing theme of parallel stories/ story within a story would be fun to explore with fourth and fifth graders.

I'm still making my way through Boogren's 180 Days of Self Care for Busy Educators and Shetty's Think Like a Monk for my morning reading.  I hope to pick up a professional book from my stack to start reading in the afternoon.

It's Monday, and I'm back to juggling several different books at different times of the day!  Do you read the same way? 

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

 The library isn't ready for students yet, but the decor is going up!

We even have four more carts for daily class book returns to the library.  New routines to help our library program run smoothly!

New books and a packed Bluebonnet Nominee section ready to go.

Are you ready to read, Dillo scholars?  We'll be ready for you to return soon!

It's Monday! What are you reading?

I may be back at work, but I'm holding on to these last few weeks before students arrive by reading another YA-to-Adult book, recommended by another librarian:

I needed a feel-good escape book after reading The Pull of the Stars (which was really good, but emotionally draining, especially since it's set in an historical pandemic, and we're in the middle of one ourselves).  The House in the Cerulean Sea gives me vibes reminiscent of Harry Potter (magical beings), "X-Men" (magical beings are feared by non-magical beings) and A Man Called Ove (quirky, lonely man main character).  It's just what I needed to escape the chaotic days of preparing for the school year.

Speaking of preparing for the school year...this is now my morning reading:

I have another of Boogren's earlier books, Take Time for You, but found the activities a bit daunting to keep up with.  180 Days of Self-Care for Busy Educators seems much more manageable, with daily or weekly suggestions organized by the quarters of the school year so it can be started at any time.  I'm already loving the first week's suggestion of incorporating music into the day and creating different playlists for different activities (i.e. morning energy, workouts, calming, sentimental reminiscing).

I'll be diving back into my kidlit pile next week; for now, it's all about soothing night reading and self-care mornings!

It's Monday; what are you reading to escape and/or plan these days?

It's Monday! What are you reading?

 It's August 2nd, and I'm back at work!  I've been reading a lot this last month--mostly young adult and grown-up books, because I know I will be reading a LOT of kids' books and professional literature over the next ten months.

YA/ Grown-up books:

The Library of the Dead by T.L. Huchu, the first book in the Edinburgh Nights series, was really fun to read. 

Ropa lives in a caravan (RV for us American English speakers) in post-catastrophe Edinburgh, Scotland.  In the author's creative setting, it is accepted that some people can communicate with ghosts and do so for a living, paid for delivering messages back and forth.  Ropa, a ghost talker, is confronted by a distraught deceased mother who desperately needs help searching for her missing (live) son.  In the search, Ropa finds a network of underground magic and new acquaintances that may just help her with her mission.

The Pull of the Stars: A Novel was recommended for me by the Multnomah County Public Library on National Tattoo Day, based on my tattoos.  

Nurse Julia works in the Maternity/Fever ward of an Irish hospital during the outbreak of the Spanish Flu.  The entire novel happens in three days, as she saves and loses patients and babies, and falls in love only to experience profound loss.  It was an interesting book to read just as our own pandemic numbers start to surge once again...but I am always up for birth stories, sad as they may have been during that time in history.  And I learned of the origin of the word "influenza"--I'll leave that a mystery for you to discover.

I FINALLY finished The Enchanted Hour: The Miraculous Power of Reading Aloud in the Age of Distraction by Meghan Cox Gurdon.

I am determined more than ever to provide read-aloud opportunities for all grade levels in my library next year, now thoroughly convinced by Gurdon of the extraordinary benefits academically, socially, and emotionally.

Children's books I read with my summer school LAUNCH students:

The Best of Iggy by Annie Barrows, a Bluebonnet Award Nominee--thought-provoking and funny and fun to read-aloud.

The Oldest Student:  How Mary Walker Learned to Read, also a Bluebonnet Nominee.

Monster-themed books for my younger students:

It's been nice to get back into a reading groove this summer.  Dillo Readers, you still have two weeks to squeeze in some summer reading!  I'm looking forward to hearing about what you read during our break from school.  See you in the library soon!