Sunday, January 25, 2009

News From The Library--January 26, 2009


(Please press play)

Encyclopedia Brown: House of Cards by Donald Sobol

A Video Review by Detective McDolphin (aka Kenna)



This was a short week in the Library because of Martin Luther King Day on Monday.

Kindergarten--We had lots of fun reading and looking at Lois Ehlert's book Snowballs and imagining all the creative ways we could make snowdads, snowmoms, snowboys, snowbabies, snowcats, and snowdogs. Of course we have to travel to the snow.....doesn't get quite cold enough here in Santa Barbara, but we can dream.

Second Grade--Thanks to a generous donation from the Goligoski family we have a great new book in our Library about our very own Butterfly Beach. Written by local author Polly Caldwell Bookwalter, Butterfly Beach, tells the history of one of our favorite spots and how the monarch butterflies used to winter there. But with the advent of roads, houses, and hotels they had to find another spot until the people began to replant the eucalyptus trees and native vegetation to bring them back. The illustrations in this book are wonderful and styled like mosaic tiles.

Third Grade--We all loved Traction Man by Mini Grey when we read it last year as part of the California Young Reader Medal Program. Well this week we had a treat--a sequel. Traction Man Meets Turbo Dog is done in the same graphic novel style and tells the story of how the faithful Scrubbing Brush gets thrown out (too unhygenic) and replaced with the battery operated Turbo Dog. Not the best idea as Turbo Dog is not quite up to the adventures of Traction Man. In the end, Scrubbing Brush saves the day. Confused? You kind of have to be there to get it.....or better yet, check out this book. It's a winner!

Fourth Grade--Fourth graders helped me preview a new DVD I bought called Faux Paws: Adventures on the Internet. I purchased it in order to teach lessons to second, third, and fourth graders about internet safety. The two videos cover excellent points about not revealing personal information online and how to deal with online bullying. Fourth graders gave the videos a resounding "two thumbs up." You can learn more about helping your child be safe online at iKeepSafe.org. There are great tips for parents concerning what you should know about your child's activities online and how to talk to your children about how important it is to be responsible online citizens.

Fifth Grade--In Mrs. Pickles' class, we had a chance to read Mrs. Marlowe's Mice by Frank and Devin Asch and as well as being really impressed with the visual style of the book, students discussed some "lofty" ideas. I challenged the students to figure out the historical metaphor in the book--the imprisonment of the Jews by the Nazis--and the discuss the concept of ambiguity--whether or not it is okay to sometimes break the rules. A lively discussion followed!

Stay tuned next week for more great video book reviews--Book Clubs are in full swing!

No comments: