News From the Library--Feb. 15, 2010

Sorry to say that blogger.com is having huge problems with their videos. I have contacted them (along with lots of others) and hope they are working to fix this. You may get a message saying this video is not available. If so please try later. I will try to re-load the videos each morning if I can.

Bad Day for Ballet by Carolyn Keene

A Video Book Review by Josie & Olive

Happy President's Day! This was a short week for us due to the holiday on Friday.

Kindergarten--no library this week

First Grade--My Life as a Chicken by Ellen Kelley was our CYRM nominee this week. Pauline Poulet doesn't want to be the farmer's dinner so she takes off on a rollicking adventure. Her cry of "Pauline, Prevail!" delighted first graders (and we learned was prevail means, too). And prevail she did as she lands in a lovely petting zoo instead of ending up in a chicken pot pie. This delightful book was especially fun for us to read as Ellen Kelley is a local Santa Barbara author and her husband, John, is the architect who designed our fantastic library!

Second Grade--no library this week

Third Grade--Mrs. Campbell's class heard Do Unto Otters: A book about manners by Laurie Keller. This adorable book combines humor with some great lessons on how to be a friend. The students loved the illustrations. Mrs. Lewis' class heard Velma Gratch and the Way Cool Butterfly by Alan Madison and Kevin Hawkes. This is the charming story of a little girl who had previously lived in the shadow of her two older sisters until she finally gets a chance to stand out with her knowledge of butterflies and an especially exciting encounter with a monarch.

Fourth Grade-As part of Black History Month, fourth graders heard Diane Shore's wonderful book This Is The Dream. This book gives a perfect overview of the civil rights movement for fourth graders and it elicited a lively discussion afterward.

Fifth Grade--Also for Black History Month, fifth graders hear the poignant book Freedom Summer by Deborah Wiles. This is the story of two boys, one black and one white, who dream of being able to do things together, especially swimming. When the city pool becomes integrated after the passing of the Civil Rights Act in 1964, they think they finally will have that chance. But on the day the pool is to open a truck pulls up and fills the pool with asphalt. We had an interesting discussion about why this happened and how different things are today. The story does end on an upbeat note and brings forth the idea that change didn't take place overnight but in small steady steps. This is a book I highly recommend for older students.

Sixth Grade--To get in the mood for Valentine's Day, sixth graders heard the myth of Cupid and Psyche retold by Charlotte Craft. This is a visually beautiful book and students loved hearing the story and seeing all the "threads" that have been woven into fairy tales and literature.

News From the Library--Feb 8, 2010

Mercy Watson Crime Fighter by Kate DiCamillo

A Video Book Review by Maddi and Olive

Also in the Library this week...

Kindergarten--Kindergarten missed library this week but for a very good reason--our Annual Cold Spring Talent Show. Congratulations to the kindergarteners who participated!

First, Second, and Third Grade--This week we started one of our favorite events in the Library-- The California Young Reader Medal competition. Each year 5 books are nominated by children and librarians throughout California and students in these grades get the chance to vote for their favorite. Think of it as the Academy Awards for children's literature in California. In the Primary Catagory we have great nominees this year, including one that was written by a Santa Barbara author and the wife of the architect who designed our beautiful library! Beginning this week students in these three grades will hear the nominees, one each week. The choices this year are:

My Life As A Chicken by (our local author) Ellen Kelley and illustrated by Michael Slack
A Frog Thing by Eric Drachman
Do Unto Otters: A Book About Manners by Laurie Keller
Velma Gratch and the Way cool Butterfly by Alan Madison and illustrated by Keven Henkes
Millie Waits for the Mail by Alexander Steffenmeier

Fourth Grade-We concluded our Tall Tales unit by reading Sally Ann Thunder Ann Crockett by Steven Kellogg. Once again Mr. Kellogg had provided fantastic illustrations to accompany his story of the larger than life woman who was the legendary Davy Crockett's wife. Fourth graders enjoyed finding all the characteristics of tall tales in this great story.

Fifth Grade and Sixth Grade--To review Library terms and skills we played several great rounds of Library Jeopardy this week. In a stunning reversal, the 6th gradeboys' team bet all their cards on a daily double to catch up with the girls, forcing a tie breaker. Congrats to the girls for coming up with the correct "question" for: a unit of a video picture. Do you know the answer?
(What is a pixel)

Bookworms are really "crawling" in the Library as first and second graders are reading up a storm and keep watching for those video book reviews from our Red Dot Club.

News From The Library--Feb 1, 2010

Clementine's Letter by Sara Pennypacker

A Book Review by Gabriela & Olive

Also in the Library this week...

Kindergarten---A cat building a nest? How can that be? In The Perfect Nest by Catherine Friend, Jack the Cat has a hankering for omelettes. To lure a chicken to the barn he builds a delightful nest complete with pillows, a welcome mat, and colored lights. He gets his chicken all right but also a French speaking duck and a goose from the South! They all lay eggs and they all fight for the nest until he suggests they move to the next farm. What's left? Three lovely eggs. Three lovely omelettes, Jack thinks. But when the eggs hatch instead he finds himself the surrogate mother to three baby birds and he decides it was the perfect nest after all. Kindergarteners love the wonderful illustrations by John Manders making this the perfect read aloud for this age group.

First Grade--Owen wants to send a hug to his granny through the mail. Not a drawing of a hug but a real hug. The Giant Hug by Sandra Horning is a delightful story that also shows all the steps involved in mailing something from one side of the country to the other. And Owen's granny is so happy with her hug she sends a kiss back! Students love to imagine the story happening all over again in the opposite direction.

Second Grade--As part of our participation in the ADL program "No Place for Hate" I've purchased some new books for our collection. This week second graders heard Bullies Never Win by Margery Cuyler. This was the perfect book for this age group as they followed the story of how a little girl finally stood up for herself. I was amazed at how absolutely silent they were while I read the story. This was, I could tell, a subject they could all relate to. The message in the book was simple and really stressed how to handle a bully without "sinking" to their level. A great addition to our collection.

Third Grade--Teaching safe practices on the internet is so very important today and I feel we need to start as early as possible. Third graders discussed how to be safe when using the internet and then watched an excellent DVD called Faux Paws, Adventures on the Internet. This appealing video really stressed in simple terms how important it is not to reveal personal information on the internet and how to seek help from adults when encountering something that doesn't seem right. It's a lesson that will be repeated many times in our curriculum and this was a great start.

Fourth Grade, Fifth, and Sixth Grade--This coming Wednesday, Feb 3, will be our first official Battle of the Books lunchtime practice session. Students in grades 4-6 were reminded again how to join our Battle Team and watched a presentation about the Battle of the Book which will be held at the Santa Barbara County Schools Auditorium on April 15.

Sixth Graders also learned how to use Wonder Wheel on google. This is a great way to focus your searches on google. After you type in your subject and get your first results, you can click on the link that says "Show Options." Then click on Wonder Wheel and you get a graphic organization of many sub topics under your main topic. Students were also shown how to limit their searches to specific domains, especially .org, .gov, or .edu. This helps them narrow down results to websites that most likely will contain accurate information and be free of bias. To do this, type in your subject, then site:(domain you want). An example of this type of search would be: dolphins site:edu

News From the Library--January 25, 2010

Shoeshine Girl
By Clyde Robert Bulla

A Book Review by Devan and Olive

Congratulations to Red Dot Book Club member Devan for being our first video book reviewer this year!

(This was a short week in the Library due to the Martin Luther King Holiday....)


Kindergarten--Kindergarten just had checkout this week due to the wonderful Dancing Drums assembly.

First Grade-First Graders were treated this week to Steven Kellogg's version of Jack and the Beanstalk. I can still remember the chills I got when my father used to read the "Fee, fi, fo, fum" part and I had a great time reading it to the students this week. It is so reassuring to see that even our students of today with all their video input and sophistication are still absolutely transfixed by this old fairy tale. Mr. Kellogg's illustrations are fantastic and are a huge part of the appeal of this version.

And congratulations to 19 first graders who are now proud members of the Bookworm Club!

Second Grade--What if you woke up one morning and you were covered with stripes in every color of the rainbow? In David Shannon's A Bad Case of Stripes, Camilla Cream finds herself in this unbelievable dilemma. After enduring several unsuccessful cures, she finds that being true to herself and not worrying about what others think of her is the answer. This book, like all of Mr. Shannon's, wraps its subtle but powerful message is a delightful story enhanced by fantastic illustrations.

Third Grade--In order to learn about the literary concept of plot, third graders heard Tomi de Paola's enchanting book Adelita. Before reading the story I asked the students to summarize the plot of a Cinderella story which they did easily. Then as we read Adelita we compared and contrasted the difference in this Mexican version.

Fourth Grade--We continued our study of American tall tales with Steven Kellogg's rollicking version of Paul Bunyan.

Fifth Grade--Fifth Graders went on a Book Hunt this week and with their partners located different resources in our Library.

News From the Library--February 9, 2008

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The Old Fashioned Mystery by Carolyn Keene
A Book Review by Olive and Oakleigh

In the Library this week....

Kindergarten--This week we followed the further adventures of Walter and William in Tedd Arnold's No More Water in the Tub. As well as being a fun tale, this story gives students lots of time to make predictions and to recognize rhyme. They also enjoyed coming up with further adventures for Walter and William.

First Grade--We started our annual California Young Reader Medal program this week with a reading of The Perfect Nest, written by Catherine Friend and illustrated by John Manders. This delightful book is the story of Jack, the cat, who has a fondness for omelets. He constructs the perfect nest in hopes of attracting a chicken to lay an egg. He gets the chicken (who speaks Spanish) and a duck (who speaks French) and a goose (who speaks...well...Texan) and between their fights over the nest and the hatching of the eggs, Jack ends up with three little friends instead of his omelet. We have four more books to read before students will vote for their favorite but this one is a favorite already.

Second Grade--Second graders in Mrs. Seeple's class heard California Young Reader Medal nominee, Uncle Peter's Amazing Chinese Wedding by Lenore Look and illustrated by Yumi Heo. This is a lovely story that combines the interesting customs of Chinese weddings and a little girls sadness at "losing" her favorite uncle. In the end, however she discovers she has gained an aunt. Mrs. Campbell's class heard Hilda Must Be Dancing by Karma Wilson and illustrated by Suzanne Watts. This delighful rhyming story shows how Hilda the Hippos dancing causes great trouble in the jungle until she finds water ballet.

Third Grade--Stanley the dog is back! After his party (Stanley's Party), he's been relegated to the back yard and in Stanley's Wild Ride by Linda Bailey and illustrated by Bill Slavin, he makes his escape and ends up on a skateboard! Students love this funny story and it also gives us a chance to talk about the literary device point of view as the book is told in Stanley's voice.

Fourth Grade--In honor of Black History Month, we read This Is the Dream by Diane Z. Shore and James Ransome. This amazing book is a brief history of the civil rights movement told in poetry and illustrated by Jessica Alexander with drawings and collages of real images. It gives students just the right amount of history and the illustrations are a springboard to discussion and questions. It was especially meaningful to read this book this year after our recent election.

Fifth Grade--Fifth graders worked with me on the first part of their web site evaluation project. Together we looked at two websites about the solar system and checked them for authority, accuracy, and currency. Next week they will evaluate two websites on their own.

Sixth Grade-Sixth graders really enjoyed finding the problems in some of the websites they evaulated this week. Using our Skills Blog lesson "When in Doubt, Doubt!", they looked at two different websites and followed our protocol for evaluation. They discovered websites that were appropriate to use for information and some that, well.....were just plain silly!

News From the Library--May 5, 2008

Hello, Mrs. Piggle Wiggle
by Betty McDonald

A Book Review by Amanda and Olive

Also in the Library this week....

Kindergarten--Finding a "critter" and keeping it as a pet is something all children like to dream about. Anne Mazer's lovely book The Salamander Room is the musings of one little boy and his mother about what it would be like to have a salamander as a pet. The gentle back and forth between them has a rhythmic quality and the illustrations are magical. The interesting thing about this book is that it quietly explains why bringing a wild creature into the house as a pet would be an almost impossible task and that it is best left to daydreams.

First Grade--Poor BlabberMouse. He just cannot keep a secret. After annoying his friends and family to no end a solution must be found. His classmates and teacher come up with a novel approach and one that first graders thought was a very good idea. (And not something they had ever though of before....) True Kelley's sweet book gives a great example of creative solutions to sticky personal problems.

Second Grade--There is nothing like a classic fairy tale. I like bringing out a book and listening to the students say they have heard it before or seen it as a movie and then find that there is truly something different about having a story read to you. This week I treated second graders to Paul O. Zelinsky's gorgeous version of Rumplestiltskin. What a strange and odd tale this is but it is captivating and attention was paid by all.

Third Grade--to "celebrate" STAR testing this week, we read Testing Miss Malarkey by Judy Finchler and Kevin O'Malley. This is a very funny take on the whole achievement testing phenonemon in which the teachers and administration are more nervous about the test taking than the students.

Fourth Grade--Fourth graders finished their illustrations for their tall tale Keynotes and next week we will start to put the project together.

Fifth Grade--Fifth graders didn't have library this week because of the STAR tests.

Sixth Grade--We finished our drafts of the blog posts for the gods and goddesses project. Their plates have been fired and I will photograph them now. Next week they will make their final postings with their research and a photo of their plate. Stay tuned....

News From The Library--April 28, 2008

Aliens Don't Wear Braces
by Debbie Dadey

A Book Review by Taylor and Olive

Also in the Library this week....

Kindergarten--Mr. McGreely decided to plant a garden this year with yummy vegetables but 3 little bunnies have a different idea. Listening to Candace Fleming's Muncha, Muncha, Muncha! made kindergarteners giggle with delight as the bunnies kept getting into the garden despite Mr. McGreely's best efforts. We learned many prepositions as the bunnies went under, over, and through to get to those vegetables. And best of all, in the end we learned the power of sharing.

First Grade--First graders were researchers this week as they prepare to do their animal reports. With the help of my new document camera (thank you, Parent Club!) I showed students the different parts of non-fiction book and how to locate specific information. After that, students chose from our great collection of animal books.

Second Grade & Third Grade--We had fun this week reviewing different types of reference books--encyclopedias, atlases, almanacs, dictionaries, and thesauruses. First we used the document camera to look at each book. Then we played "Name That Book" using a Keynote with clues about the different books. And finally, each student was given a scenario of a research problem and had to decide in which book could they find the answer.

Fourth Grade--We continued to work on our Tall Tales this week. Next week, students will be illustrators and we continue to put together our Keynotes.

Fifth Grade--We played a rousing game of Library Jeopardy this week.

Sixth Grade--Sixth graders wrote their rough drafts of their blog postings on their god or goddess. In a few weeks, we'll post their research along with a picture of the ceramic plate they made in art.

Also, on Monday our Cold Spring Team participated in the Santa Barbara County Battle of the Books. Congratulations to our Team: Makala, Katie, Siena, Baylor, and Lauren. These great readers read as many as 30 books, passed a test, and practiced on their lunch hours in order to represent our school. A great time was had by all!

News From the Library--April 21, 2008

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The Witches by Roald Dahl

A Book Review by Ava and Olive

Also in the Library this week...

Kindergarten--Oliver the cat wants to stay out all night. At first it's fun....munching on moths, his owner finally let him in? Of course, but he doesn't want to let her know that he was the one who was concerned. Margaret Beames' book, Night Cat was enjoyed by Kindergarteners, who especially liked Sue Hitchcock's illustrations.

First Grade--First graders were off to Lake Cachuma this week and had so much fun they didn't make it back in time for library!

Second Grade--Using our wonderful new piece of equipment, our document camera, second graders learned about guide words in the dictionary and then using a xerox of an actual dictionary page, they found guide words, pulled a word out of our hat, and found their word on the page.

Third Grade--Last week, third graders heard about little Sweetness and how the sheriff "saved" her and the other other orphans. This week, we read the sequel, Raising Sweetness by Diane Stanley and illustrated by G. Brian Karas. Things at home are a little strange with peanut butter and pickle pie, but when a letter arrives and little Sweetness learns her letters to figure out what "that there letter said" things change. The sheriff's long lost love, Miss Lucy, returns and they all lived happily ever after---even though she doesn't know enough to put the raisins in the mashed potatoes! These charming books are filled with similies and metaphors and third graders had fun finding these literary devices.

Fourth Grade--This week fourth graders worked on their storyboards for their Tall Tales Keynote projects. It looks like we're going to have some real whoppers! Next week they will work on their laptops and begin their projects.

Fifth Grade--Once again we worked on our wiki, Random Research and Wacky Facts, but this time with an audience. We had many visitors from Apple Computer and teachers from around our county who came to see how amazing our students are with our 1:1 laptop program.

Sixth Grade--Sixth graders continued to work on their gods and goddesses research in preparation for their blog posting. Their god or goddess plates are being glazed and fired in art and in the next few weeks I will photograph them so they can be included in their blog posting.
Stay tuned!

News From The Library--March 3, 2008

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Zinnia's Magical Adventure by Pippa leQuesne

A Book Review by Olive & Bridgette

(Our video book reviews are a hit! We have four more already lined up for the weeks ahead! Stay tuned!)

Also in the Library this week....

Kindergarten--In honor of the celebration of Dr. Seuss' Birthday we read Thidwick the Big Hearted Moose. This is one of the "older" Dr. Seuss books and was the favorite of my two boys when they were young so it's always had a place in my heart. Thidwick is a good hearted moose who lets all kinds of animals and pests ride along on his horns because "a host, above all, must be kind to his guests." But when they endanger him and hunters have him cornered he remembers that "wonderful thing that happens each year to the horns of most moose, and the horns of most deer." The children love his triumph. Once again I was pleasantly amused at the rapt attention the kindergarteners pay to this story with its two color illustrations and longer passages of text. In this day when color and sound and motion are so attractive to them, it was the words and the rhythm of the words that kept them completely enthralled. Thank goodness for Dr. Seuss!

First, Second, and Third Grade-We read our next nominees for the California Young Reader Medal and are looking forward to voting next week!

Fourth Grade--Again, to honor Dr. Seuss, fourth graders saw a Keynote I prepared about Dr. Seuss and his work and had great fun remembering all the Dr. Seuss books they have read. Then I read them his prescient book The Lorax and we had a lively discussion of its implications for today. It's wonderful to hear students talking about hybrid cars, biofuels, and alternative energy as if those are things they assume will be in their futures!

Fifth Grade--Continuing with our lesson on what it means to have an "ethical online presence" fifth graders posted a blog comment this week. You can read their comments by going to the Library Skills Blog and looking in the comments section on the very first post. (They posted using my username or the library username and then put their intitals at the end.) This was a good way for them to actually practice what it means to post their work on a blog as well as to express their understanding of what it means to have an ethical online presence. My goal in these lessons is to introduce them to the new Web 2.0 tools that are available today but to also remind them that these tools change rapidly. What does not change, however, is their sense of personal ethics. What we learned in this lesson should be applied to any new tools in the future.

Sixth Grade-We are having fun with our Wiki! I'm learning right along with the students, too. We named our Wiki "Random Research and Wacky Facts." This week they posted their Tornado research from notes they had taken several weeks ago. Some had time to add a picture or two. We also started a page called Wacky Facts that anyone in the group can contribute to as long as they follow the rules for posting. This includes citing their fact, establishing that the fact comes from a reputable source, and signing their post with their initials only. My goal with the Wiki is to expose them to the way we can collaborate using Web 2.0 tools. Collaboration and the ability to work in this kind of web-based environment will be critical real world skills for our students. The technology will surely change by the time they are in the work force but the skills of flexibility, collaboration, and safe and ethical behavior online will always be important for success.

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Lavender's Mid-Summer Mix-Up

A Book Review by Junia & Olive

Also in the Library this week....

Kindergarten--In the spirit of our California Young Reader Medal Race, Kindergarteners heard last year's winner My Lucky Day by Keiko Kasza. Mr. Fox thinks that his favorite dinner has landed on his doorstep but it turns out he has to provide a bath, dinner with dessert, and a massage to the clever pig after which he faints from exhaustion and the pig goes home! We had great fun discussing how Keiko Kasza showed the emotions of the characters with the delightful illustrations.

First, Second, and Third Grade--We continued with our readings of the California Young Reader Medal Nominees this week. First Grade loved The Giant Hug, Second Grade enjoyed I Wanna Iguana, and Third Grade giggled over Henry and the Bucanneer Bunnies. I'm almost glad I'm not entitled to vote....it's going to be a hard choice and we have two more great books to go!

Fourth Grade--Fourth graders did some biographical research this week by picking a name out of our hat and then looking up information in our print encyclopedias. As wonderful as our online resources are I want to be sure our students can also find information in books. In a few weeks, they will post their research online on our new Library Wiki (see Sixth Grade).

Fifth Grade--What does an ethical online presence mean? Fifth graders this week were shown a Keynote presentation in preparation for next week's lesson on blog commenting and posting. I feel it is of utmost importance to teach our students how to be "digital citizens" in a world where technology will be a seamless part of their lives in both the workplace and home. We talked about not revealing personal information online as well as not writing personal attacks or uncalled for criticisms. If you would like to view the Keynote called "Commenting on a Blog" you can find it on the Library Web page under downloads. Next week fifth graders will post comments on our Skills Blog relating to this topic.

Sixth Grade--Together we took a leap this week into the world of Wikis! After discussing what a wiki is, each student got the chance to make their own "space" on our new Library Wiki. We discussed again what "digital citizenship" means and how behaving in an ethical manner online is so very important. Next week, students will post research on Tornadoes from notes they took three weeks ago. My purpose in introducing them to this Web 2.0 tool is to show that how collaboration can take place online. In their adult work lives this will be an important skill and while I'm sure the actual programs they will usemight look different from today's wikis, the skill of working online in this matter will be part of working in the digital world.

News From The Library--February 18, 2008

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Wild Cherry Makes a Wish by Pippa Le Quesne

Yet another great book review from Olive & Kenna!

Also in the Library this week....

Kindergarten-Kindergarteners were lucky enough to have their library time fall on Valentine's Day and to celebrate we read Eve Bunting's The Valentine's Bears. What's a romantic bear to do when they are hibernating on February 14? Mrs. Bear sets her alarm clock and surpises Mr. Bear with sweet summer honey, Valentine poems, and crunchy bugs! And Mr. Bear reciprocates with chocolate covered ants!

First Grade--This week we hear nominee number 2 for the California Young Reader Medal. I Wanna Iguana by Karen Kaufman Orloff and David Catrow is a story told in the exchange of letters between a mother and her son. Gradually he convinces her that an iguana is in his future. We decided this was a great tip for future negotiations with parents especially since his promise to take responsibility for his pet was the convincing point.

Second Grade and third Grade--Henry and his father don't see eye to eye at the beginning of the rollicking tale Henry and the Buccaneer Bunnies by Carolyn Crimi and John Manders. Instead of following his father's pirate ways, Henry wants to read all the books the pirates have inadvertently taken as bounty. But after a huge storm (predicted by Henry after reading his meteorology books) and the buccaneers are shipwrecked Henry saves the day with all of his knowledge. What a fun way to see the message that reading is truly important! And we learned a new literary technique as well--alliteration!

Fourth Grade--Mrs. Edwards' class heard This is the Dream by by Diane Z. Shore, James Ransome, and Jessica Alexander in honor of Black History Month. With incredible illustrations by that combine photos and paintings this book tells the story of the civil rights movement. The text is a poem and a powerful one at that. We discussed how far we have come as a country but how careful we must be to continue the lessons learned and that prejudice of any kind must never be tolerated. (Mr. Orr's class missed library this week because of a field trip to the symphony)

Fifth and Sixth Grade--When I asked fifth and sixth graders who is that little guy with the wings and the arrows that flies around on Valentine's Day they all knew it was Cupid. But did they know the Greek myth of Cupid and Psyche? M. Charlotte Craft's book Cupid and Psyche is a work of art. Illustrated lavishly by K.Y. Craft it beautifully retells the myth whose message-- of true love must be that of the heart and the soul--was perfect for Valentine reading. We also had great fun pointing to all the fairy tales and one Shakespearean play that have taken references from this ancient story.

News From The Library--February 11, 2008

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Another Great Video Book Review
The BFG by Sarina

We are really having fun making these video book reviews. Olive is enjoying it, too!

Also in the Library this week.....

Kindergarten--After reading No More Jumping on the Bed last week, we continued this week with William, Walter's brother, in No More Water In the Tub by Tedd Arnold. Big brother Walter turns on the water as fast as he can for that last minute and.....oh, no, the tub breaks loose from the wall and down the hall and out the door went William in his bathtub! Kindergarteners giggled as William goes down and down through the floors of his apartment building until he puts out a fire in the basement and ends up on the street with the fireman. But it turns out it was just a story Walter told him as he was bathing and as William begged for another story, we came up with our own ideas of what could happen to William next.

First Grade, Second, and Third Grade---This week we started one of our favorite "events" of the year--voting for our favorite book among the nominees for this year's California Young Reader Medal Award. These books are nominated by students, teachers, and librarians from around our state and are voted upon by the students. This year we have a great set of books to choose from:

SuperDog by Caralyn and Mark Buehner

The Giant Hug by Sandra Horning

Traction Man by Mini Grey

I Wanna Iguana by Karen Orloff and David Catrow
Henry and the Bucaneer Bunnies by Carolyn Crimi and John Manders

Each week I'll read one selection to each class and at the end of five weeks we'll vote. From there we'll declare our Cold Spring winner and then the ballots are sent to Sacramento to be counted will other students from around the state. In May the state winner will be announced.

Fourth Grade--To complement their beautiful mission projects that are on display in our library I read Pam Munoz Ryan's lovely story Nacho and Lolita. This romantic tale (perfect for Valentine's Day, too) traces the story of Nacho, the pitacoche and Lolita the swallow and how their love prevailed at the Mission San Juan Capistrano.

Fifth Grade--In honor of Black History Month fifth graders heard Freedom on the Menu by Carole Boston Weatherford and Jerome Lagarrigue. The story of the Greensboro lunch counter sit-ins is told and illustrated from the point of view of a black family and really puts the students into the time and place. Following the story we had an interesting discussion about how far we have come since the 1960s especially considering some of the candidates running for president this year.

Sixth Grade--Also in honor of Black History Month sixth graders heard Doreen Rappaport's and Curtis James' powerful picture book This School Is Not White. Students attention was riveted to the haunting story of the Carter family and their five year struggle to remain in a integrated school. Amidst threats and bullying the children prevailed and gave hope to so many who followed.

News From The Library--February 4, 2008

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"Stanley and The Magic Lamp"

A Video Book Review by Lucas (& Olive, the Library Cat)

Also in the Library this week.....

Kindergarten--Walter's been told over and over, "Don't Jump On the Bed!" but he just can't resist. Kindergartener's loved Tedd Arnold's story No Jumping on the Bed, and giggled as Walter's bed crashed down and down through the floors of his apartment building until at last he landed in the basement....or was it the basement? Had it only been a dream? In any event, Walter decided there wouldn't be any more jumping on the bed for him!

First Grade--It's always interesting to me how a classic story with black and white illustrations can capture the attention of our 21st century students. This week first graders heard Millions of Cats by Wanda Gag. Published in 1928, its charm is in the repetition of the refrain, "Hundreds of cats, thousands of cats, millions and billions and trillions of cats!" and by the end of the story students were joining in. What a fun way to begin to understand those huge number concepts!

Second Grade--The concept that every snowflake is unique is a fascinating one and this week second graders heard Jacqueline Briggs Martin's and Mary Azarian's Caledecott Honor winning biography of Snowflake Bentley, the man who first photographed snowflakes. His perseverance gave us a beautiful gift--a peek into the complexity and awesome beauty of nature. After reading the book, I showed the students a Keynote with pictures of Snowflake Bentley at work, pictures he made of snowflakes, and some modern pictures taken with a photo-microscope.

Third Grade--In order to understand the literary device of plot, third graders and I read several versions of Cinderella. This week they heard one of the oldest versions, Wishbones, retold by Barbara Ker Wilson and Meilo So. We had fun finding the similarities and differences in this Chinese Cinderella story and the more familiar French version. All our extensive collection of multicultural Cinderella stories are on display for students to check out if they wish.

Fourth Grade--As the second part of our Atlas lesson, fourth graders really had fun finding out about the symbols of different states. They used their skills at finding information using the index and the almanac section about the different states.

Fifth Grade--Ms. Zannon's class finished up our Web site evaluation lesson this week by doing their own evaluation of websites. Their class missed one lesson due to a network problem (one of the "joys" of teaching with technology!). Mrs. Pickles' class enjoyed a library time devoted to reading quietly. How nice it was to have time for this!

Sixth Grade--Taking notes is a skill and learning how to do it helps prevent plagiarism. Sixth graders this week watched a keynote presentation on ways to take notes and then took notes from a magazine article about Tornadoes. I put their notes away and in about 3 weeks, they will use those notes to write a paragraph. In watching them work, I realized that text messaging may have a benefit--they were very adept at using abbreviated writing and had no trouble understanding what they had written.

News From The Library--January 28, 2008

(please press play)

Our First Video Book Review Of The Year!

We are having lots of fun in our book clubs this year and one of the choices for students in grades 3-6 is to film a video book review of the book they've read. Georgia in fourth grade was our first brave video blogger! Students are given a "script" to fill out and after practicing we film using Olive, our Library Cat as an avatar. This is to practice good internet safety as blogs can be seen all over the world and it adds a sort of whimsical touch to the review. Thank you Georgia!


In the Library this week:

Kindergarten--Not everyone progresses at the same rate and in the lovely book Ruby In Her OwnTime by Jonathan Emmett children are encouraged to understand that being a little slower isn't necessarily a bad thing. This book was a nominee last year for a California Young Reader Medal and it's easy to see why it was a favorite. The pastel illustrations are beautiful and underscore the gentle theme.

First Grade--Fee, Fi, Fo Fum......there's something so scary and funny about that ogre in Jack in the Beanstalk. First graders love Steven Kellogg's version of this classic fairy tale with its fantastic illustrations. Once again I was amazed at their rapt attention to a story many had heard several times before. There is something about those classic fairy tales that remains compelling for generation after generation.

Second Grade--David Shannon is one of my favorite authors because he has such a subtle way of imparting a valuable lesson. A Bad Case of Stripes is one of the best and as the children watch how Camilla Cream tries desperately to be what others want her to be with a disastrous outcome, they are ready to cheer her return to being herself--even if some people still think she's a little weird for loving lima beans!

Third Grade--It was off to the Third Grade Library Skills Blog again and this week students went to the World Book Online Encyclopedia to do research for their project. They took notes on their topic and I will put these away for a few weeks before we return to the project. I do this so they will have to be able to read their own notes and to encourage their use of original thoughts when writing. We'll be using Comic Life for our projects and to further encourage originality, they will become their topic!!

Fourth Grade--Atlases can be a lot of fun--great for imagining the places you can go. Using our United States Atlases this week students learned how to navigate an atlas, find interesting and valuable information, and best of all, how to use the index and the letter and number coordinates on a map to find a specific location.

Fifth Grade and Sixth Grade--Continuing with our lesson on website evaluation, fifth and sixth graders evaluated two websites on their own this week using the criteria we discussed last week. One of the favorites sites was "Save the Northwest Tree Octopus." Hmmm....common sense came in handy with this one! If you'd like to see all the sites we evaluated, please go to the Cold Spring Library Skills Blog, scroll down to the lesson "When in Doubt, Doubt!" and
click on the links for Week 2.