"FALL FOR OUR BOOKS"

Come visit the media center to see all the new displays of some of our October birthday authors.

In first grade the students read books by child authors. They learned where the books from Raintree Publish a Book contest are located in the media center and also enjoyed hearing some. Hopefully these stories will assist them when they are writing their own adventures.

Second graders were traveling around the world when they were reading the story A Small Dog's Big Life: Around the World with Owney by Irene Kelly.
They were surprised to find out this epistolary story-a story told entirely in letters-was based on the true life of a stray dog named Owney, who actually lived with postal workers more than one hundred years ago. During his adventures he received tags from clerks all over the United States to commemorate his visit to their towns. The tags are now in an exhibit at the National Postal Museum, which is part of the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C.

Do you know Amber Brown? Well, if not, you can learn all about her and her many adventures by reading one of the many books on display about her in our media center. On Thursday, October 28, there will be a performance of "Amber Brown is not a Crayon" in the Janet Root Theater for grades 1-4. Why not read about her before you see the show?

Students in grades 3-6 are busy reading titles from this year's Sunshine Young Reader's Award books, but we have another contest for grades Alpha-2. It is also from the DOE (Department of Education). It is called the FRA (Florida Reading Association) Children's contest it began Friday, October 1 here at Shorecrest. A box with 7 books is being passed around to all the classes along with a schedule. After the students have heard all the stories in the box, their teachers will inform Mrs. Smay. She will then read the last book (#8) to them and give out the voting ballots. Students will color in or circle their favorite title from the eight. They will receive prizes for voting and in May 2011 the winning title and author will be announced. This is a state wide program so it will be fun to participate and see who the winner will be.

In K the students discussed fiction and non-fiction books after reading Woof:a Love Story by Sarah Weeks. Despite a language barrier, a dog and cat fall in love with the help of a buried trombone. They also saw a display of books by author James Marshall whose birthday was October 10.

Third graders reviewed how to use the computer to do library searches from their homes, classrooms or the library and then played a game call "WHO HAS THE ANSWER?" They each were given a library term or phrase that needed to be identified. They not only learned the terms, they had fun and each earned a scratch and sniff bookmark.

Fifth grade students had a lesson devoted Gary Paulsen, an author of more than 100 titles including picture books, mystery, historical fiction, science fiction, memoirs and semi-autobio-graphical novels, adventure tales, animal tale, nonfiction, and even humorous middle-grade fiction. Students saw this author in several interviews and examined many of his works. Many of Paulsen's books feature young teen boys, and even as he explores various genres, there are common themes that he returns to-survival, coming-of-age, war, the natural world and our relationship to it and more. His favorite book is Hatchet, a Newbery winner, which is about the author's own experiences as a boy. This is one author who should not be missed.

Alpha students laughed out loud while hearing A Mouse Told His Mother by Bethany Roberts. In this beautifully illustrated book a little mouse's imagination makes his bedtime an exciting adventure, as he takes a fantasy trip to catch crocodiles, ride bucking broncos, and sail where the
wind blows. It would also be a great bedtime story, especially for the child who just hates to go to bed.

Jr. K students discussed fiction and non-fiction books and the topic of the lesson was lions. They enjoyed listening to the Library Lion by Michelle Knudsen which is about a lion who starts visiting the local library but runs into trouble as he tries to both obey the rules and help his librarian friend. This book is illustrated by Kevin Hawkes and willl be a favorite for anyone who loves libraries and knows that they are special, magical places, where everyone is welcome and anything seems possible.

Another great big thank you to all of our library volunteers. They have helped the children find books, return them, check them out and shelf them. We could not do these jobs without them. Jodi Gayoso has been working hard at keeping the busy times filled with parents. We do appreciate all of your help. WE LOVE YOU!!

Coming soon...BOOK FAIR...the week of November 8 in the Janet Root Theatre Lobby and the Student Center. More details will be posted.