NOVEMBER NOTES

WOW! WOW! WOW!

Here's to our heroes....DIONNE FAJARDO,ERIN ROSS, ANNE DOWLING, and ALL THE PARENT VOLUNTEERS who helped make our annual bookfair so successful.

A BIG THANK YOU to all the teachers, staff, parents, and students who supported this wonderful event with their visits and purchases...look in the mirror and the heroes are YOU!

While the book fair was in progress, lots of activity was happening in the library...
FIRST GRADERS experienced the thrill and history making of the first moon landing. They read out loud the book Man on the Moon by Anastasia Suen and discussed thrust, craters on the moon, Mike Collins, Buzz Aldrin, Neil Armstrong, the Columbia, and the Eagle. Next week they will do a reader's theater of this book and each will have a roll to act out. They also will see the actual footage of this great event on video streaming.

SECOND GRADERS were introduced to the Festivals of theWorld book series. This set of informational books introduces young readers to the festivals and cultures of some of the most fascinating countries in the world. Easy, step-by-step instructions for creating a craft and preparing a food item add to the fun and provide the basics for a do-it-yourself festival.
They also read a true story from Colombia, entitled Biblioburro by Jeanette Winter. This biography is based on the inspiring life of Luis Soriano and his devoted burro team who travel far and wide to bring treasured books to eager children in the remote villages of rural Colombia.
Since the students are studying South America, this fit right along with their current curriculum.
Luis started with a collection of 70 books in the year 2000 and it has grown to over 4,800, mostly from donations. Now the Biblioburro travels to the hills every weekend. Three hundred people, more or less, look forward to borrowing the books Luis brings. A small corner of the world is enriched.....all because of one person.

FIFTH GRADE STUDENTS discussed the Newbery Medal winner Betsy Byars, who is the author of many books dealing with the realistic problems of today's young people. All of her books deal with children placed in difficult situations. She won the Newbery Medal for The Summer of the Swans, the story of a girl named Sara and her retarded brother, Charlie. All of her books were on display for the students who also saw a video interview of her explaining how she uses characters in her works.
Congratulations to Sam. Kayelin. Michelle, Caya, Kim and Chayton for their book commercials and skits. All fifth graders are invited to present one during the entire year.

THIRD GRADE STUDENTS worked with their partners and searched the non-fiction shelves to find books located in all 10 categories of the Dewey Decimal System. They wrote down call numbers, authors names and discussed with their partners the subject of each book they selected. They did an awesome job with this lesson and were rewarded a million dollar reader scratch 'n sniff bookmark...Way to Go third graders!

KINDERGARTEN STUDENTS discussed characters, setting, photographer, several different ways to eat eggs, fiction, and non-fiction books as they heard two farm stories this week. One was entitled Tillie Lays An Egg by Terry Golson, an adventure of a hen who does not want to wait her turn to lay her eggs and does not want to stay cooped up all day. The students had fun locating some of the unlikeliest of places at the Little Pond Farm where Tillie lays her eggs.
The second story entitled The Fox and the Hen by Eric Battut took them on an adventure with Henrietta Hen who lays her first egg and trades it to the crafty Red Fox who offers her a tasty, juicy worm. When Henrietta finds out that her egg is destined for Fox's table, Henrietta and her friends must find a way to get the precious egg back. The students compared both books and discussed the terms fiction and non-fiction. Just ask any K student to explain the difference to you.

In Jr. K students discussed imagination as they heard the story entitled Little Library Mouse by Stephanie Lisa Tara. At closing time a key locks the library, and unlocks the dreams of a little mouse who waits in the shadows. Skipping, sliding, down the pages of books-he steps inside magical stories, inviting readers to come along for the ride. Witty verse and fantastical illustrations celebrate the joys of reading in this tale with innovative charm.

The Alpha students discussed the seasons of the year and to celebrate the author's November 9th birthday enjoyed Lois Ehlert's book Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf. They also went on an adventure with the famous turtle character, Franklin in Franklin's Library Book by Sharon Jennings.