Monday, February 27, 2012

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss!

Theodor Seuss Geisel was born on March 2, 1904 in Springfield, Massachusetts. We are celebrating his birthday this week in the library with activities and stories by the incredible author and illustrator. A movie called The Lorax is coming to theaters this week so we wanted to let the students know where that movie started...with Dr. Seuss's book!
The Lorax He wrote and illustrated 46 books and they are all still in print today. Also, visiting the library through the month of March are several characters from his books made and donated by Tiffany Wilko.

Check out Dr. Seuss' official website: www.seussville.com/

Valentine's Books

Olive, My Love by Vivian Walsh
Kindergarten - 3rd Grade

Olive, My Love

Olive is a sweet little dog who finds a giant heart on her front door step that was dropped from her friend, a flying dog with wings. She thinks it is an accident and must return it to him. She gets help from a fast talking squirrel and a helpful web-weaving spider.
This is a delightful, humorous book with a twist on words: "All of my love"/"Olive, My Love"
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars


Romeo and Juliet Code by Phoebe Stone
4th - 6th Grade
The Romeo and Juliet Code
Felicity is 11 years old. She lives in London during World War II. Germany is bombing London so many children are being sent away to distant relatives to live. Danny and Winnie, Felicity's parents, decide to take her to Bottlebay, Maine in the USA. The journey to America is dangerous. The Atlantic Ocean is filled with German U boats.

When they arrive, the family's welcome is cold and distant. Felicity has never met these relatives before. Uncle Gideon is Danny's brother. He greets them but seems angry. Despite his feelings, he still talks to Danny, but not Winnie. When Winnie's hat blows down the beach Uncle Gideon is the first to retrieve it for her. Gram stays in the house. Later Felicity meets Aunt Miami who adores Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet and recites lines to the play often. There is a room upstairs with someone the family calls Captain Derek. He never leaves his room. Felicity's relatives are strange and mysterious.

Felicity thinks her parents went back to London but when a letter from Portugal arrives in the mail with Danny's writing on it she wants to find out what is going on. Uncle Gideon keeps the letter and others locked in his office but one day Felicity and Derek devise a plan to get a letter. They discover the letter is written in code. Will they ever break the code and find out who is sending Uncle Gideon these letters and why?

This book is a little slow at the start but stick with it because the story line and relationships come together in complex, interesting ways. And yes there is some romance as well. How can the title include Romeo and Juliet and not have romance bloom in its pages?
Rating: 4.7 out of 5 stars

Friday, February 10, 2012

Meet the Author; Seymour Simon

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Seymour Simon never met a science subject he didn't like. He has written more than 200 science books for kids on almost every subject under the sun. He also created the Einstein Anderson series of stories. All his books, fiction and nonfiction alike, reflect Simon's fascination with learning and discovery.

As a kid, Simon loved animals and was a huge fan of science fiction magazines. That led to an interest in astronomy and technology, and then many other kinds of science as well. After college, he spent 23 years as a science teacher. Teaching, he says, was the best possible way to learn how to write for kids.

Simon writes and photographs from his house in Great Neck, New York, where he lives with his wife, Joyce Seymour. (www.eduplace.com/kids/tnc/mtai/simon.html)


"Knowledge empowers people with our most powerful tool: the ability to think and decide. There is no power for change greater than a child discovering what he or she cares about." - Seymour Simon


"I'm more interested in arousing enthusiasm in kids than in teaching the facts. The facts may change, but that enthusiasm for exploring the world will remain with them the rest of their lives." - Seymour Simon



http://img2.imagesbn.com/images/16180000/16184933.JPGDogs are the most popular pet in the world and Seymour Simon provides useful tips and guidelines for any kid looking for a new pet. Lavishly illustrated with full-color, appealing photographs, Seymour Simon captures dogs as they work, and play. The students loved reading this book and loved sharing their stories about the pets in their lives.







Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Let's Get Ready to Rumble!!!!

Being so close to the Super Bowl I thought it would be fun to talk sports. Here are the books that we read during the week of January 23 - 27.


Kindergarten - 1st Grade

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Cork, a short muskrat, and Fuzz, a tall possum, are best friends. "I want to have a race," Cork says one day. "Me, too!" says Fuzz. "I want to win," Cork says. "Me, too!" says Fuzz. They race and play ball games, but Fuzz wins every time--even when Cork asks him not to try too hard. Then Cork suggests a race across the pond. Fuzz doesn't know how to swim, so Cork is guaranteed to win, but maybe there's something that's even more important than that.

2nd -3rd Grade
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Cam Jansen and her friend Eric are having fun at a local basketball game. They watch the team's retiring coach receive a basketball signed by his former players, including the governor. But after the game, the ball is gone. Was it stolen?



4th - 6th Grade
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Football, Baseball, Basketball! No Matter what sport it is, there's always a chance that something amazing can happen. In Amazing But True Sports Stories there are 87 true stories about amazing moments in a wide variety of sports.