New Books Are Here!

Bella Vista Library received over 75 wonderful new books now available for you to check out! There is a variety of biographies, informational books, holiday books, and graphic novels. Sports biographies to check out: 

• Derrick Rose
• Kevin Durant
• Kevin Garnett
• Landon Donovan
• LeBron James
• Lionel Messi
• Peyton Manning
• Shaun White

Eye to Eye:  How Some Animals See the World (1st-4th grade) by Steve Jenkins is a fascinating non-fiction book with intricate paper collage artwork of each animals' eyes.


I especially love the book, Helen's Big World:  The Life of Helen Keller (Kindergarten and up) by Doreen Rappaport. This biography inspires me as I read quotes from Helen Keller and
learn about her life. She started out as a normal toddler who was struck with an unknown illness at the age of 18 months that left her unable to see, hear or speak. The illustrations by Matt Tavares are beautiful. Check this one out!

A humorous series both boys and girls will like are the Clementine (1st-3rd grade) books by Marcia Frazee. We received:

• Clementine's Letter
• Clementine and the Family Meeting
• Clementine and the Spring Trip

Great graphic novels for all reading levels are here:

• Benjamin Bear in Bright Ideas (K-3rd grade)
• The Baby-Sitters Club:  Mary Anne saves the Day (2nd-5th grade)
• Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales:  Donner Dinner Party (3rd-7th grade)
• Sisters (3rd-7th)
• Bluffton:  My Summer with Buster Keaton (4th-7th grade)

 Fiction books you should check out are:

• School of Fear:  The Final Exam (3rd-7th grade)
• Fortunately, the Milk (3rd-7th grade)
• How to Catch a Bogle (4th-7th grade)
• Zebra Forest (4th-7th grade)
• Al Capone Does My Shirts (5th and up)
• Counting by 7s (5th and up) 

You should each be able to find something great to read!                          

Graphic Novels, The Trend

The Most Requested Book at Bella Vista Elementary!

A Graphic Novel is a story depicted in comic strip form. Graphic novels are very popular with elementary school ages children, especially 3rd through 6th graders.

One day a 5th grader was checking a book in to the LMC. I hadn't read the book yet so I asked her about it. She enjoyed reading the book so much she spent her entire recess explaining the storyline to me. She has read the book numerous times. Come to find out, other students are "obsessed" with this book as well.

Smile by Raina Telgemeier is a graphic novel based on a true story that happened to the author when she was a girl. She had an accident that caused one of her front teeth to fall out. The other front tooth went up inside her gum. She went through visit after visit to the dentist, endodontist and orthodontist. In the mean time, she was also experiencing the growing pains and social struggles common to students in middle school and high school.

This book was introduced in Bella Vista's LMC the week in January that we had only 2 1/2 days of school. By the end of this short week, 15 students had requested this book! Almost daily, we have at least one or two more students request this book. We have purchased several more copies to keep up with demand. We have also suggested our teachers purchase copies for their classrooms. We are thrilled to have a book that captures the interest of so many students.