Presidents' Day: George Washington and Abraham Lincoln

George Washington

by Ingrid d'Aulaire and Edgar Parin d'Aluaire

Learn the history of how George Washington became the "Father of our Country." Read of his sacrifice at Valley Forge alongside his soldiers, how he made Mount Vernon into a "small kingdom" and how he freed his slaves after his wife, Martha passed away. This book is written at a level all elementary school children can understand.

A. Lincoln and Me

by Louise Borden and Ted Lewin (Illustrator)

This is a book that tells the story of Abraham Lincoln through the eyes of a boy who has the same birthday as Lincoln, February 22. There are many qualities that Lincoln possessed such as honesty and awkwardness that the boy can relate to. Though the boy greatly admires Lincoln for the things he did as the 16th president of the United States, the ending of the story points forward with hope in the future.

What Presidents Are Made Of

by Hanoch Piven and Sarah L. Thomson

This book contains unfamiliar, brief stories of many presidents of the United States. During storytime in the library the stories of Washington and Lincoln were shared. Did you know that George Washington helped put out a fire? And did you know that Abraham Lincoln joked about his own unattractive looks?

Lives of the Presidents: Fame, Shame (And What the Neighbors Thought)

by Kathleen Krull and Kathryn Hewitt (Illustrator)

In this book for older grades in elementary school and beyond, we learn that President Washington's teeth were not made of wood as commonly thought, but of other materials such as ivory. We also learn that he could go days without sleep and he didn't believe it was healthy to bathe frequently! Did you know Abraham Lincoln was so funny it was said that he could "make a cat laugh"? He was the center of attention with his jokes and stories at parties, inspite of his unattractiveness. Also, he once said that a friend is someone who gives him a book he hasn't read before. There are many more interesting facts in this book about the two greatest presidents in the United States who brought our country through some of our darkest times victoriously!

Our American history should never be forgotten nor the people who sacrificed for the freedoms and union we enjoy as a nation today. It was an honor to share these biographies about George Washington and Abraham Lincoln with the students, the next generation, the future leaders of our nation. Let Freedom Ring!

Love-ly books

This week, we read books about love. (Yes, we got several groans from students when we announced that was our topic for the week!)

K-1 heard the story "No Matter What" by Debi Gliori. In this story, Small is grumpy and wonders if Large will still love him, no matter what. Small uses his imagination to present Large with an opportunity to stop loving him, but she can't stop loving him, no matter what. A sweet story, this shows the love a parent has for his or her child.

2-6 Heard a funny section from "Once Upon a Marigold", by Jean Ferris. This book was a Beehive Nominee in 2004. This fun novel is about Christian, who is a boy who ran away when he was 6 because he didn't like being forced to wear a blue velvet suit. He is found and raised by a troll named Edric, Ed for short. Christian loves his new life, where he is free to invent things and play with the dogs. He invents a telescope that allows him to watch the princess on the terrace in the neighboring kingdom. He sees that they have a lot in common, and he uses Ed's carrier pigeons to send Princess Marigold "p-mail". As they continue to p-mail each other, they decide to become best friends. We read a string of p-mails containing many medieval jokes, such as "Have your eyes ever been checked? No, they've always been brown."


All grades heard the story "Falling for Rapunzel", Leah Wilcox. This is a delightfully funny re-telling of the classic Rapunzel story--with a twist. Check this one out and point out the differences between this version and the one you're familiar with.

We hope everyone has a Happy Valentine's Day. Give your kids an extra hug!

*Ah, love!*

Meet the Author, Eric Carle, Sharon Creech, Natalie Babbitt

Eric Carle

Eric Carle is a famous author and illustrator. He has written and illustrated over 70 books and 40 of them are in print today. His books have been translated into 45 languages. Ninety million copies of his books have been sold worldwide. The Eric Carle Museum of Children's Book Art is located in Massachusetts. His most popular book, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, had it's 40 anniversary a couple of years ago. During story time the children watched Eric Carle, via his internet site, as he shared how he was inspired to write this book and how he made the illustrations. Did you know the caterpillar started out as Willi the Worm? He then read the book, The Very Hungry Caterpillar. He has a great deal of care and respect for children and loves to help them. To enjoy these videos at your convenience go to www.ericcarle.com.

Sharon Creech

Sharon Creech grew up in a suburb of Cleveland, Ohio in a rowdy family that enjoyed taking road trips during the summer when she was a child. Many of her books are inspired by her own childhood experiences. Being a high school English teacher in Europe She has written several award winning books including Walk Two Moons which earned the Newbery Award. Ruby Holler received the Carnegie Award for Children's Literature. Ruby Holler is a story about troubled twins, Florida and Dallas, who were left on the front doorstep of an orphanage as tiny babies. The Trepids, managers of the Boxton Creek Orphanage, took them in and raised them with so many rules the children weren't allowed to even behave like children thus they would break the rules and receive severe discipline. Florida and Dallas had failure after failure in adopted homes. Sometimes they were so relieved to be returned to Boxton Creek Orphanage. An older couple named, Tiller and Sairy visit the orphanage and want to take the twins for the summer to their home in Ruby Holler and on trips as well. Florida and Dallas find Tiller and Sairy's kindness,and Ruby Holler, to be "to good to be true" because they never experienced anyone or any place as wonderful. Will Florida and Dallas finally be able to be free to play, explore, learn and grow in a caring and beautiful environment or will their lives fall apart...again? Will there be dangers and peril ahead for this kind older couple as they take care of Florida and Dallas. Will Tiller and Sairy adopt the troubled twins? Find out in this beloved book, Ruby Holler.
Also, check the window display in front of our library. Students from third through fifth grade have drawn pictures of their own "Ruby Holler", a wonderful place where they feel free to have fun, explore and be cared for as well.

Natalie Babbitt
Natalie Babbitt loved to draw and paint as a child. Her mother kept her well supplied with paints, paper and more to create her art work. She wanted to be an illustrator when she grew up. She also loved fairy tales as a child. Natalie has a gift for writing creative stories of trolls and mermaids, The Search for Delicious, fairies that are hard of hearing and cause all sorts of chaos, Elsie Times Eight, as well as Tuck Everlasting, a story of adventure and first romance perfect for tweens who are ready for more adventure in their lives. My favorite Babbitt book is Tuck Everlasting. My advice to Tuck Everlasting fans is to read the book before watching the movie. I liked the book so much more!

Series of Unfortunate Events, Book One, The Bad Beginning

Noticing a popular book series for 4th through 6th graders was gathering dust on the highest book shelves in the library, I decided to promote/introduce this series during story time. The Series of Unfortunate Events is a series of 12 books penned by the uniquely humorous and intelligent author, Lemony Snicket. His series begins with Book One, The Bad Beginning, where the three Baudelaire children become orphans when their parents die in a fire. Their house and all their possessions burn down while they are at the beach on a rainy day. Count Olaf, a distant relative, adopts the children because he lives closer to where the Baudelaire children lived before than any other relatives. The bizarre, eye-obsessed Count Olaf cares only for the Baudelaire fortune and will stop at nothing to obtain the fortune. He neglects the children and expects them to cook and clean and do things children would normally never be expected to do.

If you are feeling like the world is against you, read the Series of Unfortunate Events then you will feel as if you don't have it so bad because no one, I mean, NO ONE has it as bad as Violet, Claus, and little Sunny and they never give up hope and always try to find their way out of their predicaments.

To get a quick overview of the book series go to http://www.lemonysnicket.com/vile videos and watch "12 books in 120 seconds" narrated by Tim Curry.

Where the Mountain Meets the Moon

Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I liked this book a lot. Lin's previous books have been fun as well, but I found this one particularly good and meaningful. I love the influence of ancestral stories, and the pervasive culture in this book. I also love the way this book taught a lesson--to be happy and find peace with what you have--without being too heavy handed or sappy. It would have been very easy to be sappy and heavy handed with this message, but the main character sees the message with a quiet acceptance and selflessness, so it is as easy to accept as a beautiful sunrise. It just happens, and we are glad. I used this in the library during "dragon" week, and we read the chapter containing "Dragon's Story."



View all my reviews

The Celestial Globe

The Celestial Globe by Marie Rutkoski

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I loved this book! I love The characters and Rutkoski's creativity! All of the elements of good fiction are there and handled beautifully! Can't wait for the next book in this series!



View all my reviews

Meet the Author: Bill Martin Jr. , John Reynolds Gardiner, and Cornelia Funke

This week in the library, we've been discussing three different authors. None of the three set out to be writers, but ended up publishing well known works, some of which still influence today's literature.

Bill Martin Jr. is a poet who credits poetry for saving his life. He couldn't read when he was in elementary school, but with the help of his listening skills and the unique qualities of poetry--rhythm and rhyme--he was not only able to learn to read, but he eventually became an elementary school principal. We read selections from his recent anthology "Bill Martin Jr.'s Big Book of Poetry", which is a Beehive Award nominee for 2011.

For grades 3-4, we read from "Top Secret", which is by John Reynolds Gardiner. This book is about a boy who uses scientific methods to discover human photosynthesis. John Gardiner was another writer who didn't get good grades in English. However, he had an active imagination and a good idea of what it takes to create a good story. John Gardiner was also the author of the popular "Stone Fox", which was made into a film staring Buddy Ebsen in 1987.

Grades 5-6 heard a selection from "The Thief Lord" by Cornelia Funke. This story is about a group of children living together in an abandoned movie theater in Venice, Italy. Funke definitely has a gift with storytelling. There were many times while I was reading this book when I thought I knew what was going to happen, but I was surprised. For someone who reads as much as I do, that was very refreshing! We also watched a short interview with Funke on bookwrap central. (Incidentally, this is a great website to use when looking for author interviews.) Funke also wrote "Inkheart" and "Dragon Rider", just to name a few.

Happy Reading!