The Invention of Hugo Cabret

The library was full of magic and art this week as we explored two Caldecott winners. One of the books we read was "The Invention of Hugo Cabret" by Brian Selznick. This unique book is unlike any other I have read. At 533 pages, students may initially be daunted by this book, but it is not your average novel. Over 300 pages are illustrations--beautiful pencil sketches that move the story along. This book contains art, toys, mystery, sorrow, creativity, magic, and movies--just about everything one could want in a novel. I highly recommend it.

The website is a wonderful addition to the book. Explore this website and see all the research and real people this book was based on. http://www.theinventionofhugocabret.com/index.htm

The Gardener by Sarah Stewart, Pictures by David Small

This week in the library, we read two Caldecott Award Winners. One was "The Gardener" by Sarah Stewart with pictures by David Small. Lydia Grace goes to live with her Uncle Jim until her father is able to find a job. Set during the Great Depression, this book celebrates a colorful young girl who brings color and light to a drab corner bakery through planting many flowers. The illustrations are particularly beautiful. Small uses color to enhance the influence that Lydia Grace has on everyone around her. By the end of the book and after almost a year together, even Uncle Jim--who does not smile--can't help but show how Lydia Grace has influenced him. This story is written through letters that Lydia Grace writes to her family back home.

Pirate Week in September

In September, Bella Vista students sailed through an adventurous Pirate Week in the Library. Mrs. Wadsworth and Mrs. Allison talk the pirate talk almost too well as they welcomed all the young Bella Vista mateys into the library donned with eye patches, swashbuckling stories, and a treasure hunt for pirate books. It makes you wonder if they've ever sailed the seven seas as pirates themselves! Kidding aside, the pirate books were a treasure and here they "ARRRRRR":

K-2nd grade

Shiver me Letters, A Pirate ABC by June Sobel and Henry Cole

The crew on this pirate ship must find all the letters of the alphabet. Will they make it before

the captain makes them walk the plank?

3rd grade

Edward and the Pirates by David McPhail

Edward loves to read. He reads everything from books to cereal boxes. He discovers a book that pirates want so much they ambush his house to get it! He finds out his parents are much more than the typical father and mother. What will they do to help him?

4th-6th grade

Treasure Island by Robert Lewis Stevenson

Mr. Stevenson wrote this book for his 12 year old step son. Fifteen chapters of the book were penned in 15 days. The story was published as a book in 1883. This classic novel is about a boy named Jim Hawkins who meets several plundering pirates. After discovering a treasure map from a dead buccaneer's box at the Benbow Inn, he takes off for an adventure of a lifetime searching for treasure with a rough lot of buccaneers including, Long John Silver!

Last few weeks of summer!

We've only got a couple more weeks of summer before we are back to school!  Will you be ready to dive back in? 

If you haven't read a book over the summer, better get to it!  Have a book or two ready to recommend to your librarian when school starts!  Maybe your favorite book can be spotlighted in story time!

Also, look for a new program for 3rd graders with Magic Treehouse!  4th, 5th, and 6th graders--we'd like to come up with a reading program for you too!  Share your ideas! 

Summer Reads

Weslandia

By Paul Fleischman, Illustrated by Kevin Hawkes

K-3^rd Grade

After planting an unusual plant in his backyard, Wesley spends his summer creating unique things from different parts of the plant. He captivates the neighborhood bullies and shares his plant creations, including a new game.

Weslandia inspires productivity in the summer. This book is one of my favorite children’s books.

Chasing the Falconers, On The Run, Book 1 of 6

By Gordon Korman

4th - 6th Grade

Why are Aiden and Meg Falconer at the Sunnydale Juvenile Delinquent Center when they are innocent of any crime? They have the last name Falconer. No one in mainstream society wants to take care of a Falconer because Aiden and Meg's parents were accused of giving top-secret information to terrorists.

An accident turns catastrophic at Sunnydale. Aiden and Meg escape! Now they are on the run as innocent fugitives trying to discover clues from their past to clear their parents’ names.

Gordon Korman writes a fast-paced, suspenseful cliffhanger of Aiden and Meg’s flight from state to state.

If readers can get beyond the premise of Aiden and Meg being placed in a Juvenile Delinquent Center for their "safety," the story is an entertaining summer read.

Books on Friendship

"The better part of one's life consists of his friendships."
Abraham Lincoln

Secret Shortcut by Mark Teague
K-1
Pirates, crocodiles, a plague of frogs...what else will keep two boys from getting to school on time? Hopefully, finding a secret shortcut will get them there before the late bell rings.

Frog and Toad All Year by Arnold Lobel
2-3
Eating chocolate ice cream cones together is a great idea for two friends, but Toad struggles as the ice cream melts all over him on his way to Frog. Unaware, Toad "transforms" into a frightening creature that scares forest animals and Frog too!

Eggs by Jerry Spinelli
4-6
"Friendship isn't always sunny-side up." This dysfunctional, roller coaster ride of a friendship helps us learn that everyone needs friends, especially children that have more than their share of troubles. David is 9 years old and he lives with his sweet old grandmother because his mother unexpectedly died after slipping and hitting her head on a wet floor. He misses his mother desperately. He seldom sees his father. Primrose, who is 13, lives with her wacky fortune-telling mother. She avoids her mother as much as possible. Primrose has no idea who her father is. David and Primrose first meet in a most unusual way during an Easter Egg Hunt and slowly the "eggs"traordinary friendship cracks open.

Poetry Week

Poetry Week

Shel Silverstein's Poetry

From a rhyming throwdown competition between librarian and students to sharing poems from Shel Silverstein's books, "Falling Up" and "Where the Sidewalk Ends", we are having a fabulous time celebrating Poetry Month this week in the library.

During story time, students enthusiastically volunteer to recite a poem from memory or choose one to read from the projected view of the books from our new document camera! I share my favorite Silverstein poems as well and conclude story time with his peacemaking poem called "Hug-O-War".

Inspirational moment: Early in the week a 6th grader rose above her shyness to share her favorite Silverstein poem from memory during her class's story time!

A big thank you goes out to Shel Silverstein for lifting our hearts with his poetry.