Poppa's Itchy Christmas

 George can't wait to open all the wrapped Christmas presents under the tree. could their be a baseball glove or a BB gun that he has been hoping for? He can barely  hide his disappointment, when he opens up the biggest, ugliest, striped scarf and the itchiest pair of red long underwear. His Poppa receives the same as well.
  Luckily, there is a new pair of ice skates for George, which is very exciting. On this crazy Christmas morning, George learns to be thankful for his gifts when Poppa and the gifts  help save the day.~Mary Jo

December

December by Eve Bunting
  Simon and his mother don't have much. They live in a cardboard house, they have a little Christmas tree with a few decorations, and a picture of an angel, December, from a calendar pinned to a wall. Simon's mom tells him that the angel sings to them when they are asleep.
  On Christmas Eve, Simon and his mother take in an old woman who needs a place  to keep warm. The next morning, Simon wakes early to find the old woman gone. Instead he sees their Christmas angel outside, with her wings fanned out over their little house. Is she real?  
    Simon and his mother's luck changes after their encounter with the old woman.~Mary Jo

Snowflake Bentley, written by Jacquelin Briggs Martin and Illustrated by Mary Azarian
Published 1998



A student favorite the book is about Wilson Bentley, the first known photographer of snowflakes.
A true story taking place 150 years ago (year 1865) in the gorgeous green mountain state of Vermont. Located in the village of Jericho between Lake Champlain and Mount Mansfield in the heart of the "snowbelt," where the annual snowfall is about 120 inches. What a great place to be a snowflake scientist, photographer and writer!

Enjoy, 
Paul Dear GR Montessori

Silly Goose's Big Story by Keiko Kasko

  Goose's friends love the stories he makes up when they are playing. But there is one thing- Goose is always the hero. His friends ask to take turns , but Goose is always in charge. During an argument, no one notices  that  a hungry wolf is sneaking up on them.
   Goose has a great imagination and clever friends to get him out of trouble.
   Keiko Kaska is one of my favorite authors and shows how important it is to have friends that you can cont on.~Mary Jo / Sibley
  

   Who's That Knocking on Christmas Eve by Jan Brett takes place in the land of ice and snow. Read along to find out how the boy from Finnmark helps Kyri solve her Christmas Eve issue.

~Deb

SWCC is Reading A long walk to water : a novel : based on a true story by Park, Linda Sue

Our 6 graders are enjoying this interesting book!!

When the Sudanese civil war reaches his village in 1985, eleven-year-old Salva becomes separated from his family and must walk with other Dinka tribe members through southern Sudan, Ethiopia, and Kenya in search of safe haven. Based on the life of Salva Dut, who, after emigrating to America in 1996, began a project to dig water wells in Sudan.

Burton Elementary - "Abrazos y Besos" by Christophe Loupy

This time I'm changing things up a bit. This wasn't a story we read in library, but one of our 2nd graders, Selena, really loved this book. She first got interested in it when I brought it with a pile of other library books to the LOOP after-school program for self-selected reading time, and she liked it so much that she remembered the next time she came in for library to ask me where to find it on the shelves. And then when she brought it back this week she was even a little sad to let it go. The story is in Spanish, and it's called "Abrazos y Besos" (Hugs and Kisses), by Christophe Loupy. I think there is an English version out there somewhere, but we don't have the English version in our library.

Even I have to admit, this is a very cute story. A little puppy named Abrazos ('Hugs') goes around the farmyard early one morning asking all the farm animals to give him a kiss, on the cheek, on the nose, on the head, and so on. He likes each animal's kiss for different reasons, but in the end he decides his favorite kiss is the kind he gets from his mom. Like I say, very cute.

If you're looking for a good addition to your collection of Spanish books, this is a cute story with great illustrations that would probably make a good read-aloud, and it comes highly recommended by at least one 2nd grade fan here at Burton.

--

Este cuento no fue uno que leímos en la biblioteca, pero una de nuestros estudiantes de 2o grado se encantó tanto este libro, que pensé que yo lo compartiría aquí. Hasta yo debo admitir que es un cuento muy precioso. El nombre del libro es "Abrazos y Besos", por Christophe Loupy, y la historia se trata de un perrito que se llama 'Abrazos', y su viaje alrededor de la granja temprano de la mañana. Abrazos pide un besito de cada animal que le encuentra de la granja. Se gustan todos los besitos, por razones diferentes, pero finalmente su favorito es lo de su mamá (por supuesto). Como ya dije, muy precioso.

Si usted busca un buen añadido a su colección de libros con dibujos de español, este es un lindo cuento con ilustraciones guapas. El cuento probablemente estaría bueno para leer en voz alta a niños, y tiene por lo menos úna admiradora ferviente aquí en Burton.

- Dennis De Boer

A Thanksgiving favorite- Sherwood Park GSA

Turk and Runt by Lisa Wheeler

Most turkeys would be quaking in their feathers
at this time of year but this turkey family is clueless as to their probable fate. Runt, the younger smarter brother, works to keep his family off the holiday dinner table in some pretty hilarious ways.  

The feathered family celebrates their near miss with a corn and alfalfa dinner (what else) where Runt reminds them of another holiday threat and his new plan to avert disaster.

Thanksgiving at the Tappletons' by Eileen Spinelli is a fun story that speaks to the true meaning of Thanksgiving. The students enjoyed hearing how one fiasco after another still didn't ruin the Tappletons' Thanksgiving.

Of Numbers and Stars, The Story of Hypatia by D. Anne Love

 Our volunteer reader, Mrs. Ann, shared D. Anne Love's book Of Numbers and Stars, The Story of Hypatia with Congress students last week.  This was a real history lesson of an ancient Egyptian scholar.  Many didn't know who she was and many didn't know she was a woman!  From Alexandria, she was raised as if she was a favorite son, because most girls did not learn to read and write. Her father chose to educate her and gave her freedoms to explore like a scientist -discover the natural world as if she we conducting experiments and observations.  She became an authority in math, astronomy and philosophy and was a teacher.  This is a great picture book to teach about the ancient world.
-Georgine

FADE - another thriller to read

Do you dream? Do you wonder what other people dream?  What if you had the talent to enter other people's dreams and watch them, or even influence what they dream?  Janie finds that she has been given the talent to tap into other people's dreams.  She begins working with the police to solve a crime in her high school.  But can she solve it?


high school grades 9 - 12    very good read! This is book 2 in the WAKE series.

A FRACTURED CLASSIC - C.Koslek

We love to read tales with a twist at Sherwood Park and we had fun with this one. This book is a another take on the classic Goldilocks tale. It begins in the usual once upon a time manner and progresses step by step through the familiar tale with the twist being the nature and appetites of goats. 

This story reinforces sequencing, matching and sorting as well as a moral lesson- all in an enjoyable quirksome way.

Suspense thriller that will keep you on edge!

"Tell No One" is a suspense thriller that does exactly what it says!  Dr. David Beck has had a very hard time getting back to life after the death of his wife - eight years to be exact... then he receives an e-mail from her
with a phrase that only the two of them know.  Mystery and intrigue follow, but who can he trust? 

I could not put this book down....  excellent reading for grades 9 - 12.