Please Please Please encourage young minds

"The only true failure can come if you quit."

Great - Great -Aunt Rose

From the author of "Iggy Peck Architect" comes another brilliant story of perseverance and patience. Rosie loves to construct things made out of garbage and string cheese.  Her first big invention brought laughter and tears of joy which she took as being laughed at.  She tries hard to hid her ideas but when her great-great-aunt comes to visit she is given the love and encouragement she needs to be brilliant.

Campus Elementary: "Pigsty" by Mark Teague

This week I chose to read Pigsty, written and illustrated by Mark Teague, during library time. This is a fun story about a boy named Wendell Fultz whose mother tells him his room is becoming a 'pigsty', and as it turns out, this is quite literally true. Elementary age kids enjoy seeing the antics of Wendell and his unexpected roommates, and the book is a great lesson in why you should keep your personal space clean and tidy (at least most of the time).

While reading this book to young children, you can ask them questions to get them thinking about other ways that being messy could cause problems, besides having actual pigs show up to hog your blankets and wreck your prized possessions!

If you have a young reader who is always leaving a mess behind, Pigsty is a great selection to get them laughing and looking for the nearest broom to start cleaning up.

- Dennis De Boer

Sibley The Back of the Bus by Aaron Reynolds

 It is December 1, 1955 in Montgomery, Alabama. A boy and his mother ride the bus. They are sitting where  they're supposed to sit- in the back. The boy enjoys rolling his  shiny marble on the grooves of the floor, which rolls up and down the bus. The bus makes a stop letting people on and off. There is a sudden commotion in the front. The bus driver tells someone in  front that  they have to move or he would call the police.It's Mrs. Rosa Parks!! 
  The story is told through  a young boy's eyes. With great text and illustrations, this story commemorates Rosa Parks' act of defiance that changed the nation.

Sibley Mick Harte Was Here by Barbara Park

Phoebe Harte's world is suddenly turned upside when her brother Mick is killed. Mick was a neat kid that anyone would love to meet.  He freaked his mom out when he put a ceramic eye in a defrosted chicken; on Halloween he was an inventor of the modern day flush toilet, Thomas Crapper ; he did a wild solo dance in front of the whole school because the music got in his pants.
  Mick was in a bicycle accident. His tire hit a rock and he skidded into the back of a passing truck.  If only he had worn his bicycle helmet....
    Barbara writes this book with lessons of sadness, humor, and hope. 
    Great  read intended for 4th grade and up.~ Mary Jo

Books to Celebrate Earth Day!

Below are two great books that explain recycling in a way that's sure to be enjoyable and easy to understand for our young students.  The Adventures of a Plastic Bottle, and The Adventures of an Aluminum Can, both written by Alison Inches, are a great way to learn more about how we can steward our resources and protect our earth.  

Happy Earth Day!  I hope you and your children will spend today learning about ways we can keep our earth clean and get outside and enjoy our beautiful planet!

Enemy Pie, by Derek Munson ~Congress Elementary

Enemy Pie, by Derek Munson,

It was the perfect summer. That is, until Jeremy Ross moved into the house down the street and became neighborhood enemy number one. Luckily Dad had a surefire way to get rid of enemies: Enemy Pie. But part of the secret recipe is spending an entire day playing with the enemy!

This really is a story about friendship and misunderstandings, or, more specifically, how we can make inaccurate assumptions about folks we don't know.  It is about the difficulties and rewards of making new friends.

This story really held the attention of all the kids.  I mean there was complete silence during the reading.  I think this was for different reasons.  For one, it certainly is a well written book and for another, some may have wanted to see a deserving kid actually eat gross enemy pie.  However,as the story progressed, I believe listeners experienced a real mental shift at the end.  What happens is not what was expected!  And most students were glad or relieved because what happens was very positive. I was truly impressed with how our kids experienced this story. It is a very clever strategy that grown-ups can use and maybe even our students will remember and use with their kids or others in the future.
This is also a Reading Rainbow Book :)

In the words of Derek Munson, "It’s an honor to share the same values of peace, hope, and possibility."

Respectfully,  Georgine

SHAWMUT HILLS ~ The Book With No Pictures

Oh. My. Goodness. 

I cannot express how much I loved reading this book to the kids last week! 

Can a book with no pictures really be that great? Yes.

The students (who initially thought it was an April Fool's joke) loved it so much, that I had to read it twice to most classes, and one of the teachers loved it so much, that he had to go out that night, and buy it!

Why do I think it's so great?

I believe that reading this book aloud to students will help them learn to find their inner voice when reading and writing. They will also learn that illustrations, while great, are not a necessity.

Most importantly, in my opinion, this book will help grown-ups remember how to be silly. Which will earn them the respect and adoration of the kid(s) that they are reading it to.

This book is genius. 

Enjoy!

~Katie

Thidwick The Big-Hearted Moose

The students at Stocking School enjoyed the story of Thidwick and the guests that end up living in his horns. Catch the escapades of his guests and what it takes to resolve his situation.
~Deb