The WIdow's Broom by Chris VanAllburg

A witch's worn- out broom serves a widow, Minna Shaw, well. Her neighbors think differently and think the broom is wicked and dangerous.
  I read this to 4th and 5th graders and they enjoy this story.~ Mary Jo Fox

Halloween A B C by Eve Mirriam is a collection of Halloween themed poems from A - Z. From Apple to Mask to Zero and every letter in between, there's a poem for everyone. Our first graders are really enjoying them this Halloween season.

Burton Elementary: "Here Comes the Rain!" by Renée Simons Berry

This week at Burton we read a book that is new to our library, called "Here Comes the Rain!", written by author Renée Simons Berry and illustrated by artist Lusine Khandilyan. This is a short rhyming text, and with many classes we ended up spending more time talking about the story than it took for me to read the story! That is because, despite being a short book, there is a lot to unpack in this sweet story.

The matter of hairstyles, and associated questions of beauty and societal standards, bring up a lot of feelings for many people. Girls (and boys) with afro-textured hair are often made to feel self-conscious about their natural curls from a young age. Don't be timid about giving students a chance to voice any feelings they have after reading this story (but also take care not to make any student feel singled out or like they have to have something to say about the story). Very young students (particularly those without curly hair) might not understand the message of the story unless you talk them through it, but make sure all students understand that the story is telling us that all kinds of hairstyles (and people) are beautiful. The lovely illustrations portray this in a wonderful way.

One of the many pleasures of being a librarian is adding books to your collection that are not the mainstream well-known titles from very famous authors. A book that is not found in many bookstores (or any bookstores) can make for a uniquely special collection. In a school library with these kinds of books, children can be exposed not only to the 'classics' and the popular books of our times, but to unique voices, perspectives, and sources of literary culture. I am so grateful that a friend of the author donated this special book to our school library! Thank you! Hopefully many students will find and enjoy this book in our library for years to come.

- Dennis de Boer

Burton Elementary: The Surprising Brilliance of "Niño Wrestles the World"

Today I want to review a great children's book that we are reading in library at Burton Elementary this week: "Niño Wrestles the World", by Yuyi Morales.

In this story, a young boy named Niño (or more likely this is his wrestling nickname) imagines himself as a masked luchador in the grand Lucha Libre tradition, overcoming all kinds of fantastical creatures from Mexican culture, as well as an inexplicable space alien who is defeated by marbles.

In the grand finale, Niño finds himself facing off against his most terrifying opponent yet: his two baby sisters, who have just awoken from their nap and are ready to tussle! There are many references to the culture and terminology of Lucha Libre throughout the book, such as the eternal struggle between 'técnicos' (those who wrestle honorably using signature moves) and 'rudos' (those who are willing to use any kind of dirty tricks and traps to overcome their opponents), and the ultimate disgrace of having one's mask removed by an opponent. But despite the Spanish-language terms that appear throughout the text, both Spanish-speaking and non-Spanish-speaking children will enjoy the antics and surprises of the story.

I like to read to our native Spanish language classes in Spanish, so I am trying this year to make notes to translate the stories I read that are in English so that all students can fully enjoy the story. I already knew that this book was brilliant and clever, and full of interesting references that students can make connections to. But it wasn't until I started translating this story's text into Spanish that I realized another instance of the humor and brilliance of this story. In his second bout, Niño faces off against "Cabeza Olmeca", a creature made of stone with an enormous cranium that resembles the real-life giant Olmec heads from Mexico's ancient past.

Previously, I hadn't really understood why Niño's signature move against this opponent was called the "Puzzle Muzzle". I assumed it was just something silly and inexplicable, representing a child's flights of imagination. But while translating the story I had to look up the Spanish word for "puzzle", and got a surprise that made me grin from ear to ear: the word for "puzzle" in Spanish is rompecabezas, which literally means something like "it breaks heads", or "head-breaker", similar to English terms like 'brain-teaser', 'mind-blowing', etc. And what else should the puzzle-muzzle technique do, but literally break Cabeza Olmeca's head? I love that there is a joke in this story (which is mostly in English) that only our Spanish-speaking students will understand. With my older classes, I have asked the students who speak Spanish if they understand the joke, and then I ask them to help me explain the joke to the students who don't know Spanish.

So this week I learned something new about a book I already loved that makes me love it even more. If you have this book in your library, it's a lot of fun to read, and students of all backgrounds will love the action, humor, and heart of the story. It's a book that celebrates culture, history, family, and a young child's fearless imagination, with a healthy dose of silliness and funny sound effects. Check it out!

- Dennis De Boer

Rude Mule 
by Pamela Duncan Edwards

Rude Mule by Pamela Duncan Edwards is a great story about using your manners. 
The story reminds us to say please and thank you!