What's Happening at the BSS Library?

Watching the The Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade has been a tradition for many families. But how did this tradition begin? I read Balloons Over Broadway with several of my classes this season, which tells the biography of Tony Sarg, who invented the first character balloons for the floats for the biggest parade around on Thanksgiving. Incredible illustrations by Melissa Sweet make this picture book biography as inviting as a warm Thanksgiving gathering!

We are big fans of Oliver Jeffers here at BSS.  We all love The Day the Crayons Quit that he illustrated, as well as the sequel The Day the Crayons Came Home .  And Stuck is simply hysterical (when a boy's kite gets stuck in a tree he throws everything he can find at the tree to get it out, but of course all those things get stuck too!). So I thought I would share Once Upon an Alphabet: Short Stories for all the Letters with 4th and 5th Graders.  Jeffers writes a very short story for all the letters, some which connect with the other stories.  The student loved picking out details (sometimes tough to spot) that connected to the other stories in the book.  It was a lot of fun.

First graders enjoyed hearing about the two families portrayed in The Perfect Thanksgiving by Eileen Spinelli.  Abigail Archer's family was perfect in every way- from the perfectly cooked turkey to the well-mannered guests, to the mother who was all dressed up and baked homemade pies.  The narrator of the story explained that her family was just the opposite: burned turkey, loud and crazy family, and a mother dressed in blue jeans who bought pies from the store. But both families had one thing in common--the love for their family. The contrast between the two families was amusing, and when I asked if their Thanksgiving feast day was more like Abigail's or the author's, most seemed to think their family was perfect just like Abigail's!  Hmmm, I find that hard to believe, but if they say so! Happy Thanksgiving everyone (no matter how your family celebrates!)

What a spectacular tribute our Hall of Heroes is to all the family members and friends of BSS students who have served our country.  We received photos of fathers, grandfathers, great-grandfathers, aunts, uncles, cousins and other family members that our students consider to be heroes.  Dozens of photos adorn the walls of the cafeteria, interspersed with flags decorated by our first graders.  These flags are based on the torn paper artwork in I Pledge Allegiance by Bill Martin and Chris Raschka, which we read in library.  Then they designed the flags with Miss Damata in art class, and they really spruce up our Hall and make it so patriotic! I read the book America's White Table to our 6th graders, which describes the Veterans Day tradition of setting a table for the soldier who did not come home.  This tradition was established after the Vietnam War, when many families

Since fifth grade has been studying the Civil War, I chose to read to them this well-researched book about the true story of Sarah Edmonds, who enlisted in the army by disguising as a man.  Sarah said she was a man named Frank Thompson when they were recruiting men for the Union army.  A few years prior, Sarah dressed like a man in order to get out of a marriage arranged by her parents.  She dressed like a man, crossed the border from Canada to the United States, and began a new life as Frank.  She loved the camaraderie she had with the other soldiers, and she excelled in her position.  She trained to be a nurse, and her hard work and bravery led to her being chosen to spy on the Confederates. It was such an interesting story, and in the author's note we learned that when Sarah became very sick and needed medical attention, she changed back into women's clothing and found a doctor away from the camp.  Once she recovered and tried to come back to join her fellow soldiers, sh

Who is Melvin Bubble ? is a humorous book by Nick Bruel (author of Bad Kitty) that I read to third grade.  We learned all about Melvin from the points of view of many different people, including his parents, his dog, his teddy bear, and his friend, and from the 3-eyed monster that lives in his closet (of course!).  And we also hear from Melvin himself. We decided each of these people sees Melvin from a different perspective, or point of view.  Mom talks about how messy Melvin is (most likely because she has to clean up after him!).  His teddy bear tells us how much Melvin loves hugs. And his Dad talks about how much Melvin was like he was when he was a child.  Many different people, many different points of view, and one entertaining book!

We talked about the concept of Show-and-Tell in Kindergarten this week, and I asked them if they thought bringing in an alligator was a good idea.  One student said he once brought in a stuffed alligator, but not a real one!  In this book by Elise Parsley, Magnolia decides that she will bring in an alligator because she knows so much about them.  The teacher does not appreciate it when the alligator destroys the classroom, draws a silly picture, chews gum, and tries to eat a student!  But the teacher is impressed with Magnolia when it comes to Show-and-Tell time.  I think Magnolia will think twice the next time about what she brings! I also showed them a nonfiction alligator book, and we pointed out the differences between the two.  One student wisely noted that the pictures in the nonfiction alligator book were "real" (photos) and the fiction book was just drawings.  Bravo! We decided that you couldn't really bring in an alligator to school (for many reasons), so t

We talked about fiction and nonfiction in Kindergarten classes.  I told them that some books come from an author's imagination, and some give us information on a subject.  First we read a fun bat story called Bats at the Beach by Brian Lies.  Lies actually visited our school a few years ago, and has written several bat-themed books for children.  Of course we knew that this book was fiction, because bats don't really toast marshmallows, and bring shovels and pails to the beach, or wear floaties on their wings when they are going swimming. Then we read a nonfiction book about bats, and we learned what bats look like, what they eat, and where they live.  And of course we learned about echolocation, which allows them to fly at night and catch their prey. Mrs. Grogan's class is proudly displaying the bat crafts they made below.  They got to go outside to collect twigs to add the perfect branch for their cute bats to hang from! Some of them brought their creations up to the