What's Happening at the BSS Library?

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 cr...

We curled up in PreK and read How to Read a Story by Kate Messner. It gave us such tips as looking at the cover and reading a bit of the story and looking at the pictures to see if it's a book that we are interested in.  If not, go back to Step 1 (Find a Story).  Once you find a good story, then you have to find a comfortable place to read it. And of course it is more fun to read with a buddy (doesn't even have to be a human!). Love the illustrations by Mark Siegel.  And of course the end of the story is great, instructing us that if it's a really good story, to start over and read it again!

We talked about riddles this week in second grade, and read Spot the Plot to test our knowledge of famous children's books!  This book gives clues of world class picture books and the students had to guess what the riddle was about. The students were amazing!  They have obviously been listening to what has been read to them over the years. Watch this video clip from the book’s author, J. Patrick Lewis, to hear a riddle or two! ( http://www.teachingbooks.net/book_reading.cgi?id=5596&a=1 )

5th Grade classes enjoyed hearing the story Beatrice’s Goat , written by Page McBrier. This narrative nonfiction book tells the story of a young Ugandan girl and her family who receive a goat from Heifer International. Beatrice is a 9-year-old girl who longs to go to school, but cannot afford the uniform and fees.  When her family is chosen to receive the goat, Beatrice works hard caring for it and selling its milk.  She eventually earns the necessary fees and is thrilled when she is able to begin school.  The book ends here, but Beatrice’s real-life story continues as we learned from this 60 Minutes clip ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9x_HMGRa0SY ). Beatrice earned a scholarship to attend a prep school in Massachusetts, then went on to Connecticut College.  Her goal is to help underprivileged children and ensure that many of them are given the same opportunities she was when she was a child growing up in her poor village. Next week we will read a si...

I have read several William Steig titles to my classes over the years.   Shrek, Sylvester and the Magic Pebble , and Brave Irene have been some favorites.  But upon the suggestion of my nephew, whose father is a fisherman and loves the sea, I read Amos & Boris aloud to my third graders.  It is a beautifully written story about the unlikely friendship between a mouse and a whale.  I asked students why it was unusual for a whale and a mouse to be friends, and they wisely pointed out that not only are they very different in size, they would not normally meet since whales live in the ocean. But when Amos falls off a boat far from shore and is rescued by a large whale named Boris, they become friends for life. Amos promises that if Boris ever needs his help someday, he will be there for him.  Boris doubts that Amos, being so small and living on land, will never be able to help him.  Until one day when Hurricane Yetta strikes and leaves Boris beached ...

I asked my second grade students how many of them had doctors who were women.  Many hands went up.  I asked them if they could believe that there was a time that women were not allowed to become doctors.  That they were not allowed to go to medical school, just because they were women.  They couldn't believe it, and they couldn't understand why.  Then we read this book by Tanya Lee Stone, and learned all about Elizabeth Blackwell and how she was just the person to break down this gender barrier.   She was stubborn, smart, and curious, and most importantly she persevered through dozens of "No" responses from medical schools.   Once she was accepted, she surprised everyone and graduated at the top of her class.  Thank you Elizabeth Blackwell!

Do you always HAVE to tell the truth? We discussed this question in third and fourth grade classes.  Some students said you always have to tell the truth no matter what.  But after reading this book, some students decided you didn't have to always say everything that popped into your head (even if it's true), especially if it will hurt someone's feelings.  Libby is caught in a lie with her mother, so she vows to always tell the truth no matter what.  But she realizes that sometimes it is best just to say nothing.  She feels the need to tell the teacher that Willy didn't do his homework, which angers Willy.  She doesn't understand why he gets so mad at her, since it's the truth!  And did she really have to tell all the girls before Sunday school that her best friend Ruthie Mae has a hole in her sock? Libby learns that there is such a thing as telling the truth, and minding her own business when it doesn't concern her.  And most importantly, to ke...

I started reading this book because it looked like a quick read and was set in Sudan, an area I did not know much about. I had heard about the “Lost Boys” of Sudan, but was not very familiar with the history behind them. Plus, I loved Linda Sue Park’s A Single Shard , which earned her a Newbery Medal.  This book is a dual narrative, meaning two different characters alternated in the telling of their stories.  One story, which begins in 2008,  follows an eleven-year-old girl named Nya who has to walk eight hours every day to fetch water for her family.  Because there is no water close by, she has to bring her pail to a pond far away.  It is not always so difficult on the walk to the pond when the pail is empty, but the walk home is challenging and hot, especially as she tries to avoid the thorny plants that often stick into her bare feet. On the way home, she places a padded cloth doughnut on top of her head, rests the container on top of the doughnut, and hold...

What a great kids’ cookbook! I have to admit I have not made any of these recipes (yet!) but it’s very well done with 75 kid friendly recipes.  The first section discusses kitchen safety, the tools, the importance of cleaning up, and basic techniques (washing, chopping, sifting, grating, cracking eggs, coring apples, greasing a pan, kneading dough, melting chocolate, etc.). There are chapters for breakfast items, salads, pizza and pasta, lunch items, dinner items, vegetables, and desserts. The names of the recipes are fun: “Go Nuts for Banana Bread,” “My-Oh-My Spaghetti Pie,” “I-Love-Gaaahlic Bread,” “Crispy Crunch Granola Munchies,” and “You’ll Go Ape for Chocolate Covered Bananas,” to name a few.  The table of contents and index are great tools in finding a just right recipe. I would think most children under ten would require a good amount of adult help (he does recommend this), but there are plenty of steps kids can do themselves and most recipes should appeal to kids....

Creepy Carrots by Aaron Reynolds and Peter Brown.  It is such a wonderfully creepy (and silly) book! In the story, Jasper the rabbit thinks nothing of taking carrots for a snack from Crackenhopper Field.  Every time he walks through the field he grabs one or two. Why not, he thinks, they are free and so fantastic.  Until one day, the carrots start following him… This book has just enough creepiness in it for those students who love spooky books, but the humor in the story balances it out for the kids who don’t enjoy scary stories.  This book won a Caldecott Honor award, and is a perfect story to share around Halloween time! Here is a short video about the making of the book and its illustrations.  In the interview, illustrator Peter Brown shares with us that he was inspired by classic horror films and also old episodes of The Twilight Zone.  You can watch the interview here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ag0LP...