What's Happening at the BSS Library?

Students really enjoy Sylvester and the Magic Pebble , which earned Wiliam Steig a Caldecott Medal. Sylvester finds a smooth red, shiny pebble that will grant him any wish, but before he really gets to use it he comes face to face with a lion.  Sylvester panics, and wishes that he is a rock.  His parents are so worried about him and search all over for their dear Sylvester.  Will Sylvester ever turn back into a donkey? I had first graders draw what they would wish for if they had a magic pebble.  Some students wanted unique pets like unicorns dragons, penguins or tigers, or to have super powers like being invisible or the ability to fly.  I particularly loved the ones where students wanted a huge shelf of books! The one pictures above was the sweetest.  He wished for there to be love and houses for everyone in the world, and for lots of books.  And to have blue hair.  So sweet!

Each spring I like to read Penny and Her Marble to my second grade classes. I love all of Kevin Henkes' books, from his mouse picture books like  Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse and  Chrysanthemum  to his chapter books like  The Year of Billy Biller  and  Olive's Ocean .  The Penny series fall in between; it is an illustrated beginners chapter book (with a mouse character of course!)  In  Penny and Her Marble , Penny is on a walk and finds a beautiful blue marble in her neighbor's lawn.  And Penny thinks that certainly her neighbor Mrs. Goodwin is too old to play with marbles, so it couldn't belong to her. Right? So she takes it, and at first she is amazed at how beautiful and blue and shiny it is.  But when she sees Mrs. Goodwin in her yard--in the exact spot where the marble was--she starts to wonder if Mrs. Goodwin is looking for the marble.  Feelings of guilt overwhelm Penny and she refuses to eat (even sugar cookies!) an...