What's Happening at the BSS Library?

 The Book Bus is on the move! Since students can not visit the Library, the Library is coming to the students! I've been loading up my Book Bus with books for the students and checking them out in the classroom. Students come up one at a time, sanitize their hands, and choose a book. For now the books are staying in the classroom. I'm so glad I am able to get books in their hands!

 I have been working on gathering resources onto a new Google Site! It is still in the beginning stages, but check out what I've added so far.  There are plenty of read alouds and instructions for BSS students to access ebooks on the Destiny Discover library catalog.  If you have any questions, feel free to email me! BSS Virtual Library Site

Because it has been difficult lately for many people to access books, I have been gathering read alouds here on my " Virtual Library ." I will be updating these pages, so check back often!

It is amazing how one homework assignment in school could change the lives of two individuals so profoundly.  In this true story, students in a 7th grade class in a suburban school in Pennsylvania had to choose a country and write a letter to an unknown pen pal there.  Caitlin viewed the list of countries on the blackboard, and liked the exotic way that Zimbabwe looked and sounded. She asked her teacher how to pronounce the name, and when she heard her teacher say it out loud and explain that it was in Africa, that's the one that she chose. Up until that point, Caitlin was more interested in taking trips to the mall with her friends and talking about boys, and she had no idea how this choice would change her life. Martin lived in Mutare, which is the third-largest city in Zimbabwe.  Along with another family, Martin's family lived in a one room shack with no running water. Their only piece of furniture was a mattress, where Martin's parents slept.  Martin's sister an...

Scary Stories for Young Foxes by Christian McKay Heidicker and illustrated by Junyi Wu   CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON ABOVE TO LISTEN TO THE AUDIO OF THIS REVIEW This story begins with seven fox kits begging their mother to tell them a scary story. Their mother says if they really want to hear   “a story so frightening it will put the white in your tail," they need to venture out into Antler Wood to find a storyteller who lives in Bog Cavern. So the brave kits do just that. And the kits get just what they asked for - six stories that are so dark and so scary and so creepy that one by one the foxes run back home to their mother. The scary story revolves around two young foxes named Mia and Uly. Mia and her mother are forced to leave their den when members of their family are stricken with "the yellow," a disease which sounds a lot like rabies. When Mia and her mother become separated, she is forced to live on her own until she can reunite with her mother. Uly is constantly t...

I have posted information about required and suggested summer reading in the  Summer Reading page  of this blog.  I love creating suggested reading lists for students, and I know how important it is for students to be able to choose what they want to read.  I will be updating it throughout the summer, so be sure to check back! I also included information on how to access the e-books purchased by BSS for students to read. To go right to my lists of suggested reading by grade,  visit this link .

Park Street Books in Medfield is offering a discount to BSS families who order their summer reading books through their store. The link is:  https://bookers- collections.myshopify.com/ collections/bss-summer-reading . You can narrow your search for required reading by grade.  Order online using the special discount code  BSSREADS2020  and get a 10% discount AND Park Street will match that 10% discount back to our school. Books must be picked up at the store. Check out that link for more information. The prices are very low and you would be supporting a great local business! Or just visit their store at 504 Main Street in Medfield. Their phone number is  508-242-3083.

Visit this link  to find out more about the Walpole Public Library Summer Reading program. They are challenging readers to fill out a BINGO card to earn a prize. Also, the WPL is offering curbside pickup for books from Monday-Friday from 10:00-2:00. Just call or email them at the information in the above graphic.

Click on the image below and choose an activity that you are interested in! Clicking on the links will bring you to different slides or websites. You can make the slides larger by entering full screen mode (click on the square next to the gear at the bottom of the slide). You can always click the "Go Back Home" button to return to the main menu. Have fun!

I was very inspired by this story, Emmanuel's Dream: The True Story of Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah . At the time of his birth in Ghana in West Africa, he only had one functional leg. He was otherwise healthy, but where he lived disabled people typically did not go to school or work but rather just begged for money.  His mother encouraged him to go to school and do the things that other children could do. His life story was made into a documentary called Emmanuel's Gift, which I highly recommend for anyone interested in his story.

I thought that this book would be a nice send off as the students head off into summer vacation.  It's a simple and sweet story about the things we hope for those that we love. I hope that everyone has a fantastic summer!

I love how the character in this story is so creative and perseverant, and how she learns from her mistakes.  She has a vision of a project she'd like to create, but she can't get it right.  She tries over and over, and almost quits. The way she thinks and grows is so important in the creative process, and is a great introduction to STEM and other projects.

My three children loved to listen to stories when they were younger.  They are between the ages of 19 and 24 now, but still enjoy reading.  Jessica, my youngest daughter, asked if she could be a guest reader on my blog.  I was more than happy to oblige! She chose to read The Very Impatient Caterpillar by Ross Burach, which I thought was a great choice with many students learning about butterflies and hatching their own at home. Enjoy!

The book Hair Love is based on an animated film by former NFL player, Matthew Cherry. It's a wonderful story about a father helping his daughter fix her hair because it is a very special day. After listening to my read aloud, click on the image below to watch the animated film the book was based on. It won an Oscar for Best Animated Short Film this year!

There are many Three Little Pig stories out there, but this one is quite different! There is a Voice that comes out of nowhere, and why are the pigs so pale? It is a very fun story.

Mae Among the Stars is based on the life of Mae Jemison, who was the first African American woman in space. When her teacher asked her students what they wanted to be when they grew up, Mae said an astronaut.  Her teacher didn't think this was realistic, and suggested being a nurse instead. Mae's parents told her: “If you dream it, believe in it, and work hard for it, anything is possible.”

My favorite part of this book is looking at all the popular picture books scattered throughout the main character's room.  He has books all over the floor and on shelves, and I liked trying to read what each title was.  This is a very funny story!

Yasmin is another great beginner reading series.  Here is Yasmin the Zookeeper by Saadia Faruqui.

Jack is a great new beginner reading series! Here is Too Many Jacks by Mac Barnett and Greg Pizzoli.

Hello BSS Students and Families, As we transition into online learning, I have been gathering links to ebooks, audiobooks, and other virtual activities that students can use at home. I've gathered these resources onto my Online Resources   page so take a look!  I have also created pages for: Read Alouds by Mrs. Ferguson Author's Websites and Social Media Pages Weekly Library Choice Board (choices of activities to try, will be changed every week) March Book Madness Voting (to vote for BSS students' favorite picture book) View the Pages section of this blog to see other material too! Feel free to comment on any of the posts to let me know what you enjoyed or if you have questions.  You can also email me with any photos or your child learning at home so we can post to the BSS social media pages. I will be having virtual Zoom office hours on Wednesdays at 11:30 (information will be provided by the classroom teachers on either Seesaw or Google Classroom)....

J. K. Rowling  is releasing a new book called  The Ickabog ! She is posting two chapters per day online. AND she wants children to illustrate the printed version! More details can be found at:   https://www.theickabog.com/home/

Here are two stories about Memorial Day, which is a day we honor all members of the U. S. Military who have died. I also recommend watching the video from an episode of Reading Rainbow , in which Maya Lin is interviewed.  Lin is the architect of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, which is featured in the story The Wall . Memorial Day Surprise The Wall by Eve Bunting

The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt and illustrated by Oliver Jeffers is a great book to talk about persuasive writing.  Everything these two creators have written/illustrated are HUGE hits!

Here is another Final Four contender by Drew Daywalt. Adam Rex's illustrations really complete this hysterical book!

No, David! by David Shannon Here is a another book in our Final Four of Picture Books. This book is a classic!

We Don't Eat Our Classmates by Ryan T. Higgins is one of the books in our Final Four!

It seems like everyone loves Mo Willems, and for good reason! His stories are so much fun and make us laugh. This story is very popular with students! I hope you enjoy it. There is also a sequel called Sam, the Most Scaredy-Cat Kid in the Whole World. Click the box on the bottom right corner for fullscreen.

Read Aloud of Tikki Tikki Tembo by Arlene Mosel and illustrated by Blair Lent It is so much fun to recite the title character's name... Tikki tikki tembo-no sa rembo-chari bari ruchi-pip peri pembo. Can you count how many letters are in his name? Not counting the hypens (-) count them all! How many letters are in your first name? Probably not as many as in his name! His name is repeated often in the story, so see if you can say it along with me. Click the box on the bottom right corner for fullscreen. *Temporary permission to post this video by Henry Holt and Company.

Overdrive has an app for students called Sora, and the company is giving our school free access to some of their ebooks and audiobooks until June 30th.  Here's how to access them: Visit this link:  https://soraapp.com/library/ blesssacma .  (There is also a Sora app you could download.) For Grades 3-8 and for faculty: Where it says Select your School, choose "Google (Grades 3+)." Then click on the green button that says "Sign in Using Google Grades 3+." You will then log in with the same credentials that you do for your BSS Google account. For Grades PreK-2: Where it says Select Your School, choose "User ID." I will be sending you your usernames and passwords.  You will enter your username where it says "Library Card," and then click the green Sign In button. Once you are logged in, you can browse ebooks and audiobooks.  There are some great ebooks and/or audiobook chapter books like Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, In...

The results are in! We are down to 8 books! Here were the results for the first round: Legend of Rock Paper Scissors (55%) beat Where the Wild Things Are (45%) Creepy Carrots (76%) beat Chrysanthemum (24%) The Day the Crayons Quit (51%) BARELY beat If I Built a House (49%) Scaredy Squirrel (60%) beat Make Way for Ducklings (40%) Sam and Dave Dig a Hole (60%) beat Today I Will Fly (40%) We Don't Eat Our Classmates (77%) beat Harold and the Purple Crayon (23%) Knuffle Bunny (55%) beat Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus (45%) No, David (60%) beat Blue (40%) Now we need to narrow down to the Final Four of our favorite books! Go to the Google Form to vote .  Please only vote once!  You will have another chance to vote when the results are in for  the Final 4.

BSS Library Choice Board #3 Select at least one of these (hopefully fun!) activities to complete this week. Feel free to comment below or  email me  if you have questions, if you'd like to share a photo or a description of what you chose, or if you just want to say, “Hi!” READ A BOOK! Hopefully you all have had some time to read a book for fun! If you don't have any books at home (or you already read them all!), I have lots of places you can find ebooks on my Online Resources page.   Try EPIC, Tumblebooks, Capstone, BSS collection on Follett, JLG, Abdo, Bookflix, MackinVia or your public library's collection. Take a picture of yourself reading and email it to me! I'd love to know what books you have enjoyed, so email me or post in the comments below some of the books you are reading. One benefit of being home is lots of extra time to read! PEBBLEGO BINGO 1.  Visit PebbleGo from Capstone .   2. Log in with this information: Us...

Wednesday, April 22 is Earth Day. Here are some ebooks, songs, and activities from Capstone.  Visit the Capstone link and note the log in information below. Then click on any resources below to be taken directly to them. Be sure to take note of the Capstone log in information: _______________________________________________________ EPIC EARTH DAY RESOURCES Here is a link to some resources on EPIC. If you ever need help with logging into and using EPIC, just ask me or your homeroom teacher. 

Potato Pants is a fun story about a potato who is super excited to go to a special sale for pants made just for potatoes.  But why is there an eggplant at the store? Will he ruin everything? If anyone would like to design their own potato pants, I'd love to see them! Just email them to me. Enjoy the story! Click the tool in the right corner of the video to view in full screen.

Here's my read aloud of Coronavirus, written by Elizabeth Jenner, Kate Wilson and Nia Roberts, with Consulting by Graham Medley (Professor of Infectious Disease Modelling),  and Illustrated by Axel Scheffler. This is a great resource explaining all the details of the coronavirus in language that children can understand.   I have added audio to this book, but if you would prefer to view or download the pdf file (without my voice), visit this link .

Ben's Dream is another great story by Chris Van Allsburg, the author of The Polar Express, Jumanji, The Widow's Broom, Two Bad Ants , and many others. Click on the play button to hear me reading it out loud.  If you are interested in learning more about landmarks, check out the collection I created in EPIC . Click the tool in the right corner to view the video in full screen.

Click the tool in the right corner for full screen. People are talking an awful lot about germs these days.  It is on our minds constantly just how easy it is for germs to spread.  Told in a very entertaining way by Microbiologist Ben Barak, this story serves as an important reminder of how easily germs can spread from a book to your finger to your mouth. Everyone might be tired of being constantly reminded to keep hands clean (and to avoid licking things like books!), but this story does so in a way that is not too preachy. Here is a great BrainPOP, Jr. video about the importance of washing our hands: SEE MORE OF MRS. FERGUSON'S READ ALOUDS HERE!

Click the tool in the right corner for full screen. Jan Thomas writes some really funny books! I really enjoyed The Doghouse, A Birthday for Cow, and Rhyming Dust Bunnies.  Here is another silly one called The Easter Bunny's Assistant.  There is even instructions for decorating hard boiled Easter eggs at the end of the story.  It might be fun to try it!

Click the tool in the right corner for full screen. Because today is Palm Sunday, it seemed fitting that I read Humphrey's First Palm Sunday by Carol Heyer.  Some students might remember Heyer's other story called Humphrey's First Christmas .  In that story, Humphrey gives baby Jesus his only possession--his blanket--as Jesus is lying in the chilly manger.  I wish you all a blessed Easter! View more of Mrs. Ferguson's read alouds here.

Click the tool in the right corner for full screen viewing. I am a huge fan of this book! The premise, the history, the illustrations--all revolving around the oldest dessert in Western civilization. This dessert is called Blackberry Fool, made from fresh berries and cream. The book describes families from four generation (1710 in Lyme, England, 1810 in Charleston, South Carolina, 1910 in Boston, and 2010 in San Diego, California) preparing this dessert. The word “fool” originated from the French word “fouler” which means “to mash” or “to press,” which is what you must do to the berries in this recipe. The video I posted below is a fascinating look at the research that went into the making of this book. It was fun to watch them actually make the dessert. They even tried whipping the cream using a homemade twig whisk! I found it to be fascinating that Sophie Blackall used actual blackberries as paint to decorate the endpapers of this book (see the photo below). B...

April is National Poetry Month! Read a poem out loud each day. Practice it a few times and you will find it sounds better each time you read it! If the page isn't loading correctly, use this link instead.

BSS Library Choice Board Week 2 Please select at least one of these (hopefully fun!) activities to complete this week. Feel free to comment below or email me if you have questions, if you'd like to share a photo or a description of what you chose, or if you just want to say, “Hi!” Choice #1- Watch Story Time From Space Choose a video read aloud from the list of astronauts reading from the International Space Station. My favorites are Ada Twist, Scientist and Rosie Revere, Engineer , but choose whichever you like! Choice #2- Listen to an Audio Book Audiobooks are great if you feel like being read to, working on a jigsaw puzzle, or if you are going on a walk or a drive. Put on some headphones or earpods, or play it for everyone in the family to listen to. Use apps like Overdrive or Libby to listen to books from your public library, or try sites like Audible or Tumblebooks AudioBookCloud. Here are a few suggestions: On  Audible , search for t...

BSS Library Choice Board #1 Please select at least one of these (hopefully fun!) activities to complete this week. Please comment below or email me if you have questions, if you'd like to share a photo or a description of what you chose, or if you just want to say, “Hi!”  Choice #1- Read a Book! Read a book you have at your house or an ebook from the list of online resources I posted. Or listen to my read aloud of Mrs. Roopy is Loopy from the My Weird School series here . Check out the list of " Amazing Ways to Read ," and challenge yourself to try as many of these ideas as possible! Choice #2- Wonderopolis Wonderopolis answers all your burning questions! Read one of the Wonders of the Day and then click the Test Your Knowledge button to see how much you remember. What are you wondering? Add your question on the Wonderopolis site here . Choice #3- Write a Book Review Search for a book you loved from the BSS Librar...

Here is a read aloud of Q is for Duck by Mary Elting and Michael Folsom, with illustrations by Jack Kent.  It is a book of riddles where the authors write a letter and an animal. The animal name doesn't start with that letter, but the letter does begin a word that is related to the animal in some way. Just because what you guess isn't what the author wrote, it doesn't mean that your answer is wrong! It's just different. I hope you enjoy it! Click the tool in the right corner of the video to view in full screen. I think it would be fun if you could create your own letter riddles! Be sure to share them in the comments or email them to Mrs. Ferguson!