Well, we are just finishing up school vacation, and the previous week I was out with the flu. So here's some news I am catching up on. I hope everyone enjoyed a wonderful February vacation!
THE LIBRARY RECEIVES A GRANT FROM WALMART GIVING!
I was so thrilled to hear that I received the grant I applied for from the Walmart Giving program! We were awarded $1,000 to purchase new books for the library, so I ordered a wide variety of titles that students and teachers will love! This order included fiction, nonfiction and graphic novels, and I was sure to include several that make great read alouds. I also ordered a wide variety of levels, from beginning readers and picture books to chapter books for both elementary and middle school readers. One of the biggest hits has been the "If I Built" series by Chris Van Dusen. I checked out If I Built a School and If I Built a House from the public library recently to read aloud to some of my classes, and students loved these imaginative stories. I was sure to order these two books, as well as If I Built a Car. I haven't been able to read this one yet because it is constantly checked out, which is not a bad problem to have!
Here are a few more books purchased with this grant that I am excited to share with students:
All Are Welcome celebrates the diversity of our world, and how we should welcome everyone regardless of where they are from, what they look like, and what they believe. In this picture book, students all play together, whether they wear a hijab, a yarmulke, a patka or a baseball cap on their head. They celebrate their differences and learn from each other. The message of inclusion is so important for our students to hear. It has been my goal to make our library collection more diverse, and this grant has allowed me to purchase several wonderful multicultural books.
The Proudest Blue: A Story of Hijab and Family
In children's literature, it is so important for stories to serve as "mirrors" and "windows" to readers. A story that is a window means that a reader looks into a new world that is unlike their own. Maybe they are reading about a character from another country who dresses differently, or has a different color skin, or worships in another way. Readers also need to see themselves in stories, which is why they are called "mirrors." Children should be able to read stories with characters who look like them, who speak their language, and engage in activities like people from their own culture. This is most important when this type of character isn't one they often see in books. Maybe the character is raised by a grandparent, or is adopted, or has some type of disability.
It is important for children to see characters who are like them so they know they are not so different, and it is equally important to know that there are people who live and look differently from themselves. Because a hijab might be something students are unfamiliar with, I have been reading The Proudest Blue to classes. In the story, a girl is wearing her hijab to school for the first time. The younger sister is the narrator, and while she is so proud of her older sister for growing up and wearing this most beautiful blue hijab, she hears some people making fun of it. The insults do not discourage the older sister because she had been warned by her mother that some people who do not understand the hijab might make comments like this. I believe that knowledge is power, and that learning something about another person's culture makes it less scary and foreign. It is wonderful that so many beautiful and powerful books have been published recently about all the different kinds of people in the world.
Living in... series
This beginning reader nonfiction series explores everything you want to know about different countries. Each book explores the culture, places to see, the climate, geography, and more about the country and includes easy to follow text and colorful illustrations.
Lots of Graphic Novels!
Graphic novels are among the most popular books in the library. From the Dog Man series to Raina Telgemeier's Baby-sitters Club and Smile, Sisters, and Guts trilogy to Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales series, they fly off the shelves. I did not want to disappoint these fans, so I was sure to include a bunch of new selections. Some are nonfiction, such as books about the solar system and volcanoes, and some from the Toon Into Reading series are geared towards our youngest students. Graphic novels are an engaging way for visual learners to read, and often include higher level vocabulary than print books geared at the same level students. Inference skills, or "reading between the lines" is a must when reading graphic novels, because to understand the story the reader must be able to decipher both the text and the pictures and how they interplay. The reader needs to interpret facial expressions and body movement in the images to determine mood and tone. Graphic novels are appealing to reluctant readers, and give them a sense of confidence when they finish a book or series. And the stories are often fast-paced and exciting. All great reasons to give graphic novels a try!
I am so grateful to Walmart for their generosity, and I know the students are thankful as well! Just look at these faces!
I LOVE WHEN STUDENTS CHOOSE FROM MY DISPLAYS!
It makes me happy when I create book displays or give book talks, and a student checks one of the suggestions out! Here are some photos of students checking out books recommended by teachers or from "The Toilet Papers," which are posters hung in student bathrooms that feature books I recommend. Over vacation was a good time to update the book posters in the student bathrooms, and several feature some of the new books purchased with the Walmart grant. Hopefully the posters will create interest in students to read these new titles!
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