What's Happening at the BSS Library?

Second graders have been listening to some Little Red Riding Hood tales from around the world.  First we read the traditional tale, and it was a beautifully illustrated digital die cut version by Sybille Schenker. The pages are so detailed and exquisite. Next we traveled to Ghana and read  Pretty Salma: A Little Red Riding Hood Story from Africa  by Niki Daly.  We also read  Lon Po Po : A Red-Riding Hood Story From China  by Ed Young.  The students were great at picking out details that were similar across the stories and also the differences.  Next time we will create a Venn Diagram to chart the similarities and differences we found. Mrs. Carroll gave me this beautiful handcrafted doll that converts from Little Red to Grandmother and also the Wolf. Mrs. Carroll has used this doll for many years in her classroom, and I am so happy to have it in the Library!

In grades PreK-2, we have been talking about what an author's job is and we talked about one of our favorite authors...Mo Willems! Students love The Pigeon, Elephant and Piggie, and Knuffle Bunny, and we read several of his other books that are not a part of a series. We read a biography about his life and learned about his passion for drawing when he was younger. Students were surprised to learn that Mo used to write and animate for Sesame Street and won several Emmy Awards.  

Several of the 4th graders had heard of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol or had seen the movie. A few had even seen the Disney cartoon featuring Scrooge McDuck as Ebenezer Scrooge. We read the abridged version of the story, which was illustrated by Brett Helquist (who also illustrated Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events). We read about miserly Scrooge and saw how he treated his worker Bob Cratchitt and how he scoffed at his nephew Fred for wishing his uncle a Merry Christmas. When he was visited by the Ghost of Christmas Past, we learned what his life was like when he was younger, and found some evidence about why he acted so miserable all the time. The Ghost of Christmas Present showed his family celebrating and despite his lack of Christmas spirit and never showing love to his family, they were toasting Scrooge and wishing him well. He also saw the inadequate Christmas meal the Cratchitts were eating, and noticed how sickly their son Tiny Tim was looking. When t...

  In 2nd grade, we learned how fables are a type of folktale, which are stories that were passed down orally over the years until they were finally written down.  Fables typically feature animals as the characters, who learn a lesson in the story. We read Pop-Up Aesop by John Harris and Caleb Brown, which featured several fables such as the Tortoise and the Hare. Students were asked to guess what the moral of each fable was, and we even made up our own fable on the spot. After reading, we watched a very interesting video about how pop-up books are made.

It really is the most wonderful time of the year, not only because of the fun parties and spirit of Christmas but because I get to read some fantastic Christmas books!  Here are a few of the great books we've been reading this month. THROUGH THE ANIMALS EYES BY CHRISTOPHER WORMELL Each page in this story about the first Christmas features beautiful wood cut illustrations shown from the perspective of a different animal. The pictures are stunning, and the students had even more appreciation for them after we watched a demonstration video of a man creating a wood cut print. He shows how he creates the the design onto wood, then he carves it, applies ink, and shows how he transfer the image to paper. The attention to detail and the time it took to create one image was incredible.  RED AND LULU BY MATT TAVARES This book is so beautiful. It tells the story of two cardinals whose tree is chopped down with Lulu still in the nest! Red can't believe it when he comes home after gatheri...

I feel like March is such a long month...with no vacations or school days off. But we can make it fun by reading some great books! Every year I like to have students participate in March Book Madness where books go up against each other and students vote which one should move on to the next round. I use the books from this website:  https://marchbookmadness.weebly.com . Here are this year's selections: I've linked read alouds to each book so we can be informed voters when it comes time to choose! Click here to listen to the readalouds . I will be showing these videos to Grades 1-3 the first two weeks in March while I am in their cohort.  Hopefully we have time to watch them all! I will keep everyone posted on how the voting goes!

 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!