Book Character Day- Celebrating Reading

We missed our Read Across America Day Monday because of ice. We simply called the kids and moved all the fun to Friday. I'm glad we did. It was a little crazy at school today. What a way to end Dr. Seuss week! Our students and teachers dressed as their favorite book character. I was going to play it save and dress as Cat in the Hat, but no, I got a little crazy! Meet my version of Pinkalicious.
(You have to understand. This is totally out of character for me. I'm really a conservative dresser, lots of black and brown. The looks on the kid's faces, PRICELESS!)

Pinkalicious, Cat in the Hat, Fox in Socks, Thing 1 and Thing 2, Cat in the Hat, Truffala Tree, and The Grouch Ladybug, Clifford and Cindy Lou Who all appeared at my little school. Too fun! 

The teachers are so cute in their outfits. Our principal even wore his Dr. Seuss hat. Several of the students dressed up in cute costumes. 

Lots of cute characters at school today. Did your school get to celebrate Read Across America Day with a book character day? Hey, whatever it takes to inspire reading!!! I'm linking up with Primary Chalkboard for their Dr. Seuss week.

Happy Reading!

Celebrating Read Across America With My Favorite Authors

At my school we love Dr. Seuss! Why? It's all about READING! My teachers and I will do about anything to inspire the love of reading  in our students. Read Across America Day is a great day/week to celebrate reading at school.  Whether it's reading Dr. Seuss books or other favorite authors, my teachers go above and beyond to foster the love of books with our students.

Author studies or author of the month is a favorite activity of mine with my lower grade students. With Kindergarten, First Grade and my Second Grade students I try to have a monthly author focus.  It's a great time to highlight some of my favorite authors with the kids. Some authors get a spotlight in collaboration from the teachers. Others get shoutouts because they are my personal favorites. I love telling the students about favorite books from my childhood as well as introducing them to new and upcoming authors.

I love reading Clocks and More Clocks by Pat Hutchins. The students find it way too entertaining to discover I was four years old when it was written.  As a student I loved hearing it read by my first grade teacher and I want to make it just as exciting for my students.

Another great classic is The Very Busy Spider by Eric Carle, published the year I graduated from high school. I just love all of Eric Carle's books. He's one of my favorite picture book authors/illustrators.

Newer authors I love are James Dean's Pete the Cat books and anything by Mo Willems. 
Students today are blessed with an array of talented authors. As a librarian I'm only limited by my budget to great children's literature,  definitely not the selection available!

Go check out other favorite authors at Primary Chalkboard's linky. 

Happy Reading!!!

#IMWAYR March 2

It's Monday! and What are you reading? Link up with Jen at Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee and Ricki form Unleashing Readers to see what others are reading.

With basketball and getting ready for Read Across America Day, it' not been a super great reading week. I did finish a few in my stack. Just got the phone call, we're out today! So disappointed. :(

I found a couple little scary tales for my middle grade students. They want a thriller but I don't want to give them anything too horrific. I picked up Dare to Be Scared and Double-Dare to Be Scared by Robert D. San Souci, illustrated by David Ouimet.  These will be perfect for my 3-5th graders. Both books contain 13 short stories guarantee to thrill the students. The books contained just enough of scare factor without being overly graphic. 4 stars

Another thriller was The Ghost of Graylock by Dan Poblocki

I was a bit worried about this one when I started reading it. Was very afraid it was going not handle mental illness in an appropriate way for my students. But it improved after the first couple chapters. Turned out to be one I can recommend for my middle students. A great little thriller/mystery/ghost story.

One of my lower grade teachers wanted some fairy tales to compare and contrast. While I was pulling the titles she requested, I found these on my shelves.

Cactus Soup by Eric Kimmel, illustrated by Phil Huling 

Basically it's a version of stone soup. Set in San Miguel, Mexico, soldiers enter town and are hungry. Soup is made from a cactus instead of a stone. Cute and well done!

The Impudent Rooster by Sabina J. Rascol, illustrated by Holly Berry

This Romanian tale is about a rooster which tries to help his master by finding a purse but looses it to a rich nobleman. Great little story about friendship and kindness. 5 stars

The Dragon Prince by Laurence Yep, illustrated by Kam Mak

This is a Chinese Beauty and the Beast tale. Beautifully done. 5 stars


Can You Guess My Name? by Judy Sierra, illustrated by Stefano Vitale

A nice collection of traditional tales from around the world.

I should finish reading the third book of Tiger's Curse, Tiger's Voyage by Colleen Houck tonight today since we're out for weather.

I'm going to be honest. This series is becoming tiresome. I really enjoyed the first book, Tiger's Curse, but with the second and now the third I'm just wanting it to be done. Tiger's Voyage is really dragging.... So far only 3 stars. Not impressed.

Happy Reading. Going to have to bring a new stack of books home from school tomorrow.

Seussical Celebration! Happy birthday, Dr. Seuss!

Tomorrow my school is celebrating Dr. Seuss's birthday and Read Across America Day.  My teachers and I have been busy decorating our school. We have special guests coming to read to our students and all kinds of fun planned for tomorrow. I found this great free graphic from the 3am Teacher. Going to have to create something great for school tomorrow. I just love her graphics. (I'm such a clipart junkie!!!)

 







In preparation for our big day, I decorated my library door and window with a "Cat in the Hat" theme. Had way too much fun.

 Outside the office I recreated a couple other "little cat" friends.

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For the main hall bulletin board I created an author spotlight. Added some truffula trees and a timeline about Dr. Seuss.

Other little decorations included Seuss critters, quotes, and little pink trees. Our art teacher helped with her drawing skills. Thanks, Pam!

 

 

Our Reading Specialist has organized all kinds activities and has been helping the teachers decorate the other halls. It's looking great around my little school. My favorite decorations:

 Can't wait till tomorrow. It's going to be a great day at school!

#IMWAYR for February 17

It's Monday! and What are you reading? Link up with Jen at Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee and Ricki form Unleashing Readers to see what others are reading.

The only good thing I can say about snow days at this point in the year --- They make great reading days! My school system worked today to makeup our snow day from last week. As of now we are completely out of snow days. I don't want to miss any more. 

I finished a few in my "to read ASAP" stack. Thoroughly enjoyed them all!

First up - The Maze Runner Series by James Dashner!!!

LOVED them! My students checked them out today so I'm glad I remembered to bring them with me to school. In case you haven't heard of these, basically Earth has been partial destroyed by sun flares. In the middle of all the planetary chaos, a biological virus is released from a lab. Of course it's highly contagious and deadly. While trying to escape the "Cranks" and the "WICKED is good", the children of the maze must complete the task of trying to save the citizens of Earth. 5 Stars!!! My middle school students are keeping these off the shelves! 

The fourth book The Kill Order, the series prequel, was released last month, it's definitely going on my school's wish list.

One of my students requested some I Survived books by Lauren Tarshis.
I picked up and read a few!

I read the ones about 911, Gettysburg, Pearl Harbor, and Hurricane Katrina. Will be picking up more of these. These are great for your students who love historical fiction. Ms. Tarshis includes historical details at the end of each book. A bonus for students and teachers who love reading history.
All of the ones I read were on a 4th grade reading level. I've got students from third - sixth reading them. 5 Stars!!!

Going to try to get more of Rick Riordan's Kane Chronicles read this week. Since my boys high school basketball team is playing for the district championship tomorrow night, not sure how much reading will get done this week. (and to think I thought basketball was almost over...)

Keep Reading!!! I will.

CYBILS - The Finalists with My Hits and Misses!

The CYBILS winners and finalists were announced on Friday. I was fortunate to serve as a round two judge for Easy Readers and Early Chapter Books, the best part - getting to read some of the new books from 2013! I definitely have recommendations for my lower grade teachers and librarian BBFs. (The winners and finalists in all the other categories are on the CYBILS website.)

I blogged about the winners on Friday. My committee chose one Easy Reader and one Early Chapter book.  (Very difficult to pick the top one! We had several great books from which to pick.)

The runner-ups for Easy Readers: (Recommend all of these for Kindergarten or First Grade readers!!!)

A Big Guy Took My Ball! Mo Willems

 

Love Mo Willems! Another great piggy and elephant adventure. This time Gerald and Piggy have a possible bullying issue. Of course it ends with friendship. 5 stars

Joe and Sparky Go To School by Jamie Michalak

I had never read a Joe and Sparky book until January. It was terrific. I'm going to be adding more of Michalak's titles to our school library. From the illustrations to the great lines, a wonderful read for your beginners. Cute! Cute! Cute! 5 stars

Love is in the Air by Jonathan Fenske

 

Who would imagine a balloon falling in love with a kite? Only Jonathan Fenske! Adorable. Perfect for beginners. 4 stars

Penny and Her Marble by Kevin Henkes

 

Who doesn't like Kevin Henkes? Not one in my world. Penny finds a marble and keeps it but then worries it might belong to someone else? If you love the adventures of Penny, you will love this one!
5 stars

The Meanest Birthday Girl by Josh Schneider

 

I'll be honest at first I didn't like this one, but then I reread it. Totally enjoyed it the second time around. It's a cute little story about happens to those mean little girls. Sometimes we can be mean. Dana likes to pinch and take things that are not hers! A perfect birthday present helps Dana overcome her "little" problems. 4 stars

Finalists for Early Chapter Books:

This category was a little easier to chose from.  I definitely had my favorites!

Dragonbreath # 9 Case of Toxic Mutants by Ursula Vernon

 

If your young readers enjoy graphic novels, they will love the Dragonbreath series. Its vocabulary and the length will challenge the younger readers. I can see my upper grade reluctant readers grabbing this one. Danny dons the role of detective to find Grandpa's missing dentures. Going to have to find some more Dragonbreath books for my students. Predict they will be a huge it with the third and fourth graders. 5 stars

Kelsey Green, Reading Queen by Claudia Mills

 

Kelsey's school hosts a little reading contest. Of course Kelsey wants her class to win. (Not sure I liked the format of the reading contest. I want my students to read for the love of it not to put numbers/titles on a reading log.) Kelsey read books below her ability just to count as another title read. She did help a fellow student with a book. Think my girls will like this one more than the guys. Wasn't my favorite but still 4 stars.

Lulu and the Dog From the Sea by Hilary McKay

 

If you students read the Judy Moody series, they will enjoy Lulu. Cute, great storyline, will highly interest your girls. Lulu loves animals. When her family rents a cottage on the beach, the landlord warns them about a stray beach dog. Lulu decides to befriend the dog and try to teach it to behave. Cute will give this one 4 and 1/2 stars.

Life of Ty: Penguin Problems by Lauren Myracle

 

I didn't enjoy this book as much as I thought I would. I felt like the storyline was lacking or underdeveloped.  The whole idea of a good kid "accidently" taking home a baby penguin from the aquarium during a school field trip was ridiculous. Could have been so much more... I'm going to pass on this one for my library. Do I have to give it stars?

Violet Mackerel's Natural Habitats by Anna Branford

 

Another one for my girls who read Judy Moody! Violet loves small things. After finding a ladybug in her backyard, she tries to create a home for it with disastrous results. Violet ends up helping her older sister with a science project and learning a lot about ladybugs. 4 stars


Other members of my panel were:

 

Alyson Beecher from Kid Lit Frenzy

Travis Jonker from 100 Scope Notes

Freya Hooper from One Great Book

Niki Barnes from Day Dream Reader

Tons of fun, maybe next January?

Keep Reading

Hip Hip Hooray! the CYBILS were announced today!

It's time to announce the winners of the CYBILS for 2013! To see what won in every book category visit the CYBILS website.  I was fortunate to serve as a round two judge for Easy Readers and Early Chapter Books. So without further delay:

Easy Readers Winner -

Urgency Emergency! Big Bad Wolf  by Dosh Archer

 

It’s a busy day at City Hospital where Doctor Glenda, and Nurse Percy have their hands filled assisting a little girl in a red coat who had lost her grandmother.  The excitement of the day only increases when Pengamedics wheel in a choking wolf.  Can Nurse Percy put aside his fears of wolves in order to assist Doctor Glenda? And what is that thing or is it a someone stuck in the wolf’s throat? With dogged determination, Doctor Glenda and her team work to save the choking wolf and rescue whoever is stuck.  

 

Dosh Archer brings a new twist to a classic favorite in Urgency Emergency! Big Bad Wolf. with laugh out loud text, Archer delivers up a fast paced adventure that will delight both beginning readers and adults who read alongside them. Thought the text is accessible to developing readers, children will discover some new connections with multiple read-throughs with this book. In the end, Archer provides children with an opportunity to celebrate alongside Doctor Glenda and her team for a job well done.

Early Chapter Book Winner -

Home Sweet Horror (Scary Tales) by James Preller

Other recipients:

Bloody Mary, Bloody Mary, Bloody Mary!!!   Liam Finn and his sister just moved into the old Cropsey house. Their father has transplanted his family from Hopeville to Upstate New York. Liam and Kelley are both opposed to the move, but since the de

Bloody Mary, Bloody Mary, Bloody Mary!!!

 

Liam Finn and his sister just moved into the old Cropsey house. Their father has transplanted his family from Hopeville to Upstate New York. Liam and Kelley are both opposed to the move, but since the death of their mother eighteen months earlier the family is struggling to survive. Upon moving into the house, Liam begins to hear strange noises and even receives a threatening message in a mirror.  When Kelley’s friend, Mitali, comes for a visit and summons “Bloody Mary”, the tale quickly escalates to a spine-tingling conclusion.

 

Preller takes an urban myth and creates an enjoyable little tale of horror that will appeal to the lower grade students. Bruno’s illustrations insert an appropriate amount of creepiness that adds to the ambiance of the tale.  Younger readers will appreciate this scary tale without the graphic and gory details of older horror reads.  This little page turner could become a camp fire classic!

These books will make great additions to your library or the lower grade classroom libraries.

Keep Reading! and Happy Valentine's Day!!!