Without a Doubt, Change is Essential!

When the Association of School Librarians (a division of American Library Association) held discussions on updating its mission statement to more adequately impact the evolution of student learning, there were key components that rose to the top. First is that the role of the school librarian is evolving and changing. School librarians serve as the guiding light in transforming learning through new tools and technology. Second is that the essence of school libraries is teaching and learning. This concept places school libraries at the center of any discussion dealing with education. (From a press release issued on 07/15/2014 Jennifer Habley, Manager, Web Communications American Association of School Librarians.)

I applaud Region 15 School District Administration for having both the foresight and the courage to take a tremendous leap this school year by making the decision to revise the elementary media center schedules to provide students with increased access and to foster collaborative opportunities. By creating a more flexible schedule, meaningful integration of information literacy skills and the purposeful use of technology increase dramatically--because of the collaboration that develops between the media specialist and content area teachers. Such changes will directly impact student achievement. Countless research studies prove that flexibly scheduled media centers staffed by certified media specialists results in increased student learning.  As the new media specialist for Pomperaug ES, I am also grateful for the leadership demonstrated by the Region 15 high school and middle school media specialists, who strongly advocate and support flexible schedules in the elementary media centers. As a K-12 department, our media specialists embrace those key components that arose from discussions at the national level, as outlined in the opening paragraph of this blog post. We embrace the fact that the role of school librarian is evolving and changing. We thrive on shedding light and paving a way for our students, so they can develop to their fullest potential. We promise to transform learning through new tools and technology. We pledge our support to content area and special area teachers, because we firmly believe that together we are stronger. Our students deserve our best.

Just this week alone, because of our flexible schedule, grade 5 students participated in a backchannel discussion on the book, Wilma Unlimited written by Kathleen Krull, who will be our guest author later this month. With students utilizing the iPads, the classroom teacher was able to follow and assess the virtual chat, while I presented the text and a word cloud as the focus for the virtual and in-person discussion. Such a tool allowed all students to express their voices--and they did! This tool also served as a great quick assessment on a number of skills including digital citizenship, determining authors purpose, identifing character traits, interpreting images, and more. I would be remiss if I did not express gratitude to the PTO who generously donated the iPads a year or so ago.

Another example of the impact of collaboration within a flexible schedule is noted in the above photo. For the past 3 weeks, the third grade team and I met once a week for planning.  We selected the current science unit on Rocks and Minerals to embed information literacy and technology skills. Then, we scheduled time each week for an information literacy lesson directly connected to the unit of study.  Students has the benefit of both myself and their classroom teacher available to assist them during the lesson.  We used Discovery Education for research and "alphaboxes"
for a note-taking tool.  The unit also includes hands-on science investigations which the students will document using the iPad so they can share their investigation like a scientists! As you can see in the image, students are engaged in creative and challenging activities as they access information, build knowledge, and share it with others.


And one more example... Ten fifth grade students give up their lunch break (and rainy day recess) to create book commercials for picture books for the k-2 students. They read the book, create a short summary without giving away the ending, they grab an iPad, and using a cool app called Tellagami, they create a 30 second book commercial.   The link for their video clip is then encoded onto a qr code which is glued to the inside cover of the book. Next week, K-2 students will learn how to use the iPad app Qrafter to scan the code and listen to the commercials. Hopefully, the 5th graders were persuasive enough!  Our goal is to increase the range of books K-2 students choose from the "E" section of the library.  This project is a win-win situation for all involved. The older students are refining their skills in summarizing, fluency, appropriate use of technology, while providing a valuable service to our school community.  The images below show  what the video commercial would look like. However, to access a sampling of these commercials, either scan the QR code or click on the link!

Scan the qr code with your iPhone or iPad or click here.

Scan the qr code or click here.

So, I hope you can see that we are not taking for granted one single bit the opportunity we have been given this school year.  The benefits of collaboration between the media specialists and teachers in each of our elementary schools is worth the struggles that do come with change.

Keep on collaborating!
Mrs. "M"

Circulate Those Magazines!

We want our students to become voracious readers.  We want them to read for information and for pleasure.  We want them to engage in materials that appeal to their interests.  So, why do most school libraries choose to not circulate magazines?  Every school district I have been employed in--from Rhode Island to Florida--the school media center policy was...magazines don't circulate!!!   This was something I just couldn't accept and fortunately I always had a principal that agreed.  So, I changed that policy in every school media center including PES.

Just take one look at these happy faces and 

you will agree with this policy change which was effective immediately!

Fifth graders showing off their first magazine checkout!

Why borrow magazines?

In the pages of children's magazines, readers will find:
short stories
informational text
infographics
biographical sketches
crossword puzzles
jokes and riddles
diagrams, charts, maps
crafts
recipes
challenges
art and poetry contests
interviews
sports highlights
poetry
science experiments
and even more!

EXCITING OPPORTUNITIES FOUND BY JUST PERUSING A FEW ISSUES

FOR FANTASY READERS AND WRITERS:

Here's your big chance... Cricket Magazine is offering the opportunity for students to help create a fantasy story.   Fred Durbin and Emily Fiegenschuh, author and illustrator need your help inventing a hero or heroine, a sidekick, a villain, and an imaginative fantasy world.  Students can visit: http://www.cricketmagkids.com/sorcery and add their ideas while reading what other kids from around the world are suggesting.  Participate in Cricket's first-of-a-kind crowd-sourced fantasy!  One challenge is to help invent magical words for the "Fantasy Dictionary."  Check it out!

FOR MAKERS: Come check-out the September issue of Appleseeds and read all about skyscrapers. Then you will be ready to create your own magnificent structure.  Here's your chance!  Design and build a model of a skyscraper.  Use any materials you want and make it as big or small as you desire.  But... it has to be able to stand up on its own.  Take a picture of your amazing creation and submit it to the Appleseed contest.  All submission details are found in the September issue- available in our PES Media Center!

FOR SCIENTISTS:  ASK (Arts and Sciences for Kids) focused on the "Drop It!" theme for the September issue.  Did you know that all around the world, scientists are busy dropping things? Sometimes even on purpose.  This issue is chock full of interesting tidbits and concludes with an opportunity to enter the "Drop the Art" contest.  Check-out the magazine in our school library!

TECHNOLOGY TIPS

ONLINE VERSIONS:  Today's students and their families are so fortunate to have the vast amount of free resources available at their fingertips through the internet.  Here are links to several online magazines which are perfect for the PES students.

Time For Kids

Highlights for Kids

Cricket - publisher of several magazines provides free access to samples of each publication.

National Geographic Kids

Dig

Kids Discover

Sports Illustrated for Kids

Amazing Kids!

Visual Literacy

Visual Literacy = Reading Pictures 

PART 1
We are a visually illiterate society. … Three R’s are no longer enough. 

Our world is changing fast—faster than we can keep up with our historical modes 

of thinking and communicating. Visual literacy—the ability to both read and write 

visual information; the ability to learn visually; to think and solve problems in the visual domain—will, as the information revolution evolves, become a requirement for success in business and in life.
            —Dave Gray, founder of visual thinking company XPLANE

Visual Literacy was the focus of my summer professional development.

What is Visual Literacy?
Visual literacy has been defined as the “ability to understand, interpret and evaluate visual messages” (Bristor & Drake, 1994). According to Wikipedia (2011), “Visual literacy is based on the idea that pictures can be “read” and that meaning can be communicated through a process of reading."

WHERE AND WHAT I LEARNED....

Library of Congress

In July, I spent a week in Washington, DC at the historic
Library of Congress, learning how to teach with primary source documents. The resources available through www.loc.gov are extraordinary. As a school media specialist, pointing teachers and students to this resource is essential. Integrating primary source documents into my instruction and locating resources to support content areas will be a priority this school year. Sharing with my colleagues the teaching strategies I gained from this experience will be critical to impacting students' engagement with primary source documents.

Primary Source Document

Fantastic experience

In August, I attended a weekend workshop by the Eric Carle Museum which was hosted by the Highlights Foundation in Honesdale, PA.  It was a delightful, retreat-like experience which beautifully complimented my studies at the Library of Congress. The essence of my learning at this workshop was using visual literacy strategies with picture books in order to deepen students understanding of a text.  Not only did we learn many strategies from the Eric Carle Museum staff, we were also treated to workshops led by award-winning authors/illustrators Vera B. Williams and Floyd Cooper.

Vera B. Williams

Our accommodations

And there were even more surprises... To satisfy our appetites...a gourmet chef who prepared delicious meals.  And...we were gifted with six exemplary picture books to take back to our libraries/classrooms.  One of these books was just perfect for my first class with this year's first graders.

Knowing that the first grade teachers kick-off their readers' workshop with wordless books, I had the perfect title from this workshop to teach visual literacy strategies with my first class in the media center.   The Girl and the Bicycle by Mark Pett is simply perfect for visual literacy as students must "read" the illustrations in order to extract the meaning of the story.  It's a great tale of persistence and generosity.  It carries a message of selflessness and a sweet surprise ending.  Seeing the students engaged in the illustrations and observing how they dissected the illustrations, which were projected on a large screen using a document camera, was exhilarating.  Hearing the students gasp and then squeal with delight when certain illustrations were revealed was more than satisfying as a teacher.  This lesson builds the skills necessary so students can eventually meet the Connecticut Core Standard: RL.1.7: Use illustrations and details in a story to describe its characters, setting, or events. In addition, providing the students with an interactive read aloud experience builds speaking and listening skills particularly SL.1.4: Describe people, places, things, and events with relevant details, expressing ideas and feelings clearly.

Utilizing the "Whole Book Approach," another strategy I learned through this workshop, allowed the students to integrate the book jacket, board cover, and end papers into the main body of work and then synthesize their observations into deeper meaning. This was a terrific way to start the school year in the media center!

Mark Pett also created another touching wordless book titled: The Boy and the Airplane. 

Also in August, the last professional development opportunity of the summer was held right here in Connecticut at Mystic Seaport. I spent time with a group of 15 CT teachers over three days engaged in a variety of hands-on workshops, and for two nights we slept aboard the Joseph Conrad. 

Sleeping quarters

Just like the other two professional development programs I attended this summer, this one also focused on primary source documents. Mystic Seaport has a wealth of historical artifacts related to maritime history.

Meeting characters

The vault

TRANSFERRING PD INTO INSTRUCTION

RESOURCES:  Here are links to various resources that will be of value when integrating visual literacy strategies into content areas.

Library of Congress

Mystic Seaport

National Archives

NY Public Library Digital Collection

Life Magazine Photo File

Smithsonian

US Government Photos and more

Discovery Education-search for images

FREE TECH TOOLS: A sampling of technology tools which would enable students to share their thinking as they analyze images. Keep in mind, any digital storytelling app would work well.

Here are a few suggestions:

Fotobabble: Turn an image into a talking photo/image.  Students would upload an image into Fotobabble, and then record their thinking. Share their "babble" via a web link, email, twitter, embed in blog or website.  Also app version available.

Educreations: Students could sequence several images and create a video of their discussion as they scroll through and construct knowledge about the images on each slide.  Since we want students to be able to connect ideas/concepts, this would be a great way to synthesize information from a variety of images. Educreations includes tools to annotate as the students discuss the details within the image. Share easily through email, link, embed on website or blog.  App version also available.

PicCollage: Available through Itunes and Google Play. Teachers could use this as an initiating or hook activity in which the teacher creates a collage of images related to an upcoming topic or unit. The students would closely observe the collage.  Then generate questions/wonderings which would foster ownership of the learning, since the inquiry questions would be student generated.  Or students could create a PicCollage on a device, and then upload the image into one of the other tools mentioned above.

Tellagami: One of my favorite tools that all ages can utilize with ease. Available for iPhone, iPad, and Android. There is a new paid EDU version which would be worth exploring.  Students could create and share a 30 second video.  Students would upload the image they have been analyzing into the app, choose an avatar, and then in 30 second record new understandings.  The video saves to the camera roll and since the clips are only 30 seconds, you can email them or merge them into another app like iMovie.

COMMON CORE STATE STANDARDS LANGUAGE ADDRESSED WHEN UTILIZING VISUAL THINKING STRATEGIES:

• Speak audibly and express thoughts, ideas, and feelings clearly.
• Ask and answer questions.
• Write opinion pieces, supporting point of view with reasons.
• Explain how illustrations contribute to the story.
• Acquire and use accurately, grade-appropriate conversational, general, academic, and domain specific words.
• Write informative and explanatory texts.
• Write narratives.
• Use information presented visually to demonstrate understanding of character, plot, and setting.
• Engage effectively in collaborative discussion, building on the ideas of others, and expressing ones own ideas clearly.
• Determine the main idea and supporting details of information presented in divers media, including visually.
• Explain how information presented visually contributes to the understanding of text.
• Interpret information presented visually, orally, or quantitatively.

Nutmeg Award Nominees for Elementary...
       So Far, so Good!

This week's focus books are both nominated titles for the inaugural Nutmeg for elementary students. This is the first year in which students in grades 2 -3 can participate in the Nutmeg statewide book award program. However, this new award is offered to students in grades 2-4. Therefore, 4th graders have the opportunity to participate in two levels this year (Nutmeg Elementary (grades 2-4) and Nutmeg Intermediate (grades 4-6).  

I love state book award programs because when a school embraces the program, you actually create a community of readers who experience a common body of literature. Conversations about books and authors naturally occurs across grade levels.  Parents, teachers, and students discuss books and share their impressions or the impact these books made on their lives results in a powerful experience.

In an interview regarding fiction books, Neil Gaiman (@neilhimself) award-winning author, had this to say:

Fiction has two uses. First, it's a gateway drug to reading. The drive to know what happens next, to want to turn the page, the need to keep going, even if it's hard, because someone's in trouble and you have to know how it's all going to end … that's a very real drive. And it forces you to learn new words, to think new thoughts, to keep going. To discover that reading per se is pleasurable.

The simplest way to make sure that we raise literate children is to teach them to read, and to show them that reading is a pleasurable activity. And that means, at its simplest, finding books that they enjoy, giving them access to those books, and letting them read them.

Neil Gaiman stated so eloquently my sentiments and passion for being a school librarian.  It is a pleasure and an obligation to provide access to books that hook students into reading while providing them with opportunities to read.  Encouraging both school and family participation in the Nutmeg Award program is one effective strategy to lead children to the discovery that reading is pleasurable.

FOCUS TITLES: Why did I especially enjoy these two titles? 

Lulu and the Dog from the Sea by Hilary McKay is actually the second title in this early chapter book series. It has characters that are truly likable and  a plot filled with action, heart, friendship and a stray dog.   This book is a quick read (under 100 pages), and I like the fact that the family vacation has plenty of bumps along the way which is the typical experience for most families.

Sidney and Sydney: Third Grade Mixup by Michele Jakubowski (@mjakubowski) is also a fast read, with short chapters,  color illustrations, boy and girl main characters as friends, realistic peer teasing, a child character explaining living with diabetes, and it's told from alternating perspectives. 

Both of these books will work as read alouds or independent reading and will spark a desire to read other books in their respective series. 

From a teaching standpoint, I think language arts teachers will find ample examples of "small moments"  in each text.  Each chapter is brief and could be used as a mentor text during a narrative writing lesson on exploding a small moment. 

Bottom line:   I give both books a thumbs up!  

Students in grades 2-3 will build confidence and stamina as readers since both books are early chapter books.  In addition, the books show realistic characters dealing with age appropriate "drama", while learning how to compromise-- necessary quality in a healthy relationship.  Both characters discover the joy found in placing another person's needs before their own. 

That's just two of the fifteen nominated titles for the 2015 Nutmeg Elementary Award.  To view the complete list of nominees for grades 2-4, take a look at a video slideshow I created to promote the titles.

TECHNOLOGY GEM OF THE WEEK: VOICETHREAD

This is not a new tool, however it is often overlooked.  Consider creating a VoiceThread for either of these titles.  The beauty of VoiceThread--it allows everyone to join in on a conversation.  VoiceThread is a cloud application, so there is no software to install.  You can upload, share and discuss documents, presentations, images, audio files and videos.  Invite others to comment on VoiceThread slides using one of five powerful commenting options: microphone, webcam, text, phone, and audio-file upload.  Keep a VoiceThread private, share it with specific people, or share it with the world.

VoiceThread is a great tool to use for discussing the Nutmeg Nominees!

Simply create one and encourage students and families to respond to a discussion prompt such as: 

For Lulu and the Dog from the Sea, the prompt could be...the two main characters were quite different in their interests and personalities.  Who are you most like, Lulu or Mellie? How are you similar?  Or Lulu and Mellie certainly had a vacation filled with challenges and surprises. Describe a vacation in which you had a challenge and a pleasant surprise. 

For Sidney & Sydney: Third Grade Mix-Up, the prompt could be... The last couple of pages provides additional information on each character based on specific topics.   Re-read pages 126-127 and write a profile about yourself using those same topics and share it on the VoiceThread.  Or, both Sidney and Sydney sacrificed collecting candy on Halloween for the sake of their friends who could not eat sugar.  In the end, they still had a great holiday.   Share a time when you sacrificed doing something you really enjoy and instead chose to do something special for your friend or family member.

VoiceThread (@voicethread) offers educators paid accounts for classrooms, schools, and districts. 

Here is a sample VoiceThread for Lulu and the Dog from the Sea.  Make a comment on the VoiceThread and get the conversation started!

Keep on reading and chatting about books,

Mrs. Martellino

Fiction Reading that will lead to treasures!

This past week's reads!

As promised, here is my second week of treasures and gems! With the summer rapidly advancing, I knew I needed to bump it up a notch in my chapter book reading so that I will be able to advise my upcoming 3rd -5th graders with authentic booktalks.  The books depicted in the photograph above were my reading selections over the past 4-5 days.  My husband rarely saw my face this past week, since I had a book cover in front of it most of the time.

I must admit, my favorite from the bunch was KING OF THE MOUND.  I actually stayed up way too late last night (past 1AM) just so I could finish this delightful book by Wes Tooke.  This is one of those books, you simply can't put down.  And when you do, you can't wait to dig into some nonfiction reading to learn more about Satchel Paige, Neil Churchill, barnstorming, segregation, semi-professional baseball in the 1930's, polio, and more.

@simonschuster

Where to begin... As I was absorbed in reading King of the Mound: My Summer with Satchel Paige written by Wes Tooke, I could not help but think how easily this historical fiction book captivates and effortlessly prompts the reader into research.  As parents and educators, isn't that exactly what we want to happen for our children/students?  We want children to develop and pursue inquiry questions just because something sparked a seed of wonder. 


When a book hooks me, my first tendency is to research a bit about the author.  I want to know more about the personal side of an author because in a way, reading is such an intimate activity.  It's just you and the magic of the words composed by an individual you will probably never meet.  When you get pulled into the story, you somehow have this unique connection to the writer.  So, let me begin with Wes Took.  According to his website, Wes was born in New York but raised in Boston, and was an avid Red Sox fan.  However, his birthplace certainly drew him back in, since his first book, Lucky, is about a bat boy for the Yankees during the summer of 1961, one of the most memorable seasons in sports history. His second book for middle graders is King of the Mound.

Having three brothers, I cannot even begin to compute how many hours I spent in the bleachers (or during one lucky season, in the dugout since my father was the coach) watching baseball games.  Since I grew up in Massachusetts, we were raised Red Sox fans.  However, years later I would marry a man who was an avid Yankees fan, and he steered both of our children to the Yankees side. Oh well.

Regardless, whether you are a baseball fan or not, this book will impact you. While written for middle grade students (4th-6th), readers of all ages will enjoy this book.  King of the Mound has something for everyone.   Wes Tooke tells a good tale, weaving history and fact into a fictional story of a boy who takes first steps on the road to physical and emotional recovery from a bout with polio, thanks to help from a solid new friend and a baseball hero.  A nice touch to the layout of the text is that the 18 chapters all have baseball innings as titles --- the first chapter is titled “Top of the First” and the last “Bottom of the Ninth.”

So, there you have it... my gem of a book for the week.

Now, to treasures in technology tools.  Since, King of Mound provokes the reader to research details from the text, you must explore WONDEROPLIS.  Winner of countless awards, Wonderoplis is a place where "natural curiosity and imagination lead to exploration and discovery in learners of all ages."  After reading about the power of Satchel Paige's fastball, I searched Wonderopolis for "fastball" and of course, there is a "wonder" for me to explore and discover.

@Wonderoplis

My next treasure trove is the Library of Congress.  I had the incredible opportunity to spend one week this summer in DC at the Library of Congress.  There were 28 educators from all over the USA in my session, and we learned how to search for and analyze rich primary source documents.  After reading King of the Mound, I wanted to explore more about Satchel Paige and was curious to see what types of primary source documents were available.  By going to the Library of Congress website and searching for documents on "Satchel Paige," I found not only photographs, but also a Congressional resolution commending Paige on his contributions to baseball.

@librarycongress

Another great site is EXPLORATORIUM.  Searching for "baseball' led me to additional resources and activities such as "How to throw a curveball" and "Finding the sweet spot."   How easy this book makes it to connect PE to language arts!

@exploratorium

Next, I explored DISCOVERY EDUCATION (which our students have access to) and I located ample resources on polio and Satchel Paige which will further expand my understanding of King of the Mound.

@DiscoveryEd

Locating resources and information is one thing.  Sharing new learning is the next step we want to challenge our students to undertake.  Using technology tools makes sharing new learning fun!  Using the information I located on the various sites,  I could use an iPad and take a free app like Educreations and provide a historical glimpse into the life of Satchel Paige.  If I am more of a science buff, I might want to create a narrated slideshow on the history of polio by also using Educreations.  Perhaps I want to share how my baseball skills have improved by experimenting with the activities from Exploratorium.  I could document my experiences by taking photos with the iPad and use Educreations to share my experiences.

@educreations

To share out these creations, students with support from teachers or parents can tweet, email, post the URL created through the Educreations app.  Or students can easily create a qr code and attach the code to the inside cover of King of the Mound.  Then, each student who checks out this book from our school library, would now have access to additional background information with a quick scan of the qr code.  Students teaching other students!

That's how you get students engaged in reading, writing, researching, creating, and sharing!  Let's provide students with engaging books like King of the Mound and encourage them to question, explore, discover, create, and share.

King of the Mound is a nominee for the 2015 Intermediate Nutmeg Award. 

Happy exploring,
Mrs. M.

a place where natural curiosity and imagination lead to exploration and discovery in learners of all ages. - See more at: http://wonderopolis.org/about/#sthash.aGg5VQmE.dpuf

a place where natural curiosity and imagination lead to exploration and discovery in learners of all ages. - See more at: http://wonderopolis.org/about/#sthash.aGg5VQmE.dpuf

a place where natural curiosity and imagination lead to exploration and discovery in learners of all ages. - See more at: http://wonderopolis.org/about/#sthash.aGg5VQmE.dpuf

a place where natural curiosity and imagination lead to exploration and discovery in learners of all ages. - See more at: http://wonderopolis.org/about/#sthash.aGg5VQmE.dpuf

Treasures of the Week!

On August 21, 2014, I will officially be employed as the school media specialist at Pomperaug Elementary School and I could not be more excited and grateful for this opportunity.  To teach in the community in which I reside is a gift.  I promise to never take it for granted.

I wanted to create a blog for my students and families which will promote the treasures and gems I find throughout the year. 

So, I will begin with some of the exciting books and tech tools I discovered while in Las Vegas at the ALA (American Association of Librarians) Conference.

TECH TOOLS: This past year, I taught the 5th and 6th graders at James Morris School in Morris, CT how to use INSTAGROK for research.  I was THRILLED to hear it announced at the AASL workshop on the "Best Tools for Teaching and Learning 2014."  instaGrok is an innovative educational search engine that combines sophisticated semantic technology with an interactive user interface to make learning more engaging, personalized and fun for everyone. instaGrok is used by hundreds of thousands of students, teachers and everyday people every month.  Pomperaug students... get ready to use instaGrok this year!

Also announced at ALA was this tool: recitethis.com.
I was not previously familiar with this tool, but oh, how I saw countless possibilities for integrating this tool into my instruction and student learning.
Here's one way I plan to use this tool with my new students this year.  When I recently read Flora & Ulysses written by Kate DiCamillo (my favorite author, by the way) and the winner of this year's Newbery Award, I simply could not get one line of text out of my head.  I so very much connected to this particular line because each time I leave my parents house in MA, as I pull away, I always look back knowing either my mother or father will be standing at the door or looking out a window waiting for me to glance back for one more wave goodbye.

Using recitethis.com, in just 5 seconds, I created this poster of my favorite line from Flora & Ulysses!

Imagine using this tool as a way for students to share profound lines from a text they are reading independently.  Or use these posters as a way to inspire creative writing especially for those reluctant writers. Or use this tool to create a hook for your next read aloud.  Use it to kickoff discussion about a significant scene or event in a text or in history.  Exciting tool for sure! @recitethis will be one of my favorite tools this year guaranteed!  Also, you must read Flora and Ulysses.  To "meet" Kate DiCamillo, take a look at these videos. Kate is the National Ambassador for Young People's Literature. Read her acceptance speech for the Newbery Award-It's a delight!

NEW BOOKS:  Take a look at just a sampling of some of the "advance reviewer copies" I received FREE while at ALA.

 The first book from this pile that I want to share with you is: I am Amelia Earhart written by Brad Meltzer (@bradmeltzer), a New York Times Best Selling Author and illustrated by Christopher Eliopoulos. This biographical account, told in a fun, conversational style, is part of a series called "Ordinary People Change the World."  Each book focuses on a particular character trait which was exemplified through the life of the hero. The illustrations are reminiscent of characters like Charlie Brown by Charles Schultz and the illustrations with "thought bubbles" add to the text. 

Check out Brad's website to learn why he chose to write this series. Plan to borrow this book from our school library when school resumes or if you can't wait, check to see if Southbury Public Library has a copy.  The series is written for K-3 students, however, all ages will be motivated by the message of the text and will appreciate the photographs of Amelia included in the supplemental pages.

The next book I received FREE of charge at ALA is: Unlikely Friendships.

Who doesn't enjoy reading about the power of friendships and bonds especially in the most unexpected ways!  The author of this text, Jennifer S. Holland (@jsholland36) was present at the conference and autographed this copy for our students!  She is a science and nature journalist - we need to skype her this year!  The text grabs you as a reader right from the first line in the introduction: "My husband John's best friend was a raccoon."  Readers will discover scientific explanations for some of the friendships, and other times, the reader will be left with a lovely mystery. Students will delight in the relationship between Albert the sheep and Themba the African Elephant and be stunned that a spaniel named Sophie will actually ignore her natural instincts and not only befriend an Owl named Bramble, but kiss and spoon with him!  And that's just two of over 40 fascinating tales of Unlikely Friendships! Borrow this copy at our school library or visit Southbury Public Library and start reading it today!

So, just a little taste of what's to come this year as I commit to sharing my gems and treasures with you.

Keep reading and creating,
Mrs. "M"