Hi,
I had such a good time picking out those titles last week and I thought I would do it again. This week I am sharing books that are favorites of mine and I hope will be favorites of yours. My only problem here is that I have so many favorites that this could get very long! I will just have to do installments of favorites.
Roxaboxen by Alice McLerran. Everytime I read this book, children love it and check it out again and again. If you remember a time when children played outdoors and made their own little houses, this book is for you. Barbara Cooney, the illustrator, went to the actual Roxaboxen so she could draw the pictures true to life.
Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney. This is the story of a woman who pledged from childhood to seek adventure and also make the world a more beautiful place.
The Secret Remedy Book: A Story of Comfort and Love by Karin Cates and Wendy Anderson Halperin. A young girl visits her aunt for a week and becomes homesick for her parents. Aunt brings out her secret remedy book to help her niece overcome her homesickness. The remedies are wonderful and the illustrations are soft and soothing.
Rocks in his Head by Carol Otis Hurst. Carol Otis Hurst tells the story of her father who was a passionate collector of rocks. People said he had rocks in his pockets and rocks in his head. He would reply, “Maybe I have.” Then he would put his hand in his pocket and say, “Take a look at this one.” This is a great story for rock hounds and might inspire others to learn more about those hard things under their feet.
Mary Smith by Andrea U’Ren. Back in the time before alarm clocks how did people wake up and get to their jobs on time? Mary Smith was one of the people who would go from house to house blowing a dried pea through a pea shooter at the windows of the homes and waking up the people. This is a unique story of a unique job few have heard about.
The Cats of Krasinski Square by Karen Hesse and Wendy Watson. Karen Hesse is famous for her stories of WW2 and other historical fiction. This is the story of a young girl who has escaped the Getto and lives with her older sister. They smuggle food to the Jews still living there. One day they learn of the Gestapo plan to find the food and confiscate it by using dogs to locate the food. The resistance group thwarts the Gestapo by collecting the stray cats and then letting them loose in the train station. What a great retelling of a true story of Jewish resistance!
So here are a few to get you started. These are all in print at this time.
Have a great week.
Audrey
Sdalibrarian.blogspot.com
Monday, January 25, 2010
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Helping Others in Need
Hi,
This week I want to share some books that are about helping and sharing with others around the world. Since the earthquake in Haiti last week, I am sure you have been discussing this with your students. Here are some stories you may enjoy.
Two Bobbies: A True Story of Hurricane Katrina – This is the story of a dog and a cat who were left behind during the evacuation in Katrina. The two animals stayed together and helped each other and finally were cared for by a rescue team. At that time it was learned that the cat was actually blind and had been helped by the dog.
Wangari’s Trees of Peace – Wangari lived in Kenya as a small child and loved her country. She left to complete her education and when she returned found the trees being cut down for industry, but no one was replanting. She started a replanting program under great opposition from others, but was not discouraged. She enlisted the local women and paid them to plant trees.
Beatrice’s Goat – Beatrice and her family receive a goat from an organization (like ADRA) and are able to improve their lifestyle. Because of the goat, they are able to afford a uniform for Beatrice so she can attend school. This is a good one to read then discuss the different options that ADRA offers so families in similar situations can help themselves.
Boxes for Katje – During the war a package comes for Katje from America. The whole village is excited about this and Katje shares some of the items in the package with the neighbors. Katje sends a thank you letter to her new friend and boxes continue to come to help not just Katje and her family, but the whole village.
If the World Were a Village – This is not a story, but a way to help people understand the make-up of the world. One example is that if the world were a village of 100 people, 61 are from Asia, 13 are from Africa, 12 are from Europe, 8 are from South America, Central America, and the Caribbean, 5 are from Canada and the United States, and 1 is from Oceania. This is a fascinating book.
Ryan and Jimmy and the Well in Africa – What difference can one small child make in the world? An enormous difference. When in first grade, Ryan learned of the scarcity of water in Africa and how desperately wells were needed. He decided to buy a well. His parents told him that he needed to earn the money for it himself and he began. It took a year or two, but finally he had enough. Or so he thought. He really only had enough to purchase the pump, so he went back to his fundraising and spoke at business, clubs, and schools and collected $25,000 and more to dig the well. One boy in the African school named Jimmy became pen pals with Ryan and later when Ryan had the opportunity to visit, he and Jimmy became fast friends. It is very inspiring to read about what a young person can do when they are motivated.
I hope you enjoy these books as much as I do.
Have a great weekend.
Audrey
This week I want to share some books that are about helping and sharing with others around the world. Since the earthquake in Haiti last week, I am sure you have been discussing this with your students. Here are some stories you may enjoy.
Two Bobbies: A True Story of Hurricane Katrina – This is the story of a dog and a cat who were left behind during the evacuation in Katrina. The two animals stayed together and helped each other and finally were cared for by a rescue team. At that time it was learned that the cat was actually blind and had been helped by the dog.
Wangari’s Trees of Peace – Wangari lived in Kenya as a small child and loved her country. She left to complete her education and when she returned found the trees being cut down for industry, but no one was replanting. She started a replanting program under great opposition from others, but was not discouraged. She enlisted the local women and paid them to plant trees.
Beatrice’s Goat – Beatrice and her family receive a goat from an organization (like ADRA) and are able to improve their lifestyle. Because of the goat, they are able to afford a uniform for Beatrice so she can attend school. This is a good one to read then discuss the different options that ADRA offers so families in similar situations can help themselves.
Boxes for Katje – During the war a package comes for Katje from America. The whole village is excited about this and Katje shares some of the items in the package with the neighbors. Katje sends a thank you letter to her new friend and boxes continue to come to help not just Katje and her family, but the whole village.
If the World Were a Village – This is not a story, but a way to help people understand the make-up of the world. One example is that if the world were a village of 100 people, 61 are from Asia, 13 are from Africa, 12 are from Europe, 8 are from South America, Central America, and the Caribbean, 5 are from Canada and the United States, and 1 is from Oceania. This is a fascinating book.
Ryan and Jimmy and the Well in Africa – What difference can one small child make in the world? An enormous difference. When in first grade, Ryan learned of the scarcity of water in Africa and how desperately wells were needed. He decided to buy a well. His parents told him that he needed to earn the money for it himself and he began. It took a year or two, but finally he had enough. Or so he thought. He really only had enough to purchase the pump, so he went back to his fundraising and spoke at business, clubs, and schools and collected $25,000 and more to dig the well. One boy in the African school named Jimmy became pen pals with Ryan and later when Ryan had the opportunity to visit, he and Jimmy became fast friends. It is very inspiring to read about what a young person can do when they are motivated.
I hope you enjoy these books as much as I do.
Have a great weekend.
Audrey
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Weeding 200s and Promoting Books
Hello,
This week we will tackle weeding the 200’s. This section is Religion and Mythology. Much of our books in this area such as Bibles, devotional materials, and missionary stories are timeless and there may be very little weeding done here. Look for books that may be outdated, or that are in dire need of repair. Consider replacing books with newer editions or brighter covers.
Check your section and see if there are books that aren’t circulating. If they aren’t, try to learn the reason why. If they look ‘old’, maybe you need to help move this along. Here are some ideas to promote books in your library.
1. New Book Jackets. Ask students to read them and create a new book jacket for the book. This could be a book report assignment.
2. Junior Librarian – Ask particular students to help you decide whether or not to keep the books. Their job is to read the book and let you know what the book is about and their opinion of the book. If you keep this to a certain few, word will get out and others may ask to help, too. I usually approach a student in a confidential manner and ask if they are interested in helping me with something.
3. Read one part of the book and get interest going. If students ask why you aren’t reading the whole book, tell them that you are reading a blurb similar to the information found on a book jacket or the back of a book. They will have to read the whole book themselves.
4. Create a space to focus on older books that haven’t circulated much and put up a sign that reads “Lonely Books, These books need a friend to read them.”
You will be able to come up with other ideas to promote books. Send any great ideas to me and I will share them with the group.
Have a great week – what’s left of it!
Audrey
Sdalibrarian.blogspot.com
This week we will tackle weeding the 200’s. This section is Religion and Mythology. Much of our books in this area such as Bibles, devotional materials, and missionary stories are timeless and there may be very little weeding done here. Look for books that may be outdated, or that are in dire need of repair. Consider replacing books with newer editions or brighter covers.
Check your section and see if there are books that aren’t circulating. If they aren’t, try to learn the reason why. If they look ‘old’, maybe you need to help move this along. Here are some ideas to promote books in your library.
1. New Book Jackets. Ask students to read them and create a new book jacket for the book. This could be a book report assignment.
2. Junior Librarian – Ask particular students to help you decide whether or not to keep the books. Their job is to read the book and let you know what the book is about and their opinion of the book. If you keep this to a certain few, word will get out and others may ask to help, too. I usually approach a student in a confidential manner and ask if they are interested in helping me with something.
3. Read one part of the book and get interest going. If students ask why you aren’t reading the whole book, tell them that you are reading a blurb similar to the information found on a book jacket or the back of a book. They will have to read the whole book themselves.
4. Create a space to focus on older books that haven’t circulated much and put up a sign that reads “Lonely Books, These books need a friend to read them.”
You will be able to come up with other ideas to promote books. Send any great ideas to me and I will share them with the group.
Have a great week – what’s left of it!
Audrey
Sdalibrarian.blogspot.com
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Ellen White online magazine for kids
Happy New Year!
This first post of the New Year will be short. I have a website that you will want to put in your favorites or bookmark or whatever your computer calls it. It is a service that the White Estate offers for children. I was not aware of this and logged on to investigate. It is a great online magazine for children called “Ellen White: Visionary for Kids”. This is a good way to help kids learn about Ellen White and her contribution to the Adventist Church. It would be good to use in the classroom, at home, or even at Sabbath School.
Log on and take a look around. I have a feeling you will enjoy it.
http://www.whiteestate.org/vez/
This website was suggested by one of our teachers here at Rogers. He got it through the weekly e-newsletter from the pastor of Village Church, John Bradshaw.
If you have a great website you use a lot, please share it with me and I will pass it along in one of my weekly emails.
Have a great week.
Audrey
This first post of the New Year will be short. I have a website that you will want to put in your favorites or bookmark or whatever your computer calls it. It is a service that the White Estate offers for children. I was not aware of this and logged on to investigate. It is a great online magazine for children called “Ellen White: Visionary for Kids”. This is a good way to help kids learn about Ellen White and her contribution to the Adventist Church. It would be good to use in the classroom, at home, or even at Sabbath School.
Log on and take a look around. I have a feeling you will enjoy it.
http://www.whiteestate.org/vez/
This website was suggested by one of our teachers here at Rogers. He got it through the weekly e-newsletter from the pastor of Village Church, John Bradshaw.
If you have a great website you use a lot, please share it with me and I will pass it along in one of my weekly emails.
Have a great week.
Audrey
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