It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

On Mondays, many librarians and teachers join a meme called "It's Monday! What are you reading?" It's hosted by my friend Jen over at Teach Mentor Texts. Check out the link or follow the #IMWAYR hashtag on Twitter to see more great titles and add to your shelves!

I'm happy  to share what I read this past week:

Paperboy by Vince Vawter
Published: May 14, 2013
Published by: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Pages: 240

Lifetime: The Amazing Numbers of Animals Lives by Lola M. Schaefer
Published by: Chronicle Books
Pages: 40
Published: Sept. 24, 2013

The Mouse with the Question Mark Tail by Richard Peck
Published: July 2, 2013
Published by: Dial Books for Young Readers
Pages: 224

How Do Dinosaurs Say I'm Mad? by Jane Yolen & Mark Teague
Published: Sept. 24, 2013
Published by: The Blue Sky Press
Pages: 40

The Year of Billy Miller by Kevin Henkes
Published: Sept. 17, 2013
Published by: Greenwillow Books
Pages: 240

Bugs in My Hair by David Shannon
Published: Aug. 27, 2013
Published by: The Blue Sky Press
Pages: 32

Despite a busy, busy time at school with book fair prep, I managed to get a lot of reading done! I am so proud of that! In truth, having all of the books around me inspired me to amp up my reading.

What am I reading now?

What are you reading this week?

Making a Little Decision Can Help with a Bigger One

As you can probably imagine, when you make a change from one job to the other, there are many, many new decisions to be made. I'm still in the process of making m y way through some of these decisions as I continue through my first year as a school librarian.

Some of these decisions are little ones, and some are a bit grander in scope. One decision I made early on was probably little AND big: shelf-markers. I use these in my school library to help students remember where books belong as they browse through titles on the shelves.

I asked a lot of my librarian friends where they got them and how they were stored.  I followed their advice for the most part, but added my own little twist. The idea came to me as some ideas come to us: when we least expect them.

I decided to cover the shelf markers in decorative duct tape. The kids love using them because they're fun-looking, and that makes they use them more. I know it has helped keep in our efforts to keep books in the right place which helps everyone find what they need. That is super important!

Most of my decisions aren't this easy, but these help me make the bigger ones. Also, it helped me see that taking in everyone's input is helpful because it leads me to my own answer. Can this help with bigger decisions? Yes. As we make our way through easy or tough decisions, listening to what others have done is helpful. It gives us a model of what is possible. Applying the possibility to our own world requires time and reflection and stepping away.

If you are a librarian, do you use shelf-markers?

Learning in the Library (with some Habitude help)

Our library is definitely a learning hub! Last week really proved it!

We hosted Angela Maiers, and she presented some great learning for teachers about how to incorporate the Habitudes in their classrooms.

 These Habitudes come from her book:

The Habitudes are:

• imagination
• curiosity
• perseverance
• self-awareness
• courage
• adaptability

As I apply this learning to our library, I first apply it to my own life. Angela asked us to choose a habitude we wanted to focus on for ourselves. I chose courage and adaptability because I think these will be very necessary this first year as a librarian. I noted these two and reflected upon them throughout the following days. But first, I defined them for myself:

• Being adaptable means being able to move forward even when things are constantly changing. It means not letting obstacles get in your way.  It could also mean using these same obstacles to create new opportunities. This happens in the library all the time!
• Trying out new things, taking risks, and stepping out = courage. If I do these things, then my students and campus will benefit.

In the days that followed, I had many opportunities to practice both. Yesterday, I presented at the TAIR (Texas Association for the Improvement of Reading) Conference where I spoke to preservice teachers about great books. Before the session even started, the projector's light bulb went out. That meant that my great Google presentation and my PowerPoint backup would both remain unseen.

Adaptability and courage helped me push forward. I had printed a copy of my PowerPoint, so I used that as a guide. And, I brought handouts with me. I realized that I was practicing adaptability beforehand because I was preparing for change that I anticipated MIGHT come.

Courage helped me speak before a large group without any great slides for reference. It was all about how I shared the information. It was also all about how I connected with the audience. (Passion for books is my fuel!)

Learning is the ultimate goal for school libraries, of course! But what last week taught me was that the learning that happens in school libraries can be shared into the world by all who visit them--not just students.

It made me even more determined to cultivate the atmosphere of learning in our space. And to carry it out in my own world, too.

Dot Day 2013--And Beyond!

I first celebrated Dot Day last year with my fourth grade class. I bought the book by Peter H. Reynolds and read it aloud. We made dots on our iTouches, and I even had a bulletin board display in our hallway.

But this year was a little different. I had a whole school to celebrate it with and that made it extra fun!

I was fortunate and so happy to know that my new school celebrated Dot Day, too! So I brought it into the library by reading the book to our classes, making different types of dots in different ways, AND connecting with other libraries via Skype in Maryland, Maine, Georgia, and even right here in Texas.

The Skype visits added another level of awesomeness to the celebration. Our 5th graders read The Dot to Mrs. Ford's kindergarten students and our 2nd grade showed their dot creations to other 2nd graders in Maine. Mr. Winner in Maryland read the book to our 2nd graders, and I read the book to his all the way from Texas.

Many of my fellow librarian friends from around the country celebrated with us, and I was amazed (yet really not surprised) at how many of us there were!

What makes Dot Day so great is the idea that we really can each make our mark in the world (in a positive way)!

How will I make my mark in my new school home/library? How will I help my students make their mark in their world? I'm not sure exactly what form this will all take, but I do know this: reading and books and literacy and will be a part of it all!

As I wrap up a week of Dot Day festivities tomorrow, I won't be done with the idea of Dot Day (and all that it represents)  at all. For me-- in my library-- I've only just begun!

Until Dot Day 2014!

The Great Trouble: Blog Tour

Here is one thing I really love about good historical fiction: It usually makes you want to learn more about history. When I share this genre with young readers, this is always one of my hopes.

I recently read the galley for THE GREAT TROUBLE (middle grade) by Deborah Hopkinson, and it was exactly the type of historical nonfiction I enjoy reading. I'm happy to be a stop on the blog tour for this book today. (Thanks to Random House for the ARC from Net Galley.)

 

 

THE GREAT TROUBLE: A MYSTERY OF LONDON, THE BLUE DEATH, AND A BOY CALLED EEL

Published by: Random House Kids

Published: Sept. 10, 2013

 

The book takes place during the London cholera epidemic of 1854.  Before I read it, I asked myself what I knew about cholera, and I remembered my trip to London years ago. Making connections with nonfiction definitely helps!

Even with my background knowledge on the topic, I mostly connected with the book because of the main character, Eel. He is an orphan, living a hard life in the streets, doing what he can to make a living. But he is caring and hardworking, and as the people of Broad Street succumb to cholera, he wants desperately to do something to help. He seeks Dr. John Snow (1813-1858) , a true historical figure in the book.

Dr. Snow had been studying cholera and trying to figure out its cause. His search for answers and Eel's compelling story make this book a medical mystery must-read. I couldn't put it down, and I wanted so much for Eel to be safe! (Eel has a secret that keeps him on the run!)  I also thought of the medical researchers around the world who work tirelessly to find cures for diseases. I grew to admire them even more.

If you love historical fiction, then this book is for you. If you love a mystery, this book is for you. And if you love a main character who doesn't give up in the midst of all types of trials, this book is also for you.

Deborah Hopkinson, author of THE GREAT TROUBLE

Deborah Hopkinson is also the author of Titanic: Voices from the Disaster, a 2013 Sibert Honor Book, and Annie and Helen, a 2012 picture book biography of Helen Keller that received a starred review from School Library Journal. 

Do you want to know more about THE GREAT TROUBLE? Make sure you stop by these blogs:

September 12 – Random Acts of Reading

September 13 – Styling Librarian

September 14 – Kidlit Frenzy

September 15 – Busy Librarian

September 16 – {Eat the Book}

September 17 – Nerdy Book Club

 

 

Our Start with Books

Last week, I was telling our 5th graders a story about my start as a reader. I mentioned how when I was a toddler, my grandmother would set me down on her linoleum kitchen floor with a Sear's Catalog. She told me years later that I'd sit there and turn the pages softly and for a long time, mumbling things to myself as I did. I like to think it was practice for the reading life ahead of me. As I was telling that story (with a goal of connecting to my students as readers), I realized that my grandmother had been the one who'd started me on this path of books.

And then I realized what a great thing that was. Who is it that turns us on the path to books? Usually, it's our parents, our  teachers, our librarians and sometimes it's our friends. Many people play a part in forming our reading lives. That doesn't even include the authors. We owe all of them so much.

Now, in looking back at my week and thinking about my first Kindergarten library class, I realized I was their first school librarian.  It makes me really happy to know that, and it also makes me really excited about all the good books we'll share in the future.

Who started you on the path to reading?

What I'm reading now:

THE TRUTH OF ME by Patricia MacLachlan
Published: June 25, 2013
Published by: HarperCollins
Pages: 128

A Learning Journey

As of the writing of this blog post, I've been an elementary librarian for one entire week. And, though I've only been at this destination for a short while, I have already learned so much.

In fact, in most tasks I've carried out, there is something learned. Sending out a schedule, putting up a display, and checking on the computers--these have all provided an unsolicited lesson about what to do next time. Yes, I am my own evaluator and critic first before anyone else has the chance.

Next step in the journey: tomorrow I will see classes for the first time. It will be a day-long performance task that I have designed for myself, assessed against a rubric that I have yet to see.

To perform well, I will remind myself that it is all about the readers that enter the library--as well as those that do not.

Against that criteria. all of my actions will be judged. 

Throughout it all, I WILL be wearing cute shoes. And having a wonderful time, too! 

Stay tuned for the score! I cannot wait to see it myself.

What I'm reading now:

WILD BORN: Spirit Animals Book #1 by Brandon Mull
Published by: Scholastic
Publication date: Sept. 10, 2013

Thank you to Scholastic for the ARC provided at ALA 2013! I'm really enjoying this book far! 







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