January Back to School

I'm back at school on Monday, as I am sure many of you are as well. You are probably reflecting on your break and wondering if you did everything you needed or wanted to do, and if you are like me, you are realizing you didn't! It really is impossible to make it a perfect Winter Break, I think.

As I look back on my time at home, though, I am grateful. I am glad I took time to read good books, sleep, watch holiday movies, and "be" at home with family. One day rolled into the next, and some days, I had to check my phone to make sure I had the date right. Did that happen to you, too?

I was also thanking myself for staying late on the last day before break to clean up and prep for my return. This is the first time I have done this, and I think I will do it again next year! (Next time, though, I will bring a snack!)

One thing I did before I left that Friday was pull books for January. Here are SOME of the books I will be sharing this week! (Even if the weather isn't very wintery at all right now, these do tie in with our curriculum standards!) All but one are winter/snow books. Squirrel's New Year's Resolution is a sweet story about doing for others.)

What books are your sharing this January?

More Christmas Books!

I was walking around the shelves of our library the other day before winter break began, shelving holiday books that had already been passed around among classrooms. As I was shelving them, I realized there are quite a few holiday books that everyone loves and enjoys. No matter how many of them I find, though, I always come across one I hadn't pulled or even heard of. When I was just about done shelving, I came across The Night Tree by Eve Bunting. I realized I hadn't read it in a long time, so I read it again, right then and there.

Two words I'd use to describe this book: peaceful and lovely. Narrated by the older brother, it's the telling of a family tradition in which the characters of the book go out into the neighboring woods to decorate a tree -- not to chop it down. The writing is in present tense and the reader is experiencing the event as the narrator describes it. 

I especially appreciated the illustrations and found them to have a distinctive energy, both in the expressions of the characters and in the depth of the color palette (especially in the color of the night sky.) In particular, there is a double page spread in which the family is singing into the night. I found myself mesmerized with the faces, almost hearing their voices. 

Here are more Christmas books I've enjoyed this season: 

Board book! 

One of my favorites! 

Great nonfiction! 

Published in 2018, a new favorite

I enjoy reading holiday books, and I hope we get a lot more of them! (Especially chapter books! I definitely would love to see more of those!) But even when we get new books, we keep reading our favorites and we love them just like we love the ornaments we've had for years! 

P.S. The best shoes to wear while reading or shopping for holiday books? BOOTS, OF COURSE! 

I've been wearing these ankle booties from Macy's a lot lately because they are cute and comfortable! 

What holiday books have been your favorites this year? 

The Holidays are Here!

December has arrived and it doesn't seem real to me. The days go by and by!

One of the very best parts of this time of year is making sure the library is extra comfortable and festive for the holidays! Schedules are busy and change by the hour (unintentionally) and so I want our community to feel that they can always count on the library to be their school "living room".
Whether it's book displays, cardboard tube snowmen, or posters, etc., I like finding little things that can make everyone smile!

Here are a few of those "little things"!

I found this idea on Instagram for my Lightbox! I always struggle to find the right book message for it, so I am grateful to those librarians who post and share ideas!  Do you have a light box in your library? I am so glad I purchased one at the beginning of the year (although I do wish my set had an apostrophe)!

The Grinch is very popular this year, so everyone has been loving my Grinch Book Face! (Again, thank you, Pinterest!) 

We made these cardboard snowmen and reindeer! I found the idea on Facebook.

And I also like to put up this "virtual" fireplace for readers to enjoy.

Now, I want to share a few books that I have really enjoyed lately and found so delightful.

This is one of my latest book purchases! I'd heard so much about this book, and it lived up to every good thing I'd heard about it. It's engaging from beginning to end and the illustrations are so vibrant and filled with energy. A lovely story of family and traditions! 

Another one of my latest book purchases: Santa Bruce! Ryan T. Higgins gives Bruce a holiday story that once again endears him to all of us! Pay attention to the illustrations! It makes me laugh every time I read it! This one also has a great case cover! 

I ordered the UK version of One Christmas Wish, and I am so glad I did. The case cover is phenomenal, and the illustrations are reminiscent (at least to me) of Roger Duvoisin (of the Petunia books). It's the story of a boy who is lonely at the holidays! He makes a wish and a beautiful adventure begins! 

Thank You, Omu! is a must-have picture book! What a wonderful story of generosity! I was captivated by every page! Thank you, Little Brown! Around the holidays, there is a focus on giving. This story fits right in with the spirit of the season. 

Do you know Pine & Boof? The second book in the series is Pine & Boof Blast Off! Pine is, of course, a porcupine, and Boof is a bear! They are friends and in this story, they happen upon an unlikely adventure, and they meet a challenge head on and with great fun! Thank you, HarperCollins! 

Now that this post is finished, I can say that I am very proud of myself for blogging again. It's been a few -- or more -- weeks! This was an item on my to-do list, and now, I will celebrate for accomplishing it! 

I hope your holidays are filled with joy and good books. 

October in the Library

How is it already November? Is that a question you are asking yourself, too?

Looking back at October:

We celebrated Halloween by reading Creepy Carrots by Aaron Reynolds and Peter Brown. We decorated the library with creepy carrots and I incorporated it in Makerspace, too - creating fences to contain the carrots.

We also read Stumpkin by Lucy Ruth Cummins. Kindergarten enjoyed this quiet book, and it fit in well with their harvest of our school garden.

Whether they are new books or not, once you find a good Halloween/pumpkin/October book, you stick with it! Another new Halloween book I enjoyed was Herbert's First Halloween. 

I also really appreciated this board book from Abrams! The pictures change as you turn the pages! 

Now I am already thinking about decorating for the holidays. Will I put out any turkey decorations? I will probably have students make some in centers this week. 

Another week begins tomorrow! Hope it is a good on in your classroom or library! 

Earthrise: Apollo 8 and the Photo That Changed the World

Gladstone, James. Earthrise: Apollo 8 and the Photo That Changed the World. Illus. by Christy Lundy. Toronto: Owlkids Press, 2018. Print. 

Do you have a photo that reminds you of an important moment in your life? How about a picture that has a backstory? A very IMPORTANT backstory? Of course you do! We all do! 

Earthrise: Apollo 8 and the Photo That changed the World tells the story of this very famous photo in history by the same name. Beginning with the launch of the Apollo 8 spacecraft in 1968, the book sets up the atmosphere in country on the day of liftoff, telling how people gathered to watch it on television, then recounts each step of the first important space mission to the moon. Astronauts Jim Lovell, Frank Borman, and William Anders traveled manned this mission. Anders took a photo from lunar orbit showing Earth and part of the moon, showing us our planet from space. 

The text walks through the timeline of the mission at a good pace, with the vintage style illustrations guiding the way smoothly.  A powdery blue is the predominant color in the palette, with soft swishes of dots accentuating objects on each page. A backmatter page gives more information on the mission and its impact, while also inspiring readers to connect to the content. I can think of connecting it to units on the moon and Earth Day. 

I found myself doing my own research while reading this book, and I know it will inspire other readers to do the same. 

Read more about the book here. 

A PARADE OF ELEPHANTS by Kevin Henkes

Henkes, Kevin. A Parade of Elephants. New York: Greenwillow, 2018. Print.

What first always draw me to a Kevin Henkes books is that it is written by Kevin Henkes. 
The second thing that draws me to a Kevin Henkes book is the color palette. 

Since Egg, and Waiting, I have appreciated how Henkes uses pastels (pink, yellow, blue and green) that remind me of sweetly soft mints, baby nurseries, and spring mornings. 

A Parade of Elephants also incorporates these colors, this time to describe a herd of marching elephants. Readers are spectators, sitting on the sidelines curbside while this parade moves forward, and the text narrates the play-by-play of the travel-- how they go in a circle, follow each other, romp over hills proudly, and even under and over bridges (with fish leaping out of the water to watch, too). 

These focused elephants do not stop, and they go through caves, holding on to each other's tails at times, all day long. 

But night comes and when the moon appears, it is time for the herd to sleep. Like babies before sleep, they yawn, and go down sweetly for the night -- with stars swirling above. 

Henkes uses the gutter, full page spreads, and varying widths of panels to portray the journey. Some illustrations bleed off the page and some fill its entirety. The elephants eyes' show their energy: the blue leader is always awake and aware and proud. I don't think they ever change order. 

The text placement carries the pace of the story, and time progresses (as indicated with endpapers) from morning to night.

Bedtime story? Yes. Counting story? To some extent, yes.

But filled with patterns, and just the right amount of repetition this book is so much more---

And with this lovely art (printed on the best paper!), this picture book gives Henkes fans what we've come to appreciate about his work.

Under the dust jacket, Henkes gives readers another gift and surprise -- a lovely case cover that adds to this book's especially delightful presentation.

Many thanks to HarperCollins for the book!

Read more about A Parade of Elephants here.

GARBAGE ISLAND by Fred Koehler

Today, I am pleased to to be a part of a blog tour with Boyds Mills Press. The featured book: Garbage Island by Fred Koehler. 

Koehler, Fred, Garbage Island: The Nearly Always Perilous Adventures of Archibald Shrew #1) . Honesdale, PA: Boyds Mills Press, 2018. Print. 

Garbage Island is set within the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, a mass of debris floating in the Pacific Ocean. I learned more about this by reading this article from National Geographic. I love that author Fred Koehler is bringing attention to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch by imagining a story within it. A very clever premise! 

The two main characters in the novel, a shrew named Archie and a mouse named Mr. Popli, have a complicated past. Mr. Popli is the noble leader of their island kingdom, and Archibald is always trying his patience. Archie loves making and inventing, and much of the reason the kingdom has survived is due to his craftiness! Perhaps this is what endeared Archie to this makerspace librarian the most: this shrew is a MAKER! He uses the debris to "patch" things up and protect the kingdom, and he can't stop thinking about ways to put things together or use things in a new way. 

But Archie and Mr. Popli don't get along, and one day they find themselves out on the ocean alone -- forced now to find their way back to the island together. They encounter MANY fast-paced adventures along the way. Like me, readers will be at the edge of their seats at the end of nearly every chapter, turning pages to see if how Mr. Popli and Archie get out of their seemingly impossible predicaments. (Note: while I did connect with Archie, I understood Mr. Popli's frustration with him: Archie's wonderings often lead to trouble and catastrophes!)

The plot of this novel is complex and exciting, laden with action and dialogue that will work a reader's imagination. Sentences are filled with rich vocabulary, setting each scene descriptively. Fred Koehler's compelling black and white illustrations also tell the story. (See the wrap-around cover when you get a copy of the book!) 

A snake named Colubra serves as the main enemy, but a relentless squad of spiders prove to be most formidable as well. And don't count out the shark! 

As I began to read this book, it brought another book to mind: The Cricket in Times Square by George Selden, one of my most favorite books as a child. Both are about animals who have created their own existences within and adjusting to - a world altered by man. 

Garbage Island is also a story of friendship -- and accepting each other's weaknesses as much as their strengths. 

I look forward to rereading Garbage Island at some point, and also to continuing the saga with Book #2.

I am also thinking of some makerspace activities to bring out when I recommend this book to readers. (I took notes on this as I read the book!) 

For more about this book, make sure to visit the other blogs on the tour! 

Many thanks to Boyds Mills Press for including me here! 

Bio of Fred Koehler provided by Boyds Mills: 

Fred Koehler won a Boston Globe/Horn Book Honor Award for his illustrations for One Day, The End. He is the author-illustrator of How To Cheer Up Dad, which received three starred reviews, and he is the illustrator of This Book Is Not About Dragons and Puppy, Puppy, Puppy and Flashlight Night.  He lives with his children in Lakeland, Florida.