We've been busy celebrating a lot of different things in the library. In honor of the science fair, all grades heard Judy Sierra's The Secret Science Project that Almost Ate the School. This was a big hit with all grades and I expect it to be a frontrunner when we vote for our favorite book in May.
The following week the 2nd-5th graders heard Help Me, Mr. Mutt by Janet Stevens and Susan Stevens Crummel. Mr. Mutt is an advice columnist for dogs with people problems and the kids seemed to enjoy the book a great deal. Especially the animosity between Mr. Mutt and The Queen. Ask your children who the queen was and what happened to her at the end of the book!
I talked with the Kinder and 1st graders about self esteem and read either I'm Gonna Like Me by Jamie Lee Curtis or I Like Myself by Karen Beaumont. The kids all shared something they thought they were good at or that they liked about themselves and we talked about how there aren't bad children, only bad choices.
We started out February celebrating black history month. The Kinder-3rd grade classes heard Amazing Grace by Mary Hoffman. Grace is an African-American girl who wants to play Peter Pan in the school play but her friends tell her she can't because she is a girl and she is black. Ask your child how Grace's Nana helped her deal with these comments and how Grace felt by the end of the story. The 4th and 5th graders heard Step, Stomp and Stride byAndrea Davis Pinkney. This is a short biography of Sojourner Truth and the kids seemed impressed by the way she used her freedom to help others.
Last week, in the spirit of Valentine's Day and to kick off Love of Reading Month, all the classes heard Mr. Pusskins by Sam Lloyd. It was a quick read and even the older kids seemed to enjoy the story. It is a love story between a girl and her cat and kicked off a discussion about how lucky we are to have people in our lives to look out for us.
We have a lot coming up in the next month: Presiden't Day, Rodeo, Read Across America, Spring Book Fair just to name a few. I'm looking forward to it all!
