A Force Returns: Amulet Announces Sequel to 'Origami Yoda'

If you liked The Strange Case of Origami Yoda, click below to read about the upcoming sequel Darth Paper Strikes Back:
A Force Returns: Amulet Announces Sequel to 'Origami Yoda'

And the winner is...

The Newberry and Caldecott medals were given out last week. The Newberry medal is given by the American Library Association to the book that they feel was the best children's book of the year. The Caldecott medal is given for the best picture book of the year. The winners for 2010 are:

Newberry: Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool

Caldecott: A Sick Day for Amos McGee by Philip and Erin Stead

I don't have copies of either of these in the library just yet but I hope to soon . I had the opportunity to read Moon Over Manifest last weekend and I couldn't put it down. It was an amazing book and a wonderful choice to win the Newberry.

Peacebuilding in the Library

In the wake of the tragedy on January 8th, Walker students are reminded of the power of kindness and peacebuilding. We have set up a bulletin board in the library reminding us of all the positive words and phrases we can use to encourage and uplift each other. The depth of our students' kindness and compassion continues to amaze and inspire me each day. Click the image above for a closer view.

1st week back

Our first week back was time for library review and a little bit of silliness. All grades took some time to go over expectations regarding library behavior. Rather than me lecturing them about the rules, each K-3 class was responsible to educate each other about the rules. They did a great job remembering everything from shelf markers to returning books on time to whisper voices. After we went over the rules, we read a short, silly book called Charlie's Superhero Underpants by Paul Bright.

The 4th and 5th graders played a game called Who Has... Each child was given a card with a library related phrase followed by a question. The person with the first card read a question such as, "Who has how long you can keep your books after they're checked out?" and the person holding the card that read '2 weeks' would hold up their card and read the next question. We worked our way through the library rules as well as refreshing ourselves on library vocabulary. It was fun to see the kids help each other and work as a team to get through all the cards.

I'm looking forward to a wonderful 2nd semester with all the children!