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!

Our Library Christmas Tree

Thanks to the kids who decorated our tree this year. It looks beautiful!

Library Helpers

I wanted to be sure to send a great big thank you to all the 4th and 5th graders who gave up one lunch recess a week in order to volunteer in the library. You all did a great job and helped make our library an even better place. Thanks for all your hard work:

Lindsey B. Natalie N. AnaKaren R.
Cooper H. Mason C. Tammy B.
Jenna C. Sara O. Jacob B.
Brianna G. Leonella C. Jeremy V.
Eddie E.

Happy Holidays

It has been a fun December as we've geared up for the holidays and celebrated snow, toys, holidays and a very naughty, fat cat named Chester (ask your kids!). I hope all the Walker families have a wonderful, relaxing winter break and that you spend some time with those you love. I am grateful to get to work at such an amazing school with such an incredible student body and supportive coworkers. Enjoy your time off school, read lots of books and we'll see you all in the new year!

This week's hold shelf

A snapshot of what's hot at the library right now.