Library Love

Week 3

Our story time theme this week was "Library Love", and so we read lots of books about libraries and how special they are. Grades 3, 4, 5 continued with their "Library Book Camp" skills. 

PreK 3, PreK 4, Kindergarten
I'm hoping to do more with songs and finger plays this year, inspired by Miss Katie at Story Time Secrets. This week we sang "If You'd Like to Read a Book..." (to the tune of "If You're Happy and You Know It") and "Open, Shut Them". 

It's Library Day, by Janet Morgan Stoeke

This is an early childhood book that explains the basics of the library: how to get there, why we go, what we do there, and how much we love it! Simple illustrations and text make this an excellent entry point into discussion about how the library connects us to the books we love.
(read aloud for PreK 3)

Carlo and the Really Nice Librarian, by Jessica Spanyol

Carlo goes to the public library with his father for the first time, and when he's alone in the children's section, he meets the librarian, Mrs. Chinca. She's a bit scary at first, but he soon learns that she knows everything about the books, she is fun to be with, and he likes helping her keep the library neat.
(read aloud for PreK 4)

The Library Doors, by Toni Buzzeo, illustrated by Nadine Westcott

Sung to the tune of "Wheels on the Bus", this story makes a great interactive introduction to the library and what we do there. The library portrayed in the story is just like ours: busy with kiddos all day long, child-centered, and a fun place to be. Some verses are jumping off points for other lessons, such as subject/author/title searching, but overall the emphasis is on the basics: checking in and out, using quiet voices, and enjoying stories together.
(read to Kindergarten)

I. Q. Goes to the Library, by Mary Ann Fraser

I.Q. (a mouse) gets to go to the library to choose a book for the first time. He learns all about the wonders of the library (puppets! computers!) and learns how books are organized, and how to take care of them. But what he really cares about is finding the funny book the librarian read so he can take it home. We're all cheering when he finally gets the book he wants and gets to take it home and read "until his eyes water and his tail curls."
(read to Kindergarten)

Library Dragon, by Carmen Agra Deedy, illustrated by Michael P. White

Sunrise Elementary School has a dragon for a librarian. Whenever the kids come into the library she breathes fire on them!  But when a little near-sighted girl comes in and starts READING out loud, even the dragon lady librarian's heart melts.

This would also be good for older students who can catch all of the vocabulary and double meanings related to "fire."
(read to Grade 1)

Library Lion, by Michelle Knudsen, illustrated by Kevin Hawkes

Full review at "Book Talk Tuesday" post here.
This is my favorite book about libraries!

(read to Grade 2)

The Librarian from the Black Lagoon, by Mike Thaler, illustrated by Jared Lee

Everyone is deathly afraid of the school librarian - she's so evil, no one wants to go to the library. Creepy, mean, and ugly as sin, Mrs. Beamster is a character we're not likely to forget.
(read to Grade 2)

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Grade 3

Source: flickr.com via Sarah on Pinterest

We learned about finding fiction books by call number and matching call numbers to spine labels to find a book's "address" in the library. We used a PowerPoint (scroll to "How to Find Books" and "Finding Fiction") to focus the discussion.

To help with shelf-reading, we learned about "Zip-Zap-Zoom" (zip is across, zap is down, and zoom is up to the next section or around the corner). We also have a retro library sign to help us remember how to read the shelves.

Grades  4 and 5
We reviewed Call Numbers, using the PowerPoint here (see "How to Find Books" then "Call Number ppt"), and catalog searching techniques. Afterwards, each grade had an online quiz about using the catalog: grade 4 here, grade 5 here.

Book Talk Tuesday: Library Love

From early on, we want to instill in our youngsters a love of the library. Happily, several picture books help us do this. Here are some of my favorite library-centric titles; in fact these all make me a bit weepy!

The Boy who was Raised by Librarians, by Carla Morris, illustrated by Brad Sneed

Melvin spends lots of time at his local public library. He goes there every day after school and revels in its orderly systems and helpful reference librarians. They are there for him, day after day, feeding his curiosity and celebrating his successes. They can't help it, that's just how librarians are, he thinks. 

And so over the years, through bug-collecting, spelling contests, and baseball card research, the three librarians do what they do best: nurture his growing mind. And he loves the library and he loves them. Even after he graduates from college, the bond remains...in a way that comes as a surprising full circle. 

Why does this one tear me up? I guess it's the love the three librarians show to this youngster over so many years and through so many projects. They're fiction here, but I know they're based on real people in children's libraries connecting with children like this every day.

Illustrated in richly colored full-page paintings, with masterful use of perspective (child's eye view up to the desk, for example). 

Library Lion, by Michelle Knudson, illustrated by Kevin Hawkes

A lion saunters into a library and is allowed to stay, but only as long as he doesn't break any rules. Although the Head Librarian, Miss Merriweather, is tough, she recognizes that the library should be a place for ANYone, and a lion is no exception. 

On his first visit, the lion discovers story hour and quickly becomes hooked. He shows up daily and begins to do odd jobs and make himself indispensable, and much loved.

But one day something happens that forces him to break a rule. He leaves the library without being asked, knowing the importance Miss Merriweather places on rule-following. It turns out, however, that there's something Miss Merriweather and her colleague Mr. MacBee value more than rules. And the way they arrive at this conclusion is so tender, it chokes me up every time.

Soft washed watercolors on tan pages and brown text give this story a timeless feel; good thing since it's bound to become a classic.

The Library, by Sarah Stewart

Told in rhyme, this tells the story of Mary Elizabeth Brown, an avid reader whose entire life revolved around having a book in her hand. 

She reads constantly: while exercising, vacuuming, and grocery shopping. She reads instead of dating or dancing, preferring books to any other activity. When Elizabeth moves into her own house, she accumulates so many volumes in her lifetime that they block the doors and reach the ceiling. At this point, she donates her collection to the town, enough for a full public library.

The watercolor illustrations accompanying the poem absolutely make the story. They add a comic feel (such as when she walks into a door because her nose is stuck in a book). My favorite illustration shows her reading with a cup of tea, and there's a sticker of Snow White on her lampshade. And illustrator, David Small's use of layout is wonderful too; when her books begin to overtake her home, the pictures break out of their frames and take over the page. 



Additional Titles:

It's Library Day (PreK 3/4)
Carlo, the Really Nice Librarian (PreK 4/K)
The Library Doors (Kinder/grade 1)
I. Q. Goes to the Library (Kinder/grade 1)
The Library Dragon (grade 1/2)
Dewey: There's a Cat in the Library! (grade 1/2)
No T-Rex in the Library (grade 1/2)
The Librarian from the Black Lagoon (grade 3/4)

And, upon completing this post, I happened upon a loooong list of library-related picture books on GoodReads. You can even vote for your favorite. I'm chuffed that my top three are also top three on that list!

Treat your book like treasures!

Week 3

This week we looked at more topics related to "library love." Here's the news from this week.

PreK 3 & 4 and Grade 1: Guiding Question - How do we care for our books?

Our younger students read different stories about how we take care of our books and watched a fun video showing a girl who makes LOTS of mistakes with her library book. Scary music punctuates the most dramatic moments: a little sister with scissors! a giant spill of juice! Great fun for the younger set.

PreK 3& 4

Mr. Wiggle's Book, by Paula Craig

Poor Mr. Wiggle! His lovely clean book has been all ruined by some careless readers. Someone left smudgy marker fingerprints, another poked holes in it, and still another tore pages! This is a fun way to show children how yucky it can be to borrow a library book that someone else has not cared for. The story ends with children promising to be a friend to Mr. Wiggle and always take care of their books.

Kindergarten

Manners with a Library Book, by Amanda Tourville

This is a new book in our library and it's a perfect one for kindergarten. Each double page shows our characters, Tia and Jaden, making the right choice with their library books. They keep snacks and drinks away from books, keep books in a special place at home, wash their hands before reading, and use bookmarks to mark their place. 

The digital illustrations in "pixar" style are bright and simple, making it easy for youngsters to see the good manners the characters are showing.

Grade 1

The Library Pages, by Carlene Morton

A hilarious look at how to run a library! A librarian is home on maternity leave and her dear students send her a film of themselves as "library pages" - the substitute's helpers. Imagine the librarian's shock when she sees them abusing and mis-shelving the books! Happily, it's just an April Fool's joke. Big bright illustrations and crazy antics are a great way to get the concepts of proper library use across. A fun read for the beginning of the year.

Grade 2: Guiding Question - Is there another librarian on the planet who cares about running as much as Mrs. Ducharme? (answer: yes!)

Library Lion, by Michelle Knudson

There's been a lot of buzz about this picture book, and now that we have it in our library, I can see why! It tells the tender story of a lion who loves his public library and the stern librarian who comes to love him back. When she is injured in a fall, however, he breaks some rules and thinks that he won't be welcome any longer. She despairs, he pines, and happily the two are reunited in an ending that (for me at least) gets a little teary. There are some funny parts - especially for students who are used to hearing their librarian say "No running!" 

Soft colored pencil drawings and old-fashioned settings give this story a timeless appeal.

Grade 3: Roll those Peaches (to celebrate Roald Dahl!)

We sent peaches to our new friends in Van Meter, Iowa this week AND we received peaches from them! Our peaches have notes attached so when they arrive in Iowa, the grade 3 students there will get to keep something from us. 

We also took pictures of ourselves at different places in our school so the students there can see who we are. Here's a slideshow of all of us, below.

When the peaches arrived from Iowa, we added our names, a message, and our city to them. We'll send these on to a new group of third grade friends in New Hampshire, USA with another note to a new group of peach pals.

Grade 4, 5 - Library Boot camp continues....

Continuing from last week, grade 4 and 5 students are rotating through a triple block series of lessons designed to review how to find library materials independently.

See last week's post for more details about each of the lessons:

1) Finding fiction (Quiz, performance assessment task)

2) Destiny Quest basics (google form)

3) Doing the Dewey (Dewey rap, book sort, Order in the Library)