"Heat" Book Review

I don't know about anyone else, but sports are not my thing. As librarians, we have to be well-versed in many different types of books so I picked up a Mike Lupica book called "Heat." I have to admit the first chapter or two I thought I was in for a long, dull read. I didn't think there was any way I could get through a sports book, especially baseball oriented. I was pleasantly surprised though.

"Heat" is about a Cuban-American boy. Without official papers he has to be careful not to attract the attention of the "official persons" that could take him away from his family or deport him. The only problem is that he also happens to be a fantastic pitcher and his team is poised to make a run for the big game. He attracts plenty of attention and not always for good reasons.

The game scenes are very detailed and vocabulary specific, but even so I got caught up in them and couldn't wait to see how it all turned out. The characters were intriguing without being overdone. It also captured the fear and concern that children have when authority figures hold power over them and possibly not in a positive way. I think kids who love baseball will be caught up in the suspense of the games and the quest for the ultimate trophy. Even readers who don't understand all of the baseball lingo will get caught up in the story.

Doing Something Right

Seemingly no one is immune to the wonderful feeling that comes when you know you are doing something right. Today I was so incredibly excited because a parent stopped me to say their child had come home talking about their time in the library. Talking about PE or Art is absolutely normal, but talking about Library doesn't always happen. This student was excited about getting to use the exercise balls as a seat and listening to music while reading. I was so happy to hear that students were enjoying the library and even talking about it. That kind of reaction may be small to most, but to me it's monumental. Here's to making more amazing moments happen!

Castle Hangnail Book Review

This book was adorable! Castle Hangnail is in need of an evil master and Molly just happens to show up and fit the bill. Before she can be considered the evil master of the castle she has certain obligations to fulfill. The only problem is she doesn't look or even quite act like the evil she is supposed to be. Will she be the master of the castle or will it close down and the magic be removed?

I adored the quirky characters and the odd happenings. From moles to ice queens to minotaurs it was a fun ride. I can't wait to add it to our library collection!

First Week Recap

This was the end of our first full week with kiddos and I have to say after the first couple days of school I was ready to pull my hair out. Changing routines on kids, making new procedures, and establishing my own library is not easy. When you only have 50 minutes, once every four days it means you have to pack a lot in and you don't quite get the procedures down. I've also had to rethink some things. I'm treating this year much like I did my first year of teaching, it's all trial and error. Next year, I'll have a system that works. Until then there may be lots of tweaking.

Have you started back? How was your first day or week?

Wolf Hollow Book Review

This is one book that I read and absolutely loved. First, isn't the cover beautiful? It takes the first words of the book and puts them front and center, drawing you in.

In Wolf Hollow a little girl disappears and the only suspect is a war veteran who lives in an old shack and wanders the country side. The town and people are shaken at the disappearance and assume the worst. The only one to believe that he is innocent is another little girl who tries to find the truth and clear his name. It's such a poignant story about how we perceive other people and how "different" can often be decided as bad.

The author brought out deep subjects, but didn't overpower the story or characters. Everything unfolded beautifully. I could see you using this book with older students to start a discussion on PTSD, judging others, and so many more topics. Even though it's set during World War II, the topics are just as relevant and most likely even more prevalent today.

Open House at the Library

This week school started back, which means we had open house. Since I'm new to the library thing I wasn't sure what to expect. I honestly thought I wouldn't see a single soul set foot in the library. Usually parents just focus on meeting the classroom teacher in our district. Even though I thought no one would be interested, I propped open the door and hoped people would drop by. 

I was pleasantly surprised to have people intentionally drop by. One parent came in and was talking about the difference between comic books and regular books. Another parent came in and talked about biographies. One student flew in to look for the book she wanted to read. A brand new student to the district asked if they could come in and we got to talk about how he was nervous about starting. 

I was excited to see students excited and parents engaging with them about reading! Next year I want to ramp things up and have a drawing for books, music, and other things to draw parents in. 

Zoom! Zoom! Zoom!

I looooove teaching space. If I could teach nothing but space all year I probably would. So when I saw this book sticking out of the big book stack I knew I had to read it.

This book is perfect to start talking about rhyming words. My firsties immediately picked up that words were rhyming. 

After we were done I showed a rap from YouTube on the different planets and then we looked at different space books from the library. 

Extension Activities:

• Draw pictures of the night sky. We also read a chapter from this Stars book that talked about how stars are different colors. Kids can paint or color a night sky with different colored stars.
• Simulate gravity by getting a mini trampoline and having kids jump on it while you talk about how the moon has less gravity. I saw that idea on this blog but I wasn't able to do it. She has a ton of other amazing ideas for a space unit. Go check it out. I want to be one of her students.