One Read

Parish readers proved that books have the power to bring people together. NINETY FIVE first and second graders and twenty nine teachers and staff signed up to read and stay after school to talk about 7 X 9 = Trouble! by Claudia Mills. The meeting and celebration began on the playground with an ice cream cone similar to the ones that the book's characters enjoyed. Loads of book talk, fun, and reflection took place in small group breakouts.

We gathered together in the library with one of our extremely talented and beloved Parish seniors for a fantastic storytelling.












We unveiled an incredible new reading poster created by one of our amazing eight graders that will hang in our library.
The afternoon ended with a very special video created by author, Claudia Mills, just for our Parish readers. She congratulated them on their reading and gave them some of the background for writing this book. She also described the upcoming sequel.

Books have the power to bring people together. A community of readers and thinkers...that's what we are!

The Book Fair - Looking Back

What a whirlwind of a week! It felt like Christmas when the dozens and dozens of boxes and shelves full of books were delivered to the library on Tuesday. The volunteers, who are truly "friends of the library," spent hours sorting and arranging those books so that when the students arrived early Wednesday morning, they found a book wonderland. I loved listening to their conversations about the books. They encouraged each other to try new authors and gave reviews of books that they recommended to their friends. They delighted in finding familiar titles and showing them to their parents. They made many return visits just to browse and fill in wish lists. For me, this week offered the perfect chance to read new books that we could add to our collection. I bought several that are sure to be story time favorites. Next week, the young ones will meet Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes. with its downloadable song. We'll be reading, singing, grooving and remembering that, like Pete says, "It's all good!"


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUubMSfIs-U

Book Fair - Looking Ahead

This week is our Book Fair. The excitement starts on Tuesday afternoon when the books are delivered and the fabulous volunteers help set up. The shoppers arrive on Wednesday morning. The children's enthusiasm about books and reading fills the library. I can't wait! Hope to see you there.


I couldn't resist making this Google Search Story in anticipation of our Book Fair! Thanks to Mary Lee for the inspiration!

Poetry Month

Our Children's Poet Laureate, Mary Ann Hoberman, has loved and written poetry for most of her life. She writes about everything...the simplest things...in fun ways. She emphasizes that poetry is really about thinking about words and playing with words and how they sound. Her poems are full of rhyme and rhythm, but she tells children to focus on the kind of poetry that they like, and poetry doesn't need to rhyme. She believes that when children memorize poems that they will have them for all of their lives and never lose them. We spent the week looking at this wonderful poetry ambassador's books and poems. We even got to watch parts of videos of her reading some of her poems. What a treat! Our students and teachers are sharing some of their favorite poems with each other on our bulletin board. Be sure to pick a poem for your pocket as you pass through the library this month.