Reading Rocks!

We're back! What a great first week!
The PreK classes LOVED Pete the Cat Rocking in My School Shoes! They sang and rocked along with Pete. Here's a trailer for the book that started our year in the library. Warning: This song will get stuck in your head!


Kindergarten, first, and second grade classes all received a "Welcome to the Library" gift of Byrd Baylor's Everybody Needs a Rock. The book gives tips on how to find a good rock...one that fits and feels good in your hand. We thought about what tips we could give for finding a good book. These Panthers had great ideas and advice.

If you haven't had a chance to see our giant list and slideshow of the "Best Book I Read This Summer," be sure to stop by in the library and take a look.
If excited smiling faces give a hint, I think that this will be the most fantastic year of reading ever.

Kindergarten Rocks!

The first day of school is almost here. Everyone on campus is bustling around getting ready. Exciting times! There are some, though, who may have a little anxiety mixed in with the excitement about the first day. There may be a few "what if" questions that beg to be answered. Katie Davis must remember her first day jitters. Her book, Kindergarten Rocks!, is perfect reading for this time of year. Last May, some of our own kindergarten experts gave advice and words of comfort to those Pre-K II friends who are now coming to kindergarten for the first time. Listening to them, I know for sure that our Parish kindergarten rocks! Thanks to Mr.Shu for the inspiration!

Where Are Panthers Reading This Summer?

Parish readers can be found with a book anywhere. Where are you reading this summer?

Summer Kick-Off at BooksmArt

Parish readers were so lucky to have the chance to see and hear some of the very best children's authors and illustrators at the Dallas Museum of Art's BooksmArt Festival. The day was loaded with fun and activity for book and art lovers of all ages. Some of our Parish friends met David Wiesner, the author/illustrator of Art and Max. I was so excited to meet Jerry Pinkney, the illustrator of the Caldecott winning The Lion and the Mouse. I also was thrilled to meet Norton Juster who wrote the almost 50 year old beloved classic, The Phantom Tollbooth and my very favorite of all...Caldecott winner, The Hello, Goodbye Window.

Circulation Champs!

These books were big favorites in our library! They were the top 10 most circulated on our campus. If you haven't read these, you will definitely want to give them a look! Happy summer reading...remember to send me your pictures!

Kindergarten Skype

Mrs. Lee's kindergarten class met up with a kindergarten class in North Carolina via Skype today. Mr. Monaco joined us in the library as we visited with some of his old friends from Ravenscroft. The kinders shared some of the books that they had created in writing workshop. Both classes had written "All About" books and learned about illustrators' craft this year, so they had much in common. They practiced reading with their loud and clear "Skype voices" and listening to new friends hundreds of miles away. We saved some time for a few tricky and fun riddles, too!

First Grade Read-a-Thon

It's Read-a-Thon Day! One morning in the spring of every year, the first graders race down the sidewalk to their classrooms juggling pillows or pillow pets and heavy bags of books. The day revolves around books, reading to self or listening to reading. This year, many of the readers made the library the site for part of their day. Every nook, corner, and cranny housed a first grader absorbed in a book. Fantastic!