MERRY CHRISTMAS! HAPPY HANUKKAH!

It has been SO incredibly busy in the Media Center this month, that I haven't even posted! How crazy is that? We've had our 12 Days of Reading, and our recognition parties, read lots of Christmas stories, and had SO much fun! Today, SANTA is here! I love it!

We've also been collecting our pennies for Pennies for Peace...today we are putting all our jars together...and it's so fun to see how many pennies our students have donated! I love the sound of the coins as they are added to our big bucket! Our students are wonderful and have been SO VERY generous with their donations! We are very proud of our students and all that they are doing to help students in other countries learn. We are helping to promote peace one penny at a time. Thank you to all who have donated!

Enjoy the Christmas break, and we will see you all NEXT YEAR! =)

More new books!

We have a few more new books! They keep trickling in... =)

-Al Capone Shines my Shoes by Gennifer Choldenko
- Curious Garden by Peter Brown
- Dragons of Blueland by ruth Stiles Gannett
- Ghostsitters by Angie Sage
- If You're Reading This, it's Too Late by Pseudonymous Bosch
- Ish by Peter Reynolds
- Ivy and Bean - Doomed to Dance by Annie Barrows
- Mercy Watson Something Wonky This Way Comes by Kate DiCamillo
- Music of Dolphins by Karen Hesse
- Mysterious Benedict Society and The Prisoner's Dilemma by Trenton Lee Stewart
- Twice Upon a Marigold by Jean Ferris
- Sisters Grimm: The Everafter War by Michael Buckley
- Skeleton Creek by Patrick Carman
- Wyrm King by Tony DiTerlizzi

... and even more are on their way! Enjoy!

Also...as we prepare to celebrate Thanksgiving...our book this week:by Rhonda Gowler Greene and illustrated by Susan Gaber

Happy Thanksgiving!

new books!

We have received a handful of new books...with MORE ON THE WAY!!
(I LOVE new books!)

- Oggie Cooder, Party Animal by Sarah Weeks
- Mudshark by Gary Paulsen
- The Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Treasure Hunt (Judy Moody & Stink)
by Megan McDonald
- Extra Credit by Andrew Clements
- Al Capone Shines My Shoes by Gennifer Choldenko
- Cam Jansen and the Basketball Mystery by David Adler
- The Christmas Magic by Lauren Thompson
- J is for Jack-o-lantern by Denise Brennan-Nelson
- S is for Story by Ester Hershenhorn
- Miss Smith and the Haunted Library by Michael Garland

ENJOY!!

Can you believe it's November??

WOW! The beginning of another month...time is flying by!!

Our Library Lingo word for the month of November is:

BARCODE
A label printed with vertical lines or bars. It is read by a scanner when an item is checked in or out of the Library. Here in our library the barcodes are located inside the back cover of the book.
~ ~ ~

Our book this week is a cute one! Just in time for Thanksgiving!
image from www.barnesandnoble.com

The author of this book is Tony Johnston, and it is illustrated by Rich Deas.
I KNOW you will LOVE it!

it's halloween

It's a GROOOOVY day in the library!

Happy Halloween!!

it's halloween in the library

Since Halloween is almost upon us, I thought I would share a few pictures of our "Halloweenish" decor in the library... (i just made that word up! :-)~~~
This next display is in honor of our Reflections this year.

Reflection entries are due THIS Friday, yup...on Halloween!
Don't forget!

Happy Hallowreading!

it's almost halloween....!

This week in the Media Center, we are SINGING!!

"Sipping Spiders Through a Straw -
Campfire Songs for Monsters"
lyrics by Kelly DiPucchio, illustrations by Gris Grimly

image from www.barnesandnoble.com


We are having SO much fun!
Here's "one" of our favorites:

A-Camping We Will Go
(shrieked to the tune of "The Farmer in the Dell" )

A-camping we will go,
with monster friends in tow-
Hi ho the scary-O,
we dare you to say no.

We'll gather 'round the pit.
We'll growl, snort, and spit.
Hi ho the Scary-O,
now grab a log and sit.

We'll sing a song or two.
We'll belch and barbecue,
Hi ho the scary-O,
here, try the witches' brew.

We'll rip your tent and sneer.
We'll fill your nights with fear.
Hi ho the scary-O,
we're glad you made it here.

This book is PERFECT for this season of the year...Happy Halloween!

this week

It's Monday, and we are all back from fall break! Hope you had a GREAT time, I know I did!

This week in the Media Center, we are reading... The Library Ghost by Carole Boston Weatherford. This book is illustrated by Lee White. It is getting closer to Halloween, so I thought The Library Ghost would be perfect!

image copyright Scholastic

Here's what the "blurb" says:

"The Library is this ghost's favorite haunt! Ms. Mims is stumped. Why is her library ransacked each night? She stands watch to find out. Sure enough, she discovers a Library Ghost, rummaging through book after book and interrogating familiar characters from the Billy Goats Gruff to Peter Pan in search of a missing piece of information. At last, Ms. Mims confronts the Ghost.
Will Ms. Mims be able to help the ghost find the information she seeks? Will the Library Ghost ever be at peace?"

Come visit the Media Center this week to find out!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Also, i forgot to mention earlier...our Library Lingo word for October is

Check-out -

to borrow materials from the Library.

As you go "out" of the library,
please make sure your books are checked OUT.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

New books to our Media Center:

A Good Night for Ghosts (Magic Tree House #42) by Mary Pope Osborne
Zoobreak by Gordon Korman
Marley Goes to School by John Groban
The Marshmallow Incident by Judi Barrett
The Great Dewey Hunt by Toni Buzzeo
The Library Doors by Toni Buzzeo
Birds by Kevin Henkes
The Night Before Christmas by Clement Moore,
illustrated by Mary Engelbreit
Testing the Ice by Sharon Robinson
The Library Ghost by Carole Boston Weatherford

short week!

It's a VERY short week for us this week...we only have Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday! yipee! Don't you just love Fall Break? I know I do. Hopefully you plan to do some reading during this long weekend!

Here's what we are reading in library this week:Image copyright Scholastic

You can even sing along...you can download the song at www.scholastic.com/oldmonster

The Library Doors

This week in the library we SANG our story!image from www.tonibuzzeo.com

It was so much fun to sing about the library doors... how they "open and shut" and how the library books "check in and out." We loved singing our story instead of just reading it!

Thanks Toni Buzzeo!

bookfair!

September 28 - October 1

right here in our Media Center! There are some GREAT books! Come see!

thank you!

Thank you, Mr. Cole! We SO enjoyed your visit! We hung "stink-bomb beadle" and "dragon-freak" up in our Media Center...thank you for helping us stretch our imaginations to create them.

Mrs. Haymond & Mr. Cole

author visit!

We SOOOO love author visits! We have a fun one coming next week...

Thursday, September 17th
8:30 am & 2:30 pm
Auditorium

We are SOOOOOO excited!

The Adventures of Hashbrown Winters

Frank L. Cole is the author of "The Adventures of Hashbrown Winters," the book we will be reading in our library with the 3-6th graders. Frank will be visiting our school next week, Thursday, September 17! We are so excited to have him visit us and talk to us about literacy, and Hashbrown! You can find out more about Hashbrown at www.hashbrownwinters.com, and more about Frank from his blog www.franklewiscole.blogspot.com.

Here is the "blurb" from the back of the book...

"Hashbrown Winters and his treehouse club of buddies are well known around Pordunce Elementary, especially after Hashbrown's seminar last year on how to give the best show and tell performances...er, presentations. But when Hashbrown accidentally crosses Hambone Oxcart, the death dealer of Pordunce, he'll need more than just the support of his friends to survive Hambone's wrath.

Join Hashbrown, Snow Cone, Whiz, and the rest of the gang in Frank L. Cole's hilarious debut novel of the trials and tragedies of fifth grade life. The Adventures of Hashbrown Winters will keep kids and parents alike laughing out loud, groaning in sympathy, and turning pages until well past bedtime."

sound good? it is! i'm excited to start it next week, here in our library!

library lingo

Our "Library Lingo" word for August was renew - to check out the same book for an additional week. We will continue to work on what renewing means, but we have a new word for September....

Check-in

It seems like a very simple word, simple definition, but some of us get mixed up between check-in and check-out. Check-in is when we return a book to the library that we have had checked out. So, think of it this way...when a book comes IN to the library you are checking it IN. When you go out of the library be sure your books are checked OUT. Does that help? I hope so. If we think of the library as a "hotel" for books...we check them in for a vacation on the shelves, then we check them out to go home. Maybe that will help as well.

Hope your first few weeks of school are going great, and you are learning many new and wonderful things! Keep reading!

first day of school!

How was your first day back to school?? Mine was fabulous! I can't believe we are back already, summer just flew by.

Our library days begin next week! We will be doing our library orientation, reviewing our

"Media Center Manners"

- be quiet
- be respectful
- be responsible

We will talk about what each of those entails, and MORE!

Class library days are:

Monday
Mrs. Black - kindergarten
Miss Brockbank - 3rd grade

Tuesday
Mrs. Sumsion - kindergarten am/pm
Mrs. Hoyt - 6th grade
Mr. Olson - 5th grade
Mrs. Hutchison - 2nd grade

Wednesday
Mr. Wyatt - 6th grade
Mrs. Anderson - 4th grade
Mrs. Fehlberg - 3rd grade
Miss Taylor - 2nd grade

Thursday
Mr. Leeper - 4th grade
Mr. Jacob - 6th grade
Mrs. Louw - 5th grade
Ms. Grandstaff - 1st grade
Mrs. Redford - 2nd grade

Friday
Miss Bailey - 1st grade
Mrs. Dent - 4th grade
Mrs. Dowdle - 3rd grade
Mrs. Stevens - 1st grade

Please remember that each time your class comes to the library, you need to bring your library books with you, even if you are not finished with them. We can renew* them if you need more time to finish.

* renew - to check the same book out for an additional week.

See you next week!

SCHOOL!!

Oh my gosh! Has your summer flown by as fast as mine?? It's CRAZY! School starts next week!

I hope you are getting ready, because I am here in the library. We have a new theme this year...

"POP" into reading!

Can you guess what we will be collecting for every "just right book" that we read? Yup, popcorn kernals! I'm SOOOOOO excited! This is going to be a GRRRRRREAT year! It's a great YEAR to be a cougar!

See you soon! Oh, and don't forget back to school night...Tuesday, August 18th from 4:00 until 6:00.

"POP" into the library for a good book! ...we are "bursting" with good books!

August idea list

August 1 - Camp in your backyard & tell scary stories.
August 2 - Eat dinner together, talk about life, books, and family.

August 3 - IT'S LIBRARY DAY! Visit the Cascade Media Center, open from 12:00 - 2:00 pm.
August 4 - Watch a favorite movie together. Write down your favorite lines.
August 5 - Write and illustrate a story about a favorite animal.
August 6 - Visit your adopted grandparent. Share your animal stories.
August 7 - With your family, plan and prepare for a fun family activity.
August 8 - Help your family with the fun family activity you all planned.
August 9 - Let your family see you reading.

August 10 - IT'S OUR LAST LIBRARY DAY! Visit the Cascade Media Center, open from 12:00 - 2:00 pm. Please return all books. Thanks for coming this summer!
August 11 - Go on a hike, draw pictures of plants, discover what they are.
August 12 - School shop. Decorate your pencil box or notebook.
August 13 - Start telling a familiar story. Have someone in your family tell the ending.
August 14 - Get together with your friends. Talk about the books you've read.
August 15 - Visit your adopted grandparent.
August 16 - Eat dinner together, talk about life, books, and family.

August 17 - Write a note to your new teacher.
August 18 - Make a simple craft for your new teacher.
August 19 - Read a bedtime story together, relax, and get a good nights rest.
August 20 - BACK TO SCHOOL!!

update...

just a quick update on the books i've read this summer...

* shakespear's secret
* savvy
* once upon a marigold
* the sisters grimm series (all FIVE books!)
* masterpiece
* the sword thief (39 clues)
* one false note (39 clues)
* new moon (again :-)
* the last olympian
* the hunt for dark infinity (13th reality)
* currently re-reading harry potter and the half-blood prince!

that's 15 books so far! that doesn't even count the magazines and picture books! i LOVE reading. anyone else read anything they have really liked??

July idea list

July 1 - Visit your adopted grandparent. Bring a treat.
July 2 - Watch a nature program. Talk about what you learned.
July 3 - Do service for a friend or family member in need.
July 4 - Cut comics apart & have fun making new stories.
July 5 - Eat dinner together, talk about life, books, and family.

July 6 - IT'S LIBRARY DAY! Visit the Cascade Media Center, open from 12:00 - 2:00 pm.
July 7 - Fly kites, play frisbee, or another outdoor activity.
July 8 - Make a map of your house, and label the rooms.
July 9 - Visit your adopted grandparent. Bring a book to read to them.
July 10 - Choose a new recipe. Read it together and have fun making it.
July 11 - Have you been tracking your seed's growth?
July 12 - Let your family see you reading.

July 13 - IT'S LIBRARY DAY! Visit the Cascade Media Center, open from 12:00 - 2:00 pm.
July 14 - Cut up a newspaper & arrange the words into new sentences.
July 15 - Draw a picture of your adopted grandparent & take it to them.
July 16 - Treasure hunt! Have pictures or word clues to find the treasure.
July 17 - Read a new book (or an old favorite) to someone in your family.
July 18 - Visit Pioneer Village and learn/read about the early pioneers.
July 19 - Eat dinner together, talk about life, books, and family.

July 20 - IT'S LIBRARY DAY! Visit the Cascade Media Center, open from 12:00 - 2:00 pm.
July 21 - Read about cooking outdoors and plan a meal to cook outdoors.
July 22 - Cook your outdoor meal. Make s'mores, and JUST HAVE FUN!
July 23 - Start a story, but don't read the end...predict the end.
July 24 - Leave a note for your family to find during the day.
July 25 - Learn a song and visit your adopted grandparent. Sing your song for them.
July 26 - Let your family see you reading.

July 27 - IT'S LIBRARY DAY! Visit the Cascade Media Center, open from 12:00 - 2:00 pm.
July 28 - Describe family members out loud. Guess who it is?
July 29 - Put on a play, acting out a favorite book or fairytale.
July 30 - Go outside, close your eyes & listen. Write down the sounds that you hear.

fun summer crafts & games

i found this website that has some super fun "be creative" ideas!

www.kmckaydesigns.com/projects/summer-crafts-for-kids.html

you can exercise your creativity by making the games, books, journals, etc. and then you can beat the summer dulldrums by playing the games. i know we are creating and playing at MY house!

our first summer library day!

wow! our first summer library day was a HUGE success! it was so good to see so many of you! if you didn't make it today, remember next monday from 12-2. just to catch you up on what i'm reading this summer....i finished One False Note by Gordon Korman (39 clues #2) and i'm on to #3, The Sword Thief. i re-read Journal of Curious Letters (13th Reality #1), and i'm in the middle of Search for Dark Infinity (13th Reality #2). i finished The Last Olympian (Percy Jackson & the Olympians #5) and LOVED it! now i'm off to learn more about greek mythology, then i'm going to read the series AGAIN. then i'm sure i will love it even more! for you Twilight fans, i also re-read New Moon, so i'm up on things when the movie comes out in november. speaking of movies...Harry Potter comes out in July! can't wait for that one, hope to see you at the theater!

see you all next week at the library!

June idea list

Talk about books you want to read together.

The following list gives you an "idea a day" for the month of June:

June 1 - Visit the public library, get a card, & checkout books.
June 2 - Read poetry together. Take turns guessing rhyming words.
June 3 - Read a story & make a puppet of each of the characters.
June 4 - Decorate a special box or bag for your library books
June 5 - Lay on a blanket outside & read out loud.
June 6 - Plant a flower or vegetable seed together.
June 7 - Draw pictures of your family - make a family tree.

June 8 - IT'S LIBRARY DAY! Visit the Cascade Media Center, open from 12:00 - 2:00 pm.
June 9 - Pack a picnic and go to the park for lunch. Bring a book.
June 10 - Share the story of a special holiday with your family.
June 11 - Watch the clouds. Make up a story about what you see.
June 12 - Find out how you can adopt a grandparent!
June 13 - Make a graph to chart your seeds growth.
June 14 - Let your family see you reading.

June 15 - IT'S LIBRARY DAY! Visit the Cascade Media Center, open from 12:00 - 2:00 pm.
June 16 - Write notes of appreciation to friends and family.
June 17 - Adopt a grandparent! (You may already have a grandparent, but someone may need you.)
June 18 - Make a list of things you like to do. Write about what makes them so fun.
June 19 - Play a game, after you read the instructions together.
June 20 - How is your seed doing? Work in the garden as a family.
June 21 - Eat dinner together, talk about life, books, and family.

June 22 - IT'S LIBRARY DAY! Visit the Cascade Media Center, open from 12:00 - 2:00 pm.
June 23 - Visit your adopted grandparent. Find out about them.
June 24 - Find a cozy place and read.
June 25 - Visit the zoo, dinosaur museum, or historical site.
June 26 - Turn off the radio in the car. Discuss books you've been reading.
June 27 - Take a walk. Look for signs of the season. (we like to look for interesting rocks :)
June 28 - Let your family see you reading.

June 29 - IT'S LIBRARY DAY! Visit the Cascade Media Center, open from 12:00 - 2:00 pm.
June 30 - Read the directions for a project. Create the project.

summer library!

Express Yourself This Summer!
Be Creative @ Your Library

Summer library will begin on Monday, June 8! We will be open from 12:00-2:00 pm each Monday through August 10th. I hope you will be able to come by and visit, check out a GREAT book, and read this summer.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Some ideas that may help you keep reading...

Read for 20 minutes each day, five days a week from June-August. That's at least 20 hours of reading time throughout the summer!

I will post activities on this blog throughout the summer, choose a few to spark your imagination, and let the adventure begin.

Keep track of your reading by coloring in the art pallets on the bookmarks available at our library.

Place books throughout your home. The library is a great resource to keep an ever-changing collection of great reading materials in your home. Investigate the library as a family.

Stay on track. Set challenging, reading goals. Appreciate the books you (or your child) reads, even those that look too easy.

Read everyday things such as traffic signs, billboards, cooking recipes, cereal boxes, magazines, and newpapers. Sing songs together, memorize a poem, or tell a fun story.

Research new words. Keep a notebook to record the words and exciting things you discover and learn during your summer reading.

and REMEMBER...reading aloud is ALLOWED.
~ from The Governor's Summer Reading Challenge 2009

~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Reading time is important time!

See you this summer! Mondays, from 12:00-2:00 pm here at the Cascade Media Center!

bananas!

our final banana count...

1,687

keep up the GREAT reading during the summer!

summer library will be each Monday, beginning June 8. We will be open from 12:00 - 2:00, so come visit and READ!!

end of the year

the end of the year is drawing near,
do YOU have lost library books?

if so, please look,
in all the crannies and nooks,
and bring them to us here.

spring break

happy spring break everyone! remember to read, read, read! see you on monday!

new additions

we have some new additions to our media center!

Fiction:
Artemis Fowl: The Time Paradox by Eoin Colfer
Charlie Bone and the Shadow by Jenny Nimmo
Clementine's Letter by Sara Pennypacker
Diamond of Darkhold (City of Ember #4) by Jeanne DuPrau
Eleven by Patricia Reilly Giff
Elijah of Buxton by Christopher Curtis
Gollywhopper Games by Jody Feldman
Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
Hundred Dresses by Eleanor Estes
Masterpiece by Elise Broach
Maze of Bones (39 Clues #1) by Rick Riordan
My One Hundred Adventures by Polly Horvath
One False Note (39 Clues #2) by Gordon Korman
Savvy (backordered :( by Ingrid Law
Toothpaste Millionaire by Jean Merrill
The Tail of Emily Windsnap by Liz Kessler
Emily Windsnap and the Monster from the Deep by Liz Kessler
Emily Windsnap and the Castle in the Mist by Liz Kessler
Incredible Journey by Sheila E. Burnford
Meet Julie (American Girls) by Megan McDonald
Julie and the Eagles by Megan McDonald
Julie Tells her Story by Megan McDonald
Julie's Journey by Megan McDonald
Lacemaker and the Princess by Kimberly Bradley
Last Olympian (Percy Jackson and the Olympians #5) by Rick Riordan
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw (#3) by Jeff Kinney
The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom
Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life by Wendy Mass
Marley: A Dog Like No Other by John Grogan
Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster
Rules by Cynthia Lord
Taste of Blackberries by Doris Buchanan Smith

Non-fiction:
Three Pigs, One Wolf, and Seven Magic Shapes by Grace Maccarone
Spider and the Fly by Mary Howitt
Shape of Things by Dayle Ann Dodds
One Leaf Rides the Wind by Celeste D. Mannis
Lincoln: A Photobiography by Russell Freedman
Length by Henry Pluckrose
Abe's Honest Words: The Life of Abraham Lincoln by Doreen Rappaport
Abraham Lincoln Comes Home by Robert Burleigh
The Boy Who Cried Wolf adapted by B. G. Hennessy
Lady Liberty: A Biography by Eoreen Rappaport
United Tweets of America by Hudson Talbott

very hungry caterpillar

march 20th is the 40th anniversary of "the very hungry caterpillar" by eric carle! celebrate this by reading one or all of eric carle's books!

happy birthday dr. seuss!

(you have to sing this out loud... :)

happy birthday to you!!
happy birthday to you!!
happy birthday dr. seuuuss,
happy birthday to YOU!!

photo from www.circusmcgurkuscasting.com

some of MY favorite dr. seuss books . . .

oh, the places you'll go!
i'm NOT going to get up today!
the cat in the hat
i can read with my eyes shut
the sneetches
horton hears a who
dr. seuss' abc's

lights...camera...BOOKFAIR!!

this week in our library we are having the Scholastic bookfair. Loads of GREAT books are here, and all purchases benefit our school. so come visit the bookfair where "reading makes you a star!"

hours: tuesday, february 3 1:30 -8:00 pm
wednesday, february 4 10:30-12:30 pm lunch & look, come join the fun!
thursday, february 5 1:30-8:00 pm

australia

our newest "read-a-loud" book is The Mystery at Great Barrier Reef, so i've been doing some research on australia...i've decided i would like to move there! :) if you would also like to know more, follow this link: online.culturegrams.com/kids/kids

GREAT information, and fun facts!

Can You Say It in Aussie English?

Hello G’day What do you think? What d’ya reckon? Excuse me? Ay? Well done Good on ya Let’s have a barbecue Let’s have a barbie You’re kidding me You’re having me on

around the world in 80 mysteries!

i'm SO excited...our next read-aloud book is...

The Mystery on the Great Barrier Reef, by Carole Marsh!

you can learn all about this series of books at www.gallopade.com. click on the "kids" tab and then click on the "carole marsh mysteries" graphic. or www.carolemarshmysteries.com. puzzles, games, book club ideas, loads of fun and exciting activities are available. you can also learn more about Carole Marsh, the author of these great books!

we will be keeping track of our "travels" on our new world map located in our media center, and i'm excited to see where we go.