Chalk Box Kids

In the novel The Chalk Box Kid, Gregory moves to a new part of town and a new school. He doesn’t have any friends or anything to do. When he finds an abandoned, burned-out chalk factory behind his house, he uses the blackened walls and the leftover chalk to create a beautiful garden.

The three students in Ms. Sweeney’s third grade Monday/Wednesday reading group read The Chalk Box Kid, then wrote and talked about what we would create if we found an abandoned chalk factory. Then, the students got their chance to put those plans into action. They were given only one instruction: Work together. This beautiful garden, which was totally planned and drawn by the students, is the result.

These pictures can't do justice to the wonderful work these students did. Be sure to come up to the library on the second floor of the East building to see the display for yourself.

The library at recess

Starting today, students in second through fifth grades can come to the library during recess. They can use this time to read a book, check out a book or do research. Take a look at these dedicated library patrons!

Check it out!

This week all of the Kindergarten through Fifth Grade students at Maury had the chance to check out books, most of them for the first time this year! I had my camera ready when one of our Kindergarten classes went to the shelves for the very first time to choose their books, and I wanted to share!

Students learned to use their shelf markers to find the perfect book.

Searching for the perfect book.

Found it!

Sharing with a friend.

So excited!

Friday Focus: Wordless Books

I shared a book called Tuesday with my preschool classes this week, and it made me think about all of the wonderful wordless books out there. These books are perfect for so many different ages-it empowers children who aren't reading yet to "read" the book while letting older children make their imaginations flow. There are tons of great wordless books out there. Here are a few of my favorites.

Zoom by Istvan Banyai

This book begins with a close-up picture of an unrecognizable object. On the next page, it zooms out to reveal that the object is a rooster's comb. The next page zooms out even further... Also look for Re-Zoom by the same author.

Museum Trip by Barbara Lehman

It begins with a class trip to a museum. But one of the exhibits turns out to be particularly engaging for one boy...

The Grey Lady and the Strawberry Snatcher by Molly Bang

The Strawberry Snatcher is hot on the trail of the Grey Lady and her basket full of strawberries. Can she get home before he catches up with her? Or will he be distracted by...blackberries?

Changes, Changes by Pat Hutchins

The two dolls in this book build themselves a house out of blocks, but when their house catches fire they quickly dismantle the house to build a firetruck...what will they make when the fire is out? This charming book is suitable for the youngest readers.

You Can't Take a Balloon Into the National Gallery by Jacqueline Preiss Weitzman and Robin Preiss Glasser

This book is actually the sequel to You Can't Take a Balloon Into the Metropolitan Museum, but students will get a kick out of the DC landmarks in this book. A little girl entering the National Gallery of Art asks a photographer outside to hold her balloon, but when it sails away the girl and her grandmother take a quick trip around the city.

Free Fall by David Wiesner

I could easily have put all of David Wiesner's books on this list; he is also the author of Tuesday, the book that inspired this list in the first place. I forced myself to narrow his books down to two, and Free Fall is easily my favorite. It is the story of a dream, and like all of the best dreams it is surreal and somewhat random. Children will love the detailed illustrations in this book, and I think this may be the best one on this list for allowing older children to let their imaginations fly. I couldn't resist including one of my favorite illustrations from this book, though my photograph doesn't even begin to do this book justice.

The Three Pigs by David Wiesner

This book is a bit of a cheat, because it's not totally wordless. In fact, the first half of the book has lots of them, the beginning of the traditional story. But don't make the mistake of sitting down and trying to read this book aloud without flipping through it first-halfway through the book the words disappear, the pictures take over and the story takes an unexpected turn.

Friday Focus: Library Edition

It shouldn't come as a surprise to you that I love all kinds of libraries. Luckily, at Maury our students love libraries too! I start each year by reading books about libraries to each of our classes to get them ready to use our Maury library. But I have a problem-I have so many great books to choose from, and not enough time to use them all! Libraries are the topic of this Saturday edition of the Friday Focus.

Picture Books

Library Lil by Suzanne Williams

When a huge storm knocks out TV service to her town, scrappy librarian Lil converts the whole town into readers. That causes a problem when a tough biker gang rolls into town and wants to watch their favorite show...can Lil save the day?

The Boy who was Raised by Librarians by Carla Morris

Whenever Melvin has a question, he turns to his favorite people-librarians Marge, Betty and Leola-to find the answer. When Melvin goes away to college, will he leave his librarians behind?

The Library Dragon by Carmen Agra Deedy

Sunrise Elementary School's new librarian, Miss Lotta Scales is really scary. She should be-she's a dragon! What's more she's VERY protective of the books. She certainly isn't going to let a student's grubby fingers touch those beautiful pages. Can the Sunrise School community change her mind?

Library Lion by Michelle Knudsen *

When a lion walks into the library, librarian Mr. McBee wants him out. Lions don't belong in the library. But Mr. McBee is overruled by the head librarian, Miss Merriweather, and the lion becomes an important member of the library family...until one day, when he opens his mouth and roars...

Nonfiction

My Librarian is a Camel: How Books are Brought to Children Around the World by Margriet Ruurs *

How do children get books when there's no library nearby? By boat, by mail and even by elephant! This engaging book shows what libraries are like for children around the world.

Biblioburro: A True Story from Colombia by Jeanette Winter

Luis Soriano had a house full of books, and he wanted to share them with children in the mountain villages of Colombia, where there were no libraries. Soriano loaded a burro with books and walked through the jungle to remote towns--every weekend.

Dewey the Library Cat: A True Story by Vicki Myron and Bret Witter

The story of Dewey, the famous cat who was abandoned in the book drop slot of a public library on a winter night. This is an adaptation of an adult bestseller, perfect for older elementary students.

Websites

DC Public Library

Reserve a book, check library hours or use the many online resources offered by the DC Public Library.

WorldCat

If the DCPL doesn't have a book, check to see if another library system nearby does! WorldCat searches the online catalogs of libraries worldwide. (Note: WorldCat does NOT search DCPL.)

Internet Public Library Kidspace

Free, reputable resources for kids available through the Internet Public Library. A great resource to use for research projects or homework help.

International Children's Digital Library

Multicultural digital picture books from around the world. Many books are available in multiple languages. Perfect for an iPad!

Resources marked with a * are available in the Maury Library for checkout. If it's not marked with a star, we'd love to have it! Find out how you can donate those books to the library by emailing Ms. Sweeney.

Getting to know the library!

It's been a great week here in Maury's library. Students have started really getting to know the library space, and we've been learning how to treat our library books. Here's a quick breakdown:

Preschool and Pre-K read about bears and toys this week, with a special visit from a furry friend. We're starting to explore the picture book section of the library, and each student has had a chance to choose a book to read in the library.

Kindergarten through Second Grade learned all about book care. We talked about dos and donts for using our library books to make sure every book comes back in great condition!

Third, Fourth and Fifth grade are learning how the library is organized. We've gone on a hands-on tour of the library as a prelude to learning how to find books. (Some of this was done last week, since I didn't see Fourth or Fifth grade this week.)

Finally, a few classes have started checking out books! Classes that didn't check out this week will check out for the first time next week.

Friday Focus-Hurricane Edition

Welcome to the first edition of the Friday Focus, a weekly feature where I will highlight some books and other resources you may want to share with your child. For this first focus, I intended to feature books on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to celebrate the opening of the memorial here in Washington, DC. However, as most of the festivities have been postponed, I will hold those resources until the celebration is rescheduled. Instead, I will share some books and websites about the reason for the postponement--hurricanes!

Please note that some of these resources depict fairly extreme effects of hurricanes, far more devastating than we are likely to see here in our region. Please preview before sharing with your child-you know him or her best!

Picture Books

The Sea, the Storm and the Mangrove Tangle by Lynne Cherry *

Follow a seed as it falls from the branch of a mangrove tree, makes its way to an island and grows to a tree itself--then serves as a shelter for fish and animals during a hurricane. This book has drawings of the storm but does not show upsetting images of the aftermath.

Two Bobbies: a True Story of Hurricane Katrina, Friendship, and Survival by Kirby Larson *

This sweet tale of a dog and cat who relied on each other to survive the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina is guaranteed to make you sniffle a bit. Based on a true story, this book shows the devastation of New Orleans post-Katrina but offers a happy ending. This was one of our Principal's Book of the Month selections last year.

Nonfiction

Hurricanes! by Gail Gibbons

The ever-informative Gail Gibbons describes how hurricanes are formed and named, and what to do if one is headed your way.

Hurricane Hunters! by Chris L. Demarest *

Go inside a hurricane with the men and women of the Air Force special reconnaissance squadron, who are tasked with collecting information about the storm. This book talks about what happens before the storm makes landfall, so while it describes preparing for the storm there are no images of destruction.

The Magic School Bus Inside a Hurricane by Joanna Cole

The intrepid Ms. Frizzle teaches science as only she can-by taking her class inside a hurricane to learn what makes these huge storms tick!

Howling Hurricanes by Louise and Richard Spilsbury *

This book is perfect for older students who want to know what a hurricane is and how it works. It also discusses what happens after a hurricane-who helps and how people get back on their feet. There are photographs of preparations for the storm as well as the aftermath, and one particularly amusing photo showing that the flamingos at the Miami Zoo are housed inside a bathroom to keep them safe during the storm.

Websites

Hurricanes-fema.gov

This website for kids from FEMA gives all of the basic facts about hurricanes and hurricane preparedness, as well as fun facts about canine heroes of past hurricanes and quizzes to test hurricane knowledge.

Hurricane Storm Science - The Miami Museum of Science

This interactive website takes kids inside a hurricane. You may want to discuss with your child that Miami gets hit much harder by hurricanes than our region.

Animated Hurricane Guide - CBBC

This animated presentation from Children's BBC clearly shows how hurricanes are formed. The last slide allows you to see the likely effects of a hurricane based on its category rating.

Resources marked with a * are available in the Maury Library for checkout. If it's not marked with a star, we'd love to have it! Find out how you can donate those books to the library by emailing Ms. Sweeney.

Welcome Back!

After a year of dormancy, I'm reviving my library blog. I love to let parents know what's going on in the library here at Maury Elementary, and this is a great tool to communicate that. It's also a great tool for you to communicate with me--please feel free to comment on these posts to give me feedback! Since this is a school-related blog, comments are moderated to avoid spam.

We've had a great week so far here at Maury, albeit a very eventful one! I've welcomed most classes into the library this week. I'll see many of the early childhood classes for the first time next week as well as my regularly scheduled Wednesday classes which I missed due to the earthquake day.

Look for a letter to come home with your child next week with more information about the library and book checkout, as well as a media release form to indicate whether or not I may photograph your child for this blog. (I will never identify students by name on the web.) I'm looking forward to a great year!

By the way, this page, along with most blogs, is currently blocked by DCPS internet content filters. I'm working to get that resolved, but for now please excuse any formatting errors. I can post to it, but I can't see it!