Showing posts with label Friday Focus. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Friday Focus. Show all posts
Friday, August 31, 2012
Friday Focus: Books about School (Picture Book Edition)
It’s been a great first week at Maury. I’ve seen almost all of the students in the library already, and I can’t wait for the weeks ahead. For the theme of first edition of the Friday Focus this year, school was a natural choice. All of these great books are available in the Maury library. Come by to check them out!
The Teacher from the Black Lagoon by Mike Thaler
This is one of a series, and I actually read The Librarian from the Black Lagoon to my first grade classes this week. In this book, a student is very worried about going to school. He imagines his teacher, Mrs. Green, as a scary monster who terrorizes children. When he meets her, he’s happy to learn that she’s not a monster at all. This one is funny, but probably best for students in grades 1 and up since it could be a bit scary.
It’s My School by Sally Grindley
It’s Alice’s first day of Kindergarten, and her brother Tom is not happy to have her at his school. “It’s my school,” he tells her angrily. Then Tom sees another child take Alice’s toy on the playground and rushes to his sister’s defense. Tom handles the playground issue politely, so he serves as a good model for older siblings who might watch out for their younger brothers and sisters. This is a great book for families in this situation.
I Am Too Absolutely Small For School by Lauren Child
Children may already be familiar with Charlie and Lola from the TV show, and their books are a huge hit in our library as well. In this book, Lola’s declares that she is too small to go to school, and it’s up to Charlie to convince her otherwise. Charlie describes all of the fun things that will happen at school, and Lola finally decides to go to keep her imaginary friend, Soren Lorenson, company. This is great for kids who are a little nervous to start school.
Froggy Goes to School by Jonathan London
The Froggy books are a little formulaic, but that’s what makes them so fun to read aloud. Kids learn quickly what’s coming next, and will happily chime in with a well-placed “Whaaaat?” In this book, Froggy accidentally goes to school in his underwear, happily waking up to discover that it was all a dream.
I.Q., It’s Time by Mary Ann Fraser
I.Q., the class mouse, wants to make something special for Parents’ Night. But he keeps getting called away to help the class with their schoolwork! Will he be able to finish in time? This is a great choice for kids who are learning to tell time.
I'll be back next week with some great chapter books about school.
Friday, September 16, 2011
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.
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.
It begins with a class trip to a museum. But one of the exhibits turns out to be particularly engaging for one boy...
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?
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.
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.
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.
Saturday, September 10, 2011
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
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?
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?
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?
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
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.
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.
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
Reserve a book, check library hours or use the many online resources offered by the DC Public Library.
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.)
Free, reputable resources for kids available through the Internet Public Library. A great resource to use for research projects or homework help.
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.
Friday, August 26, 2011
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
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.
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
The ever-informative Gail Gibbons describes how hurricanes are formed and named, and what to do if one is headed your way.
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 intrepid Ms. Frizzle teaches science as only she can-by taking her class inside a hurricane to learn what makes these huge storms tick!
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
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.
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.
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.
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