Scranimals by Jack Prelutsky

I read the book Scranimals by Jack Prelutsky with Mrs. Carreon's class today.

 It is a poetry book where the author takes two things, like a mango and gorilla, for example, and combines them into one weird animal: a MANGORILLA.  So each page features a poem about a scranimal and where it lives, what it eats, etc.  They were pretty silly!  I think the students' favorites were the BANANACONDA and the POTATOAD...judging by the laughter on those pages!

Let's make our own scranimal island in the library!  If you want to add a scranimal to my map, all you need to do is create your own scranimal and draw a picture of it with a label of its name underneath.  Bring it in to the library and I'll add it to our Library Island!

I let Mrs. Carreon's class check out the book because they were so excited about scranimals and wanted to spend more time looking at them.  But eventually I will have it rotate to the other classes.

I just thought of one myself!  A FRUMPKIN!  (A frog and a pumpkin!)  Now I have to draw one! :)

Life of Zarf -- have you read it???

Lots of kids out there love Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Dork Diaries....right?  Well, if you like those two book series, or if you like funny books at all, you should check out Life of Zarf, Trouble With Weasels by Rob Harrell.  It's about a troll named Zarf  and his life at Cotswin Middle School with his best friends Kevin (a pig) and Chester (a jester).  They have to rescue the king and deal with nasty, unlikeable Prince Roquefort.   I read this aloud to my own kids last spring and it was FUNNY!  Here's a little trailer to show you what I mean:

We have the first book already, and the second book should be in the library right around Thanksgiving.  I already know two kids who are dying to read it....the question is...will YOU be reading it?

Learn more about the Life of Zarf books at the website:

Life of Zarf

October 100% Class Book Returns

We had a lot of classes with 100% returns in October! This means THE WHOLE CLASS had NO overdue books! What an accomplishment! The classes that had 100% days in October are:

• Salcido (THREE TIMES!) 
• Breazeale 
• Willis/Gabbani 
• Digirolamo (FOUR TIMES!) 
• Crawford 
• Fitz (TWICE!) 
• Mackin 
• Letona 

 Awesome job, teachers and students! I'm so happy with our new system of turning books in a day beforehand. It's really helping, I think. So, the winners of the free book for October are:

CRAWFORD 
LETONA 
DIGIROLAMO

Magic Treehouse Tote Bag Giveaway

Raise your hand if you're a fan of the Magic Treehouse book series!  Would you like to win a free Magic Treehouse tote bag?  It would be perfect for bringing to the Pleasanton Library and carrying all your library books in.  If you are interested in winning this cool tote bag, just fill out the Google Form below by Nov. 18th.  All Alisal students who correctly answer the questions will be entered into a raffle to win the tote bag.

Win a free Captain Underpants book!!!!

Hello all you Captain Underpants fans!  Fill out the form below and you could win a free Dav Pilkey book.  All Alisal students who submit this form by November 3rd will be entered into a drawing to win a book.

Alisal Book Fair -- Nov. 2-6, 2015

It's everyone's favorite time of year -- that's right, the Alisal Scholastic Book Fair! 

I can't wait to see what books are for sale this fall!  As usual, it will be held in the library.  What is different about the book fair this year is that it will not be open during lunch recess.  Instead, classes will come to the library at their normal class time, and they will be allowed to buy during that time.  This will make the lines shorter and much less chaotic!  Don't forget to bring your money on the day you come to the library with your class.

Here is a link to the book fair preview videos:
http://www.scholastic.com/bookfairs/fall-2015-elementary-school-videos

Dewey Decimal Rap

This video is a fun way to understand the Dewey Decimal System.  Enjoy!

Alisal Library Fundraiser

Starting 9/24 and ending on October 23rd, we're having an online Titlewish library fundraiser. 100% of the money we raise will go directly to purchasing new materials for our Alisal school library!

We're asking you to participate and help us raise $1,000. We're going to use this money to purchase NONFICTION SPORTS BOOKS for our school. The few sports books we have in the library are old and outdated.  Students come in every week and ask for books about martial arts, dance, hockey, baseball, swimming, gymnastics, horseback riding, football, BMX biking, basketball, etc, etc. We need new, up to date, exciting books about the sports that students are playing and watching! These new books will help build excitement about reading. Your donation goes directly to buying new library books for Alisal.

To help us meet our goal, please visit   http://www.titlewish.com/107887  and click the Donate button.

As of today, we are already at 69% of our goal!!!  Amazing!  Thank you, generous Alisal families!  I'd love to raise more than $1,000 for sports books - it would mean more books for the kids!

Thank you for helping us provide Alisal students with the best education possible!

Battle of the Books

It's finally here!!!!  Alisal's Battle of the Books is underway!  The 4th and 5th graders are now assigned to teams and beginning to read their books.   The next meeting is Tuesday, October 27th at noon.  Please make sure your child has finished the book and attends the meeting with their book so they can exchange it with teammates.

The 4th graders are reading these 5 books:
Liberty Porter, First Daughter
Dragonrider 
No Talking
The Year of Miss Agnes
The Case of the Case of Mistaken Identity 

The 5th graders are reading these 5 books:
Swindle
Regarding the Fountain
Silverwing
Among the Hidden
Inside Out and Back Again

The teams are as follows:

4th Grade:

Red Sasha Diana Kira Victor Alan D Abigal D	Orange Daniel C Joshua D Brian G Nick G Jenna Devlyn
Green Arash Olivia A Kyle Amy Sriveda Dana	Blue Ein Neale Lisa Erin Olivia M Sophie P
Yellow Elijah AJ S. Tony Raymond Danielle Marycarmen	Black Hayley Ellie Jevonne Adrian Nicolas Jayden
Purple Jalen Darcy Cameron Arthur Nitya Ria	Pink Molly Emma W Alyssa A Jia V Lynn

5th Grade:

Red Wu Andrew X Sophia M Emma F Tanvi Aditi K	Orange Amina Sarah Aaron Liam Brian Andrew
Green Joey Ryan S Jackson Tavleen Nandini Sahana	Blue Michael H Tony W Richard Esha Avi Taylor
Yellow Dylan Issac C Celeste Maggie Emma B	Black Eva Anish Harshu Alina F Lilli
Purple Evan D Gael Isaac L Melissa April	Pink Alena Zoey Isabelle Stella Sydney S
Silver Harshu Anish Alina Lilli Eva

Screen-Free Week is May 4th-11th, 2015

Hello Alisal Bears!  Next week, May 4th-11th, is National Screen-Free Week across the US.  I love this week because there are so many wonderful things to do in the world when you're not sitting behind a screen.  (A-HEM.... like READING!)  Here is a short video that shows just how much we Americans watch screens:

This video is probably best for 4th and 5th graders...younger kids may have a hard time digesting the information as it is given pretty quickly.

But here's another video that everyone should enjoy:

This video features several children's book authors discussing what their childhoods were like and how they spent the majority of their time "unplugged".... shows kids some great things they can do if they are not watching screens.

Teachers and parents, I will be reading different picture books to the kids that have to do with the idea of taking a break from electronics.  If you have time to show these videos to your classes tomorrow (before Screen-Free Week starts), that would be a great beginning for ME...when I see them in the library next week, when I ask them if they know what week it is, someone might say, "Yes!  It's Screen-Free Week!"

I know the idea of keeping kids off all screens for a whole week seems daunting.  You could always start out small.  That's what we're going to do!  :)

READ!  PRETEND!  DRAW!  BUILD!  CLIMB A TREE!  FLY A KITE!

It's POEM IN YOUR POCKET DAY!!!

Watch this video on Thursday, April 30th for a special message from Mrs. Shackelford!

Author and Illustrator videos

Hello out there!  I've been discovering a lot of cool author interviews online lately.  I'm going to "store" them here so I can show them classes without having to search for them!  Feel free to watch them!

Erin Steadtalking about how she illustrates A Sick Day for Amos McGee

Ivy and Bean trailer

How Beekle got his name

Jennifer and Matthew Holm talk about Babymouse

Mo Willems and Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs

California Young Reader Medal...The Votes Are In!

Happy Spring Break!  School's out, and the relaxing begins!  However, before I can relax, I have an important job to do: tallying the 1st and 2nd graders' California Young Reader Medal votes.  Then I have to submit our votes online to the CYRM website.  We'll find out which book wins the award in May.  Here is how Alisal voted.  A pretty big landslide, I'd say.  Now we just have to see how the rest of the kids across California felt about the books!

Who Loves Mac Barnett (the author)??!!

Hello all you Alisal Bears!  Last Thursday was such an exciting day for the library.  Mr. Mario arrived with a dolly full of books -- brand new books for the students to read.  I can't wait to get these awesome books checked out to kids in the next few days!  I took a few home to try out with my own kids over the weekend.  We all loved Chloe and the Lion by Mac Barnett.  Watch the trailer for book here:

Obviously, the first reason to love it is how funny it is!  Lots of giggles from both kids and myself as we read through it.  But lots of books are funny, right?  What I also enjoyed was the fact that it highlighted the importance of the illustrator in making a picture book what it becomes.  Reading this book makes me think of many questions about authors and illustrators and how they work together… Like, do they get to pick each other? What if they don't like the other's work?

This is the third book by Mac Barnett that I have read in the Alisal Library that I have loved. The other two are Count the Monkeys (recommended to me by Franke in Room14) and Guess Again, which was loved by all the first grade classes back in January.

And we also received President Taft is Stuck in the Bath and Sam and Dave Dig a Big Hole.  I haven't read them yet but I'm sure I'll be cracking up yet again!  We'll be having some fun reading Mac Barnett's books after Spring Break!

Alisal Read-A-Thon

Woo hoo!!!  It's the Alisal Read-A-Thon!!
The Read-A- Thon promotes a love of reading and improves literacy while raising funds for PTA sponsored programs, such as the Multi-Purpose Room upgrade, in-class Technology, BOOKS, and more. Students can challenge themselves to see how many minutes they can read in this period and then collect pledges in support of their efforts! The Read-A-Thon will end on Wednesday, March 18th.  So  let's get reading!!  Stop by the library at morning recess if you need to stock up on new books!  Go Bears!

Caldecott Medal Winner 2015 Announced - iiiiiittt's BEEKLE!

It was an exciting month in the library -- the biggest awards in children's literature were announced in early February.

 
The Caldecott Medal is awarded to the best picture book of the year.  This year's winner has been a fan favorite in our library.  It's called The Adventures of Beekle, the Unimaginary Friend by Dan Santat. Kids all ages have oo-ed and ahh-ed at the beautiful pictures and the touching story.  Everyone has loved finding the hidden surprises and special meanings in many of Santat's illustrations.  There is a lot more to this story than first meets the eye.

For example, take a look at this picture of the end pages of the book.  (The end pages are the very first pages when you first open the book.)   Do you see how each boy or girl has an imaginary friend next to them?  The students and I looked carefully at all the pictures and noticed that each pair has something in common.  Like the girl who likes to jump rope--so her imaginary friend is a snake.  Ha!  How clever! 
Everyone has been dying to check it out.  Well, good news! The book has finally been processed for the library and is ready to be checked out by students.  Oh wait!  Someone just checked it out!  Better come in and put it on hold today!

California Young Reader Medal - YOU choose!

The 1st and 2nd graders are doing a very important job in the library this month.  They are deciding which book should win the California Young Reader Medal for 2015.



Here's how it works.  There are five nominees that I'm reading to all the 1st and 2nd graders.  After they have read all five books with me, then they must deliberate and vote on which book they think should win the California Young Reader Medal.  The Alisal Library will be transformed into a polling station the week before Spring Break starts.  Students will vote for their favorite book and I will submit the votes.  We'll find out in May who the winner is!  All primary students in California are eligible to vote.  No grown-ups can vote!  Only kids!  The students have been excited about taking on such a huge responsibility.  They all wanted to know if the book will get a "gold medal" like the Caldecott winner gets.  I assured them it does.   Each week, the kids get to take home a special bookmark that has the book we read decorated on the bookmark.  Kind of a fun memento of our activity.  Please use the bookmarks as a reminder to ask your child about the nominated book they heard in the library that week.  Hopefully, they can recall what they heard and retell you the story!  Here are this year's nominees:

Randy Riley's Really Big Hit by Chris Van Dusen

Miss Brooks Loves Books! (And I Don't)

Too Tall Houses by Giana Marino

Exclamation Mark by Amy Krouse Rosenthal

City Dog, Country Frog by Mo Willems

TombQuest Author Visit = Success!

Well, February 12th was an exciting day in the library world.  Author Michael Northrop came to Alisal and talked to all the 3rd, 4th and 5th grade students.  He got everyone really excited about his new book, TombQuest #1: Book of the Dead.  I thought it was interesting to learn that as a kid, Mr. Northrop didn't love reading and actually struggled in school.  It sure goes to show you that you should never give up.  Look what Mr. Northrop was able to accomplish!  I know the kids enjoyed squirming as he talked about how mummies were prepared back in ancient Egyptian times.   It actually inspired me to buy some Egyptian mummy books for the library.  After the assembly, Mr. Northrop signed books for many students who bought his books.  I've been hearing from different kids that they've enjoyed Book of the Dead.  If you haven't read it, what's stopping you?  The library has two copies - put one on hold today!

TombQuest series author coming to Alisal

Mark your calendars!  On February 12th, author Michael Northrop will be coming to Alisal to talk about his exciting new book series, TombQuest.

TombQuest #1: the Book of the Dead is the first in a 5 book series. Like a preteen Indiana Jones, it is a thrilling adventure rich in Egyptian mythology and magic.  An ancient evil has been unleashed.  Mummies are awakening.  New York is overrun with scorpions.  And worst of all for Alex, his mom and the Lost Spells have both disappeared.  Alex and his best friend Ren must save the world. 

It is multi-platform:  there will be an online game where readers can build their own Egyptian tomb fill them with treasures and traps, and then challenge their friends to venture inside. 

Signed books are available for purchase.  Order forms will be sent home soon.This assembly will be for classes 3rd grade and up.  Ask your teacher if your class is attending. 

Check out the website and see what the excitement is all about!

http://tombquest.scholastic.com/

Author Visit-- Chris Grabenstein

Waaaay back in November, we had a very special visitor to the Alisal Library.

 Chris Grabenstein! 

 

He is the author of the hugely popular Escape From Mr. Lemoncello's Library.

I think everyone who saw Mr. Grabenstein speak will agree with me when I say that he was really inspiring to listen to!  He had all of us laughing the whole hour!  Besides entertaining us, Mr. Grabenstein taught us about the writing process and its importance and wrote a humorous story with us to show how you can incorporate anything into a story...no matter how absurd the idea is!  Many kids bought an autographed copy of his one of his books, and many more borrowed his books from the Alisal Library. 

Signing students' books

 

 

 

 

So...what are YOU waiting for?!  Come on in and check it out! 

Let's Protect Our Library Books!

Recently, I've been seeing a lot of library books come back to the library with water damage on them.  Even though it's accidental, the students still must pay for the book if it gets wet.  This is because the water creates mold on the pages and cover.  Once it's gotten wet, a book cannot go back out onto the library shelves.  How can we prevent this problem?  By making sure the library books are safe and protected when they are in students' backpacks.  Put your book in its own compartment, or better yet, slip the book into a Ziplock baggie to protect it in the backpack.  Happy reading!