All posts by tpretz
Grade 2 Code Breakers
During the past two library lessons, students in Grade Two have been doing an inquiry into how the nonfiction section of a library is organized. So far, they have discovered that the nonfiction section is organized by numbers and letters. Stay tuned to see if they can crack Dewey’s code.
4K Book Talks – November 7, 2014
Parrots Over Puerto Rico
by Susan L. Roth & Cindy Rumbore
Winner of 11 Awards 2013-14
If there is one nonfiction book that you can’t pass up, it is this book! Learn about human impact nearly caused one of the most beautiful birds to become extinct. This is a story about one species struggle to survive and the scientists never gave up in their pursuit to save this exquisite bird. Did you know parrots thrived in Puerto Rico long before the first human settlers arrived some 5,000 years ago? But by 1975, only 13 of the birds were still living in the wild.
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How To Clean a Hippopotamus: A Look at Unusual Animal Partnerships
by Steve Jenkins & Robin Page
You’ll learn all about the scientific concept of symbiosis. Jenkins and Page describe the unusual relationships between various animals in the wild. Find out why a mongoose comes running when a warthog lies down, how a crab and an iguana help each other out why ravens follow wolves, and more.
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Cougar: A Cat with Many Names
by Stephen Person
A three time award-winning book and the only contender for the 2014 Children’s Choice Awards!
An investigation into what happens when humans invade an animal’s natural habitat
Early one evening in October 2011, Gail Loveman heard a strange noise coming from outside her house in Boulder, Colorado. She looked through the glass door leading to her backyard and was shocked by what she saw. There, standing on her porch, was a cougar! Because cougars are solitary animals that avoid contact with humans, it’s rare to see a cougar in the wild, and very unusual to see one near a house. In Cougar: A Cat With Many Names, kids will go on a real-life adventure with wildlife biologists as they investigate changes in the range of cougars as humans settle in the animals’ territories.
Microscopic Scary Creatures by Ian Graham
Miniscule monsters? Terrifying ticks? Blood-sucking insects?
Discover the real truth…
Can tiny bests live under your skin? What do these creatures feed on? How do such small creatures survive?
Summary Source: Follett Books
4S – Book Talks November 4, 2014
Punished by David Lubar
Logan knows he shouldn’t have been playing tag in the library reference stacks and he’s sorry that he crashed into Professor Wordsworth. Logan’s punishment is an unusual curse: everything he tries to say comes out as a pun. The cure, according to the elderly spell caster, involves more wordplay: Logan must hunt down examples of oxymorons, anagrams, and palindromes. (19 copies of this book available)
Puns:
A bicycle can’t stand alone because it is two-tired.
Winning candy as a prize is always a sweet victory.
If you leave alphabet soup on the stove and go out, it could spell disaster.
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Nathan Abercrombie Series: Book #1
Accidental Zombie by David Lubar
Tired of continually having his feelings hurt by popular students and bullies, fifth-grader Nathan agrees to try an experimental formula, Hurt-Be-Gone, and becomes a half-dead zombie, a condition which, he soon discovers, has some real advantages.
Maggie Brooklyn Series by Leslie Margolis
Maggie is a clever, lovable new hero. In Book #1 dogs are disappearing in her neighborhood, and Maggie Brooklyn Sinclair knows all about it. After all, she is an amateur dog-walker. Maggie hates to see a pup in trouble, so she’s even willing to help her ex-best friend Ivy recover her rescue-dog, Kermit. Kermit’s being held for ransom, and Maggie has noticed some suspicious behavior lately.
The Lost Kingdom by Matthew J Kirby
Steampunk at its best! This is an extraordinary adventure story, intrigue and courage. Billy Bartram, his father, and a secret society venture into the American wilderness in search of the lost people of the Welsh Prince Madoc. Traveling in a flying airship, the members of the expedition find their lives frequently endangered in the untamed American West by terrifying creatures, a party of French soldiers hot on their trail, and the constant threat of traitors and spies. Billy will face hazards greater than he can ever imagine as, together with his father, he gets caught up in the fight for the biggest prize of all: America.
Secrets of the Book by Erin Fry
You don’t chose the book, the book choses you.
Sixth-grader Spencer Lemon has no idea why he was chosen to protect “Pandora’s Book,” a book that contains famous dead people who can be brought back to life. Soon he discovers there are other people interested in the book, people who may have evil intentions, and it’s up to Spencer and his friends to protect the book and save the world.
Sakura Medal Kickoff for Grades 3-5
Great titles are waiting to be read!
Checkout begins Monday, November 10th for all students in Grades 3-5. There are titles for everyone…20 picture books, 9 graphic novels and 20 chapter books.
Your Own Reading Goal
Read one or more Sakura book this year, read a book from each category and/or try a new genre.
Vote for Your Favorite Sakura Book
Read five picture book or three graphic novels or five chapter books minimum and attend the voting party in April. For every five books in a category that you read, you get a vote. You will need to tell Ms. Ladd or Ms. Fields that you have read a book and they will
Participate In a Photography Contest After reading the book, Half a Chance, see Ms. Pretz for more information if you would like to sign-up and participate. Photos due in a Keynote presentation, no later than April 21, 2015.
Become a Reader Leader This Year!
Sign up with Ms. Pretz, Ms. Ladd or Ms. Fields beginning Monday, November 10th. Reader Leaders will read Sakura Picture Books to and then read to a KG, Grade 1 or Grade 2 class second semester. A “library use only” book basket of Sakura Picture Books will be available in the ES Library near Ms.Pretz’s desk for students in Grades 3-5.
Don’t forget to check the library blog and daily bulletin for more information.
Click here for book covers for all categories: Sakura 2015
The Library is Transformed into A Chocolate Factory
In celebration of the 50th anniversary of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl, the library was transformed into Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory for Halloween this year. After guessing how many lollipops were on the lollipop tree, students either stayed to fill out a lottery ticket or were sent down the garbage shoot. Escorted down the shoot by an Oompa Loompa, students then had a chance to draw a golden ticket and win a 50th anniversary edition of the classic children’s book, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
Enter the Chocolate Factory
Wily Wonka Welcomes You
Pure Imagination
Into the Incinerator
Who will win the golden ticket and a 50th anniversary edition of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory?
4T Book Talks – October 28, 2014
CALDECOTT AWARD WINNERS
LMN
Puss in Boots translated by Malcolm Arthur and illustrated by Fred Marcellino
A retelling of the French fairy tale in which a clever cat wins his master a fortune and the hand of a princess.
OPQ 
Grandfather’s Journey written and illustrated by Allen Say
A Japanese American man recounts his grandfather’s journey to America which he later also undertakes, and the feelings of being torn by a love for two different countries.
RST 
Lon Po Po : a Red-Riding Hood Story from China translated and illustrated by Ed Young
Three sisters staying home alone are endangered by a hungry wolf who is disguised as their grandmother.
NEWBERY AWARD WINNERS
LMN 
My Father’s Dragon by Ruth Gannett
A young boy determines to rescue a poor baby dragon who is being used by a group of lazy wild animals to ferry them accross the river on Wild Island. (Note: This is the first book in a series of three.
OPQ 
The Year of Billy Miller by Kevin Henkes
Billy Miller starts second grade with a bump on his head and a lot of worries, but by the end of the year he has developed good relationships with his teacher, his little sister, and his parents and learned many important lessons.
RST
The Whipping Boy by Sid Fleischman
A bratty prince and his whipping boy have many adventures when they inadvertently trade places after becoming involved with dangerous outlaws.
4N Book Talks – October 27, 2014
RECOMMENDATIONS – LMN
Fiction
While Mom and Dad are away, a pirate takes Billy and his sister Heidi on a wild adventure, sailing their “fish-stick finger” house to Itchy Ear Island and telling them quirky facts about pirates, parrots, and cabbages.
Picture Book
Thirty thousand years ago, an imaginative child sees the shapes of animals in clouds and on the walls of the cave he shares with his family, but no one else can see them until he makes the world’s first drawing. Includes author’s note on cave drawings.
Nonfiction
Describes the predator-prey relationship between owls and mice, examining the characteristics of each animal, and discussing which animal would win in a fight. If you like this book, we have more books in the Predator vs. Prey series in the library!
RECOMMENDATIONS – OPQ
Fiction
Move over Charlotte…Flora the pig ditches the sedentary life on the farm for an adventure in Antarctica, where she escapes the knife and lives her dream of pulling a sled with a team of dog.
Picture Book
A fictionalized account of Bill “Doc” Key, a former slave who became a veterinarian, trained his horse, Jim Key, to recognize letters and numbers and to perform in skits around the country, and moved the nation toward a belief in treating animals humanely.
Nonfiction
A celebration of the seasons and the migration of millions of animals to the Arctic tundra. This books makes the reader recognize the hardships and harmony of life in the wild.
RECOMMENDATIONS – RST
Fiction – Mystery/Detective
Ben and his friend Jill find themselves in danger when they discover the secret history of their school and set out to derail a developer’s plan to level the building to make way for an amusement park. Don’t think Ben, his friend Jill and the tag-along Robert can ruin a multimillion dollar real estate deal? Then you don’t know the history and the power of the Keepers of the School.
Picture Book
After growing up near San Francisco, a young Japanese woman returns with her parents to their native Japan, but she feels foreign and out of place.
Nonfiction
Nature + Math = Fibonacci. An illustrated story of Leonardo Fibonacci that depicts the famed mathematician during his childhood in medieval Italy and on his world travels where he learned about mathematics, which led Fibonacci to discover a renown sequence of numbers.
4K Book Talks – October 22, 2014
Mr. Strike Out by Jake Maddox
Baseball-Perseverence
David Gray is notorious in his baseball league, notorious for strike outs, both as a pitcher and a batter. After learning about the great Babe Ruth, David becomes determined to become a good all-around player, which means he’ll have to learn how to bat.
You might also like: Girl Wonder: A Baseball Story in Nine Innings by Deborah Hopkinson and Shortstop from Tokyo by Matt Christopher and Babe and Me: A Baseball Card Adventure by Dan Gutman
Gingernsap by Patricia Riley Giff
Historical Fiction – WWII – Ghosts
When her brother Rob, a Navy cook, goes missing in action during World War II, Jayna, desperate for family, leaves upstate New York and their cranky landlady, accompanied by a turtle and a ghost, to seek their grandmother, who Rob believes may live in Brooklyn.
You might also like: Don’t Read This and Other Tales of the Unnatural by Margaret Mahy, The Ghost on the Stairs by Chris Eboch and The Amber Cat by Hilary McKay
The Quail Club by Carolyn Marsden
Realistic Fiction – Friendship
Oy lives in America now, but she loves to go to the back room of Pak’s auto shop on Saturdays to learn traditional Thai dances. She loves it almost as much as being a member of the Quail Club – five friends who gather after school to hatch and care for baby quail. When the teacher announces a talent show, Oy knows how proud her family and Pak would be to see her step onstage in her beautiful gold-threaded dress from Thailand. But bossy Liliandra vows to kick her out of the Quail Club if she won’t team up for a very different kind of dance. Someone will be disappointed. But who?
You might also like: The Talent Show by Dan Gutman, The Talented Clementine by Sara Pennypacker and Justin Fisher Declares War! by James Preller
Hello, Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle by Betty MacDonald
Humor
While picking up milk for his children’s cereal, a father is abducted by aliens and finds himself on a wild adventure through time and space.
You might also like: Mr. Popper’s Penguins by Richard Atwater, The Trouble With Chickens by Doreen Cronin and Hello, Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle by Betty MacDonald
Source: Follett Summaries
4R Book Talks – October 21, 2014
UNDER THE EGG by Laura Marx Fitzgerald
Mystery-Friendship-Art History
Only two people know about the masterpiece hidden in the Tenpenny home—and one of them is dead.
Her grandfather’s dying words lead thirteen-year-old Theodora Tenpenny to a valuable, hidden painting she fears may be stolen.
Then, Theodora Tenpenny spills a bottle of rubbing alcohol on her late grandfather’s painting, she discovers what seems to be an old Renaissance masterpiece underneath. That’s great news for Theo, who’s struggling to hang onto her family’s two-hundred-year-old townhouse and support her unstable mother on her grandfather’s legacy of $463. There’s just one problem: Theo’s grandfather was a security guard at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and she worries the painting may be stolen.
You may like: Chasing Vermeer by Blue Balliett and From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankenweiler by E. L. Konigsburg
The Fabled Fourth Graders of Aesop Elementary by Candace Fleming
School Story-Humorous
An unlikely teacher takes over the disorderly fourth-grade class of Aesop Elementary School with surprising results.
This funny, fast-paced book is guaranteed to make you laugh out loud. A “difficult”, rambunctious class of fourth graders finally meets its match when Mr. Jupiter is hired. Life at Aesop Elementary is never going to be the same. At the end of each chapter is a moral, as in Aesop’s fables.
You may like: Wayside School Series by Louis Sachar and Skinnybones Series by Barbara Park
Fly Away by Patricia Maclachlan
Family-Secrets-Courage
Everyone in Lucy’s family sings. Opera. Rap. Lullabies. Everyone, except Lucy. Lucy can’t sing; her voice just won’t come out…but she can write.
In an old Volkswagen van, Lucy and her family, along with a few cherished chickens, are on a road trip. They are headed to North Dakota to defend her Aunt Frankie’s farm from a swelling river. Just like singing, helping Aunt Frankie prepare for flooding season is a family tradition—even if Frankie doesn’t want the help. And this year, when the flood arrives, danger finds its way into the heart of Lucy’s family, and Lucy will need to find her voice to save her brother.
You may like: Edward’s Eyes by Patricia MacLachlan and White Fur Flying by Patricia Maclachlan
Half a Chance by Cynthia Lord
Friendship – Honesty – Photography
Lucy wants to find out wants to find out if her eye for photography is really special or only good enough.
Lucy and her family move to a small rural community in New Hampshire. With her new friend Nate, she plans to spend the summer taking photos for a contest, but pictures sometimes reveal more than people are willing to see.
As Lucy seeks out subjects for her photos, Lucy gets to know Nate. But slowly the camera reveals what Nate doesn’t want to see: his grandmother’s memory is slipping away, and with it much of what he cherishes about his summers on the lake. This summer, Nate will learn about the power of art to show truth. And Lucy will learn how beauty can change lives . . . including her own.
You may like: Rules by Cynthia Lord and Touch Blue by Cynthia Lord
Click Here for Half A Chance Book Trailer by Liliana Martinez
Source: Follett Summaries
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