Faith

Faith by Maya Ajmera and the Global Fund for Children emphasizes the themes of prayer, song, celebration, worship, hope, and peace that are shared in many of the worlds religions. The incredible photography and text describes what makes each unique. This is brand new in our library. Beautiful!

Caldecott Award Winner

The American Library Association (ALA) announced the winners of several different awards for top books for children. One of these awards is the Randolph Caldecott Medal which is awarded to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children. This is the first year that I have made predictions about which books might win. I'm so excited about the winning book and the honor books. They were my picks, too!


Winner:
The Lion and the Mouse illustrated and written by Jerry Pinkney.
This is a beautiful book! This is an old story, but this time it is wordless. I love how wordless books sometimes encourage the greatest conversations. This one is fantastic!

Caldecott Honor Books:

All the World illustrated by Marla Frazee and written by Liz Garton Scanlon.
This is another beautiful book. It is a rhyming celebration of the world.







Red Sings from Treetops: A Year in Colors illustrated by Pamela Zagarenski and written by Joyce Sidman.
This gorgeous book explores the colors associated with each season of the year. There is so much to see on every page. It's on our Panther Paw list this year.

My Heart is Like a Zoo

I read about My Heart is Like a Zoo by Michael Hall last night and bought it for our library today. (Thanks, Creative Literacy!) Our second graders are experts at finding and creating similes. I think that they will love this book and the chance to create their own heart creatures with Valentine's Day on the horizon. Here's a trailer that will give you the flavor of this clever book.

2010 Reading Challenge

I read on one of my favorite librarian blogs, TLC, about the 100+ Reading Challenge hosted by J.Kaye I've always kept lists of classroom reading, and I've encouraged the kids to keep reading logs, but I've never been organized enough to keep a record of my own reading. This is the year...I'm itching to get started today on this goal of reading 100 books by December 31, 2010. I'll keep the list on the sidebar of this blog and also on Library Thing. I hope that some of you will join me on this reading adventure!

Those Shoes

Holiday time might be the perfect time to read Those Shoes by Maribeth Boelts with the second grade. It's a great story to kick off a discussion about the difference between needs and wants. Jeremy wants a pair of black high tops that "everyone" at school is wearing. His grandmother can afford only necessities. The story results in Jeremy learning a lot about generosity and friendship. One second grade boy said that this is a great book for Christmas because it shows "the joy in your heart that you feel when you give." What could be better?

Katie Loves the Kittens

Pet lovers were clamoring to check out Katie Loves the Kittens by John Himmelman even before it was cataloged and on the shelf. It's the story of a sweet dog who is beside herself with excitement when her owner brings home three baby kittens. Katie works hard (through many failed attempts) to find a way to make the friendship work.

Ruby Lu, Brave and True

I finally read Lenore Look's Ruby Lu, Brave and True. Ruby is a girl who I know that I would love as a friend or as a student. She loves her baby brother, her grandparents, doing magic tricks, her neighborhood, her teacher, and just about everything. The book would be great for second graders when they're studying immigration. I'm going to order Ruby Lu, Empress of Everything right now!