Limit screen time so that reading time can be built in.
For the past two weeks our Common Sense Media lesson has been about creating a healthy media balance for ourselves. It is something all of us at every age struggles with. It's good to be mindful of it so we can be better.
Some helpful screen limit devices are the kitchen stove timer as well as Disney Circle.
There is no school for kids on Tuesday, November 6th because it is a day to vote. Although our readers are not old enough to vote, I like that this picture book provides them with many options to be engaged, responsible citizens.
This 2015 article from esteemed educator Nancie Atwell is a great read to support classroom libraries.
The Scholastic book fair is in business at Hampden Meadows this week. Keep your child's classroom library in mind when making purchases. A book for the classroom library makes a great holiday gift and end of year gift! How about donating a book in your child's name for his/her birthday? Not sure what to get? Let your child choose. Kids know what other kids want to read.
In addition, if you know someone who is looking to donate gently used books, check with your child's teacher or librarian about taking those donations off their hands. We absolutely love donations!
Fifth grade teacher Mr. Tibbetts was kind enough to indulge me in an Extreme Classroom Library Makeover during my first year as the school librarian. Here is thelink to see the before and after pics!
I recently heard talented author and 2018 National Book Award finalist Leslie Connor speak and something she said struck me. She said, "I wasn't the strongest reader as a kid. I reread my favorite books and series." I think there is comfort in knowing what to expect. Intuitively, our readers are giving themselves exactly what they need. They crave practice with a text that is motivating to them. Basketball players who want to improve their foul shot percentage practice the same movement over and over again until it becomes part of their muscle memory. And there are other benefits too. Each time you read something again you pick up on something new you didn't get the last time you read it. I have students report that they have read the entire Harry Potter series several times. Some readers just like that world and want to be a part of it as much as possible. It's pretty remarkable, really, that our readers are doing this for themselves.
HMS Family Book Club Title
We will meet on Thursday, November 29th from 7:45-8:30 am
Balloons Over Broadway: The True Story of the Puppeteer Macy's Parade, (2011)
by Melissa Sweet
In keeping with the season, I thought I would share a spooky RICBA title this week. To be honest, I cannot read anything remotely scary. The cover alone would scare me off as a kid and it still does today. However, we have lots of students who look for scary stories to take out of the library.
I loved this week's featured series as a kid. I really enjoyed imagining the animals of the house having a whole drama-filled world the humans are not privy to. This is the series I like to mention to readers as an option at this time of the year. These books should not be sitting on our shelves!
Bunnicula: A Rabbit-Tale of Mystery (Bunnicula #1), 1979
words by Deborah and James Howe, pictures by Alan Daniel
Sometimes we start a book, give it a good try, and it just doesn't hold our attention. It could be that the content is over our head, the content does not interest us, there is something going on in our personal life that does not allow us to sustain attention for long chunks of time, etc. The point is that abandoning a book is a natural part of an active reading life. Sometimes it happens and we need to share that with our kiddos. The trick is to get our children into the habit of making a plan - keeping a "to be read" list - with a book waiting in the wings. It's also good to have conversations with our children about why they abandoned a book and why another one held their interest. Talking about books in this way helps students gain confidence in their reading identity.
We are incredibly lucky to have Mark Parisi, author of the hilarious and hugely popular hybrid series Marty Pants, come to our school for an author visit on the day that his third Marty Pants book is released. Our students will be some of the first to get their hands on this title! Mark Parisi will also do a book signing after school at Barrington Books on Tuesday, October 30th. If you know of any Marty Pants fans who do not go to HMS, please tell them to stop by BB to say hello to Mark and get a book signed! The countdown is certainly on at our house!
Two years ago Mark Parisi came to Hampden Meadows to debut his original Marty Pants book. Emma, then a fourth grader, was so inspired by his visit that she immediately went home and created a fantastic book trailer. With permission from her parents, Mark used Emma's book trailer in his author talks. I think Emma helped cement a strong relationship with Mark, and Mark still enjoys coming to HMS when a new book comes out. Our doors will always be open to this talented, funny, awesome author!
Emma's trailer
Did you know that if I created a pie chart of all the genres in our fiction section, the largest slice would be fantasy? This first book in the Ascendance Trilogy was a 2014 RI Children's Book Award nominee.
The False Prince (The Ascendance Trilogy #1), (2013)
Barrington Public Children's Librarian Extraordinaire Lisa Lesinski and I will be co-hosting our next "Rooster Readers" family book club on Tuesday, November 13th from 5-6pm (we had to move the day and time this month due to scheduling issues). We were so thrilled with last month's book club, and are looking forward to another evening of thoughtful discussion around this realistic fiction title.
There is no book trailer for this title but I did find a news piece on the history of Monopoly.
Our students devour the Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales series. He has cleverly combined his love of history and his talent for drawing to humorously teach history to our eager readers. Brilliant! This is the perfect gift for your young Hamilton fanatics!
Lafayette!: A Revolutionary War Tale (Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales #8), (2018)
The countdown is on for our visit with Kazu Kibuishi this Thursday, October 11th!
Kazu Kibuishi will be doing an hour presentation and signing books for our students. Children will get books delivered to their homerooms by Thursday afternoon. If your family would like the chance to listen to him speak you are invited to the RI Festival of Children's Books and Authors at Lincoln School in Providence, RI on Saturday from 9:00 to 5:30pm. Here is a link to the schedule.
Susan Hood will be at the book festival as well (see schedule link above). She has a new historical fiction book in verse that is keeping me on the edge of my seat! I seriously wanted to stay home and read it this week. Now I need to meet Susan on Saturday!
Here's a fantasy series that is sure to capture the hearts of many of our readers! In fact, this book trailer was created by a student who is now in the sixth grade. She wanted to share her love of this series with her peers. And good news: there are five to keep our readers immersed for a while!
I like books that lead to deep discussion. I think this one would be perfect to read with older students. I look forward to the chance to discuss it with kiddos when the book arrives.
What If Everybody Said That? (2018)
words by Ellen Javernick and pictures by Colleen Madden
