New Resources in the Library

I'm always excited to receive new books for our library. Mr. Larry Miller donated three new books to our library . He shared his love of the history of Harriet Tubman by reading Moses to a third grade class. It is already checked out to one of those students.

I have found that when someone else recommends a book because they read it and loved it, people choose to read that book. A case in point: I read Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper because it was on the Oklahoma Sequoyah Book Award list for 2013. It is a fantastic book! I did a book talk on the book after I had finished it and several students checked it out. They recommended that their teacher read it aloud to the whole class and they returned the book today - many tears were shed for the main character and how she was bullied and a lot of good discussion was had in the classroom.

Our principal, Mrs. Templeman purchased sets of books that will be used with the school's math curriculum. They are very interesting and informative. They integrate reading with math seamlessly!

I just finished reading the first book in the Seekers series by Erin Hunter. It was wonderful! Now I feel confident in referring students and teachers to that series. I had read the Warriors series several years ago because a third grade student of mine recommended it to me. The fantasy stories are so creative and the characters are deep!

What are you reading?

Encyclopedia Inspiration

When I was a young girl, my parents purchased a set of encyclopedias one at a time from the grocery store when we made our weekly shopping trip. It was the Golden Book Encylopedia set:

This set is on sale on ebay today for about $50! I loved reading those things! They inspired me to want to learn about all different kinds of things, especially famous people. Mrs. Hall's second graders came in this afternoon for an impromptu lesson about encyclopedias, and they even went so far as to check to see if the sets were in order - what a great lesson! Thanks so much, Mrs. Hall and students!

In middle school, I read all the biographies that the school library had on the shelves. Many of our fifth graders have become interested in biographies in the "Who is/was..." series. I'm so glad to see them following in my footsteps! Here is a picture of a couple of books from that series:

Have a wonderful weekend, and happy reading!

New Books at the Library

We are so blessed to have Larry Miller in our school! He brought two new books for the library's collection. They are both very popular books with our students when they are studying China or reading fairy tales. Tikki Tikki Tembo is a personal favorite of mine. Thank you so much Mr. Miller!

Red White and Read

Red White and Read is our reading theme this year at Central Oak Elementary School.  We are promoting books about patriotism, American History, Oklahoma History, and any other books related to American studies. We came up with this theme because our year started out with the Olympics, which always brings about feelings of pride in our country(ies). Our Fall Book Fair theme is All Stars. We are all proud of being All-Star Americans!

Weekly Weed: Flying to the Moon

It has been a while since I featured a weeded book here on my blog. It has just been such a busy summer for me. However, I am working in the library the next two weeks, so will be catching up on my "weekly weed" posts.

Flying To the Moon and Other Strange Places is a memoir written by Michael Collins, one of the astronauts on the Apollo 11 crew. He was the pilot of the Columbia space craft which dropped off and picked up the Eagle (the first manned space craft which landed on the Moon). The book, sadly, hasn't been checked out since 1989. It was actually a pretty easy and fun read! There are some black and white photographs of Mr. Collins, some airplanes, and of the first flight to the moon. The best photograph is one of the back side of the moon covering the Earth! The book has a copyright date from 1975. Luckily, our library's space and planets section has grown recently with new purchases.

Weekly Weed Number One

I think I'm going to try to keep up with a new weekly post on my web called the "Weekly Weed." This is my first year in my library, and in a brand new library building. My assistant told me that when they moved into this new building that they weeded the collection and brought what they had left over. I am a diligent and determined "weeder" of library books; in other words, RUTHLESS! If the book is old, worn out, out of date, or otherwise inappropriate for our developing collection, it is not needed in the library. I learned in librarian school ~smirk~ that if your shelves are full of unused books, no one will know that you need new books! Fortunately, for our students and faculty, the administration is pro-library and has given us funds to purchase many new books this year. We've also had some donated by retiring teachers, family members, and other faculty members. I am always on the prowl for new books to show our students and teachers.

Our students are heavy AR users, so if a book isn't AR, they practically won't even look at it. Sad, but true. I've weeded the fiction, everybody, and finally, nonfiction sections of the library. I found so many interesting books during these weeds that I decided to feature some of them. Unfortunately, I decided this AFTER I had already distributed most of the fiction and everybody books. Here is a picture of my nonfiction weeds:

Here is my first Weekly Weed:

Crackerjack Halfback, by Matt Christopher, has a copyright date of 1962. Catcher with a Glass Arm, by Matt Christopher, has a copyright date of 1964. Both books were last checked out in 2005. Both have AR tests! Both books have sewn bindings, and both had their spines taped at some time. I'm amazed at the shape they are in. Unfortunately, the way they look is why students aren't checking them out. They look too "old fashioned and old," according to my boys.

I hope you enjoy my weeds as much as I am! Check in next week for the next highlighted book from our former collection!