Thank a Teacher...

Thursday Thirteen (13)

With 2 weeks until Christmas, my Thursday 13 lists the books that deserve a place under your tree this year.  (Please know that I don't receive any sort of compensation for these suggestions... I am just giving my opinion on some awesome products!)

1.  For the nature lover in your family, may I suggest this book by Iowa Citian and Lemme Mom, Claudia McGeehee! Where Do Birds Live  is a beautiful book that reveals 14 habitats in North America and the birds that inhabit them.  Claudia writes about ways to protect these habitats, and gives children ideas for making their backyard a safe haven for birds.  This is Claudia's newest title.   Click here to visit University of Iowa Press for details about this and 2 other beautiful titles by Claudia.  You can also visit her illustration blog here.
 

2.  For the little girl (ages 5-10) who love to color and draw, I love Beautiful Doodles by Neillie Ryan.  This is a coloring book with a twist... the pictures are all very girly, and spark the imagination.  On one page, you may have an empty ice cream cone and be told to draw and color the best ice cream cone you can imagine.  On another page, you may have a dress and be told to design the dress you would wear to the premier of a movie.  Kiley loves this book and I love it because it encourages her to read, imagine, draw and color.  

3. For the reluctant readers in your life, I give you Bone.  There are 10 books in this series of graphic novels, but for the first time, you can get the first 3 books as a set.  The Bone books are flying off the Lemme shelves.  The three Bone cousins -- Fone Bone, Phoney Bone, and Smiley Bone -- are lost in a vast, uncharted desert. They soon find their way into a deep, forested valley filled with wonderful and terrifying creatures, and come across a farmstead run by tough Gran'ma Ben and her spirited granddaughter Thorn. But little do the Bones know, there are dark forces conspiring against them and their adventures are only just beginning!Bone has been an underground comic since 1991, but has really come to be the standard to which all graphic novels are compared.  Visit Bone to learn more!

4. For the Lego fan in your life, pick up LEGO Star Wars: The Visual Dictionary.   If you like the LEGO Star Wars sets and minifigs, you will love this book. If you put it down long enough to let your kids read it, I can pretty much guarantee they’ll like it, too.

5. My 4th grade boys can't get enough of the How To Train Your Dragon series.  Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III must pass the important initiation test of his Viking clan, the Tribe of the Hairy Hooligans, by catching and training a dragon. The book was the basis for the recent blockbuster movie (that the Butcher Family adores).  This is a beautiful hardcover gift set of these books.  You could also grab a copy of the DVD to put with the books!  

 

6.  For the little princess in your life, I suggest The Pink Princess Cookbook by Barbara Beery.  My 7 year old loves this book- and although we haven't made more than 2 things in this cookbook, she loves to look at the pictures and read the ingredients.  Barnes and Nobel carries this and several other cookbooks by Beery.  

7.  Another book for the baker at your house is Hello, Cupcake!  Irresistibly Playful Creations Anyone Can Make by Karen Tack. Both of my daughters love this book so much that we had to buy part 2. "What's New, Ciupcake?"!  When Kiley was 4, she drew every single cupcake in this book- it kept her busy for hours.  The beautiful photographs are amazing, and the techniques are so easy that you could have cute cupcakes for Christmas dessert!  If you make any of these cupcakes- send me a picture!  Visit Karen Tack's website for videos and tips!

 

8.  For the little bookworm at your house, you must have the Leapfrog Tag Jr. system.  Leah has this, and loves it!  You buy special books to use with the Tag Reader.  Once you download the books to your Reader, your child can read the books by pressing the reader onto the book.  They can listen to the book, hear words, funny noises and songs.  Leah will sit with all of her books and read them over and over!  You do need access to a computer to use this product.  Each board book runs about $12 and there isn't a HUGE selection of books for the younger crowd, but the books out there have pleased my almost 3 year old.  Visit the Leapfrog site to learn more.

9.  For the Hunger Games lover at your house, this is a must!  Hot Topic in the Coral Ridge Mall carries Hunger Games tshirts and accessories (I bought the Mockingjay pin and wear it proudly!  Team Katniss!)  I guarantee that if your son or daughter has read all 3 books, she or he will squeal if they get one of these presents this year!! (I would too!)  Check out the full selection at the Hot Topic website. 

10.  For the mom, dad, grandma, grandpa or high school student at your house, you can't go wrong with a Nook Color from Barnes and Nobel!  This eReader is amazing.  You can download and read books, magazines and newspapers, you can search the web and stream music.  I am in love with mine.  If you do get the Nook, be sure to pick up a Barnes and Nobel gift card too- that way, on Christmas Day, the lucky recipient of this Nook can download books and get reading ASAP!   This is a more pricey gift- running about $249.  Check them out online before heading to the store!  I'd be happy to give any advice on this big purchase!

11. For the budding author/illustrator at your house, I suggest these great blank books from Lakeshore Learning.  I have used them in the past for research projects- you can see them in the Lemme Library.  The books are perfect for artwork,  journals, story writing and more! They feature a sturdy hardcover binding to keep kids’ creations safe…plus thick, art-quality paper that’s perfect for use with crayons, markers, paints and more. Plus, there’s a pre-printed title page for kids to fill in…and they can even decorate the cover with collage materials or contact paper!(20 pages)  

Check out ordering info here.

12.  For the animal lover at your house, how about a subscription to National Geographic Kids?  With your subscription, you get 10 issues of this beautiful magazine! The mission of National Geographic Kids is "to entertain children while educating and exciting them about their world." Geared toward children ages 6 to 14, National Geographic Kids is an interactive, multi-topic magazine covering animals, entertainment, science, technology, current events, and cultures from around the world. Regular departments include "Inside Scoop," "Amazing Animals," a kids' achievement feature, and a colorful seven-page "Fun Stuff" section devoted to challenging games, puzzles, comics, and more. You can visit their official site, or order through Amazon.  To get a sneak peek, check the local magazine stand! 

 

13.  For the Fashionista or School Librarian in your life, you must splurge on this amazing Great Gatsby clutch made by Kate Spade.  These clutches feature completely original “cover art” based on classic novels, including: The Great Gatsby, Emma, The Importance of Being Earnest, Great Expectations, and A Tale of Two Cities.  Retailing at about $300 each, one new “book” will debut every month as a kind of fashion “book-of-the-month” club.  According to creative director Deborah Lloyd: “We wanted to pretend we had our own publishing house.” she hopes that women will not only wear the bags, but display them around their homes as if they were actual books.

What are your favorite book related books to give or get?  Leave a comment with your favs!
Happy Holidays, everyone!

Trusty the Library Thoroughbred

I was presented with this wonderful picture today by Ceci... ironically enough, it was drawn on the back of her overdue notice for "National Velvet". I love this, Ceci!

Casting Call... Hunger Games

Top Ten for Tuesday, December 14

To me, Christmas is a time to be with your family, a time to be thankful for what you have, and giving to those who have less than you do.   I love sharing Christmas traditions with my little family each year.  We always make a gingerbread house, decorate cookies, go to the Santa House about 30 times, and decorate the tree.  Last year we started the tradition of having hot fudge sundaes for Christmas Eve dessert... and I guess the Butcher's get to see how much chocolate, caramel and whip cream they can ingest before Santa comes!  Kiley has talked more about the hot fudge sundaes than anything else we have ever done.  I don't remember reading many Christmas books as a child- except for "The Night Before Christmas", which I had to memorize for a Girl Scout badge (and can still recite by heart, thanks Sue Henry).   Here are my 10 favorite Christmas books to share with my girls...what are yours?

 1. How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss (E SEU)

No matter how many times I have read this book or seen the cartoon in the last 37 years, each time I read it, it is like I am seeing it for the first time.  It is hard to believe that someone can hate Christmas as much as the Grinch does... and he will stop at nothing to ruin Christmas for the Whos.  My heart breaks for his little dog Max, and for Little Cindy Lou Who, who wakes up to find "St. Nick" shoving her Christmas Tree up the Chimney.  My girls love this book as much as I do.  Is there anyone in the USA who hasn't read this book?

 

2.  The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburgh (E VAN)

Not only is this beautiful, the message is touching.  I cry every time the little boy comes home thinking he has lost his jingle bell, but Santa has brought him a new one on Christmas morning- and his parents can't hear the jingle bell because they don't believe.  GOOSEBUMPS!  I taught kindergarten with Mrs. Bower a few years back- and she told me the story of how she read The Polar Express to her kindergarten class.  There was 1 boy in her class that refused to believe- he gave her a hard time through the entire book.  After she read the book, she passed jingle bells out to all of the children, and when they rang their bells- there was 1 bell that didn't ring... and it belonged to the little boy who refused to believe.  True. Story. 

3.  Dear Santa, Please Come to the 19th Floor by Yin (E YIN)

This is the sweet story of 2 little boys who live on the 19th floor of their apartment building in a rough neighborhood.  They boys are so worried that Santa will never find them in an apartment- especially since they don't have a chimney.  The boys write a letter to Santa... and he comes to their house... sleigh and all.  Very, very sweet story.  This book is beautifully illustrated by past visiting author, Chris Soenpiet.

 

4.  The Night Before Christmas by Clement Clarke Moore (811 MOO)

It was a tradition in my family to read The Night Before Christmas before we opened our presents on Christmas Eve.  We would sit around my Grandma's white flocked Christmas Tree with blue ornaments and lights, and listen to my Uncle Tom read the story... anticipating the end, when we could rip into our gifts.  My Grandma died 2 weeks before Christmas and I will never forget that year... we all sat there around the tree that she had decorated, not knowing what to do.  My Uncle took out the book, and we all took turns reading.  When we were done, we opened presents that my Grandma had bought, and wrapped especially for us... I can't listen to this story without thinking about that Christmas- I was 12 years old.

5. Snowmen at Christmas by Carolun Buehner (E BUE)
Have you ever wondered what snowmen do on Christmas?  They do exactly what we do, of course!  They sing, they dance, they eat and they spend time with family! The only difference is that they do it all after the sun goes down, and they make it back to your house before you even get up in the morning!  When I read this to kids, they love the fact that the snowmen drink cold cocoa instead of hot!

6.  Frosty the Snowman by Steve Nelson (E NEL)

I loved this as a child!  Each year, we would gather around the tv and watch Frosty the Snowman on channel 2 (followed by Rudolph!)  This was also my favorite Christmas song as a child.  It wasn't until I was older that I realized that this song/movie was also a book... this is one of the most popular books in the library during the month of December!

 

7.  The Snowman by Raymond Briggs (E BRI)

This is a beautiful wordless picture book that is illustrated in pastel picture frames... like a movie picture board.  A little boy builds a snowman, goes to sleep and awakes to see the snowman has come to life.  The snowman takes the little boy on a journey as they fly together to where else... the North Pole where they meet Santa.  This book is also a very sweet movie... no words, just beautiful music, "Walking on Air".

8.  Olivia Helps With Christmas by Ian Falconer (E FAL)

Christmas is coming, and Olivia is incredibly busy. She has to wait for Santa, make sure dad sets up the tree, wait for Santa, watch mom make the Christmas dinner, wait for Santa, oversee the care with which the stockings are hung and, of course, OPEN HER PRESENTS! Do you see how hard it is to be so helpful during the holidays!  This is a book about how families get ready for Christmas... all of the preparations that families go through together.  Falconer based this book on all of the preparations he and his family went through getting ready for Santa's arrival when he was a boy.

9. If You Take a Mouse to the Movies by Laura Numeroff (E NUM)

If you take a mouse to the movies, he'll ask for popcorn. When you bring him some, it will remind him of Christmas and he'll want to string it...then he'll demand a tree to hang it from...seeing the snow on the ground will make him want to build a snowmouse, then a snow fort, a snow fort fight...and on and on. This little mouse is as busy and demanding as ever in this fourth book of the series.

10. Emmet Otter's Jug Band Christmas by Russell Hoban (F HOB)

This story is incredibly sweet! It's about Emmet Otter and his Ma trying to scrape together enough money for a Christmas present for each other. As each risks everything to surprise the other, a touching adventure unfolds in which they learn the true meaning wealth. Beautiful illustrations!

Bookulating Suggest-O-Mometer

Don't know what book to get the kids for Christmas this year?  Need something new to read?  Then step right up and try the Bookulating Suggest-O-Mometer!  Answer a few simple questions about you or the person the book is for, and the Suggest-O-Mometer will spit out some books suggestions! 
You can then watch book reviews to see if the Suggest-O-Mometer got it right!  

This Just In...

Friday night,  I did it.  I broke new ground, I entered the world of electronic readers!  I bought a Nook!

 

I am so excited, and I will post more later... but I just had to come clean!  The first book I am reading on it is "The Lightning Thief" by Rick Riordan.  I don't know what people are more amazed by- the fact that I have yet to read that book, or the fact that I have purchased an e-reader!  First impression- I love it!  More later... please post if you have an e-reader that you love!

Madam Librarian

I loved this song loooooooong before I ever became a librarian.  This video clip id from "The Music Man", my 3rd favorite musical ever... (behind Mary Poppins and The Sound of Music).

Snowmen in the Library

Last week we welcomed snow to Iowa City!  There wasn't much snow, and it didn't build up very much, but Kindergarten didn't care!  I think 5 year olds are walking barometers!  Need to know if the weather is changing?  Look at a kindergarten class! 

We read one of my favorite books, Snowmen at Night by Carolyn Buehner (E BUE).  I have read this book at least 20 times in my career as a librarian, and not until last week did I realize the book is filled with tons of hidden illustrations.  I need to give a shout out to my buddy, Owen for pointing this out to me!  We had a blast going through the pages and looking for hidden images.  

After our story, the kids each made a snowboy or snowgirl in their own likeness... the results?  Total cuteness!  

Fiction or Nonfiction?

In kindergarten, we are really focusing on the difference between fiction books (make believe) and nonfiction books (true).  Today, we talked about germs- how are germs spread, what a germs, how can you stop from spreading germs? Kids know A LOT about germs! Then, I showed them 2 books:

The kids had to decide which story was fiction or nonfiction.  Ahoo! is nonfiction!  Germs is fiction.  After we read these books, we did a fun craft!  Thanks to Preschool Playbook for the great idea!

Cool Story Starter Tool!

Mrs. Gordon shared this link with me last week! This is a new twist on an old writing strategy... the story starter! When I was a kid, my teacher would write a sentence on the chalkboard, like this:

"One day I woke up. It was snowing. I looked out the window and..." Then the entire class had to finish the story. Boring! Try this!

Scholastic Story Starters

This site is totally geared for today's elementary student- fun graphics, fun sounds and creative topics.  The site offers starters for grades K-6.  Spin the wheel and see what story you will write today!  Once you have your story starter, you can start typing right on the website- you can write a letter, a postcard, a newsletter or a story.  There is even a space for drawing pictures!  When you are done, you can print it! The only problem I see is no spell check, but the kids can edit the writing themselves.  

If you do one- send it to me!  I'd love to post your story!

A Book About Cookies and a Glass of Juice?

Poor Cookie Monster...

Thinking About Becoming a Librarian?

Snow Much to Read...

If I was a librarian in Florida,  I wouldn't have the opportunity to write this blog!  Here are some of my favorite snow books... check out at the Lemme Library! (Oh... but I would love to have a display of beach books out in December! 

May be I could move to Florida... hmmm)

Snowflake Bentley by Jaqueline Briggs Martin (B BEN)

A biography of a self-taught scientist who photographed thousands of individual snowflakes in order to study their unique formations. 

The Snowman by Raymond Briggs (E BRI)

A wordless book using over one hundred seventy-five picture frames to relate the story of the adventure shared by a little boy and the snowman he built in the yard. 

Martin MacGregor's Snowman by Lisa Broadie Cook (E COO)

While anxiously awaiting the arrival of snow, Martin MacGregor, who built the biggest snowman in the neighborhood last year, tries to build one with substitute materials.

The Biggest, Best Snowman by Margery Cuyler (E CUY)

Nell is told by her BIG sisters and her mother that she is too small to help out, but everyone, including Nell, feels differently after her forest friends give her the confidence to build a large snowman.

Snowballs by Lois Ehlert (E EHL)

Some children create a family out of snow. Includes labeled pictures of all the items they use, as well as information about how snow is formed. 

The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats (E KEA)

The adventures of a little boy, Peter in the city on a very snowy day. 

Under my Hood I Have a hat by Karla Kuskin (E KUS)

A young child bundles herself up warmly to go out in the winter snow. 

Froggy Gets Dressed by Jonathon London (E LON)

Rambunctious Froggy hops out into the snow for a winter frolic but is called back by his mother to put on some necessary articles of clothing.

The Jacket I Wear in the Snow by Shirley Neitzel (E NEI)

A young girl names all the clothes that she must wear to play in the snow. 

All You Need for a Snowman by Alice Schertle (E SCH)

Lists everything that one needs to build the perfect snowman, from the very first snowflake that falls.

Snow by Uri Shulevitz (E SHU)

As snowflakes slowly come down, one by one, people in the city ignore them, and only a boy and his dog think that the snowfall will amount to anything. 

Peter from "The Snowy Day" looks over the snow book display!

Sharing my Displays With a Cool Blogger in NZ!

I have fallen in love with this blog, Library Displays written by a librarian in New Zealand.  I have found this site to be a great source of inspiration for my library displays.... so I thought it was time for me to send in some of my displays.  They actually got published!  Check it out!

Books on Display... Show & Tell!

Here are some wonderful library displays from the amazingly talented librarians in Iowa City! 

Jenahlee's Wild Things Display!

Jenahlee's Winter Display!

Judith's Winter Display

Salina's Winter Display

Kelly's (My) Snow Display!

Peter from "The Snowy Day"

Kelly's (My) Winter Holiday Display

Kelly's (My) "Red" any Good Books Display! (All red books)