Darth Paper Strikes Back Party

Well, the party is over and it was a huge hit! I had over 30 kids at the party and handed out 20 books! We ate like Kings and Queens and made Origami Darth Paper and Yoda! We wore our favorite Star Wars shirts... I even wore my hair like Princess Leia! Mrs. Brown (Sam & Will's mom) came and poured Yoda Soda for us! Enjoy these pictures! See you again next fall when part 3 comes out! 

Here are some of the kids that got to party hearty today! 

Are YOU Ready 2 Party?

I think I just made Darth Paper Strikes Back a best seller... 20 copies. That's right, 20!  All of these will be handed out at our book party tomorrow! Pictures will be posted!

Be Careful What You Ask For!

The story you are about to read is true.  The face of our victim has been altered to protect her identity. Iowa City, Iowa: a sixth grade girl, we will call her "Abby" is preparing for her birthday. Her loving grandmother asks her what she would like as a gift. Abby tells her she would like a Hunger Games tshirt.

Flash forward to said birthday. 

The party. 

The cake. 

The merriment. 

The presents. 

Yes, the presents. 

Grandma gives Abby the gift that she had requested, a gift that she made with love in every stitch. 

She gave Abby a Hungry Games tshirt...

The evidence: 

The verdict:

Grandmas are awesome.

Book Talk Tuesday

I have been searching the web for a great place to post book reviews for librarians and teachers to use in the classroom.  Well, I am going to try hosting my own Book Talk Tuesday!  I invite teachers and librarians to link to a recent book talk or book review that can be used by others- to help purchase new books, learn about new books and to help give us book talk ideas.  

My rules?
1. All content must be appropriate for children in grades kindergarten through eighth grade.
NEW 2. Please link to your original content, not the content of others. 

3. Websites that you link to must be child friendly since lots of kids visit this site and if they click on your link, I want it to be appropriate for them.

4. Positive reviews only, please... we only spread love here at The Lemme Library!

5. Books must be available in The US. (you are welcome to link to ARC reviews)

6. I reserve the right to remove any reviews that don't meet criteria 1-5.

In the link title field, be sure to include the title of the book you are reviewing and your site name. In the URL field, please link to this specific post that contains the book review (That way people don't have to scour your blog looking for it!)

***

For newcomers & visitors: Definition of "Book Talk" from Wikipedia: "A booktalk in the broadest terms is what is spoken with the intent to convince someone to read a book.  The booktalker gives the audience a glimpse of the setting, the characters, and/or the major conflict without providing the resolution or denouement. Booktalks make listeners care enough about the content of the book to want to read it. A long booktalk is usually about five to seven minutes long and a short booktalk is generally thirty seconds to two minutes long.

***

Today I had a tinge of guilt. I really don't give much back to my profession. I'm not in the union, I'm not a member of ALA, I don't go to library seminars or conferences (unless I am forced to) and shoot me, but I don't read any professional literature. I think it is because I have 2 young children at home and a husband who has needed a little extra TLC lately... I just don't have the energy to commit to The Cause.  I completely respect and value what all of the people who  are involved do and I think it helps to improve our profession. I have never been a fan of all the meetings and rules and demands placed on me. I feel at home in the trenches, surrounded by kids and books and messes. I don't like paperwork and I hate surveys. So, I do the minimum- what is required of me and no more. Should I feel guilt? And if I feel guilt, shouldn't I take action to change? I guess I should- if only I had more to give. Today, I applied to be a judge for The Cybil awards and I am telling you, if I don't get selected, it will be the last thing I ever volunteer to do. If I am rejected, I will take it as a sign that it is okay to slide by on the tailcoats of all the hard working, professional librarians out there. 

How about you? Do you "fight for the cause"- librarian, school, blog, whatever your cause is- how do you give back? How are you involved? Are you like me- you watch the others do the work... how is that working for you?

Wow! Very deep discussion today. Next week will be something light- may be reality tv?

Have a great week & thanks to all of you who continue to participate!

Kelly

1.	Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes (sharpread- Colby Sharp)	8.	Rachel Isadora 3-in-1 Special (Gathering Books)	15.	Too Many Frogs (The Cath in the Hat)
2.	Polka Dot Fixes Kindergarten (Jen Robinson's Book Page)	9.	The Case of the Case of the Mistaken Identity (Ms. O Reads Books)	16.	Heidi @ Geo Librarian (Eddie Gets Ready for School)
3.	Mrs. Mattei	10.	Bigger Than a Bread Box by Laurel Snyder	17.	Interrupting CHicken (Bigfoot Reads)
4.	Penny Dreadful (ontheshelf4kids/ Ellen Zschunke)	11.	Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes (pageintraining)	18.	Word After Word After Word (RBE Library)
5.	Anna Hibiscus' Song (NC Teacher Stuff)	12.	Favorite New Picture Books, Summer ' 11	19.	Huber Hill and the Dead Man’s Treasure by B.K. Bostick (There's A Book)
6.	The Nonfiction Detectives (The Bravest Woman in America))	13.	Charro Claus and the Tejas Kid (Lauralee's Library)	20.	You're next!
7.	Harriet Ziefert/ Simms Taback Board Books (Picture Books & Pirouettes)	14.	Dahl's Revolting Recipes (Try Curiosity!)

TEASER not TRAILER!

TEASER:Slang An attention-getting vignette or highlight presented before the start of a television show.

TRAILER: A short filmed advertisement for a movie; a preview.

This, my readers is a teaser, not a trailer. Be patient.

Get More: 2011 VMA, Music

Han's Solo

I always knew Han was a rock star!

There's a Snape in My Boot!

Two words:

1. So

2. Funny

Dath Paper Likes to Party!

Email Mrs. Butcher for a from! All kids interested were given a form this morning.

Ladies Underpants?

Mr Balke (5th and 6th grade teacher and undercover super hero) sent me an email asking:
"Have you had a chance to utilize your super-powers of book choosing for me?  No pressure"
He requested something funny where he could use lots of different voices. I immediately donned my cape and ran to the A section where I selected:

Happy Darth Vader is Happy!

Judging by Darth Vader's mood, it must be the day that Darth Paper Strikes Back comes out!  

Congratulations to Tom Angleberger on this epic day! I even baked you a cake!

I have actually had a copy for the last week, but have waited to read it until now- I just didn't feel right reading it before the book's actual birthday.  So, let the reading commence! Keep an eye on this blog for my review!

I Don't Have a Square to Spare!

Imagine the reaction of a class of 30 fifth and sixth graders as I pass a roll of toilet paper around the room and tell them "Take what you need."

Some of them won't even take the roll, others want to exactly what they are going to use the toilet paper for. I just tell them to take as much as they need. Some take 1, some take 10... I myself took 4. Once everyone has their ration of TP, I hold mine up and tell them that for every square they took, they have to tell the class a book they read this summer or a book they are looking forward to reading this year.  After sighs of relief and giggles, they are ready to talk about books! I shared my reading squares:

1. Breadcrumbs by Anne Ursu, I read this book over the summer.

2. Bigger than a Breadbox by Laurel Snyder, I read this book over the summer.

3. I am looking forward to reading Darth Paper Strikes Back by Tom Angleberger

and

4. Dead End in Norvelt by Jack Gantos

1 of my students read the entire Hunger Games trilogy this summer and she has a bad case of Katniss Fever. To my shock and horror, a third grader shared that she had read Breaking Dawn this summer. Really? You go, girl! Most of the boys were looking forward to Darth Paper, The new Super Diaper Baby and the new Diary of a Wimpy Kid.

This was a very fun way to get kids talking about books! If you give it a try, stop back and let me know how it went! If you have other great ideas for starting the school year, post a link to them in the comments!

One of my very favorite references to toilet paper in tv history. Can you name the show?

Book Talk Tuesday

I have been searching the web for a great place to post book reviews for librarians and teachers to use in the classroom.  Well, I am going to try hosting my own Book Talk Tuesday!  I invite teachers and librarians to link to a recent book talk or book review that can be used by others- to help purchase new books, learn about new books and to help give us book talk ideas.  

My rules?
1. All content must be appropriate for children in grades kindergarten through eighth grade.
NEW 2. Please link to your original content, not the content of others. 

3. Websites that you link to must be child friendly since lots of kids visit this site and if they click on your link, I want it to be appropriate for them.

4. Positive reviews only, please... we only spread love here at The Lemme Library!

5. Books must be available in The US. (you are welcome to link to ARC reviews)

6. I reserve the right to remove any reviews that don't meet criteria 1-5.

In the link title field, be sure to include the title of the book you are reviewing and your site name. In the URL field, please link to this specific post that contains the book review (That way people don't have to scour your blog looking for it!)

***

For newcomers & visitors: Definition of "Book Talk" from Wikipedia: "A booktalk in the broadest terms is what is spoken with the intent to convince someone to read a book.  The booktalker gives the audience a glimpse of the setting, the characters, and/or the major conflict without providing the resolution or denouement. Booktalks make listeners care enough about the content of the book to want to read it. A long booktalk is usually about five to seven minutes long and a short booktalk is generally thirty seconds to two minutes long.

I feel like I have been running around like a chicken with its head cut off lately! With the start of the school year, I really need to hire a nanny, a chef and a maid. I forgot how crazy it is to go back to school and help 35 teachers that all need you to help them right this minute. I forgot how all of the kids seemed to forget the routines and rules of the library over the summer. To say it is exhausting is an understatement. But, I do love being needed and I love helping people. I love the little faces of those fresh and clean kindergarteners and the pride that the sixth graders seem to radiate. To tell you how tired and out of my mind I have been- I have a copy of Darth Paper Strike Back sitting on my end table- and I have only read 2 chapters. Two. Sleep or read? I have chosen sleep. Sorry Mr. Angleberger... and Colby, I know you are rolling your eyes right about now! : )  When you post- leave us a comment and let us know how your back to school/work routine is going for you. How do you balance everything? Is it possible to do everything and do it well? Dr Phil- are you out there? 

Caption This!

This year I am starting a new weekly post for my student- and other viewers. I will post a photo that I think is intriguing and ask you to post a comment with a caption. If the photo REALLY inspires you, submit a poem or link to a story that you have written. I loved story starters when I was a kid! I am so visual that I am more inspired by an image than a sentence. 

To my students- please include your 1st name in your comment. And to my adult viewers, I will only post captions that are elementary school appropriate. I might even vote on my favorite caption! Let the creative juices start flowing! 

(I hope some of my regular viewers will submit some captions to inspire my kiddos!)

First Day of School!

I am lucky enough to have my 7 year old, Kiley, go to Lemme School! Today was the first day for kids! It was great to see everyone! The library isn't perfect yet- but it looks a lot better than it did 48 hours ago!

This Just Pinned!

The ladies at one of my all time favorite blogs, Eighteen25, started a weekly feature called "This Just Pinned".  Each week they highlight some of their favorite pins from Pinterest. I love this idea and asked them if I could be a copycat. (I tell my students that copying is really a form of flattery...) So, I give you my first official This Just Pinned post! Be sure to check out Eighteen25 when you have a chance!

. . . . . . . . . . . .

 First up is this very fun Keep Calm poster parody...

. . .

I love this use of old globes. I have 4 in our library that could go toward the cause.

. . .

I totally feel this every day of my life. I had no idea that being a grown up would be so exhausting.

 . . .

Self explanatory, I believe!

 . . . 

I love these bookshelves! They are simply spice racks that have been painted! 

You can get the deets at WondergulJoyAhead

 . . .

The Fuzzy Pack is Backy Back!

I am so pumped for this movie. May be even more pumped than I am for The hunger Games movie. Foshizzle.

Dad, What's for Dinner?

I am glad to see I am not the only one who has dinner issues...

Book Talk Tuesday

I have been searching the web for a great place to post book reviews for librarians and teachers to use in the classroom.  Well, I am going to try hosting my own Book Talk Tuesday!  I invite teachers and librarians to link to a recent book talk or book review that can be used by others- to help purchase new books, learn about new books and to help give us book talk ideas.  

My rules?
1. All content must be appropriate for children in grades kindergarten through eighth grade.
NEW 2. Please link to your original content, not the content of others. 

3. Websites that you link to must be child friendly since lots of kids visit this site and if they click on your link, I want it to be appropriate for them.

4. Positive reviews only, please... we only spread love here at The Lemme Library!

5. Books must be available in The US. (you are welcome to link to ARC reviews)

6. I reserve the right to remove any reviews that don't meet criteria 1-5.

In the link title field, be sure to include the title of the book you are reviewing and your site name. In the URL field, please link to this specific post that contains the book review (That way people don't have to scour your blog looking for it!)

***

For newcomers & visitors: Definition of "Book Talk" from Wikipedia: "A booktalk in the broadest terms is what is spoken with the intent to convince someone to read a book.  The booktalker gives the audience a glimpse of the setting, the characters, and/or the major conflict without providing the resolution or denouement. Booktalks make listeners care enough about the content of the book to want to read it. A long booktalk is usually about five to seven minutes long and a short booktalk is generally thirty seconds to two minutes long.

While you are reading this post, I am probably enjoying my very first day back to school after summer vacation. I have a feeling my feet will be achin' tonight! How did you spend your day?

1.	4 Dance Books... and a Giveaway (Picture Books & Pirouettes)	8.	Cinder- elly by Frances Minters (Gathering Books)	15.	The Ghostwriter Secret (Bigfoot Reads)
2.	The Underdogs (Jen Robinson's Book Page)	9.	The Witches	16.	Wolf's Coming (Lauralee's Library)
3.	9 Back to School Books (Delightful Children's Books)	10.	Picture Books for the Beginning of the School Year (NC Teacher Stuff)	17.	The Emerald Atlas (Irene Latham)
4.	10 Read Alouds I can't live without (liblaura5)	11.	Horton Halfpott by Tom Angleberger (Kidsmomo)	18.	Lunch (Lit Chat for Kids)
5.	The Friendship Doll (Great Kid Books)	12.	School Stories (ICPL)	19.	Ferdinandus Taurus (Wrapped In Foil)
6.	Valentine the Porcupine Dances Funny (Lit Lad)	13.	Latasha and the Little Red Tornado by Michael Scotto (sharpread)	20.	You're next!
7.	Burt Dow, Deep Water Man by Robert McCloskey (Read Aloud Dad)	14.	Chris (@book_ dads)

 

Whoa, whoa, I gotta go... back to school again!

One of my very favorite movies ever! This is the opening scene, in honor of school starting on Monday for me. 
A few notes about this video: 
1. All of the "high school students" look like they are in their early thirties. 
2. They smoked a lot in the sixties-not cool. 
3. I always wanted to be a Pink Lady and "look cool, act cool and beeeee cool". 

3. The head of the Pink Ladies is Michelle Pfifer. 

4. I plan on dancing into school just like this.

5. I am thinking of a reason to use the "Cool Rider" video in a future post.





What is YOUR favorite back to school song? (Erika Z if you are reading this, leave a comment and tell me!)

I Shoulda Thought of That!

Go Yoda!

Uh-huh! Go Yoda! Only 11 days until Darth Paper Strikes Back

 comes out! I am planning a book release party- so if you would like to get Darth Paper the day it comes out, talk to me when school starts next week! I will hand out order forms!

And to be fair, I must represent The Dark Side. 

 

And of course, I had to learn how to make my own animated gif (that's  what those images up there are called). I used Picasion.com. Very easy!

Forgive Me, Mr. Wood...

Image via http://www.darkroastedblend.com/

A Classic

¿Cómo se dice...?

How cool is this? I was spending waaaaay too much time online (as usual) and I found this very useful... yes, useful, YouTube channel! It is The Pronunciation Book and it shows you how to pronounce words- not words like cat or dog, but words that are currently popular.

For example... I didn't know what this word meant, let alone how to say it until my SEVEN year old, 6 at the time used it on me:

This means to "own" or dominate someone in a game or a battle.

Imagine you are The Olive Garden with your entire family and you are celebrating your great grandmother's 102 birthday. She sees an item on the menu, but can't quite figure out how to pronounce it. You take out your SmartPhone and show her.

Pasta Fagioli is "pasta and beans", is a traditional meatless Italian dish.

Now, this might be useful for you. If you want your mom to buy you this person's cd for your birthday and you don't want her to embarrass herself at Best Buy, you could show her this video before she leaves.

Rihanna is an R&B artist who's first hit, "Pon de Replay" was released in 2005

Book Talk Tuesday

I have been searching the web for a great place to post book reviews for librarians and teachers to use in the classroom.  Well, I am going to try hosting my own Book Talk Tuesday!  I invite teachers and librarians to link to a recent book talk or book review that can be used by others- to help purchase new books, learn about new books and to help give us book talk ideas.  

My rules?
1. All content must be appropriate for children in grades kindergarten through eighth grade.
NEW 2. Please link to your original content, not the content of others. 

3. Websites that you link to must be child friendly since lots of kids visit this site and if they click on your link, I want it to be appropriate for them.

4. Positive reviews only, please... we only spread love here at The Lemme Library!

5. Books must be available in The US. (you are welcome to link to ARC reviews)

6. I reserve the right to remove any reviews that don't meet criteria 1-5.

In the link title field, be sure to include the title of the book you are reviewing and your site name. In the URL field, please link to this specific post that contains the book review (That way people don't have to scour your blog looking for it!)

***

For newcomers & visitors: Definition of "Book Talk" from Wikipedia: "A booktalk in the broadest terms is what is spoken with the intent to convince someone to read a book.  The booktalker gives the audience a glimpse of the setting, the characters, and/or the major conflict without providing the resolution or denouement. Booktalks make listeners care enough about the content of the book to want to read it. A long booktalk is usually about five to seven minutes long and a short booktalk is generally thirty seconds to two minutes long.

I haven't read a book in the past week. I thought I would get 1 more in before school starts and may be I still will. I need to have someone hide my laptop. I discovered Pinterest last week and it has taken up much of my free time. To learn more about Pinterest, check out this post. What websites consume your online time? Do you limit your online time? Do you suffer withdrawl symptoms if you go without? 

1.	Stonewall Hinkleman and the Battle of Bull Run (Colby Sharp- sharpreads)	8.	11 Children's Books About Stars & Space	15.	Touch Blue by Cynthia Lord (Kidsmomo)
2.	Peaceful Pieces: Poems and Quilts About Peace (Bigfoot Reads)	9.	Dear Children of the Earth (Lauralee's Library)	16.	Word After Word After Word by Patricia Mac Lachlan (Heidi @ Geo Librarian)
3.	Charlie and the Chocolate Factory	10.	Lola's Fandango (Picture Books & Pirouettes)	17.	Summer Jackson Grown Up (The Cath in the Hat)
4.	Lisa Ard	11.	Cinder Edna by Ellen Jackson (Gathering Books)	18.	Uncommon Criminals (pageintraining)
5.	We Are The Ship	12.	Animal Naps (NC Teacher Stuff)	19.	the Warrior Series (Lit Chat for Kids)
6.	Caps for Sale: A Tale of a Peddler, Some Monkeys... (Read Aloud Dad)	13.	Blackout, Earth to Clunk, These Hands (Irene Latham)
7.	Ms O	14.	Raggin' Jazzin' Rockin' (Wrapped In Foil)

The Birds is coming!

This is what I dream about at night...

If You Like It Then You Shoulda Put a Pin On It!

As if I need another super cool thing on the internet to keep me from reading, cleaning, sleeping, showering... or feeding my children!  I have discovered Pinterest. Pinterest is a virtual pinboard where you can pin images you see on the web. I have installed a "pin it" button on my browser, so if I see something I love or want to come back to, I can pin it and it will be saved to one of my boards. Here is one of my boards that I have created for all of my library decor ideas:

All of the images are automatically credited to the original place on the web, so you can go back to it and give credit where credit is due. There is space to write notes, so you can include an entire recipe or a keyword. Pinterest is a very social site. You can have followers and follow others. If you see something on one of their boards, you can repin it to yours, like it or comment on it. You can instantly post your pins to Facebook, Twitter or SumbleUpoin. You can email them to friends or embed them in your blog.
Pinterest follows a high standard and doesn't allow hate or inappropriate content. There are some 4 letter words on there and nudity, so be warned.  Right now, Pinterest is invitation only- so you can visit them, enter your email and cross your fingers! If you are on Pinterest, come check out my boards! 

Repinned from Angie @ Pinterest

Angry Bird Addiction

I have a Nook, I love my Nook, I read lots of books on my Nook. (Very handy for reading books from NetGalley!) I made the mistake of buying ANGRY BIRDS for my Nook this summer. That game is addictive! Those green little pigs... how they smile at me if I don't destroy them!  Can't we all just get along? Pigs and birds aren't really all that different.   I haven't used my Nook to read since I bought this game. I think there are 13,000 levels... Is there a 12 step program for Angry Birds?

Cartoon found on imagefave.com

Do Librarians Have Tattoos?

Well this one will after 12:30 today.  It will be on my left foot and it will look like this:

 

It will have 4 birds, one for each member of my family. It will be on my left foot- my husband broke his left foot this summer. The dandelion is for wishing, dreaming and change.  This summer with Greg off his feet, I have been put to many tests. I realized that I am stronger than I ever thought I was. This tattoo will always remind me of this life changing summer.  

UPDATE: And here it is (painful, but so worth it)...

Thanks to Bob at Crossroads Tattoo in Coralville, Iowa

Dream Big

I have Yoda on the brain... as I usually do.  

Counting the days until Darth Paper Strikes Back comes out!!

I Trust Google

I checked my blog stats today, which I have been known to obsess over, and this is what I found:

Yes, you read that right.  "Lemme Library" and  "Awesome Librarian". 

*I am not going to let this go to my head. i promise to continue being the same down to earth Iowa girl that you've grown to expect. : )