Check Out What's Happening In The Library.

Sorry, I am posting this a few days late. This is last weeks information.

Character Education Day

The kindergarten classes enjoyed their very first Character Education Day!

What fun, we went from rotation to rotation Tuesday afternoon. We enjoyed

classes like respect, caring, trustworthiness, citizenship and responsibility.

In the library we worked on respect. we listened to the story of Stand Tall Molly Lou Melon.

We shared our thoughts on Molly Lou Melon's character and retold the story.

We also, made Molly Lou Melon "She Can" statements and made connections to the story with things we can do with "I can" statements. See the anchor charts we made.

Stand Tall Molly Lou Melon Book Review

Molly Lou Melon is a spunky, fumble-fingered little first-grader with buck teeth and a voice that sounds like "a bullfrog being squeezed by a boa constrictor." She believes her grandma when she tells her things like "Walk as proudly as you can and the world will look up to you" and "Sing out clear and strong and the world will cry tears of joy." Molly Lou Melon's belief in herself is tested when the bully at her new school starts to pick on her.

David Catrow's wonderful and wacky illustrations fit the story and Molly Lou Melon's personality perfectly. My favorite is the close-up view of Molly Lou Melon smiling big so the world will smile right alongside her. Molly Lou Melon certainly never does anything by halves!

There are so many interesting and fun details in this book - in both the story and the illustrations. I noticed something new every time I read it. For example, Molly Lou Melon is never called "Molly Lou" or "Molly." She is ALWAYS "Molly Lou Melon."

Kindergarten and 1st Grade Storytime Lesson

During Storytime we enjoyed an Author Study on Tomie dePaola we shared several stories and talked about Tomie dePaola and learned about him as an author and illustrator. We discussed how we will read more Tomie dePaola stories throughout the year. Kindergarten shared stories this week of The Art Lesson, Tom and Watchout for the Chicken Feet in Your Soup.  Our First Graders enoyed Strega Nona and Big Anthony stories.

Strega Nona Review:

Strega Nona, won the Caldecott Honor in 1976 and was voted one of the “Top 100 Picture Books” of all times in 2012 by The School Library Journal. The reason for this folktale’s lasting legacy is that although it is set in Italy a long time ago, the moral lessons and character traits are still relevant in today’s world. The story is about a young man (Big Anthony) in an Italian village that seeks employment from the local witch, Strega Nona. Strega Nona is wise and Big Anthony is foolish. Predictably, Big Anthony makes a poor choice, and Strega Nona has to rescue him and the village from ruin. Big Anthony learns a valuable lesson about following directions as he spends the end of the story miserable while gorging on pasta and nursing a stomach ache. First grade students love watching the rise and fall of Big Anthony and the humorous consequence for Big Anthony’s actions.

BigAnthony Book Review

Big Anthony is a terrific book for getting children to interact with the story and interpret what the pictures mean.  This book also takes place in Italy which gives them a perspective of a different country and incorporates many simple Italian words into their language that children will probably find fun to know!  This is a good prequel story, featuring the character who is best known as Strega Nona's assistant, Big Anthony.

Big Anthony: His Story provides the background information on how Strega Nona and her absent-minded helper first found each other, from Anthony's perspective. Going through life as a person who keeps a loose hold on the commands that others give you is never easy, as Big Anthony finds out after being hired and dismissed by many different bosses from a wide variety of professional fields. Big Anthony's search for belonging as he moves from town to town in old Italy, unintentionally stirring up trouble wherever he goes, until one day he chances upon a kind person who is willing to accept him, with all of his faults. I appreciate the strength of this story as both a picture book and an important, compassionate life lesson.

Tomie dePaola: Why Reading Is Important

Wow Book Of The Week

Fact of The Week

My Adult Review

The words that come to mind upon finishing this book are "simply beautiful".

A gifted storyteller spins a tale into how a person's past can shape their view of themselves and of hope itself, Lisa Wingate out did herself on this book. Through Tandi's eyes, we experience the life of a very real woman, shadowed by her past. A past that was dysfunctional at best.  Having spent most of her adult life moving from wrong man to wrong man and bad choice to a worse choice, Tandi grasps on to one solitary memory of happiness and peace from her childhood and steals away from Texas, and a controlling, unethical man and moves to the Outer Banks.

When her elderly landlady dies, Tandi unexpectedly finds employment sorting through the woman's belongings. As Tandi immerses herself in the letters found in Iola Anne's once-palatial home, change begins within her heart; a change that reflects into her life and the lives around her. Iola's letters allow Tandi a glimpse into a world where people give without expecting anything in return, love knowing they are bound to be hurt, and work hard to safeguard the things that are beautiful and true in the world.

Although the story may lean more toward women's fiction than contemporary romance, romance is most definitely present.  As Tandi realizes who she was, is, and can become, she finally begins to recognize the difference between being some hot guy's glorified arm candy and being cherished by an unusual, and unusually wonderful, man.

Expect both smiles and tears as you read this beautiful written novel, but do read it. You won't be sorry.

 

Upcoming News

Check in next week for our upcoming "Book Challenge" for both children and adults.
Also, check back to see our upcoming fall giveaway.

Happy Reading,

Mrs. Shamhart