This Week In The Library

In The Library This Week:

For our Kindergarten friends, we read books about Grandparents in honor of Grandparents Day this past weekend September 11. We shared the books:

                                     The Hello Goodbye Window by Norton Juster

Not only is this book a Caldecott winner, it is a precious book about the relationship between grandparents and a grandchild. The little girl (also the narrator of the story) leaves her Mom and Dad and runs over to her grandparents house.  But before she walks in the door, she passes by the “hello, goodbye window”.  Through this window, she sees the amazing things that await her in the kitchen of her grandparent’s house.  The illustrations in the book are eclectic and almost child-like, which only adds to the appeal of the book (in my opinion).

What Grandma's Do Best/What Grandpa's Do Best by Laura Numeroff

 This two-in-one book (from the author of  If You Give a Mouse a Cookie books) is perfect for grandparents.  Half of the book is about what grandmas do best (play hide-and-seek, take you for walks, paint, go on picnics, take naps with you…)  and then you flip it over and the other half is about what grandpas do best.  The text is exactly the same for both books, but the illustrations show the grandparents doing these things in different ways (for example:  one page says “make you a hat” and the grandma is shown knitting a hat while the grandpa is making paper hats out of newspaper).  I actually think this is brilliant because it shows that the same activity can be new and different depending on who you are doing it with!  Each of the pages features a different personified animal pair.

These books were a big hit with our kinders. We talked at length about all the fun things we do with our grandparents.

First Grade friends read the story A Bad Case Of Stripes by David Shannon. We then got creative and started thinking and brainstorming some of the things that we like and who might care for us when we are sick.

Golden Ticket Store

 Our Golden Ticket Store is going very well and I am seeing a lot of positive behaviors.  I have a picture of my friend and I after she went shopping. Oh yes, she was very excited! I kind of love being a part of something that makes them so happy and excited.

My Reads

 

This week I finished reading The Couple Next Door by By Shari Lapena 

Oh my goodness, this book just blew me away! Just when I thought I'd worked it all out nicely, everything changed. 

With their babysitter cancelling on them, Anne and Marco leave their baby, Cora, at home and they "pop" next door for a dinner party. It'll be fine, they have the baby monitor with them and they go to check on her every half hour and they're only next door. What can possibly go wrong?

Quite simply, they arrive home to find the front door open and the baby gone. Anne goes to pieces, Marco freezes, Anne recovers and the police are called. It is then up to Detective Rasbach to try and piece together what actually happened that night. Did the parents cover up a crime, is one or both of them responsible, is it a third party? It leaves you guessing until you think you know and then plot twist and surprise. 

With most of the suspects being inconsistent with their stories will Rasbach be able to cut through the noise, work out truth from lies, and bring the case to a close?

I really liked this book. It grabbed my attention from the very first page, held on tight and wouldn't let me go until the very last. I was completely invested by all the twists and turns, secrets and lies and some delicious family dynamics specifically between Marco and his in-laws.

I believe that this is a new genre for this author. If this is the quality for her first effort, I really can't wait to see what she serves up next time.

 Swaps

My next swap is one of my favorite swaps with Chaotic Goddess Swaps. It was one of the first swaps I was involved in.

Your Swap Objective

Send a spook-tastic package of goodies to your Halloween-loving partner.
Note: This swap is open to U.S. and Canadian residents only.

Package Requirements

• Halloween related goodies
• At least 5 Items
• Value of $20-$40

Important Dates to Remember

• Sign-Ups Start: Monday, September 19th
• Sign-Ups End: Monday, September 26th

Happy Reading,

Tula Shamhart