Disney 2017 Bluestem Winner!

The votes are in! Fourth and fifth graders have voted for their absolute favorite Bluestem nominees.

In third place tied with 25 votes each...

In second place with 30 votes...

And the winner with 35 votes is...

If your favorite title didn't win, don't despair. All votes were tallied and sent in to the state library association. Stay tuned for the official winner!

Disney 2017 Monarch Winner!

The votes are in! Second and third graders have voted for their absolute favorite Monarch nominees.

In third place with 39 votes...

In second place, tied with 45 votes each...

 

And in first place, eking out the win with 46 votes...

Drum roll please....

If your favorite title didn't win, don't despair. All votes were tallied and sent in to the state library association. Stay tuned for the official winner!

What I'm Reading Now

Absolutely Truly I must admit I've never read any of the Mother-Daughter book club series but they are very popular in our library. Written by the same author, this first book in the Pumpkin Falls Mystery series was very enjoyable. Truly Lovejoy has moved with her family to the tiny town of Pumpkin Falls, New Hampshire where she tries to build a new life for herself among a charmingly eccentric group of characters. K - I think you might like this one.
Flunked I love a fairy tale retelling so I was immediately drawn to this first book in the series Fairy Tale Reform School. Main character Gilly is caught stealing one too many times and is sent to reform school where she's taught by the evil queen from Snow White, the wolf who terrorized Little Red, and other "bad guys" from favorite tales. Could it be true that they have all reformed? Or is someone at the school up to no good? Fans of the Whatever After series who are looking for something else to read might enjoy this one. D?
Randi Rhodes Ninja Detective The fact that Octavia Spencer is the author has been a big draw for this series. Middle school detective Randi Rhodes and her friends DC and Pudge solve mysteries they find in the world around them (much to the chagrin of her famous author father.) Good if you're looking for a realistic fiction mystery - I? Z?
Saint Anything I love anything Sarah Dessen and this one did not disappoint. Sydney and her family deal with the aftermath of her brother's reckless behavior.

Monarch Award: Goldy Luck and the Three Pandas

This retelling of the Goldilocks story finds Goldy Luck visiting her next door neighbors, the pandas, on Chinese New Year. The pandas are not at home and trouble ensues.

Monarch Award: Families, Families, Families

Students loved this fun book about all different types of families represented by different animals. We talked and wrote about our own families. Then students decided what type of animal their family would be and drew family portraits.

Monarch Award: Gaston

Gaston is a bulldog raised in a family of poodles - who is about to meet a poodle raised in a family of bulldogs.

Breakout EDU: Getting Started

For the past year or so I've been hearing a lot about Breakout EDU from other librarians. Breakout EDU calls itself an "immersive learning games platform." The idea is that students work together to solve puzzles using critical thinking skills. The puzzles help them open a locked box called a Breakout box. Teachers around the country design Breakout activities that are tied to curriculum.

I kept hearing from other librarians and our wonderful school social worker how amazing Breakout boxes are for student engagement and for working on all of those collaborative skills that are integral to our library standards.  I was thrilled to find out that my Donors Choose grant for Breakout boxes had been funded and that we were receiving the supplies needed for three Breakout boxes.

In the past couple of weeks all of my sixth, seventh, and eighth grade classes have had the chance to participate in their first Breakout. Students discovered it can be quite challenging to solve all of the puzzles and "break into" the box. In fact, only one group of seventh grade girls successfully got into the Breakout box without a single hint! In the next few weeks, fourth and fifth grade students will begin their first Breakout on this year's Global Read Aloud book The BFG.