The Many Hats of a School Librarian

Agate: What Good Is a Moose? by Joy Morgan Dey My rating: 4 of 5 stars This book could be used for so many different teaching moments. Birthstones, agates, rocks, or gems. Being beautiful on the inside or polishing yourself to be a hidden gem. Not comparing yourself to others. It's a beautiful story and cool illustrations. There is also non-fiction information about the gems and agates in the back. View all my reviews

Balloons Over Broadway: The True Story of the Puppeteer of Macy's Parade by Melissa Sweet My rating: 3 of 5 stars A very cool book about the history of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. I didn't know that it stemmed from different cultures. I think this would be a great book to read around Thanksgiving time to our students. I can't say I really like watching the parade on TV, but it is really cool to see where to tradition came from. View all my reviews

Saturday Is Dadurday by Robin Pulver My rating: 3 of 5 stars This book is about a little girl that loves spending Saturdays with her dad. They always do special things until her dad starts working on Saturdays. I really understood the feelings of anger from the little girl in this book because my Dad had to work on the weekends a lot too. View all my reviews

Sector 7 by David Wiesner My rating: 4 of 5 stars i read this book last week and as I was driving this week, I imagined the clouds out my window as being shapes of fish and other sea life. The images in this book have clearly made an impact on my memory. View all my reviews

The Favorite Daughter by Allen Say My rating: 4 of 5 stars I think many students can identify with feeling like they are a little different and not wanting to follow all of the rigid rules of school. This story is about a girl who struggles with her Japanese name and an art project. I think it could be a good story to teach personal narrative even though it isn't in the first person. It's a story of the father remembering the event. View all my reviews

When the Beat Was Born: DJ Kool Herc and the Creation of Hip Hop by Laban Carrick Hill My rating: 4 of 5 stars Stick with your vision, and your dreams can come true. Music is so important to so many people, this is a neat story about a boy who became a DJ back before we really knew how parties could be. I loved to learn how break-dancing got its name! View all my reviews

Little Santa by Jon Agee My rating: 4 of 5 stars A story of when Santa was a little boy!! Adorable! View all my reviews

Tea Party Rules by Ame Dyckman My rating: 4 of 5 stars I am very excited to read this to kindergarten today. I think it can also remind us that there might be rules we don't like, but if we follow them, we get rewards in school like having more fun and learning more (instead of eating cookies). View all my reviews

Journey by Aaron Becker My rating: 3 of 5 stars What beautiful paintings and story! This book tells you that you can create your own adventures in your imagination when you draw (and I say read). View all my reviews

The Boy and the Airplane by Mark Pett My rating: 4 of 5 stars What an exceptional book about patience. It is always amazing to me how a book can tell a story so well with no words. The illustrations are simple and beautiful. View all my reviews

The Klipfish Code by Mary Casanova My rating: 4 of 5 stars I am not usually a fan about stories that take place during war time, but this book about Norway during World War 2 was so interesting and moving. It felt so real to read and it made me wonder what it was like to be in Sweden during that time since my family lived there, so close to Norway. I hear so many stories of what it was like in Germany or Austria, but this was the first story I had read about Norway. I was also able to meet the Author and she spoke of how she did the research for this book by visiting museums in Norway and having deep conversations with people who were alive and living there during that time. I think this is a great perspective of War and I look forward to talking with kids about their thoughts while reading it. View all my reviews