The Many Hats of a School Librarian

Creativity by E.B. Lewis My rating: 5 of 5 stars The teachers at our school just had a meeting yesterday about what it might be like to follow the rules of culture. We talked about how it might be hard for a student new to our school to know what all of the rules are if we don't teach them. The rules at their last school or home might be very different. This book is a perfect illustration to that. Hector is a boy that is new to the class from Puerto Rico, and Charles a boy in the class gets to know him and helps him figure out how to fit in at his new school. It really spoke to the fact that each school has a different culture of rules and expectations for learning and making friends and the best way to learn those rules is to have a trusted friend help explain them. Sometimes, a book resonates more because of the timing in which you read it. That was definitely the case today! View all my reviews

The Pied Piper of Peru by Ann Tompert My rating: 4 of 5 stars At first, I thought that this would be a book that I would want to take out of the library because it looks a little old. but then I started reading and I immediately wanted to know what would happen to the little mouse colony! Would they starve, die, move? And how does the benevolent Brother Martin solve the problem of being told to kill the mice? View all my reviews

Breadcrumbs by Anne Ursu My rating: 3 of 5 stars I will change my review when I really read it. soon... View all my reviews

Moo! by David LaRochelle My rating: 5 of 5 stars Moo. Mooo. Moo! I love it, my students love it! It's a great way to talk about how punctuation and size of words changes the meaning. The illustrations are funny. I wear a button that says Moo! on my work badge. View all my reviews

The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt My rating: 5 of 5 stars Hilarious! I love the point of view of each crayon. It really shows that everyone sees things a little differently, everyone has a different experience, and everyone is needed to make a perfect box of crayons. It makes me think just a bit differently when I color. View all my reviews

Kevin and His Dad by Irene Smalls My rating: 3 of 5 stars Kevin loves hanging out with his Dad. His Dad seems like a cool guy. I might like to hang out with him, too. View all my reviews

On Mother's Lap by Ann Herbert Scott My rating: 4 of 5 stars Sweet story of how there is room for everyone on Mother's lap before bedtime. I make connections of having my little girl sit on my lap at bedtime, too. View all my reviews

In the Time of the Drums by Kim L. Siegelson My rating: 3 of 5 stars Amazing illustration help tell this story that has been passed down orally from generations in the African American community in the Southern United States. I wish the story was told with fewer words on each page, but fewer words would take away from the imagery created. View all my reviews

Aurora Means Dawn by Scott Russell Sanders My rating: 3 of 5 stars It must have been so hard to decide to leave everything behind to go to a new place with nothing but the promise of land and happiness. The settlers in this book faced really difficult obstacles to get to their homestead and build their home. I couldn't imagine having to weather such a difficult storm outside and then camp until a house was built with 7 kids! Wow! A great story of perseverance. What other kids of settling stories are there out there? What difficult obstacles did you face when you moved to a new place? View all my reviews

Grandfather's Journey by Walter Lorraine My rating: 3 of 5 stars When you move from one neighborhood, city, country, or continent to another you can feel at home in two places. Those feelings can be confusing and it's nice to know that lots of people feel that way, too! View all my reviews

If You Want to Find Golden by Eileen Spinelli My rating: 3 of 5 stars This could be used in Kindergarten during Colors week! It's a great story to help you find all of the colors in your world! View all my reviews