Summer Reading!

Library Horoscope

This horoscope recently circulated over the NYC school librarians' list-serv.

HELP!!!

Volunteers Needed!

June in the library means gathering all the materials that have been borrowed.  Now it's time to put them all away.  If you have any time to spare to help shelve -- 10 minutes...20 minutes...1 hour...whatever... -- please stop by.  

One World, Many Stories

This is the theme of New York's Summer Reading Program.

Throughout the month of June, or fabulous neighborhood children's librarian, Mrs. Thea, will be coming in  to speak to classes about the public library's summer reading program.  Children can keep a written log of what they've read, or record their reading online at www.summerreading.org.   The site has been built like a social networking site.  Children can create avatars (symbols of themselves), track their reading, and earn virtual badges.  Please note:  TNS students should combine this log with the Read-a-thon list, to earn "bonus points."

Our Library to Share Catalog with New York Public Library

Our Library has been selected to be in a DOE/NYPL union catalog pilot!  A union catalog is, basically, a list of the combined holdings of several libraries.  In this case, select libraries in the New York City school system will merge their records with those of the New York Public Library.

According to the folks at NYPL organizing this initiative, this means that our school(s) will receive:

·         Better and more equitable access to resources through a web-based catalog that will let students and teachers see our collection, the collections of other pilot schools, and the vast resources of the New York Public Library;

·         Greatly increased number and variety of resources available to teachers and students;

·         Free delivery and pickup of materials requested by our teachers with their Educator Cards;

·         Cataloging and automation support from the experts at NYPL and the automation vendor, Innovative Interfaces;

·         24/7 virtual learning opportunities;

·         Opportunity for increased use of digital materials;

·         A chance to share book lists (for example, in support of the Common Core), comments and reviews among teachers, librarians and students using NYPL’s new BiblioCommons product;

·         Professional development and support to make this a very successful collaboration and enhanced library services for everyone at our school.

Making Comics in the Library

During "All School Work Time," students of varying ages came to the library to make comics.  They used a free, online comics program called Make Beliefs Comics.  Here are a couple comics they produced in 40 minutes' time:

Author Visit: George O'Connor!

Our kids are crazed with Greek mythology as well as with graphic novels.  Put them together and what do you get?  George O'Connor's Olympians series!  We were so lucky to have a visit from George in our library with fourth graders who are in the middle of a graphic novel reading and writing unit.  We await the release of Hera this summer!

Edible Crafts!

Helicopters

Following the book, Candy Construction--part of our cookbook collection--we made edible helicopters in the Library!  ("Crafts with the Librarian" was a silent auction item at the Neighborhood School Annual Holiday Fair).  

1/2 Grade Animal Research

Did you know...?

This slide show of "fun facts" is based on the animal research students did from library books and the PebbleGo database.

Book Trailers by 4th & 5th Graders

Gail Gibbons Author Study

We have 38 books by author/illustrator Gail Gibbons in our library.  We learned what it means to have a distinct style.  We watched a video interview of Gail Gibbons and found out that she remembers being a curious kid and always asking questions.  Asking good questions is part of being a good scientist and researcher.

Visit from the First Lady of Canada

Fifth graders have been studying Canada as part of their social studies curriculum.  We had a special visit from America' "first lady of Canada." Julie Jacobson is the wife of the United States' ambassador to Canada.  Mrs. Jacobson treated us to a slideshow in the library and answered questions about Canada.  We learned that Canada has 10 provinces and three territories, that the majority of its residents live close to the U.S. border, and other interesting facts about our neighboring country.

Julie Jacobson and President Obama embrace after Ambassador Jacobson (in background) is sworn in.

Workshop for Parents: Electronic Books (ebooks) for Children

Library Workshop for Parents:

Electronic books (ebooks) for kids!


Learn about online resources that will engage your child(ren) in reading.  Perfect for emergent and beginning readers.

Friday, April 15, 2011 (Half Day)

8:30-9:00 – Coffee and light breakfast

9:00-9:30 – Workshop

9:30-11:30 --  Help with Library tasks

Please r.s.v.p. to mckinleylibrary@gmail.com by Wednesday, April 13th.

Author Visit: John Bemelmans Marciano!

Author/illustrator John Bemelmans Marciano gave a lively presentation to kindergarteners and first graders in our library on April 1st (no kidding!).  Mr. Marciano is the grandson of Ludwig Bemelmans, creator of the beloved Madeline series.  He has worked to keep the Madeline books alive, up-to-date, and as exciting as ever.   

Irma Black (Kids' Choice) Book Award

The Irma Simonton Black and James H. Black Award for Excellence in Children's Literature has been presented annually since 1973 by Bank Street College of Education.  The Award is unusual in that children are the final judges of the winning book.  This year, first and second grade students will be choosing one winner from a selection of four finalists:

Actress and Author Julianne Moore Visits Our Library

Sometimes the library is just a pretty backdrop.  Yesterday actress Julianne Moore appeared as Proctor & Gamble's spokesperson for "Love Your School Day," a day of making classrooms sparkle--with P&G's products, of course.  She was interviewed in the library about the importance of a clean environment for learning.   It is not so off-base, though, to place her in the library.  Julianne is also the author of the popular  Freckleface Strawberry books.

PreK-K Body Drawings

Author Visit: James Thach

James Thach doing a dramatic reading from his The Seal Pup.

PS 63 second graders welcomed author James Thach in the library.  Mr. Thach is the author of The Seal Pup, a book in verse about the story of a lost seal pup.  The book--a mixture of fact and narrative--is populated with seals, walruses, penguins, sharks, and other polar animals.  He explained that he did his background research in the library, from books, as well as watching documentary nature films.

Library Work Day and New Books!

Librarian and Lovely Volunteer Moms at Library Work Day
(check out the New Books display!)


Thanks to Noemi Mora and Ahyesha Daniels, and all the parents who showed up to help.

An empty shelving cart! Woo-hoo!

Library Work Day

With the help of our terrific parent coordinator Noemi, we are planning a Library Work Day for this coming Friday, January 28th (a half-day).  We will be serving coffee and a light breakfast, followed by a morning of helping out in the library.  There are numerous jobs, from shelving to cleaning to working with technology.  Please r.s.v.p. to mckinleylibrary@gmail.com if you can come.  Thank you!!

Nonfiction Reading Campaign!

Kids--especially boys--are drawn to nonfiction.  And there seem to be a lot more engaging nonfiction reads than ever before.  I'm not referring to books that satisfy a research need (though those have their place), but texts on topics that capture the genuine interests of children.  The Day-Glo Brothers, for example, is the story of how two brothers began experimenting with ultraviolet light to create fluorescent paints, a feature of our visual landscape that we now take for granted.  Sparrows sparks children's wonder about the natural world around them, right here in New York City.  We will soon launch a schoolwide reading program, aimed at students from grades 3-5 and their families, to encourage the whole community to take advantage of the rich nonfiction reading materials we have available.  The goal is to help students recognize that reading is a "life skill" that surrounds every area of life and is the key to future success.  Thanks to a generous grant from Macy's, we will be receiving a generous gift of nonfiction titles for our library collection!  Stay tuned for details.

More ebooks for young readers: BookFlix

We are also exploring the BookFlix online library.  (Appropriately, for the weather, we saw Ezra Jack Keats' The Snowy Day along with Snowy Weather Days, an informational ebook about snow).  BookFlix, from Scholastic, pairs together classic video storybooks with nonfiction ebook on the same theme.   Like One More Story, the books have a read-along feature, which allows the beginning reader to follow along with the text as the book is read aloud. While this is a subscription product, it is free through the New York York Public Library with your library card barcode number.  To get there: go to the New York Public Library ebooks page.

Electronic Books (ebooks)

We have been looking at electronic books in grades 1/2.  (Don't worry, printed books continue to be alive and well in our library!) Kids in Alexis' class were introduced to the library at One More Story, a digital library of classic and contemporary children's books.  You can look at a sample book there.  Our library has a subscription for this database.  If you are interested in gaining home access to all the books, please email Cheryl at mckinleylibrary@gmail.com to receive a username and password.  We have 50 home accounts; if there is enough interest, we may be able to increase that number.