Two Amazing Books

The library was buzzing this week during Book Fair, I was buzzing too....I've got new books!  My annual book order was delivered!  I feel like a kid on Christmas when they come in, I don't know what to do first, open them to hear that "new book sound", or smell them.  Yep, I'm a book smeller.  
The first book I finished was Junonia by Kevin Henkes.

Returning to the beach cottage--a cottage named Scallop--where she has always celebrated her birthday is a special occasion for Alice Rice.

Who will see the first dolphin this time? The first pelican? What will have changed? Stayed the same? And will this be the year she finally finds a junonia shell?

Alice's friends are all returning, too. And she's certain her parents have the best party planned for her. Alice can't wait. If Alice is lucky, everything will be absolutely perfect. Will Alice be lucky?

Early Sunday morning while the rest of the house was sleeping, I finished The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate.   I'm a big softy when it comes to animals.  I can't watch an animal movie without crying, it's actually quite embarrassing.  Thankfully nobody was awake to witness my blubbering this time.

Ivan is an easygoing gorilla. Living at the Exit 8 Big Top Mall and Video Arcade, he has grown accustomed to humans watching him through the glass walls of his domain. He rarely misses his life in the jungle. In fact, he hardly ever thinks about it at all.

Instead, Ivan thinks about TV shows he’s seen and about his friends Stella, an elderly elephant, and Bob, a stray dog. But mostly Ivan thinks about art and how to capture the taste of a mango or the sound of leaves with color and a well-placed line.

Then he meets Ruby, a baby elephant taken from her family, and she makes Ivan see their home—and his own art—through new eyes. When Ruby arrives, change comes with her, and it’s up to Ivan to make it a change for the better.

Katherine Applegate blends humor and poignancy to create Ivan’s unforgettable first-person narration in a story of friendship, art, and hope

Both of these books are great Read Aloud choices for any family.  I hope there's a long wait list for these!  As an added bonus, there are quizzes for both books.

Keep Reading!
Mrs. Fellows

*The book reviews were taken from Goodreads.

Book Trailer

I have a big problem....I read too many library blogs!  But, the good news for kids, is that I get great book ideas from these blogs!  The one series that stood out to me was The Genius Files by Dan Gutman.  I gave the first book to a student in 4-S last week, he brought it back the next day and told me he loved it!  So here's a book trailer I found, maybe this will peak your interest also. (click the link under the photo)



The Genius Files by Dan Gutman (Book Trailer)

Keep Reading!
Mrs. Fellows

This week I've been reading two different picture books.  The first one is Homer, the Library Cat by Reeve Lindbergh, the kids seemed to really enjoy this book.  The best part was when a student was amazed at my ability to purr!  It's nice to hear that I can still entertain kids :)

The next book I actually checked out from Georgetown Public Library, I know, I have a library full of books and I'm going to the public library, what can I say?  This book was called The Incredible Book-Eating Boy by Oliver Jeffers.  I adore this book!  There are so many hidden gems in the illustrations, too funny!

Keep Reading!
Mrs. Fellows

BACK IN BUSINESS!

Yep, that's right, the library is open!  Thanks to all of the amazing parents that helped me relabel the ENTIRE library, we were able to open on Monday.  I even had one student tell me "I didn't know if you even worked here anymore Mrs. Fellows".  That was a huge bummer to hear :(  I loved having kiddos back in the library, we reviewed our library policies, and kids finally checked out books.  Because of this, I wasn't able to read to all of the classes, fear not, I will do that next week.  I've been saving some extra special books to read to them!  I did read Mr. Wiggles Book by Paula Craig to Pre-K and K, this is a great book about book care.

Have a great weekend, keep reading.
Mrs. Fellows

When will the library be open?

This is a very big question on everyone's mind.....including mine!  The library is in the process of re-labeling EVERY SINGLE BOOK right now......yikes!!  Thanks to our amazing Alward parents, we have been putting Guided Reading Level labels on the spine of our books that have a Reading Counts quiz.  Reading Counts is the new reading program we're starting this year.  Stay tuned for more details about Reading Counts.  In the meantime, thank you for being patient while we finish this process.  Let me tell you, I'm REALLY missing the kiddos!  I can't wait to have my library full of life again.

Until then, keep reading!
Mrs. Fellows

Summer Reading (Audio Books)

I hope you're all having a great summer!  Have you found some great books to read?  I recently went to the public library to check out some audio books, to keep me occupied while taking a road trip with my son to a baseball tournament.  I would highly recommend this to you and your family, it was a great time filler.  The two books we listened to were When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead, and Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer by John Grisham.

   

We enjoyed both books!  I thought When You Reach Me was one of the best books I've read in a long time, I can't wait to have kids read this when schools starts!  I have a few students in mind that I will give this to.  Riley liked Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer better than the other, but I think that's because the character is a boy.  Again, I thought it was a great book.  I've read several John Grisham books, this caught our attention from the start.
Stay cool, keep reading!
Mrs. Fellows

AR Winners!!

Today we celebrated the students that reached their AR goal at least once by giving them a cold yummy treat!  We also drew names for prizes.....that's what the kids were waiting for!
The winners are....
iPod Shuffle - Nick B. (2-G), Gabe E. (3-VK), Riley S. (4-O), Kyle A. (5-E)
Gift card to either Barnes and Noble, or iTunes - Maria VE (2-G), Judah A. (2-G), Chloe C. (2-G), Jada D. (3-VW), Jacob V. (3-VW), Brynn O. (3-VK), Tyler Sm. (4-S), Erin O (4-O), Delaney B. (4-D), Maddie H. (5-B), Tony L. (5-K), and Lilli B. (5-K).
Way to go readers!!!

Mrs. F

It's Monday! What are you reading?

Since Cinco de Mayo is this Saturday, I'm going to be reading Cinco De Mouse-O! by Judy Cox, and Chicks and Salsa byAaron Reynolds, to the students this week.

 In honor of this day, the staff at Alward is having a Mexican Fiesta luncheon on Friday.  Ms. Stokes and I have decided to have a guac-off!  I'll keep you posted on the winner!  Mexican food is one of my favorite things!  In case you didn't know, I'm a big foodie!  Books and food.....I'm smiling just thinking about them both!  That's why Chicks and Salsa is perfect for me!



AR UPDATE - The final day for AR is May 18.  Have you seen all of the apples in the hall outside the library?  Wow!  I'm looking for some help for next year, do you have a great idea for AR?  If so, please let me know.  I think it's time to shake things up a little, what do you think?

Keep Reading!
Mrs. F

What are you going to read this week?

In case you didn't know, Earth Day was yesterday (Sunday, April 22).  In honor of Earth Day, I read
The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein to Pre-K, Kind. and 1st Grade.

I also read The Great Kapok Tree by Lynne Cherry and Just a Dream by Chris Van Allsburg.  Both books were perfect for Earth Day!

The chapter book I'm going to read this week is Charlie Muffin's Miracle Mouse by Dick King-Smith.  I completely chose this by it's cover.  I have high hopes for this book!

*AR NOTE*
The end date for Term 3 is May 18.

It's Monday! What are you reading this week?

I've really been trying to read as many books as possible from the Alward Library.   I typically read at least 2 new picture books every day, and try to finish a few chapter books each week.  I'm currently reading Calvin Coconut - Trouble Magnet by Graham Salisbury.







The Book Fair is going on in our library this week, so I won't be there very much.  I'm going to miss those kiddos this week!  I hope you're able to find some great books at the Book Fair.  Be sure to tell me about some of your choices.
Have a great week!  Keep Reading!
Mrs. Fellows

National Library Week 2012

Did you know that it is National Library Week?  At Alward, I've asked the students to tell me why they love the library, here are some of their answers:

"There are so many books to pick from, libraries are fun!"
"Reading is my favorite subject and the library is a fun place to be."
"I love books!"
"There are great books to read.  The librarian is super nice.  The library is a great place to read!" (I promise I didn't pay this student to say that!)

Stop in the library to read the rest, they are great!

Keep Reading!
Mrs. Fellows

They just keep coming! More Book Blogs!

Austin T.  5-E

Detroit Lions by Aaron Fisher (Non-Fiction)

Why did you pick this book?

I picked this book because it looked good and my mom read it like five times. Also I enjoy watching them every Sunday.
What was your favorite part of this book?
My favorite part of the book is when they talk about Barry Sanders, because he is my favorite player in the world. Also, I like the part when they tell how many coaches the Detroit Lions have had, they have had fourteen different coaches in the past eleven years, that's a lot also that's how old I am to that's really cool.

Tell the blog readers why you enjoyed reading this book.

I enjoyed this book because I love the Detroit Lions and I also love to watch them every Sunday. Also, can you believe that the Detroit lions were ten and six this year that's amazing.

AR Book Blogs

 Jennifer W. 5-E

The Lemonade War by Jecqueline Davies (Realistic Fiction)

Why did you pick this book?
I picked it because everybody who had read said it was great. Also, when I read the back it looked good. If you like lemonade stands you will love this book.
What was your favorite part of this book?
My favorite part of the book is when they are doing the lemonade war because it was intense. You wouldn't know what was going to happen next. If you read the part where they were fighting you would be forced to read the rest. In other words you wouldn't want to stop. Also, I liked how she wrote it so you could make connections. If you have a brother or a sister you could relate to it.
Tell the blog readers why you enjoyed reading this book.

 I enjoyed this book because it was suspending. You would be silly to stop reading it. That is just my thoughts though because I loved it. In the book some things will make you laugh and some things will make you be sad. That's what I loved about it.

Add any other details about this book that you think is important to share.
When you read this you will want to just sit back, read, and have a nice cold glass of lemonade. It might even inspire you to make a lemonade stand. It will give you tips so you might get a lot of money. It will give you ideas and you will not want to wait for summer. So read it over and over and drink lemonade. There are two more books so you can just keep on reading it. It will give something to read.

*Note from Mrs. Fellows*

I have not read this book yet, but after reading this Book Blog, I'm adding to my list for sure.  Check out this Book Trailer, it will surely want to make you read it too!


http://www.lemonadewar.com/book1_tlw_trailer.html

Zachary VS 4-D

Septimus Heap: Magyk by Angie Sage (Fiction/Fantasy)
Why did you pick this book?
I picked this book because I love to read fiction stories and the title sounded interesting to me.
What was your favorite part of this book?
My favorite part of this story is when boy 412 falls into a deep hole and finds the Dragon Ring. He can now stop DomDaniel from taking over the palace with the Dragon Rings Magykal powers.

Tell the blog readers why you enjoyed reading this book.

I enjoyed this book because it is a great fiction story, and has adventure in it. I also love reading about magic and some combat, and this story has all of that too!

AR Book Blog Entries

Jennifer W. from 5-E

President of the Whole Fifth Grade by Sherri Winston (Realistic Fiction)

Why did you pick this book?

One reason I picked this book was because the back looked good. Also it had cupcakes on the cover. I love books about cupcakes. Another reason I chose the book is because I'm in fifth grade and so I could make connections.

What was your favorite part of this book?

My favorite part of this book is when she goes to Mrs. Wetzel's shop and makes cupcakes. Another thing I likes about this book is it has recipes so you can make some of the things she talks about.Tell the blog readers why you enjoyed this book.

If you like books that are about cooking,food,or anything to do with a kitchen you will be engaged in this book. Also if you like a book about friendship you will love it.

Add any other details about this book that you think is important to share.

In this book a girl named Brianna dreams to be president of the fifth grade. Her dream gets interrupted by Jasmine Moon. If you like a great plot you will love this book!

Claire T.- 5-E

The Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan (Fiction)
Why did you pick this book?
I picked it because, I like the other books  in the series. Also I like some of his other books, they are very interesting.They always have something happening.
What was your favorite part of this book?
My favorite part was the end because it was very exciting and you didn't know what was going to happen next. You thought something was going to happen but it turned out the complete opposite. 
Tell the blog readers why you enjoyed this book.
I enjoyed this book because there are lots of twists and turns. You never knew what was going to happen next. Also it has action, adventure, and a little bit of humor. The characters were so well described you felt like you could actually know them, plus there was always something happening in the story so you never got bored of reading it.    
Add any other details about this book that you think is important to share.
I think it's important to share a little about the story line. The book is about three kids who are children of a god and human. They are called godlings. They have to go on a journey to stop monsters from rising and taking over the mortal world.They travel all over to find stuff they need to stop the monsters. It's a very good book.
 

The Son of Neptune Book Trailer

What's that awesome smell?

Can you smell the new books in the air?  Sure, call me strange, I just LOVE the smell of new books!  That first sniff when you open it....yeah, you know what I'm talkin' about, don't you?

One of the new books that I was so excited to read to the students was "Mustache!" by Mac Barnett, and Kevin Cornell.  You must take the time to read this, be sure to really look at the illustrations, they will crack you up!

I'm currently working on placing the order for the Non-Fiction books that will be covered by the Grant money from HEF.  Am I bragging?  Maybe just a little, I'm just so excited to get $500 in new books!  The teachers have been giving me some great ideas of books to add to our library!

 

So many things to be grateful for at Alward right now!

 

Keep Reading,

Mrs. Fellows