This week in the library, we celebrated Dr. Suess’ birthday by sharing my favorite Suess story, The Lorax.

Though it was written 40 years ago, The Lorax is a gentle reminder of the fragility of the earth and our responsibility as stewards of the planet. As the Once-ler builds his empire of thneeds, not only the fate of the truffula trees is put in jeopardy, but also of the creatures that depend on the fruit of the truffulas, and clean air and water. With its vibrant illustrations and sincerity of voice, the The Lorax is one those books to read and keep forever!

We concluded with a trivia game based on The Lorax, as well as bookbrowsing and checkout. Happy Reading!

This week in the library, students learned about the country of Romania. We welcomed former BCD teacher, and a director of Art Omi, Sasha Sicurella. Sasha recently returned from a trip to this fascinating country with the non-profit organization, I Am International. This foundation works with students around the using art as a medium to bring people and ideas together. Sasha showed us some cultural objects from Romania, and then we watched a video she made of her current work in Romania using photography, illustrated portraits and other mediums. Thank You, Sasha, for joining us this week in the library.

Today in the library, we marked the birthday of famed folklorist and fairy-tale collector, Wilhelm Grimm (of the Brothers Grimm fame). We learned about the life of the Grimm brothers, Jakob and Wilhelm, who were by training, linguists. The Grimm brothers embarked on a huge folkloric endeavor, collecting hundreds of folk and fairy tales by interviewing people in their homes during the beginning of the 19th century. Later the tales were published and many are still widely read today including version of Snow White, Cinderella, Hansel and Gretel, Rapunzel and Rumplestiltskin. We also discussed how oral tales are distinct from written ones in that each storyteller makes the story his own. This yields different variants of the same tale. We looked at over 10 different versions of Cinderella right here in the library and we read together the Egyptian Cinderella and the Irish Cinderella tales, comparing and contrasting them with what we know to be our Americanized (Disney?) version.

We concluded with book browsing and checkout. Happy Reading.

This week in the library, third graders visited the country of Morocco. After learning a bit about this country’s geography and culture, we shared a beautifully illustrated adaptation of a Moroccan folktale, The Bachelor and the The Bean (by Shelley Fowles). Scaffolding upon this reading, the students then participated in skit-on-the-spot that I wrote for them, putting my own twist on the story. We performed the skit multiple times to allow the students to experiment with different voices and intonation. (And because I included some of this week’s spelling words in it!).

We concluded with bookbrowsing and checkout. Happy Reading!

Second and Third Graders got spooky in the library this week with Carl Reiner’s Tell Me A Scary Story…But Not Too Scary. This tricky tale, complete with sound effects and a realistic first-person narrator, set the tone for our Halloween library period. Students then went on a haunted hunt around the library searching for bats, pumpkins and critters hidden among the stacks and shelves. Lastly, we sorted, counted and compared each time then browsed for books. Happy Reading!

Second and Third Graders visiting the library today embarked on the first of their passport adventures for the year: Brazil! We began by learning a bit about the 5th largest country in the world and the largest in South America. Our literary adventure contained two stories today. The first, a famous Brazilian Folktale called The Dancing Turtle. In this adaptation by West Coast author Pleasant DeSpain, the dancing turtle tells a lie in order to preserve his life. The students shared their thoughts on lying and in what circumstances a lie might be justified. In our second story, Suddenly in Brazil, author Cristina Falcon Maldonato, brings the magic of Brazil alive in this tour-de-mystery tale. This book describes many important and exciting destinations within the country including Iguazu Falls, Copacobana Beach, Chapada Diamantina Park and Bahia. We concluded by stamping our passports and placing the South America sticker in its place. Happy Reading!

Third and fourth graders are now fully immersed in the mysterious and magical world of owls. For the past two weeks, we have been reading Kathryn Lasky’s first book in the Guardians of GaHoole series, The Captive. In this novel, four owls band together to seek truth and protect the owl world from the evil that threatens to shatter peace in their tranquil kingdom of Tyto.

Students are also exploring the library, browsing for books and checking out favorites to take home. Please make sure to return your books when you are done reading them.