Ridgecrest Elementary Library Blog

Reading Reading Reading!

2009-08-09T21:36:00.000-07:00

I have had an opportunity to read many books this summer, though I still don't feel caught up to some of the Ridgecrest students. I will be asking them for more recommendations when school starts, but we can start now and have most of August to do some last-minute beach/vacation/backyard reading before school starts September 2nd. Leave your recommendations in the comments section below.

Parent Education Night

2009-03-11T10:07:00.000-07:00

This Thursday, March 12, from 6:30pm to 7:30pm in the library, Ms. Freeman will hold a Parent Education Night. This evening will focus on online resources you can access with your child to help them in school, and online safety for children. There will be laptops available for your use so you can experience these resources while we are discussing them.

Please join other parents and family members in learning about how to best support our students in this rapidly evolving online world.

Global Reading In-School Challenge

2009-02-02T12:00:00.000-08:00

The Global Reading Challenge at Ridgecrest will take place on Wednesday, February 11, 2009, from 1:30PM-2:30PM either in the lunchroom or the library.

Parents and/or classrooms may attend to support the 4th and 5th graders on the five teams we have at Ridgecrest this year. The winning team will go on to represent Ridgecrest at the District Challenge from 10:30AM-11:30AM on February 26th at the Shoreline Center (room to be announced).

Award-winning Books

2009-02-01T14:40:00.001-08:00

This past week the American Library Association announced the winners of its Youth Media Awards, including the Newbery and Caldecott Medal and Honor winners. Sometimes these books are surprises, sometimes they are expected, but either way it is always exciting to watch the web broadcast. ALA used Twitter to announce some of their awards.

Newbery winner (for the most distinguished contribution to children's literature): The Graveyard Book written by Neil Gaiman and illustrated by Dave McKean
Caldecott winner (for the most distinguished American picture book for children): The House in the Night illustrated by Beth Krommes and written by Susan Marie Swanson
Coretta Scott King Award (recognizing an African American author and illustrator of outstanding books for children and young adults): We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball written and illustrated by Kadir Nelson & The Blacker the Berry illustrated by Floyd Cooper, written by Joyce Carol Thomas

There were many other awards announced last Monday, you can find them on the ALA news webpage. The Ridgecrest Library will have these books as soon as they can be found in local bookstores. Not surprisingly, many are sold out after the awards are announced.

What are your favorite award-winning books? Make Way for Ducklings? The Westing Game? The Tale of Despereaux? Where the Wild Things Are? Share in the comments below.

Library OPAC (Online Catalog)

2008-11-13T12:42:00.000-08:00

Ridgecrest and several other Shoreline schools now have a new OPAC (Online Public Access Catalog) for our library collections. You can access them from any computer with Internet capability and a browser.

The benefits of this online catalog are immense, including:

students can see covers of many books, increasing interest and their ability to find the book themselves
student use of the OPAC has increased noticeably because it looks familiar to them, more like Google or Yahoo!
students can reserve titles that are currently checked out
access to the OPAC from home to see what is available in our library at any given time
links are available on the OPAC home page to AR databases to see if we have tests for books from home or the public library
the ability to read a short description of a book if it is included in the OPAC
seeing if the library has a book on the research topic your child is doing and comparing that with what is available at the public library (King County Library System online catalog)

The OPAC does not allow you to see what your child has checked out or to pay fines online, like the public library, but we are pleased to offer you this increased access to the Ridgecrest Library collection.

If you as a Ridgecrest parent or guardian would like a Ridgecrest Library card, please contact Ms. Freeman in the library (email: joanna.freeman@shorelineschools.org) or stop by and we would be happy to make you a card and send it home with your child within a few days.

Link to Ridgecrest OPAC

Library-home connections

2008-11-08T17:06:00.000-08:00

I enjoy talking to parents who come into the library to talk about their child's needs or interests, in hopes that I can help them select appropriate books that will capture their interests. But this year I have been hoping to make more library-home connections than in my previous six years at Ridgecrest. To accomplish this I am publishing a monthly library newsletter (in conjunction with Mr. Woods, who is publishing a PE newsletter), writing these blog entries, increasing my email messages sent home to families, and I am planning a series of Parent Education Nights in the library.

I would love to talk with you about your child or anything else related to the library. Please feel free to email me at joanna.freeman@shorelineschools.org if you have questions, concerns, or suggestions. I hope to get to know your families as well as I feel I know your children. I can help you navigate the information age we live in, as well as help find wonderful books your family can enjoy together.

Parent Education Night Survey

2008-10-14T15:00:00.000-07:00

I am planning to offer a few Parent Education Nights to be held in the library to provide some extra information or resources that may not be readily available to parents on a variety of topics related to information skills, reading, and the library. An additional goal of mine is to get to know more Ridgecrest parents and families. I know your children, now I want to know you better.

I have put a short survey online to help inform my decisions about the Parent Education Nights, including what days of the week and times are best, and also a list of possible topics from which you can choose.

If you are interested in possibly attending a Parent Education Night, or if you want to see what possible topics are listed or offer your own topic, please complete the survey. It will take no more than five minutes of your time.

Parent Education Night Survey

Thank you very much.

Book Review Sources

2008-10-12T08:00:00.000-07:00

In conversations I have been having with 5th grade students about censorship, banned books, their reading choices, and the freedom to read, we have also talked about family values and discussing with others in our families the books we read.

My mother read incessantly. More times than I can count I found her asleep with a book on the floor that had dropped from her hand as she fell asleep reading. I was never told not to read a book and was aware that I could ask her questions about what I was reading. I don't know if she was reading all the books I read, but I wouldn't be surprised. She volunteered in my elementary library and always made it clear that she valued reading both for academic purposes and for pleasure.

I know that families are curious about what children are reading and don't always have time to read every single book their child brings home. I have gathered a few sources for book reviews that families can consult, either to find out about books already being read, or to find new books to read and/or share together.

Bookwink - http://www.bookwink.com/ - short summaries of books for grade 3+
Facts on Fiction - http://www.factsonfiction.org/ - summaries of books, with specific information about themes that might determine the appropriate age of a reader for a title
KCLS Books and Reading - http://www.kcls.org/booksandreading/ - scroll down to Databases for Readers for Novelist and Fiction Connection databases (can only be accessed by KCLS library card holders, enter your number to use the databases)

There are many other sources for good reviews. Sometimes Amazon.com includes professional reviews from School Library Journal or Booklist, which are two resources I use when selecting books for the Ridgecrest Library. However, in the end there is no substitute for reading what your kids are reading. You can discuss the book with them and help them understand difficult parts or words, plus they will be thrilled you are taking an interest in what they are reading! Stretch yourself, read a graphic novel or a fantasy, even if those have never been your cup of tea.

Global Reading Challenge Books

2008-10-08T20:42:00.000-07:00

The list for the 2008-09 Global Reading Challenge, sponsored by the King County Library System, is now available on the KCLS GRC website. They are a mix of classics, fabulous recent books, and a few I haven't read, so I'm excited to re-read favorites and some new titles.

Looking for Bapu by Anjali Banerji
Room One: A Mystery or Two by Andrew Clements
Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo (pronounced "dee-CAM-ill-o" I learned last year)
Inkheart by Cornelia Funke
Rules by Cynthia Lord
Silk Umbrellas by Carolyn Marsden
Project Mulberry by Linda Sue Park
Hatchet by Gary Paulsen
Holes by Louis Sachar
Emma-Jean Lazarus Fell Out of a Tree by Lauren Tarshis

Global Reading Challenge

2008-09-10T20:45:00.000-07:00

Soon the King County Library System's Global Reading Challenge will publish their list of ten books and teams of 4th and 5th graders from Ridgecrest will read as many as possible to prepare for the school and district Challenges.

Fourth and fifth grade classrooms will be hearing more in the next week about the GRC. Any student in those grades is eligible to participate, and we want a variety of reading levels and interests. The only requirements are

students are willing to read at least four of the ten books
students will attend weekly team meetings on Thursday afternoons (10/16-12/4) from 3 to 4PM in the library (if you cannot attend because of other events, please talk to Ms. Freeman and we can probably work something out so you can still participate)

I am also looking for a parent volunteer or two who would be willing to attend the Thursday meetings and help plan our weekly program, organize the teams. If you would be willing to help us, please call or email me, or just stop by the library to talk.

Last year we had seven teams with 47 students participating. I hope we can equal that amount this year! Turn in your purple forms indicating your interest to Ms. Freeman by Oct. 1st.

Author Visit - Oct. 7th

2008-09-10T20:24:00.000-07:00

Ridgecrest is very fortunate to have an author coming to visit on Tuesday, Oct. 7th, at 9:00AM. Brandon Mull is the author of Fablehaven, the first in a series of fantasy books for 3rd-6th graders. Fablehaven is also a nominee on the Young Reader's Choice Award nominee list for 2009, put together by the Pacific Northwest Library Association and voted on by all 4th-6th graders in Washington State.

Fablehaven is a tale of siblings, Seth and Kendra, who are sent to their grandparents' house while their parents travel abroad. They are unhappy, mostly because they don't really know their grandparents very well and their grandfather doesn't seem to be happy to have them visit. Despite being uncomfortable, Kendra and Seth find the house and grounds to be more interesting than they ever expected. Their explorations lead them to discover secrets about their family and the property, secrets almost too fantastic to believe.

Kendra and Seth could be any girl and boy, thrust suddenly into a situation they never imagined, and the imagination of the reader carries them along with the brother and sister on their adventures. They meet fantastic creatures and have adventures that any reader would be thrilled to experience.

Read the book and post any questions you might have for Brandon. He will speak about his publishing experience and imagination, and also read from Fablehaven. He also will have time to take questions from the audience, so get reading and prepare those thoughtful questions.

There will be an opportunity to purchase the book ahead of time for 20%, thanks to Barnes and Noble Northgate, who is sponsoring this author visit. If you don't have a chance to purchase the book ahead, you can buy it at Barnes and Noble or any bookstore. Brandon will be speaking at the Northgate store Tuesday night at 6:30PM and signing books, so students can bring their copy to have it signed at that time. Any purchases made that evening will earn a 20% bonus for the Ridgecrest library budget as well.

Thank you to Barnes and Noble Northgate and their Community Relations Manager, Lisa Lundquist, who thought of Ridgecrest's students when Brandon was coming to town.

Summer reading

2008-08-29T14:52:00.001-07:00

I did a lot of reading this summer and still have a pile of books that I didn't have a chance to read yet. I re-read some favorite mystery series for adults, but really enjoyed some books that I think Ridgecrest students would like.

The Olivia series by Ian Falconer is always a favorite, and somehow I never had read "O Forms a Band" which came out almost two years ago. Olivia decides that she has to form a band to help celebrate the Fourth oflivia July, but no one in her family, including the cat and dog, seems to want to participate. So she comes up with a solution that only Olivia could, to try to do it all herself. The pictures are hilarious and add so much to an already funny story.

I also enjoyed re-reading "The Invention of Hugo Cabret" by Brian Selznick, the winner of the 2008 Caldecott Award for best illustrations in a children's book. It combines text and pictures to create a compelling and unique story. Don't let its large size scare you! Half of the story takes place in the illustrations, while the text takes the form of short chapters. Read this innovative book if you like graphic novels, picture books, or chapter books. I hope Brian Selznick comes out with another book like this soon!

What did you read this summer? I'll post more of my reads soon, but please add your thoughts in the comments so we can all find new titles to read.

Welcome

2008-06-12T12:40:00.001-07:00

Ridgecrest Elementary's Library has a blog! It comes right at the end of the school year, but gives me a chance to suggest summer reading and encourage every student to join in the King County Library System's Summer Reading program. Whether your local library is the Shoreline, Lake Forest Park, or Richmond Beach Library, you can sign up and win prizes.

I'll be updating the library website with suggested summer reading lists for every grade level over the next week. I'll be looking for good suggestions from readers, too, so add your favorite books in the comments so everyone can see them.