Stories from the Library: January 11-15

In honor of the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday, we read This is the Dream by Diane ZuHone Shore in 4th Grade. This illustrated poem is simple yet powerful, depicting scenes from the escalating civil rights movement. We stopped to talk about the lunch counter sit-ins and what it looks like to have a peaceful protest. The book also led into a great discussion about why it's important to look at these admittedly ugly parts of history and how knowing the past helps us avoid mistakes in the future.


Preschool: To gain a greater understanding of this month's core virtue, courage, we read Kevin Henke's Sheila Rae the Brave. Sheila Rae isn't afraid of anything: she steps on cracks, faces monsters in the closet and keeps her cool during thunderstorms. But when she gets lost on the way home from school, Shelia Rae's courage wanes a little, giving her little sister Louise a chance to save the day.



Junior Kindergarten: Even though we've had a rather mild winter, Junior Kindergarteners could still relate to Virginia Lee Burton's Katy and the Big Snow. Before reading we looked at pictures of buildings that appear in the city of Geopolis and discussed the importance of the police station, hospital and electric buildingseeing Katy the snowplow save the day.
to a community. The students were enchanted by Burton's detailed drawings and loved


Kindergarten: For our second fairy tale, we read a version of Rumpelstiltskin by Caldecott winner Paul O. Zelinsky. Beautiful oil paintings in subdued colors accompany this captivating story and students were wide-eyed and curious to find out about the mysterious little man who appears to the miller's daughter.



1st Grade: 1st Graders listened to Little Polar Bear by Hans de Beer, a classic tale about a little polar bear who floats away on an iceburg during the night and is suprised to find himself...in the jungle? The book serves as a good lesson about animal habitat and why animals like polar bears are better suited to arctic climates and why hippos aren't great rock climbers.



2nd Grade: We enjoyed another fractured fairy tale in 2nd Grade this week, Falling for Rapunzel by Oregon author Leah Wilcox. Apparantly it's a little difficult to hear correctly when you're way up in a tower and have a lot of hair covering your ears. When the prince calls up for Rapunzel's hair, rope, or a ladder, she throws down underwear, a cantelope and pancake batter. While the tale doesn't have quite the same ending as the traditional Rapunzel, all characters would agree it's a happy one-- even the maid.



3rd Grade: We read a little more of Mrs. Piggle Wiggle before most of the 3rd Graders had to leave to particiate in our wonderful Martin Luther King, Jr. presentation. 


4th Grade: See opening post.


5th Grade: Team Roadkill emerged victorious in week 2 of our Library Competition. We're starting to remember all those Dewey categories!