Stories from the Library: May 3-7

 Preschoolers enjoyed Mo Willems' Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus. The story is a lively romp through Pigeon's enthusiastic attempt to convince readers that he is a fully capable bus driver. Willems' illustrations are spare, yet full of emotion. Pigeon's expression changes from curious to angry to pained with just a few pen strokes. By the end of the stories, Preschoolers were interacting with Pigeon, answering his questions and telling him "no!" he can't drive the bus!

Junior Kindergarten: Spring can be a restless time for some of our little people at school. They've been in school for nine months and are preparing for the next grade level (and the summer that comes in between!). Jamie Lee Curtis gently identifies with this busy, wiggly age in her book It's Hard to be Five. The rhyming text and bright, squiggly pictures illustrate some of the frustrations that come with being five: sitting still, hearing "no" all the time, and going to a new, sometimes scary school. Curtis also highlights how fun being five can be: walking by yourself, learning and growing. The author concludes that "It's hard fun to be five!" and I think our Junior Kindergartners would agree.

Kindergarten: We traveled all the way to freezing cold Antarctica in our Kindergarten continent journey with Helen Cowcher's Antarctica. In the story we see male Emperor penguins balance eggs on their feet, Adelie penguins nesting on the beach, and Weddel seals caring for newborn pups. When noisy helicopters and research boats arrive, the Arctic creatures wonder if these new neighbors will be more harmful or helpful.

1st Grade: 1st Graders listened to How I Became a Pirate by Melinda Long. A pirate's life sounds pretty jolly to Jeremy Jacob-- no bedtime, eating with your hands, stealing and plundering-- until he finds out that pirates don't get bedtime stories or goodnight kisses. 

2nd Grade: 2nd Graders celebrated their wonderful moms this week during the Mother's Day Tea.

3rd Grade: 3rd Graders endured two weeks of my western drawl with Diane Stanley's Saving SweetnessRaising Sweetness, a sweet story about a sometimes dim-witted western sheriff who adopts a passel of mistreated orphans. The books lead into a great lesson in similes, as we meet characters who are "as sweet as a Georgia peach" and "as sharp as a pocketful of toothpicks" and "as cute as kitten pajamas."  and

4th Grade: A runaway prince, a hot-potato man and a dancing bear: we're nearing the end of Sid Fleischman's The Whipping Boy.

5th Grade: Our wonderfully creative 5th Graders are working on projects that will eventually turn into a class library video. Inspired by this video produced by a Middle School in Florida, I gave the small groups free reign to create something (a song, dance, play, or commercial) that will inspire reading, teach about libraries or inform about book care. I'm excited to see what our groups come up with!