Two More Days of Book Fair

The Book Fair continues until Friday, so stop by and take a look!

But you don't have to take it from me...

Book Review by Ashlie

Mrs. Lewis' 5th grade classes have written book reviews on E.L. Konigsburg's From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. Here's Ashlie's review:

I thought the book was very good and I would really like reading it some other time too. The story is about to kids named Jamie and Claudia that had run away from home and went to New York. I would say that Jamie is my favorite character because he is funny and he keeps up with the money and everything. I think it would be kind of better if it told when she died and if they got the sketch.

It's a bird... It's a plane...

...it's the Smithville Elementary

Book Fair!

The Book Fair is here December 6-10 during the following times:

7:30-8:00 am
1:00-2:00 pm
3:45-4:30 pm

There will be a special Family Night with extended Book Fair hours
on Thursday, December 9th from 4:30-6:00 pm

Here are some of the great books available at our Book Fair!

For more Book Fair information, please click here!

Book Review by Nathan

Mrs. Lewis' 5th grade reading classes have written book reviews on E.L. Konigsburg's From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. I'll be publishing their reviews on this blog once or twice a week. Here's Nathan's review...

The book that I think i`m talking about if The mixed up files of Mrs.Basil E.Frankweiler.It is a good book.But I would like it more if they put them going to Texas maybe.If I had a favorie character I would say Jamie because he cheats at war which reminds me of myself.
I would say the plot would be Claudia is somebody who thinks she doesn`t get treated equally.So she makes a plan to run away and brings her brother Jamie along.

Book Fair...Coming Soon!

The SES Book Fair is next week! Click here to find out more about the fair and about all of the great books that will be available!

Book Review by Creann

Mrs. Lewis' 5th grade reading classes have written book reviews on E.L. Konigsburg's From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. I'll be publishing their reviews on this blog once or twice a week. Here's Creann's review...

The mixed up files of mrs.basil e.frank weiler is an incredible book.it is based on two children named Claudia and james Kincaid,bout james family likes to call him jamie.Claudia and Jamie ran away from home because Claudia thought that she was gettingtreated unfarely. So Claudia chose Jamie to come with her.They went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.My favorite character is mrs.Basil E. Frank weiler becauseshe is rich and helpful. She is helpful becauseat the end of the story she help Cladia and Jamie Kincaid get back home were their supposed to be.If anything I would add is that at the end of the story that Claudia nd jamie kincaid’s parents told them how was their trip to them when they got home from the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

Thank you vewiers

Third & Fourth Grade Author of the Month: Judy Blume

As Thanksgiving approaches, third and fourth graders have been discussing what it means to be a part of a family, and no one is better at telling stories about family than our November author of the month, Judy Blume. Whether it's Peter's struggle as the oldest child in Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, Freddy's attempts to stand out as the middle child in The One in the Middle is the Green Kangaroo, or the "Pain's" difficulty with measuring up to his older sibling in The Pain and the Great One, Judy Blume's portrayals of kids from all types of families are funny and truthful.

Over the past week in the library, third and fourth graders have been exploring some of Judy Blume's books and how they deal with the topic of siblings. In addition, students have been exploring the idea of birth order and how it can shape our personalities.

To find out more about birth order, click here.

To find out more about Judy Blume, click here.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday, and enjoy the time you spend with your family!

Reading Is Fundamental

Today and tomorrow, all of SES's students will be participating in Reading Is Fundamental (RIF). RIF is a national program which provides free books to children as a means of increasing literacy and of promoting a love of reading.

Every one of our students will be receiving a free book of his or her choice this week. Be sure to ask your student about RIF and the book that he or she chose!

For more information about RIF, please see the official site.

Kids, for activities and games related to reading, see RIF's Reading Planet website.

This Week in the Library

Get a Voki now!



This week we're visiting the AR store as a reward for all the reading we did during the second six weeks!

Thanks to Taaylor for providing the Voki voice of the week!

You Can Learn to Read

Check out this awesome video!

November Fun on the Web

Check out these sites for some Thanksgiving fun!

• Enchanted Learning Fall Crafts


• Family Fun's Thanksgiving Decorations and Crafts


• History.com's History of Thanksgiving


• Scholastic's First Thanksgiving Webquest


• DLTK's Printable Thanksgiving Activities


• Thanksgiving stories, games, and activities from Kaboose


• Turkey to Go Online Game


• Thanksgiving Crafts and Coloring Pages from Crayola

This Week in the Library

Get a Voki now!


Thanks to Marissa for creating this Voki and to both Marissa and Patrick for recording his voice!

This week in the library, we're reading That Book Woman, by Heather Henson, one of this year's Bluebonnet nominees. To read more about the book, the author, or the pack horse librarians of the 1930s, please visit the following sites:

• Pack Horse Librarians Photo Gallery
• Appalachian History
• Heather Henson's Website
• Interview with Heather Henson

More Halloween Fun on the Web

Looking for more Halloween activities online? Try one of these sites!

• Carve Your Own Pumpkin (Without getting messy hands!)
• The Witch's Stew: Interactive story
• Pink and Purple Pumpkins: Halloween story read aloud for you
• CBBC: What is Halloween? Learn about the history of the holiday.
• History.com Find some short, informative videos and photo galleries
• Halloween Around the World How is Halloween celebrated in other countries?
• Halloween Hangman Can you guess the word before the skeleton is complete?
• PBS Kids: Happy Halloween Halloween-related activities from your favorite PBS shows
• 10 Stunning Pumpkin Carvings Some amazing Jack-o-lanterns
• Animal Planet: Happy Howl-o-ween Halloween goes to the dogs

Want more? Check out Larry Ferlazzo's Best Websites for Learning About Halloween

This week in the library...

Get a Voki now!


Press the play button on the box above to hear about what's going on in the library this week!

Looking for some Halloween fun? Check out these sites:

• Kaboose: online Halloween games, coloring pages, and more
• TLC Family: a collection of classic scary stories
• Family Fun: Halloween crafts, recipes, and costume ideas

And here's a Halloween classic...enjoy!

Old School!

Have you ever wondered what your teachers were like as kid? Check out the display outside the library to see some pictures of your teachers and their favorite books when they were your age! Can you guess who they are?

Texas Book Festival

Last weekend I attended the Texas Book Festival in Austin. My daughter, Arabella, and I had lots of fun visiting the different tents to meet authors, hear about books, participate in arts and crafts activities, and meet some of our favorite characters.

Here's Arabella and me with the Cat in the Hat!

(Arabella was excited to meet the Cat until we got close; then she got scared!),

And here's Arabella taking a lunch break on the lawn of the State Capitol. (Her nose is orange because she had her face painted like a cat!)

Proudly Caring for Our Shelves...

Adopt-A-Shelf is underway, and the student volunteers are doing a great job of making sure our shelves look nice and neat!

Here's Travis, making sure his in order:

Keep up the good work, everyone!

3rd Grade Author of the Month: Steven Kellogg

Our author of the month for 3rd grade is Steven Kellogg. Steven Kellogg is a great author AND illustrator who brings a story to life with his detailed and often humorous pictures. This week in the library we're reading a book illustrated by Steven Kellogg called How Much is a Million? It's giving us an idea of just how big that number is!




To read more about Steven Kellogg, click here.
To see a slideshow of his books, click here.
Watch a video interview with Steven Kellogg here.

4th and 5th Grade October Author of the Month: Mary Downing Hahn

Mary Downing Hahn always loved telling stories, but she didn't always love to write. In fact, she didn't publish her first book until she was 41. Since then, she's written one book a year! To read more about Mary Downing Hahn, click here.

Here are some book trailers for some of Hahn's spookiest tales!

Deep and Dark and Dangerous


All the Lovely Bad Ones


The Old Willis Place

(This one is kind of hard to hear; for better volume-but a smaller screen-click here.)

Closed for the Season

October Newsletter

The Library Newsletter for October is now available! Click on the image below to download the newsletter in PDF!

Adopt-A-Library-Shelf!

You can help in the library this school year by adopting your own shelf! When you adopt a shelf, you are responsible for making sure it looks clean and neat and that the books are in order. You must check your shelf at least once a day ON YOUR OWN TIME. (This might mean coming in before school, after school, or during recess.) If you are interested in adopting a shelf, please fill out the Adopt-a-Library-Shelf form.

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The Adopt-A-Shelf Application is now closed! Thank you for applying!

This Week in the Library...

Here's what we've been up to!

Third graders have been learning about the system we use to keep our fiction books in order! They've been playing an online game that helps them practice with this skill.

Fourth grade has been learning about our online catalog, OPAC, and about all the information they can find there!


Fifth grade has been learning about the Dewey Decimal system and has been playing "Dewey Says" to reinforce their knowledge!



Want to learn more? Check out these links!

• Order in the Library: Practice sorting books or putting them in order on the shelf
• Dewey Decimal Games: A list of fun online games to practice with the DDS!

Book Review: The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg

The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg

by Rodman Philbrick

After their parents die, Homer and his older brother, Harold, are sent to live with thier Uncle Squinton, who forces them to live in a barn and who feeds his animals better than his nephews. When "Uncle Squint" has Harold illegally enlisted (Harold is only 17) in the Union Army, Homer runs away in search of his big brother.

Along the way, Homer encounters such characters as Stink and Smelt, two thieves and bounty hunters, Jebediah Brewster, a Quaker pacifist, whom Homer mistakes for God himself, Reverend Webster B. Willow, who falls for the wrong woman, Professor Fleabottom, who leads a rag tag group of circus performers, and a hot air balloon named Tilda. Throughout his many adventures, Homer, in a fashion that would make Huck Finn proud, displays his knack for embellishing the simplest of truths into full-fledged whoppers while maintaining an undying devotion to his brother.

A humorous, heart-felt, and accurately detailed view of the Civil War through the eyes of a boy, The Mostly True Adventures will take you through a stop on the Underground Railroad, across the water in passenger ferry, over the land in a wagon caravan, through the sky in an "airship," and into the midst of the battlefield to a satisfyingly bittersweet conclusion.

Call Number: F PHI

Reading Level: 5.6

AR Points: 7

Reviews: Booklist, School Library Journal, Publishers Weekly

Awards: Newberry Honor

If You Liked This, You Might Like: Turn Homeward, Hannalee (F BEA), Maude March on the Run! (F COU), When Harriet Met Sojourner (920 C)

And the winner is...

Our bookworm now has a name! After over 300 suggestions, and a final vote on the top eight names, the winning name is...SQUIRMY!

Here are the results of the final vote:

Thanks to everyone who suggested a name or voted! Squirmy appreciates it!

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September Author Spotlights

This week each grade will be introduced to the September authors of the month! Check out the links below for more information on each!

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3rd Grade: Tomie dePaola

Author of more than 200 children's books, Tomie dePaola is perhaps best known for his Strega Nona books. This week, the third grade will be reading some biographical information about dePaola and will be reading and discussing Strega Nona.


Find out more about Tomie dePaola here.
Read about how Strega Nona came to be here.
Click here for some arts and crafts and coloring pages from Tomie.

Watch this animated version of Strega Nona:

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4th Grade: Jon Scieszka



Jon Scieszka was once an elementary school teacher, so he definitely knows what makes kids laugh! The fourth grade will be reading some of Scieszka's hilarious fairy tales and poems this week.


Read about Jon Scieszka here.
Here are pictures of Jon as a kid and some pictures that show early drafts of his books.
Here's Jon's Guys Read site, with lots of good suggestions for books for guys!



Check out this video interview of Jon:

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5th Grade: Neil Gaiman


Neil Gaiman won the 2009 Newbery award with his Graveyard Book, a collection of stories about a boy named Bod, who is raised by ghosts. The fifth grade will be hearing the beginning of Bod's story this week.


Read about Neil Gaiman here.
Find FREE online recordings of each chapter of The Graveyard Book here.
Read some Frequently Asked Questions of Neil and submit your own here.



Here's a book trailer for The Graveyard Book:

Name the Bookworm!

This week students can suggest names for our library mascot, the bookworm!

To participate, please fill out the form below. The top 10 names will be chosen at the end of the week, and faculty will vote on the winning name.

Only one entry per student, please!

Good luck!

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The "Name the Bookworm" contest has now ended! Check back soon for the winning name!

Book Review: The Uglified Ducky

The Uglified Ducky: A Maynard Moose Tale
As told to Willy Claflin, Illustrated by James Stimson

This week in the library, several classes had a chance to listen to The Uglified Ducky, a lighthearted re-telling of the classic tale, The Ugly Duckling. Narrator Maynard Moose, in his distinctive moose dialect, recounts the story of a baby moose who accidentally "blunders" into a duckling nest and is adopted by Mommy Ducky, who proclaims him to be "the most uglified ducky I never see!" After several attempts to become a proper ducky, complete with a visit to the family doctor who diagnoses him with both quadrapedagogy and a "bad case of antlers," the uglified ducky happens upon some "magnifusent beasties," who have hooves and antlers like him. All turns out well, when our hero discovers that he is, in fact, a moose, not a ducky, and he bounds joyfully away with his new moose family. Playfully told in a hilariously distinctive voice, The Uglified Ducky, is a tale for anyone who has ever felt like a misfit.

Call Number: F CLA
Reading Level: 3.6
AR Points: 0.5
Reviews: School Library Journal
Awards: 2010 Texas Bluebonnet Nominee
If You Liked This, You Might Like: The Ugly Duckling (F AND), The Hinky Pink (F MCD), Cinder-Elly (398.21 Min)

Practice, practice, practice...

This week in the library, students will be practicing library procedures. The 4th and 5th graders are already pros at self checkout, and I am positive that the 3rd graders will be just as great in no time!

The students have gotten off to a great start this year with their reading, and I have already seen LOTS of eager readers taking AR tests! Keep up the great work!

(Image copyright Carlos Porto)

Welcome Back!

Welcome back to school, and welcome back to the library!

I am so excited about all of the great things that Smithville Elementary students are going to do in the library this year!

This week we'll be reviewing our library policies and procedures and checking out books for the first time this year. Third graders will be learning about the library from our library mascot, the bookworm. Here's the presentation they'll be seeing during their specials time this week:

Library orientation

The fourth and fifth graders, who have used our library before, will be playing a matching game to refresh their memories about library rules and procedures.

Have a great first week of school, everyone!