This Week in the Library...

This week, third grade will be focusing on setting in folk tales, and fourth and fifth grades will be exploring poetry!

Third grade is listening to Strega Nona, a traditional Italian tale retold by Tomie dePaola. Strega Nona, or "Grandma Witch" has a magical pasta pot that provides her with a neverending supply of pasta. Strega Nona's helper, Big Anthony, has been warned to stay away from the pot, but his curiosity gets the better of him! Click here to watch a video of the story!

---

Fourth grade will be listening to Pirates, by David L. Harrison, a collection of poems about all of the most dastardly sea dogs!

---

And fifth grade will hear excerpts from Love That Dog by Sharon Creech, the story of Jack, who thinks poetry is for girls, until his teacher makes him write some of his own! Here's a great book trailer for Love That Dog:

September 19th is Talk Like a Pirate Day!

That's right, today is Talk Like a Pirate Day! So, practice your "Arrrrr's" and your "Aye, matey's," and celebrate by reading one of these great library books:

Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.

Happy Birthday, Tomie dePaola!

Today is author Tomie dePaola's birthday! dePaola has written LOTS of wonderful children's books, but he may be most well-known for his Strega Nona series of stories. Listen to Strega Nona in the video below:



Or, if you're short on time, watch this shorter version made by a fan!

American Girl, In the Beginning

On this day, in 1986, the first three American Girls, Kirsten, Samantha, and Molly, were introduced! They started a series of books that now includes 11 different characters. American Girl books tell the stories of girls growing up during different periods of history. If you've ever wondered what it was like to go to school in a one-room schoolhouse, or to have a birthday party during World War II, or to celebrate Christmas during the Great Depression, pick up an American Girl book in the Historical Fiction section of our library today! Find out more about the American Girl characters here.

And here's a preview of a movie based on the books about American Girl, Kit:

After School Program: Evaluating Blogs

Take a look at some of these blogs and think about what you like or dislike about each!

September's Character Trait: Honesty

The character trait of the month from Building Good Citizens For Texas is honesty.

Here are some great questions about honesty to think about:

What does it mean to be honest?

Why is honesty important?

What are the consequences of dishonesty?

---

If you'd like to learn more about honesty, try one of these books from our library:

---

Teachers, for resources and lesson plans about this month's character trait, click on the binder below:

Honesty

How embarrassing!

This week, third graders have been learning how to put books on the check-in cart. They've learned that a book should never "show it's underwear" (like the book in this picture), but should always be placed with its spine out and call number down.

Third grade is doing such a great job of taking care of our library!

Mrs. Bull's GT Class: Author Study

Bull's Author Study