New Experience

I am thrilled to participate today in my fist virtual conference. I'm very interested in the topic of ebooks and how they relate to school libraries. The one-to-many model is quite controversial. Admittedly, I'm perplexed about how this will look and play out. Will I leave today with more answers than questions? These are exciting times in the library world!

Enjoy the movie Ramona and Beezus?

Houston Public Library suggests reading these realistic fiction titles.MWE Library owns a copy of each.

Ivy + Bean: Book One by Annie Barrows; illustrated by Sophie Blackall
When 7-year-old Bean's mother pesters her to make friends with the nice new girl next door, Bean says, "No thanks." The new girl, Ivy, may be Bean's age, but that seems to be the only thing they have in common. Ivy wears a dress every day and spends a lot of time reading. Bean only wears a dress when her mom makes her, and she's usually too busy zipping about (or getting into trouble) to read. But when Bean plays a mean trick on her big sister and it backfires, Ivy comes to Bean's rescue. Maybe they can be friends after all! If you like reading about all the mischief that Ramona gets into, be sure to give this 1st book in the very funny Ivy + Bean series a chance.

Moving Day by Meg Cabot
After an awful fight with her best friend, nine-year-old Allie Finkle starts a list of rules to live by. Rule number one: Don't Stick a Spatula Down Your Best Friend's Throat. Then Allie finds out that her family is moving to a creepy old house across town, which means that she'll have to go to a new school. Her efforts to stop the move get spunky Allie in all kinds of trouble, and it'll take a whole new bunch of rules for her to figure out the Right Thing to Do. Like the Ramona Quimby books, the Allie Finkle's Rules for Girls series (this is the 1st; The New Girl is next) is about feisty girl who's just trying to get along with her family and friends...and who sometimes messes up.

Ruby Lu, Brave and True by Lenore Look; illustrated by Anne Wilsdorf
Happy-go-lucky Ruby Lu is nearly eight years old. She loves her family, her neighborhood, and performing magic tricks, and she really loves riding the No. 3 bus to Chinatown to see her pohpoh (grandmother) and gunggung (grandfather). But there are new things in Ruby's life that she might not love so much: her mom wants her to go to Chinese school--on Saturdays!--and her baby brother, Oscar, is learning how to talk...and how to ruin things for Ruby. Like Ramona Quimby, Ruby Lu is often misunderstood, and Ramona's fans will enjoy reading about her mishaps and her loving family.

Clementine by Sara Pennypacker; illustrated by Marla Frazee
Plucky third-grader Clementine always has great ideas "sproinging up" in her brain...but her latest scheme was maybe not so spectacular. She really was trying to help her friend Margaret, but she ended up cutting off ALL of Margaret's hair in an attempt to get a glob of glue out of one piece of it. And, to Clementine at least, drawing replacement hair on Margaret's head with a permanent marker was a brilliant idea. Ramona Quimby fans are sure to enjoy Clementine's one-of-a-kind personality and her funny misadventures and will also want to read the rest of the books in the series (The Talented Clementine is next).

These titles are part of HPL's NextRead Subscription email service. To get started, click the link, choose your favorite topics from the list, enter your account information, and let them link you to your next book or library event.

Interactive Storytime

For our early readers, Clifford Interactive Storybooks site features Scholastic’s Clifford the Big Red Dog in four interactive books and four fun games. The stories are available in English and Spanish. The games include concentration, make a word, letter match, and sound match.

My StoryMaker

MWE is filled with writers. In fact, I met an entire class of authors today in Mrs. Hill's kindergarten class.

Want to add pizzazz to your storyline? Try My StoryMaker.

Created for Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, My StoryMaker "gives children the freedom to create, print and share their own unique stories."

1. Go to the My StoryMaker page.
2. Click on Play My StoryMaker.
3. Follow the directions to create your story.
4. When you are finished, print out your story book.

I love to read, so please share your finished story with me!

Contest!

Kindergarten through twelfth grade students can nominate their favorite teachers as part of a competition offered by Barnes and Noble. Students write an “essay, poem or thank-you letter.” BN will award winning teachers BN loot, including Nooks and gift cards.

Author Events at Blue Willow Bookshop

Blue Willow Bookshop's fabulous September author lineup...

Doreen Cronin - Tuesday, Sept. 21, 2010 - 5 pm
Doreen Cronin, author of Click, Clack, Moo and Diary of a Worm, will visit Blue Willow to discuss and sign her newest picture book, Rescue Bunnies.

Rescue Bunnies is the story of Newbie, a Rescue Bunny in training who is determined to save the day ... if she can survive it!

Michael Buckley - Thursday, Sept. 23, 2010 - 4:30 pm
Michael Buckley, author of the Sisters Grimm series, visits Houston to discuss and sign his newest book, Nerds: M is for Mama’s Boy.

NERDS combines all the excitement of international espionage with all the awkwardness of elementary school, and the results are hilarious. A group of unpopular fifth graders run a spy network from inside their school. With the help of cutting-edge science, they transform their nerdy qualities into incredible abilities! Their enemies? An array of James Bond-style villains, each with an evil plan more diabolical and more ridiculous than the last.

In the second installment of Buckley's series, the Nerds make their return and this time, the group must fight a villain so unlikely, he still lives with his mom. In other words, it's the Nerds against a nerd.

Rosemary Wells - Monday, Sept. 27, 2010 - 5 pm
Grab your jammies and join us as Rosemary Wells, author of all things Max and Ruby, will visit Houston to share and sign her newest book, Max and Ruby's Bedtime Book.

In this adventure, Max and Ruby want just one more story before they go to bed, and Grandma gladly obliges. Full of fun stories about our dear bunny friends, this is a book to share at bedtime, or any time of the day!

For details concerning these events, visit Blue Willow Bookshop or call them at (281) 497 8675.

Digital Citizenship: Plan to Teach Others

In your table groups, discuss your "word." Create a plan to teach other students about how "it" relates to digital citizenship.

Decide on three notetakers and one person to share.

As you plan, take notes on:

• What information do other students need to know?
• Why?
• How will you teach that to them?
• What supplies would you need to carryout your plan?

Be ready to share!

Digital Citizenship

Digital Citizenship is defined the norms of behavior with regard to technology use. Some might say it is what is considered by the majority to be appropriate use of technology.

Consider this working definition Anne Collier blogged about:

Critical thinking and ethical choices
about
the content and impact
on
oneself, others, and one's community
of
what one sees, says, and produces
with
media, devices, and technologies.

Group 1
Group 2
Group 3
Group 4
Group 5