Toddler Story Time: Mo Willems

This week we had tons of fun with one of my very favorite authors, Mo Willems!

Books we read this week were:






We played "Bathtime Boogie" while listening to a classic Sesame Street bathtime song "Rubber Duckie, Your'e the One" by Ernie. Everyone walked around in a circle until the music stopped, and then froze to be picked to get a prize during the song.  Everyone left with a prize, a Pigeon tatoo, and a Pigeon maze activity sheet.

We also sang the song "If you're happy and you know it" with Miss Nina.



What a great time we had together laughing and smiling and having fun! I hope to see everyone back to play, sing, and listen to more stories next week!

SLJ's webcast with Andy Griffiths

All semester I have promised my third graders and third grade teachers that I would invite them to an author event in the library. So, when I heard about SLJ's webcast with Andy Griffiths this week, I immediately thought of them and invited them to view it with me! I had heard Andy at the 2013 TLA Conference on an author panel, and knew his humor and style of storytelling would be perfect for our third graders! 

Unfortunately in my haste and excitement I miscalculated the time difference, and just as I was pulling it up, the webcast finished! (It wouldn't have mattered if I had known the correct time because they were in their Specials classes during the time of the event.) So, I did what any good teacher does and I took a step back and punted!

I had added a few websites about Andy to my Symbaloo page, so first I shared these websites with them:


http://andygriffiths.com.au/



http://www.slj.com/2014/04/authors-illustrators/interviews/qa-author-andy-griffiths-on-his-ever-growing-treehouse-series/#_

And watched these YouTube book trailer videos:







And then we let the students get into groups of 4 or 5 to design their own treehouse room:

Here are some of their finished ideas:

Super-Duper Bowling Alley

 Boot Camp Room

 Log Ride out of the treehouse

 Pet Shop Room

 Dance Studio Room

 Take your pick: fishing, laser tag, sport fields, or a pool!

 Zero gravity room

 Base-ketBall field: a mash-up of baseball and basketball

 Mall/shopping room

 Bouncy House room

 Snack Room

Their favorite room was the Tarantula Room!

After sharing out a few of their ideas, we looked at Mr. Schu's blog post about Andy Griffiths' visit to his school on Tuesday. It was a perfect way to end our time together, and made us look forward to next week when we can watch the archived recording of today's webcast together.

Skyping with Authors

I have recently discovered the power of Skype! I think I am going to find as many ways to use it in my library as I possibly can! Skype allows me to connect my students with experts and "real people" that they would not otherwise get to meet. 

I love the excitement I share with the students and teachers when preparing for our Skype time. When I recently told one fourth grader that we were going to Skype with Liesl Shurtliff, author of Rump: The true story behind Rumplestilskin, the girl gasped and said, "Oh, Mrs. Lewis that is going to be AMAZING! I love that book!" I also enjoy listening to the interaction and authentic learning that takes place during the Skype session. It doesn't matter how many times their teachers tell them to reread and edit a paper, when Ridley Pearson tells a group of fifth graders that, they listen!

Two classes of fourth graders recently had the wonderful opportunity to Skype with Liesl Shurtliff (@LieslShurtliff on Twitter). She was so kind to the students, and patient with me as my new Windows 8 laptop app did not want to show the video portion during our chat time, even though it worked perfectly the day before! If you don't know her book, check out the book trailer here:

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This is her first novel, and she talked about how long it took her to get a final draft ready to publish. Students had prepared several great questions, including how she got her idea, how she picked the names for the characters, and what her next book will be.

I also had the chance to Skype with some fifth graders and Ridley Pearson, author of the Peter and the Starcatcher series as well as the Kingdom Keepers series.


Meadow Wood students enjoyed joining in a group Skype chat where Mr. Pearson was talking with 5 classes at the same time! It was great to be able to share this interview with students across the United States in celebration of World Read Aloud Day! He shared the fact that he has a VIP Disney Pass that allows him access to behind the scenes areas, and access to the parks after hours so he can accurately portray the feeling of an abandoned theme park. He says he has seen parts of the rides move when they shouldn't be moving! (Could Disney Parks really  be haunted?) He was so enthusiastic about his writing and encouraged the students to build their writing skills. The take away tips he gave the students were, "Don't turn anything in unless you have edited it first." and "Keep a journal to write down ALL of your ideas in."

I can't wait to set up another Skype session soon! It is such a valuable tool! Teachers: check out Skype and Skype in the Classroom to get connected today!

Inaugural Bookworm Festival 2014

Guess who I got to drive from the hotel to the Bookworm Festival? That's right!  It's Judith Viorst, the author of Alexander and the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day! And that was just the beginning to a very enjoyable morning with some fantastic authors and illustrators!

Over 300 children and adults attended the first ever Bookworm Festival at Pine Shadows Elementary. First Judith Viorst shared many stories about her writing, her ideas, and how children and adults experience many of the same feelings from day to day.

Then three hilarious men shared their adventures in writing:

Bob Shea (Dinosaur vs. series), and team of Adam Rubin and Daniel Salmieri (Dragons love tacos)

 

Adam and Daniel talked about the inspiration for their book Dragons love tacos - a statue of a dragon holding a taco that Adam's dad had on his desk. Adam also gave advice to anyone who gets stuck when trying to think of an idea, "go take a walk!" Bob Shea showed how to draw Dinosaur, and said that to do your best drawing you have to make sound effects too! He also said he is talking to PBS about creating a show for PBS kids! How fun is that!? These guys were a lot of fun, just like their books!

Then three ladies talked to the creative teams of the future, our Bookworm kids!

Judith Viorst, Gwendolyn Zepeda, and Harper Paris

Children were asked to submit questions for the authors, and they asked some good ones! We found out that all these authors have new books coming out soon, all of them like to find quiet time by themselves to write, and that giving themselves an attainable goal for each writing session was important. Gwendolyn is the Poet Laureate of Houston, and is asked to write poems during her two year term for strangers she encounters in Houston. Harper Paris is writing a series of books for young readers about two children to travel to various places around the world and have to solve a mystery connected to that location. It sounds like a perfect series for students who loved the Magic Treehouse series!

Then they were whisked away to the library where boys and girls could have their books autographed by each of the authors and illustrators! I got the copies of the books I purchased for Meadow Wood autographed as well, and had a chance to share our students' enthusiasm and excitement over their books.

 Adam and Daniel signed Secret Pizza Party

 Harper Paris signed Greetings from Somewhere: The Mystery of the Gold Coin

  

Bob Shea signed Unicorn thinks he's pretty great, Dinosaur vs. the Library, and Don't eat your food!

And Judith Viorst signed 2 books from her new Lulu series.

It was a fantastic day for young readers, and I look forward to next year's event!

Toddler Storytime Bookworm Part 3

Bookworm Festival is this Saturday, February 8th... I can hardly wait! Authors of books for young children are so special and create a unique bond with their audience through their quirky, fun storytelling styles. Seeing the interaction between the authors and children will be so much fun.

Today I am highlighting books by author/illustrator duo Adam Rubin and Daniel Salmieri:
 Dragons love tacos - who knew?! But NOT spicy salsa!

 Secret Pizza Party - will raccoon ever get his pizza?

We sang these songs and watched these videos:
Miss Nina: "The Bear Went over the Mountain"
"How do you make a pizza?"
Sesame Street: "Humongous"

I hope to see lots of little friends at the Bookworm Festival at Pine Shadows on Saturday, February 8th from 9:30-11:30 AM. Until then, keep reading!

Toddler Storytime: Bookworm 2

I just love that there are such wonderful authors who write fun books for young readers! We will have the opportunity to hear from several of those authors next weekend! We can see them at the Bookworm Festival on Saturday, February 8th from 9:30am-11:30am at Pine Shadows Elementary.
("I love Reading" image from www.zazzle.com)

Today we read three fantastic books by Bob Shea:

 Unicorn thinks he's pretty great

 Don't play with your food!

 Dinosaur vs. the Library

Today we sang and watched these songs:

Between the Lions: "Read a Book Today"
Between the Lions: "Reason to Read"
New Socks! by Bob Shea:



I love having the opportunity to read aloud such wonderful books! Parents, be sure you take time to build the love of reading in your children everyday too. Find a book and take time everyday to read with your children. Here's a few words from John Lithgow:


Until next time! Keep reading!

Pioneer Woman Visits MWE

Thanks to Blue Willow Bookshop, our students had the pleasure of listening to Ree Drummond present her first children's book,Charlie the Ranch Dog. She treated us to her fabulous photographs of Charlie and gave us detailed background knowledge of his character. When she read Charlie the Ranch Dog, we could clearly hear his voice through the storyline. Ree charmed us further when she sang her and Charlie's favorite song!

MWE Library would like to thank Blue Willow Bookshop, our PTA volunteers, students, teachers, and Ree Drummond for making this such a successful event. We truly appreciate you!

Ree Drummond Appearance on Today Show

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Children's Book Week 2011 - Celebrations!

MWE students will celebrate with two author visits brought to us by Blue Willow Bookshop...

Ree Drummond
Friday, May 6, 9:30 a.m.
MWE Gym for PK-3rd Grades

Order your autographed books today!
Click for Order Form

Katherine Hannigan
Tuesday, May 10, 1:00 p.m.
WAIS Auditorium for 4th & 5th Grades

Order your autographed books today!
Click for Order Form



Parents are welcome to attend!

HPL Author Event

An Evening with Paul Zelinsky

At the HPL's Central Library, 4th Floor Program Place

6 pm, Wednesday, October 20

Join Houston Public Library for a special author visit from children’s book illustrator Paul Zelinsky, who will read from and sign copies of his latest picture book Dust Devil.

Swamp Angel has a reputation as the greatest woodswoman and wildest wildcat in all of Tennessee. But when she grows too big for that state, she moves to Montana, a place so sizeable, even Angel can fit in. It’s there that she wrestles a raging storm to the ground and, at its center, finds herself a sidekick—a horse she names Dust Devil. And when Backward Bart, the orneriest, ugliest outlaw ever known, starts terrorizing the prairie, seems like Angel and Dust Devil may be the only ones strong enough to stop him.

Among many other awards and prizes, Paul Zelinsky received the 1998 Caldecott Medal for his illustrated retelling of Rapunzel, as well as Caldecott Honors for three of his books: Hansel and Gretel (1985), Rumpelstiltskin (1987), and Swamp Angel (1995). He lives with his wife in Brooklyn, New York. They have two grown daughters.

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.