A Strange Thing Happened While Reading a Book!

Yesterday something very odd happened.  While waiting for my son to finish playing in a golf tournament in Middlebury, I sat in the shade with a box of new library books to read.  It was a very hot day, and the air shimmered in the heat.  Everything was very still.  I started reading the book pictured on the left: Chipmunk's Hole by Dee Phillips, Bearport, c2012.  What a wonderful nonfiction book this is!  I was soon engrossed.  I can't wait to show it to my students and teachers as a great example of nonfiction elements.  Not only does it have a Table of Contents, loads of great photos, labels, maps, fact windows, words in bold, and a glossary, but the text is so appropriate for the children in my school.

The strange part is coming up...  As I was reading along, enjoying the pictures and information, I became aware of a rustling sound in the leaves near where I was sitting.  I glanced down and lo and behold there was a chipmunk looking up at me.  Did it just wink at me?  She? He? paused for a moment before scampering away and popping into a small opening.  I didn't have time to take a picture of the chipmunk, but I did get one of the hole. 


 

 

 Just like in the book!
 How cool is that?

Here's another hole I found.
Could it be another entrance?

Reading this book brings to mind another wonderful book about chipmunks: Chipmunk Song.   Joanne Ryder first published this book in 1987 by Dutton Children's Books with illustrations by Lynne Cherry, and it belongs in every child's repertoire.  It is a delightful, fantastical exploration by a young boy in a chipmunk's burrow.  Not to be missed!

The next book in my box to read is a picture book entitled King Arthur's Very Great Grandson, by Kenneth Kraegel, Candlewick Press, c2012.  I am almost afraid to open it.  What might scurry by while I am reading it???

QR Codes and Authors' Websites

First and second graders use the ipads to explore how QR codes work.  Various QR codes were randomly placed around the Learning Center.  

Each code led to a website, most of which were popular authors' websites as well as the library's homepage and this blog. 

Students worked in teams of two and took turns scanning the codes with the app Qrafter, and were able to explore the websites.  Mary Pope Osborne of the Magic Tree House has a terrific website for children. 

Other authors' websites in this scavenger hunt were those of Daniel Kirk, author of the Library Mouse series; Ron Roy of the A to Z Mysteries; Victoria Kann of Pinkalicious fame; Charlie and Lola's author Lauren Child, Captain Underpants creator Dav Pilkey, Tedd Arnold aka Fly Guy, Mo Willems, John Scieszka, and the popular Franny K. Stein, to name a few.

I was very proud of how careful they all were, and how well they worked together!

Red Clover Voting at EES

Vermont's children's choice award goes to James Solheim's BORN YESTERDAY.  More than 6,400 children voted for this book across the state, with more than 22,000 children participating in the voting.
Click here to view the book trailer.
















Titles                                     Votes
Art &Max                               27
Bink & Gollie                         24
Born Yesterday                     85
I Know Here                            3
Mirror Mirror                          19
Nabeel                                     6
Pig Parade                            22
Stand Straight Ella Kate        29
Who Stole Mona Lisa            19
Wonder Horse                     102

Campfire in the Learning Center ?!?

     How many of us love sitting around a campfire, gazing into the flames and listening to stories?  There’s a kind of peace that settles over all who sit within its ambiance.  For many it conjures up summer nights when bedtime is far away, crickets and katydids are playing their songs, the marshmallow bag is bottomless, and stars are glittering above.  Everyone becomes a skilled storyteller – there must be some kind of magic in its glow.

     But here in Vermont, in February, summer nights are only wispy pieces of dreams.  And winter is making us all a little cabin-crazy by now.  Our pitiful snowfall was just a tease this year.  So to brighten up our winter blues I had a week of “campfire in the library.”

  This is the third February I’ve held this event and it always generates a lot of amazement.  Children gather around the "fire.".  “Is it real?” some ask.  "How did I make it?" "Is that real wood?"  "Can we touch it?"  "Why am I doing this?"  Yes, the wood is real firewood, and that's the closest it gets to a true campfire.  I have used a string of lights with orange and red bulbs to simulate authentic color. Underneath the firewood pyramid sits a small fan that blows upwards on some strips of colored cellophane that are meant to mimic flickering flames.  I tell the children it's a real pretend campfire.  And with the lights off, it looks pretty close to real.  Real enough that the kids all hold out their hands as if to warm them.  And we have great fun pretending to roast marshmallows!  A great companion book is Kristine O'Connell George's Toasting Marshmallows: Camping Poems.

 I love to see the children enjoying the unexpected surprise of a campfire inside the school.  They’ve done their book shopping and have returned to the “fire” with their selections.  There they sit with their books and their peers in the warm glow of the fire.  This is what memories are made of; good feelings, happy times, and good friends.  Top it all off with a great book and a campfire!

Readers Become Judges

During the last couple of weeks our students have donned a new hat: they have become judges of the art of the picture book.  Over the next few weeks we will be reading the ten picture books that make up this year's Red Clover nominees.  The children will be noticing things such as how the illustrations match the story, how the illustrator uses the space on the pages, and the placement of text or even the absence of text on a page.  All of these elements are meant to work together to bring the story to life.                                                                                                                                                                       To start off, we discussed what an award is.  I showed the children the recent Caldecott winner, A Ball for Daisy by Chris Raschka, and another Caldecott winner from 2007, Flotsam by David Wiesner.  The children noticed that Flotsam had won both the Caldecott and the Red Clover awards. 

It seemed fitting to start with reading David Wiesner's Art & Max, a splendid story about an artist and a would-be artist and their discovery of the creative process. David Wiesner wields a lot of power in both his pen and brush and his imagination seems to know no bounds.

Students retell the story of Art & Max with puppets

The next book we explored was Who Stole Mona Lisa? by Ruthie Knapp and illustrated by Jill McElmurry.  Again, the children really enjoyed this book with its playful illustrations (particularly the moving eyes in the paintings!) and exciting drama; it's an interesting blend of nonfiction and imagination.  We followed up the reading with an exploration of the Mona Lisa at the Louvre Museum.  For a close-up of the painting click here, and for an explanation of the painting click here.  We have discovered that one of our UVM student teachers has actually been to Paris to see the Mona Lisa!

In the very first week of April our children will make their final decisions and choose the one book that they think best deserves the Red Clover award.  Last year more than 24,000 Vermont children in grades K through 4 voted for their favorite book (Let's Do Nothing! by Tony Fucile).  Which book will win this April?  Stay tuned!

Naturalist Jim Arnosky Visits EES

     

Vermont author, illustrator and naturalist, Jim Arnosky, spoke to children at Essex Elementary School on Thursday, January 19th thanks to a grant from the district PTO.  The prolific author and illustrator of more than 125 books for children shared with the students his enduring passion for learning about the natural world, and the living organisms within it. 

Jim Arnosky sings a song about hawks riding the warm thermals in the sky

It’s been about 10 days since Jim and Deanna Arnosky visited our school and the children are still talking about it!  The children absolutely loved his songs, stories and drawings.  Mr. Arnosky played his guitar and sang songs from several of his books, such as Man Gave Names to All the Animals, I’m a Turkey, and Gobble It Up.  Each group heard dramatic retellings of stories that had really happened to him while he was out researching and observing for his next books.   Jim enthralled us with tales about raccoons and alligators, bears, mother and baby alligators, and manatees, keeping us laughing or in suspense until the end of each story.  Ask your children which stories they remember.

Jim Arnosky tells how the crocodile sneaks up on the raccoon

Mr. Arnosky exemplifies the attributes of a life-long learner.  His curiosity has propelled him to continue exploring and observing nature wherever he travels. His subjects range from manatees and the environmental hazards that threaten their existence to buffaloes on the prairies; from wildlife tracks to sea monsters; from sketching Great Blue herons on Lake Champlain to the wild ponies of Chincoteague.  His books seek to inform and inspire young readers to become stewards of our environment, with a message that is positive and engaging: keep wondering about the world around you, keep noticing, keep asking questions, keep looking for answers.  Such traits as these are precisely what the Essex Town School District outlines in its Ends Policies (1.2) for its students:  life-long learning involving critical, creative and innovative thinking, and working together to analyze and solve problems in our complex world.

Jim Arnosky to visit EES!

We are so fortunate on several counts.  One, that renowned Vermont naturalist and children's book author and illustrator, Jim Arnosky, will be visiting our school on January 19th.  And two, that we have a super-supportive PTO that is sponsoring this event.

Families will have an opportunity to purchase a selection of his books prior to the visit, and Mr. Arnosky has agreed to autograph after his presentations.  Phoenix Books, Essex's local bookstore, is working with us to provide the books.  We'll be sending home a letter this week with the details.


In the meantime, we are busy studying his books in the Learning Center.