Library News
Poll Results Match Election
Nov 7th
We have a new President!
President Barack Obama waves as he walks on stage with first lady Michelle Obama and daughters Malia and Sasha at his election night party Wednesday, Nov. 7, 2012, in Chicago. President Obama defeated Republican challenger former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)
Yesterday the American voters re-elected Barack Obama to serve as our President for another four years. Our blog poll had the same results!
Bulldog Reader’s Mock Poll Results 11/6/12
If you would like to read more about President Obama or his family, we have three biographies available in the library. They are located on the biography (921 OBA) shelf.
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Given the chance to meet any of the First Family face to face, what question would you ask?
(President Obama, Michelle Obama, Malia or Sasha)
Election Day is Here!
Nov 5th
Today is Tuesday, November 6, 2012.
In the USA, that means it’s also our election day!
Every four years, voters have the opportunity to cast their ballot and vote for who they want to be president on our country. Registered voters choose the person who best matches their beliefs. They can either vote in person or by mail. In our area of Washington state, voters can only vote by mail. Voters receive a special ballot in the mail, fill it out and send it back.
We have two main candidates running for President of the United States. This year we have an incumbent, President Barack Obama, who is a democrat.The word incumbent in politics refers to the person who already holds this office.
If re-elected, President Obama will serve for another four years and then he will not be able to run again. We have a time limit of eight years as president in our country.
President Obama is running against former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, who is a Republican. If Mr. Romney is elected, he will serve for four years and then have the chance to be re-elected in 2016.
To vote, you must be a US citizen, at least 18 years old and be a registered voter. You can watch a short Scholastic video here that explains more about the candidates and the election.
A great book called, So You Want to Be President by Judith St. George describes the some of the lesser known facts about the men who have been our Presidents.
For example, did you know that six Presidents were named James? Or that Benjamin Harrison had eleven brothers and sisters?
This book is available in our library. It won the Caldecott award in 2001 for its illustrations by David Small. The call number is 973.09
If you want to keep up with the news of the election, you can visit most any of the news websites, such as CNN.
We will also have our own poll on our library blog. It will be open until midnight on election day. I wonder how our results will compare to the official results!
Toppling by Sally Murphy
Nov 3rd
Do you love to play dominoes? Do you enjoy the clink, clink, clink as dominoes topple in black and white lines? If so, pick up a copy of Toppling by Sally Murphy. Josa donated a copy for our library and wrote the following book review!
John is the main character of this book. He is a boy with an unusual hobby–he likes to set up dominoes and tip th first one and watch them topple in complicated patterns. John’s goal is to win the world record of toppling. then something happens to make John’s world start to topple. His best friend Dominic gets very, very sick. This is a one-of-a-kind story about change, coping and friendship. This is a book for ages 8+ or anyone who wants a good read. It is illustrated very nicely.
You can find Toppling by Sally Murphy in the realistic section of our library!
Here is the call number: F MUR Realistic
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Have you every played the game dominoes?
What have you built using dominoes?
Skyping with Stephen McCranie
Oct 25th
Skyping! Skyping! I’m SO glad someone invented Skyping!
Today Ms. Holder’s library class skyped with author Stephen McCranie. Stephen is the author of the Mal and Chad graphic novel series.
Instead of having the author come to our school, we visited with him virtually.
A few weeks ago Mrs. Hembree found out on Twitter that Stephen was offering to skype with teachers and librarians. She signed up and our school is one of over 70 schools Stephen will “virtually” visit this fall.
During the call we watched him draw on his computer. First he taught us that comics are stories + pictures.
Then to develop our own story, he had us answer two questions:
- What does my character want?
- What is preventing my character from getting what he or she wants?
We decided that our character, Tara, wanted to own a bakery, but her family wasn’t very supportive of that idea. She ran away, met a baker and learned how to become the baker she always wanted to be.
After that we had a quick demonstration on how to draw a picture. We learned it’s easy if you use shapes like circles, squares or triangles. As Stephen drew on his computer, we tried to guess what famous characters he was drawing!
In the last portion of our visit, Stephen asked us to start a story. Then before our eyes, he drew a scene from our story.
While he was drawing, he also answered our questions.
We found out that he has loved comics since he was about 5 years old. He drew his first comic strip for a school newspaper in college. He likes comics because they are a great way to express yourself. They are an artform with a lot of potential.
He reads lots and lots of books and really enjoys the Bone series by Jeff Smith. Stephen said he believes that creativity is like a muscle in your head. When you practice you get better over time. If you want to get better at drawing , you need to draw and practice every single day. The tools for drawing don’t really matter. Pencils, crayons, pens – use whatever you want and draw, draw, draw.
His favorite book is the new one coming out on December 6th! 
We will be sure to buy a few copies for the library! After about 30 minutes, our time was up! It was a great first Author Skype experience! Thank you Stephen for visiting the Bulldog Readers! If you are looking for Stephen’s books, here they are. We have both available for check out in the library. You can also link to his Mal and Chad website here.
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What do you think our story was about?
Have you ever skyped with anyone? Do you like it?
What is your favorite graphic novel or comic series?
Pete’s Off to Australia!
Oct 21st
Pete the Cat is a good friend of Mrs. Hembree. This weekend he came home with her so he wouldn’t be lonely sitting in the library all weekend.
On Saturday morning, Mrs. Hembree got up and walked into the dining room.
What did she see?
Pete the Cat was stuffing himself into a really big envelope!
“What are you doing Pete?” she asked. Pete started singing!
“Where are you traveling to Pete? I see there are some letters on the envelope. Does that say Australia?” Mrs. Hembree asked Pete.
“YES! Australia!” Pete exclaimed! “I’m going to Australia and I’m singing this song!”
“Pete, won’t you be scared? Australia is a long way from Seattle! It’s not even in North America!” said Mrs. Hembree.
“NO!” he shouted! “I won’t be scared! I’m going to see my friend and I’ll be singing my song!”
“Tell me Pete, how did you decide to go to Australia? Do you know someone there?” asked Mrs. Hembree.
Pete said, “Do you know BB our Blogging Buddy? She asked me if I could come visit! So I decided since it started raining here, that I would visit her in Australia.
Did you know Australia is in the Southern Hemisphere? When it’s fall here, it’s sunny and warm there because it’s springtime! I’m going to have fun and I’m going to be singing my song!”
“Ok Pete. It sounds like you know what you want to do and who you want to see! Let’s go to the post office and get you on the road!” Mrs. Hembree said.
“Thanks Mrs. Hembree! Don’t forget! I’m going to see BB and I’ll be singing my song!” Pete waved goodbye and was gone in a flash. She could hear in the background faint sounds of his song…..
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Oh no! Australia is a long way from here!
Do you think he will get lost?
Will he have fun?
Will he get back in time to go to Prague?
Leave us a comment and let us know what you think!
It’s a Monster! Agh!!!
Oct 17th
It’s mid-October. The leaves are turning. The days are getting shorter and the nights colder. Are you looking for a new book? Check out what Angela drew for the library yesterday!
Maybe you are thinking that it’s getting close to Halloween and you want a spooky book to thrill your reading time!
Spooky stories are always popular with some students (not me – I get nightmares). This past weekend when I was in Yakima at Washington librarian conference I had the opportunity to listen to the author Royce Buckingham talk about his love of scary books and movies!
Royce shared how the movie Jaws was particularly scary when he was a kid! I remember seeing it too and I didn’t swim in the ocean for a month afterward! However, he loves scary monsters and books like that, which is why he now is both an attorney and a writer of spooky stories.
Do you remember seeing the photos from when Hitu visited the Jaws set last summer and did a little reading in Jaws! This is the movie Royce is talking about! Yikes! That is a scary photo!
If you love this kind of book come in soon and check out the new books by Royce Buckingham.
You don’t have to like monsters to like all the new books in the library! Look at this selection available! From graphics to humor to fantasy or mystery we have something new for you!
Visiting Yakima was a lot of fun! I had a chance to talk with lots of other librarians and share ideas with them. If you are a teacher librarian looking for a link to my slides, here you go!
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Do you like to read spooky stories?
Have you seen Jaws at Universal Studios?
What new book will you want to read?
Thank you Near and Far
Oct 9th
Congratulations and thank you everyone who made our annual bookfair a screaming success!
Also, between sales at the fair and sales online, we are at 103% of our
fundraising goal! That means that I will be book shopping in the upcoming weeks for
new books to add to our library.
This is the stack I already purchased from the fair. If there is a book you absolutely must check out, leave me a reserve copy slip and I will get it to you as quickly as I can.
Many, many thanks to our bookfair volunteers! Without their help, our fair would not have been such a great success! Here is our STAR CAST of volunteers!
Josa Chadha
Maya Lustgarten
Mrs. Lustgarten
Mrs. Bernard
Mrs. Luedicke
Mrs. Blackford
Mrs. Kenney
Mr. Fornia’s kindergarten class also deserves a Super Special Shout-out! His class had the most online sales of any teacher at our school! Way to go Mr. Fornia’s class! Everyone is getting a SUPER STAR bookmark! Woo-hoo!
When I named this post Thank You Near and Far, it’s because of our blogging friends thousands of miles away from here. I want to give a terrific thank you to BB and her mom AA in Australia! On Friday when I got home from school, I found this in my mailbox!
Inside was this…..
I love my new Geelong Cats hat. This is an Australian “football” team. In the US, we call it “rugby” and in Australia, they call it football! Talk about confusing!
Somehow BB found out that I love jewelry too, because she sent this beautiful bracelet.
Somehow the words thank you don’t seem like enough for such a special package of gifts! The blogging friendship we have developed across the miles is dear to my heart. I hope someday we will meet in person! In the mean time, I have some new decorations in the library!
And, last, but not least is a present I received from Penny! We have been reading Pete the Cat books and singing his songs in kindergarten. One morning Penny walked into the library before school started with this picture.
“Do you know who this is?” she asked me.
“It’s Pete the Cat and his SEVEN groovy buttons!” I replied.
Thank you Penny for taking the time to make this drawing! It’s hanging in a special spot on our library wall!
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What books or series do we need to add to the library?
Tell me about a special package you got in the mail!
What should Pete the Cat do next?
Bookfair Starts October 1st!
Sep 28th
Our Annual Scholastic Bookfair opens , Monday, October 1st
It runs through Thursday, October 4th.
Our hours of operation are
Monday, Tuesday and Thursday
noon -5pm.
On Wednesday we will be open for students to shop noon-1pm.
Parents and adult family members are welcomed to come on
Wednesday from 9-10am for Books and Breakfast!
We will not be open on Wednesday, October 3rd in the afternoon.
Our bookfair coincides with the Teacher-Parent-Student-led conferences. We moved the bookfair to the same time as conferences so families who are already on campus for their children’s conferences, could easily come to the fair! It’s a win-win for everyone!
Special for adult family members is our Wednesday morning adults only shopping! Join me in the library from 9-10am on October 3rd for a morning shop-a-thon. Drop the kids off in school and walk over to the library for a chance to shop without interruptions! Here’s your opportunity to get ahead on your holiday shopping without the younger ones knowing!
When you purchase books at our bookfair you are directly benefiting our library. A percentage of the proceeds from every book purchase goes directly to the library. We use this money to purchase more new books for our library.
Many people think that the school district gives the library a book budget, but unfortunately, that is not true. The school district does not contribute any money for library book purchases. We get a small amount from our building budget. However, the majority of our books are purchased after earning money from fundraisers such as the Scholastic Bookfair. Every penny helps buy us new books!
There are lots of fun books at the fair! Looking for pre-school books for the younger children? We have them! Have teens who need a book! We have great selection for them too! Plus, after six long years, Captain Underpants is back!
These action-packed, zany and crazy books have been a hit with readers since 1997 when Dav Pilkey introduced the series. What I like about Dav Pilkey is that he is funny and relates to his readers. As he writes on his website, he wasn’t the best student in school but he was creative.
Paying is easy at the bookfair. Cash, checks, debit and major credit cards are accepted! Scholastic provides us with a professional cash machine and debit/credit card machine so we make shopping easy and pain free!
Again this year is the addition of the ONLINE BOOKFAIR!
Families who can’t attend the bookfair or have extended family members who might live out of town can also support our fair. Simply visit the Scholastic Online Bookfair link, create an account and find those books! The website includes an expanded booklist from preschool through adult.
Books purchased online will be sent to school, free of charge and given to your child personally by Mrs. Hembree.
I hope you will plan to attend this year’s Bookfair this week, where Every Reader is a Star!
Mrs. Hembree, Librarian
Rockin’ with Pete the Cat
Sep 26th
Are you rocking in your school shoes?
Are you singing in your school shoes?
Are you dancing in your school shoes?
In kindergarten and first grade WE ARE and it’s lots of fun!
Eric Litwin is the author of the Pete the Cat books. He and artist James Dean have created Pete, a blue, happy, “you can’t get me down” cat. He knows how to learn! He knows how to have fun! And…he knows how to sing! We watched a live reading of Pete the Cat and got our groove on!
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We also did some fun Pete the Cat activities while learning about colors, guided drawing and counting.
We watched and listened to Miss Shy do her re-telling of Pete in this fun video!
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Pete has a new book that just came out on September 25th! I can’t wait to read it! To learn more about Pete’s books visit his website.
This summer, my husband and I took Pete the Cat on our trip to Oregon and California. He helped me read maps along the way because in many places there was no internet or cell phone service! We got to read maps the old-fashioned way!
Here is a little video of our trip with Pete. Enjoy!
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What stuffed animal would you take on a trip with you?
Have you ever used a state or country map to guide you?
What should Pete do next?
Catherine Follestad Visits
Sep 23rd
Last week our kindergarten, first and second graders were treated to a special visit from children’s author Catherine Follestad. Catherine lives in Arizona, but was in the Seattle area for a visit. Mrs. Banchero knows Catherine and arranged for her to visit our school!
Catherine talked to us about her books. The Itty Bitty Kitty is a story about a kitty that yearns to make friends with other cats who think she is too small. Author and illustrator Catherine Follestad uses her talents to show how Itty Bitty learns a valuable lesson about friendship in her quest to make friends.
I Think I Would Like to Be invites young boys and girls to imagine what they could be. Would you like to be a pirate on the deep blue sea or a race car driver at the Grand Prix? This story is an that will have you flying planes, hitting home runs, and even training lions! This is a book for every child who’s ever thought…I Think That I Would Like To Be…
We enjoyed listening to Catherine read her books to us and many purchased autographed copies! Our library also has both books now, for anyone who would like to check them out. She shared that she has more books in process and her book trailer for The Itty Bitty Kitty will soon air on some children’s television channels. You can learn more about Catherine and her books on her website: http://cfollestad.tateauthor.com/
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How have you made new friends?
What would you like to be in the future?
