Redwood Day School Librarian
Much of this year we have written about inspiring books (Three Cups of Tea) or serious historical fiction, but this book, Eat! Pray! Love! by Elizabeth Gilbert, is more frivolous and fun. The author writes about the disintegration of her marriage and herself (not the fun part) and then how she manages to put her life back together. Gilbert is lucky enough to be able to take a year off and visit places that will help rebuild her body and soul. She starts in Italy, where she learns Italian and eats the most scrumptious foods. Once she’s gained the language (and the weight) she’s off to an ashram in India, where she is able to build her spiritual self by finding the divine both in the outer world and within. Her last stop is Indonesia, for balance.
Middle school readers will see a different side of the civil rights struggle in My Mother the Cheerleader: A Novel by Robert Sharenow. The main character is Louise Collins, who lives in the ninth ward of New Orleans during the 1950s. The story takes place just after the Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision, and white residents have no intention of sending their children to integrated schools. They keep the children at home and every morning a group of white women known as the Cheerleaders goes to the school that Ruby Bridges attends and throws rocks, food and uses vicious language to induce Ruby to go away. Louise accepts her mother’s prejudices and behavior. But then a man named Morgan Miller, a white man from New York City, comes to town and gets a room at Louise’s mother’s boarding house; soon he provokes Louise into thinking about injustices she has never considered before.
Toys Go Out: Being the Adventures of a Knowledgeable Sting Ray, a Toughy Little Buffalo, and Someone Called Plastic, by Emily Jenkins, is a charming story for grades K-3. Here we see how toys live their private lives. They endure rivalries, they help one another when there’s a crisis, and they must overcome fears as they learn to live in the world of their young owner.
End-of-the-Year Roundup
The year is coming to a close, and there are still so many books to read to our students, so many skills to teach. But we have accomplished quite a bit. We had an unbelievable Book Fair, a so-so book swap and a terrific fourth-fifth grade book club. We are looking ahead towards a major “return-your-books to the library” drive at the end of May and early June and linked to that, a big inventory in early June. We are hoping to begin a major weeding project during the summer that will carry on in into the fall of 2008. Thanks are due to all of you and your children for participating in these activities and making the library a place where everyone wants to be.
Bring Back Your Books!
Speaking of returning library books, here are some ways to help your students check for missing books. Ask them to remember the last place they had the book. What did the book look like? What was on the cover? And the next question: where could it be? Have students looked in the car--in the trunk of the car -- in the other car, behind the washing machine? Have they searched behind the piano? Or behind the sofa cushions? Try behind the refrigerator. How about looking on the bookshelf in the bedroom, on the desk, under the bed, and in the closet? This is just the beginning of a list of suggestions that could go on forever. Hopefully one of these ideas will work for you. All library books are due May 30. The students in classes that return all their books will receive popsicles during the last week of school. Best of luck in your search!
Book Club Holds Its Last Meetings
The fourth and fifth grade book club that met every Tuesday during lunch in the library has finished reading The View from the Cherry Tree, by Willo Davis Roberts. Students were really caught up in the mystery of who pushed old Mrs. Calloway out of her living room window. Even once the answer became clear, there was the tension of the pursuit as young Rob, who saw the murder, had to find a way to avoid the clutches of the villain. After we finished the book we held a brief debate on which is better, reading a book before seeing the movie or seeing the movie first. Some of us felt strongly on this issue and, when we took a vote, we may have unduly influenced other voters. But perhaps the majority really did feel that books come first.
April Thoughts
Copyright issues
Copyright is the exclusive right to copy, license or otherwise exploit a literary, artistic or musical work. In other words, the creator of a work, when filing for copyright, gains the exclusive right to his product. Now the question is: where does the school librarian fit into this process? Does she have the right to make copies of a poem for classroom use or should we be purchasing books for each student? If there is a newspaper article a student needs, do we send the student out to purchase another paper, or xerox a copy? As we know, in the music world, the entire issue of copying is completely out of control. Do I have an answer—no! Do I even have an opinion? I’m really just puzzled. I know the artists and writers need protection. But so do we.
Motivating Readers
One of the librarians who participates in the LM_NET library listserv advises that when we try to motivate young readers, we need to provide students with ready access to books and specific time slots to read them. Adults who read for pleasure serve as wonderful role models. She also reminds us that young people should have the chance to decide what to read. “Research is very clear about that last item: the more choice kids have, the more likely that they’ll enjoy reading and get better at it.”
Fourth Grade Book Reviews
As you all know, Mary Ann Scheuer has been teaching fourth grade in the library this year. Mary Ann came up with the terrific idea that the students should think about and select their two or three favorite books, describe them, and create bookmarks available to the entire student body. This project has been completed, and if you come by the library, you will find a bulletin board dedicated to the bookmarks, with great suggestions for our nine - 12-year-old students. For an extra treat, go to our RDS web site and access some of these bookmarks online!
