APRIL is Poetry Month!

A Child's Garden of Verses

Poet Robert Louis Stevenson

Did you ever own or borrow
A Child's Garden of Verses by Robert Louis Stevenson? The link above takes you to all the text for the poems featured. What a gem of a book this is for a child. It is a must for every collection and lends itself nicely to a sweet little poem before bed for many a sleepyhead. I have six siblings and each of the seven of us had a favorite. I think mine was a poem entitled  "The Swing" my oldest brother Matt loved The Land of Counterpane.

You may also want to check out the Children's Guide to Poetry Page put out by a group in England. There are great definitions for types of poetry and many examples you can use right away. Keep checking back for more information about upcoming poetry activities in the LRC.

Have you ever put together an electronic "magnetic" poem? Check out Splat Poetry Games
Be sure to visit the LRC towards the end of the month and watch poetry being shared in our Poet's Corner Cafe'. Here students will have the chance to read a poem, flip video themselves and record themselves reading their poems on the Mac using Audacity and IMovie. Oh if I were a fly, buzzing by, ....

Folk, Fairy, and Tall Tales on Display

      Come take a look in the LRC for our latest books on display. This month we are featuring folk and fairy tales, fables, and tall tales. Visit the glass house of fairies and enjoy fairy pop up books available for special viewing at the check out desk. Do you have a favorite fairy tale, tall tale or fable? Be sure to post your favorite stories in the comment space below. Watch your step and be sure to look out for the fairies!

Look closely and you may find a fairy and a hedgehog, a fairy on a mushroom, a fairy on the roof and a fairy in a bird's nest. You also might find a turtle reading to a cat!

Could this be the same friendly wolf that greets the kids at the checkout desk? He looks a little different when posing next to Little Red Riding Hood...hmmm....what is he up to? That hungry wolf!

Avatar yourself! 
Hello! I am Library Gal! Actually I am a very simple avatar image of Mrs. Marino. I created my avatar image using free software found at Doppel Me. OR you can check out Voki. Here you have a wonderful selection of choices. It is a great way for kids to create cartoon like images of themselves to insert into projects where a photograph might not be acceptable. 
Enjoy!

And....ACTION! Welcome to the show and nice to meet you.....

Central Road fifth grade students are changing their identities. Well, at least for a few moments on camera. Ms. Pfligler, Mrs. Fillingim, and Mrs. Renkens kids all are meeting famous characters from the past as they share their biography projects on camera. 


Kids are being recorded with the Flip video cameras on a mock interview show being produced in the Wolves Video Production Studio. Mexican painter Frida Khalo shown above is one of the guests on the biography show. Mother Theresa interviewed Amelia Earhart and Jane Goodall interviewed fossil hunter Mary Anning. Dr. Seuss interviewed Jennifer Hudson and the list goes on. Take a look at some of the final products on a special showing on Wolf TV.

Are you looking for a Battle of the Books title?

The District 15 Battle of the Books program is well underway. Third/Fourth Gifted class teacher Ms. Cibulka is managing the competition and has worked with the LRC in sharing books for all kids interested in learning more about this exciting reading adventure. All books have AR tests and are available to all students interested in participating in the competition. To browse the titles, take a look at the book display behind the check out desk.

Battle of the Books, is a reading incentive program for students in grades 3rd-6th. Students read books and come together to demonstrate their abilities and test their knowledge of the books they have read. The competitions are similar in style to the TV series Family Feud or Whiz Kids styles of competition. May the best team win!

     Librarians and patrons celebrate reading at a library in 

New Cross, England. Libraries in England are being forced to shut down due to budget cuts. Hopefully community members, library staff and book lovers across the world can continue to support and appreciate the joys of public libraries everywhere. Love of libraries begins with the children who visit their school and neighborhood libraries. Long live libraries and the love of reading!

Books on the Bedside Table - Remember Snow Days?

Snow Day! Actually, we had two snow days this past Wednesday and Thursday in District 15 and across the suburbs and city of Chicago. No treats in the cupboard so I made cornbread cookies and opened a jar of summer raspberry jam, made a pot of tea and sat down to read. 

I found myself reading two of the books on my bedside table. Leonard Weisgard's biography of Margaret Wise Brown entitled Awakened by the Moon, is a lovely biography about the author of Goodnight Moon, Runnaway Bunny and The Important Book, just to name a few. This is biography month at school and yet another book about a famous children's author is also on my bedside table. Margaret Lane writes about the famous English author and artist Beatrix Potter. What is on your bedside table? What books are you reading?

The World of Beatrix Potter and Famous People Interview 5th Grade Project

Be sure to visit the magical world of Beatrix Potter at her website. You can also enjoy reading and taking tests on books about Peter Rabbit and his many forest friends. Take a look at the video clip below featuring the beginning of a series of charming animated stories about Beatrix and her storybook characters.

Central Road students and staff will also get to see one of our fifth graders dressed up as Beatrix Potter and starring in a biography production written and recorded by Central Road fifth graders. Four students at a time will appear in character and interview each other on a Wolf studio/Flip video production entitled Nice to Meet You. The mini biography interviews will air in March on Wolf TV. Be sure to check your "local listings" to find out more about his exciting project.

Everyone loves a good story!

Do you have a pet you would like to feature on our blog? Just submit a photo of your pet, or a favorite stuffed animal if you don't own a pet, reading one of your favorite books. Here is a little hedgehog friend reading about a delicious worm! Stay tuned for more pictures of our pets and books we love to share with our furry friends.  We will also be joining with R.E.A.D to celebrate the love of reading with therapy dogs. Look for this program coming to our library this spring!

And the winners are....

The 2011 Newbery Winner is A Sick Day for Amos McGee by Philip Stead and Illustrated by Erin Stead A Neal Porter Book, published by Roaring Brook Press, a division of Holtzbrinck Publishing.

In this tender tale of reciprocity and friendship, zookeeper Amos McGee gets the sniffles and receives a surprise visit from his caring animal friends. Erin Stead’s delicate woodblock prints and fine pencil work complement Philip Stead’s understated, spare and humorous text to create a well-paced, gentle and satisfying book, perfect for sharing with friends.

“Endearing, expressive characterization in spare illustrations rendered in muted tones distinguish this timeless picture book.  It’s a great day for Amos McGee!” said Caldecott Medal Committee Chair Judy Zuckerman.

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The 2011 Caldacott Winner is Moon Over Manifest by  
Clare Vanderpool published by Delacorte Press, an imprint of Random House Children's Books.

The town of Manifest is based on Frontenac, Kan., the home of debut author Clare Vanderpool’s maternal grandparents. Vanderpool was inspired to write about what the idea of “home” might look like to a girl who had grown up riding the rails. She lives in Wichita with her husband and four children.

“Vanderpool illustrates the importance of stories as a way for children to understand the past, inform the present and provide hope for the future,” said Newbery Medal Committee Chair Cynthia K. Richey.

above text is from the Association of Library Service to Children

Happy New Year! New Books for 2011

New books have just arrived at the Central Road Library. We have a full collection of the Carole Marsh Mysteries. Carole Marsh uses real kids in her book.  The stories are very real mysteries that take place throughout the United States and the world! We also have graphic novels featuring titles like The Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew, Bone, and Baby Mouse just to name a few. Stay tuned for further updates on new titles.