Heard in the library this week

From a first grader:

"The only reason Batman is a superhero is because of all his gadgets, actually."

From the preschool as I was reading "Ella, Of Course," about a girl's misadventures with her umbrella:

Girl: "I have a new umbrella from Disneyland."

Me: "Is it blue with clouds, like Ella's?"

Girl: "No, it's pink ... with stuff on it."

Boy: "I don't have a Spiderman umbrella, but I have a gumball machine."

Another boy: "I have Spiderman pajamas."

Here's a link to my News Tribune review of the book I mentioned last week, "All the World," by Liz Garton Scanlon and Caldecott artist Marla Frazee. the World," by Liz Garton Scanlon and Caldecott artist Marla Frazee. It's one of the best books I've seen this year.

Talk to you soon,

Read me

Many of you know that I write reviews of children's books for The News Tribune in Tacoma. They also syndicated by McClatchy - the Tribune's parent company - so they appear in other papers around the country.

My Trib reviews appear Tuesdays on the front page of SoundLife; you can also find them at thenewstribune.com in the Entertainment/Books section.

Here's a link to this week's review.

I'm just finishing up next week's. It's about a lovely book called "All the World," by Liz Garton Scanlon and Caldecott artist Marla Frazee.

Talk to you soon,

Thursday at the library

(Somehow I missed getting the Explorers. Next week.)

Books we read

this summer!

This is a school of readers. That was proven once again as I sat the kids down and put together our annual "Books We Read This Summer."
Hardly anyone, students or staff, had any trouble coming up with a book to put on the poster. What's more, most students (not so much the staff) could name the authors of the books.

Here's a selection of student picks:

City of Ember, by Jeanne DuPrau
Call it Courage, by Mark Sperry
The Cat in the Hat, by Dr. Seuss
Junie B. books, by Barbara Park
Emily Winsnap and the Monsters of the Deep, by Liz Kessler
The Mysterious Benedict Society & the Perilous Journey, by Trenton Lee Stewart
Spiderman's New Suit, by N.T. Raymond
Icefire, by Chris D'lacey
Inkheart, by Cornelia Funke
Sebastian Reckless series, by Ruston Howard
Harry Potter, 1-6, by J.K. Rowling
The Tale of Despereaux, by Kate DiCamillo
My Side of the Mountain, by Jean Craighead George
Mercy Watson series, by Kate DiCamillo
Jake and Pete, by Alan King
Diary of a Wimpy Kid, 1-3, by Jeff Kinney
My Backyard and Game Book
Cam Jansen books, by David Adler
The Night Before Christmas, by Clement C. Moore
Lily's Big Day, by Kevin Henkes
Garfield Eats Crow, by Jim Davis
Secrets of Droon series, by Tony Abbott
Percy Jackson and the Last Olympian, by Rick Riordan
Good Morning, Gorillas, by Mary Pope Osborne
Warriors: Into the Wild, by Mollie Hunter
The New York Times
Cows
The Magician's Nephew, by C.S. Lewis

Books the staff read included:

Gilead, by Marilynne Robinson
The Kid, by Dan Savage
Olive Kitteridge, by Elizabeth Stout
The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Society, by Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows
My Life in France, by Julia Child & Alex Prud'homme
Time Traveler's Wife, by Audrey Niffenberger
The Help, by Kathryn Stockett
Snowflower and the Magic Fan, by Lisa See
The Thirteenth Tale, by Diane Setterfield
The No-Cry Potty Training Solution, by Elizabeth Pantley

Beach Girls, by Luanne Rice
Shantaram, by Gregory David Roberts
Animal, Vegetable and Mineral, by Barbara Kingsolver
Mexican High, by Liza Monroy

Library Day, #1

I love having kids back in the library, and they seem to love being there.

The new Sharks (first grade) are excited because now they get to browse the whole library! Plus check out three books! Plus take them home if they want!

The Superstars spotted the "The Teacher from the Black Lagoon" series on display on top of the shelves with the other school theme books. They spread them all out on the floor and argued over who got to check out "The Music Teacher from the Black Lagoon."

The three returning Bear Cubs (early learning center) were thrilled that I let them each check out two books to help populate the library book shelves in their classroom. Next week when the rest of the class starts it will be back to one book a week.

The new Beacons (second grade) have grown up so much. They knew just what they wanted to look for. Space! 175 Science Experiments! Whales!

The Navigators (third grade) read a lot over the summer. One told me she's reading "the classics" and asked me to help her find one to check out. She took The Gammage Cup, by Carole Kendall. It must be a classic. I read it when I was a child.

I had a pile of books ready to "book talk" to The Explorers (fourth and fifth grade). Hands shot up every time I asked "Anyone want this one?"

Look for our "What we read this Summer" poster on the outside school wall. It includes all grades, middle school, too, plus books that Seabury staff read.

In my next blog entry, I'll share some of the books that ended up on the poster.

Talk to you soon,