We read "How the Grinch Stole Christmas!" today ...

and the Bear Cubs put on their best "sour, Grinchy frowns."

This is what the Explorers looked like from behind my desk when I showed them that I have a copy of the new "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" book. Unfortunately (or fortunately) it wasn't ready to check out yet. I was waiting for a shipment of bar codes. I just got them and promised the kids a bunch of new books in time for holiday checkouts. (new Rick Riordans, too). I'm not sure what I'm going to do about the 30 or so who've asked if they can have Wimpy Kid first. I might just put it out on top of a shelf and let she/he with the sharpest eyes win.

Thank you to everyone who's been ordering through our Amazon link: tinyurl.com/amazonseab. Since Sept. 1, we're up to almost $150 in credit earned for the library! You can also get there through portals on this page and myseabury.org. At Amazon's good prices, that's quite a few books.

Apologies for the sporadic blog entries. I have lots to say, just not so much time. One of my New Year's resolutions, made in December, is to update more often.

-Becky

September scenes from the Library

  

Thank you!!

I just ordered $160+ worth of books from Amazon for the Seabury library using gift certificates we earned because you've done your Amazon shopping starting at the little portal on this page.

We get a few cents or a few dollars from every purchase made when you start your Amazon shopping session using this search portal.

I think just a few people are doing it so far and you can see how the $10, $12 and $20 gift certificates eventually add up to something that can really help the library get books that kids want to read and that support our curriculum.

Imagine if all of you who use Amazon – and all your family and friends could remember to do this.

If you buy a $10 book, we get about 40 cents. If you buy a $600 camera, we get about $25. It all adds up.

Thanks again for your past support and thanks for the continuing support in the future.

Becky

Wordsmyth!

This is one of the sites I use the most - at school, at home, in my copy editing job at The News Tribune.
It's great as a thesaurus, dictionary, pronunciation guide (or for the crossword puzzle solver if you're stumped on the Thursday NY Times puzzle) and they're always improving it. There's a great children's dictionary, too.

Here's what it helped us with today during the Sharks library time because I'm never confident I'm pronouncing Tlingit correctly (Unlike a paper dictionary, you get an audio pronunciation): http://www.wordsmyth.net/

Treasure online at the library

Julie Miller, from the King County Library System, visited with the Navigators and Explorers just before spring break to tell them about the terrific databases available online at kcls.org to those who have a King County library card.

She also brought library cards on wrist bracelets and applications for the kids. We've been encouraging both classes to go to their nearest branch and complete the process of activating the cards. I believe it was a homework assignment for the Explorers and I think most of the kids have gotten their cards by now. I've offered small prizes to the Navigators who bring their activated cards to show me. But the real prize is the information that is opened up to the students through these databases. If we can get all the Navigators signed up before the end of the year, they'll be set for the beginning of fourth grade.

Our area is lucky because the libraries all have reciprocal agreements. If you live in Tacoma, you can get a King County card, and vice versa. Same goes for Pierce County, Tacoma and King County and Seattle/King County. (I'm not sure about Puyallup's reciprocal agreements.)

Julie explained that the databases are much different than Web sites. They are reference works, researched and written by top scholars in their fields. They can be cited with confidence, as much or more so than any physical book found in the library.

They are available only to card holders because database subscriptions are expensive. King County spends more than $1 million a year on them. Because King County has the biggest budget of any library system locally, its database collection is the best, but Tacoma, Pierce County, Puyallup and Seattle also good database collections.

Julie showed the kids the Britannica Encyclopedia Online, which also has a kids version. It's an authoritative, complete encyclopedia. But even better than the one we have on our shelves, the newest published in 2000, the online version is constantly updated.

Other databases include biographies, states and countries, science, animals, music, literature, image collections and newspaper and magazine archives. There are many that would be of interest and value to adults, as well. I had an online subscription to Consumer Reports for awhile, until I discovered I could read it for free with my library card number!

To check out the list, just click on databases at kcls.org.

Julie also showed the kids the library's homework help feature, which is available as a link on the library's home page – kcls.org. You don't need a library card to use this one. It's a great collection of subject-related links that the librarians have vetted.

We'd love it if we could get all of our kids on board with King County Library card. Beacons and Sharks, too. Might as well get a head start. And if you have a Tacoma or Pierce County card, too, all the better. I have cards from Tacoma, King County and Pierce County. I think that's all I'm eligible for.

By the way, the library links are in my permanent list of links at the right.

Family Read-Alouds
Had a parent e-mail and ask for read-aloud chapter book recommendations that would engage a bright 4-year-old and at the same time keep her 7-year-old Seabury's brother's interest.

This was my list, If you have other suggestions, please add them in the comments.

Edward Eager is terrific. Start with Half Magic. It's clever enough to keep the older child entertained and fun enough for the younger one. Four brothers and sisters find a magic nickel that gives them half of what they wish for. So they have to be creative in their wishing. Eagar wrote a series of "magic" books that each have a twist, including Magic by the Lake, The Knight's Castle and The Thyme Garden.






Some other ideas:

Mary Poppins, by P.L. Travers
James and the Giant Peach, by Roald Dahl
Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher, by Bruce Coville
Dragon's Milk, by Susan Fletcher
Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum, and/or sequels if you've seen the movie. Though the book is pretty different.
Charlotte's Web, by E.B. White. A book no child should miss.
All About Sam, by Lois Lowry. Very funny.
Superfudge, by Judy Blume. Also funny.

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss!