Monday, September 14, 2009

Thanks to all of you who emailed me first lines from some of your favorite books. You'll be seeing more Famous Firsts each Friday. Answers are at the end of my post.

September is Library Card Sign-Up Month so here are five library related books I'd like to share. One of my favorite read-aloud books for my very young students is Book! Book! Book! by Deborah Bruss -- Left alone on the farm after the children go back to school, the animals decide to visit the library to find something to read. The story is simple but engaging as the various animals take turns trying to get library books and there is a surprise ending that always earns giggles!

For older readers, there is the lovely non-fiction book My Librarian is a Camel: how books are brought to children around the world by Margriet Ruurs. Bookmobiles are great, but how do you get books to children in remote parts of the world? Ingeniously is the answer and this book describes some of those methods including by camel, elephant and boat. A nice reminder that books are cherished and readers will find a way. This book always makes my students think twice about telling me that getting a library book is too hard.

Librarians wear several hats; they tell stories, educate, and manage the collection. Here are three picture book titles that take an entertaining look at the way librarians do their job. Library Lion by Michelle Knudsen is the tale of a Lion who wonders into the library and is allowed to stay, but only if he's quiet. He forgets to use his "library voice" but it turns out he had a good reason.

The Library Dragon by Carmen Agra Deedy is a very funny look at one well-meaning librarian's attempt to care for her collection with dire consequences for her patrons.

What makes a perfect librarian? That's the question in Our Librarian Won't Tell Us Anything! by Toni Buzzeo. New student, Robert has been warned about Mrs. Skorupski, but he soon discovers that although she won't hand him every book he asks for, she does something even better.

As Promised here are the title and author answers for last Friday's Famous Firsts:
1. "Claudia knew that she could never pull off the old-fashioned kind of running away. "
From The Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E. L. Konigsburg
2. "There is no lake at Camp Green Lake." from Holes by Louis Sachar
3. "The night Max wore his wolf suit and made mischief of one kind and another..."
Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak

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