Hooray for Amanda and Her Alligator! (and Panda)

I read "Hooray for Amanda and Her Alligator" to my Mo Willems obsessed first graders this week and they LOVED it (as did I). Alligator is my favorite new character since Pigeon and the dynamic of Panda and Alligator is very reminiscent of Elephant and Piggie. What I like about this book is that it's NOT an easy reader. My first graders had great discussions about the meaning of the phrase "Books beat boredom" and a review of the words "value", "discovery", and "solution", which are all important in understanding the book. They recognized the book as Mo Willems right away, and loved seeing the "hidden" pigeon and Knuffle bunny.

A must for any library and any age. I can't wait to get my hands on an Alligator stuffed animal!

A Fine, Fine First Day

It's back to school again which means fading tans, new crayons, and for me, a new school. I am the librarian for a K-6 school in suburban NJ. My first few days went very well, meeting the new kids and most of the staff.

I love the first few days when the kids are still in shock that summer is over. They don't know each other well enough to be too much of a disruption, so there are usually blank stares and silence following anything you say. It's marvelous.

I was kind of at a loss for what to read to the older kids (5th and 6th graders) on the first day (we weren't circulating the first two days), and I happened to pick up "A Fine, Fine School" by Sharon Creech at the public library on a whim, not really planning on using it. However, I decided to use it and all the kids have really been into the story.

I think it's a combination of the repetition, the humor in the great illustrations by Harry Bliss, and of course their disbelief over ANYONE wanting to have MORE school. It's been fun seeing their reactions to the story so far. I was surprised the older ones would like it as much as they are. I love when something you try works out even better than you expect it to!

Good luck to everyone going back to school this year!

First Post

So I may not be a superhero, but I am an actual school librarian, so that should count for something. Anyways, welcome to my blog! I am not sure what this will turn out to be, but my idea is to post things relating to school librarianship that I find interesting. Book reviews, new games, ideas, education articles, other fun stuff, whatever! So thanks for stopping by and stay tuned for frequent updates!

And remember, YOU are the real library hero.