A Great Read For Thanksgiving!

“Molly’s Pilgrim” is a modern day Pilgrim story that may help bring our own Thanksgiving alive for some children.  Molly and her mother have left their home land and come to America so they can celebrate their religion in freedom.  But Molly is “different” from her fellow classmates and is teased because of it.  This is a great quick read by author Barbara Cohen that might open some great discussion on a variety of topics and levels.

Molly

Kid Picks: Hot Reads @ HHES Library!

Take it from Jasman.  This is the best book in the world.  If you like ghost stories, this one’s a must.

Brielle has her own favorite ghost story.  Check out “Deep, Dark, and Dangerous”.

Just before summer begins, 13-year-old Ali finds an odd photograph in the attic. She knows the two children in it are her mother, Claire, and her aunt Dulcie. But who’s the third person, the one who’s been torn out of the picture?

Mrs. Lomax Recommends Gooney The Fabulous!

Take it from Mrs. Lomax.  Lois Lowry’s,  “Gooney The Fabulous”,  would be a great read aloud as well as a follow up writing project.  Keep reading for a few more details about the book.  It’s available @ your library.

Mrs. Pidgeon has been reading Aesop’s fables to her second grade class. What’s a fable? Well, it’s a story that has animals as characters, and it teaches you something important, and . . . Once again it is Gooney Bird Greene who knows how to turn lessons into fun. She has an idea. A fabulous idea! What if each child creates his or her own fable, and tells it to the class? One by one Mrs. Pidgeon’s students create costumes and stories and morals and excitement. Everyone except Nicholas. What on earth is making Nicholas so unhappy? Leave it to Gooney Bird, of course, to help him solve his problem . . . in a truly fabulous way.

Author Jerry Pallotta Wants To Visit Schools! How About Ours?

Jerry Pallotta visits 150 schools every year. Scholastic Book Company is sponsoring a Jerry Pallotta visit to a winning school for 1st – 4th grade students. How can HHES take the challenge? Jerry wants kids and adults to write him a postcard telling why you would like him to visit Hermon Hutchens Elementary.

Sound like fun? 1st through 4th grade classes that would like to participate with this postcard writing activity and take the challenge to get Jerry Pallotta to visit HHES contact the library staff.

Below are some of the awesome books Pallotta has written which are in our library.

NoveList K-8 : Looking For Your Next Good Book To Read?

Thanks to funding from our state, all Alaska school libraries have access to NoveList K-8. This is a great resource for teachers, students, and parents created by EBSCO. You can search for books by title, author and subject and locate a wide variety of award winning books from kindergarten through 8th grade.

Books have annotations which means there is a brief write up telling you about the story.

Valdez City Schools students are able to access NoveList K-8 through the Alaska Digital Pipeline. You will need to contact the HHES Library staff for the user name and password to access this excellent reading source. 

Check out the site and give us feedback on whether you are able to get in and what you think of it.

Shelfari: For People Who Love Books!

Shelfari

is a fun way for kids and adults to enjoy books. Create a virtual shelf to show off your books, see what your friends are reading and discover new books – all for free! Check out the website and let us know what you think! Here’s my email address to send your feedback to.:

barb_bryson@valdez.cc

Poet Eric Ode Visits HHES!

 

 

 

 

 

This week, poet Eric Ode will be visiting Hermon Hutchens Elementary School, thanks to support from the Valdez Literacy Council. Eric is known for the poetry and songs he writes for children. This week Eric will present to all classes as well as do writing workshops with small groups of students.

Ode has produced CD’s of poetry and music that may be purchased from his website. His poetry can also be found in two of Bruce Lansky’s poetry books called: “Dinner with Dracula: A Spine-Tingling Collection of Frighteningly Funny Poems”, and “Rolling in the Aisles: A Collection of Laugh-Out-Loud Poems” Below is his most recent CD, “I Love My Shoes”.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cat In The Hat Turns 50!

This week we celebrated 50 years of “The Cat In The Hat” as well as many of the other books written by Theodore Guisel, better known as Dr. Seuss. There are lots of great websites out there that you can learn more about this interesting man as well as games webquests and much much more.

Wendelin Van Draanen: Author Of The Month!

I’d like to introduce one of my current favorite authors.

Wendelin Van Draanen

She writes a wide variety of literature for upper elemetary and junior high age kids. Her style is fast paced, upbeat and fun to read. I can’t keep “Shredderman: Secret Identity” on the shelf. This is a 5th/6th grade battle book this year so we have 7 copies of the book. All are checked out!! The “Sammy Keyes” detective mysteries are just as entertaining. Swing by the library, we’ll have her books up on display. That is, if there are any left!

Author of the Month: Jon Scieszka

Author Jon Scieszka says, “I read everything — comic books, newspapers, cereal boxes, poems — anything with writing on it. My favorite things to read are fairy tales, myths, and legends. When I’m not reading, I listen to music, watch cartoons, and sit in my chair and just think about stuff. I’ve always thought about being an author. One of the first books I read was Green Eggs and Ham, by Dr. Seuss. It made me realize that books could be goofy. It’s the book that made The Stinky Cheese Man possible!”

Two of Scieszka’s books are Battle Books this year.  2nd grade level, “True Story of the Three Little Pigs”, a very funny spin-off of the traditional “Three Little Pigs”  and “Da Wild, Da Crazy, Da Vinci” a 3rd/4th grade battle book.  These books make great read alouds. Have your child pick one up and try a nightly read together time.