Tall Tales

I know September's theme is Tall Tales so I thought I'd mention a few of our titles.

This is one of my favorite genres of writing for children and right now there are a lot of great stories out there that give a new twist to an old tale--but then that is what tall tales are all about. There are also new tall tale heroes (and heroines) being written about as we speak. I think it is fascinating that the tall tale genre as we know it (with humor and hyperbole), is almost a purely American thing, although the tales have roots in mythology. Tall tales are a fun way to teach the history of the United States, its regional diversity and its western expansion.

We have a lot of the old stand-bys such as Paul Bunyan, Pecos Bill, and John Henry by various authors. Don't forget the lesser known Captain Stormalong, Slewfoot Sue, and Mike Fink.

Some of the more recent titles include The Foot Stomping Adventures of Clementine Sweet, Paul Bunyan's Sweetheart, The Bunyans, Library Lil, Thunder Rose, Alligator Sue, Granite Baby, Apples to Oregon, Sally Ann Thunder Ann Whirlwind Crockett, and two of my favorites, Swamp Angel (a tale from Tennessee) and Dona Flor (a tale from the Southwest).

Don't forget you can go to Destiny Quest and virtually browse our shelves online, including pictures of the covers and availability. Here's the link to our tall tale collection:

http://destiny.okcps.org/vopac/servlet/presentsearchform.do?site=118

Enter "tall tales" in the search box at the top of the page.
When a new page opens, click on "location" in the box at the left, and then click on "my school". This will show you the covers of most of our books.

Who is Fly Guy?

Who is Fly Guy, you ask? Fly Guy is the hero of a new series of books by Tedd Arnold, author of the wonderful idiom-teaching books Parts, More Parts, and Still More Parts. Fly Guy also happens to be a fly and these books chronicle his adventures with his human buddy, Buzz.

These books are excellent for emergent readers. They are very short, with very few words on each page, and of course they are full of Arnold's super illustrations. The books also introduce the concept of a chapter, the font is large, and the glossy, colorful pages are eye-catching.

The Fly Guy books are some of the most popular books in the library for kids of all ages. Students seem to like to read them over and over and they remind me of some of the old classics by Dr. Seuss, Syd Hoff, P. D. Eastman, and others of that genre. Most importantly, the kids find them hilarious and they make them want to read more!

We have several in the library and the newest one is available at the bookfair.

Book Fair is Here!

Gosh, I can't believe it's been over a month since I put anything up on this blog. Everything is finally beginning to settle down after the new reading adoption distribution and what a way to kick of the year with a bang--the bookfair! Monday and Tuesday went really well. Scholastic sent us a ton of great stuff--all sorts of books for all readers, from the emergent reader to the parent at home. And don't forget Christmas is just around the corner. I took care of several gifts in one swoop. There's a nice section of religious-type books, cookbooks, discount books ($1-$5) and lots of books in Spanish as well.

I was so glad to see the kids so enthused about the fair. They were peeking in the windows and trying to get in early Monday morning as Ms. Castillo and I were still frantically trying to get everything in order! But that's super! That's how we know we're doing a great job and that what we are doing for these kids goes beyond the classroom. Even the first graders were pumped up when they were filling out their wishlists.

Please encourage your students and parents to continue visiting the bookfair for the rest of the week. It will be open all day Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, and remember, the proceeds go to purchase more books for our kids to devour! Unfortunately, I will not be there for the rest of the week, I'm at Shidler on Wednesday and the Encylo-Media Conference on Thursday and Friday.

Congratulations to Ms. Borgfeld and Ms. Ambruso for winning $10 in bookfair merchandise on Monday and Tuesday! Don't forget to spend $$$ at the bookfair to get your name in the drawing for the rest of the week!

A big THANK YOU goes out to MS. CASTILLO and MR. BREWER for making this possible!

Pinkalicious--Coming soon to Hawthorne!

Pinkalicious loves all things pink. She can't stop eating pink cupcakes despite warnings from her parents. Her pink indulgence leads to her skin and hair turning pink and her doctor diagnosing her with Pinkititis. This is a dream come true for this pink loving little girl. But when her color goes too far, only Pinkalicious can figure out a way to get out of this situation.

This is a cute story from sisters Victoria and Elizabeth Kann. When I read it to second and first graders, even the boys found it funny, although one did ask if I could read a "boy story" next. Apparently there is a musical out and a sequel called, I'm not kidding, Purplicious.

Pinkalicious is available at the bookfair in softcover and I will order a hardcover copy for our library.