HMS Ladybug Award Voting Results in Tie

Once again students at Harold Martin have cast their votes for their favorite Ladybug Award Book.  For the first time in Harold Martin history, there was a tie for first place:

Little Dog Lost by Monica Carnesi and Stuck by Oliver Jeffers each received 43 votes.

          

In second place was Chopsticks by Amy Krouse Rosenthal.

In third place was Creepy Carrots by Aaron Reynolds and Peter Brown.

More information about the Ladybug Book Award and this year's books can be found here.  

As always, we are very grateful to the PTA for their support of this program by helping us to buy multiple copies of the books.

Mrs. Bohlman and Mrs. Alibrandi reading Too Tall Houses.

Free eBooks for the month of July from StarWalk!

StarWalk KidsMedia just announced they are offering free access to their eBooks for the month of July. Be sure to take advantage of this offer - they have over a hundred books available by award-winning authors and illustrators!  Click on this link, then click on 'See all books' to get started.

Keep the reading going all summer long with eBooks!  We have lots of free resources listed on our Summer Reading page including the ones we have through our library catalog, our Harold Martin School subscription to Tumblebooks, and many online resources as well.

Insects Invade the Library!

The last research project in the library for second graders was about insects.  Students read a nonfiction book about an insect, took notes, and then made a model of their insect at home.  This year their projects were particularly outstanding, showing lots of creativity.   They used a fascinating array of materials - felt, foam, foil, clay, wire, plastic, pom poms, duct tape, paper, and even cake!

Wondering Which Book Won the 2013 NH Great Stone Face Award?

I am so pleased that this year's winner of the Great Stone Face Award (which Maple Street students also chose as their favorite) is a book called Wonder by R. J. Palacio.  This is a not-to-be missed book about a boy with a severe facial deformity, who decides that he no longer wants to be home schooled.  He wants to attend fifth grade and just be treated like a normal kid.  But this proves difficult because most people just can't seem to get past the way he looks.  What makes this book really special is that it is told through the voices of many different characters, giving us a chance to see different perspectives of how Auggie's challenges affect his life and those around him.  I highly recommend this book for students and adults. Click here to read a book excerpt or watch some book trailers.

     At Maple Street, the book that came in second was The Unwanteds, and in third place was The One and Only Ivan.  The results of the voting across the state of New Hampshire are here.

     I'd like to thank the PTA for their support of the Great Stone Face program - they fund the purchase of extra copies of the books so that they are accessible to more students.  During the months of March and April, students listen to one of the Great Stone Face books read by a staff member -as part of the Friday afternoon Community Clubs.

New Hampshire School Library Media Association Conference

Donna Zecha, the Hopkinton Middle High School Librarian, and I presented a workshop "Create and Collaborate with LibGuides" at the annual New Hampshire School Library Media Association Conference. Many college and university libraries use LibGuides as pathfinders to information databases and web resources.  Donna has developed a LibGuide site for the high school, and I have started transitioning information from my Library Wiki for the elementary schools, to LibGuides so that we will have a district wide portal to information and homework help.

We had a chance to hear some authors speak, heard reviews and got to preview many exciting new books, learned about many new tech gadgets, etc.  It is always valuable to have a chance to talk to other librarians across the state and exchange ideas.

As a side note, the conference was held at the Mountain View Grand Hotel in Whitefield, NH.  I had not heard of it before - if you ever get a chance to go for a special occasion, don't pass it up!  It one of New Hampshire's gems - a beautiful hotel overlooking the White Mountains with fabulous food!

A Whole Lot of Research Going On ....

Third Graders using iPad for Japan Research

    

Second Graders Researched a type of weather and made mobiles

                 

Biography projects

A while ago, second grade students came in to the library for a lesson on biographies.  We talked about what biographies were, and then I read a biography to them about Ben Cohen, co-founder of Ben and Jerry's ice cream.  We talked about which information in the book was most important, very important, and nice to know.  Determining importance is a critical skill for research.  I wrote notes on sticky note paper, and students helped me to decide in which category the notes belonged.  Then they chose a biography book about a person they wanted to learn about for a classroom biography project.

Over the course of the last month, we have had some of the projects that different second grade classes created on display in the library.  Yesterday, some students from Ms. LeBaron's class brought some in.

  

We love seeing their projects, and students from other classes enjoy looking at them also. Their creativity never ceases to amaze us!