Welcome Back!

Welcome back to another great year of reading, exploring and learning at the Kenwood Library.  We have tons of great  new books, new computers and are beginning to learn about computer programming using eToys.

Etoys is an amazing visual programming experience that allows kids as young as five to begin programming and creating.  Etoys is a free to download.  The download and tons of learning resources are available at http://www.etoysillinois.org.  Check it out!

Confessions of a Former Bully

Here is a new title on an always timely subject that is done in the visual style of the ever popular, Diary of a Wimpy Kid.

Bullies come in all shapes, sizes, ages, and genders, and bullying takes many forms. This book presents a basic understanding of the subject along with ways to empower and teach children, teachers, and parents about dealing with bullying. Katie is a ten-year-old bully whose most recent incident may very well be her last. This time the adults have had enough and assign her three consequences. The first two are easily accomplished but the third one has her stumped: Figure out a way to make up for the hurt she has caused. Katie decides to turn her journal into a self-help book for kids about bullying. The text includes factoids, quotes, illustrations, and post-its, which enhance the attractive qualities of this must-have title for libraries. The journal-like format adds playfulness and realism to an otherwise serious topic. The author is able to incorporate definitions, examples, scenarios, and statistics about bullying into a kid-friendly picture book that can also be used as a teaching tool by educators and parents.  Library Media Connection (March/April 2011)

New Books!

From the School Library Journal review:

It is incredibly difficult to write  a book for the youth of today that is interesting to them and yet  manages to feel “timeless” without covering itself in must and dust.   That Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes succeeds in this  endeavor is a testament not only to its author but to a publishing world  that’s willing to put out something that doesn’t slot into the usual  five categories of books for youth.

Babies found floating in baskets usually turn out quite well.  They  get adopted by pharaohs’ daughters and the like, right?  Well, that may  be the case for some babies, but Peter Nimble isn’t exactly the lucky  sort.  Found floating in the sea, his eyes pecked out (presumably by the  raven perched there), Peter is abandoned to the wilds of the world.  On  his own he manages to use his talents to become the world’s greatest  thief.  This talent is swiftly exploited by the nasty Mr. Seamus who  makes Peter steal for him.  All seems bleak until the day Peter stops to  listen to a crazy haberdasher who has come to town.  Next thing he  knows, Peter has pilfered a box containing three pairs of magical eyes  and in accepting them he allows himself to take part in a marvelous,  epic adventure.

Part of a new series called, “Monster Science,” this book takes uses a narrative approach to teach the reader about adaptions in the natural world.  The beauty of this book and others in the series, is that students reading the book really think they are reading  about Bigfoot, whereas we know that the monster, with all its kid appeal, is really just a vehicle for learning about the science concept.  Told in graphic/comic format, these stories are wonderful for the reluctant reader.

Aimed at the K-1 crowd, this series of deals with basic math concepts in a simple, uncluttered fashion. Featuring controlled vocabulary and only two short sentences per page, these books are perfect nonfiction titles to bring reading to your math curriculum.  Each title contains standard nonfiction elements such as a table of contents, glossary and an index.

Congratulations to the Monarch Challenge Participants!

Eight of our Monarch Award Challenge team members participated in the challenge at the Champaign Public Library.  Each one of them represented Kenwood fantastically.  Students were placed on teams with participant from many other schools around Champaign.  While some teams scored higher than others, everyone who participated won bu recieving a free book from the librarians at the CPL.  A big thanks goes to Ms. Ward for all her work with our Kenwood team.

Monarch Award Challenge

Last Friday Mr. Lash and Ms. Ward welcomed 10 second graders to the Monarch Award Challenge team for Kenwood Elementary School! Over the next two weeks, this group of readers will be reading the 20 books nominated for this year’s Monarch Award (Illinois’ K-3 Readers’ Choice Award). On Saturday, November 3, from 2-3pm, they will compete with other first and second graders from all across Champaign, answering trivia questions about these books.

Parents, while students are encouraged to check out an extra book during this time in order to read as many Monarchs as possible, another opportunity to read these books is to visit the Champaign Public Library (CPL), where they have a full collection of Monarch books to read in the library.

For a full list of Monarch books, visit the Illinois School Library Media website.

Come cheer on your friends and students on Saturday, November 3! For more information, check out the CPL calendar.

Greetings Kenwood Community!

Hello students, teachers, and parents! There is a new face in the Kenwood library.

I am writing to introduce myself: My name is Ms. Ward and I will be student teaching in the library for the next seven weeks. I am a student at the University of Illinois in the Graduate School for Library and Information Science, and am thrilled to be learning the ropes of managing a elementary school library from Mr. Lash this quarter.

Please stop by and say hello! I would be happy to help you in any way I can.

–Ms. Ward

Two New Series To Check Out!

Below are two fantastic new series.  Take a look and let us know if you want us to put anything on hold for you.

Zombies, werewolves and vampires may be un-dead, but that doesn’t exempt them from the laws of science in this hilarious and absolutely factual look at important scientific concepts; each vignette uses a monster and cool comic book-style illustrations to demonstrate some of the the “hows” and “whys” of science.  Adaptation, energy, cells, states of matter and many more science topics are the subjects of these great new graphic Monster Science books!

We Both Read books feature a unique interactive format designed for a child to take turns reading aloud with a parent or tutor. The left-hand pages feature more sophisticated text for the parent or tutor to read. Then, for their turn, the child reads the right-hand pages, which feature text written at a specific early reading level. We have dozens of these titles at many reading levels. Come check them out!

New Professional Development Material!

Teachers,

Come take a look at some of the new professional development materials we have in the library.

Do you need a tool to hook your most reluctant readers?  Try using comics in the classroom with these great new resources:

Teaching Visual Literacy: Using Comic Books, Graphic Novels, Anime, Cartoons, and More to Develop Comprehension and Thinking Skills

“This book puts into practice what we’ve long known but often ignored: one picture is indeed worth a thousand words! The chapters offer an up close and practical look at how images in all their many forms can be used to motivate reluctant readers.” (Donna E. Alvermann, Distinguished Research Professor )

Adventures In Graphica:  Using Comics and Graphic Novels to Teach Comprehension in Grades 2-6.

Drawing on his own success using graphica with elementary students, literacy coach Terry Thompson introduces reading teachers to this popular medium and suggests sources of appropriate graphica for the classroom and for particular students. Taking cues from research that supports the use of graphica with students, Terry shows how this exciting medium fits into the literacy framework and correlates with best practices in comprehension, vocabulary, and fluency instruction. Adventures in Graphica contains numerous, easy-to-replicate, instructional strategies, including examples of how graphic texts can be used to create a bridge as students transfer abstract comprehension strategies learned through comics and graphic novels to traditional texts. (From the Amazon.com book description).

Let us know if we can help you with one of these titles or anything else.  Free delivery included!

Destiny Quest Now Available From Anywhere!

That’s right, you can now get on quest from any computer, anywhere.  Teachers and students can now look over Kenwood’s library catalog from home.   Just click here.  Want to learn more about Quest and our new catalog?  Click on the tab at the top of the page.

CPL Summer Reading Game

The Champaign Public Library will host their summer reading game kickoff on 5/26/12.  See below for the details!

Event Type: School-age Kids
Date: 5/26/2012
Start Time: 2:00 PM
End Time: 2:45 PM

Description:

 Aargh you ready to “Treasure Your Reading” this summer? Jump on board with Swords and Roses. Their crew will present an action-packed program filled with swashbuckling, singing, and stunts. Early registration for the library’s summer reading adventure will be available for children (fourth-grade graduates and younger).

Library: Main Library, 200 W. Green St.    Map
Location: Robeson Pavilion Room A & B
Contact: Children’s Services
Contact Number: 217/403-2030