Calling Caldecott

Every year my second grade classes participate in a Mock Caldecott. Students choose the best picture book of the preceding year based on these four essential questions;

1. Are the illustrations well done?
2. Do the illustrations match the mood and the theme of the story?
3. Are the illustrations important to understanding the story?
4. Does the illustrations make me want to pick up the book and read it?

Three out of the four of the answers to theses questions must be yes to keep a title on our list of considerations.

The Randolph Caldecott Award is given every year to an illustrator, who's work is distinguished. One gold medal is given and three to four silver medals are given. Last year's winner was Wolf In Snow by Matthew Cordell. Last year's Mock Caldecott winner was The Three Billy Goats Gruff by Jerry Pinkney.

Check out this link on Monday February 4th to see the second grade class' Mock Caldecott winner and the actual winners of the annual Randolph Caldecott Award.

Using SORA

Overdrive has a new kid-friendly app for you to use to download audiobooks and ebooks from our library's collection for free.  First, you will need to download the free app to your device.  Click on the link below to view a tutorial of how to use the app.  Please let us know if you have any questions about it!  Happy Reading (and listening!!!)

January's Reading Challenge

Happy New Year and welcome back! We are so excited to be back for the second half of the school year. We are starting 2019  with a reading challenge and our hope is that many of our students in the Lower School will participate.

We are challenging students to read a book about the following three subjects. Students can read a book on each subject or choose one or two subjects to read about.

• Martin Luther King Jr. in honor of Martin Luther King Jr Day on January 21st
• Polar Bears; a fascinating animal to learn about in the winter season
• Choose a book that has a snow setting

There will be books on display in the library or you can ask one of the Lower School librarians. Share your experiences through photos or a written response with one or two sentences that tells what you learned or enjoyed about each subject.