"Imagine Your Story "
Are you looking for some books t0 read this summer? Check out these book lists of suggested titles. The summer reading theme this year is "Imagine Your Story." Read some fairy tales, folk tales or write your own story!
Tuesday, June 30, 2020
Thursday, June 4, 2020
Vermont Middle Grade Book Award Winner Announced
The winner of the
2019 - 2020 book award is
Small Spaces
by Katherine Arden
Vermont Middle-Grade Children’s Book
Award*
*Previously
known as the Dorothy Canfield Fisher Award and Dorothy’s List.
Look for a
new name next year.
Vermont Red Clover Book Award Winner Announced
We have a winner!!
Vermont red
clover picture book award
It was difficult to have our usual voting and celebration around the books. I am sorry if you did not get to hear all of them read aloud. These ten books will be available in the library when you return to school. Here are some pictures drawn by students after we read the very silly award winning book, Potato Pants. How about if you draw your own potato wearing some fancy pants?
Wondering about the voting results for all the books?
Title Votes
Potato Pants 1664
Misunderstood Shark 1066
The Wall in the Middle of the Book 817
Drawn Together 611
Girl Running 609
Counting on Katherine 460
Hawk Rising 353
Julian is a Mermaid 133
The Day You Begin 102
Friends and Foes 65
Total Votes 5880
Friday, May 29, 2020
Lois Ehlert - author and illustrator
Our
libraries own many different Lois Ehlert books that she has written and illustrated over the years. Below
you can click on a link and listen to her talk about writing and illustrating
her books. I was motivated by Mrs. Libby to create some of my own artwork. I
hope that you will be inspired to create something for your house too!
Reading Rockets interview
Click on the
link below to listen to and read along with Lois Ehlert’s book “Planting a
Rainbow”.
Here’s a project that I created for my yard. We had some trees cut down and I found this wedge of an oak tree. It is almost finished, but it needs one more coat of paint. Then I will display it in my yard along with some colorful flowers.
I found a piece
of bark from a birch tree. What do you think I could make with it? Please post
comments and tell me what you think or tell me about your projects!
Friday, May 22, 2020
Vermont Red Clover Picture Book Award Voting
It is time to submit your vote!
Click on the google slide show to review all ten books.
The Red
Clover Book Award is a statewide children’s choice picture book award under the
auspices of the Vermont Department of Libraries. The award is named after
Vermont’s state flower and is given annually to one of ten committee-nominated
picture books that receives the most votes from Vermont children in grades K-4.
What
makes a picture book “work”?
In a
successful picture book, text and illustration work together to make an
interactive whole that is greater than the sum of its parts. A picture book
begins with an idea. Sometimes this idea is in words and sometimes it’s in
pictures. What do authors and illustrators do to turn an idea into a book? Do you think the process is easier if the same person writes and
illustrates a book? Why or why not? Which books on the list are written and
illustrated by one person? Which ones are created by two or more people?
Authors usually do not have a chance to tell illustrators how they would like
to have their books illustrated. Why do you think this happens this way? If you
were the author, would you like to tell the illustrator what you wanted? If you
were the illustrator, would you want the author telling you how to do the
illustrations? Why or why not?
It's time to
vote!! Don't worry if you did not get to read or hear all of the books. As long as you heard at least five of them, you are all set. There is a ballot below, but in order to vote this year, you will need
to make a comment telling me which book you like the best. If you are not able to comment you may have your parents help you send me an email. jrussell@rivendellschool.org
Remember that you
can only vote for one book!
Drawn Together
DRAWN TOGETHER
Written by Minh Lê, illustrated by Dan Santat
A grandpa and his grandson find a way to bridge their culture
and language gap through the discovery of a shared love of storytelling and
drawing.
Click on this link below to watch Ms. Russell read the book
aloud. A big thank you is extended to the publisher Disney Hyperion for allowing this
book to be shared online during our remote learning.
Big Ideas and Enduring Understanding:
• Art is another way that people can find common ground even
when they don’t share the same language or background.
Overarching Questions:
• What were their differences?
What did they find out they had in common?
• How did Grandpa and his grandson find a way to “talk” to
each other even though they don’t share the same language or customs?
On the copyright page it explains what the words in Thai mean.
Thai language has its own alphabet. It is read left to right. The short video
here shows the words and pronunciation for some animals in Thai and English.
The author’s grandparents
were Vietnamese, the illustrator’s grandmother is Thai. Locate Thailand and
Vietnam on a map. It is estimated that about 50 million people speak Thai
(counting those in Thailand, Vietnam, and part of China). Why do you suppose many
Vietnamese speak Thai?
Author Information:
• For more information
about the book and author, see: http://minhlebooks.com/
• Radio interview on National
Public Radio with Minh Lê about the book: https://www.npr.org/2018/06/15/620428253/struggling-for-words-a-boy-and-his-grandfather-are-drawn-together-at-last
Illustrator Information:
• For more information about the illustrator, see: https://www.dantat.com/
Friday, May 15, 2020
Misunderstood Shark
MISUNDERSTOOD SHARK
Written by
Ame Dyckman, illustrated by Scott Magoon
During a live broadcast of
“Underwater World with Bob,” a series of incidents with Shark create some
hilarious misunderstandings and uncertainty. Is Shark truly as innocent as he
claims? Scott Magoon’s illustrations are a perfect match for this laugh-out-loud
picture book. With permission from Scholastic Publishing, Ms. Russell will read
aloud this book including a short visit from her cat, Midnight. What a silly
kitty!
Big Ideas and Enduring
Understanding:
People misunderstand and mistrust sharks. I wonder how you feel about them.
Overarching Question:
Why do people not trust
sharks?
If you can, please tell me about your favorite shark or make a comment about the book!
Check out Scholastic’s activity
pages for Misunderstood Shark
If you would like to research sharks (or other ocean animals).
Some resources are:
Author’s Website:
For more information about the book and
author, see:
Illustrator’s Website:
For more information about the book and
illustrator, see:
Wednesday, May 13, 2020
Red-tailed Hawk Live Camera
If you have not had any luck spotting a red-tailed hawk in your neighborhood, then check out this live camera of a nest in Ithaca, New York. I would love to hear about what kinds of birds you see. Please share your discoveries in the comments.
Tuesday, May 5, 2020
Hawk Rising
Hawk Rising
Written by Maria Gianferrari
Illustrated by Brian Floca
This Red Clover Picture Book Award nominee follows a red-tailed hawk as it hunts in a suburban neighborhood while two sisters observe from below.
Ms. Russell reads aloud this beautiful and lyrical portrayal of a hawk’s life. In response to the school closings due to coronavirus, Roaring Brook Press has relaxed the copyright rules temporarily, to allow me to share this book for library instruction.
Big Ideas and Enduring Understanding:
- Hawks must use their senses and determination to find food for their offspring.
- Being part of a food chain means that some animals die to sustain the life of others.
Overarching Questions:
- What do some animals and humans have in common in the way they care for their babies/children?
- Why does a hawk spend all day searching for food?
If this book has inspired you to learn more about these, and other kinds of birds, then keep reading and check out some of the resources listed below.
Use the Vermont Fish and Wildlife site, Wildlife: Vermont Critters section to learn more about red-tailed hawks.
Visit the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s All About Birds page for red-tailed hawks.
If you want to research other hawks this video shows how a goshawk hunts their prey.
This video from Animal Fact Files provides more facts about red-tailed hawks.
Use this link to find the “Spot the Hawk” activity guide and download directions to fold and adapt a glider to mimic hawk flight.
Author Information:
• For more information about the book and author, see: https://mariagianferrari.com
Illustrator Information:
• For more information about the illustrator, see:http://brianfloca.com
Wednesday, April 29, 2020
Celebrating Poetry
I am sharing a reading of another poem from a Vermont Red Clover Picture Book Award nominee. If you are in kindergarten - fourth grade, perhaps you will choose to vote for this book later in the month of May. In order to share books with all of you, it is necessary to present them online.The publisher Beach Lane Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing Division has relaxed the copyright rules temporarily to allow me to share this book for library instruction. Click on the link below to watch and listen to Ms. Russell read it aloud.
If you like poetry then maybe you could write one of your own! Reading these poems has reminded me how much I miss seeing all my friends at school. Maybe you could write a poem about one of your friends.
The month of April is almost over so let’s celebrate with one final poetry challenge. Kenn Nesbitt has a cool website called Poetry 4 Kids. Click on the link to learn how to create a haiku.
Kenn Nesbitt's Poetry4Kids
FRIENDS
AND FOES: POEMS ABOUT US ALL
Written and illustrated by Douglas Florian
Beach Lane Books, 2018
A collection
of 25 original poems on the many emotions of friendship, good and bad. Simple,
colorful illustrations in crayon and colored pencil accompany the text.
Big Ideas and Enduring
Understanding:
• Friendship is complex and not
always easy.
Overarching Questions:
•
What makes a good friend?
• What are some of the
challenges and some of the joys of friendship?
Click on the link below to see Ms. Russell reading two of the poems in this Vermont Red Clover Book award nominee.
Author Website:
• While his personal website shows only his fine artwork, more
information about Douglas Florian can be found at:
Monday, March 23, 2020
Keep on Reading!
Greetings from my favorite wintertime reading spot. When the
weather is warmer you might find me under an apple tree in my yard. I am surrounded by some of the many plants that you see when you visit our elementary schools' libraries.
In this picture
I am holding one of this year’s Vermont Red Clover Picture books. It is my hope
that we will return to school in time to finish reading the ten nominated books. In the meantime, I plan to present the remaining titles on my blog with
activities and links to explore. Sadly we are not able to access our collection of books at school, but I will be sharing lots of resources that are available online.
Many of you still have the library books that you
had checked out before our schools were closed. Please keep them safe until we return to school and of
course, read those books! The book that I am holding is about a red-tailed hawk. When you are outdoors, be on the lookout for these majestic raptors. There are lots of birds migrating at this time so you may see one from your yard.
I miss seeing you all and sharing new books in person. This morning I saw lots of robins in my yard. I hope they find a sheltered place when we get snow later tonight! Brrrr!
Ms. Russell
Thursday, February 13, 2020
New Hampshire Ladybug Picture Book Award
Samuel Morey Hosts Scholastic Book Fair
Our book fair was very successful. Lots of shoppers found good books to add to their home libraries or to give as holiday gifts. With the help of volunteers, we sold enough books to earn over $800 worth of new titles for the library!
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