October 16, 2017

Dragon Was Terrible ----------------------- By: Kelly DiPucchio Pictures by: Greg Pizzoli

We all know dragons are terrible, but this one is especially terrible.   He scribbles in books. He steals candy from baby unicorns. He even burps in church.  Seriously, who does that? Dragon, that’s who.

We all struggle with how best to express ourselves from time to time... but this dragon?  Simply terrible!  Or, at least he was before an unexpected hero emerges to help change dragon's terrible ways.  

In this hilariously creative and beautifully illustrated story by Ms. DiPucchio and Mr. Pizzoli, we are reminded that sometimes all we need to "get back on track" is a good story.  A lesson that this librarian can certainly get behind!  

Curious what students had to say about our second Red Clover book of the school year?  Check out the latest volume of Red Clover Reflections here:  Red Clover Reflections Vol. 2 (Dragon Was Terrible)       

October 10, 2017

Ada’s Violin:

The Story of the Recycled Orchestra of Paraguay

“The world sends us garbage…

We send back music.”

-Favio Chavez

Written by: Susan Hood

Illustrated by: Sally Wern Compart

This week we read our first Red Clover story of the school year: Ada's Violin: The Story of the Recycled Orchestra of Paraguay. This beautifully written and illustrated TRUE story inspired us all! Ada's Violin tells the story of Cateura, a town built on and around a landfill, in Paraguay. As you can image, life there can be quite difficult for its citizens - devoid of hope even. All of this changes when local choir director Favio Chavez gets the ingenious idea to use items of trash from the landfill to make recycled instruments! This idea transforms the town and the lives of all it's inhabitants... including Ada.

To find out student reflections on this week's story, click the link below. It'll take you to a podcast I've started called Red Clover Reflections. This podcast wouldn't be possible without the help of Mr. Rousselle and Mr. Galle. Each week we read a Red Clover book in class I'll add a new pod to the blog.

Give a listen: Red Clover Reflections: Volume 1 (Ada's Violin)

October 2, 2017

A Bunny, a Bear, and a Unicorn

This week's library classes focused on and celebrated one of my favorite contemporary children's authors; Ms. Ame Dyckman.  Ame is a hardworking, hilarious, and entertaining storyteller whose books really appeal to kids - and adults too ;-).  And when Ame's words get paired up with Mr. Zachariah OHora's art... the combination is simply magical!

Wolfie The Bunny reminded us all that family comes in all shapes and sizes, and that while a particular member may get under your skin from time to time - we still need to come to their rescue when in need.

In Horrible Bear, we witness an accident with a kite that leads THE GIRL to unjustly blame BEAR for what happened.  When he stomps down the mountain to finally give her a piece of his mind she greets him at the door with a hearty, "I'm sorry."  Suddenly the horrible seeps right out of bear - reinforcing the idea that when we make a mistake or hurt someone's feelings (which we all do) it's important to make it right by apologizing. 

And our last story, You Don't Want A Unicorn (Liz Climo illustrations) was simply a hilarious take on being careful what you wish for.  Unicorns may seem wonderful in theory, but prove to be quite a handful in actuality.  This one led to a lot of belly laughs.  Next week we will begin with our first Red Clover book of the school year!