May 26, 2017

Oliver Jeffers:  Painter, Writer, Reader, Creator!

                     

"Henry loved books.  But not like you and I love books, no.  Not quite..."

-Oliver Jeffers

It had been awhile since library classes conducted an "author study."  So, this week we narrowed in on the tremendously talented, hilarious and just plain cool, Oliver Jeffers.  Hailing from Northern Ireland, young Oliver grew up loving drawing and art.  It's no surprise that he went on to become a wildly successful children's picture book creator (among other things).  

He had his first book published when he was in college - a reminder to all that if you work hard at something you're passionate about, age is no factor!  Along those lines, the imbedded inspiration for learners this week was that it is never too early to get started on a lifelong passion - and it just may be the hobby or endeavor that leads to a fulfilling career... just like Mr. Jeffers.  

   

Who is Oliver Jeffers?

May 19, 2017

Curiouser and Curiouser

 

“It's no use going back to yesterday, because I was a different person then.”

-Alice, from Alice in Wonderland

Building off of last week's lesson on the Beatles, I decided it made sense to create a fantastical, magical, mystery class of our own. 😉 Lewis Carroll's 152 year-old fantasy on Alice, and her adventures in Wonderland seemed to be the perfect fit. It also worked well as a version of this classic story was this year's theatre production here at SATEC.

The history and origin of Alice in Wonderland also reinforced our year-long theme on storytelling; and the myriad ways stories are told and shared. Therefore, prior to diving into this week's mentor texts we looked at a few other examples of how this story has been told and expressed through the years.

May 12, 2017

Beatlemania Hits the SATEC LMC!

"The Sun is up,

the sky is blue,

it's beautiful,

and so are YOU."

-The Beatles (from "Dear Prudence")

I joked with the students that after last week's class about gardens, insects, and spiders I'd forgotten to cover beetles.  So, this week's class was based on that accidental omission.  Well, as you can imagine they thought my wordplay was a tad funny.  This week was all about the (arguably) greatest rock and roll band of all time; the Beatles!

After listening to the quote of the class (listed above), I reminded learners that we are all beautiful and make our class, school & community, and planet a better place because we are here.  Todd Parr's Be Who You Are perfectly extended this "pep talk."

After our first book, we ventured back to Liverpool, England in 1960 to learn about the early days of the Beatles and their meteoric rise to fame and fortune.  The mentor text for this lesson was Kathleen Krull & Paul Brewer's The Beatles Were Fab (and They Were Funny).  This picture book really gives readers the feeling and sense of what Beatlemania was like (for those of us that weren't alive yet).  In addition to the story, I also blended in various Beatle songs (and a few videos) that were cited in the text.  Based on the "twisting and shouting" that ensued, I'd say it was another successful class for all!   

May 8, 2017

Nature, Gardens, & Spiders (oh, my!)

"A single act of kindness throws out roots in all directions, and the roots spring up and make new trees." - Frederick William Faber

After being at home for April vacation and having the chance to slow my usual "work pace," my children and I took delight in watching the plants, flowers, and large maple tree in our backyard come to life over the course of three days of sun.  As if the universe was speaking directly to us, I realized what to focus on for my first week back; nature, gardens, and spiders!   For our first title, I chose local author Kate Messner's Up in the Garden and Down in the Dirt.  This beautifully illustrated (Christopher Silas Neal) nonfiction story highlights how there is as much happening below the surface of a garden as there is above.  

For our next title, I wanted to remind the learners that while we have an amazing book collection in the SATEC library, we also have access to thousands of more titles on our Tumble Book digital collection.  For this offering, we shifted to the inspirational fiction story Rose's Garden by Peter H. Reynolds.  It was an entertaining Tumble experience for all!  

Last, but not least, I wanted to inject a bit of "Mr. Flanagan humor" into the week.  I found the perfect title for this in Bethany Barton's I'm Trying to Love Spiders (It Isn't Easy).  This book was enjoyed by all, resulting in almost everyone LOL'ing!  

April 20, 2017

Out of the Woods, Red Clover Voting, and Samo!

"...Antonio never forgot the time when he watched the distance between people and animals disappear."   -Rebecca Bond

We have reached the end of our Red Clover books journey!  And, what an amazing journey it has been.  Everyone really seemed to enjoy and appreciate the variety of fiction and non-fiction, humor and life lessons contained in each of the ten titles.  

After completing Out of the Woods by Vermont-born author Rebecca Bond, learners then watched a slide show I created to review the list before voting on their favorite title.  Many expressed how difficult it was to pick just one!  A sign that this year's list was truly special.  

Some groups this week (depending on time and missed classes) also got to listen to the recent Caldecott Medal winning title, Radiant Child by Javaka Steptoe.  This book beautifully tells the story of Jean-Michel Basquiat and his rise to fame in the 1980's art scene of New York City.  This story was another reminder to us all to never abandon your dreams - and to work even harder than you think you can to accomplish them.                     

April 7, 2017

An Unexpected Friendship and Baseball

"When it comes to being glamorous, less is sometimes more, but when it comes to having friends... you can never have too many."  -Glamourpuss

We just completed our ninth Red Clover book together!  It's amazing to think that we only have one more to go before voting. 

  Glamourpuss, by Sarah Weeks, tells the story of a luxurious (and spoiled) cat whose easy life is interrupted by the arrival of a trick wielding chihuahua named Bluebelle.  This visitor/intruder throws Glamourpuss into the unexpected headspace of doubting just how special she really is.  But before all is lost, something happens that changes Glamourpuss's perspective and unites the two together.  It's a great reminder that we all have more in common than often meets the eye.  

       

                    

In addition to reading another wonderful Red Clover title, I also wanted to share my favorite "sign of spring" with the students - baseball!  And when I think of great baseball picture books I immediately think of Matt Tavares.  Matt is an amazing author/illustrator, and makes his love of story telling and baseball obvious to all lucky enough to read his books.  As usual, it was another great week here in the SATEC library!  

March 29, 2017

Focusing on Family

"Together, we make a family."

 

This week's selection of stories was intended to guide our collective focus on the concept of family - in its numerous shapes and forms.  The people you go home to every night, relatives or friends near and far, and even the family of learners that we become here at SATEC all add to our understanding of family.  The inspiration for this lesson came from our eighth Red Clover nominee for the 2016-17, Mango, Abuela, and Me.  In addition to this beautiful story, learners also heard titles like: My Wild Family, Wolfie the Bunny, and Salt in His Shoes.