Great Books for 5th graders

I found a great site that will help the 5th and 6th grade students to find good reads, both fiction and non-fiction.  We will let you know this week if we agree with the reviews and how many copies we have in the library.  If you want any of the titles that we do not have in the library, I will get them for the library with the Barnes and Noble giftcard.  Make sure that you comment.  I moderate the comments, but I will post all appropriate ones.

Wow!  Did you know we had a fabulously fun day at Barnes and Noble?  The singing was wonderful and I loved seeing you all dressed up.  Congratulations to Erica Clark and Susan Havener who each won a Nook Simple Touch.  A huge thank you goes to Frank Pelkey for donating the money for the Nook.  (We sold so many tickets that we raffled a second one.) I shopped with the proceeds from the raffle today and purchased lots of new books for the library.  Thank you also for all of the donations from the wish list table. All of the new books will have a sticker inside so readers will know how supportive our parents and grandparents are at Elder Grove. Now that the raffle is over, I will have a new prize for the first student who tells me what I forgot on Feb. 1st.  Another winner today was Lila Rambur who won the prize for the Scavenger Hunt - Beauty by Bill Wallace.  Five prizes were drawn for the games: winners were Palmer Coleman, Claire Frolich, Colter Dykeman, Ben Duncan, and Ava Sawicki. Come see me in the library Monday for your prize.

Did you know that google has a question every day?  This means that you can practice your research skills and find out if you found the answer.  You will find the daily question at http://agoogleaday.com Hope to see you at the Barnes and Noble Book Fair tomorrow from 1-4pm.  Shopping for books for my family will mean that I can then shop for books for the library with the proceeds. Don't tell her, but I'm buying my daughter a Nook Color for Valentine's Day!

I Love to Read Month 2012

I LOVE TO READ MONTH is here!  Did you know that it takes 30 days of doing the same thing to make a behavior a habit?  Well I want to form a habit of blogging more. So here is the deal.  If I don't put up a new post every day of February, the first student who tells me that I missed a post gets a prize!  Yes, that means that the first person who tells me that I missed February 1st gets a ticket for the Nook Simple Touch Raffle that is being drawn at Barnes and Noble on Saturday Feb. 4th.  That is a chance at the $99 Nook Simple Touch!  You can stop in the library Friday or email me at gunderson@eldergrove.k12.mt.us to tell me. I hope to see you at the Book Fair at Barnes and Noble on Saturday.  But if you can't make it, you can always shop at the store until Feb. 9th or shop online from Feb. 4th -9th.  I am hoping to be able to purchase lots of new books for the library :)

First Quarter 100 Point Club

The scores are in and we have ten members in the 100 Point club already.  Congratulations to 3rd Grader Daniel Hutton, 5th graders Paige Lund, Avery McLane, Jayden Tucker, and Abbigail Sparks, 7th grader Jessica Moler and 8th graders Brianna Kanta, Jessie Keller, Tanner Lund, and Bailey Tucker. They have all made the 100 point club! They have received a $10 Subway gift card and will receive a $5 gift certificate for the Spring Bookfair. Jayden Tucker and Tanner Lund have also made the 500 Point Club!  In addition,there are  2 second graders that are "on their way" to the 100 Point Club.  They both have over 25 points for the first quarter. Lexie Taylor and Makenzie Sparks have both received a pack of M&M's. Way to Go Elder Grove Readers!

Let's share some opinions!  Send in a post for a suggestion of a great read.  We are always having discussions in the library as to what books we have read that we recommend to others, but if you aren't present (and that would be a lot of Elder Grove readers) then you miss out on our suggestions.  So I'll start first. One of my favorite books from my primary days is There's Always Room for One More.  My dad would read it in his Scottish accent and I just loved it!. Another favorite that I read on my own was Charlotte's Web by E.B. White.  The one and only pig on our small farm we, of course, named Wilbur.  He was the coolest pig.  I remember him as a little piglet, sniffing out the window like a dog his snout over my dad's shoulder, arriving up our driveway in our Volkswagon bug,.  The book that made me cry the most when I was a kid, was Where the Red Fern Grows.  I was shaking with great sobs in my bed.  The young reader's book that made me cry like that when I was an adult is Hattie Big Sky. (Incidentally, my friend Kirby Larson wrote that one and the story is modeled after her great-grandmother who homesteaded in Vida, Montana.)  I hope this gives you some ideas of good reads.  Yes, we do have all of these titles in the Elder Grove Library and you can take and AR test too :)  Now let's hear from all of you!

Welcome Back

I hope you all read some great books over the summer. Some students are already in the 100 point club! (Don't forget you get rewards each quarter for being a member in the 100 point club.)

Wow- that is summer reading at it's finest!

My book club choice was Cutting for Stone. I learned a great deal about other cultures and communication – or lack thereof... I am excited to talk about it at my book club Tuesday night.

I also read the first Fablehaven book by Bruce Mull. I agree with the Elder Grove readers that is a very entertaining series. Reminded me a bit of Harry Potter, but much easier to read. I am looking forward to the sequel. I have started Book One of the Gideon Trilogy, The time travelers by Linda Buckley-Archer . It reminds me even more of Harry Potter, but so far without the magic element – just science fiction. It is a 6.3 level worth 17 points!

I am happy to say that a student, Jessica M. requested that I add a new post. I am glad that at least one person is reading them :) And it was on my To-do list I just hadn't given it high enough priority. The challenge to myself is to update it at least once a week. Nudge me if I get behind.