READING AND WRITING GO HAND IN HAND

     My son is eight years old and going to be in second grade.  After discovering and devouring both Stick Dog books and a little encouragement from a school assembly with the author, he started creating his own Stick Dog books. Each book follows Stick Dog and his friends in an attempt to get some kind of food.  So, he decides which type of food they are going to try to get and he writes and illustrates his own version.  We even co-authored one version, of course my ideas were generally shot down for his much more creative ones.  :)  What do moms know anyway?

After he finishes his books, we add them to one of our book baskets.  He is an author after all!  Adding a child's work to works of published authors makes them feel more confident and valued.

Imitating a mentor text isn't just for independent readers and writers.  If you have a young child, you could read If You Give a Mouse a Cookie or Brown Bear, Brown Bear.  These books have very predictable patterns that your child will recognize and be able to imitate.  You can record your child's ideas and then he/she can illustrate.

- Ms. Bless

Sixth graders, parents, and teachers...!

Submitted by: Ms. Brezek

Just found this list of books for young adults! You might want to check out some of these books!

Click the picture to go to the website I found this at!

I've already read The Fault in our Stars, Speak, and 13 Reasons Why. They're all amazing! If that's any indication of this list, these should be great reads!

Anyone read anything else on this list? Please leave us a comment and share your review!

Berwyn Public Library

Do you cringe at the thought of hauling your kids to the Berwyn Library to get books?  Completely understandable!  However, if you know which books you want you can request them from the library online and then you receive an email when they are ready to be picked up!

Type in the book you want here. Then click "Request" and enter your library card account number. 

You can also download eBooks from the library!  http://berwynlibrary.org/books-more

First, I love this blogging idea!  It will be a great resource for book ideas for the whole family.  I loved the 5th grade post about where they like to read.  For my family, we all do most of our reading in bed at the end of each day.  So, when I saw the post about the bookshelves, I decided to take pictures of all of the nightstands in our house.

My 12  year old son also reads on his Kindle.  Currently he is reading “Al Capone Does my Shirts” by Gennifer Choldenko.  This is a story of a boy whose father’s new job as a prison guard at Alcatraz means a move to a new place.  The main character, Moose, has to take care of his autistic sister, make new friends and deal with a girl named Piper who lures him into a scheme that involves collecting laundry from classmates for Al Capone to launder at the prison!

My 10 year old daughter is reading Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’Dell.  We are reading this aloud together and it is a great story about a young girl left by her tribe on an island.  She has to learn to survive on her own.  Great adventure for girls or boys!  She also reads a magazine she got from the Easter Bunny and keeps a journal in which  to write her own stories.

My 8 year old is in the top bunk.  He is reading the Guardians of Ga’hoole series.  I love a good series to get through the summer.  This one involves a community of owls that are kidnapped and enslaved by an evil owl for some reason.  Too complicated for me to follow, but my kids really got INTO this series, so it must be good for them!

The bottom bunk belongs to the 2 ½ year old who sneaks out of it as fast as possible as soon as I leave the room after tucking him in.  Before that, though, our bedtime routine includes reading some books together.  Currently, his go-to bedtime story is Grover Sleeps Over.  He furrows his brow every time the part about Grover’s mommy leaving him comes up and he snuggles a little closer.  I guess he is not ready for sleepovers!

Lastly, The dresser next to my bed always holds my kindle.  Currently, I’m reading The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay.  It is a WWII era story set in New York City.  Joseph,  young cousin of 18 year old Sam arrives in the middle of the night having seemingly escaped Nazi occupied Prague.  The story of both young men unfolds as they get to know each other while pursuing the publishing of their comic book.  Honestly, it has been a challenge to get into this book but it is an interesting story.  You’ll also notice other distractions on my bedside table:  a current events magazine, a book I’m planning to read with the kids (Chasing Vermeer by Blue Balliet) and my ipad.

Looking forward to hearing about what other families are reading this summer!  Thanks for setting up the blog.

- Shelley Titzer

Because (bookshelves make) me happy!

(sing that to the tune of Pharrell's happy!)
Submitted by: Ms. Brezek

Have you seen the Wordle that our fifth grade created about the places you can read? Well, as I was thinking about what to tag that blog post,  I got to thinking about reading habits. Then I got to thinking about reading rituals and that got me thinking about all of my bookshelves!

I love my bookshelves, especially when they are super organized. (I just fixed up my home book shelf before I did it's photo shoot!) Here it is:

This is from IKEA and it's survived move after move. I don't think it's going to make one more though, but I love it so much I'd buy it again.

Anyways, across the top I Have some of my favorite books - I was obsessed with Nicholas Sparks and used to read everything he would release. By the 10th book, it was the same story over and over again - set in the charm of the South by water with a love story that has some kind of terrible problem. But, loved them when I was into them! 

Then of course you see the Twilight books. Don't judge! Twilight was the first book I reread - I went through that series when I was doing my reading specialist certificate. Loved them...and I will always have a special place in my heart for those books!

Across the middle row I have lots of books about teaching and professional topics. I brought a few home from work that I need to revisit this summer. Then I have another favorite author, Jodi Picoult:

She's in the middle of that one - I had more of her stuff but took them to school when my eighth graders were nearing the end of our time together....The way she unexpectedly twists her stories will leave you like....whoa! Highly recommend her stuff- some of it is darker than others, but great stories.

Some of the other books in that stack I tried but didn't finish - like Anna Karenina and Wuthering Heights - I think I need to try again. The Promise of Stardust - don't remember the plot of that one but I remember it was super good. So how is that for a recommendation? :-)


Well that's what is at home, along with assorted books laying all over the house:

At work, I have two more shelves - This one (also from IKEA) houses all my professional reads:

and this one holds all the picture books that Mrs. Jantz and I have:

This is some $20 book case that is on it's last leg, but it holds fiction on the top and NF on the bottom. When I was in grad school that's when the major book purchasing began happening. Here are a few of my favorites to teach with:

This one is about a rat who has a lisp and gets bullied. Then one day, his lisp comes to his aid as he (unintentionally) makes his school community better. This book is adorable and great for building community in your classroom!

Chato's Kitchen is a book about a low-riding gangster cat. I love this book because I totally do voices for the cat and the mice. Pretty sure there are some other books that feature Chato, too. 

I love Chewy Louie - it's a great text for an easily identified plot line. The dog chews up everything and the family goes through all these steps to help the dog stop chewing, including a singing therapist lady. Great book!

I've used Freedom Summer as part of my middle school Social Justice unit. This story is set in Mississippi in 1964 and is about two boys - one of which cannot do the same things as the other because of his race. It's a great way to open conversations about racism - in the past and current day!

So there you have it, all of my book cases! What about you? Where do you keep your books at home? We'd love to have you share...just shoot some pictures and email them in (to Ms. Bless: jbless@bsd100.org) along with a short description. We're still awaiting our first post from one of the Emerson families!

Have a fabulous weekend!

I am reading Bone and it is funny!  In this part, the grandma is chasing the bone people! 
I recommend this book to 2nd, 3rd, and 4th graders.

- Sam (3SB)