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Welcome to Lobit Education Village Library

Librarian Sheri Howard

showard@dickinsonisd.org

Phone 281-229-7720

 

New things are happening in our world of reading due to the grade-level switching. We librarians are recreating our program to make it best suit our students! Look for instructions to post here soon. I will introduce to students the week of October 2. 

Lobit Library Blog

 

 

 

The Texas 2x2 List has several gems on it this year, but none compare to the hilariously fun beginning chapter book SEE THE CAT by David LaRochelle. Two-year old babies will laugh as mommies share the pages while readers through 2nd grade will joyfully read and reread their first chapters. 
 
As a librarian, I am always trying to fit that just-right book to my students. 2nd grade is the time to introduce chapters. I cannot wait to share this book when my library classes start next week! SEE THE CAT will enchant those students that are ready for beginning chapter books. The nonintimidating text and simply adorable illustrations by Mike Wohnoutka will make my job easy this year. In the Mo Willems style of having the reader and story characters interact, LaRochelle creates a situation and conversation little readers will belly laugh over. Speech bubbles are always a friendly kid favorite allowing students to easily understand who is talking. LaRochelle uses them for the dog while pairing them with blank white spreads of mostly single, simple sentences on the opposite page. This is one book parents will want to buy for their children's library. One reading of SEE THE CAT will never be enough! This librarian is literarily laced and ready to kick off the 2x2 program next week. I'll have them reading out of my hands. 

 

 

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You taught your child to read, and now what? Acorn books are just right for those new readers! Scholastic's Acorn Readers, written by well-known authors, are geared toward kids ages 4-7 with simple text and colorful pictures. Color-coded speech bubbles guide children easily to the speaker. The simple, chapter-book-like format has students feeling accomplished from the start. There are correlated activities included at the back of each book and even an "About the Author" section.
Hello, Crabby!, written by Jonathan Fenske, is one from the humor series. Each story is about a grumpy, humorless crab named Crabby going about his day interacting with charming characters in his beach/ocean home. Will any get Crabby to smile? Children will especially enjoy the joke in the chapter titled "The Joke" while parents will relate to knowing a Crabby in their own lives! 
The more children read, the better readers they are. You've read to them since birth. Now sometimes, allow them the pleasure of reading to you. Soon they will become fully independent readers and not care to share this precious time with you. Take advantage of it now with simple books such as Acorn Readers. 
 

 

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Just in! Duckworth the Difficult Child by Michael Sussman, illustrated by Julia Sarda is now in Lobit's Library. Difficult children and difficult parents alike will enjoy this ironic tale. The humor is not dark but leans gray, and the illustrations pair magically with the tale. Sarda's use of neutral tones and darker shades gives the book a just-right feel for the story. 
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Duckworth cannot convince his parents he's been swallowed by a snake since he is a "difficult" child. Using a parenting book to correct his "imagination", his parents' remedies are no help at all. Duckworth must use his own devices to escape his difficult situation. 
I love this book! It fits my sense of humor and is appealing to my taste in art. My favorite books are those where the story and illustrations fit so beautifully together. 
Older students will appreciate the irony and tone of the story more than the younger ones. However, younger ones will laugh at Duckworth's predicament and solution. 
Welcome to Lobit Duckworth. We are so happy to have you here! 

 

New Year, New Books!

This librarian has been joyfully at work creating a long list of must-have books for the new school year. Books from the 2x2 and Bluebonnet lists are already here awaiting their new readers. Students start back soon, so there is little time to spare! A new book in the hands is the finest back-to-school welcoming ritual. Here are a few of the books we are super excited about!

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STEGOTHESAURUS by Bridget Heos, illustrated by T. L. McBeth (Henry Holt and Company) is a new one students in grades K-3 (and teachers!) will love. Students will enjoy the playful language, simple pictures, and of course the dinosaurs. Teachers will love teaching synonyms with this "gotcha" companion. Lobit Library has several copies, and thank goodness! We are going to need them!
We are so excited about this book, we invited the author to visit in April.


 

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ALMA AND HOW SHE GOT HER NAME by Juana Martinez-Neal (Candlewick Press) is a sweet story of a daddy telling his daughter about all the people after whom she was named. Her many names honor her grandparents and other family members. After hearing the stories, Alma appreciates each name for whom it represents. This book is a fabulous way to kick off the school year in the first two get-to-know-you weeks. Students could tell the story of each of their names after discussing it with their parents. Students will be proud their names have meaning and were chosen very particularly by their mothers and fathers. This 2x2 book will start great conversations both at home and at school. 


 

For the older students, this next one will be hard to keep on the shelves. 

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Students that love creepy stories will want to check out SHADOW WEAVER by MarcyKate Connolly (Sourcebooks). Emmeline has a strange magical talent. She can manipulate shadows, and her own shadow is her best friend Dar. Emmeline plays in the woods near her home freely crafting animals and playthings from shadows. She plays her favorite game of eavesdropping by masking herself in shadows. All is fun and games until she overhears a conversation about herself. Complications arise. Is Dar just a shadow after all?  Will Dar protect Emmeline when they are forced to run from home? Although we have four copies of this book, students will be using our hold system for this great read!
Lobit Library will welcome so many new books to its shelves this year. We cannot wait for students to find their new favorite. We all know everyday is a great day to read! 
 
 
WHAT ARE YOU READING?



I always wonder what people are reading. When I ask, I hold my breath and hope they answer with a title and not, "I don't have time to read" or something similar. I must admit of late the thing I read most are quilting tutorials. I strive to improve through the guidance of others! Regardless of what it is, I am always happy to hear a positive response. 

Presently, I am somewhat disheartened about the lack of interest in books in general. A public library in our neighboring town is weeding huge amounts of books due to an upcoming renovation and shelf removal. In a roundabout way, they offered me the books. I was ecstatic! These books are beautiful, library bound, and current. Who wouldn't want these? Many actually. I brought them to my school to give away to teachers and staff. Only a few took a few books. Then I offered them to my neighbors. A couple of people happily took them. Most told me either they don't have room for them or they don't read. I'm offering a whole box of beautiful books FREE, and yet...I truly was amazed at the lack of interest. One woman's treasure is another's trash I suppose. 

As much as I would love to think that books and reading are vitally important to everyone, I know they are not. As a librarian, my quest is to change that. Read. Read newspapers (online or print!). Read dictionaries. Read cookbooks. Read biographies. Read comic books. Read anything! Just read. And if you need a real book-a library-bound real book, come see me. I promise you will not walk away empty handed. 


H IS FOR HAIKU

If you are a Haiku lover like me, you will certainly enjoy H IS FOR HAIKU. Although this collection was just published by Penny Candy books in 2018, the poems were written many years before by poet Sydell Rosenberg long famous for her haiku. Gathered by Sydell's daughter Amy Losak one for each letter of the alphabet, the poems fit beautifully with the art of illustrator Sawsan Chalabi. The colors of each page and style of art leads the older readers to a time of their childhood and introduces the younger reader to this beautiful art form. The first poem many children attempt is in the haiku format. Children seem to easily understand its 3 lines of 5 syllables, 7 syllables, 5 syllables. 

Teachers will also fall for this book because it is so easy to share, the ABC format, and the power packed in its few pages. Teaching haiku has never been easier! 

This page is one of my favorites! As both a book and library lover, this haiku spoke to me. The subject and the artwork make me smile.  
We have it here in our Lobit Library. I know it will be a popular one with both our teachers and students. I think I will go share this now and have my students write haiku. Check out H IS FOR HAIKU! 

New to Lobit Library

 

Lobit Library just gained The Rough Patch by Brian Lies into its collection. This tender book is about love and loss between the main character Evan and his dog. The lush illustrations make every turn of the page a joyful event until the stark loss. Shadows and colors evoke sadness. I as the reader could feel the pain "and nothing was the same."



This sweet book is perfect for anyone suffering due to a lost loved one or pet. The reader can observe safely the grieving journey as Evan heals and is finally able to experience simple joys again. The Rough Patch is the perfect opportunity to discuss with children the inevitable.

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An Ode to the Fresh Cut

We just added this book to the Lobit collection. It is a masterpiece! Author Derrick Barnes transforms the everyday happening of getting a haircut into a life-altering event. He relays how that perfect cut makes a boy feel and elevates him to that place where nothing can stop him from achieving his greatest goals. He describes each flawless move the barber makes and how his precision "frames your swagger." 
The illustrations are outstanding! Flipping the pictures crafted by Gordon C. James is a gallery walk. The brush strokes of the painted pages tempt you to tear out a leaf and frame it for you walls. 
We will celebrate this book with barbers from Dapper Dan's coming in at the end of September to demonstrate a couple of the styles mentioned in the book. We are sure at the end of this book event, each student will leave feeling "magnificent. Flawless. Like royalty." 
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Do Author Visits Matter?

 
Each year I've been a librarian, I had authors visit my school. It is not an easy event. Paperwork is detailed. Checks must be processed. There are schedules juggled and made. Promotion around the school and to the students is a time consuming, exhausting endeavor. I have extreme jitters on the day the author arrives. Does the author have what he or she needs? Will the microphone work perfectly? Will the students behave appropriately? Have I prepared them well enough for proper questions? It is quite the task. Why do we librarians take on such an ordeal? Do author visits even matter? 

Why have author visits?

There is something magical about a student meeting and getting the autograph of the author that wrote one of his or her favorite books. Even now as an adult, I am still awestruck when I meet one of my favorite children's authors. They are real people just like me! Students get to see that and realize that they too can be an author. Hearing the authors speak of being children and not loving writing and editing in school always amazes the audience. Their eyebrows knowingly go up while they nod their heads. They know then that even authors dislike that portion of their writing, and yet they do it. In this way, author visits not only encourage reading but writing!
After a visit, students are so excited to come in and check out that author's books! They've written to authors after a visit because now they know the authors are accessible. They prize that signed book they purchased! Students speak about the visits long after the author has gone. 
Here at Lobit, we have three author visits already scheduled for our campus. I think there will be one more as well. Remember, our goal here in the library to match students with that book that turns them into a lifelong reader! Pairing them with an author they can relate to is a step in that direction. Although having these visits can be overwhelming and difficult, there is nothing like it! I can't imagine not having authors. Here's to authors and all the joy they bring us!
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Cause for Concern?

This morning, another librarian and I were discussing a current "chapter" book to decide if we thought it was appropriate for our elementary school libraries. The mature content did not match its low reading level. She said over the past few years, she had noticed a trend of higher content but lower reading levels. She asked me what did I think that was saying about our society. 

I have been thinking about this all afternoon. What does it say? Is there cause for concern? Are our children maturing sooner or reading later? Are publishers deeming books appropriate for a certain age before they are ready or should be ready? 

As a librarian, this does have implications. Librarians have several methods to critique each book. I use them. However, after our discussion today, I am determined to research even more. I will be even more diligent to make certain the books I have in my library are the best, most appropriate literature available for the children I serve. More than ever before, awards and accolades cannot be the lone deciding factors. I cannot solely trust a catalog blurb and the assignment of a reading level to make my choices. I never did. 

I am not a censor. I love the written word! I love books! I love the freedom of thought and mind that flows between those bound pages. It's why I became a librarian. I will send that book to a higher-level library where it can be appreciated. For here, I will enrich with another. 

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That Breakthrough Book

It was in third grade when I discovered Nancy Drew. I decided to give reading one more chance with a book I had gotten from my school library. Although I was a skilled reader, I really did not enjoy the act of reading until I opened the cover of The Secret of the Old Clock- the first book of the Nancy Drew series. My life changed in that moment. I had found my book, my series, a character I loved and admired. I became obsessed with the series and then mysteries in general and then just books.
Books, books, and more books filled my life and became my greatest enjoyment, friends almost. The characters are real to me. The settings are places to which I literarily go. Their adventures are my adventures, and their risks are mine safely taken. 
We want Lobit Library to be the place that offers THAT book to your child. Our mission is to help every student find his or her breakthrough book. What was your breakthrough book? Please share! I would love to do a lesson on this with your children. Please let us know what book transformed you into the reader you are today! 

 

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What Makes a Great Library?

I inhale deeply as I unbox the new books awaiting me on my circulation desk. Nothing compares to that new-page smell. The slick covers and intact bindings entice me to smooth my hand across the titles. I love new-book days! Sometimes, these are the best days. As I shelve them, I wonder are these what make a great library? 

Of course, a great library MUST have a balanced collection of relevant current books students are passionate about and beloved classics. From Captain Underpants to Charlotte's web, books are the library. But, can well-stocked shelves alone create the place students long to be? Is the magic of a library conjured only from within the leaves of its many volumes?

As a school librarian, I say there is so much more! Library sponsored author visits, book fairs at family nights, special events such as comic cons and story concerts, celebrating nationally-recognized days like Poem in Your Pocket Day and Hour of Code infuse the school with library love and highlight the vital roles a library and librarian play in the school community. 


What can we do more to make Lobit Education Village Library the place you want to be?


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Sheri Howard is the librarian for Lobit Education Village. She opened the library in 2016 when the school was established. She has been a Texas librarian since 2007 and so brings 17 years of library experience to the 2023-2024 school year. 

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