I had a fabulous time last week visiting classes at the elementary school.\u00a0 As the week went on, the visits got better and better, culminating in the terrific last day where I actually got to read to the kids in their classrooms (the school library was being used for another purpose).<\/p>\n
I LOVE being a children’s librarian, but visiting those classes made me think (not for the first time in my life) that I would also love to be a classroom teacher at the elementary level.\u00a0 To spend a whole year, day in and day out, with the same group of kids, really getting to know them and teach them and see them progress intellectually and socially – it’s got to be a cool feeling.\u00a0 Hard work, for sure, but also rewarding work.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But back to my visits.\u00a0 I chose a bunch of newer books to read to the kids this year, and a lot of them were very well-received.\u00a0 This year’s favorites include:\u00a0<\/p>\n
For the 1st graders:\u00a0 I Lost My Bear <\/em>written and illustrated by Jules Feiffer.\u00a0 Ok, so this isn’t a “new” book, but it’s a fantastic readaloud, and most of the kids had never heard it before.\u00a0Then Help! A Story of Friendship <\/em>written and illustrated by Holly Keller.\u00a0 An oops on my part worked out just fine – I remembered that this story was a hit last year, so I brought it out again this year.\u00a0 What I didn’t remember is that I read it to the Kindergarteners last year, and to the first graders this year – in other words, I read it a second time to the same kids.\u00a0 But it was actually ok, and the kids loved it just as much this time as they did last time.\u00a0 Then, the last story for the 1st graders was Lissy’s Friends <\/em>written and illustrated by Grace Lin.\u00a0 I really love this story, as do the kids, and it gave me a chance to show off one of our freshly-signed Grace Lin books.<\/p>\n For the 2nd graders:\u00a0 Cupcake: A Journey to Special <\/em>written and illustrated by Charise Mericle Harper.\u00a0 Such a fun story – and great for 2nd graders, because they could slap their foreheads in frustration as the candle and the cupcake totally miss the obvious.\u00a0 Then we read Not Last Night, But the Night Before <\/em>by Colin McNaughton, illustrated by Emma Chichester Clark.\u00a0 At first the kids thought it was too young for them, then they’d realize the subtle humor and the cameo appearances of fairytale characters, and then they’d smile and laugh and enjoy it.\u00a0 Cool book, just right for 2nd grade.\u00a0 And then we read Bad Bears Go Visiting <\/em>by Daniel Pinkwater, illustrated by Jill Pinkwater.\u00a0 This is a fun book, good n’ silly, and we all enjoyed it.\u00a0 I just have one beef with this book:\u00a0 Pinkwater overuses the word “says” in his dialogue, which isn’t too noxious on paper, but gets pretty tedious when reading out loud.\u00a0 It’s weird, too, since it doesn’t go with the variety of the rest of Pinkwater’s writing.\u00a0 Maybe he did it intentionally, but that doesn’t make me enjoy reading “says” out loud fifteen million times…<\/p>\n For the 3rd graders:\u00a0 Timothy and the Strong Pajamas <\/em>written and illustrated by Viviane Schwarz.\u00a0 I LOVE this book, and the kids do, too.\u00a0 It’s wise to start off with this book and end with quieter books, I’ve found, because the kids get pretty riled up by this story (a good thing, if you ask me).\u00a0 Mid-way through the book, I usually mention that Monkey reminds me a bit of Yoda, and the kids go “Oh, yeah!!!!!”\u00a0 Another favorite for the 3rd graders was Why Epossumondas Has No Hair On His Tail <\/em>by Coleen Salley and illustrated by Janet Stevens.\u00a0 The kids usually started off skeptical about this book (obviously thinking it was too young for them), then were transfixed by the end.\u00a0 Then, if there was time, I also read Too Many Fairies: A Celtic Tale <\/em>by Margaret Read MacDonald and illustrated by Susan Mitchell.\u00a0 I love MacDonald’s books, but have to admit this is not my favorite of her works.\u00a0 It’s ok, though, and the kids enjoyed it pretty well.<\/p>\n For the 4th graders:\u00a0 A Giraffe\u00a0Goes to Paris <\/em>by Mary Tavener Holmes and John Harris, illustrated by John Cannell.\u00a0 The kids loved that this was a true story, and it definitely kept those mature almost-fifth grade minds fully engaged.\u00a0 They also loved Princess Hyacinth: The Surprising Story of a Girl Who Floated<\/em>\u00a0<\/em>by Florence Parry Heide, illustrated by Lane Smith, which is just silly enough and mentions Royal Underwear just enough\u00a0for this age group.\u00a0 And, on Friday, I also read to them What Really Happened to Humpty: From the Files of a Hardboiled Detective <\/em>by Jeanie Franz Ransom, illustrated by Stephen Axelsen.\u00a0 I had held off on this book earlier in the week, because I thought perhaps it wouldn’t resonate with the kids, that they wouldn’t “get” the detective jargon, but in fact they loved it and laughed at all the sly allusions to fairy tales.\u00a0 A big hit!<\/p>\n I didn’t get to see the 5th graders this year, sadly, because their schedules are too tight, and I’ll be seeing one of the Kindergarten classes next week (hopefully the other three Kindergarten classes too, we’ll see).\u00a0 It’s been a lot of fun, and we’ve read a bunch of awesome books together.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I had a fabulous time last week visiting classes at the elementary school.\u00a0 As the week went on, the visits got better and better, culminating in the terrific last day where I actually got to read to the kids in their classrooms (the school library was being used for another purpose). I LOVE being a … Continue reading School visits<\/span>