Diary of a Library

Wordless Picture Books

2012-01-14T09:12:00.000-08:00

There are many lists of wordless picture books out there on the Web. Here are some lists posted on the Bibliocommons site:

Wordless Books for Creative Writers
Wordless Books-- by EPL_Literacy Librarian
Wordless Books - by Northbrook_Youth Genres

Student Book Reviews

2012-01-12T07:52:00.000-08:00

We are beginning to launch a book review-writing effort in the library. The purpose of the reviews will be for children to be able to recommend books to each other. Today professional book reviewer (and TNS parent) Marjorie Ingall spoke to 1st and 2nd graders about what makes a good book review. These are some of her tips:

It's ok to not like a book, but you have to say why. Always give a book a chance. Read two pages before you decide.
Look at the title of the book. What does it tell you about the book?
Tell whether it is a fiction or nonfiction book.
If it is a picture book, do I like the pictures?
Does the author have a message or lesson?
Who would like this book?

Every book review should mention:

PLOT (or what the book is about)
CHARACTERS (for fiction) Who are the characters? Who is your favorite? Why?
STYLE: Is it fantasy, funny, graphic novel, etc.
FEELINGS: How did it make you feel?

Summer Reading!

2011-07-28T08:30:00.001-07:00

Library Horoscope

2011-06-13T07:25:00.000-07:00

This horoscope recently circulated over the NYC school librarians' list-serv.

HELP!!!

2011-06-08T10:52:00.001-07:00

Volunteers Needed!

June in the library means gathering all the materials that have been borrowed. Now it's time to put them all away. If you have any time to spare to help shelve -- 10 minutes...20 minutes...1 hour...whatever... -- please stop by.

One World, Many Stories

2011-06-07T12:20:00.000-07:00

This is the theme of New York's Summer Reading Program.

Throughout the month of June, or fabulous neighborhood children's librarian, Mrs. Thea, will be coming in to speak to classes about the public library's summer reading program. Children can keep a written log of what they've read, or record their reading online at www.summerreading.org. The site has been built like a social networking site. Children can create avatars (symbols of themselves), track their reading, and earn virtual badges. Please note: TNS students should combine this log with the Read-a-thon list, to earn "bonus points."

Our Library to Share Catalog with New York Public Library

2011-06-06T04:52:00.000-07:00

Our Library has been selected to be in a DOE/NYPL union catalog pilot! A union catalog is, basically, a list of the combined holdings of several libraries. In this case, select libraries in the New York City school system will merge their records with those of the New York Public Library.

According to the folks at NYPL organizing this initiative, this means that our school(s) will receive:

· Better and more equitable access to resources through a web-based catalog that will let students and teachers see our collection, the collections of other pilot schools, and the vast resources of the New York Public Library;

· Greatly increased number and variety of resources available to teachers and students;

· Free delivery and pickup of materials requested by our teachers with their Educator Cards;

· Cataloging and automation support from the experts at NYPL and the automation vendor, Innovative Interfaces;

· 24/7 virtual learning opportunities;

· Opportunity for increased use of digital materials;

· A chance to share book lists (for example, in support of the Common Core), comments and reviews among teachers, librarians and students using NYPL’s new BiblioCommons product;

· Professional development and support to make this a very successful collaboration and enhanced library services for everyone at our school.

Making Comics in the Library

2011-05-27T11:00:00.000-07:00

During "All School Work Time," students of varying ages came to the library to make comics. They used a free, online comics program called Make Beliefs Comics. Here are a couple comics they produced in 40 minutes' time:

Author Visit: George O'Connor!

2011-05-25T04:43:00.000-07:00

Our kids are crazed with Greek mythology as well as with graphic novels. Put them together and what do you get? George O'Connor's Olympians series! We were so lucky to have a visit from George in our library with fourth graders who are in the middle of a graphic novel reading and writing unit. We await the release of Hera this summer!

Edible Crafts!

2011-05-13T19:22:00.000-07:00

Helicopters

Following the book, Candy Construction--part of our cookbook collection--we made edible helicopters in the Library! ("Crafts with the Librarian" was a silent auction item at the Neighborhood School Annual Holiday Fair).

1/2 Grade Animal Research

2011-05-13T08:29:00.000-07:00

Did you know...?

This slide show of "fun facts" is based on the animal research students did from library books and the PebbleGo database.

Book Trailers by 4th & 5th Graders

2011-05-09T11:19:00.000-07:00

Gail Gibbons Author Study

2011-05-01T08:41:00.000-07:00

We have 38 books by author/illustrator Gail Gibbons in our library. We learned what it means to have a distinct style. We watched a video interview of Gail Gibbons and found out that she remembers being a curious kid and always asking questions. Asking good questions is part of being a good scientist and researcher.

Visit from the First Lady of Canada

2011-04-12T08:49:00.000-07:00

Fifth graders have been studying Canada as part of their social studies curriculum. We had a special visit from America' "first lady of Canada." Julie Jacobson is the wife of the United States' ambassador to Canada. Mrs. Jacobson treated us to a slideshow in the library and answered questions about Canada. We learned that Canada has 10 provinces and three territories, that the majority of its residents live close to the U.S. border, and other interesting facts about our neighboring country.

Julie Jacobson and President Obama embrace after Ambassador Jacobson (in background) is sworn in.

Workshop for Parents: Electronic Books (ebooks) for Children

2011-04-07T08:27:00.000-07:00

Library Workshop for Parents:

Electronic books (ebooks) for kids!

Learn about online resources that will engage your child(ren) in reading. Perfect for emergent and beginning readers.

Friday, April 15, 2011 (Half Day)

8:30-9:00 – Coffee and light breakfast

9:00-9:30 – Workshop

9:30-11:30 -- Help with Library tasks

Please r.s.v.p. to mckinleylibrary@gmail.com by Wednesday, April 13th.

Author Visit: John Bemelmans Marciano!

2011-03-31T07:49:00.000-07:00

Author/illustrator John Bemelmans Marciano gave a lively presentation to kindergarteners and first graders in our library on April 1st (no kidding!). Mr. Marciano is the grandson of Ludwig Bemelmans, creator of the beloved Madeline series. He has worked to keep the Madeline books alive, up-to-date, and as exciting as ever.

Irma Black (Kids' Choice) Book Award

2011-03-05T08:55:00.000-08:00

The Irma Simonton Black and James H. Black Award for Excellence in Children's Literature has been presented annually since 1973 by Bank Street College of Education. The Award is unusual in that children are the final judges of the winning book. This year, first and second grade students will be choosing one winner from a selection of four finalists:

Actress and Author Julianne Moore Visits Our Library

2011-02-16T04:42:00.000-08:00

Sometimes the library is just a pretty backdrop. Yesterday actress Julianne Moore appeared as Proctor & Gamble's spokesperson for "Love Your School Day," a day of making classrooms sparkle--with P&G's products, of course. She was interviewed in the library about the importance of a clean environment for learning. It is not so off-base, though, to place her in the library. Julianne is also the author of the popular Freckleface Strawberry books.

PreK-K Body Drawings

2011-02-14T18:54:00.000-08:00

Author Visit: James Thach

2011-02-01T16:39:00.000-08:00

James Thach doing a dramatic reading from his The Seal Pup.

PS 63 second graders welcomed author James Thach in the library. Mr. Thach is the author of The Seal Pup, a book in verse about the story of a lost seal pup. The book--a mixture of fact and narrative--is populated with seals, walruses, penguins, sharks, and other polar animals. He explained that he did his background research in the library, from books, as well as watching documentary nature films.

Library Work Day and New Books!

2011-01-29T07:58:00.000-08:00

Librarian and Lovely Volunteer Moms at Library Work Day
(check out the New Books display!)

Thanks to Noemi Mora and Ahyesha Daniels, and all the parents who showed up to help.

An empty shelving cart! Woo-hoo!

Library Work Day

2011-01-24T14:27:00.000-08:00

With the help of our terrific parent coordinator Noemi, we are planning a Library Work Day for this coming Friday, January 28th (a half-day). We will be serving coffee and a light breakfast, followed by a morning of helping out in the library. There are numerous jobs, from shelving to cleaning to working with technology. Please r.s.v.p. to mckinleylibrary@gmail.com if you can come. Thank you!!

Nonfiction Reading Campaign!

2011-01-21T07:57:00.000-08:00

Kids--especially boys--are drawn to nonfiction. And there seem to be a lot more engaging nonfiction reads than ever before. I'm not referring to books that satisfy a research need (though those have their place), but texts on topics that capture the genuine interests of children. The Day-Glo Brothers, for example, is the story of how two brothers began experimenting with ultraviolet light to create fluorescent paints, a feature of our visual landscape that we now take for granted. Sparrows sparks children's wonder about the natural world around them, right here in New York City. We will soon launch a schoolwide reading program, aimed at students from grades 3-5 and their families, to encourage the whole community to take advantage of the rich nonfiction reading materials we have available. The goal is to help students recognize that reading is a "life skill" that surrounds every area of life and is the key to future success. Thanks to a generous grant from Macy's, we will be receiving a generous gift of nonfiction titles for our library collection! Stay tuned for details.

Electronic Books (ebooks)

2011-01-05T16:12:00.000-08:00

We have been looking at electronic books in grades 1/2. (Don't worry, printed books continue to be alive and well in our library!) Kids in Alexis' class were introduced to the library at One More Story, a digital library of classic and contemporary children's books. You can look at a sample book there. Our library has a subscription for this database. If you are interested in gaining home access to all the books, please email Cheryl at mckinleylibrary@gmail.com to receive a username and password. We have 50 home accounts; if there is enough interest, we may be able to increase that number.

Author Visit: Monica Wellington

2010-12-11T14:31:00.000-08:00

It was a delight to have author/illustrator Monica Wellington as our guest yesterday. Monica has written and illustrated Apple Farmer Annie, Pizza at Sally's, Mr. Cookie Baker, and other food-related picture books. (Each of these has recipes at the end of the book and have, hence, become part of our cookery collection). Laura's and Erica's class had very insightful questions to ask her.

We learned that the first sketch is done in pencil and is called a "dummy".

Next comes the color. Monica uses colored pencils and gouache paint. We spotted the differences between the original sketch and the final version.

"Squeaking of Art" includes references to many of Monica's favorite works of art.

New SmartBoard!

2010-12-09T15:29:00.000-08:00

Our new SmartBoard* was delivered this week, replacing an "old" model that required a cart and projector that stood in the way of good viewing. The new one has an integrated projector and is low to the ground, enabling our smallest learners to get involved with interactive whiteboard learning. We use the SmartBoard to play fun literacy-centered games in the Library. A favorite this week for grades 3-5 is "Order in the Library", an interactive sorting game that reinforces alphabetizing skills. The students are loving it! *thanks to a grant from our City Councilwoman, Rosie Mendez

Please Reschedule Library Day

2010-11-23T08:53:00.000-08:00

Leaf Men by Laurie's Pre/K Class

2010-11-15T14:33:00.000-08:00

We read Lois Ehlert's Leaf Man and then made leaf men of our own (a sampling):

Leaf Character

Leaf Skateboarder

Leaf Lady

Thanks to Eileen, our fabulous student teacher, for scanning all the leaves and creating this lesson!

Comic Art Show Featuring Comics by NS Students!

2010-11-12T09:49:00.000-08:00

Third-grade students have been busy making comics here in the library with artist Neil Numberman (author of the popular Joey Fly series). The kids' comics will be displayed at the Dixon Place Theater during the performance of "Carousel for Kids!" I hope you can make it to the performance on November 20th.

Knitting in the Library

2010-11-10T04:42:00.000-08:00

knitting in the library while listening to Jim Dale's reading of Harry Potter on audio

Recruiting Library Volunteers

2010-11-09T04:24:00.000-08:00

poster designed by Eileen Makoff, our library student teacher

Scary Stories Week

2010-10-28T05:04:00.000-07:00

My friend Peggy Y. visited us and read Piggie Pie during "Scary Stories Week."

What do first, second, and third graders like to read?

2010-09-27T17:08:00.000-07:00

Grades One through Three are drawing about what they like to read. Here are some examples (below). If you want to see more, please visit the bulletin boards outside the Library.

Cooking

dragons

superheroes

Guardians of Ga'Hoole series

scary books

Ivy & Bean and

Diary of Wimpy Kid

Get Excited and Make Things

2010-09-20T04:45:00.000-07:00

print by Matt Jones, hanging in our library

A new motto for our library media center!

Birthday Cards for the Library

2010-06-11T06:16:00.000-07:00

June marked the fifth anniversary of our Library. Students made birthday cards.
"To the Library of Cheryl

Edible Art

2010-06-05T08:33:00.000-07:00

This hungry caterpillar creation comes from Face Food Recipes: A How-To Guide by Christopher D Salyers, a gift from the publisher, Mark Batty Publishers. This little guide to making charaben (character themed) bento boxes is guaranteed to be a crowd pleaser!

We Celebrate Our Library's Fifth Birthday

2010-05-30T17:18:00.000-07:00

We are planning a happy hour to celebrate our library's fifth birthday and to raise funds to keep it going. There will be great music; $2 BEERS and $3 MIXED DRINKS; SNACKS; RAFFLE PRIZES; and a short READING by Wendy Shanker (called “irreverent and refreshing” by Publisher’s Weekly, “a bubbly diva” by Harper’s Bazaar and “ “fierce and funny” by Ms. Magazine), author of The Fat Girl's Guide to Life and Are You My Guru?: How Medicine, Meditation & Madonna Saved My Life Thanks to parent Richard Manitoba (NS parent of Jake) for hosting! WHEN: June 9, 6-8pm WHERE: Manitoba's, 99 Avenue B. Please come and support our library!

Birthday Cupcakes

2010-05-29T09:44:00.000-07:00

We will be serving "Happy Birthday Library" cupcakes* in the Lobby on Friday, June 11th, at dismissal, to all students.

If you're available to help serve cupcakes for 15 minutes, please let me know (mckinleylibrary@gmail.com). Thanks! --Cheryl

*provided by Ciao for Now

George O'Connor brings Athena and Zeus to 4th & 5th graders in the Library!

2010-05-28T20:10:00.000-07:00

Author/cartoonist George O'Connor was our special guest on May 28th. He presented a "how to draw" workshop, taking students through the step-by-step process of creating a Cyclops or Athena figure. What a great way to wrap up Rachael & Kenton's class study of mythology and also capitalize on kids' passion for graphic novels and Greek mythology in Ms. Baron/Ms. Nye's 5th grade class. There are 10 more books planned in this exciting series.

George has promised to post all of their drawings on his website, www.olympiansrule.com.

Librarians' Day of Dialog/Book Expo America (BEA)

2010-05-26T16:40:00.000-07:00

I had the fortune to attend School Library Journal's "Day of Dialog" a full-day program for librarians, critics, publishers, and other book people at the Book Expo America convention. A fascinating panel discussion on "Steampunkery" (a literary genre and subculture). If you are not familiar with this phenomenon and want to learn more, you can watch the panel right here: http://vimeo.com/12054016 "Drawing the Line Between Picture Books and Graphic Novels," an amazing conversation about the boundaries between the two genres. An interesting distinction for me was stated by illustrator David Wiesner, who said that picture books are (usually) meant to be read aloud whereas graphic novels are to be read alone. Agreed. Lastly, I attended the panel "The Care and Feeding of Tweens: Who are they, where are they, and what do they respond to?"

If you are so inclined, you can watch videos of two of these panels here:

Steampunk Panel - SLJ Day of Dialog, BEA 2010 from School Library Journal on Vimeo.

Tween panel: SLJ Day of Dialog, BEA 2010 from School Library Journal on Vimeo.

Cornelia Funke (The Thief Lord, The Inkheart trilogy) read the first chapter of her new book Reckless, to be released in September. She is as magical and captivating as her books!

One of the other perks of going to Book Expo is coming out with as many posters and advanced readers' copies that you can stuff into the free literarily-decorated giveaway bags. I'm eager to read Tony Diterlizzi's Wondla as well as Inrid Law's Scumble and David Tanis' Heart of the Artichoke and Other Kitchen Journeys (for my personal cookbook collection)

Illustrator Visit: Andrew Glass

2010-05-14T17:34:00.000-07:00

Andrew Glass, illustrator--and parent of Catherine ('15)--talked to Katie's and Debbie's classes about his work as an illustrator, beginning with showing how every pocket he had was filled with a little notebook, so he is always prepared to sketch his ideas and what he observes. Andrew is currently working on a historical fiction picture book about flying cars!

Author Visit: Geoffrey Hayes

2010-04-16T15:06:00.000-07:00

Geoffrey Hayes, creator of the Benny and Penny series for Toon Books, visited with Laurie's PreK/K and Ms. Zaccardi/Ms. Lee/Ms. Hernandez' 1st graders in the Library. He read and talked about Benny and Penny and the Toybreaker. (Many of us can think of a cousin or younger sibling toybreaker in our lives.) Geoffrey also treated us to a demonstration of his drawing techniques.

Hear A Story Wiki

2010-03-23T12:40:00.000-07:00

Click here to visit our new wiki and hear a story!

Visit from Art Director Joann Hill

2010-02-12T16:17:00.000-08:00

Joann Hill, Art Director at Disney-Hyperion Books (and K mom) visited Sofia's 4/5 class in the library to talk about the production of book jacket design. She treated us to a presentation of typeface all around us--in signage for restaurants, ice cream trucks, and other businesses, as well as the process of book jacket design, from concept to final product. We learned that it is a collaborative effort and the jacket design usually goes through many changes and edits before a final is selected.

Library Crafts

2009-12-23T18:25:00.000-08:00

Stick Puppets made at the Extended Day Library Crafts Club:

Goldilocks and the Three Bears

Ugli dolls

1st Grade Social Studies: Jobs

2009-12-23T11:34:00.001-08:00

Jokes into Comics

2009-12-09T12:32:00.000-08:00

Our student teacher, Max G., has been doing lessons on comics. Third graders chose a joke from one of the joke books in the library and adapted it to the comic strip format.

Readers' Theater!

2009-12-07T07:59:00.000-08:00

Fourth and fifth graders performed their readers theater for a first/second grade Spanish class. They read two plays sprinkled with Spanish words: Judy Freeman's adapatation of The Barking Mouse (from the book Once Upon a Time) and an adaptation of Skippyjon Jones. It was muy divertido!

Library Advocacy & Math

2009-12-04T08:05:00.000-08:00

Stephanie's fourth and fifth graders learned that the total budget for library books--from New York State--is $6.25 per child per year. We figured that that meant that their class would be entitled to $137.50. We set up a "bookstore" in the library, and teams were given a budget of $137.50 to buy books for their class. Students learned that there would only be 6-8 books available for their whole class to share. This was enlightening to them and their teacher and has sparked them to do an advocacy project on behalf of school libraries in our state. Using their letter-writing skills, following a unit on persuasive writing, many students decided to contact our state senator to lobby for more funds for school libraries.

Amy's Class -- Our Roots

2009-11-23T09:40:00.000-08:00

We constructed a word cloud based on our families' places of origin:

courtesy http://www.wordle.net. Images of Wordles are licensed Creative Commons License.

"I want a scary book!"

2009-11-17T04:51:00.000-08:00

My librarian mentor, in the all-boys school where I started out, used to lament the fact that boys would not check out The Secret Garden. "If only they would put a picture of a bloody hand on the cover..." The problem still remains. Let's face it: kids are influenced in their reading choices by the cover design. One of my favorite childrens' lit blogs, Scope Notes, has been publishing a series on Unfortunate Covers. Another blog, Jacket Whys, is devoted entirely to book jackets. I'm wishing that the publishers would catch on and package an easy-to-read, scary-but-not-too-scary book with in a cover that could compete with any Goosebumps title, rather than one with wide-eyed little kids running away from cute little ghosts and goblins.
Which book looks scarier?

Thank You Rosie Mendez!

2009-11-15T16:39:00.000-08:00

Hats off to our City Council Member Rosie Mendez for her support of our library. Thanks to a grant from her office, we will be able to perform a much-needed upgrade of our technology!

Top Ten Circulating Titles

2009-11-13T15:35:00.000-08:00

The Library's current Top Ten books checked out are:
Diary of a Wimpy Kid (books 1 & and 2), Bone (graphic novel series) (1 and 2), Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (manga), Babymouse (1): Queen of the World (graphic novel); Hulk (vol. 1): (graphic novel), Babymouse (4): Rockstar, Babymouse (5): Heartbreaker; Bone (10): Ghost Circles. Do you see a pattern here?

Library Word Wall

2009-11-11T11:20:00.000-08:00

For years I have dreamed about having a Library Word Wall in our library. When I discovered chalkboard paint, my fantasy began to take vivid shape. Thanks to our school's fantastic custodial team--Willie and Manny--and the graphic designer (and Neighborhood School mom) extraordinaire, Harriet Spear, that dream has come true! Can you think of any library words that begin with the letter U, X, or Z?

Our Community of Readers

2009-11-07T17:16:00.001-08:00

Jane Addams Book Award

2009-10-16T13:48:00.001-07:00

Lindsey (our library intern) and I dashed out of the library this afternoon and up First Avenue to get to the Jane Addams Children's Book Awards Ceremony at United Nations Plaza, where I purchased this charming stuffed replica of the pioneer social worker and feminist Jane Addams (pictured left). The Jane Addams Children's Book Awards are given annually to the children's books published the preceding year that effectively promote the cause of peace, social justice, world community, and the equality of the sexes and all races. I'm looking forward to sharing the 2009 winners with students: Planting the Trees of Kenya: The Story of Wangari Maathai will resonate with those students who have been concentrating on environmental concerns and The Storyteller's Candle/La velita de los cuentos, about Pura Belpre, the New York Public Library's first--and influential--Puerto Rican librarian. Each author delivered a moving acceptance speech, humbling his/herself in the service of promoting the subject of in his/her book instead.

2009-10-07T08:26:00.000-07:00

Try Something New! Genre Punchcards

2009-10-01T15:50:00.000-07:00

Like the "buy 10, get the 11th free" coffee punch cards , we now have "read 7 genres, get a prize" punch cards, in an effort to get some kids to diversify their reading. This "challenge" is taking off. The book categories? Fiction, Nonfiction, Graphic Novel, Picture Book, Poetry, Biography, and Folk/Fairy Tale (for grades 1-2, the first four). The prize? A new, free book (yes, to keep! no, not a library book!) or a scratch-and-sniff bookmark in gummy worm, chocolate bar, or buttered popcorn flavors, courtesy Upstart, my favorite library promotion store. Whiteboard rendering by our talented intern, Max.

Poetry Share with BMCC

2009-05-02T16:55:00.000-07:00

Professor Bil Wright's creative writing class from Boro of Manhattan Community College (BMCC) and PS 63 fifth graders shared their poetry around the theme of their "hopes and dreams for their future."

Sidewalk Poetry

2009-04-19T17:54:00.000-07:00

April 20-24 = Sidewalk Poetry Week.

Kids chalked their poems on the sidewalks around the school.
The children's poems turned our school's surroundings into a word wonderland.

Children's Book Week

2009-04-16T08:45:00.001-07:00

The votes are in! Laura's 1/2 class chose Those Darn Squirrels; Ms. Friedman's 2nd graders chose The Pigeon Wants a Puppy; and Ms. Zaccardi & Ms. Lee's 2nd grade class chose Katie Loves the Kittens. Check back on May 17th for the official announcement of votes from children around the U.S.!

May 11-17 is Children's Book Week. Grades K-2 are going to be voting for their favorites in the Library.

You can see the finalists here.

Book Hospital

2009-04-07T13:11:00.000-07:00

Our custodian Willie worked his magic on a dirty old discarded metal cart, found in a supply closet at school. He cleaned it up and painted it clean, crisp white. Then graphic designer Harriet Spear (Neighborhood School parent) designed and produced the lettering and red-cross logo. I'm so excited about this object! Maybe its charm will lessen the pain of seeing all those worn out and mistreated books.

Poetry Writing w. Bowery Poetry Club

2009-04-06T11:45:00.000-07:00

Gary Glazner, Managing Director of our neighbor, the Bowery Poetry Club, worked with fourth grade students to create acrostic poems using their first names.

Here's one:

Banana bread tastes good.
Eggs are tasty.
Nuggets come from McDonald’s.
Jello.
I like these.

GRAPHIC NOVELS WEEK!!

2009-03-27T09:02:00.001-07:00

March 16-20 was Graphic Novels Week at our School!

(CLICK PHOTOS TO ENLARGE)

Book Fair

Comics for kids -- and teachers!

Janna Morishima of Diamond Books spoke to parents about "Why Comics Are Good for Kids," and recommended specific books featured in our book fair to parents.

Janna (right) talking to PS 63 Principal, Darlene Despeignes

Visiting Comic Book Artists and Authors
Several comic book artists and writers visited with students in the library.

Matt Loux met with third grade classes. He talked about his early influences (at left) and explained that at first he practiced copying his favorite cartoon characters over and over again before coming up with his original ideas. Writing is still hard for him. We are glad he perseveres and look forward to the next book in the Salt Water Taffy series!

First and second graders were treated to an interactive visit with Geoffrey Hayes (Benny & Penny Series). They wrote their own, original Benny & Penny stories.

George O'Connor read his Sally and the Something to Ms. Farkas' first graders; drew Uncle Bigfoot, and gave a sneak-preview of his forthcoming graphic novel, Olympians, to Joel's first/second grade class.

Cartoonist Neil Numberman did a hands-on insect-drawing workshop with third and fourth graders!
We're looking forward to seeing Neil's soon-to-be released first book in the Joey Fly: Private Eye series--Joey Fly: Private Eye in Creepy Crawly Crime.

Artist Raina Telgemeier of Baby-Sitters Club fame talked about her work with fifth graders from Ms. Deshpande's class.

Misako Rocks speaks with fifth-grade students. After a slide presentation, she demonstrates her Manga drawing technique for the class.

Alex Simmons, writer for Archie Comics, did a comic-making workshop with children. Alex organizes the annual Kids' Comic Con in the Bronx.

Matt Madden, co-author of Drawing Words and Writing Pictures, spoke to teachers about possibilities for using comics in the classroom.

Collection Development Tool

2007-11-01T08:20:00.000-07:00

Our collection is very much driven by students' interests. When compiling my book order list, I always consult the wishes of our students. This journal sits on the circulation desk.