Cookies, Cookies, Cookies!!

 Image from: My Cute Graphics

With the holidays fast approaching, all I seem to be doing is baking cookies! Not that I'm complaining, but sometimes I have to take a break from the cookie dough.  I've got a few good books that you can read and a really fun app for the younger kids.  

One of my favorite cookie books has to be The Gingerbread Baby by Jan Brett. I never get tired of reading her version of the Gingerbread Boy. She is one of my favorite authors. I read this too the Kindergarten and First Grade students last week and then we watched Jan Brett draw the Gingerbread Baby. This was a really treat!  She makes it look so easy!  Each year I try and practice, but drawing is not my thing!

There are a few great cookie books that can be found at the Leonardtown Public Library.  Even if they are in there right now, they can always be put on hold.  The first two written by Lisa Campbell Ernst, The Gingerbread Girl and The Gingerbread Girl Goes Animal Crackers. I discovered The Gingerbread Pirates by Kristin Kladstrup last year. I have not personally read Cookies: Bite-Size Life Lessons by Amy Krose Rosenthal, but it looks like one I will be reading real soon. And I can't forget a great cookie one by Mo Willems, The Ducking Gets a Cookie?! What are your favorite cookie books or do you have a great cookie cookbook? Please share in the comments.

An app that I discovered last year, Cookie Doodle, is a a fun app!  It allows the user to "make" cookies.  The user can either use premade dough or mix the dough themselves. Then they bake the dough and can use cookie cutters to make shapes. Finally they can decorate the cookies.  Last year we had a lot of fun with this app.

Happy Reading!!

Miss Hazuda (@HESMediaCenter)

National Picture Book Month

November is National Picture Book Month. This celebration is a recent one for schools, libraries, authors and readers to promote literacy at all ages. Many times in the library we hear these words, "I want to check out a chapter book!" Chapter books are certainly wonderful, but often students want to rush to chapter books because they think picture books are too easy. 







In reality, many picture books are written for older readers at high reading levels. Books with illustrations working together with text can give readers a better understanding of challenging concepts. For example, Carole Boston Weatherford's book Freedom on the Menu tells the story of the Greensboro Sit-in. Doreen Rappaport's biography Eleanor, Quiet No More chronicles the First Lady's transition from childhood to the White House. Photographs like Nic Bishop's in his book Frogs capture wildlife in action-an experience many children don’t have.

Reader understanding of all of these topics are enhanced because of their illustrations. The picture book format provides the right balance to make the topic more accessible for students. 

During November I hope you'll challenge yourself to read a few picture books and enjoy the work of both authors and illustrators!  You can print this calendar in color or black and white with picture book suggestions. Let's read, share, and celebrate the power of picture books!

If you are reading any great picture books, please share with me! Starting today I'll be sharing a great picture book with all classes. Enjoy the video below. Authors and illustrators answer the question: What is a picture book?

Happy Reading!!

Miss Hazuda (@HESMediaCenter)

Choose Kind

R.J. Palacio's book Wonder, published in 2012, kicked off a campaign of kindness in schools and libraries. Click here for a summary on Goodreads. Wonder is best suited for 4th and 5th grade readers, but kindness is for everyone! Below is the book trailer for this book.







Now R.J. Palacio has written a picture book for our PreKindergarten- 3rd grade students called We're All Wonders. Click here for a summary on Goodreads. I love this book just as much as the chapter book! Please help our community by spreading the message of kindness. We could all use a little more kindness in our lives.




The book Wonder is now a major motion picture! The release date for the movie Wonder is November 17, 2017. I am counting the days into I can go to the theater and watch the movie. I think I'm going to have to reread the book before I go see it! Below is the movie trailer. I get goosebumps each time I watch it!

Are you ready to make a difference and to spread kindness to others? Visit the Choose Kind Tumblr and take the pledge to Choose Kind!

If you want to find some other books that highlight kindness, these books can be found at the public library.

PreK-2nd Grade

Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes

Each Kindness by Jacqueline Woodsen

I Broke My Trunk by Mo Willems

The Invisible Boy by Trudy Ludwig

3rd-5th Grade

Charlotte's Web by E.B. White

Mr. Lincoln's Way by Patricia Polacco

No Talking by Andrew Clements

The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo

During the month of October we can make a difference! Let's finish the year with random acts of kindness towards each other. If you need ideas to get started, here are links to printable calendars for October, November, and December.

Share in the comments how you are choosing kind!!

Miss Hazuda (@HESMediaCenter)

September is National Library Card Sign-Up Month

September is National Library Card Sign-up Month. Do you have a library card for your public library? Our school library will do our best to meet your library needs through the school year. However, our public library provides many additional services. You can check out more books, attend programs, and access additional online resources.

Some of our favorite books for younger readers about the public library include those about animals visiting the library including Book! Book! Book!, and Bats in the Library. Even Curious George likes visiting the library!

For the older crowd there are books like The Library Card, The Forbidden Library, and Help! I’m a Prisoner in the Library. Instead of getting stuck in the library we hope you’ll visit the public library during September. 

Click here to visit the St. Mary's County Public Library Homepage. You can find all kinds of helpful information at this site. I know that I'm on their site a lot, searching for books, using their resources, and many other things.

If you or your children don't have a library card, there are many ways to get one. Click here to visit the library card page on the Public Library website.  It gives you a few options on how to apply for a card.  You can apply online or in person.  If you want to apply in person there is also a form that you can download, so you can fill it out before you go.

Happy Reading!!


Miss Hazuda (@HESMediaCenter)

Great Books About School

It's hard to believe it's almost time to go back to school. I'm still wondering where the summer went! I hope everyone had as great a summer as I did. I got to travel to Yellowstone National Park and Glacier National Park with my parents. We are celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary here are two of my favorite pictures that I took. The first one is Old Faithful at Yellowstone National Park. I also got a really cool picture of a coyote in mid howl. The other three pictures are from Glacier National Park. 

          

Like any major event, back to school has a lot of great books. Here are some of my favorites. One of my new favorite is School's First Day of School by Adam Rex. I can't believe no one had ever written this book before. It is a fun one. But be aware it is a little bit long for some young kids. Other great books about school are The Night Before Kindergarten by Natasha Wing, The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn, David Goes to School by David Shannon, and my all-time favorite, Pete the Cat Rocking in My School Shoes by Eric Litwin. Check out the video below of Pete the Cat.

For the older kids some great chapter books about school are Adventure According to Humphrey by Betty Birney (the first in a series), Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life by James Patterson, Bad Kitty School Daze by Nick Bruel, and Amelia's Notebook by Marissa Moss.

All of the books that I've mentioned above are available at the public library and the Hollywood Elementary library.

Happy Reading!!

Miss Hazuda (@HESMediaCenter)

Books About Summer

Summer is always such a fun time for me to get caught up on my reading! I try to read books that I want to get for our library, but also ones that I can recommend to former students!




I also like to read books that have to do with the season. So below you will find some of my favorite summer books! All these books can be found at the St. Mary's County Public Library.

I love poetry books. Acrostic poems are some of my favorites. Summer: An Alaphbet Acrostic by Steven Schnur does not disappoint. Click here for a summary on Goodreads. After reading this book a great follow up activity is to make your own acrostic poems. They don't have to be about a season. They could be about anything! Names, favorite sports, favorite foods, etc. are all great topics for acrostic poems. If you like this book, make sure you look for all the other seasons.




A great picture books about summer are Clifford Keeps Cool by Norman Bridwell! Click here for a summary on Goodreads. Clifford has always been a favorite character of mine since I was in elementary school! Reading these books always brings back great memories of reading with my mom!





I'm not usually a fan of chapter books that have animal as main characters, but I just love the Humphrey books. Betty Biney has written a great summer book, Summer According to Humphrey. Click here for a summary on Goodreads. This is book number six in the series. I hadn't realized that there are twelve books about Humphrey! I've got a few books to read to catch up! But these don't need to be read in order. It might help with knowing the characters, though.

If you have some great books that you have been reading, please share them in the comments!

Happy Reading!!

Miss Hazuda (@HESMediaCenter)

Summer Reading

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I can't believe that it is already late July! Where has the summer gone? I know that I have not done a great job of keeping this blog updated last school year. There was just so much going on last year, before I knew it the year was over. My goal is to update once a week this school year. I will be also posting some events from last year as well. I'm going to try to do some "Throwback Thursday" posts.

This summer I've been doing some reading. Of course, most have been books that are going in our library. But I managed to fit in three grown-up books on vacation. I read one of the books on the Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award, Full Cicada Moon by Marilyn Hilton. To see the list of other books on the lists see the links below. They will be available for check out to the students this coming school year. If they read 5 or more books, students can earn a spot on the Black-Eyed Susan Wall of Fame.

BES Picture Books

BES Chapter Books (4-6)

BES Graphic Novels (4-6)

 Hope everyone is having a great summer and doing lots of reading! Keep checking back for more updates! If you have read a great book, please post it in the comments.

Miss Hazuda(@HESMediaCenter)