Book A Day: Sweet Home Alaska

Even though I haven't been posting all my books, I have been reading every day! Being able to read is one of the best parts about summer. I hope that everyone else has been taking time to read as well. I ran into a wonderful HES family Wednesday in Target and they were so excited to tell me that they had just been at the Public Library. And they even showed off the badges that they had received from the reading program.

One of the books that I have recently read is Sweet Home Alaska by Carole Estby Dagg. Click here for a summary on Goodreads. This is an awesome historical fiction book. For many years I didn't really enjoy historical fiction, in fact, I had to force myself to read it. But after a few suggestions from "book people" that I respect, I realized I had just been reading the wrong books! It has become a genre that I really enjoy. 

This book takes place during the Great Depression. Like most historical fiction books, this book takes place during a real life event. It introduces you to the Palmer Colony project in Alaska. I have always been fascinated by Alaska. One of my favorite vacations I have taken with my parents was to Alaska. I wanted to read this book because I had visited Palmer, Alaska. It just made the experience of reading the book even more special. Even if you haven't been, this is still a wonderful read. 

I would recommend this book for 4th and 5th Grade students. I would even recommend to their parents as well. 

Happy Reading!!

Miss Hazuda (@HESMediaCenter)

Book a Day: Mr. Pants Camping Catastrophe!

My Cute Graphics

My #bookaday for today is Mr. Pants Camping Catastrophe! by Scoot McCormick. Click here for a summary on Goodreads. This is the fourth installment of the Mr. Pants graphic novel series and just as good as the three others. The kids LOVE this series and during the year I could not keep the books on the shelf! In this book Mr. Pants wants to be a Rugged Ranger. He thinks he will have a lot of fun camping, shooting arrows, and being out in the wilderness. I'm a lot like Mr. Pants, I like the whole idea of camping. But in reality I'm a hotel kind of person! I love hiking and visiting the National Parks, but I like to sleep in a bed and have running water! The only part that I really love about camping is the smores!! They are totally my weakness. I've even been known to make them in the microwave!

Look for this book next year in the HES Media Center!

What have you been reading? Share in the comments! 

Don't forget about the Take a BOOK on Vacation Program! Click on the link for more information!

Happy Reading!!

Miss Hazuda (@HESMediaCenter)

Book A Day: Dory And The Real True Friend

My Cute Graphics

One of my favorite things about summer is all the time I have to read! This summer I'm reading the Black-Eyed Susan books so that I'm ready for next year. I'm also reading a mix of picture books, nonfiction books, and chapter books. I also will throw in a few grown up book and some professional books during my vacation. Right now in between the kids books, I'm reading a biography on Alexander Hamilton and the book about the musical Hamilton! I am a closet history nerd!

The book I'm posting about today is Dory And The Real True Friend by Abby Hanlon. Click here for a summary on Goodreads. This book is the sequel to Dory Fanstasmagory. This book is a whole lot of fun to read. It is a great chapter book for those students who are going into Second Grade and Third Grade as an independent read. It would also make a great read aloud for those students going into Kindergarten and First Grade. This book is a great follow up to Hanlon's first book. I found myself laughing out loud many times. If you like Junie B. Jones, you will like Dory! And the best news is that Dory will be in a third book, Dory Dory Black Sheep. It will be published on September 20, 2016!

Happy Reading!!

Miss Hazuda (@HESMediaCenter)

Summer Fun!!

My Cute Graphics

Hope everyone is having a fun summer so far! I have still be working on a few things at school, but I'll soon be finished! Even though I have been working, I have made time to be reading. I'm trying to read a book a day! I'm going to be posting on Twitter using #bookaday. I'm going to try and do it every day, but if I don't I will still be reading each day. 

I've started reading some of the nominees for the 2016-17 Black-Eyed Susan Picture Book Award. There are some really great choices this year. I'm very excited to share them with the kids next year. Kindergarten, First Grade, Second Grade, and Third Grade students can read the picture books and have me ask them questions. If they answer the questions correctly, the kids will get to write their name on the form under that book in the hallway. When they have read 5 or more Black-Eyed Susan books they will have their picture taken and put up on the Wall of Fame.

Students in Fourth and Fifth Grade will have the same opportunity as the younger students. The only difference is that they will be reading chapter books and graphic novels. They will have to go on the computer and answer a few questions and write their opinion of the book. Just like the younger students they will be able to write their name under that book in the hallway and when they have read 5 or more books they will get put up on the Wall of Fame.

If you want to get a jump start on the Black-Eyed Susan books, you can click on the links below to see a list of each type of book.

Black-Eyed Susan Picture Books  (Kindergarten-Third Grade)

Black-Eyed Susan Chapter Books   (Fourth and Fifth Grade)

Black-Eyed Susan Graphic Novels   (Fourth and Fifth Grade)

Also, don't forget about the Take a BOOK on Vacation Program! Click on the link for more information!

Happy Reading!!

Miss Hazuda (@HESMediaCenter)

What Is Miss Hazuda Reading?

I had a great week reading this week. Had a lot of great choices. I'm still in shock though that it's already July. Trying to enjoy every moment of vacation. Hope you all are as well.

On 7/1 my #bookaday was The Dandelion's Tale by Kevin Sheehan. Click here for a summary on Goodreads.This is a great book about friendship. I will never look at a dandelion the same way again. 

On 7/2 my #bookaday is Unplugged: Ella Gets Her Family Back by Laura Pederson. Click here for a summary on Goodreads. This book is a great reminder to sometimes put the electronics away. 
More and more we are consumed by all of our electronics. We sometimes need to just put them down and reconnect with family. 

My #bookaday on 7/3 was What We Found In The Sofa And How It Saved The World by Henry Clark. It's a Black-Eyed Susan Award nominee for Grades 4-6. This is a mixture of adventure and science fiction. I can't wait to see what the kids think about this book next year.

On 7/4 my #bookaday was My Country 'Tis of Thee: How One Song Reveals The History of Civil Rights by Claire Rudolf Murphy. Great book! We will have it at HES soon. I was really amazed at this book. I never realized how many different versions of the song there has been over the years.

My #bookaday on 7/5 was The Highest Number In The World by Roy MacGregor. This is a great ice hockey story about a girl & her grandmother. I always love family stories. This one was neat because it had a girl playing a nontraditional sport. I also like the little bit of ice hockey history that this book provided.

I had two books for #bookaday on 7/6. The first is a chapter book Countdown by Deborah Wiles. Great historical fiction book for 4-5 Grade. I just loved this text. I didn't used to be a fan of historical fiction but when I came to realize was I was just reading the wrong books. I'm really looking forward to reading the next book in this trilogy, Revolution. The picture on the cover below isn't the same as the one that is at the library. My 2nd #bookaday is a picture book Rooting For You by Susan Hood. Great story about a seed that grows into a flower. It's a fiction book. This is such a fun book. I love books that have pages that open bigger.

On 7/7 my #bookaday was Captain Awesome vs. Nacho Cheese Man by Stan Kirby. Great early chapter book for 2nd-3rd Grades. This is the second in the An awesome series. It's a fun series that I think boys and girls will both like.

I'm still waiting for more Take a BOOK on Vacation pictures. I can't wait to see all the great places our HES students can be found reading this summer.

Happy Reading!!

Miss Hazuda (@HESMediaCenter)

What Has Miss Hazuda Been Reading?

If you have been following my Twitter feed I've been participating in #bookaday. See my post below to find out more about #bookaday. It has been a busy week for me, so I've missed a few days of reading.

On 6/24 my #bookaday was The Chicken Squad: The First Misadventures by Doreen Cronin. Click here for a summary on Goodreads. I loved this book. We first met the chicks in the chapter book Trouble with Chickens. In this book the chicks take center stage. This is a great book for 2nd and 3rd Graders. I'm hopefully that there will be more in this series.


On 6/25 my #bookaday was a great high 4th and 5th Grade chapter book called This Journal Belongs to Ratchet by Nancy J. Cavanaugh. Click here for a summary on Goodreads. The main character Ratchet (Rachel) tells her story through her homeschool english assignment journal. Once I started this book, I couldn't stop reading until I got to the end. This book is a Black-Eyed Susan Award nominated book for Grades 4-6. This is the Book Award for the state of Maryland.

On 6/26 my #bookaday was Big Bug by Henry Cole. Click here for a summary on Goodreads. This book is a great book about perspective. I highly recommend any book that is written by Henry Cole. He visited HES in February 2013. We had a great time hosting him and learning all about the process he goes though to write books. I'm hoping we will be able to have Henry Cole come back in the future.

Hopefully I will be able to do some more reading this week. If you are reading this summer, make sure you share in the comment section.

Happy Reading!!

Miss Hazuda (@HESMediaCenter)

What Has Miss Hazuda Been Reading?

If you have been following my Twitter feed I've been participating in #bookaday. See my post below the find out more about #bookaday. I read some great books over the past week. Had to skip Sunday, since I waited until school got out to get the flu.

My first #bookaday for this summer is Firefly July: A Year of Very Short Poems selected by Paul B. Janeczko & illustrated by Melissa Sweet. Click here for a summary on Goodreads. I can't say enough good things about this book. I loved that all the poems were short but perfectly described each season. My favorite poem was called In Passing by Gerald Jonas. This poem  is all about fans in the back of a truck being taken away and how they're all just spinning is the truck drives away. The illustrations by Melissa Sweet just add to each to each poem and makes it visually come alive.

My next #bookaday for was It's an Orange Aardvark by Michael Hall. Click here for a summary on Goodreads. This was such a fun book to read. I showed the book trailer for this book to my Kindergarten and First Grade students at the end of the school year. The book really lived up to the book trailer. I can't wait to get it for the library for next year and share with the kids. If you haven't read another book by Michael Hall I highly suggest that you check out his books, they're always a lot of fun.

My third #bookaday was This is a Moose by Richard T. Morris & illustrated by Tom Lichtenheld. Click here for a summary on Goodreads. This is a laugh out loud funny book! As a kid growing up I always love the blooper shows and this is what that book reminded me out. It took me back to my childhood. The story is a lot of fun and the illustrations by Tom Lichtenheld just add to the hilarity of the story.

My #bookaday for 6/19 was Ninja by Arree Chung. Such a fun book. Ninja's seem to be everywhere these days. Click here for a summary on Goodreads. The book reminded me of a graphic novel the way it was set up. The good way to introduce parents and kids to the graphic novel format. The book was a great story about siblings.

My #bookaday for 6/20 was Brave Squish Rabbit by Katherine Battersby. Click here for a summary on Goodreads. I just loved this book. Squish Rabbit has become a favorite character. I read the first book Squish Rabbit as I was waiting for my table at Cracker Barrel. He is such an underdog, you want to root for happy endings in his story.

My #bookaday 6/21 is for the older kids, How They Choked: Failures, Flops, & Flaws of the Awfully Famous by Georgia Bragg. Click here for a summary on Goodreads. I found this one just as interesting as the first one How They Croaked: The Awful Ends of the Awfully Famous. I'm a big history buff, so I always find it interesting to find out little tidbits of famous historical figures.

What have you been reading? Share in the comments.

Happy Reading!!

Miss Hazuda (@HESMediaCenter)

First Take A BOOK on Vacation Pictures

I was thrilled yesterday to get the First Take A BOOK on Vacation Pictures from a family of readers. Vick will be attending 6th Grade next year, I hope the Media Center is ready to see a lot of him. Sonny will be in 2nd Grade and Charlie will be in 1st Grade next year. These three boys are great reading role models for their little brother RJ, who is the cutest 4 year old ever!


Vick, Sonny, Charlie, and RJ are having a great summer already by spending time at the pool. But of course they are a family of readers, so before hitting the pool they stopped by the Leonardtown Public Library to check out some great books. Then they went to the park to enjoy the shade and the books. 

The Leonardtown Public Library is about seven miles from Hollywood Elementary School. Their pictures are a great example of having a great vacation without having to go very far. That is what I'll be doing this year.

Can't wait to see more of our students who are Taking a BOOK on Vacation! 

Don't forget to keep checking Twitter for my #bookaday posts. I'll summarize them on Monday on the blog.

Happy Reading!!

Miss Hazuda (@HESMediaCenter)

What is Book A Day?

If you saw my tweet yesterday, I tweeted about my first book I read this summer. That book was Firefly July: A Year of Very Short Poems by Paul B. Janeczko and illustrated by Melissa Sweet. Click here for a summary on Goodreads. I used the hashtag #bookaday. This hashtag was started by Donalyn Miller who was the author of The Book Whisperer and Reading in the Wild. Both of these books were written for teachers. Donalyn started the #bookaday in 2009 as a way for people to share what they are reading. During the summer and school breaks the hashtag is widely used.

So I will be trying to tweet my #bookaday each day over our summer break. Every  Monday I will post a summary of the books that I have read during that week. Hope you will come along for the ride. Please feel free to leave comments about what you are reading or if you follow me on Twitter make sure you tweet about what you are reading.

Happy Reading!!

Miss Hazuda (@HESMediaCenter)