Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!!

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Merry Christmas and Happy Holiday to all! Hope everyone has a day filled joyful noise and wonderful memories!

Check out my previous post for some great cookie books!  When I posted, I had not read Cookies:  Bite-Size Life Lessons by Amy Krouse Rosenthal. While doing some last minute Christmas shopping, I stopped by a bookstore. I found a copy of this book in the children's section.  This book is INCREDIBLE!! I LOVE it!  I will be getting a copy of this one for the Hollywood library!  It is a great book that explains terms like "fair" and "unfair" in ways that kids can understand by using cookies.  

While I was searching online last night I discovered Amy Krouse Rosenthal has written two more "cookie lesson" books, Christmas Cookies: Bite-Size Holiday Lessons and Sugar Cookies: Sweet Little Lessons on Love.  In the Christmas Cookies book Rosenthal tackles holiday words like "believe, celebrate, and joy".  In the Sugar Cookies book Rosenthal tackles words like "selfless and considerate".  If these two are anything like the first, I can't wait to read them.  I will be getting both for the Hollywood library too.

Don't forget to share what you have been reading over break in the comments!

Happy Reading!!

Miss Hazuda

Cookies, Cookies, Cookies!!

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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.

Student book reviews will be up soon.  I just have to upload two pictures. Make sure that you keep reading over the Winter Break.  I'll be posting some of the titles that I'm reading.  Some Media Specialists and Teachers have been coming up with lists that they think have a possibility of winning The Caldecott Medal, so those are the books I'm focusing on.  The Caldecott Medal is given for the illustrations.

Happy Reading!!

Miss Hazuda

Student Book Reviews

Our student book reviews will be starting up again soon!  I've got three almost ready to go and eight more just waiting for their turn.  There are some really great books that have been reviewed. Keep checking back for the book reviews.

Miss Hazuda

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone.  I hope that everyone is enjoying a day of family and great food.  Below you will find some great Thanksgiving resources along with some great books.

A very cool Thanksgiving site is Plimoth Plantation's you are the Historian. This interactive exploration of the First Thanksgiving between the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag Native Americans is worth exploring even if you have visited the site in the past. The primary sources that are displayed remind us of how important it is to learn what we can from original sources. Many Thanksgiving stories we love to read aren't rooted in enough facts for them to be considered a reliable source. This historical investigation of that 1621 event clears up several popular misconceptions about the first Thanksgiving such as its length, number of guests, and foods that were eaten.

If you would like to continue to explore the First Thanksgiving, Scholastic's interactive experience includes Virtual Field Trip Videos hosted by reenactors. You can see the Plimoth village, a Wampanoag home, and learn about the Pilgrims trip on the Mayflower.

For current cultural celebrations our focus is often on family, food, and entertainment. The books displayed here are a mixed of fiction and nonfiction to help us celebrate the day!



Happy Reading & Happy Thanksgiving!

Miss Hazuda (@HESMediaCenter)

My Favorites From National Picture Book Month

I hope that everyone has been enjoying National Picture Book Month, I know I have been.  I've been rereading some old favorites and a few new ones.

On November 2nd the theme was ABC or 123 books.  I picked up a new alphabet book called ABC Zooborns by Andrew Bleiman.  I just loved all the pictures of the baby animals in this book.  I loved at the end how it gave information about all the animals that were featured in the book.

On November 17th the theme was robots, so I got to reread two of my all time favorite picture books:  Robot Zombie Frankenstein by Annette Simon and Boy + Bot by Ame Dyckman.  I just LOVE both of these robot books.  Boy + Bot is a great story about friendship.  Robot Zombie Frankenstein is a funny story with all kinds of shapes and costumes.  I'm so excited for Annette Simon's newest book Robot Burp Head Smartypants.  It is due to be published on February 25, 2014.

Today, November 25th the theme is frogs, but it is also nonfiction Monday. So I'm going to be reading Nic Bishop's Frogs.  I just love anything that Nic Bishop does, well maybe not the books about snakes and spiders.  The information that is provided in the text is presented in such a easy to understand manner.  The photographs, taken by Nic Bishop, that are featured in the book at absolutely incredible, even the snakes and spiders.  

I hope that everyone has been enjoying focusing on picture books during November.  If you have had any standouts, please share in the comment section.

Don't forget to follow me on Twitter!  My Twitter handle is : @HESMediaCenter.

Happy Reading!!

Miss Hazuda (@HESMediaCenter)