HILO! HILO! HILO!

You know when you find that one book that totally hooks a kid?


You know when said kid gets so obsessed with that book that he becomes the "president" of the author's fan club and comes into the library ALL. THE. TIME to record little videos to the author to send him via your Twitter?

If that's all true then when you actually get to meet said illustrator, all you have to do is whisper the student's name and he knows exactly who you are 'cause who wouldn't know the president?

So, said kid is President Chase, said graphic novelist is Judd Winick and we celebrated his book birthday of HILO 5 yesterday in the library. You would have thought Judd was IN Castleton based on the volume of screams coming from the president throughout the party!

PS-If you haven't figured it out, it was pajama day!

The paper and pencil was part of the party game--

How many words can you find in "Be Outstanding"? 

President Chase!

It's a party where you read and can't put the book down!

Judd sent me this short video so it was like he was there!
We watched it twice!

OMG! HILO 6 will be out a year from NOW! See you for the party!

Until then...BE OUTSTANDING!

 

Twas the Night Before #ALAYMA19

Hey, Kiddo
My heart is racing.
Sleep is probably not in the cards tonight.

Tomorrow is
The biggest day in kidlit.
Life changing phone calls.
It's the Day You Begin dear winners.
High leaps.
Tight hugs.
Scratchy screams.

Imagine
Blue
Dreamers
Sweep
The Faithful Spy.

How did Alma get her name?
Did Mason Buttle tell the truth?
Maybe Otis and Will know.
Or Louisiana.
Until then I will rest next to my
Night Diary.

The Mason Buttle book group with our assistant principal book leader

Mrs. DeMassio's third grade Blue fans for Caldecott

An Alma fan

We have a lot of Otis and Will love at CES!

Another popular Sibert Smackdown contender

Consensus Club 2019

Hey, Seattle?
Are you ready?  The librarians are on their way.

3000 miles east, we are.
The books have been read.
The projects completed.
T-shirts almost made.
Golden cookies ordered.
Books debated.
Authors skyped.
Scripts written.
Consensus Club confirmed.
Monday 11:00 EST cannot come soon enough.

This afternoon the winners of Consensus Club were declared. They are...

SILVERS

 Out of Left Field by Ellen Klages

Sweep by Jonathan Auxier

The Adventures of a Girl Called Bicycle by Christina Uss

The Truth as Told by Mason Buttle by Leslie Connor

GOLD

Resistance by Jennifer Nielsen

Wow.  As always it was an exciting afternoon locked behind closed doors in Mr. Reischer's room, drinking our "Starbucks" hot cocoa and enjoying a nice variety of salty and sweet snacks while discussing the best books of 2018. The kids were passionate and convincing, closely huddling around the board as we tallied votes time after time. Two kids were absent who were planning on attending.  I imagine one would have been pushing more for Mason Buttle and Parker Inheritance.  Or even Styx Malone.  The other definitely Faithful Spy.  That got me thinking about the real Newbery Committee. Every year I'm surprised, sometimes disappointed about the winning books.  You hear people say this and now I get it--it really comes down to the make up of the committee.  If Connor or Ava had been there today, maybe we would have had a different outcome.

This weekend, fifteen people are going to sit for countless hours in a meeting room in Seattle and discuss all the books we read and loved this year.  They will choose their winners based on who is in the room where it happens. What if Ava and Connor were there and Micah was sick? Would our Consensus results been different? Who knows? What I do know, is that, my students (and all the other Mock Committee members around the country) are the true winners.  They read the books. And they read some more.  And they read even more.  How is that not a winning combination?  And if one of their favorites actually does win?  Bonus.  Either way, I guarantee you will hear our screams from Castleton in Seattle.

     

Projected on the SmartBoard are all the books on our list from November.  

We discussed and eliminated, discussed and voted, discussed and 

voted some more until we came down to our final five. 

What an intense afternoon!

 

Sarah's Mason Buttle "rock" cookies. Yum!

2019 Newbery Contender Book Trailers

Grab your popcorn and a comfy spot. Maybe a pencil and paper, too. It's time to watch a bunch of book trailers of 2019 Newbery contenders created by my fifth graders.  I have even more--these are some of the best and I really didn't want to overload you too much! BUT if you want to see more, just send me a message!

One week (!) from today we will know the winners! In this year of really awesome, incredible children's literature, I have NO IDEA what books are going to rise to the top in those closed door meetings next weekend.  NO. IDEA. 

The Truth as Told by Mason Buttle
by Leslie Connor




Louisiana's Way Home
By Kate DiCamillo




Rebound
By Kwame Alexander




The Faithful Spy
By John Hendrix




Front Desk
By Kelly Yang




Bob
By Wendy Mass and Rebecca Stead


 

Marcus Vega Doesn't Speak Spanish
By Pablo Cartaya


 

The Adventures of a Girl Called Bicycle
By Christina Uss



And one that could really win Caldecott and/or Sibert:

Otis and Will Discover the Deep
By Barb Rosenstock and illustrated by Katherine Roy




More books that we loved that just didn't make the video cuts:

The Night Diary
Amal Unbound
The Season of Styx Malone
Sweep 
Lions and Liars
Out of Left Field 
Betty Before X 
The Day You Begin
Small Spaces 

SO? What books do you think will win GOLD next Monday???

Some Middle Grade Reviews by Middle Grade Readers

Sixth grade Reading Ambassadors are hungry for brand new books and I love that I can feed that desire.  Here are some reviews of books that came out last year or about to come out.  All positive stars!

Coming in February to a library (bookstore, Overdrive account) near you...

Eventown 

By Corey Ann Haydu

(Katherine Tegen Books)

Elodee has to move to a new town called Eventown.  She loves it, but there is something odd.  Everything is perfect.  Her twin sister starts to drift away. Elodee asks about the town.  No one can give a good answer.  

I think that this book deserves five stars.  It is fun to read and I could not put it down. It is a combination of sad and fun.

And a couple overdue reviews on books that came out last year that we missed...

Frederick Sandwich and the Earthquake that Couldn't Possibly Be 

By Kevin John Scott
(Sourcebooks/Jabberwocky)

Frederick Sandwich gets teased by other kids all the time.  One night the town shakes.  It is an earthquake but they are not in a place where the earthquakes happen. The mayor forces the town to believe there was no earthquake.  Frederick and a girl, Pernille, try to get to the bottom of the mystery.

I really like this book because it is fun to read.  I could not put it down.  Anybody who likes mysteries should read this book.

My Year in the Middle

By Lila Quintero Weaver

(Candlewick)

By Ailie.

Pastries and Prose #1

I am not a morning person.
But I can name at least 15 4th graders who are.

Yesterday was the kick off of my "Pastries and Prose" book club, a half hour before school started.  It was pitch black when I pulled into the parking lot and the only other car there belonged to Miss Sherrie in the cafeteria.

I signed up to lead an extra curricular  book club but with a late bus only three days a week and art club, KKids, intramurals, student council and students just needing to stay after school for extra help, I thought I would try offering a before-school club.  And I love doughnuts so this would be the perfect opportunity to indulge.

Having never run a club like this before I didn't know what we would do (and honestly I still don't) but at least we have a focus.  I pulled all my "treat" related books and put them out.  The kids enjoyed juice and pastries and then all gathered to listen to The Hole Story of the Doughnut by Pat Miller and illustrated by Vincent X. Kirsch.  These 4th graders have Sibert on their mind so they really wanted to read one of the nonfiction titles.  We already know that next week's book will be How the Cookie Crumbled: The True (and not so true) Stories of the Invention of the Chocolate Chip Cookie by Gilbert Ford. Not really a pastry, but close enough.

We also talked about getting into groups and reading graphic novels like Bake Sale by Sara Varon and Lunch Lady and the Bake Sale Bandit by Jarrett Krosoczka (perhaps our own early riser lunch lady will join in for that one).  I invited my 6th grade Reading Ambassadors to come as mentors and they really want to read different books and hold debates. I'll need some extra coffee for that.

I think they enjoyed it.  The true testament will be if they return before sunrise next Thursday.  In the meantime, can you please pass the chocolate frosted with sprinkles.

Chase BEFORE his tooth fell out.
PS-That's a reusable cup filled with OJ!

PS-Shout out to Laurie Keller for the idea to call my club "Pastries and Prose."  It stuck and I love it! Of course, don't look for her books in the picture--they are all checked out!