Carondelet Library

Friday, March 10, 2017

Book of the Week: This Journal Belongs to Ratchet

This review brought to you by Sylvia.

Are you looking for a great book? Well you've found one. This Journal Belongs to Ratchet by Nancy Cavanuagh is great for readers 8-12. It's an amazing story about a girl named Ratchet who thinks that she has a pretty bad life. No mom, no friends, and a crazy dad. This book is an example of epistolary writing, where you use different formats of writing and letters to tell a story. Ratchet and her dad work on cars together, her dad is a mechanic and an environmentalist. His caring about the environment gets him community service. He gets in trouble again and has to pick up garbage on the side of the road. All in saving Moss Tree Park. Ratchet decides to help too, but soon more trouble comes. What will happen next? Will Ratchet ever be normal? Find out in This Journal Belongs to Ratchet.

Monday, January 23, 2017

Book of the Week: The Testing

This review brought to you by Eva.

The Testing by Joelle Charbonneau

Do you like adventure? The Testing by Joelle Charbonneau is an adventure- packed story about a young girl named Cía who lives in the five lakes colony which is filled with oceans and plants. Every year there is a graduation ceremony where certain advanced students are picked for the testing. Cía has spent her whole life working her way towards the testing after she found out her dad was selected. On the day of her graduation Cía, along with 5 others from her colony are chosen for the testing but she finds out the testing is not at all what she hoped. Her father tells her she can't trust anyone and then she is off in a skimmer to what is about to be the worst years of her life. Will Cía pass the testing? What will happen to her during the process? Find out in The Testing.

If you're looking for an enticing adventure, survival book then The Testing is the book for you. You'll be hooked as soon as you start! Read The Testing from your local library!

Tuesday, January 17, 2017

Book of the Week: Spy School

This post brought to you by student blogger Evie.

Spy School by Stuart Gibbs

Do you like surprises? Do you like action? Do you like weapons? If you answered yes to the last one, you have a problem. But if you answered yes to the other two, then Spy School is the one for you. A middle school student named Ben Ripley comes home one day to find an FBI agent in his living room asking him if he wants to join Spy School, and for a Gatorade. He says yes, which is the best and worst choice he's ever made. He transfers to the new school, where he meets the smartest and most beautiful girl he's ever met. Her name is Erica. Almost immediately after moving in, an assassin tries to kill him. He takes the guy out with just a tennis racket! From then on, his life becomes more interesting, with assassins, SPYDER, and of course, the horrible plumbing at Spy School. To find out more, read Spy School by Stuart Gibbs.

Friday, December 16, 2016

Book of the Week: Penny From Heaven

This review brought to you by Caroline C.

Penny From Heaven by Jennifer L. Holm

Do you like baseball, pecan ice cream, and summer days? Penny From Heaven is a story about an 11 year old girl named Penny. She is living in the 1950s struggling to be normal. Her grandpa talks to the radio, her mother is dating the milk man, she has a crazy hair cut, and her grandma makes smelly food. Something tragic happens that changes her life. Will she be able to hear her grandpa talk to the radio again? Or taste her grandma's smelly food again? Read this book to find out.

Friday, December 9, 2016

Coding in the Library

It's computer science week, and we've had a lot of fun doing an Hour of Code on code.org! Then a student sent me a fun elf dancer coding game, and we had tons of fun with that as well! https://santatracker.google.com/codeboogie.html

Book of the Week: Number the Stars

This post brought to you by student blogger Ella C.

Number the Stars by Lois Lowry

Do you like historical fiction? If so, you'll love the book Number the Stars by Lois Lowry. This book takes place in Copenhagen, Denmark when the Holocaust was happening. Annemarie and Ellen are best friends, and Ellen is Jewish. The Nazis could easily find her. Something horrible could happen. Ellen has to stay with Annemarie and be her fake sister. Will Ellen and Annemarie make it through this terrifying journey? Find out by reading Number the Stars.

Library Tic-Tac-Toe

Fourth and fifth graders had a ton of fun playing tic tac toe in the library! Here's how it worked.

Students in pairs were given 9 book titles and authors on a sheet of paper. I had typed out the book titles/authors in advance, and tried to pick a mix of fiction and nonfiction, books that were in and books that were checked out. Students then wrote these titles/authors on their game board in whatever order they liked. In later classes, I realized we could save time (and prevent writer's cramp!) by cutting out the titles and pasting them onto the squares.

Then students used our search computers or iPads to look up the books. If the book was in, they marked that square with an X on the game board, but needed to find the book on the shelf to prove it was in. If the book was out, they marked it with an O on the game board. Teams tried to get three X's or three O's in a row horizontally, vertically, or diagonally to win a tic-tac-toe!

I found this activity through my librarian friend Anna, who found it from her friend Shawna. I think in their version, only three X's in the row (and not three O's) counted as a tic-tac-toe. I did end up with quite a lot of winners allowing both X's or O's to win, but it was fun for students to feel successful!

We had a lot of fun, but most importantly, students polished their skills in looking up books in the catalog and searching for them on the shelves!