New Picture books

Dinosaurs Roar, Butterflies Soar!                by Bob Barner
It's a secret!                                                by John Burningham
When Stella was very, very small                by Marie-Louise Gay
Snowy sports : ready, set, play!                  by Per-Henrik Gürth
Monsters don't eat broccoli                         by Barbara Jean Hicks
The Rocket                                                by Mike Leonetti
Down the drain!                                         by Robert Munsch
Dewey : there's a cat in the library!             by Vicki Myron with Bret Witter
What sisters do best : what brothers do best   by Laura Numeroff
Perfect snow                                              by Barbara Reid

Hippity Hop starts tomorrow

It is time to get back into the groove for early literacy at the library.  Both our classes are bursting at the seams but we will still have a blast.  Sneak preview for tomorrow, one of our fingerplays will be:

Pease porridge hot

Pease porridge hot.

Pease porridge cold.

Pease porridge in the pot nine days old.

Some like it hot,

Some like it cold.

Some like it in the pot nine days old.

13 Reasons Why

I just finished reading an amazing book called 13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher.  It was an incredible powerful book that you cannot put down.  I finished the book in 1 day, staying up till 1a.m. in the morning eventhough I had a full day ahead of me.  Why couldn't I put it down?  It is about a girl who has committed suicide.  We learn her story through the audiotapes that she has left behind.  She has mailed the tapes to one person to listen to and in turn they must mail the tapes to the next person the list.  There are 13 people on her list ... all playing a part in her suicide. 

The book is thought provoking and has lots of discusion potential.  I am still thinking about the book ( I read it last week).  This is Mr. Asher first foray into writing and he has done a supberb job. 

Sunday Stories is back today

The first Sunday Stories of the year will start today at 3:30.  The theme today is penguins. Did you know that penguins are birds who are no longer able to fly, but are great swimmers and divers instead. Their wings have morphed into flippers and their torpedo-shapes body allows them to swim under water at high speeds. This also causes them to waddle on land.  To learn some more interesting facts, go to:  http://ezinearticles.com/?7-Interesting-Facts-About-Penguins-You-Can-Share-With-Your-Kids&id=437645

Best YA books of 2009

There were quite a few young adult books that were awesome.  Here is my Top 10:

1.  If I stay : a novel   by Gayle Forman
2.  Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
3.  City of Glass by Cassandra Clare
4.  One Wish  by Leigh Brescia
5.  Perfect chemistry  by Simone Elkeles
6.  Fragile eternity  by Melissa Marr
7.  Evermore   by Alyson Noël
8.  Shiver  by Maggie Stiefvater
9.  If the witness lied by Caroline B. Cooney
10.  Alis  by Naomi Rich.

Book of the Month

A little late but here it is: 

Little Bear's Big Sweater   David Bedford

A wonderful story about sharing and caring between brothers. Big bear's sweater has gotten too small for him so he gives it to little bear. After the course of events, the sweater begins to get destroyed which causes a rift between the two brothers. The relationship is saved at the end with both bears realizing that they need each other.

Go to our on-line bookclub for other activities as well as look at our past book selections:  http://elcslplkidsbook.weebly.com/

Best books for 2009

Happy New Year!  The blog was inactive for a couple of weeks due to vacation but we are back again.  I thought we could start the blog off with the best picture books of 2009.  Please feel free to comment on your favourite books too.

Picture Books:
1.  Little Bear's big sweater - David Bedford
2.  The very cranky bear -     Nick Bland
3.  Llama Llama misses Mama -  Anna Dewdney
4.  When Stella was very, very small - Marie-Louise Gay
5.  The Rocket - Mike Leonetti
6.  Perfect snow - Barbara Reid
7.  Duck! Rabbit! - Amy Krouse Rosenthal
8.  Scaredy Squirrel at night - Mélanie Watt
9.  Elephants cannot dance! - Mo Willems
10. How do dinosaurs say I love you? - Jane Yolen