1,488 institutions across Texas participated, with 141,141 students voting! This was the title that our own Richter 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students voted as their favorite! Thanks to all the students who participated :)
Kindergarten (Mrs. LaChapelle) and first grade (Mrs. Brown) students brought special guests to the library this week to share the story Bears Make the Best Reading Buddies by Carmen Oliver. Studies show that reading to stuffed animals can improve fluency and build confidence in young readers.
First Grade (Mrs. Scott and Mrs. Ruiz) students talked about Groundhog's Day, learned about how shadows are made, and even how they relate to the recent lunar eclipse!
Second grade students from Mr. Cavazos' class had the opportunity to read by flashlight in the library this week.
Saturday, August 19, 2017
The Magnificent Mya Tibbs:
Spirit Week Showdown
by Crystal Allen
Allen, C. (2016). The magnificent Mya Tibbs: Spirit week showdown. New York, NY: Balzer + Bray.
Fourth grader Mya Tibbs is super excited. Spirit week is coming and she just knows that her and her super popular best friend Naomi are going to win the grand prize...VIP tickets to the fall festival! She even made a pinky promise with Naomi that they would be spirit week partners and she would do anything she could to help Naomi win. Of course things don't go quite as planned when the students are asked to draw the name of their spirit week partner out of a hat and Mya selects none other than the school bully, Mean Connie Tate. When Mean Connie flat out refuses to switch partners, Mya is stuck, and now Naomi is telling everyone that Mya broke a pinky promise and is getting them to call her "Mya Tibbs Fibs." But what could she do? Did Naomi really expect her stand up to the school bully?! Mya is devastated and determined to do anything she can to win back her best friend. Reluctantly, at the teacher's insistence, Mya begins spending time with Connie planning for each day of spirit week. As the two girls spend more and more time together, Mya begins to realize some things; first of all she hasn't actually seen or heard Connie do even one mean thing, and two, her and Connie actually have quite a bit in common. As nice as Connie seems, Mya still wants to reclaim her spot as Naomi's best friend, even if that means betraying her new "friend." When Mya reveals her and Connie's plans for spirit week outfits to Naomi to give her an edge, she just knows that Naomi will welcome her back with open arms. But when Naomi threatens to tell Connie of Mya's betrayal, unless Mya can make her brother, Nugget, like her, Mya starts to think that maybe her and Naomi were never really best friends after all. Will Naomi ever accept Mya back? How will Connie react when she finds out her partner spilled their secrets to her arch nemesis? Find out all the valuable lessons Mya learns about friendship when you read 2017-2018 Texas Bluebonnet Nominee The Magnificent Mya Tibbs: Spirit Week Showdown. Students in grades 3-6 will adore this book.
Eulberg, E. (2016). The great Shelby Holmes. New York, NY: Bloomsbury.
After the separation of his parents, 11 year-old John Watson has just moved to a New York City apartment with his mom. After living on numerous Army bases throughout his life, John is used to having to start over with new friends, schools, and such, but this big city is somewhat of a culture shock. Will he ever be able to make friends in a place like this? Enter 9 year-old Shelby Holmes...Detective Shelby Holmes that is. Within about two minutes of meeting her, she's practically figured out their life story and solved the mystery of the broken mirror. John can't help but be intrigued, even if she is a bit on the young side. A reluctant Shelby ends up showing John around the city and he's amazed that everyone seems to know and admire this girl. What is her deal? It's definitely not her friendly disposition, as she's actually kind of rude with a know it all attitude. It turns out Shelby has helped all of these people in one way or another with particular cases, including some that the police couldn't even solve. While she may not be a great friend, hanging out with her has to be more interesting that sitting alone at home unpacking boxes. As the pair are out one morning walking Shelby's dog, Tamra, a girl in Shelby's grade, approaches and exclaims that her dog has gone missing 3 days before the big dog show. Shelby, with John in tow, makes it her mission to find the missing dog, leaving no stone unturned. When she begins crawling around on the floor and acting like a dog, John begins to wonder what he has gotten himself into. Perhaps he should just ditch Shelby and go play basketball with Tamra's brother Zane and his friends instead. But he's got to admit that this case has gotten interesting and he really wants to know who took the missing dog. Plus maybe Shelby could actually use his help, not to mention a friend of her own. With some persistent sleuthing and a bit of teamwork, these two not only find Tamra's dog, but something much more important...a friend.
Shelby's use of language would make this book an excellent choice for working on vocabulary. It would also make a great choice for teaching lessons on making predictions. This Texas Bluebonnet Nominee, the first in a series, would most likely be enjoyed by students in grades 3-6.
