Welcome back to school this first week of January! I hope everyone had a wonderful winter break, I sure did. We are starting the new year this week with the Beehive book nominee Snail Crossing, by Corey R. Tabor. Snail is determined to get to the plump, ripe cabbage on the other side of the road. But that won't be easy, especially for a slow snail crossing a busy street. But snail makes some very useful friends who come to the rescue, just ...
Week of 12/13
Since this is the last week of school before winter break, I am giving the students the chance to vote on which book we read in their class for story time. Some classes are choosing the sequel to the classic reindeer tale, while others are going with the tried and true 'Twas the Night Before Christmas. And some classes just love Grumpy Monkey's take on the holidays. We have the smell of pine in the library and Christmas music playing while ...
Week of 12/6
This week we are reading a delightful Beehive Book nominee called In A Jar, written and illustrated by Deborah Marcero. Llewellyn is a bunny who likes to collect all kinds of things in jars. Not just ordinary things, like shells or feathers, but sounds, sunsets and stars. One night when Llewellyn is collecting a sunset that looks like tart cherry syrup, he meets another bunny names Evelyn, and he gives a jar of the sunset to her. They become ...
Upland Serves
We would like to take a minute to highlight Mrs. Gardner’s 5th-Grade class who voted to be a part of a solution to a problem. The problem students identified was that there were a lot of pebble-sized rocks on the blacktop of the playground. Students playing outside were often slipping and getting hurt due to these little rocks. Mrs. Gardner’s class came to the conclusion that if they each had a broom, they could sweep off the blacktop, making it ...
Week of 11/30
From the zany, hilarious mind of Adam Rex comes this book I just ordered for the Library, On Account of the Gum. Anyone who has ever had gum in their hair or tried to get gum out of someone else's hair will relate to this funny picture book. It's a case of one failed solution leading to another until finally, someone has to yell "Stop!" But what DOES get the gum out?! We'll find out and let you know! ...
Week of 11/22
This is a short week in the library, with classes coming just Monday and part of Tuesday. But we are celebrating the spirit of Thanksgiving by reading this delightful book by Oge Mora titled Thank You, Omu! In a quick note to the reader, Mora says "Omu" is pronounced AH-moo and means "queen" in the Igbo language of Nigeria. This book is based on the author's memories of her grandmother's cooking and open door. Everyone dreams of a taste ...
Week of 11/15
Since this is our last full week before Thanksgiving, I'm reading a Native American story in the library. Fry Bread is written by Kevin Noble Maillard- Oklahoma native, professor and journalist who is a member of the Seminole Nation. In this book, he shares how fry bread represents the story of Native Americans. It is a food, a shape, a sound, a color, a flavor, a time, an art, history and place - it is a nation. Despite colonial efforts ...
Week of 11/8
This week we are reading the Beehive Book nominee Naughty Ninja Takes a Bath by Todd Tarpley, illustrated by Vin Vogel. After crossing raging rivers and tromping through the jungle, Naughty Ninja returns to his secret ninja training camp for lunch. But after seeing how scruffy he looks, Ninja's parents tell him it's time for a bath. As long as he doesn't say "Ninja to the rescue," his dad will be happy. But how long can a Ninja go without ...
Week of 11/1
This week during library time, I am introducing the Battle of the Books Jr. program to all students in grades Kindergarten through 3rd grade. This is our 3rd year implementing this reading incentive program at Upland Terrace and participation has grown each year! The program is designed to help students try different types of books and reward them for reading and recording their progress. It is OPTIONAL, but we highly encourage participation ...
Week of 10/25
This week we are reading a new book I just bought for the library, Are You Scared Darth Vader? by Adam Rex, who is the author of the highly popular The Legend of Rock, Paper, Scissors and the 2022 Beehive Book nominee, Pluto Gets the Call. Darth Vader isn't scared of anything; not a wolfman, a vampire, a ghost, or a witch. But there must be something he is scared of? Could it be children when they take off their masks and try to take off his?? ...
