For the next four Tuesdays (March 4, 11, 18, 25),  students are invited to come to the library between 8 – 8:30 a.m. with a book or books (up to three) they are no longer using at home and swap them for  an equal number of different books.  Our goal is to recycle books and keep students enthused about reading.

Value of books will not be taken into consideration for this swap.  In other words, students bringing in hardcover books will not necessarily receive a book of equal value. 

Please do not allow your student to bring a book that will be missed at your house.  This swap is strictly to promote a love of reading and a joy of sharing.  Mrs. Hardy and I hope many students will be eager to participate.  It’s a great way to exchange books.

DR. SEUSS'S BIRTHDAY 

The National Education Association sponsors “Read Across America” in honor of Dr. Seuss’s birthday each year.  Our celebration for students in grades K-2 will be held on March 3.  This is always a very special event with community readers sharing some of their favorite books.  I often read at the birthday celebration at Graves Library and Miss Lynda returns the favor here. What a fitting tribute to Dr. Seuss that our two libraries work so well together!  Our students know that “Read Across America” begins in their own community. 

We will again participate in The Chickadee Award: A Maine Children’s Choice Picture Book Project. The program encourages children to develop an appreciation for excellence in writing and illustration by examining ten picture books.  The titles have been selected by a panel of teachers, librarians and early literacy professionals.  Each presents a solid story combined with artwork that supports and enhances the text.  Maine students in grades k-4 will have a chance to vote for their favorites before April 1 to determine this year’s winner. 

The nominees for 2008 are:

Aston, Dianna                           An Egg is Quiet

Bunting, Eve                             Pop’s Bridge

Hills, Tad                                  Duck & Goose

Knudsen, Michelle                    Library Lion

Lies, Brian                                Bats at the Beach

McCarthy, Meghan                  Aliens Are Coming

McDonald, Magaret Read        Tunjur! Tunjar! Tunjar!

Sidman, Joyce                          Butterfly Eyes and Other Secrets of the Meadow

Van Allsburg, Chris                  Probuditi!

Woodruff, Elvira                       Small Beauties

The Chickadee Award Committee has compiled resources to be used with each of the titles.  Please visit their website:  http://chickadeeaward.org

http://staff.msad71.net/kpt_lab/Library/index.html 

WebPath Express is a subject directory and a service of Follett Software Company.  It provides a pathway from OPAC to educationally sound websites on the internet.  When you select an electronic access tagline from the catalog information, you will leave OPAC to visit these pre-selected websites.  A cover page gives an overview of the contents of the various websites, the URL and the grade levels.  It’s easy to scan the page to find the most pertinent information.  Webpath Express provides another way to navigate a portion of the world wide web.  Please try it!

MARVEL is Maine’s virtual library.  It is an online resource of magazines, newspapers and reference books accessible from any internet-connected computer.  Some features of interest to our students include: Britannic Online School Edition, EBSCO Animals,  NoveList  K-8 and Primary Search/Middle Search Plus—full text and abstracts of articles from a wide range of magazines and pamphlets.  MARVEL is available on all school computers.  To use it from home requires creating an account with a password.  The address is:

www.maine.gov/marvel