Kate DiCamillo in Round Rock

Kate DiCamillo, author of Because of Winn Dixie, Tale of Despereaux, and The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane is coming to Round Rock this Friday! She will be at the Barnes and Noble at LaFrontera on Friday, October 16th, from 6:30 to 9:00 p.m. I stopped by Barnes and Noble yesterday to get all the details. She may be reading a small section from her new book The Magician's Elephant, and she will definitely be signing books! See Miss Gardner if you want more information.

Read It Forward Video

Read It Forward started on Wednesday! If you were one of the lucky ones to find a copy of the book, read the book and pass it on to a friend. When you finish reading, come to the library to take an online survey and get a small reward.

Did you miss the Read It Forward video on Wednesday?
You are in luck! You can watch the video here!

Read It Forward

I have some exclusive information for all you blog readers!

During library orientation, I told you about a special reading program called Read It Forward. On a certain secret day, you will hear an announcement on the morning news letting you know that Read It Forward is beginning. On that day you will find multiple copies of the same chapter book hidden around the school. If you are one of the lucky ones to find one of those copies, your job is to read the book, sign the front cover, and pass it on to a friend at Caldwell Heights. There will be a small reward in the library for anyone who reads the book.

Now for that exclusive information - Read It Forward will begin sometime between Monday, September 21st and Friday, September 25th! Watch the announcements very carefully this week!

Most Popular Books

I hope you have had a great first few weeks of school! It's been busy in the library with lots of classes coming for orientation.

Below is a list of the most popular books last year. Is your favorite on the list? Maybe you will find a new book to try!

Most Popular Books at Caldwell Heights
1. Babymouse: Beach Babe!
2. Skippyjon Jones
3. First Field Guide: Amphibians
4. Skippyjon Jones in the Dog House
5. Junie B., First Grader: Boss of Lunch
6. Diary of a Wimpy Kid
7. Sharks
8. Skippyjon Jones and the Big Bones
9. Just Grace
10. Game 2: River City - now Sluggers
11. Seals
12. Horses
13. Skippyjon Jones in Mummy Trouble
14. Ghost Fever
15. If You Take a Mouse to the Movies
16. The Ghost's Grave
17. Dinosaurs
18. Shoo, Fly Guy!
19. The Blue Ghost
20. What You Never Knew About Beds, Bedrooms and Pajamas

Most Popular Books in Round Rock ISD
1. Junie B., First Grader: Aloha-ha-ha!
2. Babymouse: Beach Babe
3. Diary of a Wimpy Kid
4. Sharks
5. Just Grace
6. The Invention of Hugo Cabret
7. How to Steal a Dog
8. Lawn Boy
9. Toys Go Out
10. Snakes

Brown Bear, Brown Bear

I'm sure you've read Brown Bear, Brown Bear by Bill Martin. Watch these videos to hear him read the book and tell about when he got the idea to write the book.

Bluebonnet Books

Don't forget that you can get a head start on reading the Bluebonnet books this summer. Local bookstores and the public library will have the books on the new list. You can get credit in September for any books you read now. Remember that you need to read five Bluebonnet books by the end of January to be able to vote.

I've been busy this summer reading the Bluebonnet books and planning some fun library events for next fall. I'll keep you waiting for the details, but trust me, it's going to be fun! ;)

Fans of The World According to Humphrey will be excited to learn that there is a Humphrey book on the new Bluebonnet list! Read Surprises According to Humphrey to learn more about his adventures as the class pet hamster. When you come back in August, you will find more copies of all the Humphrey books!

22 More Books

We're down to 22 books checked out to students with two days left of school! Will our countdown make it to zero by the end of the day Wednesday? If you are still looking for a library book, make sure you check under your bed, on your bookshelves at home, or even in an old backpack. Come ask in the library if you need to know how much your book costs.

Don't forget to check the library blog this summer! I plan to keep posting about books I'm reading this summer. You may even get to see some fun videos as I try out my new webcam!

Happy Reading!

Book Fair Rescheduled

Book Fair has been resecheduled for the week of May 18th!

Monday, May 18 - Preview
Tuesday, May 19 - Sales 8 a.m. - 8 p.m.
Wednesday, May 20 - Sales 8 a.m. - 6 p.m.
Thursday, May 21 - Sales 7:20 a.m. - 6 p.m.

Come on Tuesday night and enter a drawing for $10 in books. We will draw 5 winners! If you win, your teacher also wins $10 in books.

Visit the book fair website to preview some of the books that will be for sale. There are even links to some author interviews!

Phil Bildner - May 7th

Order froms for Phil Bildner's books went home in Wednesday folders last week. Extra forms are available in the library. All five of his picture books and the first four Sluggers books are available!

Want to learn more about Phil Bildner or the Sluggers series? Check out the websites below!

Phil Bildner's Website
http://www.philbildner.com/index.html

Sluggers Website
http://www.philbildner.com/sluggers/sluggers.html

Read Sluggers
http://www.simonandschuster.com/specials/kids/readsluggers/

Sluggers Book Trailer

Phil Bildner is Coming!

I know it's been a long time since my last post, but I promise this post is worth the wait!

Phil Bildner is coming back to Caldwell Heights on Thursday, May 7th!

Yes, you read that correctly! PTA is helping me bring Phil Bildner back to present to all grades. He has several new books since his visit last year. I can't wait to hear all about them.

Turkey Bowl came out in the fall. It is a story about a family Thanksgiving football game. Some of you heard the book when you came to the library for Thanksgiving stories in the fall.

The other big news is that Barnstormers is now Sluggers! The first three Barnstormer books are now out in paperback with the new Sluggers covers, and Sluggers #4 Water, Water Everywhere comes out this month!

Watch for a book order form in Wednesday folders on Wednesday, April 15th. You can also get an order form in the library.

State Bluebonnet Winner

Third, fourth, and fifth graders across Texas voted for their favorite Bluebonnet Book at the end of January. There were over 150,000 votes this year!

The winning book is...

One Potato, Two Potato received 23,168 votes!

Second Place - How to Steal a Dog
Third Place - Invention of Hugo Cabret
Fourth Place - Lawn Boy

All our copies of the Bluebonnet Books are still on the Bluebonnet shelf in the library. Now that the voting is over, you can check out more than one Bluebonnet Book at a time!

Babymouse!

Have you found the new book section? There are even more new fiction books on the way in the next couple weeks! Keep checking the shelves for new additions.

Girls, I think you will love the new Babymouse series by Jennifer & Matthew Holm!

The first book is Babymouse: Queen of the World.

It's the same thing every day for Babymouse. Where is the glamour? The excitement? The adventure? Nothing ever changes, until . . . Babymouse hears about Felicia Furrypaw's exclusive slumber party. Will Babymouse get invited? Will her best friend, Wilson, forgive her if she misses their monster movie marathon?

There are nine books in the series, and I'm already planning to order more copies!

Have fun reading! :)

Caldwell Heights Bluebonnet Winners

On Friday, January 30th, thirty-four students at Caldwell Heights voted for their favorite Bluebonnet Book. There was a tie for the winning book at our school. The following books tied for first!

Atherton: The House of Power by Patrick Carman

One Potato, Two Potato by Cynthia DeFelice

Working on a Research Project?

Are you working on a Research project? Did you ever wonder where you can find reliable information on the internet? Your librarian can help!

Visit our Caldwell Heights Research Resources Page!
Here you will find lots of helpful tools. At school you won't need any passwords. If you will be searching from home, ask for a password list in the library.

NetTrekker - an internet search engine for safe internet sites
Kids Search, Kids Infobits, & SIRS Discoverer - magazine and reference book articles about almost any topic
Maps 101 - maps from all around the world for kindergarten students on up
Britannica Online School Edition - an encyclopedia for kids
Teaching Books.net - author information and interviews
Tumblebooks & Book Flix - picture books you can watch on the computer

Happy Researching!

Are YOU Ready to be a Bluebonnet Voter?

The final day to get credit for reading a Bluebonnet book is Wednesday, January 28th! Remember that you need to have read five or more books to be a registered voter. If you need to get credit for a book you have already read, come talk to Miss Gardner in the library.

We will be voting on Friday, January 30th! I wonder which book will be the winner at Caldwell Heights?

I Spy...

...I Spy books in the library!

Check the new book section for I Spy and other new nonfiction books!

It's hard to believe that January is already here! I hope you enjoyed the winter break and found some time to read.

We have lots of new fiction, nonfiction, and everybody books coming out in the next couple weeks. Just look for books on display with a small new book sticker and green star right above the barcode.

Be sure to visit this blog regularly! I'll try to post information about new books and other library events at least once a week.

Happy Reading!