Just finished reading the 100 Year Old Secret by Tracy Barrett. It's book 1 in The Sherlock Files. It is going to be the first book in a new book club starting up this fall. I'm facilitating a mystery/adventure book club for kids grades 4th-6th called Mystery Mania. The book is about 2 kids who are descendants of Sherlock Holmes. They inherit Sherlock's unsolved case book and set off to solve a case. Recently transplanted in England, they are unfamiliar with some language and culture, but that puts an interesting twist on the story. It's an exciting read with a twist ending/clue. A great series for kids who like mysteries.
What a great way to finish up my summer reading programs! Hook up the Wii (thank you teen volunteers), turn on a Just Dance game video and let the kids (1st-5th) dance. Okay, so there was a little more going on, but it was pretty simple. We handed out glow in the dark sticks to make into bracelets as they walked in. I set out bowls of popcorn and water bottles on one table. On another, teens were helping kids with a dance painting (put paper in a Pringles can with a marble (or dried beans in this case) and a few small dollops of paint and shake away as you dance...just make sure that lid is very secure or you'll have a Jackson Pollock activity room. Lastly, when taking a break from dancing, a teen taught the kids how to do the Cup Song from the movie Pitch Perfect. They had a great time performing a mini-concert for the parents who were there. The kids had a blast and it couldn't have been easier to put together. Now on to Fall...
Kids feeling left out or sorry for themselves, and kids learning about friendship. An accidental storytime theme developed. I started by picking one of my favorite books: Unicorn Thinks He's Pretty Great by Bob Shea about that grumpy goat and ever upbeat unicorn.
Not necessarily needing a specific theme, yet wanting a thread of similarity to run through my book choices, I next picked Duckling Gets a Cookie? by Mo Willems. Funny, and an act of kindness changes an attitude. I'm starting to like where this is taking me.
An accidental find at the library was a perfect fit for this different friendship"theme" storytime: Number One Sam by Greg Pizzoli. Sam isn't number one for once but his friends still cheer him.
I picked out Ferdinand by Munro Leaf. It's better to be yourself than just join the crowd. Not entirely happy with that choice, but I didn't want to over think the whole thing.
Later, out of the blue 2 more "perfect" books came to mind that would work for this storytime: Adventures of Beekle by Dan Santat (see my post about this great book)and Enemy Pie by Derek Munson. I recently read Enemy Pie and thought, yes, kids would get a kick out of it AND it teaches a lesson. (Dad is making a pie that will get rid of enemies).
There are sooo many great choices! Too many for one storytime, but options are always great to have. Will kids get all the subtleties in the books? Probably not. Will they see you need to give people a chance because they could be a great friend? Hopefully. Will they have fun listening and playing during storytime? Yes they will!
It's great to have a storytime you're excited about and all ready to go at the first opportunity! All you need to do is throw in a few action songs, a couple fingerplays, and the ever popular (well, maybe not) craft (Duckling headband with feather and beak) and let the fun, AND learning begin!
Plan:
1. Read story (Bark, George for the animal sounds and general fun).
And many other themed books displayed to look at, talk about, and possibly take home.
Side note: I've heard many others say this is a great read-aloud book for younger kids. It proved great. Kids were laughing and participating in the story. The kids loved saying the different sounds George made. I'm glad I had a chance to read it in a program.
2. Brief discussion of sounds outside we hear, if we're quiet.
3. Guess the bird song video:
4. Make a "duck call" whistle from a straw.
5. Make wind chime of recycled lids, yarn, beads, bells.
6. Make simple bird feeder from Cheerios and pipe cleaners.
7. Go outside on a sound scavenger hunt.
8. Color bird pictures.
Actual:
Stuck on #5. Kids really wanted to finish these and spent more time than expected on stringing bells and beads. Many kids (grades 1 - 5) had hard time tying knots. Note to self: pre-knot the bells onto end of pre-cut yarn to speed up process. Start a sewing class and teach kids how to make knots!
Better to overplan, but I was disappointed we didn't go outside. It did allow me to give the kids the sound hunt and coloring sheets to take home as family extension activities.
James Patterson is the very definition of prolific. You can find stats about his 19 consecutive bestsellers, nearly 100 books over the past 4 decades, books in multiple categories, etc, etc. Why did he have to "steal" an idea from one of his own books? Or is he a marketing genius?
The only reason I care is because I read his adult book When the Wind Blows and the sequel The Lake House. Both are quick, easy, entertaining reads. Both are about kids genetically altered with wings and a character named Max. Although, the main characters were 2 adults investigating the situation. I was intrigued by the plot well enough to want to see what else may happen, then BAM!!! No more books in the series. Instead, a "new" YA series Maximum Ride about genetically altered kids with wings and a character named Max. Patterson himself says the second series is just inspired by the first and not a continuation or duplicate of the first. But come on...
Then, I discovered there is a third choice: a Maximum Ride graphic novel. It caught my attention while looking for Anime or Manga to read. So now my dilemma, will I be wasting my time or will it be an exciting adventure? For me, there are just too many other authors, genres, and themes to explore to reread a story, even one you like. However, being a fairly newbie to graphic novels, maybe a known story is a good bet? I've decided to give the graphic novel a try on my ongoing quest for better appreciation of the format. Okay, Mr. Patterson, you got me!
The cover really says it all. But I'll add a few words: cooperation, gender roles, clever, fun. This book was published in 2005, author Kevin O'Malley. The author brings some feminism into the book about a boy and girl who have to work together to come up with a fairy tale. The cover manages to appeal to both boys and girls by using both stereotypes. This was published 10 years ago! Not a lot has changed in the marketing of books to kids or what they're drawn to. Girls still like princesses and ponies and boys generally like "boy" stuff. Wish in 10 years there still wasn't such a divide. I recently had to convince a boy "Baby Mouse" wasn't just a "girls book" because of the pink cover. He thought other kids would make fun of him for reading it. I told him I didn't know what other kids would do, but that would be wrong and he should be able to read the books he wants to read. It seems much easier for girls to read books with boy protagonists than vice versa. It warms my heart when I see a little dude checking out a Junie B. Jones book and not even blink an eye. Stories are stories, some we like better than others, some we identify with more than others, but all have the possibility of being an awesome book for us whether the cover is pink or blue.
Recommend both books to boys and girls.
Kids sometimes have to be told cover art is NOT the whole story.
Okay, my first 2015 summer reading program was a success. I spent a lot of time on Pinterest and saved the ideas to check out later and possibly expand for the Fall.
Only glitch: I had a vision of the peaceful "Calm" video game music playing in the background while doing our activities, but that didn't happen. Instead a teen volunteer had his guitar and occasionally strummed away. (Music related theme...check, sort of.)
Activities:
Pin the tail on the pig...must wear "Steve Head" box. :) They loved this!
Minecraft in real life: Lego block building (some kids did this the entire time).
Pixel selfies: 100's of 1 in. square construction pieces cut and pasted to a grid for a Minecraft self portrait.
Crafting table: Construct a Creeper box (template), word search, maze. Coloring pages.
Recipe table: Make slime balls. (Plenty of paper towels on hand.)
