Third Level Thursday

Good morning!  Does your child read third level books?  Splendid!  Here are four great third level reads.  Tell them to take a look at their next checkout!

Wild River by P.J. Peterson (JF Pet)

Harrowing adventure story of a boy whose older brother is seriously injured during a kayak trip.  It is up to Ryan to rescue his brother and ultimately save his life.  Nominated for the Tennessee Volunteer State Award 2011-2012.

Kylie Jean: Blueberry Queen by Marci Peschke (JF Pes)

Everyone in Kylie's small Texas town is preparing for the blueberry festival, and Kylie's dream is to become the Blueberry Queen.  However, complications abound for this spunky heroine.

Freckle Juice by Judy Blume (JF Blu)

This hilarious classic is sure to amuse any child.  Andrew wants freckles so bad, he's willing to pay his classmate Sharon five weeks worth of allowance for her super secret "freckle juice" recipe.  He discovers the recipe is a strange combination of ingredients like ketchup, grape juice, and mayonnaise.  Maybe not having freckles isn't so bad after all.

Wayside School is Falling Down by Louis Sachar (JF Sac)

If your children like the "My Weird School" series, this book is for them.  A laugh-out-loud story about wacky students and nasty cafeteria food (from the cafeteria lady Miss Mush).

Also in the series:  Sideways Stories from Wayside School and Wayside School Gets a Little Stranger

African American History Month

This month is African American History Month, and here are some superb reads about African Americans in history. There are many wonderful books in the library that I could have put on this list.  Instead, here are my top eight favorites.

Henry's Freedom Box by Ellen Levine (E Lev). This Caldecott Honor book tells the amazing tale of Henry, a slave, who mails himself in a box to freedom.  (Book level 3.0, .5 AR points)

Art from Her Heart: Folk Artist Clementine Hunter (J92 Hun).  This true story of Clementine Hunter, who goes from slave to world-renowned artist, will warm your heart. (Book level 5.3, .5 AR points)

Dave the Potter: Artist, Poet, Slave (J92 Dav).  No matter what your age, you have to read this Caldecott Honor and Coretta Scott King award winner. It's a beautiful story about Dave and his mind-blowing talents at making pottery (and poetry!).  (Book level 6.0, .5 AR points)

Richard Wright and the Library Card by William Miller (E Mil).  You will not take reading for granted after you finish this book about the lengths author Richard Wright went to in order to gain access to books. (Book level 4.0, .5 AR points)

Poetry for Young People: Langston Hughes (811 Hug).  Anyone who reads these poems is guaranteed to love them. (Book level 6.5, 1 AR point)

Matthew Henson and the North Pole Expedition (92 Hen).  This biography tells the story of Matthew Henson, a 53 year-old adventurous spirit who was part of the first expedition to the North Pole. (Book level 5.2, 1 AR point) 

Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson (F And).  This page-turner is a National Book Award Finalist about Isabel, a slave in New York City at the start of the Revolutionary War. Has a sequel called Forge whose narrator is a boy named Curzon.  (Book level 5.2, 11 AR points)

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred Taylor (F Tay). A Newbery Award Winner about an African American family in the South during the Great Depression. (Book level 5.7, 10 AR points)







For more books in the Overbrook library about African American history (we have more than 100!), click here or go to the library catalog home page.

Miss Griffin's Pick: Lincoln: A Photobiography

Lincoln:  A Photobiography by Russell Freedman

Book Level:  7.7
AR Points:  5

In honor of Lincoln's birthday on February 12, my pick is this Newberry Award winning biography.  It is full primary sources--quotes, political cartoons, photographs, and documents about Lincoln's life and the Civil War.  Not only that, but it's interesting to read, too!  For any students interested in nonfiction or the Civil War, this is a good choice.

Other riveting nonfiction books: Chasing Lincoln's Killer by James L. Swanson (F Swa), Bloody Times: The Funeral of Abraham Lincoln and the Manhunt for Jefferson Davis by James L. Swanson (973.7 Swa), They Called Themselves the KKK by Susan Campbell Bartoletti (322.4 Bar)

Workroom Hall of Fame

This summer, some parents worked hard to clean out the library workroom and transform it into an office for Mr. Gray and Mr. Meehan.  We found many funny, strange things lurking on the shelves.  Here is my Hall of Fame time capsule for the quirkiest things we found:

circa 1990s:  IBM Personal Computer owner's manual.  Remember when computers looked like this?  How far we've come!  

 

1980s:  EWOKS VHS tape--special double length edition too!   

1970s:  Roberta Flack biography.  The appeal of this might be lost on anyone under the age of 30.


And finally...

1950s:  I don't remember the title of this book, but here's a close-up of the cover: a boy wielding a saw next to his sister's toys.  This might not turn out well for little Susie.


Anyway, we're so blessed to have a chapel at Overbrook, and I'm happy to have some neighbors in the revamped library workroom!

Miss Griffin's Pick: The Hobbit

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien (F Tol)

AR book level:  6.6
AR points:  16.0

Bilbo Baggins wants to live a peaceful life in his cozy hobbit hole, but one day the wizard Gandalf visits him and offers him an irresistible adventure--to journey with a band of dwarves to reclaim their stolen fortune from the dragon Smaug.  As they travel deeper into Middle Earth and farther from Bilbo's home, they encounter evil orcs, savage wolves, giant spiders, and worse unknowns, like a strange creature named Smeagol with a mysterious and magnetic ring...

Sequels:  The Lord of the Rings trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien (F Tol)

Other great fantasy/adventure stories:  The Lord of the Rings, Redwall by Brian Jacques (F Jac), Dark is Rising series by Susan Cooper (F Coo), Crispin series by Avi (F Avi), The Inheritance Cycle (4 books) by Christopher Paolini (F Pao)

Image taken from goodreads.com

New Books Are Here!

Our December order has arrived, and we have a whopping 62 new books! 

Geronimo Stilton and Stink books are super popular with the boys, so we added some new series they might like...

Shredderman (4 books)--3rd level AR

    Pirate School (7 books)--3rd Level AR

Encyclopedia Brown (2 new books)--4th Level AR 








Martin Bridge (8 books)--4th Level AR

We've also added many early readers...

...and some Leo Lionni award winners.

Be sure to look at the other new books in the New Books sections!

QuizList Interactive Update

Parents, we have great news:  QuizList Interactive has been updated to include all AR quizzes!  That means you can search for AR books in the Overbrook library from home!  To do this, go to Overbrook's homepage, click on the library link under "On Campus" and then click on the QuizList Interactive icon. 

Good things to know about QuizList Interactive:

• You'll need to choose "Restricted Search" at the top of the page to look only at Overbrook books. 
• If you know your child's reading range, put those two numbers in the "Book Level" range.
• Interest level has nothing to do with how hard a book is; it just means that a particular age range would be interested in the book more than others.
• To make a list so your child can print it and bring it to school, you'll need to make an account.  To do this, click "Sign in" at the top of the page.  At the bottom of the page, the screen says, "Don't have an account yet?" Click on the link right after that and enter your information. 
• There are some nifty already-made book lists on the website.  On the search page, look to your left to see lists of award winners, Christian interest, and 2nd graders favorites, to name a few.

If you have any questions at all, don't hesitate to call Miss Griffin at school or drop by for a tutorial!