Doss Library

I am so excited to host Chris Van Dusen on Tuesday, April 16th! BookPeople is sending this talented author/illustrator to visit with PreK, Kinder, 1st, and 2nd grade classes. He will be here to talk about his new picture book, A Piglet Named Mercy which is prequel to the Mercy Watson early chapter book series. Check out this interview to learn more about him and please support our event by purchasing books here.


While Chris was the illustrator for this series, he has written and illustrated many books on his own. I am particularly fond of The Circus Ship and King Hugo's Huge Ego.

from PenguinRandomHouse.com: When a circus ship runs aground off the coast of Maine, the poor animals are left on their own to swim the chilly waters. Staggering onto a nearby island, they soon win over the wary townspeople with their kind, courageous ways. So well do the critters blend in that when the greedy circus owner returns to claim them, villagers of all species conspire to outsmart the bloated blowhard. With buoyant rhymes and brilliantly caricatured illustrations evoking the early nineteenth century, Chris Van Dusen presents a hugely entertaining tale about the bonds of community — and a rare hidden-pictures spread for eagle-eyed readers of all ages.


from PenguinRandomHouse.com: Hugo is a tiny king with a very large ego. But when he mistreats a villager who also happens to be a sorceress, the spell she casts causes his head to literally swell. The more he boasts, the bigger it gets, until it finally topples the mini monarch right off his castle! Who will cut this royal pain down to size? And, more important, will anyone live happily ever after? Chris Van Dusen’s hilarious story is matched only by his outrageous illustrations. Together, they make for a picture book that is sometimes fairy tale, sometimes cautionary tale, and always laugh-outloud funny.

In preparation for the visit, I'll be sharing these titles with some classes and am also planning for some maker time. Many thanks to the wonderful teachers who are helping get the Mercy piglet ear hand bands ready for the visit!!!

While you're here... Please take some time to log in to the Austin ISD Portal and check out MackinVIA. I've been talking about it with classes and am excited about all that it has to offer.
Students will use their student ID# as their username (don't forget the S) and their "birthday password": capital letter of last name, 6 digit birthday (two digit month, two digit date, two digit year), followed by a lowercase s to log in to the portal. It should look something like this: L090612s. Once you're logged in, click on the tile with the MackinVIA pinwheel and browse the 3,799 electronic books, locate the Bluebonnet 2019-20 group (especially if you currently have a 2nd, 3rd, 4th, or 5th grader), check out the databases including Tumblebooks (where you will find two of Chris Van Dusen's picture books and the whole Mercy Watson early chapter book series!) and PebbleGo and PebbleGoNext, and watch the two Doss created videos. You will also find a link to this blog for when you want to come back! Please plan to check back sometime soon. Let me know if you have any questions. I hope that this district provided space will be one that families use often. The access should be fairly seamless and it's a great place to wonder and explore. Happy Spring! ~Bonnie

It's book fair time and it's all online. Well... mostly. Please follow this link and support the Doss library through your purchases or take a road trip and bring the flyer that went home in Wednesday folders and was posted to LT to BookPeople. Either way works!