Doss Library

Wow.... what a great back to school event! Thanks to everyone who stopped by to say hello. We are looking forward to seeing every class next week and the volunteer schedule is already getting filled up. If you'd like to volunteer, just let us know. We appreciate all of your help! A huge thanks to those of you who have signed up for the birthday book club. It's not too late to participate... This a an amazing fundraiser for the library. If you'd like more information about it, I'd be happy to explain. We have a wonderful scrapbook of last year's participants in the library, come by to see it sometime... it is absolutely precious! We will be starting the year by sharing How Rocket Learned to Read by Tad Hills with our kindergarten and first graders. The second through fifth graders will be checking out books next week so the library should be very busy!

Hey everyone! Mrs. Willis and I are getting the library ready for the Doss Owls and we know it's going to be a great year! We have lots of brand new books for the Birthday Book Club participants to choose from so don't forget to sign up at Meet the Teacher. Please come by the library to say hello next Friday. We've missed you! Get ready to read!!! hugs, Mrs. Lang

Parents... Check out the Reading Rockets website. You'll find themed book lists, tips on helping your child find "just right" books and much more. This link will take you to the parent page. I am very impressed with what I have found and hope that you will be too. Enjoy!

Happy 4th of July weekend! I hope to see you at the parade tomorrow morning! I have been reading some great books this summer and hope that you are too! I recently finished The Celestial Globe and Theodore Boone Kid Lawyer am listening to Lucky Breaks on CD in my car, reading a professional book called The Reading Zone, and am reading Betsy-Tacy. The Celestial Globe is the second book in the Kronos Chronicles and I am now looking forward to the third book in this series! Theodore Boone is John Grisham's new book for kids. I think that Mr. Grisham did a great job setting up the main story in this first book of a planned series. If you are interested in court cases and the law, this will be a perfect book for you. Lucky Breaks is the second book by Newberry winning author and librarian, Susan Patron. I am really enjoying listening to this one! Don't forget that having someone read a book aloud to you or listening to a book on CD or Playaway is another great way to "read". If you are taking a road trip this summer, check out an audio book from the library and bring it in the car. I bet the whole family will enjoy it!

A librarian friend forwarded Al Roker's Book Club for Kids... Check it out! I am not familiar with this title, The Jaguar Stones: Book One: Middleworld, but it does sound interesting. I would love to hear how your summer reading is going! Please post a comment here!

Umbrella Summer is the second book that author, Lisa Graff has had nominated for the Bluebonnet award. Her first was The Thing About Georgie. (Did you read it?) I found Umbrella Summer be a pretty quick and easy read about a very difficult topic. The main character, Annie, is a very cautious eleven year old. Her older brother died about one year ago and this story looks at how Annie relates to her world after the tragedy. I had saved this book for last since I am usually hesitant to read sad stories. While Umbrella Summer is a sad book, it is also hopeful and uplifting. It always surprises me when students ask me to help them find a sad book... but it actually does happen and I would add this book to the list of my recommendations. In fact, I would also suggest it to those who like to read realistic fiction and stories about friendship. There are several story lines in Umbrella Summer that revolve around a variety of characters and their relationships. I especially like the ending of this book... but I'm not going to tell you what happens... you'll have to read for yourself!

I just finished my 19th bluebonnet book! The Cabinet of Wonders is the first book in The Kronus Chronicles trilogy and was written by Marie Rutkoski. I am going to come clean here... I try so hard to keep up with all of the books that the Doss Owls are reading that I rarely read the second book in a series. However, this is one of the exceptions. I just placed a hold on The Celestial Globe so that I can pick up this second book of the planned trilogy at the Old Quarry Branch of the Austin Public Library (APL). If you've never put a book on hold and want to learn how to do that, ask the public librarian to show you how to set up an account. I put books on hold all the time and receive an email from APL when my book is ready to be picked up... it is so convenient! Anyways, back to the book... I think that it would be a great read-a-loud for a family. It has a little bit of something for everyone... magic, mystery, history, and suspense! The characters are interesting and though several people have told me that they found the book difficult to get into... DON'T give up!!! I found that the excitement builds and wish that I had The Celestial Globe now! Bummer!!! Check out the mini book trailer on amazon.com. You can see it if you scroll down a bit and look for the Amazon video in the box where it says "Check Out Related Media". Cool!!!

14 Cows for America is a nonfiction picture book and a bluebonnet nominee. It tells the story of the Maasai people and their gift to America after 9/11. I think that after reading the book it would be worthwhile to discuss the facts surrounding the story... great information can be found at the publisher's website.

If you do not have access to the book, you can watch a video of it being read on vimeo. Don't forget- Read 5, then decide. All students who read 5 or more bluebonnet books and turn in the appropriate paperwork, qualify to vote in January and to come to the breakfast.

Well, I went to the link that I gave in an earlier post and found that is is no longer correct. The new link for bluebonnet books and the Texas Library Association can be found here. I apologize for any confusion or frustration that the broken link may have caused! The reason that I went there was so that I could talk about another bluebonnet book. I am currently reading The Cabinet of Wonders and thought that I better share some information about the other books that I have read since this one is going to take a little bit longer to read.

I read Home of the Brave a few months ago. I was worried when I first saw this book because though we all know that we are not supposed to "judge a book by its cover", we do this anyways. I was concerned that students might not want to try this book because of the cover... Don't let that happen! This book is written in free verse (like a poem) and is a wonderful read! I am always amazed that authors can write a book in this way. Though Katherine Applegate does not use many words to tell this story; she is able to convey intense emotions and creates a thought provoking story. I hope that both students and parents take time to read Home of the Brave. This book would be a wonderful book club selection. If you want some information about starting a book club, let me know. I have some ideas that I'd be happy to share. I have been in adult book clubs and a mother-daughter book club, and know that some of you are doing this too. Check out the kidsreads.com ideas for bookclubs... Awesome! This site also has links to authors, book reviews, and different booklists. Stay cool & keep reading!