How is it already another Monday? And the last day of April? I actually started writing out plans for summer staff development emails and scheduling today. AAGGHH!

So, with that in mind, I did get some reading done, but I am also in the midst of trying to wrap up things here and prepare for our first "end of year" in this library. So many things to consider: checkouts, overdues, summer hours (a first for our staff), staff book bags, prep for the summer PD, prep for the new teacher days, inventory . . . you get the idea. But, I did read some good ones and have some May reads that I am VERY excited about.

OK-I read Wish because it is a Golden Sower Nominee for next year. Overall, it was a sweet, somewhat predictable early Middle Grade book about a girl who is forced to live with extended family while her parents deal with their struggles. She wants to have a family desperately, and tries to find her place in this backward town with hillbillies. While there she catches a stray dog and learns what it means to be a friend.

I read Little Fires Everywhere for my adult book club. It was also "JUST OK." I had heard so many people raving about it that I had some pretty high expectations. In the end, the story was good, but the plot pace and the sense that it was more of a "thinker" than a story with twists and turns, left me wanting more. 
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But the absolute BEST thing about my week was the fact that my library's copy of Ghost Boys came in. I grabbed it off the "to be processed" cart and squirreled it away to read that night. Folks, let me tell you, it was EVERYTHING I wanted it to be. It more than met my expectations. Read it and then hand it to everyone you know.

I am just starting Time Bomb right now. I love the premise, but am a bit worried; when I first put it on my TBR list, I saw a review that mentioned the reader didn't like how the Muslim character was portrayed (the book is about a bomb that goes off at a school). Other reviews put it as a great thriller for teens.  I'll be sure to post my review when I get done. The other two are ones that have been on my radar for awhile: An American Marriage is my next read for book club and Nyxia Unleashed is my most recent eARC for review. 

What about you? Read anything great lately? I am getting ready to submit my final order for the year-any "must reads" I need to be sure to add? 

This week was busy here in the library! We had multiple students in for checkouts, received a shipment of books from Follett, hosted our friends from the Gretna Public Library for board games, worked with 7th grade math classes on data displays using Google Sheets, and had the 8th grade Social Studies classes in here for stations about the Civil War. It was a great week and the weather seems to have finally turned around! Happy Friday!

Recently I did a staff development about the benefits of teachers reading with their students and showcasing how the ACMS media center can help them in this journey.

To begin the session, I asked teachers to respond to two questions using PollEverywhere.com. The first question asked teachers how many books, on average, they expected their students to read each year. This included both books they had to read as all-class novels AND their independent reading. Their responses are below:

Then, I presented the staff with the second question: How many books did you read last year? 

I had quite a few staff members lament the fact that there wasn't a "0" option, and I told them that I thought for sure they could count their textbook as at least 1. After I reassured them that this was not meant to be snarky, but actually more illuminating, we talked about the importance of not only modeling independent reading, but reading books that would appeal to our students. 

We then discussed my book cover wall. I keep track of the books I read and post pictures of the covers. Here is my wall so far:

Recently, my para asked why she didn't have a book wall. I told her she was more than welcome to have one and then she wanted it to be a competition. After much discussion, we decided to involve even more staff members and make it a competition between all of the teams. So, next year, there will be a space for the 6th grade, 7th grade, 8th grade, and Specials area teachers to post, track, and promote the books they are reading. I had a ton of excitement from the teachers and I even had two book checkouts during the Specials team staff development. 

In addition, I shared news about the ACMS Library summer hours and told teachers they were more than welcome to come in and check out books over the summer. They were assured that their summer titles would count for the challenge in the fall. :)

I'm excited to see how this goes and love the fact that so many teachers were interested in reading. In order to keep the momentum going over the summer I am starting a Google Classroom for us to share books and recommendations and will also be doing summer PD sessions via the blog. Literacy is something that I am SUPER PASSIONATE about and I can't wait to see how this student engagement and literacy next year.

Do any of you or your schools do any sort of reading challenges for staff? Do you have any ideas for reading promotion with your teachers? I'd love to hear them!

I feel like I've been in a bit of a reading rut, but I'm sure that some of that is due to the fact that I have been reading things that I HAD to read (for book club, for the state awards next year, etc) instead of just picking up the next book in my #TBR stack. So, goal for myself this week and in the month of May: read what I want to read! (again, this is something that I preach for the students in my building and my own kids at home because of all the resources out there, but it's a good reminder for myself as well)

​So, without further ado, my #IMWAYR stats:

I read Slacker and Garvey's Choice because they are nominees for our state award list for 2018-19. They are in the Chapter Book category (aimed at 3rd-6th grades) and, in my opinion, were just OK. Full disclosure, those grade level books don't always appeal to me. BUT, that being said, Slacker's main character was just NOT likeable. For more info, check out my reviews on Goodreads. 

Spill Zone on the other hand was one I just picked up for myself on a whim. And man am I glad that I did. It was really good. My only complaint: book 2 isn't out yet. Highly recommend if you like graphic novels or are a fan of dystopian literature/Science Fiction. Very good.

I am in the midst of Little Fires Everywhere since it is my book club's pick this week (have to finish by Thursday!). Then I'm going to dive in to these two new eARCs I have waiting for me. Contagion and The Second Life of Ava Rivers. I'm very excited to get into them! I'll try to update you next week. :)

What are you all reading? Anything good that I should add to my list?

Raise your hand if you agree that one of our goals is to make kids readers:

Right? Most of us readily agree that we want kids to be readers. The research is out there that says that when kids read, and read well, they do better in pretty much everything. 

BUT . . . it takes more than just saying we want to develop readers. As most of us who work with students can attest, just wanting them to be something isn't enough. It takes WORK to get them to grow. And that includes as readers.

So, what can you do? One of the best things is to read with them. That includes during class reading time AND reading things that they enjoy so you can share ideas, give recommendations, and just talk in general about books that you have in common.

Now, some of you might be saying, "But, I'm really more of a Chandler here." Meaning, you have a book or books in your classrooms, but you aren't reading them. Or you haven't read any NEW ones. Well, if so, you are in LUCK. The library is here to help!

How so? Summer hours for checkout, display tables during staff development TODAY, and recommendations from Ms. Tasich. In addition, the library always has links available to help you (and the kiddos) find your next read!

Table Displays:
New Books
Library Recommendations
Golden Sowers
Non-Fiction
Graphic Novels
​Search Station

Take a TBR Summer Stack handout, choose some titles, and let's talk BOOKS!

​Summer Hours: June 14th, 28th, July 12th, 26th from 4-6 pm. Books can be returned any weekday from 7-3 to the front office.

It has been a LONG time since I posted one of these, but thought that this would be a good week to get back in the swing of things. 

One of the big things we had going on this week was the ice cream party/voting for our State Book Award, the Golden Sowers. Students who had read at least 4 of the titles were able to come in with their lunches, grab ice cream, vote, and watch a movie in the library. We sent our votes in to be counted with the rest of the state and can't wait to see who the winners are!

We also did staff development with all staff members on using their teacher iPad and utilizing the iPad cart. The staff had lots of good questions about iPad functionality and our tech coordinator was also able to explain the process for requesting and adding specific apps. More to come on the iPads as we begin the tech cohort for next year.

We also had Band students come in to do research in preparation for the upcoming 5th grade tours. The band teacher is changing up the format for the 5th grade tours and wanted the current students to give presentations/demonstrations on their instruments along with background information. The research went well and it was fun to work with a teacher who has never utilized the library before. 

Finally, I've been doing some reading and with the snow forecast (yes, SNOW) for the weekend, I have some books stacked up. Hoping to get to these this weekend:

Today's staff development is going to focus on some of the basics of the iPad and the iPad cart. Below are the slides we will go over today, as well as some links to helpful information.

Helpful Links:
Google Products Help Site 
(click on which product, then which question, and then you can choose the device you are using-select iPad to see how it functions on there)
iPad User Guide
Using iMovie on the iPad
Green Screen/DoInk Tutorials

Well it has been a while since I posted one of these, but I have done some reading lately and wanted to share some book love. So, without any further ado, here is my current reading life.

OK, so these were some of my recent favorites from my reading lists. 
First up, Restore Me the 4th book in the Shatter Me series. I love, love, love these books. I BINGED the first three last year and couldn't believe my luck when I found out there was going to be an extension to that trilogy. Let me tell you, this book more than lives up to the first three. There are twists, turns, and some VERY unexpected outcomes. Highly recommend.
Next, Truly Devious is a mystery thriller that I was so excited to read. I have a student population who thrives on mysteries and I am always looking for more to add to my collection. This one fit the bill. It works for both upper Middle Grade readers AND YA readers. There are two storylines/mysteries and the ending is a huge cliffhanger. Again, highly recommend.
Third, I read Nyxia, book one in a science fiction trilogy. Think dystopian stories, but now set in space. A group of teenagers from all over Earth have been chosen to compete for the right to travel to a new planet where they will mine a unique substance for a billion dollar company. Of course, what they don't know is how intense the competition will get. Or what exactly the company wants to do with the product. I heard about this book from the amazing @bookfin on Twitter and am so glad I picked it up to add to my collection.
Finally, I was lucky enough to score an eARC of Puddin' by Julie Murphy. This companion to the amazing novel Dumplin' was so good. If you are looking for realistic fiction, that has a strong female cast, with some chill contemporary YA vibes, this is for you. I love Murphy's writing style, her characters, and their voices. They are all people I want to know and I am so glad I got to read more from them. 

Right now I am in the middle of Threads by Ami Polonsky. When I picked it up, I didn't realize this was the same author as Gracefully Grayson, which I also loved. This is the story of two girls, one in the states dealing with the recent death of her sister, and one in China who is trapped working in a factory and trying to get help. Their stories intersect. I'm not done yet, but I'm excited to see how it all turns out. This is a quick read that would be perfect for middle grade readers who like dramatic realistic fiction.
Next I am going to read Devils Unto Dust & The Bird and the Blade, two eARCS that I got for review from Edelweiss. I'm looking forward to them and will update with reviews soon.