Season's Readings!

Season's Readings!

Here's a poem I have to share with you ... it is The Librarian's Night Before Christmas.  Enjoy and keep reading!

Mrs. Gridley

‘Twas the night before Christmas, the lights were all out.

The library was closed; no one was about.

Or so Santa thought as he snuck in the door,

Just one quiet moment, just one book more,

Before he continued his rounds for the night.

It would help him stay focused ‘til dawn’s early light.

He read about George and his friend with the hat.

He read about Stellaluna the bat.

He read Rainbow Fish and Time for Bed

And everything Jessie the bear ever said.

He read about Trixie and her lost knuffle bunny

And Shel Silverstein who he thought was quite funny.

Just as he finished The Polar Express

He glanced at the clock and gasped in distress.

How would he ever finish his flight

And deliver the toys before daylight?

Meanwhile, across the small, quiet town

The librarian stomped through the snow with a frown.

Someone is hiding this Christmas Eve night

Inside the library though it’s locked up tight.

She jingled her keys and threw open the door

And found Santa sitting so sad on the floor.

‘“What are you doing?” she cried in alarm.

“I’m sorry, my dear. I mean you no harm.

I’d decided to read just a story or two

And then couldn’t stop, so I’ve read quite a few.

I’ll never deliver this sleigh full of toys

In time to the world’s good girls and boys.”

The librarian stopped for a moment to think

And came up with a plan as quick as a wink.

She quickly put Santa’s books in a pile

And used the computer to pull up his file.

She scanned all the books and checked them all out

So Santa could go on his Christmas Eve route.

She put them in bags and into the sleigh

So he could read them the very next day.

He gratefully smiled with a twist of his head

He turned to her and quietly said,

“I’ll make sure they’re back before they’re all due

Or I’ll call ahead and have them renewed.”

“Thank-you!” he cried and with one last look,

“Merry Christmas to all and to all a good book!”

~ Tricia Cox, Children’s Librarian,

Waterford, Wisconsin

Hello and Happy October!  This is my favorite month to "scare the tuna salad out of someone" (as Mo Willems said in Leonardo the Terrible Monster).  So many fun books are there for the reading in October. Books about pumpkins, Halloween, bats, and just plain old scary stories. Here's a link from one of my favorites sites READ KIDDO READ - their suggested Halloween B-O-O-O-O-K list ... http://blog.readkiddoread.com/halloween-boo-o-o-o-k-list/ - enjoy some spooky reads for October!

Fall 2012

We've had a great start to the 2012-2013 School Year! I'm happy to be back, and excited to see students checking out so many great new books.  Westbrook School has tons of new books for you to explore. I read a lot of them over the summer.  Pie by Sarah Weeks was terrific. I also loved Wonder by R. J. Palacio - this was a terrific book!  I read a book by Jodi Piccoult and her daughter Samantha van Leer called Between the Lines. This was a really unique fantasy/fiction book.

I'll be writing more soon, but don't forget to let me know what you're reading and what you think of our new books!

Mrs. Gridley

April 2012

I hope you're all getting ready to enjoy a well-deserved week off from school!  I know I am! I've got lots of reading to catch up on. My pile of books just keeps growing (actually, it is a virtual pile, since I read most of my books off my iPad).

I did read a couple of great books recently that you may be interested in!  Chopsticks by Amy Krouse Rosenthal really tickled my funny bone. It thought it was an adorable picture book, with just enough humor in it that it would make an adult laugh too. The Camping Trip that Changed America by Barb Rosenstock was another great book. This one tells the story of Teddy Roosevelt, and why he started our system of National Parks.  For a chapter book, I just finished reading Fake Mustache by Tom Angleberger (he wrote The Strange Case of Origami Yoda).  What a great book - I couldn't put it down until I found out how it ended.

Make sure you tell me what you're reading - I'd love to hear about it!

Mrs. Gridley

Wow - March Already!!!

Sorry I haven't posted in a while - I've been so busy! At both Westbrook and Marshall Hill I recently received HUGE book orders. SO EXCITING! I just love new books and I'm having a terrific time sharing the new books with all of my students.

My latest favorite (and I think it is a favorite of many of you) is "Pete the Cat I Love my White Shoes." What a fun book! The author is Eric Litwin and the illustrator is James Dean. Of course when I first read it, I made up my own song. However, there is a "real" song to go along with this book. I've put a QR code on this page that you can scan in to listen to Harper Collins' song.

More EXCITING news ... there's a new Pete the Cat book!! "Pete the Cat Rocking in my School Shoes." I saw this book at Marshall Hill's book fair and have a copy on hold for the library. THEN, I found that there's another new one coming out on May 1 - "Pete the Cat and his Four Groovy Buttons."  Needless to say I've pre-ordered that book as well.

I look forward to sharing these books with you. Share some of your favorites with me!!!

January 2012

Brrr! Welcome to January!

We're finally starting to feel some cold, winter weather, but still no snow!

The cold weather just makes me want to sit with a cup of hot cocoa or tea under an electric blanket with a good book.  I think those cows in "Click Clack Moo, Cows That Type" had it right! Electric blankets are the best!

We recently received our new books from the Junior Library Guild. In the shipment was the book at the right "Levi Strauss gets a Bright Idea." What a fun story. The third graders and I decided it was a Tall Tale, which had some facts but a lot of exaggeration.

Some great new chapter books are "A Tale Dark and Grimm" and "My Life as a Book." Pick up a new book and read it! Let me know what you think!