Family Advocacy This Week

This Wednesday and Thursday, we will be having Family Advocacy Days at Welborn.

I will be available in the Library on Wednesday from 2:00-4:30, and in the Gym from 5:00-6:00. On Thursday, I am planning to be in the Gym all day.

Please stop by and say hello. If you child has not yet brought in a permission card to check out books from the library, I will have some of those available, and you can get your child set up to use the library.

Welborn Book Fair

Thank you to everyone who came out to the Welborn Book Fair last week. If you would still like to make a purchase, you can go to the online store at

http://www.scholastic.com/bf/welbornelementaryschool 

 until October 4th. All proceeds will go to help with various projects around the school, including buying new books for the library.

The Wind and the Willows Book Review

When I was in the fifth or sixth grade, my reading teacher had me read The Wind and the Willows, by Kenneth Grahame. Back then, if you asked me what the book was about, I probably would have told you it was about a group of animals that acted like humans...not a very good description. My poor teacher would be rolling her eyes right now if she heard me say that, especially after all of the time we spent studying the book. Believe it or not though, I actually have always thought of this book as one of my favorites, even though I never read it again. I could not tell you why I thought it was a favorite, except for the fact that the animals were very funny.

Tonight while I was checking out one of the library's databases, the Tumblebook Library, I found a copy of this book! I clicked on a button, and found that it is actually an audiobook, which means that you can let someone else read it to you! It wasn't too long before I was mesmerized by the reader's voice, enjoying the different tones that she used for the various characters. I soon realized why I liked this book so much. I began to remember the true enjoyment that I experienced as a child, how the author's writing style drew me into the story, and how it came alive for me. Pretty soon, I was hooked, and now I am sitting here writing to you about my experience, while still reading...I mean listening to one of my favorite books.

Thoughts about The Wind and the Willows:

• This book may be old, but Mr. Grahame's writing style still shows me how life should be enjoyed.
• My favorite character is Mr. Toad.  I think he represents the common man who loves life a lot, makes many mistakes, but is a precious treasure to his friends.  
• This would be a great book to read if teachers are teaching personification or descriptive writing.  
• Parents and teachers, remember that some of the language may be kind of old, so you may have to explain what some words mean (especially words that had a different meaning today than they did back when the book was written).
• If I come to school tomorrow, talking in a British accent, you will know why.

Unfortunately, we do not have a paper copy of this book at Welborn right now, but I am going to see if I can order one. If you want to read it right now, you can go to the same place where I was reading... I mean listening to it. Go to http://usd500libraries.kckpl.org/elementarydb.html and click on the Tumblebooks Library link at the bottom of the page. Ask your child for the username and password for the databases, and click on the orange "Read Along" tab (that turns red when you hover over it) at the top of the screen. Scroll down to find the book. When you open it, you will see the words of the book. In the bottom left-hand corner of the screen, there is an arrow button. Click on in it and you can hear this fabulous book read out loud.

ENJOY READING!

Last Stop on Market Street

Last Stop on Market Street, by Matt De La Peña is a beautiful book about a young boy who begins to see the beauty of the world through the eyes of his grandmother. This book won the 2016 Newbery Medal award, a very prestigious award for children's books. It was also a Caldecott Honor Book and a Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor Book.

 Kansas City Kansas Public Libraries is hosting an event, Library in the Park on September 17, 2016, where Mr. De La Peña will be available to visit with people who are interested in his book. The first 1000 people to attend will get an autographed copy of the book. This event is being held at Big Eleven Lake from 10:00 AM-2:00 PM. 

If you would like to learn more about the Library in the Park, please visit http://library.booksite.com/5366/nl/?list=CNL1&group=EB87. There is a video of the author on the public library's website, as well as information about the other activities taking place that day.

New Ebooks

The Welborn Library's Ebook database called the Magic Wall just got some new books!

Please see my June 25, 2016, post to learn more about how to access these resources.

Teachers, I will be giving a presentation on September 14th, explaining how you can access the Magic Wall on both your IPads and laptops. Until then, if you would like your usernames and passwords, please contact myself or Mr. Bonner.

I am really excited because some of the new titles are the William Allen White nominees that we are currently promoting in the library. Check them out and see if there are any titles that can be used in guided reading groups once the Ipads are set up.

KCK Literacy Festival

Welborn's 2015-2016 1st Place Battle of the Books Team

2016-2017 William Allen White Book Award Nominees

Click on the full screen box in the bottom right hand corner to view this presentation. All of these books are available for checkout in the Welborn Elementary School Library.

Pep Talk for my Welborn Eagles

Book Review: Sebastian and the Balloon, by Philip C. Stead

This is a book review for the book Sebastian and the Balloon, by Philip C. Stead.

Sebastian is a boy who appears to be bored with his life, so he builds a hot air balloon and sets off on an adventure with a pile of stuff. As he travels through the book, he meets several interesting characters who he befriends by sharing his pickle sandwiches. Sebastian takes them with him on his adventure starting with a bear, then a bird that has accidents, and three old ladies who like to ride roller coasters.

This book shows that no matter how different you are from others, you can still be their friends, even if they are old ladies who like to go on adventures (like me! :-D). 

It is a very short read and the pictures are beautiful. If you would like to check it out, it is in the picture book section of the Welborn Library. The call number is EASY STEAD. They also have copies at several of the public libraries, including the Main Library on Minnesota Avenue, Turner Library, and the West Wyandotte Library. The call number at the public libraries is J P STEAD.

Reading over the summer

If you would like a good book to read about Independence Day, check out the Welborn Library's ebooks at http://weeslib.axis360.baker-taylor.com/. You can check out ebooks on a computer, on a smart phone, or even a tablet.

On a smart phone or a tablet, you will need to get the app called Axis 360. It is available for both Apple and Android devices.

• When you open the app, it will give you a small presentation about how to use the app. 

• Scroll through the presentation until you get to to a screen that asks for your country and state.  

• Choose USA and Kansas. 

• Next, it will ask you for your library. Click on Library and scroll all the way down to the bottom where it says Welborn Elementary.  (If you have a child that goes to a different school in the KCKPS school district, choose that school.)

• Your Library ID number is your child's official KCKPS student ID number with a 0 (zero) in front of it. It will start with 079.  (If you cannot find it, please email me at denise.denison@kckps.org, and I will look it up for you.  (During the summer, I will not be available to look up ID numbers, but will be glad to help you until summer school is over, and after school starts again.)

• Your PIN is your child's birthdate in numbers (MMDDYYYY).

• There are ebooks and audiobooks both in this app.

•  You can check books out for two weeks. At the end of that time, the books will automatically check themselves in and you will not have to worry about returning them. 

• If a book is not available, you can put your email address on a list, and get a message when the book is available to check out.

 On a computer, go to the website, http://weeslib.axis360.baker-taylor.com/.

• Click on the Login link at the top.

• Your Library ID number is your child's official KCKPS student ID number with a 0 (zero) in front of it. It will start with 079.  (If you cannot find it, please email me at denise.denison@kckps.org, and I will look it up for you.  (During the summer, I will not be available to look up ID numbers, but will be glad to help you until summer school is over, and after school starts again.)

• Your PIN is your child's birthdate in numbers (MMDDYYYY).

• There are ebooks and audiobooks on the website.

•  You can check books out for two weeks. At the end of that time, the books will automatically check themselves in and you will not have to worry about returning them. 

•  If a book is not available, you can put your email address on a list, and get a message when the book is available to check out.

 Click on the Staff Picks link and you will see a list of Mrs. Nowlin's favorite books, as well as different books about various subjects. There are also books related to the Battle of the Books competition and the William Allen White book award that we talk about during library skills classes.

During the summer, you can check out 25 books at a time. During the school year, you can check out 4 books at a time.

If you do not have Internet at your home, please stop by the local library, where you can get free Internet access. You can download books onto a tablet, and then take them home and read them offline for two weeks!

ENJOY READING ALL SUMMER LONG!

Summer School at Welborn

We are having a great time at Welborn this summer! Stop by the library on Thursdays if you would like to check out library books.

Summer School

Summer school has started at Welborn. We will be having library checkout on Thursdays during June here in the Welborn Library.

New Library Website

The Welborn Library will be getting a new library website soon.  To see the new site, visit http://kcksch.ent.sirsi.net/client/en_US/welborn2016/

Battle of the Books has a New Name

The KCKPS Battle of the Books competition is held every Novemeber. Last year, the Welborn Eagles team got 1st place in the entire school district!

This year, the name of the event has been changed to the KCK Literacy Festival. Students who would like to participate in the KCK Literacy Festival are encouraged to start reading the books over the summer. This year's book list included the following titles:  

• The One and Only Ivan – Katharine Applegate 
• Flora and Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures – Kate DiCamillo 
• Where the Mountain Meets the Moon – Grace Lin 
• Finding Winnie: The True Story of the World’s Most Famous Bear – Lindsay Mattrick 
•  I am Malala: How One Girl Stood Up for Education and Changes the World – Malala Yousafzai 
• Separate is Never Equal: Sylvia Mendez & Her Family’s Fight for Desegregation – Duncan Tonatiuh  
• American Tall Tales – Mary Pope Osborne    

During the summer, these books will be available at any of the Kansas City Kansas Public Libraries. When school begins in August, students interested in participating can borrow copies of the books from me in the Library.

In September, we will have a competition at school to see who will be on the Welborn Eagles' team. Students will need to have read at least 3 of the books above to be eligible to participate in the September competition. We will then spend the next month getting ready for the school district competition in November.

Welcome!

Welcome to Mrs. Nowlin's Weborn Eagles Library Blog. Please stop by frequently to learn more about the books and other information resources available in the Welborn Elementary School Library.