The Challenge Continues . . . The 2010 Buckeye Book Award Winner

And the reading challenge continues!  As stated in a previous post, my librarian friend Ashley Lambacher of the Book Talker and I are hosting the Buckeye Book Award Reading Challenge.  Our goal is to read all the past winners from the children’s book category in chronological order from 1982 to the present.  I will read the K-2 picture book winners and Ashley will read the 4-8/3-5 chapter book winners.  Today I continue my challenge by reading the winner of the K-2 Buckeye Book Award in 2010, Rhyming Dust Bunnies by Jan Thomas.

The Rhyming Dust Bunnies introduces us to Ed, Ned, Ted, and Bob.  As they like to say "We rhyme all the time!"  On this particular day Ed starts them off with wondering "Hey! What rhymes with car?" Everyone puts in a vote except for Bob.  Bob is sort of staring in the distance and saying things like "Look!" and "Look Out!" instead of words that rhyme.  The other bunnies are confused by Bob's seeming inability to rhyme, but his name is Bob while they’re names are Ed, Ned, and Ted - maybe he’s just different.  Even when he says "Look out! Here comes a big scary monster with a broom!" they're not quite catching on.  Finally he screams out "Run for it!" and the troop run and hide under a dresser.  However, when they attempt to restart their rhyming antics, "sat" "pat" and "rat" are completed with Bob's timely "vacuum cleaner!" and with a mighty "Thwptt" off they go.  Thomas’ digital images are colorful, simple, and appealing to young readers.  I celebrate all Jan Thomas books, and I’m pleased Rhyming Dust Bunnies won the 2010 Buckeye Book Award.

Ashley - I know you are a fan of Jan Thomas, right?  Your upcoming 2010 book is Zoobreak.  This is a cute series but I think book #1, Swindle, is the best of the bunch.  I consider Gordan Korman one of my favorite authors, so I’m pleased to see that one of his books won a Buckeye Book Award.  

Would you like to join Ashley and I as we read through Ohio’s award winning books?  We welcome any and all who are interested in participating in this fun reading challenge.  For more information, click here.

My #pb10for10 - Picture Books for a Makerspace

I’m thrilled to be joining the picture book 10 for 10 fun again this year!  I enjoy the challenge of creating a meaningful list for my self and others, as well as reading all the wonderful lists posted by the community.  

The makerspace movement has greatly impacted my role as a school librarian within the past year.  I’ve created a list of picture books to support staff and students as they engage on makerspace activities and challenges.

1. The Most Magnificent Thing by Ashley Spires

This book is about a young girl who enjoys creating things and decides to build something truly special.  So, after drawing diagrams, hiring an assistant, and collecting materials, she establishes her sidewalk workshop.  But, alas, bringing vision to fruition isn’t easy.   From her efforts, children see the importance of planning, gathering supplies, building, and not giving up when a good idea doesn't initially work out.  I tell my students this is a “maker mindset.”  Try your hardest and don’t give up, even when things are confusing, difficult, or frustrating.  

2. What to do With a Box by Jane Yolen & Chris Sheban

This story is about all the things that a cardboard box can be.  It can be a library, a sailboat, or a race car.  This is a great book to kick off the Cardboard Challenge’s Global Day of Play in October.  I love reading this book and following up the video from Cane’s Arcade.  They are a powerful combination to motivate and inspire students to imagine and create.

3. Hello Ruby: Adventure in Coding by Linda Liukas

This tells the story of Ruby who is determined to solve any problem.  This book is a great introduction to programming and coding concepts like computational thinking, how to break big problems into small ones, create step-by-step plans, look for patterns, and thinking outside the box.  It can be accompanied with and coding activities within your makerspace like hour of code, code.org, and scratch.  

4. Franky by Leo Timmers

This book is great to encourage makers to dream big, use their imagination, and embrace engineering skills.  Sam is obsessed with robots.  He’s convinced they live on another planet in outer space.  His family laughs at his idea.  He builds his own robot, keeping it hidden from his family for fear of being ridiculed.  Eventually, his robot friend is rescued by outer space robots to return to his home - leaving his family in shock!  This book teaches maker students to dream big, don’t listen to others, and believe in your vision.  

5. Rosie Revere, Engineer by Andrea Beaty

This is a story of creativity and perseverance, both important to successful tinkering in a makerspace.  Rosie Revere constructs great inventions, but she gets laughed at and becomes afraid to show them to others.  Then she finds encouragement from a great-great aunt who teaches Rosie to celebrate both her failures and successes. I love the overall message that projects that don’t work initially shouldn’t be discouraging.  Things may not always go as planned, but celebrate your successes and learn from failure.

6. Marvelous Mattie: How Margaret E. Knight Became an Inventor by Emily Arnold McCully

This is a great book to inspire girls to embrace engineering, STEM, and makerspace activities. Mattie lived during a time when it was believed that women couldn’t understand the complexities of mechanical equipment.  Yet she sketched and created inventions to help her family, mill workers, and even designed a machine to fold square paper bags like the ones we still use today.  It’s a great message encouraging girls to dream big, create, and invent.

7. Young Frank Architect by Frank Viva

Makers need to think outside the box and look at things differently.  This is the story of a young and old architect, both named Frank.  Young Frank designs and creates a chair from toilet paper rolls and a curvy model of a skyscraper.  Old Frank is a traditionalist and says Young Frank’s creations are incorrect.  Until they visit the Museum of Modern Art and Old Frank discovered unique creations and begins to appreciate Young Frank’s creations.  This book celebrates the ideas of young designers and encourages them dream and think creatively.  

8. What Do You Do With An Idea? by Kobi Yamada

I’ve taught maker students the design process and encouraged them to start with an idea.  This book is a wonderful accompaniment to this lesson.  It inspires students to take an idea - whether little, big, odd, or difficult -  and give it space to grow.  With a little encouragement, an idea can become something amazing.  

9. Awesome Dawson by Chris Gall

Everything can be used again!  That’s Dawson’s motto.  He takes trash and creates cool inventions like a hot tub on wheels for a motorboat.  Until one day, he creates a machine to do his chores but it goes on a rampage instead.  This book is great to encourage students to recycle junk and repurpose everyday items - a common theme in a makerspace.  

10. Different Like Coco by Elizabeth Matthews

Sewing was a very popular activity in my makerspace last year.  This book about Coco Chanel will inspire young fashion designers both experienced and novice.  Coco designed comfortable clothing for women of all classes.  Soon a new generation of independent working women craved her sleek and practical designs.  Coco was always different, and she proved that being different was an advantage - a wonderful message for young makers, creators, and designers.

The Great Egg Drop Challenge

Are you interested in promoting STEM with an egg drop makerspace challenge?  Here are some steps to get you started.  

Last spring, I helped my elementary host an all-school egg drop challenge.  In April, a colleague and I drafted the requirements and sent it out to teachers.  The K-5 teachers chose to have their class participate or not.  Most students who participated where from grades 2nd to 5th.  Teachers chose when and how their students would work on their egg drop challenge.  Many teachers taught relatable science curriculum on momentum, pressure, air resistance, and gravity.  Some teachers required students to design a project on paper first, while other teachers gave students materials and had them create as they go.  No matter what was done, the basic requirements for the egg drop challenge were the same for all.  Here are the challenge details:

Students will design and construct an egg protective device.  They may work alone, in pairs, or in a small group.  Each project will be given one raw egg and limited materials to choose from.  Students can test their devices in the classroom prior to dropping them at the test site.

Students can choose 12 items from the following list materials:

• 12x12 piece of cardboard
• 5 elastic bands
• 8 popsicle sticks
• 1 meter of tape
• 2 sheets of construction paper
• 1 plastic bag
• 10 straws
• 1 styrofoam cup
• 6 cotton balls
• 8 Q-tips
• 1 meter of toilet paper
• 30cm string/yard
• 1 paper plate
• 5 pieces of tissue paper
• 2 12inch sheets of plastic wrap
• 2 12inch sheets of aluminum foil

These materials will be provided to all:

• scissors
• rulers
• pencils
• Elmer’s glue

Here are the specifications/rules:

• The project can not be wider than 12 inches or taller that 12 inches.
• No parachutes allowed.
• The egg must be easily placed and removed from the project.  
• An area the size of a quarter of the egg must be visible at all times.
• Only the allowed materials provided at school (not home) may be used.
• Only raw, store bought chicken eggs may be used.  You may not change the egg in any way (no tape on the egg, no boiling the egg in water, or soaking the egg in vinegar).

After the challenge specifications were provided to teachers, classrooms got signed up, and students began working on their designs.  Within a few weeks, the entire school gathered in the gym to watch the preliminary dropping of devices.  The egg projects were dropped from a 12 foot high scissor lift.  There were oohs and aahs when eggs broke and created a mess, and loud celebrations when eggs survived the fall.  The students were captivated, and really got into the glory and defeat.  Projects with eggs that survived moved on to the final round.  

The culminating event for egg drop challenge involved a visit from the local firefighters.  The whole school gathered outside to watch the egg project finalist be dropped from the firetruck’s bucket lifted 25 feet into the air.  Once again, their were screams when projects landed with a loud crack and eggs spilled onto the blacktop and wild celebrations when projects landed softly and eggs were held up intact.  In the end, there were 19 students with eggs that survived and winning project designs.  These winners were featured on the district webpage as STEM master builders.  

If you’re school supports STEM and a makerspace mentality, implement an egg drop challenge.  It can be done within a classroom, grade level, or the entire school.  The students will learn a lot and most of all, have fun!

Schools and the Public Library Partnering for a Library Card Drive

As my district embraced 1:1, students were encouraged to use their learning device more and more.  As a librarian, I saw this as an opportunity to teach integrated technology and blended learning.  I wanted to provide students with access to quality online resources and collections.  In Ohio, we have Infohio.  It is a wonderful electronic resource that’s available to all students within our state.  Another local facility that provides access to electronic resources and ebooks is the public library.  However, users need a library card to acquire and use any public library resource, print or electronic.  So I set out to form a partnership between my school district and my local public library.  My goal - to provide every registered student in the district a public library card.  Here are the steps we took to achieve this goal:

1 - Get all parties on board.  I took my idea to the librarians at my local public library.  They loved the idea and were thrilled to be have a partner within the school system.  Next, we met with central office administrators in my district.  Sold on a platform to help students as we they move to 1:1, they loved the idea.  

2 - Get student information.  While my district supported our cause, they were unwilling to provide the public library with student names and birthdays.  While we tried to convince them that the public library protects their patron’s identity and information in the same way the schools do, but they were unconvinced.  We asked for an opt out option for families - all students would get a library card unless a parent said no.  They didn’t like this idea either.  So we all agreed to do an opt in option - parents interested in getting a library card for their child completed an online form to provide us with the necessary information (name, birthdate, school building).  Starting in March, the online form was pushed out by CO to all parents for a few weeks straight.  It was promoted to families as a way to help their child access electronic resources for 1:1.  The online form was pushed out again for a few weeks in April and May to promote the public library’s summer reading program, since all participants now need a library card to get signed up and participate.  I wrote these promotional messages and reminder CO to put them out often.

3 - Generate mass library cards.  Week by week, the forms began rolling in and the public library staff went to work assigning library cards.  The librarians at my local library worked feverishly to issue card after card.  Personally, I got cards for almost every student in one of my buildings.  I worked with the classroom teachers to email parents for permission and submitted student info the the public library.  We told parents the students need a public library card for summer reading and to used in class to access ebooks.  Then I taught many lessons showing students how to use their library card to find and download ebooks.  

4 - Distribute library cards to students.  When the library cards were created, the public library called me to deliver them to the schools.  They’d give me a bag full of envelopes, each stuffed with a public library card and labeled with the student’s name and building.  I received permission to take an hour every few weeks to distribute the public library cards.  Some I would send to librarians in other buildings, and some I drove personally to each building.  This was no small task considering our district has 15,000 students in 22 school buildings.  

In the end, I wasn’t able to provide every registered student in my school district a public library card.  But I was able to get library cards into many student’s hands.  Hopefully these students are using these cards to participate in the reading program over the summer, and will use them to access quality online resources with their device when in school.  As a librarian, it’s a small act that makes a big impact.  

The Challenge Continues . . . The 2009 Buckeye Book Award Winner

And the reading challenge continues!  As stated in a previous post, my librarian friend Ashley Lambacher of the Book Talker and I are hosting the Buckeye Book Award Reading Challenge.  Our goal is to read all the past winners from the children’s book category in chronological order from 1982 to the present.  I will read the K-2 picture book winners and Ashley will read the 4-8/3-5 chapter book winners.  Today I continue my challenge by reading the winner of the K-2 Buckeye Book Award in 2009, The Chicken of the Family by Mary Amato.

I had never read Chicken of the Family, so this award winner was new to me.  This book is about a gullible little girl named, Henrietta.  Her two older sisters Kim and Clare were always teasing her, but when they told her a big fib she fell for it.  They told her she was a chicken!  At first she didn't believe it, but the more information the girls gave her, the more convincing they sounded.  They told her she had long toes like a chicken and yellow legs.  On and on they went and she began to think she was a real chicken.  In the morning when she got out of bed she saw an egg and two feathers.  So she ran away to Barney's farm to find her chicken family.  To fit in, she flaps her arms and rolls in the dirt. When her sisters come to take her home, they work hard to convince Henrietta that she is a real girl.  The cartoon-like illustrations are bright, busy, and appealing to kids.  I shared this book with my four year old daughter and she loved it!  This adorable book is an understandable winner of the 2009 Buckeye Book Award.

Ashley, are you familiar with Chicken of the Family?  Your upcoming 2009 book is Found by Haddix.  I love this book and series, and everything Haddix writes.  To me, this is a true award winning book!

Would you like to join Ashley and I as we read through Ohio’s award winning books?  We welcome any and all who are interested in participating in this fun reading challenge.  For more information, click here.

Ways to Keep Students Reading Over the Summer

Every year, teachers tell students to read over the summer months.  They tell them summer reading keeps their skills sharp and prepares them for the next grade level.  Beyond talk, do teachers take any actions to motivate students to read of the summer?  Here are some ideas!   Over the years, I’ve cultivate a variety of ways to keep students reading all summer long.  

To provide greater access to books, each spring I allow students to check out books from the school library to take home for summer break.  It’s a waste for the books to sit on the library shelf all summer long.  The books should be in the hands of readers, taking them on wonderful adventures!  Students interested in participating need to return all their library books by a certain date and complete a parent permission slip.  Then the last few days of school, these students checkout four books from the school library to read over the summer months.  There are exchange days in June and August when the school’s library is open.  During these times, students return their books and get four new ones.  To provide excitement, I offer cookies and put out makerspace activities for students and their families to enjoy.  All books checked out over the summer are due back the first day of the new school year.

Little Free Libraries provide another way to provide students with increased access to books over the summer.  I run three Little Free Libraries for my students.  One library is located in my neighborhood, which serves the students who live near me.  The other two libraries are located in front of each of my schools.  Little Free Libraries are a book exchange.  Students give a book they’ve already read, then take a new book they want to read.  During the summer months, the books in these libraries move quickly.  They are a wonderful way to support reading outside of school, especially during the summer months.  For more information on how to start and manage a Little Free Library, visit my blog at http://thepageturninglibrarian.blogspot.com.  

To encourage students to visit the public library and participate in their summer reading program, I organize Teacher Tuesdays.  Every Tuesday during the summer, there is a designated time for teachers and students to gather at the public library.  Teachers visit with students, encourage summer reading, and make reading suggestions.  Teacher Tuesdays is a wonderful motivator to get students into the public library, checking out books, and reading all summer long.

Books on Bikes is another exciting way to provide increased access to books.  On an evening in July, some teachers and I rode our bikes through the school’s neighborhoods.  We visited with students, giving them free books and a popsicle.  I used Scholastic book fair points and funds to acquire books to give away to students.  Books on Bikes was started in Charlottesville, VA.  For more information, go to http://www.booksonbikescville.org.  

If students read over the summer, I reward them when they return to school in August.  I ask students to write down the titles of books they read over the summer, get their parents to sign the list, and return it to me by a certain date.  Students who did summer reading are invited to a summer reading party!  They enjoy extra recess, music, popsicles or ice-cream, and a free book of their choice!  This party is always a blast and a wonderful motivator to encourage kids to summer read.

Studies by Krashen (2004) simply state, ‘More access to books results in more reading.’  I truly believe that if you increase access to books and provide a little motivation, students will read over the summer months.  For the most part, these are easy ways to encourage summer reading.  Next year, I’d like to start a Book Mobile! I  welcome any information or suggestions to get this started.  Good luck and best wishes getting students to summer read!

The Challenge Continues . . . Buckeye Book Award Challenge 2008

And the reading challenge continues!  As stated in a previous post, my librarian friend Ashley Lambacher of the Book Talker and I are hosting the Buckeye Book Award Reading Challenge.  Our goal is to read all the past winners from the children’s book category in chronological order from 1982 to the present.  I will read the K-2 picture book winners and Ashley will read the 4-8/3-5 chapter book winners.  Today I continue my challenge by reading the winner of the K-2 Buckeye Book Award in 2008, Bow-Wow Bugs a Bug by Mark Newgarden and Meghan Montague Cash .

Bow-Wow Bugs a Bug is a wordless picture book that follows our hero Bow-Wow as a bug lands on his dog food bowl and he tracks the bug out the door and down the street.  Then a completely unexpected adventure ensues.  When pup and bug meet their identical twins it's a great excuse for a series of panels where they try to get the other to do something different.  Giant dogs follow tiny bugs.  Hundreds of dogs follow hundreds of bugs.  And then, hundreds of gigantic bugs follow hundreds of tiny dogs.  Exhausted, Bow-Wow heads for home where pup and insect can settle down for a good long sleep.  The illustrations have a comic-like ascetic, making them appealing to young readers.  There are lots of hidden charms that you discover after your first reading, as well as overt and fantastic surprises.  This is a super fun wordless picture book and a well-deserved winner of the 2008 Buckeye Book Awards.

Ashley, your upcoming 2008 book is the original Diary of a Wimpy Kid.  Many books later, these books remains a favorite with kids still today.  

Would you like to join Ashley and I as we read through Ohio’s award winning books?  We welcome any and all who are interested in participating in this fun reading challenge.  For more information, click here.

Books to Celebrate Father's Day

Celebrate dads with these Father’s Day books!

Mighty Dads by Joan Holub

Gator Dad by Brian Lies

Day Out With Daddy by Stephen Cook

I Love My Dad by Caroline Bell

The Night Before Father’s Day by Natasha Wing

Froggy’s Day with Dad by Jonathan London

Happy Father’s Day by Mercer Mayer 

The Berenstain Bears: We Love Our Dad! by Jan Berenstain

Daddy Hugs by Karen Katz

Clifford’s Day with Dad by Norman Bridwell

Father’s Day by Anne Rockwell

Biscuit Loves Father’s Day by Alyssa Capucilli

I Love My Daddy Because  . . . by Laurel Porter

Spot Loves His Daddy by Eric Hill

Books for Your Makerspace

To piggyback on my previous makerspace post about supplies and products to include in a makerspace, I have suggestions for books to include in an elementary makerspace.  These books help teachers design challenges and help students complete prompts, and they are a needed addition to an effective makerspace.  

One of the most popular stations in my makerspace surround duct tape challenges.  I’ve had students build boats and create a wearable accessory with duct tape.  These books help students with duct tape creations:

• Kids Guids to Duct Tape Projects by Sheri Bell-Rehwoldt
• Tape It & Make It by Richela Fabian Morgan
• Tape It & Wear It by Richela Fabian Morgan
• Tape It & Make More by Richela Fabian Morgan

Students also enjoy folding paper into fun creations.  I helped kindergartners make paper airplanes for the first time this year.  When they saw their plane soar across the room, they smiled so big and their face lit up!  Here are a list of paper airplane and origami books to help children create fun paper projects:

• My First Guide to Paper Airplanes by Christopher Harbo
• Easy Paper Airplanes by Norman Schmidt
• Paper Airplanes by Jenny Fretland VanVoorst
• Easy Origami by Dokhohtei Nakano and Eric Kenneway
• Easy Origami Toys by Christopher Harbo
• Easy Animal Origami by Christopher Harbo
• Easy Ocean Origami by Christopher Harbo

Sewing and knitting are very popular at my school’s maker space as well.  Kids have made pillows and curtains, and even repaired their backpacks!  These books provide ideas and simple instructions for students just starting to sew and knit:

• Sewing School by Andria Lisle and Amie Petronis Plumley
• My First Sewing Machine Book byAlison McNicol
• A Kid’s Guide to Sewing by by Sophie Kerr and Weeks Ringle
• Kids Knit! by Sarah Bradberry
• Kids Knitting by Melanie Falick and Kristin Nicholas
• My First Knitting Book by Alison McNicol

There is no doubt, kids love Legos!  However if given the freedom to make whatever they want from Legos, all kids make house - it’s a very strange phenomenon.  I love having my students create stop motion animation movies with Legos.  Here are a few Lego books to inspire student’s creativity:

• The Lego Book by Daniel Lipkowitz
• The Lego Ideas Book by Daniel Lipkowitz
• Lego: Awesome Ideas by Daniel Lipkowitz
• Lego Play Books by Daniel Lipowitz

Lego Technics take Lego building to the next level.  With these students can create wheeled vehicles, machines, and contraptions.  These books will help students up the ante on their Lego designs:

• The Lego Technic Idea Book: Wheeled Wonders by Yoshihito Isogawa
• The Lego Technic Idea Book: Simple Machines by Yoshihito Isogawa
• The Lego Power Functions Idea Book: Cars and Contraptions by Yoshihito Isegawa
• The Lego Power Functions Idea Book: Machines and Mechanisms by Yoshihito Isogawa

I love asking kids to invent and create something from ordinary objects.  One of my students make the coolest pinball machine from cardboard with a rubber band ball launcher and a paint stirrer  for the ball flipper.  Here are some books to help kids imagine and create cool projects:

• Fun Things to do with Cardboard Tubes by Marne Ventura
• The Cardboard Box Book by Roger Priddy
• Fun Things to do with Paper Cups and Plates by Kara L. Laughlin 
• Look What You Can Make with Paper Bags by Judy Burke and Hank Schneider
• I Can Make Costumes by Emily Reid 
• Pipe Cleaners Activity Book by by Lori Stacy and Jeanne Jacobowski
• Earth Friendly Crafts by Kathy Ross
• Box! by Neal Macneal
• Look What You Can Make with Tubes by Margie Hayes Richmond
• Look What You Can Make with Craft Sticks by Margie Hayes Richmond
• Look What You Can Make with Paper Plates by Margie Hayes Richmond
• Look What You Can Make with Boxes by Margie Hayes Richmond
• Look What You Can Make with Egg Cartons by Margie Hayes Richmond

If your students are into coding and want to create their own games in Scratch, here are some helpful resources:

• Coding Games in Scratch by Jon Woodcock
• Coding Projects in Scratch by Jon Woodcock
• Coding for Beginners Using Scratch by Rosie Dickens

I’ve created maker kits for students to create items like a flashlight, doodlebot, balloon-powered car, and bristlebot.  Where do I get my ideas?  Online and from these books:

• The Kids’ Book of Simple Machines by Kelly Doudna
• Tinkering: Kids Learn by Making Stuff by Curt Gabrielson
• Make: Paper Inventions by Kathy Ceceri 
• Making Simple Robots by Kathy Ceceri 
• Make Electronics by Charles Platt

Along with print materials, there are lots of online resources as well.  My students have accessed some origami how-to, paper airplane tutorials, and even coding videos online.  I personally have accessed YouTube for instructions on how make many items.  Everyone is one Google search away from finding information on anything.  As make school districts go 1:1, students can use their devices to find makerspace instructions or inspiration.  However, not every site is safe for elementary students (especially the scrolling ads).  In this regard, books are always a safe and reliable resource.

I hope you find this like of makerspace books useful.  I truly value these print resources in my makerspace.  When I tell kids to make something to wear out of duct tape, it’s useful to have books provide quick ideas when they need it.  Happy making!