May I suggest?

The American Library Association has put together a list of suggested websites for kids. Follow this link: http://www.ala.org/greatsites. It's something to do on those cold, winter days and nights!

Please remember that all library materials are due before the winter break. Please remind your child to return their checked out library material. If you are unsure if your child has a checked out book or when it is due, please contact Shirley McLaughlin in the 7-12 LMC, Diana Rodriguez in the PK-6 LMC or me.

Welcome winter,

Mrs. T. Reiter, K-12 Teacher Librarian

Count Your Blessings!

It is once again time to celebrate that beautiful American, autumn holiday known as Thanksgiving Day! For some it will be a day filled with family and friends. Other a bountiful table of delicious foods and a nap afterwards. Some will enjoy watching a parade and/or a football game. For others it might be all of the above!!

Below is a list of books/DVDs/audio Cd's all about celebrating Thanksgiving Day:

Books:
Samuel Eaton's Day by Kate Waters
Sarah Morton's Day by Kate Waters
If You Were at the First Thanksgiving by Anne Kamma
One Little, Two Little, Three Little Pilgrims by B.G. Hennessy
Indian Two Feet and His Horse by Margaret Frisky
The Pilgrims and Me by Judy Donnelly
Corn is Maize by Aliki
The First Thanksgiving Day: A Counting Story by Laura Krauss Melmed
I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Pie by Alison Jackson
Squanto and the Miracle of Thanksgiving by Eric Metaxes and Shannon Stimweis
The Very First Thanksgiving Day written by Rhonda Gowler Green
Thanksgiving Day by Gail Gibbons
My First Thanksgiving by Tomie dePaola
10 Fat Turkeys by Tony Johnson
A Turkey for Thanksgiving by Eve Bunting
Pilgrim's First Thanksgiving by Ann McGovern
How Many Days to America?: A Thanksgiving Story by Eve Bunting
Thanksgiving (Rookie Read-About Holidays) by David F. Marx
Let's Get Ready for Thanksgiving (Welcome Books: Celebrations) by Joanne Winne
Thanksgiving on Thursday (Magic Tree House #27) by Mary Pope Osborne
Thanksgiving Day at Our House: Thanksgiving Poems for the Very Young by Nancy White Carlstrom
Thanksgiving Day by Anne Rockwell
Rivka's First Thanksgiving by Elsa Okon Rael
If You Sailed on the Mayflower in 1620 by Ann McGovern
'Twas the Night Before Thanksgiving by Dav Pilkey
Thanksgiving is for Giving Thanks by Margaret Sutherland
Squanto's Journey: The Story of the First Thanksgiving by Joseph Bruchac

DVDs
A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving
Inside Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
Garfield: Holiday Celebrations (Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas)

Audio Cd's
Thanksgiving: A Windham Hill Collection (Various Artists)

I'm sure there is more media on the market and in library collections. If there is something that you've read and would like to suggest, let me know!

Really, Thanksgiving Day is the day we truly give thanks for all that we have. I hope that your holiday is a pleasant one full of many blessings!

Mrs. T Reiter, K-12 Teacher Librarian

I love autumn!

This is my favorite season of the year! The colors and smells are so sharp. It's time for dancing in the leaves and catching a wisp of a wood burning fire. It's also time to curl up with a good read! Add some hot chocolate and popcorn!

I am almost finished with Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl. My next book will be I am Number Four by Pitticus Lore. Both are fantasy books.

I recently discovered two elementary books that I recommend: Under the Snow written by Melissa Stewart and illustrated by Constance R. Bergum; and City Dog, Country Frog written by Mo Willems and illustrated by Jon. J. Muth.

READ EVERY DAY!
Mrs. T. Reiter
K-12 Teacher Librarian

What is Veterans Day?

WHAT IS VETERANS DAY?
Great Britain, France, and other countries celebrate November 11th as Armistice Day to commemorate the ending of World War I on November 11, 1918. Fighting ceased at the 11th hour, on the 11th day of the 11th month. Canada celebrates Remembrance Day on this same date.
The history of the Veterans Day in the United States is as follows:
1919 - President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed November 11th as Armistice Day to remind Americans of the tragedies of war.
1938 - The day becomes a federal holiday.
1954 - Congress changes the name of the holiday from Armistice Day to Veterans Day to honor all United States Veterans.
Today, in the United States, Veterans Day commemorates the courage and patriotism of all the men and women who have served in the United States military from the birth of the American nation through this current Afghanistan/Iraq war.

Here are some books to read that honor our U.S. military sailors, soldiers, and Marines:

For Younger Children...

• Veterans Day by Jacquelin S. Cotton
• Pepper's Purple Heart: a Veterans Day Story by Heather French Henry
• Veterans Day by Robin Nelson
• H is for Heroes: A Military Family Alphabet by Devin Scillian
• The Unbreakable Code by Sara Hoagland Hunter
• America's White Table by Margaret Theis Raven
• The Little Ships: The Heroic Rescue at Dunkirk in World War II by Louise Bordon
• The Wall by Eve Bunting

For older children, Tweens, and Young Teens....

• Behind the Blue and Gray: One Soldier's Life in the Civil War by Delia Ray
• Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes
• My Brother Sam is Dead by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier
• The Tuskegee Airman: Black Heroes of World War II by Jacqueline L. Harris
• Veterans Day: Remembering Our War Heroes (Finding Out About Holidays series)
• Veterans Day by Marlene Targ Brill
• Guns for General Washington: A Story of the American Revolution by Seymour Reit
• Bull Run by Paul Fleishman
• Across Five Aprils by Irene Hunt
• Rifles for Watie by Harold Keith
• Cherry Ames, Army Nurse (#3) by Helen Wells
• Cherry Ames, Veterans' Nurse (#6) by Helen Wells
• Yankee Doodle Boy by Joseph Plumb Martin
• Navajo Code Talkers by Nathan Aaseng
• Patrol: An American Soldier in Vietnam by Walter Dean Meyers

For Older Teens and Adults...

• Going Solo by Roald Dahl
• The Boys' War by Jim Murphy
• Uncle Sam Wants You!: Military Men and Women of World War II by Sylvia Whitman
• A Narrative of a Revolutionary Soldier by Joseph Plumb Martin
• The Navajo Code Talkers by Walter Dean Meyers
• Forgotten Heroes of World War II by Thomas E. Simmons
• Cold Ground's Been My Bed: A Korean War Memoir by Daniel Wolfe
• If You Survive: From Normandy to the Battle of the Bulge to the End of World War II, One American Officer's Riveting True Story by George Wilson
• Visions From a Fox Hole: A Rifleman in Patton's Ghost Corp by William A. Foley, Jr.

Of course, these are just a few titles! Check at your local school or public library for more choices.

I know this post is long, but I think it is so important that we honor and remember those men and women of our military. Here is one last thought. It's a poem written by Courtney Tanabe.

Because of You, Unknown Soldier

Because of you, I am here. Because of you, I am able to live freely.

Yet I do not know you and I have not done anything for you.

But there you stand, ready to fight. And there you are prepared to die for me.

You've fought before. And you'll fight again for someone you don't know.

So thank you Unknown Soldier fighting for me.

I'm here because of you and I owe my future to you.

Until next time,

Mrs. T. Reiter

In November......

It's hard to believe that November is here! One of my most favorite books is by author Cynthia Rylant and illustrator Jill Kastner and is titled, In November [copyright 2000]. It is beautiful with lush autumn colors and wonderful musings about this month of year. Read a few of the experts:

"In November, the earth is growing quiet. It is making its bed, a winter bed for flowers and small creatures. The bed is white and silent, and much life can hide beneath its blankets.",
"In November, people are good to each other. They carry pies to each other's homes and talk by crackling wood stoves, sipping mellow cider."
"In November, at winter's gate, the stars are brittle. The sun is a sometimes friend. And the world has tucked her children in, with a kiss on their heads, till spring."

Can't you just "see" the pictures?

November is also the month we celebrate Veterans' Day [Nov 11]. Thank a soldier, sailor, or Marine. Thank a Veteran! We really should celebrate our military heroes every day of the year!

Keep Reading!
Mrs. Reiter
K-12 Teacher Librarian