Nancy Tafuri Books

The beautiful titles that I enjoyed today as a part of The Shelf Challenge were by the author Nancy Tafuri.  Snowy, Flowy, Blowy is a title that I had read previously and loved the simple rhyme scheme and beautiful illustrations.  A first grade class listened to this wonderful story, as well as Mama’s Little Bears and Goodnight, My Duckling.  It was unanimous that the students enjoyed Goodnight, My Duckling the most.  The students shared that they liked how the turtle showed kindness to the duckling and helped him find his way back home to his family.  Kindness really does count!

5 Reasons Why I Read

My sweet sister and I like to tease that we are as different as night and day, particularly in the area of reading.  I love to read, but my sister wouldn’t be caught with a book unless she had to read it for a class.  She often teases that reading is bad for your eyes.

Here are a few of the reasons why I read:

1.  Reading gives me something to talk about when there is a lull in the conversation.

2.  Books give information that could come in handy if I’m ever on Jeopardy or some other game show someday.

3.  Reading can be done in any place, inside or outside, on a roof or in a basement.

4.  While waiting at a doctor’s office, reading helps the time pass quickly.

5.  The setting of a book, if described vividly by the author, can transport you in an instant!

The stack in the picture above is what I have enjoyed reading during Spring Break.  Most of the titles were read as part of the #ShelfChallenge.

Happy Reading!

Shelf Challenge: Spanish Style

Recently, the Busy Librarian, Matthew Winner, challenged librarians and media specialists to get to know their collections a little better through a “shelf challenge.”  Read more about the Shelf Challenge HERE.

For this challenge, I have chosen to focus on the Easy section of our school’s E author section.  It is a small section and I thought it seemed a reasonable size to be able to complete it during the month.  My thoughts are that if I am successful with the “E” authors, then I might even be able to start the “F” authors, too.

Each night I read a few of the books to my three year old as good night stories.  Tonight we read Eight Animals Bake a Cake (Elya), Tooth on the Loose (Elya), and Adios Oscar! (Elwell).  I was surprised to find that all three of these titles included some of the Spanish language:  animals, greetings, and cooking items.  For students who are learning basic Spanish phrases, these titles would harmonize perfectly.  The two titles by Elya were very short and could be used together to teach rhyming words.

Adios Oscar!  was a longer book that should probably be read separately.  This book had a message that was wonderfully implied to the reader:  don’t let what others think of you limit who you are and what you become.

Thanks Matthew Winner for starting the #shelfchallenge!  Connecting titles that are similar can be extremely useful!