End of the Year

As we finish up the 08-09 school year, I want to thank the many volunteers who have helped out at both the Elizabeth Ide and Prairieview libraries. You make our jobs easier.

We were lucky enough to have visitors from the Indian Prairie and Woodridge Public Libraries come and tell us about their summer reading programs. Please help your children participate in one of these programs. Go to the library where you have a card and join the fun. They have lots of fun and interesting books, programs, and PRIZES! If you are not in a specific library district, your children will be welcome to participate at Indian Prairie because they go to school in district 66.

Internet Safety

It is Internet Safety Season in the I.M.C. Your children have had or will soon have some lessons on one or more of the following topics. The Cyber Community, Cyber Security, Personal Safety, Intellectual Property, and Predator Identification. All of the topics are covered at least once in grades kindergarten through fifth, when it is age appropriate.

Disney has a good site for families to share. Take a look at: http://home.disney.go.com/guestservices/safety

Statewide Results

We now know the results across the state of Illinois for the Monarch Book Award and the Rebecca Caudill Young Readers Book Award. The students at both Elizabeth Ide and Prairieview are in sync with students across the state. Please check earlier blogs for our local results.

Statewide results are as follows. The first place winner of the 2009 Monarch Award is Once Upon a Cool Motorcycle Dude by Kevin O'Malley. The first place winner of the Rebecca Caudill Young Readers Book Award is The Lightning Thief Rick Riordan.

Library Skills

A very important part of my mission is to make my students independent users of libraries. To that end, we do lessons about the types of materials available and where to find them, the layout of the library, and how to use the online catalog. For kindergarteners, it may just be getting comfortable with the process of browsing, choosing, and checking out books. First graders can locate easy readers, fiction, and non-fiction. All second graders get individual lessons on the online catalog.


We also practice using particular reference materials once they have been located. Third graders are currently practicing the use of guide words. Fourth graders have answered questions about an encyclopedia article on hippos. Please ask them how big these creatures can get and what they eat. Fifth graders are learning to use the three indices in the World Almanac. They have a tendency to get distracted by the wide variety of information available. There is something for everyone and I enjoy watching them find something they are really interested in. Ultimately, I really hope they will find both what they need to know and what they want to know. It is also great when they wander into unknown material and end up really liking it.

Rebecca Caudill Young Readers' Book Award Results

This award is determined by Illinois students in fourth grade through eighth grade. After having read at least three of the twenty nominees, each student votes for his or her one favorite. We have occasionally had one or two students who have read the entire list. We often have students who have read at least half of them. This year we had 136 students in fourth and fifth grades who were qualified to vote.

The first place winner at Prairieview was The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan. In second place, we had Heat by Mike Lupica. Wolf Brother, by Michelle Paver, took third place. For the first time this year, our students used the computers to vote. We are able to set this up using our library automation software, L4U.

The third graders at Prairieview joined the Elizabeth Ide students, participating in the Monarch Book Award. Like the fourth and fifth graders, the third graders had the privilege of voting via computer. One hundred thirteen third graders were qualified to vote. The results for third grade reflect their slightly more sophisticated taste. In first place, we had Stink: The Incredible Shrinking Kid by Megan McDonald. Superhero ABC by Bob McLeod came in second and Once Upon a Cool Motorcycle Dude by Kevin O'Malley was third.

Elizabeth Ide-Monarch Award Results

The students at Elizabeth Ide voted for their favorite books on the 2009 Illinois Monarch Award list last week. Each student had to select one favorite from among the nominees which I had read to them.

The runaway winner was Once Upon a Cool Motorcyle Dude by Kevin O'Malley. A glimpse at the cover will help you to understand the wide appeal of this book.

We had a tie for second place between The Secret Science Project That Almost Ate the School by Judy Sierra and Skippyjon Jones by Judy Schachner.

Our children enjoyed this opportunity. It will be interesting to see if the Kindergarten through 3rd grade students across the state of Illinois agree with them.

Happy February Holidays!

If the books displayed in our I.M.C. are any indication, February is a big holiday month. We have quite a variety of reading materials. Let's see--first comes Groundhog Day. The younger children are pretty interested in that. Unfortunately, the staff agrees that we will have six more weeks of winter, regardless.

In the middle of the month, we will celebrate Valentine's Day. Students of all ages seem to enjoy that.

Finally, the two famous presidents' birthdays come along. We will honor George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and all the other presidents with a school holiday on the 16th. There is plenty to read on this topic.