​Dear Dragons and Dragon families,
 
I hope this finds you well and that you have had a nice summer. It’s hard to believe school is about to start!
 
​The time has come for me to announce that I will not be returning to the library this fall. It was such a hard decision, but it is undeniably the right time for some lucky new person to take my place.
 
I have been PK’s library resource specialist since 2010, after holding the same position at Robinson Elementary from 2003 to 2008. Doing this work has been an honor and a joy. I treasure the friends I have made—students, families, and coworkers. I have the highest respect for the amazing books written for young people these days; this is truly a golden age of children’s literature. I cannot believe my good fortune in finding work that was so engaging, rewarding, and just plain fun.
 
To the entire school community: thank you, thank you, thank you. Your support over these many years has been key to whatever good the library has achieved. I have seen how parents’ and teachers’ enthusiasm for reading finds its way straight to the students and is evident in their eagerness for books and fondness for the library. Please continue to show goodwill toward the libraries in our schools as well as our public libraries. Libraries really matter, and we all play a part in sustaining these essential strongholds of knowledge and understanding.
 
That about does it for this final blog post, but let’s not make this goodbye! I just live a couple of blocks from school, so I hope to see you when I’m walking my dog or tending my yard. I will miss you and the library so much, but I am also curious to see what the next chapter holds. Best wishes, and happy reading!

June is here, and this unusual school year is wrapping up! I have been so impressed with the diligence, flexibility, and good cheer of Pennekamp's students, families, teachers, administrators, and staff. I’ve long admired all the people who make up our school community, but never more than this year!
 
Class library visits have concluded for this year. I appreciate the effort made by teachers and parents to continue this library activity throughout the school year. It's been great to stay in touch with the students, and we’ve sure read a lot of books together!
 
Circulation of library books is also done for the year. All books are due this Friday, June 11. Books can be returned to the red wagon in front of the school office, or your child may give library books to her or his teacher to be returned. If a library book has been lost or damaged beyond repair, please pay for its replacement. A book's replacement cost appears on the email "courtesy notice" sent to each patron. Please pay with a check written to MBUSD. Please put the check in an envelope, write the patron's name on the envelope, and give the check to the school office. 

The summer 2021 reading lists are posted and are full of outstanding books! The lists can be found on this website or on the district website under the tab for Parents. For students entering the elementary grades, the lists are suggestions for optional pleasure reading; there is no reading requirement for students entering grades K through 5. Students entering grade 6 at MBMS do have a summer reading requirement: two books from the list below, and one of them must be nonfiction. 
 
I sincerely appreciate MBEF funding my position during this challenging time. Likewise, the Pennekamp PTA funds the purchase of library books, materials, and events, and I am very grateful for its support. Both MBEF and the PTA rely on the generosity of PK’s families, so thank you to everyone who supports the library by contributing to MBEF and the PK PTA.
 
Last but not least, I’d like to give a big shout-out to Dr. Gerger, whose leadership and kindness have had such a positive impact at our school. Best wishes to her as she heads to Mira Costa.
 
I hope everyone has a safe and healthy summer! See you next fall!

It is often the case that various important awareness events overlap, and that is the case in May. We have been focusing on Asian-American Pacific Islander Heritage Month these past couple of weeks, but I wanted to mention that May is also Mental Health Awareness Month.

There are many online resources that discuss mental health and, in particular, give guidance on how to talk to children about concerns or issues they may be experiencing. One place to start might be the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services site MentalHealth.Gov.

Just as physical health is important, so is recognizing and caring for mental health. For anyone who is facing challenges, help and support are available, and connecting with a caring professional can make a world of difference. 

Dragon parents, there is an informative and exciting virtual event coming up: the second Scholastic Parents Night, which will focus on ways to motivate students to read over the summer. This free event takes place on Wednesday, May 26, from 4:00 to 5:00 p.m. (making it more of a parents afternoon for those of us on the west coast). There will be digital swag and physical swag (limited availability). A couple of big name authors will be on the panel: Kelly Yang (Front Desk and her new book, Three Keys) and Varian Johnson (The Parker Inheritance and a new graphic novel, Twins). Register through Pages. Flyer below.

​All PK students are now permitted to check out books from the PK library! The limit is two books at a time. Below please find the instructions for checking out books. Checkouts will continue until May 28, but all books will be due back by June 4, so please begin rounding up or resolving any books that are overdue or missing.
 
May is Asian-American/Pacific Islander Heritage Month, so this month I will be reading books related to the various countries and cultures of this large and diverse region.
 
The winners of the California Young Reader Medal have been announced, and once again the voting here at PK anticipated the state winners: Poor Louie, by Tony Fucile (Primary) and Sergeant Reckless, by Patricia McCormick (Picture Books for Older Readers). The Intermediate (chapter-book) award went to Restart, by Gordon Korman.
 
The summer 2021 reading lists are now posted and are full of outstanding books! The lists can be found on this website or on the district website under the tab for Parents. For students entering the elementary grades, the lists are suggestions for optional pleasure reading; there is no reading requirement for students entering grades K through 5. Students entering grade 6 at MBMS do have a summer reading requirement: two books from the list below, and one of them must be nonfiction. Happy reading!
_________
 
To check out a book, a student needs to log in to the PK library catalog. The easiest way to get to the catalog is from this website, under the Resources tab, it is the first item on the list. From the catalog home page, choose Pennekamp. Then go to “Log In” at the upper-right corner.
 
To log in, enter the student ID number as User Name. The students have been told the Password—I’d rather not put it here on this public website. Please email me or your child’s teacher if you need the password.
 
Once a student has searched the Catalog and found a book to check out, click on the book’s title. At the right-hand side of the book’s record, click the button Hold It.
 
I will check out the book once it is put on hold. Please give me a little time to check out requests! The My Info tab of a patron’s record shows whether books are still on Hold or are now listed as Items Out.
 
Books that are checked out and ready to be picked up will be in the red wagon at the PK office. Please return library books there, too. In compliance with safe handling guidelines, returned books will be quarantined for several days before they are checked in and shelved.
 

The summer pleasure reading lists for 2021 are now posted on the district website under the “Parents” tab as well as on the Pennekamp Library website under the “Reading Lists” tab (and right below this post). There is no summer reading requirement for elementary students in our district. The lists for students entering grades 1 through 5 consist of suggestions for fun and interesting summer reading possibilities. Enjoy browsing the lists and reading this summer!
​ 

Students entering grade 6 at MBMS do have a summer reading requirement: two books from the list below, and one of them must be nonfiction.
​

Hello, Dragons and Dragon families! I hope you had a happy and healthy spring break.

The library is closed this week. I am taking some vacation time to supervise a remodeling project. Library Zooms and circulation will resume on April 19.

Just announced is a super exciting online visit with Jeff Kinney in coordination with {Pages}, our local and beloved independent bookstore! The links are not active in the graphic below. To sign up click HERE. 

​How nice it is to have the students back on campus! Library time continues to be on Zoom, but it’s great to catch glimpses of the students as I walk around campus (socially distant and masked, of course) and to hear the occasional “Hi, Ms. Barbara!”
 
The books I am reading this month are about spring, math (March 14 is Pi Day), water (March 22 is World Water Day), and the accomplishments of women (March is Women’s History Month).
 
The Pennekamp book fair is March 12 to 21! It is a virtual fair in partnership with Pages, our local independent bookstore. In library time during the week of March 15, students will watch a great video prepared by Pages about the excellent titles that are for sale. If you are able, please support our school by buying a book or two at the fair.

​And here again are the instructions for checking out books:

Students in grades 2, 3, 4, and 5 are currently permitted to check out books from the PK library. The limit is two books at a time, and the loan period is three weeks.
 
To check out a book, a student needs to log in to the PK library catalog. The easiest way to get to the catalog is from this website, under the Resources tab, it is the first item on the list. From the catalog home page, choose Pennekamp. Then go to “Log In” at the upper-right corner.
 
To log in, enter the student ID number as User Name. The students have been told the Password—I’d rather not put it here on this public website. Please email me or your child’s teacher if you need the password.
 
Once a student has searched the Catalog and found a book to check out, click on the book’s title. At the right-hand side of the book’s record, click the button Hold It.
 
I will check out the book once it is put on hold. Please give me a little time to check out requests! The My Info tab of a patron’s record shows whether books are still on Hold or are now listed as Items Out.
 
Books that are checked out and ready to be picked up will be in the red wagon at the PK office. Please return library books there, too. In compliance with safe handling guidelines, returned books will be quarantined for several days before they are checked in and shelved.

Students in grade 5 who are looking for a historical fiction chapter book have many options. The PK library has quite a few books in this genre! 

The MBUSD library catalog for all schools can be found here. For PK students, the procedure for logging in and holding a book is described in great detail below--scroll down three blog posts and you'll find it. That's what you should do to borrow a book from the PK library.

To see what books the PK library has, visit the library catalog, and use the search feature. When you find a book that interests you, click on the number of copies (at right of the title), and you can see which schools have a copy.  

A good way to find historical fiction books suitable for use that are in the PK library is to go to the PK library catalog, click on the Catalog tab, click on Resource Lists at the left of the page, and scroll down to PK 5th Historical Fic. Remember the things we've discussed, students! Click on the book's title to see what it is about, if a copy is in, how many pages it is, and what the Reading Level is (the "difficulty" of the text, expressed as grade level). Make a good choice and click the Hold It button. (You have to be logged in to hold a book, so if there is no Hold It button, be sure you are logged in.)

Students from other elementary schools who are in a PK class can check out books from PK's library if they would like, or from their "home" school library if it is currently checking out books, and of course from the public library system.

Students from other schools cannot log in to the PK catalog, so those students cannot use the hold procedure to request PK library books. I'm sorry, it's just a limitation of the system. Students from other schools can request PK library books by emailing me or their teacher. The books need to be picked up from and returned to the red wagon in front of the PK school office during school hours. (It may take me a day or two to have them ready!)

There are many websites and blogs (e.g., Goodreads, Book Riot, Reading Rockets) that have lists of historical fiction books for students in grade 5. Try an internet search such as "middle grade historical fiction" or "historical fiction for grade 5." Obviously I am not endorsing every result that comes up! However, you will soon see there are many excellent lists, and also many titles that turn up on more than one list, so with a little research you should be able to find some good options.

Any questions, please do not hesitate to email me.