This month's readalouds begin with books about inventors. Inventors make new things, this is a new year; and further, January 17 (Benjamin Franklin's birthday) is Kid Inventors Day. After a week of inventors we move on to books about the civil rights movement in recognition the Martin Luther King holiday, observed January 21.

After that, I will devote several weeks to reading aloud the picture books nominees for the California Young Reader Medal. There are three longer picture books nominated for grades 3, 4, and 5, and five picture books that are nominated for students in the younger grades. Every elementary school in the district participates in this competition every year: I read the books aloud, we discuss them and consider their merits, and then each student votes for her or his favorite. At Pennekamp this year, students in grades 4 and 5 who read all three of the chapter-book nominees by the end of March can also vote on that category. 

The book club for grade 5 is off to a good start. The book we are reading for January is Beyond the Bright Sea, by Lauren Wolk. It will be discussed at the upcoming club meeting on January 16 in the library at lunch/recess. Winner of the Scott O'Dell Award for historical fiction, Beyond the Bright Sea is the story of a 12-year-old girl living on one of the Elizabeth Islands whose quest to find out about her past yields a variety of discoveries. I love this book, and I'm looking forward to hearing the students' reactions to it.

Many students have been steadily reading the books for the Super Literacy Quiz Bowl (good job, students!), but for those who haven't, there's still time to get in the game. The Manhattan Beach public library has been displaying and checking out the selected books, and the PK library has at least one copy of each book for reading here. Signups will take place toward the start of February. Students who wish to compete are asked to read at least ten books from the list for their grade.

My thanks to the district for replacing the library's heater! I invite everyone to visit the cozy PK library and see how pleasant it is in here now. I usually keep the library open until 3:30 during the week, and many students and parents are here in the afternoons. Parents may check out ten books at a time; and although I love  our local public library, we do have a pretty impressive and undeniably convenient collection right here (book purchasing is generously funded by the Pennekamp PTA). Our library is a comfortable afterschool place to read, do homework, or play a board game. It's a nice place for parents and younger students to wait for an upper-grade sibling between early and late dismissal. Children must be accompanied by a responsible adult in the library after school has been dismissed. Please come visit our warm, well-stocked library!

Happy holiday season, Dragons! This month I will be reading aloud books having to do with Hanukkah and Christmas, of course. Specific choices can be found on the Weekly Readalouds tab of this site.

Third grade is working on two projects right now, so library visits for those classes will not be about the holidays. Instead, the students are learning about research strategies, checking out books on an endangered animal, and choosing biographies. With third grade I've been talking a lot about accuracy in internet research. We at Pennekamp have access to two online encyclopedia that are accurate and at our students' reading level: World Book Online and Britannica School. I can't put the passwords on this website, but you can get them from me or your child's teacher. Over the years the library has acquired more and more books about the animals that third grade researches, so the library should have a book for each student on their chosen animal. The public libraries are also great resources. If you would like to extend your child's learning on the topic of endangered animals, I have a suggestion: I recently saw the Photo Ark exhibit at the Annenberg Space for Photography and I recommend it highly. The Annenberg Space for Photography is in Century City and is free to enter (although parking is not free). This would be a fun activity to do over the winter break with your third-grade student or really for anyone at all. The exhibit is beautiful and fascinating, but it's not huge--I think most people could really see it in just over an hour. There's a short promotional video below.

The PK library's book club for 5th grade is starting up. The introductory meeting will be Wednesday, December 19, at lunch recess in the library. Consent forms are going home in the Wednesday envelope. The club is a social activity, and participation is completely optional. Club members read and discuss one chapter-length book each month. Each participating student must obtain a copy of the monthly selection (public library copies and e-books are fine to use), but parents need to be ready to help with that!

Reading for the Super Literacy Quiz Bowl continues until the competition events in March 2019. The PK library is checking out the chapter books and has on reserve the nonfiction and picture book selections; the Manhattan Beach public library is checking out all SLQB title (subject to availability) and has even created a nice display of the SLQB books under the big staircase. The grade-specific lists can be seen on this website. 

Wishing you joyous holidays and happiness in 2019!

November means voting, Veterans Day, and Thanksgiving. On display in the library right now are books on civic themes such as citizenship, military service, heritage, immigration, and elections. Also on display (on the other side of the room) are many beautiful nonfiction books on a wide variety of topics, to support grades 3 and 5 as they work on recognizing and using nonfiction materials.

Classes do not visit the library during the half-days of November 5 to 9. The library is open and I am here, but classes instead visit our awesome "Enchanted Forest" book fair, which runs from November 6 to 9. It's a great time to buy books to encourage your child's love of reading, and don't forget that books make wonderful holiday gifts! 

After the book fair week there is just one week of class visits to the library before the Thanksgiving recess and one November week after the break. I'll be reading books on the theme of gratitude--for family, home, food, and the sense of comfort and security that these give us. For the specific selections for each grade, please click over to the Weekly Readalouds page of this site. 

I will be talking more and more about the upcoming Super Literacy Quiz Bowl! This event takes place in March, and signups will be around the end of January. The SLQB is a fast-paced trivia game for grades 3, 4, and 5 that tests teams on their knowledge of a set of selected books. Sounds fun? It is! To get started, students should begin reading (and dare I say, studying) the selected books, which are listed below. The PK library has at least one copy of each of the books. On the day of the event, students will be randomly placed on teams with other students in their class. Anyone who wants to play should read at least 10 of the books for his or her grade, but there is no other requirement--everyone is encouraged to participate. 

Also in March will be a special event related to the California Young Reader Medal. Any 4th- or 5th-grade student who reads all three of the Intermediate nominees will be invited to a voting party during the school day at lunch. The three Intermediate nominees are Crenshaw, by Katherine Applegate; Fish in a Tree, by Linda Mullaly Hunt; and The War that Saved My Life, by Katherine Brubaker Bradley. (The three nominees are also on the SLQB lists for grades 4 and 5.)

In the community, the Manhattan Beach public library continues to offer great activities and resources for all ages. You can subscribe to a monthly email from the library about all that's going on there. I am very grateful to the library for making available the books for the Super Literacy Quiz Bowl. The PK library is able to check out copies of the SLQB chapter books, of which we have multiple copies; but the Manhattan Beach public library has sufficient copies so that patrons can check out all the SLQB selections--the nonfiction books, picture books, and chapter books (unless of course all those multiples are checked out--last year the SLQB books were steadily used). I am thankful for our wonderful public library. Pages bookstore has some good events coming up, especially for grownups but also for children--see their website. If you have never made it to Pages, I really recommend you visit! The store is beautiful, the children's section manages to be both extensive and carefully curated, and the staff is super knowledgeable and helpful. You know when you could visit Pages? On the evening of the Manhattan Beach Pier Lighting, November 14! That afternoon also happens to be when the setting sun will shine directly through the Light Gate located in front of the Manhattan Beach public library. Sounds like a great time for making family memories.

Thanks to the many students, families, and teachers who donated underwear and socks to our drive to benefit homeless individuals. Pennekamp gathered 155 packages of socks and underwear! In addition, the PK PTA donated 95 pairs of Dragon-themed socks! The People Concern--our selected receiving agency--is very grateful to everyone at Pennekamp. It's nice to know we were able to offer a little help to some of the many housing-insecure individuals who are trying to get back on their feet and into stable housing. The winner of our raffle was Sophie R., in second grade--congratulations, Sophie, and enjoy Dav Pilkey's presentation tonight!

This month in the library classes are hearing about fall themes as well as Fire Prevention Week (October 3 to 9) and Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15 to October 15). And of course we have Halloween to celebrate, too! For specifics, see the Weekly Readalouds page of this website. 

There's a lot of excitement for Dav Pilkey's upcoming appearance at the Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center on Tuesday, October 16. Tickets are still available. 

In honor of Dav Pilkey's Captain Underpants series, Pennekamp is collecting new, unopened packages of sock and underpants to be donated to The People Concern, which helps home-insecure men, women, and children find supportive housing and get back on their feet. The sock and underwear drive continues until October 12, and the collection bin is in the library. Just to make it even more fun, everyone who contributes to the drive can enter a raffle to win two tickets to the Dav Pilkey event! Please be generous and support our charitable drive.

The County of Los Angeles Public Library is having its bookmark contest right now. The theme is Shine Bright...READ! Entries are due by October 13. Students can give Ms. Barbara their entries until October 12 and they will be turned in at the Manhattan Beach public library. Follow the link to download the entry form.

Grade 5 has been assigned a report requiring outside research. This has been a great opportunity to talk about the databases to which our district has access: For the current assignment I'm recommending Britannica School and ProQuest's SIRS Discoverer, in particular. Britannica School is an online student version of the famed Encyclopedia Britannica. It is of excellent quality and is very user-friendly for even young students. SIRS Discoverer can be used to find reliable online content on whatever topic a student might need--it is a search tool that returns reputable, academically sound resources. While computers here at school go directly to these databases, users at home need a username and password, which are available from Ms. Barbara or from Pennekamp teachers.

September 23 to 29, 2018, is the American Library Association's "Banned Books Week." This year I will talk about the event with grades 4 and 5, using as examples several frequently banned books: And Tango Makes Three, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, and The Adventures of Captain Underpants--all of which have been on the ALA's annual "Top Ten" lists of most banned and challenged books. Classes in grades 4 and 5 will also watch a short video by Dav Pilkey--it can be found on the Weekly Readalouds tab of this website. The graphic below shows books most challenged in 2017.

Dav Pilkey, author of the Captain Underpants series and many other books, is visiting our community. Pennekamp is having an underpants-themed community service drive to collect new, unopened packages of underwear or socks to donate to homeless men, women, and children.
 
Our drive is from Monday, October 1, to Friday, October 12. Our donations will go to The People Concern. The collection bin will be in the PK library.
 
Everyone who donates can enter a raffle for two tickets to Dav Pilkey’s appearance on Tuesday, October 16, in Redondo Beach. The raffle winner will be announced on October 12.
 
Please note: ONLY NEW, UNOPENED PACKAGES OF UNDERWEAR OR SOCKS WILL BE ACCEPTED.
 
Thanks for giving generously to help those in need—and good luck on the raffle!
 

The County of Los Angeles Public Library's annual bookmark contest has begun! Young people are encouraged to design a bookmark based on this year's theme: Shine Bright...READ! Designs will be judged based on originality, creativity, and neatness. One entry is allowed per person, so contestants should take their time and submit their very best work. Submissions are judged based on grade level. Winners will be announced in November 2018, and then grand prize winners will be announced in February/March of 2019. 

The entry form can be printed from the public library's website, or from the PDF below. Paper copies are available at the Pennekamp library.

Turn in your entry at any County of Los Angeles library (such as the Manhattan Beach Public Library) by Saturday, October 13, 2018. If you are having trouble getting to the public library, turn in your entry to the Pennekamp library by Friday, October 12, and Ms. Barbara will take it to the public library by the due date.

Class visits to the library have begun! The schedule of class visits is now final, and almost all classes have library volunteers, so everything is pretty much set for the coming year.

The books I am reading aloud and any other class visit activities will be posted each week on this website, under the Weekly Readalouds tab. 

The Manhattan Beach branch of the County of Los Angeles Public Library has sent out its newsletter of upcoming events. Take a look--there are a lot of great programs for all ages. 

Tickets are now available for Dav Pilkey's appearance at the Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center on October 16! Tickets include a signed copy of the new Dog Man book, Lord of the Fleas. The event is likely to sell out, so if you are interested, I encourage you to get your tickets right away.

Inspired by Dav Pilkey's visit, Pennekamp will hold a drive for ... underpants! Yes, underpants are amusing, and Dav Pilkey's Captain Underpants books are very amusing, but there's a serious side to underpants: fresh underwear and socks are among the items most needed by homeless men, women, and children. From October 1 to 12, the Pennekamp Library will be collecting new, unopened packages of underwear and socks to be donated to a service provider for homeless people in Los Angeles County. Everyone who donates will be entered in a raffle to win two tickets to Dav Pilkey's appearance on October 16 at the Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center! The winner will be announced on Friday, October 12. Please donate generously to our drive, and who knows, maybe you'll win the raffle!

Dav Pilkey Author Event—Tuesday, October 16, at 6:00 p.m.
Pages: A Bookstore presents Dav Pilkey, author of the bestselling Captain Underpants and Dog Man series, in an appearance at the Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center. TICKETS ARE REQUIRED and go on sale September 1 at midnight. For more information contact Pages at 310-318-0900 or https://www.pagesabookstore.com/event/dav-pilkey