Welcome back from our week off! I hope everyone had just the week they wanted, whether yours involved skiing, resting, catching up on things, or reading (I do admit a preference for that last one...).

This week the library welcomes members of the Manhattan Beach Rotary Club, who will be reading to kindergarten, first-grade, and second-grade students. The Rotary Reads program is a long-standing and beloved tradition. It is just one more way that our schools and community affirm the pleasure of reading, its role in lifelong learning, and the social benefits of cultivating a community of readers.

This week the library begins circulating titles from our new Graphic Novels section! Thanks to the PTA for funding the purchase of new books in this genre. The graphic novels in this section will increase the range of readers and interests met by our library collection. This genre offer excellent options for beginning readers as well as for students interested in drawing and comic books. Many of these books can be completed in one or two sittings, which can be encouraging for students who begin books but don't always devote the time needed to finish books. They will also serve our lunchtime readers, now that our lunchtime library has been "reclaimed" as a quiet space.

Book club meets Friday, March 8. We will be discussing The Apothecary, by Maile Meloy.

Classes this week will hear Dr. Seuss titles, except for a few classes picking up readalouds and activities missed in previous weeks: Romines, a PowerPoint on the five major reference books; and some 3rd-grade classes still completing the CYRM nominees.

Also this week, I will not be at school on Thursday and Friday, so the library will be closed. My apologies. Classes have been rescheduled as much as possible. 

I could not resist re-posting this image, which I just find really, really funny! (I regret not giving an appropriate citation, but it is on so many websites now, I'm not sure which to credit.) If your week is a little bit of a disaster, take heart--especially as next week is a week of vacation.

This week classes are finishing up the voting for the California Young Reader Medal. I am determined to wrap this up before the break. 

Classes that have completed this (mostly the younger grades) are hearing books about Valentine's Day and the presidents, particularly George Washington and Abraham Lincoln.

This week begins Pennekamp's literacy celebration, which continues until March 22. Students will be enjoying all kinds of special events--Dr. Seuss week, poetry performances, storytelling, the legendary screenwriting workshop, and the L.A. Kings Royal Readers/Dragon Read-a-Thon. The library is displaying "Valentines for a Book You Love," hosting guest readers from the Manhattan Beach Rotary Club, and having our own "Poem in Your Pocket Week" (in advance of the national "Poem in Your Pocket Day" on April 18, but timed to coincide with the literacy celebration). That week will be March 11 to 15, with further information to come closer to that week. Meanwhile, start gathering books you've outgrown for the Book Donation Drive, from February 25 to March 11. Watch the library's shelves starting February 25 for the introduction of the library's new Graphic Novel section! These books, like almost all library acquisitions, are purchased through the generosity of the Pennekamp PTA.

Saturday, February 2, 2013, was Groundhog Day, and in case you missed the results, Punxsatawny Phil did not see his shadow, which predicts an early spring!

The coming Sunday, February 10, 2013, marks the start of the new year in Chinese culture. The lunar new year is celebrated in many places with large Chinese populations, including Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, and "Chinatowns" in U.S. cities. Many activities are planned in Chinatown Los Angeles, including a spectacular parade on Saturday, February 16, starting at 1:00 p.m. The coming year is the Year of the Snake.

I will return to work this week after missing several days last week due to illness. I plan to pick up with the nominees for the California Young Reader Medal, and I hope to complete our voting before the February break week, starting February 18. Classes (including all DK/TK classes) that have completed the voting will hear stories in honor of Chinese new year. 

The book club for students in grade 5 will meet Tuesday in the library at lunch recess. We will finally have our discussion on Where the Mountain Meets the Moon and choose a new book, this time from the historical fiction genre. 

This is the last week that the library's books for adult readers will still be in the library. These books are available for "adoption" by Pennekamp parents, staff, and teachers; donation requested is 50 cents per book. After this week, the books will be moved to the staff lounge for a couple of weeks, for one last chance at local adoption; after that, they will be donated to a public library that can use them.

Don't forget the Access Books fundraiser featuring Jeff Kinney at Pages: A Bookstore. The event is Tuesday, February 5, at 5:30 p.m. This ticketed event will almost certainly sell out, so if your child is interested in attending, tickets should be obtained right away from the Access Books site. Click on this link:
Jeff Kinney at Pages for Access Books