Welcome back, Dragons! I hope you had a wonderful and restorative summer. This begins my ninth year at Pennekamp, and I think we have a great year ahead!

​The library is a resource for the entire Pennekamp community--students, teachers, staff, administrators, and families. You can visit the library whenever it is open except during class visit times. The library is open from 7:45 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. every weekday (except school holidays), but on occasional Wednesdays the library closes at 1:30 p.m. so that I can attend districtwide library staff meetings.

This year the library will be closed around lunch time for 30 minutes. On Monday and Tuesday, this closure will be from 11:35 to 12:05, and on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, the time is 11:05 to 11:35. Grade 4 may visit the library during lunch recess on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. Grade 5 may visit the library during lunch recess on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.

Every class visits the library every week. Before and after school, families may visit the library until it closes, but after school children must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.

Students are permitted to check out the same number of books as their grade level; so, for example, a first-grader may take one book and a fifth-grader may take five books. Parents may check out ten books at a time. Kindergarteners are also allowed to check out one book but they keep their library book in their classroom. The loan period is one week. A book may be renewed three times, for a total of four weeks. Although there is no fine for late books, patrons are asked to return books promptly. (There may be a long waitlist for the very book you have checked out!) You will receive a courtesy notice every week stating what you or your child have checked out and when it is due. Payment must be made for books that are lost or damaged significantly. Please encourage your children to handle books with care. In particular, now that many of us carry water bottles, it's important to protect books from moisture.

This website is the best way to find out what's happening at the library. The class visit schedule shows when your child's class is coming to library and therefore what day he or she needs to bring any library books to school. On the Current/News page of this website you'll find a blog entry each week that describes what we are doing in the library and why--if, for example, I am reading books in support of curricular topics or related to a civic or cultural event. On the Weekly Readalouds page you can see what I am reading to each grade. If I show any internet content during class visits, I will usually link to it from my weekly blog post or the Weekly Readalouds page. You are obviously aware of the website since you are reading this post! If you find it interesting, I'd be grateful for your recommending it to other Pennekamp parents.

I'd like to express my thanks to the Pennekamp PTA, which is far and away the main source of funding for library materials. When your child brings home a beautiful book from the library, that book was almost surely purchased with PTA funds. I would also like to thank MBEF for funding my position as well as for the many other ways MBEF benefits our students, teachers, and community. Thank you, in turn, to the families that support the Pennekamp PTA and MBEF--your generosity makes our library possible.

This is the last week of class visits to the library. Classes are visiting to hear my favorite end-of-year readalouds and to return books. I will be here next week, but classes do not visit the library. I will be plenty busy next week, seeing to the return of all the books and putting things in order for next year. 

All books are due on or before June 8. A hold will be placed on the report card of any student who fails to return or pay for his or her library books by the end of the school year. A hold will also be placed on a student's report card if his or her parent has unresolved library books at the end of the school year. Please return all library books OR pay for any that have been lost or significantly damaged. I can tell you the price of books for which payment must be made. Payment must be in exact change or a check payable to MBUSD.

The Pennekamp library is closed over the summer. Fortunately there are several great public libraries right nearby. The Manhattan Beach public library has a summer reading program and has increased (it seems to me) their activities and cultural events with many fun, creative ideas for every age. The best way to find out about everything happening there is to sign up for the library's electronic newsletter. I know many families like the libraries in Redondo Beach, Torrance, and El Segundo. All are great options to make sure everyone has exciting reading materials for the summer!

The library will be open until 3:15 or later this week despite early dismissal. Feel free to come by before or after your child's assessment.

It's kind of pleasant at this point in the school year to read some simply enjoyable books. The week's choices are loosely grouped around the topic of adventure. A couple I have not read aloud before: The Antlered Ship, by Dashka Slater, and A Voyage in the Clouds, by Michael Olshan. They are both beautifully illustrated. I'm looking forward to seeing how the students like them.

This is the last week to check out books from the library for this school year. Friday, June 1, is the last day for students and parents. Students in grade 5 are no longer checking out because they are beginning to get their permission slips signed, which indicates that they no longer have library books. All books are due on or before June 8. Classes will visit the library next week but will not be checking out books--returns only next week.

A hold will be placed on the report card of any student who fails to return or pay for his or her library books by the end of the school year. A hold will also be placed on a student's report card if his or her parent has unresolved library books at the end of the school year. Please return all library books OR pay for any that have been lost or significantly damaged. I can tell you the price of books for which payment must be made. Payment must be in exact change or a check payable to MBUSD.

Today the book club for 5th grade had its last meeting of the year. The 23 participants have done a great job of reading and discussing five substantial novels across a variety of genres. We rate every book we read, and the members this year have been pretty hard to impress; but the book we just read--Restart, by Gordon Korman--received a nearly perfect score (4.93 stars out of a possible 5, a new club record). I have enjoyed spending time with these dedicated students, and I hope the experience has helped build an enduring community of readers.

This week TK, K, and 1st grade are hearing an assortment of recently acquired books. Most of them have to do with tackling something new or difficult. 

Grade 2 continues with The Legend of Spud Murphy. It is a chapter book, and with it I'm showing the students a selection of chapter books that are around the reading level of most 2nd-graders. Last week we looked at Mrs. Piggle Wiggle, Galaxy Zach, Mercy Watson, and others; this week I'm showing them a bunch including Zeke Meeks, Dodsworth, My First Puppy (by Krailing), Behind the Couch, and Space Taxi. 

I have never read aloud Knit Your Bit, although it was previously on the district summer reading lists. During World War I, knitting for soldiers became a national effort. Children, men, and women took up knitting needles to supply overseas troops with sweaters and socks. Knit Your Bit touches on the week's theme of trying something new or difficult: girls and boys who have not previously knitted challenge each other to a knitting contest. It is also in honor of Memorial Day, on May 28.

Also for Memorial Day, grade 4 will be hearing a new book, ​Maya Lin: Artist-Architect of Light and Lines, by Jeanne Walker Harvey. Below are a couple of photos of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, designed by Maya Lin. ​

May is Asian-Pacific Island Heritage Month, so that’s the theme for this week’s readalouds and books on display.

The library will close at 1:30 on Wednesday so that I can attend an off-campus meeting of library staff. Then on Friday, I will take a vacation day to attend a family function. The library will be up and running, though, in the very able hands of Julie Limbach Jones, former Pennekamp library media specialist!

Every year the MBUSD library media specialists prepare three lists of recommended summer pleasure reading. The new lists are posted on the district website as well as on this website, and this week I will be calling attention to them by reading aloud selections during the class visits. Just to make this crystal clear, there is no required reading for MBUSD students entering TK/K through grade 5. The lists for those grades are simply meant to help parents and students who find themselves searching for books to read over the summer. The featured titles vary quite a bit in terms of their difficulty; it is hoped that there's something for everyone, regardless of reading ability.

Students entering 6th grade at MBMS do have required reading. Each student must read three books from the current list, at least one of which must be nonfiction. There are four nonfiction books on the list--they happen to be the last four books listed. The books can be ordered from Pages: A Bookstore and will be delivered to Pennekamp (or whatever elementary school the customer specifies). Here is the order link:

https://squareup.com/store/MBMS

This week's visit is the last one for Ms. Gralnik and Mrs. Curry's students, so we will talk about summer reading, look at how to place a hold on books in the public library, maybe take a peek at the MBMS e-books, and read my traditional end-of-Pennekamp choice: Tadpole's Promise, by Jeanette Winter. 

Throughout the year I share books about California history with the 4th-grade students. With grade 4 doing their state testing this week, I thought we'd hear something fun: Mack Made Movies, by Don Brown, about filmmaker Mack Sennett, whose Keystone Pictures came up with the Keystone Kops. We'll also watch the short clip below--"The Keystone Kops Meet Pickles and Peppers"  (found on YouTube, so beware if you are viewing it at home that sidebars, advertisements, and comments on YouTube are often inappropriate for children).

It's Pennekamp's Poem-in-Your-Pocket week! Students can bring a poem in their pocket (or sock, or shoe), be photographed with their poem, and present their poem during library time. Or not--these activities are purely optional and fun for many, but not all, students. It is also perfectly fine to be the audience. Each teacher will be provided with a poem for the week; no pocket need be empty.

One interesting thing for me in preparing for this week has been looking at YouTube videos of American Sign Language poetry to share with our deaf and hard-of-hearing students. The one below ("Caterpillar," by Ian Sanborn) is my favorite of the ones I've watched. (Be aware that YouTube sidebars, comments, and advertisements are often inappropriate for children, so I recommend parents supervise children's use of YouTube.)

Also this week: we will finally find out on May 1 which books won the actual California Young Reader Medal in the categories we've been following--Primary, Intermediate, and Picture Books for Older Readers.

Pages bookstore is accepting orders for summer reading books for students entering 6th-grade at MBMS. Orders are due by May 31, 2018. Here's the link.

Last Monday we had such a fun and interesting visit with Juana Martinez-Neal, who read us her new book, Alma and How She Got Her Name. Signed copies are still available at Pages, our local independent bookstore.

If your child was one of the top readers in our recent Readathon, it's really time to turn in her or his book order form. These forms can be given to me in the library, and I will get them to the event co-chair. 

The library will be closed Wednesday at 1:30 as I am hosting the monthly meeting of district library staff.

Pennekamp's 1st- and 2nd-grade students enjoyed a delightful visit with Juana Martinez-Neal, author/illustrator of a brand-new picture book: Alma and How She Got Her Name. Signed copies (both English-language and Spanish-language versions) can still be purchased at our local independent bookstore Pages. Does your son or daughter know the history of family names? It's a great introduction to ancestry, a topic recently studied by our 2nd-graders.

Next week is our annual Poem-in-Your-Pocket week. Today (April 26) is national Poem-in-Your-Pocket Day, and at Pennekamp we typically extend this event for a whole week to allow students to participate during their weekly class visit to the library. For our observance, students who have a poem in their pocket when their class visits the library can read their poem aloud and have their photo taken for this year's Pocket Poem poster. On display in the library this week are many poetry collections, from which students can copy a poem to pocket; or students can compose their own original poem to carry (a minimum of two lines, please). Some classes are working on acrostic poems right now--that form is fun and easy for anyone, even beginning poets. 

is here: Alma and How She Got Her Name. Orders will be accepted until April 21, 2018. Thanks to Pages for helping set up her appearance at Pennekamp!

Most of our focus this week, though, is on Earth Day, which is April 22. The first Earth Day happened way back in 1970, and it's been observed annually since 1990. Earth Day is unusual in that it's a global event: many civic events are based in one country or other, but countries all around the world mark April 22 to promote environmental conservation. The theme this year is "End Plastic Pollution." There are many excellent online resources to learn more about Earth Day. I'm particularly impressed with Earth Day Network. 

So most grades are hearing books about the environment this week. The deaf-and-hard-of-hearing class will hear a classic picture book on the Amazon rainforests--The Great Kapok Tree, by Lynne Cherry--and also view the BrainPOP Jr. video on tropical rainforests. Have I mentioned lately that our school subscribes to BrainPOP and that families may view BrainPOP content at home? If you need the login, please contact me or your child's teacher. (The Pennekamp PTA pays for the privilege of using BrainPOP, so I don't want to share the login information here, for all the world to see!) BrainPOP and BrainPOP Jr. offer many videos related to Earth Day, so this is an ideal time to take a look at what's available there.

​Among the other books I'm reading, A Boy and a Jaguar is a standout. It touches upon so many important points--the experience of being a stutterer, the many and varied ways that animals benefit humans, and a sense of gratitude, among others. The short video below (on YouTube) is of Alan Rabinowitz, author of A Boy and a Jaguar, and it will accompany our reading of the book. I recommend you supervise children watching YouTube content because the advertisements, comments, and sidebars are often inappropriate for children. If you want information on stuttering or are looking for ways to talk to a child about stuttering, try the website of the Stuttering Foundation.