Second Mock Caldecott

48 first grade students at Newton Falls Elementary school cast their votes today for their favorite book of 2008. They chose:





























as their Mock Caldecott Award Winner.

In October, they also chose:



Don't forget to check here on Monday to see who the next Caldecott Winner will be.

The Trouble Begins at 8: A Life of Mark Twain in the Wild, Wild West by Sid Fleischman

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
Fleischman's biographies always look bigger than they are, but don't be put off by the size. This book is filled with pictures, and printed in large readable type. It's also hilarious; stuffed with Twain quotes as well as some really funny descriptions by Fleischman. Honestly, I sometimes wondered whose voice I was hearing, the author, or Twain himself.


View all my reviews.

Kids Pick Their Favorite

This past Tuesday, at our Mock Caldecott Election, students were invited to view several picture books published in the last year, and pick a favorite. These are their choices:

Doggone Dogs by Karen Beaumont, illustrated by David Catrow


And Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes by Mem Fox, illustrated by Helen Oxenbury

Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes is not actually eligible for the Caldecott Award as neither author nor illustrator are American, but our students liked their work.



For a list of past winners of this award, check out this website.

On January 26th, the American Library Association will announce the winner of the 2009 Caldecott Award.

For any knitting club member, and anyone else who may be interested, here are a few of my favorite knitting links:

Free Knitting Patterns

Knitting Help- Great for videos, a glossary, and lots of explanations about anything knitting related. (Note, use the English videos when available, not the Continental.)

YouTube also has many knitting videos. This one shows the cast on method that we use.

This one is similar to the cast on I use for my projects.

Here is a simple knit stitch.

Here is a simple pearl stitch.

And here is a simple bind off.

And finally, for the coolest new patterns, try Knitty.com.

Family Movie: Horton Hears a Who

We're showing another hit movie on our big screen. Bring the whole family and enjoy Horton Hear a Who with us on January 15 at 5:30 PM.

Knucklehead: Tall Tales and Almost True Stories of Growing up Scieszka by Jon Scieszka

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
We all know that Jon Scieska knows how to write for boys, now we get to see why. He grew up in a house with 5 brothers alternately trying to trick, beat up, puke on, blame and bomb each other. I read it in one hour and didn't stop laughing the whole time. Excellent book for boys who hate books. Scieska knows how to keep it short, simple, side splittingly funny, and often just gross enough for boys. I love this book, and will recommend it often.


View all my reviews.

Buckeye Children's Book Award

The Children of Ohio have spoken, and the winners are:

Bow-Wow Bugs a Bug



Diary of a Wimpy Kid





















Rules

Check our more about the Buckeye Children's Book Award at the website.