What does your to-be-read pile look like?

Mine looks like this!

There are so many great books out there for your family to discover over the winter break! Please visit our local bookstores and our wonderful public libraries on the vacation week and see what they have--I assure you, there's something for everyone!

The libraries also have vacation week programming going on including a movie, origami hour, and concerts! Here's a link to the library's calendar: https://www.brooklinelibrary.org/events/category/kids/

When we get back to school it'll be time to gear up for the Caldecott and Newbery Award announcements on February 12, 2018.

Happy New Year to all!

Massachusetts Children's Book Award

Our fifth and sixth graders have been encouraged to participate in the Massachusetts Children's Book Award. They are reading up a storm!

The award is based on a list of 25 middle grade titles nominated by teachers, librarians and students. The master list is here: http://massachusettschildrensbookaward.blogspot.com/ Most book awards are voted on by adults, so this is a unique opportunity for our students to make their voice heard

Students must read at least 5 of the 25 titles in order to vote on their favorite book in early March. The winner for our state will be announced in early April. Many students have already passed the goal of reading 5 books and are now reading as many as they can between now and March.

PTO funds were used to purchase multiple copies of the books. Thank you, Lawrence School PTO! 

In my opinion, the list is particularly good this year and includes books that have received other awards like Brown Girl Dreaming and The War That Saved My Life. Check out the book cart in the library for the books on the list as well as the posters outside the library that show the covers of all 25 titles. 

Family trees -- a celebration of children's literature

The Concord Museum holds a special event every year called "Family Trees" in which trees are displayed around the museum for the whole month of December. Each tree's decorations are inspired by a children's book! This year's selection sounds great. I'd encourage you to check it out between now and January 2nd!

Here's the link with more information: http://www.concordmuseum.org/special-events-family-trees.php