Annie Barrows is coming

The author of the very popular Ivy + Bean series, Annie Barrows, will be promoting her latest installment at Peralta School on Sunday, October 7th, at 4 pm. Ivy + Bean Make the Rules is her 9th book in the series. Barrows' amusing mini bio for the event reads: "When she was a kid, Annie Barrows never once went to camp. She never took any classes. She never played a sport. She wasn't a Girl Scout. What a weirdo. She lives in Berkeley."

The event is free for children and $5 for adults, which can be applied to a book purchase at the event. Mrs. Dalloway's is holding the event at Peralta School, with free parking available on the playground. Call Mrs. Dalloway's at (510) 704-8222 to reserve your seat.

ebooks

Take a look at our collection of 64 ebooks! Here is what you need to do to get started.

The link to FollettShelf can always be found on the Thornhill Library Home Page, under the heading Educational Databases and eBooks. Click on FollettShelf.

The link will open in a new window. Browsing options are on the left sidebar. Click on a title to find out a little bit about it, how many pages, and other publishing information.

To read the ebook, click on Read Online.

I window will pop up asking for User Name and Password (read/book). Once you enter this info you are ready to read! 

Take your time and be sure to check out all the features. Many books have a read aloud feature (although it sounds like a robot), which can be helpful for beginning readers. When you are finished reading one ebook, click on the Close Book icon in the right corner, close the window, and click on another! 

Please let me know about your experience, and let me know if we should add some more titles to our ebook library.

OUSD also has a wonderful selection of Enclopaedia Brittanica ebooks that are linked to the Thornhill Library Home Page. These ebooks, along with Brittanica Online (also linked on the Library Home Page), are a great resource for student research projects! OUSD doesn't want me to publish these passwords, so please contact me to access these links.

Read-Alikes

Many students say, "I finished reading _____. What should I read now?" Look no further. The Association of Children's Librarians of Northern California publishes a superb list of read-alikes for lovers of children's literature. Read-alikes are lists of suggested titles that have similarities to current popular titles. For instance: "If you like Erin Hunter's Warriors series, try. . ." Very often, young readers are introduced to classics that they may have otherwise missed and discover unsung authors that have wonderful literature to offer.

The ACL's Read-alikes lists are compiled by Penny Peck, who has been a children's librarian for 25 years (not to mention playing the part of Snow White and Mother Goose at Oakland's Fairyland). She knows her stuff.

Graphic Novel Palooza

If you know someone who loves graphic novels, tell them not to miss this great event on Sunday, September 9th at 11:30 am!

Thornhill Library favorite Raina Telgemeier,  the author of Smile and most recently Drama, will be at A Great Good Place for Books in Montclair. She will be signing books and talking to fans. Joining Raina will be Doug TenNapel, author of Cardboard; and James Burks, author of Bird & Squirrel.

Learn more about this event at the A Great Good Place for Books website.

Welcome Back to the Library!

I hope everyone had a wonderful, relaxing Summer with plenty of time to read! The students start library visits on September 4. The learning and fun in the library is ready to start!

As I reacquaint myself with our returning students and get to know our new friends, they will reaquaint themselves with the library. Our first few weeks include going over the rules:

• Walk, don't run
• Be respectful to each other
• Be nice to the books
• Bring books back on time
• Use inside voices

The younger students learn about using shelfmarkers and about every book having a place. The older students "map" the library to refresh their memories and find the items they want. The 4th and 5th grades will be reintroduced to the self-checkout station, and I'm hoping to start the 3rd graders on the self-checkout too.

That's all for now. I'll have more information on library hours next time. Please contact me if you have any questions!

Happy Reading,

Maura Hennessy

Librarian