WEBVTT 00:00:20.249 --> 00:00:24.550 Hello, I'm Patrick Adams. And I'm Caroline Legere. 00:00:25.100 --> 00:00:28.980 And this is Librarians of Little. This is a podcast 00:00:28.980 --> 00:00:33.600 where we discuss books, give some ideas for makerspace 00:00:33.600 --> 00:00:36.259 and corporations and give tips and tricks for 00:00:36.259 --> 00:00:40.619 working with our youngest learners. This week 00:00:40.619 --> 00:00:44.859 we are going to be discussing two wonderful books. 00:00:45.380 --> 00:00:48.859 Our theme this week is summer as the school years 00:00:48.859 --> 00:00:51.719 are coming to a close. We thought reading some 00:00:51.719 --> 00:00:55.619 books about summer or beaches. would be a great 00:00:55.619 --> 00:00:58.420 way to kind of end the year for a lot of people. 00:00:58.820 --> 00:01:01.659 And so we've selected two books with that theme. 00:01:02.100 --> 00:01:05.579 The first of which is a book titled There Might 00:01:05.579 --> 00:01:10.239 Be Lobsters. This was published by Candlewick 00:01:10.239 --> 00:01:14.319 Press in 2017. The author is Carolyn Crimme and 00:01:14.319 --> 00:01:19.109 the illustrator is Laurel Mulk. awards or lists. 00:01:19.430 --> 00:01:23.709 This book has been on the CCBC Choice Selection 00:01:23.709 --> 00:01:30.170 2018 list. It has won the Golden Kite Award Picture 00:01:30.170 --> 00:01:34.909 Book Text winner for 2018 as well. And the author, 00:01:35.489 --> 00:01:38.569 Caroline Crimme, was born and raised in Long 00:01:38.569 --> 00:01:41.590 Island, New York. Most of her friends call her 00:01:41.590 --> 00:01:43.909 Crimme. and very few actually call her Carolyn, 00:01:44.609 --> 00:01:49.109 and she has a BA from Lake Forest College in 00:01:49.109 --> 00:01:53.689 Art History and an MFA from Vermont College in 00:01:53.689 --> 00:01:56.590 Writing for Children. She has a pug named Bo 00:01:56.590 --> 00:02:01.069 and she currently lives in Illinois. Some of 00:02:01.069 --> 00:02:05.129 her other books include Weird Little Robots illustrated 00:02:05.129 --> 00:02:09.939 by Corinna Luykin. Henry and the Buccaneer Bunnies, 00:02:10.240 --> 00:02:13.120 illustrated by John Manders. Where's My Mummy, 00:02:13.460 --> 00:02:16.360 illustrated by John Manders. Boris and Bella, 00:02:16.719 --> 00:02:19.800 illustrated by Grizz Grimley. Pugs in a Bug, 00:02:20.400 --> 00:02:23.879 illustrated by Stephanie Buscema. Don't Need 00:02:23.879 --> 00:02:27.780 Friends, illustrated by Lynn M. Munzinger. And 00:02:27.780 --> 00:02:30.620 Henry and the Crazed Chicken Pirates, illustrated 00:02:30.620 --> 00:02:35.180 by John Manders. And the illustrator is Laurel 00:02:35.180 --> 00:02:39.129 Mulk. She used to sell her drawings to her neighbors 00:02:39.129 --> 00:02:42.069 as a child. The going rate was a penny for a 00:02:42.069 --> 00:02:45.050 drawing and six for a nickel. Later, she went 00:02:45.050 --> 00:02:50.509 on to pursue drawing at RISD. After many years 00:02:50.509 --> 00:02:53.990 of freelance work, including designing athletic 00:02:53.990 --> 00:02:56.710 shoes and athletic wear, she directed her energies 00:02:56.710 --> 00:02:59.250 to illustrating and writing children's books. 00:02:59.469 --> 00:03:02.909 She has published several books and has exhibited 00:03:03.199 --> 00:03:08.159 in shows at the Society of Illustrators. And 00:03:08.159 --> 00:03:12.180 some of her other books are Knitting for Dogs, 00:03:12.419 --> 00:03:15.800 which she both wrote and illustrated. A Synagogue 00:03:15.800 --> 00:03:21.919 Just Like Home by Alice B. McGinty. It's a, It's 00:03:21.919 --> 00:03:26.400 a, It's a Mitzvah by Elizabeth Sunnaby and Diane 00:03:26.400 --> 00:03:30.979 Hyman. No Room for a Pup by Elizabeth Sunnaby. 00:03:31.800 --> 00:03:35.460 Take Your Time, A Tale of Harriet the Galapagos 00:03:35.460 --> 00:03:42.699 Tortoise by Eva Ferro and Donna Jo Nepali. And 00:03:42.699 --> 00:03:47.199 so our book, There Might Be Lobsters, is the 00:03:47.199 --> 00:03:51.580 story of Suki, a small dog that is afraid of 00:03:51.580 --> 00:03:54.750 many things. especially at the beach, lobsters 00:03:54.750 --> 00:03:57.349 being at the top of the list. As Suki's owner 00:03:57.349 --> 00:03:59.990 Eleanor tries to convince Suki to enjoy their 00:03:59.990 --> 00:04:03.090 day at the beach, Suki is just too scared of 00:04:03.090 --> 00:04:06.830 those sandy steps of beach balls and of the water 00:04:06.830 --> 00:04:10.169 and of course of the possibility of lobsters. 00:04:10.409 --> 00:04:15.370 When Suki sits out the fun and with her stuffed 00:04:15.370 --> 00:04:20.009 monkey friend Chunkamunka, they Miss out on all 00:04:20.009 --> 00:04:23.110 of that fun and enjoyment when chunkamonka gets 00:04:23.110 --> 00:04:26.490 picked up by the water and the waves Suki has 00:04:26.490 --> 00:04:29.629 to overcome those fears to save chunkamonka. 00:04:29.709 --> 00:04:31.769 I really like this story. I thought it was a 00:04:31.769 --> 00:04:35.310 really cute story of Something that a lot of 00:04:35.310 --> 00:04:37.810 these a lot of our kids think about all the time 00:04:37.810 --> 00:04:40.310 like what might happen those negative thoughts 00:04:40.310 --> 00:04:43.829 that could be there that could happen and focus 00:04:43.829 --> 00:04:47.480 So much on those things they miss out on the 00:04:47.480 --> 00:04:49.540 possibility of all the wonderful fun things that 00:04:49.540 --> 00:04:52.579 could happen. And so this is a really cute story. 00:04:53.560 --> 00:04:56.160 There's the repetition of, but you know, there 00:04:56.160 --> 00:04:59.579 might be lobsters. Every time Eleanor invites 00:04:59.579 --> 00:05:01.720 Suki to do something, it starts with, but Suki 00:05:01.720 --> 00:05:04.480 was a small dog and then gives all these reasons 00:05:04.480 --> 00:05:07.300 why all these crazy things that could potentially 00:05:07.300 --> 00:05:11.019 happen. And then, and there could be lobsters. 00:05:11.560 --> 00:05:14.100 It's a fun story. My students really enjoyed 00:05:14.100 --> 00:05:17.379 this book. We read it this week. They loved it 00:05:17.379 --> 00:05:21.699 because the pictures are beautiful. They're engaging. 00:05:22.279 --> 00:05:24.459 And it's something that a lot of these kids can 00:05:24.459 --> 00:05:27.800 relate to that feeling of, you know, I'm going 00:05:27.800 --> 00:05:30.699 to focus on all the negative things and miss 00:05:30.699 --> 00:05:34.160 out on the possibility of fun, miss out on just, 00:05:34.160 --> 00:05:37.709 you know, kind of live in life. It was It's just 00:05:37.709 --> 00:05:41.370 a such a cool book. I really enjoyed it. I think 00:05:41.370 --> 00:05:45.389 Suki is a lovable character. My kids loved that 00:05:45.389 --> 00:05:48.810 she had a stuffed monkey, Chunkamunka, with her. 00:05:49.370 --> 00:05:52.069 They very much could relate to that and doing 00:05:52.069 --> 00:05:54.009 anything to make sure that your stuffed friend 00:05:54.009 --> 00:05:57.209 is safe. So when Suki has to go out into the 00:05:57.209 --> 00:05:59.810 into the waters like when we first find out like 00:05:59.930 --> 00:06:02.449 Chunkamunka is floating away and then sinking 00:06:02.449 --> 00:06:04.410 like all the kids are sitting there like gasping 00:06:04.410 --> 00:06:07.490 like like what's gonna happen and then when Suki 00:06:07.490 --> 00:06:09.449 gets out into the water to save her everybody 00:06:09.449 --> 00:06:12.269 feels so much relief it was just a cute story 00:06:12.269 --> 00:06:15.889 that my students really kind of got very engaged 00:06:15.889 --> 00:06:19.569 with and emotionally they were they were entangled 00:06:19.569 --> 00:06:21.230 in the story because they wanted to make sure 00:06:21.230 --> 00:06:23.949 that Chunkamunka was safe in the end it was it 00:06:23.949 --> 00:06:26.329 was a really good story i really enjoyed it my 00:06:26.329 --> 00:06:30.540 students loved it Yeah, I love this book. I have 00:06:30.540 --> 00:06:32.660 read it a couple times to my classes. I didn't 00:06:32.660 --> 00:06:34.540 read it this year, but I have read it in the 00:06:34.540 --> 00:06:36.879 past. But like you said, it's a really sweet 00:06:36.879 --> 00:06:41.319 story. Those pictures are very vivid. It really 00:06:41.319 --> 00:06:43.819 brings the story to life a whole lot. And I love 00:06:43.819 --> 00:06:46.480 that it's about, you know, being scared of the 00:06:46.480 --> 00:06:49.040 ocean in particular, because I think there are 00:06:49.040 --> 00:06:51.399 a lot of kids that are scared of trying new things 00:06:51.399 --> 00:06:55.420 in general. And maybe I personally relate to 00:06:55.420 --> 00:06:58.290 it more. Maybe we all do like living in this 00:06:58.290 --> 00:07:00.569 areas. We live in North Texas, right? So like 00:07:00.569 --> 00:07:04.050 there's not an ocean nearby or anything so like 00:07:04.050 --> 00:07:06.310 When you go to the ocean and when you go to a 00:07:06.310 --> 00:07:08.970 brand new place, especially like since our kids 00:07:08.970 --> 00:07:12.490 our students haven't you know Don't have an ocean 00:07:12.490 --> 00:07:15.509 nearby like that would it's definitely something 00:07:15.509 --> 00:07:18.449 different for all of them if they have the privilege 00:07:18.449 --> 00:07:21.649 of going to the beach So and there's i'm sure 00:07:21.649 --> 00:07:24.430 quite a few kids who might have their first beach 00:07:24.430 --> 00:07:28.569 vacation, you know coming up the summer so that's 00:07:28.569 --> 00:07:31.149 kind of it kind of primes them for getting to 00:07:31.149 --> 00:07:34.209 try something new like that that's definitely 00:07:34.209 --> 00:07:36.829 you know something at least if they haven't been 00:07:36.829 --> 00:07:39.490 if they have been to the beach before they may 00:07:39.490 --> 00:07:41.829 have forgotten if there's you know since we're 00:07:41.829 --> 00:07:43.350 working with all those you know four and five 00:07:43.350 --> 00:07:46.610 year olds right now so for our students in particular 00:07:46.610 --> 00:07:48.550 they definitely haven't been anytime recently 00:07:48.550 --> 00:07:50.910 we can say that with certainty so this is kind 00:07:50.910 --> 00:07:53.209 of a good one to kind of remind them like even 00:07:53.209 --> 00:07:56.819 if if they are going to go soon like you know, 00:07:57.160 --> 00:07:59.300 you can, you're going to go and you're going 00:07:59.300 --> 00:08:01.500 to, you might be nervous at first because it 00:08:01.500 --> 00:08:03.220 is something new and something different. It's 00:08:03.220 --> 00:08:05.139 trying different things is always a little bit 00:08:05.139 --> 00:08:07.240 scary, but you're going to be okay. You know, 00:08:07.300 --> 00:08:11.040 trying new things is okay. So it was a good choice. 00:08:11.180 --> 00:08:14.319 I love it. This is a great book. Yeah. And so 00:08:14.319 --> 00:08:17.620 I, it didn't really, it should have, but it didn't 00:08:17.620 --> 00:08:21.779 really click in my head that so few of my students 00:08:21.779 --> 00:08:25.819 would have experiences on a beach. When I was 00:08:26.439 --> 00:08:29.779 younger. I grew up, I was born in California. 00:08:30.060 --> 00:08:35.360 We moved and we were in New England. My family's 00:08:35.360 --> 00:08:37.879 from the Massachusetts area. So like I lived 00:08:37.879 --> 00:08:40.019 in New Hampshire, like going to the beach was 00:08:40.019 --> 00:08:43.320 just just part of the thing. Like the summer 00:08:43.320 --> 00:08:46.799 stuff, like the beach isn't that far. So going 00:08:46.799 --> 00:08:49.500 and experiencing the beach was just part of life. 00:08:49.600 --> 00:08:53.059 And so in my head, that's just, and I've lived 00:08:53.059 --> 00:08:57.799 in Texas for decades now, but summer just correlates 00:08:57.799 --> 00:09:00.759 with beach to me because of those experiences 00:09:00.759 --> 00:09:03.340 when I was younger. And these kids, you're right, 00:09:03.500 --> 00:09:05.799 so many of these kids, the closest thing they 00:09:05.799 --> 00:09:08.080 might have to a beach is like going to a lake 00:09:08.080 --> 00:09:10.299 kind of thing. And that's a completely different 00:09:10.299 --> 00:09:11.840 experience. It's a great experience, but it's 00:09:11.840 --> 00:09:14.799 a very different experience than like ocean beach 00:09:14.799 --> 00:09:19.840 kind of setting. And so it surprised me at first. 00:09:19.899 --> 00:09:21.779 And then I was like, well, that Definitely make 00:09:21.779 --> 00:09:23.960 sense, but we talked about it and some of the 00:09:23.960 --> 00:09:27.200 kids have been to the beach before but many of 00:09:27.200 --> 00:09:29.039 them haven't they have a general idea of what 00:09:29.039 --> 00:09:32.279 a beach is and how they work but like the idea 00:09:32.279 --> 00:09:34.820 well even just for part of it that we had to 00:09:34.820 --> 00:09:38.019 have a little bit of a talk as to how Chunkamunka 00:09:38.019 --> 00:09:40.100 ended up in the water and so then we had to have 00:09:40.100 --> 00:09:43.080 a discussion about tides and how the water comes 00:09:43.080 --> 00:09:45.779 in and then goes back out and so even though 00:09:45.779 --> 00:09:48.919 they were sitting on the sand that water starts 00:09:48.919 --> 00:09:52.450 to rise and Chunkamunka ends up in that water 00:09:52.450 --> 00:09:54.149 and that's how he starts floating out further. 00:09:54.809 --> 00:09:58.789 So there was a nice opportunity to introduce 00:09:58.789 --> 00:10:01.669 that concept in the story, especially for those 00:10:01.669 --> 00:10:05.250 kids who've never seen the ocean up close before 00:10:05.250 --> 00:10:07.690 and had that individualized experience before. 00:10:08.070 --> 00:10:12.370 So it was a good story, but I know for next year, 00:10:12.490 --> 00:10:15.669 especially for my pre -K students, maybe a little 00:10:15.669 --> 00:10:18.629 bit of pre -teaching to discuss some of those 00:10:18.629 --> 00:10:22.070 parts of what a beach is, and how an ocean works, 00:10:22.149 --> 00:10:24.230 and how the water rises and falls, and that kind 00:10:24.230 --> 00:10:28.450 of thing, the tides, just to give a little bit 00:10:28.450 --> 00:10:33.789 more background knowledge. And then I did have 00:10:33.789 --> 00:10:37.049 to explain to kids, because at one point, Suki's 00:10:37.049 --> 00:10:39.470 very worried about the beach ball, because the 00:10:39.470 --> 00:10:41.950 last line is, and beach balls attract lobsters. 00:10:42.240 --> 00:10:44.039 and all the kids were like wait do that and so 00:10:44.039 --> 00:10:48.340 we know it's just this is more of her paranoid 00:10:48.340 --> 00:10:51.240 thinking kind of thing so like but it was a it 00:10:51.240 --> 00:10:53.179 was a really good story and my kids really enjoyed 00:10:53.179 --> 00:10:56.159 it i would say i think i'd give it a four out 00:10:56.159 --> 00:10:58.879 of five i think it was a really fun story like 00:10:58.879 --> 00:11:01.779 i said for younger kids you're gonna have to 00:11:01.779 --> 00:11:03.840 pre -teach or have those conversations in the 00:11:03.840 --> 00:11:07.120 middle of the story but it my kids loved it and 00:11:07.120 --> 00:11:10.029 i think it's a sweet story so Yeah. Solid book. 00:11:10.309 --> 00:11:15.169 Solid. It is. It's a good one. And then as incorporation 00:11:15.169 --> 00:11:18.129 of makerspace activity, I'm gonna break my rule 00:11:18.129 --> 00:11:22.830 and we're gonna use some sand. Oh, no. I know. 00:11:22.929 --> 00:11:24.690 Sand is something that I try to avoid in the 00:11:24.690 --> 00:11:27.529 library. But for this kind of book, I feel like 00:11:27.529 --> 00:11:30.250 we need to have some sand. We'd need like sand 00:11:30.250 --> 00:11:33.649 and shells and some little plastic lobsters and 00:11:33.649 --> 00:11:37.009 other beach kind of ocean animals and maybe some 00:11:37.009 --> 00:11:39.850 like... those mini beach balls we do a beach 00:11:39.850 --> 00:11:42.090 sensory bin have some water and some sand in 00:11:42.090 --> 00:11:45.590 there and let the kids just kind of explore because 00:11:45.590 --> 00:11:48.610 as I found so many of those kids haven't had 00:11:48.610 --> 00:11:51.480 an experience like that where they're being able 00:11:51.480 --> 00:11:54.659 to play in the sand at like a beach and doing 00:11:54.659 --> 00:11:56.659 those things so having some of those things and 00:11:56.659 --> 00:11:59.399 being able to do a sensory bin where they can 00:11:59.399 --> 00:12:01.519 put their hands in that sand and in the water 00:12:01.519 --> 00:12:04.240 and play with some of the little toys and things 00:12:04.240 --> 00:12:07.379 like that i think would be a really great experience 00:12:07.379 --> 00:12:09.779 to for some of these kids who've never done it 00:12:09.779 --> 00:12:13.279 before and it'd be a fun thing to do it's probably 00:12:13.279 --> 00:12:14.919 going to get a little messy i'll have to pull 00:12:14.919 --> 00:12:18.700 out the vacuum and clean it up yeah it's worth 00:12:18.700 --> 00:12:20.879 it for the, for the experience for the students 00:12:20.879 --> 00:12:24.980 to have, to have that opportunity. So doing a 00:12:24.980 --> 00:12:29.299 sensory bin, getting some of that sand and yeah. 00:12:30.360 --> 00:12:33.440 I love it. That's great. That does give our kids 00:12:33.440 --> 00:12:37.620 a new way to kind of experience the beach, even 00:12:37.620 --> 00:12:40.340 if they don't get to go to the beach. Yeah. That's 00:12:40.340 --> 00:12:43.580 great. Yeah. And then like my kinder and first 00:12:43.580 --> 00:12:46.490 grade students, I had them Get to be a little 00:12:46.490 --> 00:12:48.649 bit. I the other things that I had my students 00:12:48.649 --> 00:12:52.669 do Was we use magnet tiles and I challenged the 00:12:52.669 --> 00:12:55.149 students to use the magnet tiles to build their 00:12:55.149 --> 00:12:57.830 own sea creature of some kind So that was kind 00:12:57.830 --> 00:13:00.289 of oh, that's cool. Are you could build it creative 00:13:00.289 --> 00:13:02.929 a castle and do like a sandcastle kind of thing? 00:13:03.350 --> 00:13:06.169 Even if it's not out of sand. Yeah castles are 00:13:06.169 --> 00:13:09.649 still Mm -hmm. Yeah, and then I had the kids 00:13:09.649 --> 00:13:13.909 use IO blocks and build a lobster and so I had 00:13:13.909 --> 00:13:16.730 like a picture oh that's cute and so they they 00:13:16.730 --> 00:13:19.509 use the aisle blocks to build lobsters and so 00:13:19.509 --> 00:13:22.009 that was fun too so there's plenty of different 00:13:22.009 --> 00:13:24.950 options available but I do think having some 00:13:24.950 --> 00:13:28.230 sand and letting the kids get their hands dirty 00:13:28.230 --> 00:13:31.370 and just having that tactile experience would 00:13:31.370 --> 00:13:35.330 be really good yeah and they love it a lot yeah 00:13:35.330 --> 00:13:39.250 yeah and my library this week we're Let the kids 00:13:39.250 --> 00:13:42.149 for the last like two weeks of school just pick 00:13:42.149 --> 00:13:43.730 their favorite things that we've done all year 00:13:43.730 --> 00:13:48.070 long and That has been the number one thing that 00:13:48.070 --> 00:13:51.750 kids have asked for is kinetic sand They need 00:13:51.750 --> 00:13:54.669 more kinetic sand because like you said like 00:13:54.669 --> 00:13:57.190 they don't they don't often get to experience 00:13:57.190 --> 00:14:00.090 it it is something a little bit different and 00:14:00.090 --> 00:14:05.899 it's just I Guess it's more novel for them they 00:14:05.899 --> 00:14:08.580 don't get it at home there's no places like we 00:14:08.580 --> 00:14:11.100 don't have a beach nearby that they can go have 00:14:11.100 --> 00:14:15.019 those experiences so this is a safe place for 00:14:15.019 --> 00:14:17.840 them to do it yeah and they love it and it's 00:14:17.840 --> 00:14:21.100 good for them it is it is it's nice to and it's 00:14:21.100 --> 00:14:26.379 nice that for such a relatively cheap thing we 00:14:26.379 --> 00:14:29.820 can give them that experience you know sand isn't 00:14:29.820 --> 00:14:32.340 expensive and so it might take some time for 00:14:32.340 --> 00:14:34.580 us to get it and to clean it up afterwards but 00:14:34.700 --> 00:14:37.500 to give them that experience is very, very helpful 00:14:37.500 --> 00:14:40.740 for a lot of them. So it's worth it. Yeah. Okay. 00:14:41.139 --> 00:14:44.379 This week for our library of littles management 00:14:44.379 --> 00:14:47.679 tips, since we are getting close to summer, that 00:14:47.679 --> 00:14:50.039 means that we're not necessarily going to be 00:14:50.039 --> 00:14:52.580 able to see our students for a while, or like 00:14:52.580 --> 00:14:55.700 in your case, your students, after being on the 00:14:55.700 --> 00:14:59.000 pre -k campus, they all dispersed to multiple 00:14:59.000 --> 00:15:01.000 elementary schools. So you might not get to see 00:15:01.000 --> 00:15:02.019 them. Yeah. We're one year and then we're done. 00:15:02.299 --> 00:15:04.840 Yeah. It's kind of sad, but it's okay. which 00:15:04.840 --> 00:15:07.340 I think that's to be fair. Like I loved working 00:15:07.340 --> 00:15:10.059 on the pre -k only campus, but that is one nice 00:15:10.059 --> 00:15:12.100 thing about being on an elementary campus that 00:15:12.100 --> 00:15:14.879 has pre -k is like I get to see them the next 00:15:14.879 --> 00:15:17.399 year and get to see how much they've grown, which 00:15:17.399 --> 00:15:20.960 is really cool. But since the summer is coming 00:15:20.960 --> 00:15:24.820 and whether you get to see them next school year 00:15:24.820 --> 00:15:29.629 or not, we want them to continue to practice 00:15:29.629 --> 00:15:31.370 all of those reading skills that we've been working 00:15:31.370 --> 00:15:34.970 with them on all year long. And we know that 00:15:34.970 --> 00:15:37.289 the summer slide can be a real thing and we know 00:15:37.289 --> 00:15:40.509 that our kids aren't necessarily reading. But 00:15:40.509 --> 00:15:43.110 practicing some of those literacy skills of looking 00:15:43.110 --> 00:15:46.009 at the pictures and having books read to them 00:15:46.009 --> 00:15:50.590 is such an important part of development of language 00:15:50.590 --> 00:15:53.389 and reading skills and it's just so important. 00:15:53.549 --> 00:15:57.730 So having some reading activities or a reading 00:15:57.730 --> 00:16:00.370 program or some kind of reading incentive can 00:16:00.370 --> 00:16:05.029 really encourage students to continue those practices 00:16:05.029 --> 00:16:07.549 during the summer. And so we're going to talk 00:16:07.549 --> 00:16:09.850 a little bit about some possible ones to do. 00:16:10.230 --> 00:16:12.590 I have been talking with my students, all of 00:16:12.590 --> 00:16:14.809 my students pre -K through fifth grade for the 00:16:14.809 --> 00:16:18.179 last three weeks. about our local public libraries 00:16:18.179 --> 00:16:21.000 and the wonderful summer reading programs that 00:16:21.000 --> 00:16:23.600 they have available. And so I've been really 00:16:23.600 --> 00:16:26.580 talking that up with them and trying to convince 00:16:26.580 --> 00:16:29.600 them to talk to their parents about the summer 00:16:29.600 --> 00:16:31.399 reading programs that are available through the 00:16:31.399 --> 00:16:34.559 public libraries. And so most public libraries 00:16:34.559 --> 00:16:37.379 will have some form of a summer reading program 00:16:37.379 --> 00:16:39.879 where they're trying to get people to continue 00:16:39.879 --> 00:16:43.460 to read over the summer. We're fortunate that 00:16:43.460 --> 00:16:49.360 in our area, the local library has there's about 00:16:49.360 --> 00:16:53.779 five library five branches within about five 00:16:53.779 --> 00:16:56.980 miles oh wow which is pretty awesome that we 00:16:56.980 --> 00:16:59.279 have we have quite a few libraries in our area 00:16:59.279 --> 00:17:02.679 that are not super far apart which is really 00:17:02.679 --> 00:17:06.579 cool so it gives kids options but our library 00:17:06.579 --> 00:17:09.019 will we'll just say it's a the Fort Worth Public 00:17:09.019 --> 00:17:13.819 Library has a very expansive footprint of libraries 00:17:13.819 --> 00:17:16.839 and they do an excellent job of summer reading 00:17:16.839 --> 00:17:19.640 programs and it's wonderful how those branches 00:17:19.640 --> 00:17:22.440 actually work together because you can like request 00:17:22.440 --> 00:17:24.559 books and they'll send them to your local library 00:17:24.559 --> 00:17:26.460 the closest one for you and that you just get 00:17:26.460 --> 00:17:28.180 a phone call or text message saying that your 00:17:28.180 --> 00:17:30.279 book is in you can go get it which is awesome 00:17:30.279 --> 00:17:32.140 but their summer reading programs are amazing 00:17:32.140 --> 00:17:35.180 also they've got lots of presenters that come 00:17:35.180 --> 00:17:38.500 in and do different performances and do different 00:17:38.500 --> 00:17:41.230 things like that and they're they've got a lot 00:17:41.230 --> 00:17:45.630 of like stem programs that they do where they 00:17:45.630 --> 00:17:49.450 get kids to come in and do different stem activities. 00:17:49.970 --> 00:17:52.230 It's it's wonderful. So I've been really pushing 00:17:52.230 --> 00:17:54.230 that with my students over the last couple weeks 00:17:54.230 --> 00:17:56.230 because I've been like you know guys we're getting 00:17:56.230 --> 00:17:59.430 we've been talking about this is the time of 00:17:59.430 --> 00:18:01.109 the year where we're returning books and not 00:18:01.109 --> 00:18:02.970 checking out new books from the library from 00:18:02.970 --> 00:18:05.279 our school library. So this would be a great 00:18:05.279 --> 00:18:06.599 time for you to be talking to your parents about 00:18:06.599 --> 00:18:09.019 getting a library card and using the public libraries 00:18:09.019 --> 00:18:12.160 and enjoying the all of the things that come 00:18:12.160 --> 00:18:18.400 with that. My district also does a summer reading 00:18:18.400 --> 00:18:22.160 blackout bingo card and so what it is is the 00:18:22.160 --> 00:18:25.799 entire district every student gets a summer reading 00:18:25.799 --> 00:18:31.480 bingo blackout sheet and so it's a five by five 00:18:31.480 --> 00:18:36.619 grid. with each box being a different literacy 00:18:36.619 --> 00:18:39.960 reading activity like read a science fiction 00:18:39.960 --> 00:18:43.880 book or read a whatever and so like This can 00:18:43.880 --> 00:18:47.259 work for pre -k all the way through high school 00:18:47.259 --> 00:18:49.579 Because the science fiction book can be like 00:18:49.579 --> 00:18:51.200 a science fiction chapter book or might just 00:18:51.200 --> 00:18:54.119 be a Picture book that has aliens in it or something, 00:18:54.119 --> 00:18:56.160 you know, like there's plenty like plenty of 00:18:56.160 --> 00:18:58.660 wiggle room in what each of those activities 00:18:58.660 --> 00:19:02.950 looks like for each grade level and each age 00:19:02.950 --> 00:19:06.009 of student. But when the students spend the summer 00:19:06.009 --> 00:19:08.630 as they do them, their parents initial each box 00:19:08.630 --> 00:19:10.609 as it's completed. And if they get blackout, 00:19:10.630 --> 00:19:13.509 so they get all 25 boxes done at the beginning 00:19:13.509 --> 00:19:15.609 of next school year, those students return the 00:19:15.609 --> 00:19:20.230 books or the list to their librarian. Each librarian 00:19:20.230 --> 00:19:22.369 does it a little bit differently as far as if 00:19:22.369 --> 00:19:24.930 they get a reward or not for just completing 00:19:24.930 --> 00:19:27.849 it. I tend to give my kids some rewards. They 00:19:27.849 --> 00:19:29.690 get a couple stickers and they get a bookmark 00:19:29.690 --> 00:19:32.369 and like usually like a lollipop or something 00:19:32.369 --> 00:19:35.289 like that just as like a good job proud of you 00:19:35.289 --> 00:19:37.789 for doing it but the cool thing that my district 00:19:37.789 --> 00:19:40.190 does is they take the librarians collect all 00:19:40.190 --> 00:19:43.170 of those we put that information into a spreadsheet 00:19:43.170 --> 00:19:46.650 so every student in the district that completes 00:19:46.650 --> 00:19:48.890 it and gets that form back to their library and 00:19:48.890 --> 00:19:51.630 their name gets put into this spreadsheet and 00:19:51.630 --> 00:19:55.710 then we use a random number generator to pull 00:19:55.710 --> 00:19:58.170 like five or ten names depending on how much 00:19:58.170 --> 00:20:02.099 money we have that year but they'll pull names 00:20:02.099 --> 00:20:05.460 out of the district's list of people that completed 00:20:05.460 --> 00:20:07.819 it and those students end up with like a full 00:20:07.819 --> 00:20:12.920 -size candy bar and like a $20 gift card to Barnes 00:20:12.920 --> 00:20:17.880 & Noble so they can get another book for themselves 00:20:17.880 --> 00:20:20.019 plus they get like a sweet treat to go with it 00:20:20.019 --> 00:20:23.359 which is really cool it so like even if it's 00:20:23.359 --> 00:20:25.359 just five kids that's about a hundred bucks to 00:20:25.769 --> 00:20:28.309 The 10 kids is about $200. It's not a ton of 00:20:28.309 --> 00:20:30.430 money being spent on that kind of stuff. And 00:20:30.430 --> 00:20:32.569 then the candy bars are, you know, a couple bucks. 00:20:33.410 --> 00:20:37.069 But I try to explain to my students now, like, 00:20:37.089 --> 00:20:39.890 hey, if you don't finish it, you're not in the 00:20:39.890 --> 00:20:42.369 drawing. Like, you might not win, but if you 00:20:42.369 --> 00:20:44.710 don't participate at all, there's no chance of 00:20:44.710 --> 00:20:46.809 winning, right? Like, at least if you do it, 00:20:46.950 --> 00:20:49.329 there's a chance that you could win. And if not, 00:20:49.750 --> 00:20:51.529 you've read and I'll still give you the stickers 00:20:51.529 --> 00:20:53.849 and the bookmark and the popsicle or lollipop 00:20:53.849 --> 00:20:57.099 or whatever, you know. So you get something for 00:20:57.099 --> 00:21:00.740 it, but that's it. It's really cool. It's something 00:21:00.740 --> 00:21:02.960 that I was really happy to find out that this 00:21:02.960 --> 00:21:05.640 district does that. And I was like, this is, 00:21:05.640 --> 00:21:08.579 this is cool. And it's nice that it's so generic 00:21:08.579 --> 00:21:12.460 that it can be used for all of the grade levels, 00:21:12.619 --> 00:21:16.039 you know? Yeah. I love that it's district wide. 00:21:16.200 --> 00:21:18.539 That's wonderful. Yeah. Yeah. It's really cool. 00:21:18.539 --> 00:21:21.940 And so it, we get a lot of participation. It's 00:21:21.940 --> 00:21:25.220 a lot of kids and you know what? I have a lot 00:21:25.220 --> 00:21:27.299 of kids that each year they're like hey I didn't 00:21:27.299 --> 00:21:30.059 finish it but I did this many of them and I still 00:21:30.059 --> 00:21:33.299 most of the time I'll still give the kids the 00:21:33.299 --> 00:21:35.900 stickers and the bookmark and the yeah lollipop 00:21:35.900 --> 00:21:37.900 or whatever I'm like hey you did some of it good 00:21:37.900 --> 00:21:39.480 for you because there's a bunch of kids that 00:21:39.480 --> 00:21:41.519 didn't look at it at all this summer so you know 00:21:41.519 --> 00:21:45.160 yeah I'm okay giving out that kind of stuff for 00:21:45.160 --> 00:21:48.039 even just partial participation because if those 00:21:48.039 --> 00:21:50.759 kids at least attempted to read something hey 00:21:50.759 --> 00:21:54.740 it's better yeah That better than not so I like 00:21:54.740 --> 00:21:58.140 that kind of an incentive kind of program because 00:21:58.140 --> 00:22:03.460 yeah it You don't have to Complete the whole 00:22:03.460 --> 00:22:05.960 thing for me to see you as you tried and so I'm 00:22:05.960 --> 00:22:08.319 gonna give you something for that and encourage 00:22:08.319 --> 00:22:10.859 that still because Yeah, there's a lot of kids 00:22:10.859 --> 00:22:12.799 that are gonna spend their whole summer Just 00:22:12.799 --> 00:22:14.640 sitting in front of the TV or in front of an 00:22:14.640 --> 00:22:17.900 iPad or a cell phone or you know Yeah, so if 00:22:17.900 --> 00:22:20.539 we can get you to pick up a book. I'm gonna be 00:22:20.539 --> 00:22:24.769 all for it That's great. Yeah, so coming up with 00:22:24.769 --> 00:22:27.809 I wish we did something like that Yeah, well, 00:22:27.809 --> 00:22:31.049 maybe it's something that you can Convince somebody 00:22:31.049 --> 00:22:33.569 to do I can get you a copy of what ours looks 00:22:33.569 --> 00:22:36.250 like I'll get you a copy of what it looks like 00:22:36.250 --> 00:22:38.009 so you guys can at least have like something 00:22:38.009 --> 00:22:40.990 to work from Yeah, but that would be great. You 00:22:40.990 --> 00:22:44.869 know, thank you Yeah, that wouldn't be it's like 00:22:44.869 --> 00:22:46.769 I said, it's not super expensive if you only 00:22:46.769 --> 00:22:51.180 do you do five kids Yes, what like? a hundred 00:22:51.180 --> 00:22:54.819 bucks and yeah i'm sure well i'm sure a hundred 00:22:54.819 --> 00:22:56.660 dollars can be found in the budget somewhere 00:22:56.660 --> 00:22:59.640 for that kind of thing you know yeah i would 00:22:59.640 --> 00:23:02.579 probably just put up the money for it i mean 00:23:02.579 --> 00:23:04.880 i wouldn't mind just doing that myself but yes 00:23:04.880 --> 00:23:06.700 it should be encouraged that if it was district 00:23:06.700 --> 00:23:09.819 -wide it needs to be in the library yes but yeah 00:23:09.819 --> 00:23:11.599 even if you did it just on your campus like you 00:23:11.599 --> 00:23:13.680 could do it and use some of your because it's 00:23:13.680 --> 00:23:15.759 because it's for kids you could do it it's you 00:23:15.759 --> 00:23:17.880 could use like some activity funds money or something 00:23:17.880 --> 00:23:19.519 you know like some of the money you make off 00:23:19.519 --> 00:23:21.400 of a book fair or something like that yeah you 00:23:21.400 --> 00:23:23.660 could do something like that with it moving i 00:23:23.660 --> 00:23:25.019 mean clearly it's not going to be something you 00:23:25.019 --> 00:23:26.700 do this summer because it's so close to the end 00:23:26.700 --> 00:23:28.440 of the year but you could start to be thinking 00:23:28.440 --> 00:23:30.680 about it for next year or something yeah well 00:23:30.680 --> 00:23:32.859 and then being on pre -k only campus my kids 00:23:32.859 --> 00:23:35.559 don't come back so i couldn't do it anyway so 00:23:35.559 --> 00:23:38.809 since my kids don't come back Partly I don't 00:23:38.809 --> 00:23:41.190 do like an incentive or anything like that partly 00:23:41.190 --> 00:23:43.210 because my kids don't come back and partly because 00:23:43.210 --> 00:23:45.230 my kids are so little being only four and five 00:23:45.230 --> 00:23:48.710 that like They're it's mostly their parents at 00:23:48.710 --> 00:23:51.289 that age that have to like encourage it a whole 00:23:51.289 --> 00:23:54.710 lot. Yeah So I just try and educate my parents 00:23:54.710 --> 00:23:56.549 and tell them what the summer slide I do have 00:23:56.549 --> 00:23:59.630 a handout that I give them I sent it home this 00:23:59.630 --> 00:24:02.650 last week actually that has information about 00:24:02.650 --> 00:24:05.390 the summer slide and what it is and you know 00:24:05.400 --> 00:24:08.619 It has like an infographic with like that shows 00:24:08.619 --> 00:24:11.180 test scores of kids who read versus kids who 00:24:11.180 --> 00:24:13.359 don't and how often you should read and all the 00:24:13.359 --> 00:24:16.559 things and kind of developmentally appropriate 00:24:16.559 --> 00:24:19.940 ways to read at home. And then I usually use 00:24:19.940 --> 00:24:24.980 my scholastic funds to send a free book home 00:24:24.980 --> 00:24:27.859 at the end of every year so they can start reading 00:24:27.859 --> 00:24:30.200 at home. And I do give them information about 00:24:30.200 --> 00:24:33.079 the public library and because like you said, 00:24:33.210 --> 00:24:36.470 The public libraries do amazing things and have 00:24:36.470 --> 00:24:39.029 wonderful summer programming. And that should 00:24:39.029 --> 00:24:41.470 really, really be taken advantage of because 00:24:41.470 --> 00:24:44.069 it's all free and it's all wonderful stuff. And 00:24:44.069 --> 00:24:48.470 it's like really engaging. Yeah. Yeah. I did 00:24:48.470 --> 00:24:51.410 find an infographic earlier this week and it 00:24:51.410 --> 00:24:53.930 was different summer reading program freebies 00:24:53.930 --> 00:24:57.349 and like Barnes and Noble does a program where 00:24:57.349 --> 00:25:00.450 if you read some books, you, they have a selection 00:25:00.450 --> 00:25:02.130 of books that you can pick from where you can 00:25:02.130 --> 00:25:04.910 earn a book by just reading and you just kind 00:25:04.910 --> 00:25:07.089 of have to write about the book a little bit. 00:25:07.569 --> 00:25:09.690 And so like even little kids could do that. They 00:25:09.690 --> 00:25:11.910 might have to tell their parent what their favorite 00:25:11.910 --> 00:25:13.410 part was and have the parent help them write 00:25:13.410 --> 00:25:15.410 it down or something, but that would work. Books 00:25:15.410 --> 00:25:18.829 a million, if you read books, I don't know how 00:25:18.829 --> 00:25:20.250 many you have to read, but if you read a certain 00:25:20.250 --> 00:25:22.130 number of books, they give you a free backpack. 00:25:23.009 --> 00:25:25.950 Pizza Hut is still doing the Book It program. 00:25:26.730 --> 00:25:29.650 So like that's, you can get a free personal pizza 00:25:29.650 --> 00:25:34.589 for reading some books. Panda Express does a 00:25:34.589 --> 00:25:37.170 free kids meal coupon when you read five books. 00:25:37.769 --> 00:25:40.329 I did not know that one. Yeah. That's news to 00:25:40.329 --> 00:25:44.150 me. And Chuck E. Cheese, you get 10 free play 00:25:44.150 --> 00:25:46.769 points for reading and filling out a reading 00:25:46.769 --> 00:25:49.210 reward calendar. So basically for like the month, 00:25:49.269 --> 00:25:51.910 you can earn 10 free play points at Chuck E. 00:25:51.950 --> 00:25:56.390 Cheese. That's cool. Lots of programs that encourage 00:25:56.390 --> 00:25:59.369 reading and so like you don't have to like create 00:25:59.369 --> 00:26:01.890 the wheel. Yeah, you can just talk to your kids 00:26:01.890 --> 00:26:04.450 and let them know that some of these things are 00:26:04.450 --> 00:26:08.630 available to them and you can share it with the 00:26:08.630 --> 00:26:11.490 families. And yeah, there's plenty of different 00:26:11.490 --> 00:26:13.349 things we can do to keep the kids reading over 00:26:13.349 --> 00:26:17.170 the summer. And even like the kids I have so 00:26:17.170 --> 00:26:19.619 many kids that in. Even in pre -k they're like, 00:26:19.660 --> 00:26:23.180 but I can't read I can't read and yeah, you can 00:26:23.180 --> 00:26:26.019 like yeah, we have to I have the conversation 00:26:26.019 --> 00:26:28.299 I have to have it multiple times a year just 00:26:28.299 --> 00:26:30.720 to keep reminding the kids but like the pre -k 00:26:30.720 --> 00:26:34.339 students They're looking at the pictures. They're 00:26:34.339 --> 00:26:37.180 predicting what is happening in the story based 00:26:37.180 --> 00:26:40.160 on those pictures and like they're listening 00:26:40.160 --> 00:26:44.440 to the stories and Making guesses and all these 00:26:44.440 --> 00:26:46.900 different things. Those are all Pre -reading 00:26:46.900 --> 00:26:49.319 skills there. They're learning those skills so 00:26:49.319 --> 00:26:52.299 that once they start learning the letters and 00:26:52.299 --> 00:26:54.559 the sounds and that kind of thing They can start 00:26:54.559 --> 00:26:57.200 using all of that, but that's the basis. That's 00:26:57.200 --> 00:26:58.839 the basis for it And so I explained to the kids 00:26:58.839 --> 00:27:01.240 you might not be reading the words yet But you 00:27:01.240 --> 00:27:03.779 are learning how to read by looking at the books 00:27:03.779 --> 00:27:05.819 and following the pictures and looking at the 00:27:05.819 --> 00:27:08.180 words and identifying some of those letters that 00:27:08.180 --> 00:27:09.660 are in the words and that kind of like that's 00:27:09.660 --> 00:27:13.920 the first step and so You know these summer reading 00:27:13.920 --> 00:27:18.440 programs are great because we just need the kids 00:27:18.440 --> 00:27:20.619 to have the books in their hands. And so encouraging 00:27:20.619 --> 00:27:24.559 parents to help the kids with that and giving 00:27:24.559 --> 00:27:28.119 them the incentives to try and get some cake, 00:27:28.180 --> 00:27:30.400 get some free books or get some free rewards 00:27:30.400 --> 00:27:35.000 for reading. I think that helps incentivize the 00:27:35.000 --> 00:27:37.579 parents sometimes too, for our younger kids. 00:27:37.779 --> 00:27:40.559 Like, oh, well we could get another free book 00:27:40.559 --> 00:27:43.779 or oh, we can get a personal pan pizza for doing 00:27:43.779 --> 00:27:46.200 this with our child you know like yeah any of 00:27:46.200 --> 00:27:51.380 those things the goal is to get the kids with 00:27:51.380 --> 00:27:53.599 the books and so anything we can do to make sure 00:27:53.599 --> 00:27:57.619 that happens you know yeah absolutely because 00:27:57.619 --> 00:28:00.180 those those basic skills of following the pictures 00:28:00.180 --> 00:28:03.299 and stuff like that that's what we need them 00:28:03.299 --> 00:28:06.700 to be doing at that age it it's developmentally 00:28:06.700 --> 00:28:08.619 that's where they need to be and so we want them 00:28:08.619 --> 00:28:14.519 to be doing it yeah it sure is yeah All right 00:28:14.519 --> 00:28:17.859 Well, the next book we're gonna talk about today 00:28:17.859 --> 00:28:20.700 is called Ursula upside down. It's published 00:28:20.700 --> 00:28:25.779 by Balzer and Bray I believe in 2024 and the 00:28:25.779 --> 00:28:28.380 author and illustrator of this book is Corey 00:28:28.380 --> 00:28:31.039 Tabor We've talked about him before but he's 00:28:31.039 --> 00:28:33.299 kind of an amazing author. So we're gonna talk 00:28:33.299 --> 00:28:36.119 about his books one more time Probably again 00:28:36.119 --> 00:28:39.200 in the future. We'll see this particular book. 00:28:39.200 --> 00:28:41.680 I didn't realize it when I chose it, but it's 00:28:41.630 --> 00:28:46.009 won quite a couple of awards and it's on 11 state 00:28:46.009 --> 00:28:50.450 lists. The awards it's won are, it was one of 00:28:50.450 --> 00:28:52.470 the school library journals best books of the 00:28:52.470 --> 00:28:56.349 year for 2024. It's an ALSC notable children's 00:28:56.349 --> 00:28:59.329 book for 2025 and it's a junior library guild 00:28:59.329 --> 00:29:03.650 selection. It is on 11 state lists. Some of them 00:29:03.650 --> 00:29:07.349 are the Georgia Children's Book Award for 2026, 00:29:08.069 --> 00:29:10.730 Minnesota Star of the North. Picture Book Award 00:29:10.730 --> 00:29:14.170 for 2026 and Washington Children's Choice Picture 00:29:14.170 --> 00:29:19.049 Book Award for 2026. And so our author Corey 00:29:19.049 --> 00:29:21.869 Tabor is an author and illustrator of children's 00:29:21.869 --> 00:29:25.109 books. He won a Caldecott honor for Mel Fell 00:29:25.109 --> 00:29:29.730 and has won the Geisel three times for his books, 00:29:30.069 --> 00:29:35.130 Fox has a Problem, Fox at Night and Fox the Tiger. 00:29:35.569 --> 00:29:38.170 He currently lives in Tacoma, Washington with 00:29:38.170 --> 00:29:41.849 his wife and son. Some of his other books are 00:29:41.849 --> 00:29:44.410 all of the Fox series, so some of those are Fox 00:29:44.410 --> 00:29:46.970 versus Fox, Fox the Tiger, Fox at Night, Fox 00:29:46.970 --> 00:29:49.670 has a Problem, and Fox versus Winter. He also 00:29:49.670 --> 00:29:52.109 wrote Simon and the Better Bone, Sir Ladybug 00:29:52.109 --> 00:29:55.970 and the Bookworms, and Sir Ladybug and the Queen 00:29:55.970 --> 00:30:00.829 Bee, Melfell, and Snail Crossing. And in this 00:30:00.829 --> 00:30:05.289 book, Ursula is an upside down catfish who happily 00:30:05.289 --> 00:30:07.829 lives her days swimming through life upside down. 00:30:08.049 --> 00:30:10.769 That is until another fish brings it to her attention 00:30:10.769 --> 00:30:13.309 that she is not like anyone else around her. 00:30:13.490 --> 00:30:15.730 Distraught, she attempts to swim through life 00:30:15.730 --> 00:30:18.369 right side up. The unnatural swimming motion 00:30:18.369 --> 00:30:20.509 propels her onto the beach where she is trapped 00:30:20.509 --> 00:30:22.569 until a bat comes by to help her back into the 00:30:22.569 --> 00:30:25.789 water. And he helps her realize that being upside 00:30:25.789 --> 00:30:29.349 down isn't necessarily bad, it's just different. 00:30:30.009 --> 00:30:34.109 I love this book. I had very calming colors throughout, 00:30:34.470 --> 00:30:37.849 lots of pastels going on. Very sweet, very calming. 00:30:38.829 --> 00:30:41.450 I love that it was about being true to yourself. 00:30:41.789 --> 00:30:44.230 It really kind of helps the reader realize that 00:30:44.230 --> 00:30:47.750 being Different isn't necessarily a bad thing 00:30:47.750 --> 00:30:51.009 I think a lot of a lot of humans in general just 00:30:51.009 --> 00:30:52.849 feel like we all need to conform and be like 00:30:52.849 --> 00:30:54.809 everybody else and this one really encourages 00:30:54.809 --> 00:30:57.309 you to Kind of be true to yourself, and it's 00:30:57.309 --> 00:31:01.210 okay if you do things differently You don't have 00:31:01.210 --> 00:31:04.309 to do You know swim a right side up like everybody 00:31:04.309 --> 00:31:06.809 else when Ursula ends up on the beach and the 00:31:06.809 --> 00:31:08.789 bats kind of talking to her He's like you know 00:31:08.789 --> 00:31:12.440 what I sleep upside down look at me and he kind 00:31:12.440 --> 00:31:14.900 of shows her that there's you know there's snake 00:31:14.900 --> 00:31:17.140 hanging upside down in the tree and an iguana 00:31:17.140 --> 00:31:19.460 upside down in the trees and like there there 00:31:19.460 --> 00:31:22.460 are other animals that are upside down and at 00:31:22.460 --> 00:31:27.180 the very end it has there's a note in there somewhere 00:31:27.180 --> 00:31:30.799 at the very end there's a spot that's like you 00:31:30.799 --> 00:31:33.359 know what maybe we're all swimming the wrong 00:31:33.359 --> 00:31:36.039 way and she's right you don't really know But 00:31:36.039 --> 00:31:37.900 the very, very last page of this book has an 00:31:37.900 --> 00:31:40.819 author's note that explains that Ursula is based 00:31:40.819 --> 00:31:43.819 on a real species that is actually called the 00:31:43.819 --> 00:31:47.839 upside -down catfish, and that species of catfish 00:31:47.839 --> 00:31:51.039 lives in the Congo River basin in Africa, and 00:31:51.039 --> 00:31:54.640 I had never heard of that, so that was real interesting. 00:31:55.059 --> 00:31:57.740 But yeah, I haven't read this book to a class 00:31:57.740 --> 00:32:00.220 yet, but I think they would love it. I really, 00:32:00.220 --> 00:32:04.710 really enjoyed it a lot. Yeah, I this is on my 00:32:04.710 --> 00:32:07.529 list of books to purchase for next school year 00:32:07.529 --> 00:32:10.670 because I hadn't read this before you you mentioned 00:32:10.670 --> 00:32:14.849 it and it's I love it. It's awesome. I love any 00:32:14.849 --> 00:32:17.049 book where it's like, Hey, just be yourself. 00:32:17.250 --> 00:32:19.769 I love that message. That's so important, especially 00:32:19.769 --> 00:32:22.309 for our youngest learners. Just it's okay to 00:32:22.309 --> 00:32:24.970 be yourself. It's okay. If you're not exactly 00:32:24.970 --> 00:32:27.210 like everyone else, that's all right. And so 00:32:27.210 --> 00:32:29.630 that's a, it's a really important message to 00:32:29.630 --> 00:32:32.009 share with students. And this book does an amazing 00:32:32.009 --> 00:32:34.569 job of it. Like you said, the illustrations were 00:32:34.569 --> 00:32:38.589 so great. I love the colors and then just, yeah, 00:32:38.670 --> 00:32:41.390 I had no idea that this, that there was such 00:32:41.390 --> 00:32:44.190 thing as an upside down catfish. So that also, 00:32:44.230 --> 00:32:47.589 I love that idea because now I'm like, well, 00:32:47.670 --> 00:32:52.450 we could read this and then we could pull up 00:32:52.450 --> 00:32:56.950 one of our research engines and kind of like 00:32:56.950 --> 00:32:58.930 learn a little bit more about the upside down 00:32:58.930 --> 00:33:02.509 catfish and find some real life pictures of it. 00:33:02.630 --> 00:33:06.250 And we could find out. other things about it 00:33:06.250 --> 00:33:08.190 and other things that live in the Congo River 00:33:08.190 --> 00:33:11.450 basin and like that could spur on a whole like 00:33:11.450 --> 00:33:15.190 research kind of activity that I bet a lot of 00:33:15.190 --> 00:33:16.990 these kids because these kids love animals so 00:33:16.990 --> 00:33:20.529 much so learning they do animals would be yeah 00:33:20.529 --> 00:33:24.009 really cool kind of spin -off after reading this 00:33:24.009 --> 00:33:27.130 that I think I'm gonna I think I'm gonna do that 00:33:27.130 --> 00:33:31.859 because I know for my district a lot of my younger 00:33:31.859 --> 00:33:34.759 grade levels not so much pre -k but like kinder 00:33:34.759 --> 00:33:39.359 and first they start to discuss like non -fiction 00:33:39.359 --> 00:33:44.220 books around like November, December, January 00:33:44.220 --> 00:33:46.660 era time and so like this would be a really cool 00:33:46.660 --> 00:33:50.160 book to be like well this is a fiction book and 00:33:50.160 --> 00:33:52.819 it has this awesome message in it now we can 00:33:52.819 --> 00:33:55.259 show you where the non -fiction books that have 00:33:55.259 --> 00:33:57.279 animals like this and we can learn about those 00:33:57.279 --> 00:34:00.170 animals and we can corporate doing some research 00:34:00.170 --> 00:34:04.329 online and like, I don't know, I, as I was reading 00:34:04.329 --> 00:34:06.190 it, I was like, I love this book for so many 00:34:06.190 --> 00:34:07.769 reasons. I can come up with a bunch of different 00:34:07.769 --> 00:34:09.929 activities that we can do with it. And it's just, 00:34:10.309 --> 00:34:13.269 it's a great story with wonderful pictures. It's 00:34:13.269 --> 00:34:15.250 going to be, it's super engaging. So I think 00:34:15.250 --> 00:34:17.130 my students will really love it. And I look forward 00:34:17.130 --> 00:34:20.550 to using it because it's, it's just so fun. It 00:34:20.550 --> 00:34:24.170 is a lot of fun. It has very Melfell vibes. I 00:34:24.170 --> 00:34:26.949 love that you like, because there was even one 00:34:26.949 --> 00:34:30.539 page where like, where Ursula decides she's gonna 00:34:30.539 --> 00:34:33.460 start swimming right side up and like it has 00:34:33.460 --> 00:34:36.159 they have arrows that are like you turn the book 00:34:36.159 --> 00:34:40.380 this way now and it was just it's really cool 00:34:40.380 --> 00:34:42.039 the way i don't even think i can describe it 00:34:42.039 --> 00:34:44.119 all that adequately i just love those illustrations 00:34:44.119 --> 00:34:47.019 so much like the way Ursula is drawn upside down 00:34:47.019 --> 00:34:51.980 just it's very cool yeah i enjoy it a lot i think 00:34:51.980 --> 00:34:54.300 i would give it a five out of five i like it 00:34:54.300 --> 00:34:57.239 absolutely yeah it's a good one And I think for 00:34:57.239 --> 00:35:00.519 a makerspace activity for this one, because the 00:35:00.519 --> 00:35:04.800 colors are so muted and because it's got, you 00:35:04.800 --> 00:35:07.059 know, water is a central theme and she does end 00:35:07.059 --> 00:35:08.699 up on the beach and all that, I think I would 00:35:08.699 --> 00:35:12.019 just do painting with watercolors in the library. 00:35:12.239 --> 00:35:15.059 I would do very minimal water because I'm a little 00:35:15.059 --> 00:35:17.280 bit afraid about water near books, but as long 00:35:17.280 --> 00:35:19.579 as there's like a separate workspace and separate 00:35:19.579 --> 00:35:21.199 tables that are kind of a little bit farther 00:35:21.199 --> 00:35:24.869 away from the books, just... yeah painting with 00:35:24.869 --> 00:35:26.889 watercolors and kind of exploring that because 00:35:26.889 --> 00:35:29.909 the colors in the book do are kind of i'm not 00:35:29.909 --> 00:35:32.449 sure if they are watercolors but i kind of feel 00:35:32.449 --> 00:35:34.929 like they might be because of the way the muted 00:35:34.929 --> 00:35:38.710 colors are they're not super bright they're kind 00:35:38.710 --> 00:35:41.309 of they kind of have watercolor vibes going on 00:35:41.309 --> 00:35:44.190 and then water is naturally a central theme in 00:35:44.190 --> 00:35:47.610 the book it's you know like on every page so 00:35:47.610 --> 00:35:49.869 i think i would just yeah teach kids how to use 00:35:49.869 --> 00:35:52.989 watercolors and kind of encourage them to draw 00:35:54.039 --> 00:35:56.980 scenes from the book, but obviously, whatever 00:35:56.980 --> 00:35:59.300 they want to draw is fine. But maybe encourage 00:35:59.300 --> 00:36:02.719 that a little bit more. Yeah. Yeah. I love that 00:36:02.719 --> 00:36:06.559 idea, getting that creativity out and using some 00:36:06.559 --> 00:36:10.940 new new materials that that'd be a lot of fun 00:36:10.940 --> 00:36:13.880 for them. Yeah, because sometimes it's good to 00:36:13.880 --> 00:36:17.440 just let them explore on their own a little bit 00:36:17.440 --> 00:36:21.449 and kind of create whatever they'd like to. on 00:36:21.449 --> 00:36:23.030 their own and this would be a good way to do 00:36:23.030 --> 00:36:25.730 that yeah that sounds awesome well still have 00:36:25.730 --> 00:36:29.030 a still having a literacy connection so yeah 00:36:29.030 --> 00:36:32.469 yeah and it's always fun to see what they can 00:36:32.469 --> 00:36:35.090 come up what they choose to draw and paint yeah 00:36:35.090 --> 00:36:38.329 so like that that's always fun to be like i love 00:36:38.329 --> 00:36:40.349 just watching to find out what the end result 00:36:40.349 --> 00:36:42.949 looks like because there's a lot of really creative 00:36:42.949 --> 00:36:45.550 kids out there oh my gosh there really are come 00:36:45.550 --> 00:36:48.369 up with some amazing things and so like just 00:36:48.590 --> 00:36:51.170 that opportunity to just give them a brush and 00:36:51.170 --> 00:36:53.050 let them go at it and see what they come up with 00:36:53.050 --> 00:36:56.070 and not have to give them like a ton of defined 00:36:56.070 --> 00:36:59.170 rules of what the end result needs to look like 00:36:59.170 --> 00:37:02.150 just kind of giving them that freedom is always 00:37:02.150 --> 00:37:04.289 fun just to see what what the end result looks 00:37:04.289 --> 00:37:10.329 like so yeah it's a good time yeah all right 00:37:10.329 --> 00:37:13.070 well Thank you all for joining us today on this 00:37:13.070 --> 00:37:15.389 episode of Librarians of Littles, and we hope 00:37:15.389 --> 00:37:17.869 you found some fresh ideas for inspiring young 00:37:17.869 --> 00:37:20.150 readers. Please be sure to subscribe and connect 00:37:20.150 --> 00:37:23.570 with us on social media. Happy reading! Thank 00:37:23.570 --> 00:37:26.210 you for listening to this episode of Librarians 00:37:26.210 --> 00:37:29.050 of Littles. We hope that you've enjoyed it. Check 00:37:29.050 --> 00:37:33.440 back each Wednesday for a new episode. Librarians 00:37:33.440 --> 00:37:36.219 of Littles is a podcast produced and hosted by 00:37:36.219 --> 00:37:39.860 Patrick Adams and Caroline Legere. Editor, Patrick 00:37:39.860 --> 00:37:43.659 Adams. Our theme song is performed by JD Adams. 00:37:44.099 --> 00:37:46.739 You can follow us on Instagram at Librarians 00:37:46.739 --> 00:37:51.840 of Littles. You can follow us on BlueSky at littleslibrarian 00:37:51.840 --> 00:37:56.480 .bsky .social. And you can send us your emails 00:37:56.480 --> 00:38:00.900 at librarianoflittlespodatgmail .com.