This blog is now hosted on my school server. Be sure to change your bookmarks, feed readers, etc.
http://branson.k12.mo.us/blog/westlibrary/
Hope to see you at the new blog!
I had a very hard time choosing the winner for our lunch with the author contest. I read so many great comments on the blogs and received several hand-written letters as well. I had such a hard time that I selected 8 students for the luncheon. The winners of the contest are:
Lance 409
Gurleen 506
Grace 405
Taryn 408
Brady 306
Karan 506
Lilia 407
Harley 507
Congratulations, and I will see you for lunch on Tuesday with Carolyn Crimi!
Your Library Lady,
Mrs. Matzat
On May 12, Carolyn Crimi, the author of my favorite pirate book Henry and the Buccaneer Bunnies, is coming to visit our school! Six lucky kids have a chance to win lunch with Mrs. Crimi! To enter the contest, you need to write a good descriptive paragraph to me telling me why you think you deserve to have lunch with the author. Here’s what you need to do to enter the contest:
1. Write your persuasive paragraph. Make sure you include specific reasons why you should get to have lunch with her. Be convincing! Type your paragraph in Word and save it so you don’t lose your work.
2. Copy your paragraph and paste it into a comment on this blog post. Your teacher or I can help you do this if you do not know how. Remember to use our Internet safety rules and only post your first name and your room number.
3. Submit your paragraph before the end of the day on Friday, May 8.
4. Check the blog next week to see if you are one of the winnners.
Good luck and have fun!
Mrs. Matzat
Greetings all of you library lovers! As you know, I’ve been at the Missouri school library conference the last few days with Mrs. Pingleton and Mrs. Pock, the other librarians on our campus. I learned lots of new things and even did two presentations to share some of my ideas with other librarians. Two very exciting things happened at the conference – I got to hear who one the Show Me Award and the Mark Twain Award, and I got meet Rick Riordan, author of the Percy Jackson series! So, first things first. Here are the 2009 winners (drum roll, please):
Show Me Award:
3rd Place – Can I Bring My Pterodactyl to School (9,806 votes)
2nd Place – One Potato, Two Potato (12, 008 votes)
1st Place – Hero Cat (32,781 votes)
Mark Twain Award:
3rd Place – Rules (1,675 votes)
2nd Place – Million Dollar Putt (3,286 votes)
1st Place – Sea of Monsters (3,825 votes)
Rick Riordan won the award two years in a row! Pretty neat! So what do you think of the results? Do you agree with them? Be sure to comment and share your thoughts.
Now for my special surprise. Enjoy! 
Hey Percy Jackson fans! Have I got news for you. Next Monday I will be at the Missouri school librarians conference, and guess who I get to see in person – you got it – Rick Riordan, the author of the Lightning Thief! He won the Mark Twain award last year will be accepting the award offically at the conference Monday night. I hope I will be able to take some pictures that I can share with you.
So, here’s my question for you. If you had a chance to meet Rick Riordan in person, what would you ask him? Share your questions with me by posting a comment. You never know, maybe I will be able to talk to him and share some of your thoughts. 
Check out his website to learn more about the author and his books. He answers lots of questions on his “about the author” page.
I will be sure to share my conference adventures with you when I get back, and I will be able to tell you who won this year’s Mark Twain Award!
Your library lady,
Mrs. Matzat
This week in library we read the book Bubble Homes and Fish Farts, and we learned about several animals that use bubbles in very unique ways. We also talked about how April is National Poetry Month, and I challenged you with the task of writing an acrostic poem about one of the animals in the book. This is your chance to publish your poems for the world! Leave a comment where you type your acrostic poem to share with others. I can’t wait to see your creativity!
Your Library Lady,
Mrs. Matzat
We have looked at several book awards recently during library class, such as the Show Me Readers Award, the Mark Twain Award, the Caldecott Award, and the Newbery Award. Have you read any of the award books this year? If so, which ones have you read? Did you like them? What did you like about them?
If you haven’t read any yet this year, which award books do you want to read? Why do you want to read them?
I can’t wait to hear your responses!
Your library lady,
Mrs. Matzat
Last week the book fair visited our school. I hope you enjoyed visiting the fair and seeing the new books available. Now that you have had a chance to see the books, I need your help! What books would you like me to get from the book fair for our library? I can’t wait to read your responses!
Your Library Lady,
Mrs. Matzat
This week in library we are talking about one of our reading contests in the Reading Incentive Program binder. You have a chance to earn reading olympic medals by reading books in different genres. What is a genre, you ask? Think of it as a fancy name for a type or category of book. Fancy Nancy would love that word! If you read books in our library from the different genres and then come have a booktalk with me, you will have the chance to earn reading points to help you go on our field trip at the end of the year!
Read one book from each genre (make sure it is a just-right book for you) in each medal category to earn points.
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Read one book in each of the Bronze genres to earn 10 points.
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After earning the Bronze, read a book from the 3 additional genres to earn the Silver medal and earn 5 more points.
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After earning the Silver, read a book from the 4 additional genres to earn 10 more points.
Here are the genres for our contest:
Bronze Medal:
- Folk/Fairy Tales
- Fantasy
- Realistic Fiction
- Non-fiction
- Animals
Silver Medal
- Sports/Adventure
- Humor
- Poetry
Gold Medal
- Mystery
- Graphic Novels
- Historical Fiction
- Biography
When you have read your selected books, take the Genre Olympics record sheet to your teacher along with a “Blast Off to the Library” pass. Then “Blast Off” to the library during a flexible time to hold a booktalk with Mrs. Matzat. Be sure to ask for a conference when you reach each medal level.
I hope that all of you choose to participate in this contest. I think you will enjoy reading the different genres of books we have in our library. One of my favorite genres is fantasy. I love stories about things that can’t really happen in real life. What is your favorite genre? Why do you like it?
I can’t wait to read your comments!
Your Library Lady,
Mrs. Matzat
Welcome back to school, Branson Elementary West students and parents! It’s been a while since I’ve posted on our blog, but now it’s time to get things going again. I wanted to share an exciting new book series with you that was just released today. It is called 39 Clues, and it is a new kind of reading adventure. The story is a mystery that you, as the reader, actually try to solve. Reading the books will help you solve the clues, but there is also an exciting online game and trading cards that give you additional information. There are even real prizes being given away, including a $10,000 grand prize! I can’t wait to read the first book, The Maze of Bones. It’s written by Rick Riordan, the Mark Twain Award winning author of The Lightning Thief. You can learn more about 39 Clues by going to their website at http://www.the39clues.com/. So, here’s a question for you. What would you do if you won the $10,000 grand prize? I can’t wait to read your comments! Remember, when you post a comment, only put your first name and your room number, and don’t put an email address, even if you have one.
Your library lady,
Mrs. Matzat
