Good books for a cold day

   I recommend Cracker by Cynthia Kadohata. This book is about a man who goes into the military, and handles a dog named Firecracker or Cracker for short. You will go on ups and downs all through this book. My favorite part is when Cracker (the dog) saves his handler. It is heart wrenching! If you like animals and suspense you will love this book. I loved this book. I hope you do too.

This book is called Diary of a Wimpy Kid, and it is by Jeff Kinney.

This is a hilarious tale about a boy named Greg Heffley going through the challenges of a kid. There are 5 books in the series.  My favorite book is Dog Days, the fourth book in the series.

I recommend this book to anyone who likes cartoons and funny things.

Also recommended by this student…

ANNE FRANK HER LIFE IN WORDS AND PICTURES

FROM.THE ARCHIVES OF THE ANNE FRANK HOUSE

This book is about a young girl and her family who go into hiding after the German soldiers take over. The photographs in this book are wonderful!

My favorite part of the book is a photograph of Anne and her friends playing tennis.

If you like learning about World War ll and history you will very much enjoy this book!

4th graders "meet" the author Louis Sachar

Fourth Graders have been researching Louis Sachar, author of There's a Boy in the Girls' Bathroom, Holes, the Marvin Redpost series, the Wayside School series, etc. 

They began by "meeting" the author.  You can, too.  Louis Sachar interviews himself at

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3y-hfPPPl9E

Did you know that Louis Sachar has a small part in the movie Holes (a movie based on his book)?  He says two words in the movie:  "My head?"

For more information about Louis Sachar's life and his books, the students have used Sachar's website:

http://www.louissachar.com

From whale vertebrae to sad irons

Each week there is a featured object in the Library and I pose a question about it.  Students practice research skills by trying to find the answer.  

What makes this a sad iron?

Ask a 4th, 5th or 6th grader, or

try out your own research skills. 

Warm up with a good book!

The weather is turning colder.

A few days ago,  a 4th grader brought Mrs. Helus something beautiful he found on the way to school....a piece of ice from a puddle, frozen in this unique pattern.




The Library is here to supply books for grey, windy, wet, snowy, or cold days!

 Thinking over the choices...

Our skilled staff is here to help you check them out!

Honor veterans by reading their stories.

Write your name in Chinese characters

Rose Park sixth graders wrote their names in Chinese characters that are pronounced similar to their English names.
What names are these in English?

1.

2.

3.

4.

ANSWERS:
1.  Sean       2.  Stephanie    3.  Pearce   4.  Rylie

You can try writing your name in Chinese characters with help from this website:

http://chineseculture.about.com/library/name/blname.htm

Did you know that almost 10% of the Montana population was Chinese in 1870?  The Chinese population was almost entirely men.   There were 500-1,000 Chinese miners in Virginia City alone.

Read about the Chinese in Montana, especially Virginia City, at:

http://www.montanakids.com/cool_stories/ghost_towns/chinese.htm

University of Montana archaeologists have discovered Chinese artifacts in German Gulch, a 19th century mining area near Butte.   German Gulch was named for the German miners who discovered gold there in 1864.  By the 1870s, the population was predominately Chinese.  

See the archaeological finds in 3-D!

http://www.cas.umt.edu/germangulch

The British Museum has an excellent website about Ancient China:

http://www.ancientchina.co.uk

What is it?

A student brought this interesting object into the Library recently.  He is one of our best naturalists and had figured out it was a badger's lower jawbone.  

I asked the students to find out what badgers most commonly eat.   I knew Montana badgers eat small mammals, but I learned from the students' research that European badgers mostly dine on earthworms!   For information on badgers, American and European, there is a good website for kids:

http://www.badgers.org.uk/brocks-world/index.html

View a badger skull at:

http://www.badgers.org.uk/brocks-world/07trail03.html

The Montana Field Guide is a good site about animals and plants that live in our state:

http://www.fieldguide.mt.gov/

Another student brought in this surveyor's benchmark from 1914.

Can you name three U. S. Presidents who were surveyors before they were presidents?

Book Fair: The final hours

The Book Fair ends at 6:00 p.m. today (Thursday).


Thank you to all the volunteers and customers who made it a success!  And a special thanks to Joan Holbrook who recruited and scheduled the volunteer crew.


Remember, if you could not buy all the books you wanted, visit your library and borrow books!  Libraries are FREE TO ALL.

Our 3-day Book Fair started today.

Two more shopping days left...

Wednesday, Nov.3rd   7:30-8:15 a.m. & 12:00-4:00 p.m.
Thursday, Nov. 4th      7:30-8:15 a.m. & 12:00-6:00 p.m.