I have a little series that you will LOVE! The series comes from acclaimed author Kate Dicamillo. The Mercy Watson series follows a pet pig named Mercy Watson and her exciting (and often heroic) adventures. I read the whole series to my students when I taught 2nd grade and they couldn't get enough! Check these books out below. Happy reading! :) 

Mercy Watson to the Rescue

After Mercy the pig snuggles to sleep with the Watsons, all three awaken with the bed teetering on the edge of a big hole in the floor. Mercy Watson Goes for a Ride

Mr. Watson's usual Saturday drive in his Cadillac with his favorite pig, Mercy, turns into an adventure when an unexpected passenger shows up in the back seat and Mercy finds herself behind the wheel.

Mercy Watson Fights Crime

Mercy the pig's love of buttered toast leads to the capture of a small thief who would rather be a cowboy. 

Mercy Watson: Princess in Disguise

Mercy the pig is in for a Halloween adventure when Mr. and Mrs. Watson decide to dress her up as a princess and take her trick-or-treating. 

Mercy Watson Thinks Like a Pig

Two sisters move in next door to where Mercy the pig lives, and frustrated when Mercy continues to eat their flowers decide to call for the help of an Animal Control Officer, Francine Poulet, to handle the case. 

Mercy Watson: Something Wonky This Way Comes

Mr. and Mrs. Watson think it is a wonderful idea to bring their pet pig Mercy to the drive-in, and when Mercy arrives, she sets off on a mission to find her own buttery bucket of popcorn, much to the dismay of the other movie patrons. 

- Links to Love -  Want to learn more about Kate DiCamillo? Click here! Check out a cool Google Books preview of Mercy Watson to the Rescue:

Lines! Lines! We love lines!! If you are looking for a unique book then Laura Ljungkvist's little series of books are for you! When you read each book you will taken on a journey through the story using simple lines. Not only will you have fun reading each book but you will also learn some interesting facts! Happy reading! :)

Follow the Line

Invites the reader to visit a wide variety of places and count different objects found in each, from fire hydrants in a big city in the morning, through starfish in the ocean during the day, to babies sleeping in a country village at night.

Follow the Line Around the World

Presents animals in their natural habitats, going around the world from the Sahara Desert to the blue whales of Greenland, giraffes in Kenya, and kangaroos in Australia, with informative facts and a message oriented toward environmental stewardship.

Follow the Line Through the House

Rhyming text invites the reader to search different rooms of a house to find hidden objects.

- Links to Love - 

Want to learn more about author Laura Ljungkvist? Click here! 

Happy March, Sonntag Community! Are you loving this warm weather? February was an extremely busy month in the library. The library hosted the spring Book Fair. The spring Book Fair was a HUGE success! Students, parents, and teachers truly enjoyed the Book Fair and books were added to home, classroom, & the library. 

In addition to a wildly successful spring Book Fair, 5th grade students completed their ecosystems research using library books, encyclopedias, as well as online databases. Check out some of the pictures from these busy researchers: 

Check out the library stats from February!

Number of Whole Class Visits: 

96

Number of Total Items Circulated (Checkouts & Checkins)

4,789

Number of Items in Collection

11,712

Library Instruction/Programs/Community Outreach

Hosted UIL Spelling practices 

Assisted in 5th grade ecosystems research 

Promoted the 2011-2012 Texas Bluebonnet Award Program with 3-5 grades

Promoted the 2011-2012 2x2 Reading Program with Preschool-2nd grades

Presented a book & a weekly Good Morning Sonntag Book Bits update

Maintained student writer & new items displays to promote reading interests 

Updated a daily "Fact of the Day by Mrs. Mattei" fact 

Open checkout every day for all Sonntag students, parents, and staff

Weekly preschool storytimes with future Sonntag students and families 

Hosted the Sonntag Student Counsel meetings in the library

Hosted 4th grade students as library helpers 

Hosted parent library volunteers

Facilitated staff book club meeting

Administrative Activities

Assisted in UIL grading

Attended PTA Board meeting

Represented the Specials team at Chick-fil-A spirit night

Promoted a mobile app for the Sonntag Library

Planned, set up, & hosted  the Spring Book Fair

Facilitated the Six Flags Read to Succeed reading program

Contributed an article for the PTA newsletter

Collaborated & maintained leveled book browsing boxes for a 4th grade teacher's classroom

Planned UIL Spelling practices and activities

Met with Scholastic representative to complete Book Fair financials

Contributed to Specials weekly newsletter

Purchased new library books and materials through Scholastic (using Book Fair profits)

Processed new library books acquired during Scholastic Book Fair

Updated library blog and Twitter account weekly

Planned weekly library lessons

Opened new parent accounts

Hosted new and returning library volunteers

Professional Development Activities 

Attended district-level professional development at HHS on February 20th

Attended district-level library meeting

Attended campus meetings

Read and kept up with new professional library journals 

On the Horizon...

New books purchased from the spring Scholastic Book Fair are on the way! 
The next Sonntag staff book club meeting in April 

Six Flags Read to Succeed participants will receive their ticket later in the spring

* * * * *

Want to keep up with the events of the Sonntag Library? Scan this QR code to get the official Sonntag Library app! Happy reading! :) 

* * * * *

Wait...is that a frog Mrs. Mattei is kissing??? 

Check Out Our 5th Grade Ecosystems Research! 

This week the 5th grade students completed their ecosystems research using our amazing library resources. The students were researching for information on ecosystems such as deserts, tundras, prairies, oceans, and rainforests. Not only did the students use the online databases to search for information about their ecosystem but they also utilized the library books and encyclopedias. The students were eager researchers and enjoyed collaborating with each other to dig for important information about their ecosystem. The final ecosystems products will include a written report. Check out our busy researchers:

3...2...1... BLAST OFF!!!! Look out world!!! It's Binky the Space Cat!!! If you are an animal lover and you also LOVE to laugh then this little series of books is perfect for you! Author Ashley Spires brings this amazingly funny cat to life in an inviting graphic novel format. 

In this series, poor Binky desperately wants to fly into outer space (outside his house) to battle far-out aliens (bugs). Does he get the chance to live his dream? You will have to check out these books... 

Binky, a house cat who believes the family home is actually a space station, trains and prepares to travel into outer space, where his humans go everyday and need his protection.

Binky the Space Cat falls out of the bathroom window and is attacked by aliens until he is rescued by his human. Once safe inside, however, Binkyrealizes that his co-pilot, Ted, is still outside and he is determined to rescue him.

- Links to Love -

Check out these amazing previews (via Google Books) of our favorite space cat!

Binky the Space Cat:

Binky to the Rescue: 

Happy reading! :)