2013 2x2 & Texas Bluebonnet Award Showcase (Day 3)

Welcome to day 3 of the Texas Bluebonnet Award & 2x2 reading list showcase!  If you need a copy of either reading list for your summer reading, please follow the links! Happy reading! :)

Texas Bluebonnet Award (Grades 3-5): Click here!

2x2 (Preschool - 2nd Grade): Click here!

Freaky Fast Frankie Joe

by Lutricia Clifton

Twelve-year-old Frankie Joe Huckaby, forced to live with the father he never knew, a stepmother, and four half-brothers in Illinois, starts a delivery service to finance his escape back to his mother in Texas, not realizing he is making a better life for himself than he ever had with her.

Want to learn more about Freaky Fast Frankie Joe or author Lutricia Clifton? Click here?

Barnum's Bones

by Tracey Fern

Describes Barnum Brown's fascination with fossils and discusses how this love of ancient history led him to discover the first skeleton of a Tyrannosaurus rex.

Want to learn more about Barnum's Bones or author Tracey Fern? Click here!

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Fire! Fuego! Brave Bomberos 

by Susan Middleton Elya

A brave group of firefighters set off to battle a blaze at a townhouse. Spanish words interspersed in the rhyming text are defined in a glossary.

Want to learn more about Fire! Fuego! Brave Bomberos or author Susan Middleton Elya? Click here! 

Step Gently Out 

by Helen Frost

Examines nature through lyrical text and close-up photography.

Want to learn more about Step Gently Out or author Helen Frost? Click here!

2013 2x2 & Texas Bluebonnet Award Showcase (Day 2)

Welcome to day 2 of the Texas Bluebonnet Award & 2x2 reading list showcase!  If you need a copy of either reading list for your summer reading, please follow the links! Happy reading! :)

Texas Bluebonnet Award (Grades 3-5): Click here!

2x2 (Preschool - 2nd Grade): Click here!

Laugh with the Moon

by Shana Burg

Massachusetts thirteen-year-old Clare, grieving after her mother's recent death, reluctantly travels with her father to spend nine weeks in a remote village in Malawi, where new friends and experiences help open her mind and heart.

Want to know more about Laugh with the Moon or author Shana Burg? Click here!

Coral Reefs

by Jason Chin 

When a girl pulls a book on coral reefs from the library shelves, the library itself turns into a coral city full of native plants and animals. Offers dozens of facts about coral reefs, their inhabitants, and their conservation. Includes resources.

Want to know more about Coral Reefs or author Jason Chin? Click here! 

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Horsefly and Honeybee

by Randy Cecil

Honeybee and Horsefly have a fight that results in each of them losing a wing and being forced to walk, but when they are both captured by hungry Bullfrog their only hope of escape is to work together.

Want to know more about Horsefly and Honeybee or author Randy Cecil? Click here!

Bow-Wow Wiggle-Waggle

by Mary Newell DePalma

Simple, rhyming text follows a rambunctious dog throughout a day of fun.

Want to know more about Bow-Wow Wiggle-Waggle or author Mary Newell DePalma? Click here!

2013 2x2 & Texas Bluebonnet Award Showcase (Day 1)

Welcome to the 3rd annual Sonntag library Texas Bluebonnet Award & 2x2 reading list showcase! Each day for the next 10 days, 2 books from each reading list will be featured on the blog. I hope you enjoy these books as much as the previous lists. Happy reading! :)

If you need a list of the Bluebonnet or 2x2 lists for your summer reading, please follow the links!

Texas Bluebonnet Award (Grades 3-5): Click here!

2x2 (Preschool - 2nd Grade): Click here! 

Giants Beware! 

by Jorge Aguirre

Claudette wants nothing more than to slay a giant by her little village is too safe and quiet. 

Want to know more about Giants Beware or author Jorge Aguirre? Click here! 

The One and Only Ivan

by Katherine Applegate 

When Ivan, a gorilla who has lived for years in a down-and-out circus-themed mall, meets Ruby, a baby elephant that has been added to the mall, he decides that he must find her a better life.

Want to know more about this Newbery Award winning book? Click here or here for the ALSC's Newbery Award webpage!

Want to know more about author Katherine Applegate? Click here! 

Check out the book trailer for The One and Only Ivan:

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A Kiss Means I Love You

by Kathryn Madeline Allen

Contains simple rhyming text and color photographs of real children exploring the meanings of different actions, expressions, words, and sounds, from a kiss and a clap to a wave and a yawn.

Z is for Moose

by Kelly Bingham

Moose is terribly eager to play his part in Zebra's alphabet book, but when his letter passes him by, Moose behaves rather badly until Zebra finds a spot for him.

Want to know more about Z is for Moose? Click here!

Want to know more about author Kelly Bingham? Click here!

A HUGE shout out the the Sonntag PTA for helping to put almost 150 new books into the Sonntag library collection through the profits from the spring Scholastic Book Fair!! The students, staff, and community will no doubt enjoy these books for years to come! 

Sonntag Library Statistics (April Edition)

(April Edition)

April was a very busy month in the Sonntag library! In order to prep for the STAAR testing days, classes came to the library in waves to check out books. 5th graders enjoyed lunch in the library to discuss the March book club book. Furthermore, the Sonntag students also enjoyed listening to a variety of poems during their library times and had the opportunity to take a poem home "in their pocket!" Check out the rest of the happenings in the Sonntag library below. Happy reading! :)

Number of Whole Class Visits: 

95

Number of Total Items Circulated (Checkouts & Checkins)

6,679

Number of Items in Collection

12,521

Library Instruction/Programs/Community Outreach 

Planned and hosted the 2nd 5th Grade Readers Book Club

Introduced the students to a variety of poems to celebrate Poetry Month

Collaborated with teachers to pull library materials as well as promoted Mackin Via for a variety of classroom projects 

Promoted the 2012-2013 Texas Bluebonnet Award Program with 3-5 grades

Promoted the 2012-2013 2x2 Reading Program with Preschool-2nd grades

Presented a weekly Good Morning Sonntag Book Bits update

Updated the Where in the World Do You Read? board

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

Planned weekly preschool storytimes with future Sonntag students and families  

Coordinated parent library volunteers

Hosted & promoted the Sonntag Staff Book Club for the 2012-2013 school year in person and online using the Sonntag Staff Book Club blog

Administrative Activities 

Planned library activites through the end of the school year

Added new items to the library collection as well as weeding damaged books out of the collection

Collaborated with teachers to pull library materials as well as promoted Mackin Via for a variety of classroom projects 

Maintained the mobile app for the Sonntag Library

Maintained a blog for staff to discuss book club books

Adjusted the library schedule to accommodate classes for various activities 

Contributed to Specials weekly newsletter & PTA newsletter

Purchased new library books and materials 

Updated library blog and Twitter account weekly

Opened new parent accounts

Hosted new and returning library volunteers

Professional Development Activities 

Attended campus meetings & PTA Board meetings as the PTA Book Fair Chairperson 

Prepared and administered the STAAR testing throughout the month 

Read and kept up with new professional library journals & added new materials to future book orders

On the Horizon...

More books are on the way using profit acquired from the spring Scholastic Book Fair

2nd annual "Sonntag Celebrates Children's Book Week" will be here from May 28th -31st

3rd annual bookmark contest is underway! All enteries are due on Wednesday, May 20th

3rd annual school-wide book checkin begins May 13th (all student and parent books are due on May 23rd)

Ever wonder how why French people in the 1700's wore HUGE, white wigs or why it was so important for men and women to have red hair during Queen Elizabeth I's reign in the 1500's? If so, then the Kathleen Krull's nonfiction book Big Wig: A Little History of Hair will no doubt keep you reading. Check it out! :)

Big Wig: A Little History of Hair

by Kathleen Krull

Presents a humorous history of hair and hair fashions and provides numerous anecdotes about how certain trends were started. Provides additional chronological information and includes color illustrations.

391.5 KRU

Want to know more about the author? Click here! 

Want to read more books by Kathleen Krull? Click here! 

Fashion trends have been around since the dawn of time! Fashion not only plays a significant role in our everyday lives but fashion also defines who we are. The books of the day come from a new series called Fabulous Fashions of the Decade by Felicia Lowenstein Niven. The books in this nifty series are full of fashion trends, fads, and popular culture tidbits from the 1920's all the way through the 1990's. Kids, adults, and grandparents alike will enjoy taking a journey back in time to reflect on where we have been to where we are today. I hope you enjoy this new series! Happy reading! 

746.9 NIV