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Principal's Book of the Month
I'm so excited about our Principal's Book of the Month program! Each month I will be reading our selected book to students in their classroom. The book's focal point will be centered around the character trait of the month. Teachers will be in attendance to hear the book read so they can work with students to make the text come to life in the classrooms.
The Book of the Month provides a perfect opportunity to encourage students to think about the text of the book and how it relates to their own experiences, their world, and to other books they have read. It can also be an opportunity to integrate other academic activities, such as writing and author studies. Involving parents will also make the activity powerful.
FEBRUARY 2010
Title: Brave Irene
Author: William Steig
Book Summary: When her mother, a dressmaker, falls ill, indomitable Irene fights a raging snowstorm to deliver a dress in time for the duchess's ball.
Lesson: Where there's a will.....there's a way!
JANUARY 2010
Title: Alexander, Who Used to Be Rich Last Sunday
Author: Judith Viorst
Book Summary: Anthony has two dollars and three quarters and one dime and seven nickels and eighteen pennies. Nicholas has one dollar and two quarters and five dimes and five nickels and thirteen pennies.
Alexander has...bus tokens.
And even when he's rich, pretty soon all he has is bus tokens.
He was rich. Last Sunday.
Grandma Betty and Grandpa Louie came and gave Anthony and Nicholas and Alexander each a dollar. Alexander was saving his. Maybe for a walkie-talkie.
And then there was bubble gum, some bets with Anthony and Nicholas (that Alexander lost), a snake rental, a garage sale, and all kinds of other things to spend money on.
And now all he has is bus tokens. When he used to be rich last Sunday.
Lesson: Everyone has the power to make good or bad choices with money.
DECEMBER 2009
Title: The Amazing Christmas Extravanganza
Author: David Shannon
Book Summary: This year, the Merriweather family is really going to celebrate Christmas.Instead of simply trimming their tree and hanging a holly on the door, the Merriweathers decide to decorate their whole house. And decorate they do, with colored lights, candy canes, giant snowmen, and a fifty-foot Santa...and soon the family's Christmas extravaganza is the talk of the town!
Lesson: The real joys of Christmas are the people we love.
NOVEMBER 2009
Title: The Honest-to-Goodness Truth
Author: Patricia C. McKissack
Book Summary: When Libby is caught in her first lie to her mama, she makes a decision: "From now on, only the truth." Soon she's spreading the truth all over town--about the hole in her friend Ruthie May's sock, and the fact that Thomas didn't have lunch money and needed to borrow some from the teacher, and how old Miz Tusselbury's yard looks like a jungle. By now, no one is talking to Libby. Perplexed and glum, she turns to her mama for another lesson on telling the truth. But it isn't until Libby gets a small spoonful of her own medicine that she really grasps the difference between the right way and the wrong way to tell the truth.
Lesson: Even though it's always wrong to tell a lie, there's a right and a wrong way to tell the truth.
OCTOBER 2009
Title: The Recess Queen
Author: Alexis O'Neill
Book Summary: Mean Jean, the Recess Queen, rules the playground. She strongarms her classmates and is the bully in charge. But, when tiny Katie Sue arrives, things change!
Lesson: The truth is that most people would rather be liked than be feared. And when it comes right down to it, kids really just want to have fun.
SEPTEMBER 2009
Title: Dream
Author: Susan Bosak
Book Summary: A one-of-a-kind collaboration five years in the making! 15 of the top illustrators in the world each offer a gorgeously illustrated page in a beautifully told poetic story about life's hopes and dreams, inspiring both children and adults.
Lesson: "Be a dreamer... dream a dream, your very own dream."
MAY 2009
Title: The Perfect Nest
Author: Catherine Friend
Book Summary: Jack the cat is building the perfect nest. It’s bound to attract the perfect chicken, who will lay the perfect egg, which will make the perfect omelet. And sure enough, a chicken shows up but so do a duck and a goose. Feathers get ruffled—and Jack gets much more than breakfast—in a funny tale rich in details with a sweet final twist.
Lesson: Plans get you into things but you must work your way out.
APRIL 2009
Title: The Lorax
Author: Dr. Seuss
Book Summary: A young boy goes to meet a ruined industrialist in a treeless wasteland and hear his tale of what happened to him. His tragic story is about how he began a thriving business with a useless fashion product (the Thneed) derived from the trees of a forest. As his business booms, the forest and its inhabitants suffer as he clearcuts without regard to the warnings of the wise old Lorax about the dire consequences of his greed.
Lesson: Speak for the trees, take care of the earth.
MARCH 2009
Title: Chicken Sunday
Author: Patricia Polacco
Book Summary: Despite the differences in religion, sex, and race, Winston and Stewart Washington are young Patricia's best friends, and she considers their grandmother, Miss Eula, a surrogate since her own ``babushka' died. On Sundays, she often attends Baptist services with her friends, and Miss Eula fixes a sumptuous fried chicken dinner with all the trimmings, after stopping to admire the hats in Mr. Kodinski's shop. The youngsters hope to buy her one, but when they approach the merchant looking for work, he mistakenly accuses them of pelting his shop with eggs. To prove their innocence, the children hand-dye eggs in the folk-art style that Patricia's grandmother had taught her and present them to the milliner. Moved by the rememberance of his homeland, the Russian Jewish emigre encourages the children to sell the ``Pysanky' eggs in his shop and rewards their industry with a gift of the hat, which Miss Eula proudly wears on Easter Sunday.
Lesson: In this moving picture book, the hatred sometimes engendered by racial and religious differences is overpowered by the love of people who recognize their common humanity.
FEBRUARY 2009
Title: The Empty Pot
Author: Demi
Book Summary: A Chinese emperor announces that his successor will be the child who grows the most beautiful flowers from the seeds the emperor distributes. Ping, a Chinese boy who can make anything grow, is disappointed when nothing comes up in his pot. Ignoring the blossoms brought by other children since he had secretely distributed cooked seeds that would not grow, the emperor rewards Ping for his honesty
Lesson: It takes a great deal of courage to be honest.
JANUARY 2009
Title: When Agnes Caws
Author: Candace Fleming
Book Summary: Young Agnes Peregrine has a talent for making birdcalls. When the World Bird Society sends her on an expedition to find a very rare pink-headed duck, the evil Colonel Edward Pittsnap is quickly on her tail. He desperately wants a pink-headed duck for his collection and will stop at nothing to get it. Unfortunately for him, Agnes is smarter than he thinks.
Lesson: Justice is the crowing glory of the virtues.
DECEMBER 2008
Title: The Giving Tree
Author: Shel Silverstein
Book Summary: A tree starts out as a leafy playground, shade provider, and apple bearer for a rambunctious little boy. Making the boy happy makes the tree happy, but with time it becomes more challenging for the generous tree to meet his needs.
Lesson: Give what you can. Love is a two way street and pure and precious love is forever.
NOVEMBER 2008
Title: The Principal's New Clothes
Author: Stephanie Calmenson
Book Summary: Mr. Bundy, the principal of P.S. 88, is the sharpest dresser in school. In fact, he's the sharpest dresser in the whole town! But when two tricksters come to town and design a suit of magic cloth for Mr, Bundy, everyone is in for a big surprise!
Lesson: Always tell the truth, no matter how hard that may be. And don't forget, honesty is still the best policy.
OCTOBER 2008
Title: Ish
Author: Peter Reynolds
Book Summary: Ramon loved to draw. Anytime. Anything. Anywhere.
Drawing is what Ramon does. It¹s what makes him happy. But in one split second, all that changes. A single reckless remark by Ramon's older brother, Leon, turns Ramon's carefree sketches into joyless struggles. Luckily for Ramon, though, his little sister, Marisol, sees the world differently. She opens his eyes to something a lot more valuable than getting things just "right."
Lesson: This wonderful book emphasizes the age-old truth, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
SEPTEMBER 2008
Title: The Relatives Came
Author: Cynthia Rylant
Book Summary: The relatives' station wagon: It smelled like a real car, looked like a rainbow, and was roomy enough for a crowd. Lucky! Because a big crowd in all shapes and sizes piled into that old wagon at four o'clock one summer morning and piled out of it the next day at their relatives' place on the north side of the mountains. All in good moods.
The visitors settled in everywhere throughout the house, laughing and making music and hugging everyone from the kitchen to the front room. And they stayed for weeks.
Lesson: What happened, happened for good and what is happening is also for the good. Out of sight is not out of mind.
MAY 2008
Title: The Wall
Author: Eve Bunting
Book Summary: A young boy and his dad have traveled all the way to Washington, DC to see the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. They have come to find the name of the boy's grandfather, his dad's father. The little boy calls the memorial "my grandfather's wall." As the father and son look for the grandfather's name, they meet others who are visiitng the memorial, including a veteran in a wheelchair and a couple weeping while hugging one another.
They see flowers, letters, flags, and a teddy bear that have been left at the wall. When they find the name, they do a rubbing and leave a school photograph of the boy on the ground below his grandfather's name. When the boy says, "It's sad here," his father explains, "It's a place of honor."
Lesson: It is important to remember the contributions to freedom of those who died, as well as those veterans who are still living.
APRIL 2008
Title: Miss Rumphius
Author: Barbara Cooney
Book Summary: As a child, Miss Rumphius dreams of traveling to faraway places. Her grandfather assures her that this is possible, but also advises her to do something to make the world more beautiful. As an old lady, Miss Rumphius returns to her home by the sea, but realizes she has yet to fulfill her grandfather's wish. Inspired by her garden, Miss Rumphius creates a world of loveliness for those who live nearby.
Lesson: Live a life that leaves the world more beautiful, just as Miss Rumphius was inspired by her grandfather.
MARCH 2008
Title: Odd Velvet
Author: Mary Whitcomb
Book Summary: From the first day of school, Velvet's classmates think that she is strange. When the other girls bring their dolls for show-and-tell, she brings a milkweed pod. With her purple dress, huge glasses, and peppermint-stick tights, this girl is clearly too odd to be picked as a play partner-or a friend. But slowly, her unique characteristics-her rock collection, her ability to draw lovely pictures with only the eight basic crayons-seem more interesting than strange, and a wonderful birthday party at her house cements the other children's acceptance of this imaginative child.
Lesson: Be confident in who you are! Everyone should embrace differences rather than fear them.
FEBRUARY 2008
Title: Somebody Loves You, Mr. Hatch
Author: Eileen Spinelli
Book Summary: This warmhearted tale examines the effect that love and tender regard can have on a lackluster existence. Mr. Hatch is a drab, predictable gentleman who leads a painfully ordered and uninteresting life. One Valentine’s Day a giant candy-filled heart is delivered to Mr. Hatch with a note that reads, "Somebody loves you." Just the thought of someone taking an interest in him completely changes the way Mr. Hatch interacts with his neighbors and co-workers. The newly adorable gentleman becomes so much a part of the peoples lives that when it is disclosed that the heart was delivered by mistake, his friends and neighbors rally around him in a loving demonstration.
Lesson: If you reach out to others, even in small ways, others will often reach back to you.
JANUARY 2008
 Title: Happy Birthday Martin Luther King
Author: Jean Marzollo
Book Summary: This story is a basic introduction to the life of Martin Luther King, Jr. Beginning with his childhood and education, the author touches on King's work as a pastor and then focuses on his involvement with the civil rights movement.
Lesson: Dr. King's dream was that people everywhere would learn to live together without being mean to one another.
DECEMBER 2007
Title: The Polar Express
Author: Chris Van Allsburg
Book Summary: On Christmas Eve a boy is taken on a mysterious train to the North Pole. The trip to the pole is a glorious experience through dark forests and high mountains. When he arrives, Santa chooses him to be the child that receives the first gift of Christmas. He asks for an receives one bell from the harness of the reindeer. It is with great sadness that he discovers he has lost the bell on the way home. At home he finds the bell again, and learns a special secret about it.
Lesson: One of the greatest things inherent in youth is the ability to believe.
NOVEMBER 2007
Title: Thank You, Mr. Falker
Author: Patricia Polacco
Book Summary: Little Trisha is overjoyed at the thought of starting school and learning how to read. But when she looks at a book, all the letters and numbers just get jumbled up. Her classmates make matters worse by calling her names. Only Mr. Falker, a stylish, fun-loving new teacher, recognizes Trisha’s incredible artistic ability–and her problem, and takes the time to lead her finally and happily to the magic of reading. This autobiographical story is close to author Patricia Polacco’s heart. It is her personal song of thanks to teachers like Mr. Falker, who quietly but surely change the lives of the children they teach.
Lesson: Knowledge is like the bee that made that sweet honey, you have to chase it through the pages of a book.
OCTOBER 2007
Title: The Three Questions
Author: Jon J. Muth
Book Summary: Nikolai is a boy who believes that if he can find the answers to his three questions, he will always know how to be a good person. His friends--a heron, a monkey, and a dog--try to help, but to no avail, so he asks Leo, the wise old turtle. "When is the best time to do things? Who is the most important one? What is the right thing to do?" Leo doesn't answer directly, but by the end of Nikolai's visit, the boy has discovered the answers himself.
Lesson:
The most important time is now.
The most important person is whoever you are with.
The most important thing is to do that person good.
SEPTEMBER 2007
Title: The Dot
Author: Peter Reynolds
Book Summary: Vashti is convinced that she cannot draw. When her art teacher says, "just make a mark and see where it takes you," the girl stabs at the paper in fury, leaving a distinct dot. The teacher tells her to sign it and turn it in. Next day, Vashti sees her "drawing" hung on the wall in a gold frame. She decides that she can do a better dot than that and ends up creating a whole exhibit of her dots. Her career as an artist has begun.
Lesson: Art as well as all endeavors can begin anywhere if a single first step is taken.
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