VALLEY OAKS CHARTER SCHOOL Tehachapi K-8

WELCOME TO THE STORYTIME LINK!

Storytime is held from 11:20-12:20 in Classroom D and no sign-ups are required. Students are encouraged to bring a sack lunch and a drink to enjoy during the stories and parents are encouraged to stay with their children. As always, the first half hour will focus on learning about the featured author and/or illustrator and reading their books. The second half hour will be dedicated to oral presentations. This is the perfect opportunity for your child to complete the Oral Presentation part of their Personal Development requirements. Each week there is a sign up sheet for the next week's presenters. We have had some wonderful, fun and interesting presentations! If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Chris Dragomanovich at mykefi@hotmail.com.

Storytime Schedule:

Fridays @ 11:20am-12:20pm: 11/20-Special At The Park Storytime (weather permitting), 12/4, 12/11

Storytime Topics:

We ended the first enrichment period with Maurice Sendak's classic book, Where the Wild Things Are. I'm sure you have heard by now that the movie is DEFINITELY NOT for young children. I would advise looking at still photographs from the film if your child is interested in seeing the wild things come to life. I am sorting through my links now and will post any that i think are appropriate.
Before that, we focused on Felicia Bond after enjoying some stories by Ron and Judy Barrett. In the past, we've read and enjoyed math stories, as well as some beloved classics, some fun, rhyming stories, and books by our featured authors/illustrators--all found in our own Classroom B/C library. The students should be inspired to take a few minutes whenever they visit Classroom B/C to browse our wonderful and growing library as soon as it re-opens.

Recently Featured Authors/Illustrators:

Felicia Bond
Felicia Bond is a writer and illustrator famous for her illustrations in the If You Give A Mouse A Cookie series. Felicia Bond grew up in New York and Texas. As a child, nearly every kind of children's book art was exciting to her, from the paintings in Madeline to Charles Schulz's Peanuts. "I loved it all," she says. "I couldn't wait to grow up and be an artist."

Felicia Bond knew when she was five that she wanted to be an artist when she observed a buttery beam of light coming in her bedroom window. She has illustrated numerous children's books and written many of her own, including Tumble Bumble and Poinsettia and Her Family. She lived for many years in New York and currently lives in New Mexico with her family of cats and a horse named Twister. If you would like to learn more about this wonderful author and illustrator here are some great websites:

http://www.mousecookiebooks.com/indexSite.html

http://www.eduplace.com/kids/hmr/mtai/bond.html

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/42436.Felicia_Bond

http://www.harpercollins.com/authors/11820/Felicia_Bond/index.aspx?authorID=11820

Mo Willems
Mo Willems is a writer and illustrator who has won a prestigious Caldecott Honor for his first book, Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!. His books include Knuffle Bunny: a cautionary tale, and Knuffle Bunny Too: a case of mistaken identity. We learned that he was an award-winning writer and animator for Sesame Streeet. But the six-time Emmy winner is modest about his success... “Emmy-schmemmy, Caldecott-schmaldecott. A library jammed full of kids yelling, ‘NOOOOO!’ to a pigeon at the top of their lungs is the best award possible.” If you would like to learn more about this wonderful author and illustrator here are some great websites with interviews and many other fun facts:

http://mowillemsfaq.blogspot.com/
http://www.mowillems.com/

http://media.barnesandnoble.com/index.jsp?fr_story=bf320ca94544ce33a436e755f5c73692b0ed7059&rf=sitemap
http://www.patriciamnewman.com/willems.html

Ezra Jack Keats

Ezra Jack Keats is a gifted writer and illustrator who has won the prestigious Caldecott Award for his book, The Snowy Day. His books include Peter's Chair and Whistle for Willie. We learned that his first paid job as an artist came when he was only 8 years old. He was paid 25 cents to paint a sign for a local store! If you would like to learn more about this wonderful author and illustrator here are some great websites with interviews and many other fun facts:

http://www.ezra-jack-keats.org/about/index.html

http://www.ezra-jack-keats.org/

http://www.lib.usm.edu/~degrum/keats/biography.html

http://www.brainpopjr.com/reading/authors/ezrajackkeats/preview.weml

http://falcon.jmu.edu/~ramseyil/keats.htm

Past Featured Authors/Illustrators:

David Shannon

David Shannon is a gifted writer and illustrator who has won the prestigious Caldecott Award. His books include "A Bad Case of Stripes" and "NO, David!". We learned that he actually first wrote "No David" when he was only 5 years old! We also learned that his office/studio is in a tree house! If you would like to learn more about this wonderful author and illustrator here are some great websites with interviews and many other fun facts:

http://www.scholastic.com/titles/authors/david_shannon.htm

http://www.cbcbooks.org/cbcmagazine/meet/davidshannon.html

http://www.hipark.austin.isd.tenet.edu/grade3/pounds/david_shannon_interview.htm

You can find many more websites by using Google and typing in David Shannon, children's book author.

David Kirk

David Kirk is an incredibly talented author and illustrator. You might recognize his most famous books-The "Miss Spider" series. We enjoyed learning all about his childhood in rural Ohio and his start as a toy maker and a painter. We learned about what inspired him to write the "Miss Spider" books...can you guess? If you are interested in learning more about this amazing writer and illustrator, please check out these websites. One website even includes some fun activities! We will continue with David Kirk next week, so come hear his wonderful books!

http://www.scholastic.com/titles/missspider/author.htm

http://bookmoot.blogspot.com/2004/11/author-david-kirk.html

http://www.notmuch.com/Features/Interview/int-122698.html

http://www.storyopolis.com/portfolio-dbp.asp?ArtistID=186

http://www.childrenslit.com/f_davidkirk.html

http://www.smartwriters.com/index.2ts?page=swjarchive&sub=item&wrtid=52

James Marshall

http://hometown.aol.com/dovecreekdesigns/

http://falcon.jmu.edu/~ramseyil/marshall.htm#A

http://www.penguinputnam.com/nf/Author/AuthorPage/0,,0_1000020834,00.html

Rosemary Wells

If you are interested in learning more about her, here are some wonderful websites that include lists of books by Rosemary Wells and interesting information about her life:

http://www.rosemarywells.com/

http://www.eduplace.com/kids/hmr/mtai/wells.html

http://www.hbook.com/exhibit/wellsradio.html

http://www.childrenslit.com/f_rosemarywells.html

http://www.penguin.ca/nf/Author/AuthorPage/0,,0_1000033951,00.html

http://www.hyperionbooksforchildren.com/authors/displayAI.asp?id=182&ai=a

Jan Brett

She has a fantastic website that includes many fun activities, projects, coloring pages and links. Here is that web address as well as some other interesting sites with information about this fabulous author.

http://www.janbrett.com/

http://falcon.jmu.edu/~ramseyil/brett.htm

http://www.booksnbytes.com/authors/brett_jan.html#AuthInfo

http://www.penguinputnam.com/nf/Author/AuthorPage/0,,0_1000038553,00.html

Tomie dePaola

Here are some fun websites:

http://falcon.jmu.edu/~ramseyil/depaola.htm

http://www.tomie.com/

http://www.childrenslit.com/f_depaola.html

http://www.eduplace.com/kids/hmr/mtai/depaola.html

Alma Flor Ada

Here are some websites if you would like to learn more about her: