I was really nervous about this library week visit, but it turned out to be the best one of the week.
To break the ice, I briefly let the kids tell me all about their Friday the 13th bad luck. We had everything from a forgotten lunch to lost homework. Once we got past that, we moved into a discussion of the library. I forget sometimes how literal second-graders are. When I asked, "What do we have at the library?" they told me everything from the front door to carpeting to books to pencils. When asked what a librarian does, they knew pretty much everything, but they also added things like, "The other librarian - not you - she lets us borrow a pencil." (This is, for the record, not because I don't lend them pencil, but because I am often on the desk in the middle of the day, and not during the after school rush.) They really knew their stuff - I was very impressed.
Once we finished that discussion, we moved onto our first book, which was
Stella Louella's Runaway Book. (If you don't know it, it's about a girl whose library book is due but she can't find it. She interrogates a bunch of different people in her neighborhood, all of whom have seen the book but don't have it anymore.) Before I started to read, I told the kids that each person Stella Louella meets in the story would give them a clue as to what book it was that Stella Louella had borrowed. I told them that no matter how soon they figured it out, they couldn't tell me until the entire story was finished. The first clue comes from Stella Louella's little brother, who says he liked the bears. Then the mailman says he likes the part where the characters go for a walk. I prompted them to notice these two clues, and then didn't offer anymore prompts. By the time one of the characters mentioned porridge, all the kids had figured it out, but they got a kick out of watching for the rest of the clues, and were about ready to explode with the answer (Goldilocks and the Three Bears, of course!) by the end. After we reached the end of the story, I asked the kids to tell me what clues they noticed that helped them figure out which book it was. They all had different answers, which was great, and the whole discussion reinforced their understanding of the story.
We had some time left after the first book, so we read the second one I'd brought as well -
Wild About Books. One of the kids asked me if the illustrator of this book is the same as for
Where the Wild Things Are, and I said no, but that they should recognize the illustrator. They weren't sure at first, but once I said Marc Brown, they recognized that he also illustrates the Arthur books. We talked some about how the art was the same or different, then read the story straight through. They got most of the references, and found lots to look at in the illustrations, and one boy even announced, "I love this book!" It was great.
After the second book, the kids would have kept talking all day but it was time for me to take my leave. I got their card applications from their teacher, and headed back to the library. I could tell the kids really got a lot out of my visit, and I had a great time as well. I can't wait to use this format again the next time a second grade class invites me to visit!
This was my last class visit of National Library Week. Click
here to review the others.
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