May 2024
Contents:
The end of the school year is approaching! Do you have summer reading plans?
If you want a fun reading challenge this summer, I have prepared a Summer Reading Bingo card for you. When you bingo, email me your titles. I will compile all of the summer reads into a document that I will share in a fall newsletter. You can get a regular bingo, or you can try for a blackout! Click the bingo card below to download your copy, or get your card here.
A new EBSCOhost user interface is coming soon! EBSCO is in the process of redesigning the EBSCOhost experience and user interface to meet ever-evolving user expectations for accessing, searching, choosing, and using the library’s resources.
Updated features include:
 Check out this Quick Start Guide and these FAQs for more information about the new EBSCOhost user interface. Also, take a look at these training videos from ODL and EBSCO.
Because the new EBSCOhost user interface will be populated from existing EBSCOhost profile configurations, there are no migration responsibilities for schools. (Everything will be taken care of on EBSCO’s end). Schools will be moving to the new EBSCOhost UI in mid-July.
Please visit EBSCO Connect for the latest news and information on the new EBSCOhost user interface and other EBSCO resources.
 The finalists have been selected for the 35th Annual Oklahoma Book Awards. Winners in each category will be announced at the ceremony and banquet on Saturday, May 11, 2024. The event will take place at the Oklahoma History Center, located at 800 Nazih Zuhdi Drive in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
Books are recognized each year for outstanding work in fiction, non-fiction, children and young adult, poetry, and the design, illustration, and photography combined category. To be eligible for consideration, books must be written by an Oklahoman, about the state, or have an Oklahoma theme. This year, the Oklahoma Center for the Book received 179 entries with 28 chosen as finalists.
The finalists for children/young adult are:
This Indian Kid: A Native American Memoir
by Eddie Chuculate
Scholastic Inc.
Benita and the Night Creatures
by Mariana Llanos
Barefoot Books
Gwen Didn’t Care
by Gwendolyn F. Mukes
WF Publications
All Kinds of Special
by Tammi Sauer
Simon & Schuster
Mascot
by Traci Sorell
Charlesbridge Publishing
Dr. Clara Sue Kidwell: Teacher and Mentor
by Celia Stall-Meadows
Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma
The SAG-AFTRA Foundation’s two-time Emmy®-nominated and award-winning children’s literacy website, Storyline Online®, streams videos featuring celebrated actors reading children’s books alongside creatively produced illustrations. Readers include Oprah Winfrey, Chris Pine, Rosario Dawson, Viola Davis, Terry Crews, Connie Britton, John Lithgow, Jennifer Garner, Betty White and dozens more.
Reading aloud to children has been shown to improve reading, writing and communication skills, logical thinking and concentration, and general academic aptitude, as well as inspire a lifelong love of reading.
Consider ways that you could use or share this resource in the final month of the school year. Would elementary students appreciate watching one of these videos when they come to the library? Would parents want to know about this resource for some story time over the summer break? Maybe you already have this resource linked from your library's webpage.
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The library of the month for May is Will Rogers Elementary in McAlester, also known as The Library at Will Rogers. “Mrs. Meredith Snow, our Librarian and her assistant Mrs. Deana DeNike are the masterminds behind The Library at Will Rogers,” says their colleague, Jennifer Lewis. “These ladies teamed up last year and have truly gone above and beyond to make the library and reading in general exciting for our students. Together, they plan and orchestrate magical moments that leave the kids giddy and eager to return.”
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Will Rogers Elementary transitioned this year from being a 1st -4th grade elementary to now housing all of McAlester Public School’s kindergarteners through second graders.
Each of the 530 students visits The Library at Will Rogers at least once a week.
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Each class period begins with a read-aloud. This read-aloud typically matches up to an event or holiday and is paired with an activity. Mrs. Snow and Mrs. DeNike believe that meaningful, engaging, and interactive lessons are important. Activities that allow students to be hands-on, but also connect to the characters or how the story relates to their own life, are the most memorable. Mrs. Snow and Mrs. DeNike have found an awesome way to take many of these read-alouds to a whole new level by incorporating the Novel Effect app, which helps bring the stories to life and instantly increases student engagement.
While all books and activities are special and speak to different students, some that have caused the greatest stir this year have been:
Book
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Activity
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Stumpkin by Lucy Ruth Cummins
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Elephant toothpaste in a Jack-o-lantern
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Busy Betty by Reese Witherspoon
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Art projects featuring every item from the story (pictured above)
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The Bad Seed by Jory John
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A how-to-drawing
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Let’s Pop, Pop, Popcorn by Cynthia Schumerth
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We grew corn sprouts from popcorn kernels
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We Are In A Book by Mo Willems
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Directed drawings in which facial features were altered to illustrate different facial expressions
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Frida Kahlo by Mary Nhin
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Students learned about Frida and got to sample tamales
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Crankenstein by Samantha Berger
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Students were encouraged to come up with acts of kindness and we created a kindness chain across the library
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(See this slideshow for pictures of all the activities.)
Something that the students look forward to is their annual March Book Madness competition. The month starts out with a dance party, complete with sports-themed music, flashing LED lights, and a fog/bubble machine.
This year was extra exciting because they had a lot of interaction from the book authors and even an illustrator throughout the competition. They tagged the authors on their Instagram page, and the fun really began! Several of the authors began following @thelibraryatwillrogers and made fun comments as the competition progressed!
The students read two books during each class, and they got to vote on their favorite. At the end of the month, a new winner was crowned!
This year it came down to How This Book Got Red by Margaret Chiu Greanias and The Very Last Leaf by Stef Wade. Lance, the very last leaf, came out on top, and his bravery was celebrated by all!
Each year the winning book receives a gold Will Rogers Madness Medal to adorn the front cover.
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The Library at Will Rogers has hosted many student competitions that really bring out the competitive side of their students. Some of the favorites have been: create-your-own bookmarks and write-your-own graphic novels. Helping cultivate thinkers, writers, and artists is a big part of how the library contributes to the educational experience of the students. The novels were printed and bound, and placed on the library shelf for all to enjoy, making these students not just winners, but also published authors!
Mrs. Snow and Mrs. DeNike aim to foster connections to characters and stories through their lessons. They want The Library at Will Rogers to be a place for students to dream and imagine. They hope that each visit is an experience for the student and that they can inspire a love for reading within them. They have lots of exciting plans in the works. Please connect with their Instagram page @thelibraryatwillrogers and follow their journey.
Nominations will open for library of the month in August 2024. In your nomination email, please include some details about the library and its programming. We are especially needing nominations for middle school and high school libraries at this time.
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