As a follow-up to learning about Beverly Cleary and her work, 2nd graders were in for a treat: watching a video version of her classic book The Mouse and the Motorcycle!

The laughter in the library was contagious as students went along for the ride with Ralph S. Mouse.

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This week, all classes talked about the 2010 Caldecott and Newbery Award winners:

The Lion and the Mouse by Jerry Pinkney won the Caldecott Award

and When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead (a Dalton parent!) won the Newbery Award.

Congratulations to these two very talented individuals!

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This week 2nd grade learned all about Beverly Cleary, a reknowned children’s book author and Newbery Award winner.

After hearing excerpts from some of her books, many students couldn’t wait to check them out for themselves!

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The Newbery Award is granted to the best chapter books of the year.   The 2010 winners will be announced on Monday, January 18th so 2nd grade students are now learning more about the noteworthy books that have won the medal in the past.

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In honor of this festive season, 2nd graders got to hear great holiday stories this week!

Silver Packages: An Appalachian Christmas Story – a touching book by Cynthia Rylant

and

The Power of Light: Eight Stories for Hanukkah – a beautiful collection by Issac Bashevis Singer.

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This week 2nd grade students got quite a laugh hearing the story King Bidgood’s in the Bathtub by Audrey Wood.

This Caldecott Honor Book is so odd, students were a bit dismayed!  The quirky story about a stubborn king and queen really sparks the imagination.

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During the week after Thanksgiving, 2nd grade students learned about the highly coveted Caldecott Award: an honor given each year to the illustrators of excellent picture books.

After learning about many of the past winners, students can’t wait to find out which books will earn it next.  The winners will be announced on January 18, 2010.

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This week 2nd grade got to hear a most amazing New York City story:

The Man Who Walked Between the Towers by Mordicai Gerstein.

This Caldecott Award-winning picture book tells the story of Phillipe Petit, the man who literally strung a wire between the Twin Towers and walked across!  Students were astounded and inspired by his amazing feat.

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Second grade students have been hearing passages from TWO classic Judy Blume books this week:  Friend or Fiend? with the Pain and the Great One AND Soupy Saturdays with the Pain and the Great One.

These books are among the many wonderful works of fiction set in New York City, which goes along perfectly with the 2nd grade study of our area.

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This week students in every grade were introduced to a variety of books illustrated by Paul O. Zelinsky, the Caldecott Award-winning illustrator who will be visiting Little Dalton on Thursday, November 5th.

Visit Paul O. Zelinsky.com to read more about him and his work!

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