Mmmmm! Gingerbread cookies!

Hey Gators!

Check out this site and decorate some gingerbread cookies!
http://sprintsweets.com/

No calories! No fat! Lots of fun!!!

Check out the 641's in the Non-Fiction section for holiday recipes!

Enjoy!

More winter fun!

Hey Gators!

Check out these sites for winter coloring pages, winter puzzles, to dress a snowman, make snowflakes or catch some:

http://www.billybear4kids.com/holidays/winter/puzzles/play2.html
http://www.frontiernet.net/~imaging/build_a_snowman.html
http://ww2.unime.it/dipart/i_fismed/wbt/mirror/ExplrSci/dswmedia/snwflak6
http://snowflakes.barkleyus.com/
http://www.popularfront.com/snowdays/
http://brownielocks.com/

Also, check out the fun winter books in the library's Gator Lounge!

Enjoy!

Winter Fun!

Hey Gators!

Here's a link to my all-time-favorite winter distraction. It has sound--but keep it low--we're a library and all. Beware the snowman.....
http://ww12.e-tractions.com/snowglobe/

Enjoy!

PS You might do a Marmot keyword search on winter or snow or snowman or Christmas or Kwanzaa or Hanukah or snowflakes or...... to find a book that will get you in the spirit of the season!

PPS Be sure to get yourself a great read for the winter break--just think of curling up in your jammies and robe with a cup of hot cocoa and a great book!!!

"Hangs"giving Dinner Game!

Happy Turkey Day, Gators!

Click here to play a turkey hangman game: http://www.lostjungle.com/play.php?id=268

What are you thankful for?

Hey Gators!

Y'know, it's always nice to take a few minutes each day to think about what you're thankful for; it makes the world a nicer place....so, what ARE you thankful for? Write a comment to this post and tell us! If your comment survives moderation (school appropriate, blah blah, blah) it'll show up right here on the Gator Library Blog! Your name will not be used unless you want it there, and then only your first name will be shown. Just so ya know---I'm thankful for everyone who loves to read and learn new things! Hope to hear from you soon!

Link to Twilight!

Hey Vampire Fans!

Click here to see all things Twilight: http://www.twilightthemovie.com/

See the post below for the official countdown clock for the movie!!!

Love the book? See the movie!

Halloween Fun

Hey Gators!

Click here to play Halloween Hangman: http://dedge.com/flash/hangman/ (have the sound up--just a bit, so as not to disturb other library users!)

Click here to carve a pumpkin: http://www.coasttocoastam.com/timages/page/pumpkin_sim.html

For more Halloween screams, check out an earlier post called Happy Halloween, Gators!

Back Jacks!

Hey Gators!

Look what's new in Library Land! Back Jacks! They're cool little chairs you can sit and read in while you're here in the MGMS Gator Library! We have six of them and they are stored under the shelf with the crates of Easy books. There are a few guidelines in their use, in order to keep you safe, be fair, and keep the back jacks in good shape--check out the poster detailing their use near the Easy books. All the gators have taken such good care of the gator lounge area, we wanted to provide you with even more comfortable seating. If the back jacks work as well as the lounge chairs, we might be able to purchase more back jacks!

Teen Read Week Results!

Hey Gators!

Your taste in books is very diverse! The book you'd save from a fire with the most votes is Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. So, on every fire drill for the rest of the year, if Harry is on the shelf, I'll bring him out with me to save him from the fire!

You might want to check out some of the other books receiving votes to see what makes them good enough to save from a fire:
Twilight from the Warrior series, The Series of Unfortunate Events, TTFN, Street Love, Dark Secrets Don't Tell, Dragon Rider, Vampire Kiss, Cirque Du Freak--Lord of the Shadows, The Twilight series, Artemis Fowl, Fruits Basket, Crank, Peeps, Memoirs of a Geisha, Firestar's Quest, Ceremony, A Child Called It, and Fire Girl.

In our contest for those with library records with no fines or overdues, the winner of a free book is..........Courtney M.! She can come to the library any time to select a free book from the case!

Thanks to all who participated in contests or by reading great Books with Bite!

It's Book Fair Time!

Hey Gators!

The Book Fair is open in your Gator Library! We have a huge variety of books at great prices--starting at just $1.00! You're sure to find something you'll like. We also have some great school supplies, like bend-y pencils, bookmarks, and pencil sharpeners shaped like noses (eeeuuuuuwwww!). School supplies start at $0.45! Bring your money and support the reading programs at your Gator Library. We'll be open every school day, and the evenings of parent teacher conferences through Oct. 23. Books make great gifts! (especially for yourself!) Check out just some of our great titles, from A-Z:

2009 Ripley's Special Edition, Al Capone Does My Shirts, Bone, Chicken Soup for the Soul, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Eighth Grade Bites: Chronicles of Vladimir Tod, Fear Factor the Fright Stuff, Garfield Makes It Big, How to Draw Avatar, Incantation, Jack's Run, Kingdom Hearts, Last Minute Science Fair Projects, Maximum Ride, Naruto Posterzine, Oddball Eyeballs, Pendragon, Ranger's Apprentice, Sports Illustrated For Kids: College Football Powerhouses, Twisted Window, Ultra Cool Rides, Varjak Paw, Warriors, Yu-Gi-Oh GX Trainer's Guide, Zoey Dean's Talent

This Week in Library Land

Hey Gators!

• This week is Teen Read Week! See the post below and/or posters around the school for details of events sponsored by your Gator Library to celebrate the week and Books With Bite! In addition, you can click here to vote for the Teens Top Ten books: www.ala.org/teenstopten And you can click here to vote for next year's Teen Read Week theme: www.ala.org/teenread ( Seek the Unknown @ your library; Read Beyond Reality @ your library; Unbelievable Reads @ your library. )
• 7th grade social studies classes will continue to be working on Real-e books about the 5 themes of geography....ask one of these students about this really cool project, and be watching for a display of the finished books in one of the library windows!
• A scholastic book fair is coming soon to your Gator Library....be watching for posters and more info right here in the Library Blog!

Happy Halloween Gators!

Come in to your MGMS Gator Library and check out a scary book today!

Teen Read Week!

October 12-18, 2008 is TEEN READ WEEK! The Theme this year is Books With Bite!

Your MGMS Gator Library will be featuring Vampire books and Food books as well as sponsoring the following events during the week of Oct. 12-18:

· ½ Price Fine Week: If you have fines, pay them off with only ½ the usual amount! (example: if you owe $1.00, this week—Oct. 13-17--you can pay that off with $0.50!---missing book fees not included in this offer)
· Win a free book with a clean record: If your library record is free of fines, overdues and missing books, you can add your name to a drawing for a free book!
· Cover Re-design Contest: Is there a book in our library that you think deserves a better cover? Design a new and improved cover for it and bring your design to the library on Monday, October 13. All entries will be posted. Voting by students and staff will take place all week. The winner will get to pick out a free book and will be announced Friday October 17 during morning announcements.
· Book Reviews for the Library Blog: Have you read a great book you’d like to recommend to others? Write a review of that book and turn it in to the library. Your review will be posted to the library’s blog!
· What’s the one book in our library so great that you’d save it from a fire? Vote in the library for the book you’d save this week. We’ll announce Mt. Garfield’s favorite book on Friday, and for every fire drill for the remainder of the year, if it’s on the shelf, Mrs. M will bring it out with her to save it!

Gator Gallery Now Open!

Hey all you artists and art lovers! The Gator Gallery is now open! Our first exhibit features fabulous pencil drawings of animals and amazing self portraits using pencil, all created by the talented MGMS artists in Ms. Crockett's classes. Stop on by to "oooo" and "ahhhh"! (Just not too loudly--we're a library, y'know...)

New Today in Library Land!

We now have two copies of Leven Thumps and The Wrath of Ezra (book 4 of the Leven Thumps Series by Obert Skye)AND two copies of Pillage (the start of a new series by Obert Skye) ready to be checked out! Look for these and the rest of the Leven Thumps series in the end display near Non-Fiction.

Banned Books Week

BANNED BOOKS WEEK: September 27 - October 4, 2008

Check out BannedBooksWeek.org to find out why our library has displays of banned and challenged books (behind the black curtain, on the table in the Gator Lounge, and on the end display under the Fiction sign). Celebrate YOUR freedom to read by checking out a banned or challenged book! Be sure to help yourself to a Banned Books Week bookmark, too! Check out the PowerPoint on the P Drive: Banned books 08 ppt. Put together by the fabulous librarian at EMS, it has a link to a censorship quiz you can take!

(image from bannedbooksweek.org)

What's new today in library land!

Hey Gators!
Announcing a new way to "read" a book:

Playaways! Playaways are books loaded onto an MP3 player. Each playaway is a bit smaller than a deck of cards, comes with batteries, earbuds, and a lanyard. We have 13 titles, 6 external speakers sets and extra earbuds. Due to the small size of the playaway and the large replacement cost, these will be checked out to teachers only. Students may use them in their teacher's classroom, but we are not allowing the playaways to leave the building with students.

Here are the titles we currently have:

Paint the Wind by Pam Munoz Ryan
Hoot by Carl Hiaasen
Seedfolks by Paul Fleishman (with multiple narrators!)
Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech
Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer
The Watsons Go to Birmingham by Christopher Paul Curtis
The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle
The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
The Giver by Lois Lowry
Number the Stars by Lois Lowry
The Snow Spider by Jenny Nimmo
Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’Dell

Ask the librarians about how you can check one of these out! Cool!

(Image from Follett Library Services)

Tips for selecting a great book!

Do you ever come to the library to get a good book, but don't know how to find one? Check out this link from Wiki-How to get some tips and ideas to help you: Help me find a book!

Welcome to the Gator Library Blog!

Welcome!

This blog will keep you up to date on new books, events and cool stuff from library land! Check back often and you'll be a "library land insider"!