Crocker kids can write a poem and have it published in the Young American Poetry Digest. Here’s what you need to do:

• Write a poem that is no more than 80 words in length.
• Type or neatly handwrite the poem.
• PUT YOUR NAME ON IT!
• Drop the poem off in the library. Put the poem in the purple envelope on the wall by the circulation desk.

All submissions are due by Friday, March 12. No late submissions accepted. All ages/grades can participate.  Questions, ask Lisa in the library or email lisa_a_hobbs@yahoo.com.

We’re starting a book group for 4th and 5th graders. Here’s how it will work:

Participants will read 3 books and attend 3 meetings. We’ll read: Andrew Clements’ No Talking, Patricia McKissack’s A Friendship for Today, and Linda Urban’s A Crooked Kind of Perfect. These books are nominees in this year’s California Young Reader Medal competition. Participants will need to read a different book every two weeks. Meetings will be held during lunch/recess in the library. The 4th grade group will meet with 5th grade teacher Carrie Oretsky, librarian Lisa Hobbs, and Crocker parent Deb Collard. The 5th grade group will meet with 4th grade teacher Karen Kucharski, Lisa and parent Victoria Varieur.

If your 4th or 5th grader would like to be involved they should talk to their teacher or Lisa (lisa_a_hobbs@yahoo.com). We’ll take a maximum of 12 students in each group. Books will be provided. This book group will let us test drive the idea of having a book group at school. If it works well, we’ll look into how we might include more students and read a wider variety of books.

Our school library has some amazing resources. In addition to over 10,000 books, the Crocker library has a “Virtual Library” where you can access the online catalog, research databases, educational games, and more. To access the Crocker Virtual Library, click on the link on the right hand side of the screen.

When you get to the Virtual Library, you’ll find lot’s of age-appropriate resources on the home page including Encyclopedia Britannica, proquest eLibrary, and CultureGrams. These are all tools your child might find helpful when they are working on school projects like Living Museum, science fair, or other research project.

You’ll need a user name and password to use these. Your child will receive the user name and password during library time. You do not need a user name and password for most of the items in the Virtual Library, nor do you need to log in to use the library catalog.

Take a look! If you have any questions, contact Lisa Hobbs at lisa_a_hobbs@yahoo.com

Even though Crocker kids visit the school library each week, it’s still a great idea to visit the public library. It’s fun, free, and you can check out up to 40 items. More importantly, voluntary free reading is one a key part of becoming a lifelong reader.

Oakland Public Library (OPL) let’s you check out most materials for 3 weeks. You’ll find books, magazines, movies, audio books, as well as fun and interesting activities for kids and adults. Believe it or not, there are no fines when you turn in children’s books a little bit late!

Oakland Public Library has a lot to offer families. In addition to the numerous locations around the city, OPL has excellent online resources like ebooks, booklists, research databases, homework help, search engines, and games – all with kids in mind. In order to use some of the resources, you’ll need a library card with a four-digit PIN number. You can get a library card and PIN number at any Oakland Public Library branch.

Check back soon for library updates for the 2009-2010 school year.