What's Up In the Library?

Gary Schmidt Visits Lawrence

2012-01-13T16:00:00.004-05:00

Award-winning author Gary Schmidt was our guest last night for the third annual Author Night for 5th and 6th grade students and parents. It was a great evening. A wonderful storyteller, Gary kept the audience filling the library rapt for a full hour before inviting questions, which continued enthusiastically for another half hour. His premise that "It's all about the story" seemed to ring true;

A Parade of Picture Books

2012-01-05T06:13:00.002-05:00

One of the most enjoyable parts of a librarian's job is selecting new books to add to the collection. While the task of reading reviews in professional journals is time-consuming and final choices can be hard to make, the excitement of opening up boxes of fresh new books is fabulous -- and sharing the newcomers with teachers, students and families is a delight. Ah -- a perfect book about shapes

Is a Library Like a Garden?

2011-11-15T21:04:00.003-05:00

This blog entry could be entitled "Weeding," an activity in which most librarians must engage. A library can't keep acquiring new and timely books year after year without getting rid of some; our bookshelves simply won't hold them all! The sad truth is: some books must be taken out of a library -- books that are just plain worn out, books that don't have reasonably current information in them,

Great Words from the Gods

2011-11-08T06:59:00.011-05:00

Gifts from the Gods, by Lise Lunge-Larsen and illustrated by Gareth Hinds, is a fabulous new book about which I learned at a recent Cambridge Public Library symposium sponsored by Children's Literature New England. A review in the New York Times stated: Gifts From the Gods, "an inventive blend of glossary and anthology, provides a fine introduction to one of the Greeks’ enduring legacies: their

Sendak Interview on NPR

2011-09-22T16:40:00.007-04:00

A day or two ago a friend called me to say she had heard Terry Gross, National Public Radio host, interview iconic children's book author and illustrator Maurice Sendak live from his home. Of course, I went right away to NPR's website and found the audio and text of their exchange. What a remarkable conversation it was. Sendak, at age 83, was in as reflective and philosophical a frame of mind as

Peter Lourie: Adventure Writer

2011-04-13T13:43:00.006-04:00

The library was filled with enthusiastic students and parents last Wednesday evening when Peter Lourie arrived for our 5th and 6th grade Author Night. His 18 1/2 foot lightweight canoe was strapped to the top of his car; his gear bag was slung over his shoulder. All of us in the library (well over seventy students, parents and teachers) then "traveled" with Mr. Lourie as he and his daughter

Spring Into Spring With Books

2011-04-06T11:46:00.005-04:00

A change of season always brings new horizons -- new sports, new intentions, and in the book world new publications! In the library we highlight both what is new and what is old... placing Charlotte Zolotow's Mr. Rabbit and the Lovely Present and Kevin Henkes' superb new Little White Rabbit side by side. A good new book often presents the chance to remind readers of the best of the old. Both of

Before the Mural

2011-02-16T08:40:00.006-05:00

The Lawrence School Library has a wonderful view, from its generous windows, of the outside wall near the school garden where there will soon be a mural created by our students. Artist-in-residence David Fichter worked with students all day yesterday, helping enlarge the preliminary designs they had made with Shelly Magno in art classes. The process will continue this week -- very exciting

Celebrating Black History Month at the Lawrence Library!

2011-02-11T12:08:00.014-05:00

February is Black History Month and we are celebrating here at the Lawrence School Library. We've assembled a great collection of books on a wide range of topics for exploring all facets of African American history. Learn all about important events in African American history such as the Civil Rights Movement, the Harlem Renaissance, and reconstruction after the Civil War. We've also got

Magic Moments of Truce

2010-12-17T12:24:00.001-05:00

Recently I read David McCollough's 1776, a riveting look at the war of independence following the legendary Battle of Lexington and Concord -- from the Redcoats' retreat from Boston through the Christmas Day when George Washington advanced on Hessian recruits near Philadelphia. I have never spent much time reading about military subjects or viewing war films, as I have a seriously low violence

World Languages

2010-12-08T12:39:00.002-05:00

It is interesting to observe the evolution of our way of talking about non-English language in a school setting. While I do not know the official explanation of the move from the acronym ESL (English as a Second Language) to ELL (English Language Learning), it is apparent that certain assumptions have been removed from the designation. Indeed, people may well be learning their third or fourth

The Silly & Serious Quotient

2010-11-03T21:26:00.008-04:00

Our library curriculum for kindergarteners is no more and no less than reading series of books about well-loved characters, mostly animals as it turns out. I begin the year with Amy Hest's Baby Duck stories, wherein Baby Duck suffers anxieties and receives reassurances well understood by kindergarten audiences who are experiencing many "firsts." Students' excitement is palpable as they enter the

What is copyright?

2010-10-15T20:52:00.001-04:00

Copyrights (the rights to exclusive use) provide for the creators of material to benefit from their work: authors from their writing, musicians from their compositions, and so on. Regulations governing copyright take the form of law and a great deal of energy is spent interpreting the law, making the whole matter of copyright complex and quite puzzling for the general public. There are exceptions

Picture Books Are Perfection, Really

2010-10-10T11:41:00.004-04:00

This weekend there was an article in the New York Times describing the waning interest parents have in picture books for their young children, even preschoolers, preferring to propel them into chapter books and "real" literature. The proprietor of our local children's book store was quoted (misquoted, it turns out) as saying the displays of new picture books are often simply returned to boxes for

Calling All Judy Moody Fans!

2010-10-01T10:47:00.004-04:00

If you’re like me, you love Judy Moody. Judy’s spunky personality, dramatic flair, and astounding ability to get into and out of sticky situations always keeps me reading. One of my favorite things about Judy Moody is that she takes everything at face value. Her mood ring turns black? Well then she must be in a bad mood. Her substitute teacher installs an “attitude tent” in the classroom? Well,

Hispanic Heritage Month

2010-09-27T11:23:00.000-04:00

The term Hispanic refers to Spanish-speaking people in the United States of any race. Over the past two weeks, you may have noticed a new display in the front hallway. Hispanic Heritage Month began September 15th, which is the anniversary of independence for five Latin American countries – Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. Mexico declared its

Finding Fiction

2010-09-22T16:35:00.004-04:00

Where does a student find a good fiction book to read these days? It could be any number of places: the family bookshelves, borrowed from a classmate, the public library, a yard sale, the classroom, uploaded to a Kindle or iPad, in audio format... and of course the school library! One of the most important goals of a school library program is to highlight for students good strategies for finding

Library Stories

2010-09-13T17:33:00.003-04:00

At the beginning of the school year I often turn to books that feature a library as the setting, to welcome back young readers on their visit to Lawrence School library. Among my favorites are Brook Berg's What Happened to Marion's Book? (perhaps a bit didactic but kids never forget the episode involving raspberry jam and the washing machine), Daniel Kirk's Library Mouse (good readers can become

An Exciting End to Summer

2010-08-31T16:02:00.004-04:00

Today at the Brookline Public Library, enthusiastic readers gathered to hear author Suzanne Collins read from her new book, the third of her compelling Hunger Games triology: Mockingjay. Lawrence School was well-represented at the library by teachers (fifth grade teacher Rhodinne Wang and by me, the librarian) and by a number of students who were filling the final days of summer vacation

Fair Is Fair!

2010-06-07T11:27:00.001-04:00

It always excites me how thoroughly our school community embraces books. As a librarian I value greatly the resources held in common, over time, for the benefit of a community (resources such as libraries). Then along come the annual PTO new and used book sales and -- viola! -- everyone is thrilled to browse through great choices and take home books for their personal bookshelves. Books to borrow

A Poem In Your Pocket

2010-04-29T15:05:00.009-04:00

Today was official "Poem In Your Pocket" day, sponsored by the Academy of American Poets, and Lawrence School grabbed hold of it and celebrated. Third grade students positioned themselves at each school door with baskets of poetry to greet everyone coming in. Hundreds of poems were picked up and put in pockets to be read throughout the day! Our day of poetry concluded with Poetry Night in the

Author Dan Gutman Scores a Hit

2010-03-27T23:47:00.012-04:00

Today the Brookline Public Library welcomed author Dan Gutman; the library's Hunneman Hall was chock full of fans ranging from elementary school students right up through adults. While Mr. Gutman says he did not like to read as a boy, when he got hooked on sports he decided to write about sports -- and that led to an abiding interest in reading and books. He turned to writing stories for young

Enthusiastic Book Award Readers!

2010-03-02T17:45:00.006-05:00

Students in Grades 4 to 6 at Lawrence School have been reading up a storm as the deadline for voting for favorite books in the Massachusetts Children's Book Award process draws near. Salem State College sponsors this program annually, with 25 titles nominated as candidates for students' favorite book statewide. What will it be? It is hard to tell from the standpoint of our library because many of

Think Green Books

2010-02-22T09:03:00.007-05:00

Thinking green has become an almost-habit for sensible people these days, but we all welcome reminding about the many ways we can be better environmental citizens. A wonderful crew at the Lawrence School is sponsoring Think Green Thursdays to help our community think twice about our habits. The library has put together a complementary Think Green Booklist, viewable in Visual Search on our library

Youth Media Awards -- Ta-dah!

2010-01-18T07:36:00.005-05:00

This day is always an exciting one in the world of children's books and libraries. It is the final day of the American Library Association's Midwinter meetings, the day that ALA's Youth Media Awards are announced. These awards are perhaps best known historically as "the Newbery and Caldecott Awards" but these days more than fifteen wonderful committees share their judgments with the world at the

Search Words & Searching For Words

2010-01-07T20:22:00.007-05:00

In today's Google world, natural language searching is a very common strategy for finding the information we want. Our search words can be a phrase such as "bed and breakfasts in Providence" or discrete words such as "art museum Chicago Seurat" or "Iroquois famous people" and usually we get results. Google provides online hints for basic searching.Search techniques -- that is, the words you use

Online Book & Literacy Resources for Families

2009-12-07T20:34:00.019-05:00

The Lawrence School library has many books about books and young people's reading. Here we have endeavored to highlight just a few online resources that may be of interest to families. Not included are the many wonderful web sites put together by authors and illustrators about their own work, an exploration we'll save for another time!Children's Book Awards: The American Library Association and

Curious George and Company

2009-12-04T15:26:00.008-05:00

Last summer as we headed for Maine, we gave our 2 year old granddaughter Ruby a snuggly Curious George as a travel pal because she had been enjoying the mischievous monkey's exploits so much in H. A. Rey's classic books. George has been her constant companion ever since, and I have marveled at what seems to be her comfortable understanding that George is both "real" and not "real." Or perhaps she

Mapping the Library

2009-11-02T16:01:00.003-05:00

Each year, when the second grade does its mapping unit, we have a great time bringing skills home by creating maps of the Lawrence library. Together, students and I place tent cards around the library that label its sections. Then we look at a schematic map of the library, seen from above, that has outlines of the prominent parts of the library: the various bookcases, the study tables, the

Harvest Moon

2009-10-26T22:02:00.014-04:00

This is an exciting time of year, with the change of seasons: looking around and about at the glorious trees, discovering who "Jack Frost" is, and feeling awestruck at the size of the harvest moon.I enjoyed sharing with first grade classes this week a book by Anne Hunter called Possum's Harvest Moon. Possum wants all his woodland friends come to his party before winter sends them underground or

Really Tall Trees

2009-09-16T17:48:00.013-04:00

The October 2009 issue of National Geographic features "The Tallest Trees: Redwoods" and describes how invaluable these remarkable and beautiful trees can be to our economy and our culture. I lived in Oregon for five years and had the chance to see them close at hand. Perhaps you have seen them too, craning your neck trying to spy the tops!Did you know that New England used to have huge trees

Primary Sources

2009-04-01T11:05:00.015-04:00

The past few days have been a study in primary sources for me. I have had the pleasure of two very different experiences -- both related to the world of children's books and their creators. On Saturday I hurried west to The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art in Amherst MA for a celebration of the opening of an exhibit entitled "Those Telling Lines: The Art of Virginia Lee Burton." Virginia Lee

Whales Today & Yesterday

2009-03-27T14:54:00.013-04:00

A front page article in this morning's Boston Globe described the "magnificent marine spectacle" of 70 right whales feeding off Cape Cod, calling it "a heartening sign of the species' resiliency." The article continued: "For centuries, hunters harpooned the right whales because they were the 'right whale' to hunt from the 11th century into the 1900s." Whaling, and fascination with whales, has

Grace Lin Visits Our Library!

2009-02-10T18:13:00.010-05:00

Author and illustrator Grace Lin visited Lawrence School today, speaking with Grades 2 and 3 and then Kindergarten and 1st Grade. And what a visit! Right off the bat she showed us her very first book – a handwritten and illustrated story bound with scotch tape and staples, written when she was in 6th grade – and then she showed us her very first PUBLISHED book: The Ugly Vegetables, a hardcover

Keeping Pace

2008-12-11T17:21:00.008-05:00

A second grade class came into the library today to explore topics in their foods and nutrition research. Some students had opportunities to use specific books named Carrots or Corn; others used more general books to locate information such as the vitamins in green beans or how broccoli helps a body be healthy. When no book supported a student's research on a particular food, we reached for an

Saving Thanksgiving

2008-11-20T13:16:00.010-05:00

New England has maintained considerable "Thanksgiving awareness" since the days when the Pilgrims were supported by native people along the Massachusetts coast in growing and harvesting indigeneous foods, a real cause for celebration in a hungry colony. Thus, it may be a little known fact that our national Thanksgiving holiday needed saving at one point in history. The picture book entitled Thank

Life Stories

2008-11-16T18:32:00.008-05:00

A biography is the true story of a life, and the 921 section of our library contains literally hundreds of such life stories of individuals. Biographies recently added to our collection include Roberto Clemente, Wangari Mathaai, John McCain, Barack Obama, Coco Chanel, Edward Hopper, Isamu Noguchi, and Althea Gibson, to name just a few. Some of these are written in a narrative style -- as a prose

New England Cranberries

2008-11-07T07:54:00.009-05:00

It will come as no surprise the we are in the process of changing our election bulletin board in the library hallway to a Thanksgiving theme. The Smithsonian Museum of the American Indian sent us a handsome and informative poster that we will feature along with an illustrated glossary of harvest terms from 4C, now studying Indian cultures. In fourth grade library classes this week we read the

MSLA -- Our Acronym

2008-11-03T09:29:00.006-05:00

MSLA is the acronym for the Massachusetts School Library Association, the official organization representing a vibrant group of school library professionals at work in the state. This past weekend, I (along with several other Brookline Public School librarians and our director of Educational Technologies and Libraries) attended its annual meetings in Sturbridge. High on the agenda was exploring

What's New in Children's Books?

2008-10-26T17:54:00.009-04:00

I had a "busman's holiday" kind of Saturday...and time well spent. I attended "What's New in Children's Books?" on October 25th, sponsored by the Foundation for Children's Books, an annual gathering highlighting young authors and newly published books for children and young adults. Adults interested in books for young people heard from children's bookseller Alison Moore about the best of the new

David Macaulay Webcast

2008-10-08T08:54:00.010-04:00

Yesterday the Lawrence School Library tuned in to a webcast sponsored by Houghton Mifflin Company. Award-winning book creator David Macaulay talked, in a real-time presentation, about his newest book The Way We Work: Getting to Know the Amazing Human Body to students around the country -- and presumably the world. Our fifth and sixth graders, who use Macaulay's books (Castle, City, Pyramid and

Election Glossary

2008-10-06T21:26:00.004-04:00

Words are certainly an important part of a library, and glossaries are a wonderful way to highlight words that are particularly important at a given time. Thus it was great fun to put up a bulletin board containing over two dozen important words about democracy and the electoral process in our country. Our glossary contains concept words, such as "democracy" itself, and very specific words, such

Media and Its Messages

2008-09-24T13:02:00.003-04:00

Seventh graders are coming to the library each week this fall to consider ways in which the media sends messages to us all through newspapers, magazines, radio and television and -- yes -- the internet. We began our examination of the mass media with newspapers, identifying the major components of the paper (articles, editorials and ads) and, in some depth, the parts of the front page. We had the

The First Full Week

2008-09-08T10:55:00.004-04:00

Always, the first full week of school is a great one in the library. Teachers have already loaded up their arms with books from the library to have on hand as students come into their new classrooms. I have connected with almost every teacher the previous week to determine a time when their students can come to the library on a regular basis to talk about books, to explore resources and of course

Living Between Cultures

2008-04-08T21:38:00.004-04:00

Mitali Perkins: We are so glad to you came to visit Lawrence School to share your experience living between cultures -- and then writing about it in books like Monsoon Summer. You emphasized the importance of including stories in our lives -- in many forms -- and you told us great stories from your own growing up times. Thanks a lot!

My Hero

2008-03-30T10:07:00.010-04:00

I have often said, quietly to myself or perhaps to a trusted friend, that if I could come back in a next life as another person, it would be Arnold Lobel, the masterful author and illustrator of the Frog and Toad beginning-reader stories (as well as Owl at Home, Mouse Soup, Mouse Tales and a host of other books). Well, I don't really want his life (though he had lovely children and a successful

School Libraries in Washington State

2008-03-25T22:19:00.004-04:00

I received the news today that three young mothers in Washington State succeeded in their efforts to capture serious money from the state legislature to fund school libraries. My heart burst with pride, as one of those moms is my niece Susan McBurney. I had been following the effort to secure library funding for some months; Susan and I had exchanged numerous emails as she sought supportive

Reconsideration

2008-02-11T22:22:00.001-05:00

Librarians at every level across the nation consider it a matter of professional policy and pride to establish library collections that contain books of quality representing diverse perspectives and experiences. Informational materials are to be authoritative and current, addressing the wide range of interests of library users. Our goal at Lawrence School is similar if not naturally more limited

Revisiting Times Past

2008-02-01T06:24:00.000-05:00

There are in our library wonderful story books which reveal a great deal about times past. Stories set in Civil War or pioneer days, stories about colonial New England or the Dust Bowl, stories of West African kingdoms or Ellis Island, stories capturing the drama of Pompeii or trans-oceanic exploration. As much as a library's mission is to provide materials in which readers can see their own

Sky Boys -- Sky Dancers

2008-01-28T12:28:00.000-05:00

Anyone who has visited the Empire State Building at 34th Street and Fifth Avenue in New York City knows that it provides a very dramatic experience even though it is no longer the tallest building in the world. The view from the observation deck is superb -- north to Central Park (a remarkable use of public space in a dense urban area) and south to Manhattan's lower tip and the Statue of Liberty,

Graphic Novels Galore

2007-11-07T09:25:00.001-05:00

Ms. Muendel, Lawrence School's 7th and 8th grade English teacher, invited the Brookline Public Library's young adult librarian Robin Brenner to talk with her students about the "new" format called graphic novels (novels whose narratives are conveyed with a combination of art and text, like comic strips). Brenner is an expert, in the YA library field, in this format, and speaks with insight and

One Book, Many Stories

2007-10-04T13:11:00.000-04:00

When you think about it, many of the books we read have more than one story inside. A book new to the library is "How Many Seeds In a Pumpkin?", written by Margaret McNamara and illustrated by G. Brian Karas. Mostly it is a counting story in which kids in Mr. Tiffin's class learn to count by twos, fives and tens after estimating how many seeds would be in a small, a medium and a large pumpkin.

Lawrence Reads Nov. 14th

2007-10-01T19:06:00.001-04:00

Lawrence Reads, scheduled for Wednesday Nov. 14, promises to be an exciting evening bringing together adult and student readers for lively book discussions. Three books have been selected – one each for Grades 3 and 4,5 and 6, and 7 and 8 – to be read in advance by parents and children. Everyone is invited to participate; the discussions will take place at school from 6:30-8 pm, facilitated by

Oral Tradition

2007-09-21T13:12:00.000-04:00

This week in fourth grade library classes we talked about oral tradition within a society, cultural group or family, as an introduction to the Iroquois story called "The Boy Who Lived With the Bears." I shared with classes a family story from my own childhood, one my father often told to relatives because he thought it was very funny; I didn't think so at the time! His little daughter (I) would

Literature Links

2007-09-18T09:37:00.000-04:00

Exploring opportunities to read new authors and experience new stories is, we hope, a part of everyday life for students and adults alike. Brookline offers annotated lists of books for varied grade levels plus there are notable web sites where good book suggestions can be found. Now and again we'll highlight some here on this blog.Lawrence families are encouraged to put the date for our first

Welcome back!

2007-09-10T11:08:00.000-04:00

One of the most exciting times of a librarian's or a teacher's year is welcoming students and families back to school. Kids have grown, adventures have been had over the summer, and anticipation runs high. Even before the opening bell this year, students brought their summer reading logs to the library as they headed to their new classrooms. What a pleasure to see what books they enjoyed.Over the

Summer Reading

2007-06-18T10:56:00.000-04:00

Summertime offers most of us special opportunities to get absorbed in a book. The Lawrence School Summer Reading Program consists entirely of encouraging students to read for enjoyment, and to that end we provide recommended reading lists compiled by librarians and teachers in Brookline. Students received copies of the list at the end of the school year along with a Summer 2007 Reading Log on

Can I Get There By Candlelight?

2007-06-07T21:39:00.000-04:00

Author Gregory Maguire visited the Lawrence School on June 7, 2007, meeting with students in Grades 3 and 4 during the school day and welcoming an audience of young people and adults in the evening. Masterful in his description of "the writing life," Gregory provided inspiration for the writer in each of us, encouraging us to look at the world around us, write about it from our experience and our

Where Do Books Come From?

2007-06-04T14:17:00.001-04:00

There are several answers to this question depending on what the asker means. What is the creative origin of a story? What is the physical source of a book? To answer the question in a general way: books come from the creative consciousnesses of their authors and are then sent through a rather complicated publishing process -- moving from author to editorial departments (possibly via an agent) to

Growing Pains

2007-05-23T21:42:00.000-04:00

OK. I am taking a professional development course offered by a colleague in the Brookline Public Schools -- a well-organized, interesting course on Web 2.0 -- the interactive web. I am finding it quite hard to learn the ins and outs of wikis, RSS feeds and related media. I keep telling myself it is good to be challenged, right? It is good to be a student struggling with concepts and skills. I

We the People Freedom Bookshelf

2007-05-14T16:10:00.000-04:00

The Lawrence School library was lucky enough to win a group of classic books with the theme of freedom, a central concept in our nation's history, through writing a proposal to the National Endowment for the Humanities. The NEH periodically sponsors "We the People" Bookshelves (the newest is "The Pursuit of Happiness," described on its web site at http://www.neh.gov). The books from the Freedom

Search For Delicious

2007-05-10T05:49:00.000-04:00

This week Lawrence School students and parents gathered at a family's home to talk about Natalie Babbitt's book The Search For Delicious. While Babbitt is most well-known for her book Tuck Everlasting, my hope as a librarian is that people will read her other books as each is a gem. I also recommend the audiobook versions of her stories. Babbitt herself narrates The Search For Delicious (with

World Geography Collection

2007-04-25T20:14:00.001-04:00

Yesterday the library hosted a reception celebrating the new Jill Harmsworth World Geography Collection, a wonderful group of books, maps, geography games and other materials for use by the Lawrence community. Established in memory of Lawrence parent Jill Harmsworth, the world geography collection is intended to support and extend students' geography awareness at all grade levels. Geography is

Public Library Visits

2007-04-05T18:02:00.000-04:00

Each spring, Lawrence School's 6th graders make a trip to the Brookline Public Library for a behind-the-scenes tour of the reference services offered to young adults. Students 12 years of age and older are considered full-fledged borrowers and are welcome to use a full range of services and resources at the library. The wide variety of books and magazines, the historical newspapers (going back to

Busman's Holiday

2007-04-02T16:19:00.000-04:00

Most teachers and librarians I know truly enjoy taking a "busman's holiday" -- that is, spending time on an activity relating to their professional lives even though it doesn't fall within their work week or direct job responsibilities. Saturday, March 31st was such a day for me: first a day-long children's literature conference at U Mass Amherst and then a brief tour of the Emily Dickinson

Brookline Reads

2007-03-28T21:15:00.000-04:00

Readers are invited to pick up at the Lawrence library a calendar of events for the town-wide Brookline Reads program. This year's chosen works are Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass, classics which have captured readers' imaginations for years. There are many different types of events over the coming weeks, in different places about town. Check them

Welcome, Mr. Swaim!

2007-03-27T16:29:00.000-04:00

Today our principal Mr. Swaim was our guest library teacher for Ms. Frye's first grade class. He read Janet Stevens' From Pictures To Words: A Book About Making a Book, all about a real life illustrator creating a picture book, a process with which the class of first grade authors could connect. First graders had just completed their moon stories. They were familiar with the concepts of character

A Whole New Look

2007-03-08T11:27:00.000-05:00

We have a new look to our library catalog. All the public school libraries in Brookline recently underwent a migration of its database of books and other materials to new software. The online catalog has some new search strategies and a few new capabilities. I, as librarian, will have a great time acquainting students and teachers with the new software; we hope that using it will seem easy. We

Christopher Bing Visits the Library

2007-01-16T11:32:00.000-05:00

Award-winning illustrator Christopher Bing came to Lawrence School on Friday, January 19, to share his perspectives as both an editorial illustrator and children's book creator. Eighth graders got a close-at-hand look at his editorial work -- bold, sassy and often political commentaries on contemporary issues. Most of his editorial work is done in a style reflecting old engravings common in late

Recycle Day at Lawrence

2006-11-17T07:14:00.000-05:00

The library participated in Recycle Day by putting up several displays of "green" books -- books about the environment and about recycling itself. We also had a good time guessing the answers to questions posed by Sarah Wolff and her crew of student volunteers. Ms. Wolff keeps all of us mindful of the value of recycling paper, cardboard and plastic in the right containers all around school and,

Who Are These Characters?

2006-11-08T17:25:00.000-05:00

Each Halloween we in the Lawrence library elect to become book characters. Why not?? This year Mrs. Lynch was an amazing Pippi Longstocking and Ms. Browder the Cat in the Hat. Do you recognize the other folks -- Miss Liberty, Baby Duck and the peddlar from Caps for Sale? Next year we'd like to guess YOUR book character!

A Visit From Jennifer Holm

2006-10-30T21:40:00.002-05:00

Lawrence School fifth graders welcomed Jennifer Holm on Thursday, Sept. 28, 2006, to hear about her life as an author. She wasn’t wearing the pink dress pictured on her web site but she was certainly the same person, and very willing to share how she did the research for her newest book, Penny From Heaven. It was a surprise to hear how much research she needed to do to write an historical fiction

Library Web Log Coming Soon

2006-09-25T21:44:00.000-04:00

Establishing a web log -- or blog -- for the JFMF trip to Japan was fun, and it made me think that maintaining a blog for the Lawrence library would also be fun. So, be on the lookout for "What's Up in the Library?" Mrs. Lynch and I will keep you posted on activities, new books, and the health of our geraniums!