School may be out for the summer but learning never stops.  Pledge to read every day and always keep a book with you wherever you go so that you can read in the down moments when you're in a car or waiting in line for a movie.  Read a little before you go to sleep each night.  Participate in a summer reading program, like those sponsored by the Denver Public Library and the Englewood Public Library.  Have a great summer, but make sure you READ, READ, READ!  Remember, if I catch you with a book in your hand this summer or meet you at the library, you'll earn a bonus tenth-grade brain buck!

We close the 2011-2012 school year with not a book but a program inspired by the words and works of many authors, musicians and visual artists.  In 1972, Marlo Thomas had an idea for new kind of storybook for her newborn niece, one that celebrated the diversity of the human experience, upset gender roles and countered bias.  What began as an idea for a single child grew into a project for the world.  Thomas called upon her friends in entertainment industry and they created an album and a book that was at once clever but designed to smash the stereotypes of what young boys and girls can or should do.  The product of all the contributors was Free to Be...You and Me.  I present the DVD of the original program for the students of University Park in hopes that a new generation of children will be inspired by the ideas that the Free to Be...You and Me foundation promotes to this day, encourage tolerance, advocating for peace and celebrating the love that makes this world a better place.

As we enter the penultimate week of the 2011-2012 school year, the library will be shuttered while I take some time away from University Park to attend to some personal matters.  It is my hope to return on Monday, May 21 for the final week of school.  Checkout has necessarily been suspend for the year and students who still have items out must return them or pay the replacement cost for each item they still have checked out from our little library. 
I'd like to take this moment to thank the UPark community for its support this year.  It has been a tremendous pleasure to serve in my capacity here.  None of what I've accomplished this year would have been possible without the amazing leadership of Mrs. Dana Williams.  I have blessed to work with some of the finest educators in my professional career during my brief tenure at this gem of a school.  The children have filled my head with special memories and my heart with joy.  I thank the parents who have voiced their ongoing support for my efforts and have participated in so many of the library special events I've hosted. 
It is my desire to build upon what we've achieved here this year and make the University Park library everything it can and should be for the children, parents and teachers of this community.  Huzzah!

Our final story of the year, Nana Upstairs & Nana Downstairs, is a somber tale by Tomie dePaola.  The deeply personal nature of the story sets it apart from other books I've read this year.  DePaola, recounting a time in his life when his grandmother and great-grandmother were alive, shares both the joy he experienced in their company and the sadness he felt at his Nana Upstairs' abrupt death and how he coped with her passing.  As a very young boy, Tomie takes solace in words offered by his mother.  He finds similar comfort many years later when his Nana Downstairs dies, too.  In the twenty-fifth anniversary edition of the book, dePaola reveals how true the tale really was and that his Nana Upstairs was his best friend when he was four-years-old.  He also shares on the FAQ of his website that Nana Upstairs & Nana Downstairs is the favorite of the books he's written.

University Park is certainly a fine, fine school and we celebrate UPark this week by reading A Fine, Fine School by award-winning author, Sharon Creech, with illustrations by internationally syndicated artist, Harry Bliss.

Ann Cameron is the author of many books for children.  She spent twenty-two years living in Guatemala, helping build a 15,000 volume library for the children of Panajachel.  Cameron is probably best known for her stories about brothers Julian and Huey Bates and their friend, Gloria.  The Stories Julian Tells contains six tales that introduce us to the Bates family and young Gloria.  The final story in the collection, "Gloria Who Might Be My Best Friend," explores the beginning of their friendship and offers a life-lesson to its readers.

Ann Jonas is part of a noted family of authors and artists.  Her husband, Donald Crews, and their daughter, Nina Crews, are also well-known contributors to the field of children's literature.  One of Jonas's most creative titles is Round Trip, which encourages readers to see things aren't always what they seem.  The story presents a graphic journey in black and white from country to city and then back again.

Virginia Hamilton was one of the world's most honored writers of children's literature.  Her works recognize the history of the African American experience.  One of her most celebrated titles is The People Could Fly: American Black Folktales published in 1985 with illustrations by Leo and Diane Dillon.  Among this collection of stories is the dark tale, "The Peculiar Such Thing," which recounts the misadventures of a solitary man living amidst the woods with his dogs when he makes the unfortunate decision to...well, you'll have to read the story yourself to uncover what happens.  I presented this tale to the friends and families of the UPark community at our first Tales@Twilight last October to frightening effect.

The story I'm presenting to the children the first week of April 2012 is by a long-dead author.  Oscar Wilde is best known for his plays, his poetry and, perhaps his most famous work of prose, The Picture of Dorian Gray, but he also authored a collection of fairy stories titled The Happy Prince and Other Tales, among which includes "The Selfish Giant."  Over the years, many picture book adaptations of this short story have been published, but I'll not be reading from any of these because I want the children to create the images of the characters and the setting.  In 1971, Peter Sander directed a twenty-six minute animated film based upon the text; it was nominated for an Academy Award the following year.  I'm going to give the children the opportunity to view this film before the school year ends so that they may compare their interpretation of the story and its elements to those someone else has created.

Here's wishing all UPark families and friends a safe and happy spring break!  Enjoy the next few days away from school before we embark on the final stretch.  It's amazing to me how swiftly the year has passed, especially since the new year began.  I hope some of your time will be spent reading.  Here's what's on my shelf: Don Camillo Takes the Devil by the Tail, Have You No Shame?, Holes, Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, The Lovely Bones, The Aviary, and Ghost World.  Most of the titles I've chosen are books I've read before and want to revisit, a few are new, but I'm eager to read as much as I can while I'm away.  I hope your reading list this week is filled with things you've been meaning to read and you'll take advantage of the time you have to enjoy a book or two this week.  Please share your list with me on twitter.