Virtual Author Visit

To celebrate National Crayon Day, students were treated to a virtual author visit from Natascha Biebow, author of the picture book biography, The Crayon Man: The True Story of the Invention of Crayola Crayons. Natascha met with 2nd and 3rd graders for 45 minutes.  Her presentation included an overview of what inspired her to become an author, how she got her idea, and how she researched information for her book. There was plenty of time for questions at the end (15 minutes) and the students are all raving about how much they enjoyed listening and connecting with her. It was the perfect introduction for upcoming biography and animal research projects 

Natascha then met with our K/1st graders for 35-40 minutes. She talked about the book and how she got the idea. She then led them through a drawing/storytelling activity with crayons. Students got to share their drawings with her and ask questions at the end.  The students were thoroughly engaged and were excited to share their pictures. Natascha plans to share some of their artwork on her website!

Budding Authors at Valley View

Shout out to up and coming Kindergarten authors, Stella and Riley in Mrs. Murphy's class. Their winter stories were entered into a two sentence story writing contest sponsored by CLiF. We just received word that Riley's story was selected as the top entry in the 6 and under category. Both girls were also awarded a prize of their choosing from the Library Treasure Chest!

Second grader, Norway, in Mrs. Davis' class, recently 'published' her own book, Amara and the Kitty. Beautifully written and illustrated, a copy of Norway's book in currently on display in the Library.  Be sure to stop by and read it for yourself! 

2023 Valley View Mock Caldecott Elections

Throughout the month of January students in K-3rd grade have been learning all about the Caldecott Award. The Caldecott is an award that is given out each year in January by the American Library Association to the children's book with the best illustrations. Out of the hundred of books that are evaluated, only one bronze medal and up to four silver honor awards are given out!

Students at Valley View took on the role of the Caldecott Committee. First they spent a day reading and evaluating previous winners. Then Mrs. Levasseur introduced them to some new books.  To be considered for the award students first had to confirm that each book was a picture book published in the previous year (2022) and that the illustrator was a resident of the USA at the time of publishing. 

After reading each of the four books during library, students were then divided into smaller committees of four and asked to review each book a second time before voting for their favorite. Students considered the quality of the illustrations and whether the artwork added to the story, matched the overall idea and made the story more appealing.  

While the actual Caldecott Ceremony took place January 30th, the Valley View medalists and honor books will be announced later this week. Stay tuned!

New Year = New Books 

To ring in the New Year students were treated to a buffet of books in the library. During this weeklong event, students in 2nd and 3rd grade sampled titles from the fantasy, funny, mystery, historical and adventure genres. Students in Kindergarten and 1st grade took bites from fairy tales and folklore, funny stories, animal stories and all about me stories. Students evaluated the covers and first few pages before making notes and moving into the next table. The critics shared their opinions at the end of the session and if they wanted a bigger "bite" of a book they were able to check it out! 

Students will be treated to another book tasting before Summer Break.

2nd Annual Valley View Thanksgiving Day Parade

On 24th November, Valley View hosted its 2nd Thanksgiving Day Parade. Students took their inspiration from Nicolai Popov's picture book The Great Shoe Parade. Each class worked with Mrs. Levasseur during their Library Enrichment block to create a 3D model of  one of the instrument playing characters from the book. They used materials from the Library Makerspace. Each float was mounted to a wheeled scooter borrowed from Valley View P.E. teacher, Ms. Cook. 

During this event, the Valley View community, joined by members of the Farmington Police Department,  lined the hallways to cheer as each class peers paraded past with their animal themed floats, banners and balloons. Marching band music piped through the schools PA system added to the festive mood. The procession of floats was the perfect Thanksgiving send-off! 

2022 Travelling Mural Project

Students at Valley View participated in the 2022 Traveling Mural Project with 300 other schools across the world. Students in PreK-3rd grade collaborated to plan, design and create a 10-foot mural that was then cut into foot wide sections.  We kept one panel and sent the remaining nine to schools across the USA. In return, we received a section of a mural created by each of our partner schools. This unique piece of art is the focal point of the library and has allowed students to explore the world and engage with people outside of our community.