Library Resources

Politics and Prose Online Events & Public Library Openings

Politics and Prose Bookstore is now offering curbside pickup of books, rather than just mail-order, AND some branches of local public libraries are now allowing borrowing via curbside pickup!  Keep checking your public library website for announcements:

https://www.dclibrary.org/

https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/library/

https://www.pgcmls.info

https://library.arlingtonva.us

https://alexlibraryva.org

Katherine Applegate just had an online event (hosted by Politics & Prose Bookstore) for her new book The One and Only Bob! (ages 8-12).  Watch the event here.  You may recall that Bob is a little dog who was friends with Ivan in the wonderful book The One and Only Ivan.  Applegate’s new book was just published!

If you missed the Victoria Jamieson and Omar Mohamed Politics & Prose online author event about their book When Stars Are Scattered, you can watch the replay here. It was so interesting! 

Omar Mohamed, a former Somali refugee, talks about life in a refugee camp and the work he does now to help other refugees, and he and Victoria Jamieson describe the ways that they worked together to write this book. And if you are an artist, you will be interested in how Victoria Jamieson creates her art for the book - she shows some of the process step by step!  

As you probably heard by now because the publishing world is so excited about it, J.K. Rowling (Harry Potter author!) is publishing a chapter book, The Ickabog (ages 7-9), for free online, in weekly installments, up until July 10th.  Children can also send in illustrations for it. 

I read the chapters she’s published so far - they’re a lot of fun!  The story isn’t like Harry Potter - it isn’t about magic.  One small similarity is J.K. Rowling is expert at funny names in both: In Harry Potter there was Bertie Bott’s Every Flavour Beans, and in The Ickabog there’s pastries at the Chouxville bakery called Hopes-of-Heaven!

On May 24th at 1 pm on Books of Wonder’s Instagram, William Joyce talks and answers questions about his picture book The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore! (ages 5 and up), which is the picture-book version of Joyce’s award-winning short animated film. Kirkus Review said the book “has a quiet contemplative charm” and is as “triumphant” as the film.

Books of Wonder is hosts a number of upcoming virtual events for children. Learn more here. 

If you haven’t yet checked out Candlewick Press’s special website with resources for our stay-at-home time right now, you should take a look.  The wonderful children’s author Kate DiCamillo has a bunch of videos on writing (she just made her tenth one on May 19th), and Annette LeBlanc Cate, author of Look Up! Bird-Watching in Your Own Backyard, has three very interesting videos for kids on birdwatching and drawing birds.  Look Up! won awards when it was published, and is one of my favorite nonfiction children’s picture books.  It is about urban birdwatching (which many of us are doing now as we are in our homes so much) and is filled with interesting facts and neat illustrations.  

https://www.youtube.com/user/CandlewickPress/

If you haven’t listened to Mac Barnett’s read-alouds on his Instagram account, they are worth checking out! He reads some of our Aidan Library favorite picture books such as Oh No! (Or How My Science Project Destroyed the World), and he answers reader questions and does some fun silly things too! (ages 5-8)

Accessing E-Books

Your local public library’s collection is still the biggest for free ebooks, and here are links for access:

From your desktop or laptop: Overdrive 

From your tablet or smartphone: Libby 

Need to join your library first?  You can do it online: 

DC Public Library 

Montgomery County Public Library 

Prince George’s Public Library

Arlington Public Library

Alexandria Public Library

Access TumbleBooks collection through your public library site, such as from DC Library:  login with your library card, then go to the Research tab, choose Databases, and then scroll down to TumbleBooks.  Some examples of what TumbleBooks has: Kate DiCamillo's The Magician’s Elephant (ages 8-13); the Lark series by Natasha Deen (ages 6-9); and the West Meadows Detectives series (ages 7-9).  

BookFlix from Scholastic: Scholastic has paired fiction books with nonfiction books, and the fiction books are video read-alouds and the nonfiction are for reading without video. These are picture books and a few early chapter books. Lots of good choices but here are some I recommend: Henry Hikes to Fitchburg, Zin! Zin! Zin! A Violin, Me…Jane, and Bink & Gollie.

Username: bookflix50

Password: jade

Trueflix from Scholastic: Students can read volumes from Scholastic’s True Book series online. 

Username: bookflix50

Password: jade

Storyline Online: A good site for read-alouds. Here is a sample one. 

The Big List of Children’s Authors Doing Online Read-Alouds & Activities

Primary & Elementary (new) Story Time with Ms. Stewart: Aidan Librarian Ms. Stewart shares some stories typically geared toward Primary and Elementary students.

Access these videos through the class portal pages.

Junior Library Guild: A collection of books - most are to read online and a few are audio. Best selection is the “Elementary Stream” section, which includes Chris Van Dusen’s Mr. Magee series and Mac Barnett’s Terrible Two series.

You may create your own account, or use the Aidan Library account.

Username: n.stewart@aidanschool.org

Password: harold23purPle

Epic is a large e-book collection of some very good books that unfortunately are mixed in with more commercial, less high-quality stuff. I suggest searching for specific authors or titles with which you are already familiar, or you can select from the mini-collections I put together - access them directly through these links:

Picture books

Early Chapter books

Fiction for 5-8 yr. olds

Fiction for 8-12 yr. olds

Fiction for 9-13 yr. olds

Nonfiction Picture books

Nonfiction for Elementary ages

For full access to all of Epic, Parents, please email me at n.stewart@aidanschool.org and I will send you an invitation to join Aidan Library’s account, which provides access through June 30.

Time for Kids magazine online.  Parents need to choose their child's grade level and then register but it is easy!  This gives you free access to issues of the magazine at that grade level. Time for Kids is an interesting and fun resource.  

Project Gutenberg Children's Bookshelf

This has books published many years ago, such as The Secret Garden and Oliver Twist. Don't let this site's archaic look discourage you from searching the collection and seeing what's there.

For Aidan students’ online research during our Distance Learning Program, Ms. Stewart is here to help you with your research. Contact Ms. Stewart at library@aidanschool.org  and she will reply quickly! 

She can do your online research for you, or guide you along as you do it yourself.

Britannica School is the database we have used at Aidan Library, so you will recognize it.  From home, you need to login with:

aidanmont as your access i.d. 

27school as your password

A few research tips for Britannica School: 

There are three levels. Start with the Elementary one and if you don’t get enough information, try the Middle level.

After you enter a search and get to your page of information, notice the “Web’s Best Sites” link on the left-hand side in the page - this leads you to other reliable online resources on your topic!

PebbleGo is an online encyclopedia for students that is good for older Primary students and younger Elementary students. 

Username: engaged

Password: learning

World Book Online

This resource is now free for students. Click the link above to login and get started.

username: wbsupport

password: distancelearn

World Book Kids for older Primary children and for Elementary students.  The "More Information" tab has links to other good websites on the topic you search.

World Book Student for Upper Elementary students.  This online encyclopedia is similar to the print World Book set we have at Aidan Library and in your classroom. Under the "Related" tab there are links to other good websites on your topic.

Epic is a good e-book collection for research, especially for Lower Elementary ages. Parents, email me at n.stewart@aidanschool.org and I will send you an invitation to join Aidan Library’s Educator account, which provides access through June 30.

The collection includes the Great Moments in Science series on scientists such as Rachel Carson, the Nat Geo Kids Everything series such as Everything Soccer, the “Kid” series by Stabler such as Kid Scientists and Kid Athletes, and Napoli’s Treasury of Greek Mythology.

Scholastic’s ScienceFlix is a type of science encyclopedia with lots of information.  Click on a topic (examples: Solar System, Coding, Food Science), and then choose a reading level from the upper right side of the page.

Username: bookflix50

Password: jade

Here are some 2020 summer reading lists that I like!

From Horn Book (a children’s book review publication): 

https://www.hbook.com/?detailStory=2020-summer-reading-list

From Association for Library Service to Children:

http://www.ala.org/alsc/publications-resources/book-lists/2020-summer-reading-list

From the website "What Do We Do All Day?":

https://www.whatdowedoallday.com/summer-reading-list/

A few summer recommendations from me (in addition to the new books I reviewed recently on this site): 

Outside In by Deborah Underwood, illustrated by Cindy Derby (picture book, ages 3-7)

Beautifully written and illustrated (in lush watercolor) and a perfect fit for Montessori children: about how the outdoors beckons to us in all its forms - light, water, animals, insects, plants.  It finds ways to creep indoors and remind us to go outside and connect with it.

Connect the Dots by Keith Calabrese (ages 8-12). 

Three middle schoolers go to work in this fresh and fun mystery story: is one of them being spied on, and is a reclusive math genius hiding somewhere nearby, manipulating events like puppets on strings?  Will the kids catch these guys?  You’ll enjoy finding out!

NoveList: a resource for "read-alikes" in which you search for books you might like by entering the title or author of a book you have already read. 

Public library websites have this resource in their databases section of their website. You will have to log in to your public library to use NoveList.  

What Do We Do All Day? 

This site has tons of book recommendations for all ages, genres, and other categories such as "Picture Books About Baseball" and "Books For Kids Not Ready For Harry Potter".

Common Sense Media Book Recs

Keep Common Sense Media in mind as a good book recommendation source.  I like it especially for giving guidance on age-appropriateness of individual titles.  At this time they have extra info such as which of the currently free Audible children’s books they recommend.