May Library Feature

   As the countryside turns green and the end of the school year approaches, the schools have many activities which take advantage of this energy.  Naturally one’s thoughts turn to the outdoors and the many science projects that are so compatible with being outside.  The Smithfield School library has an abundance of attractive science books which encourage a closer look at nature.  Two books by Donald Silver and illustrated by Patricia Wynne, One Small Square: Backyard  and One Small Square:  Pond are an extremely informative combination of scientific information, easy projects, and detailed illustrations of the even the tiniest creatures.  Even the indexes  (“indices” for those who prefer the Latinate plural) are illustrated, and the “Further Reading” list also encourages young artists to go outside equipped with simple supplies to sketch from nature.
     Forests by John Woodward from the “Under the Microscope” series shows us just what pieces of the forest do look like under the microscope.  Another attractive book is Fruit, Roots and Fungi by Isamu Sekido.  The Eyewitness book Plant is, like all Eyewitness books, beautiful; often photographs are the best way to introduce nature to children who are used to a sensational show.  Not visually stimulating but very informative is Exploring Spring: a Season of Science Activities, Puzzlers, and Games by Sandra Markle.  Although you might suspect this is a book of activities, it is actually full of information about animal reproduction and is very interesting, if not colorful.
     Really there is no end to the wonderful book choices.  In June I will make a few summer reading suggestions, but now I will just add a word about our library activity for May.  Inspired by the wonderful puppet show, The Last Dragon, which we saw at the high school, we are going to do very simple puppet shows.  Each class (4th, 5th, and 6th) has a different theme.  Sixth grade is doing Gary Paulsen’s My Life in Dog Years, which they read earlier this year. Grade five is doing book characters on a desert island.  Grade four students each chose a folk, fairy tale or mythological character; their characters will be visiting the library.  Last week the students chose characters; this week they will make simple puppets of cloth or paper.  After writing dialogues, they will do simple scenes (two, or three people at a time behind our bookshelf stage) for the rest of their class to watch.  I hope this will be somewhat educational and also entertaining—to match the nice weather.