School Visits: Tibbets Elementary School

I have to admit, this is one of my favorite schools to visit. Hey, we all have favorites, right? The kids are enthusiastic, the library is great, and it's just a nice place! Happily, the 5th graders were good sports this year (the less said about last year the better!). We had some interesting choices for book talks too. I see the kids in class groups (all except kindergarten - I never manage to see kindergarten here) and really try to talk up how flexible the program is. This school is the farthest out, about 10 minutes from town, and serves all the even farther out kids so there's no walking or biking to the library. Interestingly, I had quite a few 5th graders very interested in ebooks. This is a whole list because at this point I really can't remember which class asked for which books and I'm getting a little fuzzy as to which I booktalked where!

• Dragonbreath: Curse of the were-wiener. (lots of Dragonbreath fans!)
• Same difference by Siobhan Vivian (didn't really want to booktalk this, just a sample to get some of the older kids to attend our author visit. I did talk it a little to the 5th graders, but said it was a teen book and only for those who are mature...)
• Battle of the red hot pepper weenies by David Lubar (another favorite series)
• Calli Be Gold by Michele Hurwitz (debating the wisdom of buying an additional copy of this, I think it's going to GO)
• Boom! by Mark Haddon
• How to survive middle school by Donna Gephart
• Boys are dogs by Leslie Margolis (funny, everybody wanted this last year and nobody asked for it this year. Probably all read it already)
• True meaning of smekday by Adam Rex
• Groosham Grange by Anthony Horowitz
• Tinker Bell and the wings of Rani [GN]
• My cousin the alien by Pamela Service (this one is also usually a big draw, but no askers this time)
• Case of the case of mistaken identity by Mac Barnett
• Gross out by Ginjer Clarke (teachers get really grossed out. Kids love it)
• Sharks by Anne Schreiber (national geographic reader)
• Deadliest animals by Melissa Stewart (national geographic reader)
• Crunch by Leslie Connor
• No more dead dogs by Gordon Korman
• Tale of two castles by Gail Levine (really surprised no one has asked for this - has Levine killed her reputation with those insipid Disney fairy books?)
• Anna Hibiscus by Atinuke
• Doyle and Fossey, science detectives, Case of the mossy lake monster
• Extreme adventures: shark bait and scorpion sting by Justin D'ath (had a couple fans in the audience who I talked these to earlier, so these were big hits!)
• How to grow up and rule the world by Vordak the incomprehensible (they really, really loved this one!)
• Dreadful fates by Tracey Turner (this one didn't go so well, but it was behind some other books)
• Zita the Spacegirl by Ben Hatke [GN]
• Twisted journeys captured by pirates by Justine Fontes
• Animal House by Candace Ryan (surprise hit! EVERYONE wanted this one!)
• Pop! the invention of Bubble Gum
• Here there be monsters by HP Newquist
• More bears by Ken Nesbitt
• Hooray for Amanda and her alligator by Mo Willems
• Cool cars and trucks by Sean Kenney (another very popular one)
• I'm a shark by Bob Shea (everybody wants this one too!)
• Scaredy Squirrel has a birthday party
• Poop happened by Sarah Albee (everybody wants this one, but it's interesting to see which grade levels will read the title out loud and which will only say "that one!")
• Bake and make amazing cakes (huh. they must not have been able to see this one)
• Bug zoo
• Mummies by Christopher Sloan (always a hit)
• Sorghaghtani of Mongoli
• Manatee Scientists
• How to draw big cats by Carolyn Franklin (3rd and 4th graders love drawing books)

And THAT's the list!