Dan Yaccarino

Mrs. Fournier was kindly invited by some of her fellow librarians last night as they took to dinner the esteemed author and illustrator and Bluebonnet Book Award Nominee Dan Yaccarino of The Fantastic Undersea Life of Jacques Cousteau! It was so interesting to hear him talk all about the hard work it's taken him to become an author and illustrator, and to ask him about his cool graphic, retro illustrative style we all love. He also told Mrs. Fournier what he's working on now and what he has plans to do in the future. Mrs. Fournier was so excited to meet him, she asked if he'd pose for a photo so she could show all of her dedicated Bluebonnet nominee readers! He was happy to do so for all of his awesome fans at Forest North! Keep reading, Eagles.

Unusual Reading Spot Contest

The FNE Library is excited to announce the Special Reading Spot Contest!

Is your family traveling somewhere special for Thanksgiving or Winter Break? Grab your digital camera, a favorite book, and capture a special reading spot or pose to enter.
Students might be found reading in a refrigerator, near an important landmark, in a basketball hoop, or any place their imagination takes them. In the photos, students should be visibly reading a favorite book (see examples below). The 10 most creative pictures will win, and these photos will be enlarged for display in the library and shared on the morning news. All participants will receive an award, even if the image is not chosen for display in the library.

Contest rules:
*The school-wide contest runs from NOW until Tuesday, January 11, 2011.
*Participating students must turn in a 4 x 6 or 5 x 7 photo print of their entry along with a participation form. Note: Use the highest resolution your camera will allow. Participation forms are available in the library on this blog!
*Entries will be voted on by staff and the ten winners will then need to provide a digital version of their image so that we can enlarge it for display in the library. Email digital copies to Mrs. Fournier!
*Please note that camera-phone photos do not have a high enough resolution to print in an enlarged size.

Happy Reading!
-Mrs. Fournier

Bluebonnet Pictograph Bulletin Board

40 Qualified Bluebonnet Voters!

Would you believe that last year we had 37 kids qualify to vote for the Texas Bluebonnet Book Award?

This year, it's only November and we already have 40!

In related news, Mrs. Fournier is looking for six people willing to lend their Nintendo Wii for the Bluebonnet Voting Party! Call or email her ASAP!

Birthday Book Club!

Mrs. Fournier is proud to announce her first year of the Forest North Birthday Book Club. On the month of your student's birthday, look in their folder for a flyer for this program. Parents can fill out the form and send a $15 check or cash. Students can choose their book from a shelf of brand new books Mrs. Fournier has decorated in her office. Students then get a special bookplate dedicating the book to them, they get an extra checkout to take it home and read it first, and a photo of them and the book is aired on morning announcements. What a special way to honor your child's birthday, and it's a gift that will benefit 300 more children as well!

103 Bluebonnet Quizzes already taken!

The Bluebonnet Book Award Program is underway! This year, students who read five books or more get their picture taken to air on the morning news! That same picture will be framed on our QUALIFIED BLUEBONNET VOTER bulletin board outside the library, and also will be used in the class pictograph that charts our success- teachers have that 10 or more students come to the Bluebonnet Party get a free lunch from Mrs. Fournier! These same students who read 5 or more books nominated for the award get to come to the hippest, happening party of the year- Mrs. Fournier's Bluebonent Book Award Voting Party! At the voting party, we'll have a snack, get a free book and a free poster, play Bluebonnet Bingo and vote! We even will have Nintendo Wiis to play.

Students who read 10 or more nominated books get a $5 gift certificate to the Forest North Spring Book Fair. Students who read 15 or more nominated books get a $7.50 gift certificate to the Forest North Spring Book Fair! Students who read all 20 nominated books get a $10.00 gift certficiate to the Forest North Spring Book Fair AND are qualified to participate in the Battle of the Bluebonnets, a super exciting quiz show competition.

Mrs. Fournier had Bluebonnet Kickoff for all 3rd, 4th and 5th grade classes on September 21st and 22nd. So far, 103 books have already been read! How amazing is that? Last year, 37 voters attended the party- wonder if we can get more this year?

Book Fair Success!

Dear my wonderful crew of Forest North Library volunteers,

Well, the dust has settled and the numbers have been crunched. We earned a record-breaking $905.04 for the Book Fair this year! We never broke the $900 mark last year, so I am thrilled to achieve that goal. It will all go directly into hiring an author or storyteller to come entertain us later this year. Stay tuned for announcements on who that person will be!

Thanks so much to everyone who helped me put on the Book Fair. It is not a one person job, and I could not have done it without all your help setting up, advertising, holding signs outside in the car line, running the cash register, helping me count the pennies for a 4th time, helping all of our customers choose which color pencil they want, helping find just the right book, making wish lists, and breaking down the library hours faster than I ever have before!

For those of you with more flexible schedules, I am still looking as always for regularly scheduled volunteers. I always have lots of books to reshelve and lots of small projects I need help with, so if you've ever got a free hour, I'd love "drop in" help, or if you have an hour or two you could regularly devote to the library, my readers and I would be eternally grateful for your assistance! It's hard running a library by yourself, but it sure is easier to manage with wonderful parents and community members like you. I couldn't do it without you. I sincerely appreciate your willingness to help me help your students.

Sincerely,
Library Girl
AKA Mrs. Fournier