About 18 months ago, I started messaging back and forward with Arizona author Dusti Bowling asking if she’d be interested in visiting our students at Shanghai American School. Now she’s finished her two week visit and is ‘safely’ back in the land of tarantulas, scorpions and rattlesnakes. I’m so glad I reached out to her.
Students on both campuses from Prek-8th grade enjoyed spending time with Dusti; in assemblies, in writing workshops and as she made time to visit classrooms just for a chat.
News from the Library (in English and Mandarin)
1. George O’Connor’s books are for sale in the Elementary Library. He is our visiting author for next week. If you would like your child to buy a book, and have it autographed during George’s visit, please send in money (prices range from 40 rmb for Paperback Captain Awesome to 140 rmb for books for older readers) We have been promoting art, drawing, cartooning and writing through several great links on George O Connor’s website.
There are resources about Greek God’s and Goddesses used in The Olympians series, Mad Libs to fill out, drawings to finish, extra resources to discover, as well as many great videos and resoures of George’s illustrated series like Captain Awesome and Super Turbo.
来自图书馆的新消息
1. 图书馆正在热卖乔治奥康纳的图书。他讲于下周造访美校。如果你的孩子想获得他的亲笔签名，现在随时可以把钱留给孩子让他们来图书馆挑选（各类不同装帧的图书价格从40元到140元不等）。同时我们也通过其它奥康纳的在线资源来推广他的手绘和文章。
这些资源有奥林匹克系列里的祖谱表，漫画填空以及其它源于奥康纳创作的录像。他的作品包括了漫画奥林匹克系列，还有给了不起的船长及超级涡轮的配图。
Attached is the schedule for next week, you are welcome to attend the Assembly in the LLH on Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday morning for your child’s grade level.
Parents George O’Connor Schedule
We are so lucky to have not one, not two, not three, but FOUR visiting authors on Pudong Campus this week. Not only do we have the incredibly talented Robin Page and Steve Jenkins here with all of Elementary and 7th grade, but for two whole WEEKS Poets Extraordinaire Sara Holbrook and Michael Salinger are back here, for the FOURTH TIME.
With authors and illustrators contacting our library team, faculty and administrators on a weekly basis requesting visits to our terrific school, why would we have the same people back here four times you might ask?
Because they are THAT GOOD. They provide the best ‘bang for your buck’ because they give 110% to the students and teachers, with so many different workshops to offer. As well as being able to do larger more general presentations and assemblies, they also have over 25 writing clinics they offer to classroom teachers. This information is given to us ahead of time, so that teachers can choose which clinic best caters to their needs. Most of these clinics run for about an hour, but again, they can be tailored to the teacher’s needs.
Sara and Michael are so well traveled, truly global visiting authors; they go to International Schools all over the world. What that means for us is that they KNOW our students, they KNOW and UNDERSTAND where they’ve come from and where they’re headed. It really makes a difference. I urge you to read about them on their site and you’ll see what I mean; what they don’t know about Poetry isn’t worth knowing.
Sarah and Michael will be presenting tomorrow to 5th grade, and several times to 4th grade over the next two weeks. Contact your child’s homeroom teacher for details.
Steve Jenkins and Robin Page will be here. They are our final Elementary Visiting Authors for the school year; here at the same time as the wonderful Poets Sara Holbrook and Michael Salinger. (Sara and Michael will present to 4th and 5th grade only).
Read more about Steve and Robin’s visit here. In the last two sessions of Library Check-Out time, we have perused Robin and Steve’s books, book-talked several titles in detail, and watched this great clip showing how Steve put together The Animal Book.
Enjoy
News from the Library
Xin Nian Kuai Le to you and your family
Firstly, a HUGE thank you to the parents who have been regularly volunteering in our library; do you know how great it is to see you here? We appreciate it so much. Thank you for making the effort,
Steve Jenkins and Robin Page Visit
On March 2nd and March 3rd Pudong Elementary Students (K-5) are in for a treat when not one, but two amazing, award-winning, author/illustrators share their secrets in the Elementary Library. Steve Jenkins and wife Robin Page, have co-authored over a dozen books together, and we have over 30 of Steve Jenkins books in our Elementary Library.
These authors will educate our children on the complex process of book-making, from the research stage right through to publication. On making books Steve says:
Below is the schedule for the authors visit; they are dividing their very short time with Middle School Art, so out time together will be intense and pack a punch. Until their visit, students are exploring all Steve and Robin have to offer as we read and discuss amazing books like Actual Size, Creature Features, Animals by the Numbers and the Caldecott Honor winner, What do you do with a Tail Like This?
Books for Sale
If your child likes books about animals, nature, non fiction, facts, then you are going to want to buy some of the books we have. There are over 500 books for sale. It sounds like a lot right? However, right now they are hidden in the Primary Library and we’ve already sold over 30! The hardback books in particular will sell very quickly, an autographed book always makes a wonderful gift, or personal keepsake.
If you would like to buy a book, look over the available titles below, and send in money with your child as soon as you can; to avoid disappointment, perhaps have a couple of titles in mind. We have many copies of the paperback versions, but like I said, hardback goes fast. They really are beautiful, come by and see them for yourself next time you are in school.
Author Schedule
Students are thrilled that our first author for 2017 is Stephen Swinburne as they LOVE nature, LOVE animals, and LOVE music and Steve is bringing all three loves right to our doorstep!
If you’d like to buy one of Steve’s books, send money in to the ES Library and we’ll organize the book to be signed for you and get it back to you during our author’s visit.
David Greenberg is in his final session now, with 7th grade. He has presented to almost every student in our school this week; an incredible flurry of sessions including poetry, writing workshops, civil rights presentations and assemblies from Prek-12th grade.
Thank you David for your contributions and I hope you have a wonderful week at Puxi campus; we truly loved having you here and I recommend you highly for other schools.
I’ve been here for 11 years and this will be the third time Author Poet extraordinaire David Greenberg will visit us at Pudong campus. I am most excited about this visit as I have come to know David over the years and absolutely love the presentation he does related to Civil Rights. He will be presenting this from 4th-12th grade with a full high school assembly on Tuesday morning in the Performing Arts Centre, and for all of 8th grade on Monday afternoon in the LLH. David’s Civil Rights presentation is aligned with his novel A Tugging String which provides a unique perspective of growing up during the Civil Rights Era as the son of Martin Luther King’s Lawyer.
Parents are welcome to attend these sessions and we will get you a more detailed schedule as David’s visit gets closer. David will be on Pudong Campus from Monday September 19th-Friday September 23rd before moving to Puxi campus for the following week.
David will be presenting poetry to the Prek-3rd grade during the week and there will be the opportunity to purchase some of David’s books using the order form below that will be sent home with students before David’s visit.
Here are some of the books David will be sharing poetry from, discussing and promoting with the students.
Here is the order form for the books David can sign, and send to us in China after his visit.
Seriously, didn’t we just have two amazing authors at SAS?
Well from April 18-22nd, we have TWO more! Margaret Peterson Haddix and Laurie Halse Anderson are coming to Shanghai. Come to our Assembly in the PAC on Monday 18th to welcome these two ladies to SAS Pudong. We have many books on sale in the library by these authors; first in first served.
Margaret Peterson Haddix
Margaret Peterson Haddix grew up on a farm near Washington Court House, Ohio. She graduated from Miami University (of Ohio) with degrees in English/journalism, English/creative writing and history. Before her first book was published, she worked as a newspaper copy editor in Fort Wayne, Indiana; a newspaper reporter in Indianapolis; and a community college instructor and freelance writer in Danville, Illinois.
She has since written more than 30 books for kids and teens, including Running Out of Time; Don’t You Dare Read This, Mrs. Dunphrey; Leaving Fishers; Turnabout; Takeoffs and Landings; The Girl with 500 Middle Names; Because of Anya; Escape from Memory; Say What?; The House on the Gulf; Double Identity; Dexter the Tough; Uprising; Claim to Fame; The Always War; Game Changer; Full Ride; the Shadow Children series; the Missing series and The Palace Chronicles. She also wrote Into the Gauntlet, the tenth book in the 39 Clues series. Her books have been honored with New York Timesbestseller status, the International Reading Association’s Children’s Book Award; American Library Association Best Book and Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers notations; and numerous state reader’s choice awards. They have also been translated into more than twenty different languages.
Haddix and her husband, Doug, now live in Columbus, Ohio, and they are the parents of two college-aged kids.
Margaret will be in the Elementary School all day on Thursday April 21st as well as for an hour or two every other day that week.
Laurie Halse Anderson
Laurie Halse Anderson is the New York Times-bestselling author who writes for kids of all ages. Known for tackling tough subjects with humor and sensitivity, her work has earned numerous national and state awards, as well as international recognition. Two of her books, Speak and Chains, were National Book Award finalists. Laurie was honored with the 2009 Margaret A. Edwards Award given by YALSA division of the American Library Association for her “significant and lasting contribution to young adult literature…”. Mother of four and wife of one, Laurie lives in Northern New York, where she likes to watch the snow fall as she writes.
American history has been a life-long passion for Laurie. If she were to become a teacher, it is what she’d teach. Like Speak, her first historical fiction novel, Fever 1793, published in 2000, is used in schools all over the country. After receiving multiple national and state awards, Fever 1793 was adapted into a stage play in May of 2004 and performed at the Gifford Family Theater in Syracuse, New York.
In 2008 Chains was released, the first in a trilogy set in the Revolutionary War time period. Laurie was blessed and honored when the book was named a National Book Award finalist, her second. Chains also received the Scott O’Dell Award for Historical Fiction and the ALA Best Book for Young Adults award, together with multiple media and bookseller recognitions. Forge, the sequel to Chains, was published in the fall of 2010 and we are eagerly awaiting Ashes, coming October 2016.
Laurie will be in the Elementary School all day on Wednesday April 22nd.
the barefoot librarian 