Database available through the Seattle Public Library

Recently I shared Bookflix with K-2nd grade students.  This is a wonderful database that pairs fiction books with  non-fiction books.  It is available to you with a public library card. To access this resource, go to  the SPL website and select Bookflix, then enter your library card number and enjoy!

I’ve received several requests from parents on how to access our library resources from home, so I thought the following information might be useful to provide again. We have subscriptions to a variety of databases that are available through the district. All of these can be accessed here. If you are logged into The Source, click on Resources and password information is provided there. I am also happy to provide this information to you via email if you are having problems with access. Our subscription to PebbleGo, which is provided by the school, is up and running and can be accessed either through the North Beach Library Catalog visual search function, or by going directly to the database. Finally, if you would like to have access to downloadable audiobooks through NetLibrary, please email me at kemclane@seattleschools.org and I will set up an account for you, or come into the library and I can assist you with setting up an account.

Washington Children' Choice Update

We are about two-thirds of the way through the list of books nominated for the

Washington Children's Choice Award.  All K-3 Students will be voting at the end of March on their favorite book.  Recently we read Ron's Big Mission, a fictionalized account of an incident that occurred in future Challenger astronaut Ron McNair's childhood.  At the age of 9, when African-Americans were not allowed to check out books from the local public library in Lake City, South Carolina, McNair refused to leave the library until he was allowed to check out the books on advanced scientific topics that he was interested in.  While Ron's Big Mission doesn't dig deeply into the issues of segregation in the 1950s, it presents the topic in a manner that's accessible for young students. And the students who were close to the age McNair was at that time were able to appreciate the courage and self-confidence he must have possessed to engage in this act of civil disobedience.  I was not aware of this story prior to reading Ron's Big Mission, but I read more about Dr. McNair after reading the book, and he was an amazing, inspirational person who is now revered in his hometown.  Last week, on the 25th anniversary of the Challenger disaster, there were several news stories about him.  I enjoyed this one, about how the library that refused to provide service to African Americans when McNair was a child has been restored and reopened as the Dr. Ronald E. McNair Life History Center to honor this exceptional American hero.

Award winning author/storyteller Margaret Read MacDonald visits North Beach

I'm really excited that we will have the opportunity next month to host Margaret Read MacDonald at North Beach. She will be at the school all day on March 1st and will meet with all classes. Then she will be joining us at our Multicultural Potluck on the evening of March 2nd. Dr. MacDonald is an award-winning folklorist who has published dozens of books featuring tales from around the world. In preparation for her visit, we will be reading her books as well as other folktales, discussing different types of folktales, their origins, and the similarities among stories from different areas of the world. We started out last week reading Mabela the Clever, a tale from the Limba people of Sierra Leone, The Squeaky Door, from Puerto Rico, and we wrapped up the week with a discussion of fables and a reading of Bat's Big Game. There will be a flyer sent home in the upcoming week with information on pre-ordering Dr. MacDonald's books from the Secret Garden Bookshop. The proceeds from the sale of books in conjunction with our author visit will benefit the North Beach Library.