The first few days back at school after winter break are no joke here in the Learning Leopard Library. Our voracious readers have had the same books for almost three weeks – and they are ready for MORE. In the past five days, we have checked out more than 620 books to Johnson students! Whether morning, during class time, or on the way to the bus, the checkout line has been full and the sound of scanning has filled the air!

In fact, we’ve been so busy, that there hasn’t been much time to take pictures. Enjoy a short This Week in Photos today – and trust me when I say that although the post is a bit empty, the library was not!

Younger students began tackling the long list of Virginia Readers Choice selections with Again!, a charming and hilarious story by Emily Gravett. Every year, the Virginia Readers Choice committee selects ten exemplary books for primary readers and highlights them on their Readers Choice lists. We will be sharing each of the ten stories in the upcoming weeks, and I can’t wait to share them! This week’s story, about a dragon that loves his bedtime story so much, he wants to hear it again and again and AGAIN, inspired some creative illustrations!

In the video linked above, author Emily Gravett shows us how she draws Cedric, the dragon from the story. We used it as inspiration to create our own dragons.

Older students get a refresher course on using the library independently after a long holiday break. These pictures show students checking out, sharing stories, and reading to friends and teachers in the library.

While younger students were becoming fantasy illustrators, older students had to prove how much they remembered from 2014! Each grade got its own version of a library game show – from Wheel of Messham to Reference Jeopardy…

…to Leopard Library Jeopardy….

…and beyond. Between the fun categories, the thinking music, and the opportunity to practice math with score keeping, Jeopardy is a big hit for everyone!

Last month’s birthdays have come down, and this month’s birthdays are ready to go up! The Birthday Book Club bulletin board may look empty in this photo, but drop by the library to check out December and January’s Birthday Book Club-ers and their awesome book choices!

I get the feeling that the whole Johnson community is feeling pretty sleepy after this long week back to school. Have a fun, restful weekend, and stay warm!

– Miss Messham