Liberry? I love the LIBERRY!

VISITING LIBRARIAN
Today, our afternoon "drama" session was co-opted by a visit from a SF Librarian, or as she introduced herself, the Book Lady. She read four stories, interspersing some simple fingerplays and songs to refocus and relieve tension from their kinetic little bodies. The two favorites were Dear Zoo and Kitten's First Moon.

In the pop-up, Dear Zoo, a child requests an animal to have for a pet. The zoo sends several that are unsuitable before delivering a dog. The children loved guessing what was inside, based on box proportions and other clues.

In Kitten's First Moon, she chases the moon, thinking it is a bowl of milk in the sky. She mistakes a reflection in the water for a big bowl of milk and has quite a wet surprise when she goes after it. The children were well versed in this concept, as it is a climactic moment in a story currently popular in our classroom, The River Dragon.

Mouse In A Dish For Bongo, by Alexander.

TODAY'S ACTIVITY
Bright Sand Collages. Sonya had wrapped several pieces of cardboard in aluminium foil for the children to glue patterns of brightly colored sand. The highly reflective surface of the foil gives the semi-translucent colored salt a shimmering quality.

TODAY'S STORY
Little One, by Ann and Paul Rand. Paul Rand is one of the most famous and influential graphic designers of the modern era. This story began as an exercise to have fun with the number concept and evolved into this counting book. Little One is lonely and wants desperately to find friends and fit in. After being turned away by two pears, three bears, etc...he eventually finds zero, who was nothing without him. Together they make "10" and enjoy a game of stick and hoop, becoming good friends.

You can easily spot Rand's style in thousands of graphics, albums and advertisements from the 50s and 60s and beyond to this day. One of his students at Yale was Clarence Lee, a graphic designer who designed the Chinese New Year series of stamps for the U.S. Postal Service. How about that?