Uh oh! Lost or Damaged Library Books

Q: What happens when your student loses or damages a library book?

A: First of all, don't worry! If the book is lost, just keep looking around. Popular hiding places for books are:

• under the seat in the car
• in the back or side pockets of a car
  
• cubby at school
• on personal book shelves at home
• on classroom bookshelves
• in a stack going to the public library
• family member's house
• friend's house
• the afterschool lost and found closet in the auditorium

If you cannot find the book or a book is damaged beyond mending, families can either pay for a replacement book or can bring in a comparable book from home. If you choose to bring in a book from home, please make the sure book is

• hardcover
• gently used or new
• something that Cragmont students would enjoy

Missing books hinder your child's use of the library so it is important that we solve lost/damaged book issues quickly to get your student checking out new titles as soon as possible!

If you have any concerns or questions about missing or damaged books, please do not hesitate to talk to me! joverlid@berkeley.k12.ca.us or 510-644-8810.

cleaning house?

If you are cleaning out your student's bookshelf, please consider sending some of your gently used books to the Cragmont Library!

We are always looking for more of our favorite series paperbacks like Magic Tree House, Junie B. Jones, Geronimo Stilton, Goosebumps, Captain Underpants and Secrets of Droon. These are all extremely popular and loved to pieces so replacements are always welcome! If the library cannot add them, I will make sure they get into a classroom library or save them for the Read-A-Thon in February 2011.

New Books!

Cragmont Library just received its Fall/Winter book order and many of our students are discovering new authors and subjects! In addition to Spanish translations of old favorites and next-in-the-series titles, we have several brand new additions that I was very excited to share.

Here are just a few of the newest additions to our collection!

Soup Day by Melissa Iwai: [picture book] Cheerful mother and daughter prepare soup together, simple, sturdy book about food and family, recipe included!

Pierre the Penguin by Jean Marzollo: [non-fiction picture book] True story about an African penguin at the CA Academy of Sciences in San Francisco who lost all his feathers and needed a special wet suit.

The Day-Glo Brothers by Chris Barton: [non-fiction picture book] Ever wonder how we got day-glo yellows, pinks and greens? This brightly illustrated biography tells the story the two brothers who made it happen!

Smile by Raina Telgemeier : [memoir graphic novel] Author Raina tells the story of her own experiences in elementary and middle school dealing with braces, missing teeth and growing up. (One of my favorite books of the past few years!)

Spaceheadz #1 by Jon Scieszka: [illustrated chapter book] First book of a series complete with aliens, a talking hamster and new-kid anxiety.

My Life As a Book by Janet Tashjian (and her 15 year old son Jake): [chapter book with sprinkles of illustrations] Part mystery, part Diary of a Wimpy Kid, main character Derek is dreading his summer reading list and instead, decides to spend his time trying to figure out why his mother is so secretive about an odd newspaper article he found in the attic.