I Speak For The Tree's

 

"I am the Lorax. I speak for the tree's".

Anyone who knows me knows that I am a die hard fan of Dr Seuss, so when it came time to pick a new display for the library, I thought what better to do than "The Lorax". For anyone who doesn't know "The Lorax", it is a children's book that was first published in 1971 that chronicles the plight of the environment and the danger corporate greed poses to nature. It was also turned into a very successful animated movie in 2012. The truffula tree's that you can see in the first photo were created using pool noodles, black electrical tape, dowel and plywood. The tops of the tree's were created using tissue paper and wire, following the directions that can be found here. The Lorax was also made from plywood, spray-painted and painted in the appropriate colours. As a family we had such a great deal of fun creating this display (yes kudos to my husband and daughter who made the bases and took their hands to making the truffula tree tops - we are a wonderfully creative family) and the students and teachers loved it as well.

Dragon Quest

 

In many cultures around the world there have been stories about dragons. They may be described in many different ways however one of the common themes are their large reptilian bodies and their feathered or scalded skin. Much of the time these dragons breathe fire, can fly and guard something of value such as knowledge or treasure - having supernatural strength and powers. With dragons previously being one of the most popular trends in children's books, I decided to use dragons as the focus of one of the displays in the library and ran a competition which provided the students with the opportunity to explore various types of dragon based literature. Overall the display was a great success having engaged and exposed a large cohort of students to a fantasy genre they may not have thought of reading before. What is even more pleasing, is that the lovely dragon which was created for the display in still in place keeping watch over the upper campus library to this day.

Would You Like A Blind Date With A Book?

 

"The love of books is the root of all happiness" - Anon

 

The magic of books can be tremendously powerful in the lives of children. However many educators struggle with finding ways to expose students to the wealth of genres available to read. With this in mind, the upper campus library decided to undertake a "Blind Date With A Book" display. With each book wrapped in brown paper like a present - so as not to reveal the content, students were encouraged to borrow these books and report on whether they enjoyed them - committing to reading at least 30 pages in order to make this decision. This display not only provide opportunities for students to explore genre's that they may have not thought of reading before, but brought a little bit of light and fun to the library. Judged as being an overwhelming success amongst teachers and children, this display took very little time to organize and will certainly be worth repeating in the future.