You don't have to be scared when your tooth is about to fall out.  Have fun learning new words while learning what to do when your tooth is loose.

Written by Grace Maccarone.

Top 5 Reasons to Enroll Your Child into Our Summer Reading Celebration!

1. The number of books read during the summer is consistently related to academic gains. (Bridging the Summer Reading Gap, 2003)

2. Children who read six or more books over the summer gained more in reading achievement than children who did not.  (Bridging the Summer Reading Gap, 2003)

3. One to three months of academic growth can be lost over the summer. (National Summer Learning Association)

4. Students who do not engage in educational activities during the summer typically score lower on tests at the end of summer than they did at the beginning. (Summer Learning Loss: The Problem and Some Solutions).

5. Libraries contribute to the intellectual growth of children during the summer.  (Making the Case for Library Services to Children and Teens, State Library of North Carolina)

You can start to sign up for the Summer Reading Celebration June 1.

The Landry News (AR 4.0, Level 6.0) is an older title by the school-related author, Andrew Clements.  However, it's theme is so timely because of the unobjective news reporting practiced by many cable "news" networks.  Please also note the wonderful illustrations by the Invention of Hugo Cabret and Wonderstruck author, Brian Selznick!

Cara, whose parents have divorced, first used her newspaper, The Landry News as a way to inappropriately express the truth, no matter who was hurt.  Now she is at a new school.  She disapproves of the lacksadaical way that her fifth grade teacher, Mr. Larson, runs his classroom.   She prints her dissatisfaction in her newspaper.  How will Mr. Larson react when he sees it?

The Constitution's First Amendment is explored in this novel.  Should truth be tempered by mercy?  How does truth and mercy fit in The Landry News?  Will Mr. Larson ever change?  Find out and check out this wonderful book!

"Sinking a sub" has nothing to do with submarines in this thoughtful tale of fourth graders and their schemes to make a substitute teacher succumb and cry.

The fourth graders in Hobie Hanson's class are ecstatic when their teacher, Mr. Star, has to go home with the flu.  Mr. Star is never sick! What follows is a competition between the boys and the girls to see who can make the sub, Miss. Ivanovitch, cry. At stake: retrieving balls from the spit pit!

The competition gets intense and finally ends with a big disaster no one saw coming. The fourth graders soon learn that this new sub is unlike any other they have seen before! Thirteen Ways to Sink A Sub (AR 4.0, Level 5.2) occurs in only one day. However, the fourth graders learn alot and have fun, too! Have fun reading this quick read from Jamie Gilson!

Is your child anxious about starting kindergarten? Kindergarten is a big transition for children, and it can be hard, especially in the beginning. One of the best ways to prepare your child for kindergarten is to set aside a quiet time when you and your child can sit down together and read books about others who are dealing with the same fears. The library offers many books about starting school and starting kindergarten. Here are just a few. You might find your own anxieties calmed by reading these wonderful stories! Check out the San José Public Library catalog for these titles and others about starting school.

Annabelle Swift, Kindergartner by Amy Schwartz

Although some of the things her older sister taught her at home seem a little unusual at school, other lessons help make Annabelle's first day in kindergarten a success. Amy Schwartz "provides a funny, balanced view of the emotions experienced by a child just starting school."

Look Out Kindergarten, Here I Come by Nancy Carlson

The first day of Kindergarten is finally here, and Henry can't wait to paint pictures, sing songs, and practice counting. Sounds like a great time!

First Day Jitters by Julie Danneberg

The main character in this story is very worried about what will go wrong on the first day of school. Will anyone like her? Will she know anyone? It will be hard! I just know I'm going to hate it! There is a twist at the end when readers discover it's actually the teacher who has first day jitters. Children will be amazed that they're not the only ones who worry about starting school.

Wemberly Worried by Kevin Henkes

Wemberly, a little girl mouse, is terrified at the thought of school. On her first day she meets a new friend who is also worried. The two of them help each other get through the day.

Are you getting your child ready for school? Or are you wondering what this school year will bring? Or are you already worried about the afterschool struggle with homework? Well, there's help for you! We have a collection especially geared for the needs of children and parents and school. The collection includes test prep guides, workbooks for math and English, and books on how to help your child succeed at school. The collection is called the Educational Resource Center.

Two series titles that introduce what content each grade is likely to cover are:

Making the Grade: Everything Your 1st Grader Needs to Know

and What Your First Grader Needs to Know.

In the collection, we also have some very popular workbooks on various subjects by the publisher Spectrum. Some examples are the Math and Test workbooks:

Spectrum Math Grade 4

and Spectrum California Test Practice Grade 4

We also have the Scholastic Explains Homework Series which is excellent to use in helping your child with particular subjects. There is the Scholastic Explains Writing Homework and the Scholastic Explains Reading Homework which explains English homework so well.

For general guides on helping your child with homework, there are:

How to Help Your Child with Homework by Jeanne Schumm

and 20-minute Learning Connection by Douglas B. Reeves.

The last series that I would like to recommend to help children with reading is called Comprehension and Critical Thinking, a compendium of articles from Time for Kids. There are six titles in the series for grades 1-6.