Hidden Oil by Fabrice Erre Illustrated by Sylvain Savoia

Where does oil come from?  How was it used in ancient times?   And how did it become the essential commodity it is in our society today?  

This brief overview begins at the beginning in a comic fashion, and in 46 pages this small book gives a valuable perspective to English language readers who are curious to understand oil’s history.  The young age of the narrators may limit the book’s appeal to teens,  but those who can see past that will find a trove of information, including the timeline, short bios, overviews of UAE and a summary of oil and pollution.  Recommended for sparking inquiry, developing schema and as a Social Studies supplementary text.  --Jessica Fenster-Sparber

Papertoy Monsters are Baaaaack

I want to share these pictures of the Papertoy Monsters that invaded our school library just  a few weeks ago.  As usual,  some students enjoyed that activity more than others and one particularly pleased participant said he found the construction activity to be therapeutic.  

All houses received copies of the Castleforte book so that the fun can continue after school.

Many thanks as always  to Literacy for Incarcerated Teens for providing us with the supplies to keep our students hands’ engaged while we worked with an accompanying lesson on managing students’ frustration in the classroom.--Jessica Fenster-Sparber