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- Library Lion (Fantasy)
- the All-I'll-Ever-Want Christmas Doll (Historical ...
- Project Mulberry (Multicultural Free Choice 1)
- Man Fish: A Story of Jacques Cousteau (Biography)
- America at War (Poetry)
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- Sitting Bull Remembers (Historical Fiction)
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October
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Hi Heather,
ReplyDeleteLibrary Lion was a very cute story. In this modern fantasy, a lion enters the quiet and orderly environment of a public library. At first, some of the employees are frightened and even a bit annoyed. After all, isn't it against the RULES to have a lion in the library? Miss Merrieweather, the elderly librarian ends up befriending the lion, who is quite a help to her and even ends up rescuing her. Mr. McBee, on the other hand, is quite annoyed, because he is obsessed with the RULES of the library, and orders the lion to leave. The setting in this book is very important to anyone who has ever been to New York City, as the lion is an iconic symbol for the New York City Public Library. Upon first reading this book, I wondered if the lion was linked to the lions that sit outside of the NYC public library, and sure enough, the last picture reveals that the story does in fact take place at this very library. The author's note at the end also stated that the author spent a great deal of time working in libraries, including the NYC public libraries. Undoubtedly, these lions were the inspiration for the story Library Lion.
While I don't feel this book is quite appropriate for my 5th graders, I think that Library Lion would be a great book for younger students, and especially lends itself to teaching Author's Message. Mr. McBee is so obsessed with following the rules, he fails to realize that there are times that rules are meant to be broken. The lion broke the rule and roared in the quiet library in order to help rescue his friend Mrs. Merriweather, who had just fallen while trying to reach a book on a high shelf. In fact, this book would further lend itself to a social skills lesson, as students would surely benefit from having conversations about when extenuating circumstances lend themselves to breaking a rule.
On second thought, maybe this would lend itself to my 5th graders! While we will always have students who search for opportunities to break and bend the rules, there are other students in our classes, even at the 5th grade level, who are such rule followers, that they will sit in pain rather than break a rule, for fear of getting into trouble. It would be a great book for the beginning of the year, a time when we are trying to build our student's understanding of the "big picture", AKA Theme, AKA Author's Message (as I have mentioned in previous Bloggs, Nancy Boyles suggests that teaching these Big Picture concepts early on will facilitate more meaningful connections later on in the year)AND we are establishing a sense of classroom community and developing expectations, including classroom/ school rules.
What were your thoughts on Library Lion?
-Lauren :)
Lauren,
ReplyDeleteI was thinking exactly what you were in regards to using Library Lion at the beginning of the year to teach a "following the rules" and "why we have rules" lesson. I agreed with you that the book might be a bit too babyish for fifth graders. However, I think all grades could benefit from the book being used to teach the "why we have rules in our classroom."
I found it very interesting what you said about the lions being outside the New York Public Library so I decided to look this up online because I had never been to the NYC library. On experiencefestival.com I learned that lions have been used widely in sculpture to provide a sense of majesty and awe ecspecially on public buildings such as The Great Sphinx of Giza, Nelson's Column in Trafalgar Square in London, and on the NYC Public Library (the lions are named Patience and Fortitude). Maybe the lions are guarding the place? hmmm... The Chinese did believe that lions were meant to ward off evil spirts, hence the Chinese New Years Lion Dance to ward off evil spirits. I learned a lot about lions and what they mean in sculputre, ect. I think it's neat how the author tied in his experience to working in many libraries, one of which being the NYC Public Library.
Sincerely,
Heather
Hi Heather,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the research that you shared! We will have to take a little trip to NYC to see the lions together! It is definitely one of my favorite buildings in NYC. The lions are so handsome, and they are also my astrological sign, as a Leo.
The lion in this story was a very strong character in the story, but I don't think that his true nature could have been conveyed in just words alone. The illustrations speak volumes for how all of the characters are feeling and what their personalities are like, but the lion is especially well portrayed in the pictures. You can tell how kind and gentle her is, even though lions are often thought of as fierce. I just fell in love with him, and my heart melted when I saw the illustration of the lion sitting outside in the pouring rain, looking broken hearted! The medium seems to be a combination of pencil sketching and water color, which helps to create a soft and relaxed mood, further supporting the lion's gentle character.
What did you think? Do you agree that the illustrations played a critical role in this story?
-Lauren :)
Lauren,
ReplyDeleteI wonder if you had a special connection or bond to the story because you are a Leo for your astrological sign? Hmmm.... something to ponder on. Also, I think the illustrations are important to the story because I definately agree with you that they give us an idea of what it would actually look like having a lion sitting around tiny children during a story hour in the library. It makes me think how outrageous the idea of a lion in a library would be. At the end of the book when the moral is stated that sometimes it is okay to break rules even in the library" the message is implied that breaking rules is okay if it is an emergency. I think this is a great time for students to make inferences because it is implied that the author is talking about breaking rules for an emergency, but the author never comes right out and says "for an emergency" she says, "Sometimes it is okay to break the rules, even in the library." The illustration shows all of the children in the library jumping and doing handstands because one can imply they are happy lion is back at the library. However, the author never directly states this either. The illustrations led themselves to allowing the reader to make inferences during reading.
I think this book would be great for introducing younger students to the library and rules of the library as well. The book talks about the circulation desk and some of the jobs a librarian does.
Sincerely,
Heather