Keep Ms. Claire Reading This Summer!

Hey, Emerson students (and families) --

Now that it's summer I've got tons of time to read... and I want to hear from YOU about what you've been reading and what I should read next! Did you just finish a great book or a graphic novel that you really enjoyed? Wondering what to read next and want some recommendations from your favorite school librarian? Send me an email or write about it in the comments! I can't wait to hear from you. And maybe I'll see you in the public library this summer too.

Love,
Ms. Claire
claire_scott @ berkeley.k12.ca.us

The Cabinet of Wonders, by Marie Rutkoski

*Ms. Claire's note: we hope that great book reviews like this will continue to trickle in during the summer! Students (and parents), if you read something you like, write something about it and send it to me - I'll put it on the blog for everybody to appreciate.

The Cabinet of Wonders, by Marie Rutkoski
Genre: Fantasy
Review by Maria, Grade 4, Ms. Weddle's class

I read a book called The Cabinet of Wonders. It is about a girl named Petra Kronos. She lives a simple, happy life. But it is not ordinary at all. Her pet, Astrophil, is a tin spider who gives her advice. One day, her father is called by the prince of Bohemia to build a very special clock. However, he returns home without his eyes! The Prince has stolen them. Petra decides to secretly go to Prague alone, destroy the dangerous powers of the clock and steal her father's eyes back. She makes friends with Neel and Iris who help her. Will Petra ever get her "normal" life back like her father?

This book is full of magic, fun, and heroism! Five stars!



Thanks to Mrs. Dalloway's Books at 2904 College Ave for their generous donations of review copies to our intrepid readers! Look for more reviews coming soon, and please support the community independent booksellers who are supporting our Emerson community!

Books that reflect new readers

Enormous thanks are due to the Berkeley Public Education Foundation for their grant to the Emerson Library this year. The grant allowed us to purchase nearly 70 sturdily-bound Readers, or books that are just right for students in first and second grades, and for struggling readers up through fifth grade.


These new books gave our Reader section a desperately-needed facelift. The books we purchased with the grant reflected the lives of many of our students, written by authors of color with characters living in neighborhoods much like our own Bay Area ones. As we brought in the new books we were able to discard old, battered, dated books and give them new homes in classrooms and with students.

Our students have only just begun to enjoy their wonderful new Reader section, as the books arrived at the end of the school year. We look forward to many more years with these wonderful books.