Our Librarian Won't Tell Us Anything
Grade 2–5—Liberty Elementary School has a state-of-the-art library media center with a librarian who, allegedly, won't tell the students anything. At least that's the grim report that new student Robert receives from his classmate Carmen. When he meets Mrs. Skorupski-who wears tarantula earrings, rhinestone glasses, a bright red-and-gold shirt, and purple pants-he discovers that she is not quite as close-lipped as he'd been led to believe. While it's true that she won't place a book directly in his hand or find him a Web site, she patiently teaches him how to search an online catalog and how to access and select appropriate information by himself. In other words, she's a perfect school librarian. Mrs. Skorupski enables Robert and his classmates to locate print and nonprint materials, take notes, keep track of sources, and demonstrate their learning in a multimedia product. This amusing story with bright, zippy illustrations can be used to launch research units. The accompanying "library lessons" pamphlet has useful forms, a self-assessment rubric, and additional information on multimedia formats including claymation films, podcasts, TV advertisements, and PowerPoint slide shows.—Gloria Koster, West School, New Canaan, CTCopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.--This text refers to an alternateHardcoveredition.