...going through my summer journal... special times with special people and special books... 
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Unpacking boxes with new books is always one of the first tasks at the beginning of a new school year. And I am loving it... and can't wait to share these wonderful new books with you! See you soon!

Look out for the first post of the school year 2017-18 and a brand new blog page here!

Here are a few picture books you might enjoy reading as the summer comes to an end and you are preparing to return to school: ​

And here are, as always, a few books you might enjoy reading in connection with the theme of inquiring. ​

Are you ready for another week of Summer Reading Fun? Here we go :)

Some writing activities and prompts you might enjoy:
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• Write about a favourite summer day or other memory.
• Go to a park or sit in a café and observe the people around you. Make up a story about one of the people you notice.
• Ponder about one of the following questions and write down your answer: What would happen if children ruled the world? If you could invent anything, what would it be and why? If you could meet a famous person, who would it be and why?
• Organise a special “author afternoon tea” during which everyone gets to share some of their writing. 

I am writing too, participating for the third summer in the Teachers Write camp, organized by kidlit and yalit authors Kate Messner, Jo Knowles and Gae Polisner. It's a wonderful opportunity for me to meet new authors, discover great stories and learn more about the writing process. I love the writing prompts, trying out the strategies published authors use in creating their stories.

The first week of the summer holidays – are you excitedly looking ahead to the next eight weeks? I bet you are! You have worked hard throughout the school year and it is time for some extra fun, relaxation and new adventures.

Here are a couple of ideas of what you might like to do to get ready for the amazing time that lies ahead, to make sure you get and make the most out of it.

​Happy Summer Reading, Happy Summer Time! 

Start a Summer Journal / Scrapbook
Keeping a summer journal is a wonderful idea of collecting memories, of recording books you have read, places you have seen, people you have met. You can write, draw, sketch, add photos, tickets, newspaper articles, anything interesting or memorable you come across.

Make Lists
Making lists is a wonderful way of planning and getting excited about the holidays. What do you hope to do this summer? What are you looking forward to reading? Who are you hoping to see? Write down a few of your ideas, either in your summer journal or any other format that works for you. 

Read! Read! Read!
Enjoy all the extra reading time available. Here are a few wonderful books about summer:

Picture Books
Away (Emil Sher)
And Then Comes Summer (Tom Brenner)
Jabari Jumps (Gaia Cornwall)
A Couple of Boys Have the Best Week Ever (Marla Frazee) Splash Anna Hibiscus (Atinuke)
Perfect (Danny Parker)
The Boy on the Beach (Niki Daly)
Pool (Jihyeon Lee)
Beach House (Deanna Caswell)
The House Takes a Vacation (Jacqueline Davies)
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Chapter books and novels for the middle grades
Letters From Camp (Kate Klise and M. Sarah Klise)
Tortilla Sun (Jennifer Cervantes)
Alvin Ho: Allergic to Camping, Hiking and Other Natural Disasters (Lenore Look)
​Summer Stories (Enid Blyton)
Any Which Wall (Laurel Snyder)
The Penderwicks (Jeanne Birdsall)
Touch Blue (Cynthia Lord)
The Simple Things (Bill Condon)
The Great Good Summer (Liz Garton Scanlon)
Secrets of the Cicada Summer (Andrea Beaty)
Charlie Joe Jackson’s Guide to Summer Vacation (Tommy Greenwald)

And in case you are wondering, what's on my personal summer reading list, here are some of the books currently downloaded to my Kindle app (as always there is lots more than I most probably can read this summer, but I always like having lots of choice :)

Children's literature and novels for the middle grades:

I hope you'll check in again next Monday to discover more ideas and reading suggestions and explore our Summer Reading Padlet :)

The end of a school year is always a bitter sweet experience, especially at international schools. We fondly look back on the many wonderful times, the memories created during a year of learning together, the achievements we can celebrate together. But there is also often having to say goodbye to students, colleagues and friends.

While there are usually just a few in each class, I do have to say goodbye every year to an entire grade level, as they move on to secondary school: our grade 5s. I recently asked them what they take away from their time in the Primary Library and listening to their comments was like watching a time-lapse video, capturing special moments of our time together and also reminding me, how much this special group of students has taught me over the years: sharing stories as read-alouds, talking about books, recommending books to each other, encouraging each other to broaden the genres we read, discovering new authors and their stories, meeting authors who inspired us to read more and write more, celebrating special events connected to reading and books, just to mention a few. In their comments, there was so much passion for books and reading, so much knowledge about books, so much confidence in who they are as readers; just thinking about it now warms my heart and puts the biggest smile on my face. 

But not just from our fifth graders have I learned again a lot this year; I am taking away so much learning, so many happy memories from reading and learning with all of our students, as we celebrated so many wonderful authors and their stories together this year. 

I want to thank each and everyone of you and wish you all the best as your reading and learning journey continues - in the HKA Primary School, the HKA Secondary School or another school in Hong Kong or elsewhere in the world.

With much gratitude,
​Tanja

(And don't forget to make use of all the wonderful reading recommendations you helped me to put together on our SUMMER READING PADLET!)

While we are away during the summer break, George will take good care of our library :)