By Matt Lazarus, Substitute Teacher
& Maria Falgoust, Librarian
While walking through the halls during ISB’s Literacy Week, one would have been hard-pressed to avoid falling under its spell. As is tradition, classes kicked off the celebration by reproducing a full-length book jackets of their favorite books as covers for their classroom doors. These colorful displays left one to ponder the eponymous forest-dweller in El Grufalo by Julia Donaldson while passing by Spanish Nursery, or feel transported to the medieval castle in Le Roi Est Occupé by Mario Ramos upon entering French Pre-K.
The enthusiasm for Literacy Week was firing at all cylinders when students heard the daily announcement over the loudspeaker: “It’s time to Drop Everything and Read!” Another Literacy Week favorite was Dress As Your Favorite Literary Character Day, where we saw an array of beloved literary characters ranging from Calvin of Calvin and Hobbes, to Billy from Where The Red Fern Grows, to the beautiful butterfly from Eric Carle’s The Very Hungry Caterpillar.
This year’s Book Fair was a great success and generated lots of enthusiasm! The gym was transformed into a bibliophile’s wonderland with colorful hand painted signs and posters created by parent and student volunteers. The Library Team, Library Committee, ISB parents, and Middle School student volunteers all collaborated to plan and execute a memorable celebration of literature for our multilingual community.
Our wonderful vendors, La Librairie des Enfants, L’ecole Loisirs, and Chau Chau Luna provided curated multicultural literature in French and Spanish for kids of all ages. Stories Bookshop & Storytelling lab offered high quality books for children as well as for ISB’s Adult Book Club. Bayard/Milan were also there, selling subscriptions to gorgeous magazines in French and Spanish.
I was so impressed by the wonderful book selection at the year’s Multilingual Book Fair. Not only did I get some fantastic books in Spanish for my children, I was also able to pick up some very unique gifts! This is definitely one of my favorite ISB events. I cannot wait for next year!
-Lulu Betancur, ISB Parent & PA President
Spanish Pre-K Head Teacher Leticia Gonzalez was beaming with pride when the topic of Literacy Week came up. Throughout the week, every single student in her class welcomed a member of his or her family as a mystery reader. During their end-of-week Literacy Celebration, Leticia handed out certificates to each student for having completed the Reading Without Walls challenge.