Library

Welcome To The Murdock Elementary School Library Media Center
Hours 8:00am to 3:00pm Monday through Friday

Guidelines For Parents:
Remember to keep library books in a safe place. They should be kept out of reach of younger children and pets. Please do not leave your book outside and be careful that lunch boxes or water bottles do not leak onto library books taken home in school backpacks. Books lost or damaged beyond repair must be replaced at the family’s expense.

If a book is accidentally torn, please mark the place and return the book to the library to be repaired. Please do not try to make the repair at home.

Help your child remember to return borrowed books to the library by the due date. This will give others a chance to enjoy the book also. Library books are on a 1-week check out period and are due on your child’s library day. If the child is still reading the book, they still need to bring it with them on their library day.

Discuss appropriate library behavior. The library is a quiet place. We do not want to disturb others. There will be rewards for appropriate behavior and consequences for inappropriate behavior. These rules will be discussed with your child at the beginning of the school year.

Library and Learning Resource Technician, Ms. Jennifer Baxter
(619) 668-5775 x3490
Jennifer.Baxter@lmsvschools.org

Borrowing Books From The Library:
Murdock students have the opportunity to borrow books from the school library to bring home. We feel that borrowing library books is a valuable experience for children.

When your child borrows books from the library, it is theirs and your responsibility to take care of the books and that you assume the responsibility for replacement/repair costs for books borrowed by your child in the event they are lost or damaged.

Need Help Finding A Book For Your Child? 
We encourage parents to help their children select books that are interesting and will help them grow in their reading experience! 

We also know that it can sometimes be difficult to find the right books for your child.  We are happy to help! Ask your child’s teacher for suggestions or contact the Murdock Library and Learning Resource Technician for recommendations.  

This website gives you access to the list of books available for check out at Murdock’s library. We also give you the link to Accelerated Reader’s book finder search engine. Murdock students in grades 2-6 utilize the Accelerated Reader program to strengthen their reading comprehension skills. Finally, we provide a link to Reading Lists which might assist you in finding books of interest to your child.

Celebrate With Books Program:
Here is a great way to help celebrate birthdays and other special occasions and at the same time benefit our entire school. We would like to let you know about Murdock’s “Celebrate With Books” program.

As a healthy and long-lasting remembrance of your child’s special day or award, please consider donating a new hardcover book to the Murdock library in your child’s name. A sticker plaque will be placed on the inside cover with your child’s name, special occasion, and date. The book will then be wrapped and presented to your child by the librarian on their next library visit. Your child will have the first opportunity to check the book out of the school library if she/he wishes. It will then be available for general circulation.

There are two ways to participate:

1. The first, and easiest, is to select one of the books from the “Celebrate With Books” box in the school library for a $20 donation (2nd sibling and same school year, $15). Checks can be made out to “Murdock Elementary School.” These books have already been cataloged and are ready to be checked out immediately.
2. The second way to participate is to purchase a new hardcover book at a retail store of your choice and bring it to the library. Please turn this sheet over for recommendations for bringing in your own hardcover option. These are some of the most frequently requested titles.

It takes approximately one week for the book to be processed and cataloged. Please remember that we are only able to catalog new hardcover books in our library. If you would like to donate wrapping paper and a ribbon or bow for your child’s book, that would be wonderful! With your help, this program will continue to be a favorite Murdock tradition. If you have any questions, please contact me. We look forward to growing the Murdock Library as we celebrate the many birthdays and special occasions throughout your child’s time at Murdock!

Celebrate With Books Recommendations:
These are titles the library would love to have or have more of. There are also frequently requested books made by students and would be greatly loved. Please consider books that are on award lists of Newbery, Caldecott, California Young Reader Medal, or Pura Belpre.

• Mo Willems titles, such as, the Pigeon books, Elephant and Piggie, or other books he has written for children.
• Lisa Wheeler Dino titles, such as Dino-Hockey, Dino-Soccer. Any of her Dino titles.
• Any of the I Survived Series by Lauren Tarshis.
• Dav Pilkey titles, Captain Underpants or Super Diaper Baby, DogMan, are most frequently requested.
• Magic Tree House titles (Balto of the Blue Dawn or) or the nonfiction companions by Mary Pope Osborne.
• Diary of a Wimpy Kid series: either Double Down or Getaway.
• Bad Kitty chapter books.
• Big Nate or Dork Diaries titles.
• Guinness Book or World records or Ripley’s Believe It or Not, published within the past few years.

Battle of the Books. Ask Ms. Baxter for details.
Battle of the Books is a reading incentive program for students in the grades 4 – 6. Students read books and come together to demonstrate their abilities and test their knowledge of the books they have read. The competitions are similar in style to the Academic Bowl, where teams from local schools battle it out over their book knowledge.

All guidelines must be met to participate in our Battle of the Books program. All students welcome.

The participants must:

1. Must be students in grades 4th, 5th, or 6th, currently enrolled at La Mesa Spring Valley School District.
2. Read at least 7 books from the approved list and prepare for competition.
3. Practice teamwork and good sportsmanship.
4. Attend practice sessions.
5. Parent/Guardian and student must read and sign application.
6. Student must maintain good academic and citizenship standing.
7. Parent/Guardian will provide their student’s transportation for the Battle of the Books competition(s).

I am also requiring the students to take the AR quizzes and pass them this year. This is new, but other schools that participate also do this as well. Just like last year I am also requiring students to have finished reading the required books by the time we return from spring break. This ensures that all students have adequate time to practice between spring break and the competition date. A good pacing is 2-3 weeks per book. They are allowed to stop by the library whenever they have finished a book to get a new one. Due to the number of books purchased by the La Mesa Educational Foundation, the students are only able to check one of the Battle of the Books books are a time. 

Library Wish List:

• Radiant Child: The Story of Young Artist Jean-Michel Basquiatby Javaka SteptoeYear Published:Jean-Michel Basquiat and his unique, collage-style paintings rocketed to fame in the 1980s as a cultural phenomenon unlike anything the art world had ever seen. But before that, he was a little boy who saw art everywhere: in poetry books and museums, in games and in the words that we speak, and in the pulsing energy of New York City. Now, award-winning illustrator Javaka Steptoe’s vivid text and bold artwork echoing Basquiat’s own introduce young readers to the powerful message that art doesn’t always have to be neat or clean–and definitely not inside the lines–to be beautiful.
• La Princesa and the Peaby Susan Middleton ElyaYear Published:La Princesa and the Pea is a tale set amid guinea pigs, stone arches, and fuzzy indigenous Peruvian textiles. Juana Martinez-Neal’s mischievous characters play out the classic princess-and-the-pea tale—with a twist. Cultural elements inspired by the Peruvian village of Huilloc and the Colca Canyon add vibrancy and playfulness in Martinez-Neal’s acrylic and colored pencil illustrations.
• Kindness is Cooler, Mrs. Rulerby Margery Cuyler and Sachiko YoshikawaYear Published:When Mrs. Ruler asks five of her kindergarteners to miss recess, she’s got a special plan up her sleeve. She’s about to teach a new golden rule:  KINDNESS IS COOL! 
• Sophie’s Squashby Pat Zietlow MillerYear Published:On a trip to the farmers’ market with her parents, Sophie chooses a squash, but instead of letting her mom cook it, she names it Bernice. From then on, Sophie brings Bernice everywhere, despite her parents’ gentle warnings that Bernice will begin to rot. As winter nears, Sophie does start to notice changes…. What’s a girl to do when the squash she loves is in trouble?
• Gator Dadby Brian LiesYear Published:From seemingly mundane tasks such as grocery shopping to more active pursuits like a romp at the park and fort-building, a loving and playful father alligator shows his gator kids that the simplest pleasures done together can make for an incredibly fun day.

To use our library catalog of over 15,000 titles, click on the link below.