Big Apple Stories: Welcome to New York!

LMC Bulletin Board by Mrs. LaChance and Mrs. Massam.

Start spreading the news! We're leaving today! We want to be a part of it, New York, New York! From Midtown to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, from Times Square to Tribeca, from Central Park to Soho, from Broadway to Wall Street to Park Avenue... we're hailing a Reading Road Trip cab, exploring stories connected to New York, New York... the city so nice they named it twice! Check out Mrs. Cifrodella's Welcome to New York video: six book commercials presented, not in a New York minute, but in a little more than two Lafayette minutes.

Historical Adventure: City of Orphans by Avi. The tenement world of 1893 New York City is lively and dangerous, full of threats to immigrants and their families. Thirteen-year-old newsboy Maks Geless teams up with a homeless girl to battle the Plug Ugly gang and to find a way to free his wrongfully imprisoned sister from The Tombs, a dismal city jail.

Connecting to City of Orphans in library classes, fourth and fifth graders are exploring 1913 New York City using primary sources and through the experiences of Victoria Confino, an immigrant girl who lived in a tenement apartment at 97 Orchard Street. We can visit Victoria's home today: The Tenement Museum on the Lower East Side offers building tours and walking tours of the neighborhood. 

New York City Tenements, Early Twentieth Century.

Metropolitan Escapades: From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg. After careful planning, twelve-year-old Claudia Kincaid decides to run away from suburban life to a place that is beautiful and elegant. The Metropolitan Museum of Art seems to be just the place!  Before long, Claudia and younger brother Jamie find themselves in the midst of a headline-making mystery.

Classic at the Crossroads of the World: The Cricket in Times Square by George Selden. Newly arrived at the Times Square subway station, country cricket Chester befriends Mario, a young boy whose parents run a nearly-bankrupt newsstand, Tucker, a fast-talking Broadway mouse, and Tucker’s sidekick, Harry the Cat. The friends adventure in New York City... but will they save the failing newsstand? 

Take a look at Mrs. Cifrodella's Reading Road Trip Cricket!

Two Stories in Words and Pictures: Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick.  Twelve-year-old Ben has lost his mother and his hearing; he leaves his Minnesota home to search for the father he has never known in New York City. Rose lives with her father in the city and keeps a scrapbook about a famous actress; she feels compelled to search for what is missing in her life. Set fifty years apart, their stories—Ben’s told in words, Rose’s shared in pictures—unfold and intertwine.

Wonderstruck Poster by Jessica F. and Madi F.

Four Enigmatic Letters, One Fantastic Read: When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead. As her mother prepares to be a contestant on the 1980s television game show The $20,000 Pyramid, twelve-year-old Miranda tries to make sense of increasingly mysterious events… and a series of anonymous notes that seem to defy the laws of time and space.

Big Apple Book Display in the LMC.

Page-Turning Adventure Fiction: I Survived the Attacks of September 11, 2001 by Lauren Tarshis. On a blue-skied September morning, Lucas takes a train into New York City to tell his dad's friend Benny-- a firefighter and former football star-- that his parents don't want him playing football anymore. Everything changes when the Twin Towers are attacked.

I Survived the Attacks of September 11, 2001 Diorama by Ian T.

Reading Road Trip Puppet Show 

featuring Charlie, Ben, Bennett, and Reilly.

Book Commercial Project by Ryan B.

Author Interview Project by Siena, Jordan, and Sheehan.

I Survived the Attacks of September 11, 2001 project

featuring Emmy, Emma, Caroline, and Riley.

We Love Them, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah: Who Were The Beatles? by Geoff Edgers. In February 1964, a British rock-and-roll quartet—sporting groovy haircuts and mod suits—stepped off an airplane at Kennedy Airport and were greeted by thousands of screaming fans. Two days later, The Fab Four from Liverpool—John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Star—made a television appearance on a popular variety program, The Ed Sullivan Show. Even though it was difficult to hear the performance over shrieks of adoring teenage girls in the audience, over seventy million viewers across the nation tuned in to watch and listen: Beatlemania had arrived in Manhattan and was sweeping across America! Check out this very cool Who Were the Beatles? Reading Road Trip video, featuring Sadie, Olivia, Kitty, Anna, and Maeve:

Reading Road Trip by Annabelle H. and Charlotte W.

... If we can make it there, we're gonna make it anywhere... it's up to you, New York, New York! Where will Reading Road Trip Take us next?

Reading Road Trip Themes and Destinations 2017-2018

American History Road Trip: Travelling Our Nation's Timeline

What Was Ellis Island? by Patricia Demuth

What Was Pearl Harbor? by Patricia Demuth)

What Was the First Thanksgiving? by Joan Holub

What Was the Gold Rush? by Joan Holub)

What Was the Boston Tea Party? by Kathleen Krull

What Was the March on Washington? by Kathleen Krull

What Was the Underground Railroad? by Yona Zeldis McDonough

What Was the Battle of Gettysburg? by Jim O’Connor 

What Was the Hindenburg? by Janet Pascal

What Was the Alamo? by Pam Pollack

Big Apple Adventures: Welcome to New York

City of Orphans by Avi

From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E. L. Konigsburg)

The Cricket in Times Square by George Selden

Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick

When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead

I Survived the Attacks of September 11, 2001 by Lauren Tarshis 

Buzzer Beaters: Books for Good Sports

S.O.R. Losers by Avi

Jackie and Me by Dan Gutman

Shoeless Joe and Me by Dan Gutman

Baseball Fever by Johanna Hurwitz

Roller Girl (graphic novel) by Victoria Jamieson

Athlete vs. Mathlete by W.C. Mack

Skinnybones—2016 by Barbara Park

Finding Buck McHenry by Alfred Slote

Characters with Character: Conduct of Life Stories

El Deafo (graphic novel) by Cece Bell

Granny Torrelli Makes Soup by Sharon Creech

Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper

Small Steps: The Year I Got Polio by Peg Kehret

The View from Saturday by E.L. Konigsburg

Rules by Cynthia Lord

Wonder by R.J. Palacio

Clued into Reading: Mystery and Detective Stories

Who Stole the Wizard of Oz? by Avi

Windcatcher by Avi

Book Scavenger by Jennifer Chambliss Bertram

The 39 Clues series by various authors

Farewell, My Lunchbag by Bruce Hale

Bunnicula: A Rabbit Tale of Mystery by Deborah Howe

Real Kids, Real Places series by Carole Marsh

The Ghost of Lizard Light by Elvira Woodruff 

Music in the Air: Reading about Music and Musicians

Who Were the Beatles?  by Geoff Edgers

What Was Woodstock? by Joan Holub

Hiding out at the Pancake Palace by Nan Marino

Who Was Louis Armstrong? by Yona McDonough

Who Was Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart? by Y. McDonough

Echo by Pam Munoz Ryan

A Crooked Kind of Perfect by Linda Urban

Poetry on Parade: Novels in Verse

The One and Only Ivan by Kate Applegate

Little Dog, Lost by Marion Duane Bauer

All the Broken Pieces by Ann Burg

Love That Dog by Sharon Creech

Hate That Cat by Sharon Creech

Hidden by Helen Frost

Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai 

What on Earth? Around the World in 1075 Pages

Lafayette Readers are page-turning world travellers this winter, exploring globe-trotting nonfiction titles from the wildly popular Who Was?/What Was? series.

Reading Road Trip Bulletin Board.

Where Is the Great Wall? by Patricia Demuth (931 DEM). More than two thousand years ago, the First Emperor of China came up with an interesting solution to keep out enemy invaders: build a great wall along its border. The story of this colossal construction project reveals the story of China-- its dynasties, its culture, and its present-day status as a Communist power.

Where Is the Parthenon? by Roberta Edwards (726 EDW). The Parthenon was completed in 438 BC to honor the Greek goddess Athena. Through the centuries, it served as a church, a mosque, and a munitions storehouse. In time, war and the elements destroyed much of the temple's sculpture and architecture, and the site fell into ruin. Today, visitors continue to flock to this landmark symbol of history, democracy, and ancient civilization.

The Parthenon Project by Despina V.

The Parthenon, from Alex C. and Family.

Where Is the Parthenon? Video Project by Matthew and Kaitlyn.

Detail and Columns on the Parthenon, from Alex C. and Family.

Where Is the Amazon? by Sarah Fabiny and Daniel Colon (981 FAB). Humans have inhabited the banks of the Amazon River since 13,000 BC, sharing one of our planet's largest and most complex geographic wonders with an estimated 390 billion trees, millions of insect varieties, and hundreds of species of plants and animals that can cure disease-- or kill with a single touch. 

Where Are the Great Pyramids? by Dorothy Hoobler (932 HOO). The Great Pyramids were commissioned by powerful pharaohs and constructed thousands of years ago; yet even today, no one knows exactly how ancient Egyptians accomplished the feat! Exploration of the pyramids at Giza offer insight into a long-ago culture of the afterlife and the process of mummy-making-- mysteries that have fascinated readers for centuries.

Where Is Mt. Rushmore? by True Kelley (978.3 KEL). World-famous sculptor Gutzon Borglum had a magnificent, wacky dream: to carve sixty-foot-high likenesses of four presidents on a granite cliff in South Dakota's Black Hills. As blasting and carving continued during the Great Depression, the sculptor faced challenges at every turn. Today, Mount Rushmore attracts millions of visitors annually, continuing to spark interest and controversy.

Where is Mt. Rushmore? Video Project featuring 

Oliver, Jay, Patrick, Chris, and Jack.

Where Is Stonehenge? by True Kelley (936.2 KEL). What is the meaning of the strange circles of stones jutting from the Salisbury Plain in Southern England? Was Stonehenge a religious site honoring ancient dead? A sacred place of healing? An astrological calendar on the landscape? This book explores many past and present theories of Stonehenge's purpose, as well as the long-ago people who built this amazing monument.

Where Is Alcatraz? by Nico Medina (365.97 MED). Alcatraz Island has fascinating history to share: home to evil spirits in Native American lore, strategic discovery for Spanish explorers, and looming fort in nineteenth-century America. In the mid-twentieth century, Alcatraz was the site of a federal prison, housing notorious criminals like Al Capone and Machine Gun Kelly, and the scene of countless daring escape attempts.

Where Is the Great Barrier Reef? by Nico Medina (551.42 MED). Located off the coast of Australia and stretching for more than 1400 miles, the Great Barrier Reef is our planet's largest coral reef system. Designated a World Heritage Site, the reef functions as home and habitat to a wide variety of underwater life. The system is struggling with the effects of climate change but remains one of Earth's most spectacular natural wonders.

The Great Barrier Reef  Diorama by Ishir R.

Where Is Mt. Everest? by Nico Medina (954.96 MED). Located in the Himalayan Range deep in the heart of Asia, Mount Everest is the world's highest mountain, topping out at 29,029 feet. This narrative explores the mountain's geologic beginnings, first human settlers, historic expeditions, thrilling climbs, and the modern commercialization of mountaineering on the Roof of the World.

Where Is Mount Everest? Book Buzz by Scarlett and Katherine.

Where Is the Grand Canyon? by Jim O’Connor (979.1 OCO). Welcome to the Grand Canyon in Northern Arizona: a land of strikingly colored rock layers and spectacularly carved formations... visual beauty and geologic history that have made it one of America's most beloved national parks and one of the Seven Wonders of the World. This book discusses formation of the canyon, early settlement by native people, end-to-end exploration in the nineteenth century, wildlife in the canyon, and its current role as a destination for five million visitors a year.

Where Is the Grand Canyon? Video Project by Eva, Annie, and Maddie.

Where Is the Brooklyn Bridge? by Megan Stine (624.5 STI). Despite an innovative design plan from a father-son engineering team, building the Brooklyn Bridge was no simple feat. Construction took fourteen years, a grueling and hazardous process for laborers. Completed in 1883, the bridge was the longest suspension bridge in the world at the time, spanning the East River and connecting Manhattan and Brooklyn. It remains an admired and beloved landmark today.

Where in the world will reading take us next? 

Keep turning the pages to find out!