F.AVE Media Center

Summer Reading kicks off next week! The theme this year is "Color Our World" and is focused on the creative arts. Alison Weissinger, Director of DeKalb County Public Library, describes the theme in ArtsATL: "The idea behind it . . . is how art and creativity, much like reading, has this power to uplift and connect people. Through the library, we can help people explore the world virtually through stories, discover new perspectives, meet new people and strengthen their connection to their community."

Read the full article here: https://www.artsatl.org/your-atlanta-summer-reading-list-plus-reasons-to-tackle-it/

Learn more about Summer Reading (and find links to register) here: https://dekalblibrary.org/press-releases/dcpl-launches-2025-summer-reading-challenge

Our kids did an absolutely incredible job tonight moderating the Dave Eggers keynote event for the Little Shop of Stories Decatur Children’s Book Festival! They were charming and funny. They even got to see (and hold!) the first ever copy of the sequel to The Eyes and the Impossible. Really proud of Anderson, Azi, Keira, and Paloma!

I'm behind on posting our fabulous podcasts! Click the link below to listen to podcasts about Neil Gaimon's Coraline, Lauren Tarshis's I Survived: Attack of the Grizzlies, and the first book of the Spirit Animals series, Wild Born. We had so much fun recording each of these, I hope you get a chance to listen.
https://open.spotify.com/show/799Wt6QeOQR5CXXNTcu0EQ

F.AVE Game Hawkers Podcast · Corinne Smith · Discover new upper elementary school books with our students at Fifth Avenue Upper Elementary! F.AVE falcons are risk taking communicators who are game hawking for books that are new to us. Credit to Paul Benham, brother-in-law extraordinaire, for our original music!

This is a special episode of our podcast because it is about one of my favorite books and it has bonus content at the end. Tune in to hear 5th grader Grant talk about his experience reading Steve Sheinkin's novel and graphic novel Bomb: The Race to Build and Steal the World's Most Dangerous Weapon. This podcast is for all the WWII history lovers out there, and for those of us who love a good action spy story.

At the end, I've added special bonus content. 5th grader Evan used AI to create our F.AVE reading bowl team its very own theme song, and it's pretty fabulous. Be sure to listen all the way to the end, you don't want to miss it!
https://open.spotify.com/episode/66vmSKiZAWnOAf1br55Peb?si=T6AocwPaQY6UeODGaPgh1Q

Bomb: The Race to Build & Steal the World's Most Dangerous Weapon - by Grant F.AVE Game Hawkers · Episode

Yesterday, we had our last reading bowl meeting of the year and my last reading bowl meeting of my career. Coaching reading bowl has been one of my absolute favorite parts of my job. Watching a group of kids who love to read come together and make new friends is so much fun. This last group, my Reading Rovers (named for one of the titles), really built relationships with each other. This was partly due to a fabulous group of parents who hosted reading bowl practice parties and encouraged their friendships. A few of my teams really bonded this way and kept those friendships going through their time in CSD.

I wanted to share one of my favorite parts of this year, the team website. My student managers created this pretty much all on their own, lead by Evan. The logo was designed by Henry for our t-shirts. Evan even created a team song! You have to listen because it's so amazing. I hope this makes you as happy as it makes me.

Reading bowl website

5th grader Hazel joins our podcast to talk about Shannon Messenger's popular book Keeper of the Lost Cities. Hazel compares the original novel to the graphic novel adaptation. Tune in if you love Percy Jackson or Harry Potter!
https://open.spotify.com/episode/0JIpsEfRNM1VVgLRCmy5J8?si=qLPocqxKTr-QiG6mJUz1Mw

Keeper of the Lost Cities - by Hazel F.AVE Game Hawkers · Episode

We've heard from some authors who have listened to our podcast about their books! Check out the attached pictures. If you haven't tuned in yet, these kids have some wonderful insights to share about some truly incredible books!

5th grader Rekha discusses the beloved classic Anne of Green Gables. She read both the original novel and a graphic novel adaptation. Listen to hear her insights into how these two formats can be used to tell the same story.

Anne of Green Gables - by Rekha F.AVE Game Hawkers · Episode

Join us for our latest podcast episode to hear 5th grader Dalia discuss Kate McKinnon's first book, The Millicent Quibb School of Etiquette for Young Ladies of Mad Science. This podcast is perfect for fans of Lemony Snickett's Series of Unfortunate Events and Adam Gidwitz's A Tale Dark and Grimm series.

The Millicent Quibb School of Etiquette for Young Ladies of Mad Science - by Dalia F.AVE Game Hawkers · Episode

Wow!

TEACHERS. STUDENTS. Have I got a TREAT for you. What if I read to you? Like the whole book, from cover to cover. And, what if I had a jazz musician score it, LIVE? How cool would that be…well, you can find out because I’m doing it. That’s right, I’m partnering with the initiative and reading to you each day, beginning March 3. WOOHOO! (And yes, before you ask, it will live on YouTube…for a period of time…)

*Editing to answer some questions: Every episode is approximately 25-30 minutes long. When you go to the link below (nea.org/crossover) on March 3 and beyond, you'll be watching the episodes on YouTube. Your classroom can view the series at any time...you don't have to tune in at exactly 8am ET.

So excited to see the enthusiasm in the comments, y'all! THANK YOU!

Another fabulous author event coming soon!

Is your kid a fan of graphic novels? Then it’s time for them to join the club- The Cartoontists Club!

Together with our friends at the Emory Ideas Festival, Little Shop is bringing bestselling graphic novelists, Raina Telgemeier and Scott McCloud to Atlanta to share their new collaboration, The Cartoontists Club!

Join us on April 8th at Glenn Memorial Chapel at Emory University at 6pm for an unforgettable evening of fun! Registration with book purchase is required and details can be found at the Eventbrite link in our IG bio or by visiting https://tinyurl.com/2u9ukytw.

About the Book:
#1 New York Times bestselling cartoonists Raina Telgemeier and Scott McCloud team up for a one-of-a-kind friendship story about creativity and self-expression that blends how-to and comics magic. Welcome to the club!
Makayla is bursting with ideas but doesn’t know how to make them into a story. Howard loves to draw, but he struggles to come up with ideas and his dad thinks comics are a waste of time. Lynda constantly draws in her sketchbook but keeps focusing on what she feels are mistakes, and Art simply loves being creative and is excited to try something new. They come together to form The Cartoonists Club, where kids can learn about making comics and use their creativity and imagination for their own storytelling adventures!