SJC Librarian‘s Great Books and Stories Read-Aloud

Being a batboy is very hard, but worth the pain and taunting to play catch with Jackie at Ebbets Field.

Welcome back guest reader, Camilla S from London, UK!

Joe meets Jackie, with a surprise or two along the way.

All aboard the Hogwart's Express for another school year, and some unique new friends.

Baseball cards and moms and dads.

Ron gets a BIG surprise.

One of my all-time faves, Jackie & Me is part fantasy, part historical fiction, part love letter to baseball, and an all-out tribute to the courage of American hero, Jackie Robinson. Enjoy!

Harry gets his day in court.  Will he be expelled? or worse?

Freedom and family. The end of Grace's story as a slave, but the beginning of a new life free of the chains of human bondage.  To learn more about the thousands of escaped slaves who made a new life in the Great Dismal Swamp, go here: https://99percentinvisible.org/episode/great-dismal-swamp/

Coming up tomorrow, a new novel, in honor of baseball (I miss it so much) and the one and only Jackie Robinson!

Inside the hallowed halls of the Ministry, Harry must face Fudge and his cronies at last.

Deep, deep in the swamp, after days and nights of dangerous travel...a new home.

Sirius has some serious-ly interesting relatives!

Into the swamp, where gators lie in wait.

A crazy house full of secrets (and screaming).

Life on the run is fraught with danger.

Reunited with his mates, Harry has a few questions he needs answered (and some anger issues to work through).

Grace learns a beautiful truth about Aunt Tempie.

Please welcome a new guest reader, and one of my favorite preschool teachers, Margaret from Western Springs, Illinois! (Her daughters are pretty fab too).

Hiding out and making tough decisions.

Owl after owl after owl - could drive an old man mad!

Part two begins: Grace and her family flee on foot into the dark, dark woods.

THE 5TH BOOKS STARTS HERE! Dudley is back, and so are others whose names start with D.

Grace overhears a terrifying conversation between the Master and the Missus - and she knows she must act quickly.

As another years ends, a dark, uncertain future looms for Harry and the other students, in a world where Voldemort has been reborn.

TOMORROW, we too have a beginning - we will start Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix!  

A slave runs away and Grace must take his place at the big house.

Now that Voldemort is really back, Dumbledore begins to circle the wagons, while Harry tries to cope with grief.

Grace finds it hard to stay silent in the face of cruelty and injustice, but the threat of the whip is always present.

Friday, June 19 - Juneteenth - celebrate freedom and learn about the past.

Lots of veritas, but not much virtus. More surprises revealed.

Grace adjusts to the ugly realities of her new life, and sees a new friend face the whip.

Direct from London, UK, it's Camilla, reading perhaps the most gripping chapter of the book! C'mon Harry...

New faces, new realities for Grace up at the master's house.

Ugh, Voldemort is such a narcissist. 

In honor of Juneteenth, I'm proud to present Unbound, the story of Grace, an American slave who has courage beyond her years. If you don't know what Juneteenth is, visit https://www.juneteenth.com/ and if you are moved, you can find a petition to make it a nationwide United States holiday at http://nationaljuneteenth.com/Petition_Form.html.

Enjoy this incredible story!

Welcome back guest reader Camilla from London!  and welcome back Voldemort...

The fruits of hard work in the water - and a twist.

COMING NEXT: Unbound, by Ann E. Berg. A novel in verse, this is the powerful story of a slave girl and her family and the daring, risky choices they make to seek freedom. #celebratejuneteenth

This is it - the third and final task. With surprises around every corner.

Scary, claustrophobic, exhausting: a trip back inside the plane.

Actually, I'd love to have a pensieve - like magical cloud storage but way more fun.

In the aftermath of a direct hit by a tornado, the plane rises from its watery grave.

Welcome back, all the way from the great city of Seattle, Washington, guest reader Laura Z!  Thank you for sharing your wonderful voice with us, Laura. 

You would think a moose attack would be the worst part of a day. You'd be wrong.

Gossip, Krum, Crouch. Weird.

First Meat!

Sirius returns to shed some light on the mysterious Barty Crouch.

Brian is fast becoming a survival rock star. 

Merpeople and moral fiber - a strange, but winning, combination.

45 days later....

Moaning Myrtle pops up while Harry's in the bathtub...what is going on!

Tools, fish, and...planes?

Standing up to prejudice in the wizarding world as only Harry and friends can do it, with a little help from Dumbledore.