Byron Primary and Intermediate Libraries

08/29/2026

Ordered these new books because they looked awesome! Imagine my surprise when I went to catalogue them and saw they were written by Naomi Hughes! Naomi was the library manager at the Primary School a few years back! How fun to have books written by one of our former Bears!

08/26/2026

“Step right up! Step right up” It’s a Storybook Circus at the Byron Primary Library, and all our favorite characters are pulling out their best tricks to get kids excited to read!

08/11/2026

Mrs. Johnson's fifth read of the summer is "Some of Us Are Brave" by Saadia Faruqi.
Why I Chose It- I judged this book by the cover. :)
What I Thought- It was so well written that I was completely drawn in and taken away. It's about kids surviving a hurricane, and I was so captured by it that when I went to let my dog out mid-read, I was genuinely surprised that it wasn't raining outside.
Final thoughts- 8/10. I think that kids will relate to the characters who are each facing their own trials but join together during the midst of a tragedy. With all of the recent news about hurricanes and flooding, I feel like it's timely and a great conversation piece.

07/28/2026

This is the first book I ever bought for my future classroom. I got it when I was in fifth grade, and our class went to the Scholastic Bookfair. While everyone else looked at posters and trinkets, I asked the librarian for book suggestions that I could use with my students some day. 18 years later, I read it to my first group of kindergartners (who graduated this year) and cried. My dream of being a teacher had finally come true! The pages are falling out now, but it’s proudly displayed at the Primary Library, encouraging future teachers, doctors, lawyers and engineers to develop a love of reading!

07/27/2026

Summers are for self care! Miss Beyoncè just got a nose job. After being my teaching assistant for the last five years, she needed a little work done. Though between you and me, I feel like she mostly just stands around all day. She does do a great job of keeping an eye on the kids though. Just one eye. Next up- lashes!

07/20/2026

Book Haul! A HUGE thanks for everyone who supports our Scholastic Book Fair! All of these new books came from those proceeds!

07/19/2026

It looks like Christmas in here! Our spring book fair order arrived at BIS. Do we need a haul video?

07/18/2026

Mrs. Johnson's fourth read of the summer is "All the Blues in the Sky" by Renee Watson.

Why I Chose It- It's the Newbery Medal winner from this year!

What I Thought- It's a novel in verse, which I love. I feel like the style cuts out the long boring descriptions of settings and characters that often make a book slow to get into. The writing was fantastic, but the topic took me by surprise. I didn't realize it was about a young girl navigating the grief of losing her best friend. Not the summer beach read I needed but an extremely powerful and moving book.

Final thoughts- 8/10. I would be careful to recommend this one to young readers because of the subject, but for students who lost or are losing a loved one, it names all of those thoughts and feelings that death brings in a way that makes kids feel seen, heard, and understood. I lost a close friend as a teen, and it was spot on.

07/08/2026

Mrs. Johnson's third read of the summer- The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau

Why I chose it- It's one of those classics of children's literature, but I had never read it. Sci-Fi is my least favorite genre, but I wanted to give it a try.

What I thought- It took me a minute to get into it. Slow start, but super intriguing middle that had me unable to put it down, and then ended on a cliff hanger that had me immediately searching the library catalog for the second book (which we don't have, but I'll be sure to order).

Final thoughts- I'd give it a 6/10. It's a good, safe, dystopian book for kids who aren't ready for the more savage dystopian books like the Hunger Games, but I'm not thrilled that it ended on a cliff hanger. I like resolution. Now it's 12:30am, and I'm scrounging the internet for a digital copy of Book 2 because I can't sleep without knowing what happens.

06/26/2026