It's that time of year again...PARADE OF BOOKS!

Hooray, it's time for our 3rd Annual Parade of Books!  This year's parade, in which children dress up as their favorite book characters and carry the book to match, or create wearable book covers, will be held on Thursday, October 31st and grades K through 3 will be participating. (Read the 4-1-1 from super awesome parades past and hints for homemade costumes here).

You are welcome to watch the parade outside on the Stone playground at 1:45; bring little brothers and sisters to cheer, and don't forget the camera! This is a great opportunity for us to celebrate Stone as a community of readers, and to create home-school connections.  We still are asking if at all possible costumes should be book related, and that each student carry a book related to the costume they are wearing. Chefs can carry cookbooks, Cleopatra can carry a book about ancient Egypt, baseball players can carry sport biographies, for just a few examples...and for more inspiration, check out some costumes from parades past here, or some ambitious online costume leads here!

So! Checklist for K-3 parents on October 31st:
* Please send your child to school with the book-related costume (or poster) in a bag, to be changed into (or carried) in the afternoon. Please keep it simple. Mark all belongings with name and room number.
* Please send your child to school with the corresponding book to carry in the parade.
* Cheer and take pictures on the school playground at 1:45, if you are available. If you are not available, we love you just the same, and we'll take pictures.

Again, a gentle reminder:  this is not a Halloween parade, this is a reading celebration.  (For any details regarding Halloween, please contact your room parent or check your child's classroom newsletter/website for details.)   Children should not wear masks (which also present a safety challenge when small children march), any horror themes involving blood (zombies or vampires), or television characters/video game characters that were cartoons before they were books.  Please save those costumes for trick-or-treating after school!  As far as books to carry, there are some resources available in our school library and your child's classroom library, but this is also a perfect opportunity to visit the Chicago Public Library.

Additionally, We ask that this year parents please do not follow children back into the school after the parade, as this presents security issues. Thank you for your support and cooperation!  Can't wait to see what our creative community comes up with this year...every year has been so full of amazing surprises!

Illustration from Lily's Purple Plastic Purse by Kevin Henkes.
Ms. Demonte sporting stripes a la A Bad Case of Stripes by David Shannon.