Second grader Charlie Liebenstein had a story to tell, so he wrote a book
Second grader Charlie Liebenstein had a story to tell, so he wrote a book
![Woman and boy holding a book]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1729792638/blindbrookorg/kwjfajxulrkcseitwqnk/BB-Charlietheauthor.png","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_2/v1729792638/blindbrookorg/kwjfajxulrkcseitwqnk/BB-Charlietheauthor.png","width":512},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1729792638/blindbrookorg/kwjfajxulrkcseitwqnk/BB-Charlietheauthor.png","width":800}])
Second grader Charlie Liebenstein at the Bruno M. Ponterio Ridge Street School said he loves to tell stories and read. Going to the library is one of his favorite activities. So, when he began to think he might like to write a book of his own, he was ready.
“I was thinking, and I thought about a chameleon and thought I could write a book about Charlie the Chameleon,” he said.
And that is just what Charlie the author did.
In his book he tells the story of how Charlie the Chameleon is separated from his parents. This makes him sad, and he loses his colors, turning a depressing gray. As he embarks on a journey to find his parents, he meets several characters along the way, including a toucan, boa constrictor and a butterfly. Each of these colorful animals befriends the chameleon and helps him reconnect with his family. As Charlie goes along, his brilliant colors slowly return.
Charlie the author also loves art, and he drew a sketch on his iPad relating to his story. His mom, Hilary Liebenstein, took this as inspiration and illustrated the book. The last page of the book includes an illustration that Charlie drew himself.
“He loves telling stories and we love to read,” Ms. Liebenstein said of her son. “I always wanted to write a children’s book and never did, and I love art. I said we’d do this together and figure it out.”
Once Charlie had his story written, he worked with his mom on the illustrations. The two had the book self-published through Amazon Books.
Once the two had received copies of the book, Charlie took time to visit classrooms to read it to his friends. He also signed copies so he could pass them out to his classmates.
Among the classrooms he visited was his brother’s, Luke, who is in fifth grade. Charlie said his sibling was the inspiration behind the leopard character in his book.
“It was a little bit scary,” Charlie admitted when talking about reading his book aloud in the different classrooms. He said students had a lot of questions.
“Yeah!” Charlie responded when asked if he is planning to write another book. “I would like to write more books,” he stated, adding he’s bouncing around the idea of having Charlie the Chameleon find his lost brother.
When not busy writing or drawing, Charlie said he enjoys playing baseball, ice skating and playing with his stuffed animals.
At the moment, he said, he’s interested in becoming an author when he grows up.
“Charlie the Chameleon,” can be found for purchase on Amazon Books. A portion of proceeds from sales are being donated to the New York-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital.
- BMPRSS
- District
¡Hola! Spanish comes to BMPRSS
This year, Foreign Language in Elementary Schools (FLES) is back at the Bruno M. Ponterio Ridge Street School, and both teacher Jasminne Paulino and students are exclaiming “¡Olé!”
Each day, Ms. Paulino steps into the classrooms of third, fourth and fifth graders where she spends 20 minutes introducing students to the Spanish language. She brings with her a rolling basket of resources that includes everything from message boards with images pertaining to vocabulary students will be learning, a speaker for them to listen to authentic Latin music and worksheets to help them write in a new language. Occasionally, she surprises the students with some playful puppets that she uses to enhance their engagement. Among these puppets, Arturo seems to be the favorite.
Ms. Paulino takes the approach that students want to be active and engaged. To that end, her lessons usually begin with a physical warm up where she and the students stand and recite the names of their body parts in Spanish—shoulders, ears, knees etc. Throughout her interactions with students, she uses Spanish 95 percent of the time. English is reserved for providing instructions that may be challenging for students to understand.
“There’s a lot of repetition, switching up activities, playing games,” Ms. Paulino said. “Everything is meant to establish that connection so while they are not in the classroom, they are using the language as much as possible.”
The teacher is spending the first half of the year teaching students’ everyday language, with the second half focusing on units of study about Spanish speaking countries.
“Opening their minds to that level of diversity is something I love to see,” the teacher said, adding that when she informed students those different regions have a different way to say the word “cool,” the students were impressed.
“You are giving kids a glimpse into the culture,” she said.
“Starting a foreign language in elementary school is so wonderful,” Ms. Paulino continued. “It leads into the language program at the middle school. It will change the whole K-12 world language program.”
Most of the students she is working with are not native Spanish speakers. Many of them have relatives who are fluent in Spanish, or they possess some prior knowledge of the language. Some of her students have told her they are practicing what they have learned with older siblings who are also studying the language.
“I think the trick is to make it fun, make it engaging,” she said. “I feed off their enthusiasm. It’s a lot of fun for me.”
Just a few weeks into the new school year, Ms. Paulino has seen how students have embraced what they are learning. One afternoon as she left the building after school, two fifth graders spoke to her in Spanish.
“Seeing the children this excited a month in, it makes me look forward to the rest of the school year,” Ms. Paulino said.