Out of the Wild...again

Perhaps it's getting a little tedious when Franki and I both post on the same book. At least this time it's not back to back like our reviews of The Underneath (mine, hers).

Franki was lucky enough to snag an ARC of Out of the Wild (her review here); I bought mine at Cover to Cover.

OUT OF THE WILD
by Sarah Beth Durst
June, 2008
review copy purchased at my favorite independent children's bookstore: Cover to Cover

I laughed out loud -- literally shouted a "HAH!" -- at the end of the first book, Into the Wild, when the identity of the "villain" (the one who caused The Wild to grow) is revealed. Durst hid her villain in plain sight.

In the second book, Out of the Wild, I started laughing out loud from the very beginning. Reading this book is like being on the magic carpet with Julie -- a roller coaster ride of twists and turns and near-misses and surprises. With lots of laughs all the way. The story begins when The Wild eats one of the Three Blind Mice and then, when Julie demands, "Give him back!" The Wild instead delivers her father, the 500 year-old prince of Rapunzel, Julie's mother. Chaos begins immediately, when Prince (Julie's father) takes off to rescue a princess and The Wild begins to grow with a vengeance. And the laughs come one right after another.

On creating an identity for her father, who has appeared out of nowhere: "Who knew that miracles came with paperwork problems?"

On the experience of flying cross-country on a bath mat turned magic carpet: "This, she thought, is like some bizarre dream. She shouldn't be flying past DC on a bath mat."

When Julie comes up with a plan, her impulsive, charge-in-and-save-the-world father says, "It is a good plan. You are your mother's daughter." This causes Julie to think, "Well, it wasn't a save-the-world sort of plan, and it had the potential to be mind-bogglingly humiliating, but it was (moderately) better than charging in, sword raised."

When Julie climbs the beanstalk out of the Grand Canyon: "She told herself that she shouldn't be surprised. After all, if Grandma's broomstick could fly in the real world, if Bobbi's wand could change people into pumpkins, and if the wishing well could grant wishes, then why shouldn't magic beans work too? And no matter where they were, magic beans always grew into beanstalks that reached the giant's castle in the clouds. But still, a castle over Arizona...wow."

Pondering how her new friend Henry is coping: "She thought about Henry, finding out for the first time that his father was a fairy-tale character one moment and then being carried away by a dragon the next. He was, she thought, having a much worse day than she was."

On the nature of evil: "Linda still looked like the [description withheld because it's a total spoiler] that Julie had grown up knowing. She had plain brown hair and an ordinary round face with chipmunk cheeks. She wore a preppy brown sweater set and charcoal gray pants. What kind of villain wore a sweater set?"


Great tri-review at 7-Imp (with Tadmack of Finding Wonderland fame).

Other reviews at
Becky's Book Reviews
Dare to Be Stupid (Tamora Pierce's blog)

And here's Sarah Beth Durst's blog, where she tells about her upcoming visit to the Northboro, Massachusets Library -- the real one where she grew up as a reader and "learned to love books" -- the one that is, along with the town, the setting of both of her books. How fun would that be?!?!

Happy Book Birthday to Mr. Tiger Goes Wild by Peter Brown!

Mr. Tiger Goes Wild is Peter Brown's newest picture book!  I have become a HUGE Peter Brown fan over the last few years and was very excited to see a new book coming out. Today is the books BIRTHDAY so we are having quite the celebration!

MR. TIGER GOES WILD  has lots of the same characteristics I love about Peter Brown's writing.  A great story with a character you come to love and understand early in the book.  The illustrations invite revisiting over and over and the message is a fun one. This is the story of Mr. Tiger who wants to go a little wild, do something out of the box, get out of his usual routine and have a little fun. Who can't relate to a story like this?

We have all gone wild a bit in our lives. We've done things out of the norm or a little out of our usual comfort zone.  Me? I am pretty much a rule follower--I don't necessarily agree with every rule and I am opinionated and mouthy about those I don't love, but I tend to do what I am supposed to do.  But sometimes what you are supposed to do gets boring and I think we all need to have a little fun by going a little bit wild, just like Mr. Tiger.

As I was preparing for this blog post, I was thinking about times in my life that I've done something a bit out of the norm.  It seems that I have lots of little things throughout my life so I tried to think back to the first experience I could remember of going a bit wild--doing something out of the box.  Lucky for me, I've always had friends who helped me get out of my comfort zone--who had ideas that I never would have attempted or who have gone along with an idea I've thrown out there that I was never actually serious about.  I have out of the box ideas but often just throw them out as a joke. I've always had a friend or two two who see my amusing ideas as real possibilities.

My first experience of a time I "went wild" was in Kindergarten.  It was late in the year in Kindergarten and classroom jobs were posted.  It was my turn to get the milk. Getting the milk was one of the best classroom jobs.  With a friend, you took an empty crate to the school refrigerator in the hallway (very far away from the Kindergarten room) and counted out the milk for snack time.  Each of us had a choice between chocolate and regular each day so the milk helpers were responsible for counting out the correct number of each kind, putting them in the crate and carrying the crate back to the classroom. It was one of the few jobs that took us outside of the classroom.

Well, on this day, I was with one of my more adventurous friends.  And the routines of Kindergarten were getting a little boring.  "Wouldn't it be funny," I thought, "to fill the crate with ALL of the milk in the refrigerator instead of counting only the 12 chocolate and 9 white that we needed for our classroom?"  That would certainly break up the routine and make for a little fun. As soon as I thought the idea out loud, my friend loved it, so we got to work.

As five year-olds, it took a lot of work to get ALL of the milk out of the refrigerator--every last carton. We were so focused on the work of following through with our idea, that I don't think it ever occurred to us in the very long time we were gone, that this might be a bad idea.

But I do remember the look on the teacher's face when she discovered us, me stretching my arm as far as I could, to reach those last few cartons in the refrigerator. When I saw her face, it hit me that this idea was probably not a great one. It was then that I realized for the very first time, that we were probably going to get in big trouble.

But my teacher seemed so flustered that she didn't have time to reprimand us when she found us in the hallway working hard to fit hundreds of cartons of milk into a small crate. Instead she sent us back to the classroom, canceled the milk portion of our snack as it was clearly too late for that, and waited for the day to end.  Her look was not one of anger, but one of relief, disbelief and exhaustion.  No anger at all.  Looking back, I am sure the teacher was alarmed at the two of us being lost and was thrilled that we hadn't run out of the building or something. And I am sure someone had to put the milk back.

I hardly ever got in trouble when I was little. No real reason to.  My parents were very good at understanding me and realizing that most of the naughty things I did were well-intentioned.  And I wouldn't say I got in trouble with the milk either.  But it was clear that I had misbehaved a bit.

This story comes back to me often as a teacher.  As a teacher of elementary children, I know that kids often have ideas that seem fun to them, that do not seem so amusing to me.  My idea was hysterical to the 5-year old me.  I couldn't imagine it wouldn't be hysterical to everyone else. My plan was to bring joy and laughter into the classroom by carrying hundreds of cartons of milk back in.  I think this story comes back to me lots to remind me that often, these kids do something "wild" and it is just them playing and learning how to have a little fun without hurting anyone. I think my teacher's non-angry response was important. She definitely wasn't happy but she kind of got it--no harm done.

And because I'm a rule follower,  I think we all need okay excuses to go out of our comfort zone.  Since Kindergarten, I've planned lots of events that invite people to go a bit wild.  I was Pep Club president in high school and that role allowed me to organize things like Punk Day and other Spirit Days.  I also look for excuses to go a little wild in an okay way.

Me (far right) on "Punk Day" my senior year in high school.  Don't think any of my high school friends photoed here read this blog but if they did, they would verify that we definitely found ways to have fun and go a little wild every day in high school:-)  On an unrelated note, I am realizing that this is how I wear my hair to yoga class so it stays out of my eyes but it seemed to be a better look when I was 17....

An excuse to go a little wild in college when I signed up for the Dance Marathon. Each hour had a new "theme" so I had an outfit for each hour.  (Tacky Tourist maybe?)  As you can see, my husband (then boyfriend) Scott, was not as comfortable going wild by dressing up each hour.

The story of my Kindergarten milk idea has come back to me often lately because I worry that in schools, with this stressful testing environment, we have taken away lots of the excuses to do something "fun".  I loved school my entire life--from preschool through college. I loved it because we had lots of fun in between and along with the learning. We learned lots but also had built in ways to do things out of the routine on a pretty regular basis.  So we understood that learning and fun went together. And that little breaks in our learning actually made the learning part easier.  I worry that we've forgotten how important the fun part is when it comes to learning.  I am hoping this book reminds us of that a little.


GET A COPY OF MR. TIGER GOES WILD!

You will definitely want to get your hands on a copy of this book as soon as you can!  It will be a fabulously fun read aloud for all ages. And I am sure it will be one that is read over and over and over by students. It is one to just enjoy and also one that will naturally lead to lots of discussions--one of being who you are and one of going a little wild sometimes is certainly an okay thing!

And now, for some exciting news on how you can WIN a copy of the book. A Year of Reading has been given 3 copies of Mr. Tiger Goes Wild, courtesy of Little, Brown and Company!  So, if you would like to be considered for one of these 3 prizes, leave a comment on this post sharing a story of a time you've done something a little wild. You can blog about it and leave us the link or you can share the story as a comment.  Winners will be announced on 9/10 so you have a full week to think about this and share!

(Note:  Books cannot be shipped to PO boxes, and will ship to US residents only). 

And there is even another chance to win:

A.....Scavenger Hunt!

To celebrate the release of Peter Brown's Mr. Tiger Goes Wild, we have a blog tour scavenger hunt for you! Visit all the blogs listed below to collect 7 letters/characters. Unscramble the letters/characters to unlock the secret phrase. Each blog is giving away three copies of Mr. Tiger Goes Wild courtesy of Little, Brown Books and Jen Vincent at Teach Mentor Texts has a Mr. Tiger Goes Wild prize pack to give away. 

Jen at Teach Mentor Texts

Aly at Kid Lit Frenzy

Franki at A Year of Reading

Jen at Reederama

Katherine at Read, Write, Reflect

Laura at LibLaura5

Colby at SharpRead 

And our letter is.....

And if you haven't read all of Peter Brown's books, now would be the perfect time to discover their brilliance! A few favorites include The Curious Garden, Creepy Carrots! and YOU WILL BE MY FRIEND! (Starring Lucille Beatrice Bear). And don't forget to check out his blog.  If Peter Brown isn't already one of your favorite authors and illustrators, he will be soon!

Thanks, Peter Brown, for another amazing book!!

Sequel to INTO THE WILD is Coming Soon!

I just finished OUT OF THE WILD by Sarah Beth Durst. I loved the first book in this series--INTO THE WILD. Sarah Beth Durst sent a copy of this new book so I got a sneak peak!

I must say that I loved the first book but I think I loved this one even better. It is quite a fun novel with lots of fairy tale characters that we know. The same characters that we met in the first book are back--Rapunzel, Julie, Puss-in-Boots, and Julie's grandmother. This time, we also get to know Julie's dad, the prince and some other great characters--a few little surprises along the way!

I think I liked this story because of the adventure and because I understood the concept of "The Wild" so much better after the first book. And this book takes us to lots of places across the country and brings us to lots of different fairy tale characters. Julie, once again needs to fight off the evil of The Wild and is once again, quite a creative problem solver.

This book has hooked me on novels based on fairy tale characters. They are quite fun. I am fascinated by the brilliance of people who write these. We had several 5th graders at school who loved the first book and who are looking forward to this one. These are great books for kids in grades 4-6. The perfect combination of fun, action, and great characters!

This book is due out next week! Lots of advance praise is already out there!

Mish-Mash

I can tell that interims are out, parent-teacher conferences are over, and everyone has more or less settled into the school routine. How do I know? I have time to read again!

The literature circle/book club group of 5th graders in my classroom finished TIME CAT by Lloyd Alexander last week. I can't count how many times I've read that book, but I'm always amazed at how much world history (and world history of the cat) Alexander weaves into a time travel story about the boy, Jason, and his cat, Gareth. I'm forever reminded of WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE at the end because when he gets home, dinner is just being served. If you haven't read it, or if it's been awhile, you should read this book.

The literature circle/book club group's next book is THE LAST TREASURE by Janet Anderson. We had our first discussion today. This one I've only read once, so it's like that Billy Collins poem I featured on Poetry Friday a while back -- it's like a brand new experience for me! The kids are having a hard time keeping all the names straight (as am I), and we are all going back to the diagram of the sward and the family tree often as we read. It's pretty obvious that Ellsworth and Jess will go into the middle house on the south side of the square and find the treasure, but they know that it's going to take a whole book-worth of story to accomplish that. This is a great mystery for a reader who will have patience with a complicated plot line, flashbacks, and lots of characters.

My adult book club is reading RIDING THE BUS WITH MY SISTER by Rachel Simon. This is not a book I would have picked up on my own, but that's what book clubs are for -- stretching us as readers! It's a fun story of self-discovery. Simon uses flashbacks that start in early childhood and gradually become closer and closer to the time period of the story. They are like stitches that sew together the events of the story into a satisfying whole. Reading this book was like going along on the bus ride, and I was a little lulled by the ride, so I was surprised at the last "stop" (the end).

I'm still picking away at STUDY DRIVEN by Katie Wood Ray. I read just enough to jumpstart my thinking when writing workshop is at a crossroads.

And I have a HUGE stack of graphic novels piled up in preparation for my work on the nominations committee of the Cybils. If you've read a great 2006 GN, head over to the Cybils website and nominate it now!

Poetry Friday -- This is the Earth

This is the Earth
by Diane Z. Shore and Jessica Alexander
illustrated by Wendell Minor
HarperCollins Children's Books, 2016
review copy provided by the publisher

If you just read the visuals in this gorgeously illustrated book, you will trace the historical impact Americans* have had on the earth. In the first spread, there are no humans, in the second, a single canoe on a wild river. The sky dominates the third spread, but there is a group of teepees in the lower left corner. European settlers, railroads, steamships and airplanes appear in rapid succession, then modern cities, smoking landfills and waste spewing into the ocean. Before our eyes, a rainforest is leveled and glaciers melt into the ocean as polar bears look on. Just in the nick of time, we see recycling, commuters on bikes, a community garden, sea turtles being helped across the sand to the ocean, trees being planted, reusable grocery bags being carried. Finally, humans become a small part of the big picture again, as a group of four hike across a mountain meadow while alpine wildlife look on. Any grade level with a standard that teaches students to attend to the tone or mood created by the visuals in the media could use this book to spark rich discussions.

The text is rhyming, with the pattern, "This is the..." Mirroring the images, the book begins with "This is the earth..." then "This is the river..." and "This is the sky..." before changing to "This is the spike..." and This is the steamer..." and "This is the plane..."

Here is a sampling from the hopeful ending of the book:

"This is the Earth that we treat with respect,
where people and animals interconnect,
where we learn to find balance between give and take
and help heal the planet with choices we make."

Linda is hosting the Poetry Friday roundup at TeacherDance.



*I originally typed "humans," but then realized that this story is predominantly that of the United States' impact on the environment. We're not the only ones, but we're huge, and if this giant would take a positive stand to make sweeping changes, we could lead the way toward a healing and healthy Earth.

2 New Favorite Nonfiction Authors

This summer, I did a Choice Literacy workshop for teachers around Nonfiction. I spoke in the morning and Andrea Smith spoke in the afternoon.  It was a great day of learning as I always learn so much from Andrea. But the big surprise was the books.  I have been on the lookout for better nonfiction for years and I love my collection lately.  I brought crates and crates of books for my part of the presentation.  Andrea also brought crates and crates for her part of the presentation.  The room was filled with amazing nonfiction for children.  And here's the thing, there was almost NO overlap in the books I brought and the books Andrea brought.  We each had a great collection of DIFFERENT books!  Needless to say, it was an expensive afternoon of amazon ordering but I discovered some great new books.

Now, well into the school year, I've realized I have 2 new nonfiction authors thanks to this workshop.

Suzi Eszterhas is an author I discovered while I was getting ready for the workshop months earlier. I don't know where I read about or saw her newish series EYE ON THE WILD (Eye on the Wild: Lion)  but I fell in love immediately.  This series currently has about 6 books--each about a different animal in the wild. Each book begins when the animal is a baby and takes it through adulthood.  The text is narrative and very well written. There is enough on the page for my 3rd graders, but not so much to make it overwhelming. And Eszterhas's photos are amazing. I checked out her website as I am a new fan and loved learning about her other work. The part of her website that was most fascinating was the section on tours and workshops. I would NEVER want to go on any adventure that observes animals in the wild, but I love that she does and that we get to learn from her brilliance!  Two more books in this series are due out in 2014 and I am very happy about that!  And I definitely want to go back and check out her past work in Ranger Rick and Time Magazine! Love finding a new favorite author.

The other author was one I discovered from Andrea at the workshop.  I knew Markle from The Case of Sandra Markle was an author I didn't know as an author--I had a few of her books but had never really looked at them together to see what Sandra Markle was about. Well, what a happy discovery!  Sandra writes great nonfiction books for kids around a variety of science topics. The thing is, all of her books have different illustrators/photographers, so it is hard to notice that they are all by this wonderful author. Go through your classroom or school library and I bet you have lots by this author.  I love her work because she really makes things more interesting and very accessible to children. Her take and focus on big topics narrows things down so kids can really understand.  Her language is beautiful and can be used in any minilesson on craft.  I currently love her Animal Predators series.  Owls in this series is one a few of my students have loved.
the Vanishing Tree Frog but hadn't paid attention to how many other books she wrote that I loved! 

The Day the Bulldozers Came

Me and Marvin Gardens
by Amy Sarig King
Arthur A. Levine Books, January 2017
review copy from the public library

Obe Devlin is watching what used to be his family's farm developed into neighborhood phases, with street names that are ironic because they describe what was destroyed to create the development: Oak Trail, Pheasant's Nest, Orchard Way.

He struggles with identity (he cannot be the kind of masculine his father wants him to be), bullies, nosebleeds caused by a sucker punch from his former best friend in a turf war over what's left of the woods and the creek near his house. And he finds an amazing new breed of animal that could be the answer to all our problems, or the source of a problem as enormous as the worldwide environmental problems the human race has already caused.

But, there's a great teacher. A great science teacher. A teacher who really listens and who helps. Ms. G. goes on our list of 100 Cool Teachers in Children's Literature.

"Ms. G said I'd make a great scientist...I could be anything I wanted to be. But really, I knew I wanted to be a teacher like her. Finding Marvin Gardens had taught me so much. I wanted to pass it on...One hundred years from now, teachers would be teaching about things we would never guess. I wanted to do that. I wanted to find other kids like me and make them care about where they lived and how to make things better."

I loved this book, gave it a 4 on Goodreads for the writing. It got a 5 from my heart when I read in About the Author, "The day the bulldozers came to dig up my field was the day I started my dream of having my own farm. If you've ever seen something beautiful and magical be replaced with something more convenient, then you know why this story took me thirty years to write."

Twice this has happened to me. Most recently just this month. The first was the field and woods and creek behind the school where I taught more than 20 years ago. Where we called owls on night hikes, saw turkey buzzard eggs in a ground nest in the hollowed out tree we liked to think of as Sam Gribley's tree, caught and released garter snakes, reenacted Lewis and Clark's scientific expedition, hosted Ron Hirschi, read and wrote poetry, sang John Denver songs, identified trees, cleared paths, dreamed big dreams. The corn/soybean field is now a football field. I haven't been back to see what's become of the creek. It's entirely surrounded by subdivisions, that much I do know.

The second was a little strip of barely-tamed wild between my current school and the playground. This Land Lab was started by teachers who have since retired or moved on, and left in my trust. It was the place where we planted native grasses and flowers. Where there were wonders to taste (a few blackberries in the summer, and lemon mint leaves to chew), and touch (soft lamb's ear and waxy sedum and prickly rattlesnake master), and see (black swallowtails and monarchs, preying mantises and goldfinches, and the cup plant that captured water in its leaf-cups and had a square stem), and hear (stand in the middle of those tall native prairie grasses and listen to the wind and imagine Ohio before the Europeans got here). I was just about the only teacher with any real investment in the plot, and because of that, just about the only one who worked to keep it from going completely wild. I knew that when I retired it would go away, so when the district offered to take care of the maintenance, I let it go. I thought they would keep the trees (one so tall it shaded my second story classroom window). They did not. They leveled it. They didn't even give enough notice for those who had offered to rescue as many of the plants as they could take -- the coneflowers, yucca, iris, catnip, daffodils, hyacinths, strawberries, and lilies. I wonder what they did with the goldfinch feeder the second grade teacher left outside her classroom window when she retired?

I feel like I've failed this small strip of wild, but perhaps it will be of more use in the long run as a grassy sward. It will certainly be more convenient. And although it's gone, nothing can erase the good it did with so many classes of students and groups in Environmental Club. Maybe I could have fought harder to keep it, and that would have been one lesson to teach by example. But maybe there is much to be taught through the pain of losing of a small piece of wild, seeing as we are on the verge of (in the MIDST of) losing so much of our beloved and wild Mother Earth.

Master List: Books about Books and Reading

Picture Books

How a Book is Made by Aliki
Read Anything Good Lately? by Susan Allen and Jane Lindaman
What Are You Doing? by Elisa Amado
Souper Chicken by Mary Jane and Herm Auch
The Lonely Book by Kate Bernheimer
The Best Place to Read by Debbie Bertram and Susan Bloom
The Best Time to Read by Debbie Bertram and Susan Bloom
Wolf by Becky Bloom
Miss Brooks Loves Books (And I Don't) by Barbara Bottner
The Day Eddie Met the Author by Louise Borden
Across a Dark and Wild Sea by Don Brown
Arthur and the Race to Read by Marc Brown
The Year of the Book by Andrea Cheng
But Excuse Me That is my Book by Lauren Child
Otto the Book Bear by Kate Cleminson
Henry & the Buccaneer Bunnies by Carolyn Crimi
Petunia by Robert Duvoisin
A Bedtime Story by Mem Fox
Miss Smith's Incredible Storybook by Michael Garland
Book! by Kristine O'Connell George
Check it Out! The Book About Libraries by Gail Gibbons
A Story for Bear by Dennis Haseley
The Gentleman Bug by Julian Hector
That Book Woman by Heather Henson
The Reader by Amy Hest

Mr. George Baker by Amy Hest
How Rocket Learned to Read by Tad Hills
The Incredible Book Eating Boy by Oliver Jeffers
The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore by William Joyce
Open This Little Book by Jesse Klausmeier
Library Lion by Michelle Knudsen
Jake's 100th Day of School by Lester Laminack
The Red Book by Barbara Lehman
Book by George Ella Lyon
Santa's Book of Names by David McPhail
Edward and the Pirates by David McPhail
Edward in the Jungle by David McPhail
Tomas and the Library Lady by Pat Mora
Amelia Hits the Road by Marissa Moss
Magic Tree House series by Mary Pope Osborne
Reading Makes You Feel Good by Todd Parr
The Girl Who Hated Books by Manjusha Pawagi
Aunt Chip and the Great Triple Creek Dam Affair by Patricia Polacco
Thank You, Mr. Falker by Patricia Polacco
Read Me A Book by Barbara Reid
Reading Grows by Ellen Senisi
Wild About Books by Judy Sierra
It's a Book by Lane Smith
The Hard Times Jar by Ethel Footman Smothers
Interrupting Chicken by David Ezra Stein
From Pictures to Words: A Book About Making a Book by Janet Stevens
The Library by Sarah Stewart
Take Care, Good Knight by Shelley Moore Thomas
Free Fall by David Wiesner
We Are in a Book! (An Elephant and Piggie Book) by Mo Willems
Library Lil by Suzanne Williams
The Old Woman Who Loved to Read by John Winch
The Librarian of Basra by Jeanette Winter
Dog Loves Books by Louise Yates
Baby Bear's Books by Jane Yolen



Chapter Books

Magic by the Book by Nina Berenstein
The Sisters Grimm series by Michael Buckley
Matilda by Roald Dahl
Into the Wild by Sarah Beth Durst
Seven Day Magic by Edward Eager
Inkheart by Cornelia Funke
Moxy Maxwell Does Not Love Stuart Little by Peggy Gifford
Ban This Book by Alan Gratz
The Big Green Book by Robert Graves
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
Fly By Night by Francis Hardinge
The Book of Story Beginnings by Kristin Kladstrup
Looking Back: A Book of Memories by Lois Lowry
Summer Reading is Killing Me by Jon Scieszka
At the Sign of the Star by Katherine Sturtevant
The Great Good Thing by Roderick Townley
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

Poetry

Wonderful Words: Poems about Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening
selected by Lee Bennett Hopkins
Good Books, Good Times by Lee Bennett Hopkins
Forgive Me, I Meant to Do It: False Apology Poems by Gail Carson Levine
The Bookworm's Feast by J. Patrick Lewis
Please Bury Me in the Library by J. Patrick Lewis
BookSpeak!: Poems About Books by Laura Purdie Salas
Read! Read! Read! by Amy Ludwig VanDerwater


Professional

Book Love: Developing Depth, Stamina, and Passion in Adolescent Readers by Penny Kittle
The Book Whisperer: Awakening the Inner Reader in Every Child by Donalyn Miller

Quotations

Quotations for Kids by J.A. Senns

Books For Adults That Could Be Used For Exerpts

Life is So Good by George Dawson
Grand Conversations by Ralph Peterson and Maryann Eeds
The Polysyllabic Spree and Housekeeping vs. the Dirt by Nick Hornby
Better Than Life by Daniel Pennac
How Reading Changed My Life by Anna Quindlen
The Child That Books Built: A Life in Reading by Francis Spufford


* * * * * *

Check this out, too: A Notes from the Windowsill annotated bibliography of book-books by Wendy E. Betts.

Best Books of 2007 and A Newbery Roundup

Last year, we posted our Top 5 lists and did a Newbery Roundup--everyone's predictions for the Newbery. This year, the Newbery Award will be announced earlier than usual--on Monday, January 14. And our very own, Monica, has been busy serving on the committee!

There are many Mock Newbery Awards going on around the country. Many groups are getting ready to vote on their winners. In the meantime, you can see their final lists. Allen County, Anderson's Bookshop, Rhode Island Libraries, BCCLS, and Sharon's Newbery are some of the groups we follow.

Lots of people have been posting their own "Best of 2007" lists over the last few weeks including Miss Erin, Kids Reads, and Fuse #8 (who has some very fun categories!).


Franki's Top Books of 2007
I've read some GREAT children's books this year. I think that it was a great year for books and I couldn't seem to get my list down to my top five so I went with 10 that seem Newberyish to me! (There were lots more I loved too and it was so hard to decide!)

Castle Corona by Sharon Creech
Aurora County All Stars by Deborah Wiles
Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale
Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart
Emma Jean Lazarus Fell Out of a Tree by Lauren Tarshis
Emmy and the Incredible Shrinking Rat by Lynne Jonell
Moxy Maxwell by Peggy Gifford
Into the Wild by Sarah Beth Durst
Home of the Brave by Katherine Applegate
Violet Bing and the Grand House by Jennifer Paros

By the way, I am currently about 1/2 way through Dragon Slippers by Jessica Day George and AM LOVING IT so it could change my list a bit before Newbery day.

Mary Lee's Lists
Like Franki, I'm not done reading 2007 books, so my thinking may change in the next two weeks. For now, here are my short lists of 5 favorite books in each of these categories:

Kids books (younger)
Clementine by Sara Pennypacker
Moxy Maxwell by Peggy Gifford
How to Steal a Dog by Barbara O'Connor
Just Grace by Charise Mericle Harper
Simply Sarah: Patches and Scratches by P.R. Naylor

Kids' books (older)
Into the Wild by Sarah Beth Durst
Edward's Eyes by Patricia MacLachlan
Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale
Letters from Rapunzel by Sara Lewis Holmes
Emma Jean Lazarus Fell Out of a Tree by Lauren Tarshis

Graphic Novels
(Stay tuned for the Cybils Graphic Novels short lists -- I'm on the nominating committee so it wouldn't be proper for me to list personal favorites here!)

Neither Fish nor Fowl
The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznik
Faradawn (Fogmound II) by Susan Schade and Jon Buller
Ellie McDoodle: Have Pen, Will Travel by Ruth McNally Barshaw
Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Roderick Rules by Jeff Kinney

Adult books (read in 2007)
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver
Why I'm Like This by Cynthia Kaplan
Rise and Shine by Anna Quindlen
Snow by Orhan Pamuk
The Stolen Child by Keith Donohue

Audiobooks (listened to in 2007)
Black Swan Green by David Mitchell
Water For Elephants by Sara Gruen
Magyk by Angie Sage
Mayflower by Nathanial Philbrick
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khalid Hosseini

Since we started our blog as a way to chat about our reading leading up to the Newbery Award, we thought we'd round up your Newbery picks. A few weeks ago, we had several kids' lit friends predict the Newbery on our blog. So many possibilities! So, if you post your picks on your blog, put the link in the comments and we'll add them to our list. We'll post the round up next Friday or Saturday so send us your posts before then.

READING IN THE WILD Blog Tour!

A Year of Reading is VERY excited about the release of Donalyn Miller's new book, Reading in the Wild!  When we fell in love with The Book Whisperer, we had never met Donalyn, but we knew that if we ever did, we would be great friends. She believed all that we believed about kids and books and reading.  We were part of her original fan club and we quoted her words everywhere!

Now, almost 5 years later, we do know Donalyn!  We have both worked with her and laughed with her.  She is a colleague and friend and we both feel so very lucky to know this brilliant teacher.  We have learned so much from her and we continue to learn from her every time we hear her speak, read her writing, or have a conversation with her. And how fun to have the chance to get a sneak peek at this very important new book and to be part of the kickoff blog tour for her new book!  

This new book adds to everything Donalyn taught us in her first book. This new book takes a look at the ways in which we, as teachers, can build lifelong readers. Donalyn is clear that if we really do want to build lifelong readers, we have to spend time on those in classrooms.  We have to be as thoughtful and strategic in our teaching to build lifelong reading habits as we are about our teaching of other skills and strategies. Such important work:-)

Donalyn has been on tour all week!  You can follow the tour at the following locations:

November 4 The Goddess of YA Literature
November 5 Mr. Schu Reads
November 6 Librarian's Quest
November 7 Nerdy Book Club (Katherine Sokolowski)
November 8 HERE!
November 9 Teach Mentor Texts
November 10 Sharpread

FRANKI: What are you most excited about in sharing your newest thinking in Reading In the Wild?  

DONALYN:  My colleague, Susan Kelley, and I surveyed hundreds of readers—both adults and children. Their observations about reading are scattered throughout Reading in the Wild. It is fascinating to read the similarities in reading experiences no matter their age or background. Looking at these commonalities, Susie and I were able to identify several habits that could be modeled and taught. Becoming a reader isn’t random or predicted at birth—we develop these traits over a lifetime. It’s exciting to see how we can intentionally foster students’ independent reading self-efficacy and engagement.

FRANKI:  Has your thinking changed at all since you wrote The Book Whisperer?

DONALYN: Since I wrote The Book Whisperer, I am less critical of other teachers. I have a deeper understanding of the role that school and district administration plays in creating shortsighted policies and structures like schedules that don’t allow for independent reading time, school library closures, lack of funding for books and professional development, and over-emphasis on test prep and scripted programs—these school-wide factors hinder students’ literacy development and are beyond one teacher’s control.

FRANKI: Tell us a bit about the title, “In the Wild”. Where did that come from?

DONALYN:  There is a disconnect between many students’ school and home reading lives. While students must master the ability to read and comprehend text, reading as a lifelong habit involves much more than a list of skills. Readers “in the wild” possess attitudes and behaviors that are not always supported or appreciated in a school setting. The conditions that we know encourage students’ reading engagement and self-efficacy—choice in reading material, access to books, significant daily reading time—these conditions are often controlled or defined at school. Reading at school is often reading in captivity, and many students never develop the ability to read avidly away from school.

FRANKi:  You’ve changed grade levels a bit in the last few years. How has that influenced your teaching? 

DONALYN:  Moving from middle school to elementary school two years ago, I learned that younger students need more shared reading experiences to become engaged with reading. I increased read alouds and developed a reading buddy relationship with a first grade classroom. There is also a difference in the types of books my elementary students like to read. Students are reading more nonfiction and realistic fiction text than my middle schoolers chose to read. I don’t have dystopian romances in the classroom library these days! Overall, the basic structures and goals for our class haven’t changed—students need to spend the majority of class time reading, writing, and talking about reading and writing.

FRANKI:  What are the things that remain the same in the teaching of reading and which things have you had to rethink with different age groups/teaching positions?

DONALYN:  I am teaching fifth grade language arts and social studies this year. Our social studies course is American History, so I enjoy finding ways to integrate reading, writing, and social studies when there is a natural fit. I have more students working on basic reading skills than I did in middle school, so my small group instruction looks different. I try to keep my small groups small (no more than three students) and focused (addressing one skill or concept at a time), but I need more groups to meet the needs of all of my students.

FRANKI: You make some great points about habits of readers being as important as skills and strategies. How do you make sure to keep that true in the day-to-day work of the classroom?

DONALYN:  I confer with students about their independent reading habits on a regular basis and build into my lesson plans intentional opportunities to teach, model, and practice independent reading habits. I explicitly show students how the reading skills and habits we discuss in class help them as readers over the long term.

FRANKI:  How do you manage to read as much as you do while still teaching full time, writing, and being a wife and mom?

DONALYN:  I carry a book with me everywhere I go and steal reading time whenever I can get it. I read a lot when I am traveling—reading on planes and in airports. I read before I go to bed at night. I read a staggering amount during school vacations.

FRANKI: Who have been your biggest influences when it comes to your work with children?

DONALYN:  My early influences were my professors in the Reading Department at the University of North Texas—Dr. Jeanne Cobb and Dr. Alex Leavell. They introduced me to reading and writing workshop and children’s literature. When I became a teacher, my principal, Dr. Ron Myers and my mentor, Susan Kelley, helped me connect the pedagogy I learned in school with practical classroom routines. Professional writers like Janet Allen, Nancie Atwell, Irene Fountas, and Ellin Keene expanded my understanding of good teaching practices and the importance of observing and listening to my students. These days, I am influenced by Penny Kittle, Kelly Gallagher, Debbie Miller, and Teri Lesesne. I still have a lot to learn about being a good teacher! 

FRANKI:  What are you thinking about now that this book is behind you?

DONALYN:  I gave myself permission not to jump into another project right away, but I am working on something with a few friends… I am not ready to talk about it much because we are still planning it. I can tell you that it is about reading and teaching!

Thank you, Donalyn!!