10 for 10: Books that Might Be on The Bear's Bookshelf #hatback

We have participated in August Picture Book 10 for 10 since it started in 2010. It is one of our favorite annual events, even though it is sometimes a little bit expensive! (The creators have rated this event D for Dangerous for your wallet:-) #pb10for10 was created by Cathy Mere of Reflect and Refine and Mandy Robek of Enjoy and Embrace Learning.  You can visit their blogs and get a link to past Picture Book list as well as this year's list.  And make sure to follow the hashtag on Twitter.

This is a great day---I am planning to spend a few hours browsing all of the great book lists that are always part of this event! Thanks, Cathy and Mandy!

This year's blog post/booklist came out of our evening chat at the Choice Literacy Writing Retreat. After a day of hard work and writing, we started talking about PB10for10. And how could the conversation not somehow turn to I WANT MY HAT BACK?  So, the idea for our 2013 lists was created.  My list this year includes 10 picture books that would be on The Bear's bookshelf.
You'll want to visit Jen's blog (Teach Mentor Texts).  Her post includes books that might be on the Rabbit's bookshelf.

You see, I am 100% #teambear and Jen is 100% #teamrabbit. When we talk, we realize that we each think both characters are a bit misunderstood and that knowing what is on their bookshelf might help readers understand them a bit better. So, because we have spent YEARS talking about these two characters, we feel that we know them well enough to know what might be on their bookshelves.  Because it is a picture book events, we have focused only on the picture books, although we are certain that both characters are both avid readers of many types of books.

And you see, no matter how long we've talked about this book, there are always new ways to talk and think about it!

#teambear

10 PICTURE BOOKS that would be on The Bear's Bookshelf

The Cat in the Hat (Beginner Books(R))by Dr. Seuss..... because he was the first book character to make wearing a hat seem so cool, right?

Scaredy Squirrel by Melanie Watt and Bossy Bear by David Horvath....because both characters like things "just so".   It is very stressful for either of them to think outside of their plans. Not because they are not kind, but because they like life to go as planned:-)

Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! by Mo Willems....because doesn't everyone have a little temper tantrum now and then?  One that takes up an entire two-page spread?

When Sophie Gets Angry--Really, Really Angry... (Scholastic Bookshelf) by Molly Bang...because everyone could learn better ways to deal with their anger.

Arnie, the Doughnut (Adventures of Arnie the Doughnut) by Laurie Keller.....because had the Rabbit asked nicely not to be eaten, maybe The Bear would have thought of a better solution.

The Meanest Birthday Girl by Josh Schneider...because Anthony has become one of The Bear's favorite new characters.  His solution seems comparable to eating his friend.

Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse by Kevin Henkes...because Lilly loved her purple plastic purse so much that she made some bad choices. Lilly is easily forgiven for her mistake.

Who Took the Farmer's Hat? by Joan Nodset...because sometimes it helps to know that similar things have happened to others.

Hat by Paul Hoppe..because in this story a little boy imagines all the terrible things that could happen if he keeps a red hat that doesn't belong to him.

10 for 10: 10 Picture Books That Are New To Me

Here are my offerings for the 2013 edition of 10 for 10 Picture Books. Thank you, Cathy at Reflect and Refine and Mandy at Enjoy and Embrace Learning for hosting this fabulous event again this year! 

I hemmed and hawed and futzed and browsed and stewed and flip-flopped about the theme of this year's list. I finally decided that I just needed to DECIDE, and Maria gave me my unifying theme: 10 picture books that are new to me. I went to my Summer #bookaday shelf on GoodReads, and here are the 10 most recent picture books that I've read!

FICTION

Unicorn Thinks He's Pretty Great

by Bob Shea

Disney-Hyperion (June 25, 2013)

from the public library

I didn't love this book when I first read it, but it generated THREE reviews from the Dispatch Readers. Definitely has kid-appeal and clearly I need to take another look!

Take Me Out to the Yakyu

by Aaron Meshon

Atheneum Books for Young Readers (February 19, 2013)

purchased for my classroom

Did you every find the perfect book for last year's student?
That's this book, which features baseball in Japan and the US.
I'm hoping I have another student this coming year or in the future for whom this will be as perfect as it would have been for last year's student!

Max's Words

by Kate Banks

illustrated by Boris Kulikov

Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR); 1st edition (August 8, 2006)

purchased for my classroom

How did I miss this book? It will be perfect for launching word study!

NONFICTION

Daredevil: The Daring Life of Betty Skelton

by Meghan McCarthy

Simon & Schuster/Paula Wiseman Books (June 4, 2013)
purchased for my classroom

I love Megan McCarthy's style, and Betty Shelton is the kind of person I want all of my students to know about. She had a big life full of adventures. She didn't let convention get in her way.

Gandhi: A March to the Sea

by Alice B. McGinty

illustrated by Thomas Gonzalez

Two Lions (April 2, 2013)

from the public library

This biography-in-freeverse of Gandhi focuses on one critical event in his life and in the history of India. Interesting to compare India under British rule to the American Colonies. Thomas Gonzales' illustrations (remember 14 Cows for America ?) are gorgeous.

No Monkeys, No Chocolate

by Melissa Stewart and Allen Young

illustrated by Nicole Wong

from the public library

Charlesbridge Pub Inc (August 2013)

Told in a "House That Jack Built" sort of way, readers learn about the interconnectedness of all kinds of factors that result in the link of monkeys to chocolate.

The Price of Freedom: How One Town Stood Up to Slavery

by Dennis Brindell Fradin and Judith Bloom Fradin

illustrated by Eric Velasquez

Walker Childrens (January 8, 2013)

purchased for my classroom

We can't provide children with too many examples of people who

stand up for good in the world, can we?

On a Beam of Light: A Story of Albert Einstein

by Jennifer Berne

illustrated by Vlidamir Radunsky

Chronicle Books (April 23, 2013)

purchased for my classroom

Beautifully written, beautiful illustrations, and the inspiration to 

attend to one's imagination.

WORDLESS (or almost wordless)

Bluebird

by Bob Staake

Schwartz & Wade (April 9, 2013)

purchased for my classroom

A heartbreaking testimonial to the power of friendship.

Have you ever used a wordless book as your read aloud? Try this one.

Just sit in front of your students, turn the pages, and let them talk.

The Hole

by Øyvind Torseter

Enchanted Lion Books, coming August 27, 2013

review copy provided by the publisher

Enchanted Lion always has the most interesting books.
They publish books from around the world.
THE HOLE was originally published in Norway.

The covers are heavy cardboard, the pages are stiff cardstock, and there's
a hole
punched
all the way
through the book.

This is such a fascinating book that I'm going to give it a full-sized review on Monday.
If you're curious, come back for more!

10 for 10...plus two more!!

I know, I know.
#pb10for10 was on August 10th.
But what if I want to add two more books to my list?
Books that the UPS guy just delivered?

Can we please have a PLUS TWO day on August 12th, where everybody gets to add just two more books to their list?

Seed by Seed: The Legend and Legacy of John "Appleseed" Chapman
by Esmé Raji Codell
illustrated by Lynne Rae Perkins
Greenwillow Books, on shelves August 21
review copy provided by the publisher

Just in time for Johnny Appleseed's Birthday (September 26) comes this picture book that takes us back to the

"...quiet, tree-bough-tangled world,
the world before the cement was poured
and the lights turned on..."

Codell doesn't give us the same-old same-old cutesy Johnny Appleseed story. She identifies and elaborates on not just the apples, but 5 examples he planted for us:

Use what you have.

Share what you have.

Respect nature.

Try to make peace where there is war.

You can reach your destination by taking small steps.

This book is all kinds of perfection, from Codell's beautiful writing, to Perkins' gorgeous illustrations. I think we'll be adopting Chapman's five examples in Room 228.

Cat Tale

by Michael Hall (author of My Heart is Like a Zoo, which I reviewed in 2011)

Greenwillow Books, on shelves August 28

review copy provided by the publisher

This book will wind up living on my Word Study shelf, but I won't tell my students that when I share it with them.

I will introduce this book by asking the students, "What do you notice?"

"From word to word

they find their way,

Lillian, Tilly, and William J.

They pack some books

and kitty chews.

They choose a spot.

They spot some ewes."

What do you notice?

...Later in the book:

"They flee a steer.

They steer a plane.

They plane a board.

They board a train."

What do you notice? What do you predict will happen next?

The three cats' crazy romp through a tale filled with homophones and homonyms gets completely tangled up...but then, with the help of a purple whale, they make it back home again. Fun, fun, FUN!! (And did I mention, visually stunning, with art that "consists of acrylic painted textures and paper cutouts that were combined digitally.")

PW Starred Review

10 for 10 -- Picture Books for the First Weeks of School

I've used the same set of picture books (including these books about names) to start the school year for several years now. It's not a bad set, in fact, it's a GREAT set, but I challenged myself to pick 10 different picture books to start this new year in a new position, and to think about what I'll be saying to my students (through these books) about my hopes for them, and for our year together.

1. Choose kind.
Little Bird by Germano Zullo

2. Make friends, not enemies.
Enemy Pie (Reading Rainbow book) by Derek Munson

3. Be faithful to your friends.
Otis by Loren Long

4. Work hard to solve your problems...but don't forget to think about what your solution might do to others.
Stuck by Oliver Jeffers

5. Live in this moment. Be present.
You're Finally Here! by Mélanie Watt

6. Be yourself. No matter what.
Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed by Mo Willems

7. Be persistent. Believe in yourself. Follow your dreams.
Learning to Fly by Sebastian Meschenmoser

8. Know yourself. Be yourself. Follow your dreams. (And a special note to myself: make sure your "dance academy" has room for everyone.)
Brontorina by James Howe

9. Make memories, because memories make stories.
Roxaboxen by Alice McLerran

10. The world around us is amazing, awe-inspiring, and diverse. It is there for us to notice, learn about, and appreciate.
The Beetle Book by Steve Jenkins

Thank you to Cathy, at Reflect & Refine: Building a Learning Community, and Mandy, at Enjoy and Embrace Learning for sponsoring this 10 for 10 Picture Book event for the third year. Be sure you hide your credit cards and then go look at all the fabulous lists!