Text Set: The Power of Studying One Idea Across Multiple Texts

 Texts for this Text Set have been posted daily on Instagram. Follow @TextSets there to get daily updates!

Studying one idea across multiple texts is something we do so often as readers.  We can show our students the power of doing this when building understanding/learning something new. When we read across several texts about a single topic, we build knowledge, examine perspectives, build on first understanding, change thinking as we learn more, and ask more questions. When we think of standards, when we read across texts, we practice synthesizing, we are learning true research and we learn to support our thinking with evidence. This week's text set explores books to use to study the idea of protest marches across several pieces of short text.

Both of these books are fabulous for starting the learning about Marches. They both have basic information. Sometimes People March share many reasons for marching with good information at the end of the book. In We March, we better understand the experience of being part of a march though simple text and illustrations. Both will be good to set the stage for more learning about marches.

Marching for Change takes a close look at 3 different marches. These marches are 3 that students may know about and the book gives detailed information about each one.  There are photographs that will help readers connect to a visual. This book can be included in the research by reading about one march or all three. 

These two books take a close look at two different marches that may not be as well known to students.  Starting with the basics of marches and then getting to the specifics of different marches with these books will help children build understanding. Readers of All the Way to the Top may go on to read more about activist, Jennifer Keelan-Chaffins current work. These books provide two ways to learn more--learning more about a specific march (The Teachers March) and learning more about a single person's role as an activist. Both ways of learning about marches and protestors are important to bigger understandings. 
 

Together We March can provide weeks of mini lesson work. The book explores 25 different protest marches. The introduction is one that will add to the study of marches in this text set. Then readers can read more about marches they may know about and discover less known marches to build initial understandings.  Each short piece provides a great deal of new information that will help readers build on, grow, and change their thinking. 

Children's participation in marches will most likely be of interest to young readers and these two books that look at the children's march of 1963. Let the Children March looks at the whole of the march while The Youngest Marcher focuses on the youngest child who was arrested for protesting. These books focus on two stories about a single historical march and the important role of children. 

This week's books were linked at Cover to Cover Children's Bookstore. If you are looking for a fabulous independent children's bookstore to support, this is an amazing one. We are lucky to have them in Central Ohio!

Thoughts on Teaching & Learning: 3 Picture Books

Over the past several weeks, I have found myself doing a lot of reflection trying to get this online teaching right.  I keep meaning to get my thoughts on paper but then get caught up in the day-to-day work of teaching in this pandemic era.  I know if I can catch my breath, there is a lot to learn and reflect on during this time. So, I decided that every day in May, I will share my thoughts on Teaching and Learning.  This is Day 16.


Typically, I read lots and lots of picture books. We have a fabulous library system and I often order a stack to read through on a Saturday and then decide which ones I need to own. I've really missed out on picture books over these last 2 months-I haven't kept up on the new picture books at all. And I think my students miss them too. Usually, we read at least 2-3 picture books a day but during this remote learning, we haven't really read a lot of picture books live and together. It's something I would change for next year.

This week, we did share a few picture books on Google Meet. Both are books I need to own and they both invited great conversations. If you haven't seen Lift by Minh Lè and Dan Santat, it is a must-have. I had preordered this one long ago (I do that when I see a must-have book and then I forget about it and it is a nice surprise when it arrives!). This one is as fabulous as I had anticipated. The words, the pictures, the title, all of it. There are some great themes in this one and I think it would be an amazing book to read at the beginning of the year too, as classrooms are building community.

Brave Molly by Brooke Boynton-Hughes is a book I learned about from John Mere in a Build Your Stack session this winter. This is a wordless book and the Kindle version worked out well on Google Meet. Students could see all of the details and noticed a great deal on each page. This book addresses social anxiety, but students had conversations around fear and anxiety in general so it seemed like a good book for this week.

One book that I did not share with my class, but that I will probably share this week as a great one for summer reading is this new nonfiction picture book. You're Invited to a Moth Ball: A Nighttime Insect Celebration by Loree Burns is amazing! (I think I discovered this one from Melissa Stewart.) And such a great invitation for children and families who are stuck at home. I love this book for so many reasons. First of all, it is a great fun activity for kids and families to do at home, outside. Second it is a great mentor for How-To Writing. And there are lots of extra features that give more information. And the photos are fabulous. I became a huge Loree Burns fan several years ago when I read Handle with Care and I've followed her work since. This book is fabulous, and I can see it being a well-loved book in K-5. as it has so many different entry points.

We got good news this week--our library will be opening with curbside pick-up so I am hoping I can spend the first few weeks of summer reading reviews etc. and ordering all those picture books that I've missed knowing about.

Imagine That!

Here are two books that will inspire children to use their imaginations.

What's Your Favorite Food?
by Eric Carle and Friends
Henry Holt and Co., 2019
library copy

Each illustrator chose a favorite food, wrote a little about it, and illustrated it in his/her own unique way. Not only is it fun to see which of OUR favorite foods are THEIR favorite foods, we get to see (in the illustrator bios in the back) each of the illustrators as a child! Yes, their bio photos are of themselves as children. Lookie there! Kids that look like YOU who grew up to become famous illustrators! Imagine that!

It Began With a Page: How Gyo Fujikawa Drew the Way
by Kyo Maclear
illustrated by Julie Morstad
HarperCollins, 2019
library copy

Gyo Fujikawa's life as an artist intersected with historical events that shaped who she was and what she believed about her art. In this picture book biography, we see her drawing from a very young age, then, after high school, attending art school in the mid-1920's on scholarship. She worked for Disney in the early 1940's, saw her family sent to internment camps during the war, witnessed the beginnings of the Civil Rights Movement. In the early 1060s, she submitted her groundbreaking book illustrated with multiracial characters and didn't back down when the publisher said children of different races should not be in the same book. It is thanks to her (and other bookmakers such as Ezra Jack Keats) that all kinds of kids can see characters who look like them in more picture books than ever. Imagine that!

Grandparents' Day is September 8

Grandparents' Day is September 8 this year. Here are some picture books, many of which are #ownvoicees, that explore the relationship of children and their grandparents.

Our Favorite Day 
by Joowon Oh
Candlewick Press, 2019
review copy provided by the publisher

An #ownvoices book with gorgeous paper collage illustrations. Thursdays are Papa's favorite day because he gets to spend time with his granddaughter.

Ojiichan's Gift 
by Chieri Uegaki
illustrated by Genevieve Simms
KidsCan Press, 2019
review copy provided by the publisher

Every summer when she visits Japan, Mayumi and her grandfather care for the rock garden he built for her when she was born. What will become of the rock garden and their time together when Ojiichan has to go into the nursing home? Another #ownvoices story of the connection between a grandfather and granddaughter.

My Grandma and Me
by Mina Javaherbin
illustrated by Lindsey Yankey
Candlewick Press, 2019
review copy provided by the publisher

This is an autobiographical story of growing up in Iran and all the things a little girl does with her grandmother who lives with her family.

Grandpa's Top Threes
by Wendy Meddour
illustrated by Daniel Egnéus
Candlewick Press, September 3, 2019
review copy provided by the publisher

When Grandpa stops talking to him, Henry persists and finds a way to keep their bond -- by asking Grandpa for his Top Threes. At the end of the book, perceptive readers will learn why Grandpa had turned inward and have an even greater appreciation for Henry.

Stolen Words
by Melanie Florence
illustrated by Gabrielle Grimard
Second Story Press, 2017
review copy from the library

Like Henry, in GRANDPA'S TOP THREES, the granddaughter in this #ownvoices story helps her grandfather heal by giving him back the Cree language (in a book from her school) that was stolen from him when he was taken from his family to live in a residential school.

Grandpa Cacao
by Elizabeth Zunon
Bloomsbury Children's Books, 2019

Based on her childhood in the Ivory Coast, West Africa, this book is the author's love letter to a grandfather she never knew (and a fabulous connection to our 5th grade social studies if you trace the story of chocolate back even further to the Maya and Inca people in Latin America).

Around the Table That Grandad Built
by Melanie Heuiser Hill
illustrated by Jaime Kim
Candlewick Press, September 10, 2019
review copy provided by the publisher

A fun, cumulative story the celebrates the gifts that remain when our loved ones are gone.

I Miss My Grandpa
by Jin Xiaojing
Little, Brown and Company, September 3, 2019
review copy provided by the publisher

The little girl's grandfather died before she was born, but she still misses him. Her grandmother helps her to see her grandfather's facial features and character traits in her living relatives, and the girl realizes that her and her family. The text is translated into Mandarin Chinese on the final endpapers.

The Immortal Jellyfish
by Sang Miao
Flying Eye Books, 2019
review copy provided by the publisher

A boy's grandfather begins a conversation about immortality, but then dies before he and the boy can explore the idea further. In a dream, the boy's grandfather takes him on a grand adventure in which they explore reincarnation.

Wordless Picture Books in Read Aloud

Professional Crocodile
by Giovanna Zoboli

illustrated by Mariachiara Di Giorgio 

Chronicle Books, 2017

A crocodile gets ready for work and travels to the zoo, where he is (what else?) a professional crocodile.

Owl Bat Bat Owl
by Marie-Louise Fitzpatrick
Candlewick Press, 2017

The adults can't get past the differences, but the kids can. When the lives of their children are endangered, the adults are finally united.

Little Fox in the Forest
by Stephanie Graegin
Schwartz & Wade, 2017

A little girl loses her beloved stuffed animal, gets it back again, then gives it away.

*   *   *   *   *   *

These are just three of the wordless picture books I've shared for #classroombookaday this year. But how do I read aloud a book without words?

1. Gather the students close. Let them know that it's a wordless book and that they'll have to pay close attention to the illustrations in order to understand the story.
2. Study the cover, both front and back. 
3. Look under the dust jacket to see if the book cover is the same or different.
4. Study the end papers.
5. Begin the book with the very first page turn. The story in some picture books begins before the title page!
6. After showing a spread of the story to all of your audience (take your time moving the book so they have time to really look at the illustrations), ask, "Who would like to narrate this spread?"

That's it -- no big secret or earth-shattering instructional move. I let the students tell the story! The fascinating thing is that often the students who don't participate in a picture book discussion are the first to raise their hand to narrate, and with a keen eye for details that are vital to the story. There is no worksheet, no calling on someone who doesn't have their hand raised to try to catch them not paying attention (because with a wordless book, 99% of them are, and part of the fun of it is you can watch them looking because your head is not turned away from them reading the words!!), no quick check or written retelling. Try it! You'll have so much fun (both you and your students) that you'll make space in #classroombookaday not just for nonfiction picture books, but for wordless picture books, too!

Two New Seymour Simon Books

Horses (Updated Edition)
by Seymour Simon
HarperCollins, 2017

Water
by Seymour Simon
HarperCollins, 2017


"Simon may have done more than any other living author to help us understand and appreciate the beauty of our planet and our universe." -- Kirkus Reviews

Not only that, but he can teach our students to write with clarity and organization. Look no further than one of Seymour Simon's books and you'll find great introductions and conclusions, and paragraphs that contain ideas all on one topic.

Great Dads

Two books with great dads who both understand and validate the fears of their children.

Lily's Cat Mask
by Julie Fortenberry
Viking Books for Young Readers, 2017

Dad and the Dinosaur
by Gennifer Choldenko

illustrated by Dan Santat

G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers, 2017

#classroombookaday

One of my students was on a picture book reading binge. She brought me The Pencil, by Allan Ahlberg and suggested it for #classroombookaday. In the story (which another student thought had the feel of a religious creation story) nothing exists but a pencil. Then the pencil draws the world into existence. Things start getting out of hand, so the pencil draws an eraser. Even that doesn't work, so the pencil draws another eraser and they annihilate each other (Noah's Ark, anyone?). The pencil starts over. Carefully.

While we were on the subject of erasers, I had to read my favorite eraser book, The Eraserheads by Kate Banks. These erasers come to life and have adventures. Are the eraserheads alive for real, or just in the imagination of the boy? You decide.

I had just read The Book of Mistakes by Corinna Luyken, and it seemed like the perfect next read. In it, the creator, in the course of drawing, makes mistakes and then makes the mistakes into something wanted. Total surprise ending in this one. It will blow your mind.

The fourth book in this set is one I put out for students to pore over and ponder on their own because it's wordless -- Lines by Suzy Lee. In this book, the lines are made by the blades of an ice skater's skates.

Then, surprise of surprises, this weekend I read Sam & Eva by Debbie Ridpath Ohi. Two children (are they drawing on the walls?!?!) can't agree on what to draw. Then, their drawings pick up on the escalating disagreement and things really start to get out of hand. Literally. The two children draw an escape and start over -- each offering an olive branch to the other.

There's something quite magical about the connections between books!

Best Recent Picture Books

Baabwaa & Wooliam: A Tale of Literacy, Dental Hygiene, and Friendship
by David Elliott
illustrated by Melissa Sweet

If the author/illustrator duo didn't make you want to read this book, then the goofy names should do it. (Baabwaa...Barbara...Wooliam...William...groan!!) This book turns a traditional tale on its ear and add some sarcastically funny parts. It made me laugh out loud at the end! Check out the subtitle -- that says it all!

The Only Fish in the Sea
by Philip C. Stead

So much story packed into one picture book! The whole thing starts PAGES before the title page, and there are at least six subplots in the illustrations.

Princess Hair

by Sharee Miller

A book to celebrate all kinds of hair textures, shapes, and styles.

Red & Lulu

by Matt Tavares

Destined to become a new Christmas classic, this book has a twist of nature and environmentalism, plus overtones of immigration. Gorgeous illustrations.

Endpapers That Reward Readers

In Which the Endpapers Explain What Endpapers Are

The Cat, the Dog, Little Red, the Exploding Eggs, the Wolf and Grandma

In Which the Endpapers Make You Laugh

Nanette's Baguette

Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs

Carnivores

In Which the Endpapers Make You Wonder

The Book of Mistakes

Professional Crocodile

Ninja Red Riding Hood

In Which the Endpapers Give Away the End of the Story

Rodzillla

XO, OX: A Love Story

In Which You Need the Endpapers 

In Order to Understand the Story

Sam & Dave Dig a Hole

Surprise Endings

The Book of Mistakes 
by Corinna Luyken
Dial Books for Young Readers, 2017
review copy from the public library

This book is a celebration of mistakes...mistakes that can be seen as good ideas if you don't get stuck thinking they are mistakes. Just when the book seems to be getting repetitive, it gets complicated, and then it takes your breath away. This will be a fabulous #classroombookaday.

XO, OX: A Love Story
by Adam Rex
illustrated by Scott Campbell
Roaring Book Press, 2017
review copy from the public library

What's it called when a book is told all in letters? Epistolatory. Yeah. That's what this is. Ox loves Gazelle and tells her so in adoring letters. Gazelle does NOT love Ox and tells him so in increasingly irritated responses. Until...

Make sure you study the endpapers before and after reading. What do you know about the two characters from the beginning end papers? (Ox loves lots of things; Gazelle loves...herself.) And what can you infer from the ending end papers? (Lives have been changed. Anything is possible.)

This will be another fabulous #classroombookaday.

The Three Billy Goats Gruff
by Jerry Pinkney
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2017
review copy from the public library

Speaking of endpapers, here is another book with great rewards in the end papers. (And another to save for #classroombookaday!)

The fourth in Jerry Pinkney's retellings of fables and folktales, this one is (again) nearly perfect in every way. Pinkney doesn't just give us another predictable retelling. He adds several twists that make the story even bigger than the original. In his version, the ogre gets a taste of his own medicine, highlighting the recurring nature of verbal bullying. But the ending holds a surprise. There are clues, subtle in the last spread of the story as well as the final spread with the author's note, but obvious in the final endpapers, that the billy goats' hearts are big enough for forgiveness, and the ogre's is open for redemption. That's a surprise ending worth replicating!