Poetry Friday -- Love Song to Reading

Hooray for a book of poems that celebrates reading...

The WONDER of reading words

"...that fly like birds
from pages
in your book
to branches
in your brain
where they sing
like soothing
summer rain."

The JOY of learning to read.

"I longed so to read.
This was my hope.
This was my need." 

All the KINDS of reading we do:

Cereal Box
Sports Page
Maps
Road Signs
Field Guides
Google Searches
Birthday Cards
Magazines
Sunday Comics

The ways reading COMPLETES us:

"Every single thing you read
becomes a part of you." 

"A book gives you a double life." 

The ways reading CHANGES us:

"An open book will make you kind." 

"Charlotte taught me what to do." 

"I'm a reader.
I explore." 

Thank you, Amy, for a book that readers of all ages and stages will want to hug and share and read over and over again until it falls apart.

Read! Read! Read!
by Amy Ludwig VanDerwater
illustrated by Ryan O'Rourke
Wordsong, September 2017



Carol has the Poetry Friday Roundup this week at Beyond LiteracyLink.

For next week's Poetry Friday Roundup, Tabatha has invited us to write/share poems in honor of National Mac and Cheese Day, which falls on Friday, July 14 this year. Start cooking up an oozy, gooey Poetry Friday post!! (It's optional, but it was so much fun when we celebrated Billy Collins at the beginning of his birth month back in March.)

Books About Reading...Sort Of

Lines, Squiggles, Letters, Words
by Ruth Rocha
illustrated by Madalena Matoso
Enchanted Lion Books, November 2016
review copy provided by the publisher

This is  book about how life in a world of random, meaningless squiggles turns into a life of reading a world full of meaningful text.

The book is also perhaps a commentary on school learning vs. real life learning. The pages where the character is learning his letters in school show children seated in rows of desks, while the teacher displays a chart of the letter and writes it on the board. The dialogue between students and teacher consists of teacher saying, "A is for apple," and the students repeating the sentence. It is when the character leaves school and enters his print-rich world that he can connect his learning to what he sees in his everyday life.

The Polar Bear
by Jenni Desmond
Enchanted Lion Books, November 2016
review copy provided by the publisher

Like Jenni Desmond's 2015 book, The Blue Whale (reviewed here), this is an imaginative work of literary nonfiction, featuring a little girl in a red crown who is reading the same book we are. As we watch her reading, we can see how she's processing the information and making connections to the text. The book is filled with lots of polar bear facts, and in the end, when you understand the bears' dependence on ice for survival, your heart will be filled with much sorrow about climate change and the loss of polar ice.

My Adult Reading Life

September - May is a frustrating time of year for a teacher to be a reader. Because there is no way to do our jobs within the parameters of the contract hours of our days/weeks, work spills over into our personal lives and threatens to rob us of one of the identities at our very core -- that of Reader. Luckily, I eat breakfast every day and I have a twenty minute commute to work.

I manage to keep a middle grade novel going in 20 minute increments as I eat breakfast. I tell myself that I should weave a professional book into that time slot some days, but I'll be honest -- I rarely do.

My drive time is my adult reading time. I read with my ears. If it weren't for Audible and the TED Radio Hour podcast, I would not have an adult reading life. I also wouldn't have very much to talk about in adult conversations since I'm not a sports fan, I fall asleep when I watch TV or movies, and I don't pay close attention to the news (for sanity's sake).

It would be easy enough not to be a reader, but as a teacher of reading (and as a person whose core identity is Reader), that's simply not an option.

There's no such thing as MAKING time to read. We all have the same number of hours in each day. So it's all about being creative in FINDING time and using it to keep my reading life alive in the September - May drought so it can flourish June - August.

{DIY Literacy} #cyberPD

Better late than never, right?

#cyberPD nearly passed me by this summer, but in the spirit of Tuesday's Big Gulp-O-Reading, I read the whole book in one day.

Because I haven't kept up with all of the conversations for the past several weeks, my big take-away is likely redundant:

THIS BOOK IS BRILLIANT.

Summer is winding down. The IDEA of being a teacher again in a few weeks is switching back over to being a REALITY. This book cushioned me as I fell from Summer Mode back into Teacher Mode.

Even though I've been at this gig for decades now, what I love+hate most about it is that every year is new. I never feel like I've got this down pat, like I know where I'll start and exactly how I'll proceed through the year, or like I'm the expert I should be after all this time and practice.

But this book makes me feel like I'm going to do a better job this year than I've ever done before.

At the same time they make me realize that I haven't been doing enough to support learners by even more finely slicing and layering my lessons than I ever thought possible, Kate and Maggie never make me feel like a failure. Instead, their book does for me what my work with it will do for my students -- it will lift me/us to the next level (and the next and the next and the next).

As Franki said in the foreword,  "The ideas are sophisticated, but Kate and Maggie make teachers feel like "we can do this!"" They believe that teachers who are readers and writers themselves have at their fingertips the steps and moves that become the strategies that will help each child learn at his/her level. I love this focus on turning inward and accessing what I already know as the expert reader and writer in the classroom. And this book has given me the ways to make my years of experience into clear and concise tools that will bring my learners along with me.

Poetry Friday and Deconstructing a Standard

RL.5.6. Describe how a narrator’s or speaker’s point of view influences how events are described.

That's the 5th grade reading (literature) standard we're just beginning to work on in my class. So that my students can better understand what's expected of them, we deconstructed the standard, brainstorming around these words: describe, narrator, speaker, point of view, view, and influence. Next, we rewrote the standard in our words. Then, I gave them this poem and a series of scaffolded questions that would lead them to describing how the speaker's point of view influences how events are described.

Flickr Creative Commons Photo by Robbphotos1

FLIGHT

Outside my apartment
is a small patch of grass
and a parking lot.
Beyond that is a ditch
full of dirty snow and trash.

But across the road
are power lines
where a hawk often perches
long enough for me to sketch.


©Mary Lee Hahn, 2015

Lo and behold, it worked! Not all, but some, realized that the point of view of the speaker is that of an artist, and "they see everything that is ugly but they can make it beautiful." The speaker will "make things better in the picture." And "An artist can see in detail, and they can make art out of whatever they see." Not bad for a first try.

Catherine has this week's Poetry Friday roundup at Reading to the Core.

The Goodreads Playground

I mentioned in a post last month that some of the Columbus Dispatch Kid Readers (with the help/supervision/blessing of their parents) have joined Goodreads.

Let's back up a minute and just talk about the ways we adults keep track of what we've read. My mom has a little notebook where she writes down titles and authors. She's a voracious mystery series reader, and she needs to keep track of which books in which series she's already read. My friend Lisa is the keeper of our book club's history of reading. She's got a list that goes all the way back to our club's first book together, Lucy Calkins' THE ART OF TEACHING WRITING, which we read when it was new. I was inspired by a fellow writer for the (now defunct) OSU publication THE W.E.B. to read a children's book a week (or if not a book every week, then at least 52 children's books a year). That was back in the mid-1980's. I have a whole shelf full of notebooks listing all of the books I read for about 25 years. Then, in 2007, Goodreads came on the scene. For a few years, I kept both my notebook and my Goodreads listing, but my reading record is now completely digital.

Okay. So we keep track of what we read.

But what if we'd been doing that since we were 10 or 11 years old?

It's been amazing to watch these kids explore and play on Goodreads. First they entered just the book they were currently reading. But that soon expanded. One girl keeps a list of her 5th grade reads in her Take Home folder as well as in her Language Arts binder; she entered all 50+ books she's read this year. After that, I saw other lists expand all the way back to favorites from their early reading years. They've started creating bookshelves -- learning the power of tagging -- and they're marking books as "To Read" -- planning ahead for future reading.

I heard from a parent that sending messages is a popular facet of Goodreads -- the account was created through the mom's email, and her daughter is now getting more emails than she is -- many with the sole content being, "Hi!"

That might be a somewhat trivial part of the way the students are using Goodreads, but they are also following authors' reviews, becoming fans of authors, collecting quotes, setting reading goals, and creating book quizes. Not just taking quizes, creating them and inviting the other Columbus Dispatch Readers to take them!

Up until now, Goodreads has simply been a place for me to log the books I've read. These kid-readers have explored it like a playground, finding every interesting nook and cranny and trying it all out for themselves. I can't wait to watch their reading habits change and evolve as they move through middle school, high school, and beyond. (We'll just assume for the sake of argument that there will still be both an Internet and a site called Goodreads that will last that long as well...)

Columbus Dispatch Kid Readers blog is here.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

(Thanks to Jen and Kellee at TEACH MENTOR TEXTS for creating this great tradition and for rounding up the week's reading!)

It was a good reading week. I started #bookaday and am excited about having a little more time to catch up on reading.  I finished GRACELING by Kristin Cashore which I loved. I love a good fairy tale/fantasy and will probably read the next two in the series too. Definitely as good as Jen and Kellee told me it was when they convinced me to read it!

My #bookaday choices have been mostly short books as the days are already busy. But I created a stack of quick reads for this purpose.  This week I read two graphic novels. FANGBONE by Michael Rex is one I heard about on a few Twitter chats. It is a fun story of a Barbarian who travels forward in time to a school in order to protect an important treasure. It was a fun read and one that middle graders will love. I also had the chance to read the new SQUISH (The Power of the Parasite). This might be my favorite of the three. I like that I can come to expect certain things from these books and the humor has a sophistication that I love.

I also finished my first professional read of the summer:  PUBLIC TEACHING: ONE KID AT A TIME by Penny Kittle. This was one that I just recently discovered. I am a huge fan of Penny Kittle and her work and had somehow missed this book. It was the PERFECT book for summer and one to re- energize teachers. Even though it was written in 2003, it is very timely.  It is really a reminder of who we are and why we teach. Penny shares story after story of students --the stories are genuine and honest.  It is a book of both reflection and celebration and one that helped reground me.

Next up:
CAPTURE THE FLAG by Kate Messner
KEEPING SAFE THE STARS by Sheila O'Connor

IT'S MONDAY! What Are You Reading?

I haven't read a lot this week but I with the last day of school quickly approaching, I am thinking ahead to my summer reading. Going back into the classroom, I want to catch up on some professional reading and do some focused thinking over the summer. So today's post is not so much about what I'm reading but more about what I WILL be reading soon:-)

I love to teach math. People know me as a literacy person but math is kind of more my thing. I am really a math girl--love math and love to watch kids make sense of it.  So, I am excited to get back to teaching math.  I have three books on my list related to math teaching.

NUMBER TALKS by Sherry Parish is one that lots of teachers in our district are talking about. It is new to me and it looks fabulous. Looking forward to thinking about new ways to help kids make sense of number.

MATH EXCHANGES by Kassia Omohundro Wedekind is one I skimmed when it came out but didn't dig into like I will this summer. Even though this book is focused on primary math instruction, I know it has lots of implications for older kids.  I interviewed Kassia for a Choice Literacy podcast and was so inspired by all she had to say. Really excited to revisit this book with a classroom in mind.

SMALL STEPS, BIG CHANGES by Chris Confer and Marco Ramirez is one I just happened to see on the Stenhouse website. It looks to be one with important insights for transforming math instruction. Love that kind of thinking. (You can preview this entire text online at Stenhouse.)

I want to reread OPENING MINDS by Peter Johnston. I loved this book when I read it earlier this year but I want to start the school year off with it fresh in my mind.

MANY TEXTS, MANY VOICES by Penny Silvers and Mary Shorey is one that I am extra excited about.  Literacy, Social Justice, Digital Age--love the way these three things come together in the description of this book. I can't wait to read the stories of this teacher and her students. You can preview this entire book online at Stenhouse.

PROJECT BASED LEARNING IN THE ELEMENTARY GRADES from the Buck Institute is one I want to read to think about how to better think about projects in a standards-based age. I was hoping to take a workshop in our district on the topic but really didn't have the time so I thought I'd fit the book into my summer reading.

I read the first edition of I SEE WHAT YOU MEAN by Steve Moline that was published YEARS ago--before anyone was really talking about visual literacy. And it was brilliant.  So I am excited to read this new edition and Moline's new thinking around a topic that has become even more important in the last few years. I think this will help me think through visual literacy across content areas.

I also want to read the new edition of LIVING THE QUESTIONS by Ruth Shagoury and Brenda Miller Power. I loved the first edition of this book and can't wait to read their new thinking on the ways we live in our classrooms.

I'm a huge Penny Kittle fan and have not read her book, PUBLIC TEACHING: ONE KID AT A TIME. I keep hearing about it a a great summer read and it looks like one that will energize me to start the year grounded.

Finally, I'd like to do some reading around Common Core and PATHWAYS TO THE COMMON CORE by Lucy Calkins seems perfect. I like Calkins' thinking around the CC issues and am looking forward to reading her ideas about how best to implement.

Hmmmm. That's a lot of books.  But I am hoping to dig into each of them sometime this summer!

Thanks for Jen and Kellee at Teach Mentor Texts for hosting IT'S MONDAY! WHAT ARE YOU READING! Visit their blog to see what others are reading this week:-)

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

Brought to you this week by Mary Lee.

Let's start with the pile that's on my nightstand.

Truth in advertising: A Hero For WondLa is the only one of these three that I've actually started reading. M.T. Anderson has moved from the TBR (To Be Read) shelf to the TBR (Teetering Bedside Reading) pile because he'll be at Cover to Cover on Monday afternoon, and I'm almost giddy about hearing him speak. I've read the first two in the Norumbegan Quartet, and The Empire of Gut and Bone will be one of my first #bookaday summer reads. The Chronicles of Harris Burdick has been on my pile since Christmas (a gift from a student), and I unburied it today and brought it up to the top part of the pile after chatting with Sally (at CTC) about Steven King's story in it (re: I finished listening to the audio of King's 11-22-63 a couple of weeks ago, and I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it.)

Next, my audio reading.

Two reasons why I listened to will grayson, will grayson (finished last week). #1 I loveloveloved The Fault in Our Stars and realized that I need join the John Green fan club. #2 The more I listen to audio books, the more I appreciate a great reader/production. While others are reading all of the Newberys and Caldecotts, I'm thinking I might try to listen to all of the Odyssey Award winners. will grayson, will grayson was an honor book in 2011.

My current audiobook is The Art of Fielding. It and King's 11-22-63 were "follow the crowd" purchases based on "Best Books of 2011" lists on Amazon and Audible. I completely took a risk on both books and I've been pleasantly surprised by both. The Art of Fielding is a baseball book...and SO much more. I love the multiple points of view in it (so similar to will grayson, will grayson!!) and the way the author surprises me to the point of honest-to-goodness out-loud gasps at the plot turns.

Check out what other folks are reading at Teach Mentor Texts. Happy reading!

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

This week, I've done mostly professional reading. I have been in a little reading rut when it comes to fiction--so much going on that I haven't had huge chunks of time to read.  And I found out last week that I'll be teaching 4th grade next year. I am really excited about getting back to the classroom and have lots of professional reading to catch up on over the next few months.

My big reading this week was the professional book WHAT READERS REALLY DO: TEACHING THE PROCESS OF MEANING MAKING by Dorothy Barnhouse and Vicki Vinton. I'm about halfway through and I am LOVING this book.  It is amazingly brilliant and am so happy to be reading it.  I have been enjoying learning from Vicki on her blog, TO MAKE A PRAIRIE and am sorry I didn't read this new book the moment it was released. (I received a review copy months ago but didn't have time to get to it until now.)  Look for a review on this book soon. 

I also read a blog post I loved GIVING STUDENTS OPPORTUNITIES TO SHARE THEIR THINKING AND STRATEGIES at TWO REFLECTIVE TEACHERS.

This week, I was able to listen to three Choice Literacy podcasts while running. (A big breakthrough as a runner as I shared on my running blog:-) I guess this isn't really reading but I consider it like an audiobook so I'm including it here. I never listen to the podcasts I do myself but I have wanted to listen to a few that Heather and Brenda have done. I read the transcripts but hadn't had time to listen to the interviews. So I listened to Oral Language and Understanding with Ellin Keene, Vocabulary, Comprehension and the Common Core with Dough Fisher and Making the Most of Small Groups with Jennifer Serravallo.

And, since I am focusing on my thinking/learning more than just reading, I'll share one last thing. Last week was my birthday. I turned 48. I was feeling old so I went back and revisited this Jane Fonda's Ted Talk that I loved on The Third Act.  I think that although she is talking to people closer to her age, there are lots of great messages to all of us about different stages of life. 

I did download GRACELING and hope to start that soon. It came recommended from several Twitter friends so I am sure it is great. Looking forward to it.

IT'S MONDAY! What Are You Reading?

Thanks Jen and Kellee for hosting this weekly event at Teach Mentor Texts!

So, I have not been reading many books lately. Lots of online reading in little snippets. I've been busy finishing up my ebook project for Choice Literacy so I try not to get too caught up in many books--otherwise I won't do the writing I need to do.  But I did fit in a bit this week.

I read and LOVED NIGHT CIRCUS by Erin Morgenstern. What an amazing adult novel.  It was recommended by Jen and I am so glad I read it. I was worried at first, that it would be like WATER FOR ELEPHANTS which is not a favorite of mine.  But it wasn't.  This is a story of a circus--of magic, of love, of loss and of life. It is an amazing story-the characters will stay with me and I love the way the book is crafted. I'm not usually about setting but the setting in this book matters and I think it will live with me like no other setting has.  Brilliant.

I also read lots online. A few pieces stand out for me.   One of my favorite reads this week was a post by Kylene Beers.  In the post, "How Cancer Helped Me Find my Superficial Self" she shares a recent keynote she gave at a breast cancer awareness luncheon. A powerful piece by an amazing woman.  One I've shared with everyone I've talked to since I read it.

Another was a post by Jen at TEACH MENTOR TEXTS called WONDER REMINDS US THAT KINDNESS MAKES THE WORLD GO ROUND. If you missed it, it is a must-read. I so wanted to attend the R.J. Palacio event at Anderson's this weekend but just couldn't fit it in. So glad so many of my friends posted all about it.  Sounds like it was a great day.

I've also been reading lots on the Boston Marathon which even I find amusing. I follow lots of running blogs these days and just like the Newbery Awards for reading teachers, the Boston Marathon is the topic of conversation on many of these blogs this week.  The race is today but with the predicted heat, the organizers are sending out lots of warnings to runners. I feel badly for people who have worked so hard for this--the weather is definitely a little bit unexpected. I loved this article about the technology piece of the Boston Marathon and I love that you can follow runners with their bib number. So fascinating how much technology has changed everything. I also enjoyed reading a little bit about fashion tips for the marathon. I also like this post about the day before the Boston Marathon by a mom/runner I follow. This mom has 12 kids--ages 3 to 16 and she is running the Boston Marathon. Amazing, really  :-)

I also thought this article on the Common Core was interesting and worth reading (from EdWeek).

And of course I read my regular blogs and tweets.  Heard about lots of new books, authors, etc.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

Thanks to Jen and Kellee at TEACH MENTOR TEXTS for organizing IT'S MONDAY! WHAT ARE YOU READING? Go visit their blog for more posts!

Last year, I read RUN LIKE A MOTHER-before I started running. Last week, the authors releassed a new book.  So, I spent some time with TRAIN LIKE A MOTHER by Dimity McDowell and Sarah Bowen Shea this week. This is not really a book that you read cover to cover. There are lots of running plans, running tip, etc. and the authors are supportive no matter where you are in your journey as a runner. I love reading about mothers who fit running into their life. Not only do these two write about their own experiences, but they have voices of others throughout the book. It is nice to hear about individual runner experiences.

I forget where I discovered this book-FORGOTTEN BOOKMARKS: A BOOKSELLER'S COLLECTION OF ODD THINGS LOST BETWEEN THE PAGES by Michael Popek. It is  collection of "bookmarks" that a second-hand bookstore owner has found in books over the years. This book comes out of a blog by the same name and there are great stories in here from the lives of readers. Great fun for any reader.

Jen at Teach Mentor Texts recommended THE NIGHT CIRCUS by Erin Morgenstern as a great adult novel and I fell in love with it on the first page. Unfortunately, I would love to have more time to sit and read it but am not getting that time.  But I am reading a bit a day and loving it. So glad to have a great adult novel in my stack.

I read about A MEAL OF THE STARS: POEMS UP AND DOWN by Dana Jensen at Carol's Corner and knew I had to have it. This is a fun book of poetry about things up and down. The fun is that you have to read some from top down and others from the bottom up!

What's On My Kindle?

So, I am finally addicted to my Kindle Fire.  One of my favorite features of the Kindle is the ability to preview books. Sampling chapters makes so much sense and ordering sample chapters allows me to remember books I've heard about that I want to check out.

But my Kindle is getting filled with sample chapters and I need to sit down and really read these, decide which to order and which to delete.  I am almost using these sample chapters as a TBR list and that isn't working. It feels cluttery. So I need to weed, but I love this list of books. Here are the sample chapters I've added recently to my Kindle--thanks to the recommendations on twitter, goodreads, etc.

THE NIGHT CIRCUS by Erin Morgenstern-I actually bought this whole book after reading the free sample. It was recommended by Jen at TEACH MENTOR TEXTS during a Twitter conversations about romances. I fell in love with it immediately but haven't had time to read much. It is one I could read in a day if I could afford to give myself a full day to read....

STORY OF A GIRL by Sara Zarr. I LOVED HOW TO SAVE A LIFE by this author. I recently read a review of this older title and know I have to read it.  I am sure this is one I will purchase after the free sample.

When my 12 year old was looking for a great new book after finishing DIVERGENT (which she loved and I would add to my Kindle except that we already have a hard copy!), my tweeps jumped in and suggested several titles. She found several she wanted to read and so did I! Two that I added during that conversation were NIGHTSHADE by Andrea Cremer and SWEEP by Cate Tiernan

I have a few adult novels that I keep hearing about.  I am dying to read more adult novels but feel so overwhelmed by all of the K-5 stuff I love and want to keep up with for my students.  But the adult novels I am sampling are UNBROKEN by Laura Hillenbrand, THE SECRET LIFE OF CEECEE WILKES by Diane Chamberlain and APE HOUSE by Sara Gruen.

THINKING FAST AND SLOW by Daniel Kahneman was recommended by Samantha Bennett. It is really a fascinating read and I need time to digest this one.

I keep meaning to reread A WRINKLE IN TIME by Madeline L'Engle. I think the last time I read it was in an undergrad children's literature class and I am dying to reread it. 

A YA book I have been hearing lots about is THE LIONS OF LITTLE ROCK by Kristin Levine. I put the sample on my Kindle and read a few pages and can tell I am going to love it. Just haven't had time to go back to it.

An adult nonfiction book that I sampled is HALF THE SKY: TURNING OPPRESSION INTO OPPORTUNITY WORLDWIDE by Nicholas Kristof. I actually read the entire free sample and was glued but it is pretty intense and I want to read this one later in the summer or sometime when I have time to digest it all.

I've also added several books that connect to my running/fitness goals.  These all looked interesting or have been recommended by friends.  They include WHAT I TALK ABOUT WHEN I TALK ABOUT RUNNING by Haruki Murakami, RUN TO OVERCOME by Meb Keflezighi, THE GREAT FITNESS EXPERIMENT by Charlotte Hilton Andersen, FORKS OVER KNIVES by Gene Stone, and THE PRIMAL BLUEPRINT by Mark Sisson.

So, the free samples for the Kindle is quite the perk.  I love that I can sample whatever I want and whenever I want. I love that at the end of the sample, I can buy the whole book with one click and in one second the whole book appears. I love the options. The downfall for me has been that I've done a lot of sampling lately and not much reading of whole books.  I often read at night and just pick up the book on my nightstand. But when I pick up my Kindle, there are soooo many choices--and the option of adding even more choices. It is a distraction I need to figure out.  But a distraction that I like as a reader.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

Go Visit TEACH MENTOR TEXTS for the whole round up of It's Monday, What Are You Reading Posts!  Thanks Jen and Kellee!

I read lots of good, short books over spring break last week. I didn't have as much time to read as I usually do as I tried to spent a good deal of time writing.  And then there is the whole exercise thing that is taking up more and more time. Since I am focusing on fitness and making time for that in my life, I was worried that I was reading far less. But when I checked my Goodreads numbers, I am at about the same place I was last year. I think having less time to read it allowing me to focus on short books--poetry, graphic novels, picture books and I am loving the books I am finding. This week, I read.

HOW MANY JELLY BEANS? by Andrea Menotti  This book is such fun. It reminds me a bit of HOW MUCH IS A MILLION and I think kids will love it. The story is about two kids discussing the number of jelly beans they could eat.  When they get to the number of jelly beans they could eat across a year, the math thinking becomes more complex. I love all of the invitations for problems solving that this book has. This is definitely one that can be used in a math classroom or it could just be used as a fun read aloud.  The size and colors also makes this one pretty fun.

I DON'T WANT TO BE A PEA by Ann Bonwill will make a fun read aloud. I pretty much buy anything that has any connection to the Princess and the Pea.  But, I actually picked this one up because I like it for word play.  This is the story of a hippo and a bird who are friends--who depend on each other. But when they are trying to decide on costumes for the upcoming costume party, they have some problems.  I like all of the ideas that the bird and hippo come up with. This is a fun read aloud for younger kids and I think it would be a great conversation with older kids about how words go together.

HUFF AND PUFF by Claudia Rueda is another traditional tale retelling.  In this one Rueda retells The Three Little Pigs in a short, interactive way.  The whole story is told in just one sentence per page.  And readers are invited to join along in the huffing and puffing.  This one would be great to use with older kids to talk about summarizing/synthesizing etc.

I also read a few nonfiction picture books.
GOING APE by Eduardo Bustos is a short book with facts about various primates. Each page focuses on one type and has just a few sentence to go along with it. Great for all ages.

THE DAY ROY RIEGELS RAN THE WRONG WAY by Dan Gutman is a great story of a football player's game-changing mistake.  I love adding new books to my collection of picture book biographies and I love this one because it is sports related and I love the message about mistakes.  There is also an interesting writing style in which a grandfather is telling his grandson the story of Riegels and their talking bubble dialogue is set up on the side of the page.


LEO GEO AND HIS MIRACULOUS JOURNEY THROUGH THE CENTER OF THE EARTH by Jon Chat is one that I am still reading.  It is an odd shaped book that chronicles a journey to the center of the earth--and back.  The book is a bit of a graphic novel and it reminds me a little of a more grown-up version of The Magic Schoolbus.  This book is not only unique in format, but it is PACKED with information about rocks, the earth's layers, etc. A great nonfiction book and one that will engage students due to its format and humor.  I was surprised at how long the book takes to read-as I said, it is packed with information. There is far more text in the book than there appears to be.

And I love the new poetry book OUTSIDE YOUR WINDOW: A FIRST BOOK OF NATURE by Nicola Davies. I love this nonfiction author and was thrilled to see her new volume of poetry about nature and the outdoors. This looks to be a well-loved collection with lots of opportunities for studying craft.

And my absolute favorite read of the week was Tom Angleberger's FAKE MUSTACHE. What a great read! I have been waiting and waiting and waiting for this book and I was so happy to finally have a copy. I can't wait to share this book with kids. This is the story of Lenny whose best friend buys a fake mustache. With the mustache, he tries to take over the world. Lenny is the only one who can see what is happening and he tries to save the day. This book is hysterical. (The subtitle alone made me smile--FAKE MUSTACHE: OR HOW JODIE O'RODEO AND HER WONDER HORSE (AND SOME NERDY KID) SAVED THE US PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION FROM A MAD GENIUS CRIMINAL MASTERMIND. I laughed aloud a lot while reading. How Tom Angleberger thinks of these things is beyond me. This book is going to be a huge hit with my 4th and 5th grade readers. I am sure we'll need several copies of this one in the library.  A great story that is really, really fun!

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

Not a big reading week for me.  I had something every night after school. It was a good week, but VERY busy!  I did read a bit every night before bed so I got a little bit of reading in, but not much.

I am about halfway through with Haruki Murakami's book WHAT I TALK ABOUT WHEN I TALK ABOUT RUNNING. My friend, Samantha Bennett recommended it to me and I'm so glad I'm reading it. It is a great essay/memoir-type book focusing on running and writing. I love hearing about people talk about the things they are passionate about.  And I love his insights about running. It is a good read.

I also read a graphic novel from the Sports Illustrated Kids series-SPOTLIGHT STRIKER. I am so glad to have discovered these.  I was pleasantly surprised reading this and plan to order several more from the series for the library. They are short, sports-based graphic novels that will be perfect for lots of kids. I thought the characters and story lines were pretty well-developed too. A great new find!

I am also about halfway through THE HUMMING ROOM by Ellen Potter and am enjoying it. I am a huge Secret Garden fan so this is a fun read. I will write about this one after I finish it.

My favorite read of the week was MARTY MCGUIRE DIGS WORMS by Kate Messner. I love everything Kate Messner writes and have been waiting for this second book about Marty McGuire since I read the first arc last year. I knew I had to read this one fast because there will be many teachers and students fighting for it once I share it at school. It was a great read! I loved the character of Marty right away when I read the first book and I love her even more now.  Years ago, when I read the second Clementine book, I knew I was hooked for life.  I felt the same way when reading this second Marty McGuire book.  Marty tells the stories in this series and I LOVE her voice.   Here are some of my favorite lines from the book:

Plus, Monday is veggie goulash day in the cafeteria, which would be awful except that they serve ice cream cups for dessert because who would buy goulash if you weren't getting ice cream with it?


Mrs. Grimes goes up on stage with clickety-clackety shoes. If those were my shoes up there, I'd jump around and make some more noise on that nice wood floor, but I guess Mrs. Grimes has very good self-control and that's why she gets to be principal.


I  don't do paper dolls, especially not ones dressed in scratchy-looking dresses.


I am not patient. My mom says "patient" and I are not even distant relatives.


I write three observation journal entries without even peeking, which is pretty clever if you ask me.


Seriously, how could anyone not love Marty? Not only is she a great character but this book is all about how she does a project to help the environment. There are so many great connections that this would make a great read aloud for any grade level.  It is a great school story about a great character. I am already anxiously awaiting the next Marty McGuire book!

I have several books on my stack and I am hoping I have more time to read this week:

I received Michael Scotto's upcoming book, POSTCARDS FROM PISMO which looks great. I am huge fan of LATASHA so I am looking forward to this read. Others on my stack are THE FALSE PRINCE, CROW by Barbara Wright and BEFORE YOU GO, an upcoming YA novel by James Preller

I'm also looking forward to checking out FORGIVE ME, I MEANT TO DO IT: FALSE APOLOGY POEMS by Gail Carson Levine which is due out this week and TRAIN LIKE A MOTHER which is due out later this month.

Visit TEACH MENTOR TEXTS for the round up!

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

I feel like I am back into reading a bit more these days! I loved Teri Lesesne's post on the Stenhouse blog on Reigniting the Passion.  I especially appreciated her point about taking a break from reading.  Sometimes I have so much to do that I can't give myself time to read and I feel guilty either way. Giving myself permission to take a break sometimes helps!  I had a great reading week. This week I finished

SEE YOU AT HARRY'S by Jo Knowles. This is an amazing book but a devastating read.  It is one of the hardest books I've ever read and I have not stopped thinking about it. I won't say much but the story is one of family, love and loss.  And it is told so well. The book is being marketed to ages 10+ but I am thinking it is more 12+. Not sure though so I'd love to hear what others think. Really, an amazing book and one I would highly recommend--a must read. But just be ready for a hard read.

I read lots of picture books. My favorite of the week was Z IS FOR MOOSE by Kelly Bingham.  What a fun alphabet book! I am so happy to add this to my ABC book collection. This is such fun. Mary Lee talked me into this one with her review!

I picked up CRAFTY CHLOE by Kelly DiPucchio at Cover to Cover this weekend.  I love Kelly DiPucchio so was happy to see a new one from her.  This book is about Chloe, who loves to make things. I love it for lots of reasons--I loved the character. I loved the value the story places on making things and creativity. I am going to be working with 1st graders on how-to writing so this book will be a perfect conversation starter. There is a website that goes along with this book that will hopefully build to include lots of crafts for readers to try!

I am so excited that Kevin Henkes added a new mouse to his characters. I loved PENNY AND HER SONG and will be reading it to classes this week or next.  I love the quiet story, the short chapters and this addition to the Henkes books.

I had not had time to read THESE HANDS by Margaret Mason and kept meaning to. So glad I read it this week. A very powerful book.

Right now, I am reading a few things.  I am reading THE HUMMING ROOM by Ellen Potter. I love Potter's writing and since this book is closely related to THE SECRET GARDEN, I am excited about it. I am about 1/3 of the way through and I love the character.  Looking forward to finishing this.

I am also reading PROJECT BASED LEARNING IN THE ELEMENTARY GRADES. I registered for a workshop on the topic in June and thought I'd read a bit first.

And, I did finally finish HEALTH AT EVERY SIZE by Linda Bacon. I am glad I read it. It made sense to me--the philosophy of health over weight loss goals seems like a smart way to live.

There are several books on my To-Be-Read Stack:

We have an ARC of THE FALSE PRINCE by Jennifer Nielsen and one of my 5th graders read it.  When I found it back on my table, there was a post it on top of the book that said, "One of the best books I've read in a long time." So, it has made its way to the top end of my stack!

Beth at Cover to Cover shared CITIZEN SCIENTISTS by Loree Griffin Burns with me and it looks like a great nonfiction read.  I think it will be a great one to share with upper elementary students to connect with their science work.

I keep hearing about CROW by Barbara Wright and want to read that one soon.  And I want to read NERD CAMP since I'd heard about it from CYBILS.

Finally, I have a copy of Ellin Keene's newest book called TALK ABOUT UNDERSTANDING:  RETHINKING CLASSROOM TALK TO ENHANCE COMPREHENSION and it looks amazing. I think talk is the key to great learning and I can't wait to hear what Ellin has to say about this topic.

See what others are reading today at TEACH MENTOR TEXTS:-)