Summer Reading Lists

I have been reading with interest the many posts on Summer Reading lists (for example, here and here and here) and am worried about where we, as a group, are going with this thinking. My biggest problem with summer reading lists is the fact that we, as adults, think that we are better equipped to choose books for kids than they are equipped to choose books for themselves. No one likes a summer reading list that is mandated and by creating one, no matter how good it may be, you are taking choice away from a reader.

I think summer reading is a lifelong habit we want to instill in kids. Summer reading is often the best reading. But kids are not going to become readers if they see reading as an assignment and don't have the opportunity to read the books they choose.

My daughter who will be a senior in high school, was thrilled to have the summer to read the TWILIGHT series. She is holding off on her summer reading list until August and fitting in as much of her summer as possible with the books that she's had on her "to read" list for a while. She is reading like crazy and loving it. Isn't that what we want?

Recommending books that are good for kids and giving our opinions is far different from creating lists of books by grade level or grade range. Creating lists for parents and teachers is far different from creating reviews for kids so that they can DECIDE what they want to read. Creating our own summer reading lists because we don't like the ones out there, only says that we like the idea of summer reading lists if they are lists that WE create. Where is the child as reader in these conversations?

The Underneath by Kathi Appelt

It is not every year that readers get a book as wonderful as THE UNDERNEATH by Kathi Appelt. I knew after the first few pages that this was a book that I was lucky to be reading. I have had the same feeling when I read WALK TWO MOONS by Sharon Creech and THE GIVER by Lois Lowry. And I think I felt this way, years and years ago when I read THE SECRET GARDEN. Other people seem to be having the same reaction to this book—feeling the same way when they read a book that has been a lifetime favorite.

I even remember the talk around these books being similar to the talk I am hearing now about THE UNDERNEATH. Lots of my children’s lit friends are telling me that I need to read this book but they don't really say much about it. "It is just worth reading." You can’t really explain the book without actually reading it.

There is lots to this book to love and I am sure that it must be the talk of the current Newbery Committee. Kathi Appelt has woven together a brilliant story and she has crafted in a way that it is more than a story. The writing is powerful. She is able to weave several stories together in a way that tells an even bigger story.

This book is so much more than what the blurb on the front tells us. It is so much more than a dog book. So much more than a book about love and hate. It is so much more than a book about wisdom and innocence.

I am pretty sure that these characters will stay with me forever and that I will read this book again sometime soon. I think there are layers of meaning that I missed the first time through—I kind of thought about them quickly but was too invested in the plot to focus too much on the depth that Appelt has created with this story.

I am anxious to see how kids will respond to this book. I am thinking 5th grade is perfect. Maybe 4th or 6th. I have a few past students in mind who may read this and fall in love with it like I did. If I were teaching 4th or 5th grade next year, I would probably read this one aloud for sure. But I would save it for later in the year, once kids understand the possibilities in books, once they have learned to talk together about books. It would definitely be on my read aloud list but I would have to make sure to read it when they were ready for the depth and the emotion.

I’ve heard this book described as “dark”. I didn’t think so. I found some unpleasant things—some hate and some hateful characters, but the story is a hopeful one and one that I think will be around for a very long time.

This book is a MUST READ! Really, as you read it, you feel so lucky to have found such an amazing story!

The Underneath by Kathi Appelt

I’m not afraid of animal stories that might make me cry. I’ve read and reread (with tears streaming down my face) Where the Red Fern Grows, Old Yeller, Little Britches, and Each Little Bird That Sings.

The Underneath came along at a time when my heart was a little wobbly with pet emotions – our ancient (20 year-old) cat passed away while we were in Europe, and we were in the midst of adopting a rescue cat who had been chewed on by a dog and shot with BBs.

And yet, The Underneath did not make me cry. I was drawn in immediately by the animal characters and completely repulsed by the human characters. I was captivated by the language. (This book is a poem. A long prose poem. I think it would make an amazing read aloud.) I followed the weaving of all of the stories mesmerized, as if in a dream. As the tension in the story built, I read urgently. I raced to the end, and yet when I finished I wanted nothing more than to read it again. Immediately.

There is no easy way to tell what this book is about. Good and evil, hate and love, the piney woods of East Texas, ancient trees and ancient spirits, hummingbirds, life and death. You just have to read it. You must read it. What are you waiting for? Read it!

Reviews with plot summaries and glowing praise abound. This is a book that’s Going Places. Be sure not to miss Kimberly Willis Holt’s conversations with Kathi Appelt here (part one) and here (part two).

Poetry Friday -- Catalogue

Catalogue
by Rosalie Moore

Cats sleep fat and walk thin.
Cats, when they sleep, slump;
When they wake, pull in -
And where the plump's been
There's skin.
Cats walk thin.
Cats wait in a lump,
Jump in a streak.
Cats, when they jump, are sleek
As a grape slipping its skin-
They have technique.
Oh, cats don't creak.
They sneak.

Cats sleep fat.
They spread comfort beneath them
Like a good mat,
As if they picked the place
And then sat.
You walk around one
As if he were City Hall
After that.

(the rest of the poem is here)

I'm going to have to beg to differ a bit with Rosalie Moore. Some cats will never walk thin and will never be sleek when jumping. Case in point, Willie Morris. (After the southern writer, author of My Dog Skip and My Cat Spit McGee.)

Willie Morris is built like a tank, with a broad head, a wide chest, and look at those feet! He fills up the space under my desk (albeit more comfortably than the dog did). He stays true to the poem in that he does spread comfort beneath himself (unless he's trying to curl up on your chest in bed), and you do walk around him as if he were City Hall (although not in the sense the poet had in mind, I'm sure)!

Willie Morris is a +/-2 year-old rescue cat. His right rear leg is still healing from a dog attack, and the base of his tail and his tush are still clipped short from the removal of BBs. In spite of these indignities and injuries, he is loving and attentive and wants to be wherever you are.

The Poetry Friday Round up is at Under the Covers.

What are "The Sisters" and Cris Tovani Reading?

"The Sisters", Joan Moser and Gail Boushey, authors of The Daily Five just started a new website that you might want to check out. Gail and Joan visited Dublin this week and let us know what they are reading.

Gail has 3 daughters and this summer, Gail, her three daughters and Joan are having a family booktalk on the TWILIGHT series by Stephenie Meyer. They are all loving it!

Joan is also reading Anne McGill-Franzen's book KINDERGARTEN LITERACY. She is also reading The Western Guide to Feng Shui: Creating Balance, Harmony, and Prosperity in Your Environment. Her book "for fun" is ONE THOUSAND WHITE WOMEN: THE JOURNAL OF MAY DODD.

Gail is reading WHAT REALLY MATTERS IN FLUENCY by Richard Allington. She is also reading COMPREHENSION INSTRUCTION: BEST PRACTICES IN LITERACY INSTRUCTION.



Cris Tovani, author of I READ IT BUT I DON'T GET IT and DO I REALLY HAVE TO TEACH READING?

I am reading this really cool book about the brain. It's called BRAIN RULES by John Medina. He's a develpmental molecular biologist but don't let that scare you. The book is very readable. Medina's target audience is the business world and educators. On the plane a couple of weeks ago, I read about the book in USA Today and was intrigued by the author's 12 Principles for surviving and thriving at work, home, and school. Rule four happens to be: We don't pay attention to boring things. That alone hits home for my own learning as well as my teaching.

Lyra's Oxford

We had a fabulous day in Oxford. That night we both read Lyra's Oxford by Philip Pullman. Here is a passage that mentions this building:

"At half-past eight, she [Lyra] and Pan moved out of the shadow of the Radcliffe Camera's great dome and slipped into the narrow alley, overhung with Chestnut trees, that separated Jordan College from Brasenose."

Jordan College is Exeter in real life, but Brasenose exists, as does the narrow alley between them, along with Turl Street, which is the street where Lyra and Pan emerge from the alley in their secret mission to help the witch's daemon. A mission that turns out to be a ruse, but you'll have to read the book to find out the details!

What are Ralph Fletcher and Aimee Buckner Reading?

From Ralph Fletcher, author of BOY WRITERS, THE SANDMAN, WHAT A WRITER NEEDS, and FIG PUDDING:

THE POST-BIRTHDAY WORLD by Lionel Shriver (finished a month or so ago)

THE MOTHER TONGUE by Bill Bryson

THE SLEEPING DOLL by Jeffrey Deaver (a guilty pleasure)

LUSH LIFE by Richard Price

From Aimee Buckner, author of NOTEBOOK KNOW-HOW:


THE BOOK OF AIR AND SHADOWS by Michael Gruber. I found this book at the bookstore - I liked the title and was intrigued by the blurb. It's about a lost manuscript by Shakespeare. The book starts off as a flashback alternating between two different characters and how they came to be involved in looking for this manuscript. Eventually their lives collide and the book moves from flashback to present day. It's like a literacy treasure hunt with bad guys chasing the good guys, murder, lies, twists and turns. It took me awhile to 'get into' the book, but once I did, I was hooked.




ME TALK PRETTY ONE DAY by David Sedaris. This is a collection of essays by Sedaris. He's a humorist who writes about his family and life in general. His essays are funny but do have some 'language.' I first found Sedaris listening to one of his books on my ipod. Now I can't get enough of his work. It's a nice book to read between novels.


LITERATURE AS EXPLORATION by Louise Rosenblatt. Her work is timeless. I'm reading it for a project I'm working on. It reminds me of how kids learn to read - the theories of language acquisition and what it looks like in the classroom. It's a book you'd most likely read for a college graduate course, but I'm loving it.

SHOOTING THE MOON by Frances O'Roark Dowell

WOW! I had a great reading week (and it is only Wednesday!).  I had airport delays and had some extra reading time.  The plane rides were a bit bumpy so I didn't sleep.  Lucky for me, I had great books.  One, that has been on my stack for a while is SHOOTING THE MOON by Frances O'Roark Dowell.  She has been an author I have paid attention to for a while.  I can always count on her books to engage and surprise me.

SHOOTING THE MOON is definitely my favorite for this author. It is a powerful story and, as always, Dowell builds characters that we know and love. I read completely for character--plot is secondary.  And I loved the characters in the book.  The thing that I am always amazed with in her writing is how well we get to know, even the minor characters. I love that about her writing.

SHOOTING THE MOON is about Jamie Dexter and is set during the Vietnam War. Jamie's father is a colonel and she has grown up with a great love of the military. Now, her brother, TJ has enlisted and has been sent to Vietnam. While he is there, he sends Jamie film to be developed--pictures that he takes in Vietnam. The pictures begin to tell the story of the war of of TJ's life there.

This is a powerful story. A story of how war affects a family and how a family deals with a child that is sent to war. It is the story of a young girl growing up and finding herself.  And there is amazing thread of photography throughout the book. 

This is not an easy book to read in 2008--when we are in the midst of a war. I was worried about how it would end. I worried the whole way through the book. I am certainly not going to give it a way, but it was an ending that was satisfying, believable, and..oh, I won't say anymore. But she scored a few more points with me as a writer for the ending. Very brilliantly done, I thought.

I had this on my stack but then decided to move it to the top of my stack after Betsy at Fuse #8 put it on her Newbery Predictions (Spring Edition!) List:-) Betsy has this one as her #1 pick.  Right now, this one is right up there with THE UNDERNEATH. I really lucked out with the 2 books I threw in my carry-on bag this week!  I don't know if I'll be able to top these. You know how reading is after you've read something amazing? But it was well worth it to have read this book. I am pretty sure this one will end up on my Newbery prediction list in January.

What are Katie Ray and Brenda Power Reading?

From Brenda Power, author of LIVING THE QUESTIONS and Founder of Choice Literacy.

For fun - WHEN YOU ARE ENGULFED IN FLAMES by David Sedaris

It's a collection of his essays - I read many when they were originally published, but he's my favorite author so it's always a treat to see them collected in one place.

Professionally, I'm reading more business books than literacy education books this summer.

From Katie Wood Ray author of WONDROUS WORDS, STUDY DRIVEN, and ALREADY READY.



Funny you should ask... I'm headed out to the bookstore this morning to get THE STORY OF EDGAR SAWTELLE. I read a review of it and have heard a good bit of buzz about it and I want to take it on vacation with me next week. It fits into my own little reading club (as Kathy Collins calls them) stack of books about people and dogs that change their lives. As part of this reading journey, I've read A THREE DOG LIFE, MOSTLY BOB, A DOG YEAR, MARLEY AND ME (of course), and 10 SECRETS MY DOG TAUGHT ME. Those are the ones I can think of off the top of my head. Outside of this "canine" reading club, I recently finished a book Ralph [Fletcher] recommended to me, THE POST-BIRTHDAY WORLD (very interesting way this book is crafted), and I read TWILIGHT so I would know what all the teenagers are talking about. I also have a stack of new professional books I bought while at Lakota that I'm anxious to dig into but haven't started yet.

Poohsticks Bridge in the Ashdown Forest

Our first night in the UK, we stayed near the Ashdown Forest, which is famous for its association with Winnie-the-Pooh. A.A. Milne was inspired by his son Christopher Robin and his son's toys, as well as the landscape of the Forest. Ashdown Forest is actually an area of open heathland, not a thickly wooded area, as its name would suggest.

Here is a portion of Chapter VI, "In Which Pooh Invents a New Game and Eeyore Joins In," from The House At Pooh Corner, and my photos to illustrate.

"There was a broad track, almost as broad as a road, leading from the Outland to the Forest, but before it could come to the forest it had to cross this river.









So, where it crossed, there was a wooden bridge, almost as broad as a road, with wooden rails on each side of it. Christopher Robin could just get his chin to the top rail, if he wanted to, but it was more fun to stand on the bottom rail, so that he could lean right over, and watch the river slipping slowly away beneath him. Pooh could get his chin on the bottom rail if he wanted to, but it was more fun to lie down and get his head under it, and watch the river slipping slowly away beneath him. And this was the only way in which Piglet and Roo could watch the river at all, because they were too small to reach the bottom rail. So they would lie down and watch it...and it slipped away very slowly, being in no hurry to get there."