The Great Treehouse War

The Great Treehouse War
by Lisa Graff
Philomel, May 16, 2017
review ARC received at ALA

When I reviewed this book on GoodReads, I gave The Great Treehouse War a long string of tags:

• cats because Winnie's Buttons is truly "the world's greatest cat." 
• coming-of-age because it is a rare middle grade (not middle school) book that explores the end-of-5th-grade-going-to-middle-school phase, rather than being about 12 year-olds who already are in middle school. 
• characters because each of the ten Tulip Street/Treehouse Ten is a completely unique character who the reader gets to know through the story and the added sticky not comments, sketches, how-to segments, diagrams, and other paraphernalia (see hybrid below)
• empathy because that is Winnie's super power (she calls it Artist Vision) and what helps her to solve the problem that the epic sleepover turns into. 
• hybrid because there are fun sketches, maps, and sticky note comments from Winnie's friends.
• memoir because that's what the character Winnie is writing so she doesn't flunk 5th grade.
• incidental diversity, not because you can see the characters' differences in their physical features, but rather in their names (Aayush Asad, Winnie Malladi-Maraj) and small details like Lyle's "moms." (A student reader came and asked me if I thought that was a typo in the ARC, and I said, No, he probably just has two moms. Oh, okay, said the child, and off he went to continue reading.)
• divorce because Winnie has the most over-the-top wacky divorced parents ever. They take the fight for exactly equal time with Winnie to ridiculous lengths. Any child being pulled in two different directions will absolutely relate to the relief Winnie feels on Wednesdays, when she gets to live with neither parent, instead, staying in the treehouse that's halfway between the two houses. (She can have Wednesday to herself so that each parent has exactly three days a week with her.)

I can't wait to hand this book to my student who's writing her opinion piece on Why Kids Should Have More Rights. Winnie and her friends have some legitimate claims of parental unfairness (or extreme ridiculous fairness, in Winnie's case), but the parents have some legitimate counterclaims. The kids take a stand for their beliefs, but eventually it is Winnie's Artist Vision that helps kids and parents find middle ground.

Live Blogging from #Nerdcampmi Monday and Tuesday

JWe know we didn't do such a great job of live blogging from All Write, as we had planned. But Franki will be at #NerdcampMi and she'll be adding live updates to the blog as the throughout the event. This is one of our favorite events of the year so we'd also recommend following it on Twitter if you are not attending.  (We will update on the top of the post each time we update so read from the bottom up!)

A session about writing for The Nerdy Book Club blog by Donalyn Miller and Cindy Minnich.

We love that we can connect with people all over the country at Nerdcamp!  But we also love having time to learn within Dublin colleagues.

Session on Nonfiction Mentor Texts led by Jen Vincent!

I went to a great session led by John Scovill on Reading Engagement in the Upper Grades.  You can access the resources from this session here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1_dS9WjknquqGINy8VY40Ss5uoVKBRiNGxy0vmvm9yLs/edit_

Look what I got!--DAY 2

Dublin's very own, Jessica Ardela was the first female to finish the Nerd Run 5K!! wooohoooo!

Team Saunter ready for Nerd Run!

Really, there is nothing better than hearing John Schu (@mrschureads) talk about books!! 

So happy to have s chance to hear Brad Wilson (@dreambition)) talk about digital writing!

Amazing kickoff to Nerd Camp today!  Brilliant talks by Ruth Ayres, Pernille Ripp,  Sue Haney, Lisa Graff and Donalyn Miller.

After dinner, Jillian (@heisereads) invited us to see all the new picture books she got at ALA last week.   Katie (@katiedicesare) and I went down. And we made new friends over books--, Aliza (@alizateach) and Kim (@fins025) Such a fun way to end the day!

Within minutes of arriving, we ran into one of our fave authors  (and fave #teamsaunter teammates) Jess Keating (Jess_Keating).  She happened to have her two upcoming books in her bag--wow!  We are excited about both of them. The third in her Middle Grade Novel series and a new nonfiction book, Pink if for Blobfish)

Marisa (@MarisaReads) pulled out her new Selfie Stick--purchased jut for the occasion!

About 30 of us started off the fun with dinner at Klavon's.  Our annual #nerdcampmi tradition now!

Math Monday -- A Mosaic is an Array!

Yes, I know it's a stretch to share my monthly mosaic as a Math Monday post, but #arraychat is a real thing on Twitter! Math in the real world. It doesn't get any better.

Row 1 -- The first three are from North Market. The last one in this row and

Row 2 -- the first one in this row are a glimpse of hope for spring! The next three are William and his sunbeam, what a kitty has to do when his sunbeam gets too warm, and the face of a contented cat.

Row 3 -- #DubLit15 -- my Tech Kids, Chris Lehman learning from Franki's Tech Kids, Lisa Graff signing, the cookies donated by Wonderopolis for our afternoon snack.

Row 4 -- The walkway to Tucci's for the after-conference author dinner -- a winter wonderland. In contrast, don't get me started about the over-plowing of our street. Why do so many streets go unplowed, and yet the Snow Warriors come back again and again to our street, plowing shut every driveway on our street repeatedly and throwing slush up onto cleared-off sidewalks. There's no good reason for it.  (deep cleansing breath) The third shot is a jazzy shot of a jazz band at Natalie's. Next is a science shot -- the dark leaf got warm enough to melt down into the snow beneath it.

You can see all these pictures larger and un-cropped on Flickr here.

It's Math Monday! Join Mandy at Enjoy and Embrace Learning for the Math Monday link up!

Will You Be at #dublit15?

We are busy getting ready for #dubli15!  We are excited about this year's speakers! This is year 26 for the Dublin Literacy Conference and I've loved every one.  This one looks to be especially exciting.  If you haven't registered,  you can register on the Dublin City Schools website.  There will be 2 keynotes, concurrent sessions all day, a relaxing lunch with time for chatting with colleagues and book shopping/autographing. What better way to spend a Saturday?

Our featured speakers and authors this year are:

Chris Lehman (@iChrisLehman) will kick off the day with the morning keynote.  I fell in love with Chris's work when I heard him present on his book Energize Research for Reading and Writing. If you don't know the book, I highly recommend it. His new book (with Kate Roberts) is Falling in Love with Close Reading--another professional book I love. I love Chris's work because he helps us look at teaching in a way that is both intentional and joyful.  Looking so forward to hearing him at #dublit15!

Colby Sharp (@colbysharp) will be doing three sessions at the conference. Colby is one of the founders of the Nerdy Book Club and Nerdcamp. He is a 3rd grade teacher who blogs regularly at SHARPREAD.  Colby's work is always centered around giving kids voice.  If you don't already follow Colby on Twitter, you'll want to add him for sure!

The amazing John Schumacher (or Mr. Schu as you may know him) will also be presenting at the conference. John is a librarian and the person I rely on for book recommendations through his blog, his goodreads account and his Book Release Calendar.   John seems to know every children's book and every children's author out there and he shares his knowledge generously! You can follow him on Twitter at @mrschureads.

Clare Landrigan Tammy Mulligan (@ClareandTammy) are the authors of Assessment in Perspective.  They also blog regularly.Their work, like Chris's focuses on both intentionality and joy. Their book on assessment reminds us that it is about the story of a child-not just test scores--that help us as teachers.  We were part of their blog tour when their book was published and you can read their interview here.

We have 2 children's authors this year and we couldn't be more excited!

Lisa Graff (@lisagraff) will be the afternoon keynote speaker at this year's conference. When you search our blog for "Lisa Graff", you will notice we've been big fans forever.  There is not often a year that goes by that I do not read aloud a book by Lisa Graff.  And her newest book Absolutely Almost is a favorite of 2014!  A must read for sure!

Paul O. Zelinsky (@paulozelinsky) Caldecott and Caldecott Honor award winning illustrator Paul O. Zelinsky was inspired to make illustration his career when, as a sophomore in college, he took a course that was co-taught by an English professor and Maurice Sendak. Paul has most recently illustrated Z is for Moose and Circle, Square, Moose.

There are lots of other great sessions too!  You can access the conference brochure to see all of the amazing sessions being offered throughout the day.  The two of us will be part of a fast-paced IGNITE session (A-6) led by the amazing Tony Keefer.  IGNITE: Literacy in the Digital Age!  We've never had an IGNITE session at #dublit so are looking forward to trying this out!

We hope you can join us for a fun Saturday of learning and books and colleagues!

Absolutely Almost by Lisa Graff

Absolutely Almost by Lisa Graff.  is a MUST READ in 2014. It is so good that you should rearrange your TBR stack and put this one on top. I actually think it is so good, that you should read it even if you don't read much middle grade fiction.  I can't think of anyone I know who shouldn't put it at the top of their stack.

I am a HUGE Lisa Graff fan.  I think her books are PERFECT middle grade novels. There are not many authors who can write for that age with enough depth to actually change the readers who read the books, and also in a way that it is accessible to 9-11 year olds. Lisa Graff is one of those authors.
I loved The Thing About Georgie when it came out years ago and I have loved everyone one of Graff's books, especially Umbrella Summer and The Life and Crimes of Bernetta Wallflower .

Absolutely Almost may be Lisa Graff's best book yet (even though her others are amazing!). The book is about a 5th grader named Albie who is not so good at anything. He struggles with lots of things, pretty much everything, including learning.  Albie is a character you love from the very start.  He is a great kid, someone you'd love to hang out with.  He has so many strengths and his new babysitter sees all of them. Albie comes to learn lots about himself in this book. I checked around on the web and pretty much everyone loves this book. If I haven't convinced you to read it, here are some other reviews:

Review by Betsy Bird

Carol's Corner

Barbara O'Connor

Two Reflective Teachers

Debbie Alvarez

And read all of the Lisa Graff books that you haven't read while you are at it. I love them all!

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

For more great lists from bloggers participating in "It's Monday! What Are You Reading?", visit Teach Mentor Texts!

4 Books I've Absolutely Loved Lately

Navigating Early by Clare Vanderpool

A Tangle of Knots by Lisa Graff

Grumbles from the Forest: Fairy-Tale Voices with a Twist by Jane Yolen and Rebecca Kai Dotlich

A Dog Called Homeless by Sara Lean

Book Purchases

I made a trip to Cover to Cover this week and picked up a stack of books.  It is so different shopping as a classroom teacher than it was to shop as a librarian.  I understand the way kids are changing as readers. I know which books are being passed around.  And I can predict ways I can stretch a child from one type of book to another. Today's trip was one with few expectations. I didn't really need anything so I wasn't sure what I was looking for. But a few titles caught my eye because I knew they might move readers.  I left with a bag of a few new titles that I am excited about and a few not-so-new titles that I think might be perfect for a few students ready to grow in new directions as readers.

I am very excited about Follow Follow: A Book of Reverso Poems --I loved Singer and am excited about this new book of Reverso poems.

I read about Athlete vs. Mathlete on the blog Mary Lee's kids are keeping about 2013 books. Columbus Dispatch Kid Readers is a great resource for 2013 books and I think it will be an expensive blog for me to read.

I also picked up some new Goosebumps titles.  A few students have had their first Goosebumps experience with the graphic novel so I thought I'd share some of these with them.   I picked up some brand new ones as the one I have are old and tattered. Excited to see if these hook anyone.

One of my students, a Hunger Games fan, just decided to try the Gregor series because he loves Suzanne Collins. He read Gregor The Overlander (Underland Chronicles, Book 1) which is the only one I have in the room. So I thought I'd pick up #2 and #3 in case more kids start reading this.  Not many kids read it before Hunger Games but it seems to be more popular now.

I have a group of kids who has been reading We are the Ship by Kadir Nelson.  In January, they discovered Walter Dean Myers book The Journal of Biddy Owens, the Negro Leagues, Birmingham, Alabama, 1948 and loved it.  I realized that there are more historical fiction books in this journal form by Myers so thought I'd pick a few up. I think the kids who liked the other book may like them. I also think they might appeal to my I Survived fans.

And I am MOST excited about Lisa Graff's new book A Tangle of Knots. I love Lisa Graff and have yet to be disappointed by any of her books. This one looks fabulous and I hope to read it soon!

Coming Soon: February

Last month, I started a monthly series on upcoming books I am excited about.  I am not sure where January went but it seems that it is time for February's list already! I have read so little this month that I was afraid to look ahead --the last thing I need right now is to add more books to my TBR pile!  But, there are some books that you just MUST have! These are upcoming books that are MUST-HAVES for me in February!

One of my very favorite professional books of all times has a new edition coming out.  WHAT A WRITER NEEDS by Ralph Fletcher is one of the books that changed my teaching.  It is one of the staple books that helped me learn to teach writing and it was the first book by Ralph Fletcher that I read. This 2nd edition of this book is coming out in February. Just looking at the Table of Contents makes me happy--reminds me how much I learned when I read this book and how many times I've gone back to the book in the past 20 years. (And Ralph Fletcher will be the keynote at the Dublin Literacy Conference on February 23. If you haven't registered, you should check it out!)

Follow Follow: A Book of Reverso Poems by Marilyn Singer is a follow-up to one of my favorite books, Mirror Mirror: A Book of Reversible Verse. Both of these books are filled with Fairy Tale "reverso" poems.  They are fun reads and I continue to be amazed at what the process of writing reversos is. So excited about this second round of reversos from Singer!

Lisa Graff is one of my favorite middle grade authors. I was thrilled to discover that she has a new book coming out in February called A Tangle of Knots. If you don't know Lisa Graff, you will definitely want to read The Thing About Georgie, Umbrella Summer and The Life and Crimes of Bernetta Wallflower.

I can't seem to find enough sports nonfiction to keep my students happy! So I was thrilled to see
Becoming Babe Ruth coming in February. I love author, Matt Tavares and from what I've read this is a great and well-researched story.

I am always paying attention to good, upcoming YA (even though I don't get a chance to read nearly as much as I'd like to!).  But the book I have on my list to remember about in February is Pivot Point. Love the whole concept and the issues around the choices we make.

And finally, a March 1 release (but close enough to February that I thought I'd include it here is Grumbles from the Forest: Fairy-Tale Voices with a Twist by Jane Yolen and Rebecca Kai Dotlich.  I love anything fairy tale but this one looks especially fun.  First of all, I am excited that Jane Yolen and Rebecaa Kai Dotlich worked together on this one. Love those two! Secondly, I love the idea of hearing the voices of fairy tale characters in poem form.  I am VERY excited about this one!