Quote for the day

Wole Soyinka said, "A book if necessary should be a hammer [or] a hand grenade which you detonate under a stagnant way of looking at the world."

Cosmic Again

Last book was TWICE TOLD, short stories inspired by original art. I just finished Elizabeth Winthrop's new book, COUNTING ON GRACE, which is historical fiction about a twelve-year-old girl in the early 18th century who doffs bobbins in a cotton mill in Vermont. And what was Elizabeth Winthrop's inspiration for this book? A Lewis Hine photograph in his collection which documented child labor in the early 1900's!! (There's also a one room school in this one. This is just getting too weird.)

I'm probably going to have to twist the arms of my literature circle group to read this -- they are avid NON-readers of historical fiction -- but they read both CASTLE IN THE ATTIC and BATTLE FOR THE CASTLE last year and vowed that they wanted Elizabeth Winthrop to write a new book. Well, this isn't quite what they had in mind, but I think they'll fall in love. Grace is a likeable character, contrary down to her stubborn left-handedness and her inability to sit still or concentrate. It seems that she'll fall into the trap of a lifetime of work at the mill, but because of the influences of Grace's teacher, a visit from Mr. Hine, her best friend Arthur's deliberate mangling of his hand to escape mill work, and her mother (as much of a sharp-edged, contrary character as Grace is), Grace winds up, at age 12, the substitute teacher in the mill school when her teacher is fired for her work with Mr. Hine against child labor. GREAT characters. SUPERB writing. EXCELLENT end notes about Louis Hine and the photograph that inspired Elizabeth Winthrop.

Twice Told

It's an interesting concept. Scott Hunt sent some original drawings out to authors, and two authors per picture wrote stories inspired by the pictures. It's definitely NOT a book for a 4th/5th grade classroom: the picture with a cake and an ax on the kitchen table inspired a tale of a semi-abusive father forcing a coming-of-age ceremony on his son, and in the other, the son kills his father with the ax. There's also homosexuality in one, and sexual abuse in another.

That said, I loved both of the stories that go with the picture on the cover -- an older woman in her robe and scuffs giving a bear what-for; shaking her finger at him so hard it's blurred. In one story, the bear is a stuffed animal come to life, and in the other, nature's tables are turned in quite a clever way.

There are some other good stories, and the notes from the authors in the back shed light on what it was about the picture that spoke to each of them, and how they went about writing their story for the collection.

Yet Another Cosmic Reading Event

First there was the time I was reading PRODIGAL SUMMER by Barbara Kingsolver and it was not just the same season, but exactly the same dates in spring in my world and in the book. Same wildflowers were blooming, everything.

Then there was ANGELA'S ASHES by Frank McCourt while I was cold, hungry, and uncomfortable (just like him in the book) the time I got snowed in at the Alamo car rental place at the (then) new Denver Airport. That was before the city and the airport had figured out who was responsible for plowing Pena Blvd. out of the airport to I-70.

Last week I was reading 1776 by David McCullough while home visiting Mom. I finished it the day before we sorted boxes of pictures of her ancestors when I learned that her grandmother had been a member of the DAR. So that means I, too, can trace ancestors back to the 1700's and Vermont and the Battle of Bennington.

Now, today's cosmic reading event: the very next book I picked after one room schools in Montana (THE WHISTLING SEASON) was a one room school in Nebraska! ROOM ONE by Andrew Clements.

Teacher Man vs. The Whistling Season

I was completely unimpressed by Frank McCourt's TEACHER MAN. The only saving grace was that I listened to it, and got to hear his wonderful Irish brogue.

Now, if you want a great story that also gives insight into the making of an inspired (and inspirational) teacher, read THE WHISTLING SEASON by Ivan Doig. It's set in 1957 and the state superintendent of schools in Montana is faced with having to close all the state's one room schools because of Sputnik. He himself is a product of a Montana one room school, and the book is an extended meditation on one formative year in his life and the teacher who made so much of a difference to him and his family. (That's a huge exaggeration, but you'll have to read it to find out.) Doig is a master story teller -- there's an interesting plot turn on page 327 -- and gifted in his use of language and creation of characters. Plus, you can read it with a teacher's eye and find differentiation, discipline strategies, integration, state standards, school board politics, and playground subcultures. You'll get a refresher/beginner's course in Latin, as well.

STUDY DRIVEN and Response to Comment

After RETHINKING RUBRICS IN WRITING ASSESSMENT, I went on to read Katie Wood Ray's amazing new book called STUDY DRIVEN: A FRAMEWORK FOR PLANNING UNITS IN THE WRITING WORKSHOP. LOVED IT TOO! Katie is always brilliant but this book was another one that was exactly what I needed. She reminds us that we are the professionals, the people in the classroom who know our students best. She helps us to see how to bring inquiry back to the writing workshop while still having rigor and making sure we teach what is required by our districts/states. So often, we are losing the authenticity of our reading and writing workshops. My favorite thinking was about kids needing vision. I have really been struggling with writing workshop for the last few years. Trying to figure out how to make it work but with more rigor. Like Katie, I have a bit of an uncomfortable feeling when I assign a certain genre. So, I avoid it. But, I think I am uncomfortable because of the way it has been done and what I am seeing come out (published) lately. But STUDY DRIVEN clearly shows how to have the energy that a workshop should have and keeping the kids empowered and balancing the process and the product.

Someone on the blog asked me to expand about my comment about RETHINKING RUBRICS when I said I was happy to see this book because: "I worry that lately we have had lots of books that tell us what to do. But, this book really gets us back to the professional roles that we have--really thinking about what matches our beliefs about students and learning--the conversations that seem to have become lost over the last few years." I guess I am saying that so much of what is being published lately is very scripted or very planned and the teacher decision making is taken out of it all. As a profession, we are losing faith in what we know, afraid to question things that seem to be "what we are supposed to be doing". I am excited about RETHINKING RUBRICS and STUDY DRIVEN because both of these books open up conversations that need to happen. I don't think it is important that we all agree on practice. But I think it is critical that we talk and process and are free to question so that we can make the best decisions for our students. It seems that with the standards and testing and No Child Left Behind...teachers have less of a say about what goes on in our classrooms. So, I am glad to see books like these two that are helping us (teachers) to rethink some practices that may not necessarily be the best for our students and to give us better options.

My favorite book of 2006

My best book of 2006 dates clear back to April: THE BOOK OF STORY BEGINNINGS by Kristin Kladstrup. Nothing else has come close since then.

3 children's books

I just finished 3 2006 children's books. I finally finished WEEDFLOWER by Cynthia Kadohata. I had started it a while ago and seemed to have lost it on a pile of books. So, I finished it yesterday. A good book. I loved the character in this one. I also read VICTORY by Susan Cooper. I think this one is worth a read. It is told from 2 perspectives and the stories come together. One character is a girl today and the other is a boy in the 1800's. I really liked it. The other one I finally finished was LISTEN! by Stephanie Tolan. My class had chosen it as a read aloud and we never had time to finish it on the last day. It is a good book--a dog story with depth. I liked all 3 of these but still don't have that "I LOVE IT--HOPE IT WINS THE NEWBERY" feeling yet. The girls at Cover to Cover suggested BLACK DUCK so I hope to read that in the next few weeks. It sounds like a good one.

Finally-Reading Again!

Okay, so you have been reading far more than I have! I am finally getting into a routine that includes lots of reading time again. It took me a while to settle into summer mode:-) I just finished FAIRIES OF NUTFOLK WOOD by Barb Bentler Ullman. I really liked it. It was a sweet story with characters that I loved. It got a starred review from Booklist and I think it was well-deserved. It is one of my 06 favorites SO FAR. A possible read aloud, depending on the class I have this year.

I also finished SKINNY DIP by Carl Hiaasen. It was OKAY. Everyone I talked to loved it so maybe I was just not in the right frame of mind. It is a fun book. I liked it okay. Just not a favorite.

And I just read RETHINKING RUBRICS IN WRITING ASSESSMENT by Maja Wilson. LOVE IT! It is a bit of an uncomfortable read--making me rethink some things about my writing assessment that I was pretty comfortable with before I read the book. But Maja Wilson seems to be a brilliant new voice in writing. Can't read it without thinking hard about practice and assessment. As Randy Bomer says in a blurb about the book, "This book will create the conversations educators desperately need: about accurate assessment, quality writing, and informed teaching." I worry that lately we have had lots of books that tell us what to do. But, this book really gets us back to the professional roles that we have--really thinking about what matches our beliefs about students and learning--the conversations that seem to have become lost over the last few years. I'd highly recommend this one.

So, I read a children's book, a professional book and an adult fiction book. I am feeling almost balanced!
I'll put the Sisters Grimm on my stack of next reads. I keep hearing about it and your last post convinced me!

I am debating reading the whole Series of Unfortunate Events. I am not in the mood but I don't want to miss the fun of reading the last one this fall. What do you think? Is it worth of week or two of my reading?

I'll be reading VICTORY by Susan Cooper and the new book by Carolyn Parkhurst called LOST AND FOUND: A NOVEL (same author as DOGS OF BABEL). They are next on my stack. I'll keep you posted!

Belated Reviews

FLY BY NIGHT by Hardinge

I'll borrow from the UK Amazon.com for a synopsis, but not because I'm lazy. I want to make sense. This is a LONG (500+ page), complicated book. Some of the time I wasn't sure I knew what was going on. Because I have a hard time following the ins and outs of politics and religion in our world, it was doubly hard to follow in Hardinge's imaginary world. But just like the end of WICKED, the end of this book made it all worth while. Here's the synopsis:

"A fantastic adventure story set in an alternative historical world that launches the career of a uniquely talented children's writer. In a fractured Realm, struggling to maintain an uneasy peace after years of civil war and religious tyranny, a 12- year- old orphan and a homicidal goose become the accidental heroes of a revolution. Mosca has spent her life in a miserable hamlet, where her father was banished for writing inflammatory books about tolerance and freedom. Now he is dead, and Mosca is on the run after unintentionally setting fire to a mill. With a delightful swindler named Eponymous Clent, she heads for the city of Mandelion. A born liar, Mosca lives by her wits in a world of highwaymen and smugglers, dangerously insane rulers in ludicrous wigs, secret agents and radical plotters. She is recruited as a spy by the fanatical Mabwick Toke, leader of the Guild of Stationers, who fears losing his control over the publication of every book in the state. Mosca's activities reveal a plot to force a rule of terror on the Realm, and merry mayhem soon leads to murder... FLY BY NIGHT is set in a re-imagined early-eighteenth century England, where kite-powered coffeehouses take to the river, and citizens lay offerings at the shrine of Goodman Blackwhistle of the Favourable Wind. Funny and surprising, stuffed with wonderful characters, at its heart it contains an inspiring truth - that the power of books can change the world."

As challenging and rewarding a read as FLY BY NIGHT was, THE SISTERS GRIMM: THE FAIRY TALE DETECTIVES by Buckley was just plain fun without too much work. I love books that allow young readers to discover the joy of understanding literary (albeit fairy tale) allusions.

And then we can fall clear off the literary map into cotton candy made of words with BABY MOUSE: BEACH BABE. Sugar is good occasionally, in small doses.

I thought GOSSAMER was a very sweet "explanation" of dreams and nightmares, woven into a story of a screwed up mom, her angry boy, and a lonely old woman and her long-suffering old dog.

CORYDON AND THE ISLAND OF MONSTERS is the first of what appears to be a trilogy of novels based on Greek mythological characters. But if you squint, you're reading Harry Potter. Boy hero has a goat leg instead of a lightning scar. He's away from society -- literally a scapegoat living with monsters instead of away at boarding school at Hogwarts. There are journeys, battles, a magic staff, honor, and lots of allusions to/inclusions of stories of myth, heroes and legend. The list of sources in the back includes movies, TV programs and PS2 games.