Top 5-o-rama, Day 2

For today's Top 5 we feature:

5 Favorite Children's Books for 2006

(look for other favorites when the Cybils short lists are announced on January 1, 2007, and when we nail down our picks for the Newbery)

Franki (mine are 5 must-have books for classroom teachers):

The Last Day of School by Louise Borden
Nothing captures the feelings of the classroom and school like Louise Borden's do. This book is one that came out in the spring that captures that feeling of closing out the school year and starting summer. Just as the other books in this series (A+ Custodian, Good Luck, Mrs. K, and The Day Eddie Met the Author), the relationships are key to the story.

Babymouse (all of them!) by Jennifer Holm
I have never been a comic book reader, so graphic novels are hard for me. But, this series is a great "in" to the world of graphic novels! My students love it too. It has been a great series to invite readers into this new and popular genre that I used to avoid. The humor is quite clever!

A Coach's Letter to His Son by Mel Allen
It isn't often that you find an essay in picture book form--one that would be meaningful to children and adults. Mel Allen takes on the topic of organized sports and the way it has changed the way he plays with his son over the years. A great one for booktalk or as a great example of essay writing.

Eats, Shoots, and Leaves: Why Commas Really Do Make a Difference
by Lynne Truss
How could punctuation be so interesting? This book shows us all the difference a comma can make in a sentence. A fun way to look at this part of writing!

Ivy and Bean by Annie Barrows and Sophie Blackall
I am always on the lookout for great new series books for transitional readers. I read the first Ivy and Bean book this summer and am so glad I added it to my classroom library. My kids are LOVING both books in this series. Someone is ALWAYS reading the copies we have in the room. It seems to be a book that lots of kids can relate to. Very fun and a good size. Best new series since Judy Moody in my opinion! You can read praise for Ivy and Bean here.


Mary Lee:

The Book of Story Beginnings by Kristin Kladstrup

Corydon and the Island of Monsters by Tobias Druitt

Counting on Grace by Elizabeth Winthrop

The End by Lemony Snicket

Blue Jasmine by Kashmira Sheth

So Much Has Changed in One Year

Last year about this time, on the way to Cover to Cover to buy the last few books for 2005, Franki and I had a conversation that went something like this:

ML: I'm thinking about starting a blog.

F: What's a blog?

ML: Kind of an online journal. We could have our conversations about books we think might win the Newbery there.

F: Just set it up and tell me what to do!

This year we met over tea at Scottie's and I won't even try to transcribe our 2 hour coversation. We talked about Google Analytics vs. Site Meter, our work on our Cybils committees (ML-graphic novels, F-picture books), other favorite blogs in the kidlitosphere that are the same approximate age as A Year of Reading, our ages compared to the ages of other bloggers in the kidlitosphere (we're feeling pretty old, and VERY proud to be blogging when others our age have no idea what a blog even is...umm...kind of like us one year ago...), and our plans for year TWO of A Year of Reading (stay tuned, we're pretty pumped about 2007!).

Top 5-o-rama

With just 5 days to go before the ultimate Day of Top 5s (the announcement of the short lists in all the categories of the Cybils), A Year of Reading unveils...

Five Days of Top 5s

We begin today with our TOP 5 ADULT BOOKS OF 2006

Mary Lee's:
Oak: The Frame of Civilization by William Bryant Logan
1776 by David McCullough
The Whistling Season by Ivan Doig
A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry
La Perdida by Jessica Abel

Franki's:
The Glass Castle: A Memoir by Jeannette Walls
Rise and Shine by Anna Quindlen
Digging to America by Anne Tyler
Price of Privilege by Madeline Levine
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

Take Note, Publishing World

Fuse #8 has asked for Manga titles for kids, "Manga on par with Babymouse."

The silence has been deafening.

I wish I could list title after title that I have discovered in my reading for the Cybils nominating committee for the graphic novels section. I haven't seen Hikaru No Go (main character is a sixth graders) or Yotsuba (sounds like a cutesy child Amelia Bedelia) but I will say that Kat & Mouse is quite a stretch for "KIDS (not teens)." The two main characters are seventh graders and the book features a two page spread overview of the Expensive East Coast Private School cafeteria that includes scores (Brains, Evil, Cool, Sports) for each of the cliques.

I poked around Google a bit and found MangaBlog on Manga4Kids, a site which reviews Manga for parents of children 13 and under, and gives feedback on plot, character & morality, violence, sexuality/body functions, language, and substances in each title.

But clearly, the publishing world needs to take note of this niche and get busy!

First Must-Have Picture Book of 2007

I didn't think I'd post today but, since I found the most amazing new picture book, I had to share! I think it could be our first CYBILS nominee in the picture book category for 2007! (Wonder when nominations open!?) It was a Christmas present from my older daughter to my younger daughter (who kept it a secret from me, knowing that I would want to keep it myself!) I would advise you to, "Run out and buy one today!" It is called 17 THINGS I'M NOT ALLOWED TO DO ANYMORE by Jenny Offill. I fell in love with it immediately. It is a great, fun story of a little girl who has great ideas, that don't seem so great to everyone--especially not to her mother! ("I had an idea to staple my brother's hair to his pillow.... I am not allowed to use the stapler anymore.") The story is great and the pictures add so much! The pictures of the main character bring out her lively spirit and the backdrop illustrations are quite amusing. This book is a first (children's) for this author. It reminds me a bit of Judith Viorst's writing--a strong voice that I am excited to have discovered on Christmas morning. A definite must have. If you received a bookstore gift certificate as a holiday present, I would definitely recommend using it to buy this book!

Our First 2007 Book Review: KIMCHI AND CALAMARI

Can you believe that it is time for 2007 books!? I was lucky enough to get an advanced copy of KIMCHI AND CALAMARI by Rose Kent. Since she had read that I am a mom by adoption, she thought I might like it. She was right!

KIMCHI AND CALAMARI is a book about a middle school boy named Joseph, who is part of an Italian Family. Joseph was born in Korea and adopted by his parents when he was a baby. He has two younger sisters. I loved this book for two reasons. It is a great coming of age story. Joseph is a character that you care about. He is going through the normal teen stuff (girls, school, etc.). I also loved it because of the adoption piece. Joseph is struggling a bit with his identity that becomes a bit more complicated after a school assignment that asks him to write about his heritage--is he Italian or Korean? I think that this book will be a great one for my daughter as she gets older and wonders about her own heritage and tries to figure out who she is. The thing I like most about this adoption thread, is that Joseph is still living his life--his issues about his birthfamily are one part of his life, but not his whole life. His parents are believable in the way they respond. I imagine the adoption community will give big praise to this book. I don't know of another book for middle grade kids that approaches adoption and birthfamily searches in such an authentic, yet age-appropriate way. Joseph is a teenager in the book. But as I read it, I realized that the span of reader age-appropriateness is broad. If a child needed this book when he/she was in elementary school, I think it would be appropriate. Rose Kent did a great job of writing an engaging story with a good plot. She wrote about a character that I loved and wrote about adoption as one part of a child's identity.

I feel so lucky to have read this book before it is actually in bookstores. I plan to tell all my friends who have adopted children about it. And I am looking forward to anything else Rose Kent may write:-)

I lucked out on my first 2007 read. Hopefully, this is a sign about how the whole year of reading will go!

Baby/Young Child Gift Idea

So I am LOVING the new-to-me blog Pixie Stix Kid Pix. It is taking me a while to catch up on the posts but I can tell this could become one of my new favorites! There is a great list on the blog that I wanted to share--it is the 12 essential board books. I often put together a basket of board books for new babies, baby showers, holiday gifts for young children. This list is invaluable. If you buy lots of board books for kids, it is definitely worth checking out. If not, the blog is worth checking out for all of the other great stuff!

Poetry Friday for Christmas

One of my family's most beloved Christmas Eve traditions was Mom reading us the Christmas story from the Bible and Dad reading us THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS. I can still hear his voice when I read it.

Here are my favorite parts:

A Visit from St. Nicholas
by Clement Clarke Moore

.
.
.
The moon, on the breast of the new-fallen snow,
Gave the luster of midday to objects below;
.
.
.
As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,
When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky;
So up to the house-top the coursers they flew
With the sleigh full of toys, and St. Nicholas too.
.
.
.

And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.
.
.
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“Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night!”

Gifts for Book Characters

Thank you Gregory at GottaBook for another fun holiday diversion -- gifts for book characters. (This, along with elfing yourself.)

My favorite recent read is CASTLE WAITING by Linda Medley, a 450+ page YA graphic fairytale. Here are gifts (too bad I couldn't think of cool office supplies for all of them!) for some of the characters in CASTLE WAITING:

Jain -- her very own happily ever after
Rackham -- a subscription to GQ
Simon -- a collection of early readers -- UNLEVELED, of course!
Chess -- a membership at Gold's Gym...as if he needs it!

And for the Solicitine Nuns -- nothing! They have it all already: intelligence, wit, cunning, compassion, beauty...and BEARDS!

(I hope that was enough of a tease to let you know you MUST read this book!)

Cool Office Supplies

I figure most people who read this blog love books AND cool office supplies. I just found a great site for fun journals, file folders, pencils and more. It is called See Jane Work. If you love office supplies, I would check it out. Also a great place for small gifts!

(Mary Lee, I know you are still home recovering--don't spend too much time on this site or you'll go broke!)