CLEMENTINE

I seem to be using part of this month catching up on the books of 2006 that I haven't had time for. It is actually the only time of year that I am not jealous of all of the people out there who get boxes of review books! I am too far behind to read ahead at this point in the year. CLEMENTINE has been talked about on lots of blogs. Mother Reader put it on her list of "Not Newberyish Selections". I purchased it for my classroom and could not seem to get my hands back on it to read it. I lucked out on Friday when I noticed one of my students finishing the last page. I ran over to ask her if I could read it next. Seemed that someone was already ahead of me in line. So, I checked with the child who was next on the list for Clementine and she needed a few more days to finish the book she was reading. So, I got the book for the weekend--promising to have it back on Monday! (I know, it would have been easier to buy another copy of the book...) Anyway, I LOVED it! Laugh out loud, loved it! I was intrigued by the book because such a range of readers seem to love it. But once I read it, I understood why. It is pretty brilliant. Very funny from a child's standpoint. And the writing style is hysterically funny for adults too. With lines like, "But then a great idea popped into my head. I am lucky that way: great ideas are always popping into my head without me having to think them up," you cant help but LOVE Clementine. There is a sophistication in the humor that appeals to a variety of readers. It is a short book and a fun, light read. But, there is depth in the character and the humor. (even the author bio is pretty amusing) It seems pretty appropriate for a read aloud in grades K-1 and still a great read for readers in 3-5. A pretty perfect book!

Poetry Friday: The Art of Storytelling

We've been having lots of fun with storytelling in my classroom, thanks to the game, Pitch a Story. In this game, each player or team begins with a card from the character deck, and a card from the challenges deck. (The core of every story: someone wants something.) As you move your piece around the board, you might pick up props, settings, or other characters that you'll have to incorporate into your story. When you land on a "pitch place," you get a minute or two to plan your story based on the cards you're holding, and then you "pitch" your story in much the same way that "Writers, producers and directors "pitch" their story ideas as punchy, pithy presentations to Hollywood film studios, TV networks, Broadway theaters, and book publishers."

How perfect that Garrison Keillor has a storytelling poem for today's poem on The Writer's Almanac!

The Art of Storytelling
by Louis Simpson

Once upon a time there was a shocket,
that is, a kosher butcher,
who went for a walk.

He was standing by the harbor
admiring the ships, all painted white,
when up came three sailors, led by an officer.
"Filth," they said, "who gave you permission?"
and they seized and carried him off.

So he was taken into the navy.
It wasn't a bad life — nothing is.
He learned how to climb and sew,
and to shout "Glad to be of service, Your Excellency!"
He sailed all round the world,
Was twice shipwrecked, and had other adventures.
Finally, he made his way back to the village ...
whereupon he put on his apron, and picked up his knife,
and continued to be a shocket.

At this point, the person telling the story
would say, "This shocket-sailor
was one of our relatives, a distant cousin."

It was always so, they knew they could depend on it.
Even if the story made no sense,
the one in the story would be a relative —
a definite connection with the family.

Get to Know "Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast"

The girls at Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast have a fabulous idea. My favorite blog idea since Lisa Yee's book title contest! They will be interviewing various bloggers so that we get to know them better. And they started with themselves! It is an interview that is great fun to read. When you read it, you realize how lucky we are to be part of the kidlitosphere. You will learn some VERY interesting things about Jules and Eisha, like that Jules can sing the alphabet as it appears on the keyboard (I believe this calls for a podcast AND a post explaining exactly how this happened!).

Enjoy the post. I look forward to more interviews on the site!
Thanks Jules and Eisha for a GRAND idea!

Nina Gives Us some Newbery Scoop

Nina of Nina's Newbery has a great post called "The Juicy Part". In the post, she tells us how her Mock Newbery committee went about choosing the Mock Newbery winner. She also gives us a few insights about how the actual Newbery committee makes the difficult decision each year. So, check it out for the inside scoop:-) Unfortunately, Nina won't be blogging about 2007 books since she'll be chairing the Newbery Committee!

But, Monica at Educating Alice will be part of the Newbery Committee and will be sharing her thoughts on books that she reads during the year.

Caldecott Hopes

I have read quite a few picture books this year. Lots of the CYBILS shortlisted books are not eligible for the Caldecott. But, I did see lots of great picture books during my reading for the CYBILS and throughout the year. Here are the ones I hope win the Caldecott. I don't know if they are all eligible, but I love them all. (And, I am not good at predicting these either...)

The Princess and the Pea by Lauren Child
In My Heart by Molly Bang
Fancy Nancy by Jane O'Connor
Hippo! No, Rhino by Jeff Newman
Adele and Simon by Barbara McClintock
Walk On!: A Guide For Babies of All Ages by Marla Frazee
The Place Where Sunflowers Grow by Amy Lee-Tai

Reading for TWEEN Girls

So, I have a friend who is looking for some good books for her 12 year old daughter. She is dying to read Chick Lit stuff but so much of it includes so much dealing with sex. I am trying to find books that are appropriate for 11-12 year olds but that feel like Chick Lit. Bindi Babes? Help!

I have no idea what we read at this age. I must have gone straight from Betsy and the Boys to Flowers in the Attic!?

If you have any suggestions, I am going to buy her a stack of good, appropriate-for-a- 5th-grade-girl books for her birthday.

Blog Addiction Justified

So, how can you not be addicted to blogging with contests like this? Thanks to Fuse #8 for alerting us to this hysterical new contest on Lisa Yee's blog. The contest has only been up for a day and the submissions are already quite amusing. There are even good prizes! Enjoy!

Warped History

Time Warp Trio Graphic Novels v. 1, 2
NIGHTMARE ON JOE'S STREET and
THE SEVEN BLUNDERS OF THE WORLD
created by Jon Scieszka
adapted by Zachary Rau
adapted from the teleplay by Peter K. Hirsch
review copies: personal purchase for my 4/5 classroom because I'm a sucker for anything that says "graphic novel" right now.


Time Warp Trio website


Does it count as a graphic novel if it's just screen captures of the animated TV show with speech bubbles added? I'm thinking is more like TV with page turns.

That said, the graphic novel series has remained true to what the real TIME WARP TRIO books do best: give kids a fun peek at a moment in history.

In NIGHTMARE ON JOE'S STREET, Frankenstein appears in Joe's house and the trio plus Frankenstein warp back to the mid-1800's to link up with Mary Shelley and get the monster she created back to her. In the course of the story, they also run into Mary's husband Percy Bysshe Shelley, and Lord Byron.

In THE SEVEN BLUNDERS OF THE WORLD, the trio travels to ancient Babylon, visiting the Hanging Gardens of Babylon while they're there trying to find the evil time-warping thief who stole The Book (the magical book that allows/causes the trio to time travel). In this volume, they meet King Nebuchadnezzar and Queen Amyitis.

Yes, these are definitely "book candy," but at least they have been "vitamin fortified" with a small dose of history.

Newbery Picks and Round-Up Invitation

A Message from Franki:

For those of you that don't know the history of our blog, we have been friends for a long time--throughout our teaching careers. A few years ago, we decided to meet more regularly to talk about books and then added a bit of fun to the meetings. We decided to try to predict the Newbery Winner each year. Since we were not very good at this, we changed our goal to have READ the Newbery winner before it is announced, so we started focusing on reading and talking about new chapter books for kids each year. This didn't go so well either. (Last year I won because I had CRISS CROSS in my Amazon shopping cart--had never read or seen it, but I had heard of it!). This is when Mary Lee had the idea to blog about our reading. We have come to terms with the fact that we don't have any idea what will win and we are never right. But it is still fun to play! So, each year, we still give it a shot. Below are our top 5 hopes/predictions along with other chapter books of the year that we've loved. Since we started our blog with this Newbery goal, we'd love to do a round-up of everyone's Newbery predictions/hopes. If you post your Newbery predictions, let us know in the comments and we'll do a round-up in about a week so we have it up and ready before the Newbery is announced on January 22.

Franki's Picks:

Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life by Wendy Mass
Yellow Star by Jennifer Roy
The Loud Silence of Francine Green by Karen Cushman
Gossamer by Lois Lowry
The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo

Others I loved:


Part of Me by Kimberly Willis Holt
Penny From Heaven by Jennifer Holm
Fairies of Nutfolk Wood by Barb Bentler Ullman
Babymouse by Jennifer Holm
The Year of the Dog by Grace Lin
to dance by Siena Cherson Siegel


Mary Lee's Picks:

Gossamer by Lois Lowry
Fly by Night by Frances Hardinge
The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo
Weedflower by Cynthia Kadohata
A True and Faithful Narrative by Katherine Sturtevant

Others I loved:

Babymouse by Jennifer L. Holm and Matthew Holm
The Book of Story Beginnings by Kristin Kladstrup
Blood on the River: Jamestown 1607 by Elisa Carbone
American Born Chinese by Gene Yang
Castle Waiting by Linda Medley

...and although this is an unlikely pick for the Newbery, I want to highlight it here because the deepest and most topical messages are sometimes found in the most unlikely places:

How to Speak Dragonese (Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III) by Cressida Cowell

"However small we are, we should always fight for what we believe to be right. And I don't mean fight with the power of our fists or the power of our swords...I mean the power of our brains and our thoughts and our dreams.

And as small and quiet and unimportant as our fighting may look, perhaps we might all work together like the numberless armies of Ziggernastica, and break out of the prisons of our own making. Perhaps we might be able to keep this fierce and beautiful world of ours free for all of us..."

Soooo, Happy Newbery Season! Send us your posts for the round-up!

Mail Order Mayhem

MAIL ORDER NINJA, v. 1 and 2
story by Joshua Elder
illustrations by Erich Owen
Tokyopop Manga Readers, 2006
Review copies compliments of the author

Timmy has a problem with bullies...both the thuggy kind, like Brock Breckenridge, and the stuck-up rich girl kind, like Felicity Dominique Huntington. He thinks he'll solve his problem by ordering his very own ninja from the Jacques Co. toy catalog, but wouldn't you know it, having your own ninja and winning the election for student body president causes almost as many problems as it solves. In volume 2, Felicity ups the ante by ordering her very own mail order ninja army which wreaks havoc at the school dance and turns the whole town of Cherry Creek, Indiana into an Orwellian nightmare with Felicity herself as Big Sister.

These books are a whole lot of fun! They are chockful of sight gags and puns, the situations are preposterous, and the characters are exaggerated stereotypes (all except for Timmy's 5th grade teacher, Ms. Sarah Melton, who received a "100 Cool Teachers in Children's Literature" nomination for disco dancing with Timmy's ninja in the second book). Kids will love these books. They are part of Tokyopop's Manga Readers series, and are perfect for the targeted age group: 8-12. An 8 year-old will love the action and adventure, and a 12 year-old will be able to get more of the puns and jokes. With the promise of six books in the series, they will all be anxiously waiting for the next volume. I know I will!