Cracking Open the Author's Craft by Lester Laminack

I just received a copy of Lester Laminack's newest book for teachers called CRACKING OPEN THE AUTHOR'S CRAFT: TEACHING THE ART OF WRITING. For those of you who know Lester Laminack, he is a children's author, an author of professional books, and an amazing speaker. Because of this combination, he has written this amazing professional book that allows us to get inside of the decisions he made when he wrote his picture book SATURDAYS AND TEACAKES. 

Since SATURDAYS AND TEACAKES is such a great book, it makes sense to teach students about the craft of writing using words from the author. CRACKING OPEN THE AUTHOR'S CRAFT digs into Laminack's decisions and gives lessons to go along with several "visual and audible" crafts. Following each lesson, we also get other books that we can use for follow-up lessons on the same topic. Did I tell you the best part? It comes with a DVD of Lester reading aloud SATURDAYS AND TEACAKES and teaching the lessons himself. He tells us at the beginning of the book that the book/DVD set can be used flexibly. As teachers, we can watch the DVD to hear the language Lester would use when sharing the craft. Or, we could just pop in the DVD and have Lester teach the lessons to our students. It is a really unique book and Lester Laminack is one of the few people who has the expertise to do something like this. He is an expert in the field of literacy and he is also a great children's author. The combination allowed him to create this professional resource on writing. The book is not due in stores for a little while, but it is definitely worth keeping on your shopping list:-)

A GREAT PARENT RESOURCE

I just remembered one of my favorite resources: READING AND WRITING: WHERE IT ALL BEGINS. This is a publication put together by a local professional organization (The Literacy Connection). It is a great resource of parents and teachers and anyone who works with young children. I include it in all of my baby gifts. Lots of schools around here buy it for all of the Kindergarten and preschool students. It is a great parent resource for schools and libraries. Did I tell you the best part--it is only $1.50 per booklet.

The book is packed with information about ways to support your child as they become readers and writers-natural, authentic things to do when reading and talking about books. It has just been updated and there is also a Spanish version.

I know this must sound like a big advertisement--it is just such a great resource and when I saw it sitting on the counter at Cover to Cover, I realized that I needed to spread the word!

The Story Behind the Poetry Friday Quiz

I was taking an English course as an independent study in my sophomore or junior year of college. I don't remember why and I don't remember the prof's name. I do remember what it felt like to be substantially behind my peers in the honors program who had earned their honored positions by graduating at the top of competitive urban private and public high schools. I was salutatorian without trying very hard (and without learning very much) in a small rural high school.

By the time I took that independent study, I was well aware of my deficiencies. The professor rubbed salt in those wounds by having me read a paper that Dave Von Goldenboy had written so that I could see an example of GOOD writing.

And then he recited NOTHING GOLD CAN STAY and he asked me if the poem is pessimistic or optimistic. I figured the right answer was probably "pessimistic." Sinking to grief? Dawn going down to day? The gold not staying? But since there was no way I could ever live up to the Dave Von Goldenboy standard, I took the plunge: I said the poem was optimistic, and then I made up my reasons why right there on the spot.

Thanks to all of you who left comments which vindicate my stance. However, I'm realizing as I write this that that moment in my life as a learner was monumental not because of my stubborn, youthful perversity, but because it marks the moment when I started thinking for myself and not just giving the answers I thought the teacher wanted.

Teachers According to Clementine

I just finished THE TALENTED CLEMENTINE by Sara Pennypacker. I must say, I just can't get enough of Clementine. What a great character! As expected I totally love this second Clementine book. I was so excited when I saw it at the bookstore yesterday. The bad news is, I now have to wait for the next Clementine book. Really, this character is, for sure, one of my favorites of all time. She is full of life and the writing continues to be brilliant.

And, I think we need to add Clementine's teacher to our list of Cool Teachers in Children's Literature. What a great teacher! I can't seem to find a name but he definitely belongs on our list.

Now, Clementine seems to have teachers all figured out. Here are some things she says about us in this latest book. It is a little frightening, but she is usually pretty accurate. See what you think.

"I have noticed that teacher get exciting confused with boring a lot."

"But he ignored me, which is called Getting on with the Day when a teacher does it, and Being Inconsiderate when a kid does it."

"My teacher looked at me as if he suddenly had no idea how I'd gotten into his classroom."

"In school, my teacher started in with the 'Talent-Palooza' business so fast I thought it was the last part of the Pledge of Allegiance."

"...so I went up to his desk. I made quick secret-eyes all around behind there to look for the pizza and doughnuts everyone knows teachers eat when kids aren't looking..."

"There should be a rule about that. No laughing for teachers."

"My teacher made a face at Margaret's teacher. It meant they didn't believe that for a minute, but they had to say it anyway."

"If a teacher can have a substitute teacher, how come a kid can't have a substitute kid?"

"When I got back, Margaret's teacher gave me a look that said she was going to remember all this nonsense when I got into her grade."

102 Cool Teachers

The Master List has been updated to reflect several new nominations.

Fun Finds

At Chicken Spaghetti I learned that Deborah Wiles has a new book coming out in August! YAY!

At Mo Willems Doodles I found out about the Pigeon's new website. Love the voices and sound effects!

At Lois Lowry's Lowry Updates I read the beginning of the new Gooney Bird Greene book that will be out this month!

I clicked over to the SLJ website from Amy Bowllan's Blog to find out if I'm a "real" teacher (couldn't find the list; didn't need to, really) and found that a more accountable Encyclo-Wiki is starting up -- Citizendium.

And finally, via The Bonny Glen, and just in the nick of time for Poetry Month, I found out what poetry form I am:

I am the sonnet, never quickly thrilled; Not prone to overstated gushing praise Nor yet to seething rants and anger, filled With overstretched opinions to rephrase; But on the other hand, not fond of fools, And thus, not fond of people, on the whole; And holding to the sound and useful rules, Not those that seek unjustified control. I'm balanced, measured, sensible (at least, I think I am, and usually I'm right); And when more ostentatious types have ceased, I'm still around, and doing, still, alright. In short, I'm calm and rational and stable - Or, well, I am, as much as I am able. What Poetry Form Are You?

Silly Words Day!

Nancy at Journey Woman has proclaimed March 31 SILLY WORDS DAY!

My students and I are always on the lookout for words that are fun to say and/or spell. Here are a few we treasure (in order from shortest to longest):

Zit (won't be long before they abhor that word!)
Dilfy (a made-up mom word for messy)
Atlatl (a prehistoric spear thrower)
Boonka (a word remembered from pre-speech, meaning blanket)
Kwakiutl (a NW tribe of Native Americans)
Mississippi (fun to say and more fun to spell FAST)
Tegucigalpa (the capital of Honduras)
Onomatopoeia (fun to say and spell)
Gift Certificate (because the nominator only recently mastered the pronunciation of certificate...cerFITicate? cerFICKatut? Plus, they're fun to get!)
Pachycephalosaurus (there's nothing better than dinosaur names!)
Antidisestablishmentarianism (is that really a word?)
Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious (we KNOW that's not a word, but it's delicious!)

DRAWING COMICS IS EASY by Alexa Kitchen

We get Time For Kids in our classroom each week. It is a great magazine and we learn lots! In a recent issue, we learned about a book by a 7 year old, Alexa Kitchen. The book is called DRAWING COMICS IS EASY (EXCEPT WHEN IT'S HARD). I ordered a copy and can't wait to share it with my students.

There is a lot to like about this book.

First of all, with the popularity of graphic novels, this book will help aspiring graphic novel authors learn to draw great characters, think about color, and more. The first chapter is called "Very Simple" and starts out with, "You may think drawing is hard. Drawing is a big challenge. But it is not. After this chapter, you'll be surprised how easy it is." Other chapters include "Figure Drawing", "Landscape", and "Mistakes".

I also love that it was clearly written by a 7 year old (now nine). I love when I can show my students kids as authors. And kids doing things that they love. The text is not perfect. It has errors in conventions--errors that a seven year old would make. It has not been redone, edited to adult standards, or typed up. It is in Alexa's original handwriting and drawing. Clearly Alexa Kitchen loves drawing comics and from her website, I noticed that she has other books available. She seems like quite an amazing 9 year old.

This book has received a great deal of publicity and has received good press from publications such as Publishers Weekly.

I love books by kids and this one seems especially timely with the popularity of graphic novels. Wish I had found it sooner--I could have used it with my students when we created our own comic strips in the fall.

Poetry Friday: Pop Quiz

(apologies to Robert Frost)

Nothing Gold Can Stay

1. Nature's first green is what color?
A. Blue
B. Violet
C. Gold
D. Green

2. This hue is her hardest to what?
A. Fold
B. Hold
C. Cold
D. Mold

3. Her early leaf's a what?
A. Shower
B. Bower
C. Glower
D. Flower

4. For how long?
A. An hour
B. A minute
C. A day
D. A season

5. Because of the evidence in the poem that "leaf subsides to leaf./ So Eden sank to grief,/ so dawn goes down to day./ Nothing gold can stay." would you say that this poem is
A. Optimistic
B. Pessimistic



(Answers: c, b, d, a...and the jury's out on number 5. I'll poll the audience on that one. Let me know in the comments whether you see this poem as an optimistic one or a pessimistic one. There's a story behind this question that I'll share later this weekend.)

Reading Aloud EDWARD TULANE--had to share

So, I loved Edward Tulane before I read it aloud to my class. I am a huge Kate DiCamillo fan and love her work. All of it. I especially loved THE MIRACULOUS JOURNEY OF EDWARD TULANE when it first came out. Love the whole story and the writing was brilliant.

It has been our class's read aloud and we finished it yesterday. As often happens, I love the book even more after sharing it with kids. I must say that the kids loved the story. But, as kids do, they got more out of the story than I did. They are amazing. The story is so accessible and real for kids.

When we finish our read alouds, we often think about big questions that we'd like to linger over. Questions that are still swirling around in our heads after we've finished the book. The students brainstorm the list and then decide which they want to discuss. I have learned to just stand back and listen since their thinking is often better than mine. Sometimes we choose one to discuss as a whole class. It turns out that no matter which questions they discuss, they almost always gain a new understanding about the theme of the book.

So, these were the questions that came up after this read:

Why are the stars important? (Do they all connect to Edward's emotions?)
How did Abilene's grandmother know Edward only cared about himself?
Why did Kate DiCamillo choose the places he went? How did each place change him?
Why did the boy throw Edward overboard?
Why did the line, "You disappoint me" come up over and over.
Why did the illustrator decide on the front cover illustration? Why was it so important?
What does the title mean?
Why is Edward made of china?
Why did he not love before and why did he start to love later?
What does the quote at the beginning tell us?
Did Edward help himself? Was his time in the ocean the time he started to help himself?


So, as often happens, I think I can predict the conversations that will take students somewhere new in their thinking. And, as often happens, when I predicted today, I was wrong. I was pretty sure that the question "Why was Edward made of china? would take us nowhere. What was there to say or think about this one?

Then kids started sharing their thinking on the topic and we stayed with it for a while. I sat back and listened to them build on each others' thinking and was totally floored. Here are their theories--all of the things that his being made of china tell us: (I was amazed. So I must share!)

-Edward was china because he was breakable. His heart broke and broke.
-China is special and at the beginning Edward thought he was special and he was selfish.
-He was with a very rich family at the beginning--expensive, then he went to not so rich families, got dirty, etc. but even though they weren't rich, he learned to love.
-On the inside flap, it tells us that Kate D had a china doll and lost her.
-China is fragile--it is delicate and can shatter. Edward was delicate and shattered.
-People Edward meets along the way were all fragile or broken in some way.
-Breaking is like the dark and the author talks about the dark a lot.
-Maybe his whole being was broken--not just his heart.
-He was put back together at the end and that is when he found Abilene-broken and put back together and he was home --china and put back together again.

So, as always they blew me away. This little question brought them to this amazing thinking about Edward and the story of a broken heart. It was not a long conversation--15 minutes. These are 8 and 9 year olds. They are so brilliant every day. I do love my job.

I had to share. As much as I LOVE Mother Reader and as hard as I laughed at Mother Reader's view of Edward Tulane, this is the one and only time I have to disagree with her (SORRY MR). This book is a work of brilliance AND it is hugely accessible to kids--it is an amazing story with a huge life message. Full of hope and happiness. A great read aloud. It was a great day to be a teacher:-) (most days are)