Tell An Author You Care Day--E.L. Konigsburg

Emily at Whimsy Books designated today as "Tell An Author You Care Day". Love the idea and wanted to make sure to participate. I read her ideas of how to participate and decided on this idea from Emily--Idea #4:

Profile an author in your blog. I'm not talking just another review. Tell us a little about the author and mention at least one of his/her books that you love.

I have been thinking about E.L. Konigsburg all week since I finished an advanced copy of her upcoming book THE MYSTERIOUS EDGE OF THE HEROIC WORLD.

I am fascinated by E.L. Konigsburg. FROM THE MIXED UP FILES OF MRS. BASIL E. FRANKWEILER was one of my favorite books of childhood. Claudia's trip to the museum has stayed with me throughout my life. The book was also a favorite of my husband's who doesn't remember many great books from childhood. It is a classic and one that, as adults, we can all still talk about.

So, I had to read THE MYSTERIOUS EDGE OF THE HEROIC WORLD that will be out this fall by Konigsburg. Again, she is brilliant. This book actually has a feel that is similar to FROM THE MIXED UP FILES in that there is art, and a mystery, and the process of making sense of things that are not quite organized. Amedeo and William work together to help sort through the items in Mrs. Zender's house as she prepares to move. They uncover great stories as they get to know Mrs. Zender and each other. And of course there is a little mystery to uncover. There was a bit more history in this book--art that was confiscated during the Holocaust is a backdrop. The history is part of the fun of the discovery. And the learning about this part of the Holocaust is shocking--a part of history that many of us don't know much about.

One thing that was an extra in this book was the fact that Konigsburg pulled in characters and places from THE VIEW FROM SATURDAY and THE OUTCASTS OF SCHUYLER PLACE. Even though they weren't a focus in the other books, I always think it is fun to revisit places and people I know as a reader.

I am amazed by Konigsburg which is why I chose her to thank today. She has been writing amazing books for over 30 years! She must have written FROM THE MIXED UP FILES at a pretty young age. And so many of her books since then are just as fabulous as that one. THE VIEW FROM SATURDAY and THE OUTCASTS OF SCHUYLER PLACE are two of my more recent favorites. An author who I can enjoy as an adult as much as I did as a child--one of the first authors who hooked me on reading and made me get to know characters that have stayed with me forever. I can't explain the fun of having read her books over the last 35 years. I love that she continues to surprise us with every book and that I can have that same feeling now as I did when I first met Claudia. I don't know of any other authors who have been writing such amazing novels consistently--she somehow tells amazing stories and makes them very timely for today's readers. I have read several of her more recent ones aloud to my intermediate students and they are always a hit--well loved and the anchor for lots of great talk. Her respect for kids and their ability to change the world is clear in every one of her books.

So, hooray for E.L. Konigsburg--an author I have enjoyed almost since my love of books began. A new book by Konisburg is such a treat. She continues to amaze me as a reader.

Get Busy!

It's Tell An Author You Care Day, as proclaimed by Emily at whimsy. It's also Emily's birthday, so be sure you check out a list of some of the authors she cares about -- one for each of her years -- and wish her a happy birthday!

Here are Emily's suggestions for celebrating TAAYC Day:

"1. Write a letter or email to a favorite author. I think JK Rowling and Stephenie Meyer receive plenty of fan letters. Think of an author you love that may need a little boost.
2. Write a positive review on Amazon and, if you want to, link to it in your blog.
3. Buy a book by a favorite author and give it to someone who will enjoy it.
4. Profile an author in your blog. I'm not talking just another review. Tell us a little about the author and mention at least one of his/her books that you love."

Leave a comment on Emily's blog, telling her what you did for TELL AN AUTHOR YOU CARE DAY. If you do, you will be entered into a drawing.

I took care of #1 today before I even remembered it was TAAYC Day. I just completed #2, but at Powells, and minus the link. I will, however, let the author know it is there! I'll take care of #3 this very afternoon. (Mo Willems' Elephant and Piggie books are ready to put in the mail to my friend's daughter Sophie.) I'll get busy on #4 after I swim. Stay tuned.

Five Things Meme -- Results Are In

The complete list of questions and surveys from the original June 25 post is here.

1. Five things I was doing ten years ago.
89% said Mary Lee. You were correct.

2. Five Snacks I Enjoy.
100% said Franki. You were correct, although it could have been A Little of Both because I like dark chocolate.

3. Five Songs I Know All the Lyrics To.
63% said A Little of Both. You were correct. The first two are all Franki and the last three are all Mary Lee.

4. Five Things I Would Do If I Were A Millionaire.
63% said A Little of Both. It was actually all Franki, but I definitely concur with the naps and the giving a lot away. I don't mind laundry, but I have less of it!

5. Five Bad Habits.
50% said Franki and 50% said A Little of Both. It was A Little of Both. 2 and 3 are Franki and the rest are mine.

6. Five Things I Like To Do.
67% said Mary Lee. You were right. But it could have been A Little of Both because of the reading, writing and napping.

7. Five Things I Would Never Wear Again.
67% said A Little of Both. It was actually all Franki, but I agree about the bikini. I gave that one up in junior high.

8. Five Favorite Toys.
100% Mary Lee. You're right, but Franki does love her stickie notes, too!

Paint the Wind by Pam Munoz Ryan

I was lucky to read and Advanced Copy of PAINT THE WIND by Pam Munoz Ryan. Ryan is one of my favorite authors and ESPERANZA RISING is one of my all-time favorite books. So, I was thrilled to read this new one.

This is the story of Maya, who has lost her parents, and now her grandmother. She goes to live with her mother's family and spends the summer at Sweetwater River learning about her mother, horses and herself.

Maya, as are all of Ryan's characters, is a strong female character. She has had lots of hard things happen in life but somehow finds a way to stay true to who she is.

This is a horse story, so it will appeal to lots of readers who love horses. Maya develops a relationship with a horse named Artemesia as she learns about horses and her mother from her Aunt Vi. Pam Munoz Ryan has included a glossary of "horse terms" as well as a note on the back of her book sharing some of her own experiences with horses.

But this book will also appeal to readers who aren't necessarily looking for a good horse story. It is a story of family, grief and of growing up. Pam Munoz Ryan continues to give us great female characters--girls who are strong, who are connected to their history and their family, and who find their own identity in rough times. I always read for character--plot is secondary to me as a reader-and Maya will stay with me for a very, very long time.

On an aside, this is a fat book with big print/spacing. So, it isn't as long as it appears. It should be perfect for middle elementary students. It seems perfect for 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders. I am anxious to share it with mine once school starts in the fall. It is due out in September.

A Week of Travel

"It must be so nice to be a teacher--having the summers off..."

How many times have you heard this since June?

This week, I was fortunate enough to participate in two workshops for teachers. I've been gone for a week, learning lots and seeing great people. I spent two days in Monterey, California at the Writers At Work Conference hosted by The Culham Writing Company. What a great time. If you don't know Ruth Culham (otherwise known as "The Traits Lady"), she runs an amazing 3 day conference every year. This year, I was able to hear Lisa Yee (who, by the way, is as wonderful in person as she is on her blog), Ralph Fletcher, and James Blasingame (who shared lots of great new YA titles), Many others presented but I wasn't able to hear their sessions. It was a great line up--Ruth Culham, Janet Angelillo, Lester Laminack, Bridey Monterossi, Linda Rief, Laura Robb, Charles Smith Jr., and Janice Wright--a combination of teachers, writers, children's authors, experts in children's lit and more. A great time and lots of learning!

Then I flew to Portland, Oregon for a Choice Literacy Workshop. I gave a workshop for two days on literacy in grades 3-6 and met such great people. Most of the people were from the Portland area but a few traveled far to attend the workshop and enjoy the city. There were other Choice Literacy Workshops going on by The Sisters, Jen Allen, Andie Cunningham, and Ruth Shagoury.

Both of these conferences understand how important teachers' learning is. Teachers learn lots and are thrilled with an hour for lunch! Teachers were in groups small enough for great conversations--groups where they could share and learn from each other. At both conferences, teachers talked about not knowing what to do with a full hour for lunch. We are so used to eating in 10 minutes, rushing to duty, etc. An hour lunch was a much appreciated luxury--as was the time to talk and learn with other colleagues who were thinking about literacy.

After spending four days with teachers at great institutes, I was very energized. (well, after recovering from my all night flight home!) We are all working so hard to make sure we do the best we can for our students. Teachers seem to be the target of so much criticism lately and I just don't see it. Teachers are working harder and smarter than we ever have. We understand more about how children learn and how best to create classrooms that meets the needs of ALL kids. As a profession, we seem to be losing confidence in our own decision making and we shouldn't be. I met so many amazing teachers this week and I learned a ton from them. Thinking together about student learning IN THE SUMMER.

I am tired of the world thinking that we all became teachers because we get our summers off. I admit that summer takes on a different pace but I wouldn't call it "OFF". I so treasure this time in July when I can attend workshops, read professionally, find new children's books that my students might fall in love with, and think ahead for the fall. In every city across the country, teachers are getting together attending workshops, and learning new ways to meet the needs of their students. I loved every minute of my learning this week.

Sneeze!

I just received a copy of this great new nonfiction book--SNEEZE!--from Charlesbridge Publishers. What a great book! I am pretty sure it will be a favorite in my class once school begins.

The topic alone is always interesting to kids. And the book is really informative. I learned so much that I didn't know before.

Every spread begins with a black and white photo of a child. Sometimes that child is sneezing. If not, there is definitely a potential for a sneeze in the scene(a cat, for instance). The second page in the spread uses great colorful "micrographs"--a new term for me that is explained at the end of the book. Micrographs are taken with either a scanning electronic microscope or a transmission electronic microscope. The images are magnified and very interesting to look at.

The back of the book also has some additional information on sneezes. Lots of info about sneezes and the body, told in a very kid-friendly way make this a great book to add to my nonfiction library. As I've said earlier, I am looking for nonfiction books that invite kids to read them from cover to cover. So many of the books that I have in my classroom have lots and lots of information spread out across the page. I feel like many of these books invite browsing and skimming. So, I am very excited about SNEEZE! The topic, photos, and format make it perfect for kids in middle elementary grades. And it is available in paperback!

Newbery Alert

Sharon's Newbery is picking up where Nina's Newbery (mock Newbery blog/event in Oakland) left off last year.

Poetry Friday -- An Original

The Test Scores Are In

A child is more than any one score.
And so is a teacher, too.
But when the scores surprise and please,
Loudly shout, "WOO - HOO!"

I celebrate the highest highs,
I celebrate every success.
Every score is a sign of learning;
Every score measures progress.

I know I taught, but did they learn?
The question haunts me less
Because I see the numbers there
And can measure my teaching with the tests.

A child is more than any one score.
And so is a teacher, too.
But when the scores surprise and please,
Loudly shout, "WOO - HOO!"


Round up this week is at Chicken Spaghetti.

Secret of the Sirens

Secret of the Sirens
by Julia Golding
Marshall Cavendish, 2006
review copy provided by publisher

Al Gore would love this series.

The basic premise is that mythical creatures (unicorns, pegasi, sirens, etc.) do still exist. They are protected by a group of humans who belong to the Society for the Protection of Mythical Creatures. These humans each show an affinity for a certain kind of animal. For example, one of the characters, Colin, has an affinity for horses. He is companion to a pegasus. The main character, Connie, seems to have an affinity for birds, and she is companion to the sirens before she knows any more than that she gets along well with animals, before she even knows about the Society and companions.

Here's where Al Gore comes in. The work of the Society, to hide and protect the few remaining mythical creatures from other humans, has become increasingly difficult as humans have overtaken and developed most of the remaining wild places in the world. And now, along the English coast where Connie lives, an oil refinery threatens the coastal rocks where the sirens live. The sirens are fed up with being pushed out of their homes, and they are retaliating by drowning refinery workers. If they keep it up, they could cause an oil tanker to wreck and foul the coast and the coastal waters. It's up to Connie to find a way to prevent that from happening.

To complicate matters, Connie learns that she is not simply a companion to birds/sirens. She is the only living Universal Companion. She is able to be companion to all species and all mythical creatures. Good thing there is a new Universal, because the ultimate evil, Kullervo, is gaining strength. In some ways he is like Connie, but when she asks, "Is he a universal companion?" this is the answer:

"Universal he may be, but companionship is far from his mind. I think he is more like a whirlpool -- or black hole -- pulling all who venture near him inexorably into his wicked schemes. Once creatures go down his road, it is nearly impossible to pull them back. They get in too deep, falling for his lies that all humans are the enemy -- the oppressor. It's tragic that while the sirens think that they are choosing freedom to act without restraint, they are in reality choosing captivity. They may believe he's serving their cause, but once he has his hooks into them, they will end up his slaves. He is only interested in them in so far as they further his goal."
"His goal?"
"The eradication of humanity."

There are all kinds of great tensions in this book. Good vs. evil, obviously. But also wilderness vs. development, humans as destroyers vs. humans as conservationists, nature vs. technology. Like I said, Al Gore would approve.

I can't wait to read the other books in the Companions Quartet: The Gorgon's Gaze and Mines of the Minotaur. Michelle at Scholars Blog doesn't like the not-so-subtle environmental message as much as I did. That just means that you'll have to read these and see what you think! Go now! You have a week before HP!

BIG News

Ginormous made it into the new edition of the Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary. I remember hearing my students (one in particular...you know who you are) use this word for the first time four years ago.

Here's my prediction for a word that will be added some time soon, based on 1. my inability to break my students of saying it, even after two years of intensive interventions, 2. the efficiency of this word compared with the "correct" version, and 3. I broke down and used it myself. The word? VERSE, vb., meaning to compete with someone in a game or sport. "I'm going to verse him in chess." The roots of this word are in the preposition VERSUS, as in Army vs. Navy. (The correct/clunky/inefficient way to say "verse?" "Go against." How does "go against" relate to versus? On the other hand, it is clear to see how "verse" relates to versus.) Other words in the dictionary around VERSUS include, as a reminder that language is a living, changing thing: versatile and version.

For other new words that made it into the dictionary, see USA Today's AP story.