Open Water Swimming

GRAYSON
by Lynne Cox, author of SWIMMING TO ANTARCTICA

There will be no competitive open water swim for me this summer. Reading GRAYSON will have to do. And it will do just fine.

In this slim book, Cox tells the story of an early morning (before sunrise) training swim in the ocean off Seal Beach, California in March (55 degree water) of the year she was 17. She had already swum the English Channel twice, and the Catalina Channel once.

As the sun rose during this swim, Cox suddenly became aware of a huge presence swimming near her. She was afraid it was a shark, but it turned out to be an 18-foot baby grey whale. Because it was swimming with her, she could not swim to shore -- it would beach itself and die. So, in spite of the voices inside her head that doubted the choice, and following the voices inside her heart that felt a compassionate connection to the baby whale, Cox stayed in the water for several more hours, swimming from a pier to an oil rig and back to the pier LOOKING FOR THE MOTHER WHALE! She had the help of a lifeguard boat, several fishing boats, and a small crowd on the pier, but she was the one who stayed in the water with the baby until he was reunited with his mother.

The book is a lyrical description of the intimate connection of a swimmer to the ocean, the tides, the currents, and all of the living creatures of the ocean, both beautiful (dolphins) and frighteningly beautiful (rays and purple jellyfish). It's also the story of the power of positive thinking, and mind over matter. Everything you ever needed to know about taking risks, pursuing goals, and overcoming doubts, you can learn from Lynne Cox in this book. Here is my favorite passage:

"The answer came to me. Wait as long as you need to. The waiting is as important as the doing: its the time you spend training and the rest in between; it's painting the subject and the space in between; it's the reading and the thinking about what you've read; it's the written words, what is said, what is left unsaid, the space between the thoughts on the page, that makes the story, and it's the space between the notes, the intervals between fast and slow, that makes the music. It's the love of being together, the spacing, the tension of being apart, that brings you back together. Just wait, just be patient, he will return."

Harry Potter Fun!

So, I am feeling a little bit left out of the Harry Potter craze. I am embarrassed to admit that I have not read the Harry Potter books. Not sure how it happened. I started the first one when it first came out and it seemed bad timing or something. My husband, however, was totally hooked immediately. Now, this many years later, it just seemed far too overwhelming to read 6 books in anticipation for the last one. But, I have followed the Harry Potter craze. I love what it has caused. And I have followed all of the media leading up to Book 7. My husband and daughter attended Cover to Cover's Harry Potter party last night (Mary Lee also attended--see photo). They got their books at 12:01 am. My older daughter read until 3:30 am and they have both been reading at every spare moment. But it seems that people have already finished and the world is nervous that someone will give the ending away before they finish.

As much as I hate missing out on the fun, I must say, it is fun to watch all of this objectively. I love all of it and love that the world has stopped for the last of the Harry Potter books. I love that people everywhere today were carrying around the books. I love that many families I know had to purchase multiple copies of the book to avoid any fighting over a single copy. I love that my daughter is getting text messages from friends when they get to a certain page. I love that my husband and daughter are trying to keep up with each other so they can chat when needed. This is all such fun.

I am thinking that I will read the last chapter of Book 7. I don't think I'll ever be able to experience Harry Potter as the world has. I missed it. If I read it later, which I very well may do, I will know so much from the talk, the media, just by being part of the world. I won't come at it as everyone else did. But, I am dying to read the end. I am dying to see how she decided to end a series like this. I have read some of the reviews about the ending and I think I can read it just to see how she did it--how she created a satisfying ending that was not totally predictable but yet totally believable when expectations were so high.

Even though I have not read one of the books yet (yes, I am embarrassed every time I say this), I consider myself a JK Rowling fan. I love that she created something so amazing. I love the brilliance. I love the impact she's had and that the whole world talked about Harry Potter today.

So, I'll keep you posted about whether or not I read that last chapter of Book 7--no, I won't give away any secrets. But, I think it is the only way I can participate in the fun this week. Meanwhile, I'll watch my husband and daughter finish up.

A New Mercy Watson Book

Mercy Watson: Princess in Disguise by Kate DiCamillo is the latest book in this series. I thought it was a little early for a Halloween story but I loved it anyway! I have to admit that it took me a few books to fall totally in love with Mercy Watson. But, I am totally hooked now! It is clear that DiCamillo is a different kind of brilliant in these books.

My youngest daughter is seven and was THRILLED to see a new Mercy Watson book. The humor and the illustrations are perfect for her age. And the plot and characters are wonderful for students new to chapter books. This one may be my favorite--I thought I liked the image of Mercy driving a car, but Mercy dressed in a princess costume (that is a terribly snug) is my new favorite!

The story is simple--Mercy dresses up for Halloween and gets into trouble. Readers can count on many predictable things throughout the story. The neighbors' reactions to Mercy, Mr. and Mrs. Watson's unconditional love for Mercy, and a happy ending. A perfect series for children new to chapter books as well as readers who want a fun story!

Poetry Friday -- Fame

Famous
by Naomi Shihab Nye

The river is famous to the fish.

The loud voice is famous to silence,
which knew it would inherit the earth
before anybody said so.

The cat sleeping on the fence is famous to the birds
watching him from the birdhouse.

The tear is famous, briefly, to the cheek.

The idea you carry close to your bosom
is famous to your bosom.

The boot is famous to the earth,
more famous than the dress shoe,
which is famous only to floors.

The bent photograph is famous to the one who carries it
and not at all famous to the one who is pictured.

For what do you hope to be famous? Compare your answer to the poet's.

The Poetry Friday roundup is at Mentor Texts this week.

It's Not Because We Don't Care...

...it's because everyone else is doing such a fine job staying on top of all the breaking news.

We're not the biggest fans, but we're not grumpy nay-sayers, either.

I'll be at Cover To Cover's party tomorrow night, I'll get my copy at 12:01, and I'll go home and read it as fast as I can while still savoring the moment in history.

Then we'll resume sitting back to see what y'all have to say about it!

Girls Like Spaghetti

A new picture book by Lynne Truss is out. If you liked the original EATS, SHOOTS, AND LEAVES as well as the children's version with the same title about why commas matter, you'll love THE GIRL'S LIKE SPAGHETTI: WHY YOU CAN'T MANAGE WITHOUT APOSTROPHES. As with her book about commas, Truss uses each two page spread to show the huge difference an apostrophe can make. With fun illustrations, children can see the difference in meaning between sentences like "The girls like spaghetti." and "The girl's like spaghetti.". The humor in the illustrations help make the point.

Another fun book and I am glad to see she is continuing with these punctuation books for children. Hopefully, more are on the way.

The Castle Corona by Sharon Creech

I LOVE a good fairy tale so I was thrilled to see Sharon Creech's new book CASTLE CORONA. It is due out this fall and it is a must-have.

The story is one of a royal family and some peasants. The characters all fit into the mold of great fairy tale characters--the strong female peasant, the beautiful princess, etc.

This is the story of all of these characters--characters who want more from life and from who they are. The beautiful princess finds that she wants to be more than beautiful. Pia and Enzio, the peasants, want to live in royalty. The king wishes to be more wise. These aren't formal wishes--just the every day thinking of people wanting something different or more in a real-life kind of way.

It is a fun fairy tale--felt a bit like TALE OF DESPEREAUX and a bit like something by Gail Carson Levine--a great combination for a great fairy tale.

The thing I liked best is the message Creech seems to give us about story. In the book, there is a wordsmith who often tells stories to the royal family. It is through these stories that the royal family and the peasants begin to imagine the possibilities in their lives, see themselves in stories, and become more content.

The back of the book says that this is for ages 8-12. I can definitely see reading it aloud to 3rd graders. And I think it will also appeal to much older readers too. It is a great fairy tale. With so many fairy tales and fantasies coming out, I am so happy to see that Sharon Creech has added to the genre. I loved the story, the characters, the writing, and the message.

A New Back to School Book

It is time for Back to School books. A friend of mine who is a Kindergarten teacher shared this new one with me today---CORNELIUS P. MUD, ARE YOU READY FOR SCHOOL? by Barney Saltzberg. It is definitely a great one for young children getting ready to go off to school.

Cornelius is getting ready for school and the text follows a semi-predictable pattern asking Cornelius whether he has done what he needs to do get ready for school. "Did you eat breakfast?" "Yes!" and so on. But there is something very important that they forget which makes for quite a cute ending.

The illustrations are colorful and happy--the colors remind me a bit of NO, DAVID! by David Shannon. Cornelius is an adorable pig character who is quite lovable. The font of the text is big and basic for new readers and yet fun to give a happy tone to the book. A great choice to read aloud to help with the transition for school and a perfect read for beginning readers.

Author Fired by Former Fan

"...yet so as to transfer from our inward nature a human interest and a semblance of truth sufficient to procure for these shadows of imagination that willing suspension of disbelief for the moment, which constitutes poetic faith." --Samuel Taylor Coleridge his autobiography, Biographia Literaria.

How to Cheat a Dragon's Curse
as told to Cressida Cowell
the fourth book in the Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III series

I was willing to believe in the Vikings, the dragons, the sea creatures, the unlikely ways that Hiccup gets into and out of trouble, the crazy names, the language Dragonese, the holiday of Freya'sday Fete. I was a little irritated that she named a character "Big-Boobied Bertha." She really didn't need to stoop that low in the potty-mouth humor department, but I could handle it. I've read the ROTTEN SCHOOL series, after all.

Cressida Cowell completely lost me as a reader and a fan and a future book purchaser when, at the very end of the book, she writes this about an arrow that had been stuck in a potato:

"...I buried the arrow which saved my life in some muddy ground behind my house, and, miracle of miracles! A single seed must have been sticking to the metal!

For some time later, in the springtime, I noticed a strange green plant in that particular spot, and I dug the arrow up again. A new potato, larger than the one I lost, had grown right around the arrow's point."

POTATOES DO NOT GROW FROM LITTLE TINY SINGLE SEEDS THAT STICK TO ARROW TIPS! THEY GROW FROM CHUNKS OF SEED POTATOES!

I am completely willing to suspend my disbelief for all kinds of fantastic inventions an author creates in a story. I will not, however, suspend my knowledge of the way the real world works. Ms. Cowell, you're fired, and I suggest you get a new editor.

Continuing Education -- Graphic Novels

A brief timeline of my graphic novels education to date:

• In November of 2005, I read the first volume of the Scholastic color re-issue of BONE. In my reading log, I noted this historic event: "My first graphic novel." In January of 2006, BABYMOUSE hit the bookstores.
• Last October (2006), I volunteered to be on the Graphic Novels panel for the Cybils . (Press Release here for more information on the Cybils.) I did this to jump-start my graphic novel education, and it did the job.
  
• Last November (2006) at NCTE, I heard Scott McCloud speak. Scott McCloud is "an American cartoonist and a leading popular scholar of comics as a distinct literary and artistic medium," according to his Wikipedia entry. I read his book MAKING COMICS as the "textbook" for my education in graphic novels, and then over the course of the next couple of months, I read about 40 graphic novels, most of which were Cybils nominations.

Maybe I shouldn't have just revealed how much of a newbie I am to the world of graphic novels, but you know, in some circles (over 30, never read graphic novels), I'm a virtual expert.

This morning I finished the three volumes of the SCOTT PILGRIM series by Brian Lee O'Malley. Scott McCloud said (I have this in my notes) that O'Malley's work, and others like his, will "bridge the gap between Japanese manga and American comics. This generation of artists will speak directly to our kids." That's why I read these three books. And while they might speak directly to kids, they don't speak so directly to me.

The series is summarized in Wikipedia thus:

The series is about 23-year-old Canadian Scott Pilgrim, a slacker, hero, wannabe-rockstar, who is living in Toronto and playing bass in the band "Sex Bob-Omb." He falls in love with American delivery girl Ramona V. Flowers, but must defeat her seven evil ex-boyfriends in order to date her.

That much I got, although I almost didn't finish the first book because the set-up of the plot was just too weird for me. Once O'Malley got to Ramona V. Flowers and defeating the seven evil ex-boyfriends, I understood what to expect from the rest of the books. Some version of one evil boyfriend per book.

Did I know that all the names of the bands mentioned in the books are references to video games? No, because I have a reading history, not a gaming history. But did it matter that I didn't get all the video game references? (Or, for that matter, most of the rock music references?) Nope. Because I got the story. Most of it. And thanks to Scott McCloud, I could probably even point out some of the American comic influences and some of the Japanese manga influences.

What does all this mean and why am I writing about it here? If we ask kids to read outside their comfort zones and try new genres, we should, too. If we want to be able to tell kids first hand what it's like to stick with a book and be glad we did, we should have been there/done that.

What kinds of books/genres have you read that are outside your comfort zone, and what did you learn from that experience that you can share with your students?