Interesting Trio of Books

Greetings From Planet Earth by Barbara Kerley (website)
Letters from Rapunzel by Sara Lewis Holmes (website and blog)
How to Steal a Dog by Barbara O'Connor (website and blog)

I checked out all three from the library to see whether or not I needed to own them. I read them all and I just purchased all three.

Dads are missing from all three stories: In Greetings, he hasn't returned home from Vietnam; in Letters, he's in the hospital with clinical depression; in Steal a Dog, he walked out on the family, leaving them homeless.

Great boy character in Greetings. Harry and Taran are the only other good boy characters in my summer reading (not on purpose). Theo is smart and curious and persistent.

Smart and curious and persistent also describe Cadence in Letters. Holmes captures/creates an authentic voice in the letters that Cadence writes. Georgina's voice in Steal a Dog is also spot on and crystal clear.

All three books are similar in the way the authors have masterfully woven the plot line. In Greetings, Kerley weaves together the best and worst of our nation in the late 1970's: space travel and the Vietnam War. In Letters, Holmes combines clinical depression, fairy tales, poetry, and the trials and tribulations of the gifted child. In Steal a Dog, Holmes gives poverty and homelessness a variety of different faces and voices which defy common sterotypes.

Out of all three, it was Steal a Dog that gripped my gut and made me talk out loud to the main character. ("What do you think you're doing?!?!?") I had thought there was a sense of doom and foreboding in Wringer, by Jerry Spinelli. Turns out, watching a character wait for his 10th birthday and the awfulness of becoming a wringer at the town pigeon shoot was nothing compared to watching Georgina blunder her way through the social and emotional chaos of living out of a car, the plan, the theft, the cover-up, and the realization that she has gotten herself in so deep that there is no graceful way out.

I'll keep Greetings and Letters for personal recommendations to 4th/5th graders. How to Steal a Dog will be one of my first read alouds.

* * * *

Mindy's interview of Barbara Kerley at propernoun
Kelly's interview of Barbara Kerley at Big A little a
7-Imp's interview of Barbara Kerley at Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast
Little Willow's Poetry Friday from Letters from Rapunzel
7-Imp's review of Letters from Rapunzel
BooksForKidsBlog's review of Letters From Rapunzel
Midwestern Lodestar's thoughts on How to Steal a Dog
Brianne Reads and Reviews review of How to Steal a Dog
Barbara O'Connor's story of how a failed picture book turned into two novels: How to Steal a Dog and, coming in spring 2008, Greetings from Nowhere

EDITED TO ADD: Julius Lester's thoughts on Vietnam vs. Iraq, an interesting companion to Greetings from Planet Earth

New from Deborah Wiles

The Aurora County All-Stars by Deborah Wiles

This might be my Newbery pick of the moment. I LOVE Deborah Wiles. I loved LOVE, RUBY LAVENDER and especially loved EACH LITTLE BIRD THAT SINGS. But, The Aurora County All-Stars (due out this week) may be my favorite for lots of reasons.

This is a story of baseball, a story of a strong community, and a story of friends. Deborah Wiles ties the story together with quotes from Walt Whitman. She also uses quotes from famous baseball players to set the stage for each chapter. Her writing is brilliant.

And, as an added bit of fun, Ruby Lavender is back in this book--she is part of the story. Reading about a familiar town with a few familiar characters is always fun and reading about Ruby Lavender again was quite a treat. She is not the main character but it is like visiting an old friend.

Deborah Wiles has characters you just have to love. Here is her introduction to one of the characters in the book:

"Honey Jackson, age six, aspiring dancer and lover-of-life extraordinaire, sat barefoot and cross-legged at the top of the front porch steps. She wore her best pink leotard and tutu. Around her neck, hanging from some string, was a pair of toilet-paper-roll binoculars. Behind her, in a short, straight row, sat seven small stuffed animals--her audience."

I am thinking that if I were teaching 4th or 5th grade this year, I would start the year with this as the read aloud. I am pretty sure it is one that all kids would love. And so much to think and talk about. But, I am teaching 3rd/4th and I am not sure it is the right book for early 3rd graders as our first read aloud.

Right now, it is one of my new very-favorites.

New Professional Book from Elaine Garan

SMART ANSWERS TO TOUGH QUESTIONS by Elaine Garan
is one big gift to teachers from Elaine Garan.

It is hard to teach well these days. With the pressure of testing and standardization, so much of what we know about how best to meet kids' needs is being lost. As teachers, we know the best research-based practices but lately, we have been being asked to go against much of what we know to follow scripted programs, give more and more tests, and include more isolated skill and drill that never seems to transfer to real reading and writing.

In Elaine Garan's new book SMART ANSWERS TO TOUGH QUESTIONS, Garan tackles many of the questions that we, as classroom teachers, are being asked--questions like "Why do you allow students to read on their own during class? When they are reading silently to themselves, how do you know they're really reading? Shouldn't you be testing them to make sure they're reading the right level of book? It seems to me there are a lot of problems with just having the class read on its own."

The questions are tough questions and they are questions that we get asked often. Elaine Garan has helped us answer these questions. She has not only provided an appropriate response to each question, but has also gathered important research that we can read in support of each of the best practices she describes. And she has put it all in one place for us.

Garan begins her book with a letter to teachers. She lets us know that parents most often trust their child's teacher. She gives us the tools we need to better participate in decision-making and to help educate parents on research-based best practices.

Throughout the book, she includes proof of her answers, research studies that she encourages us to read, things to think about, and ways to help parents see that the things happening in the classroom are in support of their child's learning--even if it is not what they did when they were in school.

An added feature throughout the book are thoughts specific to administrators and literacy coaches--ideas for working with staff and parents in staff development sessions to create conversations around these important issues.

The other thing I appreciate is how respectful Garan is of the people asking these tough questions. She is never critical of thoughts of the public, but is clear that, as educators, we do have knowledge about student learning and that it is our responsibility to share those with parents and community members so that we can work together for each child.

Actually, Garan's acknowledgments sold me on the concept of the book. Her last acknowledgment is to her parents. She says, "My parents gave me many gifts, but the one I treasure the most is their integrity and the model they set for us. They are both still writing letters to the editor, and neither will let an injustice or a lie slide by without at least trying to fight the wrong and maybe even right the wrong."

Elaine Garan sees the wrongs that are happening because of the misinformation about how students learn. With this book, she has give teachers the gift of answers and research to support quality classroom practice.

Life As We Know It Has Not Ended

J.K. Rowling will ("probably") write a "Potter encyclopedia" about the characters in the Harry Potter series.

Meredith Vieira heard it first. I learned it from Pop Goes The Library.

The Cat Master

The Cat Master
by Bonnie Pemberton
Marshall Cavendish, 2007
review copy courtesy of publisher

Remember my former student who is the Warriors series expert? She's the one who read and reported on the new (then) Warriors graphic novel last spring.

When the box of books came from Marshall Cavendish and I came across The Cat Master, I knew Warriors Girl was the one who should read and review it. Here is a loosely reconstructed transcript of our discussion of The Cat Master over ice cream at Graeters:

Me: So tell me a little about the book.

Warriors Girl: Well, it's the author's first book, and it took about 10 years for her to write. I know this because I googled her and read her website.

The two main characters in the book are Buddy and Jett, cats who are brothers. Jett is greedy and ambitious. When the Cat Master dies -- he's their father, but they don't know it -- Buddy is chosen to be the next Cat Master, but he doesn't know it because Jett intercepts the message. Jett wants to kill Buddy before Buddy becomes the master.

Me: Is this book at all like the Warriors books?

WG: It's like Warriors in that there are indoor and outdoor cats, but they are named differently (feral/indoor). It's different because there are other animals besides cats in the story (dogs, a possum, a lizard). Both have good and evil characters. The Cat Master feels really different than Warriors -- the chapters alternate between characters.

Me: Which series do you like better?

WG: It's too soon to tell, but I will definitely read more books by this author if she writes more. It seems like she will. You can kind of tell that the next book will be about Soot, Buddy's son, becoming Cat Master.

She dedicated the book "In Memory of Buddy" and in the acknowledgments she says Buddy was "a stray cat who changed my life forever." She has lots of cats and she really gets cat behavior. She even has a business that sells anti-scratching stuff that keeps cats from scratching on furniture.

Me: Anything else?

WG: I think I'm going to start reading prologues. If you skip them, you miss out on some pretty important information. I've always read epilogues; they give a summary and some good hints.

Me (in my mind): It's good to know that she's still growing as a reader! It's never too late to learn that prologues are pretty important!

Off Topic--Voice Your Love of DOTS

Okay, so DOTS are my very favorite candy. Love them. Often get them for birthday presents. Buy them whenever I see them. They make me happy.

So, I was a little thrown when I read the post about Dots on Candyblog today. UGH! I love this blog and often agree with the candy reviews. The sentence that stuck with me was:

"Dots are one of those candies that I see a lot at stores, but I rarely see anyone buying them or eating them."

I can see why Cybele at Candyblog said this. When I think about it, I rarely eat DOTS in public. Not for any reason, other than, they aren't often available in places where you would eat them. They sell them in stores and you eat them at home or in the car or at work. They are a comfort food. A great candy when you need a little sugar and a little flavor. They are fun and happy.

I am not a fan of anything but the traditional flavor box but I LOVE the original flavors.

For me, these are like the last of the original movie candy. Maybe they bring back childhood memories. I'm not sure.

Candyblog has invited anyone who loves DOTS to testify and so far, 17 people have already commented expressing their love of DOTS! SOOOO, if you love DOTS, go over to CANDYBLOG and show your support.

Really, Candy Corn or Dots? DOTS win hands-down! Don't you agree? DOTS win over pretty much any candy in my book.

(This may be the only candy that I would stand up for with this kind of enthusiasm!--unless they bring back Marathon Bars from the 80s.)

New Blog To Check Out

Megan is a 5th grade teacher just down the pike a bit from us who reads, reads, reads. In fact, that's the name of her blog: Read, Read, Read.

Her blog debuted in the kidlitosphere in June, and already she's skipping across the stage in scene three of Act One of The Play's The Thing (July's Carnival of Children's Literature)!

I can't wait until school starts and we get a chance to peek into her classroom and see how all these books she's been reading are received by her students!

100 Cool Teachers in Children's Literature -- The One Year Anniversary

A year ago, Franki wrote this post:

Okay so I am totally loving the lists from Jen Robinson's Book Page blog--Cool Boys from Kid Lit and Cool Girls From Children's Literature. I loved reading over these lists and thinking about these great characters we love.

I soo loved the idea that I started thinking. Could we come up with 100 Cool Teachers from Children's Lit? What do you think? So many teachers in books are these stereotypic, mean, dumpy people who are worn out. So, let's start putting together a list of 100 Cool Teacher's in Children's Lit. I am going to start with Great Aunt Arizona from MY GREAT AUNT ARIZONA by Gloria Houston. I also think The Giver in THE GIVER is a cool teacher. I would also like to add Mrs. Granger from FRINDLE by Andrew Clements. She is cool in disguise. We're looking for thoughtful teachers who understand kids and learning and are active, intelligent people who love their work. Do you think we can find 100? We are taking suggestions from readers!

A year later, and our list has over 100 cool teachers! (The list has a permanent home in our sidebar, too.) Thanks for all your suggestions! Surely there are some cool teachers in the books you've read recently -- let's keep the list growing!

The Play's the Thing

The July Carnival of Children's Literature is up at Saints and Spinners. We've been cast in the unlikely roles of bartender and bartending friend!

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."