FIRST THE EGG by Laura Vaccaro Seeger

I am always looking for great books with simple text--predictable text that support new readers. I found a great one yesterday! It is called FIRST THE EGG by Laura Vaccaro Seeger. This is a simple text that follows a simple pattern..First the egg then the chicken. First the tadpole then the frog...and so on. The painted illustrations are very engaging and each includes a cut out so that adds a little surprise to each page.

A great addition to any K-1 library as well as a great book to include in a study of life cycles.

Love it!

Best of 2007--So Far--POETRY

I added several poetry books to my classroom library collection this year. The following are my absolute favorites.

Shout!: Little Poems that Roar by Brod Bagert--is a fun book for reading aloud. The colorful illustrations add to the fun. My students have been having a great time reading this one together on Poetry Friday!

Here's a Little Poem by Jane Yolen--a favorite book for readers of all ages. This one would be a great gift for young children but it also has great poems for older readers. The illustrations are quite happy! This one seems great for all elementary grade levels.

DOGKU by Andrew Clements--I loved this one by Andrew Clements because it is a story about a sweet little dog told in Haiku. I loved the whole concept--it was a great story told completely in haiku--even the author blurb and the front flap follow the haiku theme!

This is a Poem That Heals Fish by Jean-Pierre Simeon--I am sooo happy I found this poem. An amazing book to start conversations with students about what poetry is and what it means to different people.

For more "BEST OF 2007-So Far", visit Mother Reader.

Best of 2007--So Far--PICTURE BOOKS

Mother Reader had another GRAND idea. She's invited us all to think about and post our "Best of 2007--So Far". It is a great opportunity to look back at the reading from this year and reflect on those books that stayed with us, those that we love and those that we hope win some award when the awards come out.

So, this week, I'll be posting one or two lists each day. My Best of 2007-So Far in various categories. Today's category--Picture Books. (I'll link to the blog entry where I reviewed or mentioned the book during the year.)

Best Picture Books of 2007--So Far

THAT SPECIAL LITTLE BABY--I have a hard time finding new books that make great baby gifts--that would appeal to both baby and parents. But this one meets that need. A great story about a new baby and how she grows and how much she is loved.

TAKING A BATH WITH THE DOG -AND OTHER THINGS THAT MAKE ME HAPPY-by Scott Menchin--I love this one for lots of reasons. A great story to share with children, a great book to help students think about writing ideas, etc.

THE BIGGEST THING IN THE OCEAN by Kevin Sherry--The simple text, bright illustrations, and large size make this a fun book that kids are drawn to. The surprise ending is quite a treat!

ORANGE PEAR APPLE BEAR by Emily Gravett-I think that this book is brilliant. How an author created a book with 4 words and surprising illustration is amazing.

17 THINGS I'M NOT ALLOWED TO DO ANYMORE by Jennifer Offill--This has been a favorite since my daughter introduced it to me. It makes me laugh every time I read it. And the illustrations include real artifacts in the background. I am not sure which age this book would appeal to but I LOVE it!

GOLDILOCKS AND THE THREE BEARS by Caralyn Buehner--I do not usually buy new versions of traditional tales but the cover of this one caught my eye. Something about the bears' expressions makes it a version I needed to have. Goldilocks is quite adorable, in a devious kind of way. And she jump ropes throughout the books which adds to her character a bit.

Poetry Friday, Root Canals, and... a CONTEST!

So I went to the dentist for my regular check up this week. And, yes, the dentist thinks I may need a root canal. She is sending me to a specialist for an
evaluation. So, I started to write these to amuse myself while I was accepting the fact that I am old enough for a root canal. I thought it might be fun to try a FIB and I went from there.

Root Canal Fib

Root
Canal
Old age
Pathetic
X-Ray could be wrong
Don’t want one at all


Root Canal Haiku

Abscess? Is it true?
Is it cuz I’m forty plus?
How much will it hurt?


Root Canal Question Poem
Did you know an abscess is a glob of puss?



Then I wondered if I could write a limerick, or some other form of poetry about root canals. Imagine the possibilities! Then I figured it might be more fun to have a contest. (We have never run a contest, but we have loved the contests that Lisa Yee, Three Silly Chicks, and Mother Reader have run.

The Contest:
So, choose any form of poetry you like. Write a poem in that form about root canals. Submit it in the comments. We will announce and post the winning poem for next Friday's Poetry Friday post so you have until Thursday night--September 13th.

And the prize is.....

an PERSONALIZED, AUTOGRAPHED copy of Lester Laminack's book Trevor's Wiggly-Wobbly Tooth (okay, so there are not so many children's books about root canals, but this is a great picture book and it IS about an issue with one's teeth!).



So..enter away!
Amuse me before I go to the specialist for a more thorough evaluation!

2 New Picture Books for Early Readers

As you know I am not a huge fan of using solely leveled texts in classrooms of K-1 students who are learning to read. I love leveled books by The Wright Group, Rigby, Seedlings, etc. but I worry when the entire classroom library is filled with ONLY leveled books and no children's literature. But I know how important it is for kids to have books that they can read on their own successfully. So, I have been on the lookout for books that support new readers just as leveled books do, but that aren't published just because they meet certain "level" criteria. Below are two great new books I just found that would be perfect for K-1 classrooms. I know that leveled books fill a need for our new readers but I believe strongly that our youngest readers need more than a diet of leveled books. So here are two new ones I found. Big and Little by John Stadler is a lift-the-flap circus story. The text is simple and the flaps are sturdy. I think this is one of the few lift-the-flap books that could survive in a classroom. The story is fun and the illustrations keep you in suspense. A "big" elephant is trying to dive into a "little" glass of water. Can she do it? You'll find out if you read to the end! The flaps, the predictability, the illustrations, and the simple text make this perfect for new readers. Barn Dance! by Pat Hutchins Pat Hutchins seem to really understand young readers. Her text and illustrations always go together to create an amazing story. In this new one, a barn full of mothers decide to dance a bit while their babies sleep. Lots of trouble comes and the ending is a fun one that readers will like. There is lots of rhyme and rhythm in this story and the illustrations make this a fun story that children will enjoy.

One more read aloud for the beginning of the school

I usually begin my read alouds with picture books and then move to a short easy novel before I start reading books that might be at or above my students' reading levels. Lots of my students haven't read all summer long, and I am modeling what they need to do to rebuild their fluency and stamina: start with lots of quick, easy reads to build confidence and refresh skills.

I just finished a great book for a first-week or early-in-the-year read aloud:
Monday with a Mad Genius (Magic Tree House #38)
by Mary Pope Osborne

It's the first day of school for Jack and Annie, and Jack is his typical worry-wart self. Luckily, time freezes in Frog Creek, PA when Jack and Annie travel with the magic tree house, because 10 minutes before the first day of school, they travel to Florence, Italy to meet Leonardo da Vinci and try to learn another secret of happiness to help Merlin.

At first, da Vinci tells Jack and Annie that the secret of happiness is fame. But by the end of the book, he has changed his thinking. He realizes that the secret to his happiness is curiosity.

Jack and Annie get back to Frog Creek at the moment they left, and they run to school filled with eager questions rather than nervous questions about the beginning of the school year.

Books About Books and Reading -- Revisited

In early August, a post at Creative Literacy caught my eye -- Picture Books About Books.

Our list of Books About Books and Reading has been sitting over there in the sidebar along with 100 Cool Teachers in Children's Literature just waiting for some new additions.

So, here's the list! Let's look again. Do any new books come to mind? What kinds of conversations do these books spark in your classroom or library?

Picture Books

How a Book is Made by Aliki
Read Anything Good Lately? by Susan Allen and Jane Lindaman
Souper Chicken by Mary Jane and Herm Auch
The Best Place to Read by Debbie Bertram and Susan Bloom
The Best Time to Read by Debbie Bertram and Susan Bloom
Wolf by Becky Bloom
The Day Eddie Met the Author by Louise Borden
Across a Dark and Wild Sea by Don Brown
Arthur and the Race to Read by Marc Brown
But Excuse Me That is my Book by Lauren Child
Petunia by Robert Duvoisin
Book! by Kristine O'Connell George
Check it Out! The Book About Libraries by Gail Gibbons
The Incredible Book Eating Boy by Oliver Jeffers
Library Lion by Michelle Knudsen
Jake's 100th Day of School by Lester Laminack
Book by George Ella Lyon
Santa's Book of Names by David McPhail
Edward and the Pirates by David McPhail
Edward in the Jungle by David McPhail
Tomas and the Library Lady by Pat Mora
Amelia Hits the Road by Marissa Moss
Magic Tree House series by Mary Pope Osborne
Reading Makes You Feel Good by Todd Parr
The Girl Who Hated Books by Manjusha Pawagi
Aunt Chip and the Great Triple Creek Dam Affair by Patricia Polacco
Thank You, Mr. Falker by Patricia Polacco
Reading Grows by Ellen Senisi
Wild About Books by Judy Sierra
The Hard Times Jar by Ethel Footman Smothers
From Pictures to Words: A Book About Making a Book by Janet Stevens
The Library by Sarah Stewart
Library Lil by Suzanne Williams
The Old Woman Who Loved to Read by John Winch
The Librarian of Basra by Jeanette Winter
Baby Bear's Books by Jane Yolen

Chapter Books

Magic by the Book by Nina Berenstein
The Sisters Grimm series by Michael Buckley
Matilda by Roald Dahl
Seven Day Magic by Edward Eager
Inkheart by Cornelia Funke
The Big Green Book by Robert Graves
Fly By Night by Francis Hardinge
The Book of Story Beginnings by Kristin Kladstrup
Looking Back: A Book of Memories by Lois Lowry
Summer Reading is Killing Me by Jon Scieszka
At the Sign of the Star by Katherine Sturtevant
The Great Good Thing by Roderick Townley

Poetry

Good Books, Good Times by Lee Bennett Hopkins
The Bookworm's Feast by J. Patrick Lewis
Please Bury Me in the Library by J. Patrick Lewis

Quotations

Quotations for Kids by J.A. Senns

Books For Adults That Could Be Used For Exerpts

Life is So Good by George Dawson
Grand Conversations by Ralph Peterson and Maryann Eeds
The Polysyllabic Spree and Housekeeping vs. the Dirt by Nick Hornby
Better Than Life by Daniel Pennac
How Reading Changed My Life by Anna Quindlen


* * * * * *

Check this out, too: A Notes from the Windowsill annotated bibliography of book-books by Wendy E. Betts.

Poetry Friday--First Week of School

Whose idea was it to have five days of school the first week? Three or four would have been plenty!

Here are the schedules I/we have worked to coordinate and finalize this week:

Special Education
Reading Intervention
Spanish
Speech
Guidance
Bubble activities (sounded great this summer, but a nightmare now)
Title One Math
Reading Assessments
Math Assessments
Spelling Assessments
Fire Drill
Mentor/Mentee

We have had various meetings before school every day, after school most days, and at our grade level planning period several of the days.

The poem for today and for this crazy first week:

Psalm
by Stuart Kestenbaum

The only psalm I had memorized was the 23rd
and now I find myself searching for the order
of the phrases knowing it ends with surely
goodness and mercy will follow me
all the days of my life and I will dwell
in the house of the Lord forever only I remember
seeing a new translation from the original Hebrew
and forever wasn't forever but a long time
which is different from forever although
even a long time today would be
good enough for me...

(the rest of the poem is here)
(Roundup is at MentorTexts)

Edward's Eyes by Patricia MacLachlan

I had to make one last run to Cover to Cover today to set myself up for the first few days of school--new books always help me get my head around where I hope to go with our talk. I picked up some great new picture books that I'll share later in the week. But, I also picked up Patricia MacLachlan's new book, EDWARD'S EYES.

EDWARD'S EYES is an amazing story about a family told by Jake--a child in the family. Edward is Jake's younger brother and Jake adores him. Edward is amazing and so are his eyes--something Jake noticed the first time he saw him.

This is a hard story. One I really wasn't ready for today--but since I didn't know it would be a hard story, it was too late. But, I am so glad I read it. The cover drew me in and I didn't put it down at all once I'd started it. Friendship, family, love, loss. All of life in a short, simple book.

Patricia MacLachlan is one of my very favorites. Ever since BABY, one of my very favorite books of all time. And this book was no disappointment. It was all that I love about MacLachlan. A great family. Great characters. Life told as life happens. And a message that is told through all of it together.

Patricia MacLachlan is somehow able to help us celebrate life in all of her books. And she doesn't do it by pretending that life is not difficult. Somehow she gives us characters to fall in love with and allows us to experience hardships alongside them. Her sincere nature and her sensitivity make her books what they are.

This is definitely a book that will stay with me. In terms of use in school, I will definitely put it in my classroom library. I may read it aloud to my 3rd and 4th graders--I'll have to see. Another family that will stay with me for a long while.

Ask The Right Questions

On the way back to our classrooms after dismissal yesterday, my colleague asked me, "Is it really quiet on your morning walks?"

At lunch, a whole table of us had been talking about how hard it is to preserve time for ourselves once school starts. There had been the usual surface level amazement that I continue to get up at 5:00 a.m. and walk for a half an hour at 5:30, even though there is no longer a dog to make such an activity mandatory.

My colleague's after school follow-up question was far from a surface level question. She came at my morning walk from an unexpected and thoughtful direction. And she got more of an answer than perhaps she expected, because when you walk in the dark, you pay closer attention to the sounds around you. My walks right now are loud with insect sounds -- crickets and tree crickets, buzzing, chirping and whirring. As winter comes, my walks will be more and more silent, until I have the chance to listen to the different sounds of snow underfoot. Late in February or early in March, I will hear the first robin singing in the dark, and my spring and summer walks will be loud with birds singing territory-marking songs.

Her question felt like the metaphorical unplugging of a dam of talk in me. I felt myself light up when I knew I had a great answer to her question. After I shared, her affirmation of my day-to-day scientific way of living in the world made me feel really really good.

And now I'm wondering, how can I do this for my students? How can I find the right questions to ask each one of them?

• I know the lists of possible writing topics we are making and sharing in early writers' workshop will help me. I need to model listing in a way that gets beyond, "I love pizza. I play soccer."
• I need to listen carefully. Then I will hear two boys singing songs from "baby TV shows" on the way to the buses, I can ask about this, and learn that when they go home, they have to watch Barney and Teletubbies with their young cousins.
• I need to watch. I need to notice how my fourth grade siblings interact in such kind and thoughtful ways with their kindergarten brothers and sisters when they see them in the hallway.
• And I need to learn to ask questions that go beyond the obvious or the surface, questions that dig into a topic, or approach it at a slant, or come in the back door so that my students can have the feeling I had of the dam breaking and the light coming on when they answer me.