Poetry Friday -- Drowning

Today I'd like to share my favorite lines from Not Waving but Drowning by Stevie Smith:

I was much further out than you thought
And not waving but drowning.

During the first six weeks of school, it feels like water we're "swimming" in gets deeper and deeper. I'm hoping that this week the water has been the deepest and the waves have been the highest and now both Franki and I are on our way back to shore. Parent conferences are half done. Interims go out today. We have completed all of our fall assessments (math, reading, spelling) and the database has been turned in.

Deep cleansing breath in...deep cleansing breath out...


(Poetry Friday is being hosted by Two Writing Teachers this week.)

Missed All of You!!

I am sooooo totally bummed that I didn't get to join all of you at the Kidlitosphere conference. It was one of those family/mom decisions--too much going on these days! But I thought of all of you all day Saturday and have been enjoying all of the posts and photos since then. I almost feel like I was there with all of the great sharing and the few (live) chats I've been able to have with Mary Lee! Sounds like a GREAT time and I hope never to miss it again! Can't wait for details about next year!

Homeward Bound

Dear Franki,

Good news, bad news. Bad news first: I have no pictures to share. My camera doesn't shoot fast enough for candid shots that aren't blurry, and I didn't feel like making people pose. But I'm sure there will be plenty of pictures around on other blogs for you to see.

Everything else is good news: great speakers, important and relevant topics, lively conversation, lots of laughs, and most importantly, plans for NEXT YEAR'S CONFERENCE! Jone will host us in Portland, OR!!! Thank you, Jone!!!!

I 'm bringing you all the handouts (not like being here, I know) and a couple of other surprise goodies. Everyone asked after you and missed meeting you.

Talk to you soon!

ML

Chicago

Dear Franki,

I know it was a hard decision not to come to Chicago, and I'm not trying to make it any harder on you, but this is really a hoot! It's like being inside a story along with some of your favorite characters who have come to life from other books!

We've got a busy day ahead of us! I can't wait!

More later,

ML

Books I've Saved From Childhood

Imagine my happiness and surprise when I saw the cover of SAD DAY, GLAD DAY on Esme's blog this week! I thought I was the only person alive who still had a copy of that book. (I can't find it right now but I know it is in the house somewhere.)I thought it was on my shelf upstairs with a few other books from my childhood--books that I've never been able to part with. After reading Esme's post, I went upstairs to look at the small stack of books I've saved. It got me thinking about what it is about these books that has made me hold on to them and what does that all tell me about myself.

My mother clearly knew how to buy books. I seem to have a book for every major event in my life. She bought me SAD DAY, GLAD DAY when I was 5 and we moved to a new house. I still have a copy of TWO NEW BABIES by Agnesann McRobert. This was a story we read while waiting for my brother to be born. (One baby in the book was the new sibling, the other was a doll for the older sibling.) My parents clearly taught me that books help you make sense of life. What a gift!

I also saved an old favorite--TIME FOR A RHYME by Ellen Wilke. I didn't remember much about it except that I loved it and we read it over and over. When I opened it today, I realized why. It is such a fun book. Each page offers a question about a rhyme like "Let's try to guess what rhymes with spoon. An easy word is..." and then you turn the page. A fun interactive book. (By the way, it is very scary when you find your favorite books from childhood on a site called goantiques.com!?)

A PRESENT FOR THE PRINCESS by Jane Lowe Paschall was a big favorite of mine. It is about a beautiful blonde princess who gets a thoughtful gift from a blind boy. I remember it as a very sweet and happy story. Not a bad princess story, I must say. She wasn't saved by any male character and was a good, kind person.

I also kept a few fairy tales--THE PRINCESS AND THE PEA being my favorite--it has always been my favorite version until last year when Lauren Child's version was published.

I think I had all of THE WITCH NEXT DOOR (Norman Bridwell) books. We got them from the book orders and I loved the idea that a witch could live next door. Between these books and the TV shows I Dream of Jeanie and Bewitched, it seemed possible!

And I had JIGGERS (Joy Muchmor Lacey) A book about a girl and her puppy. (This one seems to be on a site that calls it "vintage". UGH!)

As I got older, I loved THE SECRET SEVEN by Enid Blyton (It totally stresses me out now that these kids got in strangers' cars to solve mysteries!?) and all of the BETSY (Carolyn Haywood) books. I think BETSY and the BOYS was my favorite although I liked when she got to name her sister herself! And of course, there was NANCY DREW! It looks like these books are still in print!

What does this tell me about my childhood reading--I had a ball. Obviously, the quality of the books didn't matter because most of these books would not pass our quality literature tests today. Oh, I still have my copy of WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE and other classics, but for some reason, these other books were also important enough that I haven't tossed them. I have been a reader for as long as I can remember--I won't even tell you the copyright on some of these.

And I found this great source for all of your childhood books! Childhoodbooks.com specializes in books from 1950 until now. You can search your favorite titles and purchase copies of those you've lost track of. (And I must say, I think Childhood Books is a much better name than anything with the word ANTIQUE or VINTAGE in it!)

This was fun to do. Thanks ESME for reminding me about some of those forgotten books of childhood. It was fun to revisit. What are your favorite books from childhood--the ones that you've kept over the years?

Wicked Cool Overlooked Books

Yes, I'm aware that I'm three days late with this, but that's the story of my life right now, so I'm just celebrating that I've got a book to share this month!

Why?
by Lila Prap
originally published in Slovenia in 2003
First American Edition 2005, Kane/Miller Book Publishers, Inc.

This book is a series of questions about animals: Why are zebras striped? Why do whales spout water? Why do rhinos have horns on their noses? and so on. Each double page spread features a large, stylized picture of the animal in question (pun intended) in the center, with a small paragraph of factual information in the right hand margin. What makes this book so much fun is that the question is answered in silly ways in all of the other margins and even in the center section with the illustration! For example:

Why do whales spout water?

It's their runny noses! They always have colds.
To wash the clouds.
They're watering the sea grass.
For fun.

Why don't snakes have legs?
So they don't have to play football.
Because they'd hate cutting their toenails.
They forgot to grow them.
So they don't fall down.

This book begs to be a mentor text for young researchers to writing a first report. Asking the question forces them to narrow the focus of the research and learn just one thing. The silly reasons encourage them to be creative and entertain their audience. The one paragraph of factual information is just the right size for beginning writers.

There's so much to love about this book! Why haven't I seen it before?

Dear Deer

Dear Deer: A Book of Homophones by Gene Barretta

Another great book about Homophones. Since I have been building my collection of word play books, I have been keeping my eye out for new titles. I thought I had plenty of them about homophones but this one is too fun to pass up. It beats the others that I have. I think I would have bought it based on the cover alone. The cover illustration is quite colorful! But the inside is just as good.

The "plotline"of the book is that Aunt Ant has moved to the zoo and is writing to her friend Deer (Dear Deer,) about some interesting animal behaviors. For example: The monkey will tell you a TALE as he hangs from his TAIL.

Kids will love this book and I think it will help them that both words are often part of the same sentence. The illustrations are colorful and inviting.

Time to Nominate!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

BOOK BLOGGERS KICK OFF KIDLIT AWARDS' SECOND YEAR

CHICAGO--Will Harry Potter triumph among critical bloggers? Will novels banned in some school districts find favor online?

With 90 volunteers poised to sift through hundreds of new books, the second annual Children's and Young Adult Bloggers' Literary Awards launches on Oct. 1 at http://www.cybils.com/. Known as the Cybils, it's the only literary contest that combines both the spontaneity of the Web with the thoughtful debate of a book club.

The public's invited to nominate books in eight categories, from picture books up to young adult fiction, so long as the book was first published in 2007 in English (bilingual books are okay too). Once nominations close on Nov. 21, the books go through two rounds of judging, first to select the finalists and then the winners, to be announced on Valentine's Day 2008.

Judges come from the burgeoning ranks of book bloggers in the cozy corner of the Internet called the kidlitosphere. They represent parents, homeschoolers, authors, illustrators, librarians and even teens. (AND A COUPLE OF TEACHERS, TOO!!!)

The contest began last year after blogger Kelly Herold expressed dismay that while some literary awards were too snooty--rewarding books kids would seldom read--others were too populist and didn't acknowledge the breadth and depth of what's being published today.

"It didn't have to be brussel sprouts versus gummy bears," said Anne Boles Levy, who started Cybils with Herold. "There are books that fill both needs, to be fun and profound."

Last year's awards prompted more than 480 nominations, and this year's contest will likely dwarf that. As with last year's awards, visitors to the Cybils blog can leave their nominations as comments. There is no nomination form, only the blog, to keep in the spirit of the blogosphere that started it all.

See you Oct. 1!

For further info:
Anne Boles Levy
anne (at) bookbuds (dot) net

And the winner is.....

Okay, I am not quite sure what I was thinking, running a contest during the first month of school! I really did mean to announce the winner much sooner than now.

Last month, I thought I needed a root canal. Following my visit to the dentist, I had a little fun with root canal poetry and offered a little contest. Since then, I have seen a specialist and ...no root canal needed. I just need to keep an eye on it! I could have hugged the root canalist:-)

Now that I finally have a minute to breathe--I am semi ready for parent conferences and semi-finished with beginning of the year assessments and semi-ready to start interim reports, I wanted to announce the winner.

Mother Reader is our Root Canal Poetry winner. She crafted a poem that was both amusing and had some depth--she surprised us and made us think. So, Mother Reader will receive a copy of Lester Laminack's book Trevor's Wiggly-Wobbly Tooth! Personalized and autographed by the author!

Thanks to everyone who entered! We had some GREAT poems-and they all made me feel so much better about my root canal issue.

We promise to be quicker next time we run such a contest. Bad timing on our part!

New YA Novel-The Night Tourist

I don't often review YA books but I've read a few that I thought I'd share this week. I just finished The Night Tourist by Katherine Marsh last night. It is a great read, one that I think middle school students will enjoy.

The story takes place in the New York "underworld". When people die in NYC, they become part of this underworld--a world of ghosts under the NY Subway system. Jack, whose mother died eight years earlier, gets into this underworld and tries desperately to find his mother. But he meets Euri instead and the two develop a close friendship. Euri wants to live again and Jack tries to help her do this. The characters are great--both believable and likable. The concept is very intriguing. And the plot has enough suspense to keep the reader hooked.

This story has clear connections to the Orpheus myth and there are many references to mythology throughout. But for readers who are not familiar with the myth, this book would still be a treat.

This book seemed to me a cross between The Wish List by Eoin Colfer and books by Mitch Albom. A story about two characters with lessons about life and death.