Guest Reviews

A former student sent me these reviews of a couple of new books I passed along to her to read.

Letters from Rapunzel

Review by Eye Red Abook

When you open the pages of Letters from Rapunzel, you will be entranced into the average world of, you guessed it, Rapunzel! This young tween is despairing because of her Homework Club and of her father’s clinical depression “Evil Spell," so she writes to a Post Office Box number to confide her troubles to an unknown stranger. This is a hilarious and heartwarming tale that should now be in your hands, as you sit, spellbound, on the davenport, reading.

Into the Wild

Review by Fan Tasy

Imagine a world in which you are doomed to repeat, over and over, the same old fairy tale, and you have to be the same character. This is the world Julie encounters as she tries bravely to retrieve her mother, Rapunzel, her adopted brother, Puss-in-Boots, and her adopted grandmother, Gothel. This fast-paced tale has twists and turns every way you look, so beware. The Wild bites, even harder than Julie knows.

Dot to Dot

Liz volunteers in her 1st grade daughter's classroom. What I wouldn't give for an extra pair of eyes like hers in my classroom. She can find the big picture within the small moments that she spends with those lucky kids.

This week, she provides a perfect concrete example of those fancy Edu-lingo terms SCAFFOLDING and ZONE OF PROXIMAL DEVELOPMENT. She drew the dots for the child to connect. She left. When she came back, the child was drawing the dots AND connecting them. The essence of good teaching. Go here and read all about it.

Robert's Snow--Jeff Newman

We are happy to host Jeff Newman's snowflake on our blog today!
Jeff's snowflake is called "The Christmas Hair." This is one of the snowflakes that will be auctioned off as part of the third auction.

If you have not taken time to read about the auction, please visit the site where you can see the snowflakes on display. You may have to visit again later this month to see all of the snowflakes, but MOST of there are so many on display right now that you will want to visit several times. They are all gorgeous! Another amazing reminder about how lucky we are to be part of this world of literacy and books.


Now back to Jeff Newman. I am a HUGE fan of Jeff Newman. I can read the book HIPPO! NO, RHINO every day and laugh every time. It is a great book told almost completely with the illustrations. It is clear from this book that Jeff Newman is quite brilliant and talented and that he has a great sense of humor.

We were able to ask him a few questions about his work and his snowflake project.



Tell us a bit about the inspiration for Hippo! No, Rhino. Where did the idea come from?
Hippo! was based on a real incident I witnessed at the Henry Vilas Zoo in Madison, Wisconsin. I was sketching the rhinoceroses one morning (the zoo was only a few blocks away from my apartment), when a woman approached their enclosure, and waved her family over to look at the “hippopotamuses”. A few minutes later, another person did and said the exact same thing, even though there was a prominent sign indicating what type of animals these were. The rhinos didn’t seem to care, but I started to wonder what would happen if they did. I wrote down three words next to one of my drawings:


That was in 2004. Two years later, Hippo! was published. Of course, some stuff happened in between, too.

What new projects are you working on?
I’m currently working on my next picture book, The Boys, with Simon & Schuster. It’s about a kid who’s kind of shy, and has a hard time working up the nerve to join a weekly baseball game with a group of boys his own age. As with Hippo!, the story is told primarily through pictures, but unlike Hippo!, there’s a significant amount of plot. On top of that, the characters’ motivations and emotions are more subtle, and therefore more difficult to express in a way that’s easily understood. It’s been very challenging trying to convey all of this pictorially, but so far, I think it’s going well.
After The Boys is finished (it’ll be released in Summer 2009!), I’ll be starting on my fourth book (also with Simon & Schuster), but I can’t say for sure what it will be, yet. I’ve got a bunch of different ideas in various stages of completion. We’ll see which one bubbles up first. I can almost positively guarantee that whatever it is, it will be out before 2027.

Tell us a bit about your blog and website--what will readers find there?
My website has a selection of my illustration work, mixed in with some personal pieces. It’s definitely in need of an update, though. There’s an “animation” page with a little, placeholder pencil-guy banging a drum. It’s been there for three years. I’m sure anyone who’s a regular visitor to the site has long since given up on the promise that the page is “coming soon”, and they’re probably right to do so.
On the other hand, I update my blog at least once a week with comics, short stories, drawings, the occasional giveaway, and, on very odd days, a legitimate account of events in my personal life. It’s mostly family-friendly, but it borders on blue, sometimes.

Tell us a bit about your experience designing your snowflake--the process, why you decided to do it, how you came up with the design, etc.
I had a few ideas for my snowflake illustration, inspired by winter activities I enjoyed as a kid (sledding and making snow angels, for example), but I ultimately settled on re-doing a picture of a boy with a Christmas tree-styled ‘do from one of my old sketchbooks. I’ve got this weird thing about hair. A lot of my characters, even the animals, seem to feature some kind of distinct hairstyle. I wouldn’t say I’m obsessed with hair, but it’s something I take notice of more and more as I get older (and, maybe not coincidentally, as I continue down the slow road to baldness). Anyway, it just seemed like a funny concept, and the design of it, particularly the shape of the tree, was such that it fit nicely into the angular snowflake pattern.

As to how I became involved in the project, I first read about Robert’s Snow on the Blue Rose Girls blog shortly after last year’s snowflakes had already been auctioned off. So, I was really looking forward to volunteering this year. It’s been incredibly fulfilling to be able to do what I love and contribute to a great cause at the same time.

We were thrilled to host Jeff Newman's snowflake and to learn more about one of our favorite illustrators!

Reading and the Internet

Good article in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Education Online: Bit by bit, computers alter how we read.

Reporter Bill Schackner's ending:

At Penn State University, literature professor Michael Berube said jokingly that thanks to the Internet, he's had no reason to leave his desk since 2002.

Reading a novel on a monitor can be unpleasant, and in fact, Dr. Berube said he knows no colleagues who do. But he's not sure people are any less likely to read.

"The same culture that's given us Google has given us the 800-page Harry Potter novel," he said.

"I try not to be too dour about this," he said. "I have a friend who was an early enthusiast of the Internet, and by that I mean, 1993. I would tell him 'Yeah, fine. Wake me up when you can find specific passages in books I can't even remember.' "

Fifteen years later, said Dr. Berube, "we're there."

Diary of a Wimpy Kid

Diary of a Wimpy Kid
by Jeff Kinney
review copy lent to me by a generous student

This was one of the hottest books at our school book fair. It's a quick read, and it's very funny in an "advanced Captain Underpants" sort of way. The student who lent it to me is now reading one of the R.L. Stine Rotten School books, and he thinks Diary of a Wimpy Kid is much funnier. The humor, he says, is more realistic, and just plain funnier.

In a detailed review at the excelsior file, David explains why this book should be considered an illustrated novel, not a graphic novel. He is spot on about this book traveling at light speed through kid culture and somewhat under the adult radar. Diary of a Wimpy Kid was first published on Funbrain.com. Since its launch in May 2004, the Web version of Diary of a Wimpy Kid has been viewed by 20 million unique online readers. This year, it is averaging 70,000 readers a day.

Pick up a copy so that you, too, can be in the "in" crowd in your classroom, and watch for the next four installments. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: #2: Rodrick Rules is due out in February 2008.

Spelling Expertise Requested

Anna at Blue Rose Girls is asking for some assistance with information about young spellers and spelling bees for a book she's writing that features a bird who loves to spell. Can you help her? She writes:

Here is what I'd like to know:

-At what age/grade do kids switch from phonetic, or sounded-out spelling, to standard spelling? When do teachers start correcting the spelling on their homework? I know this is a very individual thing, I've gotten answers from anywhere from Kindergarden to 2nd grade... what has been your experience?

-Has anyone out there been to a spelling bee in recent past, or had one at your school? If so, which grades participated? Was it part of the curriculum, or an after school/enrichment type of thing?

-I've been looking at word lists for spelling bees (by grade) online, is there a good resource for this that you know of? I've heard the "four blocks" literacy model is a standard one.... but I'd love to know of more!

See How It's Made

DK Publishing has a new book out--SEE HOW IT'S MADE. I picked it up because we are doing a genre study in Writing Workshop on How-To Writing. (I am all about short genres for genre studies these days!) And this book is filled with it!

This is a DK book but looks different from others I have seen by this publisher. I guess once you open the book, there are similarities--white background, great photos, etc. But the cover is bright and inviting in a different way from the other DK and Eyewitness books I know.

This book shares information on how lots of things are made--from ice cream to sausage, to skateboards to t0shirts to rope to soap...and more.

Each item is given 2 two-page spreads. The first page introduces the item, the ingredients and some interesting facts. The second two-page spread goes through the step-by-step process needed to make the product. Each step is accompanied by amazing photographs that show the making in action.

The pages are also filled with "Did you know?" information--just fun connected info. There is also some extra trivia at the bottom of each page as well as an "At a Glance" section on the top border that summarizes the basics of the how-to.

This is a great book. Kids (and adults for that matter) can't seem to keep their hands off of it. At school, it has become quite popular. When I bring it home, it disappears with my 8 year old.

In terms of how-to writing, it is a great one to use as a mentor text. But, it is even better to read because it is just fascinating--great nonfiction for kids. It is everything nonfiction should be--lots of fascinating information packed on each page!

Larger-Than-Life Lara--Read Aloud

This week, our class finished LARGER-THAN-LIFE LARA by Dandi Daley Mackall as our second read aloud. I was a little bit worried. I had read aloud CASTLE IN THE ATTIC as our first read aloud and the kids were glued to every page. I knew LARGER THAN LIFE LARA was a great book, but I was worried that it was too serious after the fun fantasy that we had just finished.

Well, the experience was one of the best read alouds I have done. I am not sure what it was about the book, but reading it to kids was a whole different experience than reading it on my own.

If you have read the book, you know that there is a lot to talk about, a lot to think about, and a lot to be sad about. There is no happy ending. It is satisfying, but not happy. And I think the kids were surprised about that.

The author does an interesting thing throughout the book--connecting the story to the actual elements in a story. It made for a tricky read aloud and some of it was missed by lots of the kids but it was well worth it for the thinking that came from the book.

I have read aloud sad books before but they are usually about a pet dying or something. This sadness was a little bit different. I can't explain the feel in the room when we read the last two chapters. We had good, long talks about how good fiction makes you feel like the characters do and it sometimes helps you understand people in your real life better.

It was a great read. I have decided on something short and light for this week and am pondering a book for next week. I was thinking about EMMY AND THE INCREDIBLE SHRINKING RAT but I'd love to find something with the kind of depth that this last one had--short with lots to talk and think about. This one was a depth that was perfect for 8-10 year olds.

Robert's Snow

Every person who is a cancer survivor should be granted their wish to die of old age.

Grace Lin's husband, Robert Mercer, was not granted that wish. He lost his fight against Ewing's sarcoma in August of 2007.

During Robert's first round of treatments, Grace made up and told Robert the story of a mouse who couldn't go out in the snow. This story became the book Robert's Snow. The book became the beginning of a blizzard of fund raising for the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Over $200,000 has been raised by the sale of the first book, a second book (Robert's Snowflakes) featuring selected 2004 snowflakes and poems by celebrated authors, and the online auction of wooden snowflakes, hand-decorated by children's illustrators.

We are proud to be a part of the multi-blog Event of Support for Grace Lin and for the cancer research of the Dana-Farber Institute. Many thanks and kudos go to the 7-Imps for organizing this event. Let's see what kind of fund raising records we can break with this year's auction! You can see the snowflakes and check the auction schedule here. Watch our sidebar for a weekly schedule of blogs that are featuring snowflake illustrators. This Friday, Franki will feature Jeff Newman.

Another Cure For Drowning

A trip to Pink Moon Cupcake Bakery helped me to leave behind the
stressful week/month/start of school.


Some folks go for an alcoholic TGIF, but I'm all about the sugar rush!