Welcome CCBC Visitors!

We are proud to be the "Link of the Month" at the Cooperative Children's Book Center at the School of Education University of Wisconsin-Madison!

If you haven't checked out the CCBC website, go now and look at all the children's literature/education resources they have! This page of links is a great overview. Bookmark it for frequent use!

Thank You For Your Patience

We are NYC bound for the National Council of Teachers of English annual convention!

Polishing up the presentation, doing one more load of laundry and packing, writing lesson plans for the substitutes, finding quotes for the speeches...whew!

Hopefully, we'll manage to post some highlights during the conference, but if not, stay tuned for some post-conference posts next week!

Poetry Friday -- A Meditation on Consumerism

I give you the middle stanza. Here is the whole poem, which begins with apples and ends with a dog.

The Necessary Brevity of Pleasures
by Samuel Hazo

***
Call it a tug-of-war between enough and more
than enough, between sufficiency
and greed, between the stay-at-homers
and globe-trotting see-the-worlders.
Like lovers seeking heaven in excess,
the hopelessly insatiable forget
how passion sharpens appetites
that gross indulgence numbs.
Result?
The haves have not
what all the have-nots have
since much of having is the need
to have.
***

The round-up is at a wrung sponge.

The Complete 4 For Literacy by Pam Allyn

I heard Pam Allyn, author of THE COMPLETE 4 FOR LITERACY, speak at the Connecticut Reading Association Convention last week. I have been spending the last few days with the new book and am loving it.

Now, I am not usually a fan of things with names or numbers attached. My inferring skills have told me that many of these have been far too prescriptive, contrived, and scripted for me.

But, the Complete 4 is none of these! It is AMAZING.

Pam Allyn has created a framework to help teachers plan literacy in a way that keeps the decision making on the teacher. She respects our knowledge and does not intend to tell us how to teach. However, the framework she provides is brilliant. She has thoughts about yearlong planning so that all areas of literacy are covered over the course of the year. She spends time talking about the importance of the whole school, K-5 conversation so that students' learning builds. She shares goals for various units and how the goals would be different in a K-2 nonfiction unit than a 3-5 nonfiction unit. She shares sample yearlong plans with explanations about the things she's included. She includes ways to teach conventions in authentic ways in both major and minor units.

This is really better than any planing guide I have ever seen. It is really a tool to help teachers THINK in powerful ways about their daily and long-term planning.

I have a habit of becoming TOTALLY obsessed with a professional book every year or two. This is the book I am currently totally obsessed with. Such amazing ideas and they seem like things that teachers at all experience levels would find helpful. I have rethought my planning already and I can't wait to share it with teachers that I work with.

On a side note, check out Pam Allyn's website. She founded a Books for Boys program in NYC that is pretty amazing.

My Dead Girlfriend

My Dead Girlfriend
by Eric Wight
TOKYOPOP, 2007
a 2007 Cybils nominee

This was a fun book to read, and it is going to be even more fun to review. I'm going to get to use the phrase, "bitch-slapped by a Honda" in this review, and that's an occasion I don't want to miss. (You might remember the time another Kidlitosphere blogger used a similar phrase. My role model.)

I really didn't think I was going to like this book. After all, I had just finished reading The Plain Janes by Cecil Castellucci, and she gets high school cliques so right. Now here I was reading about caricatures of high school cliques: The Deadbeats are just that -- led by a vampire and including Frankenstein the bully. The Aberzombies are brainless conformists. The Foreign Exchange Students are aliens. Literally. The Coven of Witches are the drug dealers. The Lab Monkeys are the science nerds. Finney and Dahlia seem to be the only "normal" kids in the school. (It always seems like you are the normal one, right? Surrounded by all the freaks?) Right about here is when Finney gets beat up by the Frankenstein bully. When Dahlia asks him if he's okay, he says, "Felt kind of like being bitch-slapped by a Honda."

Then Finney meets Jenny Wraith (just a little foreshadowing there) at the carnival and has a great time. They arrange to meet the next day, but Jenny never shows up. Finney is in a deep, deep funk. Then his dad (who is a ghost) has a heart to heart talk with him and tells him that while he can't choose the way he'll die, he can choose the way he'll live. So Finney snaps out if it and asks Dahlia to the movies.

While walking home through the woods, Finney is ambushed by Franken-bully and his pals. Just when it seems that all is lost, a dark spirit (death is fighting for Finney's life?) swoops in and takes out the whole group, then whisks Finney away to the graveyard. And shows him a gravestone. The gravestone of Jenny Wraith, who fell into a well and died the day she was supposed to meet Finney and didn't. Then the hood of the dark cape falls away and you see that the ghost of Jenny is who saved Finney.

There you have it: the dead girlfriend in the title of the book. Plus, the perfect set-up for book two in the series. What is Finney going to do about Dahlia, the live girl that he asked to go to the movies, now that he has a dead girlfriend?

And the winner is...

...MsMac! That lucky lady who won all the piles of books at the Kitlitosphere Conference (and also agreed to host Conference #2), and who has won chocolates from Robin Brande has now won Matt Phelan's Raffle Doodle! ENOUGH, ALREADY! Give the others a chance!

I was going to take pictures of the whole process to document the fairness of it all, but I left my camera at school. You'll have to take my word for it. She won it, fair and square. (Using my new JacketFlap hat must have conjured up her good mojo from the conference.)

New Professional Book from Regie Routman

On Friday, I was in Connecticut for their Connecticut Reading Association Annual Convention. What a great day it was! (I will share some highlights in another post.) Aside from learning a ton in some great sessions, I spent quite a bit of money before 9 am! Before I went book shopping, I was able to buy some great new jewelry from a company called Purple Umbrella. Great stuff by a variety of artists from around the world. If you are in the mood for a new necklace, check it out:-)

After the jewelry shopping, I hit the booksellers. It is a great time to buy new professional books. So many new great ones out this month! I picked up several. The one that I read on the plane ride home and that I would HIGHLY recommend is TEACHING ESSENTIALS: EXPECTING THE MOST AND GETTING THE BEST FROM EVERY LEARNER, K-8 by Regie Routman. It is a quick read with so much for us to think about. The back of the book says:

"What makes a teacher outstanding? More than anything, it's a way of being with kids in the classroom that lets them know they're smart and capable of high achievement. When you combine this mind-set with effective instruction, teaching and learning is transformed."

Regie takes the opportunity in this new book to help us think about some of our most struggling students and the stance that we take with them-how much things can change when we truly believe they are smart and treat them accordingly. She shares stories from many of the schools in her work where some students labeled with a special education label were changed when instruction was delivered in a way that valued their intelligence. That good classroom instruction is good for ALL students, especially those who are not always successful in schools.

In her introduction, Regie writes:
"My hope is you will use TEACHING ESSENTIALS as a catalyst for your thinking: that reading this text may affirm what you are doing as well as create a little dissonance that causes you to reflect on your teaching. This book is an invitation to think and talk more deeply about how to improve and sustain effective, daily literacy practices across all subject areas and throughout the school year so that all students and teachers reach the highest possible levels of learning, achievement, independence and enjoyment.

As always, Regie Routman brings us back to what is essential in our work with our students--what makes sense for all students and why every student deserves this. She makes a strong argument for inviting every child into the learning community --and shares what happens when we really, truly believe that every child is smart and capable.

There is also a great companion website that adds to the book with videoclips, study guide and more.
Thanks, Regie!

Poetry Friday -- Teachers' Overture*

*To the tune, more or less, of The William Tell Overture

This song was inspired by the Mom's Overture that we wrote about last weekend, and composed by compiling (and fluffing) the comments to that post. Thanks to all who contributed!

Ready, Teachers? SING IT:


Good morning!
Have a seat,
Quiet voices, sign in.

Eyes up here,
Sit up straight,
Turn your homework in.

Sit down please,
Be mature,
1, 2, 3 and...FREEZE!

Get your books,
Line up now,
Be nice (please).

Marshmallow toes,
Clam lips,
Skinny line, eyes on me.

Have a seat,
Quiet voices,
Time for library.

Get a book,
Get a chair,
Criss-cross applesauce,

SHHHHH
SH SH
SH SH SH.

Are you sure? Where's your work? What did she? What did you?
Whatcha doin'? Are you sure? Again? So soon?
Was that a good choice? What's a better one, then?
Are you sure? Really? What happens when?

No you can't: take a nap, play with food, go again,
Practice wrestling, jump like frogs, eat chocolate for a snack,
go outside without a coat it is cold outside.
ACT YOUR AGE! (Oh, yeah, you are.)

Come to the meeting area.
Bring your writer's notebooks.
Do your self-eval.
Choose a just-right book.

Do your best. Try.
Take a risk. Try.
I know it's hard for you,
Please give it a try.

Fingers on
Home Row,
Pockets on the carpet.

Hands in laps,
Quiet signs,
Voices off, zip it!

Put it away--
back pack!
Take it home, don't bring it back.

Keep your hands
To yourself.
Tell the truth. Help your friend.

I can't hear myself think!
The only one talking right now is ME!
This is your last warning!
Be patient, I'm coming, there's only one of ME!

This is not democracy;
It's a benevolent dictatorship.
I'll explain it later. Ask your parents.
Ask 3 before you ask me!

Nice work!
Good job!
I like the way you did...

Tell me more!
Oh, wow!
That's so way cool!

Easy peezy
Lemon squeezy
I knew you could!

Aren't you proud?!
How's it feel?!
Share with the whole class!

Get your homework,
Get your books,
Get your lunch boxes.

Time to go,
Line up now,
Have a nice night!

Walk please,
Quiet voices,
Don't run to your bus!

WHEW!
What a day,
Where's happy hour?

Pippi Longstocking and Lauren Child--what a match!

I am a huge Lauren Child fan. Love all of her books and can happily watch entire episodes of Charlie and Lola on TV. She is brilliant. So, I am not sure how I missed the exciting news that she has just illustrated a classic favorite--
Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren. But, I did find it yesterday.

I always liked Pippi but I didn't love her. I read all of the books and had a ball thinking about what it would be like to be her neighbor. But, I must say that Lauren Child's version of Pippi is quite lovable. She is still the same Pippi but more fun, in my opinion.

So, the story is the classic one that we all read. But the book is large with large print and not quite so many words on a page. It is a fun size for kids.

So, I brought it into my room today and just asked if anyone knew Pippi Longstocking. None of them had ever heard of the book but they were like bargain-shopping women at a sale trying to get it from me. (I finally let a little girl have it who had just finished a book yesterday. ) Really, there was something about the book that they had to have it. They knew nothing about it but it LOOKED like a book they wanted to read. Lauren Child has that impact on people. I imagine I will never get it back as several kids have their eye one it.

So, I am thrilled about this book. It is absolutely adorable.

Robert's Snow -- Matt Phelan

"She Never Misses"
(ink and watercolor on paper mounted to flake)

Mark your calendar for the third auction of the Robert's Snow: For Cancer's Cure fundraiser at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, December 3-7, so you can bid on Matt Phelan's snowflake.

Look at that sly little grin, those arched eyebrows just daring you to come within range of that perfectly formed snowball. What spirit! What spunk!

Come to think of it, she reminds me a bit of Matt Phelan himself! When you look at Matt's work, you'll see that he has not lost touch with his inner air guitarist/trampoline jumper/yodeler/Tarzan.

In Matt's interview with 1000 Times No, a blog/podcast that explores the No's in life, I learned that Matt went through quite a few No's before he became an illustrator of children's books. His most notable No was the time he learned that the optioned screenplay he had quit his job to write would never be made into a movie. However, all of Matt's work in theater developed his skills of interpretation, which he has applied to illustration. After getting the screenplay no, he joined SCBWI and risked a portfolio review. Turned out to be the best $30.00 he ever spent, because it led to his first illustrating job!

Matt's first book came out in 2005:

The Seven Wonders of Sassafras Springs
written by Betty G. Birney
(Atheneum/Simon & Schuster, 2005).
Three more followed in 2006:

The New Girl…and Me
written by Jacqui Robbins
(Atheneum/Simon & Schuster, 2006)


The Higher Power of Lucky
written by Susan Patron
(Atheneum/Simon & Schuster, 2006)


Rosa Farm
written by Liz Wu
(Knopf Books for Young Readers, 2006)


Matt's 2007 books are:

Floridius Bloom and the Planet of Gloom
written by Lorijo Metz
(Dial Press, 2007)


A Box Full of Kittens
written by Sonia Manzano
(Atheneum/Simon & Schuster, 2007)


Where I Live
written by Eileen Spinelli
(Dial Press, 2007)


Very Hairy Bear
written by Alice Schertle
(Harcourt Children’s Books, 2007)

Matt keeps a sketch blog at Planet Ham. If you search his blog for all the posts labeled "Illustration Friday," you will see that he participated EVERY WEEK in 2006! Quite a goal, and quite a variety of pieces!

On Matt's website, you will learn that he is tickled to be able to say, "Now available in specially marked boxes of Cheerios is a cute-as-a-button miniature edition of The New Girl...and Me! The free book (one of five) is all part of Cheerios' very cool Spoonful of Stories program." You can also find some gorgeous Matt Phelan Original Wallpaper for your computer screen, and take a tour of his studio.

But here's what you've really been waiting for, my interview with Matt:

How and why did you get involved with the Robert's Snow project?
I first heard of the project two years ago and thought it was a fantastic idea. When the call for new snowflakes came up on the Blue Rose Girls blog this year, I wrote to Grace immediately and asked if I could participate.

What are some other children's book illustrators whose work you especially admire?
I'm a huge fan of children's books, so my list is pretty long. Emily Gravett, Brian Floca, and Alexandra Boiger are just a few current faves off the top of my head. Angela Barrett's recent version of Beauty and the Beast is stunning. David Small is not only one of our finest draftsmen, he is an absolute master of pacing. From the golden age, I have to put Ernest Shepard at the top of my list.

Did you have any sense when you were illustrating The Higher Power of Lucky that it might be Newbery material? Any idea that there would be the big brouhaha over the anatomical vocabulary?
I knew it was a wonderful book but it didn't occur to me to consider its award potential. To be honest, I wasn't sure an illustrated novel was even eligible. Although I realized that I had never read the word scrotum in a novel before, I had no idea it would cause a controversy. How naive.

Can you tell us anything about your top secret mission in Maine? (see sketches in recent posts on his blog)
Well heck, it wouldn't be much of a secret if I cracked the first time someone asked about it. No, I will say absolutely nothing. Except that the mission was for a book I'm writing. And the subject is somewhat nautical. But really, that's it. Stop your clever interrogation tricks!

Okay. No more clever interrogation. On to the silly stuff! Beer, wine, or sparkling water?
Beer. But only microbrewed beer, preferably from the Philadelphia area which includes some of the best breweries in the world.

Cake, pie, or creme brulee?
Creme brulee, because making it involves a tiny blow torch. It's the dessert of welders.

Wizard of Oz, Sound of Music, or Oklahoma?
I'll have to pick Oklahoma because sometimes I whisper the phrase "Surrey with the Fringe on Top" as a mantra. It's very soothing.

Here's what ELSE you've been waiting for: a "raffle doodle" being offered by Matt to one lucky reader of this Robert's Snow feature. Just leave a comment, and at the end of the week, I'll put all of the commenters' names in a hat and we'll draw for a winner! This is the original sketch that you might win:
Let the auction fun begin! May Robert's Snow be a giant blizzard of bidding that shuts down schools for five days. When it stops snowing, let's meet at the park for a snowball fight. I get to be "She Never Misses," and I personally want to throw the snowball (maybe with a rock or piece of ice in the center -- he doesn't play fair, so why should I) that hits Cancer right between the eyes so that snow goes behind his glasses and he's blinded, he gets a bloody nose, and goes running to mommy. Take THAT, you creep, for the year of hell you gave me! And THAT for all of my friends you've pelted...especially the ones you've taken out of the game way too early.