I'm Back!

I know, I know. You didn't even realize I was gone. Didn't Franki do a GREAT job keeping the blog rolling?!?

Where was I? First, we went to Germany to celebrate the 80th birthday of my German "mom" (honorary title earned during my 6-weeks stay as a Lion's Club exchange student in high school).









(The German countryside, seen from the airplane window.)

Then we flew to the UK and drove 755 miles around southern England.









(That's the Thames River flowing into the English Channel.)

Stay tuned for the details of my European children's literature moments.

What Are Our Favorite Literacy Educators Reading?

Next week, we'll be talking to several of our favorite literacy educators--Debbie Miller, Ralph Fletcher, Shelley Harwayne and more. We thought it would be fun to find out what some of them are reading this summer. Kind of like the US WEEKLY of Literacy Teachers--getting the scoop on our favorite mentors and what they are reading.

So, each day next week, stop by to see what people are reading. It is just fun to be nosy and see their summer reading list. But we think we'll also get great titles for our own rest-of-summer reading.

POETRY FRIDAY: HAIKU BABY

I picked up a sweet new poetry board book this week. HAIKU BABY by Betsy Snyder is great fun and a great addition to any baby gift! The book is small--typical board book size. And it has tabs on the side that serve as a simple Table of Contents type thing. The tabs show an illustration of the Haiku topics. When you go to the tabbed page, the word appears (in Japanese and English). Each is accompanied by a very sweet Haiku. The author gives us a Haiku about rain, flowers, the sun. leaves, the moon and more. The illustrations are bright and happy--perfect for young children. This is a great little poetry collection for young children. I can see it in the hands of early elementary students too. These board books hold up well in classrooms and I think this would be a good addition to any poetry collection.


The round up this week is at In Search of Giants.

T is for Tugboat

T is for Tugboat
by Shoshanna Kirk
Chronicle Books, 2008
review copy compliments of the publisher

There are now three books in this series by Chronicle Books. The first in the series is A is for Astronaut. About a year ago, Franki reviewed C is For Caboose. Now that I've had the chance to read one cover to cover, I'll probably have to buy all three for my collection of ABC books.

In T is for Tugboat, there are about three nautical words or phrases per letter, and the illustrations are a great combination of vintage (and vintage-looking) prints like the cover, historical and modern photographs, photos of artifacts, and diagrams. My favorite page is the the two-page spread for K -- 31 knots are illustrated! There's also a great labeled diagram of a sailboat, and the end papers are the International Code of Maritime Flags. Lots to look at and talk about!

2 New Wordless Picture Books

I picked up 2 new wordless picture books this week. I have not collected many of those in my book-buying. Just like graphic novels, they are hard for me. I don't naturally spend time making sense of illustrations and visuals. But I have learned to do a bit better and I have seen the power in these books with readers.

After talking with Katie D (Creative Literacy) and watching a clip of a video she did with Choice Literacy this spring, I realized how important picture reading is for our students. With all of the levelmania happening in the country with leveled books, I worry that kids are not always lingering with books. Really thinking hard about a book in the earliest years of school. So I have been looking for good wordless picture books and I found two that I am quite happy with!

WAVE by Suzy Lee is the story of a little girl's trip to the beach. She has a great time on the beach as told through the illustrations. The illustrations are pretty breathtaking. The illustrator uses only white, blue and black to tell the story and the illustrations draw you in. I also like the shape of the book---a shape that is a bit more long and narrow than most book. Kids will definitely have fun with this one--I notice new details in the illustrations during every read.

I also picked up TRAINSTOP by Barbara Lehman. This one took some focus for me to understand the story. A little girl goes on a train ride and uses her imagination as she steps off the train. It is a fun story that kids will enjoy. There will be lots to ponder as they work through what is happening. The illustrations are inviting-kids love trains and this is a great train. Big and yellow and happy!


So, the first two wordless books I have purchased in a while! I will keep looking as I hope to build up to about 6-10 within the next several months.

LOOKING CLOSELY ALONG THE SHORE

Frank Serafini has two new LOOK CLOSELY books out this summer--the first two in what looks to be a really good nonfiction series.

I picked up LOOK CLOSELY ALONG THE SHORE when I was in Portland last week. The photos are amazing-as I expected. Serafini is a nature photographer so I figured these photos would be good and they were.

The book works like a game--the reader sees a small circle with part of the photograph revealed. The author invites us to look very closely and think about what the photo may be. When we turn the page, we get our answer along with a large photo and more information. I love the set up of this "answer" page. A very large photo that takes up about 2/3 of the 2-page spread. On the left side of each photo, the author provides 2 paragraphs about the object tat we see. He gives us lots of interesting information--things that are interesting to both kids and adults.I was pleasantly surprised with how much information the text provided.

There is lots to love about this new series. I love the photos. They are photos that you can look at for a very long time--gorgeous. I love the gameness of the book. Kids will enjoy guessing the object that they see in the partial photos. And I love the information provided. I am always looking for good nonfiction books and this one provides lots more information than I was expecting on each page. Because Serafini is a photographer and a writer, the writing is crafted well. I can see using it as a mentor text with kids when they are learning to write nonfiction text.

I plan to buy all 4 once they are out. There is another out now (LOOK CLOSELY THROUGH THE FOREST) and 2 new ones are due out in July--one on the desert and one about the garden. Looking forward to those too!

Little Hoot

Little Hoot
by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and Jen Corace
Chronicle Books, 2008
review copy compliments of the publisher

Little Hoot is by the same pair who brought us Little Pea a few years ago. Little Pea was the poor vegetable who was forced to choke down candy for dinner so that he could get to the part of dinner he really wanted -- the big bowl of spinach for dessert.

Now we have Little Hoot, the owlet who is forced to stay up late and play, when all he wants is to go to bed at a reasonable hour like his friends. At one point he grumps to himself, "When I grow up, I'm going to let my kids go to bed as early as they want."

Maybe reverse psychology works, maybe it doesn't. There are no guarantees that this book will get your kid to bed. What it might do, however, is defuse a tense situation with its humor and all of the owl puns scattered throughout. Give it a try. Let us know how it works!

My Pup by Margaret O'Hair

I just returned from a trip to Portland, Oregon (more on that later). While I was gone, I received a box of review books from Marshall Cavendish Publishers. What a nice thing to come home too! I will be reviewing several of the books in the box over the next few weeks but one of them caught my eye right away so I thought I'd share it now!

MY PUP is written by Margaret O'Hair and illustrated by Tammie Lyon. It is an adorable book that I am sure kids will love. The fun of getting a new puppy is shared in this great new picture book. And the author does it in a fun, rhyming chant.

Each spread features an adorable little girl (the puppy's new owner) watches as her puppy engages in a typical new puppy activity--things from eating, taking a bath, playing with the garden hose and more. Each spread has a great illustration that shows the fun that both the puppy and the little girl are having getting to know each other. Smiles are pretty common!

The text is very chanty--only 4 lines per page with every other page rhyming. An example of this is illustrated in the first two pages:

New puppy,
young puppy,
soft puppy,
small.

Grow, puppy,
run, puppy,
chase, puppy,
ball.

Such a fun book! I shared the book immediately with my eight year old daughter. She loved it and told me that I "should blog about this one for sure!". Her favorite thing were the illustrations-she loved the expressions shown by both the puppy and the little girl in each picture.

Choice Literacy-Portland, Oregon

I just returned from Portland, Oregon where I did a Choice Literacy Workshop. It was a great few days and I met so many great people. I love being part of these workshops since they are so professional and always in great locations! I did a bit of shopping at the little shops around the hotel. Portland is such a great shopping city! And, of course I visited Powell's bookstore. (I'll be reviewing a few of the new books I picked up there later this week. I also had time to catch up with some of the other speakers. Joan and Gail (The 2 Sisters), Aimee Buckner, Jen Allen, Ruth Shagory and Andie Cunningham, Karen Szymusiak, and the Queen of Choice Literacy, Brenda Power. It was great to catch up with all of them too! I'll be doing a few more of these workshops next month too and am looking forward to them. (Joan, Aimee, and Gail are in the photo above.)

ALPHABET ANIMALS

ALPHABET ANIMALS by Suse MacDonald is a "slide and peek" book. This is a great new find for new readers--preschool and primary kids who love to have fun with the alphabet.

I have been adding to my collection of alphabet books and I so love the variety that is out there. This was a definite must-have.

Each page is a great, colorful animal--then "slide and peek" and along comes a large letter that tells the first letter of the animal followed by the name of the animal. The animals are, of course, in alphabetical order so kids who are just working on beginning sound will have the support to think about what the name of the animal might be and whether that guess matches the letter that comes next in the alphabet. For older kids who already know their alphabet, the illustrations and the fun of the slide and peek will keep them happy.

This book would make a great baby gift or a great birthday gift for 3, 4, and 5 year-olds. It would also be great in preschool and primary classrooms as well as school libraries. It is pretty sturdy, so even though it is a slide and peek, it should stay together pretty well.