Alan Silberberg at Thurber House

An article about Alan Silberberg's visit to the Thurber House appeared in today's Columbus Dispatch. I was out of town when he spoke at Cover to Cover but was happy to read about his work with kids at Thurber House.

Blue Vehicle Fables

Little Blue Truck
by Alice Schertle
illustrated by Jill McElmurry
Harcourt, 2008
review copy compliments of the publisher

I grew up with a little blue train that accomplished great things through the power of positive thinking and a deep and unswerving belief in himself.

Fast forward a bunch of years and we have a little blue truck, who takes time to "Beep" at all the animals along the road. A big important dump truck roars through the story and promptly gets stuck. When the little blue truck tries to help, he gets stuck, too. But all it takes is one "Beep," and all of that networking pays off -- all the animals come to help the little blue truck help the big dump truck.

So now it's all about cooperation and collaboration? Self-reliance and independence are out the window (or out-of-date)?

Maybe there needs to be room on the shelf for both the blue train and the blue truck.

Back to School Fears

I'M SCARED TO BE STARTING SCHOOL!
Garmann's Summer
by Stian Hole
first published in Norway by J.W. Cappelens Forlag, 2006
Eerdmans Books for Young Readers, 2008
review copy compliments of the publisher

This is not your typical happy-happy joy-joy, don't-be-afraid
everything-will-turn-out-fine kind of book. Garmann works on his fears the way your tongue goes to the sore spot where you bit the inside of your lip. He asks his ancient aunts, his father, and his mother about their fears. He delivers deep, deep lines like, "If you can't remember anything, you have nothing to be scared of."

You may not decide to share this book with children after you read it. But if you are sending kids of any age off to school, or if you will be on the receiving end, you need to read this book to remember how scary the beginning of the school year can be.

Another blog review: Fuse #8


WHAT IF I OVERSLEEP?!?

Late for School
by Stephanie Calmenson
illustrations by Sachiko Yoshikawa
Lerner Publishing Group (Carolrhoda Books), 2008

Here's one that's perfect for the youngest readers. Mr. Bungles wakes up late one day, and realizes that he might be late for school. "Oh, no! I'm the teacher/and it's my rule/to never, ever, ever be late for school!" After the first two pages, which get the reader acquainted with the rhyme scheme, every double page spread sets up a rhyme for the type of transportation Mr. Bungles will use, but the rhyming word is on the next spread. Perfect for making predictions, especially when you start looking closely at the picture clues. (There is also a clock on every spread, ticking closer and closer to 9:00.) For example: "Where is my shoe?/It can't be far./I found it! I'm dressed./Now I'll hop in my..."

No happy ending in this one, either. Mr. Bungles is late for school. You'll have to read to find out how he changes his...


I'M AFRAID MY NEW TEACHER WILL BE MEAN!

I Know an Old Teacher
by Anne Bowen
pictures by Stephen Gammell
Lerner Publishing Group (Carolrhoda Books), 2008
review copy compliments of the publisher

Here's a great addition to your "I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly" variant collection.

Miss Bindley takes the class pets home over the long weekend and promises her class she'll take good care of them. Unbeknownst to her, the students are peeking in her window and they see her eat a flea, a spider, a fish, rat, snake, and lizard. She has her limits, though. "I know an old teacher who swallowed a child. 'Swallow a child?' the old teacher smiled...'I would never do that!' "

Finally, a happy ending!

TRADING (Our Favorite) SPACES

Here are two of my favorite spaces in my classroom. The first is the picture book area. The reason this is one of my favorite spaces is because it is one of my students' favorite spaces. They love the window. They race to it to watch it snow, the morning sun shines through the crystal hanging there and leaves scraps of rainbows on the chalkboard, we watch the leaves of the sweet gums outside the window turn every possible shade of red and orange and yellow in the fall, and, as you can see, that's where my collection of wind chimes (each was a student gift) hangs. They love it when the weather's right to open the windows and work with breezes and chimings.

Most teachers arrange their rooms so their desk blocks access to the window. They co-opt one of the best pieces of real estate in the classroom. I choose to share it. (Even if some book covers are faded by the sun!)



My desk faces the window...from across the room. I can track the seasons by watching the slant of the early morning sun change from further north to further south and back again.

I love my desk at this time of the year: there are no piles on it or anywhere around it! On the wall I have my collection of magnets (all student gifts), some favorite quotes, and clips ready for the artwork students will give to me. My professional books (small selection kept at school; the rest are at home) and district content binders are lined up and ready for service. The lamp is on so it feels like home. (Might as well be, I spend enough hours there!)

Having such a small desk is another visual statement I make about the value of the real estate in the classroom: I try not to take up too much more space than each of my students. It's our classroom more than it's mine. I usually have at least two empty desks in the classroom for alternative work spaces and if I need to spread out more than my little desk will allow, that's where I work.


What are some of your favorite spaces in your classroom, your library, your home office? Send us a link to your post -- we'll do a round up on September 1. (More info here.)

Supporting Our Struggling Readers

In Curt Dudley-Marling's post on the NCTE Elementary blog, he mentions a book that sounds like something I want to read. It is not a new book, but one that seems to be important to read now--seems to have good insights on our most struggling learners.
Curt's posts on the NCTE blog are always so thought-provoking. Glad I popped over there today. A great post to read as we get ready to start a new school year.

Poetry Friday -- Revulsion

Bindweed
by James McKean

There is little I can do
besides stoop to pluck them
one by one from the ground,
their roots all weak links,
this hoard of Lazaruses popping up
at night, not the Heavenly Blue
so like silk handkerchiefs,
nor the Giant White so timid
in the face of the moon,
but poor relations who visit
then stay.
(read the rest here)

I know that at least two of my readers went "GACK!" when they saw my poem for today. The very sight of bindweed makes them clench their teeth and snarl.

It would take a poem about graffiti, or logging roads in the wilderness, or abortion clinic protesters to get that same reaction out of me.

And it makes me wonder if one of the jobs of a poet is to take us gently by the chin and turn our head and make us look -- really look -- at the things that most repulse us. It is their job to show us it's not really that bad after all...or else that it's worse than we ever could have imagined.

The round up this week is at Becky's Book Reviews.

Denise Fleming to Visit Fundamentals

Karen and I had a book chat/book signing Tuesday night at Fundamentals, a Parent-Teacher Store in Delaware, Ohio. We were part of her weeklong 20th Anniversary Celebration! We had a great time chatting with teachers--it seems that we have all hit that panic state of August. It was great to talk amid lots of great books. Tami, the owner of the store is a friend I met at Bootcamp several months ago. She runs an amazing place--so many great books and teaching materials in such a cute environment. Loved it!

And, she let us know that Denise Fleming will be visiting the store on Saturday, August 9 from 4:00-5:30 PM. She will sign books and discuss her unique "paint with paper" technique. If you have never seen Denise Fleming and live close enough to Fundamentals, it would be well worth it!

Reading Village Brings Books to Guatemala

I was reading some of my adoption blogs (Our youngest daughter is adopted from Guatemala) and happened upon Reading Village. You know how it feels when you find something that seems a perfect fit? That is how I felt when I read about Linda's mission at The Reading Village. Linda is committed to bringing books to Guatemala. And she doesn't believe in just dropping them off. She is hosting reading festivals, building libraries, working with teachers and more. So connected to what I know and love.

I have become pretty interested lately in the reading lives of children around the world. I know the impact that books can make and also know that the absence of books can have an impact too.

Linda's project really speaks to me as a person who believes in books and reading. It also speaks to me as an adoptive mom. I think Linda is doing amazing things with her project--a fairly new project, I might add. And I just wanted to let you know about it. The website and blog are both worth visiting--so many happy faces discovering books!

Getting Ready for School

Thinking about what to use for your first read-alouds? Here are some of my favorite picture book read-alouds for the beginning of the year.

Not sure where to even start with your back-to-school thinking? Katie, at Creative Literacy, has a dynamite shortlist.

Need a new analogy for your resistance of high-stakes testing? Look no further than Abby's thinking at Authentic Learner.

Two New Titles From Graphic Universe

Graphic Universe, a division of Lerner Publishing Group, is publishing graphic myths and legends faster than I can keep up. They currently have 27 titles, including Atalanta, Hercules, and Theseus, but also including Yu the Great, Amaterasu, and Sunjata, plus King Arthur, Robinhood, and William Tell. Here is a complete list of all the titles in the series so far.

I started to say that they are "churning out" graphic myths and legends faster than I can keep up, but then you might think these books don't deserve your attention. Far from it. As the website proudly points out, these books have useful text structures: map, table of contents, glossary, index, websites and books for further reading, and information about the research that was done to ensure the authenticity of each story.

One of the two newest is PIGLING: A CINDERELLA STORY. Add this Korean version of Cinderella to your collection and your fairytale unit!









MARWE: INTO THE LAND OF THE DEAD is an East African Legend about a girl who, with her brother, fails to keep watch over the family's bean fields, allowing the monkeys to eat the beans. She does not want to return to face her father's wrath, so when the strange circle appears before her, she goes through, only to find herself in the Land of the Dead. She is careful to eat nothing while she is there, so that when she has learned to be a caring and thoughtful person, she can return home. A classic coming-of-age story.