Poetry Friday: Cicadas

Cicadas at the End of Summer
by Martin Walls
(American Life In Poetry: Column 024)

Whine as though a pine tree is bowing a broken violin,
As though a bandsaw cleaves a thousand thin sheets of
titanium;
They chime like freight wheels on a Norfolk Southern
slowing into town.

But all you ever see is the silence.
Husks, glued to the underside of maple leaves.


(the rest of the poem is here)


Happy End of Summer! Let the cool weather begin!

The round up this week is at Wild Rose Reader.

A Book to Add to My Word Play Books

I love when I find a new book to add to my collection of picture books with great word play. I am building quite a collection of these so I couldn't pass up this new one that I found today. It is called BUTTERFLIES IN MY STOMACH AND OTHER SCHOOL HAZARDS by Serge Bloch. This is the story of a boy's first day of school--from the minute he wakes up until the time the bus drops him off at home at the end of the day. Each page tells a bit about his day and each is filled with lots of word play--The illustrations share the "literal" meaning of some of the sayings. They are simple black and white illustrations with color graphics added to illustrate the point of the more literal meaning. From "being in a pickle" to being "in the same boat", this book is full of idioms and a simile or two ("I was as happy as a puppy with two tails!").

The thing that makes this book unique is that the idioms are part of a story with a bit of a plot--the word play is definitely the focus of the book but there is a sequential story going on too!

BABYMOUSE #9!

I was so happy to find BABYMOUSE: MONSTER MASH this weekend! Now that Jennifer and Matt Holm are only writing 2 new Babymouse books per year, the wait between books seems like forever!

BABYMOUSE: MONSTER MASH is set during the Halloween season. And, the fun thing about this book is that it is ORANGE INSTEAD OF PINK! A fun change that totally works for this issue. And, as always, Babymouse is quite adorable on the cover and throughout.

In this story, Babymouse is planning a Halloween party. The group of "mean girls" (Felicia Furrypaws and friends) want to be invited but they want Babymouse to play by their rules. Babymouse has to make some choices.

I love so much about this series, but this one really nails why I like it so much. Babymouse gets lots of peer pressure in this book-peer pressure to be someone who she is not. Peer pressure to do things she knows are not right. I like this because it is so real--so close to what some of our kids deal with on a daily basis. Babymouse is a character who gives us a way to think about these things. Since I've read every Babymouse book out there, I've become quite attached to Babymouse. In the first few books I think I loved her because she was adorable and unique. And I loved the size of the books and the humor. But in this book I realized, I love the character Babymouse. She is strong and real and anxious and fun-loving and so many other things.

The humor is still all over the book--the tombstones at the end of the book, the dedication page, etc. There are even paper dolls with costumes on the back page! And, thank goodness that they give us a very tiny bit of info on the next Babymouse book--Babymouse: The Musical--on the back flap. Even though it won't be out until spring, it reminds us (thankfully) that Babymouse will be back!

My 3rd grade daughter read the book before I did and loved it. Here is what she had to say (Spoilers included):
I liked the end of the book because the mean girls kept making rules like "A Girl has to be a princess for Halloween." Babymouse does things cause the mean girls say "You have to do it. It is a rule." Babymouse goes back home to get ready for her party. The mean girls say, "Can we come in?" Babymouse says "You have to be wearing a scary outfit." I liked that part because she made her own rule and she stuck up for herself. She didn't let them boss her around anymore."

The Words Don't Match the Pictures

There's No Such Thing as Ghosts!

by Emmanuelle Eeckhout

first American Edition, Kane Miller, 2008

first published in Belgium, 2008

review copy provided by Kane Miller

The unnamed little boy is not supposed to go near the strange old house on the corner in his new neighborhood because it's said to be haunted.  So...he promptly goes there because he wants to catch a ghost!

No matter where he goes in the strange old house, he finds no ghosts. However, the reader can clearly see that behind him, or above him, or below him, or hidden in the bubbles of the bubble bath, there are clearly LOTS of ghosts.

Despite what the reader knows, the little boy declares, "There's no such thing as ghosts!"

The words don't match the pictures.


Minji's Salon

by Eun-hee Choung

first American edition, Kane Miller, 2008

first published in South Korea in 2007

review copy provided by Kane Miller

Minji's mother is at the beauty salon getting a new hairdo.  On the left side of the facing pages, the reader sees Minji's mother at her salon getting cut, colored, and styled. On the right side are the words Minji's mother might hear, along with a picture of Minji acting the words out on her dog.  

"The color must be mixed carefully.  (No tasting allowed.)" reads the text.  The stylist is mixing colors from tubes for mother's hair; Minji is choosing coloring ingredients from the freezer (mmmm, ice cream!) for the dog's hair.

"You have to be patient; beauty takes time," reads the text.  In the left hand picture, we see Minji's mother with eyes closed, serenely patient as the stylist colors and rolls her hair.  In the right hand picture, we see a wild-eyed dog smeared with ice cream, tongue in the container, bits of fur rolled up in crayons and pencils.

The words don't match (both of) the pictures.  (At least not until the end, when Minji says, "Mom will be back soon.  I think she'll be surprised.")

What are some other examples of books like these (books with parallel stories, books where the pictures don't match the words) and how do you use them in your classroom or library story time? 

New Math Literature

2 years ago, I purchased the book GREAT ESTIMATIONS and LOVED IT! The kids in my 3rd/4th grade class LOVED it! It had the feel of an "I Spy" Book but had so much to teach us about math. I know that books often help kids make sense of math concepts and this is one that can help all of us think differently about estimating. So, yesterday, I was thrilled when Beth at Cover to Cover showed me GREATER ESTIMATIONS-- a second book about estimating!

Bruce Goldstone (who I was happy to learn grew up in Ohio!) is quite the genius. You don't realize it at first, but these books are teaching books. Goldstone takes us through the process of learning to make good estimates. But you are so busy having such fun looking at the amazing photos and trying to make a good estimate, that it almost takes many reads to pick up all of the great things that you can do to make better estimates.

Bruce Goldstone chooses some pretty cool things to photograph and for us to estimate. He chooses a variety because he teaches us the different ways to estimate--clump counting, estimating length, etc. Readers spend time looking at rubber ducks, honeybees, skydivers, dominoes, hairs on a cat, and blades of grass.

Lots of interesting facts as well as humorous talking bubbles fill the pages. The author also includes a note at the end of the book. He talks about the fun of estimating, but also about how helpful it is in everyday life. He shares times when estimation is critical that I hadn't really thought about.

I had just assumed that Goldstone used computers to create these images but, from his author blurb in the back of the books that Beth pointed out to me, it seems that he spends hours and hours setting real things up for photographing! Very cool.

Goldstone has a fun website that includes info about him, his books and more. It also includes a fun game called "Estimatron" that allows you to practice those estimation skills!  If you like the ducks in the book, you'll be happy to see them again (and again) on the site!

Lessons From a Beer Goddess

For those of you who loved Franki's bootcamp metaphors for teaching struggling readers, head over to Carol's Corner and check out what a teacher can learn from a tattooed Beer Goddess while pouring beers for 8 hours straight.

TRADING (our favorite) SPACES Round-Up

We love to see all of the great spaces that people create in their classrooms and libraries. So, last month, we asked anyone who had a space that they loved to share it with other bloggers and then we would round up the links today.

Well, we have seen some great spaces and have also heard some of the thinking that goes behind these spaces for kids. Teachers and librarians working hard to create the best spaces for student learning. Consider this a virtual tour of some great spaces for children! We had fun collecting them and were able to try some new things in our own spaces. We hope this sharing of spaces does the same for you.

Karen of Literate Lives lets us tour several areas of her 5th grade classroom. She has created several spaces that support student learning in great ways.

Bill from Literate Lives invites us into his library where he has created some great open spaces for students as well as some other spaces that make everyone feel welcome.

Stella at My World-Mi Mundo shares spaces she's created for her ELLs--spaces for reading, writing and listening as well as the spaces she's created with her students' photos!

Mary Lee shares her two favorite spaces in her classroom this year.

Katie D shows us the many smart way that she displays and organizes books in her first grade classroom.

I shared my new library space and a few of the things I did to create more space for books on display.

Jenny of Elementary, My Dear, or Far From It shares lots of great spaces for books and reading!

Stacey at Two Writing Teachers shares 2 of her favorite new spaces. Hers include conference tables, meeting area, technology and more.

Mrs. Beaver of Blogg'n With Mrs. Beaver let us take a peek into the transformation of her room from start to finish.

We hope that you enjoyed the tour!

Great Post for School Librarians

As a new school librarian, I have been reading blogs a bit differently. I LOVED this post at BookMoot about hopes for the School Library. This is the way I think. I need the big picture. What am I shooting for in the school library. She captured my hopes and I will keep this close by throughout the fall months to remind myself of the big picture of the school library. Such great thinking!

TRADING (our favorite) SPACES: My New Space

I have spent the last few weeks getting my new space ready. Last spring, when they cut my job as a Curricular Support Teacher, I decided to apply for a school library position in our district. I love the classroom but I also loved the idea of working with all K-5 kids in the library. Since the principal's vision for the library was exactly what I wanted, I applied for the job and got it. So, for the last few weeks, I have been playing around with the space.

It is nice to move into a totally new space once in a while--it is like moving into a new house. I found myself having things that I needed to change right away and things that I might do down the road. My big goal this year was to create lots of spaces for books on display--places where kids could see lots books they might not know, touch lots of books and read them in a comfortable space. Here is what I've done so far.



This used to be a space that housed teacher resources. Because it was a place that you saw when you entered the library, I rearranged a bit so that I could use this space for books and a comfy reading spot. For now, I have lots of books on display. As the year begins, I can see this space housing baskets of books by authors we've discussed, new books, etc. I can see kids spreading out here to look at favorite books, read with friends, preview new books, etc.



I added a small coffee table near the window in the Everybody Section to give kids another comfortable place to browse books or read books. I can see this table with a basket of books on top--one that changes often.



I had a space like this in my classroom--a space with favorite series book characters. I think that the wall space can start great conversations between kids and I hope that this one invites kids to talk about the series book characters they love. I purchased several small black baskets to house books that were part of a series. This will help kids find the books and think about the characters that they might want to read about again and again.



I added a corner space for magazines. Our library gets several great children's magazines subscriptions. As a classroom teacher, I realized that I could use kids' love of magazines to teach lots about nonfiction. The magazines are in their own little spot and kids can find lots of topics to read about.

This coming week will be my first week with kids and I think the library is ready to go! I am excited about spending my days with children and books!

Poetry Friday -- Labor Day

For all the workers who take off their coats and hats and tackle the jobs no one else will do, no one else can do, or that no one thinks can even be accomplished:


It Couldn't Be Done
By Edgar Guest

Somebody said it couldn't be done,
But he with a chuckle replied
That "maybe it couldn't," but he would be one
Who wouldn't say so till he'd tried.
So he buckled right in with the trace of a grin
On his face. If he worried he hid it.
He started to sing and he tackled the thing
That couldn't be done, and he did it.

Somebody scoffed: "Oh, you'll never do that;
At least no one has ever done it";
But he took off his coat and he took off his hat,
And the first thing we knew he'd begun it.
With a lift of his chin and a bit of a grin,
Without any doubting or quiddit,
He started to sing and he tackled the thing
That couldn't be done, and he did it.

There are thousands to tell you it cannot be done,
There are thousands to prophesy failure;
There are thousands to point out to you, one by one,
The dangers that wait to assail you.
But just buckle in with a bit of a grin,
Just take off your coat and go to it;
Just start to sing as you tackle the thing
That "cannot be done," and you'll do it.

(first published in 1914)


The round up this week is at Charlotte's Library.