Something to Look Forward To In 2009

THE ELECTRIC COMPANY is coming back to PBS in January. We saw a sneak peek at NCTE this year and I just shared some of the preview clips with my 9 year olds. Looks like a fun, updated version. And it was fun to see some of the same routines (Do you remember, "HEY, YOU GUYS!?"). If you want to see what it's all about, I found some preview clips on the site here.

Babbling About New Year's Resolutions/Reading Goals

After reading Mary Lee's reading stats, I am sure you can see how lucky I feel to have her as friend and colleague! I remember years ago when she told me about reading 52 children's books a year. I somehow misunderstood and thought she said 26 so I committed to that! She was also the reason that I started to keep track of my reading and the reason that I blog. Thanks, Mary Lee!

Somehow, I stopped keeping a reading log this summer. I am not sure how it happened or what happened but I just stopped tracking my reading. I guess I figured that I blogged about almost every book I read so it seemed redundant. But, at the end of the year, I hate not having a record. I hate not being able to look back to see what kind of reader I was in 2008. Which months were great reading months? What were some patterns over the year, etc? It is something I like to do at the end of a year--thinking back to how I've changed as a reader by looking at a blog. But somewhere this year, logging my reading seemed like another job so I took a break. I think I've probably read about 45 children's novels, a ton of picture books and almost no adult novels--1-2 maybe.

I feel like 2008 was a great year for reading. So many great children's books that I've read. So many new ones that I am looking forward to. Not sure where my reading life will go in 2009, but I hope to keep up my log again as I am really missing that piece today.

During this time of year, I am usually at the bookstore buying a new Self-Help book. A new diet plan, a way to clean the house in 7 days, some plan for looking younger. And every year, I am sure that it will be the thing that helps me to be more efficient. This year, I looked at the self-help book table and sadly enough, I have most of the books they were marketing!? I knew them all quite well and had tried many of them during a recent January Resolution stage. So, I decided that there will be no goals for 2009! No New Year's Resolutions at all. No reading goals. No new diet plan. No new exercise plan. No plans to organize my house. I have come to terms that balance in my life means balance over the course of the year. Some months I read a lot. Some months I don't. Some days I eat really healthy. Some days I don't. Some weeks I am a workaholic. Some weeks I relax more. Sometimes my house is really clean. Sometimes it is a mess. Sometimes I go too long without seeing good friends and sometimes I spend lots of time with them.. And, some years, I am better at keeping track of my reading than other years! I think the biggest thing I've realized this year is that I like the way that this balance happens even if it feels chaotic. I am better at enjoying whatever mode I am. I am happy enjoying what comes my way in 2009 without giving myself the pressure of reading a certain amount of books, losing a certain amount of weight, attending boot camp every day, etc. I hope to do all of those things but without the pressure of a resolution!

I am giving myself the gift of a year without resolutions!

Poetry Wednesday: Feeling Bubbly

I have the best brother in the whole world.

My Christmas/birthday gift this year was two inscribed books of poetry. Two inscribed books of poetry by former U.S. Poet Laureates to add to my "collection" (Billy Collins and Ted Kooser).

One of the two is THE QUARRY, by Richard Eberhart, who was Poet Laureate in the year of my birth.

The other is IN THE CLEARING, by Robert Frost. (Robert Frost!!)

This gift literally took my breath away. Still does.

Here is a quote by Richard Eberhart:

"Poetry is a maneuvering of ideas, a spectacular pleasure, achievement and mastery of intractable material, not less than an attempt to move the world, to order the chaos of man, insofar as one is able. Love, harmony, order; poise, precision, new worlds."

Here is a poem by Frost:

In a Glass of Cider

It seemed that I was a mite of sediment
That waited for the bottom to ferment
So I could catch a bubble in ascent.
I rode up on one till the bubble burst
And when that left me to sink back reversed
I was no worse off than I was at first.
I'd catch another bubble if I waited.
The thing was to get now and then elated.


Thank you, brother of mine, for the gift of poetry, and for a moment of elation!

Reading Goals

Twenty-plus years ago, a teacher I admired greatly casually mentioned that she read, on average, a children's book a week. In an effort to be just like her, I made a new year's resolution to read 52 children's books that year (not counting picture books). I met my goal that year, and I've met or exceeded that goal every year since. Reading lots of books, keeping track of my reading in literature logs, participating in book clubs, and now, blogging about books, has made me the reader and the teacher I am today. 

Somewhere along the line, I added an additional goal of 20 adult books per year. I don't always make that goal. I won't this year because of all my reading for the NCTE Notables committee. 

There have been years when I challenged myself to read more nonfiction, and in 2009 Franki and I will be challenging ourselves to read more diversely.  

Here are my stats for this year:

92 children's/YA novels

11 adult novels

8 audio books (some children's, some adult)

3 professional books (good thing I looked back -- I didn't remember reading any!)

and +/- 600 2008 picture books/non-novels for the Notables (holy cannoli!)

I Should Be Working

And I am, really. I am cleaning up the desktop of my computer. In doing so, I ran across the Class Constitution my fourth graders wrote. I keep a copy in my sub folder. Here is a Wordle I just made of it:

REFLECTIONS ON TWITTERING (not the correct verb)

Mary Lee and I joined Twitter while we were at NCTE and have been trying to figure it out ever since. Joining Twitter was partly because of the things we learned at NCTE's Annual Convention and our commitment to really think about what this means for our classrooms. It is all part of Stretching Our Own Thinking.

I have been Tweeting (that might be the correct verb?) for a little over 5 weeks. I thought I'd take a minute to reflect. After the first few days, I was ready to quit. I hated it and decided that it was a huge waste of my time. But I knew that frustration would be part of the learning curve so I decided to give it a good try for 6 months. Now, 5 weeks later, I am pretty comfortable with it, it is much easier to navigate and I am finding it pretty useful and much less time consuming.

It helped that several of my already-made friends joined. It also helped to get some advice from friends who had been part of Twitter for a while. But mostly it was about figuring out how it worked, how to navigate the huge amount of information, what to ignore, etc.

Today, Twitter only takes a few minutes now and then in a day. I find lots of great links and have learned lots from people I would have never learned from.

I'm not saying that I love it yet. But I do see that it is worthwhile and that it will get easier over time. I think sometimes, as teachers and adults, when we don't see the benefit of something right away, we toss it out and that is a huge mistake these days. So many tools we could be using for our own growth and for our students.

So, I am going to continue to keep Twitter as part of my days for at least 5 more months, knowing that I will learn more as the time goes on. And this month, I think I'll explore NINGs just a little bit. See what that is all about.

If you are a Twitter person, let us know. Or find us at Franki22 and MaryLeeHahn.

DIVERSITY ROCKS CHALLENGE

Ali at Diverse Books has posted a reading challenge for 2009 that we are both going to commit to. Ali says, "The point of this challenge is to ensure racial and ethnic diversity in the authors that we read." There are lots of ways to participate. But no matter how you decide to participate, you will be committing to reading more books by authors of color. It sounds like the people at Diverse Books focus more on adult books but this would be a great challenge for those of us in the Kidlitosphere.

Two Countdowns

First, the entire Kidlitosphere community is counting down to the announcement of the Cybils shortlists on January 1. The bloggers who have read through all the nominations in their category to create these shortlists deserve pats on the back and sighs of relief. (We know; Franki and I have both been there!)

Second, over at Literate Lives, Karen and Bill are counting down to the announcement of the Newbery with a daily post on a possible winner. Go check your reading and your opinions against theirs.

Bullies, Part Three: The Girl Who Could Fly

The Girl Who Could Fly

by Victoria Forester

Feiwel and Friends, 2008

review copy provided by the publisher

What's with all these books about bullies all of a sudden, you're wondering. I'm wondering that, too. I finished The Savage and picked up The Girl Who Could Fly, never expecting to find more bullies.

The inscription is by e e cummings, and it sums up the story quite well:

To be nobody but yourself in a world which is doing its best,
night and day, to make you everybody else
means to fight the hardest battle which any human
being can fight; and never stop fighting.

This is the story of Piper, a girl who can fly. She is gently pressured by Dr. Letitia Hellion into going to a special school, an institute, where there are others like her. She is told it is a place where she will belong. She believes and trusts Dr. Hellion, only to find out later that Dr. Hellion is not any kind of friend. Learning that kind and caring adults are actually cold and calculating bullies is a scary twist.

One of the first children Piper meets is Conrad, a bully who is instantly bent on her destruction. Later she finds out that Conrad is her best friend.

Instead of a place where Piper will be able to develop her unique abilities, the institute's mission is to erase the special talents from each child and make them "normal."

Against all odds, Piper has integrity. She stands up f0r what is true and right, not just for herself, but for all of the children at the institute.

Bullies, Part Two: The Savage

The Savage

by David Almond

illustrated by

Candlewick, October 2008

review copy provided by the publisher

I had just finished the Shredderman series when I picked up The Savage. Here's a completely different take on bullies and how to deal with them.

I won't tell you lots about the story in The Savage. Sorry. It's one you have to read for yourself. And see for yourself. It is a graphic novel hybrid (an "illustrated novel") with bold, disturbing, beautiful pen and ink drawings.

I will tell you that The Savage is about a boy named Blue Baker, probably late elementary or middle school aged, who is getting over the death of his father. To do this, he writes a story about a savage boy who lives in a cave under the ruins of a chapel in the woods.

And The Savage is a story about how Blue deals with a bully. The bully in this book is a much harder, scarier bully than Alvin "Bubba" Bixby in Shredderman. Hopper walks around "smoking and sneering and spitting and swearing." In the course of the story, he turns downright vicious toward Blue. But Hopper is quieter in the end of the book, "not quite so stupid, not quite so horrible." And you'll have to read the book to find out how that happens.