Lisa Graff is 3 for 3!

I have to admit, I was a little bit worried when I picked up my copy of Lisa Graff's brand new UMBRELLA SUMMER at Cover to Cover this week. I LOVE Lisa Graff. I recommend THE THING ABOUT GEORGIE as a read aloud to almost everyone who asks for good middle grade read-alouds.  I love THE LIFE AND CRIMES OF BERNETTA WALLFLOWER. Bernetta is one of those characters who has stayed with me--I find her popping into my brain once in a while. So, as I was saying I was a little bit worried about this 3rd book.  Could it really be as good as her first two?  Could it meet my expectations?

Well, UMBRELLA SUMMER was a wonderful read. I LOVED, LOVED, LOVED it! Lisa Graff has created another great middle grade novel. This book is about Annie--another character who I am sure will stay with me for a very long time.  Annie is a worrier (those of you who know me well can see instantly why I can so easily relate to Annie as I am quite a worrier too:-) But Annie has only been a worrier since her older brother's sudden death a few months earlier.  She is pretty sure that if she is careful, she can avoid lots of really bad things.  

This is the story of grief and friendship and all of the the things that go along with that.  As Annie continues to worry, she meets a neighbor who helps her through her sadness.  She also discovers that sometimes a good book can help you make sense of things. It was difficult not to cry while reading this book. Possible, but pretty difficult.

For a third time, Lisa Graff has created great characters, a story with great themes and lots to think about.  She seems to nail 10-11 year old kids and their issues.  She definitely knows what a great age those middle level kids are--so smart and so amazing.  She captures the age well again with Annie.  This is more than a story about death and grief, although it captures those well. 

I would definitely read this book aloud to 3rd, 4th, 5th graders.  I love the title and think that kids could have great conversations talking about the title and theme because of it.  It is very accessible to this age reader.  The 3rd graders at our school LOVED The Thing About Georgie so they will be thrilled to see this new book by one of their favorite authors! (I will have to buy another copy for the library because I am keeping this one for myself!)

So, I am already anxiously awaiting Lisa Graff's next book. I am amazed that she has written 3 perfect books in 3 years. Not to put any pressure on her, but I am hoping she continues to write at least a book a year.  

Did I mention that I LOVE the cover???

Mem Fox and Steve Jenkins Collaborate on Great New Book

I was so happy to see two of my very favorite people --Mem Fox and Steve Jenkins--collaborate on the new book HELLO BABY. This is my new favorite baby gift book as many of Mem Fox's books are. The book starts out with the words, "Hello, baby! Who are you?" It then goes on to ask, "Are you a monkey with clever toes? Perhaps you're a porcupine, twitching its nose" With the rhyme and rhythm that Mem Fox pulls off so well, the book suggests many animal possibilities. The ending is quite precious.

The pages are white and Steve Jenkins large illustrations of each animal take up most of the page. The text is recognizable as Mem Fox's and the art is recognizable as Steve Jenkins'. Together, the two create a fun happy celebration of babies. I couldn't be happier that these two great people collaborated on this book!

LUNCH LADY--A New Graphic Novel Series Coming Soon

Graphic novels have become so popular with kids that I am trying to read more of them as they are published. I received an advanced copy of Jarrett Krosoczka's LUNCH LADY AND THE CYBORG SUBSTITUTE last week and think that it will be quite the hit with kids.

Two Lunch Lady books will be available this summer with another due out in December.  There is lots to like about this new series. First of all, the concept is hilarious.  Lunch Lady by day, Superhero  when work is finished.  The Lunch Lady uses great gadgets that made me laugh--Fish Stick Nunchucks, a giant hairnet and more. And the Lunch Lady uses lots of food words throughout the book.

The books are done completely in yellows, blacks and whites.  A small, square book--similar in size and shape to the Babymouse series.  A very recognizable format.

I find that younger readers are loving graphic novels these days and there just aren't many  of them available that are appropriate for those readers.  This series has the humor that 2nd and 3rd graders will love and the format is easy enough to follow for younger readers.

When You Reach Me

When You Reach Me

by Rebecca Stead

Wendy Lamb Books, July 2009

review copy provided by Educating Alice's ARC give-away contest (a million thanks to the "judges" in the contest for picking my entry!!!)

I've only read this book once so far. When I finished it, I immediately went back to the beginning and started rereading. Then I looked again at all the chapter titles. Then I studied the Peter Sis-esque cover and noticed all the hidden clues to parts of the story. I'll probably need to reread A Wrinkle In Time after I finish When You Reach Me for the second time. (A Wrinkle In Time was my favorite book when I was the age of Stead's main character, Miranda. I'm jealous that she got a signed first edition for Christmas in the book.)

All I'm going to tell you about this book is that you'll be reading it. I'm not going to spoil a single bit of the story for you. Let me know when you're finished so we can talk.

Here are some reviews, but if you read them, you run the risk of spoilers, so don't say I didn't warn you:

Educating Alice

100 Scope Notes

ACPL Mock Newbery

Fuse #8

Becky's Book Reviews

Saline, Michigan and some new iPhone Apps!

Well, the last 2 days were a great reminder of why I do what I do. I think those of us who do any kind of writing or presenting do it because it energizes us.  And the last two days in Saline, Michigan were definitely a reminder of that.  I was lucky to be presenting with an amazing group of women including Debbie Miller, Ann Marie Corgill, Kathy Collins, Cathy Mere and Mary Lee Hahn.  We also met some great teachers from Saline and other area schools as well as those attending all the way from Colorado. It is amazing that when people get together who believe the same things about children and literacy, the energy is contagious.  So much learning occurred at the conference and in conversations with each other.  

I had my antennae up for great new iPhone apps that I might want to try.  And because I wanted to learn how to use my new Flip Video camera and the new version of iMovie, my friends were great sports by demonstrating favorite apps while I videotaped them. (We are thinking that Apple may want to hire us to do their commercials from now on. See what you think...)

Debbie Miller shared her new favorite iPhone app, a musical instrument on the iPhone--Ocarina.  In the spirit of 21st Century Learning, the sharing definitely became social as others wanted to try.  Quite a fun app and, as you can see, we had fun learning about it.  Ann Marie Corgill learns the app from Debbie.  I imagine we have all downloaded it after getting home since Debbie sold it so well.  You may want to try it too.  

I also learned my new favorite app--Notebook. I was sitting in the audience, listening to Cathy Mere's inspiring keynote, watching Ann Marie write furiously in her notebook. I wanted to write down so much of what I was thinking because of Cathy's talk but my notes app was not really what I wanted. So in the first few minutes of the keynote, I figured there must be a better app. I searched the Apps store, found a great new app called Notebook, purchased it, learned to use it, took notes on Cathy's talk, showed it to Ann Marie who also purchased and used it. Don't you love that?  Finding what you need and being able to use it immediately.  I must say that that this is a great new app. So useful. It allows me to create new notebooks for different things--conference notes, my writing, books I want to read, etc. Within each of the notebooks, I can create notes and reorganize as needed. I can also search my notebooks.  It is such a great tool for keeping notes and things in a more organized way than other notes programs I've seen. I can see lots of implications of this for kids but right now am excited about using the app myself.

Other exciting things include Jenny's new blog. Jenny made us feel so welcome.  We know you'll love her new blog, Literacy Conversations.

Also, rumor has it that Cathy Mere may have a new avatar on Twitter soon!

Saline, MI Literacy Conference

The organizers of C.L.A.S.S.--

Conference on Literacy And

Student Success.

The Colorado Ladies.

The Presenter Posse is

happy to have Starbucks.

"I have to do a keynote in

five minutes?!?!?!"

All together.

All together. All together.

Saying goodbyes.

Great conference!

Poetry Friday -- Summer Solstice

Watermelon by rawallison

Night in Day
by Joseph Stroud

The night never wants to end, to give itself over
to light. So it traps itself in things: obsidian, crows.
Even on summer solstice, the day of light's great
triumph, where fields of sunflowers guzzle in the sun--
we break open the watermelon and spit out
black seeds, bits of night glistening on the grass.

I found this poem at American Life in Poetry: Column 220.

We're still not quite to the Summer Solstice (closer than last week) but there's something about the light this year, the lengthening of the days, the amazement that 9:00 pm can feel like 7:00 pm (and if it were cold, it could be 5:00 pm!!) that has grabbed me and made me pay attention.

The round up this week is at Critique de Mr. Chompchomp.

iPhone App-a-Day All Summer

My iPhone App-A-Day mission is going well so far. My first app--100 Sounds has been quite a hit with friends. I think it could be a great app for kids to use when developing videos--so many sound effects at your fingertips. Thanks to Tod Bernhard, the developer of the app, I was able to see some of the apps used in videos. My favorites are the cartoons and stick figure animation. Great ones to show kids when sharing the possibilities. I am thinking that I have to learn lots of apps and then live with the idea and think about the possibilities as the summer goes on. This week I've found more great apps.

APP #2 of my App-A-Day learning. Today, I learned Sketches, a pretty simple draw program.  I spent a little bit of time learning the tools and reading the FAQs on the site. I figured most of it out.  My 9 year old learned it a bit faster than I did and produced a much better drawing. This program gives you the capability to save up to 30 drawings, to send them via email and to tweet them out on twitter.  It also can create a type of slide show.

Not sure yet how I might use this with kids. I am hoping that some need arises where I need to sketch something out this summer. So many times, I am in a conversation with someone and a sketch explains my thinking.  Instead of paper and pencil, I can just pull out my phone to sketch my thinking.  I can see kids doing similar things with their thinking--another tool to help them hold on to some of their thinking. Much quicker than a draw program on the computer if you are just saving thinking rather than creating a product. I can see a quick sketch to solve a math problem, etc.

APP #3 was a Sunday and I decided to choose something quick and easy to learn. And something that was marketed for education and younger children. I tried WHEELS ON THE BUS which is a great song/reading app for young kids. Last week, I was looking at our very old cassette players with headphones. I believe strongly in the use of audiotapes to go along with text for new readers. I see the impact they make on language and literacy development. But CDs, playaways, etc. are pretty expensive. This new app is simple and fun. A colorful version of WHEELS ON THE BUS with some interactive things that kids can do. My daughter and i had fun opening the doors, swishing the wipers, etc. Kids have control of when to go to the next frame, how long to listen to one page, etc. I am hoping to find more apps like this. A great way for kids to read and listen to text on the iPod touch.

APP #4 Kerry at whatchareading recommended Indiebound, an application that shares new books and has great booklists from Indie Booksellers. A great way to keep up with new books on my iphone. There are several monthly lists that share top 10 books.  I can see how this will come in handy as I keep up with new books. 

APP #5 I bought CameraBag this week. It is a simple app that lets you alter photos on your iPhone/iTouch. You pull up the picture and then have lots of options to change it visually--infared, instant, fisheye, 1962 and more. There are some other things you can do with photos using the apps too. I think with a focus on visual literacy and media literacy, this will be an easy way for kids to alter photos for any type of presentation they are doing--just enough to change the feel of the presentation.

I am finding that the apps are not hard to learn at all. That seems to be the easy part. What I am finding is that there are so many apps out there, that the research and decision-making is what is taking most of my time. So many great apps, so many versions of similar apps, so many possibilities. I am learning a lot just from searching.  

I think I am going to focus on some apps that might support booktalks and conversation next week. Look at a few of the apps that might work to help kids hold their thinking.  Right now, I am starting to think about tools that might be out there that would support deeper thinking and encourage creativity and authentic communication. Time to focus a bit on the apps I am learning.

Hodge-Podge Books in Albany, NY Closing

When I visit new cities, I always try to find a great independent bookstore to visit. I am extra happy when I find an independent children's bookseller. I know we are lucky, lucky, lucky in Columbus to have Cover to Cover and its owner Sally Oddi right here. I think there are so many people who know and love children's books because of Sally.

When we were in Albany, New York last year, we had the chance to visit Hodge-Podge Books and to meet Frank Hodge. In our short visit with him, we all left with great new books that he shared with us. His knowledge of children's book and his ability to instill a love of children's book in others is phenomenal.

I was sad to hear that his great children's bookstore would be closing on June 30. I am glad that the Albany newspaper is celebrating the store and Hodge's work today.

I hope that all cities with great children's bookstores and owners like Frank Hodge and Sally Oddi realize that these stores are not the norm--that we are very lucky to have these resources. We sometimes take it for granted.

I am glad I had the chance to visit Hodge-Podge Books and to hear about books from Frank Hodge when I visited last year. Even though I only visited once, I am sad to see it close.

New Books From My Shopping Spree

I picked up several new picture books on my shopping spree on Saturday. I thought I'd share a few today.


I am excited to add LOOK AT THE STARS by Buzz Aldrin to my collection. I am kind of hooked on the 40th Anniversary of Apollo 11. This is a great way to celebrate the flight. Astonaut, Buzz Aldrin starts with an introduction inviting readers to look at the history of flight. On each 2 page spread of the book, Aldrin looks at one piece of the timeline that led us to space travel and looks ahead to where we might go next. He highlights important times in the history of flight and space travel and gives interesting information with each. The book is definitely one that kids can read and follow. The end of the book includes an extensive timeline of important dates including events from the year 1543 through 2010. An exciting celebration of the discoveries that led us to current missions in space. An added bonus in this book are the end papers--they are filled with great quotes about flight by those who are known for their contributions. A great book!

I loved WHAT SHOULD I MAKE by Nandini Nayar the minute I picked it up. It is a simple story of a little boy, Neerah, who is"helping' his mother make chapatis (Indian flat bread). As she is making the dough, she gives Neerah a ball of dough to play with. He makes many things and uses his imagination about what the animals he created may do. The story is a simple one--fun between a mother and child while baking. The back of the book, there are directions for Making Chapitas. I could see lots of options for this book. I initially picked it up because I am looking for good "How-To" books to add to the library collection and the pages provide some good samples of simple "how-to" writing that kids could learn from and use in their own writing.


Bill at Literate Lives suggested GONE WITH THE WAND by Margie Palatini and I so glad I listened to him and ordered it immediately. I love a good fairy tale and I love fairy godmothers. (The ones in Sleeping Beauty are my favorites.) This is the story of a fairy godmother who has lost her magic. Her friend works hard to help her find a new way to use her magic but nothing seems to be the right fit. The story is a fun one and the illustrations make the fairies in the book quite a hit. The fairies definitely have personality and the illustrations really add to the characters.