The Sleepy LIttle Alphabet

Another pairing of two of my favorite people--How could I not like THE SLEEPLY LITTLE ALPHABET when I saw that it was written by Judy Sierra and illustrated by Melissa Sweet. This book reminded me a bit of Chicka Chicka Boom Boom when I read it.  All of the letters are trying to fall asleep but they really can't.  H is busy standing on her head and i and j are jumping on the bed.  So goes the story of the letters at bedtime.  The book goes through the alphabet and the letters are finally in bed. 

This is a great alphabet book to add to your collection if you teach primary grades.  The illustrations--as I have come to expect from Melissa Sweet--are amazing.  Different from some of her other work but really fun and wonderful in the details and uniqueness. The illustrations give the book a very fun feel. 

This book can be enjoyed by kids learning the letters and or letter sounds of the alphabet.  Letters on the end pages, on every page of the book and then in their beds at the end of the story will be fun for kids just starting to understand print.  This would also make a great read aloud--at home or at school.  And the story is a fun one, especially when you put the text and the illustrations together. These letter characters have quite the personalities!

Another Great Baby Gift

Beth at Cover to Cover handed me ALL OF BABY NOSE TO TOES by Victoria Adler and I had to buy it right away. This book is precious. It is a square little book with an adorable baby peeking at you on the cover.  The colors are soft, but not quite pastel.  This is a great book to read to a baby or small child.

The first page begins with the words, "Baby's got eyes, bright little eyes."  Then the next page the eyes are described as "round as pie eyes", "just the right size eyes" and more. The spread ends with, "Who loves baby's eyes?"  And of course, on the next page, it says, "Me! I do." The book follows this pattern continuing on with the baby's nose, ears, tummy and more.  So many people love the baby!

A great fun and happy book!  Definitely on my list of new favorite baby gifts.   I'm also thinking it would be a great text to use in Writing Workshop. The language and the way the baby is described would make for a great conversation about word choice and language.  Just love this book!

CYCLE OF RICE-CYCLE OF LIFE: A STORY OF SUSTAINABLE FARMING

I just read CYCLE OF RICE-CYCLE OF LIFE by Jan Reynolds.  This is a longer nonfiction book, meant for older elementary and middle school students.  The photos throughout the book are stunning and make this a very engaging book.

This book is not an easy one if you are not familiar with farming and production. But I so glad that I took the time to read it from cover to cover. I learned so much. On the island of Bali, a community has an amazing system for growing rice--one that involves everyone in different ways, one that understands the natural cycles of the earth, and one that connects to the spiritual lives of the people.  For a very long time, this system has been incredibly successful and has been able to sustain. The first part of the book explains this system, how it works, all of the components. The author helps us to see how much the farming of rice and the people of the community are connected.  Then we learn that because of the success of the system, the government decided to make it even more successful by interfering with the natural cycles and by spending lots of time and money to improve the system--interfering with many of the important things that made it successful. The last part of the book shares the work of J. Stephen Lansing, an American anthropologist who helped share information that helped Bali reinstate the original system.

This is an amazing story--one that helps us see more than the story of Bali and rice but also the importance of community, the ways in which we are clearly a global society and the ways in which new technologies do not always make things better. This is not an easy text but it is one that I am excited to share with kids.  There is a lot to learn and a lot to think about.  Whether it is a topic that is new to you or one that you are familiar with, this is a great read.

I have been thinking a lot about nonfiction books for middle grade readers.  As I have gone through the nonfiction section of our school library, it has become more obvious how nonfiction has changed in the last 20 years.  For so long, nonfiction for children was almost nonexistent.  The books were very encyclopedia-like and not really that much different from the actual encyclopedias.  But then we started to get some quality books, written specifically for kids.  One pattern I noticed later was that so many of the books that are in our library are on more of a "magazine" style--with photos, captions, etc. spread out all over the page. I realized that kids were spending lots of time with these books but were having trouble gathering information from them because of the volume and variety of information. So, I have been on the lookout for nonfiction books that can be read to cover to cover. 

I think if we think about our students and the types of content reading they will be doing in their lives, depending on their fields of study, sharing great nonfiction with them is hugely important.  I will be honest, this book was not an easy one for me to understand.  I read it through once to get the general idea of the concepts described.  I read it a second time to pick up more of the content details.  At first I couldn't imagine reading this book to elementary students but then I realized that so much of our nonfiction reading is about working through topics that are new and interesting to us. After having spent time with the book, I think it would be a perfect book to share with students--to think and wonder though together, to go back to adding more information than during the first read.  A great book and a great message for everyone.

Scaredy Squirrel Sighting (and a love letter to independent bookstores)

"Such a discouraging time for people who love reading. Independent bookstores are struggling, all those magical places built by people who loved books from the moment they could hold one, and wanted to share that love with others. Helen recalls one such store where she did a reading a couple of years ago, how inviting the place was, with its broken-in armchairs and lamps glowing a deep yellow, with the cat named Melville, who slept on his back in the front window. It was a browser's paradise, books so thoughtfully and attractively displayed you wanted everything you saw, whether it was a nonfiction book about cod, or a volume of poetry, or a fat novel with ragged-edged pages, or a cookbook featuring winter soups. It was a time -- the only time, as it happened -- that Helen had arrived far too early for her reading, and she spent forty minutes wandering around the store. In the children's section, she eavesdropped as a mother read Scaredy Squirrel to her son; both mother and child laughed aloud at the inclusion of sardines in Scaredy's emergency kit, and at his first step in what to do in case of emergency: "panic." Helen laughed, too, and stopped just short of asking if she could sit down and listen to the rest of the story." (p.227-228)

Poetry Friday -- Not a Poem

No poem this week. Instead, a quote from home safe by Elizabeth Berg:

"She opens the novel again, reads one page, another. Then another. And finally, everything in her own life surrenders to the one being presented here. An uneasy pain thins, lifts, disappears. Dan once had a friend who died from metastatic cancer. Toward the end, Dan visited him with some frequency; and each time he would call before going, to see what his friend might want or need. Each time, his friend requested the same thing: books." (p.39)

The round up this week is at Carol's Corner.

Surprise!

Mom and I went out to eat here...

Right next to here...

Where I noticed this...

And lookie who I saw!

That's J. Patrick Lewis and his daughter, continuing the promo of their new book that started at Cover To Cover in Columbus, Ohio!

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

Catching Fire

by Suzanne Collins

ARC shared by Karen Terlecky (I'll put it back in the mail to you today, Karen!)

Scholastic, September 1, 2009

I read more than half of this book on the plane on my way home. Got so deeply involved that I refused the free soda and peanuts between St. Louis and Denver.

I have forced myself to spread the second half of the book out over the last two days because I didn't want it to end. I didn't want to begin the limbo that will remain until the third book comes out. Now that I'm there, in that limbo, I'm feeling a little like Katniss. Manipulated (betrayed?). Numb. Incredulous.

It has been fun to read the kind of book I can get lost in, here in my childhood home where I spent so many hours lost in books right there at the end of the couch where I finished CHASING FIRE.

And Collins is masterful in the way she leads you into her story and then, with turns of plot and deepenings of characters, won't let you go until the story spits you out at the end.

But now we're left with a year to think about love and loss, family and friends, rebellion and revolution. And Mockingjays.

iPhone Apps-Are We Finding Ways to Go Beyond the Traditional

Matt really helped me out by posting this video at Creating Lifelong Learners. In my quest to find great apps for the iPod Touches that we are getting, I am not finding a huge number of schools that are using them yet. This clip is packed with apps that would be useful in a classroom setting. But, I am very worried that most of the apps being marketed to schools are pretty traditional applications. They do things like allow you to record lectures, give information about presidents, help you check your knowledge with premade flashcards. When looking at ISTE NETS and P21 and NCTE Frameworks, I worry that very few of the apps I am seeing for schools really have the ability to transform education. Doesn't seem to be the creativity piece in many of the apps-made-for-school that I am finding. Instead they are just a more high-tech way to do pretty traditional things. Creation, communication, global citizenship, critical and media literacy aren't present in many of the apps.

I did find an elementary school that is doing lots with podcasting. Nova Blanche Forman Elementary School in Florida has about 180 iPods (9 carts). Their website shows that they are using them in ways that go beyond traditional teaching. Kids are actually creating podcasts connected to field trips, sharing work with parents at home, running student-led conferences, and more. Several of the projects are posted on the school's website.

I think for these technologies to make a difference, we have to think hard about students creating and communicating in new ways. Students owning the creations. Expanding our definitions of literacy to include podcasts, public service announcements, etc. The questions I am asking myself are:

How can these tools support reading and writing?

What are the new mentor "texts"-pieces for kids to study to inform their own craft as writers?

How can we use these tools in ways to help students build relationships and to work collaboratively?

Can they use these tools to solve real problems and answer their own questions?

How can they synthesize the huge amount of information?

How can they use these tools to create new information or new forms of information?

This week, I am trying to think specifically about booktalks. How can these new iPhones support deeper conversations around books? I think for this to happen, I need to find apps that students can use to track ideas throughout a book--to answer questions they have. They may find evidence of a characters' changing as they read a book. They may highlight some text that helps them think through the theme of the book. The kids in elementary school get pretty savvy about reading with depth and supporting their thinking with evidence from the text. I am wondering if they can use iPod stickynotes and notebook apps to better record their thinking so that they can share it with others. I have played with Notebook and Stickies and both have the potential for students to record, sharing and synthesizing information and then create new information based on the collaboration. I envision kids creating separate notebooks for books they are thinking about and then creating separate notes to track that thinking. One note could record lines in the text that tell something about a character. Another note could track changes in thinking--how does my thinking change about theme or big idea and why? Instead of any form we would create for them, kids could use the tool to collect the thinking they have to make the booktalk authentic.

I am also thinking about the podcast aspect in terms of booktalk. Could recording thinking for others to listen to before the group gets together in person, elevate the level of talk--knowing where people are coming from?

Could entire booktalks be done via iPods in a way that expands the amount of time kids could have to ponder the meaning of a book? Would this type of communication allow more talk and learning for kids who aren't in the same classroom and don't have day-to-day contact?

Would love to hear from anyone who has used/seen used iPods to support quality book talks.

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!