2 Great Adult Novels

I have given myself permission these last few weeks to read adult fiction. I love children's books and my stack continues to grow. But working through the stack started to feel like a chore a few weeks ago. I was hearing from so many friends about great adult books they had read and I felt like I couldn't have the luxury of reading one myself until I "caught up" on my children's book reading. Just as Mary Lee was feeling overwhelmed with Twitter, I was feeling overwhelmed with my never ending stack of children's books. Being a K-5 school librarian, it is always a never-ending stack. I find that I have no trouble keeping up with middle grade realistic fiction but other genres take more of my time and energy. And if I want to be able to put the right book in a child's hand, reading widely is key.

I have always been amazed at the amount of reading that Mary Lee does and every month, my mouth drops when I read the list of books that Jen Robinson is able to finish. Her monthly post of books read is one of my favorites but I so wish I could fit more reading time into my life. And some months I can--but not so much lately. And when I do have time to read lots, I tend to read from the stack of children's books that were recently published.

So I have given myself permission to take a few weeks off and do some reading for me. Not that the children's books aren't for me. I love them. But I realized that I had not read an adult novel for almost a year. And there are so many that I have been dying to read. Somehow, with this job, I have to figure out how to balance out the reading of children's books and the reading of adult novels. How do I find the time to do both?

I must say, I am sooooo happy I gave myself the time to read some adult novels. This month, I read 2 great books. Since I don't give myself time to read many adult novels, I have to be VERY picky. And I was thrilled with both of these choices. Neither was a very happy or upbeat book. But I love great characters and these were filled with complex characters. I highly recommend both of them if you are looking for a few good adult novels.


The first book I read was was LITTLE BEE: A NOVEL by Chris Cleave. I love books in which characters come together in unexpected ways and this is one of those stories. In this story, a 16 year old orphan who has seen much tragedy in her home of Nigeria connects with a husband and wife who are vacationing there. Tragedy brings them together and their lives are forever changed. This author has been compared to Ian McEwan and I can see why. I have read 2 of McEwan's novels and there is a similar feeling--a similar tension. I will definitely read more books by Chris Cleave.


The other was THE BRIEF WONDROUS LIFE OF OSCAR WAO by Junot Diaz. (I read the Kindle edition---more on that later!) I decided to read this for a few reasons. First of all, it was recommended by several people I trust as readers. But, I mostly wanted to read it because the author will be the opening speaker at this year's NCTE Annual Convention in Philadelphia. After reading the book, I am really looking forward to hearing him talk.

THE BRIEF WONDROUS LIFE is the story of Oscar--an overweight social outcast who spends his time reading, writing and looking for love. He is a great character. But this is more than the story of Oscar. It is the story of his family --the people who love him. The characters and their relationships were the thing that hooked me to this book. Characters you could believe. We come to know Oscar and his family over years and lifetimes. Through the stories we come to understand them and the decisions they make.

Since there are only a few more weeks left until school stars, I may just read a few more great adult books. I know that I'll be a bit behind on my children's books but it is okay. I guess I have to get used to the fact that I might always be behind. On my stack of possibilities for the other adult novels I might read this summer are THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO, OLIVE KITTERIDGE and THE HELP.

Two For the Ocean

Vacation: We're Going to the Ocean

by David L. Harrison

illustrated by Rob Shepperton

Wordsong (Boyds Mills Press), 2009

review copy provided by the publisher

I saw this excellent little volume of poetry reviewed for Poetry Friday last week by Sylvia at Poetry for Children, and lo and behold, I found it today, waiting, on my very own bookshelf, for review for the Notables!

Kids will love the friendly little size of this book and the story it tells of going to the ocean for vacation, from the moment the family loads up into the car, through the sand burials, the no-see-ums and the sand castles, all the way to the dumping of the stinky dead crab and the return home. The poems and the pictures work perfectly together.

Mother Osprey: Nursery Rhymes for Buoys & Gulls

by Lucy Nolan

illustrated by Connie McLennan

Sylvan Dell, 2009

review copy provided by the publisher

To continue on the theme of the ocean, we have a new collection of Mother Goose rhymes told by Mother Osprey. Here's an example:

Mary Had a Little Clam

Mary had a little clam--

its shell was white as snow.

And everywhere that Mary went,

the clam was sure to go.

He followed her to school one day.

He set out in September

but reached the school in mid July--

clams cannot rush, remember?

Where were all the boys and girls

to play with as he'd dreamed?

School was out for summer break--

boy, was that clam steamed!

Kids will love this! Jack and June go up a dune, the old woman lives in a shell, and Hattaras light is falling down, falling down, falling down. I'm sure this will be a favorite for choosing poems to perform for Poetry Friday in my 4th grade classroom!

Poetry Friday -- Round Up is Here!

One of the books I won in Elaine's drawings last spring during National Poetry Month was American Wits: An Anthology of Light Verse, edited by John Hollander. Here's a poem by Robert Frost to set the tone for this week's Poetry Friday:

In a Poem

The sentencing goes blithely on its way,

And takes the playfully objected rhyme

As surely as it keeps the stroke and time

In having its undeviable say.

Leave your link in the comments. I'll round up throughout the day.

IN (ACCIDENTAL) HONOR OF THE ROUND UP HOST

Readertotz has a Syrian poem about chickens this week. My last name means rooster in German!!

ORIGINALS

Linda, at Write Time, has an original villanelle that perfectly captures the frustration of how to tell someone something they already (intimately) know.

Kelly, at Writing and Ruminating, wrote her original poem for a writing exercise. She says the poem "went someplace she didn't expect it to go..." You'll likely agree.

Gregory K., at GottaBook, has baseball on his mind because of the perfect game that was tossed yesterday.

Diane, at Random Noodling, wrote a poem in honor of "National Drive-Thru Day," which is today!

Diane, at The Write Sisters, wrote a poem inspired by the photo of a child dripping in lace, and shares look at both sides of the story.

Andromeda Jazmon, at A Wrung Sponge, distills the sport of basketball into a haiku.

Jone, at Check it Out, gives us a glimpse into her own writing process as she walks us through her revision of a haiku based on her own personal summer book study.

Jim, at Haunts of a Children's Writer, has an original limerick that will be his toast at his son's rehearsal dinner.

Elaine, at Political Verses, has another poke at Palin. There's an element of "you gotta hear this" in her post as well.

Susan, at Susan Writes, is hosting the 15 Words or Less Poems again this week.

Charles Ghinga (aka Father Goose) started blogging in June. He's posting an original poem every week! This week's poem explores "What's A Meadow For?"

Lori Ann Glover, at On Point, shares her "Midsummer Fairies" today.

Here's what Marjorie, at Paper Tigers, says about her post this week: "I'm in this week with some original rap poems written via a youth project as a part of a local Community Opera production, Everyman, a modernized version of the 15th Century Morality play."

CLASSICS

Eisha, at Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast, had a close encounter with Walt Whitman this week, and that's why she picked one of his poems.

Carol, at Carol's Corner, has an ee cummings poem that's as quiet as Eisha's Whitman pick is loud!

Kurious Kitty, at Kurious Kitty's Kurio Kabinet, shares two classics by Christina Rossetti.

Little Willow, at Bildungsroman, shares a poem by Emily Dickinson that is almost as loud as the Whitman that Eisha shared...but not quite.

Martha, at Martha Calderaro, has been enjoying Karla Kuskin this week.

Pam, at Mother Reader, uses the classic "I, Too" by Langston Hughes to make a strong point about a controversial book cover.

SEASONAL

Shelf Elf has a very summery grasshopper poem for our delight this week.

Beth, at the Stone Arch Books Blog, shares a very relaxing water poem.

HUMOR

Tabatha A. Yeatts has a little bit of this-n-that this week. Be sure to check out her Christopher Morely picks.

FOR HARD TIMES

Elaine, at Blue Rose Girls, shares "Otherwise" by Jane Kenyon.

EVENTS

Abby, at Abby (the) Librarian, tells about the (FABULOUS) poetry program she did in her library yesterday.

Zsofia, at The Stehouse Blog, uses Billy Collins' "Introduction to Poetry" to remind all teachers that the Stenhouse Poetry Contest is still going on! Check out this post for information about how to enter.

POETRY FORMS

Laura Shovan, at Author Amok, posts about "portrait or persona poems" and shares the bio of her fellow Maryland poet-in-the-schools MiMi Zannino.

Esther Hershenhorn, at Teaching Authors, describes how she uses successive "name poems" (adjectives, then verbs, then nouns) to flesh out the characters in her novels.

YOU GOTTA HEAR THIS

Pudding the Bear posted this week for Jama at Jama Rattigan's Alphabet Soup. He's got a boatload of funny teddy bear pictures and a recording of the song "The Teddy Bears' Picnic" to go with them.

Heidi, at My Juicy Little Universe, shares her discovery of The Favorite Poem Project. Scroll down and listen to photographer Seph Rodney read Sylvia Plath's "Nick and the Candlestick."

Liz, at Liz in Ink, is sorting through the pros and cons, weighing the ups and downs of the writerly life. You can listen to Garrison Keiller read her pick: Frank O'Hara's "Autobiographia Literaria."

REVIEWS AND LESSONS

Elaine, at Wild Rose Reader, reviews two collections of city poems this week.

Sylvia, at Poetry for Children, has a review of a perfect collection for summer -- vacation poems!

Anastasia, at Picture Book of the Day, has a word choice lesson to go with the book, I LOVE CATS.

Becky, at Becky's Book Reviews, has a peek at a new collection by Jane Yolen that is illustrated with photos by her son!

You Must Meet Hope Anita Smith

Five Facts and a Mission:

1. She's the author of three collections of poetry: The Way a Door Closes, Keeping the Night Watch, and Mother Poems. (All three of these collections could be considered novels in verse, but because she works hard to make sure that each poem stands alone, I'll call them poetry collections.)

2. She's an illustrator whose medium is torn paper collages. (Mother Poems)

3. She just completed her term as Thurber House Writer in Residence.

4. Every Valentine's Day, she makes 100 Valentines and passes them out to strangers on the street.

5. She is frustrated by the economics of hardbacks vs. paperbacks, and passionate about the politics of language and color.

The Mission: Hope Anita Smith wants to place two copies of each of her books in every inner city library in the United States, starting with her home city of Akron, OH.

What can you do to help make her mission a success? Details will be coming soon on her website.

Panorama: A Foldout Book by Fani Marceau

Panorama: A Foldout Book

by Fani Marceau

illustrated by Joelle Jolivet

(originally published in France in 2007)

Abrams, 2009

The review copy still lives at Cover to Cover, shown here extended to its full length, but I may have to go back and buy it!

This is a gorgeous, gorgeous book. (Thank you, Beth for taking it out of its shrink wrap so that I could properly swoon!) Each page is a natural scene from a different place around the world, and each scene morphs into the next, linking our world in surprising and wonderful ways. It is a new take on the interconnectedness of our world, and it invites wonder and further exploration by highlighting places beyond the typical: the first four pages show the Ganges River Delta, Bangladesh, India; Mount Katmai, Alaska, United States; Adrar Desert, Sahara, Mauritania; and Cotopaxi Volcano, Andes Mountains, Ecuador.

The return journey, on the backs of the pages, shows the scenes at night and invites the reader to look for changes. Night sends animals into hiding and brings new animals out, people stop working and go home, and if you look carefully, in the picture of Scotland, the Little People come out!

The message at the end reads, "Here you are, back at the start. At the bottom of your pocket, keep a pebble -- a star -- to remind you of the world."

Other books by this illustrator include 365 Penguins, Zoo-ology, and Almost Everything. All are oversized and visually stunning. Jolivet's website is here.

Nursery Rhyme Connections

I just picked up two books that connect to favorite nursery rhymes and fairy tales.

EGG DROP is Mini Grey's newest book. This is a fun take-off of Humpty Dumpty. In this story, one of the eggs wants to fly. Instead of waiting until he hatches, he climbs high and jumps. Needless to say the results are disastrous. The story and illustrations are quite fun with little surprises on each page. And, on the last page, the reader is invited to see the positive in the tragic ending. This book is a quite different story than Humpty Dumpty but the kids will definitely see the connections!



I also just discovered HEY, MAMA GOOSE by Jane Breskin Zalben. In this story, the woman who lived in the shoe, decides that her family has outgrown their home. Mama Goose suggests that they move into Snow White's house since she and the dwarfs have moved to help Rapunzel. And so the story goes, many of our favorite nursery rhyme and fairy tale characters moving into new places. Kids love to read new stories about characters they love and they should recognize all (or most) of the characters in this story. A fun way to revisit lots of favorite fairy tale characters.

Books to Celebrate Today--The First Men on the Moon!

Such a great celebration--40 years since we had men land on the moon. No matter how long it's been, it is still an amazing story. So much to celebrate about the day. As with any "event", there are many many books that tie into the first men on the moon. I am thrilled with the quality of so many of the books out on this topic. I think that the books will really invite our children to be part of this day in a way that makes it as exciting as it is to those of us who actually remember it.

I've shared two of these books before but thought that today was a great day to rerun the reviews.

ONE GIANT LEAP This book tells about the first trip to the moon from the time the Eagle took off to the time the astronauts landed. The book captures the power of the trip and the emotions of the astronauts well.

Mike Wimmer's illustrations are amazing. Most are dark as the moon would have looked when they landed. The details show so many things about the trip and the feel of the illustrations matches the feel of the world when the astronauts stepped out on the moon.

The language in the book is one that makes it a perfect read aloud. Yesterday, I read it to 3rd, 4th and 5th grade classes and they were glued. Not much of a sound from any group that I read it to. And kids this age take space travel for granted. But somehow the author and illustrator helped them relive the excitement of the moment in this book.

After reading this aloud to 4th and 5th graders, many of the kids pulled out a laptop and quickly found the original film of the moon landing on the internet. They watched and were excited to see what they had just read about and to hear Neil Armstrong's actual voice saying, "One small step for man. One giant leap for mankind." (On a side note, kids had heard spinoffs of this famous quote on Spongebob and other shows and had no idea what the origin of the quote was...) Within minutes they found information on Neil Armstrong, clips of the trip, information on more recent space travel news.

It isn't often that a nonfiction picture book can capture history so clearly and so powerfully. Often, I read aloud a picture book and kids learn but this one actually allows the children who take space travel for granted, to feel the excitement and thrill of the day. For the astronauts who lived it and for the world who watched.

I am also excited about LOOK TO THE STARS by Buzz Aldrin to my collection. As you can tell, 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!

ONE SMALL STEP: CELEBRATING THE FIRST MEN ON THE MOON may end up being a favorite with the kids. This book is put together in the form of a scrapbook. Each spread focuses on one piece of the history of space travel. Photos, sketches, diagrams, and text work together to pull a lot of information into one book. I loved seeing so many photos and captions that explain them. I loved the way that this book captures Launch Day (July 16) with photos of President Johnson, the astronauts and the people in the control room. There are lots of invitations for readers to lift the flaps to learn more about certain topics. My personal favorite page is the one that celebrates the three astronauts and that shares info and photos of the actual spacesuit.

I have always thought it was pretty cool to live in Ohio--home of Neil Armstrong, John Glenn and so many other great astronauts. I think this new set of books is a great way to celebrate this anniversary but one that I think we will all be able to learn from for years to come. These books won't be popular only because of the anniversary. These books will be well-read because they give great insights into the history of this day and more.

There are also so many great sites to celebrate today. "We Choose the Moon" is one of my favorites. We can also watch the landing on Youtube. Love that!

I also started to follow Astronaut Mark Palansky on Twitter. Love that they can tweet from space. That is amazing to me.

Enjoy the day!

Professional Development--21st Century Literacy

There are several of us who continue to do lots of thinking around the area of 21st Century Literacy. There is so much to think about and it is fun to learn and think together. How do we make these experiences authentic for our students? Especially at the elementary level?

This week, we had another great meeting. We met at my house and shared our learning and thinking. We spent about 3 hours together. We started off talking about the things we've learned this summer and the things we were hoping to learn more about. Then we spread out throughout the house and shared with each other. Some of us learned to do Voicethreads. others learned how to use the Flip Video camera and to edit film. We played with lots of tools and left with lots to think about. You can see that once the whole group chat was over, we spread around the house and learned from/taught each other. Everyone left with something new to think about.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

A few blog posts connected to our professional development this week. We came together to learn from each other because we wanted to-because we trust the people we are learning with and we all have different goals and hopes for ways to use this new thinking in our teaching. Wesley Fryer wrote about professional development in his blog post TECHNOLOGY PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND CHOCOLATE CAKE. I think that there are so many ways for us to learn and summer provides time for some of this more intense learning.

I also thought David Warlick's post Technology and Teaching was very thought-provoking. He asks some hard questions. Definitely something to think about.

We are hoping to have one more of these sessions before school begins and then to meet throughout the school year. A great network of people to think and learn with!

Laurie Keller Author Visit

I am a little late posting this. Okay, so I am a lot late. With the end of the school year, things got crazy as they do. And then I traveled a bit and didn't have the time to give this post the energy it deserved. So, now I finally have the time to reflect on the great author visit that we had in late May. Author and illustrator, Laurie Keller visited our school in May. She also visited the Dublin Branch Library. It was a great day!

If you haven't read each and every one of Laurie Keller's books, every one is great. The fact that she is author AND illustrator is key because so much of the story goes on in the illustrations--and even in the lettering. Her characters are great and her humor is brilliant. Each one of Keller's books is one that can grow with kids. My daughter's personal favorite book is ARNIE THE DOUGHNUT. And, it was the favorite among the whole K-5 school who read and enjoyed all of her books. The story is a fun one--Arnie is purchased by a nice man, only to discover that the man intends to eat him! Arnie is shocked and the story goes from there. I can see why this has been my daughter's favorite for years. The story is fun--the whole concept is pretty fun. And the side comments probably make more sense as her sense of humor has developed. So she can enjoy it on different levels as she grows. All of Keller's books do this.

Laurie Keller was a great author to have visit our school. I was lucky enough to be part of all of the sessions and the students had such a great time with her. One of the things that was so nice was the tie-in to art. She not only talked about her books and her writing process but she spent lots of each session teaching kids to draw those characters that they love. Kids came with pencil, paper and clipboard and they left with quite a sense of pride and accomplishment. Laurie taught us how to draw several things--I was amazed at how simple she made it look. After her visit, many kids in the school created their own stories about the characters she had taught them to draw! (And at the Dublin Library, even children's library, Loren Scully was learned to draw some of Keller's characters!)

Keller's books are all great books for home, classrooms and school libraries. She has a unique format and a unique sense of humor that kids an adults enjoy. Even though I read all of her books to all of our classes, I never tired of them. I laughed every time and during every read, I noticed something that I had missed before.

DO UNTO OTTERS is a book that we have in every classroom of our school. It is a great book about manners and Keller writes it in a way that makes the topic amusing and engaging for kids. It is a great way to start conversations with kids about manners and the ways we treat each other.

OPEN WIDE: TOOTH SCHOOL INSIDE does a great job of teaching kids about teeth and dental health.


SCRAMBLED STATES OF AMERICA and SCRAMBLED STATES OF AMERICA TALENT SHOW are two of Keller's most popular books. She brings each state to life in fun stories so that kids learn about the states. Not only are these books great but the game, Scrambled States of America was quite a hit in the library. 4th and 5th graders had a fun time learning about the states and US geography with the books and the game.

Laurie also shared her upcoming book ME AND MY ANIMAL FRIENDS. This one is written by Ralph Covert of Ralph's World. Laurie Keller's illustrations make the book quite fun and I can't wait to add this new book to our library.

I do not often like video versions of children's books but Weston Woods has done an amazing job with Keller's books. Because there is so much going on in the illustrations, and because the side comments are too good to skip when reading aloud, I loved sharing the videos with the kids at school. The characters really come to life in each of the videos.

I would highly recommend Laurie Keller as an author visit if you are looking for someone. Her books are great fun for students from K-5. And she is great with kids--building a confidence and inviting them to do more with her characters. Plus, she is great fun to be around. She is genuinely excited about the kids and their learning and that shows in the way she talks to them and the excitement she shows about their work. And if you aren't looking for an author to visit your school, I would definitely add Laurie's books to your collection. Her graphics and the humor that she uses are great ways to teach kids about lots of things.

THE ONE AND ONLY MARIGOLD by Florence Parry Heide

I have just discovered a new character that I love--Marigold who stars in the new book THE ONE AND ONLY MARIGOLD by Florence Parry Heide. Marigold is a monkey and she is quite strong-willed. In this book, Marigold stars in 4 stories. I love that there are 4 separate stories about Marigold in this one picture book. Such a fun way to think about and get to know a new character. In the first story, Marigold goes shopping for a new coat, but she loves the one she has. In the second story, Marigold is looking for a new hobby. In the third story, Marigold sets up an alternative to the boring lemonade stand. And in the last story, Marigold wants a fancy new outfit for the first day of school.

All of these stories are quite short but the author humor and voice into each.

I just can't get enough of Marigold. Hopefully there will be more books starring this fun new monkey coming soon. Marigold is quite clever and I think kids will love her too.