BINKY THE SPACE CAT by Ashley Spires

I think I may have found a character that I love as much as I love Scaredy Squirrel. Actually, I am thinking that Scaredy Squirrel and this new character could become great friends. The character I am writing about is Binky, the Space Cat. He stars in a brand new graphic novel, BINKY THE SPACE CAT, by Ashley Spires and he is one of the best characters ever! Binky is a pet cat who has an odd shape about him (he is shaped like a football.) Binky is introduced to us at the beginning of the book like this:

"Binky is a space cat.
Unlike your average cat,
HE has a purpose.
His mission is to one day blast off into outer space...
To explore unknown places...
and to battle alien criminals.
Actually, Binky hasn't ever been outside."

How can you not love him by page 10? Binky lives with "one big human and one small human" and he works hard to protect them. So hard that he has become an official "Space Cat". He spends his time protecting his humans from alien invasions. And he is busy preparing for his first trip to space.

The book is just too fun. The character is funny and one you will love right away. It is a great beginning graphic novel that even young children can enjoy.

August Mosaic

And so the wheel of the seasons continues turning...

This month, I captured some iconic late summer images. As much as I know that school will soon be out when the Chickory starts to bloom in late May, I know that school will soon start when the Tall Purple Ironweed blooms.

I was weeding in the landlab when I came eye to eye with Mrs. Mantis, and when I stood up, Mr. Mantis was on the next weed over. I took it as a sign to stop weeding.

The skies are spectacularly blue and clear again after a few weeks of wretched humidity, the buckeyes are ready for the squirrels and the football fan necklace makers to gather (yes, Ohio State's mascot is a nut...literally), and a few leaves have tentatively tried on their fall colors.

But fall also brings newness to a teacher. Not pictured here are my 19 new students. Standing in for them are the puppies (no, not this year) and the baby.

Here are all my mosaics so far.

HARRY AND HORSIE by Katie Van Camp

HARRY AND HORSIE by Katie Van Camp may end up being very well-worn by the end of this school year. I saw it on the shelf at Cover to Cover this week and was immediately drawn to it. The cover art and all of the art is amazing--it resembles old comic books/cartoons. You can tell from the cover that this will be a fun adventure story.

This is the story of Harry and Horsie. They sneak out of bed to play with Harry's "Super Duper Bubble Blooper" . They have great adventures until a giant bubble takes Horsie away. Luckily, Harry comes to the rescue for a happy ending! This is a great story that anyone who loves to imagine and play will love!

I love the story of the author and how the story came to be. I didn't realize it at first, but the author was David Letterman's son's nanny and this story was a gift to the family. (There is a small note from David Letterman in the front of the book.."A Note From Harry's Dad")

This is the author's first book and the illustrator's (Lincoln Agnew) first picture book. I don't know if it is eligible but it certainly looks like Caldecott material to me. It is currently on the Autumn 2009 Kids' Indie Next List. And the author/illustrator team are donating a portion of the proceeds to "Free the Children"

Poetry Friday

Poetry tastes like

chocolate.

--Ryan, age 8

photo by eszter

TASTES LIKE CHOCOLATE: Thoughts From Young People is a collection of poetry written by the students of teacher Randi Allison over the course of the past twenty+ years. "Tastes Like Chocolate is a collection filled with delectable moments of joyous wonder that melt and linger, dark musings of loss with a bitter aftertaste of longing, and simple insights filled with gooey luscious surprises." Here's a sample:

We are the children of

the world.

We have voices that

express,

ears that listen,

eyes that blaze.

We are the future.

You are the adults of

the world.

You pave the road of

life for us.

You are our view of the

world.

(the rest of the poem is here, when you click on "...a taste")

--Jennifer, age 12

The round up this week is at Book Aunt.

If you want to host the round up in the future, let Kelly know at Big A little a.

My Reflections of my Kindle Reading

I received a KINDLE as a gift several months ago. Over the summer, I have done more reading on my Kindle and less with "real" books. I have been thinking a lot about it--lots of people have been asking me which I prefer, etc. So, I thought I'd share my reflections.

There are times I LOVE my Kindle. I started out reading only nonfiction, starting with THE ELEMENT by Ken Robinson. I thought it would be hard to get into a novel. But then I read THE BRIEF WONDROUS LIFE OF OSCAR WAO and loved it. Once you get started, falling into a book is the same whether you are reading a "real" book or a book on the Kindle.

Some great features:

I think the highlighting and note taking features are the best thing. I am not sure what the possibilities are with these tools but these are actually the tools that sold me on the KINDLE. When I am reading a book, I can underline and take notes (right on the spot where the notes belong!) Then when I go to my clipping area, all of my notes for each book are compiled. I think the implications for book talks and book study are huge with this. For me, this feature made the KINDLE a different kind of reading for me. Knowing I could highlight and take notes and have those all in one spot, rather than flipping through the book and finding them all, is huge. I think this could really impact student and adult book talks--really allowing us to create new thinking off of a book and sharing it in ways that we really couldn't before.

I can read a sample of almost any Kindle book available for Free. Whenever I hear of a good title, I often order the free sample and read it--often about a first chapter. They send you a lot of text to preview. And then if you like it, you can order the book.

It is sooo easy to carry. That is obvious. But the fact that I can go somewhere and THEN decide if I want to read a novel, something professional, etc. is great. I have all of my reading with me. And if I don't, I can get it pretty quickly.

I can order a book and have it in 30 seconds. I didn't think I would care, but I recently read a sample chapter of THE SLIPPERY YEAR (a great read for anyone in their 40s:-) and loved the sample. I was laying in bed reading one night and decided I wanted to read that book. Even though it was midnight, I could order the book and have it in about 15 seconds. I didn't have to find time to get to the store, etc.

I can email myself PDF files and read those on my Kindle. I wasn't sure I would use this feature, but it has been great. First of all, I don't need printouts of Ali of the things I often print to read. By sending it to my Kindle, it doesn't become part of some huge pile. Instead it just becomes an option for my reading and it is much easier to read than reading it off of the computer.

The books are cheaper.

Some things I am not quite used to and not sure if I ever will be:

I can't loan my books out. When I decided to read THREE LITTLE WORDS, I knew I might want to pass it along. So, I purchased a real copy. It is a little frustrating to tell someone about a great book but not be able to share it with them. And I sometimes, when I find a book I love, I have the urge to carry it around and tell anyone about it who will listen. A Kindle makes this a bit difficult.

It takes a bit of time to get used to the idea of no page numbers. Instead of page numbers the Kindle tells gives you numbers and percentages to let you know how far along you are. For me, I need to know how long a book is and how many "pages" I read each sitting. To combat this, I often look up the page count, then figure out what 10% is, and go from there.

There are not "real" covers on the Kindle. It is a bit odd to walk into a bookstore and see a book you just read but not recognize it. To pick a book up to read every day and not see a cover. For me, covers and previewing are important. Covers tell something big, give us a clue into the theme. I miss that. I also haven't noticed many of the things I often find on the back cover. I miss that.

I LOVE bookstores. Love to shop, carry books, buy books. I have even been known to buy books that I already have because I love them so much. I am worried about bookstores with the increased popularity of the Kindle and other readers. I am having trouble not shopping for books, real books,in real bookstores, with real people. I am not sure anything can replace that experience.

I have a shelf of books that I have read but can't part with. Books that I LOVE. Books that I hope someone sees on the shelf and wants to read. Books I hope my daughters read when they are older. Books that have changed me. I can't really have that physical shelf on a Kindle.

Overall, I LOVE the Kindle. The more time I spend reading Kindle books, the less I find myself needing paper books. I remember a similar experience when I gave up the yellow legal pads for writing and moved to the computer. I wasn't sure I'd ever be able to give up the "real" paper. Now, that seems long ago and amusing. Composing on paper almost never happens for me.

And as a teacher, I think it has huge implications for our classrooms. When I think of the amazing book talks my 4th and 5th graders have had--studying a title, sharing notes, etc. I can see this as a way to add even more depth. The notes feature alone can be pretty interesting. There is also a great SEARCH feature. I remember one group that studied the way that the word "soof" was used in SO BE IT. A Kindle would allow them to search all of the places in the book that the author used that word. Can you imagine the conversations? Being able to search a word in fiction in order to think about theme, find evidence for thinking and working through clues can really add to deeper reading. I can only imagine what is possible.

I am pretty sure that soon, the Kindle will be my entire reading life. It will be good because I will have SOOO much extra room in my house. I can see myself falling more and more in love with it and relying on it more and more.

First Day!

When I got home from school yesterday, still floating on the cloud of first day-ness, my next door neighbor asked me how long it would take me to get back into the swing of things. (She obviously didn't notice that I was floating...)

It took me less than 5 minutes, I told her. All I had to do was meet my class.

Teachers are jugglers. The balls and plates and swords and bowling balls and pins are in the air from the very first moment the children step into your line and become your class. We simply cannot afford to "get into the swing of things" later on in the week or the year.

It's such a blessing to be doing the work I was born to do. Let the fun begin!

Counting on Nature

Count Down to Fall
by Fran Hawk

illustrated by Sherry Neidigh

Sylvan Dell, 2009

review copy provided by the publisher

This is a GORGEOUS book. You can go on a fall nature walk without leaving the comfort of your home or classroom when you read this book.

It's also a counting book that counts backward from ten to one. It's a poetry book with a rhyming verse on each double page spread. It's a celebration of autumn in the woods. Most of all, it's a tree identification book. Each double page spread is framed around the edge with a different tree's bark, and in the four outer corners is the leaf in summer, the leaf in fall, the shape of the tree and either the seed or the flower of the tree. Here's an example:

Eight beech tree leaves,

like yellow cat's eyes

float gently down

through autumn skies.

Along with the trees, each picture contains animals, birds, and insects that live in the Eastern Woodlands. In the back matter of the book is more information about the trees and the ways that people and animals use them.

Check out this link on the Sylvan Dell website for teaching activities, a book trailer, and an interview with the author.

One Wolf Howls

by Scotti Cohn

illustrated by Susan Detweiler

Sylvan Dell, 2009

review copy provided by the publisher

This book is a counting, rhyming, month-by-month wolf book. In January there is a lone wolf howling at the moon. After pups are born, there are six wolves in June, and by December, there are twelve wolves singing together in the winter night.

The back matter of this book gives readers more information and activities that will extend their learning about wolves, and again, the Sylvan Dell website has still more goodies to go with the book.

Both books invite readers to both browse and read with the fun mix of genres and the beautiful illustrations.

Back to School -- Missing Mama

Llama Llama Misses Mama

by Anna Dewdney

Penguin Young Readers Group, 2009

review copy provided by the publisher

"Llama Llama, warm in bed,

Wakey wakey, sleepyhead!

Llama school begins today!

Time to learn and time to play!"

When Mama Llama leaves Llama Llama on his very first day of school, he is suddenly very shy and doesn't want to play, or read, or even eat a snack. The promise by the teacher that Mama WILL come back, and the invitations of the other Llama children to come play are all it takes to break him out of his shell. Mama does indeed come back and Llama Llama realizes he loves Mama AND school.

This is a great book for any reader who might be feeling a little anxious about the first day of school!

Two Great (But Very Different) Animal ABC Books

Beth at Cover to Cover had CREATURE ABC by Andrew Zuckerman waiting for me when I visited last week. And I am so glad that she did. This is a gorgeous animal alphabet book done in photos. It is very simple in concept--a letter, an animal and the animal word for each letter of the alphabet.

This book is a chunky square book. The photography is stunning and is placed against a white background. Kids are going to love it! Each letter is introduced with a photo of an animal. Then upon turning the page, the animal name is revealed (although not really as a surprise), with another picture of the animal/letter word. Most of the letters are represented by animals but some like N is represented with the word "Nocturnal" with a few examples of those.

A simple concept that I think kids will spend hours with. Really unbelievable pictures. (In case you are wondering, the rooster is my favorite.) It is a great book for young children or children just learning animal names. I am pretty sure that it will also be popular with older kids in the library.


I also picked up THE ZOO I DREW by Todd Doodler last week. It is a great book that I am excited about. The cover is unique--red and corrugated. Very bright and engaging. This is an alphabet book of animals. On each page, there is an animal-the drawing takes up most of the page. And the pattern is predictable "E is for Elephant". Following each animal name, there are 4 lines about the animal. The lines are mostly in rhyme and they give some basic information about the animal. For example, we learn that the panda eats bamboo and the rhino has a horn on its nose.

The illustrations are unique--Each spread uses only a few colors or different shades of one color. But the book as a whole uses a huge variety of colors, as each spread uses different colors. If that makes any sense at all....

I love this book--can see lots of possibilities--a great one to use as an ABC book with kids just learning letters/sounds, etc. It is also a great model for writing for older kids who are beginning to write nonfiction. I can see it used in lots of ways.

Library Intro

I have been thinking hard about what I am hoping that the school library becomes for the students at our school. I want the library to be a place where students are in charge of their own learning and where they can learn about the things they love in ways that make sense to them. I know that this will be a yearlong conversation, but I put together a slide show that I'll show several of the classes during the first week. I am hoping that the questions on this slide show begin conversations and invite students to think about their own learning and ways that the library can support them as learners. I know that I am missing lots of questions but I am hoping it gets us all talking about what the library can be for each individual. ( I converted the slide show to a Quicktime movie in order to put it on the blog so it didn't export quite as clearly as the original. But you get the idea.)