2 Great New Gift Books

I had someone asking about a great book for someone getting ready to be a big brother. I didn't know of one but there is a great new one for a child preparing to be a big sister. SUPERSISTER by Beth Cadena is a great story of Supersister who dashes down the stairs like a whistling locomotive, slides down the slide like a speeding bullet and more. This is a fun story about a little girl anxiously awaiting a new baby--practicing the skills it takes to be a Supersister. The superhero language is quite fun and it would make for a good read aloud.


THE CHRISTMAS BABY by Marion Dane Bauer was a great surprise. I am not often drawn to books with religious themes. I have my favorite Christmas stories and it is not very often that I see a retelling of a Christmas story told in a way that outdoes my favorites. But this one was at book fair last week and I loved it. I think it would make a great book for a baby gift--a baby born near the holidays. In this book, Marion Dane Bauer shares a retelling of the story of Mary, Joseph and the manger. The ending of the book connects the story and the joy that families experience when a new baby is born. The added connection at the end makes this a new favorite for me. The illustrations are buy Richard Cowdrey who captures the spirit of the story well. A joyful celebration of the Christmas story and of babies!

2 Great New Novels for Middle School

I had a great reading week reading 2 new books that I picked up at the book fair this week. Both books are pretty heavy reads. Both deal with tough topics and both are amazing reads. I was reading them, thinking they might be good for our K-5 library but after reading them, I think they would be better at the middle school level. There might be a few students in the upper elementary who would enjoy them, but they struck me as perfect for grades 6th-7thish.

First, I read Gary Paulsen's new book, NOTES FROM THE DOG. This is different from lots of Paulsen's other books although as usual, he has a great character that you come to connect with very quickly. Finn is a teenage boy who likes to spend time by himself--doesn't feel like he fits in anywhere. He lives with his father , his dog, and he has a few good friends. His one good friend, Matthew is an important character in the story. In early summer, Johanna moves next door. She quickly becomes friends with Finn and his family and seems to bring out the best in everyone. Johanna is undergoing treatment for breast cancer and is also training for an event to support breast cancer. Just like Finn, as a reader, I sometimes forgot that Johanna was going through pretty difficult chemotherapy. A very real life story that deals with a hard topic. I haven't read much for this age group that deals with breast cancer but this book is an amazing one that to me, seems realistic and honest. Even though Johanna is an important character in the story, it is Finn who is the character who changes and whose story this is. This is a great coming of age story--a story of Finn who, because of Johanna becomes comfortable with who he is. A GREAT read.

I was so excited to see a new title by Katherine Paterson. She is one of my all-time favorite authors. But, I had forgotten that Katherine Paterson doesn't write about easy things. She takes on topics of people who are often going through hard times. THE DAY OF THE PELICAN drew me in and I think there were pages and pages where I completely forgot to breathe. It was a painful read but a hopeful read. The book is the story of an Albanian family who lived in Kosovo. Caught in a war, they escape the country and then eventually apply to move to the United States. The main character in the story is Meli, a thirteen year old girl. Her world is turned upside down by events that no one can predict or control. Paterson does her usual great job of making this authentic. The pain and terror that this family goes through in the story is real. So many issues that families in war torn countries endure. As with all of Paterson's books, it is not an easy read. But Meli will stay with me forever, just as Gilly, Jess and Leslie do. The story is based on a family that Paterson knows and she includes some historical information on Kosovo following the story. For me, this book was an important read. Reading fictional accounts of the things people are experiencing has always been important for me to better understand what is going on in the world.

I don't often make the time to read YA books but I am so glad that I read these two.

The Cartoonist: Jeff Smith, BONE, and the Changing Face of Comics

The Cartoonist: Jeff Smith, BONE, and the Changing Face of Comics

Starring: Jeff Smith and Scott McCloud

Director: Ken Mills, Mills James Productions, 2009

Rating: Not Rated

Format: DVD

Jeff Smith never intended his Bone series to be read by children. His inspiration came from Moby Dick and Huck Finn and Star Wars -- he wanted to make something really big, something that started simple and then darkened and got really complex. Something Epic. With Symbolism. Something that could be read differently each time the reader came back to it. He began working on Bone in 1991.

Thirteen years and 1300 pages later, Smith had completed the Bone series. Every two months, he finished a comic book, which became a chapter in the total work. The amazing thing about Bone is that ONE person conceived it, ONE person wrote it, and ONE person drew every line in it. He wanted Epic, and he created it. He wanted Symbolism, and Bone's got it.

This documentary does a fabulous job tracing the roots of the Bone series. It is also an amazing glimpse into a life that has been fueled by one passion since childhood. We get to see some of Jeff Smith's earliest drawings and learn about the lessons of risk-taking and failure from his four-year stint as a daily cartoonist for OSU's student newspaper, The Lantern. We meet his cartooning friends and colleagues, and learn about the animation studio he started. We get to see Old Man's Cave in the Hocking Hills of Ohio, which appears in Bone. I searched for myself in the shots from Smith's conversation with Scott McCloud at Mershon Auditorium last spring, but though I was there, the camera apparently didn't find me.

Jeff Smith has had an amazing life in cartooning and will live on in the canon of great strip artists, which includes his heroes Carl Barks and Walt Kelly, and such living cartooning legends as Art Spiegelman, Scott McCloud and Harvey Pekar.

More reviews at Kevin's Meandering Mind and Out From the Comic Shop.

OSU's Billy Ireland Cartoon Library and Museum

OTIS by Loren Long

I am a huge Loren Long fan. I have always loved his books and when he visited our school with Jon Scieszka when SMASH! CRASH! was released, I got to chat with him a bit and see how great he was with the kids. So, I have been looking forward to the release of OTIS for a while. I finally got my hands on a copy at Cover to Cover this past week and am so excited about this new title. I saw that OTIS is on the New Your Times Best Seller list already and I can see why!

This is a great story that will appeal to many readers. It is the story of Otis, a special tractor, and his friendship with a little calf. There is lots to love about this story. Long's illustrations are really perfect. He captures a spirit on the farm that makes you want to run and jump along with Otis and the calf throughout the book. The colors add a dimension of calm nostalgia to the book. Otis is brought to life in a way that makes him quite lovable early on. And it is a great story. Loren Long has just recently started both writing and illustrating his books. A good call on his part, I think. A story of friendship that has the feel of some old favorites. Kids will love Otis right off. They will love the way that Loren Long has brought him to life. And they will cheer for him when problems arise.

This book has the makings of a classic, I think. And, looking at the illustrations, I expect to see it on several Mock Caldecott lists this year. It will definitely make my list of favorite picture books of 2009.

For more on OTIS from Loren Long go here.

Poetry Saturday -- Snap Out of It

Okay, folks. We've had our little whine-fest about how busy we are in October. Now it's time to snap out of it and look at the big picture, remember the vast importance of the work we do in our classrooms, not get bogged down on the little stuff when the big stuff is so huge.

Of History and Hope

by Miller Williams

We have memorized America,

how it was born and who we have been and where.

In ceremonies and silence we say the words,

telling the stories, singing the old songs.

We like the places they take us. Mostly we do.

The great and all the anonymous dead are there.

We know the sound of all the sounds we brought.

The rich taste of it is on our tongues.

But where are we going to be, and why, and who?

The disenfranchised dead want to know.

We mean to be the people we meant to be,

to keep on going where we meant to go.

But how do we fashion the future? Who can say how

except in the minds of those who will call it Now?

The children. The children. And how does our garden grow?

With waving hands—oh, rarely in a row—

and flowering faces. And brambles, that we can no longer allow.

(the rest is here)

Thank you to Liz for sharing this poem (and her thoughts on the selection of Barack Obama for the Nobel Peace Prize) for Poetry Friday.

Poetry Friday -- Final Farmers' Markets

HARVEST
by Louise Gluck

It's autumn in the market—
not wise anymore to buy tomatoes.
They're beautiful still on the outside,
some perfectly round and red, the rare varieties
misshapen, individual, like human brains covered in red oilcloth—

Inside, they're gone. Black, moldy—
you can't take a bite without anxiety.
Here and there, among the tainted ones, a fruit
still perfect, picked before decay set in.

(the rest is here)

There were several poems on A Writer's Almanac that were pitch-perfect for my life this week, but this one seems particularly apropos. We've had our first frost, and the rains today (and forecast for tomorrow's market day -- pity the farmers standing out in the chill and damp with their final harvest) are starting to bring down the leaves. It's getting darker. The only drama about this season of death is the drama we humans create. For the earth, it is business as usual as the seasons turn, one after the other.

The round up this week is at Picture Book of the Day.

My To-Read List

It is one of those times of the year where my Next Read stack is getting way too big. I just can't decide what to read next. I have pretty much set aside my adult novels--the ones I was hoping to finish this summer. And I am trying to read some new children's books. But even with that goal, there are many OLD children's books that I need to catch up on. I haven't read MISS SPITFIRE or any books in the Percy Jackson series or the Warrior series. I am not sure how to catch up. I guess it is something you never do as a reader--catch up on all the books you are dying to read. I worry about students who don't have a next read stack--those kids who have no idea what to read next. I have trouble prioritizing my Next Read Stack but I ALWAYS have several piles of books waiting to be read.

As of today, here is what I am hoping to read soon:

I picked up a copy of OPERATION YES by Sarah Lewis Holmes at the Book Fair. I read the first chapter aloud to several classes and I am totally hooked. I can already see why Mary Lee added Miss Loupe to our Cool Teachers list. I am thinking that this book would make a great read aloud for 5thish grade.


ICE by Sarah Beth Durst--I received a review copy of this book and am SOOO excited about it. I LOVE this author and have loved her books (INTO THE WILD and OUT OF THE WILD) I so love what Sarah Beth Durst does with fairy tales. I want to read this one when I have time to totally lose myself in it.

THE STORM IN THE BARN by Matt Phelan
I am not a great reader of Graphic Novels but am very excited about this one. I have heard amazing things about it and have been waiting for it to be released. I love Matt Phalen--decided he was on my favorites list when I read WHERE I LIVE. I also LOVED his snowflake that was part of Robert's Snow. I am excited that he has a new book out and that it is a graphic novel.

And I am thrilled that Katherine Paterson has a new book out. THE DAY OF THE PELICAN looks as wonderful as all of her books. She has been one of my favorites for as long as I can remember.

I visited Cover to Cover yesterday and was reminded at how BUSY this time of year is for new books. It is always exciting when there is lots of time to read. This is the time of year that I have the most trouble prioritizing my Next Read Stack. The time of year that the pile gets bigger and bigger and bigger..BUT, I do love my pile!

*swoon*

Overheard at the beginning of reading workshop this afternoon:

"I have a crush on Moxy Maxwell!"

Sigh. That's the other thing that starts happening this time of the year: I start falling in love with my class.

:-)

This Time of Year

I'm in my 9th year of a 10+ year journal/diary.

As I add entries, I often take time to glance through the previous years to get a feel for the "trending topics" of my life. Here's what I'm seeing for the first week of October:

Almost every year in the first week of October, I lose my voice and/or get a cold. (knock wood, healthy so far this year) It's about this time of year that I wear the first turtleneck or the first tights of the season. (But in 2007, we had temperatures in the 90's!!) The full moon catches my attention every year about now, and Orion keeps me company on my early morning walks.

And every year around this time, there are entries like this:

All of a sudden I feel swamped! How did this happen?!?

Work, work, work.

DRA - meetings before school - spelling assessments - meetings during planning - math facts assessments - meetings after school - interim reports, SAID data base complete - parent conferences - staff meeting - Friday, finally Friday, ahhhhh, blessed Friday...

Sound familiar, Karen?

The good news is, that by the end of October, there are entries about how writing workshop is coming together ("Poetry EXPLODED in my room today!"), dinners out with friends, the changing colors of the trees, the joys of broccoli soup, and special events (Billy Collins and Simon & Garfunkel within two weeks of each other in 2003).

Even though teachers know that The First Weeks of October (and all they bring) are coming, we are blindsided by the intense work of this season every year.

I'm writing this to remind us (me) that we get through it every year. Keep paying attention to the small moments whether you keep a diary/journal or not. Look up at the moon as you drive to school (if you can see it through the October rains), take a minute to laugh with friends, watch your classroom for the signs of the emerging community, breathe. Deep cleansing breath all together now...

Okay. Now go get (back) to work.

Great Resources for Young Readers

For all kids: KidsReads.com

For boys: Guys Read

Boys Rule Boys Read!

For girls: Girls Read, Girls Rule (The World)

This information is brought to you courtesy of the collective brain of the Kidlitosphere Yahoo Group.