What I Learned While Weeding Books at Home

When we got married, my husband told me he would never complain about me buying books. He believed (as I did) that you could never have too many books. He has been very good about it for 22+ years. He still doesn't say much but we both really had no idea how many books a person could accumulate in a lifetime. So, it was time to weed. I knew this but avoided it until I found this article via Twitter. It helped me get some motivation. I do not enjoy weeding books at all, but they seem to be taking over our house. Where will I put the new purchases of 2010 if there is no room?

One of the biggest issues for me is that all of the books from my classroom now live at home. In my current job as K-5 librarian, I had to bring my classroom library home. After teaching a variety of grades from K-5 over the last 20+ years, I could pretty much run a school in my basement. So many great books and they all serve some different purpose. Some are great for beginning readers. Some are perfect as mentor texts for writing. Others work when trying to explain complex math concepts to kids. It is hard to find even one book that I feel okay about weeding but I went book by book and am ready to take several huge boxes to the resale shop.

-Weeding at home is much more difficult than weeding in the school library. I can see the books more objectively in the library at school. There are not as many stories and histories tied to those. Home weeding is a little more difficult since each book has a little story or memory to go with it.

-Children's books will be given to school--we have a book swap at our school run by a parent in the building. Every few weeks, there is a table set up in the cafeteria where kids can swap book. Many times, we have so many donations that each child in the school can take a book. It is fun for the kids and a great way to pass children's books along. It is great fun to watch them choosing books at the table too. So thoughtful about their choices!

-much of the nonfiction is obsolete--easier to get rid of

-I went through phases of book purchasing and it shows on my bookshelves. When art in the classroom was a big push in elementaries, I purchased several biographies about artists. When kids in a class got hooked on an author, I picked up several books by that author.

-I have a great poetry collection and I LOVE IT!

-I need to organize the books so I can find them.....

-I tried to get rid of duplicates but for some books, I couldn't bear to part with one--you can never have too many copies of Silly Sally, can you?

-Some of the books that could easily be weeded were books that were "the book" for some student--the book that turned them into a reader. It is funny how a book can sit on a shelf in a classroom for years and then one child finds it and it changes them. So many of the books on my shelves have stories like that. That seems to be the problem with weeding as a teacher--you never know which book will hook a child in the future or which book will help a child through a hard time. Every book has potential for some child in the future.

-There are books I hope my own children will love as much as I did. I have shelves of books that are too much part of who I am to get rid of. They are my favorite shelves. Just looking at the spines makes me happy! (Walk Two Moons, Crossing to Safety, Living Out Loud...)

-My next-read stack has turned into a next-read room. I was feeling pretty confident that if there was a flu epidemic and we were stuck in the house for days, I would have enough reading. But there are just too many books I'll never get to. I figure someone else should enjoy them so I hesitantly weeded out several books that have made it too far down the next-read pile.

-I got rid of several self-help books. I seem to have quite the collection (I came across 3 copies of THIN THIGHS in 30 DAYS from the early 90s. I haven't used the book since the early 90s but I cannot bring myself to weed any of the 3 copies...) The potential is always there with a copy of the book in every room, right?

-Professional books were harder to weed than I thought. So much thinking comes from the learning I've done from professional reading. Every book has changed my thinking in some way. And I go back to them, even the older ones, often. So I didn't get rid of much there.

-Nonfiction for children has gotten so much better in the last decade. So many of the books that I kept from my classrooms just aren't the quality of the books that are being published now. So much more like an encyclopedia and far less engaging/reader friendly.

-I can't part with any books by Charlotte Zolotow, Anna Quindlen, Lois Lowy and others who are on my list of favorites.

We all weeded some books--piled them up and held a family contest. How many books were we weeding? Everyone got one guess and the winner won $5. My youngest daughter won. Her guess was 213. In reality, we weeded close to 300 books. About 200 are going to the resale store and the 100 children's books are going to the Book Swap.

It was a hard process but you should see all the shelf space we have! So, the good news is that we have lots of space to put the new books we'll buy in 2010!

WAITING FOR WINTER by Sebastian Meschenmoser

I knew that I was going to buy this book the minute I saw that Sebastian Meschenmoser was the author. LEARNING TO FLY is one of my all-time-favorites and I have shared it in many, many workshops over the last few years. I knew from the picture of the squirrel on the front that I would love this one too.

WAITING FOR WINTER is the story of a squirrel who is waiting for winter...and snow. But squirrel has never seen snow. He usually stays inside for the winter. But this year, Squirrel is determined to see snow! So he waits. And waits. And waits. (The waiting page is definitely in the running for my favorite page.) He gets pretty bored waiting so he thinks of things to do to keep him busy--exercising and singing to name a few. But he and his friend Hedgehog are so loud that they wake up bear. If Bear wants to sleep, he has to help them find snow. So, they look...for something white and wet and cold.

As in LEARNING TO FLY much of the story is told through the pictures. The expressions and actions of the animals make me laugh on almost every page. You can't help but love them. And the illustrations are done in mostly pencil drawings with a little color here and there.

A GREAT story and one that I'll read aloud in the library. This one is a MUST BUY if you loved LEARNING TO FLY (and really, who doesn't love that book?)

Another review at 7 Impossible Things Before Breakfast.

2 Upcoming Picture Books

I picked up two ARCs at NCTE --picture books that will be out in early 2010. Both are quite fun and I think kids will love them.

TOO PURPLEY by Jean Reidy and illustrated by Genevieve Leloup has a cover that will really appeal to fans of Pinkalicious. The cover is almost completely purple--different shades of purple--a little girl dressed completely in purple. The story is quite fun. It begins with the "sweet" little girl screaming, "NOT THESE CLOTHES" to the huge pile of clothes that she has. Each of the following pages shows her in an outfit that is just not right for one reason or another--too purpley, too itchy, too stripey, etc. The illustrations are colorful and fun and there is a happy ending--she finally finds an outfit that is just right. I have two daughters and both have had fits about clothes I've picked out for them. So, I am pretty sure there will be lots of kids (an mothers) who can relate to this book!

BEDTIME FOR MOMMY is by Amy Krose Rosenthal. LeUyen Pham did the illustrations--I love her work and was immediately drawn to the book because I recognized the cover illustration as one of hers. This is the story of a little girl who is putting her mother to bed. Mommy asks for five more minutes, needs to be reminded to brush her teeth, and asks for two bedtime stories instead of one. The story is told completely in talking bubbles and illustrations which make it a unique bedtime story. Kids will love that the mother is the one procrastinating at bedtime!

My 10-Year Old's First Stop-Motion

My youngest daughter got a camera for Christmas. She also has a Christmas elf. So, she played around this week to create her first Stop-Motion video. With a total of 18 pictures, she created this video. A lot of work for a 3 1/2 second video but she is now seeing possibilities all over the house for more of this. She is being quite creative in her thinking now that she understands how it works. I am anxious to see what she creates next.

A New Rhyming Book

WOW! IT'S A COW by Trudy and Jay Harris is a fun new rhyming book. I don't think a library can ever have enough good rhyming books so I was thrilled to find this one. The fun of this one is that is is also a Lift-the-Flap book as well as a guessing book! What more could you want in a rhyming book for young children? This will make a fun read aloud for PreK-1st grade.

Each page gives you a short piece of text about something as you go on a search around the farm for a cow:

If it goes, "Neigh, neigh,"

And it's pulling a plow,

It's not a cow!

Of course.

It's a ...

(and then you lift the flap! Under the flap, we find a picture of a horse and large letters that say horse.) Kid will be able to join in and read this part and will love doing so.

SELF-HELP BOOKS for 2010

It is that time of year for me again. The time I usually buy a new Self-Help book. My oldest daughter, now 19 dreads bookstore visits at this time of year. I remember a few years ago when I bought the diet book of the season. She was in her mid teens and said, "Do you not realize you do this every year?" Of course I realized it. Well, sort of. Last year, I knew that it was time to reflect on my self-help book issue. When I went to the New Year's self-help book table at Borders, I realized that I owned and had read 90 percent of the books on the table. I am not sure what that says about me or whether I should be admitting it here, but it is what it is.

As I was weeding out my bookshelves this week--working toward the goal of decluttering--I found a few of my favorite self-help books. Books that I don't use any more but they are a bit of my history. One of the first self-help book that I purchased as an adult was THE BEARDSTOWN LADIES COMMON SENSE INVESTMENT GUIDE. It did not make me a millionaire, but I picked up lots of little money tips that I've used ever since.

Since I have been buying self-help books rather regularly for 20ish years, I do notice some patterns--diet, exercise, money and organizing. It is interesting--when I read these books, I seem to find a few things that live with me and life gets a little better.

This year, I decided not to spend money on a new book. Instead, I decided to revisit some of my old favorites--the few I decided not to get rid of. So, this week, I've spent a bit of time with LIVING ORGANIZED by Sandra Felton and THE COURAGE TO START by John Bingham. I figured that these two books helped a bit the first time I read them and there might be some new nuggets to learn if I reread them.

If you are someone who is weeding books, cleaning the office, reorganizing closets, etc. this week, you probably know Sandra Felton. I am an organized person but one who has to see everything I am working on at once. So I don't appear to be organized. I make piles and then I clean piles. Over and over and over again. Sandra Felton's book caught my eye one year when I was stuck delayed at an airport. She really gets into the minds of people who she calls "messies" and helps with strategies to help us stay organized so we never have to spend a whole weekend cleaning our offices. Just flipping through the book has already helped me remember some of the strategies I'd forgotten. (I must confess that I did buy a $3.99 audiobook by Felton for our trip to visit relatives so I had something to listen to in the car.)

And, since my exercise routine has been pathetic for the last two years, I am going back to THE COURAGE TO START by John "The Penguin" Bingham. His story about how he began his life as a runner in his 40s is a great one and he has great tips that make it doable.

So, I have weeded out many, many of my self help books this week while trying to make space for any new books that I may buy this year. And even though I will probably rely on the authors' blogs to keep me focused on my goals this year, these two will stay on my shelves for easy reference over the next few months.

Stuff You Need to Know

Pick Me Up: Stuff you need to know...

Dorling Kindersley, 2006; this paperback edition, 2009

Ages 8-->

review copy provided by the publisher

This book is a dare: PICK ME UP.

You will, and you'll open it, too, and find photos, diagrams, timelines, big questions ("How might the history of World Wars I and II have been different?), opposites, explanations ("Why do we smile?"), maps, challenges ("Spot the odd one out"), instructions, commands ("Are you a girl? turn to page 224), and everywhere color and font and design that make you keep browsing and reading and (gasp!) learning.

If you're left-brained, at some point you will try to figure out the logic of the book. You'll read the "How to Use Me" pages at the beginning of the book and find out that if you're looking for an encyclopedia, you'll have to make do with the traditional index at the back of the book to find the stuff you want to know. OR you can read by category (all the "Arts, Entertainment and Media" entries are coded with a purple box at the top of their pages). OR BETTER YET you can just start browsing. Inside the color coded topic box there are three words that let you know what's on that page...or should I say, suck you into the page to find out how those three words can all be contained in the information on that page!

I'll turn to a random 2-page spread and show you how this works. Pages 176-177. Topic code: orange (I look back to find out this means "You and your body.") The key words inside the orange topic code box are Nutrition to Bugs to Nursery Rhymes. "An Apple a Day" lists common chants and rhymes that encourage us to eat apples. This is followed by a text box explaining why eating apples (but not apple pie) every day might be healthy. Titles of short articles on the next page: "What should you be eating every day?", "Why the potato is an apple," What nursery rhymes are really about," and "You're not going to eat that!" (insects in Northern Thailand, edible frogs in Ghana, a fruit that smells like dirty socks...) In the article about nursery rhymes, there is a mention of the Bubonic plague. The word plague is bold and underlined with a page number after it. You guessed it...a "hyperlink" to more information! If I follow the link, I find "Viruses to Rats to HIV." Links from that spread could take me to information about computers, Europe, or the immune system.

Why do you need this book?

1. It's like a model of the Internet. It would be fascinating to compare searching for information in the encyclopedia to searching for information in this book. I think there could be lots of lessons about using a search engine that start with this book.
2. It showcases what student research could look like. There is nothing boring about the presentation of information in this book. Cure for the dreaded "Country Report"? Check out the pages about China, India, South Africa, etc. Want your students to really THINK about their topic instead of barfing back facts? Study the ways (WAYS, plural) information is presented in this book.
3. The two-page spread that explains how this book was written. (Get out your magnifying glass--this is literally the fine print--but it is also a fascinating glimpse into the writing process on a professional level.)
4. It's colorful, fun, and inviting. Anyone of any age who opens this book is guaranteed to learn. Do you need any other reasons?

Join Us in Celebrating Jon Scieszka, Our First Ambassador of Children's Literature!

On January 5, a new ambassador of Children's Literature will be announced.

So, on January 4, we thought it would be great for the Kidlitosphere to thank Jon Scieszka for his work over the past two years as the first Ambassador by hosting a virtual party for him. If lots of us in the Kidlitosphere put up a post celebrating some aspect of Scieszka's work, it would make for a nice tribute to him from the bloggers.

The "Thank You Jon Scieszka" post can be a review of one of his books, your reflections on his work as ambassador, a personal story around one of his books or author visits, something connected to Guys Read...anything Jon Scieszka.

We'll do a round up here at A Year of Reading so if you decide to join us in this celebration, send us a link to your post in the comments here.

Poetry Friday -- Merry Christmas!

We Wish You A Merry Christmas

We wish you a merry Christmas,

We wish you a merry Christmas,

We wish you a merry Christmas,

And a Happy New Year!

Good tidings we bring for you and your kin;

We wish you a merry Christmas

And a Happy New Year!

Here's hoping your day is full to the brim with candles and cookies, friends and family, smiles and surprises! May you give more than you get, and may your joy last the whole year through.

The Poetry Friday round up this week is at Book Aunt. Next week it will be right here!

Teaching and Learning

I've been taking a tai chi class at my health club for about 9 months. I am a slow learner, and most of the time, I'm at peace with that. I've been told repeatedly that it can take a lifetime to truly master tai chi.

I am not accustomed to being a slow learner, so I have tried, as much as possible, to study what it feels like from the inside, and "interview" myself to capture those feelings. Here is some of my "research" to date.

Q: You can't seem to learn even the first 20 moves of the form. Why do you keep coming back?

A: For one thing, it is very relaxing to simply concentrate on moving my body rather than on the million of things that demand my attention and concentration every day in the classroom. Also, I suppose I imagine someday being the kind of person who does tai chi in the park in the early morning. The main reason I keep coming back, though, is that I am getting to know the people in the class and the instructors and I like spending a little time every week with them!

ANALYSIS: The main hook for the struggling learners in my classroom is likely the social piece as well. I need to remember to capitalize on that. It's also good to keep the end vision in sight -- to remember that the work we do in school is aimed well beyond standards and testing and AYP. Our goal is competently (independently) functioning members of our society.

Q: Which of the four instructors' styles works best for you?

A: Well, I can tell you for sure which one works the WORST -- that would be the guy who points out to the whole class that I'm the newest and least capable and I'm the one for whom he has the lowest expectations. (Not in so many words, but just about.) He also spends much of the class talking about tai chi rather than teaching us/leading us in practice of the moves in the form. I usually leave his classes cranky rather than relaxed. If he were the teacher every week, I wouldn't go back.

In third place is the instructor who is not such a great teacher, but he takes a personal interest in every member of the class. He knows my name and a little about me. He spends a little bit too much time talking during class, but I've been able to tell him that I'd rather spend more time practicing the moves and less time listening. And he was grateful (or at least polite) about the feedback.

The top two instructors are the ones who spend the whole class leading us through parts of the form. They pick a series of moves and we do them over and over again. They give the experienced members of the class tips about subtle ways to move their hands and bodies that go right over my head, but they never make the less experienced members of the class feel stupid.

ANALYSIS: Never make learners feel stupid. Totally counterproductive. Enough said.

Repetitive practice of essential skills is not necessarily a bad thing. Hard work on the pieces and parts can make the whole feel stronger. Success on a piece of a big skill fuels the desire to master the entire big skill. Drill of the parts should NEVER constitute ALL of the instruction, or the vision of the big picture will be lost.

Q: Do you practice lots outside of class?

A: For the longest time, I was only invested enough in the class to show up twice a week. Gradually, I built the desire to make more progress than I was able to in class (mostly because I wanted to please the instructor and the class members -- there's that social piece again). The thing that keeps me from practicing lots at home is that I don't know enough yet to practice independently!

ANALYSIS: Assigning homework is tricky. Yes, we want our students to practice what we work on in the classroom, but unless they are independent or close to being independent, that practice might not be attempted or might be a clumsy approximation (not a bad thing, just something to keep in mind). It's more important to make every minute of classroom instruction count than it is to create elaborate homework assignments that come loaded with unrealistic expectations for some of the learners in our classrooms.