PicPocket Books

I have been watching some of the iPhone/iPod apps that offer picture books for kids. Lots of companies seem to be jumping at the opportunity to get books out there, no matter the quality. I haven't had much luck finding great books. But when I saw that one of Grace Lin's book ROUND IS A MOONCAKE: A BOOK OF SHAPES was a new PicPocket Book, I thought I'd check it out.

The problem with so many of the other sites I've found that offer books for kids to read on a handheld, is the fact that the books were written and produced for this purpose. Needless to say, the quality of many of the books designed as an app are not too great. PicPocket books offers mostly books that are already well reviewed by reviewers--books that kids already enjoy in book form.

I loved ROUND IS A MOONCAKE. The book is well done. You can choose to have it read to you and choose to have word highlighted as they are read. Picpocket doesn't have a huge selection of books yet, but the ones that they have are good.

I was pretty worried that picture books would never be good enough on a handheld--that ebooks were really about books for adults. But after seeing ROUND IS A MOONCAKE, I think I was wrong.

I am not sure how many of these books we'll want our kids to have on their iPod or how we balance this out for young readers. They are semi-expensive because you buy each one as its own app. Each costs a few dollars. But I think this is similar to listening centers and other ways kids have enjoyed books over the years. I can imagine kids having a copy of the "real" book and a copy of the ebook for trips, etc. I also think there are some good implications for the library and classroom if companies continue to put out quality books. As long as the book and story are good, I see it as a great thing for kids to do on their own. I am excited to see some great books like Grace Lin's becoming part of the world of handheld picture books. I am so happy to see PicPocket Books working toward getting quality books reformatted in this way.

The Socially Networked Classroom by William Kist

I have been reading lots professionally dealing with 21st Century Literacies. I have watched my own literacy change over the last few years and I am excited about the impact it can have for children in education. THE SOCIALLY NETWORKED CLASSROOM: TEACHING IN THE NEW MEDIA AGE by William Kist is my new favorite on the topic. I like it for lots of reasons:

-Kist gets into lots of classrooms and helped me to create a vision of what this could actually look like. It is clear that he works with a variety of teachers so he shows us many possibilities for social networking in the classroom.

-He is realistic in his understanding of the challenges we face as teachers trying to implement social networking. So, he takes time to share ideas no matter what kinds of blocks and constraints you have in your school/district. He gets to the bigger picture of 21st Century skills so that there is an in for everyone.

-He balances the theory with practical examples and some info on some terms we may not know. His voice is easy to follow and even when he is introducing something that was new to me, he helped me understand the tool as well as implications for student learning.

Early in the book, Kist says, "This book takes the stand that the writing is on the wall or rather on the screen: Schools are going to have to move past whatever barriers exist and closer to the literacy practices increasingly used in the "outside world". No matter where you may be on the continuum of believing in or disbelieving the construct of "childhood", there can be no doubt that communication in this new century is going to be different than communicating in the old century-not necessarily better or worse but different..."

Later he goes on to say that this book "chronicles the sometimes messy first steps of educators who are attempting to include social networking inside real schools and who are grappling with all the challenges that come along with this new kind of teaching."

If you are thinking about this topic at all, I would say this is a must-read. Even though it is written specifically for teachers of grades 5-12, I found it to be very applicable to elementary grades. I could see how things could be tweaked a bit to work for younger kids.

The English Companion Ning is beginning a book talk on THE SOCIALLY NETWORKED CLASSROOM this week. Bill Kist will be leading the discussion. I am anxious to get a sense of what others are doing with this issue and to hear others' responses. I think this book is going to make a huge impact on classrooms as we work to figure out the role of social networking in our classrooms.

WINNERS!

Last year, I totally had to concede to Franki -- only she and our bookstore friends, Beth and Sally, had read The Graveyard Book. This year, Bill, Karen and I get to be in the picture, too! Congratulations to Rebecca Stead and When You Reach Me for winning the Newbery Award! (Sally has The Shiny Stickers in her hand, ready to put on all the copies of books that hadn't already been sold!)

Here's the hash (sweet potato with smoked turkey, eggs over hard)...

And here are the Central OH bloggers who were able to get together today for the re-hash of the awards: which books won, which didn't, which we read, which we haven't, and which intern at Random House Kids lost their job this morning because they Tweeted the Newbery Award at least 5 minutes before it had been awarded from the podium.

We reconvened at Cover to Cover for more book talk and, of course, to buy some books. Pictured are (back row) Mandy, Bill, Kristine, Katie, Shelly, (front row) Franki, Karen, Mary Lee, and Lisa. We were joined for breakfast by Tony.

You can see many of the winners in our hands.
All the winners are listed here.

Kids Weigh in on Caldecott Award

This week, we spent library time looking at about 70 2009 picture books that could win the Caldecott Award. After having Loren Scully from the Dublin Library come talk to the kids last week, they had time to really look at the books this week. I always enjoy listening in on their conversations, but I really love to see the books that they gravitate to. I worry that they will vote for only the books they know, but that is never the case. They are much to smart to do that--they take this vote very seriously.

This year, the following books were favorites of the 1st through 5th graders at our school--in no particular order. It was fun to watch them spend so much time thinking hard about the 2009 picture books. I imagine these will all be checked out consistently for the rest of the school year.

THERE ARE CATS IN THIS BOOK by Vivianne Schwartz was one that so many kids loved. I didn't realize that the illustrator was from the UK until after it was out. It gave me a way in to remind them of the criteria of the illustrator living in the U.S. again.

DUCK! RABBIT! by Amy Krouse Rosenthal was well-loved. Kids spent lots of time talking about the illustrations with this one with friends.

OTIS by Loren Long is my personal favorite. The kids know this and it seems that several kids agree with me. So many kids spent time finding new things in the illustrations and needing to share their findings. This seems to be a story kids love to go back to again and again.

THE LION AND THE MOUSE by Jerry Pinkney was another favorite. The kids were amazed at the illustrations and seemed to spend lots of time on single pages.

SPOON by Amy Krouse Rosenthal was another favorite. The kids were drawn to the cover and loved the story. This was a brand new one so kids hadn't seen it earlier. Kids loved the story adn the fun in the illustrations.

THE DAY-GLO BROTHERS by Chris Barton is another that kids were drawn to. I had read this book to several classes so many already loved it. But for the kids who had not seen it, they were immediately drawn to it and loved the way the story was told.

The Dust Bowl Through the Lens

The Dust Bowl Through the Lens: How Photography Revealed and Helped Remedy a National Disaster

by Martin W. Sandler

Walker Publishing Company, 2009

review copy provided by the publisher

I'm probably not a completely unbiased reviewer of this book -- my dad was born in a sod house in Eastern Colorado in the late 1920's. I heard stories of the Depression and the Dust Bowl all my growing up life on the flat, arid, treeless, barren landscape of the photos in this book. (So you can decide how much you want to trust my assessment of this book.)

This book is fabulous on many levels. First of all, it is inviting and accessible. Every double page spread has a short essay with a telling title and quote that functions as a subheading on the left, and a period photo that illustrates the essay on the right. The photos are so compelling that one way to read the book is simply to look at the photos and read the captions.

As much as it is a book about the Dust Bowl, this is a book about the history of the development of photography as an art form...which just happened to take place during the years of and largely because of the Dust Bowl photographers.

This is a book about how art (photography) can be used to document and remedy social inequities.

It is a book not merely about what the Dust Bowl did to the people but also about what it did to the land -- it's a book about the importance of soil conservation and smart farming practices.

This book is a testimony to the strength of the human spirit and the will to survive. And we mustn't forget that the Dust Bowl also gave us The Grapes of Wrath, Woody Guthrie, The Wizard of Oz, and Will Rogers.

History was changed because of the Dust Bowl and because of the Depression, because of the Okies and because of Roosevelt's response to the economic tragedies of the nation at that time, because of photographers like Dorothea Lange and because of the photographs themselves. At the same time, photography evolved from a portrait-making tool, to a tool for social change. A new form of storytelling, photojournalism, was born of the Dust Bowl and the Depression, as were photographic essays. The way we get information and understand the world around us was radically changed during those years.

Like I said, this book is fabulous on many levels. Pick it up and take a look. I'm pretty sure you'll have a hard time putting it down without reading the whole thing.

Poetry Friday -- There Are Worse Things

THINGS

by Fleur Adcock

There are worse things than having behaved foolishly in public.
There are worse things than these miniature betrayals,
committed or endured or suspected; there are worse things
than not being able to sleep for thinking about them.

(the rest of the poem is at The Writer's Almanac)

I hate it when I goof: when I forget something important, when I drop the ball, when I'm late no matter how hard I've tried to be on time, when my intentions are misread, when I speak without thinking or without sufficient preparation. I am haunted by my mistakes. They leave their tracks everywhere. The snow will melt and others will no longer see them, but I can't erase them from my memory.

Mary Ann's got the Poetry Friday Round Up at Great Kid Books today.

Potential Award Winners

As Franki reminded us all last week, predicting the Newbery was the reason this blog was born 4 years ago.

We started by trying to predict the winner.

That devolved to having read the winner.

Then we decided that it was good enough to have the winner in our Amazon shopping cart.

Last year, Franki and a few other people around here had read The Graveyard Book, even though it wasn't necessarily their pick for the winner.

This year, Bill and Karen at Literate Lives are putting us to shame with their series of Newbery posts.

Here are my favorite books of 2009. I'd be happy if any of them won!

Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin

Crossing Stones by Helen Frost

The Sweethearts of Rhythm by Marilyn Nelson

When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead

All the Broken Pieces by Ann E. Burg

Umbrella Summer by Lisa Graf

The Storm in the Barn by Matt Phelan (I'm glad it already won a shiny sticker!)

The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly

Mare's War by Tanita Davis

Operation Yes by Sara Lewis Holmes

Wild Things by Clay Carmichael

Last year was the first year I ventured into Caldecott territory, when I was cheering for River of Words from the moment I set eyes on it. Because of that one "honorable" pick, I'll give it a try again this year. Here are some of my favorite picture books for 2009:

The Lion and the Mouse, illustrated by Jerry Pinkney

14 Cows for America, illustrated by Thomas Gonzales

All the World, illustrated by Marla Frazee

Day is Done, illustrated by Melissa Sweet

Tsunami, illustrated by Ed Young

A Great New Chapter Book for Transitional Readers

I have spent lots of time looking at all of the CYBILS Shortlists. I was on the group that chose the Nonfiction Picture book finalists and I LOVE that list. If you haven't had time to look at all of the great books on the shortlists, I would definitely suggest it. The thing I LOVE about the CYBILS is all of the great categories. When the final lists come out on January 1, every year, I go through to add to my next-read stacks.

One of my favorite categories in the CYBILS is Easy Readers/Short Chapter Books. I have always worry that our new readers move from great picture books to difficult chapter books far too quickly. These early chapter books are so important for transitional readers and it is hard to find good ones. So, I was thrilled to find one from the CYBILS list that I LOVED! GOOD DOG, AGGGIE by Lori Ries and illustrated by Frank W. Dormer. There is lots to like about this books. Kids will like it because it is about a dog who just can't learn to obey his owner, Ben. But from a teacher's perspective, I like it because it is a great story that is so supportive of readers who are new to chapter books. First off, the colors and the illustration are bright and colorful. It is immediately engaging. This book is about 48 pages and there are illustrations on every page. The book is divided into three chapters that follow a sequence. There is enough predictability that it supports readers and enough surprise to make it fun. A perfect book for transitional readers and also one that kids beyond the transitional stage will also love!

Creating Reading Challenges for Ourselves

I am always amazed at the reading challenges that bloggers give themselves. We just love an excuse to read more or differently! For years and years, my personal challenge was to meet Mary Lee's yearly goal of reading 52 children's books. And I love to participate in Mother Reader's 48 Hour Challenge each year. I don't join or participate in order to win . Instead, it is a fun way to challenge myself to stretch as a reader and to be part of a larger reading community. They give us a chance to set our own goals.

Last year, I decided to stop keeping a reading log. Bad decision. I really have no idea what I've read and have trouble going back to those books and that thinking. This year, I've decided to join Goodreads as a way to log my reading and as a way to keep up with books and friends' reading. So far, I love it. I was lost this past year without a record or a goal for my own reading. My reading this year was haphazard at best.

After reading about Kristine's challenges at Best Book I Have Not Read, I became interested in this whole idea again. Kristine signed up for the To Be Read Challenge. In this challenge, you pick 12 books that you've been wanting to read for 6 months or longer, but haven't gotten around to. WOW--love this idea! Although I am not officially signing up for the challenge, I think this is a FABULOUS idea. During my recent weeding experience one of the sad thing I noticed was how many books I have intended to read but haven't yet gotten to. So, this challenge makes sense to me. I tweaked it a bit for myself. I decided that the "for 6 months or more" didn't matter to me. Instead, I want to make sure to make time to read those "must-read books" from my 2009 pile. So, I decided on 12--one for each month. Books I really don't want to end up on the bottom of a very, very large pile. I am appalled that I haven't gotten to some of these. But sometimes things get in the way of reading and you end up forgetting about some of the best books out there for a little while. So, my own personal reading challenge--books I haven't given my chance to read this year so I'll read them in 2010.

Adult Reads

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

Half-Broken Horses by Jeannette Walls

The White Queen by Philippa Gregory

Children's Books

Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin (so upset with myself for letting this one get lost in my next-read pile!)

Wild Things by Clay Carmichael

Marcelo in the Real World by Francisco Stork

The Seriel Garden by Joan Aiken

Crossing Stones by Helen Frost

Ways to Live Forever by Sally Nicholls

The Storm in the Barn by Matt Phelan

Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice by Phillip Hoose

The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordin (Can you believe I haven't read this one yet?)

Key Word: Authorship

The Plot Chickens

by Mary Jane and Herm Auch

Holiday House, 2009

review copy provided by the publisher

The Plot Chickens is a pun-filled (both visual and verbal puns) about a hen named Henrietta who loves to read. Because she loves to read so much, she decides that writing must be equally "eggshilerating." She begins a story on her "Hunt & Peck" brand typewriter following the rules in the writing book. As she writes, the other hens in the henhouse offer their ideas and suggestions. When the book is finished, Henrietta sends it off to a publisher, only to receive a rejection letter. Henrietta "vowed not to brood over her rejection" and self-publishes. Her book gets a terrible review from the Corn Book Magazine and Henrietta almost loses her will to write. But then she sees that her book has been voted best book of the year by the library's story hour children and the world is right again -- her book is loved by the intended audience.

It would be fun to write a collaborative book with students following the same rules as Henrietta, beginning with a main character and "hatching" a plot that sticks to what you know (no cyberspace ray guns in Henrietta's story!) all the way through an ending in which "the main character must solve her (or his) own problem."

S is for Story

by Esther Hershenhorn

illustrated by Zachary Pullen

Sleeping Bear Press, 2009

Starting with Alphabet, Book, and Character, Hershenhorn gives us an ABC of writing process, literary genres, advice and encouragement. As with the other books in this series, each letter has a short rhyme along with a longer explanation in the sidebar.

Definitely a book to add to your resources about writing.

Spilling Ink

by Anne Mazer and Ellen Potter

illustrated by Matt Phelan

Roaring Brook, on shelves March/April 2010

ages 9-14

advance reader's edition provided by the publisher

This book of writing advice can sit on your self right beside Ralph Fletcher's books A Writer's Notebook: Unlocking the Writer Within You and How Writers Work: Finding a Process That Works For You.

With the short chapters and the "dares" (dares are way more fun than invitations or assignments, don't you think?!?) that are at the ends of most chapters, this book would be fun to use for mini lessons in writing workshop. Henrietta (from The Plot Chickens, see above) would have loved this book. Mazer and Potter also begin with advice on creating characters and constructing a believable plot with enough suspense to keep a reader engaged.

The tone of this book is very conversational and the section titles vary between informational ("Revision") and inviting ("Belly Buttons").

Another must-have for your shelf of books about writing.