BANANAGRAMS BOOK FOR KIDS

We visited Kids Ink Children's Bookstore in Indianapolis this week. It was a great bookstore with so many great books.

I was excited to pick up BANANAGRAMS FOR KIDS--a puzzle book to go along with the Bananagrams game. The Bananagrams game was popular with lots of kids in the library last year. Kids who played it often became quite hooked to the game. I think this book might get even more kids interested in the game. We have 6 sets of the game in the library and there is usually one being played by someone.

There are 130 puzzles in this book. Each page has a different type of puzzle. The directions on each page vary. For example, some ask you to use all of the letters to solve a riddle while others ask you to use letter tiles in different ways. (You can see some examples if you go to the "Search Inside" link on amazon.) Kids can use the Bananagrams tiles to solve the puzzles. There is a huge variety of things they can do and I imagine some kids will begin to create their own riddles. I plan to cut this book apart so that it is more usable for kids. I am thinking it would make a great beginning of the year wall display--set up with the game. I envision a wall with several of these mounted inviting kids and families visiting the library to give them a try. Then a basket with the remaining pages (laminated and placed in a cute basket) on the table with the games.

Just another invitation into the game and into word play for kids!

Literacies For All Summer Institute

The theme for NCTE's Whole Language Umbrella "Literacies for All Summer Institute" was

Reflecting on Our Practice: Pathways and Possibilities

Kathryn Mitchell Pierce, a writing teacher, and Edward Kastner, a computer art and photography teacher kicked off the conference with a description of a collaborative PhotoVoice project they did with middle school students. What a fabulous project with so many possibilities for students of all ages. I'm inspired to figure out how I can get digital cameras for my students to take home...

Friday's featured speaker was Eric Paulson, who showed us a fascinating "map" of a reader's eye movements when reading a variety of texts. He discussed the implications of eye movements on miscue analysis. Fascinating!

NCTE past president Kylene Beers and her colleague Robert Probst talked about "a new set of strategies we'll call Notice and Note Mini-lessons that we're using with struggling readers to help them read a literary text more critically." I can't wait to try these strategies with my fourth graders! Here I am with Kylene, Robert and Katie Van Sluys, solving Kylene's Google Reader problem.

Franki and I took a little field trip to Indianapolis' independent children's book store, Kids Ink. We also visited the cupcake shop next door to the bookstore, and the bistro next door to the cupcake shop. It's a marvelously dangerous little neighborhood!

On Saturday, we started the day with children's author Kevin O'Malley giving us a "funny and irreverent look at the world of boys and men in publishing."

Bess Altwerger, Brian Cambourne and Richard Meyer led a fascinating discussion on the future of whole language.

Beatrice Mazoyer, Hadley Smillie and Katie Van Sluys gave their perspectives on the importance of share time in the writing workshop.

We ventured into downtown Indianapolis for dinner Saturday night with David and Pat Schultz. What a fun restaurant!

Franki closed the conference on Sunday morning by "Making the Joy of Teaching and Learning Contagious." You can tell by the joy on the faces below that she was successful! (With Dorothy Watson and Rudine Simms Bishop; with Bess Altwerger and Katie Van Sluys; Katie Van Sluys and me.)

2 New Books from Cover to Cover

I went to Cover to Cover to pick up two middle grade novels that are on my To-Be-Read pile. If you have not been following Donalyn Miller on her Book Whisperer blog, she is finishing a book a day this summer. This has been costing me a bit of money so after this new update, I had to order COSMIC and THE WATER SEEKER. I am excited to read them both.

I wasn't in the mood to buy much else. My house seems to have been taken over by books that I don't have time for. So, as Beth showed me several new books, I told her that I had to REALLY REALLY love them if I was going to buy them. Well, I found two that I just LOVED LOVED LOVED--I totally needed them.

The first was a nonfiction book called ORANGUTANS ARE TICKLISH: FUN FACTS FROM AN ANIMAL PHOTOGRAPHER by Steve Grubman and Jill Davis. The cover makes you want to pick it up--a great photo of a fun orangutan! This is a great book that I am sure kids of all ages will love. Each spread focuses on one animal. Against a white background, the animal photos are amazing. A few paragraphs of a good size print accompany each animal. The writing is fun and includes lots of fun facts about each animal. My favorite part is the photography info. As an introduction to the book, Steve Grubman tells about his life as an animal photographer--what is involved, how he prepares, the number of people who help at a shoot, etc. Then throughout the book, Steve gives a little tidbit about each animal photo shoot. He says things like, "I had to lie on my belly to get this shot." The final pages of the book include more fun facts. This is a great book in so many ways. The photos are amazing. But the writing is fun. It would be a great mentor text for kids doing any research writing on animals. Each animal has a few paragraphs of writing next to the photo. They are good samples for kids to learn from. I also love the photography piece--I love that it is embedded in the text. Kids can really enjoy the book but also stop to think about how they created it. It is a great combination.

The other book I picked up was SWIM! SWIM! by Lerch (a snazzy, handsome, charismatic fish). I was drawn to this one because it is a great picture book in graphic novel form. If I find great graphica for young children, I like to buy those to add to the collection. This is definitely a picture book but it is set up in graphic novel/comic form with frames and talking bubbles to tell the story. This is the story of Lerch--a fish in a bowl who is desperate for a friend. He looks everywhere and almost gives up. (Even though he is by himself, his words and thoughts give you an insight into his amusing personality:-) Finally, when he has almost given up, he has a friend. The ending leaves readers with a bit to wonder about. There is lots to love about this book too. First of all, the illustrations are great. Great colors. Huge characters whose eyes and facial expressions tell so much of the story. The text is simple enough for newer readers but the story is interesting enough to hold the attention of older kids. An all around fun book.

Poetry Friday -- I Learn By Going Where I Have To Go

from The Waking

by Theodore Roethke

We think by feeling. What is there to know?

I hear my being dance from ear to ear.

I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow.

Of those so close beside me, which are you?

God bless the Ground! I shall walk softly there,

And learn by going where I have to go.

Carol has the Poetry Friday Roundup today at Carol's Corner.

PLEASE NOTE THIS CHANGE FOR NEXT WEEK:

The 7/16 Roundup is at my juicy little universe with Heidi Mordhorst

Clementine, Friend of the Week

Clementine, Friend of the Week

by Sara Pennypacker

illustrated by Marla Frazee

Disney*Hyperion Books, on shelves July 27

review copy read in ARC received at ALA

Don't worry. There won't be a single plot spoiler here. Instead, let's consider the craft of a writer who can keep the fourth book in an "ages 7-10" series just as fresh and delightful as the other three.

1. She assumes you know the characters, so she digs deeper into what makes each character tick. She continues to make her characters more and more three-dimensional, not just "the younger sister who takes risks and the older brother who carries his backpack and research books everywhere." (Sorry Jack and Annie, but it's true. Except Jack left his backpack at home in the latest book, so that's a start!) Clementine and Margaret are complicated, quirky characters who make surprising and heart-rendering choices. Even Mitchell, Margaret's brother who is N-O-T not Clementine's boyfriend, comes into clearer focus in this book. (Margaret...Mitchell. I just noticed that. A quiet little homage by Ms. Pennypacker, or just two alliterative names?)

2. The plot structure of ALVIN HO seems to me to be "random and vaguely related stuff happens." (If I'm wrong, please enlighten me.) On the other hand, Sara Pennypacker has used plot and subplot in as sophisticated a way as Stieg Larsson. Pennypacker uses ONE plot (friend of the week) and ONE subplot (Moisturizer the kitten), rather than six or seven of each, but she makes plot and subplot mirror and resonate and foreshadow and dovetail.

3. She tackles big, serious issues in a way that makes it fun and unthreatening to think about. In this case, Friendship: what does it look like, sound like, act like? what is it? what is it not? how do you grow it?

(On a side note -- over the course of writing this post, I am hatching an idea for a beginning-of-the-year fourth grade unit of study on series books. If we can talk about plot and subplot, character development, and theme with Clementine (or Cleo, or Jack and Annie, or Alvin Ho, or Ting and Ling, or Sassy...), aren't children more likely to notice these things themselves when they read longer, more complicated chapter books? The catch-words "scaffolding" and "differentiation" are ringing in my ears...)

ROCKY ROAD by Rose Kent

I have been anxious for this new book by Rose Kent to be released for a while. After having read and loved KIMCHI AND CALAMARI, I was so happy to receive a copy of ROCKY ROAD from Random House.

ROCKY ROAD is the story of Tess Dobson and her family. Her mother, who has patterns of good and bad days, decides to move the family from Texas to Schenectady, New York to open an ice cream shop. Tess is worried about the plan and has trouble supporting it at first. But, they make the move and start working on the shop that mom has decided to name, "A Cherry on Top". Lots of obstacles and surprises are in store. Tess isn't immediately happy with the apartment that they've rented as it is in a senior citizen building. Tess is the one who has to do most of the caring for her younger brother, Jordan, who is deaf, while her mother gets the shop ready to open. And the downtown area where Tess's mother has decided to put the ice-cream shop is a run-down part of town which might make it hard to find customers.

But, slowly things start to come together for Tess and her family. She makes great friends in the apartment building--a genuinely caring community who takes in and supports Tess and her family. Tess finds friends and a place to contribute in school and she eventually gets involved in helping out with "A Cherry on Top." And Tess's mother does amazing work to pull together a unique business that brings energy back to the city. Although everything isn't perfect and the problems Tess faces are big ones, things get better for her and she grows up a bit through the process.

Rose Kent does a great job of dealing with hard issues in the context of a middle grade novel. In this novel, Kent addresses many hard issues that are part of life. She does so in a way that makes them very accessible to 9-12 year olds. She helps us, as readers, see people for who they are beyond the troubles they have. She is brilliant at creating characters we care about. I found myself not only caring deeply about Tess, but also caring about the community that is supporting her.

The ice cream theme throughout the book is a fun one. My family, like Tess's, loves ice cream. It was fun to be part of a family creating an ice cream shop similar to those we love around here! Throughout the book, ice cream shop tips are included and at the end of the book, recipes for some of the ice cream treats sold at the store are shared. Rose Kent also includes information about what your favorite kind of ice cream tells about you!

I love the way that Rose Kent combines something as fun as ice cream with difficult life issues. A great combination that works well. I think this would be a great book for book clubs in upper elementary classrooms. I am sure kids will have lots to think and talk about. And they would have no trouble deciding on a snack for the book club to enjoy while chatting!

Rocky Road Book Trailer from Rose Kent on Vimeo.

BUG ZOO: HOW TO CAPTURE, KEEP, AND CARE FOR CREEPY CRAWLIES by Nick Baker

I received BUG ZOO from Dorling Kindersley Publishers. It immediately caught my eye as a great one for kids and every time I pick it up, I notice more about it that I love.

Kids love the outdoors and anything having to do with it. This book invites kids to begin their own "Bug Zoo" and includes all of the information they need to do so. The author begins with an introduction and his experience as a child who built his own bug zoo. He is really inviting them to be scientists, which I love. In the introduction, he says, "Building a zoo means you can become an explorer, a hunter, a collector of fine zoological specimens, and of course, a zookeeper." The author follows the introduction with a list of supplies you need. The tools needed include a notebook (for observations, measurements, etc.), a USB microscope, a tea strainer (to serve as a net), and more. Except for the microscope, the list of supplies includes things that most kids have around the house.

Before the book gets into specific bugs, there is a page on how to catch and keep the bugs for your bug zoo. Ways to capture bugs and types containers to keep them in are the focus for this section.

The remainder of the book focuses on bugs readers can collect for their bug zoos. Each two-page spread includes information on the bug, great photos, where to find them, what they eat, and more. Each page has information that is unique to that bug. A good combination of text and photos make this seem doable.

I am not really a person who would want to create a bug zoo. However this book makes it seem doable and fun. I can see this as something kids can do to explore the outdoors in a way that lets them really examine and care for bugs. I can imagine a bug zoo on the shelf of the library or in a classroom. The author is so detailed in sharing ways to create the right environment, securing the container so the bugs don't get loose and more.

This book seems like one that would appeal to kids of all ages. I can see all K-5 students in the library picking this up. Even if you have no intention of starting a bug zoo, you can learn so much about the bugs included by reading the book and looking at the photos. This book has many options for readers.

Doo Dah Parade Silliness

This parade makes fun of just about everything. It is freedom of speech and expression in action. Happy Independence Day!

Measuring the Amount of Summer We Have Left

At the beginning of June, the vines in the Old Worthington flower baskets

have just begun to grow.

At the beginning of July,

the vines are halfway to the ground.

When we turn the calendar page from July to August,

and our thoughts from summer to school,

the vines will be all the way to the ground.

This is one way to measure

how much summer we have left.

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!!

(Enjoy it while you've got it...independence from schoolwork, that is!!)

ALA in Pictures and Lists

Everything I brought back, neatly sorted into piles. I LOVELOVELOVE my "It's A Book" bag! All that stuff on the bottom right is for you, Franki!

The bag that helped me find my new tribe when I was riding the Metro. Following this bag ensured I got on and off at the right stops.

Miscellaneous conference swag. Yes, that's a Binky the Space Cat ID lanyard and yes, I'm an official SPHDZ.

All of the books I got autographed. I'm proud to say that I brought 8 of the 14 from home. See below for more details about meeting the authors.

All the ARCs I got. I've already read Storyteller, Alvin Ho and Clementine. Franki gets first read of The Candymakers.

Bloggers I saw:

Pam of MotherReader

Christine of bestbookihavenotread

Tricia of The Miss Rumphius Effect

Laura of Writing the World for Kids

Terry of Scrub-a-Dub-Tub

Susan of Wizards Wireless (didn't get a chance to talk to her, but her post of ALA advice was priceless -- especially the part about working the bag check. My back says, "Thank you, Susan!")

Betsy of Fuse #8 (from a distance -- how could you miss those crutches?!?)

Laura of Laura's Life (I was behind her in an autographing line listening to her talk with grace and confidence about reading all of the Newberys and the pros and cons of first editions...humbling.)

More about the autographs and authors:

Jon Scieszka says thanks again for the great going away party that the Kidlitosphere threw for him when Katherine Paterson became the new Ambassador of Children's Literature.

I got to gush IN PERSON to Lynn Rae Perkins about how much I love As Easy as Falling Off the Face of the Earth.

If I hadn't gotten Mitali Perkins' autograph of Bamboo People, I wouldn't have run into Terry and Tricia and Tanita.

Tom Angleberger still appreciates the love we had for his first book, The QuikPick Adventure Society.

Melissa Sweet was just as delightful as ever. We reminisced a bit about her recent visit to the Dublin Literacy Conference and my school.

Amy Krouse Rosenthal will be one of our speakers at the 2011 Dublin Literacy Conference. She asked me who else is speaking and **poof** my mind went blank. Amy, here's the lineup of children's authors: you, Brian Pinkney, Loren Long, and Wendy Mass.

I got to tell Margaret Read MacDonald how important her book How Many Donkeys? was to my Arabic-speaking students this year -- it's the first book we'd ever seen that had Arabic in it.

(Just wait until we get our hands on Jeannie Baker's new book Mirror, which is sort of TRI-lingual in English, Arabic, and images...I saw an advance copy and it looks FABULOUS!!)

Marilyn Singer heard about how her new Reverso poetry form inspired me and it inspired my students to invent their own poetry forms.

I got to meet Thomas Gonzalez in person (Carmen Agra Deedy, too). I interviewed him for the 14 Cows for America blog tour.

Mary Ann Hoberman found out that she's a poetry Rock Star in my classroom.

Liz Garton Scanlon is just as nice in person as she is on the blogs. What a great smile!

And finally, what an absolute delight to meet my "cousin" Tanita Davis in person. She brought me this calendar and cool Celtic-design pen all the way from Scotland! You ROCK, Cousin T!!