SLJ Leadership Summit 2010

Beth and Bill on the train on our way to
SLJ Summit

On Friday and Saturday, I attended SLJ's Leadership Summit in Chicago with colleagues Bill and Beth. The theme of the conference was "The Future of Reading" and I came back with lots of new thinking.

The conference was packed with speakers who each had a different area of expertise when it comes to the future of reading.  I wasn't able to stay until the very end (I had to get to KSRA which was another fun day!) but I did hear several thought-provoking speakers while I was there.  Some of the highlights from the conference:

-I enjoyed Stephen Abrams opening talk setting up the conference.  I read his blog and follow him on Twitter and have learned so much from him. It was nice to hear him as the opening speaker. He shared the slides from his keynote on his blog which I am anxious to revisit soon.

-Donald Leu discussed some research surrounding new literacies. I would like to go back to his work and dig a bit deeper as there was quite a bit to digest. One of my favorite quotes from Leu was, "The Internet is this generation's defining technology for reading."  A summary of his talk can be found on SLJ's website. His slides can be found on Slideshare.

-Francey Harris brought a group of 4 high school students who were part of a panel discussing teens as readers and what they want/need from libraries. They were amazing students and their thoughtfulness and honestly will help us all think through our own work.

-Joyce Valenza shared her own questions about ereaders and ebooks and what they mean for libraries today.  She is so skilled at sharing so much great thinking in such a short time. I was able to hear her for the first time this summer at November Learning and was thrilled to be able to hear her speak again this week.

-Peter Gutierrez, a member of NCTE's Commission on Media, spoke on the role of pop culture and fan behaviors.  This is the first time I was able to hear him but I am hoping to attend his sessions next month at NCTE in Orlando.

-Chuck Follet shared ways in which several libraries are changing and growing.

-Catherine Snow shared great insights on why our students are not ready to deal with the sophistication of the text presented to them.

-The information that was shared by the Carnegie Corporation was incredible and I need to go back to their thinking sometime soon also.

Although Bill was not invited to the Red Carpet
at the Trailee Awards, he did enjoy his chocolate milk
and warm cookie!

One of the highlights of the conference was the evening event announcing SLJ's Trailee Awards.  If you have not had a chance to look at the 24 nominees in various categories, they are worth your time.  24 amazing book trailers created by students, adults and publishers.  I was very impressed with the student-created book trailers. Honestly, there was very little difference in the student-created book trailers and the publisher created book trailers. Just a reminder at how technology is allowing our students to create amazing projects.

It was great to meet Joanne and Jennifer
face-to-face at the Summit!

Talking to colleagues and networking was also a nice part of the conference. Having time to think through some things with local colleagues was nice.  We never get that kind of time at home and we need to figure out how to find more time to meet and talk.  I met and chatted with Mary Burkey of Audiobooker blog.  I learned so much about audiobooks in the short time I talked to her. I have never been much of an audiobook reader but am ready to give them another try now that I have her blog as a resource.  I was also able to meet two of the professors from my University of Alberta Teacher-Librarianship program-Dr. Jennifer Branch and Dr. Joanne de Groot. We had time to chat after the conference and it was so nice to visit face-to-face after having spent so much time in online classes, etc.  I also met a student who has been  in both of my classes and who I am anxious to learn from in terms of books for older readers.

I feel like I was introduced to many people's work at this event. I am hoping to take time in the next few weeks to look for more work by several of the speakers and to really dig into the ideas they shared.  It was definitely a worthwhile event for me and I am anxious to sort through my new learning.

I love how the conference was archived in so many places.  Revisiting the hashtag on Twitter (#sljsummit10) will help remind me of some of the learning I am forgetting. SLJ is doing a wonderful job of compiling things on their site and the SLJ Summit 2010 Flickr group is a fun way to revisit the conference. I think this is one of those conferences I'll be revisiting often over the next few months.

Thank you to SLJ for an amazing oppotrunity!

A MILLION SHADES OF GRAY by Cynthia Kadohata

I finished A MILLION SHADES OF GRAY today on the plane. This book has been talked about a lot since its publication and I've seen it on several Mock Newbery lists. I can so see why. It is a great read. Y'Tin lives in a village in Vietnam and is in the midst of the Vietnam War.  Y'Tin is an elephant trainer--one of the best at such a young age.  He has a special relationship with his elephant, Lady.  But war comes to their village and Y'Tin's life is changed instantly. Y'Tin and many other villagers have to go into the jungle and Y'Tin also must save his elephant and make important decisions about what is best for them.

This is a sad story. A bit hopeful at times, but an honest look at what war does to communities.  It was not one that I could read from cover to cover.  It was definitely a story of war with the horrors being made clear--not the blood and battles, but the emotions that go with war. Y'Tin is a great character, one that you love almost immediately.  Y'Tin is a character who has courage in different ways throughout the story. No decision is easy in a time of war and Y'Tin must make many decisions.

Because of the setting and the sophistication of the book, I think this would be a great book for grades 5 and up. I can think of one class I had years ago who would have loved it as a read aloud. For readers who want a deeper read, It is a great animal story, a great war story, and a great coming of age story all in one.

Poetry Friday: The Fabric of Life

The Fabric of Life
by Kay Ryan

It is very stretchy.
We know that, even if
many details remain
sketchy. It is complexly
woven. That much too
has pretty well been
proven.

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

My head-shaking admiration of the fabric of life is not (today at least) about the shock waves of hurt caused by life's roughly taught lessons, but rather the complex and stretchy connections that hold us all together. Or bring us together, in Minneapolis, stretched and pulled from across the country to talk about blogging and Poetry Friday. 

Thank you, Andi, for doing the Poetry Friday roundup today at a wrung sponge!

THERE'S A PRINCESS IN THE PALACE by Zoe B. Alley

In January, we reviewed THERE'S A WOLF AT THE DOOR--a great, over sized book of fairy tales told in graphic novel form.  I have loved this book and it is quite popular in the library. Even though I am sure it doesn't fit in any child's bookbag, they figure out a way to get it home!

So, I was thrilled to see another book that follows this same idea by Zoe Alley. THERE'S A PRINCESS IN THE PALACE: FIVE CLASSIC TALES does for princesses what THERE'S A WOLF AT THE DOOR did for wolves. This very fun, pink, over sized book  (really, what more could you want!) is the retelling of 5 classic princess tales including Cinderella and The Princess and the Pea.  The humor in the dialogue and the personalities of the princesses are quite fun. My 11 year old laughed aloud as she read the ending to Cinderella.

A fun book and a great addition to any fairy tale study.  I loved the first book but love this one even more as some of these stories are my favorites.  This author knows how to bring classic tales to life in a very unique way.

Poetry + Music = Fun

Camille Saint-Saëns’s The Carnival of the Animals
new verses by Jack Prelutsky
illustrated by Mary GrandPré
includes CD of music and verses
Alfred A. Knopf, 2010
review copy provided by the publisher

This music, long used to introduce children to classical music, does not need poems to suggest the animals each piece describes with sound.

These poems, written by the first U.S. Children's Poet Laureate, do not need musical accompaniment to help their rhythms and rhymes suggest the animals they describe -- the lumbering elephants, the flitting birds, the obnoxious donkeys, the slow and ancient tortoises.

But this music and these poems together, make the music more fun to listen to and the poems more fun to hear and say. What a great way to introduce children to the sounds of language along with the sounds of the orchestra.

Google books preview is here.

The Odious Ogre

The Odious Ogre
by Norton Juster
illustrated by Jules Pfeiffer
Scholastic, 2010
review copy provided by the publisher

This is the story of an ogre so awful that the villagers cower in terror underneath tables when the ogre is afoot. This ogre is confident that he's "Absolutely invincible!"

Then he meets a sweet girl who, even though she recognizes his flaws, insists that he's not so terrible. "Overbearing perhaps, arrogant for sure, somewhat self-important, a little too mean and violent, I'm afraid, and a bit messy. Your shoes could certainly use a polishing, but I'll bet if you brushed your teeth combed your hair, found some new clothes, and totally changed your attitude you'd be quite nice."

You might be able to guess that the sweet girl overcomes the odious ogre. The way she does it is a good reminder that huge and unmanageable problems can be brought to their knees without anything more than continuing on the path one knows to be the right one. (Self, are you listening?)

This is a great book for your word study stack. The ogre has a fabulous vocabulary, due to swallowing a dictionary on one pillage or another.


The Odious Ogre by Norton Juster, Illustrated by Jules Feiffer from Expanded Books on Vimeo.

Rosa's Bus: The Ride to Civil Rights

Rosa's Bus: The Ride to Civil Rights
by Jo S. Kittinger
illustrated by Steven Walker
Boyd's Mills Press, 2010
review copy provided by the publisher

Here's a new way of approaching the story of the Civil Rights Movement and that famous day when Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama -- this is a biography of Bus #2857, the bus where that moment in history took place.

Bus #2857 was made in Michigan, and carried riders in Indiana for six years before moving to Alabama. It carried riders in Montgomery until 1971.  It now has been fully restored and lives in the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan.

Wouldn't it be fun to tell about other moments in history by researching an object that was instrumental in that moment?

Poetry Friday -- The Fairfield County Fair

The Fairfield County Fair is always the last county fair of the year in Ohio. That's where I'll be today on our day off.

FAIRFIELD COUNTY FAIR

It is a fall harvest fair,

not a heat and humidity of summer fair.

It's the round barn against the October sky (maybe blue, maybe rainy),

betting on the harness racing until we run out of money or races,

4-H exhibits

baked goods

quilts

photography

collections of who knows what or why

mullets and guts 

and snotty-nosed kids running wild clutching carnival prizes.

We buy maple syrup and homemade sorghum molasses 

to last the winter.

The smell of peanut shells on our hands

brings curious velvet horse noses out of stalls to snuffle.

We touch oily sheep backs 

wonder at the odd slit-eyes of goats

pick out the craziest chicken breed.

I always fall asleep in the car

on the way home.

THE COUNTY FAIR

by Ron Padgett

The Holstein looks at us with big eyes but with no expression
in them. What images are flashing in its brain? The white goat
walks over as if to ask a question, but it has no question to ask:
there is no question mark in the goat world. The rabbit's pink
eyes dilate when a hand draws near, but it does not move, and
like a horseshoe, it says nothing. The two holes in the top of the
goose's beak are in search of something to get huffy about: the
poor goose is angry and without real nostrils.

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

Liz has the Poetry Friday roundup today at Liz in Ink.

Amulet: The Cloud Searchers

Amulet: The Cloud Searchers (Book 3)
by Kazu Kibuishi
Scholastic, 2010
Review copy is mine

Some series books can be read out of order. Others, like Amulet, have a cumulative story that builds from book to book. A few of the reviewers cited below have a problem with the fact that there is no "catch you up on the story" beginning to this third volume in the Amulet series. However, (and maybe a truer test) Author Amok's 8th grade son had no problem reading this book without the background of the first two. He was interested, stayed with it, totally got the plot, and gave the book his highest rating.

Another reviewer took the author to task with not having a balance of pure good to offset the evil in this book. One of the reasons I like this series so much is that good and evil are NOT pure. Emily struggles with the powers of the amulet. The elf prince turns out to be a much more complicated character in this book -- he is not pure evil.  The airship pilot who gives up everything to attempt to locate the lost city of Cielis has some unexplained history that may or may not be all good. Cogsley and Miskit (the robot and rabbit who have been protecting Emily since the beginning) are captured by a wyvern, and I certainly hope that Kubuishi will bring them back at some point. The new character we meet at the end of this volume seems to be on Emily's side, but he gets this look in his eye when he talks about power, and Emily doesn't trust him, even though Leon (the fox, her mentor) insists that she will come to trust him.

Bottom line -- I really like this series and I especially like Kibuishi's art. My fourth graders will be glad I finally got this review written so they can line up to read book three!

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Mixed reviews can be found at Comics Worth Reading, Book Dragon, ComicM!x, SLJ's Good Comics For Kids, and Author Amok's 8th Grade Son.

The Moral of the Story Is...

Here are two new books to add to your unit on Theme, or your tub of Fables.

Making the Moose Out of Life
by Nicholas Oldland
Kids Can Press, 2010
review copy provided by the publisher

Moose never wants to do anything exciting with his friends. One day, he gets inspired (or maybe just hit in the head with a golf ball) and jumps aboard a sailboat and sets sail. He is stranded on a desert island where he makes the most of island life with his new sidekick, Tuesday the tortoise. Moose is eventually rescued, returns to his friends and suggests they go cliff jumping. The book ends with Moose and Tuesday making plans to meet for a holiday in Africa. Moral of the story? Make the moose out of life so it doesn't pass you by while you sit under an umbrella wearing 100 SPF sunblock.

Ninja Cowboy Bear Presents: The Way of the Ninja
by David Buins and Hilary Long
Kids Can Press, 2010
review copy provided by the publisher

The trio that taught us to appreciate our friends instead of always trying to be the best in The Legend of Ninja Cowboy Bear  are back with a new story about friendship. Ninja loves to play with his friends Cowboy and Bear, but Ninja always wants to play his games, and his games are always rough and rowdy and end badly for Cowboy and Bear. Moral of the story? To be a good friend, sometimes you have to compromise about what to play.