Favorite Series: Stink

Stink and the Ultimate Thumb-Wrestling Smackdown
by Megan McDonald, illustrated by Peter Reynolds
Candlewick, 2011
review copy purchased for my classroom

Stink gets a U on his report card in Phys Ed, and his parents make him take up a sport. He considers (in the first comic of the book) Pogo Badminton, Tuna-Tossing, Cheese-Rolling, and Unicycle Hockey. After watching some sports on TV, he rules out slow-pitch softball and golf as "BOR-ing" and "WAY-boring," and he throws out seven other sports before he finds thumb-wrestling. (is that sport or "sport"? and you can find this on the sports channel? for real? yet another reason why we don't have cable...) Unfortunately, Stink's parents don't buy into thumb-wrestling as a sport, but karate gets the okay.

If you know Stink, you know that the discipline of karate doesn't come easy, although the kicking and smashing and yelling do. When Stink uses his "calm as a pool of water" at the library to tame the rambunctious reading dog, you know he's on his way to success.  In the climax of the book, Stink is going for his yellow belt, AND his Shark Hammersmash goes up against T-Rex Wasabi in the Ultimate Thumb-Wrestling Thmackdown.

Why I love this series:
1. The illustrations and comics.
2. The way Stink and Judy banter. (" 'Stink, you lie like a guy with a booger in his eye.' " and " 'Prove it like Nancy Drew.' ")
3. Kids who love the series, but who have outgrown it, still read the new ones as they come out. This means that there is no stigma about reading Stink. It's not an "easy" book, it's a funny book with a great character.

Poem #6 -- Favorite Book

A Wrinkle in Time

takes me back to 6th grade --

I'm awkward and ugly and shy.

Just 75 cents

from Scholastic Book Club --

I keep my old copy close by.

Every couple of years

I revisit my old friend --

I listen or maybe re-read.

Meg Murray and I,

with the strength of our faults

battle evil with love and succeed.

©Mary Lee Hahn, 2011

Nonfiction--Short Pieces of Powerful Text

I discovered three great nonfiction books this week. I have been looking for books that help students build stamina for reading nonfiction text. Often, when we teach kids about text features, they learn to skim a little too well and don't often read the text that accompanies the visuals. By having a collection of great short pieces to use with kids, students see the power in reading pieces of nonfiction text.  I like books like this because they provide great nonfiction for independent reading and also provide great pieces for minilessons, shared reading and read aloud.

A LAND OF BIG DREAMS:  VOICES OF COURAGE IN AMERICA is a picture book that celebrated 13 Americans.  Each page features the words as well as a bit of information about one of these Americans.  Included in the book are Thomas Jefferson, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and others.   The pages are organized in chronological order--beginning with Thomas Jefferson and ending with Barack Obama.  A quote by the famous American starts each page and a bit of information connected to the quote is explained following the quote.  The back of the book includes a short piece with biographical information on each of the 13.  This book is organized in a way that can really help children see the influence of others and the words that made a difference.

TOTALLY HUMAN: WHY WE LOOK AND ACT THE WAY WE DO by Cynthia Pratt Nicolson is this month's Junior Library Guild Selection for the category we receive. I was excited to see it as it was new to me and I am sure kids will love it.  This book shares the reasons we, as humans, do many of the things we do (hiccup, throw up, listen to music and love pets to name a few). Each two-page spread focuses on one of these questions and each question is followed by a pretty detailed explanation.  I like this book because it brings together difficult scientific concepts with fun illustrations to engage readers.  The text is written in a way that helps readers understand the basics of genetics and inherited features.  It does so in a very fun way, with topics that are interesting to children.  This book is pretty packed and can be read cover to cover or in short pieces.

I learned about DON'T TOUCH THAT TOAD AND OTHER STRANGE THINGS ADULTS TELL YOU by Catherine Rondina at the last Twitter #titletalk that was focused on nonfiction books. (If you have never participated in #titltetalk, it is a Twitter conversation around children's books hosted once a month on Sundays by Donalyn Miller and Paul Hankins. More info as well as archives can be found on the Title Talk Wiki). This is a small book that kids will love.  Each page focuses on something that kids have heard such as,  "If You Sit Too Close to the TV, You'll Ruin Your Eyes" and other common adult warnings.  Following each of these quotes, the authors answer whether the warning is true or false and go on to explain why in a short one page piece. This is a fun book filled with scientific answers and explanations.  As with the other books, the pages can be used individually as short text or the book can be read from cover to cover.

Poem #5 -- Fishing

I am standing in the river,

the current gentle against my legs.

My feet are cool in my boots

in my waders

in the water.

My head is warm in my cap

in the sun.

I have finally cast my line

with grace

and precision

and the fish believes

an insect has landed 

in the water

above its head.

The line goes tight.

I bring the fish to me,

remove the hook,

apologize,

marvel at the iridescent beauty,

kiss its nose,

and release the fish back into the river.

Then I open my eyes

and pick up the next paper to grade.

©Mary Lee Hahn, 2011

A Perfect Day With Amy Krouse Rosenthal

When Amy Krouse Rosenthal was scheduled to visit our school in February, we had an ice storm and school was cancelled. It was a total bummer.  We were all so excited about her visit and kids were anxious to meet her.  The night before the visit, we had our annual art show and all of the displays were inspired by Amy Krouse Rosenthal's work.  Our 4th graders worked on a project, Made to Make a Difference as part of the show.  And the whole school contributed to a Things We Make board.  You can imagine how sad we all were when school was cancelled on that day.

Mrs. Knapp shows off her yellow bandana.

Amy was so gracious and was able to reschedule for last week.  I am sure it wasn't easy for her to do, as she is so busy.  But she visited Riverside on Thursday and it was a PERFECT day!  I have loved Amy and her work for a while but had never had a chance to see her with children.  WOW!  She had them glued to her words in every session.  Our kids were decked out in yellow bandanas.  Because we all loved her video, "Beckoning the Lovely", we decided to wear yellow to coordinate with Amy's infamous yellow umbrella. Many kids came decked out in yellow clothing. And everyone had a yellow bandana to wear as they pleased. Talk about creativity--some made neckties, others wore them as aprons. Headbands and belts were also popular.  It was great fun to look at all the ways kids thought of to wear the bandanas.

I should have known that Amy would speak in the same way she writes -- offering up invitations for people around her.  Her talks were filled with invitations and possibilities. She began talking to each group about why she loved words and I loved watching the kids' faces as they worked through anagrams, palindromes and more.  She also talked about how she loves ideas and let kids in on the secret that ideas are everywhere.  They just need to be on the lookout.  She read from her books. One of my favorite things that day, was the cheering that went on in the crowd every time Amy put up a slide of a cover to one of her books. It was true concert behavior as the kids yelled, clapped and hollered for their favorite book.  Spoon, Duck Rabbit and Bedtime for Mommy all got huge cheers from the crowd.  Seems that all of her books are their favorites!

Amy shared a video that I hadn't seen with our older kids.  The Money Tree:


Then she talked to kids about the surprises and asked them the question, "What would you have done had you walked past the money tree?"  It was a great conversation and a great invitation for reflection.

She shared some of her upcoming book with us that I am VERY excited about. It is called THIS PLUS THAT and is due out VERY soon!  It is a great story of word equations with great messages about life. I think the kids will have fun trying to write some of their own after seeing Amy's.

To thank Amy for her visit, our amazing friend, Karen Spector, created a special necklace for Amy.  Karen is our favorite jewelry artist and she was moved by Amy's work when I shared the site.  She created an amazing necklace that celebrated Amy's work.  We are finding that everyone is touched by Amy's work once they discover it.

As I said, it was a perfect day and I am loving all of the conversations and things that are happening because of Amy's visit.  Kids are not only continuing to enjoy her books, but they are talking about the things she invited them to think about.  This is an author visit that will live with our kids for a very long time.  Thank you, Amy!

Poem #4 -- Words With Friends Poem

Lemonade (And Other Poems Squeezed From a Single Word)
by Bob Raczka
illustrated by Nancy Doniger
Roaring Brook Press, 2011
review copy purchased for my classroom

You know Bob Raczka. He wrote the poems for Guyku.

In his new book, Lemonade, he uses the letters of the title word of each poem to make the words for that poem. For example, the poem "Bleachers" reads: "Ball / reaches / here / bases / clear / cheers".

Each poem is presented two ways. The first way is like a puzzle, the second way shows the poem clearly.

I tapped deep into my Words With Friends Word Making Skills and came up with this poem:

©Mary Lee Hahn, 2011

Go ahead and try one. I know you want to. Leave yours in the comments. Triple letter score if you use a Z.

Basketball Belles by Sue Macy

I am still looking for great picture books that are biography or fictionalized biographies of some sort.  I think so much can be done with great picture book biographies and the new ones being published let our kids in on some stories from history that weren't available when I was a child.  Biographies from my childhood all focused on presidents, inventors, etc.  Very famous people from history.  But lately, there have been biographies published about people who made contributions to the world in many different ways. Some went on to become famous and others did not. The fact that we now have these to share with our students is exciting.  Knowing how people throughout history made a difference is so important.

Last week, while visiting the Dublin Library, I noticed BASKETBALL BELLES:  HOW TWO TEAMS AND ONE SCRAPPY PLAYER PUT WOMEN'S HOOPS ON THE MAP by Sue Macy. This book was on the shelf of new children's books and I picked it up.  It is a great story of the first ever girls college basketball game.  The story is told through the eyes of Agnes Morley, a guard on Stanford's team that day.

This book is a great read. There is not a lot of text and it focuses almost exclusively on the actual game in 1896.  Readers quickly understand how big of a deal it was for women to play basketball and to realize how far we've come since then.  There are no men at the game because many believed it was not proper for women to perspire in front of men.  Even the janitors who had to come in during the game to fix a hoop were extremely uncomfortable.  In spite of all of this, the game was a huge success and this story tells about this important moment in women's sports.

The author's note at the end of the book includes more information about Agnes Morley as well as other information on women's basketball. Following the note, there is an interesting "Timeline of Women's Basketball". I was amazed as I studied it at how recently women's basketball has really been played officially.

This is a great book. Whether you are looking for books about women in history, great nonfiction read alouds or just great stories to share with kids, this is definitely a must have.

PoetQRy QResponse

I saw this poem at Father Goose...

and it made me think about this:

I saw this poem at The Poem Farm

and it made me want these:

Information about PoetQRy QResponse can be found here.
Information about QR-Codes can be found here.

2 Great New Early Chapter Books

Finding chapter books that are appropriate and engaging for younger readers is often a challenge.  For primary teachers who are looking for a chapter book length book for read aloud or for primary grade readers who are reading far above grade level expectations, appropriate chapter books are often few and far between.  I have been keeping my eye out for chapter books whose content is both accessible and engaging for young readers.  I was happy to find two new ones this week.

 I was soooo happy to recieve a review copy of Nana Takes the Reins from Chronicle Books this week. If you loved NANA CRACKS THE CASE (my blog review here)  when it was released, you'll be thrilled to see that Nana is back! And she is on another adventure with her grandchildren.  This time, they are off to a rodeo.  But they get sidetracked along the way when Nana's car breaks down.  This new book features the same characters we came to know in the first book (Nana, her two grandchildren, their very nervous mother) and we also meet some new characters.  I love the humor in this book and the way the author talks to the reader throughout the book.  At one point in the book, when Nana is very winded from climbing a very high hill, the text reads, "In fact, for your reading ease, all puffing and panting has been removed from the following sentence."  This book is due out in April and I couldn't be happier about this.

I picked up THE TROUBLE WITH CHICKENS by Doreen Cronin at Cover to Cover. This is a fun story about a retired search-and-rescue dog and his friends, the chickens. Even though J.J. merely wants to relax during his retirement, the chicken family on his farm need his help. They are missing two of the baby chicks and they won't leave J. J. alone until he finds them. From the information on the book, this is the first in a series and it sets the stage for a fun set of books. Kids will love the humor and the spy-like voice of J.J.  There is also another character (the villain dog) who made me laugh too.  You can hear more about the book in the trailer below.

Poem #3 -- Metaphor Poem (plus a Simile Book Review)

Mosaic Metaphors 

Moments, memories, mementos

Organized optic chaos, gridlocked visual clutter

Soundless soundtrack of days

Artistic arrangement of scraps: quilt of time

Incidents. Incidental. Incremental.

Catalog with pages missing

©Mary Lee Hahn, 2011

It took me three tries to make this acrostic do what I wanted it to do. It started out as an acrostic about the images, even though I titled it "Metaphor Acrostic" in my writer's notebook. Not a single metaphor. It was a fairly adequate acrostic, but it didn't do what I wanted it to do. I wanted metaphors that described a mosaic. The second try got closer, but it still tried to do what I require my students' acrostics to do (at least initially) -- SAY SOMETHING. I tried to give it narrative flow, so that it could be read aloud without the listener realizing (or needing to know) it was an acrostic. I like the third try, the one above, best. It is a just a series of phrases, but I worked really hard on my word choice, and I like the way alliteration decided to join the fun. 

This is a metaphor poem, even though I never say outright, "A mosaic is...", which I think makes it a more interesting poem. I imply the "A mosaic is...", trusting that the title will alert my reader to infer the meaning in my lines as they relate to the vertical word, "MOSAIC." Hopefully my March mosaic helps the reader visualize to construct meaning, too.

Speaking of the mosaic, don't you love how it starts out all blue and blooming and ends all white and frozen? "In Like a Lamb, Out Like a Lion."

Now for the simile book review.

My Heart is Like a Zoo

by Michael Hall (his website is here)

Greenwillow Books, 2010

review copy provided by the publisher

A metaphor is a way of comparing that says this thing IS that other thing. ("A mosaic IS a catalog with pages missing.") Similes compare by saying this thing IS AS _____ AS that other thing, or this thing IS LIKE that other thing.

My Heart is Like a Zoo is a simile poem that compares the speaker's heart to different animals in the zoo.

"My heart is like a zoo--

eager as a beaver,

steady as a yak,

hopeful as a hungry heron

fishing for a snack..."

Not only is this a delightful simile poem that compares the heart to twenty animals, all of the illustrations are composed of hearts!

Also reviewed by Katie at Creative Literacy
Betsy Bird reviews Michael Hall's new book, The Perfect Square, at A Fuse #8 Production