The Wisdom of Clementine

Clementine and the Family Meeting
by Sara Pennypacker
illustrated by Marla Frazee
Disney*Hyperion, 2011

This is the fifth book in the Clementine series, and I like Clementine more than ever. I like her parents more than ever, I like her teacher, Mr. D'Matz more than ever, and even her makeup-obsessed friend Margaret is a little easier to deal with in this book.

I love that the characters in this series continue to grow and change.

But the thing I love most about the Clementine books is the wisdom that Sara Pennypacker weaves in so unobtrusively.

In this book, Clementine has to learn to deal with change. Her family is growing from the perfect number of FOUR people, to the awkward number of FIVE. She says, "It's all moving too fast and we're not ready."

Her mom replies,

"Oh, honey. Life is always moving too fast and we're never ready. That's how life is. But somehow that's just perfect." 

Her dad continues,

"Things are always changing -- that's life. And this?" He spread his hands to the tornadoed kitchen. "Us? Toy-truck ziti, missing hats, drill-gun mixers? Well, this is how we roll, Clementine. This is how we roll."

Lucky Clementine, to have such a family. Lucky us, to get to be a part of that family for another book. Keep 'em coming, Sara Pennypacker and Marla Frazee. Keep 'em coming!


My review of Clementine, Friend of the Week (#4) here.
Franki's review of Clementine's Letter (#3) here.
My review of The Talented Clementine (#2) here.
Franki's review of Clementine (#1) here.
And we have Mr. D'Matz, Clementine's teacher, on our 100 Cool Teachers in Children's Literature list.

A New Blog that You May Enjoy!

Today, we want to welcome a semi-new blog to the Kidlitosphere:  BOOK PEEP WONDERS. This one is unique in that the blog is written by a Mother/Daughter team. The tagline reads, "A blog showcasing the terrific literature a teen girl and her mom read and talk about."   I so love the whole concept of this blog!


To give you a little info on the blog's authors:
Alysa (the daughter)  is 13 and in 8th grade.She likes to read and listen to music. Sarah Dessen is a favorite author of hers. She also likes to write. She was the one who had the idea to start blog. She is currently exploring what high school she will go to next year.  


Andie (the mom) loves reading and writing. Andie says, "One of the things I love about writing is how it helps me uncover hidden truths." Andie is coauthor of the book, STARTING WITH COMPREHENSION. She's also done some DVDs with Choice Literacy including Write from the Start and "Synthesizing Butterflies".  All of Andie's work is centered on deep learning with young learners. Andie's current work is in  learning more about how trauma impacts learning in a third grade classroom and how educators can invite traumatized learners through literacy openings in the classroom. 


This is going to be a pretty expensive blog for me to follow. These two --a teenager and her mom--blog about the books they are reading. There are some books that are popular books and others that they have introduced me to. The mother/daughter team aren't necessarily reading and reviewing the same books, but they are sharing some YA and adult books that sound incredible as well as some conversations about books. A must-follow blog for anyone who is a reader of YA, has a teenage daughter, is a teenager, is a mom, etc.....

WAITING FOR MAGIC by Patricia MacLachlan

Does a book ever make your day?  Like you are so happy that you were so lucky to have discovered it and to have read it? That is how I felt about this book.  I LOVED LOVED LOVED Patricia MacLachlan's new book WAITING FOR MAGIC.  I am a huge Patricia MacLachlan fan and especially enjoy her short novels.  I remember reading BABY aloud to a 3rd grade class years ago and that was the book that I realized how powerful read aloud conversations could be.  BABY has been one of my all-time favorite books for years. And ALL THE PLACES TO LOVE is also still a favorite book of mine. So, I was excited to see a new title by Patricia MacLachlan. And I fell in love with it immediately-read it in one sitting!

This is the story of William and his family. In the first pages, William's father leaves. He leaves a note for William and William takes this to mean that this time, his father has left for good. Shortly after his father leaves, William's mother packs William and his 4 year old sister in the car and drives to the animal shelter to get a dog.  They come home with 4 dogs and a cat.   It is amazing how quickly you come to know the dogs and cat in the book.  They each have their own personalities and they each bring something unique to the story....and to the family.

William has the hardest time with his father's decision and carries sadness and anger with him. But the whole family is grieving and the new pets help them to heal.  One of my favorite lines in the book, is, "'This is a bit of magic, isn't it? All these nice dogs living with people who need them?' said Mama." But William doesn't believe in magic.

This is the story of family and healing and magic and love. It is a wonderful story with characters I will care about forever.  And it is truly Patricia MacLachlan at her best.  The writing is characteristic of MacLaclan's earlier books--I hear pieces that remind me of SARAH, PLAIN AND TALL and pieces that remind me of BABY. There is joy and sorrow all mixed together.

A perfect book really.

We're Versatile Bloggers!

Thank you to Vintage Teacher for recognizing us!

After accepting this honor there are some things we are requested to do:
1. Thank the person (people) who nominated you and provide a link back to their blog.
2. Share 7 things about you.
3. Pass this award along to 15 other blogs that you have discovered.

So, here are 7 things about our blog:

1. Sometime this week, we will post our 2000th post.
2. We are only about 40 followers away from having 1000 blog followers (not counting all those who follow in a reader).
3. We are a few teachers away from having 150 Cool Teachers in Children's Literature on our list.
4. Franki has 21 books on her Books I Could Read A Million Times list.
5. The two of us combined have been teaching for about a half a century.
6. We've been blogging since 2006.
7. We don't HAVE time to do this, we MAKE time to do it! And we're thankful that we are co-bloggers, because neither one of us could keep a blog afloat on our own!!

Here are 15ish bloggers (in no particular order) that we'd recognize as Versatile Bloggers:

Abby and Lauren @ Authentic Learner
Bill and Karen @ Literate Lives
Cathy @ Reflect and Refine
Julie @  Raising Readers and Writers
Katie @  Creative Literacy
Mandy @  Enjoy and Embrace Learning
Maria @ Teaching in the 21st Century
Tracy @  Thinking Stems...
Stella @ My World - Mi Mundo
Tony @ atychiphobia
Kristine @ Best Book I Have Not Read

Nicole @ Nicole's Book Nook
Deb @  Primary Perspective
Scott @ Scott Sibberson

What We Need

What We Need 

by David Budbill

The Emperor,

his bullies

and henchmen

terrorize the world

every day,

which is why

every day

we need

a little poem

of kindness,

a small song

of peace

a brief moment

of joy.

...and a box of donuts wouldn't hurt, either.

Amy has the round up this week at The Poem Farm.

Superhero Joe

Superhero Joe

written by Jacqueline Preiss Weitzman

drawn by Ron Barrett

Simon & Schuster, 2011

review copy provided by the publisher

I could use a superhero in my life about now. Someone who could tame the piles of books and papers on (and around) my desks at school and home, someone who would organize the junk drawer in the kitchen. Someone who could pull hard enough on the spin of the earth to slow it down and make more hours in the day.

I need Superhero Joe.

Superhero Joe learned from comic book heroes how to face his fears. That's why he has a cape of confidence, a shield of invincibility, a torch of radiance, a helmet of invisibility and super gravity-defying boots.

Joe's parents are in peril, but when they plead for his help, he is able to don his superhero apparel and brave the darkness and monsters of the basement to fetch the Staff of Power (aka mop).

This picture book with graphic novel formatting/structures might inspire young comic artists to give Superhero Joe some new adventures and rescues.

BOOKS I COULD READ A MILLION TIMES: THE GINGERBREAD MAN LOOSE IN THE SCHOOL by Laura Murray

I am picky about new versions of THE GINGERBREAD MAN and I LOVE this new one, THE GINGERBREAD MAN LOOSE IN THE SCHOOL by Laura Murray.  I heard about this book from Shannon Miller (@shannonmmiller) on Twitter and ordered it right away when I heard how much her students were enjoying it.  And after reading it lots of times, it is my first BOOK I CAN READ A MILLION TIMES for 2011-2012. (And I am thinking Bill at Literate Lives may want to add it to his PICKS FROM THE PIT.)

First of all, the Gingerbread Man on the cover is quite lovable from the start.  He is standing quite happily with his hands on his hips.  The story starts out in a classroom where students are making the Gingerbread Man. But the fun is that it is told from the Gingerbread Man's perspective.  The first line reads, "I began in a bowl. I was not yet myself-"  How can you not love him already?

But, right after the Gingerbread Man comes out of the oven, the teacher lets the kids know it is time for recess and they all run out of the room. The Gingerbread Man panics and decides to run and find them. So, off he goes. He runs into lots of nice people who help him (the school nurse, the coach, the art teacher, etc.) To each one, he says, "I'm the Gingerbread Man and I'm trying to find the children who made me, but left me behind."  A few repeated phrases will invite student participation. There is a cute happy ending when he finally finds his class.

I can't end the review without mentioning the brilliant illustrations by Mike Lowery.  The Gingerbread boy is lovable and the colors the illustrator uses make this gingerbread story unique. There is a graphic novel feel to the book with boxes for various scenes. The illustrations add a great deal to the story.

This is a great one for any time of the year. I am sharing it with students this week and I like it more and more each time I read it.  The kids love the story and discovering the similarities and differences in this one and other versions they've read. They love joining in while I read and they are all so happy when it is finished.  Some kids have gone off during library time to write their own school versions of the Gingerbread man story.   I am pretty sure this will be a book I will never see again once it is available for check out! I can see it being quite popular!

2 New Nonfiction Picture Book Read Alouds

One of my goals this year is to read more nonfiction aloud to students. I love nonfiction but rarely make time to read it aloud to students.  So, I am on the lookout for nonfiction books that would make great read alouds.  I am excited about both of them.

Kate Messner's upcoming book OVER AND UNDER THE SNOW is fascinating.  This is the story of a father and daughter who are skiing across the snow. But as the ski over the snow, they are aware of all the things going on under the snow.  Honestly, I had no idea about this "subnivean zone" until I read about it in this book. But Kate does a great job of making the idea accessible to children by showing us what happens over the snow at the same time so much is happening under the snow. The author's notes at the end provide a great deal more information on the subnivean zone as well as the many animals in the story.  The art is gorgeous and almost makes me wish for winter!   I can't wait to share this one with students--closer to winter time, I think!

The other book that will make a great nonfiction read aloud is ANIMAL BATHS by Bob Barner. This one is written with younger readers in mind and it is quite fun! Each 2 page spread is gives us rhyming text with information about how various animals stay clean.  The bright illustrations and happy animals make this a happy read and children will learn lots about all the different ways animals keep themselves clean. There is lots of information packed into this quick read!

*Both of these books were review copies sent by Chronicle Books.

2 Events Hosted by The Literacy Connection

You may have already received information about this year's Literacy Connection events.  If not, we will be hosting 2 events this year and I am thrilled about both of them!

The Literacy Connection is partnering with the Columbus Area Writing Project this fall to host a Saturday conference on October 22. It will be held at the Quest Conference Center in Columbus, Ohio.  The day includes three keynote speakers:  Sonia Nieto, Asma Mobin-Uddin and Troy Hicks. Concurrent sessions will fill the day and participants will be able to learn about many topics of interest.  (Karen Szymusiak and I will be doing a session on "Mentor Texts in the Digital Writing Workshop" -something we've both been thinking about for a while.)  Lots of other great sessions are on the agenda.  We hope you'll think about joining us. I sent in my registration a few weeks ago and am already excited about the day.

As for our annual study group and spring event, The Literacy Connection will be hosting Cris Tovani. For those of you interested in the yearlong event, we will be reading and discussing Cris's new book SO WHAT DO THEY REALLY KNOW?  The book is written from Cris's experiences as a high school teacher but the implications span grades K-12.  We think teachers at all levels will be able to explore universal issues around assessment through the study of this book. (My review of the book is on the blog.)  The first meeting for the yearlong study will be on October 19.  As a culmination to the study, Cris will be doing demonstration teaching at Wickliffe Elementary School on Friday, April 27 followed by a full-day workshop on Saturday, April 28 at Wickliffe. Participants can attend individual sessions or the entire year of events around her book.  (Credit is available for those attending all parts of this event.)  More information, along with registration information can be found at The Literacy Connection website.

Poetry Friday -- Listening

Listening

by Jean Valentine

My whole life I was swimming listening

beside the daylight world like a dolphin beside a boat

—no, swallowed up, young, like Jonah,

sitting like Jonah in the red room

behind that curving smile from the other side

but kept, not spat out,

kept, for love,

not for anything I did, or had,

I had nothing but our inside-

outside smile-skin ...

my paper and pen ...

but I was made for this: listening:

“Lightness wouldn't last if it wasn't used up on the lyre.”

*      *      *      *      *

Listen to the poem, or print the poem here, on Jean Valentine's website.

Katie has this week's Poetry Friday round up at Secrets & Sharing Soda. 

*      *      *      *      *

I'm working hard this year to listen well to my students. I want to be the dolphin beside their boat; I want to be like Jonah, listening from inside.


It takes focus and concentration to listen. It's one of the most important things I can do: really listen to them and really hear them.


As you can see from the photos above, I've captured some of the phrases my students have said so that we can come back to their wise words over and over again throughout the year. This year, the word wall includes their words along with the vocabulary words we're learning throughout the day. We have related their words to some of the read alouds we've shared so far this year -- "Let's just try it!" goes with the spirit of approximation in ISH by Peter Reynolds; "I think we should..." goes with with the team work found in LITTLE BLUE TRUCK by Alice Schertle; the whole idea of listening carefully before acting goes with RABBIT AND SQUIRREL: A TALE OF WAR AND PEAS by Kara LaReau; and I'm sure you know who the children echoed when they said "It's all good" -- Pete the Cat!

It takes focus and concentration to listen. Everyday life conspires to move me on to the next thing I will say, rather than letting me linger on the things my students say to me and to each other.

Last Friday, we listened in awe to our classmate from China. She and her Poetry Friday reading partners found a poem about the Great Wall of China (in J. Patrick Lewis' MONUMENTAL VERSES). She told us about the Great Wall, which she has seen firsthand, first in fluent Chinese, and then in broken, but passionate English. Her partners read the poem to us. We listened.


It takes focus and concentration to listen. It's one of the most important things we can do.