Compare and Contrast: American History Edition

Master George's People: George Washington, His Slaves, and His Revolutionary Transformation
by Marfé Ferguson Delano
National Geographic Children's Books (January 8, 2013)

review copy from the public library

This is an important book.

All year long my students struggled with the reading standard about how the setting (both time and place) influences the story. What I realized by the end of the year is that this standard is easier to grasp when applied to a person's own life, or to historical events.

That George Washington, the slave owner, was influenced by the time and place of his life story is one of the main themes of this book. We can't blame him for owning slaves, and we can't judge him for owning slaves. We need to understand what it was about his life and times that made it okay, even necessary. But the most important thing we need to learn, is how Washington's views about slavery changed during the course of his lifetime. And that is another of the main themes of this book which relates to another hard standard -- identifying what influences a character's thoughts, words, or actions.

I'm not sure I'll read this entire book aloud next year, but the chapter that details Washington's change of heart and mind will be a good one for close and repeated reading.

Crankee Doodle
by Tom Angleberger
illustrated by CeCe Bell
Clarion Books (June 4, 2013)
review copy from the public library

This is a silly book.

Crankee Doodle and his horse could hold their own with Dr. Seuss' Sam I Am and the "I do not like them" character, with Elephant and Piggie, with Bink and Gollie.

The book includes a historical note about the song, but you will love it more for the characters than for any deep and lasting understandings about American History or Folklore.

Bomb: The Race to Build--and Steal--the World's Most Dangerous Weapon (Newbery Honor Book)
by Steve Sheinken
Flash Point; First Edition, First Printing edition (September 4, 2012)

review copy from my classroom library

This is a scary book.

At first it's a gripping and fast-paced description of, as the subtitle puts it so well, "The Race to Build--and Steal--the World's Most Dangerous Weapon." I'm hoping to encourage a group of my fifth graders to dig into this book next year in a book club. I want to test my sense that it's written at an understandable level for middle grade readers. I also want to start conversations about the realities of war with a generation that has no qualms about the virtual death and destruction that they reenact in video games. I want them to witness the horrific destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki through the multiple points of view presented in the book. And I want them to think about the final thought Sheinken leaves the reader with:

"In the end, this is a difficult story to sum up. The making of the atomic bomb is one of history's most amazing examples of teamwork and genius and poise under pressure. But it's also the story of how humans created a weapon capable of wiping our species off the planet. It's a story with no end in sight.

And like it or not, you're in it."

Scary.

Series Books for Third Grade: Lulu by Hilary McKay

Someone recommended the Lulu series to me and when I noticed that Hilary McKay was the author, I immediately ordered one. I read Lulu and the Duck in the Park (Book 1).  I am happy about this new series as I think it will be a great one for primary students.  There are lots of things I like about this book:

-I love the main character Lulu.  The author lets you get to know Lulu quickly and she is a fun character with lots of spunk.

-I love the supports for readers who are new to chapter books. The print is large and the illustrations support the text.

-The writing is what you would expect from Hilary McKay--well crafted:-)

-Hilary McKay lets you know some of the other characters well which I love.

-The story is well developed and perfect for readers new to following a longer/chapter book length story.

There are only two books out about Lulu but I am hoping we see more about this character soon1

Series for Third Grade: Goofballs by Tony Abbott

I have been spending time reading some series books that I've somehow missed as I get ready to move to third grade in the fall.  One series that was recommended was Goofballs by Tony Abbott.  This is a mystery series. I am not always a fan of mysteries for younger readers because I think they are really hard to do well for this age.  I read the first book in the series: Goofballs #1: The Crazy Case of Missing Thunder last week. I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed this series and how much I think it is perfect for 3rd graders. There is the perfect amount of humor and enough clues for readers to pick up on their own without making the mystery too obvious.

The Goofballs are 4 kids who work together to solve mysteries.  There are two boys and two girls who work together to find mysteries, wear disguises, and have a fun time together.  There is humor and word play throughout the books that are perfect for this age.

The language is classic detective language. I'm not sure the kids will pick it up but it is very well done and the simple sentences are a great support for readers newer to chapter books.

I am so excited that I discovered this series. It is a great series for readers new to mysteries--I never seem to have enough mysteries to recommend to this age but I'll definitely be recommending these.

This series is fairly new (2012) with 4 books out so far. The 5th is due out in August. I just bought the next three and am thrilled to add these to my classroom collection!

3rd Annual Stenhouse Summer Blogstitute

June 20 - mid-August

at The Stenhouse Blog

For information about participating authors, 

discounts, 

and give-aways, 

check out this post on the Stenhouse blog.

Poetry Friday -- Novels in Verse

There's lots to love about novels in verse.

Sometimes they introduce us to characters that we want to read about again and again.

Sometimes they offer support to readers who struggle with stamina and fluency by increasing the amount of white space on the page around the text, making the text more sparse while keeping it rich in language and imagery.

It's super-fun when the poetry written by the main character is a part of the poetry of the novel...and when the kid power that saves the day (and maybe even the farm) is poetry and art!

But bestbestBEST of all is when each poem in the novel is a poem that can stand by itself as well as being an integral part of the novel.

If you want a book that's worth its weight in gold, GONE FISHING is the book for you. 

This book would make a great read aloud. It's the classic story of excitement (going fishing with dad all by myself!), disappointment (why does SHE have to come along?), conflict (when will I catch a fish?), and resolution (I only caught one, but it was a doozy of a catfish!). 

The poems are told from the point of view of Sam, his sister Lucy, their dad, a couple of times all three, and once just Sam and Lucy. 

There are more than 30 different poetry forms represented throughout the book, identified below each title and elaborated upon in the endmatter of the book. (Also in the endmatter, a bit about some of the other tools in a poet's "tackle box:" rhyme and rhythm, and poetry techniques such as alliteration, hyperbole, assonance, and more.) 

And the illustrations are spot-on perfect.

Margaret has the Poetry Friday Roundup today at Reflections on the Teche. If you are interested in hosting a Poetry Friday Roundup in July-December, the place to sign up is here.


For more information about the books in this post:

Like Pickle Juice on a Cookie
Like Bug Juice on a Burger
by Julie Sternberg
illustrated by Matthew Cordell

Love That Dog
Hate That Cat: A Novel
by Sharon Creech

Little Dog, Lost
by Marion Dane Bauer
illustrated by Jennifer Bell

Eva of the Farm
by Dia Calhoun

Gone Fishing: A novel
by Tamera Will Wissinger
illustrated by Matthew Cordell

What Happened and What It Might Mean

1. We're getting a new principal, and each grade level/department met with him for about a half an hour this week. My answer to his question about why I don't do book clubs anymore came out sounding weak and off-handed. Defeatist. Like I make instructional decisions based on what someone else is doing. Which TOTALLY isn't true. ...Or is it?

2. I didn't apply for a grant to get iPads for my classroom because the guidelines clearly (to me) said that the grant money couldn't be used for that purpose. "Someone I Know" applied for a variety of devices, and was praised, welcomed and at least partially funded. Am I becoming the kind of person who accepts the rules as barriers, or am I still the kind of person with the energy and conviction to do what I believe is right no matter what?

3. Beginning yesterday morning, the media was in an absolute lather about the storms that were headed our way. While TV weathermen hyped up the storms with color maps and nonstop predictions of doom, the National Weather Service kept it real with just the facts. And so at about 8:00 PM, we walked down to Natalie's Coal Fired Pizza and Live Music (without raincoats or even an umbrella), ate a light dinner, and listened to Juanito Pascual play Flamenco guitar. As far as I can tell, the storms didn't get to Columbus until about 1:00 AM. We got thunder, lightning and rain.

1A. I look forward to having a principal who is an instructional leader and who will require me to be ready to verbalize (not just know for myself) the strong, sound reasons for my practices. Bring it on! It's been...maybe never...that I've worked with this kind of principal!

2A. Next round grant applications, here I come!

3A. I'm trying to apply this Storm Warning logic to my approach to the Common Core -- be informed, try not to get caught up in the panic, and move towards the goal one step at a time no matter how hot and humid it is.

Bullies

Bully

by Laura Vaccaro Seeger

Roaring Brook Press (A Neal Porter Book), July 2013

review copy provided by the publisher

Bull is a bully. He is mean to every single animal, and with every meanness, he gets bigger and bigger on the page. That is, until the goat stands up to him and calls him what he is: "BULLY!" 

This causes Bull to experience introspection, deflation, and happy resolution (after he apologizes). 

BULLY is a simple book, but even for older children, there is much to talk about, beginning with an illustration before the title page that hints at why Bull is a bully. Also, not enough can be said, in my opinion, about the power of standing up for yourself. So many students come to me on the playground at recess complaining about something another child did to them, and 9 times out of 10, they wouldn't have needed to come tattle to me if they had simply turned to the other child and asked, in an assertive voice, "Why did you do that to me?" This usually gives the other child a chance to A. realize they did something to cause offense, B. apologize before the child who's been "wronged" runs away to tattle, and/or C. deflate a bit because they've been called out for their behavior.

Tommysaurus Rex
by Doug TenNapel
GRAPHIX, 2013
review copy purchased for my classroom

TOMMYSAURUS REX is more about losing a dear pet than it is about bullies, but there is a really mean one who plays a key role in the story. (The bully is a boy whose dad has left his mom and him, and I'm getting a little tired of that over-simplified formula for a bully. But we'll set that irritation aside for now and continue with the review...)

Ely's beloved dog Tommy is hit by a car and killed, and to help him get over his grief, his parents let him spend the summer on his grandfather's farm. While there, Ely discovers a Tyrannosaurus Rex who escaped extinction, becomes fast friends with (**spoiler alert**) her, and then has to figure out a way to raise money to pay for the damages she causes and convince the town that he should be able to keep her as his pet. Randy, the bully, dashes Ely's every hope, but there are a couple of plot twists in the end that result in multiple happy endings.

Just like in BULLY, the ending is just a little bit too easy -- neither book is an accurate portrayal of real-life bullies and what it's like to deal with them. But both books (together or separately) will be great for classroom (and family) conversations about what's possible, and strategies that need to be attempted, whether or not they work the same way in life as they do in literature.

Books for 3rd Grade: Galaxy Zack

I will be moving from 4th grade to 3rd grade next year. One of the things I have not kept up on in my reading life is series books.  I knew moving to 3rd grade, that I'd need to read lots of newer series books to be able to put the right books in the hands of my students next year. When my doctor said I could start "light" reading, I figured this was the perfect time to read the books I'd missed out on. So I put out a tweet asking Twitter friends for recommendations of new series books or other titles that I should read. Of course, they came through with great titles and these have been perfect "light" reading for me over the past 2-3 weeks.

I tend to read the first one or two books in a series so that I know what to expect in terms of content, text complexity, etc.  One of the series I have newly discovered is GALAXY ZACK by Ray O'Ryan. This is a fun series that I think will appeal to lots of kids.  The format and text of this series reminded me a bit of the Stink series. The plot/content reminded me a bit of The Jetsons!

The first book, Hello, Nebulon! (Galaxy Zack) sets the stage for the series.  The series is set in the year 2120 and Zack and his family are moving from Earth to a planet called Nebulon. Kids will love the idea of space travel, the gadgets used in the book, and the universal feelings one has when moving to a new place.

It looks like there are 2 books available in the series with a 3rd coming out today. 3 more are due out later this summer/early fall. So, by the end of the year, there should be 6 books for kids who fall in love with this series.  This is a fun series that I am excited to add to my classroom library!

Concussion Mosaic

What do you do when you can't read, write or have much screen time? A good question!  As many of you know, I have had a never-ending concussion that required me to take the last 6 weeks of school off. The concussion happened in February and I am still not 100 percent.  I am much better, but for the last 6-12 weeks, I have done very little reading, writing, or screen time. (OR Blogging--Thank You, Mary Lee!)   It is amazing how hard it is to rest your brain!

Over the last 6 weeks, I have been really, really good about brain rest.  But it took me a while to figure out how to spend my days. I've been working on balance for the last few years but this "brain rest" really forced me to be creative with trying new hobbies and finding new ways to spend my time. I tried some crafts, tried some new recipes, tried to appreciate nature, etc.  The above mosaic captures my weeks without reading or writing.

Life without reading, writing, TV, running, etc. has been a challenge and I am happy that it is not something I have to keep up forever. Over the last few weeks I've been able to do some light reading (lots of transitional series books and picture books that you'll hear about soon.) but even with that, I miss the days filled with hours and hours of reading.

So, I am finding new hobbies, but I have yet to find one that I love as much as reading!

Poetry Friday: The Day After the Last Day of School

The Day After the Last Day of School

It's like you've been on a long hike
through deep mud
in boots that don't fit
with a pack that has gotten progressively heavier
(the weight was added gradually;
you didn't notice so much).

Then suddenly before you
there is a grassy meadow
a cool brook
tall trees and deep shade.

The pack evaporates,
the muddy boots disappear.
With the weight gone, it feels like you are floating.

You are very tired.
You lean back against a welcoming tree and sleep.
You dream of hiking.

©Mary Lee Hahn, 2013




Happy end of the school year to all who've gotten there! I hope your final gift was not the gift of one more round of the "class crud" (mine was).

Now comes "The Long Weekend." Time enough for friends and family, for reading and writing, for professional learning, for making plans for the next big hike (how to keep that pack lighter, finding boots that fit better, looking for a path that stays on higher ground...)

Tabatha has the Poetry Friday Roundup today at The Opposite of Indifference.

If you'd like to sign up for a Poetry Friday Roundup slot for July-December 2013, the calendar is here.