Happy Book Birthday to Mr. Tiger Goes Wild by Peter Brown!

Mr. Tiger Goes Wild is Peter Brown's newest picture book!  I have become a HUGE Peter Brown fan over the last few years and was very excited to see a new book coming out. Today is the books BIRTHDAY so we are having quite the celebration!

MR. TIGER GOES WILD  has lots of the same characteristics I love about Peter Brown's writing.  A great story with a character you come to love and understand early in the book.  The illustrations invite revisiting over and over and the message is a fun one. This is the story of Mr. Tiger who wants to go a little wild, do something out of the box, get out of his usual routine and have a little fun. Who can't relate to a story like this?

We have all gone wild a bit in our lives. We've done things out of the norm or a little out of our usual comfort zone.  Me? I am pretty much a rule follower--I don't necessarily agree with every rule and I am opinionated and mouthy about those I don't love, but I tend to do what I am supposed to do.  But sometimes what you are supposed to do gets boring and I think we all need to have a little fun by going a little bit wild, just like Mr. Tiger.

As I was preparing for this blog post, I was thinking about times in my life that I've done something a bit out of the norm.  It seems that I have lots of little things throughout my life so I tried to think back to the first experience I could remember of going a bit wild--doing something out of the box.  Lucky for me, I've always had friends who helped me get out of my comfort zone--who had ideas that I never would have attempted or who have gone along with an idea I've thrown out there that I was never actually serious about.  I have out of the box ideas but often just throw them out as a joke. I've always had a friend or two two who see my amusing ideas as real possibilities.

My first experience of a time I "went wild" was in Kindergarten.  It was late in the year in Kindergarten and classroom jobs were posted.  It was my turn to get the milk. Getting the milk was one of the best classroom jobs.  With a friend, you took an empty crate to the school refrigerator in the hallway (very far away from the Kindergarten room) and counted out the milk for snack time.  Each of us had a choice between chocolate and regular each day so the milk helpers were responsible for counting out the correct number of each kind, putting them in the crate and carrying the crate back to the classroom. It was one of the few jobs that took us outside of the classroom.

Well, on this day, I was with one of my more adventurous friends.  And the routines of Kindergarten were getting a little boring.  "Wouldn't it be funny," I thought, "to fill the crate with ALL of the milk in the refrigerator instead of counting only the 12 chocolate and 9 white that we needed for our classroom?"  That would certainly break up the routine and make for a little fun. As soon as I thought the idea out loud, my friend loved it, so we got to work.

As five year-olds, it took a lot of work to get ALL of the milk out of the refrigerator--every last carton. We were so focused on the work of following through with our idea, that I don't think it ever occurred to us in the very long time we were gone, that this might be a bad idea.

But I do remember the look on the teacher's face when she discovered us, me stretching my arm as far as I could, to reach those last few cartons in the refrigerator. When I saw her face, it hit me that this idea was probably not a great one. It was then that I realized for the very first time, that we were probably going to get in big trouble.

But my teacher seemed so flustered that she didn't have time to reprimand us when she found us in the hallway working hard to fit hundreds of cartons of milk into a small crate. Instead she sent us back to the classroom, canceled the milk portion of our snack as it was clearly too late for that, and waited for the day to end.  Her look was not one of anger, but one of relief, disbelief and exhaustion.  No anger at all.  Looking back, I am sure the teacher was alarmed at the two of us being lost and was thrilled that we hadn't run out of the building or something. And I am sure someone had to put the milk back.

I hardly ever got in trouble when I was little. No real reason to.  My parents were very good at understanding me and realizing that most of the naughty things I did were well-intentioned.  And I wouldn't say I got in trouble with the milk either.  But it was clear that I had misbehaved a bit.

This story comes back to me often as a teacher.  As a teacher of elementary children, I know that kids often have ideas that seem fun to them, that do not seem so amusing to me.  My idea was hysterical to the 5-year old me.  I couldn't imagine it wouldn't be hysterical to everyone else. My plan was to bring joy and laughter into the classroom by carrying hundreds of cartons of milk back in.  I think this story comes back to me lots to remind me that often, these kids do something "wild" and it is just them playing and learning how to have a little fun without hurting anyone. I think my teacher's non-angry response was important. She definitely wasn't happy but she kind of got it--no harm done.

And because I'm a rule follower,  I think we all need okay excuses to go out of our comfort zone.  Since Kindergarten, I've planned lots of events that invite people to go a bit wild.  I was Pep Club president in high school and that role allowed me to organize things like Punk Day and other Spirit Days.  I also look for excuses to go a little wild in an okay way.

Me (far right) on "Punk Day" my senior year in high school.  Don't think any of my high school friends photoed here read this blog but if they did, they would verify that we definitely found ways to have fun and go a little wild every day in high school:-)  On an unrelated note, I am realizing that this is how I wear my hair to yoga class so it stays out of my eyes but it seemed to be a better look when I was 17....

An excuse to go a little wild in college when I signed up for the Dance Marathon. Each hour had a new "theme" so I had an outfit for each hour.  (Tacky Tourist maybe?)  As you can see, my husband (then boyfriend) Scott, was not as comfortable going wild by dressing up each hour.

The story of my Kindergarten milk idea has come back to me often lately because I worry that in schools, with this stressful testing environment, we have taken away lots of the excuses to do something "fun".  I loved school my entire life--from preschool through college. I loved it because we had lots of fun in between and along with the learning. We learned lots but also had built in ways to do things out of the routine on a pretty regular basis.  So we understood that learning and fun went together. And that little breaks in our learning actually made the learning part easier.  I worry that we've forgotten how important the fun part is when it comes to learning.  I am hoping this book reminds us of that a little.


GET A COPY OF MR. TIGER GOES WILD!

You will definitely want to get your hands on a copy of this book as soon as you can!  It will be a fabulously fun read aloud for all ages. And I am sure it will be one that is read over and over and over by students. It is one to just enjoy and also one that will naturally lead to lots of discussions--one of being who you are and one of going a little wild sometimes is certainly an okay thing!

And now, for some exciting news on how you can WIN a copy of the book. A Year of Reading has been given 3 copies of Mr. Tiger Goes Wild, courtesy of Little, Brown and Company!  So, if you would like to be considered for one of these 3 prizes, leave a comment on this post sharing a story of a time you've done something a little wild. You can blog about it and leave us the link or you can share the story as a comment.  Winners will be announced on 9/10 so you have a full week to think about this and share!

(Note:  Books cannot be shipped to PO boxes, and will ship to US residents only). 

And there is even another chance to win:

A.....Scavenger Hunt!

To celebrate the release of Peter Brown's Mr. Tiger Goes Wild, we have a blog tour scavenger hunt for you! Visit all the blogs listed below to collect 7 letters/characters. Unscramble the letters/characters to unlock the secret phrase. Each blog is giving away three copies of Mr. Tiger Goes Wild courtesy of Little, Brown Books and Jen Vincent at Teach Mentor Texts has a Mr. Tiger Goes Wild prize pack to give away. 

Jen at Teach Mentor Texts

Aly at Kid Lit Frenzy

Franki at A Year of Reading

Jen at Reederama

Katherine at Read, Write, Reflect

Laura at LibLaura5

Colby at SharpRead 

And our letter is.....

And if you haven't read all of Peter Brown's books, now would be the perfect time to discover their brilliance! A few favorites include The Curious Garden, Creepy Carrots! and YOU WILL BE MY FRIEND! (Starring Lucille Beatrice Bear). And don't forget to check out his blog.  If Peter Brown isn't already one of your favorite authors and illustrators, he will be soon!

Thanks, Peter Brown, for another amazing book!!

August Mosaic

Hmm...it's always interesting to observe the patterns that emerge each month. Apparently, August was about food. Fully one third of these photos document food or restaurants. There's the scallops from Skillet, biscotti and coffee and DeLucas and cheesesteak in Pittsburgh, the coffee house in Urbana, peanut butter sandwiches from Krema, eggplant salad (made with the eggplant grown in the community garden), and Jeni's on Mohawk.

And it's not every month that dinosaurs show up not once, not twice, but THREE times.

Between the tomato hornworm caterpillar (found in the community garden) that I unsuccessfully tried to keep alive for my students to see, and the exhibits at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh, it was a great month for insects, too.

You can click on the mosaic to enlarge it, or visit the set on Flickr.

It's a Chalk-A-Bration!

I have loved the idea of Chalk-A-Bration as soon as I read about the idea on Betsy's blog, TEACHING  YOUNG WRITERS.  for months and was determined to make time for it each month.  This Friday was the perfect day to begin. My third graders had been in class for 8 days and we had already started our Friday morning tradition of POETRY FRIDAY!  I figured Chalk-A-Bration would be a natural extension.

It was perfect for so many reasons!

-Chalk-A-Bration was a great way to begin connecting online with my class this year.  They could see immediately that we were part of something beyond the classroom walls.

-I showed them Betsy's blog and shared her idea of Chalk-A-Bration. I talked about how much I loved the idea--so much that I wanted to try it. That we get ideas and build on ideas by learning from and with others.

-They realized that others would see their work and that chalking on the playground would be a fun way to surprise others with fun words and illustrations.

-They LOVED the word Chalk-A-Bration and it served as a great word study discussion for the day.

-It was 15 minutes of joyful literacy!

Kids had great ideas for chalking.

Many kids had fun chalking bright, happy pictures!

Others decided to use a favorite line we read in our readaloud this week. "Make Like a Sponge!" was a funny line used in The Trouble With Chickens when the chickens were annoyed that J.J. Tully would not go out in the rain.

Others chose favorite lines from poems they enjoyed during our Poetry Friday! reading. This one --"My backpack weighs a thousand pounds." (Prelutsky)

Inspirational phrases were also popular!

And we had to share our love of books and reading!

We loved our first Chalk-A-Bration and can't wait until next month!

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Hank Finds an Egg by Rebecca Dudley

My collection of wordless picture books continues to grow. I not only love them as a reader but I have found so many ways to use them for minilesson work and small group instruction in the classroom.  So, of course I purchased a copy of Hank Finds an Egg when I saw that @paulwhankins recommended it. I have to be honest that when I looked at it online, I didn't expect to be impressed. It didn't seem to be what I would expect from a brilliant wordless book. But I trust Paul so I went ahead.

Well, was I happily surprised at how much (and how immediately) I fell in love with this book!  It is brilliant and wonderful and sweet and perfect.  Really.  Another that I shared with the whole family.  Both girls agreed that it was a great book. No question.  It is the book that I am carrying around with me this week--telling everyone I know about. I may need a few more copies as I want to share it but I hate to let it out of my sight for too long!


The story is about Hank who finds an egg in the forest.  You cannot help but love Hank IMMEDIATELY.   He is the best example of kindness:-) Love this stuffed bear.  The story is told through a series of amazing and intricate photographs.  So when you close the book and open it again (and again-trust me), you have to wonder about the author's process. How does she DO this?  How does she create and amazing character and such a powerful story with photos?  Luckily, the Internet is full of great resources so you can read about her process in this interview at UNH Today and this one at Creating the Story.  Rebecca's blog is also worth a few hours of your time!  I just love love love her work and her process. And I love the joy she clearly has in that process.  I am adding her to my mental list of favorite authors immediately.

This book is such an invitation to kids--so many great possibilities..  I think it is a great wordless book with a great message. I also think some kids will want to give this medium a try.  I imagine they could create amazing things with this book as a mentor. And I think Rebecca's process as a writer with photos is also one worth studying with kids. I love that she doesn't take the pictures in order and that the process leads the way.  As we move to more possibilities in the ways that stories are told, I think it is important as a writing teacher that my students and I  learn from the experts and help my students see possibilities for the creation process.

Not many books make me want to create a diorama when I finish, but this one might!

Definitely a book I Could Read a Million Times!!

Poetry Friday: Thug

As seen/passed around on FaceBook

THUG

All summer it's been cool
but just in time for school
the heat comes back,
like a big muggy bully.

One afternoon, regardless of the math lesson,
the air conditioning goes out.
Just up and leaves.
Walks out of the room without permission,

leaving the door open
for the bully to swagger in,
disrupt the lesson,
and make us sweat ourselves.

©Mary Lee Hahn, 2013



Tara has the Poetry Friday roundup this week at A Teaching Life.

The Tuesday Effect

It's nice to know that some things don't change after decades and decades (and decades) of teaching. It's Tuesday night and I'm channeling my first-year teaching self.

As a beginning teacher in a tough school in the Dallas Independent School District, I would go through the same cycle, week after week: I would spend all weekend polishing up the most perfect lesson plans ever. I imagined what I would say and how the students would react. It was beautiful. Masterful. Thoughtful.

Then Monday came.

Monday came and I got a little bit behind.

Then, by the end of the day Tuesday, I was completely behind, thrown off track, and feeling buried in a mire of papers.

I call it The Tuesday Effect.

And if you think this is the part where I tell you how I've come so far since those first years, and how I'm so on top of things and have it all figured out now...well, you'd be wrong. It's happening again, right on schedule, with technology thrown into the mix.

The only thing I've got figured out now that I didn't know then is that it's okay -- even necessary -- to leave the avalanche of work for tomorrow and get a good night's sleep. Wednesday will come and it will all work out...somehow.

Coming Soon: September

One of the best things I've done for my reading life is to start a "Book Release" calendar.  Every time I hear about a book that is coming soon--one that I'd like to read, I add it to the calendar. Then each month, I can see what's coming so I don't miss any new books!  I can't believe it is almost September and I can't believe how full my September Book Release calendar is!  September is going to be a great month for new books! Here are some books I am looking forward to:

Picture Books:

The King of Little Things by Bill Lep
Ding Dong! Gorilla! by Michelle Robinson
Never Ever (Child's Play Library) by Jo Empson
Mr. Tiger Goes Wild by Peter Brown
Xander's Panda Party by Linda Sue Park
Locomotive by Brian Floca
Moondayby Adam Rex
Mitchell Goes Bowling by Hallie Durand
Cool Creations in 35 Pieces by Sean Kenney

Chapter Books--Fiction:

Ling & Ting Share a Birthdayby Grace Lin
The Very Nearly Honorable League of Pirates #1: Magic Marks the Spot by Caroline Carlson
Mister Max: The Book of Lost Things: Mister Max 1 by Cynthia Voigt
Fortunately, the Milk by Neil Gaiman
The Year of Billy Miller by Kevin Henkes
Flora and Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures by Kate DiCamillo
The Misadventures of Salem Hyde: Book One: Spelling Trouble by Frank Camuso
The 14 Fibs of Gregory K. by Greg Pincus

And this one is not for kids, but I am always fascinated by his books:

David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants by Malcolm Gladwell

Carnivores!!!!

When it comes to picture books, I WANT MY HAT BACK is one of my very favorites. And this week I found another that is right up there with I WANT MY HAT BACK--CARNIVORES by Aaron Reynolds and Dan Santat. And anyone who has been following my blog knows that there are no other books that are up there with I Want My Hat Back.  I am so excited about this book--it is one I am carrying around with me and showing to everyone I pass. It is a book that I make people read while I watch them.  Then I take it away so that I can show it to someone else.  It definitely goes on my BOOKS I COULD READ A MILLION TIMES booklist.  (And the last book I have put on my Books I Could Read A Million Times list was.....#hatback).

CARNIVORES is the story of 3 carnivores who are really misunderstood. I don't want to say much more because you should experience every page of the book on your own.  It is a book that I think everyone will love.

I brought the book in today to share with a 5th grade teacher who shared it with his students. A few of my past students (now in his class) let me know how hysterical they thought it was.  When they brought it back, my class asked about it. I hadn't planned on reading it because I wasn't sure they would  get the humor. But they did. And they totally loved it. Absolutely totally.  It was such a fun book to read to kids. Watching their faces and hearing their laugh-out-loud reactions was the best way to spend a Friday.

Pretty much everyone agrees that this is a great book.  Here are some other reviews of the book.

Jen Robinson's Review "Carnivores is actually a hilarious riff"
Waking Brain Cells "screamingly funny, wonderfully inappropriate"

Roundtable Reviews  "Without a shadow of a doubt, Carnivores skyrocketed its way to the top of my favorite children's books of all time."

If you are still not convinced, you can watch the book trailer here:-)


I'd suggest buying more than one of these books. You will want to have one with you wherever you go.

Reading at Home

I have a whole bunch of thinking rambling around in my head as I get ready to fully implement the expectation that my students will read at home for 20-30 minutes each night.

First, I'm going to need my students to work hard to develop an at-home reading habit. I want to provide them with a variety of choices for the way they will track and report their reading so that they will own the whole process, from the selection of their books/texts to the development of the habit, to the tracking and reporting. So far, the menu of options include

• daily writing on paper (Typically this has been a M-Th assignment that is handed in on F, but why not let the students decide what the cycle will be? Maybe they do most of their reading on the weekend, so it makes sense to do it Th-Su and hand it in M? Or they have sports and lessons so they can best complete the work on M, W, Th, Su, or some other combination.)
• responding digitally on a Google form (The form I developed has their name, title/author of their book, a genre drop-down menu, and a place to write a reflection. The student would submit their thinking four times a week. This choice would also allow for weekend reading.)
• weekly letter (This could be handwritten or typed and would summarize and synthesize a week's worth of reading. Students could determine on what day of the week they would agree to hand in their letter.)
• blogging (Hmm...I guess if I'm going to offer this as an option, I just made my mind up about KidBlog!)

Now I'm really thinking as I type. We've got a five day week next week. I could introduce each of these options (maybe not in that exact order) on M, T, W, and Th, let them practice in class, and then practice again at home. Then they could work up their plan and submit it to me on the Tuesday after Labor Day. With each child/family developing the timing of the plan and the reporting method that works best for them, I will never again be taking a whole stack of papers home on a Friday night to haunt me until Sunday night. I'll be able to spread my tracking and responding out over the week. Hmm...I'm liking this more and more!

So. I think I just wrote my reading lesson plans for next week. Does it make sense to spend a whole week working on developing a plan for and cultivating the habit of home reading? I think in the big scheme of things, a week is a small price. 

The second thing I'm going to need for this to work is buy-in from parents that at-home reading is not fluff, not optional, and not designed by me to torture their family. Remember that chart that shows how a child's reading achievement can be correlated to the number of minutes a day they read? 

http://www.devstu.org/research-individualized-daily-reading

Here is the same chart with the benefit of 10 extra minutes a day factored in. Check out those gains for the low- to mid-level readers:

http://www.iowaafterschoolalliance.org/documents/cms/docs/10_minutes.pdf

I want my parents to know that I expect their child to read for 20-30 minutes each evening because research has proven that it will grow their child as a reader! I'm hoping that this (possible, intangible) reward will be enough to prompt my students' parents to help their child discover the cues they will use to prompt the routine and habit of at home reading.

For more information about cues, routines and rewards, this is a great book:

The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business

by Charles Duhigg

Random House, February 28, 2012

I'm only about halfway through the book, listening to the audio version as I drive to and from school. Duhigg's explanation of how cues, routines, and rewards work, and his amazing examples from individuals' lives to huge corporations are understandable, entertaining, and compelling.

Poetry Friday -- Back to School Practicality

I reviewed two new poetry books earlier this week.

My review of SEEDS, BEES, BUTTERFLIES, AND MORE! is here.

My review of THE PET PROJECT is here.

Betsy has the Poetry Friday Roundup at I Think In Poems.