World Read Aloud Day -- Curiosity Week

We're getting ready to begin a new read aloud in my classroom, and this is definitely a time that fits with the World Read Aloud Day theme of CURIOSITY. My students can't wait to find out what I've chosen, and I'm wondering how they'll react to and interact with the book.

I've chosen The Lion Who Stole My Arm by Nicola Davies. I think it will be interesting to compare the "journey" of Pedru as he works toward revenge on the lion who attacked him, to the journeys of Mark and Joseph in Dan Gemeinhart's two books.

Our next read aloud after this short (under 100 pages) but intense read will be Pax, by Sara Pennypacker, which is set to come out February 2. I've never chosen read alouds around the same theme all year long, but we got started with these powerful, heart-wrenching journey stories, and I'm CURIOUS to see what it will be like to continue with books on the same theme throughout the year!

Youth Media Awards

The winners of the ALA Youth Media Awards were announced yesterday morning. (Complete list of winners here.)

I'm still scratching my head a bit at the Newbery winner -- the picture book Last Stop On Market Street. I'll withhold judgement until I've had a chance to read it.

But which of the winners DID I read this year?

All three Newbery Honor books -- The War That Saved My Life (my pick for winner), Echo, and Roller Girl

Caldecott Winner -- Finding Winnie

Sibert Honor book -- Drowned City: Hurricane Katrina and New Orleans

Stonewall winner -- George

Both middle grade Schneider winners -- Fish in a Tree and The War That Saved My Life

I'm currently reading one of the Coretta Scott King Honor books -- All American Boys

Pura Belpré Author Award -- Enchanted Air by Margarita Engle

*   *   *   *   *   *   *   *

All in all, it was a good reading year for me!

This Week's Online Reading

(Visit Teach Mentor Texts and Unleashing Readers for the  It's Monday! What Are You Reading? roundup!)

I have a lot of writing deadlines in January so I have not read much fiction. I am trying not to start a book because I know that it is hard to write when I am wondering about characters I love. So I have been reading a lot of online pieces and I have found so many worth sharing. So for today's "It's Monday! What Are You Reading?" I thought I'd share some of the powerful things I've read this week. Once I started the list, I realized I should give credit to the people who shared these with me through email or social media but I wasn't that organized. So thanks to everyone who shares great reading, especially the pieces below.



To the White Parents of my Black Son's Friends by Maralee Bradley

Is the Drive for Success Making Our Children Sick? by Vicki Abeles

Mom: What do I expect from my children's elementary school? Certainly not this. by Valerie Strauss

Let's Debate: Homework! by Kristi Mraz

10 Things Highly Creative People Do Differently by Andrew Tate

Beyond Working Hard: What Growth Mindset Teaches Us About Our Brains by Katrina Schwartz

Growing Pains by Jen Schwanke

 Reading Right Now Recommendations from Kristin Ziemke

Ann Patchett on the Return of Bookstores

Assessments as Hope by Cassandra Erkens

Poetry Friday -- Haiku Gifts

When I saw these little 2"x2"x.5" canvases at Michaels Arts and Crafts, I couldn't resist them, even though I had no idea what I'd do with them.

During my Haiku-a-Day in December, one of my brainstorming pages had these rich 5-syllable opposites: eventually/in the nick of time and truth abandons them/we discover truth. I added two different concrete 7-syllable lines, and realized that by mixing and matching, my 9 phrases could make multiple haikus.

I got out my watercolor colored pencils and made up this set for my brother for Christmas. He had sent me Jane Reichhold's WRITING AND ENJOYING HAIKU: A HANDS-ON GUIDE for my birthday, so it seemed like an appropriate gift. (I'm not all the way through Reichhold's book yet, but I'm loving it!)

Here's to the joy of creating art with words and visuals!

Tabatha has the Poetry Friday roundup this week at The Opposite of Indifference.

World Read Aloud Day -- Seven Strengths Countdown

LitWorld is counting down the weeks until World Read Aloud Day by highlighting a different strength of read aloud each week.

This week is BELONGING WEEK ("When has reading helped you feel like you belong to a community?")

In my classroom, the books I read aloud bring the class together as a community -- a truth this year in particular.

We started the year with Dan Gemeinhart's THE HONEST TRUTH (I reviewed it last year here.) When we finished, I suggested to the class that we share a "lighter" book next. They were vehemently against it -- they begged me for another book with hard issues that they would feel in their hearts. Another book that would make them gasp with fear, and cry with relief. Another book that would put them in the shoes of a character  who is dealing with hard problems.

We had a chance to Skype with Dan Gemeinhart, and he showed us the arc of his next book, SOME KIND OF COURAGE (available January 26). In a stroke of good luck, the arc arrived the next day in a box full of arcs from Scholastic.

SOME KIND OF COURAGE was our second read aloud of the year, and it was all kinds of magic. The book can be compared to THE HONEST TRUTH in its theme, characters, and story arc. Both are stories of quests, but SOME KIND OF COURAGE is historic fiction, rather than realistic fiction. Gemeinhart has the ability to write memorable scenes, and his mixture of sad or nerve-wracking scenes with humorous scenes is masterful. We are Skyping again this Friday, and we feel privileged to be one of the first classes to give him feedback on this book. I don't think I'm giving anything away when I say that we'll be giving him two thumbs up!

Because of a change of schedule, four of my students were going to be missing read aloud two out of the four days we have it. I was completely flummoxed about what I should do. There was just no other time in the schedule when I have them that I could work it in, and I didn't want to deny all the rest of the kids just for those four. I was stuck. Then their teacher came to me and shared that they are feeling the same way. Missing read aloud was a non-negotiable for them. So we worked it out so that my four can stay for read aloud and not miss anything in their other class. WHEW!

If that's not a testament to the strength of our classroom community around our read aloud, I'm not sure what is!

One Little Word 2016

image from Unsplash

I couldn't put it off any longer. My students chose their One Little Words yesterday, and I was still procrastinating.

I almost settled on BALANCE, but this word is one I am constantly working towards already. (Constantly, in fact.)

Then I went on a brainstorming spree: bellicose (too negative), cheer (hmm...possibility), levitate, float, informed. Then I got grumpy: hibernate, eschew, shirk. I tried chickadee, puzzle, curious, inquire, ask, design (hmm...possibility), stretch, change, barter.

Suddenly, my word found me:

BEND

Bend. It tells me to be flexible, reminds me not to break. It shows me a curving road with an unknowable ending, a journey, and it beckons me forward. If it is my teaching, I think of it as to mold or shape. If it is my poetry, photography, and art, I bend my efforts toward the creative. A bend is a kind of knot that connects two ropes, so I can feel a tightening of connections with this word. Last of all, it's a warning to me not to go in too deep -- divers get the bends, you know!

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

Visit Teach Mentor Texts or Unleashing Readers for the round up!

I always love winter break reading. I either catch up on the last of the year's books or I read ahead to the upcoming books of the next year. Some years I do a combination of both but it is always one of my favorite reading times of the year.

This year I read some amazing books that are due out in 2016.  All are MUST READS for sure! I feel lucky to have started my 2016 with these books. They all tugged at my heart in very different ways and all are perfect for middle grade readers.

Pax by Sara Pennypacker

Due to be released February 2, 2016
This book, illustrated by Jon Klassen is one that I could not put down.  It is the story of a boy and his pet fox. It is a dog story and the story of a boy's journey and a story of loss and friendship.  It is the best of all of these things.

The Remarkable Journey of Charlie Price by Jennifer Maschari

Due to be released February 23,  2016
This book was sent to me by the author (who lives in Ohio--lucky us!). What an amazing story of grief and healing.  Told in a story that reminded me a bit of Coraline, meeting Charlie and his sister Imogen as they work through their grief is an incredible read. The way the author puts the issues into a fantasy world is incredible and is perfect for middle grade readers.

When Mischief Came to Town by Katrina Nannestad
Due to be released January 5, 2016
Inge Maria is a character who will stay with me for a very long time.  She has recently lost her mother and moves in with her grandmother who she does not know well. She moves into a rather dull town but brings life to the town and brightens the lives of so many.  A great story with a great feisty character.

All American Boys by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely

I also read a 2015 book that I have been hearing a lot about. I am so glad that this was my first read of 2016. I am sorry I waited so long to read it.  I have already told so many people about it as I think it is a must-read.   This book is about two teenage boys dealing with issues of police brutality, racism, family and what it worth standing up for. The book is written by two authors and is brilliant. I would put this one next on your list of must reads and I plan to read more by these authors for sure.

#Nerdlution 2016!

A few years ago, several of us participated in #Nerdlution.  If you missed it the first round, you can read about it here. And here. And here.

I wasn't so successful with #nerdlution and hadn't thought much about it, but a few days  Niki Barnes tweeted out:

I figured it was a good time to revisit some goals and think about what I wanted to focus on in the next few months. Our original #nerdlution was 50 days so we set the 2016 #nerdlution to run from January 4 (tomorrow!) until February 22.  I don't remember why we settled on 50 but that seemed like a good timeframe again.

My first instinct was to set the goal "Pull myself together". But Colby Sharp is serious about goals and he reminded me that it needed to be more specific with this:

Colby also shared this article on goal setting.

And I found this one that was interesting.

And then I read Chris Lehman’s post about his hopes for the year. 

So I thought hard about what I meant when I said I needed to "pull myself together". How would that be measurable? Niki Barnes suggested a Before and After picture but that seemed a little stressful!  What was keeping me from feeling "pulled together" on a daily basis.  It's taken me a few days of thinking but here is what I've figured out.

I plan too much for a day or a weekend or a chunk of time. My to-do list is always impossible and I like it that way.  I like the work I do and I like to be busy. But because my to-do list is never-ending by choice, I have gotten into the habit of trying to get finished with my to-do list even though it isn't mean to be finished. So I end up feeling a big overwhelmed by all that I have to do. (even if I don't have to do it for weeks).  I end up rushing in the morning and rushing in the evening and then living a bit chaotically because of it.  Because I am trying to check things off my list, I don't make time for things that help me to feel organized. Whether I am put together or not, I don't feel like it because I have started to feel frazzled in the morninsg and in the evenings.

So to help with this goal, I have a few things I am going to try to change in the next 50 days. These are things I will do no matter how long my to-do list is (because it is always long, by choice remember:-)

-I will take the time to wash my face and use moisturizer every morning and night.  (This is something that I often skip because I try to check things off my to-do list and work "for just one more minute" until I am so tired that all I can do is fall into bed.)

-I will pack healthy lunches and have healthy breakfasts on most days (which means I will have to take a few minutes to plan and prepare these.)

-I will exercise 5 days a week.  Anything for 25+ minutes will count. (My to-do list will no longer be an excuse).

-As a family, we will spend 10 minutes every night picking up stuff in our family room and kitchen.  We tend to put things on the tables and the island as we go about our business each day. This become a bit overwhelming after a few days so we are committing to doing this each night before we go to bed.

None of these things are very hard and none of these take a long time but I think they will help me feel like I am more put together and less frantic about things.  I think this list will also give me permission to put my to-do list aside for a chunk of time each day.  Dropping daily routines has become a bad habit and I use my to-do list as an excuse too often.  Building these habits back into life   seems doable and very worthwhile. I am actually looking forward to it.  I may not look any different at the end of #nerdlution (which is why I did not take Nikki's advice to measure my #Nerdlution with a before and after picture:-)  but I am hoping that I feel more put together, more balanced and less obsessed with my never-ending to-do list (did I mention that I love everything on my to-do list!).

We hope you will join us!  If you have some new thing you are trying to commit to, join us with the #nerdlution hashtag on Twitter and on our Nerdlution Facebook Page!

Celebrating 10 Years of A Year of Reading: Happy 10th Birthday to Us!

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Happy 10th Birthday to A Year of Reading! 

Our blog began as a place to have conversations about books and make predictions about the Newbery winners. Here are all of the winners for the lifetime of our blog:

2006 Criss Cross by Lynne Rae Perkins

2007 The Higher Power of Lucky by Susan Patron

2008 Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Voices from a Medieval Village by Laura Amy Schlitz

2009 The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

2010 When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead

2011 Moon over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool

2012 Dead End in Norvelt by Jack Gantos

2013 The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate

2014 Flora & Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures by Kate DiCamillo

2015 The Crossover by Kwame Alexander

Our blog has been a place to share book reviews of children’s and profession books, classroom stories, Poetry Friday and Poetry Month, It’s Monday What Are You Reading, Math Monday, #Nerdlutions, One Little Words, #GNCelebration, #PB10for10, #cyberPD…and more in more than 3000 posts, which means we’ve averaged about 300 posts per year! WHEW!

The blog isn’t the only place we’ve shared our reading – we’re both on Goodreads, and have listed over 3000 books there. Between the two of us, we’ve tweeted over 30,000 tweets (probably not all about books and reading)!

The blog isn’t the only place we’ve been writing these past 10 years. Both of us write for Choice Literacy. Franki has published and/or co-published four books, and Mary Lee has poems in six anthologies.

It’s been a fun and productive 10 years both on and off the blog. We’re delighted that we share the Kidlitosphere with you, and look forward to what the next 10 years will bring!

Celebrating 10 Years of A Year of Reading: Our 9th Birthday

It seems hard to believe, but we are coming to the end of our 10th year of blogging! To celebrate, we will look back on our blog birthday posts through the years.  Join us as we revisit our birthday posts. Today is Day 9 of our 10 Day Birthday Celebration!

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A Year of Reading Turns Nine!