Two New Favorites

Every Day Birds
by Amy Ludwig VanDerwater
illustrated by Dylan Metrano
Orchard Books (Scholastic), 2016

This book-length poem pays tribute to birds we see every day -- the birds so common that we should, as Amy reminds us, pay more attention and learn more about them.

Gorgeously illustrated in a unique cut-paper technique (watch a fascinating time-lapse video of him making a puffin here), this book has a natural flow that will make it a joy to read over and over again.

Fresh Delicious: Poems from the Farmers' Market

by Irene Latham

illustrated by Mique Moriuchi

Wordsong, 2016

I love farmers' markets! This lively book of poems pays tribute to the vast variety of foods you can find at the farmers' market. The foods are described through many senses -- tongues "buzz with pleasure" tasting honey, peach's "baby-fuzz/cheek" tickles a nose, and (my favorite) the watermelon looks like a galaxy, with the spit seeds the shooting stars.

Two new favorites, both celebrating down-to-earth joys in life -- the rich diversity of nature around us, and the delicious variety of fresh foods available from farm to table.

Poetry Friday -- My National Poetry Month Project

When Mom and I were sorting through a drawer full of old pictures last December, I was struck by the forgotten faces and the unknown stories that were captured on film. This April, I'll bring 30 of the photos back to life through poetry.

Bygones

My eyes

will always twinkle,

even when 

they become surrounded

by wrinkles.

I will read thousands of pages,

see sunsets and rainbows,

witness a long lifetime of history.

My smile

will always turn down at the corners

just like

my grandmother's did.

I will smile at my husband's dear face,

my children's accomplishments,

my friends' news,

my cats' playfulness.

My hands

will always be busy,

sewing, 

cooking, 

gardening.

I will hold these photos

one more time,

amazed at my big life,

remembering.

©Mary Lee Hahn, 2016

Robyn has the Poetry Friday roundup this week at Life on the Deckle Edge.

Once Upon an Elephant

Once Upon an Elephant
by Linda Stanek
illustrated by Shennen Bersani
Arbordale Publishing, 2016
review copy provided by the author

Local author Linda Stanek has ventured out into the wild once again! With this newest book, she shows readers what it means when scientists designate elephants a keystone species of the African Savannah.

Elephants do so much! They break through hardened mud for water that benefits all. They keep trees from taking over the savannah, find salt, leave tracks that fill with water, pound down paths that become fire barriers, and so much more.

Clearly, it is important to protect these amazing animals -- for their own value, and for the value they bring to an entire ecosystem!

My Online Reading

I've read lots of great stuff online lately!  It seems my Twitter and Facebook feeds are constantly filled with great reading. I love how these tools have changed reading--these articles I may have never discovered, just came to me via people I follow.

• I was fascinated by the article What Google Learnedfrom Its Quest to Build the Perfect Team. So many differences that can be while the patterns the study found in teams/communities that worked was so interesting!
• I discovered this inspiring Ted Talk by Linda Cliatt-Wrayman:How to Fix a Broken School? Lead Fearlessly, Love Hard
• I enjoyed the BAM Radio episode with Angela Maiers on taking care of yourself as a teacher. 
• I worry about what is happening to ideas such as growth mindset in schools.  I thought this article, What Growth Mindset Actually Means, had some great insights: 
• And this brilliant essay,  Everybody’s Talking by Roger Sutton is worth the read. I think it is critical that we continue the conversations around diversity and Roger discusses the perspectives and beliefs we bring to the conversation. You can hear more from Roger Sutton on this and other issues in his recent podcast.
• I've been reading and thinking a great deal about the ways we are/are not supporting our young children's social and emotional development in schools and the world these days. This article Against the Sticker Chart reminded me of so many reasons rewards and punishment are not the way to go.
• And I have no idea how this article, How Elmo Ruined Sesame Street, ended up in my feed. I have always enjoyed Elmo but it was an interesting perspective on such a popular character important in children's lives.
• And I so loved this---50 Captivating Photos of Girls Going to School Around theWorld
• School Library Journal put out this great booklist, Something Beautiful: Titles For and About Latinos and there are so many titles I can't wait to read!And if you love Mo Willems, you'll be interested in reading about his Busy, Busy Year. Even though he is ending the Elephant and Piggie series, we have lots of other books to look forward to.
• My friend, Karen Szymusiak, wrote a great piece on her blog Talkworthy, called Committed Vs. Compelled. It is definitely worth a read if you missed it.
• And a new podcast episode on BustED Pencils with Nancie Attwell as she ends her year as the Global Teacher Prize winner.
• And I loved this piece discussing the important differences between academic and intellectual goals for young children: Lively Minds

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

I am finally back into the habit of reading after a few months of a tiny reading slump!  Some of my favorite recent reads:

The Secret Subway

A true story about the first underground train in NYC.  Amazing illustrations too!

Flora and the Peacocks

This may be my favorite of the 3 Flora wordless books!

Guess Who, Haiku

A fun book of Haiku riddles. This would be really fun for younger readers.

You Must Be This Tall

A pretty hysterical book that I can't wait to share with my students.

The Night Gardener

Definitely one of my favorite picture books of 2016. One that I've read several times already.

The Key to Extraordinary

The new book by Natalie Lloyd is fabulous. I was worried that I could not possibly love it as much as I loved Snicker of Magic but I loved it just as much, if not more!

Poetry Friday -- Worms on the Sidewalk

Flickr Creative Commons Photo by Kurt Bauschardt

Advice 

by Dan Gerber

You know how, after it rains,
my father told me one August afternoon
when I struggled with something
hurtful my best friend had said,
how worms come out and
crawl all over the sidewalk
and it stays a big mess
a long time after it’s over
if you step on them?

(the rest of the poem is at American Life in Poetry)

It's been warm and rainy and the worms are out on the sidewalks. Two fourth grade girls walking out to the buses this afternoon were having a grand time squealing every time they saw one. All the while, I sent out silent wishes that the carelessly tramping feet would miss all the humble worms who had been rained out onto the sidewalk on a warm March afternoon.

Irene has the Poetry Friday roundup this week at Live Your Poem.

There Was An Old Lady

There Was an Old Lady Who Gobbled a Skink
by Tamera Will Wissinger
illustrated by Ana Bermejo
Sky Pony Press, 2016
review copy provided by the author

I absolutely loved Tamera Will Wissinger's verse novel, Gone Fishing (my review here), so I was looking forward to what she would do with the traditional cumulative tale of the old woman who swallowed. I have a collection of these books, and I'm always on the lookout for a new version to add to my collection. (Lookie there -- we even have a blog label for "old lady who swallowed" books!)

Wissinger's newest is another fishing-themed book, with the old lady swallowing items in reverse order -- a worm to catch the skink, a bobber to catch the worm, fishing line to catch the bobber. What a fun twist!

But the very best part is the punchline at the end. I'll give you a hint. Just before the last item she swallows, she swallows her boat. Can you think of what she would swallow, following the reverse order pattern, to catch a boat? It's what sank her!! (Is that the most perfect rhyme ever [assuming you know what the item was]?!?!)

A Happy Day for Graphic Novel Readers

Andrews McMeel Publishing is going to make my graphic novel readers VERY happy. Not one new book for our classroom library...not even two or three. FOUR new graphic novels, and I can't even imagine how over-the-moon they'll be to see the newest Big Nate! We'll start there.

Big Nate: Thunka, Thunka, Thunka
by Lincoln Peirce
Andrews McMeel Publishing, 2016
review copy provided by the publisher

Last week one of my readers had to remove himself from his table group because he was in hysterics over the Big Nate book he was reading. Big Nate is a character who resonates especially with my 5th grade boy readers. I'm just hoping there won't be an outbreak of boys emulating Big Nate by banging an empty plastic water bottle against their heads -- thunka, thunka, thunka!

Li'l Rip Haywire Adventures: Escape from Camp Cooties
by Dan Thompson
Andrews McMeel Publishing, 2016
review copy provided by the publisher

I have just the reader for this book. He's struggling to make the transition from graphic novels to books with all text, and this blend of graphics and text will be the perfect support for him. Plus, a boy who has to survive an all-girls summer camp is sure to be a hit!


These two will have to wait to meet my readers because I'm a little picky about having the first book in the series for other readers like me who HAVE TO read the first book first! But these will both be fun series to have for boy readers who are willing to cross over to a book that has a girl character (with a unicorn no less), and girl readers who might not go for Li'l Rip Haywire or Big Nate.

Stinky Cecil: Terrarium Terror

by Paige Bradock

Andrews McMeel Publishing, 2016

review copy provided by the publisher

Unicorn vs. Goblins: Another Phoebe and Her Unicorn Adventure

by Dana Simpson

Andrews McMeel Publishing, 2016

review copy provided by the publisher

Poetry Friday -- This is the Earth

This is the Earth
by Diane Z. Shore and Jessica Alexander
illustrated by Wendell Minor
HarperCollins Children's Books, 2016
review copy provided by the publisher

If you just read the visuals in this gorgeously illustrated book, you will trace the historical impact Americans* have had on the earth. In the first spread, there are no humans, in the second, a single canoe on a wild river. The sky dominates the third spread, but there is a group of teepees in the lower left corner. European settlers, railroads, steamships and airplanes appear in rapid succession, then modern cities, smoking landfills and waste spewing into the ocean. Before our eyes, a rainforest is leveled and glaciers melt into the ocean as polar bears look on. Just in the nick of time, we see recycling, commuters on bikes, a community garden, sea turtles being helped across the sand to the ocean, trees being planted, reusable grocery bags being carried. Finally, humans become a small part of the big picture again, as a group of four hike across a mountain meadow while alpine wildlife look on. Any grade level with a standard that teaches students to attend to the tone or mood created by the visuals in the media could use this book to spark rich discussions.

The text is rhyming, with the pattern, "This is the..." Mirroring the images, the book begins with "This is the earth..." then "This is the river..." and "This is the sky..." before changing to "This is the spike..." and This is the steamer..." and "This is the plane..."

Here is a sampling from the hopeful ending of the book:

"This is the Earth that we treat with respect,
where people and animals interconnect,
where we learn to find balance between give and take
and help heal the planet with choices we make."

Linda is hosting the Poetry Friday roundup at TeacherDance.



*I originally typed "humans," but then realized that this story is predominantly that of the United States' impact on the environment. We're not the only ones, but we're huge, and if this giant would take a positive stand to make sweeping changes, we could lead the way toward a healing and healthy Earth.

Violet and Victor Write the Most Fabulous Fairy Tale

I have been hearing a lot about Violet and Victor Write the Most Fabulous Fairy Tale. I picked up a copy and read it to my class last week. It was a definite hit.  Violet and Victor are brother and sister. Violet wants to write a fairy tale but her brother, Victor does not want to be part of it. He is more about real life things.  Violet starts the story and Victor changes it a bit with his own ideas. One thing I love about this --a thing that the kids picked up quickly--is that Violet's words and writing are in purple and Victor's are in orange.  The collaborative writing that this book shows will be great to use early in the year for Writing Workshop.  There is so much to talk about when it comes to writing and creativity and where ideas go!

The art in this book is amazing.  There is so much to look at that I found myself revisiting it over and over again after the first read.  I love the colors but there are lots of hidden things in each of the illustrations. I need to spend more time with it for sure.

I picked up the other Violet and Victor book and it is very similar in the fact that they work together to create a story.  The evolution of how these two authors work together to create a story is something to add to my early in the year writing workshop conversations I think.

Happy to have found these two books!