NY Times Book Reviews

When it comes to the NY Times Book Reviews, I'm a skimmer and a scanner. I check titles, authors, and reviewers. It's most rare that I read a complete review if all three are unfamiliar. Only great reviewers can snag me in to read all about a book I know nothing and care nothing about. I admire those reviewers.

It's equally rare when a reviewer I love reviews a book I will likely love. That happened in the January 21 issue of the NYTBR: Roy Blount, Jr. reviewed E.B. White's LETTERS OF E.B. WHITE: REVISED EDITION.

Almost every week, I hear Roy Blount, Jr. on NPR's Wait Wait, Don't Tell Me!, so when I read his review, I could "hear" his voice. I took E.B. White's essays with me to Europe in 1988 and found them to be the perfect read on trains in foreign countries. GAK! It's been almost 20 years since I read his essays! No time like the present to work on his letters.

The essay on the back page of that same issue was quite humorous as well: Joe Queenan claims that he never buys a book unless a major reviewer says it is "Amazing." He writes, "Previously I had limited my purchases to to merchandise deemed "luminous" or "incandescent," but this meant I ended up with an awful lot of novels about bees, Provence or Vermeer." Hmmm....I think I read those books!

Thank Goodness For the Public Library!

Starting next week, each of my 25 students will become a member of a literature circle group, or mini book club, that meets once a week. The groupings are based on my understanding of each child as a reader and as a social being in this class. Each group met last week to chat about what they've been reading independently and what they might like to read with their group. They gave me their ideas and I spent hours last weekend on the Columbus Metropolitan Library website and at the Northwest Branch gathering books.

A group of three boys wants to read graphic novels. I picked Akiko by Mark Crilley (graphic novel version) for them. I think they can read a book a week and there are five books, so that gives me some time to find what will come next. I'm thinking Hikaru No Go by Yumi Hotta, but CML doesn't own it, and I haven't read it all the way through. I may have to buy three copies and the game Go.

A mixed gender group of four included both graphic novels and pets on their wish list. I am ordering multiple copies of Travels of Thelonious by Susan Schade from the library, and I will join this group in reading this book for the first time. It is a graphic novel hybrid (part graphic novel, part novel novel) and it has animals for characters. Thelonious is a chipmunk (apologies, Thelonious for originally saying you were a mouse). I wonder if we will make connections to Despereaux as we read?

A big group of six asked to read mysteries. A-Z Mysteries are perfect for them, but I'm not sure who's read which titles. I was glad to find that Ron Roy is continuing past the 26 books in the series with A-Z Mysteries Detective Camp. Northwest Branch had six copies of this title! Perfect!

A group of four capable readers wanted to read Mary Pope Osborne books, but not necessarily her Magic Tree House books. I have copies of Revolutionary War on Wednesday and the accompanying nonfiction research guide, and copies of Osborne's Tall Tales from which they can choose.

The last group is the literature circle that's been meeting weekly all through 4th grade and continuing this year in 5th grade. At the beginning of the year, I had them go back to my shelves of multiple copy sets of novels and pick the ONE they wanted to be sure the group read in 5th grade. We laid them out, counted them up, and found that we have a book a month for the rest of the year! This is exactly the process my adult book club uses to set our yearly reading agenda. Here's what they chose: Time Cat by Lloyd Alexander, The Last Treasure by Janet Anderson, Wringer by Jerry Spinelli (that's what we're reading now), Riding Freedom by Pam Munoz Ryan, The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett, Love, Ruby Lavender by Deborah Wiles, and The View From Saturday by E.L. Konigsburg. (That last one is my pick. A farewell present to some extraordinary 5th graders who will hopefully continue to be extraordinary no matter what middle school brings in the way of pressures to be ordinary.)

Again, I say, "Thank goodness for the public library!" I couldn't have provided all of these resources without the ability to BORROW most of them!

Jennifer Holm Interview

What a great day for interviews! Miss Erin has a great interview with Jennifer Holm talking about Newbery Honor book PENNY FROM HEAVEN!

China In My Heart

I have been trying to get my hands on this book for a while and my good friend just sent a copy from me. CHINA IN MY HEART is a story written by a six-year old girl about her adoption. It is a great story--one that I am excited to add to our collection of books about adoption. As a mom of an adopted daughter, I keep my eye out for books that are true to the experience of adoption. This one is right from the heart. I applaud the publisher for publishing these books by kids. I am excited to share it with my daughter. I can also see sharing it with my students as a model for writing. It seems hard to find in the US. I think it is published in Canada.

Marla Frazee

Since Marla Frazee is one of my favorite authors of the week (TOTALLY loved WALK ON! and am sooooo excited about CLEMENTINE!), I am happy to tell you that you can hear a great interview with her at Just One More Book. What a treat!

(And the quote on the home page of her website is so brilliant!)

Cool Babymouse Stuff!

You may have already seen this site but I just discovered it. Lots of fun Babymouse stuff! Mugs, shirts, bumper stickers.

More Strong Girls in Children's Literature

I am loving my Sunday visits to HipWriterMama. Each Sunday, she highlights strong females in children's literature. She is the mother of 3 daughter and created the lists because:

"I want my children to read about strong girls who can take on whatever life gives them and still find hope, heroism and strength without losing a sense of themselves. I want them to have strong girl role models so they have something to aspire to, to dream about, to think about."

Another reason to look forward to Sundays!

(And don't forget about Jen Robinson's list of 200 Cool Girls in Children's Literature)

Books About Books and Reading

A while back, I mentioned my collection of books about books and reading. I think it's really important to talk to kids about their identities as readers--experiences, tastes, behaviors, etc. I find that books are often a great jumpstart for kids--a way to help them begin to think about themselves as readers. So, over the years, I've collected mostly picture books to help me start these conversations in the classroom. I've also found poetry, excerpts from other books, etc. I also have some novels that are about literacy but I find that short text works best to start lots of great conversations. Below is a list of my current favorites. If you have any to add, let us know in the comments and we'll try to compile the list. We could try for "100 GREAT CHILDREN'S BOOKS ABOUT BOOKS AND READING"! (I also have books that start conversations with kids about writing, but I don't have that list as organized! I'll try to share that sometime soon too!) 

One of my favorites to use with kids is excerpts from Anna Quindlen's book HOW READING CHANGED MY LIFE. So many great experiences around books and reading! Here are others: Picture Books SOUPER CHICKEN by Mary Jane and Herm Auch WOLF by Becky Bloom BOOK by George Ella Lyon TOMAS AND THE LIBRARY LADY by Pat Mora THE GIRL WHO HATED BOOKS by Manjusha Pawagi AUNT CHIP AND THE GREAT TRIPLE CREEK DAM AFFAIR by Patricia Polacco THANK YOU, MR. FALKER by Patricia Polacco READING GROWS by Ellen Senisi LIBRARY LIL by Suzanne Williams THE LIBRARY by Sarah Stewart THE DAY EDDIE MET THE AUTHOR by Louise Borden THE LIBRARIAN OF BASRA by Jeanette Winter THE OLD WOMAN WHO LOVED TO READ by John Winch JAKE'S 100TH DAY OF SCHOOL by Lester Laminack Poetry GOOD BOOKS, GOOD TIMES by Lee Bennett Hopkins THE BOOKWORM'S FEAST by J. Patrick Lewis PLEASE BURY ME IN THE LIBRARY by J. Patrick Lewis Books From Which I Use Excerpts HOW READING CHANGED MY LIFE by Anna Quindlen LIFE IS SO GOOD by George Dawson LOOKING BACK: A BOOK OF MEMORIES by Lois Lowry AMELIA HITS THE ROAD by Marissa Moss QUOTATIONS FOR KIDS by J.A. Senns * * * * * * Here's a link too good to keep in the comments: A Notes from the Windowsill annotated bibliography of book-books by Wendy E. Betts. THANKS!

Poetry Friday--Newbery Award Edition

The Book Not Taken
(apologies to Robert Frost)

Two aisles diverged in my favorite bookstore,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one reader, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where the bookshelves ended;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it contained all the books my fellow bloggers were reading;
Though as for that, the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
The carpet equally stained with salt (brought in on boots from the icy walk).
Oh, I kept the first for another day
Because I believed the Newbery pick would be found
In the aisle I chose
Yet knowing how my record stands on picking picks,
I was pretty sure I'd be back, and pretty quick.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
A week after the Newbery was announced:
Two aisles diverged in my favorite bookstore, and I --
I took the one that didn't contain the winning book,
And that has made no real difference at all
Because it has STILL been a fun year filled with great books
And lively bloggerly conversations!

Orbis Pictus Awards Announced

NCTE (The National Council of Teachers of English) announced its Orbis Pictus Awards this week. The winner was Quest for the Tree Kangaroo by Sy Montgomery. This award is given for Outstanding Nonfiction for Children. Five Honorable Mentions as well as other recommended nonfiction from 2006 are listed. It is a great list of new nonfiction titles.