The Odious Ogre

The Odious Ogre
by Norton Juster
illustrated by Jules Pfeiffer
Scholastic, 2010
review copy provided by the publisher

This is the story of an ogre so awful that the villagers cower in terror underneath tables when the ogre is afoot. This ogre is confident that he's "Absolutely invincible!"

Then he meets a sweet girl who, even though she recognizes his flaws, insists that he's not so terrible. "Overbearing perhaps, arrogant for sure, somewhat self-important, a little too mean and violent, I'm afraid, and a bit messy. Your shoes could certainly use a polishing, but I'll bet if you brushed your teeth combed your hair, found some new clothes, and totally changed your attitude you'd be quite nice."

You might be able to guess that the sweet girl overcomes the odious ogre. The way she does it is a good reminder that huge and unmanageable problems can be brought to their knees without anything more than continuing on the path one knows to be the right one. (Self, are you listening?)

This is a great book for your word study stack. The ogre has a fabulous vocabulary, due to swallowing a dictionary on one pillage or another.


The Odious Ogre by Norton Juster, Illustrated by Jules Feiffer from Expanded Books on Vimeo.

Rosa's Bus: The Ride to Civil Rights

Rosa's Bus: The Ride to Civil Rights
by Jo S. Kittinger
illustrated by Steven Walker
Boyd's Mills Press, 2010
review copy provided by the publisher

Here's a new way of approaching the story of the Civil Rights Movement and that famous day when Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama -- this is a biography of Bus #2857, the bus where that moment in history took place.

Bus #2857 was made in Michigan, and carried riders in Indiana for six years before moving to Alabama. It carried riders in Montgomery until 1971.  It now has been fully restored and lives in the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan.

Wouldn't it be fun to tell about other moments in history by researching an object that was instrumental in that moment?

Poetry Friday -- The Fairfield County Fair

The Fairfield County Fair is always the last county fair of the year in Ohio. That's where I'll be today on our day off.

FAIRFIELD COUNTY FAIR

It is a fall harvest fair,

not a heat and humidity of summer fair.

It's the round barn against the October sky (maybe blue, maybe rainy),

betting on the harness racing until we run out of money or races,

4-H exhibits

baked goods

quilts

photography

collections of who knows what or why

mullets and guts 

and snotty-nosed kids running wild clutching carnival prizes.

We buy maple syrup and homemade sorghum molasses 

to last the winter.

The smell of peanut shells on our hands

brings curious velvet horse noses out of stalls to snuffle.

We touch oily sheep backs 

wonder at the odd slit-eyes of goats

pick out the craziest chicken breed.

I always fall asleep in the car

on the way home.

THE COUNTY FAIR

by Ron Padgett

The Holstein looks at us with big eyes but with no expression
in them. What images are flashing in its brain? The white goat
walks over as if to ask a question, but it has no question to ask:
there is no question mark in the goat world. The rabbit's pink
eyes dilate when a hand draws near, but it does not move, and
like a horseshoe, it says nothing. The two holes in the top of the
goose's beak are in search of something to get huffy about: the
poor goose is angry and without real nostrils.

(the rest of the poem is at The Writer's Almanac)

Liz has the Poetry Friday roundup today at Liz in Ink.

Amulet: The Cloud Searchers

Amulet: The Cloud Searchers (Book 3)
by Kazu Kibuishi
Scholastic, 2010
Review copy is mine

Some series books can be read out of order. Others, like Amulet, have a cumulative story that builds from book to book. A few of the reviewers cited below have a problem with the fact that there is no "catch you up on the story" beginning to this third volume in the Amulet series. However, (and maybe a truer test) Author Amok's 8th grade son had no problem reading this book without the background of the first two. He was interested, stayed with it, totally got the plot, and gave the book his highest rating.

Another reviewer took the author to task with not having a balance of pure good to offset the evil in this book. One of the reasons I like this series so much is that good and evil are NOT pure. Emily struggles with the powers of the amulet. The elf prince turns out to be a much more complicated character in this book -- he is not pure evil.  The airship pilot who gives up everything to attempt to locate the lost city of Cielis has some unexplained history that may or may not be all good. Cogsley and Miskit (the robot and rabbit who have been protecting Emily since the beginning) are captured by a wyvern, and I certainly hope that Kubuishi will bring them back at some point. The new character we meet at the end of this volume seems to be on Emily's side, but he gets this look in his eye when he talks about power, and Emily doesn't trust him, even though Leon (the fox, her mentor) insists that she will come to trust him.

Bottom line -- I really like this series and I especially like Kibuishi's art. My fourth graders will be glad I finally got this review written so they can line up to read book three!

*   *   *   *   *   *   *   *  *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *

Mixed reviews can be found at Comics Worth Reading, Book Dragon, ComicM!x, SLJ's Good Comics For Kids, and Author Amok's 8th Grade Son.

The Moral of the Story Is...

Here are two new books to add to your unit on Theme, or your tub of Fables.

Making the Moose Out of Life
by Nicholas Oldland
Kids Can Press, 2010
review copy provided by the publisher

Moose never wants to do anything exciting with his friends. One day, he gets inspired (or maybe just hit in the head with a golf ball) and jumps aboard a sailboat and sets sail. He is stranded on a desert island where he makes the most of island life with his new sidekick, Tuesday the tortoise. Moose is eventually rescued, returns to his friends and suggests they go cliff jumping. The book ends with Moose and Tuesday making plans to meet for a holiday in Africa. Moral of the story? Make the moose out of life so it doesn't pass you by while you sit under an umbrella wearing 100 SPF sunblock.

Ninja Cowboy Bear Presents: The Way of the Ninja
by David Buins and Hilary Long
Kids Can Press, 2010
review copy provided by the publisher

The trio that taught us to appreciate our friends instead of always trying to be the best in The Legend of Ninja Cowboy Bear  are back with a new story about friendship. Ninja loves to play with his friends Cowboy and Bear, but Ninja always wants to play his games, and his games are always rough and rowdy and end badly for Cowboy and Bear. Moral of the story? To be a good friend, sometimes you have to compromise about what to play.

100 Things About Me as a Reader

Photo from Flickr by brianjmatis http://www.flickr.com/photos/brianjmatis/3431100962/

I am working with our 4th and 5th graders about really knowing themselves as readers.  This week, I gave them a basic reading interview to begin helping them think about what they knew about themselves as readers and then I asked them to turn it over to write 100 things about themselves as readers. I tried to do the same. Of course, none of us go to 100, although we might be the end of the year of we keep noticing and adding, but it was a great conversation starter.  Here is my list so far.

1.  I read almost every Nancy Drew book when I was in 6th grade. My grandmother had the collection in her attic.
2.  I loved the Betsy books when I was in elementary school.
3.  Realistic Fiction is my favorite genre.
4.  No one is allowed to talk to me or bother me during the last 10 pages of a book.  Endings are key for me.
5. I have to love the character in a book to enjoy the book.
6.  I occasionally enjoy science fiction and fantasy.
7.  I loved the Bookmobile when I was younger. It parked right down the street every 2 weeks.
8. Walk Two Moons is one of my favorite books of all time.
9. I have a shelf of books that I haven't yet read. I like to have back-ups in case of a snowstorm or some other reason that I'd have time to read.
10.  I often skip parts in books when scenery or nature is described.
11. I am not so good at listening to books on tape. I get distracted. I like to see the print.
12. I almost never like the movie better than the book.
13. I never read a book after I've seen the movie.
14. I get recommendations from friends.
15. I like to read books that are brand new--hot off the press.
16. I don't get excited about having authors autograph my books.
17.  I don't really like to share my favorite books. I want my friends to read them but I really like to keep favorites after I am finished with them.
18. I like to alternate between long and short books.
19. I like to read children's fiction on airplane trips.
20. I can't read in the car--I get carsick.
21.  I rely on blog reviews and other reviews to choose children's books.
22.  I have many favorite authors.
23.  I love to hear authors speak and share their work.
24.  I love YA books but never have time (or give myself time) to read them.
25. Many Graphic Novels are hard for me to read/understand.
26. My mother read me Secret Garden and A Little Princess when I was little. Still two of my favorite books.
27.  Most of my nonfiction reading is connected to my work/job.
28. I have very little patience for reading how-to/directions.
29. I love love love to hang out in any bookstore.
30. I buy too many books.
31. I love to visit new bookstores when I travel.
32. I am convinced that Cover to Cover is the best children's bookstore in the country.


This is a really fun thing to do --I know as I live my life over the next several weeks, I will notice more about myself as a reader. I will add them as I notice. Who knows if I will get to 100. It is just a fun way to begin to think about myself as a reader and to pay attention to things I didn't notice. I think the same is true for our kids . Starting a list like this becomes a great tool for noticing these things about ourselves. If you try this, let us know.  I realized quickly that when I hear other people's lists, they remind me about things I hadn't thought of myself.

The Eraserheads

The Eraserheads
by Kate Banks
illustrated by Boris Kulikov
Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2010
review copy provided by the publisher

"Once there were three eraserheads: an owl, a crocodile, and a pig. They lived with a boy in the land of pencils, paper, rulers, letters, numbers, and drawings. And they had an important job. They erased mistakes."

I am a huge fan of erasers because I am a huge fan of making mistakes...as long as they are found and fixed!

Are these three eraserheads alive and working independently of the little boy who is making a big imaginative drawing? Or do these eraserheads and the boy work together to find a way to end the story in the drawing with a happily ever after instead of with the eraserheads being eaten by a snake? Or...maybe, just maybe, are the eraserheads only alive in the boy's imagination?

You decide.

No matter what, always remember to say "Hooray for mistakes!" And remember, if there weren't mistakes, "there'd be nothing to learn. And what fun would that be?"

"Hooray for erasers!"

Books I Could Read A Million Times: The Movie Version

If you haven't heard, DON'T LET THE PIGEON DRIVE THE BUS, the Scholastic DVD, came out last week.  I ordered a copy knowing it would be good to have for the library.  I don't order many DVDs these days but this seemed like a must-have.

I planned to show this to a few classes during Book Fair week since the library is pretty much taken over by book fair merchandise. I ended up showing it to almost every 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grade class and I loved it EVERY SINGLE TIME!

This is a great DVD--as would be expected from Mo Willems.  The DVD includes an animated version of Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus, Knuffle Bunny, and Leonardo the Terrible Monster.  There are also some extra fun clips that I will get to later.  I don't ever remember liking a movie or animated version of a story as well as I liked the original book but Mo Willems brings great fun to this DVD.  The laughs and giggles from kids of all ages--kids who know and love the books-were contagious. Teachers would pop into the library to see what all of the great giggling was about.  The whole DVD is a real treat.

And I watched it many, many times this week and did not get sick of it at all--I looked forward to watching it even after I had already seen it 10 times.  (Thus, the reason it is being added to my Books I Could Read a Million Times list--the first item that is not a book!)

Here are some things I love:
-There are little added bonuses--surprises at the beginnings and ends of each story that add to what we already love about the characters.
-Mo Willems and his wife and daughter do the narration of Knuffle Bunny which makes it quite fun.
-Jon Scieszka plays the role of the bus driver and I couldn't think of a better person to do this--there is an added part to the book where we get to know the bus driver a bit better. Jon Scieszka is great at the part!
-There is a live retelling of the Pigeon book. Mo Willems reads it to a group of children in a library. It is quite fun.
-A favorite among some classes were the "You Yell" version of Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus.  Yes, the story is told and the group needs to yell the "no" each time the Pigeon asks to drive the bus. Kids had a ball with this.
-There is also a Spanish Version of the books on the DVD as well as discussion questions.

This DVD is packed and I was sad to see it end during each class. I don't think there was one set of kids who did not ask to see the stories again. I agreed--it is one of those DVDs that you can't watch enough.

I am going to make this one available for student check out. We don't have many DVDs that are available for our students but this one would be such fun for kids to be able to share with families. It was such a fun 1/2 hour that I can't not share the fun with our families. Our school is filled with Mo Willems fans that I might even need a few more copies..... An added bonus will be that Leonardo the Terrible Monster will be loved by more children now that they know the book better.

Really, if you are a teacher or librarian, if you need a baby gift or a gift for a Mo Willems fan you know, get this DVD. It is really the best animation of children's books that I've seen.  And I might just watch it a million times--I love it that much!

Peace and Friendship Around the World: Imagine

You've seen the Google Search tribute to John Lennon in honor of his 70th birthday today. You read Jama's birthday wishes in her Poetry Friday post yesterday. Here's something small you and your students can do to promote peace and friendship in the world:

Calling All Kids in the U.S.

Write a message to be hung on our USA friendship tree in Turkey.

Thousands of Turkish children will pass by the USA booth at the Istanbul Book Fair this year. You can write a note to them about friendship, which will be hung on our friendship tree.

What you can do:

Draw a leaf (or trace this leaf outline) on a full page of green paper or color the leaf green, then write a note about what friendship means to you. You can write your first name and age, too. Your note will be posted on our giant tree at the book fair and Turkish children will be able to read your message. Send all messages by Oct. 15 to:

Public Affairs Section

Unit 5030 Box 0047

DPO AE 09827-0047 

USA

Kim Scrivner is the Cultural Affairs Officer at the U.S. Consulate in Istanbul. She writes: "We are preparing for the annual Istanbul Book Fair and wanted to make an extra effort to include children in our literacy and cultural outreach. We decided to create a large-as-life friendship tree, on which we will post leaf-shaped messages about friendship from American children. As many Turkish children are learning English, this will be one way that they can personally connect with U.S. children and observe that they share similar concepts of friendship and human values. Turkish children will also be able to write their own messages to add to the tree before and during the book fair."

For more information, check out the Consulate webpage for the U.S. Consulate in Istanbul, Turkey. 
 

Poetry Friday -- Did I Miss Anything?

Did I Miss Anything?
by Tom Wayman

Nothing. When we realized you weren’t here
we sat with our hands folded on our desks
in silence, for the full two hours

Everything. I gave an exam worth
40 percent of the grade for this term
and assigned some reading due today
on which I’m about to hand out a quiz
worth 50 percent

(the rest of the poem goes back and forth between nothing and everything HERE, at Billy Collins' and the Library of Congress' Poetry 180 site)


I've been away from school and the hectic pace of life for a week and I vacillate between feeling like I've missed everything and nothing.

Don't miss the Poetry Friday round up -- it's at Carol's Corner this week.

We've had a couple of changes in Poetry Friday round up hosts: Liz and Terry traded (Liz is now hosting on 10/15 and Terry is on 11/12); Andi is taking 10/22 since Mary Ann will be traveling to Minnesota for KidLitCon.

Speaking of KidLitCon...are you coming? We (Amy, Toby, Mary Ann, Laura Salas, Elaine and I) hope to see you in our Poetry Friday session!  Check out the KidLitCon schedule here.

Fairy Tale Mash-Ups

My fourth graders were having a hard time getting their heads around the idea of writing original fairy tales, but once I introduced the idea that they could borrow from familiar stories to create an original, they began having a blast reinventing the old stories by remixing characters, settings, and problems.

Vivian Vande Velde obviously had the same kind of fun writing Cloaked in Red.

Cloaked in Red
by Vivian Vande Velde
Marshall Cavendish, 2010
review copy provided by the publisher

Here's how the introduction begins:

"Everyone knows the story of Little Red Riding Hood, the girl with the unfortunate name and the inability to tell the difference between her grandmother and a member of a different species."

After a thorough exploration of the bizarreness of the various versions of this story, Velde suggests that a story as preposterous as this would never get past a self-respecting creative writing teacher, since it doesn't have memorable characters, a vivid setting, or an exciting plot. Besides all that, there is no discernible theme in this story.

"However you look at it, "Little Red Riding Hood" is a strange and disturbing story that should probably not be shared with children.

That is why I've gone ahead and written eight new versions of it."

Versions that begin, "Once upon a time, after fashion was discovered but before people had makeovers on TV, there was a young girl named Meg." Or, "Once upon a time, long after people had found out that their families could sometimes be an embarrassment, but before there were advice columnists you could complain to, there was a girl named Roselle." (In this story--spoiler alert--Granny is a werewolf, which accounts perfectly for her big teeth and hairy arms.) One of my favorite stories is "Deems the Wood Gatherer," in which a seriously myopic woodcutter bumbles through one fairy tale after another, not realizing that his good intentions are sealing the demise of characters right and left.

I'll share selected stories from Cloaked in Red with my fourth graders. Older readers will enjoy the book in its entirety.

In Front of My House
by Marianne Dubuc
Kids Can Press, 2010
review copy provided by the publisher

I can't wait to share this book with my students. It's a circular story that wanders from the narrator's house on the hill, to outer space, the inside of a whale, the zoo, and back home again. At one point, the story takes a detour into fairy tales and back out again. It's so surprising to find these familiar characters in story that's not itself a fairy tale! The story goes like this (each page has a simple illustration, and after each ... is a page break):

"On a little hill, behind a brown fence, under a big oak tree, is...
my house. In front of my house...
a rosebush. On the rosebush...
a little bird. Above the little bird...
a window. Behind the window...
my room. In my room..."

Very fun for predicting (although you're wrong nearly every time, like you are in Apples and Oranges: Going Bananas With Pairs by Sara Pinto) and I can't wait to see the kinds of writing my students will do with this book as a model.

September Mosaic

Photo #25 and photo #26 are my two favorites of the month (maybe of all time). One of the participants at our Ohio Casting for Recovery event was so excited when she caught her first fish (#25), and so sad when it promptly flipped itself off the hook (#26 -- see the splash in the water?!?!).

While we're on the subject of Casting for Recovery, here's a post I wrote about it a couple of years ago and a PSA:

Casting For Recovery (CFR) is an international non-profit support and education program for breast cancer survivors.

The program involves a free weekend wellness program where, in addition to support and education relating to breast cancer, women learn fly fishing, "A sport for life."

CFR weekend programs incorporate counseling, educational services, and the sport of fly fishing to promote mental and physical healing. Founded in 1996, CFR offers free programs across the United States and in several countries worldwide.

Today alone, over 500 women will be newly diagnosed with breast cancer. Tomorrow, it will be the same. This number does include those already living with the disease or those who do not know they have it.

Now, you can support women on their journey in recovery through daily voting.

Casting for Recovery is competing for a $250,000 grant from the Pepsi Refresh Project now through October 31. CFR is currently ranked #4 in its category.  When they win this grant, CFR will be able to create 5-7 new retreats and reach more women.

There is strength in numbers, so CFR has joined an Alliance of community charities to reach out to even more people.

By voting every day through October 31, more breast cancer survivors will have the opportunity to attend a CFR retreat. You can vote three ways each day - On-line, on Facebook, and by Text. It is easy to cast your votes (see below).

VOTING INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE CASTING FOR RECOVERY ALLIANCE

There Are 3 Ways You Can Vote Daily

Vote On-Line: Go to http://pep.si/CFROctoberAlliance.  A page with 10 charities will appear. Register or Sign In as instructed at the bottom left corner of page, then vote for all ten charities.

Vote on Facebook: Go to CFR October Alliance and 10 charities will appear. Click to vote on one of the partners and when the Sign In or Register page pops up, use the Log in at FACEBOOK in the blue rectangle.The voting page will appear. Vote for all ten.

Vote by Phone Text: Text your votes first for CFR to: 73774, enter 101715 in body and send. Then vote for all alliance members; 100847, 102320, 100585, 100242, 102066, 102340, 100505, 100507, 100321. What better time than Breast Cancer Awareness Month to show your support. We thank you on behalf of the women we serve. At CFR, we believe TO FISH IS TO HOPE!

Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook: Gross Jr. Edition

What's the grossest thing that's ever happened to me? Well, I've had pets, so I've done my share of gross clean-ups of various yuck that comes out of the front and back ends of dogs and cats. BLECH! I kept Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches as classroom pets for a lot of years. I think they are pretty cool critters, but for lots of people they were really high up on the scale of grossness. EEK! When I worked at the swimming pool, it became routine practice after giving swimming lessons to the littlest kids to skim giant snot-wads out of the water (with no protective gloves) and fling them onto the sidewalk to dry up and blow away. (Better that, than to swim into them!) YUCK! Come to think of it, being a teacher has given me plenty of gross experiences. The grossest was probably when I looked down at a student's head and saw it crawling with lice. GROSS! My most recent gross experience was last Friday when a surgeon cut four little slits in my belly, blew me up like a balloon through one, stuck a light and a camera in through a couple others, and reached in and--snip-snip--cut my gallbladder free and dragged it out through one of the holes. EWWW! I'm starting to think I could have been a writer or a consultant for Chronicle Books' newest Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook:

The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook: Gross Junior Edition by David Borgenicht, Nathaniel Marunas, and Robin Epstein illustrated by Chuck Gonzales Chronicle Books, 2010 review copy provided by the publisher The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbooks have been favorites in my classroom since the first one came out. There is no doubt in my mind that this edition will be the most popular. It has boogers, farts, burps, pus, and pinkeye. It also has practical information about how to plunge a toilet, how to remove a tick (get an adult's help is the first step), and how to safely drink from the drinking fountain at school. For possible word study lessons, there is a table of barfonyms and a list of poopisms. You can learn how to say what you say after someone sneezes in seven different languages. But most of all, this book is just good GROSS fun! Here's an example:

The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook: GROSS Junior Edition is on tour. For further examples of icky wonderfulness, a chance to win a copy of the book, and more, check out these blogs: Sept. 27: Brimful Curiosities Sept. 29: Bookmarkable Sept. 30: Dad of Divas Oct. 1: Stiletto Storytime Oct. 2: A Sea of Books Oct. 3: Great Kid Books Oct. 4: A Year of Reading -- YOU ARE HERE! Oct. 5: The Children’s Book Review Oct. 6: 5 Minutes for Books Oct. 7: Two Writing Teachers Oct. 8: Mocha Dad

What's the grossest thing that ever happened to you? Share your story in the comments!

Poetry Friday From Franki

Mary Lee asked me to be "guest blogger" for Poetry Friday today.  It is funny being a guest blogger on our own blog. But, Mary Lee is having her gall bladder removed this  morning and did not feel so poetic.  I worked long and hard to find or compose a poem about gall bladders but they are not easy to find (or to write).  So, I thought I'd celebrate Poetry Friday by sharing 2 great new poetry books I picked up at Cover to Cover.

SWITCHING ON THE MOON: A VERY FIRST BOOK OF BEDTIME POEMS is a collection by Jane Yolen and Andrew Fusek Peters.  The book is illustrated by G. Brian Karas.  This anthology is a great companion to one of my all time favorite poetry books, HERE'S A LITTLE POEM by the same authors.  This book is the same size--big and fun.  The font of each poem is big enough for little readers, and although the illustrations are done by a different illustrator, they are perfect for this book--a happy night time feel.  This is an amazing collection of poems for young children--for bedtime or anytime of the day.  So excited that these two collaborated on another "Very First" book of poetry.

The other fun poetry book I had to have was GUYKU: A YEAR OF HAIKU FOR BOYS.  I really did not even have to open the book to know I wanted it. The title made me smile and I saw that Peter Reynolds was the illustrator. I knew I would love it.  This is as great of a book as I expected.  (Even the dedication page is done in Haiku.) It combines Haiku and fun and will definitely appeal to boys (and girls, too!).  This book goes through the seasons, celebrating things boys enjoy (or things they don't like sisters..)  At the end of the book, the author, Bob Raczka shares his thinking about why he wrote GUYKU and why Haiku is a wonderful form of poetry for guys.  He has great points and I think he is right!

The Poetry Friday Round-Up today is at Bibliofile.

Book Character ElasticBandz

In a brilliant marketing move, Albert Whitman & Company has jumped on the current SillyBandz craze and created packages of Book Bands that are "collectible shaped rubber bands" that go with three of their most popular series: Boxcar Children, Zapato Power, and The Buddy Files.

Thank you, Michelle Bayuk, Director (Extraordinaire) of Marketing at Albert Whitman, for sending enough of these to share with my students, thereby elevating me to Coolest Teacher Ever.

Apple Dip Recipe for Teacher Events

(In an attempt to live a more balanced life, I thought I would share a great recipe today.)

Today, we had a Teacher Sneak Peek at the Book Fair. Teachers came in before school, browsed the books and created Wish Lists. And, of course, we had some food. If you are looking for a great and easy fall recipe, the Apple Dip I made was a huge hit. It is the quickest, easiest thing I have ever made. I got the recipe from my neighbor over the summer and have made it several times since then. I have no idea where it originated but I would love to thank the person who figured out this combination of ingredients.

I use a regular size pie plate to serve this in.

Ingredients
1 cup brown sugar
1 large container of whipped cream cheese
1 large container of caramel apple dip
1/2 bag mini chocolate chips
1/2 bag crushed Heath bars
8-10 apples

Take 1 cup of brown sugar and 1 large container of whipped cream cheese. Mix these together with mixer.

Spread this onto bottom of pie plate as 1st of 3 layers.

For the second layer, use a large container of caramel apple dip. Microwave it a bit until it is spreadable and then spread it on top.

Finally, for layer 3, cover caramel dip with mini-chocolate chips and crushed Heath bars. Use enough to completely cover the caramel.

This is great with apples or graham cracker sticks. Or actually with anything:-)

Enjoy!

Michael Grant and The Magnificent 12

Michael Grant visited our school last week to talk to the our 4th and 5th graders about his new series, THE MAGNIFICENT 12.  If you haven't seen the series, yet, the first book (The Call) came out in late August.

This is a great new series that I am excited about! I read an ARC of the book this summer and when Cover to Cover asked if we'd like to have Grant visit with our kids, I was thrilled. (Thank you Cover to Cover!)

The first book in a series sets up the story. Mack MacAvoy is your average 12 year old kid. But he is also someone who seems to get in trouble with bullies often.  One day at school. Mack is visited by someone who tells him that he is one of the Magnificent 12 and that he must find the other 11 kids who will make up the Magnificent 12 and save the world.

The humor in this book is the best. Michael Grant does a great job of making this funny to readers of all ages. The thing about his humor is that it is spread throughout the book and it is that surprising, laugh out loud humor. I found myself laughing aloud several times while I was reading it.

George from the Dublin Branch Library shows off his new books!

Michael Grant's talk to our students was amazing. If you ever have a chance to hear him speak or to have him at your school, it is quite a treat.  His talk was about 20 minutes and hysterically funny.  He seems to totally understand this age group and creates a talk that keeps them engaged and excited about the book.  Following the talk, he autographed books.  George from the Dublin Library joined us so that he could hear the talk by Michael Grant and pick up a few copies of the book!

The book has a great website that has some great features. I think fantasy is often new to readers of this age.  Creating a visual of the various settings and characters is sometimes hard. The website provides info and reminders about these characters that are helpful when reading (and amusing too).  Lots of other features make the site appealing to kids.

Our 4th and 5th graders love this series and are already looking forward to the 2nd in the series that comes out next August.

The book trailer gives gives you a sense of the book too.


You can read more about the Magnificent 12 from Bill at Literate Lives and from Tony at Learn Me Sumthin'.

Photo Sharing in the Elementary School: Is It Worth the Time and Energy?

(I am taking a Web 2.0 course through the University of Alberta's Teacher-Librarianship program. This week's assignment was to examine Flickr and other photo sharing sites and explore possibilities for our students. This post is cross-posted on this blog as well as the blog I created for the course called Web Tools for Schools.)

Photo by Brittney Bush on Flickr

I think many of us in the elementary school are overwhelmed by all that is possible with technology. We want our students to have great opportunities but we don't want to use technology for technology's sake. So, we have to be picky about the tools we commit to. With so much else to do in the elementary classroom, is Photo sharing worth the time for teachers and students? What are the benefits to our students?

I have always understood the importance of images and the need to have a "photo library" of sorts for kids. But until exploring Flickr this week, it merely seemed like one more thing--one more huge thing to add to my list of things to figure out.

I could never understand the reasons a Flickr account might be important for elementary students. Most of my work this week has been in trying determine the benefits of Flickr for elementary school. I went into the week wondering if Flickr is really a tool that is worthwhile for elementary students. With so many other tools available, is it really important that our students have access to photo sharing tools such as Flickr?

One article that impacted my thinking was “The Promise of Social Networks” by Derek E. Baird on Tech and Learning. In it, he says, "Today’s students have grown up surrounded by the digital world, and as a result they have developed new ways of understanding, learning and processing information. As new types of social media are developed, teachers will need to find new and innovative ways to harness the power of these technologies to enhance their curriculum, and support differing learning styles. Flickr holds great potential as part of a multi-faceted approach that blends learning theory and social technologies in the curriculum."

I have heard about many schools and libraries with Flickr accounts but they seem to be mostly for public relations purposes. Much of what I read about Flickr and libraries tended to talk about how Flickr could raise awareness and communication about your library or classroom . Although I see this as one possible use of Flickr, I think for it to be worth the time, it must have an impact on student learning.

Our students are using photos constantly. As I watch over their shoulders, they have somehow learned to take photos from wherever they would like. Because most image searches are blocked in schools, our young students are teaching themselves to pull photos from websites without regard for copyright or citation. Many of our students have no idea that there are photo-sharing sites available that provide great photos with a Creative Commons license. Many have no idea that what they are doing is not right. In my reading, I found that this is not so uncommon. In her article, "Teaching Students About Creative Commons and Appropriate Use of Images", Kathy McGeady states, "Little do many people know, you can’t just use any images off the internet in your blog posts. Not only is this ethically incorrect but you could leave yourself open to copyright infringement.”

My youngest daughter is a perfect example of this. She is in 5th grade and blogged quite a bit this summer. She has a blog called FUN THINGS TO MAKE and I was alarmed to realize how she had taught herself to take photos and put them right into her blog. I quickly showed her how Flickr worked and taught her to do an advanced search looking for Creative Commons photos. This box in the advanced search allows for searching of only photos licensed by Creative Commons.

I also showed her where to find the information on who took the photo. After the initial whining about having to do something that didn't sound fun (she had already found her photos after all) she realized how many great photos she could find on Flickr. After seeing how easy it was and how many great images were available, she went on to use photos from Flickr to create a birthday invitation and other projects. Now she would like her own Flickr account.

Teaching about Creative Commons is only one way I can see Flickr being used in school. If a school or classroom has a Flickr account, students can begin to build a photo library of the school year. Photosharing safety could be addressed in a very authentic way as students determine which photos from the field trip should be put into the Flickr account. With a Flickr account, students can learn about tagging items for future use and for sharing purposes. They can learn about citing sources and about licensing their own photos. I can see Flickr as a very easy way to teach so many of the skills we want our students to have when working with all kinds of media. And if we teach them early, our students will be able to use these skills for life.

Another thing makes Flickr or other photo sharing tools worthwhile for elementary schools is the global piece and the ways in which Flickr allows for global collaboration. Giving students ways to see and participate in projects like THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE IN 21 COUNTRIES WALKING IN STOP-MOTION- a project done by photo sharing site Blipfoto

As an elementary librarian, it seems critical that our students have access to photo sharing tools such as Flickr. So much of the work that they are doing relies on images and having access to a photo sharing site can help students learn to use these in an ethical, responsible, and safe way.

My vision for a Flickr account in the school library is a basic one. Since our students are young (grades K-5), I think that teacher management of the library account is important. I hope to set up an account so that we can:

-add photos from classroom, school and other events. When a group goes on a field trip, we can determine as a class which photos get downloaded and how to tag them. After we finish a science experiment, children can choose to include photos. For school events such as assemblies and art shows, a team of students can choose photos to be placed on the Flickr account. We can create sets and collections when appropriate. Over time, I see the library of photos building quickly so that students have a huge variety of photos to use in projects--photos that connect directly to the curriculum they are studying. Adding photos will also provide a great opportunity to help students understand district guidelines of not posting student faces online.

-learn about Creative Commons licensing. By adding photos to our Flickr library and learning to use the Advanced search options on Flickr, students will begin to understand the ethical responsibilities of using and posting images.

-tag photos and learn about tagging and organizing. This will be an important skill students can learn from participating in a Flickr account.

-have conversations around responsible posting of images of others can be taught as groups of students work with teachers to determine which photos from events to post. Determining which photos are acceptable for public sharing and how to stay within our school's guidelines and agreement will help students' see their own responsibility with their work.

There are definitely things to be aware of if using Flickr. First of all, it is a self-monitored site so there is the potential that an inappropriate photo will be found once in a while. Flickr is blocked in many schools, as are many image sharing sites, and although Flickr is listed in many articles as one of the most child-friendly photosharing (http://photography.families.com/blog/best-places-for-photo-sharing-on-the-internet) sites, there are other options for educators. One such option is SMUGMUG. These other sites provide some different options but the Creative Commons tools are not as easy to navigate or as global as in Flickr. Flickr is a tool that is easy for young children to navigate and learn with.

I now see the benefits of a Flickr account for elementary schools and libraries. I think it is imperative that our students have access to safe ways to contribute and use images in this way. I agree with Will Richardson when he says, "Personally, I think Flickr is one of the best sites on the Web. It's true social software where the contributors interact and share and learn from each other in creative and interesting ways. And for that reason, it's educational potential is huge." (Blogs, Wikis , Podcasts and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms, p. 102) I think the possibilities for teaching are endless and a school library account would be a great scaffold for our youngest students. By understanding the issues and concerns about images on the web and also seeing the possibilities for student learning, I am convinced that Flickr and other photo-sharing sites are not just one more thing to learn. Instead photo sharing sites like Flickr can support our students as they learn incredibly as they learn about creating and using visual images.

Poetry Friday: You Read to Me, I'll Read to You

INTRODUCTION

Here's a book

Of Aesop's Fables,

Tales where turtles

Turn the tables,

Tales with lions,

Tales with mice,

Tales where ants

Give good advice.

(to read the rest of the poem, you'll have to get your own copy of the book!)

You Read to Me, I'll Read to You: Very Short Fables to Read Together

by Mary Ann Hoberman

illustrated by Michael Emberley

Little, Brown and Company, 2010

review copy provided by the publisher

At ALA last June, I got the chance to tell Mary Ann  Hoberman that she is a rock star in my classroom. On Poetry Fridays, her You Read to Me, I'll Read to You books are the most popular books on the poetry shelf in my classroom. And why not? They are so fun, and perfectly designed for buddy reading. They are easy enough for struggling readers to figure out, and easy enough for confident readers to read with dramatic expression. They are well enough known that sometimes the audience joins in the performance!

This newest volume is a welcome addition to the set. The fables Hoberman chose to include are well-known or have an easily-understood moral.  Emberley's illustrations start telling a story of their own from the title page on. Fun, fun, fun!

There's more fun to be had today at the Poetry Friday Round Up.  Karen, at The Blog With the Shockingly Clever Title, is hosting today.

MEMOIRS OF A GOLDFISH by Devin Scillia

My good friend and colleague Nicole, told me about this new book called MEMOIRS OF A GOLDFISH. As she was telling me all about it and why her 2nd graders loved it, I knew I had to have it. I picked it up last night and my 5th grade daughter had just heard it read aloud and she said it was hysterical. This is one of those books that will be great for many ages. It will make a great read aloud for the library.

The story reminded me a bit of the Diary of a Worm series by Doreen Cronin in that it is a diary format. I think kids who are fans of that series will enjoy this book too. This a 14 day "memoir" of a goldfish and the events that happen to him in his bowl. Day 1: I swam around my bowl. Each page/day gets a little longer and more complex as Goldfish's life gets a little more crowded. He is quite funny and his voice make the book amusing.

I can see using this book when talking about personal narrative. There is lots to learn about first person writing and about sharing events and feelings by the fish in this book. Kids of all ages will laugh out loud at this one. I imagine it will be a popular one in the library.