RED SLED by Lita Judge

I love to add new wordless picture books to my collection. The more I have collected, the more possibilities I see for teaching and learning. I used to think of wordless books for only younger students. But I have recently come to realize how much there is for older readers as well. As our world becomes more visual, what better way to think about the stories that pictures tell than with wordless picture books.

I was thrilled to discover a new mostly wordless picture book, RED SLED by Lita Judge. I didn't recognize the work as Judge's right away as it has a different look from many of her other books.   I loved this one immediately because of the cover.  (Well, it helped that the character on the cover of the book is wearing a RED HAT--seems to be the fashion in 2011 picture books this season:-)  The cover drew me right in--a white background, a sweet child in a red hat and a bear with a sled in the background.  But I think it is the look on the child's face that convince me I would love this book.  Watching, grinning, pausing.  So much going on in that little face.

The story begins when the child puts away the sled for the evening, leaning it against the side of the house. A fun-looking bear sees it and has an idea.  He takes it for a ride and picks up a few friends on the way.  They have a great time sledding down hills and over some bumps.  Then they put the sled back where they found it.  The next day, the child goes out to play on the sled and notices the footprints in the snow...

This story is great fun and will be perfect to share when we get our first snow.  I can see this book as one kids will go back to again and again. So much to see in the illustrations and such a great story of wonder.

The book has already received several starred reviews. (Kirkus, School Library Journal, Publishers Weekly)

Nonfiction Read Aloud, Part 3: BALLOONS OVER BROADWAY by Melissa Sweet

Balloons Over Broadway: The True Story of the Puppeteer of Macy's Parade
by Melissa Sweet
Houghton Mifflin Books for Children, on shelves November 1, 2011
review copy provided by the publisher







There's so much to love about BALLOONS OVER BROADWAY for a nonfiction read aloud!

It is a true story that needs to be told. Tony Sarg, while famous to puppeteers (one of Sarg's apprentices was Bill Baird, who did the goatherd scene in The Sound of Music, and one of Baird's apprentices was Jim Henson), has fallen through the cracks of history when it comes to his association with the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. And yet, his creation lives on. I think a read aloud of this book would be a great opportunity to talk with kids about all the amazing things they might accomplish in their lifetimes...that will touch lots of lives, but never result in celebrity fame.

It is inviting. In the classic Melissa Sweet style, there are large, bright, engaging parts of each illustration to be seen from afar, AND there are lots of fun details to be examined on a close-up rereading. Plus, it's about the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, which has been known to (and loved by) generations of Americans. How many memories do YOU have of that parade?!?

It celebrates tinkering. Tony Sarg was lucky. He grew up in a day and time when toys were mechanical, and he could take them apart to figure out how they worked. Kids these days need experiences with tinkering. I was reminded of this recently when a wave of "fortune teller" making passed through my class. (You know -- those origami devices that you stick thumbs and forefingers into and pinch this way and that, giving the player the option to make several choices before you lift the flap that tells their fortune?) Nearly everyone learned to make them, then improved on the design in their own ways, either with innovative fortune choices, or by making the largest or smallest ones possible.

In our science curriculum, "tinkering" is know as The Design Process. As long as you PROMISE to make sure your students have the chance to USE the design process to create their own invention and then find ways to make it better, I will suggest that you read this book aloud in your science time in order to discover how Tony Sarg utilized the design process in the development of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. One more stipulation -- you are not allowed to do a first read of this book in science. You must first read it for enjoyment! Okay...pinky promise? Pinky promise. Now go get a copy of this book and share it with your class!

*    *    *    *    *    *

See and hear Melissa Sweet tell the story of writing this book in this video.

Jama Rattigan has a FEAST of a review, with an interview, images from the book, photos, links, and a give-away. Check it out!

MARCEL THE SHELL WITH SHOES ON

My older daughter "invited" me to watch the Youtube video, MARCEL THE SHELL WITH SHOES ON months ago. I couldn't help but laugh and love this character once I started watching.  The combination of the visual, the voice and the humor drew me in.



This week, the picture book MARCEL THE SHELL WITH SHOES ON: THINGS ABOUT ME was released.  If you know the video, how could you not love the book?  It is more fun info about a character we know. (I think I need to get the audiobook to go along with it, because what fun is Marcel without his voice?)

After reading the interview with the authors, I had even more insight into this phenomenon.

Then I discovered that Marcel the Shell has a Facebook Page and a Twitter Account!

And I just discovered that there is also a Marcel the Shell iPad/iPhone App!

Seems like Marcel is EVERYWHERE these days.  I think this is a fun example of all the ways we can enjoy a character and his stories.

When my daughter showed the video to me over the summer, I laughed but never imagined this as a children's book. But, now that it is, it makes perfect sense. I think this is a character we will be seeing lots of in the near future:-)

Poetry Friday: Two Instant Hits in the Classroom

Poems I Wrote When No One Was Looking
by Alan Katz
illustrated by Edward Koren
Margaret K. McElderry Books, 2011
review copy provided by the publisher
(Kindle edition here)







There are never enough books of funny poems in my classroom. After I preview a couple from this book with my fourth graders, I'm sure it won't stay on the shelf long on Poetry Friday!


THIS JUST IN...

My brother was stealing.
Dad shot him.
We watched.

Please don't be upset,
and don't chafe.
Dad shot with a camera.
Bro was stealing third.
So relax.
By the way,
he was safe!


HOLY COW JUICE!

My brother is so wacky.
My brother is so weird.
I've seen kids get milk mustaches,
but he's got a milk beard!

Audio interview with Alan Katz on Poetry4Kids.

Every Thing On It
by Shel Silverstein
Harper, 2011
review copy provided by the publisher

I had no idea another volume of Shel Silverstein poetry would be published posthumously. What a surprise when I opened the package that contained this book!

The poems and art are classic Silverstein.

OUCH!

If you're learnin' to read
But you haven't learned yet,
And the B's and the D's
Are just givin' you fits,
And you feel about twenty-six
Pains where you sit
It's that ol' Letter Snake --
You've been alpha-bit.


There are no clues anywhere in the book that Silverstein has been gone for 12 years. Kids don't need to know that. But for those of us who grew up on THE GIVING TREE (1964) and WHERE THE SIDEWALK ENDS (1974), the first and last poems in the book are quite poignant.

YEARS FROM NOW

Although I cannot see your face
As you flip these poems awhile,
Somewhere from some far-off place
I hear you laughing--and I smile.


WHEN I AM GONE

When I am gone what will you do?
Who will write and draw for you?
Someone smarter--someone new?
Someone better--maybe YOU!


Laura Purdie Salas has the Poetry Friday roundup today at her spiffy new blog!

Nonfiction Read Aloud, Part 2

If You Lived Here: Houses of the World
by Giles Laroche
Houghton Mifflin Books for Children, 2011
review copy provided by the publisher

Staying in bed and breakfasts across Belgium last summer really got me thinking about how different houses are around the world. Every B&B was narrow and tall, with staircases up to 2nd- or 3rd-floor rooms that were nearly unmanageable with our luggage.

One of my students recently brought in a picture of her family's home in Mexico. It's a huge sprawling home, big enough to accommodate her extended family at different times of the year, and the landscape around it is dry and mountainous. Another student from a remote village in Bangladesh frequently draws his home there, carefully coloring the front door red.

Home is important and personal and unique to each family and culture. That's why IF YOU LIVED HERE would make a great nonfiction read aloud -- it can start conversations about the different homes we live in and see around us, and it can open our minds to all the kinds of homes people have lived in around the world at different times in history.

This is a book that students will want to look at more closely after you read it aloud. Every page has, along with a short paragraph of main text, the details of house type, materials, location, date, and one or more fascinating facts about that house. (No flipping to the back for extra information in this book -- NICE!) The illustrations are "intricate bas-relief collages made in many stages of drawing, cutting, painting and gluing."

As you read this book aloud, you might want to have a map available to locate all of the places in the world where these houses are found. (There's also a map in the back of the book.) Another activity might be to make a timeline that shows when these houses were first built. Most date back hundreds of years and are still in use today! Finally, a discussion of how the environment where these houses were built affected the design and/or materials could help to build an understanding of how the setting in a story affects the plot.

You can see some interior pages on Giles Laroche's website.

I WANT MY HAT BACK, REVISITED

So, I know I already blogged about how much I LOVE LOVE LOVE I WANT MY HAT BACK by Jon Klassen.  But I had more to say about this book, so I thought I'd blog about it again:-) I forgot, in the last post, to add it to my BOOKS I COULD READ A MILLION TIMES list.  But it DEFINITELY goes there.  In four years, this one has been one of my all time favorite read alouds in the library. It is actually better every time I read it.

For those of you on Twitter, you know there has been a lot of great discussion around this book.  We have been talking nonstop for days about various ideas around this book. If you want to go back and see some of our conversations, you can search #hatback.  The Twitter conversation has reminded me how important social networking is to my reading life.  So many thoughts and ideas because of the smart people I talk to on Twitter. Here are some things I've learned because of this ongoing #hatback chat.

SPOILER ALERT--if you haven't read the book, this might change your reading a bit so you may want to read this after you read the book. (The book is quite the bargain on amazon right now, so if you don't have it on order at your local independent book seller, you can order it there.)

I Love  Books that Invites Similar Patterns in Response
It was funny reading it aloud to classes. A pattern I notice is that kids look at me like I am crazy when I tell them this is a funny book and then start reading--because it is not funny right away.  Then there is an abrupt change in attitude where everyone in group looks shocked, looks at others, and starts laughing, collectively.  It was pretty much a pattern in every class. One 3rd grade class asked me to reread it when they came back to the library this week. On the second read, kids started laughing on the first page. And they couldn't stop laughing. I found myself doing the same thing--the book seems to get more amusing every time I read it.  I think part of this is the anticipation of the ending. But part of it was also noticing things about the bear after you know the ending. Noticing how hysterical the lead-up really is.  Brilliant, I think.

Bill Prosser at Literate Lives reviewed the book as one of his recent posts and shares my exact reaction when reading the book. I find some of the best books to be like this--they elicit very similar responses in almost everyone who reads them (with the exception of a reader or two here or there:-)


Getting Books You Love into the Hands of Others
Colby Sharp and I share a book shopping habit.  In one tweet, Colby said, "I just got back from the library. Placed #hatback cover out #teambear." I always thought  I was the only one who did this.  Going into a bookstore or library and putting a book I love face out on the shelf so others can find it easily.  I love this and love the whole idea that when we love a book, we want to share it.  We want to share it with people we know but we also want everyone to find it.

Not loving a book that the rest of the world loves...
I know what this feels like when you just can't love a book that everyone else in the world loves.  You want to like it, you really do, but you can't.  You keep going back to it--trying to love it, but you can't. We all have books we don't get or don't agree with the world about. This is what happened this week on Twitter.  Jen (@mentortexts) just didn't see the humor. Her insights and empathy for the rabbit actually sparked some great discussion. And the conversation invited Jen to revisit the book and write about her love/hate relationship with this book.  I think this conversation has reminded me, that it is these differences as readers that help us all read more thoughtfully. What would  there be to talk about if we all had the same exact thoughts when we read a book?

I've had a similar issue with the wordless picture book FOX AND HEN TOGETHER. Everyone in the world, except for me, loves this book. It has received starred reviews from many reviewers. There are sequels and fans everywhere. But the book disturbs me. I can't get over the idea that Hen is kidnapped by a "bad guy" and then somehow stays there to live happily ever after.  For any 80s General Hospital fans out there, you may remember a similar storyline when Luke and Laura fell in love.  I just can't get past that connection no matter how many times I've revisited the book. I get sad every time. But, others' insights have helped me understand a bit of what I missed on my own.  Again, the importance of that community of readers.

Sometimes a book is meant to be just plain fun.
Kids at school have been talking about I WANT MY HAT BACK and I've shared some of my conversations around the book with a few classes. When I mentioned that some people really felt sorry for the rabbit, the looks on their faces were of pure sadness for that reader. They looked at me with eyes that said, "It was just a funny book, Mrs. Sibberson."  I don't think this is one of those books that will change the way they live their lives. I think they get that this book is just silly and they love that.  I've already heard adults saying things like, "Oh,  I can use this book in my inferring unit." Sometimes as a teacher, we forget that some books are just really about joy and fun. This book was a big reminder to me about that.

Rethinking Book Crafts....
I don't like crafts around books. I am all about deep reading and thoughtful response. But who would not want to make a red pointy hat with rabbit (or bear) ears sticking out?  Wearing one would be such a fun reminder of the book. A literary joke all day long.

In terms of other crafts, I agree wholeheartedly with Lucy Calkins when she says she has never finished a book and had the desire to go make a diorama when she was finished. I have used her words over and over. But really, if someone asked me to make a diorama or a board game to go along with I WANT MY HAT BACK, I am thinking it would be fun. I already have ideas.

And, I never got past page 60 in the Twilight series. So I never understood the shirts.  TEAM EDWARD/TEAM JACOB. Seeing them in stores and on teens never made much sense to me. I didn't get it. But I am thinking I would LOVE to wear a TEAM BEAR shirt.  Lots of others would too. Until then, I am happy to have a #teambear twibbon on my Twitter photo. If you have not already done so, you may want to hop over to Twibbon and support #teambear. (Thanks, Teresa! @trkravtin)  Really, there is only one person I know of who is on the fence about #teambear.

I still don't think we should ever assign crazy book extensions and I don't really think they help students understand books much better. But I do think there is something about literary jokes that we don't embrace enough in schools.  School is a great place for literary humor that kids can be part of.

How Our Thinking About a Book Changes When We Share it with Kids
Some books just beg to be read aloud and some books cannot be fully appreciated until they are shared with young children. I remember when DON'T LET THE PIGEON DRIVE THE BUS won the Caldecott Honor, some people didn't see the brilliance. I remember asking, "Have you read it to young children?"  Mo Willems understands young children so well that every one of his books is fun to read aloud. Although I love them as much as the kids, Willems books beg to be shared with kids. I have had this experience over and over--a book I read on my own is merely OK, but it moves up to my favorites list once I share it with kids. Authors of kids books know young children well. And sometimes it takes sharing some of these books with children to see the brilliance.

So, it's been a fun week or two thinking about I WANT MY HAT BACK with Twitter friends. I imagine the fun will continue for a while.  It is definitely one of my favorite picture books of the year for so many reasons.

Nonfiction Read Aloud, part 1

Over the course of the next couple of weeks, I'm going to highlight some great nonfiction read alouds that I've come across recently.

Underground: Finding the Light to Freedom
by Shane W. Evans
Roaring Book Press, 2011
review copy provided by the publisher

How did I miss this book when it first came out? The instant I read it, it jumped to the top of my Potential Caldecott list. This book does just what a picture book is supposed to do: the words need the pictures and the pictures need the words.

There are only about 50 words in the whole book. They come in short phrases and sentences on each page or spread: "The darkness. The escape. We are quiet."

The book is dark at the beginning, lit only by a sliver of moon and the stars, as the slaves steal away and are helped along.

About midway, when the text reads, "We are tired," the horizon begins to lighten. In our darkest hour, after the longest journey, the light of hope and the hope of freedom shine through. The book glows with light at the end and the silence and fear and darkness on the front cover are replaced with hope and light and new life on the back cover.

UNDERGROUND is deceptively simple. Not only would it make an excellent introduction to the Underground Railroad for young children, it would work in talking with older children about theme, and about the mood invoked with the use of color and the choice of words. Older readers already familiar with the Underground Railroad could think about the inferences and connections they make as they read, and they could brainstorm other people who work or have worked to bring light into the world, who have strived for freedom and justice.

More reviews and promo:
Carol's Corner
ALSC/ALA Notable Children's Book Nominee
proseandkahn
ACPL Mock Caldecott shortlist
ShaneEvans.com

Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African Americans
by Kadir Nelson
Balzer+Bray (HarperCollins), 2011
review copy provided by the publisher

Here's another fabulous nonfiction read aloud. This one is longer -- about 100 pages, including full-page and double-page illustrations. Kadir Nelson's paintings and words show us and tell us the story of America from the point of view of African Americans. The voice in the narrative is a grandmotherly voice which engages and speaks directly to the reader.

Students of American history need to read this book alongside the "official" story told in their textbook. They need to compare and contrast; notice what's been left out of the textbook and wonder why.

This would also make a great nonfiction read aloud. There are twelve chapters. Read one a week and in twelve weeks your students will have a more complete understanding of American history.

More reviews:
Fuse #8
Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast
Watch. Connect. Read. (MrSchuReads)
PW ShelfTalker
The Art of Kadir Nelson

Lessons from Lily: An Interview With Bigger Than a Breadbox Book Trailer Creator

Lots of my thinking lately has been around digital reading and digital writing. I want to make sure that no matter what we do with digital  writing, that I stay true to what I know about writing process. I want more of the learning and teaching to be about writing and being a writer/creator.    One piece that I think is important is the idea of mentor "texts" in writing.  I think writers and creators find their inspiration in so many places and kids need to "read" lots of whatever it is they are going to "write". With digital pieces, these mentor texts are a  little bit more difficult to find.  One amazing new book trailer out there is the one below for BIGGER THAN A BREADBOX by Laurel Snyder. (An amazing middle grade novel!) This trailer was done by Lily, a 7th grader.   I have been working with some kids on creating book trailers and put this into my YouTube playlist of book trailers that we can study. I want my students to know about the many decisions that go into digital creations and that these decisions all have an impact on the piece. I want them to know all that is possible in creating book trailers.

As I've watched this trailer over and over with different groups of students, I can't help but continue to be amazed by so much here.  This is a brilliant trailer, from both a literacy perspective and a technology perspective.  Lily has such a deep understanding of the book and she conveys it so well.  

I had so many questions for Lily about her process--I knew that I could learn from her about authentic book trailer creation. So, I asked her some questions about the trailer that have already helped me rethink my work with students. (I think so often we worry about "teaching" all of the technology that goes into a project like this but Lily's answer to my question about her biggest challenge reminded me that the tech is not as big of a deal for kids as it is for us!)    If students are going to create trailers, I want the process to help them understand the book more deeply. My goal is to keep any creation work authentic and learning from Lily has helped me understand this process much better. 

Thanks, Lily!  I can't wait to see what other videos she creates!!

FRANKI:  What made you decide to create a book trailer for Bigger Than a Breadbox?  Is this the only trailer you've created?



LILY:  This was the only book trailer I have made, but not the first video. I made the trailer for Bigger Than a Breadbox, basically when my mom told me that Laurel wanted one. I had already made a music video for the They Might Be Giants song, "Can't Keep Johnny Down". My mom is friends with Laurel, so when she saw my video, she asked if I would make her one. 

FRANKI:  Your trailer is unique.  Where did you get your inspiration for the book trailer?  Was there a movie or trailer you saw that gave you the idea to create it in this way? 


LILY:  I was inspired by the book trailer Maggie Stiefvater made with the paper craft. When I first got into stop motion animation, I thought I wanted to make it like a flip book, where I drew all of the clips. But then I remembered that I had 20 pounds of artsy paper under my desk, and figured that it would end up looking much cooler that way. 

FRANKI:  You made quite a few decisions in the process of creating this video trailer. Can you talk about some of the decisions you made as you created. (such as how did you decide not to use words/talking in the trailer? How did you decide on the music--what significance does it have? why did you decide to show the specific scenes like you did?) Any specific decisions you made and the reasons you made them?


LILY:  I  didn't add talking into the trailer because I wanted to make it seem like the book was coming to life, and I didn't want to limit the reader's imagination. Giving the characters only speech bubbles let the viewer imagine the character's voice, the same way you would when reading the book. When choosing the music, I had to decide between two songs. One gave the trailer a warm, uplifting feel. The other one, (the one I used) gave the trailer a more creepy feel. I picked the creepy song, because the book is mainly about a box that stole things. That's pretty creepy.  I picked the scenes, because I wanted to basically make the following points: Her life used to be great, her parents started talking about getting a divorce, she left her dad for Atlanta, she's staying in Atlanta, she finds a the breadbox, and the breadbox only works when the thing you wish for would fit inside it. 

FRANKI:  You ended the trailer with a powerful statement about consequences. Can you talk a little bit about that decision and why you chose that as an ending?


LILY: I guess it was because it really summed up the feeling of the book. It helped with the whole creepy feel, and it was meant to really draw in the audience.


FRANKI:  I imagine you learned a lot about the book and came to a deeper understanding about the book in general by creating the trailer. Is there anything you understand about the book now that you didn't understand before you created the trailer?


LILY: I did become more connected with the characters in making a trailer. When I was reading, it was like I was listening to Rebeca talking to me, but while I created the trailer, It was more so like I was actually Rebeca.  Also, creating the trailer gave me a personal connection with the book. Whenever I see it, I think, "Wow, That's MY book!"                                                                                                                                                                                                   

FRANKI:  Can you talk a little bit about the technology needs--what technology did you use to create the trailer?  


LILY:  All I needed was a digital camera and my Mom's laptop for editing.

FRANKI:  What was the biggest challenge for you in creating the trailer?


LILY:  Definitely cleaning my room up after wards, and trying to keep my paper figures from tearing up the book. I also had a hard time with the part where I unfolded the map and finding ways to prop up my figures.

FRANKI:  What are you most proud of when you watch the trailer you created?


LILY:  I really love the part when I have to box shaking, and when the seagulls came out. I love that seagull...

FRANKI:  What advice do you have for others who are creating book trailers?


LILY:  Read, and re-read. Highlight all of the parts you might want to include, and always plan ahead. Also, you need to love the book. If you don't love the book, why bother creating a trailer?

Two in Time for Halloween

Never Kick a Ghost: And Other Silly Chillers
by Judy Sierra
illustrated by Pascale Constantin
Harper, 2011
review copy provided by the publisher

Three short stories, a hand-clapping rhyme and a trio of funny gravestone epitaphs make this a fun book for beginning readers. Of note is the last page -- "Where The Stories Came From." It's never too early for readers to learn that stories might have traceable sources. Judy Sierra has a PhD in folklore, so it probably never occurred to her NOT to include the sources for these stories/rhymes!

 Zombie in Love
by Kelly DiPucchio
illustrated by Scott Campbell
Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2011
review copy provided by the publisher

Mortimer the Zombie is doing his best to attract a sweetheart for the Cupid's Ball. Somehow, nothing he tries is very successful. (Could be his rotting face and his falling-apart body...) Optimistically, he puts an ad in the paper for a date and shows up at the ball. Just when Mortimer is about to give up, a drop-dead gorgeous girl shows up. Yes, that kind of drop-dead.

A very punny book that I can't wait to share with the Zombie-obsessed student in my class!

October Mosaic

October is probably my favorite month of the year. Here's a peek into this year's fall color, dramatic skies, the Fairfield County Fair, and the MG Club Hayride. If you're a local and you haven't been to Winan's Fine Chocolates & Coffees in German Village (first 2 pics), you owe yourself a field trip!

Poetry Friday -- A Must-Have For Every Classroom Collection

BookSpeak!: Poems About Books
by Laura Purdie Salas
illustrated by Josée Bisaillon
Clarion Books, 2011
review copy provided by the publisher

In our classrooms, we grow readers and writers. Here is a book with a poem for nearly every occasion in your reading/writing workshops!

Laura Purdie Salas has given the books a voice in her poems. The lead poem is a call to readers to leave behind their electronics and discover new worlds in books. There are poems from a book's character, from the index, and about cliffhangers. The cover, the illustrations and even the conflict in the story get their own poems!

Books have secret lives in the bookstore at night. The neat ones in rows on shelves pitied by the messy ones that are much-read and much-loved and who wind up under the bed with the dust bunnies. And books can't wait for us to take them along when we go on vacation.

My favorite poems in the collection are the ones that look at books and writing a little bit slantwise. "Written in Snow" compares the words on the page to footprints in new snow: "Through the blizzard / stories roam. / They tiptoe bravely / out, then home."

And here is my favorite-favorite. It taps into my love of and fascination with bird blobs:

SKYWRITING
by Laura Purdie Salas

Line after line of inky black birds
forming the flocks that shift into words.
Page after page of tales winging by,
singing a story against a
white sky.



(here's my favorite bird blob video -- it's about 5 minutes long)


Diane is rounding up the Poetry Friday posts this week at Random Noodling.

Exciting News!

Mary Lee Hahn Wins National Grant 

Mary Lee Hahn has received a $500 mini-grant from the National Center for Family Literacy and Better World Books.

She is one of only 20 winners nationwide to receive the award, which will promote creative ideas for using Wonderopolis® with families. Wonderopolis.org was created by NCFL in 2010 to provide free, family-friendly content that is practical, easy to use and designed to engage children’s natural curiosity and transform it into a lifelong love of learning. It was one of only five family websites that TIME Magazine named the 50 best websites in 2011.

The funding will be used to purchase an iPad, which will support Mary Lee's use of Wonderopolis to teach nonfiction reading skills in her fourth grade classroom.

Wonderopolis is a free resource for families and schools, so hundreds of educators across the country already are using it to generate excitement for learning in schools, libraries and homes across the country. But this mini-grant will help Mary Lee magnify the reach and impact of this 21st century online learning tool. Other programs and communities also will learn from Mary Lee on how they can maximize the use of Wonderopolis.

THANK YOU, NCFL, BETTER WORLD BOOKS, AND WONDEROPOLIS!!

YA Books I've Enjoyed

I love Young Adult Literature but I don't have time to read a ton of it. Keeping up with K-5 books takes up most of my reading life. But I LOVE YA so I try to read several each year.   Last year, I attended ALAN at NCTE and that helped get me a bit more up-to-date on the new titles and authors out there.   I looked back at my Goodreads account and I've read about a dozen YA Novels over the last year or so.  I feel like I've been lucky with my YA reads this year.  If you are looking for some great YA, here are some of the ones I've enjoyed this year:

MATCHED by Ally Condie was a favorite this year. My 12 year old and I both loved this one.



 We are VERY excited about the sequel, CROSSED, which comes out next week.


SHINE by Lauren Myracle was a powerful read.  Not an easy read but an important book.


MISS PEREGRINE'S HOME FOR PECULIAR CHILDREN was a unique read and the way it was put together was fascinating.  The real photos embedded through the book made the book seem real.  A great fantasy.



A MONSTER CALLS by Patrick Ness is another powerful read.  It was the first book I'd read by this author and I am hooked.


THE PULL OF GRAVITY by Gae Polisner is another favorite.


And I LOVED my most recent YA Read, THE GIRL OF FIRE AND THORNS by Rae Carson.


Two others I loved were CHIME by Franny Billingsley and ALSO KNOWN AS ROWAN POHI by Ralph Fletcher.

Books I Learned About at CAWP/Literacy Connection Conference Saturday

Saturday, The Literacy Connection partnered with Columbus Area Writing Project for a one day conference event. The day was amazing and was just what I needed to regound myself as a teacher.  Sonia Nieoto, Asma Mobin-Uddin and Troy Hicks were the keynote speakers.  Local educators conducted concurrent sessions.  The day was wonderful. I was able to attend 3 keynotes and 3 sessions and they were all brilliant. I can't even begin to synthesize all that I learned so I thought I'd share some new books I discovered.

A book that Troy Hicks shared at the end of the day is a free ebook (or available for purchase in paper format) from MIT press is HANGING OUT, MESSING AROUND, AND GEEKING OUT: KIDS LIVING AND LEARNING WITH NEW MEDIA.  This book looks full of great information from case studies of kids. I downloaded the book last night and it is packed with info that can inform our teaching.  The trailer that Troy shared is below:




 I didn't expect to find that many new children's books because these presenters are my local friends--we talk books often and we all shop at the same place for books.  But, I found lots of great books I didn't know about! I am anxious to read these books soon.  Most of the books came from a session I attended on primary writing with Stella Villalba and Sharon Esswein. The session was brilliant and I tweeted one of my favorite quotes from the session.  Stella asked, "Teachers have reading & writing lives outside of school.How often are we intentional about sharing that with students?"

These are the books I discovered yesterday--books I think I'll have to buy eventually.  Most are not new but I had not seen or heard of them before. So fun to discover friends' favorites that are new-to-me!

Alphathoughts: Alphabet Poems by Lee Bennett Hopkins. I never really looked at this one because I didn't love the cover. But Sharon read a few of the poems to us in the session and I loved it. A great addition for both poetry and ABC books!

I am not sure how I've missed all of Anna Walker's books but I fell in love with them immediately.  Stella shared some stories from an author study they had done with these books.  Such a great author for young readers. I need too add these to our library!  I LOVE BIRTHDAYS was the one I picked up from the table but I really like all of them!

I love list books and I love Harriet Ziefert. I hadn't seen this book before: 41 USES FOR A GRANDMA and fell in love with it. 

I thought I had all of Cynthia Rylant's books but totally missed THE STARS WILL STILL SHINE. I ordered this one right after Sharon read it to the group.

One that I want to get from our library and NOTHING TO DO by Douglas Wood. I didn't have much time to read the book but I loved what I read as I flipped through it.  Great text and great illustrations. THE SECRET OF SAYING THANKS is another one I didn't know about by Douglas Wood.  This is one I'll have to get sometime soon.

And how I missed a book by one of my favorite poets, Kristine O'Connell George, is beyond me. But I will definitely need to add HUMMINGBIRD NEST to my personal collection. 

I love that I have so many friends who love books and who find, fall in love with, and share books that are new to me!  

Book Shopping With Friends: Junior Library Guild Warehouse Sale!!

What could be better than book shopping with friends? We are lucky to live in the city where Junior Library Guild is located.  I love the services that Junior Library Guild provides.  I feel pretty good about the ways I keep up with books but there are always categories that I am not so good at keeping up with and analyzing.  I usually subscribe to a few categories a year as a way to build up the collection in a certain area. I can count on JLG to provide great new books on a regular basis.

Once or twice a year, JLG has a warehouse sale and sells its overstock books for $5 each. These are all great books--you can't go wrong on any titles that JLG reviews. And they are all hardback. I usually spend about $200 on books for the library and a few dollars on myself at this sale.

This year, I shopped with friends and colleagues, Kami and Katie. You can see by the photo above that we all found great books and we were VERY happy with our purchases. I am happy to let you know that I did not spend the most (although I spent plenty!). It was fun to shop together, talk titles, and leave with great boxes of new books for our students.

Some highlights from my purchases this year:

I bought 2 books for my personal reading that I am extra excited about:

THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE BARBIE: A DOLL'S HISTORY AND HER IMPACT ON US by Tanya Lee Stone is a book I've had my eye on for a while.  I am anxious to read this book and to learn more about the history of Barbie. From the review, it looks like a great balanced piece.  I'm not sure when I'll get to it, but I do like reading lots about history of toys, pop culture, etc. so I am sure I will enjoy it.

The other I picked up for my own personal reading is THE ASK AND THE ANSWER. I have been hearing about how amazing this Chaos Walking series is and I figure I will get to it sometime.  I think I own 2 of the 3 books now!

I picked up lots of books for the library--about 35. Many are extra copies of favorites such as SIDEKICKS, SQUISH, DIARY OF A WIMPY KID and WINTER'S TAIL. It is hard on a small budget to have too many copies of any one title, but at this bargain rate, it will allow more students to read books they love.   Others will be new to the library. Some books that I'll be adding to the library because of this great warehouse sale are:

ALPHAOOPS: H IS FOR HALLOWEEN by Alethea Kontis.  This is a fun sequel to the first ALPHAOOPS in which the letters are all dressed up for Halloween. A fun way to play with words and letters.  We don't have a huge collection of books about Halloween so this will be a fun add. And, since it is an ABC book, I think kids will read it all year round.

There were so many great graphic novels at the sale. Recently JLG has added several levels of graphic novels to the kinds of books they review. I had several from their list and added a few more this week.  I was excited to see ATHENA: GREY-EYED GODDESS by George O'Connor.  So many kids are interested in Greek mythology since reading the Percy Jackson series and I love this graphic novel series. This is categorized as YA and seems appropriate for some of the older elementary readers (targeted audience grades 5-9)

I wasn't aware of THE CARTOON CHRONICLES OF AMERICA so was thrilled to see ROAD TO REVOLUTION. I have a handful of students interested in American History and this looks like a good intro to this time period.

I was able to add a few titles to great series we have in the library.  I added NIKKI AND DEJA: THE NEWSY NEWS NEWSLETTER by Karen English. I love this series for transitional readers and was glad to see another to add to our collection. I also discovered KEENA FORD AND THE SECRET JOURNAL MIX-UP by Melissa Thomson.  From the cover, this looks like a book filled with a bit of preteen drama!

I LOVE the Scientist in the Field series--I think it is some of the best nonfiction available for 4-8th graders. I have a few students who are just starting to look at the series so I added two that we don't own.  EXTREME SCIENTISTS. This one is  a bit different from the others in the series. It is a series of short pieces about various scientists. This would make a great read aloud as each scientist has a fascinating story. The other one that I picked up is SAVING THE GHOST OF THE MOUNTAIN that explores the issues around studying and protecting the snow leopard.

Finally, I've been trying to add to our biography collection since I began in the library 4 years ago. There are so many great picture book biographies and kids have the stamina to read these and learn about the people in history. I picked up NO EASY WAY: THE STORY OF TED WILLIAMS AND THE LAST .400 SEASON by Fred Bowen. I imagine this one will be checked out the minute it hits the shelves.

Poetry Friday -- Sharing Words

Growing up with a big brother wasn't always fun. But being a grown up with a big brother is pretty awesome!

One of the things we share is a love of words. My brother has taken to sending me cellphone pics of words he finds around New York City.

He recently found these words on the sidewalk of a street that leads up to the Main Library (lion entrance):

And this week, he shared this poem that he found on the subway--a poem about how a shift in tracks can be jarring, but how the lights DO come back on again after the shift (hallelujah):

He sent along these links: an easier to read view of the poem, and the poet Charles Reznikoff's bio on the Poetry Foundation website. Reznikoff had a fascinating (and hard) life, and was never much acclaimed as a poet while living. I'm pleased to be able to help his work live on. A quote at the end of his bio says it best:

"On the death of Yeats in 1939, Auden wrote that, when he dies, the poet becomes his admirers. That is what has now happened to Reznikoff. He is no longer driven by the compulsion to create. It is not up to him now; it is up to those who are left behind and who think that they may have deciphered something of the meaning which he strove faithfully to create."

Today's Poetry Friday round up is hosted by Jama at Jama's Alphabet Soup.

I WANT MY HAT BACK by Jon Klassen

I had heard of this book, I WANT MY HAT BACK, but didn't think it looked like anything unique. So, I wasn't in a hurry to get my hands on it. It looked good and I meant to pick up a copy but I didn't expect to LOVE it. Boy, was I wrong.  I started to change my tune a bit when I noticed that almost all of my Goodreads friends gave this book 5 stars.  Colby Sharp even went so far as to say "Top 5 picture book for me this year." on his Goodreads review.  So, last week, when I saw it in Bill Prosser's library for a meeting, I picked it up.  Bill told me it was funny but we don't always share the same sense of humor. But I totally trust him on funny books. So I started to read and I didn't laugh immediately.  Then I laughed REALLY hard. Then I laughed even harder.  Then I had to order the book right away. Then I had to read it when it arrived. And I laughed really hard again.  Now, I know why so many of my smart, literate friends are in love with this book. I agree with Colby--in my top few picture books of 2011 no doubt! 
(Even if the trailer doesn't totally sell you on it, you'll fall in love with it when you actually see the real book. Trust me.




There is a great review at Fuse #8 if you want to hear more great things about this book:-)

NURSERY RHYME COMICS

I just received my copy of Nursery Rhyme Comics--a collection of "50 Timeless Rhymes from 50 Celebrated Cartoonists" with an introduction by Leonard Marcus.  This is a great collection for any classroom, home or library!  A definite new favorite!

This book is exactly as it is described on the cover-50 nursery rhymes, each illustrated by a different cartoonist. Many cartoonists are artists you'll recognize (I love that Nick Bruel of the Bad Kitty series illustrated the nursery rhyme, The Three Little Kittens!)  It is an amazing collection of art. Each nursery rhyme is short-many are done on a two-page spread. The art gives new meaning to some old favorites. I can see kids reading these in this format again and again.

Most of the rhymes are the traditional version. A few of the illustrators change things up a bit, which adds to the fun.  I love the variety of things the authors did with the comic format.  I love the different color schemes that the illustrators used. It gives each a unique look. We are getting ready to start working on comic making with 2nd graders and this will be a great new mentor for them. So many things to notice and study.

The editor's note at the end gives some information about the idea for the book and the book ends with blurbs about each cartoonist.  A definite favorite of 2011!

Letters to Book Characters

Binky the Space Cat

by Ashley Spires

Kids Can Press, 2009

Dear Binky,

You are so cute and funny. Why do you eat “Aliens”? I think you are a chubby little kittie. I have two cats at home, a big one named Luna and a small one named Taiyou. Toayou is very funny like you, they do not fart as much as you. If you have to much “Aliens” in your “Spsce station” just call an exterminator they kill all “Aliens”.

Your friend,

S.

P.S.   Please answer me.

* * * *

Dear S.,

You are so kind and know when you see a good personalty. I think aliens taste like fried chicken, it is so yummy. Luna should be the leader of the space station because she’s older. I do not need an exterminator I am the one who kills the aliens, anyway I can’t let an intruder in my space station. 

Your Pal,

Binky 

 Holly fuzz butt I forgot! I’m on a diet.

* * * * 

The assignment was to write a letter to a book character, and then write the letter the book character might write back. The students posted the letters on their blogs. This pair turned out great!

Home "Work"

After reading Making Learning Whole last summer, I really got to thinking about how to make the game of school transparent for my students, and how to honor the work they do at home for fun and personal learning.

Also last summer, when we were doing some cleaning in the basement back home, I ran across this straight line design I made with embroidery floss on black poster board back in middle school, and I remembered doodling endless variations of these designs for hours on end with ruler and well-sharpened pencil. I remembered the sketchbooks full of floor plans that my cousin and I made, as we imagined ourselves becoming architects in the future. I still have the writing journals I filled with adolescent angst, cartoons, poetry and fits and starts of stories.

It's this kind of "work" that I want to honor in my students. I want them to see connections between the learning we do in school and the playful exploration of these ideas that they can give themselves as "assignments" and bring in to share with the class.

Filling the wall around the straight line design which was my long ago home "work" are photos of students and the things they've brought in. One budding car enthusiast brought in the engine he made from a kit during the summer. Several have brought in collections. One girl has made several different tri-o-ramas, following directions she found either online or in a craft book. They have practiced math facts, and made a connection to a read aloud (I got a cupcake in honor of PAULIE PASTRAMI ACHIEVES WORLD PEACE).

When we were studying landforms, they made paper and cardboard and clay models of the landforms we were learning about. Although the landform unit is complete, a student was looking at the wooden M on her wall (one of the letters of her name) and she saw a canyon between the two peaks of the letter. When she shared it with the class, another student saw two plateaus on the flat tops of those points. They have seen that learning and thinking about a topic don't have to end just because they've taken the end of unit assessment.

Last week, when I was exhausted beyond belief and in a value-added/data-induced funk, my student who has inspired girl and boy readers of all abilities with her quest to read every Babymouse book in the series (she and several others have created checklists), brought in the Cupcake Tycoon board game she made.

Because of the way we start our day, I was able to play the game with her in the ten minutes the class and I spend together at tables in the cafeteria before they go to related arts. I played as Wilson and she, as Babymouse, thoroughly whomped me.

The time, energy, detail and thoughtfulness that this student put into her board game, which was an assignment SHE GAVE HERSELF, repaired my funk. My students really are more than just test scores, and I have finally found a way to honor their joyous learning "work" that is more like play, and which they seek out on their very own.