Poetry Friday -- Acrostics That Say Something

One of my pet peeves: people who write a word or name vertically, write the first word that comes to mind that starts with each letter of the vertical word, AND THEN CALL IT A POEM!! (Even pricklier pet peeve: teachers who TEACH that such a form is a poem!!)

I was a stickler about this week's poems. No off-the-cuff first drafts were accepted. Before I ever introduced the poetry form for the week, we listed a bunch of qualities we admire in people, then they picked one and did some kind of brainstorming about that quality (a web or list of words and/or phrases). Then I shared some examples from Spring: An Alphabet Acrostic by Stephen Schnur, and we studied how he makes his poems say something or show us something about the key word without ever using that word in the poem.

As I said, I was a stickler this week. I sent poems back for revision, for removal of repetitious language, for being a list of words or unconnected phrases. But I think it was worth it. Here are a few of the best:

Someone I know
Truly has heart.
Remembers to respect
Each other in her path.
Not angry, just says what she means.
Gathering everybody
To teach, and to
Help all the others.

Fake farts are really hilarious. He
Uses rubber chickens. He makes
Nice jokes,
Not mean jokes.
You laugh when you're near him.

Readers are almost always reading
Everywhere, at
Any time. Some readers oddly read the
Dictionary, and even the
Encyclopedia. Others usually just
Read chapter books.

Kind of person that
Is respectful,
Never will they
Do something that is
Not respectful.
Exactly the
Serious friend
Somebody needs.



Round up this week is at The Well-Read Child.

Really?

You Are a Question Mark

You seek knowledge and insight in every form possible. You love learning. And while you know a lot, you don't act like a know it all. You're open to learning you're wrong. You ask a lot of questions, collect a lot of data, and always dig deep to find out more. You're naturally curious and inquisitive. You jump to ask a question when the opportunity arises. Your friends see you as interesting, insightful, and thought provoking. (But they're not always up for the intense inquisitions that you love!) You excel in: Higher education You get along best with: The Comma

What Punctuation Mark Are You?

Here's a comma, a colon, an exclamation point, another colon, and another question mark. I wonder what it takes to be a period? Or maybe I don't want to know.

The Right Book at the Right Time

Rabbit & Squirrel: A Tale of War & Peas
by Kara LaReau
illustrated by Scott Magoon
Harcourt, Inc., 2008
review copy compliments of the author and illustrator


If your children are behaving perfectly at this time of the year you don't need this book. (And I don't want to talk to you.)

If your politicians are behaving perfectly in your part of the world you don't need this book. (And again, I don't want to talk to you.)

If, by chance, your children (or politicians) are jumping to conclusions, making assumptions, or seeking revenge before they ask for information, they you (and they) need this book.

Rabbit and Squirrel live on opposite sides of the garden and yet they never speak to each other or share vegetables. One morning when Rabbit awakes to find her finest lettuce and carrots picked, she jumps to a conclusion, storms over to Squirrel's house, thumps on his door and accuses him of this crime. The next morning when Squirrel wakes up, he finds that his best tomatoes and peas are gone, he jumps to a conclusion as well, he accuses Rabbit AND he throws a rotten tomato at Rabbit's house. Their war escalates until the Gardner (the one, we assume, who was harvesting lettuce, carrots, tomatoes and peas in the first place -- we can see a large human hand through the window of Rabbit's and Squirrel's houses in the illustrations) stomps into the garden in her big green boots and chases the two pests out of garden and into the deep dark woods where they continue bickering and blaming. The book ends with the hope that they will grow tired of fighting and "learn to grow something new" -- a garden they make together.

I told my students before I read this book to them that the characters remind me of "some people I know." They nodded knowingly (and sometimes guiltily) when the first assumptions and accusations were made.

After I read the book, we looked for moments in the book when, if they could intervene and change the characters' behaviors, the outcome of the story could be changed. They decided that it wasn't so bad that Rabbit had made the first assumption, but if she hadn't "thumped" on the door or shouted at Squirrel -- if she had knocked and asked if he knew what had happened -- the story might have turned out differently.

There's great power in a cautionary tale such as this one. It gives our children a way to distance themselves from their disagreements and think about the problem in terms of Rabbits and Squirrels.

Hopefully the big people who read this book -- the "gardeners" who ultimately "own" the "garden" -- will look for their message as well. Is it really necessary to chase the problems away with a pitchfork, or is there some way we can all share the garden with less war and enough peas for everyone?


*******
Another review with great pics is over at 7-Imp.

Nonfiction Monday

My new favorite nonfiction book for young children is CLOSE TO YOU: HOW ANIMALS BOND by Kimiko Kajikawa. I love great nonfiction books with predictable text. This new book is a great one for new readers. Each page follows a pattern about an animal and its baby. "Polar Bears cuddle in a den of snow." and "Ducklings line up in a single row." There are photos to accompany each animal's fact.

This is also a great book for older readers because of the huge amount of info at the end of the book. One two page spread goes on to explain each of the photos that is in the book. Another addition at the end of the book is a chart with lots of animal info (number of babies, weight at birth, weight at maturity, age of Independence).

A great book --especially for young readers!

Poetry Friday -- Original Haiku

Each week this month, in celebration of National Poetry Month, my students are trying out a different short form of poetry. Last week they wrote 15 Words or Less poems. (I added a few more now that more permissions are in. Check it out!)

This week they tried haiku. All of the poems in this week's post were written by my fourth graders.

First, a haiku about haiku:

Look at the haiku
with the 5-7-5 pattern
on the white paper.

The next few were inspired by these photos I called "Faces in the Trees:"


The hawk is hunting
The squirrel is hiding
Tree is cowering

Hawks can hide from you
Hawks can hide from you
and me
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxDay and night we'll wait

A hawk is hunting
A hawk hunts animals in
Forest and city

Magical forest
That is where a squirrel lives
Hiding in the tree

I am an old tree,
the vines tickling my nose,
in an old forest.

Your bark-made face, rough,
mysterious, nice and tough,
special and unique.




These were inspired by a set of photos I called "Buds and Blooms:"


It's spring! Let's play!
The garden has some flowers.
Let's give them to mom!

Flowers, Flowers, Hi!
Flowers, Flowers over there.
Good bye Flowers, bye!

flowers are blooming
in a garden full of plants
where they are growing

Sunny side up egg.
It's a beautiful flower.
It's yellow and white.

Look at the flowers
With the sun shining on them
And the petals bright







This week's round up is at a wrung sponge.

Pleasant Surprises, Part Two

Penny and the Punctuation Bee
by Moira Rose Donohue
illustrated by Jenny Law
Albert Whitman & Company, 2008
review copy compliments of the publisher

You might pass this book up if you're not careful. The illustrations don't look very sophisticated and you might think the book will be a preachy diatribe about using correct punctuation.

Give it a chance. You'll be pleasantly surprised.

Meet friends Penny the period who is on safety patrol (she's good at stopping), Connie the comma, and Quentin the question. The three sign up for the Punctuation Bee in Mr. Dash's room. Elsie, the bouncy enthusiastic cheerleader (an exclamation point) also signs up, and the three friends get busy practicing for the bee so they can beat Elsie. Each Punctuation Bee participant is given a word that he/she must use in a sentence that is correctly punctuated with his/her punctuation mark. The competition is close -- it's won on a technicality -- and you're going to have to read the book to find out who wins!

Read carefully so that you don't miss any of the puns: the hyphen that dashes by, the asterisk named Stella, and more.

Donohue is smart: she doesn't overdo the characterization of the marks by trying to be clever with them all. She focuses on the period, comma, question mark and exclamation point. That means her story doesn't get away from her (or from the reader). And the illustrations? They grow on you. Give this book a chance. I'm betting you wind up adding it to your collection.

Check It Out

The March-April issue of The Edge of the Forest is up at Big A little a. Lots of great articles and features for your perusal. Get thee over there and peruse!

Clementine's Letter: The Good News and The Bad News

I just finished CLEMENTINE'S LETTER by Sara Pennypacker. I picked it up Tuesday--on the day it came out. I must say, driving to the bookstore felt a bit like driving to the airport to pick up an old friend who was coming into town for a visit. I was thrilled that Clementine was back!

I must say that I was a little worried at first--how could I possibly love this 3rd book about Clementine as much as I had loved the first two? I figured it was really nearly impossible.
The GOOD NEWS is that I did! I just now closed the cover and must say that this may be my very favorite Clementine book. I loved, loved, loved it. Clementine is as lovable and clever as ever and the story was as good as ever.

Bill at Literate Lives listed his 10 Reasons for Loving Clementine. I agree with each and every one of them! And I think I could probably add 10 more. Maybe 100.

One of my favorite thing about Clementine is the way that she understands school and teachers. In my review of THE TALENTED CLEMENTINE, I reviewed all of the very smart things she said about teachers. Quite the insightful girl! But in this book, we see that Clementine really does have school and teachers figured out. She is an independent girl who needs things to make sense. And she has lots of strategies for doing this.

This book is a refreshing read during testing time. Sara Pennypacker understands the things that make a good school and a good classroom. Her adult characters are all respectful of children. And, school in her books, is the happy place that it should be. She somehow creates characters like Mrs. Rice (the principal) who is a bit stern, but clearly cares for Clementine. She creates characters like Mrs. Nagel who learns from Clementine. And she creates Mr. D'Matz who understands Clementine. The relationships that Clementine has with the adults in her school are so fun to read about. The teachers in the book focus on what is important--the kids.

I must say that I have not given Marla Frazee enough credit for Clementine. But, I can't imagine that this author/illustrator combo could be any more perfect in their creation of this character. The illustrations are so critical to getting to know Clementine. And, I must say, my very favorite page in the book may be the very last illustration, following the end of the text. The picture of Clementine is precious.

I don't need to talk about plot here because the plot is always secondary to the characters-even though the plot is quite good. What makes these books amazing is the characters that we have come to love in such a short time.

So, the BAD NEWS--there is no sign of a 4th Clementine book anytime soon. If anyone has news on when the next one will be out, please share! I think it is time for dolls, t-shirts, and coffee mugs.....Clementine is definitely a character that will be around forever. Write faster, Sarah!

Meme: A Blog Retrospective

Way back in March we were tagged by Two Writing Teachers for the Blog Retrospective Meme. If you want to play, you go back through your archives and find five posts you really love. Here are ours:

5 of Franki's favorite posts:

1. Tracking the word KIDLITOSPHERE -- authentic word study.
2. Mom's Overture (Teachers' Overture, too) because they make her laugh every time.
3. Interview with Peggy Gifford, author of Moxy Maxwell Does Not Love Stuart Little.
4. Teachers According to Clementine.
5. Our first birthday post.

5 of Mary Lee's favorite posts:

1. One of the best book reviews I've ever written. It was easy. It was a great book.
2. One of my favorite Poetry Friday posts.
3. Our Robert's Snow illustrator features, Matt Phelan and Jeff Newman.
4. My review of Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. Summer reading really will come back, won't it?
5. The post in which we highlight a great new blog -- Two Writing Teachers!

Edited to add:
Becky at Becky's Book Reviews is playing. Go check out her retrospective!

Nonfiction Monday -- Nonfiction Poetry

The World's Greatest: Poems
by J. Patrick Lewis
illustrated by Keith Graves
Chronicle Books, 2008
review copy purchased at my favorite independent seller of children's books, Cover to Cover



Monumental Verses
by J. Patrick Lewis
published by the National Geographic Society, 2005
review copy purchased at my favorite independent seller of children's books, Cover to Cover

Here are two of my new favorite poetry books. They are also two of my new favorite nonfiction books!

Kids love the Guinness Book of World Records. In The World's Greatest: Poems, J. Patrick Lewis has picked 25 world records as the topics of poems as widely varied as the styles of the poems: from the dumbest dinosaur to the most live scorpions eaten by a human, and from acrostics to limericks (aptly enough, the limerick is for the poem about the biggest potato). I dedicate the poem "The Most Plates Spinning" (Dave Spathaky, London, England, 108 plates, November 23, 1992) to kindergarten and first grade teachers everywhere.

Monumental Verses is a trip around the world to see (in gorgeous, full-color, National Geographic photographs) thirteen of the world's greatest human-made landmarks. They are as ancient as Stonehenge and Easter Island and Machu Picchu, and as modern as the Golden Gate Bridge and the Empire State Building. Again, J. Patrick Lewis treats the reader to a variety of poetic forms including three that match the monument -- a large T-shaped slab of prose poetry for Stonehenge, a pyramid of poetry for The Great Pyramid of Cheops, and a twisting S of poetry for the Great Wall of China.

Here are some bonus extras:

The official J. Patrick Lewis website.

World's Greatest: Poems reviewed at 7-Imp.

Integrating science and social studies with J. Patrick Lewis' A World of Wonders: Geographic Travels in Verse and Rhyme at Miss Rumphius.

Elaine's Wild Rose Reader interview with J. Patrick Lewis.

The Nonfiction Monday Round Up is at Picture Book of the Day.

Squirrel Sightings!

Scaredy Squirrel is on tour next week! Check it out:

Monday, 4/7
Big A, Little a
Featured Topic: An Interview with Scaredy Squirrel

Tuesday, 4/8
Book Buds
Featured Topic: Scaredy Squirrel past, present and future

Wednesday, 4/9
Jen Robinson's Book Page
Featured Topic: How the Scaredy stories work at different age levels

Thursday, 4/10 [2 blogs]
Hip Librarians Book Blog
Featured Topic: Talking with Mélanie Watt about writing

Metrowest News
Featured Topic: Kids' questions for Scaredy Squirrel

Friday, 4/11
MotherReader
Featured Topic: Mélanie Watt talks about Scaredy Squirrel

Mark Your Calendars Now!

Today, Mother Reader announced her 3rd Annual 48 HOUR BOOK CHALLENGE! This is the idea that totally hooked me on Mother Reader's blog 2 years ago. It was clear from this idea that the woman is brilliant!

Each year, Mother Reader invites us all to her 48 Hour Book Challenge--a weekend that we devote to reading...just reading. Reading the whole weekend. Making reading the main thing that we do. See how brilliant she is?

This year, it just so happens that the annual fun begins on our very first day of summer vacation. What perfect timing! Now, I have never been able to participate in the fun of this challenge. I have always had some prior commitment. Right now, I have this exciting event marked on my calendar. I am hoping that I can participate. I will start my stack soon--imagine what I can get read in 48 hours! And, like I told Mother Reader, even if I don't participate, this challenge makes me happy just thinking about it. Thinking about having 48 uninterrupted hours to read is such a great thing.

I think we should make this an official holiday--this 48 Hour Challenge started by the brilliant Mother Reader.

Poetry Friday -- 15 Words or Less Poems

Each week during the month of April, we are going to study a different short form of poetry in my class. This first week, inspired by Laura Salas' weekly challenge, my students wrote 15 Words or Less poems.

Armed with the power of iPhoto and flat screen TV that I can connect to my teacher computer, I shared a different image each day for their inspiration.

Here are a couple of poems from the first day:
The upside down y
floats in the sky.
And the moon is very
close.

(Look hard for the second jet trail to the right of and below the obvious one. It makes the y in this student's poem.)

Is it a star?
I wonder.
Is it a rocket?
I wonder.


Not surprisingly, yesterday's photo really got the creative juices flowing.
The Devil is
cruel and mean,
I just hope
he doesn't eat
too many beans!

Yo, little
Jack-o-lantern
with two glowing eyes
and two horns.
I wonder when you
were born?

Pumpkin, pumpkin, filled with a flare
Now there's light everywhere.

Look at that Jack-o-lantern
on Halloween night
just waiting
to cause some fright.

I think it looks like the devil
on Halloween
smiling.

Hello Jack-o-lantern
with your bright eyes.
Some people think it's a mask,
but I know it's a big disguise.

Jack-o-lantern
burning bright
Burning bright on Halloween night
Smiling face
an evil trace
Jack-o-lantern
Jack-o-lantern

I pledge allegiance
to the pumpkin picture beside the flag.
...with candy
and costumes
for all.

(That one was mine!)


Next week instead of counting words, we'll be counting syllables with haiku. After that, we'll try acrostics, and finish up with limericks.

The roundup this week is at Becky's Book Reviews.

ALIA'S MISSION:SAVING THE BOOKS OF IRAQ

As you know, I am not much of a graphic novel reader. You are probably shocked that I am actually reviewing a graphic novel since Mary Lee is the blog expert on these! But I am trying. I have my favorites--To Dance, Babymouse, Jellaby. I just received a copy of ALIA'S MISSION by Mark Alan Stamaty and will add it to the list of graphic novels I am glad I read. It is the story of the library who saved the books of Basra. I have read the story before but I must say that the graphic novel form fits the story well. It is definitely a story that is better told with graphics and art together with text. The black and white illustrations add to the tone of the book and the history. The graphic novel tells the heroic story and the graphics do a great job of showing the emotions that went along with getting the books out of the library. It is a very powerful book and I am starting to see myself as a reader of graphic novels.

I am becoming more and more interested in this genre. (Mary Lee has helped me along with that.) As a teacher, I want my students to understand that graphic novels are more than Superheroes. I think that is why I am always so intrigued by these books on true and serious topics.

I think graphic novels provide a great "in" for kids who are reluctant readers. For years, all these kids had when choosing this format were comic books about superheroes or cartoon characters. Now, graphic readers can read a variety of genres and topics--and the number of these books for younger children are growing. That is all good news!

This is definitely one I'll add to my 3rd/4th classroom library. The topic of war is a hard one but it is well done. It probably isn't appropriate below 3rd grade and I can certainly see it being read through middle or high school. A great addition to any collection.

I am being more interested in using graphic novels in my classroom. After hearing speaker, Terry Thompson, I am going to work on collecting and using these in smarter ways. Terry Thompson is the author of the upcoming Stenhouse book for teachers, ADVENTURES IN GRAPHICA: USING COMICS AND GRAPHIC NOVELS TO TEACH COMPREHENSION 2-6 which will be out soon. He is brilliant and a huge resource for ways to use these books to support our students as readers. (I'll review the book as soon as I get a copy but this is to let you know that it will be a good one--especially for those of us who don't know where to begin with graphic novels.)

Test Prep

Yesterday I asked my students, "What are you doing in writing workshop that you'll be able to transfer to the writing portion of the achievement tests?"

Number one is my contribution. The class as a whole has finally hit their stride in writing workshop. They are involved in projects they care about and they hit the ground running when they get back from math. There is a quiet buzz in the classroom as they work, but it is generally conversation about their writing and not off-task chatter. All the rest are theirs:

1. The ability to focus and WORK.
2. Use good vocabulary.
3. Write a short or long story.*
4. Stick to a project.
5. Make it sound interesting.**
6. Use short and long sentences.
7. Use paragraphs.
8. Stick to the plan.
9. PLAN.***
10.Use correct grammar, punctuation, and capitalization
11.EDIT.***

*This speaks to their ability to judge the writing task and plan accordingly.
**We laughed about this one. It is obviously about engaging your reader, but they understand that even if they don't care about the topic (ie: achievement test prompt) they still must engage their reader!
***Okay, okay. I added these two. My point was, if you know how to "stick to the plan," that means you know it's important to PLAN! Likewise for editing.

What are you doing in the course of your regular instruction that your students will be able to transfer to their achievement tests?

Another Great Novel in Verse

I have a group of kids in my class this year who LOVE novels in verse. They love Heartbeat by Sharon Creech, Where I Live by Eileen Spinelli and Becoming Joe DiMaggio by Maria Testa. As a teacher, I am finding that these are great books for readers of this age (and beyond). These novels tend to have a lot of depth. Some of my students who have difficulty sticking with books until the end, have the stamina to finish a novel in verse. I am not sure if they like the fact that they feel like they are turning pages quickly or that each page is shorter than a typical novel. But, they are reading some great books in this genre and they are really changing the ways they think about what they read because of it.

So, I am currently on the lookout for books like this to add to my collection. Sometimes the books are a bit too sophisticated for 3rd and 4t graders.

This week, I read 42 MILES by Tracie Vaughn Zimmer. (She is an Ohio author which adds to the fun of finding a new book that I love!). The book is about JoEllen. JoEllen splits her time between her mother's home in the city and her father's home in the country. The book is told in first person so we get into the thinking of JoEllen and how she feels about having these two quite separate lives. The book (and JoEllen) deal with issues common to so many kids--divorce, friendship, bullies, rules, teachers and more). Many of the poems in the book can stand alone as powerful poetry. Many can be used as mentors for student writing. But the way the poems work together gives us a story about a girl and family that is a good one. Illustrations, photos, maps, etc. add to each page so there are visuals throughout. This book packs a lot in with just 73 pages.

I am excited to add this book to my collection. I am sure it will make its rounds in my classroom this week.

My favorite line in the book (in case you were wondering):
"My favorite poems
squeeze your hand
on a crowded street and say:
Look."

A Great Book to Support Test-Taking

PUT THINKING TO THE TEST is a new book coming out with Stenhouse this month. I was going to wait to review it until I had a hard copy but with test season upon us, I thought it was important to get the word out about this great book. It is due out on April 10, but you can read the entire book online now to get a sense of it and to get started thinking through tests with your students. (I love that Stenhouse lets me read bits of the book online while I am waiting for it to arrive. I am not a big fan of reading off of the computer but it helps me shop for books more effectively. When you read this one online, I imagine it will be one that you want to order so that you get it the minute that it becomes available!)

The authors took an inquiry stance to test taking and found effective ways to help their students think through the test genre. The authors are a group of teachers connected with the PEBC--the group that has done so much amazing research about the comprehension strategies. In this book, they have taken what they know about those same strategies and have worked with students to help them make sense of the test.

They begin the book by sharing their own experience--thinking through their own behaviors as test takers. Then they take you into classrooms to show how their own understanding helped them think through testing with their students, by looking at it as a specific genre.

There are not many books about testing that stay true to our beliefs about teaching. But PUT THINKING TO THE TEST does! For teachers who are committed to reading/writing workshops, for teachers who value the power of inquiry, this book is perfect for helping kids work through test taking skills in ways that are authentic and effective.

I started reading at the beginning. If you read the book online, I suggest doing the same. The first chapter explains the process that the authors went through in their own thinking about the genre of tests. Then, I read Chapter 2: Tests as A Genre. This chapter leads us through the introductory pieces of this unit in a classroom-helping kids notice things and learn about the test genre. I figure I will begin there this week and read as I teach. And hopefully, I will have my own copy of the book by the time that I get through a week or so of test prep stuff.

This book is one of the best I have seen on the topic recently. It is up to date in terms of the issues we are facing as teachers. And it takes the research that we know well--comprehension research--and uses it to help students make sense of test-taking. In a workshop classroom, this book makes sense. And the timing is perfect!

DON'T WORRY BEAR by Greg Foley

I just popped into Cover to Cover to pick up the new Pigeon book and the new Clementine book (more on those later.) But I got another nice surprise when Beth showed me this new book, DON'T WORRY BEAR by Greg Foley. This is one of the sweetest picture books I have seen in a while. And the text is predictable with great picture support so it is a great one to for new readers.

Bear and Caterpillar become friends. But caterpillar is busy making a cocoon. He tells Bear, "I'll stay inside for a while. But I promise you'll see me again." Bear visits the cocoon and worries about his new friend. Each page follows the same pattern (He came when it rained. Caterpillar said, "Don't worry, Bear. I'm not getting wet." Bear tries not to worry but then worries more when he finds the cocoon empty. A happy ending follows!

This bear is so darn sweet. You can't help but love him. And the story is just as sweet. I am not usually into sweet, but I love this new book. I bought it because it has great supports for new readers. And because I just loved it!

Maybe A Bear Ate It!

MAYBE A BEAR ATE IT by Robie Harris and Michael Emberley is a great new picture book that I couldn't resist. First of all, it is a story about reading. About what happens when you lose your favorite book. About how desperate you become when you lose your favorite book! In this story, the main character loses his/her favorite book and thinks about all of the places it could be. The text has lots of predictability because much of the book follows the pattern of "Maybe a Rhino ran away with it." So, this is a great book for early readers. It has great picture support, large text with good predictability and pattern. And, of course, there is a happy ending!

We have been collecting books for years that help us start conversations about books and reading with our students. We know how powerful a book can be to empower kids to talk about their own reading lives. This is definitely one I am happy to have in my collection. I can imagine it starting conversations about favorite books, losing favorite books, etc. (As a parent, it makes me think about my children's favorites that we had to read over and over and over and over again--so much that we sometimes hoped the favorite book would get lost for a day or two!)

2008 Notable Children's Books in the Language Arts

_____________________________________________________________
2008 Committee: Deanna Day, Chair, Monica Edinger Past Chair
Pat Austin, Sharon Levin, Janelle Mathis, Jonda McNair, Kathy Short, Edward Sullivan


Poetry and Drama

Dillons, Leo and Diane. (2007). Jazz on a Saturday Night. New York: Blue Sky Press/Scholastic.

Forman, Ruth. (2007). Young Cornrows Callin Out the Moon. Illustrations by Cbabi Bayoc. San Francisco, CA: Children’s Book Press.

Neri, G. (2007). Chess Rumble. Illustrations by Jesse Joshua Watson. New York: Lee & Low.

Park, Linda Sue. (2007). Tap Dancing on the Roof: Sijo Poems. Illustrations by Istvan Banyai. New York: Clarion/Houghton Mifflin.

Schlitz, Laura Amy. (2007). Good Masters, Sweet Ladies! Voices from a Medieval Village. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick.


Historical and Realistic Fiction

Compestine, Ying Chang. (2007). Revolution is Not a Dinner Party. New York: Henry Holt.

Ellsworth, Loretta. (2007). In Search of Mockingbird. New York: Henry Holt.

Gifford, Peggy. (2007). Moxy Maxwell Does Not Love Stuart Little. Photographs by Valorie Fisher. New York: Schwartz & Wade/Random House.

Murphy, Pat. (2007). The Wild Girls. New York: Viking/Penguin.

Schmidt, Gary D. (2007). The Wednesday Wars. New York: Clarion/Houghton Mifflin.

Selznick, Brian. (2007). The Invention of Hugo Cabret. New York: Scholastic.

Sheth, Kashmira. (2007). Keeping Corner. New York: Hyperion.

Woodson, Jacqueline. (2007). Feathers. New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons/Penguin.


Fantasy/Folklore

Fleischman, Paul. (2007). Glass Slipper, Gold Sandal: A Worldwide Cinderella. Illustrated by Julie Paschkis. New York: Henry Holt.

Higgins, F.E. (2007). The Black Book of Secrets. New York: Feiwel and Friends/Holtzbrinck.

Varon, Sara. (2007). Robot Dreams. New York: First Second/Holtzbrinck.


Information/Biography/Autobiography/Memoir

Bausum, Ann. (2007). Muckrakers. Washington, DC: National Geographic.

Fletcher, Ralph. (2007). How to Write Your Life Story. New York: Collins/Harper Collins.

Marcus, Leonard S. (2007). Pass it Down: Five Picture-Book Families Make Their Mark. New York: Walker/Holtzbrinck.

Sis, Peter. (2007). The Wall: Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

Sullivan, George. (2007). Helen Keller: Her Life in Pictures. New York: Scholastic.


Picture Books

Baretta, Gene. (2007). Dear Deer: A Book of Homophones. New York: Henry Holt.

Gravett, Emily. (2007). Orange Pear Apple Bear. New York: Simon & Schuster.

Harrington, Janice N. (2007). The Chicken Chasing Queen of Lamar County. Illustrations by Shelley Jackson. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

Judge, Lita. (2007). One Thousand Tracings: Healing the Wounds of World War II. New York: Hyperion.

Lee, S. (2007). The Zoo. La Jolla, CA: Kane/Miller.

Messinger, Carla and Katz, Susan. (2007). When the Shadbush Blooms. Illustrated by David Kanietakeron Fadden. Berkeley, CA: Tricycle.

Tan, Shaun. (2007). The Arrival. New York: Scholastic.

Watt, Melanie. (2007). Chester. Toronto, ON: Kids Can.

Wild, Margaret. (2007). Woolvs in the Sitee. Illustrated by Anne Spudvilas. Honesdale, PA: Front Street/Boyds Mills Press.

Nonfiction Monday -- One Hen

One Hen: How One Small Loan Made a Big Difference
by Katie Smith Milway
illustrated by Eugenie Fernandes
Kids Can Press, 2008
review copy compliments of the publisher

Based on the true story of Ghanian Kwabena Darko, ONE HEN tells the story of the difference that microfinancing can make to an individual, a family, a community, and ultimately, a country.

In the story, Kojo and his mother live in a community that pools its resources and allows the families to take turns borrowing the money for a project that will help them to make a profit before they pay back the loan. Kojo's mother uses her turn to buy a cart so she can carry more firewood to market. With a part of their profit, Kojo buys one hen. The hen provides them with eggs, but also generates more profit. Kojo buys more hens, realizes he needs to finish school to better run his business and eventually gets a scholarship to an agricultural college. When he returns from college, he expands his poultry business, providing jobs for the community and paying taxes that help his country.

ONE HEN is beautifully designed. The illustrations, by Eugenie Fernandes, are bold and colorful paintings. Each double page spread is one third or one half text on a rich (pun intended), luminous gold background. On each illustration is a line reminiscent of "The House That Jack Built":

This is Kojo.
This is the loan that Kojo gets.
This is the hen that Kojo buys with the loan he got.
These are the eggs that Kojo sells from the hen he bought.

The book includes information about the "Real Kojo," Kwabena Darko, and sections titled "What you can do to help?" and "Making changes in the world, on person, one family, one community at a time..." There is also a glossary of African and economics terms.

Teaching economics has always seemed abstract and irrelevant to 10 year-olds. I think all that will change this year when I use this book as the anchor of my economics unit.

One Hen was featured on the NPR story, Child's 'One Hen' Lays Microlending Success.

Be sure to check out the One Hen website.



The Nonfiction Monday roundup is at Picture Book of the Day.

How Much Can You Love Barbara O'Connor?

So, I LOVED HOW TO STEAL A DOG. I think it is one of the best read aloud books out there for grades 3-5. So, I was very excited to see that GREETINGS FROM NOWHERE was available at Cover to Cover.

I can't tell you how much I love this book. For me, it was a cross between all of my favorites. Sometimes I felt like I was reading Cynthia Rylant. Sometimes I felt like I was reading Kate DiCamillo. It made me feel like lots of my favorites (VAN GOGH CAFE, BECAUSE OF WINN-DIXIE, WHERE THE HEART IT). Barbara O'Connor seems to have found a voice in this one that is brilliant. The story is simple--a group of people who seem to need each other and find things out about themselves because of the time they spend together.

Barbara O'Connor takes us to the Sleepy Time Motel in the Great Smokey Mountains. And she introduces us to characters who will live with us for along time. I can tell that these are characters I will think about for a very long time, even though I have finished reading the book.

I have decided to read this one aloud to my 3rd and 4th graders starting later this week. It may be a bit sophisticated for them but I don't think so. I think when you read about characters you come to love, it is big.

Really, I can't imagine loving a book more than I loved this one. It was really quite a perfect book.

(I went back to watch the book trailer on the book. I figured I wouldn't like it now that I had read the book, but I LOVED it! It is perfect. Totally captures the feel of the book. Brilliant!)

Tastes Like Chocolate: Thoughts From Young People

I received this book as a gift and what a gift it is! TASTES LIKE CHOCOLATE by Randi Allison is a collection of poems written by the children she's worked with over the years. It is a collection that is a great read--just as a great poetry read. As a teacher, it is a great reminder of how lucky we are to work alongside children every day. It helps remind us how brilliant and insightful they are! And it can also serve as a great resource for teachers of writing. Such great models of writing by kids of different ages.

The title and organization of the book are both quite clever. The back of the book reads "Like a fine chocolate sampler, this collection is filled with delectable moments of joyous wonder that melt and linger, dark musings of loss with a bitter aftertaste of longing, and simple insights filled with gooey, luscious surprises. Like any fine treat, TASTES LIKE CHOCOLATE yearns to be shared with the people you love." The Table of Contents shows us that the book is organized in the same way a box of chocolates might be--with bittersweets (thoughts about challenges), sweets (thoughts about childhood), and darks (thoughts about death and dying).

This collection is a perfect addition to your library if you are a teacher of reading, writing, poetry and/or life in general. Each poem gives the reader lots to think about. I can see using poems with kids in my class--thinking about how they might use what they learn in their own writing. I can see kids reading it on their own. And, as a teacher and parent, I can see going back to it--rereading some favorites over and over.

A great collection--this is one like I've never seen before. Because Randi is an educator, she has chosen an amazing collection of poems to share with the world. These poems were most likely written in great writers' workshops in great classrooms. It is a great reminder of the power of poetry in our students' lives. For years, I have collected my own students' writings--knowing that I will share them with future students. As a teacher, I know the power of these models in writing workshop--that reading the work of other children can have a huge impact on students' writing. In this collection, Randi shares a variety of these models for us to add to our own collections.

This is not an easy book to find but there is a website where you can order it. The website also has some great endorsements by educators like Shelley Harwayne, Cris Tovani, and Chrysse Hutchins.

That Workshop Book by Samantha Bennett

THAT WORKSHOP BOOK: NEW SYSTEMS AND STRUCTURES FOR CLASSROOMS THAT READ, WRITE, AND THINK by Samantha Bennett (Foreword by Cris Tovani)
I just discovered this new book about Reading/Writing Workshop. It is AMAZING! I would highly recommend it to anyone who has or wants to implement a solid reading and/or writing workshop.

Samantha Bennett is part of the PEBC out of Denver. She is an instructional coach for teachers in grades K-8. This book is brilliant and timely. Personally, I have been overwhelmed with professional book reading lately. I just can't keep up. So, I have been very careful about adding too many new professional books to my pile. This one is a must-have/must-read/must-keep-going-back-to kind of book. Bennett begins the book by reminding us why workshop works. She takes us back a bit to the groundbreaking work of Graves, Calkins and Atwell. She begins by reminding us that "workshop has been relegated to harsh time constraints, descriptions of activities to do in minilessons, or strict pacing guides that tell teachers how a workshop should unfold over a year...We have a problem with broad implementation with shallow understanding of the potential of what a classroom as a literal workshop means. The superficial orthodoxy around the procedures of workshop has distracted us from the core values of WHY workshop works."

She takes this issue on throughout the book--that the reason workshop works is in ritual, structure, student ownership, choice, etc. After her introductory chapter that reminds us what we seem to have lost in the workshop of today, she takes us into 6 classroom workshop and shows us why they work. There are definite key workshop elements to the workshops but there are also differences in the ways that teachers implement. Because she is a coach, Bennett is able to show us what works, why it works and to point out places for reflection. There are places in each chapter where both Bennett and the classroom teacher reflect and we are able to benefit
from being part of that reflection.

Surprisingly, this is an easy read. She takes us back to important thinking in a way that has a humor that is quite engaging. It is smart. It is important. Not only do you rethink your workshop, but there are also lots of ideas embedded in each classroom "visit". The book is a great combination of reflection, information, and things you can try tomorrow. The key though, is in remembering that workshop is not about one lesson or a daily routine. It is so much more than that when it works well.

I have to say that this is the BEST cover I have ever seen on a professional book. It is creatively done and calls you to read it. On opening the cover, you find that the art teacher at Bennett's school, Ann Loring, did the illustration on the cover and those throughout the book. The book is brilliantly done. The design and touches throughout the book are quite fun and creative for a professional book. You really feel like you know the writer and the teachers well because of it. A fun, engaging design.

Throughout the book, Bennett has created a "Teaching Fairy"--a little character who points things out about the classrooms we visit. Now, if you know me, I hate gimmicky things so I would tend to not like things like this. But in this book, the Teaching Fairy works well. It is nice to think that as teachers in schools these days, there is a little fairy helping us to the hard work we do. Because Bennett and the illustrator (Ann Loring) handle this with humor and fun, it totally works!

I can see this book being critical in staff development. So much to talk and think about. And since the examples span grades 1-8, there is something for teachers at all levels. The first chapter is one that would be good to revisit as a staff or in a workshop-getting back to the stuff of the workshop. I loved reading it on my own (although I found myself calling friends to read lines that I thought were brilliant!) and I am looking forward to talking to others about it soon!

Poetry Friday -- Pay Attention

It was A.E. Housman's birthday this week (Robert Frost's, too). It usually takes the sight of blooming trees to remind me of this poem. No blooms yet here.

I have more than doubled the age of the speaker of the poem at this point, but I still have hopes that I'll be able to watch spring come fifty more times. Forty more for sure.

Because there is no "for sure," no way of knowing how many more springs one has, this poem reminds me every year to pay attention as if this might be the last.



Loveliest Of Trees, The Cherry Now
by A. E. Housman

Loveliest of trees, the cherry now
Is hung with bloom along the bough,
And stands about the woodland ride
Wearing white for Eastertide.

Now, of my threescore years and ten,
Twenty will not come again,
And take from seventy springs a score,
It only leaves me fifty more.

And since to look at things in bloom
Fifty springs are little room,
About the woodlands I will go
To see the cherry hung with snow.


Ted Kooser's American Life in Poetry column featured another (modern) blooming cherry tree poem this week, by Judith Harris. Here is the last stanza:

It is only April.
I can't stop my own life
from hurrying by.
The moon, already pacing.



The roundup today is at Cuentecitos.

Claire and the Bakery Thief

Claire and the Bakery Thief
by Janice Poon
Kids Can Press, 2008
review copy compliments of the publisher

Claire's dad lost her job and they're moving. He's enthusiastic about the small town bakery he bought that he's going to convert to all-organic, but Claire's mom is less than thrilled about moving away from the city. Claire's dog Bongo is her constant companion, but when it comes to making new friends, it seems she's stuck between older girls who only want to talk about boys, and the six year-old son of a neighbor.

Luckily, Claire meets Jet, a girl who has a great imagination like hers and whose experience with divorce helps Claire deal with her bickering parents.

Claire has her eye on a shady artificial flavoring salesman who keeps coming to the bakery, and when her mom goes to the city with him and doesn't come back, he's Claire's main suspect. With the help of Jet and Bongo, Claire sets out to solve the mystery of her missing mom.

This graphic novel for younger readers is reminiscent of Kat & Mouse by Alex de Campi, which features middle school teen girls teaming up to solve a mystery that threatens one of the parents. Claire and Jet will appeal to girls in the 7-10 year age range. The mystery in Kat & Mouse is set in the science lab and in the back of the book are the instructions for doing some of the science that the girls use to solve the mystery. Similarly, in the back of Claire and the Bakery Thief are some of the recipes that are featured in the story.

By the end of the book, Bellevale seems like home to Claire and her parents. Claire is looking forward to the start of school, and readers will look forward Claire's next adventure.

For the list-maker in your life

Thank you [bb-blog] for the link.

I'm not sure how I'll survive until April 30 without these...

Vampires and Aliens and Purple Monsters

Little Vampire
by Joann Sfar
:01 First Second, 2008
review copy compliment of the publisher

Three short stories in one thin volume for graphic novel readers who like to pore over detail in the illustrations, and who don't mind small text.

In the first story, Little Vampire Goes to School (just like the title says), but he and his bright red ghost dog, Phantomato, are disappointed to find all of the classrooms empty. It's night time, after all. The next night, the Captain of the Dead and all the ghosts come along and play school with Little Vampire. They all bring their own school supplies because they must not use any of the daytime children's supplies and let them know there are such things as ghosts. Little Vampire doesn't follow these rules. He completes a mortal's unfinished homework. Thus begins a written conversations and ultimately a friendship with Michael.

In the second story, "Little Vampire Does Kung Fu," Michael is having trouble with a bully at school. Michael's grandfather counsels that violence is not the way to solve the problem, but Little Vampire takes Michael to visit a Kung Fu Master. In a very convoluted way, Michael learns that violence is not the way to deal with a bully, but it does sometimes have unintended positive consequences.

The final story is "Little Vampire and the Canine Defenders Club." Little Vampire, Michael and Phantomato save the lives of three dogs who had been imprisoned in a cosmetics testing lab. In the course of the story, the reader loses faith in adults on the one hand (the scientists), but gains faith in adults on the other hand (Michael's grandfather's total acceptance of Little Vampire.)


Kaput & Zösky
by Lewis Trondheim
:01 First Second, 2008
review copy compliments of the publisher

You've never met two more inept aliens. Kaput and Zösky are out to enslave populations, trash cultures, demolish planets, and, in general, wreak havoc so that they can "cheat in the casinos and win loads of dough" in the worlds they conquer. Needless to say, their plots and plans never work out. Think a pair of Wiley Coyotes and a new population of alien RoadRunners on every planet in every galaxy that Kaput and Zösky visit before you worry about polluting the minds of young children with violence and intergalactic domination. They've maybe never read this story before in a graphic novel, but they've sure seen it on Saturday morning TV and on their video games. Best thing about this book -- if they read it again when they get older, they'll get the irony of the stories.

If you don't believe me, take a peek and see for yourself. Publishers Weekly has a 10-page preview here.



And now for the purple monsters.

Flight Explorer, a kid-friendly version of the twice Cybils-nominated Flight, edited by Kazu Kibuishi (recently of Amulet fame) is just out (yesterday). I must have it! Until then, I'll be satisfied with a Jellaby short story from the book.

Holiday Music

'Tis the season of testing, so we couldn't resist sharing some "Holiday Music."

Spring Cleaning

Save trees, send less waste to the landfill (or hopefully, to recycling), and reduce your risk for identity theft.

1. Switch to e-statements and e-billing whenever possible. Save trees and keep your personal information out of publicly accessible mailboxes at the same time.

2. Opt out of unsolicited credit card and other pre-screened offers. OptOutPrescreen.com

3. Opt out of unwanted catalogs. Call the company directly, or go to CatalogChoice.org

Thanks to Danielle Chatfield, Community Affairs Director of MidState Educators Credit Union for these suggestions.

Poetry Friday

Here's a poem for the first day of Spring Break:

The Tables Turned
by William Wordsworth

Up! up! my Friend, and quit your books;
Or surely you'll grow double:
Up! up! my Friend, and clear your looks;
Why all this toil and trouble?

The sun above the mountain's head,
A freshening lustre mellow
Through all the long green fields has spread,
His first sweet evening yellow.

Books! 'tis a dull and endless strife:
Come, hear the woodland linnet,
How sweet his music! on my life,
There's more of wisdom in it.

And hark! how blithe the throstle sings!
He, too, is no mean preacher:
Come forth into the light of things,
Let Nature be your teacher.

She has a world of ready wealth,
Our minds and hearts to bless—
Spontaneous wisdom breathed by health,
Truth breathed by cheerfulness.

One impulse from a vernal wood
May teach you more of man,
Of moral evil and of good,
Than all the sages can.

Sweet is the lore which Nature brings;
Our meddling intellect
Mis-shapes the beauteous forms of things:—
We murder to dissect.

Enough of Science and of Art;
Close up those barren leaves;
Come forth, and bring with you a heart
That watches and receives.


Today's roundup is at Wild Rose Reader.

Amulet News

An article in Variety reports that Amulet (my review here) will be made into a movie by Warner. Siblings Willow and Jaden Smith will have the brother-sister star roles.

Also in the article, "Five books are planned in the Scholastic series, with the second installment skedded for release this year." Skedded? That's a word?

Moo

Everywhere the Cow Says "Moo!"
by Ellen Slusky Weinstein
illustrated by Kenneth Andersson
Boyds Mills Press, 2008
Review copy compliments of the publisher

One of the indicators in our 5th grade social studies standard about immigration says that students should be able to identify the lasting effects of the English, Spanish and French in the U.S.. I know that standard so intimately because Karen and I wrote an immigration unit a couple of summers ago.

So I get this book in the mail and I open it up.

"In English, the dog says, 'Bow-wow bow-wow!'
In Spanish, the dog says, 'Goo-ow, goo-ow!'
In French, the dog says, 'Wah-wah, wah-wah!'
In Japanese, the dog says, 'Wan-wan, wan-wan!'
But everywhere, the cow says, 'Moo!' "

How could my Integration Radar not go up?!?!

The pattern in the book repeats for what the frog, duck, and rooster say. You guessed it. Everywhere the cow says, "Moo."

The best part are the illustrations. The English dog surprises a Beefeater, the Spanish dog defies a bullfighter, the French dog serenades the Eiffel Tower, and the Japanese dog sits beneath a cherry tree. In each illustration is something iconic from that culture. Including architecture.

You don't have to love this book because it's perfect for your social studies unit. There are plenty of reasons to simply love this book.

* * * * * *
Edited to add: Monica at Educating Alice has a great connection to this book -- a website where you can hear kids from around the world imitating the sounds of animals! Check out her post and then go listen!!!

Nonfiction Monday -- Sabertooth

Sabertooth
by Patrick O'Brien
Henry Holt, 2008
review copy compliments of the publisher

Step aside, dinosaurs. Time to pay attention to the kitties.

Sabertooths of some kind or another hunted the Earth from 13 million to 10,000 years ago. The best-known, and the star of this book, was the Smilodon (3 million-10,000 years ago).

O'Brien's painted illustrations vary from full-spread to full-page to multiple panels per page. With the text in boxes that overlap or overlay the illustrations, the book almost has the feel of a nonfiction graphic novel.

You will learn how scientists know what they do about this ancient cat (the fossil record), how all cats evolved from one common ancestor, what scientists don't know about sabertooths (what color their fur was, whether they hunted alone or in cooperation), the prehistoric predators they likely competed with for food, and the food animals they might have hunted.

The book ends on a cautionary note, reminding us that we need to protect the habitats of our modern big cats, or they, too, will go the way of the sabertooths.



The Nonfiction Monday Roundup is at Picture Book of the Day.

Shakespeare For All

Henry V
by William Shakespeare
script adaptation by John McDonald
Classical Comics, 2007
2007 Cybils Nominee
review copy compliments of the publisher






Macbeth
by William Shakespeare
script adaptation by John McDonald
Classical Comics, 2008
review copy compliments of the publisher






I don't need to tell you the plot line in these books. What you need to know about is the publishing format.

First of all, this is Shakespeare in graphic novels. Instead of just reading the play, you get to see it "acted out" on the page before you. But the best part is that each title comes in three versions of the text: Original Text (the bard's own words, full and unabridged), Plain Text (a plain English version of the full script) and Quick Text (shortened dialogue for young readers and for those people who want to understand the story rapidly).

The folks at Classical Comics have "turned up the excitement volume" when it comes to classical literature and they want to share the excitement with you. Check out their website for free downloads and an extensive page of links to articles about everything from teaching with graphic novels to further information about Shakespeare. They have 9 more titles in the works: more Shakespeare and Bronte, Dickens, Shelley, Stoker, and Wilde.

Let the high school English and ELL teachers in your life know about these books! Differentiated instruction made possible!

Poetry Friday -- Daylight Savings Time

Daylight Savings Time
Comes Early This Year

This is so wrong...
and so beautiful.
I am sitting here at my
east-facing
window-facing
desk
watching a big ball of orange emerge
from behind skeletal trees into a pink-and-purple sky.

I am at work
watching the sun rise.

I am momentarily blinded
by a flash of grace
before the day races away from me.




Round up today is at jama rattigan's alphabet soup. She's celebrating Bob Dylan and asked us to share our favorite Dylan lyrics. I'm not a Dylan fan. I did, however, read a book this week in which the main character is a Dylan fan (Naked Bunyip Dancing by Steven Herrick). That's the best I can do. Especially when it's the week Daylight Savings Time shifts my universe.

(image from Freefoto.com)