The Black Book of Colors

The Black Book of Colors
by Menena Cottin
illustrated by Rosana Faria
translated from the Spanish by Elisa Amado
braille translations provided by the CNIB
Groundwood Books, first published in 2006, first English edition, 2008
review copy provided by the publisher


I rarely link to Amazon, but if you haven't held this book in your hands yet, you're going to want to follow the link and at least get a better look at the cover. You won't see much else if you "Look Inside!"

But that's the point.

This is a book about color that will help a sighted person understand how a blind person experiences color -- not visually, but through the senses of touch, taste, smell and hearing. For example, "Red is sour like unripe strawberries and as sweet as watermelon. It hurts when he finds it on his scraped knee."

This book is bilingual -- English and braille. Each page of text (the English is white on the black page with the raised dots of the braille above it) faces a page with a sensory illustration. The illustration page is all black, with a raised image of the description of the color. On the page about red, there are strawberries on a vine that you can feel with your finger tips (and which a sighted person can't resist looking at by tipping the book in the light to see the raised image).

This book meets the Diversity Rocks! Challenge in a myriad of ways. The author and illustrator are both Venezuelan, and the translator is Guatemalan. The book is bilingual in English and braille. I have never seen a mainstream children's book with readable braille. And it's not a book about blindness, it's a book about colors. Amazing. I can't wait to share it with my students. I would love to share it with a child sitting on my lap with her eyes closed, reading along with me with her fingers.

Round up: Inspirational Inauguration Posts

Carol's poem for her sons.

Cloudscome's 44 word post.

Stella's letter to the USA.

Doug Noon's report that the ground shift was felt in Alaska.

Elizabeth Alexander's poem: transcript and video linked by Elaine.

A multimedia look at Obama's words from Kevin.

Leave a link to your favorite(s) and we'll round them up, too! 

Newbery: Predictions? Thoughts? Ramblings?

Mary Lee:

Franki and I had many years worth of Newbery discussions before this blog was ever born.

We started by trying to pick the winner. We were never right. I think my pick was an honor book once.

Then we decided you could count it a success if you had read the winner. We came closer those years.

The next stretch was "if you own it, you can count it." That was the year Franki claimed success because she had the winner in her shopping cart at Amazon.

Due to the avalanche of Notables Nominees that are shelved in my basement, I figure there's a pretty good chance the Newbery is in my house, so I'll be contrary this year and predict that the Newbery will be a book that hasn't darkened my door: Jimmy's Stars, Highway Cats, The Graveyard Book, The Porcupine Year, After Tupac and D Foster, Seer of Shadows, or The Trouble Begins at 8.

Franki:

This year, I am going to think of it more as a wish, than a prediction.  There are lots of books that I would be happy to see win. I can't name them all but I had a great reading year and I think there are so many that could win. Narrowing it down to a few, here are my wishes for Newbery (in no particular order):

THE UNDERNEATH--really, nothing could compare to the writing.  I reread the lead the other day and it is definitely "distinguished".

GREETINGS FROM NOWHERE by Barbara O'Conner-a book that has stayed with me all year. Love the characters, the story and the writing.

MY ONE HUNDRED ADVENTURES by Polly Horvath--Horvath at her best.  She is amazing and quirky with great characters and amazing writing.

JIMMY'S STARS by Mary Ann Rodman  I just finished this one. If you haven't read it, it is a must-read. I can't explain the way I felt reading it--through the whole thing.  She captured the characters perfectly.

SHOOTING THE MOON by Frances O'Roark Dowell--another one that stuck with me all year. I could easily see this one winning.

I also loved Lisa Graff's, THE LIFE AND CRIMES OF BERNETTA WALLFLOWER and DIAMOND WILLOW by Helen Frost.

There were so many others that I liked a lot!

And I'm not done reading for 2008! Next on my pile: ONE THOUSAND NEVER EVERS, THE UNNAMEABLES, ITCH, and EVER.

I think WE ARE THE SHIP can win every award out there. I would love to see it win the Newbery as well as others! An amazing book.

I would LOVE for PAPER TOWNS to win the Prinz. Love John Green and the book.  

Bottom line: in less than a week, we'll know who won for 2008 and we'll start reading the 2009 books!

BLOG TOUR: Kelly Gallagher Joins Us Discussing His New Book READICIDE

Today, Kelly Gallagher begins his Blog Tour with a stop at A YEAR OF READING to discuss his new book READICIDE: How Schools Are Killing Reading and What You Can Do About It. We reviewed the book here last week and hope that many of you had a chance to check it out at Stenhouse. A much needed book at a time when testing seems to be controlling so much of what we do in our schools.

We had a chance to talk with Kelly about his new book. And many of you had additional questions that you sent in after we reviewed READICIDE last week.

What made you write this book? How did you get to the point that you felt that you needed to write?
The idea for Readicide came out of my own classroom, where I have noticed that the number of students who like to read dwindles with each passing year. The only reading many of my students do is school-mandated reading—and frankly they don’t do academic reading very well. For the most part, my students can read text on a literal level, but when you ask them to think a bit deeper—to evaluate, to analyze, to synthesize—they really struggle. My current seniors have been under the NCLB testing gun for six years now, and beyond struggling when it comes to reading academic texts, they have lost their desire to read recreationally. In chasing test scores, we are killing the love of reading. We may succeed in raising our test scores, but we pay a large price to do so. The sad part, of course, is we have spent $1 billion on Reading First programs, and the students in this program did not score any better in comprehension than students who did not participate in the program at all.

Readicide is also influenced by the number of great teachers across this country who have shared their horror stories with me. The elimination of novels. Drowning students in worksheets. Scripted programs. Think about it. If you had to do what our students have to do, would you like reading?

What are you hoping that this book will accomplish?
To raise the consciousness of curriculum directors, administrators, and teachers. Most educators I know have a genuine desire to do what is best for our children. I am hoping that this book will start a conversation—a conversation about what the latest research has to say about developing the critical thinking regions of our brains, a conversation about how shallow assessments drive shallow thinking from our students, a conversation about how our classroom practices may actually be contributing to the role of readicide.

I want educators to ask themselves an important question: In the quest to raise test scores, am I damaging the long-term prospects of my students becoming lifelong readers? I hope the book generates hard talk between educators.

How would you prioritize the work we have to do?
First, the evidence is very clear: our students are simply not reading and writing enough. The National Commission on Writing recently noted that our students should be writing twice as much as they are currently writing, across all content areas. A number of studies have indicated that students are simply not getting enough reading practice. You have to play a lot of piano before you can play the piano, and you have to do a lot of reading and writing before you can read and write. Let’s put this question on the front burner: are our students reading and writing enough?

Second, the cliché is true: if you teach students to read and write well, they will do fine on tests. However, if you only teach students to take tests, they will never read and write well. We need to challenge them with the kind of reading and writing experiences that foster deeper thinking. As teachers, we need to move beyond being information dispensers and focus on getting our kids to be thinkers. This is not possible in a sea of worksheets.

Another thought: we cannot lose sight of the value of recreational reading (the kind of reading we want students to do the rest of their lives). Academic reading is important, but when schools emphasize only academic reading, recreational reading gets lost. Students need much larger doses of light reading, stupid reading, amusing reading—the kinds of reading that we, as adults, do when we are not at school. Schools who graduate good test takers who never read again are not doing anyone any favors.

How do you get these conversations going with teachers you work with?
Someone has to be the discussion director on your campus and in your district. I am fortunate in that I am in my 23rd year at my school, and I have a strong professional relationship with the staff on my campus. To be honest, however, I have not done as much as I would like with my own staff. This is due in large part, frankly, to having an administration that has not been real interested in doing the hard work required to implement authentic reading and writing. Fortunately, I have a new principal this year, so I am hoping this sets the table for real dialogue.

What do you suggest for teachers who feel like they are the one person who is carrying the flag for authentic reading?
Arm yourself with the research found in Readicide and in other places (see Kellygallagher.org for some of these studies). Make it your mission to get one other teacher to see the light. Start a “school-within-a-school” movement. Ask to share some of the research on staff development days. Share your concerns with administrators, board members, and newspaper editorial staffs.
If you really are the Lone Ranger at your site, never lose site of what is best for your students. Resist the political in favor of the authentic.

What are the most important things you could do with teachers in a very short period of time (at staff meeting)?
Discuss the importance that assessment plays in developing deeper readers and writers. Earlier in my career, Jim Cox, who is a guru in assessment, heavily influenced me. Jim reminds teachers to never forget WYTIWYG (pronounced “witty-wig”), which stands for What You Test Is What You Get. If your assessment is shallow, it will drive shallow thinking. If your assessment is rich, it will drive richer thinking.

I always teach to a test. The key is teaching to a test that drives deeper thinking. When teachers spend hour upon hour preparing students for shallow tests, the effects are devastating. Test scores may rise, but in the process we are denying students the opportunity to develop the regions of their brains that are crucial to them becoming deeper thinkers. I would ask teachers to carefully consider their assessments. Do they drive deeper thinking? Let’s start there and work backwards.

QUESTIONS FROM READERS
From Dani in NC: Accelerated Reader program made me feel validated as a parent. I have seen firsthand how it has negatively affected each of my kids' opinions of reading over the years. Although AR is strongly emphasized here, it isn't part of their grade so I finally gave my kids permission to forget about it. Three of them have a renewed passion for books, but I still have one daughter who has become a reluctant reader and I don't know if I can change that.

Kelly:  Regarding AR, I think the first thing parents can do is challenge the school’s decision to use the program. Ask to see justification—studies that indicate that there is a long-term benefit from using the program. Share the McQuillan study (and others) cited in Readicide. Ask administrators what we are really teaching kids about reading when we tie all their reading activity to earning points from shallow multiple-choice assessments.
That said, both of my daughters were subjected to AR in school and survived as readers. However, they were already avid readers before being subjected, and they were surrounded by high-interest reading materials at home. This is not the case for many of the students under the AR treatment.

From Kathy:  I do have a question for him, even though I have not read the book, I would love to know his opinion on a school having a well stocked (and that also means have a certified media specialist in there) media center and if he thinks that has an impact on students reading.

Kelly:  It is critical that every campus has a well-stocked library with a librarian/media specialist. I know there have been studies that have found a correlation between the quality of a school’s library collection and its test scores. Libraries, and librarians, are the core of any school. My librarian is particularly helpful when it comes to finding books for my students that fit a particular theme or unit. She also helps by doing a number of book talks.
That said, I have also found that establishing a classroom library—where students have daily access to interesting books—may be the most important thing I have done as a teacher. Students need to be surrounded by books every day. It has been my experience that it is extraordinarily difficult to turn my reluctant readers on to reading by taking periodical trips to the library. For maximum effectiveness, I have found it better to bring the books to the students.


Kelly has a busy week--touring at several blogs for the next several days.
Just like band groupies, we know that some of us will follow Kelly to each of the spots on his blog tour.
1/22 - THE TEMPERED RADICAL
1/23 - THE DREAM TEACHER
1/26 - THE READING ZONE
1/28 - THE BOOK WHISPERER

THERE'S A WOLF AT THE DOOR: FIVE CLASSIC TALES

I finally saw this book I had heard about when I was at Cover to Cover yesterday.  A large book--one that I think kids may have trouble fitting in their book bags when they decide to check it our from the library. But, after reading it, I decided it would be well worth it--carrying this large book around!  

THERE'S A WOLF AT THE DOOR: FIVE CLASSIC TALES retold by Zoe B. Alley is quite amusing. You know I love new versions of old tales and this book has 5 classic tales--The Three Little Pigs, The Boy Who Cried Wolf, Little Red Riding Hood, The Wolf In Sheep's Clothing, and The Wolf and the Seven Little Goslings--all starring The Wolf. 

The illustrations are done in comic book/graphic novel form. The stories follow the traditional tales but add quite a bit of humor throughout. My 9 year old was reading the book last night and I overheard her reading it aloud and then cracking up-all by herself with the book.   This book is on several Mock Caldecott sites.

I also think it is a great model for kids--a new way to think about writing  a story they know.  Since the kids at our school have access to Comic Life, I can see something like this as another possibility for them--putting stories they know into comic form.  It does change things, just a bit.

So, I a fun book. One that I am glad I purchased.  My 3rd grader loved it and  I am pretty sure that it will be quite popular in the library with all grades.

CHICKEN CHEEKS by Michael Ian Black

How could I not get this book called CHICKEN CHEEKS by Michael Ian Black?  I have a lot of books that I use to talk to kids about words and I had to add this one to my collection.  What can be funnier than lots of words used to talk about bottoms?  The inside flap of this book says, "This is a story with a beginning, a middle, and a whole lot of ends."  And that it is!  A bear is trying to get honey from the top of a VERY tall tree. So, he gets the help of lots of friends, piling one on top of each other until the reach the top.  On each page, the bear has the view of yet another"bottom".  So, each page consists of only 2 words--Such as "moose caboose" and "flamingo fanny".The bright amusing illustrations add to the fun.  Definitely hysterical if you ask me!  It will be a fun one to just read for fun.  It would also be a fun one to use when talking about words, word choice, synonyms, etc.  

Local News

A block of downtown Grandview burned today. At the time these shots were taken, they'd been working for 3 hours and they were trying to save Z Cucina.

I am a 21st Century Reader

In the Choice Literacy newsletter last week, Brenda shared a link to the website What Should I Read Next. This website cracked me up. I need one more way to figure out what to read next? Give me a break.

My adult reading these days is all iPod "reading" on the commute to and from school. I just finished listening to Zorro (Isabel Allende) for book club and now I'm catching up on podcasts of This I Believe, This American Life, and the Princeton Review Vocab Minute. (In another post I'll tell you about an amazing connection between two of these podcasts.) I just "borrowed/ripped" the cds of Son of a Witch (Gregory Maguire) and The Middle Place (Kelly Corrigan) for future book club meetings.

In the mail this week was yet another box of 2008's to add to the avalanche of Notables Nominees that I MUST read, along with all the other nominees that I need to be reading, and re-reading.

Also in the mail this week was a box from Amazon -- books I WANT TO read to stay current with my students. (In another post I'll tell you about the Flip video that also came this week.)

I just spent two hours reading email, Tweets, blogs (Poetry Friday only -- I'm hopelessly behind in regular blog reading), The English Companion Ning, and Goodreads updates.

On the top of my bedside pile of books right now is Billy Collins' new volume of poetry, Ballistics. If I'm lucky, I can read one or two poems before I fall asleep at night.

My basket of magazines and professional journals is overflowing. I am months behind in all of them.

We just decided not to renew The New York Times Book Review print edition at $91 per year because we no longer get anywhere near that much worth out of it and we almost never get book recommendations from it anymore.

After I finished cracking up about the thought of going to a website to find out what I should read next, and after I did the run-down of all my reading options, I realized that I am a 21st Century Reader. I read print (books, magazines, newspapers), I read digital (online newsletters with crack-me-up links, blogs, Tweets, Nings, etc.), and I read audio. I read children's books, adult books, professional books and articles, poetry, reviews, news, and more. I "manage, analyze and synthesize multiple streams of simultaneous information."

I am a 21st Century Reader. Are you?

Edited to add: Angela at The Cornerstone Blog sure is. Go read her post.

Literacy Today

A great post by Millie Davis on the NCTE Inbox blog about what it means to be literate today. Lots of great links and things to think about.  One part that I particularly liked:

   ."..to be literate today one must read and write; speak, listen, and view; think critically, act creatively and collaboratively; and manage, analyze and synthesize multiple streams of simultaneous information."

Poetry Friday -- Part For the Whole

PART FOR THE WHOLE
by Robert Francis

When others run to windows or out of doors
To catch the sunset whole, he is content
With any segment anywhere he sits.

From segment, fragment, he can reconstruct
The whole, prefers to reconstruct the whole,
As if to say, I see more seeing less.

A window to the east will serve as well
As window to the west, for eastern sky
Echoes the western sky.

(go to the Poetry Foundation to read the rest...)



I took this picture of last night's sunset. My classroom window to the east showed me the sunset first, reflected in the snow on the rooftops and in the windows of the condos that stand directly across from the school's side yard. I grabbed my camera and ran to the other side of the building. As I stood and watched the sun set, this column of light developed and magnified and intensified.

In this particular case, I would have to say that the whole was greater than the parts. The view to the east had nuthin' compared to the view to the west. I never could have reconstructed that column of light.

Later last night, when I was checking the day's Tweets, I followed Cloudscome's link to her photo blog and found that she had taken almost the exact same picture.

In this particular case, I would have to say that the parts are greater than the whole, or at least equal to it: two pairs of eyes (probably more than two pairs, how can we ever know?) seeing the same sunset in two different places, cameras ready and aimed, capturing and recording one moment of our planet's great beauty.

Now the really amazing part. I found this poem by searching "frost on the window" because it is so cold here (windchills of 20 or more degrees below zero) that the typical condensation on the inside of the kitchen window is frozen. On the INSIDE of the window. I intended for my Poetry Friday entry to be about the cold. But I guess that sunset wasn't quite done with me. I leave you to ponder whether that is the whole speaking directly to one of the parts through poetry.

The round up today is at Karen Edmisten's "Blog With a Shockingly Clever Title."

CHANGE HAS COME: AN ARTIST CELEBRATES OUR AMERICAN SPIRIT

I just picked up a great little book by Kadir Nelson:  CHANGE HAS COME:  AN ARTIST CELEBRATES OUR AMERICAN SPIRIT.  Kadir Nelson's drawings of the American spirit accompany Barack Obama's words.  A tiny inpsirational book with words that serve as a reflection and a celebration.  It is a pretty amazing little book that I just needed to have.  It might be a good one for some to read on Inauguration Day.  Really, I am not sure how Kadir Nelson is doing it these days.  Every time I turn around, it seems that he has another great book out there and each one is as amazing as the last one.  We are lucky to have him in the children's book world.

Readicide -- by Kelly Gallagher

Readicide: How Schools are Killing Reading and What You Can Do About It

by Kelly Gallagher

Stenhouse, February 2009

Kelly Gallagher is a full-time high school teacher in Anaheim, CA. His message about how schools are killing reading is one that every teacher and administrator at EVERY level needs to read. After every teacher and administrator reads this book, they need to put his suggestions about what we can do to prevent or reverse this trend into action.

Gallagher defines readicide this way: "Read-i-cide n: The systematic killing of the love of reading, often exacerbated by the inane, mind-numbing practices found in schools." He outlines four factors that are primarily responsible for readicide:

• schools value the development of test takers more than the development of readers
  
• schools limit authentic reading experiences
  
• teachers are overteaching books
  
• teachers are underteaching books
  

On the first point: amen. We are lucky to teach in a district where it is still possible to focus on the development of readers. Teachers like us are not always popular for focusing more on the readers than on the tests, and teachers like us are not always in the majority in our buildings or our grade levels, but there have been no district mandates that make it impossible for us to stay true to our belief in the fact that, as Gallagher puts it,

"If students are taught to read and write well, they will do fine on the mandated reading tests. But if they are only taught to be test-takers, they will never learn to read and write well."

On the second point: we've made it our life work to surround children with the best books and give them big chunks of time in the school day to learn to become real readers: readers who choose books, read widely, talk and write about their reading, and belong to a community of readers. We believe, as Gallagher does:

"Children grow into the intellectual life of those around them." --Vygotsky

And again, we are lucky to teach in a district that supports these values.

His next two points, about teachers who either over- or underteach books takes a little more introspection. When does breaking into a read aloud for discussion or teaching become overteaching? What kind of support does that fourth grader need to read The Giver, or will she realize on her own that she's over her head and abandon it? When do we need to use role sheets for literature circles, and if we use them, how soon should we abandon them?

One of the things that makes this book so powerful is the amount of research that Gallagher weaves into the book. With every issue he discusses, he reminds of us several research studies that point to giving our kids more authentic reading experiences and providing time for their own personal reading. The research we need to back the argument is embedded throughout the book.

READICIDE is due out soon. In the meantime, Stenhouse has posted the entire book on its website for your enjoyment! We'd suggest you take a look.

And, Kelly will be doing a Blog Tour starting here next week. During his visit, he will do an interview with us and answer questions from blog readers. So, if you'd like to take a look at the book and ask Kelly a question, post it in the comment section of this post before 1/20/09 and the answer will be part of his stop here on the 22nd.

Throughout next week, Kelly will be stopping at some other blogs too!
Kelly's Blog Tour Schedule
1/20 - Here at A YEAR OF READING!
1/22 - THE TEMPERED RADICAL
1/23 - THE DREAM TEACHER
1/26 - THE READING ZONE
1/28 - THE BOOK WHISPERER

READICIDE gives us lots to think about. We think it is one of those books that can start a national conversation about how to give students the reading experiences they need and giving them the skills they need to do more than pass a test.

21st Century Thinking-My Blog Visits

I love when Jen Robinson shares her daily visits on her blog. She gives us so many great links and we get a little window into her thinking about literacy. I thought I would begin to do the same type of thing with my 21st Century Thinking--posting about my current thinking and linking to some great posts that helped my thinking each week-- or whenever I seem to be finding lots of good stuff around the topic.

If you don't know the work of Michael Wesch, his video "A Vision of Students Today" was one of the first that got me thinking that this was something I needed to think about! This week, I found his post entitled, From Knowledgeable to Knowledge-able: Learning in New Media Environments at Academic Commons. My favorite line from this article "Nothing good will come of these technologies if we do not first confront the crisis of significance and bring relevance back into education."

I have found it interesting lately that the technology piece seems to be growing critical at a time when our schools are focusing more and more on testing and skills. So much bigger than technology is the issue of significance and relevance in our schools. But, my thinking is these new tools can encourage us to think harder about significance.

On another topic, there has been a lot of talk about blogging on the blogs this week. Is it already an outdated thing? Will people stop blogging soon? This article by Will Richardson addressed the issue of why blogging is still hard. He says, "Blogging isn’t about what I know as much as it’s about what I think I know, and I find that to be a crucial distinction. For me, it’s the distinction that constantly makes this hard. It’s also the distinction, however, that makes blogging worth it."

I agree and hope that blogging stays around for a while. For me, it is a way to make sense of my own thinking about books and teaching and it has also been a way for me to expand my network and learn from and with others.

Doug Noon at Borderland writes about What We Measure. This post addresses several of the things that have been concerning me lately--especially those dealing with testing and literacy. If we only teach what is easily measured, we are in huge trouble. When you look at those skills needed for 21st Century learning, the problem gets even bigger.

Chris Lehman "Motivation, Motivation, Motivation", Chris Lehman writes about motivation and the ways so many schools are running these days. He says, "If we want to move away from Theory X, we have to offer a different vision of our schools. We have to create a vision of schooling that does not assume that accountability trumps responsibility."

This may be one of my favorite posts of the week. For me, I loved seeing this profile of Rachel, all of the ways that this 5 year old is making sense of her world--using the tools that she needs. From a dad who can see all that she is capable of and who celebrates her many literacies. I was drawn to the post because I always love to see writing and drawing by young children. It will always amaze me. But the tech and movies that were also part of her day made the post complete. A 5 year old in a 21st Century world, learning and growing in a place that values what she has to say. What could be better than that?

An older posts that I just discovered hit on my own thinking this week--much of which came from talk at the English Companion Ning. So many of us, who have just joined in on blogs, twitters, nings and more, are often the only ones in our schools or districts who are excited about the possibilities for our classrooms. Ryan Bretag shares his thinking about Local, Global or Glocal on his blog. He says, "Many of us are excited about Global possibilities but sometimes at the expense of local collaboration." This post helped me to realize that for me, it is about both. Networking with colleagues from across the country and world gives me energy and helps me see possibilities. But I also need a group of local colleagues to think with--to go through the day-to-day struggles with. It can't be an either-or for me. And I imagine that is true for many of us. Both of our networks and the ways that they come together, are needed for our personal learning.

That's it for this round. Hope you found some links that helped stretch your own thinking. It seems like information-overload some days but I think it is well worth it!

Newbery Appeal--The Conversation Continues

Lots of talk about Newbery appeal this week that I think needs to be addressed.

Monica at Educating Alice says, in her post today, 

"In two weeks and a day, the 2009 Newbery Awards will be announced.  There will be delighted cheers, shocked silences,  and polite clapping at the press conference.  Criticism will be cautious as, of course, no one will want to insult the winners or the hard-working committee. But it will be there, I'm sure.  Is there ever a winner of any award without it?"

We all have our Newbery stories. Favorites that actually won.  Disappointments about what didn't.  Children who have never finished a book but who fall in love with OUT OF THE DUST.  Mary Lee and I actually started this blog after years of trying to figure out which title would win.  For me, it is the conversation and anticipation is as fun as the announcement itself.

When Kira-Kira won the Newbery a few years back, I was disappointed. I had had my favorites and had not heard of this title.  Because my 5th graders at the time were anxiously awaiting the news of the winner and to see the new winner, I picked it up, read it quickly and brought it into the classroom.  I thought it was good, but not "Newberyish". I shared it with my students--said that I had read it, it was good but not my pick for the Newbery and offered it up for anyone to read.

Katie picked it up immediately.  The next morning she came to me with the book filled with sticky notes. She said, "Mrs. Sibberson, this book is amazing. I think you must have missed some lines when you read the book.  Listen to this.." and she proceeded to read me a brilliant line from the text.  She continued, "This definitely deserved the Newbery and I am marking places in the book so that you can see what I mean. Obviously you missed some of these when you read it."  And she had--she had marked line after line of unbelievable writing--things that I had missed because I was unhappy that the books I loved had not won the award. She was clearly disappointed in the fact that I hadn't given the book a chance and wanted me to see that it did, in fact, deserve this award.  A book I thought was lacking "kid appeal".   KIRA-KIRA went on to be quite popular in the classroom--making its rounds as Katie talked it up.  I also came to love the book and it is now one of my favorite Newbery titles. (How could it not be?)

I learned a lot about the Newbery that year.  First of all, who I am to say if the winner will have "kid appeal"?  Just because it isn't my favorite or just because I may not have appreciated the book as an 11 year old, doesn't mean anything.  I think sometimes, we are so hoping that our very favorite book will win, that we don't actually give the winner a chance.   Lucky for us, the kids do.

Susan Patron in today's LA Times writes about this issue in "Don't Discount the Newbery". In the article, she states, (my favorite line of this whole child appeal debate!):  "Were these librarians looking at a demographic such as income level and determining that none of "their" children would respond to the challenge and reward of what I thought were generally excellent books?  That would be a terrible disservice, this undervaluing of kids' intelligence and curiosity, a devastating insult."

I think we all have Newbery stories like my Kira-Kira story. I think this conversation is a good one --just because it makes me think hard about my own work--putting books in kids' hands. This year, I will give the Newbery a chance. I will certainly be cheering for my 2008 favorites but I won't discount the winner  as I have before.  

DUBLIN LITERACY CONFERENCE-February 21

The brochure for the Dublin Literacy Conference is available online. This year, we have lots of great speakers.

Children's Authors:
Johanna Hurwitz
Grace Lin
Asma Mobin-Uddin
Barbara O'Connor
Amjed Qamar

Professional Authors:
Samantha Bennett, author of THAT WORKSHOP BOOK
Ruth Culham, author of 6+1 Traits Writing
Pat Johnson, author of ONE CHILD AT A TIME
The 2 Sisters, Gail Boushey and Joan Moser of THE DAILY 5 and

Come join us! It is always a fun day!

Poetry Friday: Winter Trees

WINTER TREES

by William Carlos Williams

All the complicated details

of the attiring and

the disattiring are completed!

A liquid moon

moves gently among

the long branches.

Thus having prepared their buds

against a sure winter

the wise trees

stand sleeping in the cold.

Poem found here.

Image found here.

The round up this week is at Picture Book of the Day.

Newbery

A little Sneak Peek into the Newbery process--what it must be like in the room as they are deciding on the winners! Thanks Nina at Heavy Medal!

Central Ohio Bloggers Gathering

First of all, we're going to have to find a new name, because Central Ohio Bloggers doesn't quite cover it anymore. It occurred to us that the Kidlitosphere is more than just bloggers -- it is authors and illustrators and poets, too. In keeping, we expanded our invitations this time. I'm thinking: Our Local Kidlitosphere. Any other suggestions?

Our next gathering is January 26 -- Newbery Announcement Day. We will meet at 5:00 at Cover to Cover to dish with Sally and Beth and Karen (the CTC crew) about the winners and the honor books and the how-could-they-not-have-picked-that-ones, and then at about 6:00, we will head over to the NorthStar Cafe on High near Henderson for a yummy dinner.

Here's our rsvp list so far:

The Usual Suspects
A Year of Reading
Literate Lives
Creative Literacy
Talkworthy
bestbookihavenotread

Authentic Learner

Local Authors
Amjed Qamar
Linda Staneck
Julia DeVillers (unless she has to go to D.C. to do some research for her next book)

Trying to Finagle Her Work Schedule
Caterwaulling (CML Librarian)

Waiting to Hear
Tim Bowers

Can't Come This Time, But We'll Keep Them on the List For Next Time
Read,Read,Read
My World-Mi Mundo
Pat Lewis
Margaret P. Haddix
Nancy Pimm

People Who Are Wondering Why They Weren't Invited
You? (If so, you are now officially invited, and we apologize for our goof. You may leave your rsvp and contact information in the comments, or you can contact us off blog -- our email is in the sidebar.)

SKELETON CREEK by Patrick Carman

We received an advanced copy of Patrick Carman's upcoming book, SKELETON CREEK. This is a middle grade novel--a ghost story and mystery. I am thinking 5thish through 8thish grades. (I am never sure when it comes to ghost stories.) SKELETON CREEK is a format that is totally different from anything I've ever seen. As Patrick Carman says, "It is a book and a movie at the same time." Here is how it works. The main character in the story, Ryan, has had an accident and is stuck at home in bed recovering. The accident occurred when he and his friend, Sarah, were exploring the spooky dredge in their city, trying to uncover a secret. It helps Ryan to write about his experiences and thinking, so the book is actually Ryan's journal. Because of the danger that Patrick and Sarah seem to get into, they are now forbidden to see each other anymore. But with technology, they communicate via email. Then Sarah begins to send Ryan videos of her own findings. Here's the way it works. You read about 20-30 pages of Ryan's journal, emails, etc. Then, as Ryan checks his email and notices another video from Sarah, you go to your computer to watch the video. When we got the initial information about the book, I was not sold on it. BUT, because I have committed to "stretching my thinking" about these things AND because I know Carman's work, I decided to give it a try. The package came, I previewed the book and read the accompanying letter and was really not sold. I am a reader who likes to be lost in a book. The idea of having to stop every 20-30 pages, go to the computer, and watch a video did not appeal to me at all. Well, my opinion changed rather quickly. I loved it right off. Funny thing was, I found myself counting the pages until I could see the next video. The story is very well done and this format could only work with certain stories. I have seen other attempts at this book/tech connection for novels but this is really the best I've seen it done. They are so interconnected that one doesn't work without the other. The text and video work together perfectly to tell the story. I was trying to think through the things that make it a different kind of read for me. First of all, it took me a long time to "like" Sarah as a character. Because you meet her through video and not text, you actually see and hear her--unlike envisioning her on your own if you were reading. But, I came to like her soon enough so all was well. The combination of knowing some characters through writing and others through video took me a little while to get used to but it worked. The other difference is that the videos make the story a little bit scarier than it would be if the info was in the text if that makes sense. In other children's ghost stories, you aren't actually seeing the scary stuff. You are seeing it in your head. But actually watching a video MAY make it scarier for kids. Now, I am not a scary book/movie person. So I am a bit sensitive to this. For some readers, more scariness might be welcome. For me, I have to read things like this during the day! And the lights had to be on when I was watching the video clips! Killer cliffhanger at the end of this book and I am a little angry at Patrick Carman for this. (I forgave him quickly when I remembered how much I love the book. ) Seems we'll need to wait 6 months for the 2nd (and final) book. So, be ready to be slightly annoyed at wondering for a fairly long time. One of the things that Patrick Carman says about the book is that he is hoping that the 20 page read followed by video clip will appeal to reluctant readers. I have to agree with this. Having worked with many, many reluctant and struggling middle grade readers, stamina is often an issue. They like a book but interest dies out. With this book, it is very hard to lose interest because you are reading until the next clip. It could be a huge support for these kids. Even though it will certainly appeal to others. So, I am so glad that I made a commitment to stretch my thinking a bit about 21st Century Literacies. Otherwise, I am pretty sure I would have missed this book. The concept did not appeal to me. If authors can continue to play with formats like this one--formats that match the storyline and add to the storytelling, then I am all for it. It opens up so many possibilities for publishers and for student writers. If you are interested in reading more about this book, you can visit Patrick Carman's site and you can also read an interview with him here. There is also another site that goes along with the book that you might be interested in (although I would read the book before you visit this site--just my opinion.) It might actually be a great piece to explore while waiting for Book #2.  You can also read an excerpt from the book here.   Mark February 10 on your calendar--the day this book comes out.  Kids are going to love this one!

THREE: the third of three

THREE years ago (in 2006) on January 2, this blog was born.

To celebrate our third blog birthday, we have prepared for you a THREE day festival of THREEs from our third year of blogging. Let DAY THREE of the triads begin!

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

THREE great graphic novels (ML)
The Savage by David Almond
Into the Volcano by Don Wood
Amulet, Book One: The Stonekeeper by Kazu Kibuishi

THREE reviews of a TRIO of books (ML)
Back to School Fears
Cardboard Genius
Stories that Dovetail in the Middle

THREE reviews of a TRIO of books (Franki)
Great Characters
Better Than Leveled Books
Airplane Reading

THREE new books to give at baby showers
If Animals Kissed Goodnight by Ann Whitford Paul

In a Blue Room by Jim Averbeck
10 Little Fingers and 10 Little Toes by Mem Fox

THREE times we were interviewed in 2008
At 7 Impossible Things Before Breakfast
At Tales From the Rushmore Kid
At James Preller's Blog (okay, that's not an interview of us, but Karen and Bill mentioned us...)

THREE favorite memes we did

Meme of 5
Passion Quilt Meme
Nearest Book Meme

THREE Wordles we made

4th Grade Class Constitution

The NCTE Framework for 21st Century Learning and Assessment
Our blog (okay, that's a graphic, not a Wordle. Deal with it.)

THREE favorite videos we shared

TRANSCENDING: WORDS ON WOMEN AND STRENGTH by Kelly Corrigan

GREETINGS FROM NOWHERE trailer and A VISION OF STUDENTS TODAY

And, just in case you want one more from the past...

MOM'S OVERTURE (even though we shared this in 2007, I would repost it every day if I could!)

THREE favorite Poetry Friday posts

Walt Whitman Explains the Water Cycle

Bees
Count Ten

THREE elves dancing

This link will eventually expire, as the ones from December of 2006 and December of 2007 have, but ElfYourself will always be one of our favorite times of the year.

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Thank you, thank you, thank you

1. for joining us for our THREE-day THREE-year celebration

2. for your kind wishes and comments

3. in advance for A (great fourth) Year of Reading!

THREE: the second of three

THREE years ago (in 2006) on January 2, this blog was born.

To celebrate our third blog birthday, we have prepared for you a THREE day festival of THREEs from our third year of blogging. Let DAY TWO of the triads begin!

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

THREE favorite wordless picture books (Franki)

SOUTH by Patrick McDonnell
WAVE by Suzy Lee
WELCOME TO THE ZOO by Alison Jay

THREE favorite middle grade novels (ML)

The Underneath by Kathi Appelt
Eleven by Patricia Reilly Giff
Here Lies Arthur by Philip Reeve

THREE favorite middle grade novels (Franki)
GREETINGS FROM NOWHERE

MY ONE HUNDRED ADVENTURES

THE LIFE AND CRIMES OF BERNETTA WALLFLOWER

THREE new favorite versions of old favorites

WHO ATE ALL THE COOKIE DOUGH?

WE'RE GOING ON A LION HUNT

RAPUNZEL'S REVENGE

THREE favorite Kidlitosphere events we initiated

Trading (our favorite) Spaces
Summer Goals (setting and reflecting and reflecting)
Central Ohio Blogger get-togethers (summer, fall)

THREE favorite Kidlitosphere events we took part in
Mother Reader's 48 Hour Book Challenge
21 Day Comment Challenge
Cybils (we're just cheerleaders this year)

THREE authors we discovered in 2008

Ingrid Law

Jessica Day George

Sarah Prineas

THREE other sites that use our name

2008 was The National Year of Reading in the UK
www.ayearofreading.com (a blog that is open to invited readers only)
(My) Year of Reading (Dangerously)

THREE author/illustrator interviews at A Year of Reading
Melissa Sweet
Sarah Prineas
Amjed Qamar

THREE professional author interviews at A Year of Reading
Terry Thompson
Shelley Harwayne

(oops, we only had two)

My New Favorite TRIO of Books-THE ADVENTURES OF MAX AND PINKY

So, what are the chances that I would discover new favorite book characters that star in THREE books during our 3rd Blog Birthday Celebration!? What a lucky week!

Browsing blogs over break, I came across some posts of Maxwell Eaton's Blog Tour here, and here.  Somehow or other, I totally missed discovering his amazing books--The Adventures of Max and Pinky. I am always looking for books in a series for young readers. I think it is so important that kids fall in love with characters who they can read about in more than one book.  As much as I am totally annoyed at myself for missing Max and Pinky, I am so happy that I found them now. As soon as I read the blog tour and visited Eaton's site, I ordered all 3 books.  They are even better than I expected!

Max (a boy) and Pinky (a pig) are best friends who have lots of adventures.  They are great fun. Two of the best friends I have seen in books. There are lots to love about these books.  First of all, the illustrations are great. Bright and simple. Clear and amusing.  The text is simple and the words are large enough for new readers.  There is text on the page that tells the story and there are talking bubbles on nearly every page.  The talking bubbles provide an added layer of fun--the kind of humor that makes these books so lovable.  There is quite a bit of sarcasm in the talking bubbles--a fun, adorable kind--that both kids and adults will enjoy.

Usually, when there are three books about the same characters, there is one that I like better than the others. Not with these book. I LOVE them all. If you teach K-2, I would suggest buying all 3 at one time. I can't wait to introduce these characters in the library.  They might make my list of "Books I Could Read a Million Times" list. I'll keep you posted.

THREE: the first of three

THREE years ago (in 2006) on January 2 (that was THREE days ago), this blog was born.

To celebrate our third blog birthday, we have prepared for you a THREE day festival of THREEs from our third year of blogging. Let the triads begin!

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

THREE new book characters (Franki)

Roscoe Riley
The Trucktown Characters
Amy Hodgepodge

THREE new book characters (ML)
Sassy (Sharon Draper)
Percy Jackson (Rick Riordan) [He's new to me, doesn't that count???]
Julia Gillian (Alison McGhee)

THREE new books about characters we already love (Franki)
WILD BOARS COOK

MOXY MAXWELL DOES NOT LOVE WRITING THANK YOU NOTES

THE YEAR OF THE RAT

THREE new books about characters we already love (ML)
Chester in Chester's Back by Mélanie Watt
Connie Lionheart in Mines of the Minotaur by Julia Golding
Clementine in Clementine's Letter by Sara Pennypacker

THREE new blogs we follow (local--our district)

Literate Lives (born 2/12/08)
Talkworthy (born 5/17/08)
Authentic Learner (born 3/12/08)

THREE new blogs we follow (local--our city, a nearby city, a poet)
Bestbookihavenotread (born 8/8/08)
My World-Mi Mundo (born 4/11/08)
Florian Cafe (born 9/23/08) [okay, he's not local, but it would sure be fun if he was!]

THREE new blogs we follow (local--our profession)
on the learn (born June, 2008)
Open Wide, Look Inside (born Feb., 2008)
The Stenhouse Blog (born May, 2008)

THREE 2008 picture books we LOVE! (Franki)

DRUMMER BOY by Loren Long

THE DOGHOUSE by Jan Thomas

OFF TO FIRST GRADE by Louise Borden

THREE 2008 picture books we LOVE! (ML)
Little Mouse's Big Book of Fears by Emily Gravett

Rabbit & Squirrel: A Tale of War & Peas by Kara LaReau
Everywhere the Cow Says Moo by Ellen Slusky Weinstein

THREE great new nonfiction books (Franki)

DR. FRANKENSTEIN'S HUMAN BODY BOOK

KNUCKLEHEAD by Jon Scieszka

GO GO AMERICA by Dan Yaccarino

THREE great new nonfiction books (ML)
One Hen by Katie Smith Milway
Wish: Wishing Traditions Around the World by Roseanne Thong
Wangari's Trees of Peace by Jeannette Winter

THREE great new professional books (plus one more for the obvious reasons)
OF PRIMARY IMPORTANCE by Ann Marie Corgill
TEACHING WITH INTENTION by Debbie Miller
ADVENTURES IN GRAPHICA by Terry Thompson
Day-to-Day Assessment in the Reading Workshop by Franki Sibberson and Karen Szymusiak

THREE favorite adult reads (ML)
The Moon by Whale Light by Diane Ackerman
People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks
White Teeth by Zadie Smith

JOIN THE ELEMENTARY GROUP ON THE ENGLISH COMPANION NING!

We have been part of English Companion NING for a few weeks. No, we really don't know what a NING is but we played on it for a while and now we get it.  (Remember, we didn't know what a blog was for a while either.)  There have been some great conversations going on at the NING and it has grown like crazy since Jim Burke started it. Lots of smart people sharing their thinking. 

We thought it would be nice to have a group that discussed issues specific to elementary. So, we started one! And we started a discussion there about read aloud just because it's what we've been thinking about lately.  

Anyway, we hope you all join us over at English Companion (www.englishcompanion.ning.com). Here's the thing. Don't not join because you don't know what a NING is. We'll all figure it out together. And it is one of those things that you can put as little or as much time into it as you like--when the conversations interest you. Once you get on, you'll probably find 5-6 groups you'll want to join.  Definitely check it out. Then, sign in and find the elementary group and then find others.  Hope to see you there!

2009 Diet Plan

So, last year I committed to daily Boot Camp and did okay for a few months. Summer was hard with the travel and I ended up quitting in October. I am planning on starting again tomorrow although I am thinking up any excuse possible to not get up at 5AM. I found this great new diet from a Twitter friend that I might try instead. What do you think?

Rhyming Dust Bunnies by Jan Thomas

So, of course I will buy any book that Jan Thomas writes from here on out. I loved WHAT WILL FAT CAT SIT ON and I loved THE DOGHOUSE even more. This new 2009 book, is not about the usual characters that Thomas writes about. This new book, RHYMING DUST BUNNIES is about 4 character who are dust bunnies...rhyming dust bunnies. They rhyme.

The illustrations in the book are clearly Jan Thomas's. Bright colors, black borders and great facial expressions. The book is square and easily recognizable as one of Thomas's. And as much as I was hoping for another story about Duck, Cow, Dog and Mouse, I loved reading about these dust bunnies.

First of all, who thinks of these things--dust bunnies as characters. And these dust bunnies are rhyming dust bunnies--well, kind of. Their names are Ed, Ned, Ted and Bob! And they rhyme ALL THE TIME! On each page, the dust bunnies are shouting out words that rhyme but Bob seems to be having trouble--he just isn't rhyming. But, don't worry. We find out at the end the reason for his unrhyming words.

Jan Thomas totally gets young children. She gets their humor. And she understands their needs as readers--she creates great books with pretty sophisticated humor. And she does it with great predictable text so that kids are quickly and easily engaged.

A fun book and another great one for early readers. The kid will be excited to hear this one read aloud and I am sure it will be a popular one in the library.

Great 2008 Read Alouds

I wrote an article for Choice Literacy that was posted there today. 10 of my favorite 2008 novels for reading aloud to middle grade/middle school.  In case you are interested.

Thinking About 21st Century Literacies

We visited imagechef.com today to create the visual that you see to the left. We were thinking that it would be great to tag all of our posts dealing with our thinking about 21st Century Literacies with something that would make it obvious to readers.  We figure that we have lots of threads going on on the blog--lots about books, the Newbery and teaching in general.  But we'll put this visual next to all of the posts that deal specifically with this 21st Century thinking. We imagine that the conversations will become more connected as time goes on, but for now, this is a way for us to organize the threads of our thinking and to highlight these posts for readers.  

For those of you who are also thinking about these issues, please feel free to copy this image and use it on your blog. Or you can put it in your sidebar to indicate that this is an area you are interested in thinking about.  We created it to share so that anyone interested could use it to tag related posts or whatever.  That way, we can connect our thinking between blogs and continue the conversation.