Key Word: Authorship

The Plot Chickens

by Mary Jane and Herm Auch

Holiday House, 2009

review copy provided by the publisher

The Plot Chickens is a pun-filled (both visual and verbal puns) about a hen named Henrietta who loves to read. Because she loves to read so much, she decides that writing must be equally "eggshilerating." She begins a story on her "Hunt & Peck" brand typewriter following the rules in the writing book. As she writes, the other hens in the henhouse offer their ideas and suggestions. When the book is finished, Henrietta sends it off to a publisher, only to receive a rejection letter. Henrietta "vowed not to brood over her rejection" and self-publishes. Her book gets a terrible review from the Corn Book Magazine and Henrietta almost loses her will to write. But then she sees that her book has been voted best book of the year by the library's story hour children and the world is right again -- her book is loved by the intended audience.

It would be fun to write a collaborative book with students following the same rules as Henrietta, beginning with a main character and "hatching" a plot that sticks to what you know (no cyberspace ray guns in Henrietta's story!) all the way through an ending in which "the main character must solve her (or his) own problem."

S is for Story

by Esther Hershenhorn

illustrated by Zachary Pullen

Sleeping Bear Press, 2009

Starting with Alphabet, Book, and Character, Hershenhorn gives us an ABC of writing process, literary genres, advice and encouragement. As with the other books in this series, each letter has a short rhyme along with a longer explanation in the sidebar.

Definitely a book to add to your resources about writing.

Spilling Ink

by Anne Mazer and Ellen Potter

illustrated by Matt Phelan

Roaring Brook, on shelves March/April 2010

ages 9-14

advance reader's edition provided by the publisher

This book of writing advice can sit on your self right beside Ralph Fletcher's books A Writer's Notebook: Unlocking the Writer Within You and How Writers Work: Finding a Process That Works For You.

With the short chapters and the "dares" (dares are way more fun than invitations or assignments, don't you think?!?) that are at the ends of most chapters, this book would be fun to use for mini lessons in writing workshop. Henrietta (from The Plot Chickens, see above) would have loved this book. Mazer and Potter also begin with advice on creating characters and constructing a believable plot with enough suspense to keep a reader engaged.

The tone of this book is very conversational and the section titles vary between informational ("Revision") and inviting ("Belly Buttons").

Another must-have for your shelf of books about writing.

Predicting the Caldecott and Newbery Winners 2010

Well, it is that time of year again--the whole reason we started this blog in the first place! "The 2010 ALA Youth Media Awards will be held during the ALA Midwinter Meeting in Boston on Monday, January 18, at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center! The announcements will begin at 7:45 a.m. and will be once again covered on Twitter

(www.twitter.com/alayma)." And, as always, I can hardly wait!

This week, our wonderful Dublin Branch librarian, Loren Scully came to work with our 3rd, 4th and 5th graders. She shared criteria for the Caldecott medal and showed some past winners-things she has noticed about them since they've won. She also shared several new books that are getting a "buzz" and shared some different techniques that illustrators use. It was a great few days of learning and every class was glued to all that Loren had to say. Next week, the kids will have a chance to take a look at 70 of the best picture books from 2009 trying to predict the one that they think will win. Loren's prediction for the Caldecott Medal? The Lion and the Mouse by Jerry Pinkney. After she shared this one with kids, many kids agreed that it was truly amazing.

My very favorite picture book of the year, as you all know is OTIS by Loren Long and it is my hope and prediction for the Caldecott. Really, if you take a close look, it is clear that Loren Long is quite brilliant. (Adrienne Furness fell hard for this one too:-) I love The Lion and the Mouse (who doesn't?) too so I will be thrilled with either one. The other book that I think would be a great winner is CHICKEN LITTLE--it might make my "Books I Can Read a Million Times" but I haven't tried it out yet. I love it more every time I read it.

And what about the Newbery? I am so not sure this year--well, honestly, I am never right so this is nothing new. But, I just don't know. I LOVED UMBRELLA SUMMER by Lisa Graff. I LOVED WHEN YOU REACH ME by Rebecca Stead and I LOVED ALSO KNOWN AS HARPER by Ann Haywood Leal. I LOVED 11 BIRTHDAYS. It is very fun and smart--I am a huge Wendy Mass fan. I know that these predictions aren't really supposed to be about the books I love, but this year, I decided to go that way.

The problem is, I still have so many great books on my next-read pile. Books I have heard such great things about. There are also lots of great YA books that could win but I am thinking those will win the Printz.

BIll and Karen over at Literate Lives are doing their "Looking for Newbery" series again--reviewing one book a day that they believe is a contender. So many great books! And don't miss the ongoing conversation at Heavy Medal. And lots of the Mock Award committees will be meeting this week to do their final voting.

So, my predictions could definitely change by the 18th. I just love the anticipation of it all and the talk about the books afterward. The Columbus bloggers will be celebrating the awards together that morning--no matter what they may be-so it should be a fun day for sure:-)

Poetry Friday -- The Tree That Time Built

The Tree That Time Built: a celebration of nature, science, and imagination

selected by Mary Ann Hoberman (U.S. Children's Poet Laureate) and Linda Winston

illustrated by Barbara Fortin

audio CD included with "39 minutes of poetry on 55 tracks"

Sourcebooks, 2009

review copy provided by the publisher

This is probably my favorite poetry book of 2009.

In ways that are elegantly woven, Hoberman and Winston have given us a poetry book that is a science book, a science book written in poetry, and a collection of poems that can serve to teach us the arts of reading and writing poetry. All this in one volume.

As anthologists, they are collectors of poetry about the living world in the same way that naturalists are collectors of facts and artifacts about and from the living world.

This is a poetry book with a glossary in which scientific terms stand next to poetic terms: Adaptation, Alliteration, Altruism, Assonance, Cell...

Every section of the book has an introductory essay (a kind of Literary Essay for those of us who need mentor texts for students who are expected to tackle this genre of writing).

Oh, Fields of Wonder: "Both poets and scientists wonder at and about the world. Out of that wonder, scientists devise experiments to see whether they can verify what they think may be true, while poets craft language to examine and communicate their insights."

The Sea is Our Mother: "The poems in this section recall life's watery origins as well as the Earth's own geological beginnings. They speak about the planet's ongoing transformations, the diverse creatures engendered in the sea, and about our own human connection to them both."

Prehistoric Praise: poems about fossils

Think Like a Tree: "We wouldn't be here without plants."

Meditations of a Tortoise: "In both Iroquois and Hindu legends, the earth is supported on the back of a giant turtle."

Some Primal Termite: "Naturalists define fitness as the ability of a species to reproduce itself in the greatest numbers and to adapt to the widest range of environments. According to this definition, insects are the fittest of all living creatures."

Everything That Lives Wants to Fly: "Along with Archaeopteryx (the earliest known bird), Darwin's finches play a key role in evolutionary theory."

I Am the Family Face: poems that explore all the meanings of family

Hurt No Living Thing: "It is natural for species to go extinct, but the rate at which this is happening today is unprecedented."

And every poem in this book is accessible to and readable by children. They never preach. They show, rather than tell. They introduce children to poems by children's poets as well as some of my favorite adult poets: Wendell Berry, Maxine Kumin, Ogden Nash, Mary Oliver, Theodore Roethke, Rumi, and May Swenson. The scientific and/or poetic notes at the bottom of some of the pages are unobtrusive but informative.

The book comes with a cd that has 44 of the poems read by 20 artists. Alan Cheuse, a voice familiar to NPR listeners, reads from William Blake's Auguries of Innocence:

To see a World in a grain of sand

And a Heaven in a wild flower,

Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand

And Eternity in an hour.

•Extensive review with lots of links at Wild Rose Reader

•Mary Ann Hoberman's guest blogger post about memorizing poetry at the TeachingBooks.net blog

•Recommended on NPR's list of Seasons Readings: Top Picks from Indie Booksellers

•Also a "Best Poetry of the Year" pick on Harriet the Blog: The Poetry Foundation

Tricia has the Poetry Friday round up today at The Miss Rumphius Effect.

The Importance of Names

My Name is Sangoel

by Karen Lynn Williams and Khadra Mohammed

Illustrated by Catherine Stock

Eerdmans Books for Young Readers, 2009

review copy provided by the publisher

This is the story of a Sudanese boy who is leaving the refugee camp for America. When he leaves, the Wise One says, "Don't worry. You carry a Dinka name. It is the name of your father and of your ancestors before him....You will always be a Dinka. You will be Sangoel. Even in America."

Everyone Sangoel meets in America mispronounces his name -- the lady who meets them at the airport and takes them to their new apartment, the doctor who checks him, his teacher, the soccer coach. Sangoel corrects them too quietly to be heard and winds up feeling like he has lost his name. Then he has the idea of making a shirt that shows his name in pictures. He draws a sun and a soccer goal, and when he gets to school, he gets his name back: it is pronounced Sun-goal, not San-go-el as an English speaker might parse it.

Names are intensely important. They are the core of our identity. In the real world, I hope every teacher and coach ASKS a child to pronounce an unusual name so that they get it right from the beginning and the child does not have to fight for his or her identity. I'm a little extra sensitive to this issue since I teach in a school where just this year I have learned names from Africa, China, Japan, Korea, India, Iran, Iraq, and Russia.

Related books: Home of the Brave by Katherine Applegate is a novel in verse about a refugee from Africa.

My Name is Yoon by Helen Recorvits is about a Korean girl who struggles to accept her given name.

21st Dublin Literacy Conference--February 2010

If you've been reading our blog over the years, then you know we are both involved in the planning of the Dublin Literacy Conference. This is a one-day (Saturday) conference run by teachers in our district. Each year, we invite 4 professional authors and 4 children's authors to speak at the conference. Along with the featured authors, there are 40 concurrent sessions that participants can attend. We get between 400-800 teachers from Ohio and beyond each year.

The conference will be celebrating its 21st year in February and we have a great line-up of speakers and sessions planned. Since it is the 21st year of the conference, we thought it would be appropriate to go with a 21st Century theme. This year, our featured professional speakers are Dr. Tim Tyson, Kevin Hodgson, Katie Van Sluys and Ann Marie Corgill. Our featured children's authors are Melissa Sweet, Patrick Carman, David J. Smith and Denise Fleming.

Visit the Dublin Literacy Conference Page of the district website if you'd like to learn more. We hope you can join us this year. It is always a great day!!

And the New National Ambassador for Young People's Literature is...

Yesterday, here at A Year of Reading, we celebrated the amazing work of Jon Scieszka as our very first National Ambassador of Children's Lit. If you haven't had time, take the time to read each and every one of the great posts that were part of our virtual party for Jon. A true reminder of his great work. Everyone was saying such amazing things about Jon Scieszka and his work that we were glad he got word about it and stopped by. We didn't want him to miss his own party. And if you missed Jon Scieszka's comment about the party and his thanks to the Kidlitosphere, here it is:

Jon Scieszka said...
Are you kidding me?
I'm laughing. I'm crying. I'm crossing swords.

I'm in my hotel room in DC, getting ready to hand over the Ambassador Orb to the ever-amazing Katherine Paterson tomorrow morning . . . when a friend clues me in to this Scieszka-Palooza going on at A Year of Reading.

I am stunned with gratitude. This is exactly why I love our world of kids' books – the amazing bunch of people in it.

You all made my job easy. Thanks for your support, your thanks, and your craziness.

We are pretty sure that Jon Scieszka's work has changed the world of children's books forever.

And not only that but we just found out that, once again, we luck out in the world of children's books because today, at 10 am, another of our VERY FAVORITE PEOPLE, Katherine Paterson, will be named as the 2nd Ambassador of Young People's Literature. We couldn't be happier.

2 New Picture Books About Making a Difference in the World

I never pass up a book that is about ways people can make a difference in the world. I am building up quite a collection. I picked up two new ones this week at Cover to Cover.

WEEZER CHANGES THE WORLD by David McPhail is one that I fell in love with right away. The story is simple--Weezer is a regular dog and does all of the things that regular dogs do. Then one day something changes and Weezer changes. He starts helping out around the house, helping kids with their homework and more. As the days go on, his helping gets bigger and bigger. He helps the world avoid natural disasters and discovers ways to keep the air clean. But just as quickly as Weezer changed early in the book, he changes again and goes back to being a regular dog. The ending of the book is my favorite (I am going to give it away right here...) "Weezer had become a plain old dog again--an ordinary, fun loving, much-loved dog. But the people of the world? Because of Weezer, they were changed forever."

The other book is PAULIE PASTRAMI ACHIEVES WORLD PEACE by James Proimos. First of all, how could I not buy a book about a boy named Paulie Pastrami? What a great name! Paulie was a regular eight year old. Regular except that he achieved world peace. The book tells the story of how Paulie, a regular eight year old boy, did this. He did this by being kind and by doing things for others. This is a fun book--the illustrations make it a fun read and the message is a great one.

THANK YOU, JON SCIESZKA!

On January 3, 2008, the Library of Congress named Jon Scieszka "Inaugural National Ambassador for Young People's Literature". The world of children's literature could not have been happier! Jon Scieszka took his role seriously from the first minute and made a huge impact on children's reading. Jon Scieszka (See here for the official pronunciation of his name) had already been an unofficial ambassador. His work has been influential and important for as long as I can remember. (If you have not had a chance to read his latest article reflecting on his term, it sums up so much of what he believes and so much of why he was the perfect inaugural Ambassador!) As the Library of Congress gets ready to announce the next Ambassador, The Kidlitosphere wants to take this opportunity to thank Jon Scieszka for all that he has done over the last two years.

We have always been fans of Jon Scieszka and his work. We met Jon Scieszka years and years ago when he spoke at one of our first Dublin Literacy Conferences. You can see in the photo that I am much younger. This was probably 18 years ago as that is my 19 year old daughter that I am holding. Jon Scieszka was a featured author after the publication of his great book, The True Story of the Three Pigs. We have been huge fans every since. From GuysRead to Knucklehead to Trucktown, Jon Scieszka continues to make an impact on children and reading in all that he does. Join us in celebrating Jon Scieszka's work! Thank you Jon Scieszka!

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THE KIDLITOSPHERE SAYS, THANK YOU, JON SCIESZKA!!

Sara at Read Write Believe says There Should Be Laughter.

Mary at Writing a Book takes time out from all things Maasai to say Thank You!

Wendie at Wendie's Wanderings appreciates Scieszka's representation of all children's book writers.

Corinne at Paper Tigers shares Scieszka's reflections on his term along with her words of appreciation.

Kristine at bestbookihavenotread declares Scieszka to be Ambassador Extraordinaire!

Mary Ann at Great Kid Books proposes a toast to Jon Scieszka...with Fresca, of course!

Monica at educating alice thanks Scieszka with a whole LIST of great qualities.

Candace at BookBookerBookest teaches us (with lessons and a poem) to spell Scieszka.

Stacy at Welcome to My Tweendom thanks Scieszka for writing for ALL ages.

Kevin at Kevin's Meandering Mind thanks Scieszka for making reading and writing FUN!

Stella at My World-Mi Mundo says GRACIAS to Scieszka and takes us down the "path" of his life as a teacher and writer.

Travis at 100 Scope Notes shares his Scieszka tribute, not surprisingly, as a comic.

Greg at GottaBook cheers for the first ambassador with a reissue of Scieszka's poem for GottaBook's 30 Poets/30 Days project last April.

Laura at laurasalas: Writing the World for Kids has a surprising (but appropriate) thank you for Scieszka!

Tanya at books4yourkids.com shares a round of applause for Scieszka from the parent perspective.

Reading Tub at Scrub-a-Dub-Tub is one of Scieszka's most recent and enthusiastic fans.

Jeanne at Teaching Authors offers Scieszka multiple blessings.

Betsy at A Fuse #8 Production celebrates Scieszka, not surprisingly, with videos!

At Booklights, Jen Robinson reminds us of so many of Jon Scieszka's great books and accomplishments!

Tricia at The Miss Rumphius Effect highlights two key Scieszka books in her tribute.

Boni at Life On the Bookshelf attributes her desire to write children's books to one of Jon Scieszka's books!

Abby at Abby (the) Librarian can't imagine a better choice for First Ambassador than Jon Scieszka.

Jules at 7 Impossible Things Before Breakfast has a fabulous caricature of Sciezka and great memories from his 2007 interview at 7-Imp.

Tasha at Kids Lit keeps Scieszka books in her "never fail" pile.

Jarrett at the JJK Blog has a fabulous story about how Jon Scieszka came to be on his Book by Book video.

Patrick at All-en-A-Day's Work elaborates on the word AMBASSADOR and finds that Scieszka is "all that" and more.

MotherReader feels like she KNOWS Jon Scieszka.

Marge at Tiny Tips for Library Fun sends her PROPSZ to Jon Scieszka.

Brimful Curiosities shares family stories of love for Scieszka's books.

Kathy at forwordsbooks finds Jewish values in Scieszka's very secular books. There is even a fabulous connection to the Torah today!

Elizabeth at Elizabeth O. Dulemba shares her favorite Scieszka book.

Teaching Heart Mom puts The True Story of the Three Little Pigs at the top of her list of 10 Favorite Children's Books.

Madigan at Madigan Reads remembers hearing Scieszka speak at the 2009 L.A. Festival of Books.

a. fortis at Finding Wonderland speculates about Jon Scieszka's shoe size...since they'll be big ones to fill!

Carl at Boys Rule! Boys Read! chooses Knucklehead as his favorite JS book.

Karen at Literate Lives thanks Jon Scieszka for writing stories that boys can SO relate to (I agree with her about the "sword fight" chapter in Knucklehead!)

Kelly at Writing and Ruminating has a great thank you to the" all-around good guy" that he is. Liz at Liz in Ink thanks Jon for bringing both humor and seriousness to the role of National Ambassador.

Sarah at The Reading Zone can relate to Scieszka's experiences growing up since she was the oldest of 6!

4IQRead adds her thanks to the list.

GreenBeanTeenQueen remembers meeting Scieszka at ALA last June.

kristydempsey once shared the stage with Jon Scieszka.

Matthew Holm says Thanks!

Shelly at Two Learning Journeys is thankful for the Guys Read website.

Brianna at The Paper Wait is inspired by Scieszka's writing.

Carol at Carol's Corner has an AMAZING poetic tribute to Ambassador Scieszka.

December Mosaic

Well, I made it! 365 pictures for the year! (here are all the mosaics and here is my Flickr photostream)

December was probably the hardest month to stay with this. I know, I know. So close and I couldn't hold it together at the end? There were a couple of factors: it is a WAY busy month and it is the beginning of The Darkness. I remember now how hard it was to get photos back in January and February when I drove to school in the dark and drove home from school in the dark.

Will I do this again in 2010? Absolutely.

Will I do anything differently? Yes. Rather than numbering the photos in the comment area of Flickr, I am going to write about the photo or the day I took it or whatever else occurs to me -- I want to use my photos as prompts in a sort of visual or digital writer's notebook.

We'll see how that goes. I always feel like I have too much that MUST be done and here I've gone and added something to the pile. But taking photos all year helped me to see and interact with the world in new ways, and that made my life richer. It seems fair to add things to the to-do list that make me a better person, doesn't it?

It's that urge to improve myself that started me reading 52+ children's novels a year starting back in 1987, kept me going to tai chi this year, and got my swim back up to a mile this month. It's why I'm going to try to bake bread once a month and send more postal mail this year.

Happy 2010. Let's work to make that less of a wish and more of a promise to ourselves and those around us.

The Best Book About a Girl Who Wants a Dog!

I love the new book A SMALL BROWN DOG WITH A WET PINK NOSE by Stephanie Stuve-Bodeen and illustrated by Linzie Hunter. Kids love dog books so I am always happy when I find another great one. You can tell this one will be fun and unique from the front cover. At first, I thought it was going to be just another girl-wants-a-dog book but this one is much more fun than many I've read before.

"Amelia wanted a dog. But not just any dog. Every day she asked her parents, 'May I have a small brown dog with a wet pink nose?"

And every day her parents said no. They just weren't ready for a dog.

But, Amelia kept asking and asking and asking.

Amelia changes her tactics early in the book and it is fun to see the clever ways Amelia continues the conversation about getting that dog she's always wanted.

And I can't give away the ending--you'll have to read it to find out.

I think this one will definitely be a read aloud in the library. I think kids will love it!

BLOG BIRTHDAY!

Four years ago today we started this blog! Hard to believe we've been at it that long, but we are still having LOADS of fun!

Here are some of our blog features that have been going strong all four years:

100 Cool Teachers of Children's Literature

Poetry Friday

Elf Yourself

Newbery Predictions (Clearly, a goal for the next 4 years could be More Consistent Tagging. Here are some posts tagged "Potential Newbery" and here are a few more tagged "Newbery," but I know there are more hiding in the archives...)

New features this year:

Our 21st Century Literacies posts

Franki's "Books I Could Read A Million Times"

Our most commented on (non-Poetry Friday) posts this year:

Franki's Scaredy Squirrel Halloween Costume

Mary Lee's stop-action video of setting up her desk at school

Happy St. Patrick's Day from the Dublin bloggers

National Day on Writing KitLitCon09 Video

Our most commented on Poetry Friday posts this year:

January 16 -- Part for the Whole

February 27 -- No Words to Describe

March 27 -- New Car

November 12 -- Veteran's Day Coincidence

THANK YOU, READERS AND FOLLOWERS, COMMENTERS AND LURKERS, FOR A GREAT 4 YEARS AND LOTS MORE TO COME!!! --MARY LEE AND FRANKI

Poetry Friday -- Round Up is Here!

Ah Poverties, Wincings, and Sulky Retreats

by Walt Whitman

Ah poverties, wincings, and sulky retreats,
Ah you foes that in conflict have overcome me,
(For what is my life or any man's life but a conflict with foes,
the old, the incessant war?)
You degredations, you tussle with passions and appetites,
You smarts from dissatisfied friendships, (ah wounds the
sharpest of all!)
You toil of painful and choked articulations, you meannesses,
You shallow tongue-talks at tables, (my tongue the shallowest of
any;)
You broken resolutions, you racking angers, you smother'd
ennuis!
Ah think not you finally triumph, my real self has yet to come
forth,
It shall yet march forth o'ermastering, till all lies beneath me,
It shall yet stand up the soldier of ultimate victory.

Mr. Whitman seems to have our number on this last day of a wrinkled, dog-eared, tea-stained old year. (Speaking of numbers, what will we call this year: twenty-ten or two thousand ten?)

On the last day of the year, we teeter-totter between looking back at the disappointments and failures of 2009 and looking forward to the shiny possibilities of 2010. (Come on "real self," I'm cheering for some "ultimate victory" this year!!)

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

Happy New Year and welcome, all, to the first Poetry Friday of the year! Leave your link in the comments; I'll update throughout the day, with a couple of hours off at some point to eat pork roast and sauerkraut.

Christine at The Simple and the Ordinary is first in! Her daughter wrote an original poem for the New Year, in which she ponders the perpetual end of the world.

Jama at jama rattigan's alphabet soup has a beautiful and haunting version of Auld Lange Syne.

Charles Ghigna at Father Goose is celebrating a new grandson at the end of an old year.

Tricia at The Miss Rumphius Effect starts the year with a poem about the push and pull of life. The poetry stretch results for this week are all poems about beginnings and endings.

Julie at The Drift Record greets us with Auld Lange Syne on glassharp, and then shares a sweet tribute to winter reading by Robert Louis Stevenson.

Diane at Random Noodling has a New Year haiku for the Year of the Tiger.

Greg at GottaBook shares an original about resolutions.

Tanita at Tanita S. Davis chose two quiet, thoughtful poems by Rainer Maria Rilke to start our new year. (Here's the "faux cousin" reference in case you're curious. The story can be found in the comments. Still makes me smile!)

Sarah at Reading, Writing, Musing... has some Rumi for us today.

Linda at Write Time has an original "beginnings" poem from Tricia's poetry stretch.

Sally at The Write Sisters shares inspiration for making it through the dark days of late winter.

Andromeda at a wrung sponge wrote an endings and beginnings poem for Tricia's poetry stretch. As always, the images in her poem are as evocative as her photograph.

Irene at Live. Love. Explore! has a special treat for us -- a video of her father reading Shel Silverstein and a promise/goal of a video a week in 2010!

Liz at Liz in Ink wrote a poem for the new year this morning while her family was still asleep.

Lisa at Lisa in Little Rock starts off with haiku by Issa and ends with "To Mother" by Louisa May Alcott.

Carol at Carol's Corner found a January poem that seems to have been written just for her...and for the rest of us for whom images of house cleaning, new office supplies and a dissatisfaction with grading resonate!

TAKE A BREAK FROM POETRY AND CHECK OUT THE CYBILS SHORT LISTS.

Becky at Becky's Book Reviews reminds us that there's lots to celebrate in the new year: Be Glad Your Nose is On Your Face (which is actually a collection of poetry by Jack Prelutsky)!!

Lori at On Point has a tail-wagging haiku for the new year.

April at Teaching Authors has six word resolutions and goals! a book give-away! and a poem for the new year!

Erin at Miss Erin shares an original -- a strong statement with which to begin the new year.

What I Learned While Weeding Books at Home

When we got married, my husband told me he would never complain about me buying books. He believed (as I did) that you could never have too many books. He has been very good about it for 22+ years. He still doesn't say much but we both really had no idea how many books a person could accumulate in a lifetime. So, it was time to weed. I knew this but avoided it until I found this article via Twitter. It helped me get some motivation. I do not enjoy weeding books at all, but they seem to be taking over our house. Where will I put the new purchases of 2010 if there is no room?

One of the biggest issues for me is that all of the books from my classroom now live at home. In my current job as K-5 librarian, I had to bring my classroom library home. After teaching a variety of grades from K-5 over the last 20+ years, I could pretty much run a school in my basement. So many great books and they all serve some different purpose. Some are great for beginning readers. Some are perfect as mentor texts for writing. Others work when trying to explain complex math concepts to kids. It is hard to find even one book that I feel okay about weeding but I went book by book and am ready to take several huge boxes to the resale shop.

-Weeding at home is much more difficult than weeding in the school library. I can see the books more objectively in the library at school. There are not as many stories and histories tied to those. Home weeding is a little more difficult since each book has a little story or memory to go with it.

-Children's books will be given to school--we have a book swap at our school run by a parent in the building. Every few weeks, there is a table set up in the cafeteria where kids can swap book. Many times, we have so many donations that each child in the school can take a book. It is fun for the kids and a great way to pass children's books along. It is great fun to watch them choosing books at the table too. So thoughtful about their choices!

-much of the nonfiction is obsolete--easier to get rid of

-I went through phases of book purchasing and it shows on my bookshelves. When art in the classroom was a big push in elementaries, I purchased several biographies about artists. When kids in a class got hooked on an author, I picked up several books by that author.

-I have a great poetry collection and I LOVE IT!

-I need to organize the books so I can find them.....

-I tried to get rid of duplicates but for some books, I couldn't bear to part with one--you can never have too many copies of Silly Sally, can you?

-Some of the books that could easily be weeded were books that were "the book" for some student--the book that turned them into a reader. It is funny how a book can sit on a shelf in a classroom for years and then one child finds it and it changes them. So many of the books on my shelves have stories like that. That seems to be the problem with weeding as a teacher--you never know which book will hook a child in the future or which book will help a child through a hard time. Every book has potential for some child in the future.

-There are books I hope my own children will love as much as I did. I have shelves of books that are too much part of who I am to get rid of. They are my favorite shelves. Just looking at the spines makes me happy! (Walk Two Moons, Crossing to Safety, Living Out Loud...)

-My next-read stack has turned into a next-read room. I was feeling pretty confident that if there was a flu epidemic and we were stuck in the house for days, I would have enough reading. But there are just too many books I'll never get to. I figure someone else should enjoy them so I hesitantly weeded out several books that have made it too far down the next-read pile.

-I got rid of several self-help books. I seem to have quite the collection (I came across 3 copies of THIN THIGHS in 30 DAYS from the early 90s. I haven't used the book since the early 90s but I cannot bring myself to weed any of the 3 copies...) The potential is always there with a copy of the book in every room, right?

-Professional books were harder to weed than I thought. So much thinking comes from the learning I've done from professional reading. Every book has changed my thinking in some way. And I go back to them, even the older ones, often. So I didn't get rid of much there.

-Nonfiction for children has gotten so much better in the last decade. So many of the books that I kept from my classrooms just aren't the quality of the books that are being published now. So much more like an encyclopedia and far less engaging/reader friendly.

-I can't part with any books by Charlotte Zolotow, Anna Quindlen, Lois Lowy and others who are on my list of favorites.

We all weeded some books--piled them up and held a family contest. How many books were we weeding? Everyone got one guess and the winner won $5. My youngest daughter won. Her guess was 213. In reality, we weeded close to 300 books. About 200 are going to the resale store and the 100 children's books are going to the Book Swap.

It was a hard process but you should see all the shelf space we have! So, the good news is that we have lots of space to put the new books we'll buy in 2010!

WAITING FOR WINTER by Sebastian Meschenmoser

I knew that I was going to buy this book the minute I saw that Sebastian Meschenmoser was the author. LEARNING TO FLY is one of my all-time-favorites and I have shared it in many, many workshops over the last few years. I knew from the picture of the squirrel on the front that I would love this one too.

WAITING FOR WINTER is the story of a squirrel who is waiting for winter...and snow. But squirrel has never seen snow. He usually stays inside for the winter. But this year, Squirrel is determined to see snow! So he waits. And waits. And waits. (The waiting page is definitely in the running for my favorite page.) He gets pretty bored waiting so he thinks of things to do to keep him busy--exercising and singing to name a few. But he and his friend Hedgehog are so loud that they wake up bear. If Bear wants to sleep, he has to help them find snow. So, they look...for something white and wet and cold.

As in LEARNING TO FLY much of the story is told through the pictures. The expressions and actions of the animals make me laugh on almost every page. You can't help but love them. And the illustrations are done in mostly pencil drawings with a little color here and there.

A GREAT story and one that I'll read aloud in the library. This one is a MUST BUY if you loved LEARNING TO FLY (and really, who doesn't love that book?)

Another review at 7 Impossible Things Before Breakfast.

2 Upcoming Picture Books

I picked up two ARCs at NCTE --picture books that will be out in early 2010. Both are quite fun and I think kids will love them.

TOO PURPLEY by Jean Reidy and illustrated by Genevieve Leloup has a cover that will really appeal to fans of Pinkalicious. The cover is almost completely purple--different shades of purple--a little girl dressed completely in purple. The story is quite fun. It begins with the "sweet" little girl screaming, "NOT THESE CLOTHES" to the huge pile of clothes that she has. Each of the following pages shows her in an outfit that is just not right for one reason or another--too purpley, too itchy, too stripey, etc. The illustrations are colorful and fun and there is a happy ending--she finally finds an outfit that is just right. I have two daughters and both have had fits about clothes I've picked out for them. So, I am pretty sure there will be lots of kids (an mothers) who can relate to this book!

BEDTIME FOR MOMMY is by Amy Krose Rosenthal. LeUyen Pham did the illustrations--I love her work and was immediately drawn to the book because I recognized the cover illustration as one of hers. This is the story of a little girl who is putting her mother to bed. Mommy asks for five more minutes, needs to be reminded to brush her teeth, and asks for two bedtime stories instead of one. The story is told completely in talking bubbles and illustrations which make it a unique bedtime story. Kids will love that the mother is the one procrastinating at bedtime!

My 10-Year Old's First Stop-Motion

My youngest daughter got a camera for Christmas. She also has a Christmas elf. So, she played around this week to create her first Stop-Motion video. With a total of 18 pictures, she created this video. A lot of work for a 3 1/2 second video but she is now seeing possibilities all over the house for more of this. She is being quite creative in her thinking now that she understands how it works. I am anxious to see what she creates next.

A New Rhyming Book

WOW! IT'S A COW by Trudy and Jay Harris is a fun new rhyming book. I don't think a library can ever have enough good rhyming books so I was thrilled to find this one. The fun of this one is that is is also a Lift-the-Flap book as well as a guessing book! What more could you want in a rhyming book for young children? This will make a fun read aloud for PreK-1st grade.

Each page gives you a short piece of text about something as you go on a search around the farm for a cow:

If it goes, "Neigh, neigh,"

And it's pulling a plow,

It's not a cow!

Of course.

It's a ...

(and then you lift the flap! Under the flap, we find a picture of a horse and large letters that say horse.) Kid will be able to join in and read this part and will love doing so.

SELF-HELP BOOKS for 2010

It is that time of year for me again. The time I usually buy a new Self-Help book. My oldest daughter, now 19 dreads bookstore visits at this time of year. I remember a few years ago when I bought the diet book of the season. She was in her mid teens and said, "Do you not realize you do this every year?" Of course I realized it. Well, sort of. Last year, I knew that it was time to reflect on my self-help book issue. When I went to the New Year's self-help book table at Borders, I realized that I owned and had read 90 percent of the books on the table. I am not sure what that says about me or whether I should be admitting it here, but it is what it is.

As I was weeding out my bookshelves this week--working toward the goal of decluttering--I found a few of my favorite self-help books. Books that I don't use any more but they are a bit of my history. One of the first self-help book that I purchased as an adult was THE BEARDSTOWN LADIES COMMON SENSE INVESTMENT GUIDE. It did not make me a millionaire, but I picked up lots of little money tips that I've used ever since.

Since I have been buying self-help books rather regularly for 20ish years, I do notice some patterns--diet, exercise, money and organizing. It is interesting--when I read these books, I seem to find a few things that live with me and life gets a little better.

This year, I decided not to spend money on a new book. Instead, I decided to revisit some of my old favorites--the few I decided not to get rid of. So, this week, I've spent a bit of time with LIVING ORGANIZED by Sandra Felton and THE COURAGE TO START by John Bingham. I figured that these two books helped a bit the first time I read them and there might be some new nuggets to learn if I reread them.

If you are someone who is weeding books, cleaning the office, reorganizing closets, etc. this week, you probably know Sandra Felton. I am an organized person but one who has to see everything I am working on at once. So I don't appear to be organized. I make piles and then I clean piles. Over and over and over again. Sandra Felton's book caught my eye one year when I was stuck delayed at an airport. She really gets into the minds of people who she calls "messies" and helps with strategies to help us stay organized so we never have to spend a whole weekend cleaning our offices. Just flipping through the book has already helped me remember some of the strategies I'd forgotten. (I must confess that I did buy a $3.99 audiobook by Felton for our trip to visit relatives so I had something to listen to in the car.)

And, since my exercise routine has been pathetic for the last two years, I am going back to THE COURAGE TO START by John "The Penguin" Bingham. His story about how he began his life as a runner in his 40s is a great one and he has great tips that make it doable.

So, I have weeded out many, many of my self help books this week while trying to make space for any new books that I may buy this year. And even though I will probably rely on the authors' blogs to keep me focused on my goals this year, these two will stay on my shelves for easy reference over the next few months.

Stuff You Need to Know

Pick Me Up: Stuff you need to know...

Dorling Kindersley, 2006; this paperback edition, 2009

Ages 8-->

review copy provided by the publisher

This book is a dare: PICK ME UP.

You will, and you'll open it, too, and find photos, diagrams, timelines, big questions ("How might the history of World Wars I and II have been different?), opposites, explanations ("Why do we smile?"), maps, challenges ("Spot the odd one out"), instructions, commands ("Are you a girl? turn to page 224), and everywhere color and font and design that make you keep browsing and reading and (gasp!) learning.

If you're left-brained, at some point you will try to figure out the logic of the book. You'll read the "How to Use Me" pages at the beginning of the book and find out that if you're looking for an encyclopedia, you'll have to make do with the traditional index at the back of the book to find the stuff you want to know. OR you can read by category (all the "Arts, Entertainment and Media" entries are coded with a purple box at the top of their pages). OR BETTER YET you can just start browsing. Inside the color coded topic box there are three words that let you know what's on that page...or should I say, suck you into the page to find out how those three words can all be contained in the information on that page!

I'll turn to a random 2-page spread and show you how this works. Pages 176-177. Topic code: orange (I look back to find out this means "You and your body.") The key words inside the orange topic code box are Nutrition to Bugs to Nursery Rhymes. "An Apple a Day" lists common chants and rhymes that encourage us to eat apples. This is followed by a text box explaining why eating apples (but not apple pie) every day might be healthy. Titles of short articles on the next page: "What should you be eating every day?", "Why the potato is an apple," What nursery rhymes are really about," and "You're not going to eat that!" (insects in Northern Thailand, edible frogs in Ghana, a fruit that smells like dirty socks...) In the article about nursery rhymes, there is a mention of the Bubonic plague. The word plague is bold and underlined with a page number after it. You guessed it...a "hyperlink" to more information! If I follow the link, I find "Viruses to Rats to HIV." Links from that spread could take me to information about computers, Europe, or the immune system.

Why do you need this book?

1. It's like a model of the Internet. It would be fascinating to compare searching for information in the encyclopedia to searching for information in this book. I think there could be lots of lessons about using a search engine that start with this book.
2. It showcases what student research could look like. There is nothing boring about the presentation of information in this book. Cure for the dreaded "Country Report"? Check out the pages about China, India, South Africa, etc. Want your students to really THINK about their topic instead of barfing back facts? Study the ways (WAYS, plural) information is presented in this book.
3. The two-page spread that explains how this book was written. (Get out your magnifying glass--this is literally the fine print--but it is also a fascinating glimpse into the writing process on a professional level.)
4. It's colorful, fun, and inviting. Anyone of any age who opens this book is guaranteed to learn. Do you need any other reasons?

Join Us in Celebrating Jon Scieszka, Our First Ambassador of Children's Literature!

On January 5, a new ambassador of Children's Literature will be announced.

So, on January 4, we thought it would be great for the Kidlitosphere to thank Jon Scieszka for his work over the past two years as the first Ambassador by hosting a virtual party for him. If lots of us in the Kidlitosphere put up a post celebrating some aspect of Scieszka's work, it would make for a nice tribute to him from the bloggers.

The "Thank You Jon Scieszka" post can be a review of one of his books, your reflections on his work as ambassador, a personal story around one of his books or author visits, something connected to Guys Read...anything Jon Scieszka.

We'll do a round up here at A Year of Reading so if you decide to join us in this celebration, send us a link to your post in the comments here.

Poetry Friday -- Merry Christmas!

We Wish You A Merry Christmas

We wish you a merry Christmas,

We wish you a merry Christmas,

We wish you a merry Christmas,

And a Happy New Year!

Good tidings we bring for you and your kin;

We wish you a merry Christmas

And a Happy New Year!

Here's hoping your day is full to the brim with candles and cookies, friends and family, smiles and surprises! May you give more than you get, and may your joy last the whole year through.

The Poetry Friday round up this week is at Book Aunt. Next week it will be right here!

Teaching and Learning

I've been taking a tai chi class at my health club for about 9 months. I am a slow learner, and most of the time, I'm at peace with that. I've been told repeatedly that it can take a lifetime to truly master tai chi.

I am not accustomed to being a slow learner, so I have tried, as much as possible, to study what it feels like from the inside, and "interview" myself to capture those feelings. Here is some of my "research" to date.

Q: You can't seem to learn even the first 20 moves of the form. Why do you keep coming back?

A: For one thing, it is very relaxing to simply concentrate on moving my body rather than on the million of things that demand my attention and concentration every day in the classroom. Also, I suppose I imagine someday being the kind of person who does tai chi in the park in the early morning. The main reason I keep coming back, though, is that I am getting to know the people in the class and the instructors and I like spending a little time every week with them!

ANALYSIS: The main hook for the struggling learners in my classroom is likely the social piece as well. I need to remember to capitalize on that. It's also good to keep the end vision in sight -- to remember that the work we do in school is aimed well beyond standards and testing and AYP. Our goal is competently (independently) functioning members of our society.

Q: Which of the four instructors' styles works best for you?

A: Well, I can tell you for sure which one works the WORST -- that would be the guy who points out to the whole class that I'm the newest and least capable and I'm the one for whom he has the lowest expectations. (Not in so many words, but just about.) He also spends much of the class talking about tai chi rather than teaching us/leading us in practice of the moves in the form. I usually leave his classes cranky rather than relaxed. If he were the teacher every week, I wouldn't go back.

In third place is the instructor who is not such a great teacher, but he takes a personal interest in every member of the class. He knows my name and a little about me. He spends a little bit too much time talking during class, but I've been able to tell him that I'd rather spend more time practicing the moves and less time listening. And he was grateful (or at least polite) about the feedback.

The top two instructors are the ones who spend the whole class leading us through parts of the form. They pick a series of moves and we do them over and over again. They give the experienced members of the class tips about subtle ways to move their hands and bodies that go right over my head, but they never make the less experienced members of the class feel stupid.

ANALYSIS: Never make learners feel stupid. Totally counterproductive. Enough said.

Repetitive practice of essential skills is not necessarily a bad thing. Hard work on the pieces and parts can make the whole feel stronger. Success on a piece of a big skill fuels the desire to master the entire big skill. Drill of the parts should NEVER constitute ALL of the instruction, or the vision of the big picture will be lost.

Q: Do you practice lots outside of class?

A: For the longest time, I was only invested enough in the class to show up twice a week. Gradually, I built the desire to make more progress than I was able to in class (mostly because I wanted to please the instructor and the class members -- there's that social piece again). The thing that keeps me from practicing lots at home is that I don't know enough yet to practice independently!

ANALYSIS: Assigning homework is tricky. Yes, we want our students to practice what we work on in the classroom, but unless they are independent or close to being independent, that practice might not be attempted or might be a clumsy approximation (not a bad thing, just something to keep in mind). It's more important to make every minute of classroom instruction count than it is to create elaborate homework assignments that come loaded with unrealistic expectations for some of the learners in our classrooms.

NCTE Discussion on Support of LEARN Act

If you are a part of the NCTE Ning, you've probably been following the conversation around NCTE's support of the LEARN Act. It is quite the lively discussion and if you haven't followed the discussions, there is lots of important information being shared. Here is an intro from the NCTE site:

Senator Patty Murray (WA) has introduced the LEARN Act along with cosponsors Sherrod Brown (OH) and Al Franken (MN). This legislation--S. 2740, Literacy Education for All, Results for the Nation--is a comprehensive, pre- K--grade 12 bill that features writing and reading and offers alignment from early childhood across all grade levels with support for state literacy plans and money to districts for their self-defined needs.

The Literacy Education for All, Results for the Nation (LEARN) Act, which was recently introduced into the House and Senate, is a comprehensive literacy bill promoting reading and writing across the K-12 levels and in all disciplines. NCTE participated in a coalition of six literacy organizations to write The LEARN Act. The coalition includes the Alliance for Excellent Education, the International Reading Association, the National Association of Elementary School Principals, the National Association of Secondary School Principals, the National Middle School Association, and the National Council of Teachers of English.

If you haven't kept up, here are some key posts to catch you up a bit:

-Kent Williamson's Post: The LEARN Act and NCTE from November 17

-At EdWeek, Elizabeth Rich writes "NCTE's Stance on Reading Bill Sparks Controversy Within Ranks"

-Reaction to Comments by Joanne Yatvin

-Kylene Beers Responds to Comments on the LEARN Act

As I said, the discussion on the NCTE NING is definitely a lively one. Some people believe we shouldn't even be at the table--that the LEARN Act goes against too much of what we believe and that it is just an extended NCLB. Language like "systematic, direct and explicit" has come to mean things that many believe that NCTE, as a professional organization, shouldn't be supporting. Others seem to believe that it is time for NCTE to have a voice nationally and that when groups come together, we have influence and agreement but we will also have compromise.

Here is part of Kylene Beers' response about NCTE's role in the LEARN Act--the part of her response that really helped me make sense of this issue:

Listen long enough—and be willing to listen to those with divergent opinions—and you’ll see that NCTE, as I’ve written before, offers each a place and a space in which to come together and share thoughts.

That range of opinions, though, must cohere when NCTE policy is formed. There are two democratic processes that guide Council policy making. Either a majority of the elected Executive Committee members can establish policy, or a resolution that is passed by a majority of members attending the annual business meeting establishes policy. To guide the Council in establishing priorities for changing governmental policy affecting literacy education, the NCTE governmental relations subcommittee creates a legislative platform that is voted on by the Executive Committee. That platform guides the advocacy work of the Council. Some of that advocacy work takes place when members from across the nation gather in Washington DC to visit Congress and discuss issues important to NCTE. And some of that advocacy work takes place when we are asked to contribute to national issues regarding literacy.

Would the LEARN Act as it is today be the legislation that NCTE, working in isolation, would have crafted? No. But an equally important question to ask is if the LEARN Act as you see it today would be the legislation that it is if NCTE had walked away or chosen never to have offered its input. Again, the answer is a resounding no.

This LEARN Act discussion reminds me of the importance of getting involved. What I learned is that it is important, as an educator, to begin to build relationships with the people in Ohio who represent me. In my role as Elementary Section chair a few years ago, I was also part of the Executive Committee. What an amazing group of brilliant people that group is. I was lucky to work with them for a few years. One of the experiences that really stayed with me from my work on the EC was the first time I participated in Advocacy Day. NCTE Advocacy Day is an annual event in D.C. where NCTE members hear about new legislation, learn about NCTE positions, and spend time talking to Congressmen and Senators about issues that are important to NCTE.

After visiting D.C. and being part of the day, I tend to agree with Carol Jago's NING comment, "Maybe I'm a cock-eyed optimist, but I do believe legislators care about what teachers think. They may not always make ultimate decisions based on our views and experience, but I need to continue to trust in the integrity of the democratic process - as witnessed by this free and frank exchange of views among professionals".

I realized through Advocacy Day that it is not about visiting Washington D.C. once when an important bill is out there. Instead, it is about building long-term relationships with the people who represent us--having conversations with them about issues around literacy and education. It is a long process, building relationships, but at this time in education, we can't afford not to have a voice.

One of the most important things that I think NCTE has done in the last few years is to bring voices together. Because of NCTE's Annual Conventions over the past two years, I have been able to learn from people who are experts in the area of 21st Century Learning and Technology. My personal learning network has expanded beyond the members of NCTE. There are many examples over the past several years in which NCTE has brought voices together in a way that help us all learn and understand. NCTE's involvement in the LEARN Act seems to be doing the same thing.

Some have questioned the role of a professional organization. It seems that supporting teachers in doing the right thing is key--helping us grow as professionals. But, I think it is also important that NCTE be involved politically for many reasons. Being involved and having a voice in what happens is key to supporting members. First of all, I trust NCTE and the leaders we've voted in to make the right decisions about how and when to be involved. And I trust that they have stayed more current on the issues than I have. So, when I read the things happening in education, I pay attention to what NCTE has to say as I form my own thinking. Do I agree with all that NCTE says? Of course not. But I know that we are all working for the same things so I am looking for the big picture implications. I want my professional organization to have a voice and to help me understand the things happening that will impact education. I want my professional organization to be part of these discussions.

But, equally important, this conversation reminds me that I cannot count on NCTE to do all of the advocacy work for me. I need to continue to build relationships and have conversations with those in government who represent me. One of the posts on the NCTE Ning that struck me as hugely important was the one by Stephen Krashen "Discussion of LEARN Act with Senator Murray's Staff Member".

In this post, Krashen shares his conversation with the Senator's staff, sharing his concerns about the LEARN Act. To me, this is what it is all about. We all want the same big picture things for our students and for our schools. The key is to pay attention and to be involved. Krashen scheduled an appointment to discuss the concerns he had. ALA's response to the LEARN Act was also an important piece to my own thinking. ALA wrote a letter in support of the Act but also used the opportunity to advocate for things that were important to the organization. Even though the Act was not one that ALA would have written, it is one they can support for several reasons. Although Krashen adamantly disagrees with the LEARN Act and ALA supports it, both took the time to advocate for the things they felt were important connected to the Act.

When NCTE asks for our support, that doesn't mean that we give it blindly. It means that those we've elected to NCTE have put in time to work toward the things we believe as an organization. Being part of a professional organization doesn't mean that we agree with everything that the leaders say. Instead, for me, it means that we are working toward the same vision. We may disagree about the ways to get there but it is the ideals and visions of NCTE that are important to me.

For me, this discussion has helped me realize that I need to give more time to advocacy work--to keeping up with what is going on legislatively with things like the LEARN Act. I need to make time to meet with the people who represent me and to begin to build stronger relationships with them. Because NCTE keeps me informed, I think it is my responsibility to take what I learn from NCTE, to process, listen, discuss and act.

I have always believed that we all have different roles to play in the conversations around teaching and learning. I think that is why I have followed this conversation on the NCTE Ning so closely. There are those of us who are in schools every day who understand first-hand, what is being asked of students and teachers. There are those of us who do the research and share their findings so that we can better meet the needs of students. There are those of us who fight for an ideal vision and those who work to move things step-by-step. The thing I have learned in the last 20+ years in public education is that all of the roles are important. I have learned from every single comment that I have read about this issue. And I have rethought my own beliefs over and over again. None of us can be successful without the voices of each other. It is both our collective voice and our individual voices that will make the difference.

Kylene Beers' Presidential Address: NCTE 2009

If you were at NCTE's Annual Convention, hopefully you heard Kylene Beers give her Presidential Address on Sunday morning. The title of her talk was "Sailing Over the Edge: Navigating the Uncharted Waters of a World Gone Flat". There was standing room only and Kylene received a standing ovation for her talk. It was one of the best messages I have heard in a very long time. It was truthful and honest and hopeful. And brilliant, of course. NCTE just posted the Presidential Address to their website. I would highly recommend reading it and sharing it with everyone you know. So happy that it has been published so that it can be shared beyond the people who were in the room that morning at the convention.