Bill The Boy Wonder: The Secret Co-Creator of Batman

I am always looking for great picture book biographies. I especially like the ones about people who are not famous.  So I was thrilled to find Bill the Boy Wonder: The Secret Co-Creator of Batman by Marc Tyler Nobleman. I recognized the author from another great picture book biography, BOYS OF STEEL which was quite popular in the library last year.

I am not a huge Batman reader but I do love popular culture and stories of creativity.  I loved this new picture book for so many of reasons and I can't wait to share it with kids.  The book is a good length-not too short and not too long. It is filled with the story of Bill Finger who co-created Batman as an anonymous writer. It is a fascinating story of a man who loved to create. Even more fascinating is the Author's Note in the back that gives even more information about Bill Finger and the research involved in publishing this book--the only book EVER that focuses on him.

I am excited to share this book with kids for lots of reasons. First of all, it is a great story and with so many comics/graphic novels fans, I am sure I will have kids who will be instantly interested in the topic. But it is also the story of writing and creating--how and where ideas come from and how storytelling is often collaborative.  The story is also a great example of someone who made a big difference in the world even though he was not famous. I worry about fame and our typical use of biographies. I want my students to know that there are many ways that people make the world a better place and you don't have to be famous to make a difference. And finally, the research involved in finding the story of Bill Finger life and the outcome of the research is worth sharing with students.  Research isn't so easy and it certainly is not the book research that kids often think of when we say the word research. Nobleman makes much of his research process public and that will be great for kids.

I totally enjoyed this book for lots of reasons. One of my favorite nonfiction books of the year for sure!

Dublin Literacy Conference 2011

We LOVE the Dublin Literacy Conference. The conference is an annual one sponsored by Dublin City Schools (Ohio, not Ireland:-) and run by a committee of teachers. 2011 is our 22nd year and we host between 600 and 800 teachers each year. We have both been on the planning committee for as long as we can remember and the planning is almost as fun as the day itself. Most of our teachers come from around the Central Ohio area but we have been getting people from all over.  It is a great one-day event and we love it. It is a great day of learning and literacy.  If you are free and live close enough to drive, you should think about joining us!  (We have written lots about this conference over the last 5 years. You can read more in these posts.)

This year, the Dublin Literacy Conference will be held on Saturday, February 25.  It looks to be another great year and we are both so excited about our speakers. We typically host 4 featured professional authors and 4 featured children's authors. This year, the following speakers are part of our conference.  If you want to see more details, the printable program with registration information is on our district website. 

Professional Authors
Kelly Gallagher, author of READICIDE, DEEPER READING, TEACHING ADOLESCENT WRITERS and others.  Kelly will be our morning keynote. If you'd like to know more about his work, you can read a recent interview we did with him here.

Patrick Allen, author of CONFERRING: THE KEYSTONE OF THE READING WORKSHOP and PUT THINKING TO THE TEST will be another of our featured speakers.  Patrick also has an amazing blog about his teaching and learning life.

Troy Hicks' work focuses on the Digital Writing Workshop. His books (THE DIGITAL WRITING WORKSHOP and BECAUSE DIGITAL WRITING MATTERS) , blog posts, presentations and tweets have helped so many of us move forward in our thinking about this issue.

Christian Long is another speaker who has great insights into 21st Century Learning. His company Be Playful Designs focuses on school design and innovative environments.. He is a school planner, technology expert, and advocate for innovative communities and educators.

Children's Authors
Brian Pinkney is our afternoon keynote speaker.  His work includes so many powerful titles.  His newest book, written by Andrea Davis Pinkney is SIT-IN: HOW FOUR FRIENDS STOOD UP BY SITTING DOWN.

Loren Long is an Ohio author and illustrator that we love. We first met him when he visited Columbus on the TRUCKTOWN tour with Jon Scieszka.  We have since fallen in love with OTIS, DRUMMER BOY and most recently, President Obama's picture book OF THEE I SING.

Amy Krouse Rosenthal's work has been an inspiration to so many of us, especially her BECKONING THE LOVELY project. (If you have not watched the video, you must do it right now!). Her newest book is THE WONDER BOOK. Others include LITTLE HOOT, DUCK RABBIT, COOKIES: BITE SIZE LIFE LESSONS and BEDTIME FOR MOMMY.

Wendy Mass is another children's author that will be part of our conference. Her newest book CANDYMAKERS is quite fun and popular with middle grade/middle school children. As are all of her books. Those of you that read this blog may remember when I wanted to start a Wendy Mass fan club after reading JEREMY FINK AND THE MEANING OF LIFE. 

On top of our amazing list of featured speakers, we run about 20+ concurrent sessions two times during the conference.  These sessions are put on by Dublin teachers as well as others who submit proposals. If you are blog readers, you will recognize lots of people from our local bloggers' group on the program.

Local Bloggers 
Cathy Mere (REFLECT AND REFINE) and Katie DiCesare (CREATIVE LITERACY) will be talking about "Picture Book Possibilities: Using Literature to Collaborate with Learners.

Mary Lee Hahn  will share ideas for "Promoting Reading Engagement In and Out of School"

Scott Sibberson (SCOTT SIBBERSON) will present on "Web 2.0 Tools for Teachers".

Mandy Robek (ENJOY AND EMBRACE LEARNING) session is titled, "Something Old, Something New"

Julie Johnson (RAISING READERS AND WRITERS) and colleagues will present "Count on Communication: Weaving Writing and Conversation into Your Math Class".

Maria Caplan (TEACHING IN THE 21st CENTURY) will be presenting with her school's Technology Specialist on "Integrating iPods and Technology into Your Classroom".

Bill Prosser and Karen Terlecky (LITERATE LIVES) "The Best and the Brightest Books of 2010".

Tony Keefer (ATYCHIPHOBIA) "Crafting Digital Picture Books".

and I will be talking about  "How Can Technology Tools Impact the Reading Workshop".

Add these to the amazing Dublin teachers who are sharing their learning, how can it not be an amazing day of learning. I wish I could hear everybody!

On top of the great speakers, they'll be lots of great books for sale, time for lunch and chatting with colleagues, a Technology Playground and student work on display.    What a great way to spend a Saturday. It is one of our favorite days of the year! We hope you can join us.

11 Science Experiments that Failed by Jenny Offill

Reading visuals is something we've been working on in the library. Charts and graphs seem to be extremely challenging for some students to make sense of, so that is a current focus. With the idea of reading expanding, our students need to have experiences reading various types of visual information and putting that information together with text.

As part of this thinking, I read 11 SCIENCE EXPERIMENTS THAT FAILED by Jenny Offill and illustrated by Nancy Carpenter to our 5th graders.  I love this character an have loved her ever since she appeared in the book 17 THINGS I AM NOT ALLOWED TO DO ANYMORE by the same author. In this new story, wonder is the key.  The little girl in the story is full of curiosity. She has lots of questions about the world and works to answer them.  For each question she has (such as "Can a person live on snow and ketchup alone?), she shares her hypothesis and tests her theory.  We had a ball reading the questions she had as well as the ways she went about finding out the answers.

This was a great book for so many reasons.  I am finding that lots of our students think that the way to find answers to their questions is to "search it up".  If something isn't answered in a Google search, students suggest finding a book or asking someone. This book started a great conversation about questions that can't be answered in that way--questions that require active research.

During the 2nd read of this book, we talked about the ways in which the narrator of the book could have recording what she discovered in her experiments.  We talked about ways she could keep track of her data and what her charts and graphs might have looked like. For example, students suggested that when trying to determine whether her dog enjoyed being covered in glitter, she could have charted the time it took for the dog to shake the glitter off for several consecutive days.  They described the chart that could be created to connect that information.  We had a great time thinking about the possibilities for this scientist.

Following these conversations, I challenged kids to create charts to keep track of data around questions they had.  Several students moved forward with this challenge creating charts to determine average time needed to play 4-Way Countdown, tracking strategies when playing Mancala, and more.

After three library classes, I can already see the interest in charts and graphs changing and found this book to be a great one to start these conversations. Whether you are looking for a book to start great conversations around science or just looking for a fun read aloud, I'd recommend this book.

2011: A Year of 300+ Books For Me, Too

Thanks for the high praise in your Reading Year In Review post yesterday, Franki! You were ALWAYS reading more than you gave yourself credit for -- you just needed the perfect tool to keep track, and Goodreads is that tool.

For me, the trusty blank book was always my perfect tool. I have a whole shelf of book-books. Combined, they list every book I've read (minus the picture books) since 1987.

This year, when Goodreads unveiled the barcode scanner in the iPhone app, I began logging EVERY book I read in Goodreads. I still kept my book-book for novels (kid and adult) and for most of this year I wrote down a key quote for each book. (Other years, I've captured the first line or I've written a short summary.)

So I read more than 300 books this year, but in the end, I'm not at all satisfied with myself as a reader in 2011. My desires for my reading far outstrip the reality of what I know I can accomplish. I'd love to do the #nerdbery or #nerdcott challenges, but I know that wanting to do either one would never make them actually happen. Heck, I can't even do the #bookaday challenges with any kind of honesty and integrity! I think part of my problem is that when I hear about everything everyone else is reading, I want to read all those books and do all those challenges, too. It's a keeping up with the Joneses syndrome, but it's also about wanting to maintain my standing in the Nerdy Book Club, and there's a little bit of book gluttony thrown in. (All right, more than a little bit...)

Well, I've got a solution for this problem: I'm going to give myself permission to admire everyone else's goals and challenges...and I'm going to carry on with my own reading.

I've upped my personal goal to 92 children's and YA novels (I read 85 last year, so 92's not a huge stretch) and 20 adult books (I only read 15 last year, so 20 will be a push for me). 92+20 will give me 112 books in 2012 for the Centurions group on FaceBook. I'll keep track of picture books again this year just for the fun of seeing how high I can run my numbers up, but they won't really count for me.

Enough with the blathering about goals. Here's a sampling of some of my 5 Star books from 2011:

POETRY

Lemonade: And Other Poems Squeezed From A Single Word by Bob Raczka
BookSpeak!: Poems About Books by Laura Purdie Salas

ABC

E-Mergency by Tom Lichtneheld

PICTURE BOOKS

Stuck by Oliver Jeffers
I Want My Hat Back by Jon Klassen

NONFICTION

Balloons Over Broadway by Melissa Sweet
All the Water in the World by George Ella Lyon

MIDDLE GRADE

Clementine and the Family Meeting by Sara Pennypacker
The Friendship Doll by Kirby Larson

YA GRAPHIC NOVEL

Level Up by Gene Yang
Sita's Ramayana by Samhita Arni

ADULT

State of Wonder by Ann Patchett
Every Last One by Anna Quindlen
Pilgrim at Tinker Creek by Annie Dillard

(Ann, Anna and Annie -- quite a trio!)

Math Books for the Classroom

How Many Guinea Pigs Can Fit On a Plane? by Laura Overdeck is a fun new book that I discovered thanks to someone sharing on Social Media!  It was released a week or so ago and I ordered it right away. This book is a full of questions you can answer yourself using math. There are chapters that categorize the questions--Animal Math, Nature Gone Wild, Math for Your Mouth and more. Each two page spread poses a question and gives the info you need to solve the problem. It also answers and explains the reasoning for the answer. For example--How many times do dogs take a bath a year?--and then goes on to investigate. I see this as a great book to use for openers for Math Worksop or in a variety of ways to just have fun with math.

Animals By the Numbers: A Book of Infographics by Steve Jenkins is a book of visuals. The infographics on each two-page spread are all about animals and each infographic is very unique.  Reading each page takes time and attention to detail and I can see doing Notice and Wonder thinking routines with these pages. These are great pages to linger over as you talk about data, displaying information, comparing things and more. And of course this book has Steve Jenkins fabulous illustrations so it can be used in coordination with some of his other books like Down, Down, Down.

Finally I need to thank my friend and colleague Maria Caplin for introducing me to this book.  Mind Boggling Numbers by Michael J. Rosen is another one that is great fun!  This is a book that is similar in concept to How Many Guinea Pigs Can Fit On a Plane? as it also asks questions of readers and then goes on to think through the math.  This book also includes great graphics and. visuals....and some humor!


I am happy to have discovered three books that have great ideas for young mathematicians. And these are definitely for older elementary students. Excited about sharing these 3 books with my 5th graders in the fall.

Hank Finds an Egg by Rebecca Dudley

My collection of wordless picture books continues to grow. I not only love them as a reader but I have found so many ways to use them for minilesson work and small group instruction in the classroom.  So, of course I purchased a copy of Hank Finds an Egg when I saw that @paulwhankins recommended it. I have to be honest that when I looked at it online, I didn't expect to be impressed. It didn't seem to be what I would expect from a brilliant wordless book. But I trust Paul so I went ahead.

Well, was I happily surprised at how much (and how immediately) I fell in love with this book!  It is brilliant and wonderful and sweet and perfect.  Really.  Another that I shared with the whole family.  Both girls agreed that it was a great book. No question.  It is the book that I am carrying around with me this week--telling everyone I know about. I may need a few more copies as I want to share it but I hate to let it out of my sight for too long!


The story is about Hank who finds an egg in the forest.  You cannot help but love Hank IMMEDIATELY.   He is the best example of kindness:-) Love this stuffed bear.  The story is told through a series of amazing and intricate photographs.  So when you close the book and open it again (and again-trust me), you have to wonder about the author's process. How does she DO this?  How does she create and amazing character and such a powerful story with photos?  Luckily, the Internet is full of great resources so you can read about her process in this interview at UNH Today and this one at Creating the Story.  Rebecca's blog is also worth a few hours of your time!  I just love love love her work and her process. And I love the joy she clearly has in that process.  I am adding her to my mental list of favorite authors immediately.

This book is such an invitation to kids--so many great possibilities..  I think it is a great wordless book with a great message. I also think some kids will want to give this medium a try.  I imagine they could create amazing things with this book as a mentor. And I think Rebecca's process as a writer with photos is also one worth studying with kids. I love that she doesn't take the pictures in order and that the process leads the way.  As we move to more possibilities in the ways that stories are told, I think it is important as a writing teacher that my students and I  learn from the experts and help my students see possibilities for the creation process.

Not many books make me want to create a diorama when I finish, but this one might!

Definitely a book I Could Read a Million Times!!

MY ONE HUNDRED ADVENTURES by Polly Horvath

MY ONE HUNDRED ADVENTURES Is a book that is showing up on several Mock Newbery lists and one that I wanted to be sure to read before the Newbery announcement on January 26. Let me say that I would be VERY, VERY HAPPY if this book wins the Newbery. I love it. It is DEFINITELY one of my favorite reads of 2008. I am not sure how kids will respond to it or whether it should be in a K-5 library. It seems like 5th/6th/7th grade for me. I am not so sure about the age 9-12 marketing--not sure that the issues aren't above 9-10 year olds. I don't think that matters though--it deserves every starred review it has received--and it has received many.

I have always been a Polly Horvath fan. EVERYTHING ON A WAFFLE hooked me to her work right away! This is by far her best, in my opinion. It seems to be a tiny bit different from her other books. MY ONE HUNDRED ADVENTURES still has the quirky characters and events that make Horvath's books unique. But there is something about the writing of this book that makes is more powerful than the others. It just seems to have a different feel--if that makes sense.

I knew early in the book that it was going to be a great book, when I read:
"The library in summer is the most wonderful thing because there you get books on any subject and read them each for only as long as they hold your interest, abandoning any that don't, halfway or a quarter of the way through if you like, and store up all that knowledge in the happy corners of your mind for your own self and not to show off how much you know or spit it back at your teacher on a test paper."

The writing is definitely Newbery-worthy. So many lines jumped out at me throughout the reading:

"They wear hats with fruit on them. When I get bored I stare at their fruited hates. I wonder if we can convince some of the younger old ladies to take up fruited straw hats. Like passing the torch. Or will they regard this as some kind of next-in-line-for-the-tomb designation?"

"Suddenly I realize that everyone in the whole world, is, at the end of a day, staring at a dusky horizon, owner of a day that no one else will ever know."

"No one really understands a family but the people in it and even they each understand it differently."

"We all belong here equally, Jane...Just by being born onto the earth we are accepted and the earth supports us. We don't have to be especially good. We don't have to accomplish anything We don't even have to be healthy."

I do this often when I read great books. Tab pages of lines that I love, that I want to revisit. Then, when I am finished with the book and am having that feeling where I wish I wasn't quite finished, I go back and reread the pages that I've tabbed, looking for the lines I've loved. It is a great way to reexperience the book and to reread some of those favorite lines. A habit I started when I read WALK TWO MOONS years and yeas ago. Only when the book has lots of lines that seem to hit me as wanting to go back to.

I love this book and would love to see it win the Newbery or any other award. It is one that has great characters and great messages about life and people.

ALL WRITE!!! Consortium Summer Institute

I participated in the ALL WRITE!!! Consortium Summer Institute last week in Shipshewana, Indiana. It was a great event with almost 500 teachers participating. I had a great time with the teachers and also had a chance to spend time with friends. Pictured above are Smokey Daniels, Sarah Weeks, Lester Laminack and Sharon Taberski. I was able to hear Katie Wood Ray's keynote address as well as Smokey Daniels' session on Inquiry Circles in Grades 4-8. And, I had never met Sarah Weeks and I am a big fan of her work, so that was a treat! It was fun to chat with Sarah because I had just read her new book AS SIMPLE AS IT SEEMS on the way to Shipshewana. It is a great middle great read and it was so fun to meet the author on the day I read the book! There was also lots of informal chat. I was inspired by the whole day.

I also got to see Ruth of Two Writing Teachers very briefly (just long enough to say hello). It is so funny to see her away from Stacey! I think of them as a blog duo and forget that they are 565 miles apart! It was fun to be part of one of her events!

Katie's opening keynote was titled, "Refelctions on Loving Writers and Writing". I knew from the title that it would be an inspiring talk. Katie is always brilliant and always regrounds me. Her talk focused on her own teaching of writing and the writers she knows and loves. She reminded us of the importance of knowing lots of writers so we can bring those writers to our students. Watching her writing conferences is always amazing--the way she talks to students and the writing they produce because of the way she empowers them is inspiring. I am anxious to read her new book IN PICTURES AND IN WORDS!


Then I attended the session on Inquiry Circles by Smokey Daniels. The new book, COMPREHENSION AND COLLABORATION: INQUIRY CIRCLES IN ACTION is one that I have been reading and rereading, thinking about what is possible in the library. I have always been a fan of the work of Daniels and Harvey. And I think this new book on Inquiry Circles may be a new favorite. In his session, Daniels talked about the four types of inquiry circles. He began by talking about Min-Inquiries. I loved what he said about these as a way for us, as teachers, to train ourselves to stop and notices kids' amazing questions and to honor their curiosities. He also talked about Curricular Inquiries, Open Inquiries, and Lit Circle Inquiries. We saw some video clips of some 5th graders talking about their lingering questions. Daniels reminded us that instead of projects or trying to decide what kids should "do" When they finish a book, he said, "We should be asking them --'So what? Now what do you wonder about'". After the session, I asked Smokey if he'd be up for a blog interview around the topic of inquiry circles and he's agreed. So, look for a blog interview by Daniels and Harvey later this summer.

I didn't get to hear Sharon or Lester but did get to hear about their upcoming books. Lester has several coming out in the next few years. I can't wait to see his upcoming picture books. I love all of his books. Sharon has an upcoming book on K-3 comprehension coming out in the fall. Her first book, ON SOLID GROUND has been such an anchor book for so many of us. I can't wait to get my hands on this new one!

Even though I was only in Shipshewana for less than 24 hours, it was a great day. The organizers of the conference put together such a great event for teachers. I am hoping that one of these years, I can attend since it is not that far away from home.

Nonfiction Read Aloud, part 1

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

BOOKS THAT CHANGE LIVES

So, I admit that I bought 2 copies of THE FAULT IN OUR STARS the day that it was released.  I was really looking forward to this book.  So was my 21 year old daughter. And I really wasn't in the mood to share this one. And I figured having two would allow me to share it with lots of people. Anyway, I read the book and loved it.  I couldn't even start another book for a while because of the impact it had on me.

I decided I wanted my husband to read it. My husband reads a lot. He reads James Patterson, Harlan Coben, Dan Brown. He reads a bazillion sports blogs and anything Phillies. He reads tech articles and tech magazines.  But I decided it was time that he read a book that would change him. So I recommended THE FAULT IN OUR STARS and told him it was time for him to start reading books that changed him.  He rolled his eyes but picked up the book.  He read the first few chapters and I asked, "So, has it changed you yet?"  He said, "No,"

My 12 year old (who had not read the book) jumped right in, "It had to have changed you by now!!" We proceeded by asking him lots of questions.  We asked him if he met some characters that were different from people he knew in life.  We asked him if he understood anything about a character that might help him understand someone else someday. We asked him if it made him think about something he had never thought about. Or made him think of something that had ever happened to him with new insight.....Of course he said yes.  Of course the book had already changed him.  He read the book quickly and quietly and although he is not one to talk as much as I do (hah!), I know it changed him and I predict he will read more life-changing books in the near future.

This all happened in January.  As we were all anxiously awaiting the announcements of the ALA Youth Media Awards. As I was waiting for the award announcements I had already decided that THE FAULT IN OUR STARS had to win something big NEXT January. How could it not?

Then I read WONDER by R.J. Palacio and THE ONE AND ONLY IVAN by Katherin Applegate.  Two more unbelievable books that changed me. Books that I will never forget.

What a lucky month January was. Three books that will live with me for a very very long time.  Three books that I want to tell everyone about. Three books that truly changed me. New characters who I came to love and who I think about often, long after finishing their stories.

These books have already touched so many readers in so many ways. Teri Lesesne wrote about THE FAULT IN OUR STARS and Colby Sharp shared his thinking about WONDER.

So, I have been thinking about the awards and the disappointment that often goes along with the announcements. I know that I always hope for those books that have had a powerful impact on me to win and I am often sad when they don't. (Although I do get over it and I often see new things in the books that do win and usually acknowledge that they too, are amazing books:-)

But I am rethinking my approach to the awards from now on. I will always love the ALA awards, but I think this January's reading helped me to realize that although the awards are nice, the books that didn't win anything, still had a powerful impact on me and on so many other people. Award or no award, those books matter incredibly.  Nothing can change the power they have to change lives.

So, 11 months before ALA announcements in 2013, I am already anticipating a few books I hope to see on award lists. And I am assuming (from my history) that a few of the books I fall in love with will not be awarded anything.  But I am also realizing that some books are so amazing that it really doesn't matter if they win an award or not. The power they have to change lives is what matters most.

A Community Garden Booklist

Our school has started a community garden and everyone is excited about it. Our third grade classes worked all year to get the garden designed and created it in the spring. This coming year, it will be up and running and most of the school will be involved in some way.

Knowing that the whole school will be busy working on and thinking about the garden and that the kids will be extra excited this fall, I have been keeping my eyes open for books that might connect in some ways to the garden.  I am envisioning an area of the library dedicated to gardens, etc. similar to the inquiry displays set up at THE ALLEN CENTRE.  I have learned so much about what is possible in an elementary library from visiting their site. If you have not had a chance to look at the site and the invitations they create for kids, they are amazing. Connecting that thinking to the thinking I get from Georgia Heard and her book A PLACE FOR WONDER,  I am hoping to create a space for exploring ideas connected to gardening while also including a variety of books that invite children to think in different directions.  You never know what the work in the garden might spark in terms of an interest for a child so I am trying to be broad in my connections at this point. These are the books on my list so far:

GREGOR MENDEL: THE FRIAR WHO GREW PEAS by Cheryl Bardoe is a great picture book biography that fascinates me. This is a great introduction to genetics and the man behind the thinking about heredity in plants.  This is a longer picture book and one that might be interesting to older students. It is also a great story about someone who did what they loved and made a difference in the world.


FIRST GARDEN: THE WHITE HOUSE GARDEN AND HOW IT GREW by Robbin Gourley is a new book that focuses on Michelle Obama's garden and the purpose behind it.  It tells about Michelle Obama's goals for the garden, how it came to be and the history of gardens at the White House.  I think this is a timely one to include this year. Kids will like the story about something that happened so recently.


RAH, RAH, RADISHES!:  A VEGETABLE CHANT by April Pulley Sayre is one that Mary Lee reviewed here a few weeks ago. After the review, I had to buy it. This is a perfect one for shared reading and the photographs are gorgeous!



HOW DID THAT GET IN MY LUNCHBOX by Chris Butterworth is a great book about how the foods we eat came to be in our lunchboxes. Starting at the beginning, each food is examined so children understand where food comes from.  The art adds a great deal to the information.



SEED, SOIL, SUN by Cris Peterson is one of my favorite nonfiction picture books this year.  It has amazing photographs and is written with language that is amazing and surprising at the same time.





BUSY IN THE GARDEN by George Shannon is a poetry book that I'll include. This one is great for all ages, but especially fun for young children and for shared reading. (April's blog review is here.)




DO YOU KNOW WHICH ONES WILL GROW? by Susan Shea doesn't connect exactly to the garden but focuses on the difference between living and nonliving things. It was a favorite read aloud with young children this spring so I think they'll love revisiting it this fall.





MY GARDEN by Kevin Henkes How can I not include this wonderful book?  This one is ALWAYS checked out from our library!  (A book on my list of BOOKS I COULD READ A MILLION TIMES)

NCTE in Words and Pictures: Franki's Version

Mary Lee inspired me to share my NCTE convention week in words and pictures!  As did everyone else, I had a great time and learned lots.  The energy at the convention was amazing and I came home with my head spinning from all of the new learning. I mentioned earlier that I heard several sessions on 21st century literacies and am glad to have had the chance to hear Karl Fisch after having followed his blog for so long.  I loved his message. Too often I got to "tech" workshops and the focus is on the technology or the product but the actual teaching goes against what I believe about kids and learning.  But Karl Fisch is grounded in good teaching and understands learning. It was definitely a highlight.
The convention opened with speaker Gary Knell, President and CEO of Sesame Workshop. What a great opening!  So many great things going on at Sesame Street. As always, I was amazed with their mission not only in the US but around the world. I was also happy to hear that "THE ELECTRIC COMPANY" will be returning! Wooohooo!  We saw some great clips and it was a great celebration of learning and literacy. And guess who joined Gary Knell at NCTE?  One of my favorite muppets--GROVER! What a treat!  You can see that my friend, Shari Frost, and I had our photo taken with him after the opening celebration. Check out the Sesame Street website and keep your eye out for The Electric Company that is sure to be a hit again!

Another treat was the Books for Children Luncheon featuring children's author, Tomie dePaola!  It was a great celebration with so many children's authors--one at every table. It was so fun to be in a room with so many children's authors and children's books!  I was excited to be able to sit at Tomie dePaola's table and I received a copy of his new and gorgeous pop-up book, BRAVA, STREGA NONA: A HEARTWARMING POP-UP BOOK  I LOVE this book. Growing up in a 100% Italian Family, this book is a true gift. Strega Nona gives us her secrets to a magical life and they include things like family and friends and food! The pop-up art is amazing and Tomie dePaola demonstrated how to open and close the book properly to see the gorgeous art! I had not heard dePaola speak for about 15+ years so it was such a treat. He talked a bit about some of the books he has coming out soon so we can look forward to those as well. But if you are looking for a great gift for a family member (especially an Italian one) this new pop-up book says so much!


If you don't know Nancy Johnson, she was a key person on the Elementary Section Steering Committee who organized the luncheon and she is the perfect person to do this! (You should check out her book THE WONDER OF IT ALL: WHEN LITERATURE AND LITERACY INTERSECT.) Here she is with Ralph Fletcher getting last minute details figured out before the event. Ralph announced this year's NCTE Excellence in Poetry Award winner which will be announced on the NCTE website soon!



Other highlights included Kathi Yancey's general session on Sunday, Barbara Ehrenreich's talk on her book NICKEL AND DIMED IN AMERICA, and Regie Routman's talk entitled, "Raising Expectation, Results and Enjoyment for All Learners: What Does It Take?" If you have the chance to hear any of these speakers, they were phenomenal!

The Nerdy Book Club: New Year's Resolutions

 This post is cross-posted on The Nerdy Book Club's site. If you have not visited this wonderful community of readers, it is a must follow site! 

Flickr by Sean Lloyd  http://www.flickr.com/photos/seanlloyd/33762237/

(New Year’s Eve seems a perfect time to think about the goals we have for the year ahead. To think about where we want to grow and what we need to do to get there.  In my usual tradition, my main goals each year have to do with fitness and exercise…)

So, I am not a runner. This is not a surprise to anyone who knows me. But the thing is, I have been fascinated for years by runners, and I have toyed with becoming one. I actually have all of the knowledge necessary to become a runner. I have read many, many books about running. I subscribed to the print version of Runner's World for years, and I currently get their daily emails.  I subscribe to several blogs on running and follow some of the running news. I buy shoes at running stores and sometimes just hang out there. I listen closely when my running friends are talking about training for races, running injuries, etc. I have just never gotten around to actually…running. 

A few weeks ago, I was with a group of friends. One was getting ready to run his first half-marathon. He was talking about the gel packets he would have with him to keep up his energy.  I knew all about these and was able to explain them to our non-runner friends. They were amazed that I (a non-runner) understood about race food.

A week later, I was in a conversation with a different group of friends who had run the Chicago Marathon. They were talking about women in running skirts and I had remembered reading all about those on ANOTHER MOTHER RUNNER blog, a blog I read regularly since reading their book, RUN LIKE A MOTHER. On their blog, I learned that running skirts are all the rage.  Women runners either hate them or love them. No happy medium. In the midst of this conversation with my runner friends, I wanted to jump in with some thoughts I had about running skirts. But then I remembered that I was not a runner and I did not have the credibility to talk about running skirts with real runners.

I have been in several conversations lately that have reminded me how very much I know about running. I sometimes actually “know” more about running than my running friends. These are conversations that I am not quite comfortable participating in because I am not a runner.  I am not part of the club.  I just watch from the sidelines.

No matter how much knowledge I have, I cannot call myself a runner. Running is not part of my life.  I could probably not even run to the mailbox and back (and my driveway is not very long.) But here is the thing that I can't stop thinking about:  I am certain I could pass a test on running. I am certain that I could probably pass a test at a higher level than most of my runner friends could. I have a lot of knowledge and understanding about running and feel confident about doing well on a test about running.

I keep thinking about this and acknowledging the fact that knowing a lot about running is not the same as running. This knowledge might end up becoming important if I ever become a runner and it does help me in some conversations. But what good does that do me, really?  When I don’t actually run? When I am not part of the club?

How different this is compared to my life as a reader. Even though I attained a nearly perfect score on Tony Keefer’s quiz, “You Might be a Nerdy Book Clubber if…” ,  I don’t need anyone to tell me I am a part of the Nerdy Book Club. I don’t worry that some members read more than I do or that some members read faster than I do. I don’t worry about joining conversations that I have no business participating in. Even weeks when I can’t fit in a book, I know I am a reader. Reading is a huge part of my life and I don’t feel the need to prove that to anyone.

One of my favorite things about my job as a school librarian is that kids stop me in the hall constantly, mentioning a book they finished or one they want to read. They tell me the page number they are on or an author they’ve discovered. Sometimes I wonder if reading is the only thing they think they can talk to me about. Then I realize that it is at those times that they see me as a fellow club member; that they know I will understand their need to share their reading lives.

But I also see kids trying to get into the club.  Standing on the edges of these conversations. Checking books back into the library with a bookmark about 1/3 of the way through, never having been finished. These kids seem to get excited when someone mentions an author they know. But they don’t feel confident joining the conversations. They don’t see themselves as readers.

This year, I’ve bumped into lots of past students – students I taught in 4^th and 5^th grades who have recently graduated.  It is so fun to see what they ended up doing, which passions they discovered.  They tend to tell me all of that, and then often mention what/if they are reading.  They know I’ll wonder and that no matter which career path they’ve chosen to follow, that I still hope they are lifelong members of the Nerdy Book Club.  I like to believe that I was one of the people who first invited them to be part of this club.

Each of us was invited into the club by someone who wanted us to be part of the fun. We saw something that we wanted to be a part of and there were lots of people in our lives who made joining the Nerdy Book Club possible.  As a teacher, I know this takes commitment and hard work. I know it means giving kids great books, time to read, a reading community to be a part of, and instruction that moves them forward as readers.

So in 2012 I have two goals.  I am going to be very deliberate in helping every child become part of the Nerdy Book Club.   I am going to watch carefully to see which students feel confidently part of this club and which are standing along the sidelines wishing to be part of it all. I’m going to try to give them the support they need to become lifelong members.

And, of course, in 2012….I am going to actually run.

WARRIORS: THE LOST WARRIOR

Her love affair with the WARRIORS series began when she was in 4th or 5th grade. Upon her recommendation, I read one of them back then. (It's pretty powerful when the teacher reads the student's recommendation, rather than vice versa.) I brought her ARCs from NCTE. (Getting the next book in a favorite series before it's out in the bookstore? Priceless.)

She's in 7th grade now, but when TokyoPop sent the uncorrected proof of the new graphic novel parallel series, I knew she was the expert I would need to call on for an opinion.

Her life had been taken over by the middle school theater production when I dropped the book off at her house, but we had a good chat about it when she brought me my Girl Scout Cookies.

The graphic novel is not exactly the same as the novels, she was quick to point out. "You wonder when Greystripe is coming back, and the graphic novel shows what happened to him. It also shows how he motivated to leave house cat life."

She sees the graphic novels as companion books to the regular series. They have a mixture of new story lines and they fill in between the parts of the series. And she is absolutely savvy to the marketing of the graphic novels, "They will lure in young readers and get them ready for the series."

Nevertheless, she plans to own all of the graphic novels, because they will "complete my collection...my library."

She recommends the Warrior Cats website and writes: "The field guide comes out May 29. I have the new book and after today and a little of yesterday reading I am on page 167. It is so good. Also Graystripe the lost warrior (cough title of cough manga cough book cough cough cough) comes back with Millie (cough another cough cat from cough manga). There is already another book coming after this called Dark River. Now I can't wait until September because an extra book called Firestars Quest comes out. I love when you get the unedited versions when I can read them. I wish I could meet Erin Hunter it would be so cool.




According to her book this is how the books go in order:

Warriors

Into the Wild
Fire and Ice
Forest of Secrets
Rising Storm
A Dangerous Path
The Darkest Hour

Warriors: The New Prophecy

Midnight
Moonrise
Dawn
Starlight
Twilight
Sunset

Warriors: Manga

The Lost Warrior

Warriors: The Power of Three

The Sight
Dark River- not out in stores yet

Warriors: Extra

Field Guide: Secrets of the Clans

2 New Picture Books

I discovered 2 new picture book this week. I ordered a big stack at the library after All Write and they are starting to come in.

At All Write, I learned about lots of books but one that I was especially excited about was WILD IDEAS:  LET NATURE INSPIRE YOUR THINKING by Elin Kelsey.  I learned about this book from JoEllen McCarthy, the Book Ambassador for The Educator Collaborative in her session with Chris Lehman on Nonfiction.  I always find new books from JoEllen and they are always "must have" titles.  I am excited about adding this book to the classroom library. It is about problems, problem solving and wonder so I can definitely see it being used to start conversations about that. But it is also about animals and so much of what we do in science is animal adaptations, etc.  The authors note at the end tells that all of the quick info in the book came about from scientists studying animal behavior.  This is a quick read. Just a sentence or two on a page but it will start great conversations!

I a a huge Cece Bell fan so I have been awaiting her new book, I YAM A DONKEY (story, pictures and bad grammar by Cece Bell) .  It is a fun book about grammar that I think kids will find quite amusing (I know I found it to be quite funny!).  This is just a fun read that readers of many ages will enjoy.

Bird, Butterfly, Eel

Bird, Butterfly, Eel
story and illustrations by James Prosek
Simon and Schuster, 2009

I knew that birds and butterflies migrated, but I had no idea, until I read this book, that eels do, too.

The story begins in the summer, when bird is raising a nest of babies and butterflies eggs are turning to caterpillars, cocoons and new butterflies. The eel has been in the pond for many years and is eating and storing energy for her upcoming journey.

The bird flies to Argentina for the winter, the butterfly flies to Mexico, and the eel swims out of the pond into the creek and then the ocean and eventually to the Sargasso Sea near Bermuda. The barn cat, who is in all the pictures at the beginning of the book when the animals are being introduced in their habitats near the farm (pond, meadow and barn), lays at the window watching it snow.

Spring comes, and bird, butterfly and eel's babies return to the farm.

One of the best things about this book are the illustrations. For most of the book, when Prosek is telling about their differences, each animal gets its own page. But three times during the book (fall, winter and spring), when the animals are similar in their readiness to migrate, in their winter homes, and upon return to the farm, the page is split horizontally into three sections and the animals are shown together. The only illustration I would quibble with is the map that shows where each animal goes for the winter. Instead of doing separate illustrations of the continents (main idea) and the location of the pond (detail), Prosek stretched the northeastern United States, shrank South America, and made it one illustration. Artistic license, I guess. The rest of the book is so beautiful that it can be forgiven.

This is a book that could be included in a study of migrating animals, habitats, Colonial America (didn't they eat lots of eels? didn't you ever wonder about the life cycle of the eel?), similarities and differences, nonfiction with a circular text structure, or just because it's beautiful!

The Real Wonders of the World

I have been working hard to rethink the nonfiction portion of our classroom library to better meet the needs of third graders. I am looking for books that invite reading without having an overwhelming amount of text.  I find that kids need a transition from skimming and scanning to reading nonfiction and putting together all that is in text and visuals.

One new book I discovered at Cover to Cover last week is  Lonely Planet Not For Parents Real Wonders of the World. I am excited to share this with my students.  It might be hard to get it to school as my 14 year old keeps grabbing it to read. It is definitely a book that appeals to lots of ages.

The book is organized into several sections with a great Table of Contents to support readers.  Stupendous Structures, 102 High Tech Wonders and Fright Night are 3 of the categories.  Each category describes about 10 wonders.  Each wonder is described on a two-page spread.

The two-page spreads are really engaging thanks to the photos, color and interesting fonts. There are a few paragraphs of text on each page and there are also short facts, interesting "Wow Factors", great headings and more.  Years ago, we used to do a mini unit of study where kids created two-page spreads. This book reminds me what a powerful study that was as there are so many decisions that an author makes when creating a two-page spread.

We've been doing a lot of talk about skimming and scanning versus reading.  I like this book to help kids think about when to skim and scan and when to read more closely.  These are some of the first decisions a reader makes when approaching a nonfiction book like this.

There are lots of possibilities with this book. At first glance, it appears to be similar to lots of others that kids skim and scan but this one is of pretty high quality so I can see lots of learning coming out of this if I use pieces and parts for minilesson and small group work. Lots of possibilities!

Thank You, Amy Krouse Rosenthal

http://www.whoisamy.com

As many of you, we were heartbroken when we read Amy Krouse Rosenthal's piece in the New York Times last week, You May Want to Marry My Husband. Chronicle books had a short tribute on their site this week. And others, like Malcolm Mitchell, have shared the ways she impacted their lives.  We are joining the world in sending love and prayers to Amy and her family.

Amy has given us all so much over the years. She has given so much to children, teachers and the world.  When I reflected on Amy's impact on our worlds, I searched her name on our blog. She has been the focus of 26 blog posts over the years.  We love her work and celebrate it here often. Her visit to our school in 2011 is one none of us will ever forget.  As preparation for that visit, her work inspired our 4th graders to do something to make a difference in the world.  We were lucky to have her at our Dublin Literacy conference that same year. 

I keep looking back at the list of children's books that Amy has written over the years. She brought love and joy and kindness to all of her work  Each book amazing in its own way.  Each one teaching readers important life lessons in a playful way.  In Duck! Rabbit! she taught us how to see things from different perspectives, In The OK Book, she reminded us that you don't have to be the best at everything you do, and in The Wonder Book she celebrated the magic of wondering.  The list goes on and on.

And, if you have not read her adult book, Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life, it is a must-read.  This books says so much and the creative way in which she puts it all together is brilliant.

For me personally, Amy's Beckoning of Lovely Project (inspired by the video 17 Things I Made) is what I think of every time I think of Amy.  For me, this project is the anchor that ties all of Amy's work together and the message is the reason we all love her so much. It is a project I go back to a few times a year when I need to remember what it is that is important in this life.  In all of her work Amy teaches us all to celebrate life and all that is part of life--all that is good in this world. This project was all about that.

We are heartbroken by the news of Amy's illness and cannot imagine a world without Amy Krouse Rosenthal.  We are grateful for all the ways that Amy has impacted our lives and the ways we have been changed  because of her work over the years.  We are better people because of Amy.

Amy's website says, "Amy Krouse Rosenthal is a person who likes to make things."  We think that making the world a better place is what she does best.  Thank you, Amy.

Poetry Friday -- Georgia Heard (Blog Tour)

Recipe for Writing an Autumn Poem

by Georgia Heard

One teaspoon wild geese.

One tablespoon red kite.

One cup wind song.

One pint trembling leaves.

One quart darkening sky.

One gallon north wind.

Many of us know and love Georgia Heard through her poetry and her professional books about teaching poetry. Her new book, A Place for Wonder: Reading and Writing Nonfiction in the Primary Grades (coauthored with Jennifer McDonough and published by Stenhouse), is a natural extension of all she's taught us about developing our students' love of reading and writing poetry.

Here's the exciting news: Georgia Heard and Jennifer McDonough will embark on a three-stop blog tour starting 10/19.

October 19: A Year of Reading (right here!)
October 21: Miss Rumphius Effect
October 23: Carol’s Corner

In their book, Georgia and Jennifer discuss how to create a “landscape of wonder,” a primary classroom where curiosity, creativity, and exploration are encouraged, and where intelligent, inquiring, lifelong learners are developed. They provide teachers with practical ways – setting up “wonder centers,” gathering data through senses, teaching nonfiction craft – to create a classroom environment where students’ questions and observations are part of daily work.

As a special treat, Stenhouse will wrap up the blog tour with a live webcast with Georgia and Jennifer on Oct. 26th at 8 p.m. EST. This will be a great opportunity to join a small group discussion with the two authors. ***Five participants for this live webcast will be chosen (names-on-slips-of-paper-drawn-from-a-bowl kind of chosen) from the comments in this post and the blog tour post on October 19.*** If you would like to have your name thrown in the bowl, be sure you mention that in your comment and include your email address so we can contact you if you win! No special software or equipment are needed to participate in the webcast – just a phone and your computer!

From now until the beginning of the tour you can also receive free shipping when you order A Place for Wonder. Just use code “blog” at the checkout when you order from www.stenhouse.com or by phone at 800-988-9812. The book will start to ship Sept. 25, so reserve your copy now!

For more information about Georgia Heard and her work:

Georgia Heard's website.

Georgia Heard was featured on The Miss Rumphius Effect's Poetry Makers Series.

The round up today is at Susan Writes.