Scaredy Squirrel At the Beach

Scaredy Squirrel At the Beach
by Melanie Watt
Kids Can Press, 2008
Review copy compliments of the publisher

Scaredy is back on the scene just in time for spring break. Slather on your 65 spf sunscreen and stretch out with him on his fake -- and very SAFE -- beach.

Shake your head when he cooks up a plan to mail himself to the beach to get a shell so that his beach has the proper wave sounds.

Laugh out loud when he gets more than he planned for at the beach (ie: a crowd of people), and has more fun than he could have imagined (after playing dead for awhile).

Scaredy's fake beach will never be the same once he gets home and makes some modifications...and once he finds out he brought home more than just a shell...

Pleasant Surprises, Part One

Naked Bunyip Dancing
by Steven Herrick
illustrated by Beth Norling
Front Street Press
April 1, 2008 release
review copy compliments of the publisher



I never would have picked this book up on my own, but it was required reading, so I gave it a go. And I was pleasantly surprised!

Now, I should give a small disclaimer here -- I hardly ever read YA, and I haven't ever read any of Steven Herrick's other books. The sole soul on Goodreads who has read and reviewed this book didn't think it was as good as his others. So keep that in mind. And a note on the title -- a bunyip is a mythological Australian animal. I Googled bunyip after I read the book, but knowing what a bunyip is hasn't helped me understand the title. Maybe it has given me permission to be okay with the fact that I don't understand the title.

This is a novel in verse about an Australian 6th grade class with a new, liberal, pony-tailed, Dylan-singing teacher named Mr. Carey. The poems, in the voices of the students, understandably give us a very childlike view of what happens in their classroom. These poems are what you'd get if you overheard kids talking about their day at school -- they talk about the parts of the day that were out of the ordinary; they talk about each other; they talk about their weird and wonderful teacher; they talk a little bit about what's going on at home. If you read between the lines, you know that Mr. Carey has a method to his "madness," he knows his students very well and works hard to play to their strengths, and there's a lot more teaching going on than the students report.

On Friday afternoons, the class does co-curricular activities. "Mr. Carey says its stuff you do/on Friday afternoons/and you don't have to do tests/or be marked on it." The class is working on a concert, and the way Mr. Carey stays out of their way and lets them make if it as much as they can reminds me of The Last Holiday Concert by Andrew Clements.

The class takes a field trip to the Sewerage Works. (Australian spelling.) When else has that happened in children's literature? The Qwikpick Adventure Society by Sam Riddleburger, of course!

The way you can infer the influence of the teacher through the students' voices and actions is reminiscent of Mr. Fab in Ralph Fletcher's Flying Solo.

The depth of the characters revealed in the fewest number of words is all Love That Dog by Sharon Creech.

All these book "cousins" on my bookshelf are what made me pleasantly surprised by this book. I haven't tried it on a real, live child reader. I don't know if the Australianisms will throw them off. Stay tuned for that. I am going to add Mr. Carey to our list of 100 Cool Teachers in Children's Literature! (He's number 111.)

Nonfiction Monday -- Trout Are Made of Trees

Trout Are Made of Trees
by April Pulley Sayre
illustrated by Kate Endle
Charlesbridge, 2008
review copy compliments of the author


This was a fun book to read to fourth graders. They knew what it was going to be about as soon as I read the title. "This is a food chain book, isn't it?!"

That did not prevent them from listening intently as I read. The text is simple, but poetic: "They (the leaves) snag and settle soggily down."

The illustrations tell the story of the children studying the stream as well as the story of the life in the stream. And the illustrations were painstakingly researched. Although stylized, the aquatic insects are true to life, right down to the gravel cases of the caddisfly larva.

One of our Language Arts Standards talks about writing for different purposes and audiences. When I finished the book, I asked my students who they thought was the intended audience for this book. "Kids," they said. "Little kids," someone elaborated, "Because there aren't very many words on each page."

I'm betting that another audience for this book will by fly fishers. I'm going to take a copy of the book to our next fly fishing club meeting for the raffle. I'm pretty sure there are some fly fisher dads (one is an avid member of Trout Unlimited and does lots of stream restoration) who would gladly take this book home.



April Pulley Sayre on writing nonfiction at I.N.K..
An early review of Trout Are Made of Trees at Charlotte's Library.
Our interview with April last year is here.
April's website is here.
The Nonfiction Monday roundup is here.

Nonfiction Monday -- Non-Book Edition

The Day After The Blizzard of Oh-Eight

Not my back yard, but I wish it was!

Not my front yard, but I admire the craftsmanship!

Not my houses, but I wish they were! (Cute, and made cuter in the snow!)

Not my dog (our friend's black lab) made these tracks porpoising through 15 inches of snow while trailing his long lead. After the picture was taken, we measured the distance between the bounds -- SIX FEET!

The Life and Crimes of Bernetta Wallflower

I just finished reading Lisa Graff's second novel, THE LIFE AND CRIMES OF BERNETTA WALLFLOWER. The funny thing is that at the same time, I am reading aloud THE THING ABOUT GEORGIE to my class at school. (They are loving it--there is so much to talk and think about. It is an engaging story and Graff has a way of creating the perfect amount of depth for upper elementary readers--not an easy thing to do!)

I am picky about my read alouds. With 9 months of school, we only get through about 9-10 books a year. So, I have to be very picky. When I read THE THING ABOUT GEORGIE last year, I knew it would make a great read aloud. I have the same feelings after finishing THE LIFE AND CRIMES OF BERNETTA WALLFLOWER.

The book is great for lots of reasons. It is a fun read--the plot is totally different from other books for kids this age. Bernetta has been set up by her best friend Ashley. The consequence is that Bernetta won't be able to attend the private school she has attended since Kindergarten anymore. She just doesn't have the $9000 to attend. But she comes up with a scheme to make the money and the adventures begin.

This book would make a good read aloud for lots of reasons:
1. The plot is fun and will keep kids engaged.
2. There is a strong girl character, which is always good.
3. This is a book with a strong girl character that I think boys will also enjoy. The male characters and the plot will keep boys engaged. It is sometimes hard to find books with girl characters that boys will stick with, but this one will appeal to boys and girls.
4. There is lots to talk about as Bernetta makes the decisions that she does, decides about right and wrong, and learns about who she is.
5. Lisa Graff writes a great ending--ties things up in a way that works for this age group.

There are lots more reasons but these are my top 5 of the moment. I have many others because I LOVE this book!

I can't wait to see what Lisa Graff does next! (By the way, she has a very fun website and blog--well worth checking out! It would also be well worth your while to check out the Lisa Graff interview at Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast....and the one at Mother Reader...and the one at Miss Erin.

to be like the sun by Susan Marie Swanson

I LOVE sunflowers.
I LOVE picture books about sunflowers.
I LOVE poetry about sunflowers.
And I LOVE Margaret Chodos-Irvine's illustrations.

So, my favorite new picture book of the moment is to be like the sun by Susan Marie Swanson and illustrated by Margaret Chodos-Irvine. When I first looked at it, the title and the sunflower on the front drew me in. It wasn't until I opened it up that I recognized the illustrations and had to look back at the cover to see that they were indeed done by Chodos-Irving. The coloring is a bit different from Ella Sarah Gets Dressed but they are clearly her illustrations.

It looks like this book was first published as a poem as part of an anthology. Whoever decided to turn it into a picture book was very, very smart. It makes a PERFECT picture book. In my opinion, there can never be enough books about sunflowers or planting sunflowers.

This book takes you from the seeds in the spring to the winter when the sunflower is just a memory. The language may be what makes this book my favorite of the day. My favorite line is the one when the little girl is planting the seeds. "All the instructions are written in your heart." There are so many more lines like this.

I am always looking for books with great language. But I often find trouble finding books with great language that young children can enjoy and appreciate. Often the books are geared toward older children. This book is good for all ages and I think readers of all ages will appreciate the language that is so perfect.

As I sit here in the midst of a blizzard, it is quite nice to have this book to read and remember that spring isn't that far away.

WHY WE TEACH by Linda Alston

WHY WE TEACH: LEARNING, LAUGHTER, LOVE AND THE POWER TO TRANSFORM LIVES is a timely book for anyone who is teaching in 2008. It reminds us why we teach--through hard times, after hard days, and during these days of mandated curriculum and testing. Linda Alston shares stories of her own teaching career--short pieces that can remind us all the joys of teaching and of being in the company of children every day.

I have talked to so many teachers across the country who have told me that they aren't having fun anymore. That teaching is no longer enjoyable. Linda addresses the times and clearly holds on to what is important for the children we teach.

"At the end of the day, we are exhausted. We feel as if we cannot teach another day--that is, until tomorrow. In the morning, we find the strength to come back and teach again. Why? Because we love and believe in children. We behold the gifts in them and nurture the children to become their most magnificent selves. We hold on to hope that their futures will be bright and glorious. The day that we don't go back might well be the day we miss the miracle of a child making a connection, saying something funny or profound, creating a work of art, and giving our lives meaning and purpose." (Page 96)

I found the stories in this book to be just what I needed. The foreword by Vivian Paley and the afterword by Lester Laminack are also very powerful. The stories can be read in any order. But they all remind us how much we can learn from children and how important it is for us to do what is right for the children we teach.

Poetry Friday -- For Will and Lyra

Yesterday, I finished listening to The Amber Spyglass. Before that I listened to The Golden Compass and The Subtle Knife, all by Phillip Pullman. I had read all three books, but long enough ago to have forgotten much.

Here's a poem for Will and Lyra, and for me to remember now that they are gone until I read or listen them back to life.

Wild Geese
by Mary Oliver

You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
for a hundred miles through the desert repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves.
Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.
Meanwhile the world goes on.


(the rest of the poem is here...the roundup is here)

Who Knew?

Did you know?
In New York, it is against the law to throw a ball at someone's head for fun.
The Venus Flytrap grows naturally only in North and South Carolina.
In Gary, a person may not enter a movie house or theater or ride a public streetcar within four hours of eating garlic.
In Alaska, it is against the law to wake a sleeping bear in order to photograph it.
Each August, Twinsburg, Ohio holds the Twin Days Festival, the world's largest annual gathering of twins.

I learned all of this AND SO MUCH MORE in the new book GO, GO America by Dan Yaccarino.
Beth at Cover to Cover shared this book with me yesterday. I thought it was going to be like all of those other books about states--general info. But when I opened it up and started reading, I was amazed at how much fun info was packed into every page. What fun information. Every single piece of trivia is as interesting as those I shared above. It is quite a fun book. One I'd love to read Cover to Cover. In terms of curriculum, there is lots of ways to use this book in the classroom. We are currently doing a unit on government-such a hard thing for kids to understand. But if we take some of these laws and learn about how they actually came to be, it might really help them understand how democracy works. This states in this book are set up in order of how the Farley Family travels the country. The Table of Contents is quite creative and the author dedication ties into the book too. At the end of the book, more traditional information about each state is shared (capital, state flower, motto, etc.)

This will be a definite hit in my classroom (if I ever decide to share it!).

Stories That Dovetail in the Middle

All three of these books tell endless stories.

Both covers are front covers. The middle is the shared ending or the roundabout that tells you to flip the book over and read the same story told a different way.

For 20 years I had one example of such a book. All of a sudden in 2007 I found two more.

One is unique; three is a collection. Do you know of any other books that have stories that dovetail in the middle like these?


Giant Story/Mouse Tale: A Half Picture Book
by Annegert Fuchshuber
Carolrhoda Books, 1988
personal copy

The giant wants a friend, but he's afraid of everything. He runs away to escape his fears, and finds himself in a meadow. In the center of the book, he stretches out in the grass to rest, wishing for a small friend he could hold in his hand. Read from the other side and find a brave mouse who wants a friend, but no one wants to be a friend to such a brave mouse. She goes searching for a friend and winds up in a meadow, where she curls up in a warm spot to rest until she has enough strength to go looking again for a friend. The center spread? The giant stretched out sleeping with the sleeping mouse in his hand.


I Love You More
by Laura Duksta
illustrated by Karen Keesler
Sourcebooks, 2007
review copy compliments of the publisher

Read from one side and hear Mommy answer the question, "Mommy, just how much do you love me?" Read from the other side and hear a little boy answering his mother's question, "So, just how much do you love me?" In the middle, you find the ultimate answer that they each have for the other: "I love you more than anything in the whole wide world."


Dogs and Cats
by Steve Jenkins
Houghton Mifflin, 2007
personal copy

If you start on the dog side of this book, you will find double page spreads with information on one aspect of canines (size and shape, how breeds came to be, etc.) and fabulous cut and torn paper collage illustrations. Don't miss the cat shadow in the corner of each page with a single sentence of information about cats on the same topic. In the center of the book, a cat and dog are stretched out together on a rug. Flip the book over and you read detailed information about cats (with the same great illustrations), keeping watch for the shadow dog and the single sentence of related information about dogs.

Meme: Passion Quilt

Monica, from Educating Alice, tagged us for the Passion Quilt Meme.

Here are the rules:

• Think about what you are passionate about teaching your students.
• Post a picture from a source like FlickrCC or Flickr Creative Commons or make/take your own that captures what YOU are most passionate about for kids to learn about…and give your picture a short title.
• Title your blog post “Meme: Passion Quilt” and link back to this blog entry.
• Include links to 5 folks in your professional learning network or whom you follow on Twitter/Pownce

For us, just like for Monica and Doug, at Borderland, it's a struggle to untangle our passion from the passions of our students, and on top of that, to find a photo that represents it all.

The best we can come up with is this one. In a Choice Literacy article, Franki wrote about creating Revision Toolbags for her students -- big ziplocks filled with all the fun tools for revision that she uses when she writes: highlighters, sticky notes of all sizes, scissors and tape, gel pens with colored ink, staplers and staple removers. Knowing that our children have only been writers for a couple of years, really, and that they are still children, after all, her idea was to let children play with revision, let them experiment with revision and all the tools writers might use. I read the article and it made such good sense that I stopped at Staples after school that very day and spend a wad on revision tools. And sure enough, when I introduced the revision toolbags, revision's popularity soared. Suddenly, revision was fun.

So here's a picture that shows Franki's idea and the way one of my students put her idea into action. It's a picture that exemplifies the ways we share professionally and "borrow" each other's ideas either flat out or with a new spin. It shows how our students try on our passions (reading and writing) and make them their own.


We'll tag Karen and Bill at Literate Lives, Katie at Creative Literacy, Megan at Read, Read, Read, and Meredith at Learning Together. We know that one of you is in Chile (last we heard) and two of you are up to your ears with report cards. Do this when you get around to it. Can't wait to see what you come up with! (I did a blog search of Meme: Passion Quilt and there are hundreds of entries. It would make interesting reading, but alas, report cards are calling my name, too. Actually, I need to finish grading...sigh...NOT my passion!)

The Spotlight...

...is on US over at 7 Impossible Things Before Breakfast!!!

Jules and Eisha, thank you for the fabulous interview (love the images you found!!), and Liz, Jen, Sarah, and Susan, thank you for your kind words!

Great Characters!

I always look for books that can become children's favorite characters. I look for characters that are featured in more than one book so students can look forward to the next book about the character and can think about what might be next for their favorite characters. Here are a few that I recently picked up.

LaRUE FOR MAYOR: LETTERS FROM THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL
For those of you who love LaRue from his last few books (Dear Mrs. LaRue), you'll love this new one about this amusing dog. This time LaRue is writing letters to his owner as he decides to run for mayor. The other candidate wants to take away dogs' freedom! fun book and also one that can be used to explain elections in a way that could make some sense to young children.


BIG CHICKENS FLY THE COOP by Leslie Helakoski
The four chickens from BIG CHICKENS are back. This time they leave the safety of their chicken coop to find the farmhouse. But things aren't that simple. I think the illustrations of these 4 chickens are the best--their personalities definitely come through. The story line and the repeated text are predictable and fun. Makes you look forward to a third book about these chickens!



MONKEY WITH A TOOL BELT by Chris Monroe
I am including this one even though there is only one book about this Monkey. I am including it because I am hoping that there are more to come. I picked it up after reading Fuse #8's review and the post at Schu's Blog of Lit and More. The illustration of the monkey totally sold me. I'm not sure what it is about this book but I LOVE it. The monkey totally cracks me up and he grows on you more and more as the book goes on. What a concept!

NonFiction Monday

As part of our writing workshop, we are doing a study of Literary Nonfiction. When I think about what that means, I think it is quality nonfiction writing --the nonfiction writing that has the qualities of good writing. It is different from encyclopedia or traditional report writing.

Knowing that this is a big focus for our grade level standards, I have been trying to pick up some good mentor texts--nonfiction books that students can learn from. I am amazed by how many great nonfiction books are out there these days. These are some of the newer ones I've picked up.

POOP: A Natural History of the Unmentionable by Nicola Davies
The version of this that I purchased is a very tiny book (3" X 5") which makes it quite fun! The illustrations are amusing and the writing has a great deal of humor embedded in it. A topic that kids love to read about and they can certainly learn from the casualness of the writing.




THE BROOK BOOK: EXPLORING SMALL STREAMS by Jim Arnosky is full of great information about brooks. The illustrations are soft and the colors work. Many features of nonfiction text (labels, question headings, etc.) are embedded throughout and there is variety in the page layouts. The language is perfect when looking at quality nonfiction writing. One page says, "As a brook tumbles and runs downhill, the moving water shapes te land it flows over." Every line seems packed with information and the writing is quality nonfiction. The author's note lets readers know that the book is set up to help you get the most out of a visit to a local brook!


A DICTIONARY OF DANCE by Liz Murphy is a fun dictionary of dance vocabulary. Each letter of the alphabet is accompanied by a dance specific word such as improvisation or kick. The pronunciation and definition are included. The illustrations give readers a visual to further explain the word.



I GET WET by Vicki Cobb is an older book (2002) that I just discovered. I purchased this one because of the writing and the page layouts. Cobb often places the words in a wave coming out of a faucet or something similar. The key is that the writing in those spaces is well-written. My students often have fun with font and word placement but forget about the quality of writing when doing so. This will show them how to tie those things together.

FROGS by Nic Bishop
The photographs in this book were what drew me to it in the first place. The writing is as spectacular as the photos. The book is packed with information and organized in paragraphs about different things. One paragraph lead says, "Some people are confused about the difference between a frog and a toad, but you do not have to be." Love that! A great index and glossary are found at the end of this book.



HOW STRONG IS IT? by Ben Hillman
I heard about this book from Karen at Literate Lives. HOW BIG IS IT? by the same author is a class favorite. This is a great second book. The illustrations are fascinating--showing strong things like lasers, sharks, and wood. The photos draw you into the text and the text goes on to tell you the information you want to know. The writing is tight--one column per photo. It is organized by paragraphs and well written. Each page can be studied by nonfiction writers and they will learn lots about organization, choice of details, and more.

HOORAY FOR INVENTORS! by Marcia Williams
I would consider this book to be a graphic novel of sorts, but not really. Each page stands alone and has the feel of a comic book. Some boxes hold isolated information while other spreads connect a story about a famous inventor. Facts are found in every white space on the page so there is lots to look at and discover. The organization is an interesting component. The index helps readers find the information they are looking for.



Nonfiction Monday roundup is at Picture Book of the Day.

Weekend Reading

The February Carnival of Children's Literature is up --Leap In!

The February issue of The Edge of the Forest is up -- thank goodness for that extra February day so that it could be published in February (with 29 minutes to spare)!

Lester Laminack Visit

Lester Laminack visited Dublin this week. On Thursday, he was the author visit at our school. If you are looking for a good author for an author visit, he is one of the best I've heard. He is a teacher, author, writer and quite the entertainer. He talked about his writing process and shared lots of insights about his books. He has written 5 children's books (THE SUNSETS OF MISS OLIVIA WIGGINS, SATURDAYS AND TEACAKES, TREVOR'S WIGGLY-WOBBLY TOOTH, JAKE'S 100TH DAY OF SCHOOL, and SNOW DAY) with more on the way.

On Friday, Lester was part of the Literacy's Connection's yearlong workshop. The Literacy Connection puts on a workshop each year. In the fall, we all get together and get copies of the book we will be studying throughout the year. Then in the spring (this weekend), the author of the book visits and spends Friday teaching demonstration lessons in classrooms for us to watch and discuss. On Saturday there is a follow-up with a full day workshop. This year we read one of Lester's newer professional books, READING ALOUD ACROSS THE CURRICULUM. This is a companion book to LIVING UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE.

Quite a variety of things and Lester was amazing at all of them. His rapport with the kids during the author visit was instant. Kids had trouble leaving the room because they wanted to stay to hear more. Teachers felt the same way--many of us were laughing so hard, we were crying! And he was just as amazing with the teacher groups on Friday and Saturday. He reminded us about so much that we seem to have lost in the last 5 years of teaching. He reminded us of the power of books in the classroom and our need to get back to using our own common sense when teaching.

If you are looking for an author visit or a teacher visit, Lester was a huge hit!

Better Than Leveled Books

I definitely understand the place of leveled books in primary classrooms. Kids need books they can read to move forward as readers. But, I think that as a nation, we have forgotten that there are so many great books--quality children's literature--that supports new readers in the same way that leveled books do. So, I have been adding to my collection of books that are perfect for new readers--books to have in the classroom that serve the same purpose as leveled books; books that young readers can read on their own because the supports are there for them.

I've picked up 3 new books in the last few weeks that fit this category.

WHAT WILL FAT CAT SIT ON? by Jan Thomas is definitely one o my new favorites. The text is very predictable as readers watch as the cat decides where to sit (Will Fat Cat sit on...the CHICKEN?) The illustrations are perfect. The facial expressions on all of the animals add to the story and the colors are quite fun. This is one of those books that I can't keep close to me--everyone I show it to keeps it or passes it along to someone else. Every class that has heard it has quickly determined it is a class favorite. A definite must for Pre-K-1 classrooms. I must say that reading it aloud to kids has that same feel that DON'T LET THE PIGEON DRIVE THE BUS! has. It is fun for kids and fun for the adult reader too!

Today, I picked up Emily Gravett's new book MONKEY AND ME. I am becoming a huge Gravett fan so this was an easy decision. She is brilliant. This book consists of very simple texts that repeats, great picture support and great possibilities for predictions.

NEVER TAKE A SHARK TO THE DENTIST ( AND OTHER THINGS NOT TO DO) by Judi Barrett. You know Judi Barret from CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS and ANIMALS SHOULD DEFINITELY NOT WEAR CLOTHING. This book is just as fun! There is only one line of text per page and each one tells the reader about something they should never do. For example, one page tells you to "Never hold hands with a lobster." The thing I like best about this book for new readers is that the illustration next to the text provides the "why" for the statement. If the reader is not sure why the statement would cause problems, the illustration explains the reasons. (For example, in the picture accompanying the lobster statement, you see many animals who HAVE done this and now have hands wrapped in bandages, swollen paws, etc. The simple predictable text and picture support is perfect for young readers.

I think that it is CRITICAL that we get over this leveled book craze that has gone too far and get real books back into the hands of our children. These are three that fit this mission!

New Contest at Two Writing Teachers!

Ruth and Stacey at Two Writing Teachers have announced a great new March contest--"The Slice of Life" Challenge. They are challenging bloggers to post and link Slice of Life Stories. On March 31, they will have a drawing for the winner. They suggest having your students write Slice of Life stories. They have great ideas, forms, etc. posted on their blog if you are interested in challenging your students. But I found it to be the perfect excuse to write our own Slice of Life Stories--those things we never take the time to write about. I already have a few ideas. I am pretty sure I won't win the contest but I am so excited to join in by adding a few of my own personal pieces. Stay tuned and join in the fun!

Poetry Friday -- Riveted

RIVETED
by Robyn Sarah from A Day's Grace: Poems 1997-2002.

It is possible that things will not get better
than they are now, or have been known to be.
*
*
*
...But it is probable
that we will stay seated in our narrow seats
all through the tedious dénouement
to the unsurprising end — riveted, as it were;
spellbound by our own imperfect lives
because they are lives,
and because they are ours.


Read the whole poem here.


It's been awhile since one of Garrison Keillor's poems on The Writer's Almanac spoke directly to my heart. It happened yesterday. I read those first two lines and they said so much:

• Age happens.
  
• Bodies fall apart.
• Public education.
• Global warming.

The middle of the poem made me slump down in my chair. But then the ending. The truth of the ending. The glory that makes us cling to life even when our bodies betray us. Even when current events seem to be going somewhere in a hand basket.

I'm listening to The Amber Spyglass by Phillip Pullman right now. Lyra and Will are in the Land of the Dead. I dedicate this poem to them, to the force of life, to all of the amazing things we each will do with our lives.



Kelly Fineman has the roundup today.

Snow

I got an email this week with the subject, "Are you snowed in?"

The answer is no, we're not snowed IN, we're snowed UNDER. We'll be back just as soon as one or the other of us can get our head above the drifts.

Dublin Literacy Conference 2008

Saturday, February 23
+/- 700 teachers and librarians
8 great authors: Pam Munoz Ryan, Jenni Holm, Jennifer Roy, Melanie Watt, Sharon Taberski, Jen Allen, Aimee Buckner, and Terry Thompson

Lots of fun moments, but this was my favorite: I was doing my presentation on blogging. Approximately 1% of the conference attendees were in my session, most notably, Megan, from Read, Read, Read. Karen came in towards the end. Katie was at the conference, too, and of course, so was Franki. Small world, eh? It gets better.

My formal (if you can call it that) presentation was over and conversation had turned to tracking blog statistics. I went to SiteMeter. Just for fun, I showed them the world map view of the last hundred visitors to A Year of Reading. When our blog was new, I used to spend a lot of time poring over that map, wondering how someone in India or Australia had found our blog. It's been a long time since I looked at the map. As the cursor passed over the UK and the ID box for Glasgow popped up, I realized that I knew who that was! TadMack, you, too were at my presentation on Saturday. Now that's a small world!

Poetry Friday -- Chant Me Home

As I sat at my desk pondering the topic of this chant, I looked at the walls above my desk: at the thunderhead and windmill photo I've had since high school, at the 3-D map of Colorado my friend Jim gave me when I was desperately homesick my first two years of teaching in Dallas, at the meadowlark print that can take me back home in a glance. Behind me on the bookshelves I scanned an entire shelf of beloved books by western authors and books about the women's history of the westward movement.

And I had my topic.

This is a chant for the landscape of my growing up years -- the wide, flat, empty, semi-arid short grass prairie of eastern Colorado. The chant is comprised of images, authors, and, in italics, book titles.



The Solace of Open Places
or
It's Not the End of the Earth, But You Can See it From Here

High, Wide and Lonesome
unbroken sod,
O Pioneers! and
my Uncle Bob.

Great Plains: jackrabbits
antelope and Deere,
wagon ruts, meadowlarks
and tumbleweeds found here.

Kent Haruf, Hal Borland, Ian Frazier,
Gretel Ehrlich, Willa Cather, Wallace Stegner.

Eventide, Plainsong
A Sense of Place,
Wolf Willow, My Antonia
Nothing To Do But Stay.

Lark buntings, windmills
towering thunderheads,
grasshoppers, feedlots
the family homestead.

Pioneer Women,
amber waves of grain.
Close my eyes, open a book,
I can go home again.



I wrote this chant for Miss Rumphius' Monday Poetry Stretch.
The Poetry Friday roundup is at Big A little a.

Amulet, Book One: The Stonekeeper

Amulet, Book One: The Stonekeeper
by Kazu Kibuishi
Graphix, an imprint of Scholastic, 2008
ages 9-12

The beginning of this book is very scary. Very.

It is scary, and it hooks you immediately, and it makes the pain and grief of Emily, Navin and their mother very real.

The three have gone to live in an old ancestral home and start a new life. While they are cleaning up the wreck of a home that was left to the kids' mother by her grandfather, Emily finds a pendant and has Navin tie it on around her neck. Little does she know that the pendant (the amulet of the title) will glow, have the power to save her and her brother from a creepy tentacled creature, talk to her, make demands of her, and ultimately be needed to try to save their mother.

The kids are aided in their quest to save their mother by a pink cartoon bunny named Miskit and a variety of robots, some kindly, one sarcastic, and one an obviously rehabbed vacuum that says, "Squeet."

My favorite moment in the book is when the house gets up on its feet and climbs a mountain.

Kazu Kibuishi is the editor of the popular Flight anthologies of graphic short stories. Volume 3 was nominated for the 2006 Cybils, and Volume 4 made it to the short list of the 2007 Cybils. That is just to say that the art and the storytelling in this book are top notch. Scholastic's Graphix imprint is shaping up to be a showcase of some of the best talent in graphic novels, and not just a hurry-up-and-jump-on-the-graphic-novels-bandwagon sort of imprint. Amulet will appeal to the fans of the Bone series. Scholastic's readability range is 9-12, but I can see some 7 and 8 year-olds loving Amulet.

There's just one problem: we have to wait for book two!

Nonfiction Monday

I've got nothin' today.
Monday snuck up on me this week.

Here's someone who's with it -- go check out Karen's post at Literate Lives.

The roundup is at Picture Book of the Day.

Previously

Previously
by Allan Ahlberg
illustrated by Bruce Ingman
Candlewick, 2007

My students are going to love this book! We've been on a read aloud tangent recently -- books that are take-offs of folk tales ( The Boy Who Cried Wolf, The Wolf Who Cried Boy, The Dog Who Cried Wolf, Wolf! Wolf!) and books that reference folk tales or fairy tales or Mother Goose rhymes in the telling (Mary Had a Little Ham, And The Dish Ran Away With the Spoon). I was tickled to see two girls sprawled out on the floor last week with Tomie dePaola's Mother Goose searching for half-forgotten or half-learned rhymes.

Previously begins as Goldilocks arrives home all bothered and hot. PREVIOUSLY she had been running through the dark woods because PREVIOUSLY she had been at the three bears' house, and PREVIOUSLY she had run into a boy who was also running through the woods but he had a hen under his arm. A boy named Jack. Who (glad to have this cleared up once and for all) has a sister named Jill.

Ahlberg PREVIOUSLYs the reader all the way back to Once Upon a Time in a very satisfying story that looks back over its shoulder to lots of well-know characters and tales.

The Year of the Rat by Grace Lin

I LOVED THE YEAR OF THE DOG when it came out last year so I was THRILLED to see this sequel at the bookstore last week!
The Year of the Rat by Grace Lin is another story about Pacy and her friend Melody. In THE YEAR OF THE RAT, Pacy knows that this year means lots of change. Her best friend, Melody, has to move away and so many things are changing.


I love the way Grace Lin ties in so many great issues--change not being so bad, stereotypes, traditions, and more. Just as in the first book, stories from the parents' past are woven into the story to teach Pacy (and readers) about something important.

Ever since the kids in my class discovered THE YEAR OF THE DOG, I haven't seen it again. It is making its rounds. I know that when I show them this book next week, I may not see it again until June. It is a great book to fall in love with.


I love these characters and the writing is amazing. I am sooo hoping that the series continues. I am hoping to hear lots more about this family! WRITE FAST, GRACE LIN.

Poetry Friday -- Google Reader Chant

Inspired by April Pulley Sayre's three chant books Trout, Trout, Trout, Ant, Ant, Ant, and Bird, Bird, Bird, I set out to create a chant of all the blogs in my Google Reader. As you might imagine, I wound up with an even more profound appreciation for April's books. She works magic with animal names. I think I missed magic by quite a long shot.

I do okay with the chant rhythms (mostly), but my rhymes fall by the wayside fairly early. Every now and then, the chant seems to say something, but that is most likely by accident. And the ending...well, if you were jumping rope to this, you wouldn't mind so much that it.just.ends. (But it ends with a Chair, a Fireplace and a Tea Cozy so that you can snuggle up with your favorite book or computer and read! The roundup today is at hipwritermama.)

So I give you...

Blog, Blog, Blog

a Google Reader Chant

TechSpace

Fuse 8

Lisa Yee

Book Moot

Farm School

Read, Read, Read

Squeetus

BookBuds

Bartography

Cybils

Indexed

Planet Esme

Big A little a

Escape Adulthood

My Breakfast Platter

Jen Robinson

Literate Lives

Miss Rumphius

Educating Alice

Finding Wonderland

Sam Riddleburger

Excelsior File

Shady Glade, Bonny Glen

Learning on the Edge

Read Roger

7-Imp

Read Write Believe

Gotta Book

Random Thoughts

Check It Out, please!

Open Wide, Look Inside

Blue Rose Girls

Candy Blog

Scholar's Blog

Wizards Wireless

Children's Illustration

Today I Like

Two Writing Teachers

Liz in Ink

Chicken Spaghetti

BB-Blog

Hipwritermama

Creative Literacy

Mother Reader

Lowry Updates

laurasalas

a wrung sponge

Wild Rose Reader

I.N.K.

Robin Brande

Borderland

Greetings From Nowhere

Reading Zone

Mentor Texts

Tea Cozy

CYBILS WINNERS ANNOUNCED!!!

The 2007 CYBILS Winners were announced today. You can see the whole write-up on the CYBILS website. I was very excited about the list. I am especially excited that BOOK OF A THOUSAND DAYS by Shannon Hale is on the list--what an amazing read!

I was part of the Poetry judging. What a fun time we had! Thanks to Gregory K (Gotta Book), Jone (Check It Out), Sara (Read Write Believe), and Cloudscome (A Wrung Sponge) for some great discussions! Such great poetry this year. If you have not read the winner, THIS IS JUST TO SAY by Joyce Sidman, I would recommend reading. I'll try to do a review soon but for now, check out the CYBILS site!

By the way, Sara Lewis Holmes has my favorite CYBILS announcement of the day!

Stories With Echoes

The Castle Corona
by Sharon Creech
illuminated by David Diaz
HarperCollins, 2007

I'm pretty sure Sharon Creech has already written this book once before. Maybe twice. Plucky brother and sister orphans who are mistreated but wind up in the care of interesting grandparent-ly people. Wasn't that Ruby Holler? Merge the brother and sister into one girl character, throw in storytelling and a search for identity. Wasn't that Walk Two Moons?

Don't get me wrong. I'm not complaining. Obviously these story bones have great resonance for Sharon Creech, and I think any child who reads by author will be delighted to discover this. Any child who reads by book has at least a one in three chance of reading some version of this story if they dip into Sharon Creech's works and promptly dip out again.

I loved the 56 short-short chapters (also a hallmark of Ruby Holler) and the illuminations by David Diaz. I loved the mood she set with the language and the mirroring of the peasant and noble worlds. I loved the hermits. I want one. I also want a tunnel of hornbeam trees. No need to wish for a wordsmith. I've got Sharon Creech and a thousand thousand others who will keep me entertained for years to come!

Welcome to the Kidlitosphere!

Join us in welcoming our friends and colleagues Karen and Bill in the launch of their co-blog, Literate Lives. Because Karen, Bill, Franki and I have all taught in the same district for lots of years, our paths have crissed and crossed many times depending on what buildings we were at, what grades we taught, what committees we were on, and what teacher (or now, librarian) hats we were wearing at the time. And now we're sharing this blogging path. Very exciting!

2 Great New Picture Books

I am partial to sheep books. Every since I read Wool Gathering: A Sheep Family Reunion, I keep my eye out for amusing sheep characters. Woolbur by Leslie Helakoski may be my new favorite. First of all, he is adorable. The cover illustration lets you know that this is a character you'll come to love. The inside flap calls him a free spirit. He is a leader in his own sense--making his own rules and having fun with life in general. He doesn't like to play by the rules--he likes to do his own thing. And his parents worry and worry. The lesson hits you over the head in this book but that is okay because Woolbur is such a great character, you feel his joy in living in the moment. Love this book!

And the new Fancy Nancy book came out this week! I think it might be my favorite of the three. Fancy Nancy Bonjour Butterfly I like the yellows in the illustrations and I love that Nancy is dressed in butterfly apparel. This story is more than about being fancy--it is about having to miss a friend's birthday party to attend a family event. Even though Nancy is initially disappointed, she has a great time at her grandparents' anniversary party. I am excited about all of the upcoming easy readers, etc. that will be coming out soon. I am not usually a big fan of these types of books but kids LOVE this character so giving them some books that they can read on their own makes sense tome. Can't wait to see what Fancy Nancy will do next!

Landmark Birthday

Have a good one, Mo!

Nonfiction Monday -- Triangle Shirtwaist Fire

I'm going to cheat a bit today. The nonfiction part of my post is not a book. Instead, I give you some links for nonfiction reading you might do before or after you finish Margaret Peterson Haddix's book Uprising: Three Young Women Caught in the Fire That Changed America.

Cornell University's Online Exhibit on The Triangle Factory Fire

Wikipedia entry on The Triangle Factory Fire

History of the Union Movement in America

Library of Congress Immigration Site

Scholastic Site on Women's Suffrage

Wikipedia -- What else happened in 1911?

Uprising: Three Young Women Caught in the Fire That Changed America
by Margaret Peterson Haddix
Simon and Schuster, 2007

This book should be required reading for all women and girls -- to remind us or teach us how far we've come in the struggle for equal rights.

This book should be required reading for anyone whose ancestors were immigrants in America -- to remind us or teach us about the sacrifices that were made to make our cities and our country what it is today.

This book should be required reading for anyone whose association or union is currently involved in negotiations -- to remind us or to teach us the importance of the rights of the worker.

Haddix has written a story that is very accessible. Framed in the beginning and the end by young women who are questioning a survivor of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire, the story is told from three points of view -- Yetta, a Jewish girl who is a Russian immigrant, Bella, an Italian immigrant, and Jane, a high society girl. These three stories become entwined in very believable ways, and the ending, while tragic, provides hope, both for the future in the story and for our modern day future.


Anastasia Suen at Picture Book of the Day is hosting the Nonfiction Monday round up.

Timing

I'm Late

I was going to feature Oh, Brother (Nikki Grimes) for Poetry Friday last week. Luckily, I did a blog search and remembered that the book made it to my "To Buy Soon" list because of what I read here.

I read Jellaby (Vol. 1, by Kean Soon) yesterday and loved it. Fuse #8 reviewed it yesterday and loved it even more.

There's a new nonfiction blog in town. I.N.K. made its debut a week ago.

John Edwards had been out of the race for two days before I got the news.

I'm not even going to admit to the size of the piles of need-to-be-graded papers...

I'm Early

Cybils winners will be announced this coming week. Go take the surveys at the Cybils site while you wait.

That's all I've got for early. I don't do early so much...

Poetry Friday -- Macbeth

Macbeth
Act 3, Scene 2
spoken by Lady Macbeth

Hand-lettered on chipboard when I was between 16-18 years old, this was within sight of my desk for lots of years. Maybe as much as a decade. I think it reminded me to love my work. I think it said to me, "If you're going to go down, go down in the flames of your own fire. Don't go over to the other side just to survive."

I found it the other day in the two-drawer file cabinet in my closet in a file labeled "Food For Thought."

Maybe it's time to hang it over my desk again.


The Poetry Friday Roundup is at AmoXcalli this week.

Support for teachers of autistic children

Even though I declared it "Required Reading," maybe you're not up for a 500+ page graphic novel about a Japanese family's experience when their first child is diagnosed with autism. Maybe you just need some helpful strategies for the child who is in your classroom. Things you can do tomorrow.

In my experience, the best resources are the people who know the child well. Our school is lucky. We have experienced paraprofessionals who work with our special needs kids, with our special education teachers, and with regular education teachers throughout the elementary school career of the children. They are invaluable.

I asked our special ed teachers what professional books they would recommend for teachers of autistic children. Rather than books, they recommended Autism.com. The site is searchable -- try "teachers" or "teacher resources" for starters.

For further anecdotal reading, I would recommend Rules by Cynthia Lord, and Temple Grandin's work. (I found Temple Grandin by reading Oliver Sacks' fascinating books.)

Are there any other great (practical) resources you would recommend?

Nonfiction Monday

Bird, Bird, Bird! (A Chirping Chant)

by April Pulley Sayre

illustrated by Gary Locke

Northword Press, 2007

I didn't think April Pulley Sayre could top Trout, Trout, Trout and Ant, Ant, Ant, her first two chant books. But she has!

63 names of American birds, arranged in a rhyming chant and illustrated with caricatures, invite the reader to experience the diversity of bird life in America.

This is not a serious birding book. This is a book for sparking interest based on the sometimes descriptive, sometimes wacky names of the birds. In the back of the book, each bird gets 1-2 sentences of factual information.

This is also a book for word lovers and poets. April must do some serious tinkering, fiddling, and reading out loud before she has a final rhyme. And then, how fun to see it come to life in a whole new way once the illustrations are added!

How's this for a poetry stretch -- could you take the names of a group of, say, 10-20 rodents, or mammals (or even poets, authors or bloggers) and make them into a rhyming chant? I'm heading over to Miss Rumphius right now to suggest it!

******
Our interview with April last year is here.
Charlotte's Library got an advanced copy of April's next book, Trees Are Made of Trout (I'm so jealous!), which she reviews here.
April's website is here.
The Nonfiction Monday roundup is here.

Process

I so needed this reminder that all of life is a process, including life in the public schools.

It's about the kids, not the tests.

Poetry Friday -- Keeping My Eye On The Big Picture

It's been a long week, what with parent conferences on Tuesday night. I'm feeling a bit like Sisyphus, and not always as sure as the poet that there is a benevolent Big Plan.** Still, I do celebrate, like Countee Cullen, our quirky human experience on this amazing planet.

Yet Do I Marvel
By Countee Cullen

I doubt not God is good, well-meaning, kind,
And did He stoop to quibble could tell why
The little buried mole continues blind,
Why flesh that mirrors Him must some day die,
Make plain the reason tortured Tantalus
Is baited by the fickle fruit, declare
If merely brute caprice dooms Sisyphus
To struggle up a never-ending stair.


(The rest of the poem is here. Round up is at Karen Edmisten.)


**Almost at the exact moment I hit the "publish post" button, the phone rang. Two hour delay because of the icy rain last night. That's as close to a lightning bolt as I want to get, so I now stand IN TOTAL AGREEMENT with Countee Cullen!!!!