Graphic Novel Week: The Last Council (Amulet, Book 4)

The Last Council (Amulet, Book 4)
by Kazu Kibuishi
Scholastic, 2011
review copy purchased for my classroom library

I'm just about ready to take the Bone series out of my classroom library. First of all, the books are all falling apart, but mostly, now that graphic novels for kids have started to increase in number and quality, Bone stands out as a series that is n-o-t not for younger readers. The Amulet series is.

First of all, the main characters in Amulet are kids. Like Harry Potter, Emily has special powers. She is a Stonekeeper. She's not sure quite what that means for herself or the world -- as the books progress, she learns more. The story revolves around good vs. evil. Sometimes the evil turns out to be good and sometimes the good turns out to be evil.

This fourth book in the series had echoes of the Chaos Walking trilogy and the Hunger Games trilogy (although obviously, I wouldn't expect my fourth grade readers to make those connections -- it's just interesting to see echoes of big themes showing up in new places) : a new world, something's not quite right, working together for survival, betrayal in the name of power, seeming failure, trusted elder.

This is a great series. It's hard to wait a year between books! These books need to be read sequentially, in order to follow the story line.

My review of Book 1: The Stonekeeper.
Why didn't I review Book 2: The Stonekeeper's Curse?
My review of Book 3: The Cloud Searchers.

Very cool Amulet site over at Scholastic.

Recommended for readers in grades 4-6.

Graphic Novel Week: Big City Otto

Big City Otto

by Bill Slavin
Kids Can Press, 2011
review copy provided by the publisher

Otto, the elephant, can't forget his childhood friend, Georgie, the chimp, who was stolen from the jungle by The Man With the Wooden Nose. Crackers, the parrot, and Otto set out to find Georgie. They manage to get on a plane as excess baggage, get to A Big City in America, and begin to search for Georgie. They wind up involved with some shady 'gators in the underground (literally) of the big city. They bust up the mob, get some clues about Georgie, and set off for the Bayou to find him.

There are a lot of sight gags and puns in this story that are likely to go right over younger readers' heads, but young readers are also more likely to accept the impossibility of...well, of the entire storyline. The talking animals, an elephant who can disguise himself in a jacket and hat and go undetected in a crowd...it's all crazy enough to be on Saturday morning TV. Which is why it might work better for kids than logic-minded adults.

This is the second graphic novel this summer (see my review of Sidekicks) that has featured a character with a peanut allergy! Otto is allergic to peanuts, and the mobster 'gators use his explosive sneezes to their advantage.

This is book one of a series that might need to be read sequentially. It's interesting that the story line is the same basic story line as the THREE THIEVES series that I reviewed yesterday: the are chased, separated, helped, reunited, swindled, separated again, helped again, reunited, and the book ends as they set off on in a new direction to find the missing character.

Recommended for readers in 4th-6th grades.

Graphic Novel Week: Three Thieves series

Tower of Treasure
by Scott Chandler
Kids Can Press, 2010
review copy provided by the publisher

Three circus characters -- an orphan girl who's an acrobat, a blue elf-like creature who juggles (and can pick locks), and a giant purple creature who has enormous strength -- conspire to rob the queen's Tower of Treasure. Flashbacks in black and white show us that the girl, Dessa, has a twin brother who has met an uncertain fate by saving her. The trio finds the treasure room, is caught, escapes, are separated, and are reunited. In the process, Dessa gathers some clues about what might have happened to her brother, and in the end, the three set out together to find him.

The Sign of the Black Rock
by Scott Chandler
Kids Can Press, 2011
review copy provided by the publisher

In book two, the three characters from TOWER OF TREASURE wind up at the same inn as the Queen's men who are chasing them. They are helped, discovered, and locked up. They escape, but are rediscovered, separated, locked up again, and escape and are reunited again with more help and more clues about how to find Dessa's brother.

I'm thinking of previewing this series by reading aloud Act One of the first book using the document camera and the SmartBoard.

We can continue to develop our habit of thoroughly previewing a book (and starting our reading thinking) before we ever open a book. The front cover image of THE TOWER OF TREASURE is great for prediction and wondering. The blurb on the back will introduce us to the characters before we meet them and set up the basic outline of the story.

When we open the book, we will see that it is divided into Acts, rather than chapters. We can look at the conventions of graphic novels: panels -- and the direction to read the panels, speech bubbles -- and the direction to read the speech bubbles, size of print, information that is in the illustration rather than the text, and the black and white flashbacks.

We will see that, just like in non-graphic novels, it takes awhile (in this case, about 30 pages) to set up the story for the reader. We will learn about the characters, the setting (place AND time), and the problems/conflicts/what the characters want.

Hmm...that sounds like about three different mini-lessons, not to mention the time it would take to read the first 30 pages under the document camera. Maybe I'll hijack read aloud for a MAXI-lesson...or it could be a week-long series of mini-lessons with one hijacked read aloud.

This is a graphic novel series that needs to be read sequentially. Recommended for readers in 4th-6th grade.

If you're looking for graphic novels for younger readers, browse through our Graphic Novel tag. For even younger readers, wordless books often work in some of the same ways. We haven't been as thorough about tagging wordless books, but a search of our blog with the term "wordless" does an okay job of finding lots of titles.

Gorging on Graphic Novels

The hottest books in my classroom in the first six days of 4th grade?

Graphic novels.

Maybe it's because my students have never had access to such a wide variety.

Maybe it's because my students have never so obviously been "given permission" to read graphic novels.

Maybe it's because lots of my students didn't read over the summer, or aren't fluent in English, and they need the support of the pictures in a not-babyish book.

Or all of the above.

Did you see Terry Thompson's (author of Adventures in Graphica, tweeting @terrytreads) guest post on The Book Whisperer Blog last week? He very concisely talks about how graphic novels are perfect for motivation, scaffolding, and versatility.

Each day this week, I'll be reviewing one or more new graphic novels that will be going into (or are in) my classroom library.


Luz Sees the Lightby Claudia Dávila
Kids Can Press, 2011
review copy provided by the publisher

Luz is a spunky chica who learns the hard way that she needs to make better choices for the Earth. There are blackouts in her city that cause her to realize how dependent she is on electricity. She really wants a pair of expensive imported sneakers, but she has to abandon that dream along with frequent car rides to the mall. As she becomes more enlightened (as she "sees the light") she becomes a neighborhood activist, working with her friends to turn the vacant lot in their neighborhood into a beautiful garden.

Maybe it's a bit didactic, but how many spunky chica main characters do YOU have in your classroom library??? (Me, neither. Now I have one.)

Recommended for readers in 3rd-6th grade, and a perfect tie-in for a science unit on energy.

Tourism Sunday: Belgian Places and Food

BRUSSELS, MONS, BRUGGES, GHENT, ANTWERP

Visit this photo set on Flickr for more details.

BELGIAN FOOD

Visit this photo set on Flickr for more details.

August Mosaic

Glimpses of August -- food, BIG dog, BIG bug, a trip to the West Side Market in Cleveland, fun with Central Ohio bloggers at Cover to Cover, a peek into my classroom.

Coming tomorrow -- the last of the photos from Belgium (food and places).

Poetry Friday -- Ode to the First Weeks of School

Flickr Creative Commons Photo by Catrina Steams

Well, I’m a steamroller, baby
I’m bound to roll all over you
Yes, I’m a steamroller now, baby
I’m bound to roll all over you
I’m gonna inject your soul with some sweet rock ’n roll
And shoot you full of rhythm and blues

The rest of James Taylor's lyrics are here.

James Taylor with hair sings it here.

James Taylor without hair sings it here.

Commentary: It's the end of the first full week of school. Need I say more? 

...I didn't think so.

Looking forward to the long weekend.

Tricia, at The Miss Rumphius Effect, is rounding us up, in spite of being in her sixth day of no electricity. Talk about being steamrolled! And Irene-rolled, too! 

THE JEWEL FISH OF KARNAK by Graeme Base

Years ago,  I was obsessed with Graeme Base's THE ELEVENTH HOUR. It was a fun mystery with a code that needed to be solved.  My family and I spent hours working through the text and pictures to determine the answer to the mystery.  My students (at the time 4th graders) were also hooked and many spent days working on the puzzle.  I can see the same thing happening with Graeme Base's new book THE JEWEL FISH OF KARNAK.

Graeme Base's newest picture book takes place in Ancient Egypt.  Two thieves named Jackal and Ibis are caught stealing.  The only way that they can be pardoned by the Cat Pharaoh is to find and bring back the golden Jewel Fish of Karnak that was stolen by the Crocodile Prince.  It sounds easy enough and they don't have many rules to follow. The Cat Pharaoh does let them know that it is important that they (#1)  do not take anything else and (#2) do not let the Jewel Fish get wet.

All goes well enough and the two thieves take the Jewel Fish and get away.  However, they do take a few extra treasures with them when they go. I won't give away the whole ending (that is not really the ending), but the Jewel Fish is lost and the thieves must confess to the Cat Pharaoh.

Just as in THE ELEVENTH HOUR, it seems the fun begins after the last page because the Cat Pharaoh sends them to find the fish.  This is where the reader comes in.  The challenge is for the reader to use the codes and puzzles throughout the book to find the fish. When the fish is discovered, it can be turned in to the Cat Pharaoh on Graeme Base's website for a reward.

I can see a few kids digging into this book and working hard to find the solution.  I have lots of readers who love codes and who love to read about Ancient Egypt.   I plan to share Graeme Base's book trailer (available on his site) with students sometime this month. I think the trailer will definitely hook them!

Pearl Verses the World: Another Great Novel in Verse

I love novels in verse. I have seen so much power in books written in this format over the past several years. Often, these books are powerful but the format allows for deep reading. Because there is not as much text as in a "regular" novel, kids who struggle with grade level text and kids who struggle with stamina to get through an entire book, can build that stamina, confidence and fluency with novels and verse.  And, they almost always invite great conversations.

Pearl Verses the World by Sally Murphy is a perfect example of why I love great novels in verse.  Pearl is a young girl who lives with her mother an grandmother. But her grandmother is suffering from dementia and no longer recognizes Pearl or her mother.  Pearl's mother is the sole caregiver and the grandmother's illness is taking a toll on everyone. Pearl is trying to make sense of it all. She desperately wants her grandmother back and her grief and feeling of loss is part of the book.

This is a quick read.  (only 73 pages) But it is a hard read.  Pearl is the one telling the story and she is having a hard time.  Her life is difficult right now and she is struggling. School is hard, her teacher doesn't appreciate her poetry and her grandmother's illness weighs heavily on her at all times.  I came to love Pearl very early in the book. She is genuine and honest.  She is dealing with real problems and is handling it all in very real ways.

New Learning Tools in the Library

This is my fourth year in the school library and I think I am finally finished moving shelves and big furniture. For the most part, at least.  It took me about 2 years to get the space to really work for the students. I am lucky to have a very supportive principal, an amazing library aide, and a wonderful custodian. They've all been hugely instrumental in recreating the space with me. This year, there are not many big changes.  I felt like the space was working--lots of spaces for different groups of students. Lots of spaces for different types of work.  So, this year, kids will come back to the space they know (and hopefully love).

We do have some new learning tools in the library that I am very excited about.  They aren't all in yet but here are the things that I think will open up new possibilities for students this year in the library.

I am most excited about my VuPoint Magic Wand Scanner.  I attended a workshop in August and Sara Kajder (@skajder) was the speaker.  She shared this tool during the talk. Luckily, my Internet was up and I believe that I purchased it before she was finished talking about it! This is a portable scanner. One that doesn't need to be housed in one spot or connected to anything. It works like a camera but is more of a scanner. (It is battery operated with a camera card so that photos can be easily moved.)  I can imagine scanning student work that I want to keep in an assessment folder. Students can scan writing or art that they might want to add to a blog post.  They can scan things to plug into presentations.  So many possibilities of what we can do with this tool--helping to put anything kids do in some digital format. (You can read a little bit more about this one on my husband's technology blog.)

Our library has several different building toys. I believe strongly that a library needs many tools for learning and building tools are definitely a learning tool. My hope is to add more challenge-based options for students who want to use these tools this year.  A friend mentioned Flexeez in a recent blog post and once I saw what could be done with them, I ordered them. The box didn't seem to hold much when it arrived but these little pieces can create some very cool things. They are flexible and that allows for a different type of building. I can't wait to see what kids create with these!


I also have a very inexpensive Document Camera, the IPEVO Point 2 View.  I wanted a document camera that kids could use.  And when I tried it out, it works out great. I want to work with students on quality work, quality presentations, sharing information, etc. this year.  I also am pretty sure that with access to this, kids will think of ways to use it that I haven't thought of yet.  It is pretty portable so there are lots of possibilities.




We have a five Kindles in the library. I am not sure where we are going with eReaders but I think it is important that kids have access to the many tools people use to read.  I want students to experience reading in a variety of ways and to know what is possible. So, I purchased two Color Nooks this summer. I loaded them with mostly picture books, thinking that these would be used mostly for that. I want kids to have access to various ebooks and the Color Nook seemed like the smartest purchase for picture book reading.

We have 4 iPads and 2 iPod Touches on the way.  Our goal this year is to get lots of the technology that has traditionally been stored in the library out to classrooms so that students have access to the tools they need all day.  So, we will add some new technology tools for use mostly in the library. I need to work with our Technology Specialist about apps for both the iPods and the iTouches but I am thinking most of the apps we purchase will be production type tools that allow students to create things. I want them to have access to various ways to create. And of course, I will add a QR code reader.   (I also have 2-3 Wacom Bamboo Tablets that I am hoping kids find ways to utilize with draw programs, etc.)

And last, but definitely not least, may possibly end up being my very favorite learning tools is the Dry Erase Table that is currently on order. I've cleared out a corner of the library to create a type of "production area". This will be the area where kids will have space to film, think together, etc. The green screen is housed on a wall in this area and the cameras, flip videos, iPod touches, etc. will also be stored here.  The dry erase table will be a tool for collaboration. This will be a space where small groups can think, plan and design together.  When I envision an learning community, I think that this piece is key--a place to think off of one another's thinking, a place where it will become evident that what we can do together is often stronger than what any one person can do individually.

Those are the new tools that kids will see in the library over the next few weeks.  I know it will take a while for the newness factor to wear off and I know students will need a time to see what these tools are about but I am certain that each of these tools will add new invitations for learning to students.