HUFF AND PUFF by Claudia Rueda

HUFF AND PUFF
by Claudia Rueda
Abrams Appleseed, 2012

Yes, this is probably a book best suited for preschool readers, but what's not to love about a new, interactive version of The Three Little Pigs?

The heavy cardboard cover has circular window cut-out, through which we see the three little pigs. The pages are heavy stock, and the text is very simple, with one line per page on the left and an illustration on the right: "First pig building a house. First pig inside the house. One wolf huffing and puffing." When we get to "One wolf huffing and puffing," the illustration page has the words "HUFF & PUFF" written really big on the texture of the corresponding house. The "belly" of the ampersand is cut out so that the reader, playing the wolf, can huff and puff and blow the house down.

Well, we all know what happens when the wolf gets to the house of bricks, but that doesn't mean you know what will happen at the end of this book!

What's On My Kindle?

About a month ago, Franki wrote about her Kindle reading. Recently, I've gotten a little download happy, so I thought it might behoove me to look through what I've got on my Kindle so I can make a plan to get it all read. Heaven forbid that I become a Kindle hoarder!!

KINDLE DAILY DEAL
If you have a Kindle/Kindle app, I suggest that you sign up for the Kindle Daily Deal email from Amazon. I rarely buy the deal, but when it's a good deal, it's a REALLY good deal. Because of Winn Dixie was the Kindle Daily Deal a couple of weeks back, and so for 99 cents, I got a copy with my school account and loaded it on the 6 school iPads, and for another 99 cents, I got it for all of my own devices. I LOVE reading Because of Winn Dixie as a read aloud, and the movie is one of the few children's book-to-movie adaptations that I really love. Whole sections of text are in the movie verbatim. So I'm reading it aloud, and while most of the children are reading along in the book, eight each day are getting the experience of Kindle reading on the school's and my iPads and on our classroom Kindle. Very fun!

It's getting to be that time in my career when people are starting to ask, "So...how many years do YOU have left before you retire?" The freedom of retirement is starting to sound REALLY appealing to me, but the financial piece scares me witless. When 7 Money Rules for Life by Molly Hunt came up on the Kindle Daily Deal recently...click...purchased.

I can't remember which was the Daily Deal, but both How We Decide and Imagine--How Creativity Works by Jonah Lehrer are both on my Kindle shelf. I've started Imagine. It's fascinating.

The Best American Short Stories, edited by Geraldine Brooks was an easy sell -- I love Geraldine Brooks, and reading a collection of short stories edited by her seems like a way to read over the shoulder of an author I love. The Best American Sampler will be a fun way to graze the Best American series.

POETRY
Janet Wong and Sylvia Vardell opened my eyes to poetry e-books with Poetry Tag Time, Gift Tag and P*Tag. Through Poetry Friday recommendations, I now also carry David L. Harrison's Goose Lake, Diane Lockward's Twelve for the Record, Irene Latham's The Color of Lost Rooms, and Greg Pincus' The Late Bird with me wherever my iPad goes. That lifts Keep A Poem in Your Pocket to a whole new level, I think! Who knows whose poetry might show up self-published in an e-book someday!! (...heh, heh...)

PROFESSIONAL BOOKS
I can't bear to get rid of any of the professional books that fill an entire bookcase at home and a shelf at school. At the same time, I have exactly ZERO room to fit another professional book anywhere... except my Kindle! Here are the professional e-books I have so far. I love having them at my fingertips so that when I am planning a lesson or a unit, I can turn to them for ideas no matter where I am, rather than waiting until I can get to one of my physical shelves.

Opening Minds by Peter H. Johnston
Living the Questions by Ruth Shagoury and Brenda Power
Inside Words by Janet Allen
Everyday Editing by Jeff Anderson
Small Steps, Big Changes by Chris Confer and Marco Ramirez

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

Brought to you this week by Mary Lee.

Let's start with the pile that's on my nightstand.

Truth in advertising: A Hero For WondLa is the only one of these three that I've actually started reading. M.T. Anderson has moved from the TBR (To Be Read) shelf to the TBR (Teetering Bedside Reading) pile because he'll be at Cover to Cover on Monday afternoon, and I'm almost giddy about hearing him speak. I've read the first two in the Norumbegan Quartet, and The Empire of Gut and Bone will be one of my first #bookaday summer reads. The Chronicles of Harris Burdick has been on my pile since Christmas (a gift from a student), and I unburied it today and brought it up to the top part of the pile after chatting with Sally (at CTC) about Steven King's story in it (re: I finished listening to the audio of King's 11-22-63 a couple of weeks ago, and I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it.)

Next, my audio reading.

Two reasons why I listened to will grayson, will grayson (finished last week). #1 I loveloveloved The Fault in Our Stars and realized that I need join the John Green fan club. #2 The more I listen to audio books, the more I appreciate a great reader/production. While others are reading all of the Newberys and Caldecotts, I'm thinking I might try to listen to all of the Odyssey Award winners. will grayson, will grayson was an honor book in 2011.

My current audiobook is The Art of Fielding. It and King's 11-22-63 were "follow the crowd" purchases based on "Best Books of 2011" lists on Amazon and Audible. I completely took a risk on both books and I've been pleasantly surprised by both. The Art of Fielding is a baseball book...and SO much more. I love the multiple points of view in it (so similar to will grayson, will grayson!!) and the way the author surprises me to the point of honest-to-goodness out-loud gasps at the plot turns.

Check out what other folks are reading at Teach Mentor Texts. Happy reading!

M.T. Anderson at Cover to Cover TOMORROW

National Book Award Winner

M.T. Anderson

Monday, May 14

4:30-6:00

Cover to Cover Books for Young Readers

author of The Game of Sunken Places (and its sequels), 

The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing (Vol. I and II)

Feed,

Thirsty,

Pals in Peril series,

and the picture book Me, All Alone, At the End of the World

One for the Murphys by Lynda Mullaly Hunt

I knew ONE FOR THE MURPHYS would be my kind of book. I am all about people being changed and growing because of others.  I knew right away that this book might be a tiny bit like PICTURES OF HOLLIS WOODS by Patricia Reilly Giff, THE GREAT GILLY HOPKINS by Katherine Paterson and BABY by Patricia Maclachlan--books that have lived with me for years.

This is the story of Carley Connors, a middle school girl who is placed in foster care after being hurt by her step-father.  Carley's mother is in the hospital recovering from her own injuries from her new husband.  Carley is tough and sarcastic.  She has a hard shell but is easy to get to know and love.  She is placed in foster care with the Murphys--a family who has never had a foster child and a family very different from the one she grew up in.  The Murphys take her in and help her to heal.

I don't want to give too much away but this book is about the power of love and the lasting impact of those who love us. How love can change a person.  It is a perfect middle grade novel in terms of the amount of depth and emotion that are a part of it.  The book deals with serious issues around families, abuse and love but does so in a way that is very appropriate for middle grade children. I felt like it was honest and hopeful at the same time.

I absolutely loved this book--through all of the laughing and the tears.  Carley Connors and Mrs. Murphy are two characters who will stay with me for a very, very long time. Probably forever.

(And if you love the Broadway musical WICKED, there is a even more to love about this book as there is a thread of mentions of this story throughout the story of Carley.)

Poetry Friday -- O Me! O Life!

O Me! O Life! By Walt Whitman O Me! O life!... of the questions of these recurring; Of the endless trains of the faithless--of cities fill'd with the           foolish; Of myself forever reproaching myself, (for who more foolish           than I, and who more faithless?) Of eyes that vainly crave the light--of the objects mean--           of the struggle ever renew'd; Of the poor results of all--of the plodding and sordid crowds           I see around me; Of the empty and useless years of the rest--with the rest           me intertwined; The question, O me! so sad, recurring--What good amid these,           O me, O life?                                   Answer. That you are here--that life exists, and identity; That the powerful play goes on, and you will contribute           a verse. *    *    * Yes, that powerful play is going on, and we are careening hurtling rushing through these last days, through this last act, through this last verse of the song we've been singing since last August. Almost time for the curtains to close, for the conductor's baton to lower. What tracks will we leave in these children's lives? On these children's hearts? Irene has the Poetry Friday roundup today at Live Your Poem...

Happy Birthday TEACH MENTOR TEXTS!

 

I am thrilled to be part of the 2 year blogiversary celebration of one of my favorite blogs--TEACH MENTOR TEXTS.  I have learned so much from Jen and Kellee over the last two years (and have spent lots of money on great new books!)  As part of the celebration, they are asking bloggers to share their favorite mentor texts.

I decided to write about an older book--one that I love when it comes to helping kids see what is possible when it comes to writing, HEY WORLD, HERE I AM by Jean Little. I think I learned about this book in 1991 when I attended the Teachers' College Summer Writing Project at Columbia. (I know that this was long ago because I remember recording every keynote on a very high-tech portable cassette recorder!) And when Jen and Kellee asked me to share a favorite mentor text, this one came to mind. It came to mind because it is one that impacts kids' writing every single year.

HEY WORLD, HERE I AM is a poetry book, a journal and more.  It was published in 1989 and had many great reviews and awards that year.  And even though it is a 1989 publication, so much of it still rings true for children today.  This book is a collection of entries by Kate Bloomfield. She writes about siblings, friends, loss and school.  She writes with passion and joy and with the insights of of a tween girl.

Each and every entry in this "notebook" is one that children can learn from. I have used this book when launching writers' notebooks as students begin to see all the ways they can make sense of their lives on paper. I've use pieces separately for specific minilessons.  "Not Enough Emilys" is one of my favorite pieces in this book.  In this piece, the author talks about her friend Emily--but instead of telling us about her by describing her, we learn about her through her actions. It is a powerful piece for both readers and writers learning about character.

I've used this book as a mentor for readers learning to think deeply around text. A poem in the book called "Five Dollars" is about a time when Kate stole $5 from her mother's wallet. The poem is about guilt and is an honest reflection that gets readers thinking in a way that helps them understand the character more deeply.

Another poem I like is poems in this collection is Louisa, Louisa. This  is a great poem about a new baby.  Welcoming her into the world and celebrating her new life.

I don't think there is a piece in this book I haven't used with students.  It is a book I really couldn't live without in my teaching of reading and writing. Kate is a character I love and I love coming to know her through her writing.

You can take a peek into this book at the Harper Collins site. And it is in paperback so it is doable to buy several copies of this one for your classroom.

Who Will Save My Planet by Maria Cristina Urrutia

I picked up WHO WILL SAVE MY PLANET by Maria Cristina Urrutia at Cover to Cover. It is a wordless book and the story it tells is a serious one. This is a small book filled with photos of our world.   The photographer uses two page spreads to show us the depth of the problems--how the Earth has become ruined. In each two page spread, Urrutia shows two intense photos. One shows the problem--a forest of trees chopped down, an animal in a cage, etc. The other side of each spread shows a connected picture--showing how things should be if we take care of things.  There is not one word in this book but the photographs tell a powerful story of where we are in taking care of our world.

I picked this up for many reasons--I am always looking for wordless books because I think they are great to begin talk around ideas.  I also thought this would be a great conversation starter around visual literacy, how to read images, etc.  This book has lots of possibilities.

EGGS 1-2-3 by Janet Halfmann

I love when I find a great new nonfiction picture book that is perfect for young children. EGGS 1-2-3: WHO WILL THE BABIES BE? is my new favorite find in this category.  This lift-the-flap book is by Janet Halfmann.

This book is not only a nonfiction book--it has great, poetic language and it is also a counting book!  Each two-page spread gives readers a little question about eggs in the illustration. For example "Four eggs, of sky blue, in a nest of grass and mud on a branch in a backyard.  Who will the babies be?" When you lift the flap, you read, "4 robin chicks, with beaks open wide, begging for juicy worms.

The book goes from 1-10 with a fun last page of more counting. I like this book because it weaves in just the right amount of information about the eggs and the babies that hatch from them.  I love it for young readers and I also love it as a mentor for writing--a great format for nonfiction writers with information shared using great language.

POETRY MADNESS

April was a month of POETRY MADNESS in the Riverside Library.  We started out by looking at 64 poetry books from the library.  Rotating from one table to the next, students chose a poetry book they loved. The top 16 books made it to our Poetry Bracket.  

Then, each week, we looked at the challenges on the board--reading poems, sharing thoughts and voting on which book we liked best in each challenge. Each week, a few books moved to the next level of the bracket while others were knocked out.  Until we were down to just two books. The two books in our final challenge were LOOSE LEASHES by Ron Schmidt and Amy Schmidt and SCARUM FAIR.  LOOSE LEASHES came out the winner and the kids were thrilled. This has definitely become the new favorite poetry book in the library this year.

I definitely learned (again) that kids LOVE funny poems.  They like the others if we introduce them but left on their own, they are drawn to poems that are mostly fun.  I was amazed though by how many kids stuck by their less popular choices.  It as fun to see individual students find poetry books and poems that struck them for some reason--not understanding why everyone didn't see what they saw in the poem.

The process was a good one and the talk around poetry was different because of Poetry Madness. Every week, kids would come into the library, eager to see which books had won, which were left. There was informal talk about the books--they knew titles and poems.  

My favorite moment of the whole month of Poetry Madness happened on Friday when the last group of 2nd graders was examining the chart.  Many were cheering about Loose Leashes. Others were looking back at the books that didn't make it, talking about the ones they wished had gone farther in the bracket. One second grade boy said, "I don't know why, but I really wanted STEP GENTLY OUT to win." I said,"Oh, I loved that one too. Why did you like it?" He said, "I don't know. I guess when I read it, I felt peace."  Everyone nodded and agreed.  What an insightful comment. It was then that I realized that the small conversations around Poetry Madness had made a difference to lots of kids. 

In the midst of Poetry Madness, we also celebrated POEM IN YOUR POCKET DAY. Since we had spent so much time looking at 64 great poetry books, it was fun to see the variety of poems that kids chose to carry around that day.  It has been nice to see them talking about poems and poetry books so naturally and happily.