Books from The Horn Book: March/April

I have a subscription to The Horn Book Magazine and it is one of my favorite things.  I spend a couple of hours reading each issue. No matter how much I keep up online and with friends about new and upcoming books, The Horn Book always alerts me to books I haven't heard about.  I always end up adding several books to my To-Read Stack.  Sometimes I get most of the book titles from the reviews, sometimes from the ads, and sometimes from the articles. If you haven't picked up The Horn Book lately, it is well worth in terms of what is offered in every issue.

Over Spring Break, I read the newest issue of The Horn Book.  And I found lots of new books to add to my stack!   I find that mostly, the books I find are books from favorite authors--I am always thrilled to see new books by authors I already love!  These are the books I want to add to my stack after reading

I love anything written by Charlotte Zolotow so I definitely want to read Changes: A Child's First Poetry Collection.

I had seen Return to Augie Hobble by Lane Smith but for some reason I had thought it was more middle school/YA. After reading the 5 Questions Interview (a Horn Book Feature that I LOVE), I added this one to my list. It looks too good to miss and definitely good for older elementary readers.  This is Lane Smith's first novel!

Bob Shea has a new series coming out for beginning readers. Ballet Cat looks to be fabulously fun. I love Bob Shea's other books and am excited to see a new series from him.  This one is more early chapter book, I think.

Yard Sale is a new picture book by Eve Bunting. As with all of her books, this one looks to be a great conversation starter. It will give kids lots to think about.

Knit Together by Angela Dominguez is one that drew me in because of the topic. A little girl loves to draw and her mothers loves to knit.  This seems like a book that can invite great conversations around creating, creativity, following your passion, etc. 

And who wouldn't want to meet two new duck characters from Olivier Dunrea. Gemma and Gus looks as fun as the others!

I Don't Like Koala by Sean Ferrell looks like a picture book my 3rd graders might like.  It is described by a few reviewers as "creepy".   The Horn Book describes it as clever. Seems to be just the kind of humor I like in a picture book!

I was very excited to see Look! by Jeff Mack coming soon!  I love Jack Mack and am thrilled that his new book is about books and reading! What fun!

I'm not a big fan of The Stupids and this book is being compared to it. But I am a fan of Sara Pennypacker so I definitely want to read Meet the Dullards. Looks pretty funny to me! (Love that the cover says "Extra Boring Edition"! How could this not be hysterical?)

There are LOTS more great books reviewed and discussed in this issue (and EVERY issue) of The Horn Book Magazine.  There are just some of the titles I am adding to my stack after reading the issue. I imagine when I pop through the issue again, I'll add more. I highly recommend reading The Horn Book from cover to cover 6 times a year!  

2015 Notable Children's Books in the English Language Arts

2015 Notable Children's Books in the English Language Arts

A Library Book for Bear Written by Bonny Becker, Illustrated by Kady MacDonald Denton, Published by Candlewick Press.

Any Questions? Written and illustrated by Marie-Louise Gay, Published by Groundwood Books.

A Snicker of Magic Written by Natalie Lloyd, Published by Scholastic.

Ava and Pip Written by Carol Weston, Published by Sourcebooks/Jabberwocky.

brown girl dreaming Written by Jacqueline Woodson, Published by Nancy Paulson Books/Penguin/Random House.

Construction Written by Sally Sutton, Illustrated by Brian Lovelock, Published by Candlewick Press.

Firefly July Written by Paul B Janeczko, Illustrated by Melissa Sweet, Published by Candlewick Press.

Help! We Need a Title! Written and illustrated by Herve Tullet, Published by Candlewick Press.

It’s an Orange Aardvark! Written and illustrated by Michael Hall, Published by Greenwillow/HarperCollins.

Josephine Written by Patricia Hruby Powell, Illustrated by Christian Robinson, Published by Chronicle.

Migrant Written by Jose Manuel Mateo, Illustrated by Javier Martinez Pedro, Published by Abrams Books for Young Readers.

On the Wing Written by David Elliott, Illustrated by Becca Stadtlander, Published by Candlewick Press.

Rain Reign Written by Ann M. Martin, Published by Feiwel & Friends/Macmillan.

Revolution Written by Deborah Wiles, Published by Scholastic.

Rhyme Schemer Written by K. A. Holt, Published by Chronicle.

Silver People: Voices from the Panama Canal Written by Margarita Engle, Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Shooting at the Stars: The Christmas Truce of 1914 Written and illustrated by John Hendrix, Published by Abrams Books for Young Readers.

Take Away the A Written by Michael Escoffier, Illustrated by Kris Di Giacomo, Published by Enchanted Lion Books.

Tap Tap Boom Boom Written by Elizabeth Bluemle, Illustrated by G. Brian Karas, Published by Candlewick Press.

The Categorical Universe of Candice Phee Written by Barry Jonsberg, Published by Chronicle.

The Crossover Written by Kwame Alexander, Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

The Great Big Green Written by Peggy Gifford, Illustrated by Lisa Desimini, Published by Boyds Mills/Highlights.

The Noisy Paint Box Written by Barb Rosenstock, Illustrated by Mary Grandpré, Published by Knopf/Random House.

The Pilot and the Little Prince Written and illustrated by Peter Sis, Published by Farrar Straus Giroux/Macmillan.

The Right Word: Roget and his Thesaurus Written by Jen Bryant, Illustrated by Melissa Sweet, Published by Eerdmans Books for Young Readers.

The Scraps Book: Notes from a Colorful Life Written by Lois Ehlert, Published by Beach Lane Books/Simon & Schuster.

Voices from the March on Washington Written by J. Patrick Lewis & George Ella Lyon, Published by WordSong/Highlights.

Weeds Find a Way Written by Cindy Jenson-Elliott, Illustrated by Carolyn Fisher, Published by Beach Lane Books/Simon & Schuster.

Winter Bees & Other Poems of the Cold Written by Joyce Sidman, Illustrated by Rick Allen, Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

what flowers remember Written by Shannon Wiersbitzky, Published by namelos.


2015 Notable Childrens’ Books in the Language Arts Selection Committee: Jean Schroeder, chair, and committee members Shanetia Clark, Evelyn Freeman, Dick Koblitz, Christine Draper, Pamela Jewett, and Holly Sims

Four Must-Have New Picture Books!

I've been discovering lots of fun picture books lately--books that are great for read aloud or any kind of sharing.

I read Marilyn's Monster to the kids during the last few minutes of the day before Spring Break. They were glued --the loved it.  They immediately noted similarities to Beekle, one of their all-time favorites. This is a great author/illustrator team. Author, Michelle Knudsen, wrote Library Lion and illustrator Matt Phelan illustrated The Storm in the Barn and Bluffton.  This is such a fun story with such adorable monsters that you can't help but fall in love with it.

Goodnight Already! by Jory John is going to make a fabulous read The Terrible Two as a read aloud in my 3rd grade classroom--the kids know co-author Mac Barnett as he visited our school. It will be fun for them to get to know Jory John's picture books as they already love his Terrible Two series. This book is especially good for primary classrooms--I think kids will laugh out loud. (And if you visit Jory John's website, beware--there are some pretty cute magnets for sale so you might spend a chunk of money between the book and the magnets. Don't say I didn't warn you:-)
aloud!  I loved it when I first glanced at the cover.  It is a fun story of a bear who is sleeping and his duck friend who is wide awake--and who wants some company. The story and illustrations are quite fun.

Our literacy coach shared I Know a Bear with us last week. My kids had a very long discussion after reading the book. The book seems to be a simple story about a girl and a bear but it is more than that. It is a story of the friendship between the girl and the bear but it also brings in issues of animals/zoos.  Kids can enter this at many levels as there are many layers of invitation here.

Sidewalk Flowers is my new favorite wordless picture books. I was so happy to find this one! It is such an amazing book!  SO SO SO SO wonderful. It is the story of a little girl and her father walking home from somewhere. The little girl is busy noticing so many things around her on their walk.  The father doesn't notice so much but he is patient with her noticing.  This story is similar to many in its message and the idea of a black and white world with colorful flowers will make for great conversation. Definitely one with so many possibilities for the classroom.

These were four must-haves for me. I loved them all for different reasons but they are all perfect for elementary classrooms or libraries. Such fun and such great conversation starters.

Math Monday

It's Math Monday! 

Join Mandy at Enjoy and Embrace Learning for the Math Monday link up!

Well, spring break is well and truly over. The Problem Solving With Fractions math quiz that my 5th graders took on the Thursday before break finally got graded Saturday night. Because of the importance of assessment driving instruction, I needed to grade that quiz before I knew what I would be teaching today in math.

We won't be starting with dividing fractions just yet, that's for sure. So many stitches were dropped in that quiz that we'll start off with a healthy dose of review. We need to go all the way back to reading a problem carefully to understand what it's asking, and paying attention to key words and phrases like "product," "how much more/less/farther/bigger," and "in all/total." Carefully reading the problem will tell us how to label our answers, or better yet, write the answer in a sentence.

We'll remember what we learned about multiplying a fraction by a whole number or a mixed number by a fraction, and how to take an answer that's an improper fraction and simplify it into a mixed number. 

Then I'll give them their quizzes back, marked with the problems that need a second look, and we'll see if they can fix their mistakes, or finish their work by simplifying or correctly labeling answers.

And for the three students who got everything correct, I will give them this problem that NO ONE got correct (and that confounded me for a minute or two when I started grading). It doesn't make sense when you're solving for area to wind up with an answer that's less than the length of one of the sides. How can you solve this so your answer makes sense...and answers the question?

Jen makes a rectangular banner that is 1 3/4 yards long and 6/12 yards wide. What is the area, in square yards, of the banner?

Poetry Friday -- Hatch

Wikimedia

SACRIFICE

How does
the buzzing
hummingbird
sit still enough to hatch

the two
(not three)
(size of a pea)
eggs that are in her batch?


©Mary Lee Hahn, 2015




Happy Spring!

This poem is my fifteenth (!!) in Heidi's MarCH CHallenge. You can browse through all my CH poems here.

If you're curious, the list of emotion words for my Poetry Month 2015 project PO-EMotions is here. Formal unveiling ceremony will be next week.

Catherine is hosting the Poetry Friday Roundup this week at Reading to the Core.

It's a Blog Vacation!

It is time for our traditional Spring Break blog vacation!

Have a great week! 

We'll be back on Friday for Poetry Friday!  

We'll see you then!

Poetry Friday -- Announcing My Poetry Month Project!

SKEPTIC

Head tilted,

one eyebrow arched,

lips pinched:

Are you sure?

Seven days a week?

Really?

©Mary Lee Hahn, 2015

That skeptic lives inside my head, but I'm going to ignore her. 

Will writing a poem a day that either uses an emotion word or evokes that emotion be any harder than writing a poem a day about obscure wonders of the world? 

("Um...yes," says my skeptic in my ear.)

Sorry, skeptic. We're doing this. And any of YOU who want to come along for the ride are invited to join us for an April that will LITERALLY be an emotional roller coaster!

I've created a list of 30 emotions that various researchers have identified, using this resource.  I'll publish the list next week. I made my graphic for this year using a public domain, no-attribution-necessary image and the graphic design site Canva. 

My poem today is for Heidi's MarCH CHallenge.

Last, but not least, Laura (who coincidentally shares a perfect PO-EMotion for today) has the Poetry Friday roundup at Author Amok.

More Spring Break Reading Possibilities

Here's what's in MY to-read stack!

Spring Break Reading Possibilities

I am looking ahead to spring break reading and am hoping to get to lots of books on my stack. There have been so many great middle grade novels that have been released recently.  Many are by authors whose work I love. I doubt I'll be able to read a MG novel a day over break but this is my Spring Break wish list--the stack I am hoping to get to.

Echo by Pam Munoz Ryan

Wish Girl by Nikki Loftin

The Imaginary by A.F. Harrold

Listen, Slowly by Thanhha Lai

Stella by Starlight by Sharon Draper

Hero by Sarah Lean

Paper Things by Jennifer Richards Jacobson

Kate Messner is Brilliant!

I read two brand new picture books by Kate Messner this week. Both were such a treat. I am amazed by Kate Messner because her writing is so diverse. She can write so many things well.  These two pictures books are very different and I loved them both for different reasons.

Up in the Garden and Down in the Dirt is a companion book to Over and Under the Snow. I remember reading Over and Under the Snow and being fascinated by all that happens in winter that I had never realized.  Kate somehow made really complex science really accessible and interesting. She does the same thing in Up in the Garden and Down in the Dirt.  This book follows a little girl and her grandmother as they plant a garden in the spring and watch it grow and change through the summer. We watch as the two tend to the garden as the garden's needs change. And we watch the fun of seeing the work pay off as summer continues. At the same time, we learn of all of the things going on in the garden that are not as visible-the things going on in the dirt.  Just as in the first book, Kate alternates between work in the garden and work in the dirt.  There is so much information packed in the book that it is one that begs to be reread.  In the author's note, Kate Messner states, "Every garden is a community garden.  Do you know why?  You may work hard planting seeds and pulling weeds, but plants can't thrive without the help of all those smaller gardeners down in the dirt."  Definitely a book I want in my classroom!

Kate Messner's How to Read a Story is due out in early May but I'd preorder it now!  This is a how to book--and it gives directions for how to read a story. It starts out with Step 1: Find a Story.  A good one.  It is packed with all that is important in reading--finding a reading buddy, finding a cozy spot, using voices that match the characters' voices, and more.  This will make for a fun read aloud but it will also start great conversations about reader identity--what are your tastes as a reader? where do you like to read? etc. A great conversation starter for our reading workshops!

It isn't often I find picture books that are must-haves for all K-5 classrooms but these two seem perfect for all ages.  As I said, Kate Messner is brilliant:-)