Charlotte Huck Award

The winner of the 2017 NCTE Charlotte Huck Award® is

After the Fall (How Humpty Got Back Up Again)

by Dan Santat

Roaring Brook Press, 2017

The NCTE Charlotte Huck Award® for Outstanding Fiction for Children was established in 2014 to promote and recognize excellence in the writing of fiction for children. This award recognizes fiction that has the potential to transform children’s lives by inviting compassion, imagination, and wonder.

This picture book will resonate with all ages. On the back of the book, we are reminded that "Life begins when you get back up." Santat's epilogue of the rather unsatisfying nursery rhyme about an egg that falls down and gets patched up is all kinds of brilliant. My 5th graders gasped aloud at the ending. They were like, "Wait. WHAT?!?!" This book will change your thinking about Humpty Dumpty and it will remind everyone that we shouldn't let our setbacks keep us down.

I am currently serving on the NCTE Charlotte Huck Award Committee. In our deliberations at NCTE this year, narrowing our list of 45 books down to one winner, five honor books, and eight recommended books, we kept coming back to the award criteria as we deliberated over each book. "The potential to transform children's lives" was a phrase we used over and over again when we spoke about this book. Don't miss it. It's an amazing book.

Poetry Friday

Unsplash photo by Autumn Mott

early morning walk

constant chatter of leaf-fall

first hard frost

©Mary Lee Hahn, 2017

I'm gearing up for another Haiku-a-Day in December. I'll be tweeting my haiku using last year's #haikuforhealing if you'd like to join in. 

Although #haikuforhealing was born as a reaction to last year's current events, this year's iteration, at least for me, will be an acknowledgement of the absolute necessity of a creative life and a reclaiming of the discipline found in daily writing. I'm hoping #haikuforhealing helps me focus on moments and slows me down to a more livable pace.

Carol at Carol's Corner has the Poetry Friday roundup this week.

Rock, Paper, Scissors

The Legend of Rock Paper Scissors
by Drew Daywalt
illustrated by Adam Rex
Balzer + Bray, 2017

First of all, this is the most fun read aloud ever. (Fun for both reader and audience.)

Second, in the aftermath of reading it aloud, this happened: Pearl, Shark, Bomb. (Pearl beats Shark by choking him when swallowed, Shark defuses Bomb under water, and Bomb blows up Pearl.)

And last, I give you this episode of The Big Bang Theory:

Blog Break -- NCTE

Both of us will be just a tad busy this coming week at NCTE, so we won't be blogging. We hope to connect with many blog readers, Poetry Friday Peeps, and Twitter followers at NCTE!

Poetry Friday -- If Truth Be Told

Unsplash photo by Charles Deluvio

I'm the type

who'd rather have dumplings

than blossoms

Issa, 1814

Unsplash photo by nabil boukala


I'm the type
who'd rather have breakfast
than cocktails

Mary Lee Hahn, 2017

I'm the type
who'd rather have sunflowers
than roses

Mary Lee Hahn, 2017

I'm the type

who'd rather have bikeways

than freeways

Mary Lee Hahn, 2017

I couldn't resist using Issa's haiku as a mentor text. It's so unlike any other Issa haiku that I've received in my email inbox via Daily Issa. 

What type are you? What can you learn about yourself through your "rather haves?"

And how perfect is it that Jama, author of DUMPLING SOUP, is our Poetry Friday hostess today? Head over to Jama's Alphabet Soup and check out the drool-worthy doughnuts and accompanying poem.

Slices of Life

SLICES OF LIFE, by Grant Snider

...for the rest of this visual poem, click here.

Wouldn't it be fun to give students the verbs Snider uses, have them create a visual poem, and then compare their creations to his?

Maybe we need to try it first...

You WILL Like These Two Books!

I (Don't) Like Snakes
by Nicola Davies
Illustrated by Luciano Lozano
Candlewick Press, 2015

The little girl doesn't like snakes, and her family tries valiantly to convince her otherwise.

Give Bees a Chance
by Bethany Barton
Viking Books for Young Readers, 2017

The narrator and his (?) friend Edgar like all the same things...except for bees. The narrator convinces Edgar (and readers) of the importance of bees.

Poetry Friday -- Maps and Compasses

Unsplash Photo by Sylwia Bartyzel

The Thing About Maps

words by Seth Godin, poemizing by Mary Lee Hahn

Sometimes, when we're lost, 

we refuse a map, 

even when offered.

Because the map reminds us that we made a mistake. 

That we were wrong.

But without a map, 

we're not just wrong, 

we're also still lost.

A map doesn't automatically get you home, 

but it will probably make you less lost.

When dealing with the unknown, 

it's difficult to admit that there might not be a map. 

In those cases, 

a compass is essential, 

a way to remind yourself of your 

true north.

THE COMPASS OF LEADERSHIP

by Hugh MacLeod @GapingVoid.com

I love it when the Universe chats with me.

We began our geography work in social studies recently. When this bit by Seth Godin showed up in my inbox, I knew I wanted to share it with my students. The fun thing (ONE of the fun things) about 5th graders is that they are beginning to be able to think abstractly and symbolically. Lots of them got the symbolism and message in The Thing About Maps. Then, a day later, the Gaping Void cartoon landed in my inbox. I have a couple of strong girls who are negotiating the tricky line between bossy and assertive. The cartoon was a good reminder of the qualities of a positive leader. We talked about our personal compasses, our very own "true north"s. 

Hopefully, you will find your way to TeacherDance, where Linda has the Poetry Friday roundup for today!

Great Dads

Two books with great dads who both understand and validate the fears of their children.

Lily's Cat Mask
by Julie Fortenberry
Viking Books for Young Readers, 2017

Dad and the Dinosaur
by Gennifer Choldenko

illustrated by Dan Santat

G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers, 2017

#classroombookaday

One of my students was on a picture book reading binge. She brought me The Pencil, by Allan Ahlberg and suggested it for #classroombookaday. In the story (which another student thought had the feel of a religious creation story) nothing exists but a pencil. Then the pencil draws the world into existence. Things start getting out of hand, so the pencil draws an eraser. Even that doesn't work, so the pencil draws another eraser and they annihilate each other (Noah's Ark, anyone?). The pencil starts over. Carefully.

While we were on the subject of erasers, I had to read my favorite eraser book, The Eraserheads by Kate Banks. These erasers come to life and have adventures. Are the eraserheads alive for real, or just in the imagination of the boy? You decide.

I had just read The Book of Mistakes by Corinna Luyken, and it seemed like the perfect next read. In it, the creator, in the course of drawing, makes mistakes and then makes the mistakes into something wanted. Total surprise ending in this one. It will blow your mind.

The fourth book in this set is one I put out for students to pore over and ponder on their own because it's wordless -- Lines by Suzy Lee. In this book, the lines are made by the blades of an ice skater's skates.

Then, surprise of surprises, this weekend I read Sam & Eva by Debbie Ridpath Ohi. Two children (are they drawing on the walls?!?!) can't agree on what to draw. Then, their drawings pick up on the escalating disagreement and things really start to get out of hand. Literally. The two children draw an escape and start over -- each offering an olive branch to the other.

There's something quite magical about the connections between books!