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* To watch the source, click here.

I think that books that relate to songs are absolutely amazing. One of the books that I completed a text set around was “Following the Drinking Gourd” which you have also listed as one of your favorite books. This is a great way to intertwine different disciplines such as music and reading, and allow kids to make that connection across different subjects. I haven’t read this book, but I think it would be interesting to create a text set around music and literature and provide a lesson plan for how we can introduce the two subjects together.

I'm crushed too. :-( But I understand!

The Kibble Queens (Canine Companions for Independence puppy raisers) of Denver say “Four paws up for The Hound from the Pound!” We love the story and Jessica’s clever rhymes, and the illustrations are perfect. Ah-ROOOOOOO!

Ever since I started reading your blog, Fairies have been popping up everywhere
See:
http://www.urban-fairies.com/LOCATIONSpages/locations.html

I see you've been working yourself silly, silly! I'll have a look at your web site. I've been busy with an obsession of my own. I just became co-author on A Hint Of Poetry, check it out if you ever climb out of your pile of work! Believe me I know the feeling! I'll let you know what I think of your site! http://hintofpoetry.blogspot.com/

Ann

A Nice Place In The Sun

That urban fairy site is amazing! Okay, Ann, I'll check it out this weekend. :)

[…] And, of course, I was happy to see that Andrea and Mark decided to review THE TROUBLE WITH TILLY TRUMBLE! […]

[…] 22. Steve Emery (Summerland - eventually)23. Carol (The DIscarded Image)24. Melanie (Armadale)25. Lauren S. (Thorn in My Heart)26. Wendy (Alias Grace)27. Wendy (The Art Of Mending)28. Wendy (Stolen Lives)29. Wendy (The Road)30. Laura (Never Done: A History of American Housework)31. Just One More Book! (The Trouble with Tilly Trumble)32. Lois (The Avenger Takes His Place)33. Bookfest (Lost Horizon)34. Carrie (The Holy Spirit)35. Petunia (The Tail of Emily Windsnap)36. Petunia (Ordering Your Private World)37. Petunia (The Cat Who Went to Heaven)38. :: Suzanne :: (Animal, Vegetable, Miracle - still)39. 5 Minutes for Books (Get a Hobby!)40. Maureen E. (In This House of Brede)41. monica (Girl Meets God)42. Heather (Desperate Pastors’ Wives) […]

Herb, The Vegetarian Dragon! With a name like that, i thought it would have indelible, cryptic messages for my kid to go the vegetarian way. The 6 year old wanted a dragon fantasy book and i thought, cynicism aside, it was perfect with the vivid, detailed illustrations and lessons on acceptance.

Herb, the Vegetarian Dragon is a dragon fantasy book / fairy tale about reaching out to others and accepting everyone for what they are. I agree, the book is not as comprehensive as Beyond This Point There Be Dragons but the kid loved it and that made my day. Everytime we pour through the book excitedly, the illustrations always have something new we had not spotted before. Well, despite my initial fears, the book is wonderful and well thought of. But the highlight is the illustrations.

As a 5th and 6th grade teacher in Washington, D.C., I have been struggling with how to teach my students about recycling. My challenge is that it is common for my students to see older kids throwing trash wherever they roam. This book sounds like it could raise interesting discussions about what happens to trash and how what we think is trash could be reused. Giving them the idea that they can be creative may give them ownership over the trash they would otherwise throw away.

I am a second grade teacher in Washington, DC and I have had several conversations with my students about recycling. We looked out of the class room window and talked about several items that could be recycled. There is a pool just outside the window and we counted how much trash was inside and if it looked like a good place to swim. We also talked about what the trash could be used for. This book would be great for next year because we have a project where students could collect trash with their parents and make thing out of them.

Without reading the book, I found the references made to events that take place in the book clever. In my 5th grade class we discuss several “curent event” issues and I think this book would offer great discussion to the understanding of how to make better use of the items we consider trash. I appreciate how this story offers and encourages students to think outside of the box when it comes to trash- providing them with creative options. This book would also be a great segway to discuss other earth conscience topics such as global warming.

The Dumpster Diver sounds interesting and worth reading considering its approach to recycling. I am currently doing my practicum at an elementary school in Washington, DC. I am with 1st grade students and we recycle in our classroom. Everyone participates but I believe a book like this would bring insight to the issue of recycling. It sounds like with the creative language and illustrations used within this book, interesting discussions about recycling would surface. I definitely plan to look into this book. Thank You

Andy Spann :)

What a lovely conversation about my book! You really DO “get it”–thanks so much for your insightful and entertaining comments! (I didn’t fully realize the child-appeal of “Rule Number TWO!”)

I was just in Seattle where a bookstore called All for Kids sponsored a contest where kids submitted items crafted out of junk. Photos of the winning creations will be posted soon at www.allforkidsbooks.com. One of my favorites was a very simple project: a wind chime made out of miscellaneous metal items (I think I remember an old faucet, a spoon, etc.).

I really do hope that parents and teachers can use this book to inspire the children in their lives to be creative with “junk”–goodness knows, we all have so much of it!

[…] Our greatest challenge and responsibility is reaching the thousands of people who want to support literacy needs in their own communities - to inform and engage this massive universe of literacy change agents who then organize local literacy programs, and sponsor the needs of teachers and other literacy agents. We are able to achieve great success in magazine delivery by leveraging many advanced social networking and other Web 2.0 technologies. For example, in addition to our online content management systems, blogs, and online forms, we leverage the Flickr photo sharing site to spotlight wonderful literacy events. We have begun a MySpace page to broaden our audience. We are exploring the value of digital versions of print magazines in terms of increased access and literacy. We’ve been invited to speak on podcasts and will continue to reach out to these and other web media outlets to grow awareness and participation in our community based literacy efforts. We also leverage online, community fundraising tools, such as ChipIn, Fundable, and Network for Good, so that groups can join together to pool their support for literacy needs. Our Kids Magazine Airlift program is a first-ever program where consumers can purchase magazine gifts online at publisher web sites for at-risk children and families in their community or across the country. MagazineLiteracy.org supplies the mailing addresses of early learning and after-school mentoring programs, foster group homes, homeless and domestic violence shelters, and other literacy programs. All of this work is made possible by the volunteers who connect to MagazineLiteracy.org via VolunteerMatch, Craigslist, and other web tools. […]

[…] Mark speaks with Janet Wong about the concept behind her book The Dumpster Diver, how she incorporates her own life in her books, and her participating in the meet the author series of books. As a treat, Janet reads one of her poems. […]

This web site and podcast are great ideas. :)

Similar to what you said in the podcast, I find that Monkey Business (as well as Alphabeasts and especially Mixed Beasts) are very re-readable. My son, who’s 5, loves to look at the pictures over and over because they are so dense: they’re full of little jokes and wonderful imagery.

Oh, and thanks for linking to my article!

I loved the idea of a book about idioms! I teach first grade and I am continually backing myself into a corner with old-fashioned expressions that flow out of my mouth. How can I explain to my class what it means when they need to “hold their horses” and that this next assignment will be “a piece of cake.” This book seems like it will be the answer to my problem.

The clever illustrations that have intricate detail laced with humor are perfect for young children. They will be exposed to works of great artists and have fun “to boot!”

Thank you for exposing me to this fine work of are for children and adults alike.

This book sounds and looks very colorful. When I here you say that there is a monkey on every page, It just makes me want to get this for my collection. The critical literacy on understanding idioms and making connections to the real world is quit a challenge. Also, the book sounds like some sort of puzzle, this would be a challenge for children to understand, why and where the monkey is located, and for what reason the author placed the monkey in that position. Thanks for the information, it’s most enlighting.

Sounds like a fun book, can’t wait to read it to the kids!

-Charles

The discription of the book,makes me think I think of an exciting adventure.
I can relate this to “ME LLAMO CELIA ” which tells of the life of Celia Cruz.
This book is extremely colorful and exciting, with the bright yellows, burnt oranges, bright greens and purple pictures.
The books tells of her life in Cuba, where coffee, sunshine, bright moonlit nights, story telling, fresh fruit and birds of bright colours are talked about.
Bright colorful comstumes become a part of her career as a singer.
SUGAR: used as an idiom to a singer signifies a strong, smooth and sweet voice.
Children coming from an old school home environment, would understand most idioms used by their parents.
I look forward to reading Monkey business to my class.
I hope it comes in Spanish.

Thank you for sharing such an interesting and fun book. It seems to be a book that can be shared by children and adults together, enjoying the art, details, and humor. The English language is filled with expressions that literally make no sense, but have deeper meaning in a social context. It is important to be able to decipher the hidden meanings of these idioms and know when to use them in conversation. This book seems like a great way to expose children to this type of language. Furthermore, kids get excited about plays on language and I see “Monkey Business” as having the potential to get my students interested in reading, observing, and analyzing text.

This books seems to be very colorful as well as exciting. It looks like tons of fun for a child as well as for an adult and a child to enjoy together. As a third grade teacher I am always making references “using idioms” within the classroom that my students do not understand. This book can help apply the real world connections for my students that are not just auditory learners. This book is exactly what I can use to make the connection for my students that are visual learners. This book is one that I need to add to my reading library.

Even though I teach the 5th grade, they still struggle with understanding idioms. So thanks for sharing such a great picture rich story. It sounds like this book with help me clarify the idioms that I use in class along with the ones that we read in our text. I love the fact that this book draws students in visually, while also challenging students to loook beyond the words and explore the meaning of the text. The book also looks and sounds like something I might enjoy reading to my class leisurely. Once again, thanks for sharing.

[…] 21. Laura (Fall on Your Knees)22. Sandy D. (I Can’t Stop! A Story about Tourette Syndrome)23. Miss Erin (Beauty Shop for Rent)24. Miss Erin (Millicent Min, Girl Genius)25. Alyssa (To Dance)26. QBR (Simple Genius)27. (QBR) Lethally Blond28. (QBR) Edgar Font’s Hunt For a House To Haunt29. Carol (The Cloister Walk)30. Carol (Book Sale Finds)31. Lori (The Last Town on Earth)32. Lori (Virus Hunter)33. Becky (Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing)34. Quixotic (The Austere Academy)35. Just One More Book! Children’s Book Podcast (Monkey Business)36. Cathy (The River King–Alice Hoffman)37. booklogged (The Magician’s Nephew)38. Framed (Water for Elephants)39. Framed (X Stands for Unknown)40. Susan (The Extremes) […]

[…] Monkey Business […]

I found the discussion of this book to be very helpful because if I had read it before hearing your opinions, I might have also jumped to the conclusion that the female character was not a positive one. I think that you have pointed out the importance of critical literacy for children. If we open up the dialogue about what is going on in a book and what the characters are like, then we can give children the tools to see the positive and the negative in texts and process the information in a beneficial way.
Leslie Jones
Washington DC

I’d love to hear your interview with Alvina. Where can I find it? And, I can’t wait to read this book!

When I have studies comprehension strategies for reading I often find myself thinking about how important visualization is to me when I read. In fact, it is my favorite thing about reading. The funny thing is that when I began to talk about “movies in the mind” with my young (first grade) students I found that they were not making, or perhaps not able to verbalize, the kinds of pictures that I expected. Often, they told me that they saw exactly what I had just read to them without creating unique images or making any connections to themselves. It sounds to me like this would be a great book to read through with a class once without pictures. Then we could talk about what we imagined and compare it to the lovely pictures that you have described. For me at least, the ability to create my own mental imagery enhances my reading and I love to find pieces that help my students to achieve the same feeling.

Rachel,

Oooh! What a fabulous idea!! I agree that the ability to visualize and extrapolate from text is just as important as being able to decode the print. I always have difficulty with the idea of helping my girls visualize. Now I wish I had had your idea the first time I read this book!!

I guess I would want to make sure that they knew that the actual illustrations provided by Jimmy Liao were just one possible way of mapping the text to pictures — so they would know that their own pictures were equally valid.

I will keep your idea in mind for the next time I come across a new, equally imaginative picture book. (If you have another example of an imaginative picture book I could try it with, I’d love to hear about it)
Thanks so much for your thought-provoking comments. Looking forward to more!
Andrea

[…] The Sound of Colors […]

This is the finest and friendliest book review we’ve ever heard. FYI: Irving and Muktuk, Two Bad Bears; Bad Bears in the Big City; Bad Bears and a Bunny; Bad Bear Detectives; and Bad Bears go Visiting. Related, are books about another polar bear: At the Hotel Larry; Young Larry; Ice Cream Larry; Bongo Larry; Dancing Larry; and Sleepover Larry. Thank you beary much.

Why, thank you!!

Thanks for stopping by and listening!
Andrea

Ok you two, you need to review some boring dumb old books, maybe a Dick and Jane book. My pocketbook can’t afford buying any more of these wonderful books. Irving and Muktuk sounds great and I’ve added it to my TBR list. I can’t wait! ;)

Keep up the good work guys!

Charles

Charles,

We’re saving those books for our sister podcast NABB (Not Another Boring Book!) where we trash our least favourite children’s books.

Thanks for listening and for the great feedback. I hope you find a copy of Irving & Muktuk and get a kick out of it.

Andrea