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Two teachers think about and write about their lives as readers -- readers of children's books, professional books, and adult fiction, nonfiction and poetry. Yes, we still want to try to have read the Newbery, but our reading lives are much bigger than just that.
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FEAR
I am not afraid of the dark
or cold weather
or hard work.
I am not afraid to be caught
without an umbrella
and I'm not afraid (anymore)
of those big millipedes
that are sometimes in the sink
when I turn on the kitchen light
in the morning
in the summer.
I am not afraid to walk on ice
or skip a meal
or swim in deep water.
I'm not afraid to drive alone
across the country
and I'm not afraid (anymore)
of unknowns:
taking risks,
speaking in front of strangers,
navigating in new places
where there may or may not be
clear signage.
I picked up two new picture books for winter. I think they will both be fun read alouds. Both are about the joys of winter. Now, I am not a big fan of winter. But these books do remind me of the fun of winter play. Kids will definitely relate to the fun that the characters are having in both of these books.
HERE COMES JACK FROST by Kazuno Kohara is about a a little boy who hates winter...until he meets Jack Frost. When he does, they have a great time together--playing in the snow, ice skating, and sledding. As long as the boy doesn't mention anything warm, they can have a great time! The illustrations are great--all done with blues and white. The illustration on the cover was what drew me to the book.
The other book is
CHAUCER'S FIRST WINTER by Stephen Krensky is a fun book about a little bear who wants to know what winter is all about. But, bears sleep through the winters. Chaucer decides to go out while his parents are sleeping. He learns all about winter and has a great time with his friends--slipping and sliding and having snowball fights. He finally goes back home excited about all that he has discovered about winter.
I am so happy to have discovered this new nonfiction picture book. Last month, I attended a workshop and Selections Bookfairs was there selling books. Since our school has a courtyard, I have been trying to build our collection of books related to some of the things they kids see there and I've been lucky to find some great new bird books this year. WHOSE NEST IS THIS? by Heidi Bee Roemer is one of my new favorites. I thought at first glance that this book was about birds, but it is about more than just birds. I always forget that there are many other creatures that build nests. I think kids do too.
The first page of the book tells us that spring has arrived and many parents are making nests for their young. Then the rest of the book becomes a great guessing game. Each two-page spread has a clue filled with information on the left side. On the right side we find the answer. Although many of the nests belong to birds, we find that turtles, mice, and wasps also build nests. The guessing format makes it a fun one to read and along the way, we learn so many things about nests and habitats. So many different things are used to build nests and they are built in such a variety of places. This book is just packed with information.
The end of the book has a Fun-Fact Glossary with a bit more information on the animals in the book.
I can see so many reasons to read this book. It can serve as a type of field guide. It can be used for kids as they are learning about animals and/or habitats. And it is a great format for nonfiction writing. It could serve as a great mentor text. I always love to find nonfiction writing that has such rich language.
I love when people come up with new things and Lou Brooks has come up with
Twimericks--Limericks and Tongue Twisters all rolled up. You can tell right away that this book is a fun one. There is a warning on the first page:
"THE SURGEON GENERAL HAS DETERMINED THAT RAPID READING OF THIS BOOK ALOUD TO OTHERS MAY LEAD TO YOUR TONGUE BEING TWISTED INTO A PERFECT OVER-AND UNDERHAND BAVARIAN PRETZEL KNOT--PROBABLY FOREVER."
Then the author goes on to tell us a bit about the history of Limericks and a bit about Tongue Twisters. Then he goes on to tell us what happens when you put the two together. Following this introduction are 36 Twimericks that are quite fun. Some of my favorites (all listed in the Cable of Tontents:-) are Rufus the Goofus, Banana Bonanza and Six Silly Swiss Sisters. My very favorite is "Frankly, Frank Fankley" (of course, because it has my name in it--kind of).
This book is great fun and would be a great addition to any classroom poetry collection. It begs to be read aloud. Reading them aloud is quite fun! (I read a few aloud to my husband while he was watching hockey. My reading wasn't quite enough to pull him away from the TV but he did chuckle a bit.) I can also see kids having lots of word play fun in writing workshop, word study, etc. Just a fun, playful book!
NCTE's Annual Convention is the most important thing I do for my own professional development. Last year, I was able to hear Tim Tyson, Kathy Yancey, Karl Fisch and others who helped me create a vision for where I wanted to go in my own teaching and learning. And I did meet Grover from Sesame Street after hearing CEO, Gary Knell speak. Last year, the convention really helped me solidify my thinking about 21st Century Literacies and has carried me through the year. I always love to get together and learn from such smart people.
I am not quite sure how to focus my time--so many great choices. I LOVE the theme of this year's convention, "Once and Future Classics: Reading Between the Lines". Carol
Jago,
NCTE's President-Elect, has put together an amazing program. So many great sessions about books and literacy. I was amazed to see the number of authors who would be at the convention. I am hoping to make time to see Jennifer and Matt
Holm since I am such a
Babymouse fan. I would love to see Gordon
Korman and many of the others who are listed in the program.
I will probably focus my time on 21st Century topics again this year. I am looking forward to hearing Troy Hicks and Bud Hunt's session, "Creating Opportunities for Learning with Newer Literacies and Technologies". I am also anxious to hear Ralph Fletcher talk about word play and Teri Lesesne share new YA titles. I am totally bummed that I won't be able to hear my local friends and colleagues--Mary Lee, Katie D, and Karen T present on their work. I love the title of their session--"Going Public: How Sharing Your Teaching Beyond the Classroom Can Make You a Better Teacher"--Brilliant, don't you think? And I am also looking forward to hearing Kylene's Beers' address at the General Session on Sunday. She is always brilliant and her talks always make me think. I am attending several Children's Literature Assembly events and am looking forward to those.
It is always a great time to connect with friends and colleagues and to re-energize and think about the possibilities with people who believe in kids and in the power of literacy.
I loved
Kevin's post at Kevin's Meandering Mind this week. He brought some sessions to my attention that I hadn't yet seen in the program. I am adding those as well as his session to my list. I think he started a great trend--sharing the sessions we've found. I feel like there are so many options that I'll miss many without the help of others who are also looking through the program.
Hopefully, we'll run into lots of you there!
A Gift of Days: The Greatest Words to Live By
by Stephen Alcorn
Simon & Schuster, 2009
review copy provided by the publisher
I'm not sure this is a children's book, but I LOVE books of quotations and this one is unique and stunningly beautiful.
Each of the 366 quotes is from a different famous person on their birthday. Those featured are "famous activists and artists, athletes and writers, inventors and explorers, healers and politicians, musicians and moguls." There is a full-page block print portrait of a famous person on every double-page spread, each one stylistically different and perfectly capturing the essence of the person featured. There is more information about each of the people whose quotes are featured in the back of the book.
I'm thinking this will make a FABULOUS gift book...
In an effort to keep this great good thing we know and love as Poetry Friday running as smoothly as possible until such time as its founder, Kelly Herold, is able to take the reins again, and under the advisement of Greg (GottaBook), Tricia (Miss Rumphius), Susan (Chicken Spaghetti), and Diane (Random Noodling), I am putting out a call for Poetry Friday Round Up Hosts for the next three months.
I will post the schedule on our blog, on the calendar of the Kidlitosphere Yahoo group, and on the Kidlitosphere website. In addition, I will make the code for the schedule available to whoever requests it so that you, too, can have the schedule in your blog's sidebar if you so desire!
Here are the dates with a few filled in. If you made arrangements with Kelly for one of these dates and you are planning to host, speak up. If you want to join in the fun, pick your Friday and email me at mlhahn at earthlink dot net.
11/20 Julie Larios (The Drift Record)
11/27
12/4
12/11 Diane Mayr (Random Noodling)
12/18
12/25 Mary Lee Hahn (A Year of Reading)
1/1
1/8 Tricia Stohr-Hunt (The Miss Rumphius Effect)
1/15
1/22
1/29
2/5
2/12
2/19
2/26
Where Else in the Wild? More Camouflaged Creatures Concealed...and Revealed
Ear-Tickling Poems by David M. Schwartz and Yael Schy
Eye-Tricking Photos by Dwight Kuhn
Tricycle Press, 2009
review copy provided by the publisher
This book has everything! There are fabulous poems, things to search for in the stunning photographs, flaps to lift that reveal the hidden animal in case you couldn't find it, and more information about the hidden animal to balance the information in the poem and photograph.
100 Scope Notes has the scoop on where to watch the live webcast of the ALA Newbery/Caldecott Awards and how to stay in touch on Twitter. (Yes, I just gave you the links, but you need to go to his post to see the FABULOUS picture of him and his 1984 computer!)
Hopefully there won't be another Terrible Twitter Technology Fail like last year...not that anyone remembers...
And while you're waiting for the Newbery/Caldecott announcement, check out the list of 2009 *best of* lists that Susan, aka
Chicken Spaghetti, is collecting.
Nasreen's Secret School: A True Story from Afghanistan
by Jeanette Winter
Simon and Schuster, 2009
review copy provided by the publisher
This book is based on a true story of a girl in Afghanistan who loses both parents to the Taliban and who is being raised by her grandmother. Seeing that her granddaughter has retreated into a mire of silent grief for her parents, the grandmother enrolls her in a secret school for girls. This book is a testament to the power of a teacher, a friend, and books to bring this little girl back to life and hope.
In the author's note, Winter writes: "Even now, after the fall of the Taliban in Afghanistan in 2001, danger remains. Still, schools are bombed, set on fire, and closed down. Still, there are death threats to teachers. Still, girls are attacked or threatened if they go to school. And STILL, the girls, their families, and their teachers defy the tyranny by keeping the schools open. Their courage has never wavered.”
For more on the importance of educating the women of the world, see this
New York Times Magazine article. Be sure you watch the audio slide show "A Powerful Truth" that can be found in the sidebar about halfway down the page, and view
this montage of photographs submitted by readers "that illustrate the importance of educating girls and empowering women." (Thank you to
@karenszymusiak for these links via Twitter.)
A Year of Reading has been awarded a Kreativ Blogger award by Susan at
Ink Spells. Thank you so much, Susan!
We've been looking for an excuse to share a little linky luv with a couple of new blogs you should check out, so we'll pass this award on to:
Read...Write...Talk, a new blog that is taking a smart look at reading and writing workshop. Her classroom is 8th grade, but her thinking is universally sound. Head over and take a look -- great stuff going on there!
AND
Some Novel Ideas. Stacy is also a middle school teacher, but she's thinking about technology, school libraries, Scholastic Book Fairs, and more. Add her to your reader and watch for great things to develop on her blog!
Here are the rules for passing on this award, but we are going to fudge a few of the steps since things are pretty crazy in both of our lives this week.
1) Copy the pretty picture and post it on your blog.
√2) Thank the person that gave it to you and link to their blog.
√3) Write 7 things about yourself we don't know.
(gotta pass this time, but here's an old meme that might tell you a few things about each of us that you don't know...)4) Choose 7 other bloggers to pass the award to. (we'll stick with two...)
5) Link to those 7 other bloggers. (or two, as the case may be...)
6) Notify your 7 bloggers. (or two, as the case may be...)
I was thrilled to find one more LEGO book at the bookstore this weekend. This one is a small book for younger readers. It is called COOL CARS AND TRUCKS written by Sean Kenney, a Lego Certified Professional. (There are less than 10 of these in the world!) After reading about Sean and watching a videoclip in which he talks about the book, I am hoping he does more of these great books for kids.
This book is fun on many levels. So many interesting cars and trucks to look at. And I can see many kids starting to create some of these with the book as their guide. There are instructions in the book that help kids see the steps used to create the cars. The text is simple and the photos are up against a white background so you can clearly see the pieces that go into creating each vehicle. Between the book and Sean
Kenney's website, I am again reminded about what is possible with
Legos. I loved the
Lego Book Set that I purchased a few weeks ago and the
Lego Star Wars Book is definitely a popular one in the library. But this one is different. The other books share lots of great information, history, etc. But this new book by Sean
Kenney really invites kids in on the process--these are things that kids can sit down and make and then hopefully revise based on their own ideas. A great addition to the few Lego books available.
There are several building options available to our students in
the library this year. We have spent a lot of time talking about the library as a place that has a variety of tools for your learning.
Legos are definitely in use most of the day and I continue to be amazed watching kids play and create with these. The conversations they have, the ideas they share, and the thinking they do continue to remind me how important these building tools are.
The Lion & the Mouse
by Jerry Pinkney
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers 2009
review copy provided by the publisher
You've really got to see this book, to hold it in your hands and look closely at the illustrations for yourself.
First you'll look at the lion on the title-free front of the dust jacket. You'll follow his eyes to the back of the dust jacket and smile at the mouse you find there. Next, you'll open the book and look at the endpapers. In the front, they'll speak to you of the African setting of the story. Flip to the back, and you'll be thinking of the importance of family. Just for fun, you'll take the dust jacket off and be delighted to find two different paintings on the front and back covers of the book. (How on earth are libraries going to make all of these before-you-open-the-book parts of the book accessible to patrons?!?)
This wordless retelling of Aesop's fable of the Lion and the Mouse begins with the mouse escaping by a whisker from an owl. In her distracted state, she runs up the back of a lion who uncharacteristically allows her to go free. When she hears the roar of the lion captured in a rope net, she doesn't think twice. She runs to his aid and chews the ropes until he's freed. Watch for the mouse (and her whole clan) on the back of the lion again at the end of the book. And make sure you save a giggle for the lion cub holding onto dad's tail as they walk.
In the artist's note, Pinkney writes about the big hearts of both of these characters, about the power of both the life-changing decisions of the lion to free the mouse and of the mouse to reciprocate and free the lion. He writes of the importance of the setting, the African Serengeti of Tanzania and Kenya, for which he has curiosity, reverence and concern, and of family (so obvious in the endpapers).
I'll be surprised if this book is passed over by the Caldecott committee...
Today, Patrick Allen's new book, CONFERRING: THE KEYSTONE OF READER'S WORKSHOP is available through Stenhouse. I am excited to read this book. I have heard Patrick Allen speak at several conferences and he is BRILLIANT about conferring. I spent some time reading parts of the book online but am anxious to get my hands on a copy now that it is available! I interviewed Patrick about his book and about reading conferences. Enjoy!
Franki: Tell us a little bit about the title of your book-what do you mean by Keystone?
Patrick: It’s kind of an ironic story. I write about it in my introduction. I was talking to my eldest sister, Joy, about my students and the work I was doing with conferring. During the course of our conversation, she compared the work I was doing with readers to the craftsmanship of my father (a stonemason and bricklayer). After our conversation, I wrote about an experience I had with dad years ago when he turned to me and asked me, “So… what do you think?” It was the first time I remember anyone looking me in the eye, asking my opinion, and then waiting for a response.
A keystone is the central voussoir of an arch. It is said to hold the weight of an arch and is often the last stone put in place, but it is the most important part of an arch. So, I thought a keystone was a perfect comparison.
To understand the power of conferring in reader’s workshop the keystone became metaphor I chose to use as I wrote. The work keystone comes from the Latin clavis for “key”… meaning imperative, vitals, essential. The same words I would use to describe conferring.
I had the idea of the keystone in my mind long before I wrote my first word… I love the image.
Franki: What is the place of conferring in a reading workshop?
Patrick: I think it is one of the most essential things we can do with readers. Conferring is of utmost import.
Ellin Keene points out, conferring is one of the five most powerful instructional tools we have at our disposal. And, conferring is something that I have spent a lot of time honing—learning to do better (and I’m still learning). I look forward each day to the conferences I have with readers during the composing portion of the reader’s workshop. Lori Conrad (a friend and colleague) and I have come to realize that conferring:
• Mirrors rich conversations
• Shepherds developing readers and writers
• Provides an authentic context for ongoing assessment and response
Conferring has become a nonnegotiable routine in my classroom. It provides the opportunity for my students and me to discuss and explore ideas in a manageable, thoughtful way. It’s the shared “coming to know” that I value most. Conferring is the most important thing I do with readers. It’s my favorite part of reader’s workshop.
Franki: You talk early in the book about purposeful conversations. Do you see conferences as conversations?
Patrick: I see them as conversations and so much more. My favorite conferences take on a conversational tone; the most effective conferences do. But, they also provide meaningful instruction, stretch thinking and monitor understanding, leave the reader with a specific goal, etc. Ultimately, I think conferences strengthen the capacity for students to be independent readers.
In Chapter Six of the book (titled “Conferring Walk-Aways). I write about what I hope students walk-away with after a conference or series of conferences. My friend, Cheryl Zimmerman and I created a list of walk-aways after she visited my room. The list continues to develop.
If I can make the experience of conferring more authentic and conversational in tone, I think readers become more metacognitive, and ultimately, more independent. There’s an amazing since of trust that develops if we confer honestly and sincerely. As I was writing the book, I was shocked about how many times I used the word conversation. It’s an important word when it comes to conferring. And, purposeful is an important descriptor of those conversations.
Franki: What makes reading conferences more difficult for teachers than writing conferences?
Patrick: Good question. One I’ve thought a lot about…
For me, reading conferences seem somewhat less tangible than writing conferences. My colleague, Lisa Olsen, once said “I think the reading conference is shrouded in mystery largely because we think some sort of divine intervention needs to, or is going to, take place...” Lisa explained that if we see conferences in this light, we neglect to see and hear the simple truths of what can emerge from each and every conference. We have to focus on the reader, then those truths can emerge.
There are many parallels between writing conferences and reading conferences, but there’s a twist that makes reading conferences unique. I love the challenge of conferring with readers; it’s about what a reader is thinking, wondering, discovering about himself and his process. It’s a grand discovery. I feel so blessed every time I sit down side-by-side a reader.
There’s been a lot written about writing conferences, so it’s been so much fun for me over the years to learn from great conferrers like Debbie Miller and Ellin Keene. I love the ambiguity of trying to really study how reading conferences work… it has been and continues to be an exciting inquiry.
Franki: You talk about conferring myths. Can you tell us a bit about that and one myth that you think really holds teachers back?
Patrick: Well, my colleague Lori and I chose to call them counterfeit beliefs rather than myths. As a classroom teacher, who also works as a staff developer, I’ve heard lots of excuses about why reading conferences can’t or don’t work. Early in the book, I dispel some of the misconceptions I’ve encountered in my work with other teachers. Basically, this list started as Lori and I kept a list of the things we heard teachers say about conferring.
When visitors come to my classroom, they always comment about the way I confer. Questions about conferring take a prominent role in our debriefing sessions. Often teachers say, “I could never do that…” And, I say, “Yes you can…” It is an art, but we can all dabble.
What holds teachers back? I wrote about ten counterfeit beliefs that we encountered, but there may be others. I think teachers need to think about the kinds of things they say to themselves about why they don’t confer more often and then ask themselves, “Why?” and “What am I going to do about it?” That’s the first step.
A lot of Conferring is about the journey I went through as I tried to change some of my beliefs and to enhance my instruction. I hope that as people read the book, they’ll understand that like all great learning, learning to confer takes time, energy, and practice, but it’s well-worth the effort! My own journey has made conferring the keystone of my reader’s workshop.
Throughout the book, I’ve interspersed “ponderings” that readers can spend time reflecting on (it’s my hope that they will take time to think, write, or talk about them). We have to ponder, to think, if we ever expect to get better.
Franki: What tips do you have about record keeping for conferring?
Patrick: You have to develop your own system. Don’t rely on someone else to hand you a system or say here, “Make this…” Can you use their ideas? Sure. But take them as a suggestion.
For me it was first about developing a structure for my conferences (I call it the R. I. P. model). The record keeping system followed. My record keeping system is simple and flexible, personalized (not cutesy), and purposeful. I write a bit about the format I’ve developed. It works for me.
What wouldn’t I recommend? Using someone else’s system without first trying it out… it’s not one-size fits all. We’ve all tried record keeping systems that sound great as we read about them, we copy the idea… then it doesn’t quite work out as planned and we give up.
I created a form that aligns with the structure of my reading conferences (And, I’m playing around a bit with some things I’ve learned from you). It’s all part of the process of learning to confer and confer well.
I think that we can use our conferences as a viable means to monitor a reader’s progress, so we have to keep practicing and exploring this aspect of conferring. And, as I point out in the book, we have to look at conferring versus collecting… which was a great conversation I had with my good friend, Troy Rushmore. And, there are lots of “collectors” out there.
I also recommend that you do something. If we’re always looking for a perfect record-keeping system, often we forget the reason we needed it in the first place.
Franki: Can you talk a bit about the balance between student ownership and teaching with rigor?
Patrick: Balance. That’s an intriguing word. I think that the balance shifts depending upon so many factors—experience, interest, strengths, growth areas, etc. Without moving ownership to the forefront of a conference will it be filled with rigor? If we try to focus on rigor, but readers have no ownership, will our conferences be as effective? We have to ask, “Who’s in control?”
I used the ideas of cultivating rigor, nurturing inquiry, and developing intimacy as I wrote about the essential components of conferring. Ellin Keene says we must, “Create an unseen culture of rigor, inquiry, and intimacy by continually expecting more, probing ideas further, and pressing students to explore their intellect." (2008) I explored conference through each of these lenses and discovered the answers to some important questions I was having about reading conferences.
Chapter five in the book is all about this very issue.
Franki: What is one thing you hope readers walk away with after reading your new book?
Patrick: One thing? One thing questions are hard to answer, but here goes… belief in children.
In the prologue, I write about a teacher who made a lasting impact on each of my four children—simply by believing in him or her… and by conferring regularly.
Thank you, Franki and Mary Lee, for inviting me to share Conferring: The Keystone of Reader’s Workshop on your blog. It’s been an honor. I’m so proud of this book and I appreciate the opportunity to share it with your readers.
I loved my Halloween costume this year. I was Scaredy Squirrel, thanks to Beth at Cover to Cover. She made my costume and it was quite fun dressing as one of my favorite book characters!
I meant to post it last week but am finally getting to it!
I just found two great new nonfiction animal books for kids. I saw LIFE-SIZE ZOO by Teruyuki Komiya at our book fair a few weeks ago. I didn't pay much attention to it but today I actually spent some time with it and I LOVE it! The end pages in the front of the book serve as a zoo map as well as a Table of Contents. Very clever, I thought. So, when you see the Giant Panda cage, you know that the info on that animal is on pages 4 and 5. How could you not love this book right from the TOC? Then each 2 page (giant) spread focuses on on zoo animal. There is a real life photo of the animal--a part of it shown true to size. There is a bit of text to tell a bit about the animal. And then there is a side column that tells about the details in the close up. (This column gives info about the specific animal photographed and then has a section called "Time for Close-Up" which gives kids things to look for with each animal. For example, when we look at the tiger, we learn can see (close up) the black lips, the four huge fangs, and thick whiskers around his cheeks. We can even see that his tongue is rough like sandpaper. Each page also has a few interesting facts about the animal.A few of the pages have fold outs that allow us to see even more of the animal close-up.
I love this book for lots of reasons. It is perfect for little kids--the close up piece is a great conversation starter--so much to look at in the pictures because they are so close up. The text adds a great deal and kids can enter at lots of levels. Younger kids can learn from the photos. Older kids have lots to learn when they add the different sections of text. From looking on amazon, it looks like there is another one coming out in 2010!
The other animal book that I love is FLIP THE FLAPS: ANIMAL HOMES by Judy Allen and Simon Mendez. I discovered this book at Cover to Cover today. The book is organized into places where animals live. So chapter titles include Trees, Stones, Burrows, Ponds and more. Each spread focuses on one of these places and tells a little about the way that it serves as an animal home. On the right side of each spread, the reader finds a "Flip the Flap". On the flap are 3 questions about the animals that live in this place. When you lift the flap, the three questions are answered. Each page also includes other information that adds to the information given on the page. I see lots of possibilities for this book. First of all, it is such a great book to help kids understand the concepts of animal habitats. I also think it is a great format to use as a model for student writing. It is a fun way to think about nonfiction information.
I have been looking for good Lego books for years. You would think there would be millions based on how popular Legos are. But I never find them. I had THE ULTIMATE LEGO BOOK a while ago but it is no longer in print. I was browsing Amazon's list of New Releases for Children earlier this week and discovered this set. I ordered it immediately.
It is definitely going to get lots of attention in the library. For a while, I won't put it in circulation. Everyone will want to spend time with it! I think I'll just set these books over by the Legos for everyone to enjoy for a while. I'd like to eventually create a display around Legos and building toys--similar to the amazing displays at The Allen Centre. But I have hard time finding books, etc. on the topic. So, I am thrilled with this find!
The LEGO Books are huge book, as you would expect. THE LEGO BOOK is paired with another called STANDING SMALL (A Celebration of 30 Years of the Lego Minifigure). They are both such great books. THE LEGO BOOK takes us through the history of LEGO. From how they are made to various sets, to the Logo history, to Legoland and more. So much information is packed in. And it has the feel of DK at its best. Great photos and great information--you really get an inside view of design, themes, etc.
STANDING SMALL focuses on the minifigure through history. Some information is shared about how they are made and how they've changed. But the majority of the book focuses on the various minifigures over the last 30 years.
Kids are going to love this book. It opens up so many new possibilities for kids--new ways to think about Legos. I can also see using pages of this with a document camera. Such a great model of nonfiction writing and a topic kids are interested in. I am not someone who plays with Legos but yet I could read this book for hours. I am fascinated by the whole design process and the creation of these.
This set would also make a great gift book. The whole set came from Amazon--shipping included--for less than $30. Well worth every penny!
Who Would Like a Christmas Tree?
by Ellen Bryan Obed
illustrated by Anne Hunter
Houghton Mifflin Books for Children, 2009
review copy provided by the publisher
I know the pumpkins are still sitting on the porch, but soon enough, cars will be driving down the road with Christmas trees tied on. Here's a book to remind you that "your" Christmas tree once belonged to a host of animals.
In January, the chickadees want the Christmas tree for the seeds and insect eggs they find hidden in the bark and needles, and for the warmth of the thick branches. In February and March the field mice and white-tailed deer want the Christmas tree. All through the months, different animals, insects, birds and other plants want the Christmas tree. And you can guess who wants it in December!
Information in the back of the book tells how a Christmas tree farmer in Maine takes care of her trees throughout the year.
I just got a copy of GINGERBREAD MAN SUPERHERO! by Dotti Enderle. I think kids are going to love this one. As with most of the gingerbread stories, the Little Old Woman makes a gingerbread man as a treat for her husband. But before popping him in the oven.."remembering how grumpy The Little Old Man has been lately...she pressed a nice plump prune in the belly." And the story continues. The gingerbread man escapes, finds a dishtowel to wear as a cape and soars over town and finds someone who needs help. This is a fun superhero story and a fun new version of this favorite story. There is a refrain, as you would expect and the art is almost comic booky with talking bubbles and text boxes. A fun addition to our gingerbread collection!
SONNET
by James Weldon Johnson
My heart be brave, and do not falter so,
Nor utter more that deep, despairing wail.
Thy way is very dark and drear I know,
But do not let thy strength and courage fail;
For certain as the raven-winged night
Is followed by the bright and blushing morn
Thy coming morrow will be clear and bright;
'Tis darkest when the night is furthest worn.
Look up, and out, beyond surrounding clouds...
This poem goes out to all who are struggling right now along ways that are dark and drear and that make their hearts utter deep despairing wails. "...do not let thy strength and courage fail..." and remember, "Thy coming morrow will be clear and bright..."
This, too, shall pass.
The round up this week is at
Wild Rose Reader. Thank you, Elaine, for stepping in and gathering us together!
Tricia's Poetry Stretch this week at
The Miss Rumphius Effect was to write a rictameter, which is an unrhymed nine line poetry form with a syllable count of 2,4,6,8,10,8,6,4,2 and the first and last lines the same.
Here's my rictameter, and then I'll tell you the rest of the story behind it:
Two books,
both about war,
both read on Veterans Day.
Coincidence. First, MARE'S WAR by
Tanita Davis, then CROSSING STONES by
Helen Frost. War's no solution,
and it's not the only
problem in these
two books.
MARE'S WARby Tanita S. Davis
Alfred A. Knopf, 2009
review copy provided by the publisher
Mare's war was WWII. She joined the African American Women's Army Corps at the age of 17 (lying that she was 21) to escape the dead end of 1940's life in rural Alabama, where the best jobs she could hope for as a Black woman who hadn't finished high school were being the house girl for Mrs. Ida Payne and busing tables and cleaning the kitchen of Young's Diner.
In this book, Mare is taking a road trip from California to Alabama with her two teenage granddaughters. The narrative switches between chapters about "then" when Mare is telling her life story to her granddaughters, and "now" as we see the two girls' reluctance about the trip change to interest in their grandmother's experiences and finally appreciation and admiration for her strength and independence.
By listening in on Mare's stories, I learned things about WWII, the WAC, segregation, and Civil Rights that are never included in history books.
Besides the coincidence of finishing this book on Veterans Day, I was tickled to note that Mare's full name is Marey Lee Boylen (closest I've ever come to finding a book character with my name!) and one of the granddaughters is named Talitha, which is the name of one of my great grandmothers.
CROSSING STONESby Helen Frost
Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2009
review copy provided by the publisher
I couldn't believe it when the next book I picked up after finishing MARE'S WAR on the afternoon of Veterans' Day was a book about WWI.
Remember how Frost's amazing diamond poems in
DIAMOND WILLOW added so much to the story? (Bill's post at
Literate Lives convinced me to read the book, and Tricia's
Poetry Makers post featuring Helen Frost elevated her to One Of My Favorites!) Frost describes the poetry forms that she uses in CROSSING STONES this way:
"I've created a formal structure to give the sense of stepping from stone to stone across a flowing creek. I think of this kind of writing as painting with words, a process involving hands, eyes, ears, thought, and emotion, all simultaneously working together.
The relatively free style of Muriel's poems represent the creek flowing over the stones as it pushes against its banks. Ollie's and Emma's poems represent the stones. I "painted" them to look round and smooth, each with a slightly different shape, like real stones. They are "cupped-hand sonnets," fourteen-line poems in which the first line rhymes with the last line, the second line rhymes with the second-to-last, and so on, so that the seventh and eighth lines rhyme with each other at the poem's center. In Ollie's poems the rhymes are the beginning words of each line, and in Emma's poems they are the end words.
To give the sense of stepping from one stone to the next, I have used the middle rhyme of one sonnet as the outside rhyme of the next. You will see that the seventh and eighth lines of each of Emma's poems rhyme with the first and last lines of Ollie's next poem, and the seventh and eighth lines of Ollie's poems rhyme with the first an last lines of Emma's next poem."
Despite the seeming complexity of the structure of this book, the form NEVER gets in the way of the story. Muriel's free-flowing poems match her free thinking about her own future (NOT as a farm wife, as everyone else seems to expect of her) and the suffrage movement. Emma's and Ollie's poems are solid and almost invisibly interconnected, bringing their two families and their own lives closer and closer.
Again in this book, I learned things that are never found in history books about WWI, the suffragettes, the Spanish Flu Epidemic, settlement houses in Chicago (Hull House) and Washington, D.C., and the ability of body and soul to heal from the ravages of war.
Put both these books on your "must read" list. They are too good to pass by.
Greg's doing the Poetry Friday round up this week at
GottaBook.
Tyrannosaurus Math
by Michelle Markel
illustrated by Doug Cushman
Tricycle Press, 2009
review copy provided by the publisher
Tyrannosaurus Math is a number-crunching dinosaur who starts doing math the minute he hatches from his egg, counting his fingers and toes together to make a number sentence.
As he grows, his math becomes more advanced. Soon he's skip counting, subtracting and checking his work, and drawing a picture in the sand to solve a problem. He makes a pictograph and an array, and finally saves the day with an excellent use of estimation.
This would be a fun book to share with math learners of all ages AND their math teachers!
Zero is the Leaves on the Treeby Betsy Franco
illustrated by Shino Arihara
Tricycle Press, 2009
review copy provided by the publisher
In this beautiful little book, the concept of zero is explored throughout a child's school year. First, zero is the number of "balls in the bin at recess time," then the number of leaves on the oak. In winter, zero is "the sound of snowflakes landing on your mitten." In spring, zero is "the bikes in the bike rack on the last day of school."
This book just begs for students to create their own illustrations of zero...and maybe of the other numbers as well!
FALL
by Edward Hirsch
Fall, falling, fallen. That's the way the season
Changes its tense in the long-haired maples
That dot the road; the veiny hand-shaped leaves
Redden on their branches (in a fiery competition
With the final remaining cardinals) and then
Begin to sidle and float through the air, at last
Settling into colorful layers carpeting the ground.
A simile is a figure of speech that compares two unlike things, often introduced with the word "like" or "as." For example: I am as hungry as a bear.
A metaphor is also a form of comparison, but it does not use "like" or "as." For example: That last math problem is a bear!
Similes and metaphors seem to often be taught in the spring, right before state tests, judging from the number of hits we get on our Poetry Friday post, "
Poetry Friday -- Simile and Metaphor Poems." Why not start exploring these forms of comparisons with your students NOW, so they can be using them in their writing all year long and have the difference between the two of them internalized by April??
Here are two great books that explore metaphors and invite you to write more. Both are personal copies.
Courageby Bernard Waber
Houghton Mifflin Books, 2002
"Courage is being the first to make up after an argument."
"Courage is breaking bad habits."
"Courage is a blade of grass breaking through the icy snow.
by Harriet Ziefert
illustrated by Jennifer Rapp
Blue Apple Books, 2005
"Misery is when your mom insists on sensible school shoes and you really want flip-flops."
"Misery is two against one -- especially if you're not part of the twosome."
"Misery is learning that you and everyone in your class will be checked for head lice!"
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I'm happy to share the love! And now I have a couple new blogs to check out . . . !
This is Ann from the Read Write Talk blog (readwritetalk.wordpress.com). Just sending a BIG THANKS for my blog award. It is very humbling... after looking at so many blogs! Thanks- know I check out your blog often and always enjoy your posts. Keep the good stuff coming!