“You’re never too old, too wacky, too wild, to pick up a book and read with a child.”
Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss. I’ve always felt him to be a personal friend. Green Eggs and Ham was the first book I ever read, well recite. I probably could recite it before I could read it.
Oh, the Places You’ll Go when you read! March 2, 2015 is NEA’s Read Across America Day and this year, the book is the Seuss classic, Oh, The Places You’ll Go.
NEA’s Read Across America is an annual reading motivation and awareness program that calls for every child in every community to celebrate reading on March 2, the birthday of beloved children’s author Dr. Seuss.
A Look At Our Friend Dr. Seuss
Brilliant, playful, and always respectful of children, Dr. Seuss charmed his way into the consciousness of four generations of youngsters and parents. In the process, he helped millions of children learn to read.
Dr. Seuss was born Theodor Seuss Geisel in Springfield, Massachusetts, on March 2, 1904. After graduating from Dartmouth College in 1925, he went to Oxford University, intending to acquire a doctorate in literature. At Oxford, Geisel met Helen Palmer, whom he wed in 1927. Upon his return to America later that year, Geisel published cartoons and humorous articles for Judge, the leading humor magazine in America at the time. His cartoons also appeared in major magazines such as Life, Vanity Fair, and Liberty. Geisel gained national exposure when he won an advertising contract for an insecticide called Flit. He coined the phrase, “Quick, Henry, the Flit!” which became a popular expression.
Geisel developed the idea for his first children’s book in 1936 while on a vacation cruise. The rhythm of the ship’s engine drove the cadence to And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street.
During World War II, Geisel joined the Army and was sent to Hollywood where he wrote documentaries for the military. During this time, he also created a cartoon called Gerald McBoing-Boing which won him an Oscar.
The Cat in the Hat Is Born
In May of 1954, Life published a report on illiteracy among schoolchildren, suggesting that children were having trouble reading because their books were boring. This problem inspired Geisel’s publisher, prompting him to send Geisel a list of 400 words he felt were important for children to learn. The publisher asked Geisel to cut the list to 250 words and use them to write an entertaining children’s book. Nine months later, Geisel, using 225 of the words given to him, published The Cat in the Hat, which brought instant success.
Winner of the Pulitzer Prize in 1984 and three Academy Awards, Geisel authored and illustrated 44 children’s books. His enchanting stories are available as audio cassettes, animated television specials, and videos.
While Theodor Geisel died on September 24, 1991, Dr. Seuss lives on, inspiring generations of children of all ages to explore the joys of reading.
(Courtesy of Random House)
Oh,The Places We’ve Been
We do a whole lot of global reading around here as well as take some incredible reading adventures. To celebrate one of our favorite authors today we’re reading around the world and sharing all the places we’ve been. Here are some of our most popular book reviews and book jumps that have taken us all over the world.
China
Thailand
Scotland
Wales
Africa
Native American lands
Australia
Kenya
France
So read loud, read strong but mostly Read together Across America!!! Or a very special place of your choosing. Happy Read Across America Day
READY GO! #readyourworld #readacrossamerica
Take the pledge http://www.nea.org/grants/ReadAcrossAmericaPledge.html
More info from NEA about Read Across America http://www.nea.org/grants/886.htm
Read Aloud.org launches their big campaign too this month Join us! http://www.readaloud.org/
The post Happy Read Across America Day! Oh The Place’s We’ve Gone appeared first on Jump Into A Book.
With Leap Year Day last week, we encouraged everyone to get
out there and do something. This week, we’re featuring books about do
not-ing. We dug around and found some
wonderfully amusing and informative titles, all starting with Don’t or Do
Not.
How could any list of Don’t books be
complete without Mo Willems’s hilarious, perfect-for-reading-aloud Pigeon
books: Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! and Don't Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late!?
On the informative side, Don't Squash That Bug!: The Curious Kid's Guide to Insects by Natalie Rompella introduces insects through colorful
photos, spreads, and sidebars, while Do Not Open: An Encyclopedia of the World's Most Intriguing Mysteries from DK is full of
enigmas from the Mona Lisa's hidden past to the history of Area 51, from
lost worlds to secret codes.
Don't forget to check out thist list of more great Don't books!
Happy Valentine’s Day everyone from Tandem Library Group! In the spirit of the holiday we've put together three title lists to inspire you and your students to celebrate Valentine’s Day all year long.
Celebrate Valentine's Day K-5
Celebrate Valentine's Day 6-8
Celebrate Valentine's Day 9-12
Politics as usual? We think not. If you followed the Super Tuesday coverage on TV or the Internet last night, you know that today’s voters have rapid access to more information than ever before. This phenomenon is changing the way campaigns are run and how candidates are perceived.
Super Tuesday may be behind us, but the party nominees are far from decided. As we move closer to electing our 44th president, here are some books to help your students understand and get involved in the political process.
And for those fiction lovers, check out these picture books and novels with political themes.
Losing a loved one is a painful experience for both young and old. Finding quality books to share with your students may help them through this tumultuous experience. Titles in this week’s featured list highlight beautiful picture books and stories of strong characters persevering through one of the toughest times in their lives.
The Chinese New Year starts February 7, 2008 and goes through January 25, 2009. First in the cycle of twelve animal signs, the Year of the Rat will be a time of hard work, activity, and renewal. Some may find it a good year to begin a new job, get married or make a fresh start.
The Year of the Rat by Grace Lin is the sequel to The Year of the Dog and Pacy is not happy about the big changes the Rat Year has in store. Students in Grades 3-5 will find it easy to relate to Pacy as throughout the year she finds the courage to face up to one change after another. Near the end of the book Pacy’s attitude towards the Rat Year improves after she chooses to be ‘brave like a tiger’. By reflecting on the changes through the year that had made her uncomfortable or nervous Pacy finds how much she's grown up during the Rat Year. What's more, she finds she has the power to shape her own future and appreciate the differences between fate and destiny as well as wishes and resolutions.
What will the Year of the Rat bring for you?
One great book recommendation deserves another and another. Check out these titles:
Great Picture Book Titles with Asian-American characters
Great Elementary School Titles with Asian-American characters
Great Middle School Titles with Asian-American characters
Great High School Titles with Asian-American characters
First-time authors are getting a lot of press lately with The Class of 2k7 and now The Class of 2k8 ready to roll, as well as the new William C. Morris YA Debut Award. The Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) will announce the first recipient in January 2009. With hundreds of debuts by young adult novelists each year and new ways to celebrate and spread the word about these debuts, we’d like to chime in with our favorites from 2007 that are not to be missed:
Linda Urban’s A Crooked Kind of Perfect is a middle grade novel about what happens when reality doesn’t quite match up with your expectations. Both funny and heartwarming, A Crooked Kind of Perfect is a potential pick to win the Newbery.
More intermediate level author debuts from 2007
Skulduggery Pleasant is an ace detective, a snappy dresser, a crackerjack sorcerer with razor-tongued wit, and a skeleton. He also happens to be the Tandem Collection Development Team’s Favorite Hero of 2007. How could he not win an award just for being him? Watch for all of our team’s 2007 Award picks in our upcoming Spring Must-Have Titles catalog, coming January 2008.
More middle school level author debuts from 2007
Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr is a great read-alike for Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight books. This incredibly popular 21st century faery tale is void of vampires, and unlike Bella in Meyers’ books, Aislinn desperately wants to stay human.
More high school level author debuts from 2007
