For many kids, August is back-to-school month. The stories in this month's hot new release kids books will make back-to-school (and anytime) reading a breeze.
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Title: Little Blue Truck
Written By: Alice Schertle
Illustrated By: Jill McElmurry
Harcourt Children's Books, 2008, Fiction
Suitable For Ages: 3-7
Themes/Topics: friendship, helping, animals
Opening: "Horn went "BEEP!"
Engine purred.
Friendliest sounds
you ever heard.
Little Blue Truck
came down the road.
"BEEP!" said Blue
to a big green toad."
Brief Synopsis: A friendly Little Blue Truck drives down a country road, beeping hello to everyone he passes - a toad, a sheep, a cow, a piggy, etc. All is well until a self-important dump truck comes along, shouldering everyone out of the way. When the dump truck gets mired in the mud, it's up to Little Blue and his animal friends to help out even though the dump truck hadn't been very nice to them.
Links To Resources: draw and color in your own Little Blue Truck (or truck of any color of your choosing :)) and add in any animals that YOU would like to include in your journey; talk about what it means to be a friend; talk about the importance of helping others, even if they don't help you; K-5 Teaching Guide to Being Friends
Why I Like This Book: This is a cute, fun book that will entertain toddlers through young elementary schoolers. The beginning has lots of fun animals sounds to join in on and practice, and the rhythm of the text mimics the rhythm of the Little Blue Truck bounding down the road. The end has a nice message about friendship and helping others. The pictures are cute and friendly and warm - perfect for this lively little book :)
For the complete list of books with resources, please visit Perfect Picture Books.
Apropos of nothing, Linda Boyden (who always posts awesome stuff!) posted a picture on FB a few days ago of a bear charging down the middle of a road. The picture said, "Not a runner? Now you are!" (I'd post it here, but I'd probably be breaking every copyright rule in the book!) Anyway, I had to laugh, because I saw the picture yesterday, and then this morning when I was out "running" with my dogs, guess who we saw? THE BEAR! We were all pretty surprised. There was a lot of barking (Scout) and pleading (me saying, "Scouty, PLEASE! Leave that bear alone and come HERE RIGHT NOW!") and lumbering off into the bushes thank goodness (the bear), but golly, that'll get the ole heart pounding at 6 AM!
So I know that has nothing whatsoever to do with Perfect Picture Book Friday or the book I'm sharing today, but I had to tell SOMEONE! :)
PPBF bloggers please be sure to leave your post-specific link in the list below so we can all come visit you!
Have a wonderful weekend, everyone! :)
By: Laura Purdie Salas,
on 9/16/2011
Blog: laurasalas (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: poetry friday, alice schertle, Add a tag
Keepers (Lothrop, Lee and Shepard, 1996) is an older poetry collection that I have and just love. Alice Schertle is a wizard!
As the weather turns cooler, spiders are invading the house. Bigger ones than usual, too. In honor of them, I'm sharing today's poem:
Spider
Spider
in your mansion airy
Patience!
It will not be very
long
before a fly unwary
blunders
in
With your
tender
touch
you'll tap him
Lovingly
in gauze you'll wrap him
And with any luck
you'll trap
his next of kin
--Alice Schertle, all rights reserved
Poem Starter: Write a love poem to a spider.
The wonderful Amy at The Poem Farm has the Poetry Friday Roundup!
Add a Comment
By: Aline Pereira,
on 1/7/2011
Blog: PaperTigers (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Poetry Friday, Picture Books, Bilingual books, Poetry Books, Alma Flor Ada, international nursery rhymes, multicultural nursery rhymes, Latin American, Alice Schertle, F. Isabel Campoy, Vivi Escriva, Pio Peep, Add a tag
By: Laura Purdie Salas,
on 4/6/2010
Blog: laurasalas (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: national poetry month, alice schertle, poetry, Add a tag
P.S. AFTER choosing this poem and writing this post, I found a brief bio of Schertle while looking for a site to link to. And I learned that her birthday is April 7, the day this post will go live. Sometimes life is odd.
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By: Carmela Martino and 5 other authors,
on 2/26/2010
Blog: Teaching Authors (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Janet S.Wong, Joan Bransfield Graham, Susan Goldsmith Wooldridge, Poetry Friday, Writing Exercises, Sonya Sones, Myra Cohn Livingston, Ann Whitford Paul, April Halprin Wayland, Alice Schertle, Add a tag
I wanted to change my universe. I wanted the playfulness back in teaching. So I proposed a new class. It was accepted and I'll be teaching it this summer (yippee!). Here’s a draft of the course description:
Chockful of short and longer in-class writing exercises, this workshop is designed especially for children's picture book writers. By focusing on recurring subjects such as Tell the Truth, Less is More, Quote-Unquote, and The Power of Observation, you have the time and creative space to delve into a range of fresh approaches to these universal themes as you engage in stimulating writing exercises and constructive give-and-take with your instructor and peers. In addition to inspiring new work and points of view on it, this workshop loosens up your tight fists, unwrinkles your worried brow, and reminds you how satisfying and fun writing can be. All writing and critiquing is performed in class; students are given the opportunity to read their work aloud if they wish. Enrollment limit: 20 students
NO HOMEWORK for me OR for the students! Doesn't that sound great?
Each of the six classes is three hours long, so I’m collecting fun, inspiring writing exercises.
Of course there are wonderful books that include all sorts of writing exercises. Among them: Ann Whitford Paul's terrific WRITING PICTURE BOOKS (s 6 Comments on Question Poems for Poetry Friday, last added: 3/1/2010
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By: Bianca Schulze,
on 8/1/2015
Blog: The Children's Book Review (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Ages 0-3, Ages 4-8, Ages 9-12, Book Lists, Jennifer L. Holm, Matthew Holm, Candlewick Press, Chronicle Books, Rebecca Stead, Scholastic, featured, Wendy Lamb Books, Rick Riordan, Roaring Brook Press, Kate DiCamillo, Knopf Books for Young Readers, Amy Krouse Rosenthal, Jill McElmurry, John Rocco, Tom Lichtenheld, Antoinette Portis, Harlequin Teen, Scholastic Press, Philomel Books, Ellen Potter, Chris Van Dusen, Alice Schertle, Mac Barnett, Christian Robinson, Qin Leng, Percy Jackson & the Olympians, Teens: Young Adults, R.J. Palacio, Best Books for Kids, Erin E. Moulton, Best Kids Stories, Jessica Verdi, HMH Books for Young Readers, Hot New Releases, Drew Daywalt, Best New Kids Books, Graphix Books, Sourcebooks Fire Books, Eleanor Herman, Soho Teen Books, Alex Gino, Little Blue Truck Series, Piper Green and the Fairy Tree Series, Shannon Grogan, Tales From Deckawoo Drive Series, Add a tag
Blog: The Children's Book Review (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Ages 0-3, Ages 4-8, Ages 9-12, Book Lists, Jennifer L. Holm, Matthew Holm, Candlewick Press, Chronicle Books, Rebecca Stead, Scholastic, featured, Wendy Lamb Books, Rick Riordan, Roaring Brook Press, Kate DiCamillo, Knopf Books for Young Readers, Amy Krouse Rosenthal, Jill McElmurry, John Rocco, Tom Lichtenheld, Antoinette Portis, Harlequin Teen, Scholastic Press, Philomel Books, Ellen Potter, Chris Van Dusen, Alice Schertle, Mac Barnett, Christian Robinson, Qin Leng, Percy Jackson & the Olympians, Teens: Young Adults, R.J. Palacio, Best Books for Kids, Erin E. Moulton, Best Kids Stories, Jessica Verdi, HMH Books for Young Readers, Hot New Releases, Drew Daywalt, Best New Kids Books, Graphix Books, Sourcebooks Fire Books, Eleanor Herman, Soho Teen Books, Alex Gino, Little Blue Truck Series, Piper Green and the Fairy Tree Series, Shannon Grogan, Tales From Deckawoo Drive Series, Add a tag
By: Susanna Leonard Hill,
on 11/7/2014
Blog: Susanna Leonard Hill (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Harcourt Children's Books, Jill McElmurry, Alice Schertle, Perfect Picture Book Fridays, Little Blue Truck, Add a tag
Blog: Susanna Leonard Hill (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Harcourt Children's Books, Jill McElmurry, Alice Schertle, Perfect Picture Book Fridays, Little Blue Truck, Add a tag
Phew!
I don't know about you, but I'm glad it's Friday! This week has been long and busy! I'm plumb tuckered out! (That's Little House On The Prairie speak for "tired" :))
Today's character is not plumb tuckered out, though. He is busy and helpful :)
Written By: Alice Schertle
Illustrated By: Jill McElmurry
Harcourt Children's Books, 2008, Fiction
Suitable For Ages: 3-7
Themes/Topics: friendship, helping, animals
Opening: "Horn went "BEEP!"
Engine purred.
Friendliest sounds
you ever heard.
Little Blue Truck
came down the road.
"BEEP!" said Blue
to a big green toad."
Brief Synopsis: A friendly Little Blue Truck drives down a country road, beeping hello to everyone he passes - a toad, a sheep, a cow, a piggy, etc. All is well until a self-important dump truck comes along, shouldering everyone out of the way. When the dump truck gets mired in the mud, it's up to Little Blue and his animal friends to help out even though the dump truck hadn't been very nice to them.
Links To Resources: draw and color in your own Little Blue Truck (or truck of any color of your choosing :)) and add in any animals that YOU would like to include in your journey; talk about what it means to be a friend; talk about the importance of helping others, even if they don't help you; K-5 Teaching Guide to Being Friends
Why I Like This Book: This is a cute, fun book that will entertain toddlers through young elementary schoolers. The beginning has lots of fun animals sounds to join in on and practice, and the rhythm of the text mimics the rhythm of the Little Blue Truck bounding down the road. The end has a nice message about friendship and helping others. The pictures are cute and friendly and warm - perfect for this lively little book :)
For the complete list of books with resources, please visit Perfect Picture Books.
Apropos of nothing, Linda Boyden (who always posts awesome stuff!) posted a picture on FB a few days ago of a bear charging down the middle of a road. The picture said, "Not a runner? Now you are!" (I'd post it here, but I'd probably be breaking every copyright rule in the book!) Anyway, I had to laugh, because I saw the picture yesterday, and then this morning when I was out "running" with my dogs, guess who we saw? THE BEAR! We were all pretty surprised. There was a lot of barking (Scout) and pleading (me saying, "Scouty, PLEASE! Leave that bear alone and come HERE RIGHT NOW!") and lumbering off into the bushes thank goodness (the bear), but golly, that'll get the ole heart pounding at 6 AM!
So I know that has nothing whatsoever to do with Perfect Picture Book Friday or the book I'm sharing today, but I had to tell SOMEONE! :)
PPBF bloggers please be sure to leave your post-specific link in the list below so we can all come visit you!
Have a wonderful weekend, everyone! :)
0 Comments on Perfect Picture Book Friday - Little Blue Truck as of 1/1/1900
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By: Laura Purdie Salas,
on 9/16/2011
Blog: laurasalas (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: poetry friday, alice schertle, Add a tag
Keepers (Lothrop, Lee and Shepard, 1996) is an older poetry collection that I have and just love. Alice Schertle is a wizard!
As the weather turns cooler, spiders are invading the house. Bigger ones than usual, too. In honor of them, I'm sharing today's poem:
Spider
Spider
in your mansion airy
Patience!
It will not be very
long
before a fly unwary
blunders
in
With your
tender
touch
you'll tap him
Lovingly
in gauze you'll wrap him
And with any luck
you'll trap
his next of kin
--Alice Schertle, all rights reserved
Poem Starter: Write a love poem to a spider.
The wonderful Amy at The Poem Farm has the Poetry Friday Roundup!
Add a Comment
By: Aline Pereira,
on 1/7/2011
Blog: PaperTigers (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Poetry Friday, Picture Books, Bilingual books, Poetry Books, Alma Flor Ada, international nursery rhymes, multicultural nursery rhymes, Latin American, Alice Schertle, F. Isabel Campoy, Vivi Escriva, Pio Peep, Add a tag
Little Brother and I have been having fun recently reading nursery rhymes in Spanish and English, from ¡Pío Peep!, a delightful book of rhymes from Spain and Latin American countries, selected by Alma Flor Ada and F. Isabel Campoy (Harper Collins, 2003). In their introduction they say that they chose rhymes that resonated from their own childhoods, and also ones that were clear favorites with “the numerous children – Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Dominican, and Central American – with whom we have worked.” The rhymes are accompanied by an English Adaptation by Alice Schertle, who provides the key for these rhymes to be enjoyed as nursery rhymes by English-speakers as well, in all their rhythmic, chantable, sometimes nonsensical, sometimes dreamlike glory.
Here’s a taster: “El Barquito” uses repetition of whole phrases to create its narrative tension; the English also repeats but only single words:
There was, was, was
a little boat, boat, boat,
who never, never, never
learned to float, float, float.[...]
And if this silly story doesn’t
sink, sink, sink,
we’ll have to tell it one more time,
I think, think, think.
Little Brother loves the potential for being very annoying, repeating the rhyme over and over and over; and I love the nonsensical inversion at the end, of the story rather than the boat not sinking. The rhythm is so snappy, I think it’s going to be lurking at the back of my mind for a while to come, even without Little Brother’s assistance!
As in all nursery rhymes across cultures, this selection includes the themes of nature and family; there are short, clapping rhymes, counting rhymes and lullabies; and they encompass everyday routines in a child’s life, and flights of imagination. Add to all this Viví Escrivá’s captivating illustrations and you really do have one special book.
This week’s Poetry Friday is hosted by Irene Latham over at Live. Love. Explore! Head on over.
And P.S. Don’t forget to take a look at our 1,000th post, with the chance of winning a Spirit of PaperTigers 2010 book set. Deadline for entries is Wednesday 19th January…
0 Comments on Poetry Friday: Pio Peep – Spanish Nursery Rhymes as of 1/1/1900
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By: Laura Purdie Salas,
on 4/6/2010
Blog: laurasalas (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: national poetry month, alice schertle, poetry, Add a tag
| I love the book keepers (Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Books, 1996), by fantastic poet Alice Schertle (illustrated by Ted Rand). The connection between the poems is tenuous to me. Supposedly, the poems all represent special moments and feelings, or "keepers." It feels more like a marketing add-on than anything inherent in the poems to me. BUT, that doesn't change the fact that these are wonderful poems! And here's one of my favorites. I love the haunting, secretive feeling to this one in particular. Walk Softly Walk softly in this wood, where listtle wispy things in gown and hood slide down the dark and fold their wings. Shy and hidden shadow things of pipe and ring and strange remembered power. Shadow voices high and thin quiver in the wind this witching hour. Little fragile fading things turn watchful eyes upon me as I pass-- a sudden rustle in the grass as something flees before my awful bone and blood. Walk softly in this wood. --Alice Schertle, all rights reserved | |
P.S. AFTER choosing this poem and writing this post, I found a brief bio of Schertle while looking for a site to link to. And I learned that her birthday is April 7, the day this post will go live. Sometimes life is odd.
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By: Carmela Martino and 5 other authors,
on 2/26/2010
Blog: Teaching Authors (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Janet S.Wong, Joan Bransfield Graham, Susan Goldsmith Wooldridge, Poetry Friday, Writing Exercises, Sonya Sones, Myra Cohn Livingston, Ann Whitford Paul, April Halprin Wayland, Alice Schertle, Add a tag
Dear Followers of Teaching Authors,
Happy Poetry Friday!
I need your help.
I have been an instructor with UCLA Extension's Writing Program for ten years. I adore teaching there, love the students, love the challenges. Following the example of master teacher Myra Cohn Livingston (with whom I studied for twelve years), I am a big believer in homework for adult learners. Lots of it. I've found that the more work they do and the less dancing-on-a-table-top-in-the-front-of the-classroom I do, the better the teacher they think I am.
In Myra's Master Class, we basically shoved the rest of our lives aside for ten weeks to write poetry for children. Myra taught so many now well-known children's poets, I call her the Johnny Appleseed of children's poetry. My classmates including Monica Gunning, Janet S.Wong, Alice Schertle, Ann Whitford Paul, Tony Johnston, Joan Bransfield Graham, Madeleine Comora, Ruth Lercher Bornstein, Sonya Sones and many others.
Sometimes, though, critiquing each student's story every week wears me down. (Can you relate?) It's a fine line between thoroughly critiquing each story in order to help the author get it into shape...and spending more time critiquing it than the author spent writing it.
I don't know how you teachers with six classes a day, thirty students per class do it. I think you may be magicians.
I wanted to change my universe. I wanted the playfulness back in teaching. So I proposed a new class. It was accepted and I'll be teaching it this summer (yippee!). Here’s a draft of the course description:
Chockful of short and longer in-class writing exercises, this workshop is designed especially for children's picture book writers. By focusing on recurring subjects such as Tell the Truth, Less is More, Quote-Unquote, and The Power of Observation, you have the time and creative space to delve into a range of fresh approaches to these universal themes as you engage in stimulating writing exercises and constructive give-and-take with your instructor and peers. In addition to inspiring new work and points of view on it, this workshop loosens up your tight fists, unwrinkles your worried brow, and reminds you how satisfying and fun writing can be. All writing and critiquing is performed in class; students are given the opportunity to read their work aloud if they wish. Enrollment limit: 20 students
NO HOMEWORK for me OR for the students! Doesn't that sound great?
Each of the six classes is three hours long, so I’m collecting fun, inspiring writing exercises.
Of course there are wonderful books that include all sorts of writing exercises. Among them: Ann Whitford Paul's terrific WRITING PICTURE BOOKS (s 6 Comments on Question Poems for Poetry Friday, last added: 3/1/2010
By: Amanda,
on 8/9/2009
Blog: A Patchwork of Books (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Fran Hawk, Alice Schertle, John Grogan, Picture Book Saturday, Add a tag
Wow, this week totally got away from me. Between applying for just about every full time job available, having two sick dogs, only one car, and attempting to get the yard in somewhat of an attractive state, reading and blogging were definitely put on the back burner. I'm sure I'm not the only one in this boat! I had thought about just skipping my regular Picture Book "Saturday" post this week, but I had some great choices planned and as you'll see, they're all good choices for this time of year. Maybe I'm just hoping that fall is coming around the corner faster than it may seem in early August :) And school is about to start...and I'm sure you parents like that part of fall! These are some nice choices for first timers to school or just in anticipation of the fall reading season.
Count Down to Fall, written by Fran Hawk and illustrated by Sherry Neidigh, is a great introduction to all the great things about fall, from the very end of summer to the very beginning of winter.
Counting backwards from ten to one, readers will get to watch and learn as animals, trees, and all of nature readies itself for the cold weather. Chipmunks are storing food, leaves and pine needles are falling, and two children are witness to it all. The rhymes are great, allowing the numbers to stand out and be learned, and the illustrations are done in the beautiful colors of fall.
There are also fabulous activities included after the story is over, which will truly bring the story to a real-life perspective. Count Down to Fall is a great choice for libraries, classrooms, homeschoolers, or just as a gift!
Count Down to Fall
Fran Hawk
32 pages
Picture Book
Sylvan Dell Publishing
9781607180395
June 2009
Marley Goes to School, another extension of the beloved Marley series that all began with Marley and Me, is written by the original memoir author, John 
Grogan, and is illustrated by Richard Cowdry. Featuring the adorable, yet trouble-making Lab on a mission to find his best friend at school on her first day, all sorts of crazy antics take place from eating hot dogs in the cafeteria to setting mice loose and completely disrupting the library, this new favorite character is filled with energy and guaranteed to make kids giggle.
I do feel that the Marley picture books are a bit over the top at times, which is certainly not a bad thing for kids, the more over the top the better with them! More over-the-top in the "too much of a good thing" sense. I read Marley and Me, loved it, and now feel the author is just taking every single avenue he can to continue to bank on his crazy dog. That being said, my opinion on why the picture books are being written is certainly not going to take away from kids loving the stories and laughing out loud at Marley!
A great one to read aloud to your kids just before school is starting. It might help to take away some of those jitters, with them watching Marley get into all sorts of crazy trouble.
Marley Goes to School
John Grogan
40 pages
Picture Book
HarperCollins
9780061561511
July 2009
An Anaconda Ate My Homework!, written by Alice Schertle and illustrated by Aaron Renier, is another way to "make fun" of school and homework, hopefully easing some of those first day jitters little ones often have. The ultimate "what if a....ate my homework?" story.
Digby is pretty upset when a Gigantic Repulsive Raptor came down from the sky and stole his homework. Well, really, the Raptor stole Digby...and that's the just the beginning of his trouble. Finding himself in a Raptor's nest, then being dropped into a crocodile and anaconda infested river, played with by a gorilla, and then sitting on a rogue elephant's head (eventually to be discovered by the news crew that happened to be scouting the jungle for breaking news), Digby has a quite a journey on his way home from school!
Completely ridiculous and utterly silly, imaginations run high in this picture book! You parents will be shaking your heads, but kids will be loving Digby's story of homework.
An Anaconda Ate My Homework!
Alice Schertle
40 pages
Picture Book
Hyperion
9781423113546
July 2009
To learn more about any of these titles, or to purchase, click on the book cover above to link to Amazon.
4 Comments on Picture Book...Sunday?, last added: 8/13/2009
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Hi April,
I love the idea of exercises that require you to move or go outside. Some of my favorite exercises are in FINDING YOUR WRITER'S VOICE by Thaisa Frank and Dorothy Wall. They suggest some interesting rituals (some requiring props) in their section on "Rituals for Cultivating Voice." I haven't looked at the book in a long time, but I think one exercise had you singing something you'd written.
Good luck with the class! And thanks for sharing the Questions poem--it looks awfully polished for a "rough" draft.
Thanks for the suggestion, Carmela--really appreciate it.
Bruce Van Patter has a ton of ideas he calls Creative Writing Sparks:
http://www.brucevanpatter.com/sparks_book1.html
http://www.brucevanpatter.com/funstuff.html
Take a look!
Best,
Tabatha
Am I drooling?
Do I wish that I were tooling
'cross the country for your class?
Do you have to ask?
I took a class on writing for children from Ruth Moose at Chapel Hill's extension program. She gave us each a large sheet of white paper and asked us to sketch the house and neighborhood we grew up in. This act of sketching helped us access memories about our childhoods from which to generate stories. I have used the exercise to good effect in classes I have taught at UNCG. Another option is to sketch the room layout of the house you grew up in and then tell a story about something that happened in one of the rooms.
In Peace,
Caroline McAlister
Author of
Holy Mole!
and
Brave Donatella and the Jasmine Thief
Thanks so much, Tabatha--I took a look at Bruce Van Patter's pages and especially like the idea of creating weird headlines. I could see bringing in newspapers and having students cut up words to make weird headlines...maybe putting them into a bowl and having them pick one to write about.
And Caroline--having them draw sounds good, too. It rings a bell somewhere in my brain...who did I hear did this before? Anyway, great suggestion. I wonder what else I could have them draw...?