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Happy 10th Birthday to A Year of Reading!
Our blog began as a place to have conversations about books and make predictions about the Newbery winners. Here are all of the winners for the lifetime of our blog:
2006 Criss Cross by Lynne Rae Perkins
2007 The Higher Power of Lucky by Susan Patron
2008 Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Voices from a Medieval Village by Laura Amy Schlitz
2009 The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
2010 When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead
2011 Moon over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool
2012 Dead End in Norvelt by Jack Gantos
2013 The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate
2014 Flora & Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures by Kate DiCamillo
2015 The Crossover by Kwame Alexander
Our blog has been a place to share book reviews of children’s and profession books, classroom stories, Poetry Friday and Poetry Month, It’s Monday What Are You Reading, Math Monday, #Nerdlutions, One Little Words, #GNCelebration, #PB10for10, #cyberPD…and more in more than 3000 posts, which means we’ve averaged about 300 posts per year! WHEW!
The blog isn’t the only place we’ve shared our reading – we’re both on Goodreads, and have listed over 3000 books there. Between the two of us, we’ve tweeted over 30,000 tweets (probably not all about books and reading)!
The blog isn’t the only place we’ve been writing these past 10 years. Both of us write for Choice Literacy. Franki has published and/or co-published four books, and Mary Lee has poems in six anthologies.
It’s been a fun and productive 10 years both on and off the blog. We’re delighted that we share the Kidlitosphere with you, and look forward to what the next 10 years will bring!
It seems hard to believe, but we are coming to the end of our 10th year of blogging! To celebrate, we will look back on our blog birthday posts through the years. Join us as we revisit our birthday posts. Today is Day 9 of our 10 Day Birthday Celebration!
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It seems hard to believe, but we are coming to the end of our 10th year of blogging! To celebrate, we will look back on our blog birthday posts through the years. Join us as we revisit our birthday posts. Today is Day 8 of our 10 Day Birthday Celebration!
It seems hard to believe, but we are coming to the end of our 10th year of blogging! To celebrate, we will look back on our blog birthday posts through the years. Join us as we revisit our birthday posts. Today is Day 6 of our 10 Day Birthday Celebration!
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| Photo:Ardfern [CC BY-SA 4.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)], via Wikimedia Commons |
It seems hard to believe, but we are coming to the end of our 10th year of blogging! To celebrate, we will look back on our blog birthday posts through the years. Join us as we revisit our birthday posts. Today is Day 5 of our 10 Day Birthday Celebration!
It seems hard to believe, but we are coming to the end of our 10th year of blogging! To celebrate, we will look back on our blog birthday posts through the years. Join us as we revisit our birthday posts. Today is Day 4 of our 10 Day Birthday Celebration!
It seems hard to believe, but we are coming to the end of our 10th year of blogging! To celebrate, we will look back on our blog birthday posts through the years. Join us as we revisit our birthday posts. Today is Day 3 of our 10 Day Birthday Celebration!
It seems hard to believe, but we are coming to the end of our 10th year of blogging! To celebrate, we will look back on our blog birthday posts through the years. Join us as we revisit our birthday posts. Today is Day 2 of our 10 Day Birthday Celebration!
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| Photo by S. Briggs (https://www.flickr.com/photos/mozillanigeria/8288440865/sizes/m/) |
For our 2nd birthday we had a 4 day Blog Birthday Gala!
It seems hard to believe, but we are coming to the end of our 10th year of blogging! To celebrate, we will look back on our blog birthday posts through the years. Join us as we revisit our birthday posts over the next 10 Days of our Birthday Celebration!
Our very first blog post went live on January 2, 2006:
Why We Are Doing ThisIn January 2007, we looked back on our first year and proclaimed:
What a Great Year to be a Blogger! |
| Photo from Theresa Thompson (https://www.flickr.com/photos/theresasthompson/2311764508/in/dateposted/) |
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| Flickr Creative Commons Photo by Will Clayton |
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO A YEAR OF READING! Our blog is NINE years old!
The thing we are most proud of in this nine-year run of blogging is that our blog has been a useful resource to teachers, media specialists, librarians, home-schoolers, readers, and writers around the world.
We each have lists of our own personal favorite posts -- both our own and each other's.
In honor of our blog birthday,
here are our blog readers' NINE most popular posts of "all time:"9. From 2011, Mary Lee's
Home "Work" post, in which she shared a shift in her thinking about which kinds of work students do outside of school is most valuable and celebrated the most in our classrooms.
8. From last fall (2014), Franki's post
New Baskets for our Third Grade Classroom. This just goes to show that our blog readers are always on the look-out for new books and new ways to think about organizing classroom libraries.
7. From 2012, Mary Lee's
First Read Aloud of the Year post describes not just
what she'll read aloud, but her criteria for choosing a first read aloud.
6. From 2010, Franki's
100 Things About Me As a Reader. Something as simple as creating such a list reveals much about you as a reader. Be inspired -- give this a try!
5. From 2006, the post that really launched our blog into the Kidlitosphere, our
100 Cool Teachers in Children's Literature post. We are up to 145 Cool Teachers (in order by author's last name).
4. From last July (2014), Franki's post about a new series of informational books, the
Did You Know? series. Is this post popular because of the series of books, or because it is a common way to start a search? Who cares?!? Lots of people have seen this post!
3. From April 2011, Franki's
Poetry Picnic post describing a week of poetry activities in the school library back when she was a media specialist.
2. From 2010, Franki's
Pebble Go post. Pebble Go is a subscription-based online nonfiction tool for students in grades K-3.
AND OUR TOP POST FOR THE ENTIRE NINE-YEAR HISTORY OF THE BLOG IS...
1. From 2008, with over 100,000 hits, Mary Lee's
Simile and Metaphor Poems post! Not surprisingly, this post gets a lot of attention in the spring during Poetry Month, and when teachers across the country are reviewing figurative language before state testing.
THANK YOU, BLOG READERS, FOR BEING A PART OF THIS AMAZING CONVERSATION ABOUT BOOKS AND TEACHING, POETRY AND LIFE.
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| Flickr Creative Commons Photo by Will Clayton |
Even though our blog birthday was on January 1, we are celebrating it all year!
On our 8th Birthday, we decided to celebrate 2014 by celebrating others who inspire us every day. Each month, on the 1st (or so) of the month, we will celebrate a fellow blogger whose work has inspired us. We feel so lucky to be part of the blog world that we want to celebrate all that everyone gives us each day.
This month, we are celebrating teacher and poet, Amy Ludwig VanDerwater! Her blog,
The Poem Farm, is an amazing poetry and writing instruction resource for teachers. On the "
Find a Poem" page, Amy has all the poems on her blog indexed by topic and technique. There is also a link to her amazing
A-Z Poem Dictionary Hike, her 2012 National Poetry Month poem-a-day project.
Amy shines a spotlight on teachers and students and the poetry work they are doing in the classroom. On her "
Poetry Peek" page, you can visit the classrooms she has featured.
If you and/or your students keep writer's notebooks, you will want to check out Amy's other blog,
Sharing Our Notebooks. In the introduction, Amy writes,
"Hello, nosy friends! This blog is written by many different notebook-keepers, highlighting pages from a variety of notebooks: paper, digital, napkin, any kind! Read here, and learn how students, authors, artists, teachers, and people of all types use notebooks to strengthen their thinking. After reading, you might wish to try something new in your own writing, drawing, thinking..."
Amy is the co-author of one of Lucy Calkins'
Units of Study writing guides, and is in the midst of a beautiful swan dive into the crystal blue water of children's book authoring, with one published (
Forest Has a Song) and FIVE more forthcoming.
If you read Amy's blog or follow her on FaceBook, you know that besides being a poet, writer, and teacher, she is mother of three, wife of a science teacher, and very much the farm girl of her blog's Poem FARM name. And you know that one of her (and her family's) passions is rescuing and placing orphaned cats and kittens. Although it veers a bit from our typical donation to a literacy or child-based organization, it just feels right to donate this month, in Amy's honor, to
Colony Cats, a local organization that rescues cats as well as practicing TNR (trap, neuter, release) to support the feral cat colonies in the Columbus area. The cat who generously lets AJ and me share his house is a former Colony Cats rescue cat. He gave a twitch of his tail as the sign of his approval of this donation.
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| Flickr Creative Commons Photo by Will Clayton |
Even though our blog birthday was on January 1, we are celebrating it all year!
On our 8th Birthday, we decided to celebrate 2014 by celebrating others who inspire us every day. Each month, on the 1st (or so) of the month, we will celebrate a fellow blogger whose work has inspired us. We feel so lucky to be part of the blog world that we want to celebrate all that everyone gives us each day.
Our year-long blog birthday celebration continues as we honor blogger and reading champion, Jen Robinson, of
Jen Robinson's Book Page.
Although not a librarian or teacher herself, Jen is one of the most active proponents of reading, not just in the Kidlitosphere, but the big wide Blogosphere. She reads avidly, review thoughtfully, all while
raising her very own bookworm. She is a resource for both parents and teachers and works tirelessly to support readers everywhere.
To honor Jen's passion for putting books in the hands of children we will be making a donation in her honor to
Reading is Fundamental (RIF) this month.
Thank you Jen for for sharing generously and for all you do for readers and reading!
Hard to believe that we've been blogging for
SEVEN years!
This year we'd like to celebrate by giving back to our readers with a Giveback-Giveaway every day for seven days.
We'll choose a random winner from the comments each day and send them the featured book of the day. The books we've chosen are all new(ish) books that celebrate books and reading. (As we were choosing books, we realize that we need to update our
Books About Books and Reading list in the sidebar. Are any of your favorites missing from our list?)
Thanks for stopping by to help us celebrate 7 years!
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Blog Birthday Giveback-Giveaway #3 -- BOOK LOVE by Penny Kittle
If you are looking for a great new professional book to ground you in good teaching that leads to helping students become lifelong readers, we highly recommend
Book Love: Developing Depth, Stamina, and Passion in Adolescent Readers
by Penny Kittle. This book is an incredible celebration of books and reading and how important it is that we, as teachers, commit to helping every child become a reader. Although this book is written with adolescent readers in mind, Penny's stories have messages for teachers at all levels. She spends time telling us stories of reluctant readers who found the right book, she shares routines and strategies that work for her as a teacher. She shares great books. But she also shares the challenges that come with this commitment as a teacher. She knows the struggles we face when grading. She knows that it takes time and energy to build a classroom library that our kids deserve. And she knows that the work of committing to all readers is not always easy work. The book is centered on being passionate about our readers and our classrooms. It is a powerful read and one that I believe all teachers should read. Penny has the right message for us in these testing times and she is the perfect person to share it. Definitely a book that must be added to your professional bookshelf. This is a book I'll revisit over and over again and one that we are excited to give away! Comment below for a chance to win this amazing professional read!
Hard to believe that we've been blogging for SEVEN years!
This year we'd like to celebrate by giving back to our readers with a Giveback-Giveaway every day for seven days.
We'll choose a random winner from the comments each day and send them the featured book of the day. The books we've chosen are all new(ish) books that celebrate books and reading. (As we were choosing books, we realize that we need to update our Books About Books and Reading list in the sidebar. Are any of your favorites missing from our list?)
Thanks for stopping by to help us celebrate 7 years!
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Blog Birthday Giveback-Giveaway #2
The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore
by William Joyce. Franki first discovered the book as an amazing interactive ebook on her iPad. She
reviewed it on the blog then. Today, we will be giving away the hard copy of book.
This is an amazing story of the power of books and we are happy to share it today -- comment for a chance to win!
Hard to believe that we've been blogging for SEVEN years!
This year we'd like to celebrate by giving back to our readers with a Giveback-Giveaway every day for seven days.
We'll choose a random winner from the comments each day and send them the featured book of the day. The books we've chosen are all new(ish) books that celebrate books and reading. (As we were choosing books, we realize that we need to update our
Books About Books and Reading list in the sidebar. Are any of your favorites missing from our list?)
Thanks for stopping by to help us celebrate 7 years!
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Blog Birthday Giveback-Giveaway #1 -- OPEN THIS LITTLE BOOK
I was lucky enough to receive an advanced copy of
Open This Little Book
from Chronicle last week. I was immediately drawn to it and noticed that it was illustrated by one of my favorite illustrators,
Suzy Lee. The author is
Jesse Klausmeier and this is her first picture book. What a treat it is!
This is a book that reminds me of so many books I love, but one that is unique on its own. It reminds me a little bit of Press Here because I can see kids having the same gleeful reaction to this one as they do to Press Here. And it is a great one to add to my collection of books about books and reading.
When you open this book, you see that the inside pages are smaller than the cover. They are smaller because they are actually a book inside the book. The surprises every time you turn a page, continue. I can't even explain the design but I recommend you open it up because, as I said, it will make you gleeful :-)
Somehow Jessie Klausmeier and Suzy Lee have told a story about the power of reading and books in the simplest, most joyful way I've seen. It is a simple, yet powerful message. But the details are far from simple. Even the end pages share a message. It is a colorful book and the design is as important as any other part of the book. Every time I open the book to reread it, I notice something I missed before. Like I said, a real treat.
Young children are going to love this one. It is definitely a great gift book because it is one parents and children can enjoy together over and over. And it is perfect for EVERY the classroom and library. I can't wait to share it with my 4th graders.
There aren't many books that meet the needs of so many readers. The flap inside the book says of this author/illustrator team, "Together they have created a book of startling imagination that is not only an entertaining and interactive read for the very youngest reader, but also a stunning showcase of design that will delight even the most sophisticated book enthusiast." They certainly got that right in my opinion. It is not often that a book can do so many things in such a perfect way.
I love when I read a great book early in the new year. This is already one of my favorite books of 2013 and I am sure it will remain on my list of favorites forever.
Comment below for a chance to win this great new picture book!
While I revved up this blog seven years ago today, I wrote my first true blog post on February 27, 2005, with Root Vegetables. It seems fitting that I should do something to commemorate the occasion next Monday. I thought about a giveaway, but I dislike the randomness of picking one person to receive one crafty gift from me. I would make a cake, but few of you would be able to eat it.
I have an idea. I'll see if it comes to fruition. In the meantime, browse the beautiful food pictures I found on Pinterest. Here's what I like about Pinterest: I can admire other people's food creations with impunity. Here's what I don't like about Pinterest: It's a distraction.
Four years ago today we started this blog! Hard to believe we've been at it that long, but we are still having LOADS of fun!
Here are some of our blog features that have been going strong all four years:
Newbery Predictions (Clearly, a goal for the next 4 years could be More Consistent Tagging. Here are some posts tagged "
Potential Newbery" and here are a few more tagged "
Newbery," but I know there are more hiding in the archives...)
New features this year:
Our most commented on (non-Poetry Friday) posts this year:
Our most commented on Poetry Friday posts this year:
THANK YOU, READERS AND FOLLOWERS, COMMENTERS AND LURKERS, FOR A GREAT 4 YEARS AND LOTS MORE TO COME!!! --MARY LEE AND FRANKI
THREE years ago (in 2006) on January 2 (that was THREE days ago), this blog was born.
To celebrate our third blog birthday, we have prepared for you a THREE day festival of THREEs from our third year of blogging. Let the triads begin!
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THREE new book characters (Franki)
THREE new blogs we follow (local--our district)
THREE 2008 picture books we LOVE! (Franki)
THREE great new nonfiction books (Franki)
Yesterday, over coffee and tea, Carol and I discussed this book. She had a copy. I did not. None to be found in Denver.
I saw Penny at CLAS discussing this book. I can't wait to read it.
Congratulations! I hope I will be equally persistent.
Wow! This book sounds like the perfect next-step for me! I'm amazed every day at how my kids are taking to reading when they're given the time. Would so love to take it to the next level this upcoming semester!
I have lived participating in the online book club for this great book and would love to gift a copy to our head of department.
I've been looking forward to reading this one..love your blog!
Okay, I REALLY want to win this book so I can participate in the Book Love Book Club! I love Penny, and I LOVE her books!
Love your blog! Thanks for all the inspiration.
Happy happy blog birthday to two of my favorite bloggers! This book looks fantastic and is on my to-read list!
I would love to win a copy of this book. Thanks for sharing
Happy, happy blog birthday! You challenge me to be a better teacher with every post! Keeping my fingers crossed that I'll be the random name!
I have been hearing so much about this book. It is on my TBR list. Thank you for sharing these great books with everyone!
Love your blog! ....and I would love this book! I head up a book club for Gr 3's in our school and so this would be right up my alley!
Would love to read this book. I try to instil a love of books and reading in my 3rd graders.
Happy Bogversary!
I would love to read this and share it with the teachers I work with! Happy Blog Birthday!
This book has been a hot topic and would love to get my hands on it! Congrats on seven years! (I didn't even know blogging existed that long ago!?!) Here's to seven and many more years!
congratulations to two inspirational ladies! Looks like a great read!
This looks like another great book to add to my collection. I definitely need a copy!
Sounds good!!!
Alright this is about the 100th place I have heard about this book. It's on my list to purchase guess I will wait a day to push add to cart.
This books sounds like a great resource. Please enter me in your contest for a free copy.
Gratefully,
mj
I've heard great things about this book! Happy blog birthday!! You've created such a fantastic resource & source of information!
What a great idea to showcase a book for teachers about readers and reading. Great title -- this sounds like a gem (hope I win)
WOW!!! Seven years of blogging! So glad I am at the "party" even if late by a mile. This book sounds fabulous and I love Penny Kittle (even though I don't know her) because she was a friend and colleague of my hero, Donald Graves. Can't wait to see what others books you are highlighting. Hope to meet Franki at IRA if I go!!
This book is quickly moving to the top of my "to read" pile! I'd love to have a copy.
Congrats on seven years!! I have heard about this book through Twitter and would love to have a copy! :)
thanks for sharing.
I'm so mad at myself for not getting a copy of this at NCTE! It looks brilliant. I've looked through it and cannot wait to actually read it.
Congratulations! I wish you both energy and fun to continue. Thank you for the giveaway
Congrats on SEVEN years! :)