Monday, November 24, 2014

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? 11/24/14


It's Monday! What are you reading? was started by Sheila at Book Journey and was adapted for children's books from pictures books through YA by Jen of Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee of Unleashing Readers. You can visit either site for a round up of blogs sharing their weekly readings and thoughts or search Twitter for #IMWAYR.

Picture Books


Shh! We Have a Plan (2014) by Chris Haughton. While this simplistic picture book did not do a lot for me, my kids this week have really enjoyed it. This is another one that they have enjoyed reading aloud to each other repeatedly. In fact, it was one of my students who drew my attention to the differences between the opening and closing end papers. Somebody is ready for our mock Caldecott discussions!


I'm Here by Peter Reynolds. This quick picture book shares the perspective of a student possibly on the autism spectrum (not explicit in the book but in the author's bio). While I appreciated the message - reach out to others - I wish it had gone a little farther, as the ending seems to imply that all this child needed was another child to walk over, and all his 'problems' are solved. (H/T CCBC Choices.)

Poetry


Forget-Me-Nots Poems to Learn by Heart, selected by Mary Hoberman is one of my favorite resources for introducing students to new poems and poem memorization. Read my full article about the book and how to get your kids started memorizing poetry!

Middle Grade


Nerd Camp by Elissa Brent Weissman. I got to meet Elissa Brent Weissman last weekend at the NAGC conference, where she gave a great, interactive presentation about book writing and authorship. You can read a little more about her in my post last week.

Nerd Camp tells the story of Gabe, a self-professed nerd who is excited to head off to his summer enrichment camp until he meets his cool new step-brother, Zach. Now Gabe is over-thinking everything about his summer and wondering whether being a nerd is the right thing to be.


Centaur Rising (2014) by Jane Yolen. This is an interesting historical-fantasy novel about a family that finds themselves with a baby centaur instead of a foal. There are a lot of different strands going on in this book - family troubles, the power of fantasy, living with a disability, and more, but I think kids will be drawn into the story and come away with a better understanding of the power of animals to connect with all kinds of people.

Happy Reading!

Friday, November 21, 2014

Forget-Me-Nots Poems to Learn by Heart


Poetry anthologies are a great way to introduce students to a wide variety of poems and poets, and Forget-Me-Nots Poems to Learn by Heart selected by Mary Ann Hoberman and illustrated by Michael Emberley is one of my favorites.

This collection gathers a wide swath of both well-known and new poems, with a focus on poems that would work well for memorization. The book even includes an overview about poetry and poetry memorization, along with some useful tips and advice.

This is a book I turn to every April for National Poetry Month. In addition to Poem in a Pocket Day (April 30 for 2015), I also have students choose and memorize a favorite poem during that month. Kids love the challenge of memorizing a poem and enjoy hearing others share and perform.


I also love that this anthology includes some poems to support poetry memorization. I often use the poem above to introduce the idea to students (another great one is "Keep a Poem in Your Pocket" by Beatrice Schenk de Regniers from Pocket Poems). It's amazing the thoughts and ideas that they have to contribute when you start a conversation about poetry and the benefits of memorizing poems.

Do you memorize poems?

I still remember a performance of Lewis Carroll's "The Jabborwocky" by my sixth grade teachers that inspired me to memorize that poem way back when. And I still have it with me!

This week's Poetry Friday Roundup is being curated by Becky at Tapestry of Words. See the whole list of hosts at Poetry Friday by Kitlitosphere.

Wednesday, November 19, 2014

Author Encounter: Elissa Brent Weissman


Last week I was delighted to meet author Elissa Brent Weissman at the NAGC Conference and hear a little bit behind her process in becoming an author and her advice for kids who are interested in becoming authors as well. She had a great message about revision, including an anecdote about the more than 50 pages she added to her first book (Standing for Socks) between her original submission and its final publication.


I was runner-up during the competitive "Author Jeopardy" structure of Elissa's talk, but I was able to scoot down to the exhibition hall and grab the last copy of Nerd Camp in time for an autograph. I'm just a few chapters in, but I know this is one that some of my students will find appealing. Elissa was a cheerful and entertaining speaker, and I know that students would definitely enjoy her informative Jeopardy-style presentation during a school visit as well. Definitely an author to keep an eye on!

Monday, November 17, 2014

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?


It's Monday! What are you reading? was started by Sheila at Book Journey and was adapted for children's books from pictures books through YA by Jen of Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee of Unleashing Readers. You can visit either site for a round up of blogs sharing their weekly readings and thoughts or search Twitter for #IMWAYR.

Picture Books


Malala: a brave girl from Pakistan and Iqbal: a brave boy from Pakistan (2014) by Jeanette Winter. This book masterfully combines the stories of Malala Yousafzai and Iqbal Masih, by letting you read either story, depending on which cover you choose, and having them both meet up in the middle. This device works especially well to introduce children to Iqbal, a former child laborer, who was killed for speaking out against child slavery and debt bondage. The continuation of Malala's work and mission lend a feeling of hope to his story as well. (H/T Alison at Kid Lit Frenzy.)


Imani's Moon (2014) by JaNay Brown-Wood and illustrated by Hazel Mitchell. This book confused me. From the beginning I thought it would be a more realistic fiction tale about a young, small girl struggling with an impossible wish. The break towards folktale midway through confused me, as did the abruptness of the ending. The author's note implies that she has never visited Africa or the Maasai, which also makes me question the authenticity of the story and its links to folklore. (H/T Stacey at Raise a Lit Human.)


The Important Book by Margaret Wise Brown and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard. (H/T Melissa Guerette.) This old book was a new one for me. I enjoyed the repeated structure of the poem: But the important thing about the __ is ___. and think this could be a great mentor text for students. You could discuss why the author chose that particular trait as the important thing and then let them create their own poems following this structure.


Grandma and the Great Gourd: a Bengali folktale (2013) retold by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni and illustrated by Susy Pilgrim Waters. (H/T CCBC Choices 2014.) On her travels to visit her daughter, Grandma is able to put off the hungry red fox, black bear, and striped tiger, but now she needs to make it back home. Is her trick clever enough to work?

Younger Readers


The Princess in Black (2014) by Shannon and Dean Hale and illustrated by LeUyen Pham. This delightful book knocks down all of your stereotypes about princesses while also acknowledging their existence. Practically perfect Princess Magnolia is actually harboring a deep, dark secret: she is, in fact, the monster-fighting Princess in Black! I think young readers will find a lot to love in this book, and I hope that in later episodes, the princess will find a way to reconcile her secret self and her actual self and bust those stereotypes within her book-world too. (H/T Franki at A Year of Reading.)

Middle Grade


Sisters 8: Annie's Adventure (Book 1) by Lauren Baratz-Logsted with Greg Logsted and Jackie Logsted. This is book one in an eight-book series about a group of octuplets whose parents have disappeared under mysterious circumstances. Geared towards 8 year-olds, of course, I just didn't find a lot to latch on to. The conceit the 8s sort themselves by birth order and that some act much younger and others much older just struck me as very odd. This may be one that I will have to take in to school and ask my actual 8 year-olds what they think. (H/T Carrie at There's a Book for That.)

Happy Reading!

Friday, November 14, 2014

Poetry Friday: Indigenous Food Haiku


Yum! MmMm! Qué rico! America's Sproutings by Pat Mora and illustrated by Rafael Lopez. This bright and delightful book has so many wonderful things going for it. As a former anthropologist, I love the theme, celebrating the indigenous plants and foods of the Americas. The bright color palate and style also works really well to set off the haiku and the informative text boxes for each two-page spread.


Cranberries

Marsh-floating hard bead
simmers then POPS! in hot pot.
Scarlet fireworks.


I look forward to sharing this book with my students in conjunction with our study of Latin America at the end of the year. I think it will inspire some interesting discussions as they try to imagine what life was like before the rest of the world was introduced to all these foods we find so common today.

This week's Poetry Friday Roundup is being curated by Keri at Keri Recommends. See the whole list of hosts at Poetry Friday by Kitlitosphere.

Wednesday, November 12, 2014

Swahili Alphabet and Counting Books

We have only a few more weeks left in our Africa unit of study. Before we move our focus on to the next continent of study (Asia), I wanted to share some of my favorite Swahili alphabet and counting books. I have found that students find learning new languages and words appealing, and these are a great way to introduce students to some of the wide-ranging diversity of the people, places, and history of central and Western Africa.


Moja Means One: a Swahili counting book by Muriel Feelings and illustrated by Tom Feelings (a Caldecott Honor book). This classic picture book introduces children to the numbers one through ten in Swahili and includes a pronunciation guide. Each number also introduces a fact about one of the many Swahili-speaking countries and peoples in Africa. The detailed black and white illustrations are fascinating and were awarded a Caldecott honor.


We All Went on Safari: a counting journey through Tanzania by Laurie Krebs and illustrated by Julia Cairns. We All Went on Safari is a more recent take on the Swahili alphabet and introduces children to the numbers one through ten as well as some of the more popular animals found in Tanzania. A section at the back of the book includes the Swahili word (and pronunciation) for each animal as well as some brief facts about them. There is also information about the Swahili names in the story and the qualities that those names represent. Additional information describes the Maasai people as well as the country of Tanzania in general.


Jambo Means Hello: a Swahili Alphabet Book by Muriel Feelings and illustrated by Tom Feelings (a Caldecott Honor Book). This follow-up book introduces different Swahili words for each letter of the alphabet. Each word is followed by a short paragraph that explains more about the word selected and additional details are provided by the illustrations (which, again, won a Caldecott Honor). The hardcover version of the book has a fascinating end note about the illustration process and the two-toned printing process.


Ashanti to Zulu: African Traditions by Margaret Mustgrove and illustrated by Leo and Diane Dillon (Caldecott Medal). This final book is a bit of an outlier, as it is broader than Swahili-speaking countries, but its alphabet organization makes it a natural fit. Here the alphabet is used to introduce readers to 26 distinct African tribes through brief paragraphs and detailed, colorful illustrations. This is a great book for helping to reinforce the idea with students that Africa is not a country, it is a continent of diverse countries and diverse peoples. (You may also want to pair this with another book that highlights the diversity of urban Africa as well, such as the Jamela series of books by Niki Daly, which I share with my students.)


Nonfiction Picture Book Wednesday Challenge is hosted by Kid Lit Frenzy and is a weekly roundup of educator blogs that are sharing nonfiction picture books. Click the link to check out other nonfiction posts.

Monday, November 10, 2014

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?


It's Monday! What are you reading? was started by Sheila at Book Journey and was adapted for children's books from pictures books through YA by Jen of Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee of Unleashing Readers. You can visit either site for a round up of blogs sharing their weekly readings and thoughts or search Twitter for #IMWAYR.

Picture Books


This week I shared a look at our read alouds from the month of October, which were loosely grouped around the theme of studying characters and discussing perspective and point-of-view. You can read more details about the individual books here.


Firebird: ballerina Misty Copeland shows a young girl how to dance like the firebird by Misty Copeland and illustrated by Christopher Myers. This wonderful and inspiring picture book should be beloved by dancers and ballerinas worldwide. Misty Copeland shares her meditation on power and promise, as she highlights the trail she blazed for dancers of color. I think reading the Author's Note first (or briefly meditating on the extensive subtitle) might be helpful to establish context for the story, especially for younger readers. Christopher Myers adds incredible layers of meaning with his colorful and dynamic mixed media illustrations.


Once Upon an Alphabet (2014) by Oliver Jeffers. This interesting alphabet book contains a short story for each letter of the alphabet, and each short story is mainly based around subjects beginning with that letter. An odd mix of related and seemingly-unrelated stories and unhappy endings, this is one that may appeal to students with a quirky sense of humor.


Draw (2014) by Raúl Colón. This wordless picture book follows the imagination of the author as he travels to Africa and imagines drawing the animals that he sees there. Many of my students have been returning to this one again and again this week, and I could hardly stop laughing when one of them decided to give a humorous oral retelling of the story to several of his friends during break time. (Elisabeth at The Dirigible Plum.)

Poetry

Last week for Poetry Friday, I shared a bit about doing a mindfulness exercise and reflection with my third grade students. A group of students also wrote their own relaxing poem inspired by the activity. You can read the full details here.

Middle Grade


Frostbite Hotel (2014) by Karin Adams (ARC provided via Net Galley). Fifth-grader Kirby is determined to follow his idol, William T. Williamson, and succeed in the business world. The first snowfall provides him with his inspiration - to build a world-class snow hotel rather than the puny forts of previous years. But when the rest of the school, including The Bear and his menacing crew of sixth-graders, find out about the changes, the competition gets fierce, and Kirby begins to suspect that he has a spy in his midst ... This quick read will keep students engaged with the perils of recess hijinks and the quest for snow hotel perfection.


Blood of Olympus: Heroes of Olympus Book 5 (2014) by Rick Riordan. I think I may have been around the 280s in the hold line when I first requested my copy from the library, but it finally arrived this week. Blood of Olympus is the conclusion to the second five-book series following Percy Jackson and his fellow half-bloods, and I have to say that I found this one less satisfying than some of the others. Most of the suspense was spent in the earlier books and this one was much more a lengthy process of watching all the moving pieces move to where they needed to be (and you already knew where they needed to be). But if you have later middle-grade readers looking for action, humor, and some absurd myth-crossovers, this is still a great series to recommend.

Happy Reading!

Friday, November 7, 2014

Poetry with a Purpose: Mindfulness

Poetry can serve many purposes, and this week I was excited to share with my students a little bit about how poetry can be used to help our moods and feelings. One of my students agreed to share with the class a little bit about Thich Nhat Hahn's Pebble Meditation and poem.

A flower feels fresh.
A mountain feels solid.
Space feels calm.
Still water reflects.

We opened with a class conversation about meditation and mindfulness, and I was delighted that several students were able to share their experiences and background knowledge. Next, we read aloud the version of the poem above and talked a little about the images and feelings it conveyed.

Finally, my expert-in-residence student shared a little bit about how she uses the poem, four pebbles, and breathing exercises to help her meditate and restore her focus. The students were really interested in her description, so I grabbed a bag of mancala pebble pieces, and we all tried it together. For each pebble, you focus on one line of the poem, for example, breathing in thinking flower and breathing out thinking fresh.

This exercise gave us a such a quiet and peaceful way to move into our next activity. I think this is definitely an exercise we will come back to, particularly as we work on transitions and focus.

Two of my students were so inspired by the activity that they decided to write their own relaxing poem during Poetry Friday work time.

The Relaxing Poem

Wind is blowing
       Skies are blue.
You see me.
       I see you.
Trees are green.
       The water is blue.
We are friends. We like it that way, and it shall be that way.

Isn't that lovely?

This week's Poetry Friday Roundup is being curated by Diane at Random Noodling. See the whole list of hosts at Poetry Friday by Kitlitosphere. This post is also linked up at Social Media Sunday, hosted by the IBA.

Wednesday, November 5, 2014

Characters: our read alouds from October

Our monthly reading theme for October was Characters, and we spent much of the month analyzing the character of Edward Tulane as part of the Global Read Aloud. In addition to Edward, here are some of the other books and characters were shared this month. (You can check out our Read Alouds from September on the theme of Community and Culture here.)


Africa Connections: folktales and biographies

 

We shared both Anansi and the Magic Stick and Anansi and the Talking Melon this month. Anansi is a great character to discuss, because while he is often tricky, he sometimes finds himself at the center of his own tricks! You can read more about Anansi in posts earlier this week: Anansi, part 1 and Anansi, part 2.


Seeds of Change by Jen Cullerton Johnson and illustrated by Sonia Lynn Sadler. This is now the fourth picture book biography of Wangari Maathai that I have read, and I think it might be my new favorite. I love the bright colors of the illustrations here and the emphasis on telling her life's story. (You can read more about the other biographies in the post Biographies about People and Trees.)


Happy Birthday, Jamela! by Niki Daly. I always check out a large collection of books by Niki Daly during our Africa unit, including both his wonderful folktales and his series of Jamela books. Jamela is a spunky character who makes creative but impulsive decisions, sometimes with disastrous consequences, but they always work out in the end. She is a very relate-able character for my third graders, and I love sharing stories with them about other parts of the world. (Jamela lives in South Africa like Niki Daly.)


Talk, Talk: an Ashanti legend retold by Deborah M. Newton Chocolate. I use this story to talk about plot and story structure, as it has a very clear problem and several distinct events. Students love the growing confusion as more and more unlikely things start talking!


Children Just Like Me series by Barnabas and Anabel Kindersley. I use this series throughout the year, highlighting different children from the continents that we study. You can read more about this book and the others in the post Around the World in a Single Book.

2014 Books


The Troublemaker by Lauren Castillo. I shared this book partially to draw connections between our study of Edward Tulane and partially to gauge student reaction. The kids loved the book and enjoyed keeping an eye on that sneaky raccoon.

A New Book for Us


The Girl who Swam to Euskadi by Mark Kurlansky is a folktale about the Basque region of Spain (also known as Euskadi). We received this wonderful bilingual book as a gift from our partner school in Spain as part of the Global Read Aloud #GRAEdward. In the story, a young girl swims from Massachusetts to Euskadi but when she returns the scholars do not believe that the place exists. This book spurred a lot of great conversation among my students, and we are corresponding with our partners in Spain to get their questions answered.


Nonfiction Picture Book Wednesday Challenge is hosted by Kid Lit Frenzy and is a weekly roundup of educator blogs that are sharing nonfiction picture books. Click the link to check out other nonfiction posts.

Monday, November 3, 2014

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?


For this post-Halloween edition of "It's Monday! What Are You Reading?" I thought I would share my costume from our school's Halloween parade. (I was grateful that many students still read and appreciate Ms. Frizzle and her stories.)



It's Monday! What are you reading? was started by Sheila at Book Journey and was adapted for children's books from pictures books through YA by Jen of Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee of Unleashing Readers. You can visit either site for a round up of blogs sharing their weekly readings and thoughts or search Twitter for #IMWAYR.

Picture Books


This week I continued my recent theme of trickster tales by exploring Trickster Tales from around the world retold Gerald McDermott. This excellent (and award-winning) collection features tricksters from four different continents and many different cultures. Kids will love these engaging and often humorous stories!


The Girl who Swam to Euskadi by Mark Kurlansky is a folktale about the Basque region of Spain (also known as Euskadi). We received this wonderful bilingual book as a gift from our partner school in Spain as part of the Global Read Aloud #GRAEdward. In the story, a young girl swims from Massachusetts to Euskadi but when she returns the scholars do not believe that the place exists. This book spurred a lot of great conversation among my students, and we are corresponding with our partners in Spain to get their questions answered.


Winter is Coming by Tony Johnston and illustrated by Jim LaMarche. This book is lovely, but I found it lacking. The illustrations are amazing and luminous, but I did not find much engaging in the text. I am not sure what would bring you back to this story again, other than to examine the art. (H/T Linda at Teacher Dance.)


Louise Loves Art by Kelly Light (2014). This lovely picture book celebrates the joy of art and the disappointment of dealing with siblings. There are some great, memorable moments in this book, but my favorite is probably "the Gallery du Fridge!" (H/T Mr. Schu at Watch. Connect. Read.)

Poetry


Halloween Two-Voice Poems What better way to enjoy Halloween then by sharing a favorite poem with a friend? I always hide this collection of two-voice poems until Halloween, and my students love the mix of scary (and really, not-so-scary) creatures that are featured.

Middle Grade


Assassin (The Grace Mysteries, Book 1) by Patricia Finney. This historical fiction story is told through the journal entries of Lady Grace Cavendish who lives as a Maid of Honor in the court of Queen Elizabeth I. I found the story a little slow and the surprises overly telegraphed. (The cover photo and blurb highlight the murder which doesn't happen until midway through.) Personally, if you are looking for diary-based or similar historical fiction stories, I recommend the Royal Diary series or the Girls of Many Lands series.


Tuesdays at the Castle by Jessica Day George. Managed to snag this one from the "new books" bin in our classroom library, after several students had recommended it. I loved the concept of the story (a castle that can change and grow of its own accord) and think this is a book many students would really enjoy.

Happy Reading!