Wednesday, June 29, 2016

#3rdfor3rd: Flora and Ulysses

Welcome to #3rdfor3rd where I share books that my third graders recommend for other third graders. (Please note that my third graders read a wide variety of books across a wide variety of genres, levels, and topics. Do not think that these books are "only" for third graders.) Read more about this book recommendation series and format here.

Flora and Ulysses


Book recommendation by Elsa

A hero can emerge from any place. And by any place, I mean any place at all. In Flora and Ulysses by Kate DiCamillo, one does.

It starts with a vacuum cleaner. I mean a Ulysses super-suction, multi-terrain 2000X. Because it is the most powerful vacuum in the world, the owner of it tries it outside.

Flora Belle Buckman, a natural- born cynic, is watching the whole thing from her window. The vacuum goes right in front of a squirrel, and, as you guessed, the squirrel was vacuumed up. Flora decides, the squirrel should live, and saves his life.

Flora smuggles the squirrel into her room. In the cover of the night the squirrel, now named Ulysses, sneaks into the kitchen, to steal... a bag of cheese puffs. On the way the he finds a type writer. And he starts typing.

After that it is obvious that Ulysses is a super-squirrel. Many adventures are in store for Ulysses, he just needs to find them. I recommend this book to any one one likes (or loves) animals and adventure.

Click here or the #3rdfor3rd tag for even more great book recommendations!

Monday, June 27, 2016

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? #IMWAYR 6/27/16


It's Monday! What are you reading? was started by Sheila at Book Journey and was adapted for children's books from picture 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.



Last Weeks' Posts

  • Kid Lit Blog Hop for June. The monthly #KidLitBlogHop also went live last week. Check in and share any kid lit related posts and reviews.


Middle Grade



Land of Forgotten Girls (2016) by Erin Entrada Kelly. This charming story shares the power but also the risks of imagination. Older sister Sol (Soledad) uses her creativity to sooth younger sister M- when life with step-mom Vea gets rough. But when M- experiences her own flight of fancy, Sol needs to find a way to embrace their realities.


Secret of the Andes (1952) by Ann Nolan Clark [Newbery Award Winner]. This book is on the reading list I inherited for seventh grade English and is another to check off my #Nerdbery list. Set in modern Peru, the book follows young llama-herder Cusi as he learns more about life outside Hidden Valley and how the 400-year old conquest of the Inca by the Spanish still lives through the lives of people today. I thought this was an OK if fairly predictable read. I'm curious to know more about the author and her background with the region and the cultural history...

I'm on the lookout for great books / poems / short stories about and by Latin American authors, as I have a lot of flexibility for adopting new texts. Any advice appreciated!

Happy Reading!

Saturday, June 25, 2016

Featured Illustrator: Duncan Tonatiuh, part 2: biographies

My first post about author-illustrated Duncan Tonatiuh shared about his fictional stories and a little of the behind-the-scenes of his artwork (and an example from one of my students, following his lead). This post will introduce several of his incredible picture book biographies.

Biographies Written and Illustrated by Duncan Tonatiuh


Separate Is Never Equal: Sylvia Mendez and Her Family's Fight for Desegregation [a Pura Belpré Honor book and a Siebert Honor book]. This is an important book that sheds light on a lesser known side of the Civil Rights Movement: the segregation of children of Mexican and Hispanic descent, especially on the West Coast. I think it is critical for kids today to understand that discrimination is not just a white/black issue and that many groups have been treated differently for many "reasons."


Diego Rivera His World and Ours. This book is an interesting mix of standard biography and asking questions. The first half details the life and influences of Diego Rivera, while the second half asks students to consider how Diego might interpret our modern world in his art. My students especially liked the depiction of a row of kids at their computers as an artistic statement. (We shared this book with others about Frida Khalo as well. You can read more about that here.


Funny Bones: Posada and His Day of the Dead Calaveras [Sibert Award winner and a Pura Belpré Honor book]. Written in a similar style to Diego Rivera, this book combines biography with an interpretation of Posada's works and their application in a modern setting. Our Spanish students often do activities related to Day of the Dead, and this would be a great book to give them more background about how this artistic style developed.

I can't wait for more from this talented illustrator and storyteller!



Click here for part 1 about fictional stories by Duncan Tonatiuh or click the "Featured Illustrator" tag for more books by talented illustrators.

DiverseKidLit

Shared with #DiverseKidLit

Wednesday, June 22, 2016

#3rdfor3rd: The Family Fletcher

Welcome to #3rdfor3rd where I share books that my third graders recommend for other third graders. (Please note that my third graders read a wide variety of books across a wide variety of genres, levels, and topics. Do not think that these books are "only" for third graders.) Read more about this book recommendation series and format here.

The Family Fletcher


I have mentioned on the blog before that my third graders had the chance to Skype with author Dana Alison Levy as a part of World Read Aloud Day in February. To prepare, we began reading aloud her first book, The Misadventures of the Family Fletcher, which was a huge hit. SUCH a huge hit, in fact, that it featured in the teacher gift I received at the end of the year.


Amazing, right?

The sequel, The Family Fletcher Take Rock Island, came out on May 10th, and there was much clamoring for it among my students. Two of those that got a chance to read it before the year ended chose to write their "Best Book of the Year" reviews about it. Enjoy!

A book you should really read this summer!


A book recommendation by Grant

The Family Fletcher takes Rock Island is a great book by Dana Alison Levy. It has great adventure hilarious stories and great surprises. This book is the second book in a series of two the first book is The Misadventures of the Family Fletcher.

This is my favorite book because of its hilarious comedy.

Read The Family Fletcher!


Book recommendation by Wafik

You must read The Family Fletcher's Take Rock Island. It has been written by Dana Alison Levy . It is a really good book. It is even better than The Misadventures of the Family Fletcher.

Click here or the #3rdfor3rd tag for even more great book recommendations!

Monday, June 20, 2016

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? #IMWAYR 6/20/16


It's Monday! What are you reading? was started by Sheila at Book Journey and was adapted for children's books from picture 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.



Last Weeks' Posts

  • Kid Lit Blog Hop for June. The monthly #KidLitBlogHop also went live this week. Check in and share any kid lit related posts and reviews.


Young Adult



Orbiting Jupiter (2015) by Gary D. Schmidt is the 12 & up choice for next fall's Global Read Aloud, and I wanted to get a jump on thinking about it for using with my seventh graders. The story revolves around two boys: Jack, whose family has taken in a new foster child, and Joseph, the foster brother who is already a father as a middle schooler. The story of their relationship and time together make the core of this slim novel. My biggest question is whether there will be enough here to sustain the full six weeks of the Global Read Aloud with such a short book. I'll be interested in hearing from others thinking about using this one with kids.


The Great American Whatever (2016) by Tim Federle. I loved Tim Federle's middle grade Nate series, so I was curious about this latest foray into YA, and he did not disappoint. Tim Federle has created yet another engaging, entertaining, and fully-aware gay main character that readers to root for. This is definitely a book aimed at the high school end of YA and touches on many "mature" topics like drinking, strong language, grieving, and losing ones virginity. But at its heart, this is story about finding your place in the world and understanding that the people who know you the best might know more about you than you realize.

Happy Reading!

Saturday, June 18, 2016

Find Great Diverse Children's Books #diversekidlit !

Diverse Children's Books is a new book-sharing meme designed to promote the reading and writing of children's books that feature diverse characters. This community embraces all kinds of diversity including (and certainly not limited to) diverse, inclusive, multicultural, and global books for children of all backgrounds.

We encourage everyone who shares to support this blogging community by visiting and leaving comments for at least three others. Please also consider following the hosts on at least one of their social media outlets. Spread the word using #diversekidlit and/or adding our button to your site and your diverse posts.

DiverseKidLit

We hope this community will grow into a great resource for parents, teachers, librarians, publishers, and authors! Our next linkup will be Saturday, July 2nd and on the first and third Saturdays of each month.

Most Clicked Post from Last Time



The most clicked post from our previous #diversekidlit is 2016 Américas Award Winning Children’s Books by Svenja at Colours of Us. She provides a brief description of each of the winners, finalists, and commended titles from this year's awards announcement. The Américas Award is a great resource for incredible books about Latin America, the Caribbean, and Latinos in the US.

My #DiverseKidLit Shout Out



Whoosh! Lonnie Johnson's Super-Soaking Stream of Inventions (2016) by Chris Barton and illustrated by Dan Tate. I love this new nonfiction biography of Lonnie Johnson. The book does a great job of connecting Lonnie's interests as a kid to his future plans, as well as showing the ups and downs of a real career. Definitely a book I will use with kids in the future!

#DiverseKidLit is Hosted By:


Want to be notified when the next #diversekidlit linkup goes live?

Receive an email reminder for each new #diversekidlit linkup





Interested in joining as a host or an occasional co-host? Contact katie at thelogonauts.com.

(Never participated in a linkup before? Please click here for a more detailed step-by-step.)




Friday, June 17, 2016

#3rdfor3rd: The Phoenix of Destiny

Welcome to #3rdfor3rd where I share books that my third graders recommend for other third graders. (Please note that my third graders read a wide variety of books across a wide variety of genres, levels, and topics. Do not think that these books are "only" for third graders.) Read more about this book recommendation series and format here.

The Phoenix of Destiny

Book recommendation by Oliver

If you like Geronimo Stilton you will like the Phoenix Of Destiny: an epic Kingdom of Fantasy adventure! I believe it is the twelvth book in the Kingdom Of Fantasy series. It is by Geronimo Stilton. It is over 500 pages long. I am only 90 pages in but it is already really good.

In the book Geronimo is sent on a mission in the kingdom of fantasy. It has a lot of fantastical creatures in it including fairies and dragons. Will he succeed on his mission or will he fail and die?

Read the book to find out!

You may also be interested in a review of the first book in the series: The Kingdom of Fantasy. Or click here or the #3rdfor3rd tag for even more great book recommendations!

Wednesday, June 15, 2016

Kid Lit Blog Hop for June


It's summer time! We want to welcome you to the June 2016 Kid Lit Blog Hop. This exciting, monthly hop is where we develop an engaged group of people who love everything that has to do with children's literature. Everyone is welcome to join us: bloggers, authors, publicist, and publishers!

Simply make a post related to children's literature and add it to the linky. (Please make sure to add your direct post only.) If you are an author, feel free just to link to your blog.

Once you are done, then hop around to visit others. Please follow the co-hosts and visit at least the two people above your link. Please leave a comment when you do visit; we all like those. Also, it would be appreciated if you grab the Kid Lit Blog Hop Badge and display it on your blog and/or your post.

We would also be grateful if you tweet about the blog hop too: #KidLitBlogHop. Let’s grow this wonderful community.

Our next hop will be July 20, 2016. The hostess will be around to see you soon.

Reading AuthorsHostess
Julie Grasso, Author/Blogger
BeachBoundBooks
Cheryl Carpinello, Author/Blogger
Pragmatic Mom
The Logonauts
Spark and Pook
Hits and Misses


Happy Hopping!

Link Up Below:





Monday, June 13, 2016

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? #IMWAYR 6/13/16


It's Monday! What are you reading? was started by Sheila at Book Journey and was adapted for children's books from picture 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.



Last Weeks' Posts


Picture Books



Thunder Boy, Jr. (2016) by Sherman Alexie and illustrated by Yuyi Morales. There has been a lot of hype, praise (recently named a Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor book), and critical discussion about this book, so I was very interested in seeing it for myself.

Overall, I have to come down on the side of ... ambivalent. I love that it is a story about a modern-day Native American family and the relationship between a father and his son. But I also immediately see all of the concerns others have raised about the importance of names and naming in Native American culture (for more on that, please read Towards a Common Understanding of Native Peoples in the U.S. (or, Why Alexie's THUNDER BOY JR. Needs a Note to Readers)) and, for me, the story just doesn't quite work. A book like Kevin Henkes' Chrysanthemum seems like a deeper treatment of unusual names and learning to be comfortable with yourself.


Whoosh! Lonnie Johnson's Super-Soaking Stream of Inventions (2016) by Chris Barton and illustrated by Dan Tate. I love this new nonfiction biography of Lonnie Johnson, and I wish it had been published before my kids started their Passion Projects this spring. The book does a great job of connecting Lonnie's interests as a kid to his future plans, as well as showing the ups and downs of a real career. Definitely a book I will use with kids in the future!

Middle Grade / Young Adult



Hour of the Bees (2016) by Lindsay Eager. I thoroughly enjoyed this wonderful debut novel. I had heard good things about it before but what finally caught my eye was a review last week that mentioned the phrase "magical realism." One of the assignments previously given in seventh grade English was having the students write a short story with elements of "magical realism," so I am eager to find some good mentor texts. This is certainly one.

Carolina (Carol) has to spend the summer with her family, getting her grandfather's ranch ready to be sold so that he can be moved into an assisted living home, now that his dementia is progressing. She is curious about this grandpa she has never met, and his dementia serves as a gateway between the realism of much of the novel as it contrasts with the story he tells her about the ranch and its history.

The story and its magical is-it-isn't-it-possible moments made me realize that Holes by Louis Sachar, Maybe a Fox by Kathi Appelt, and The Seventh Wish by Kate Messner could also fall into this "magical realism" category. Would love some more ideas to help build a text set around this for my middle school readers and writers.

Happy Reading!

Saturday, June 11, 2016

Featured Illustrator: Duncan Tonatiuh, part 1: fictional stories

I had the opportunity to hear Duncan Tonatiuh speak at NCTE last year in November (at a presentation, I am sad to share, which was attended by only a handful of educators). He talked a little bit about how he found his inspiration during art school and how he decided to reach back to his Mexico and Mixtec roots to arrive at his stylized work, which is immediately recognizable.


He even opened up Photoshop on his laptop to show us how he uses photographs and scanned textures to digital color his drawings! (Cool insider tip: the black hair is actually a photograph of a black wig, which explains how all the highlights and reflected light get included.) It was great to be able to bring these kind of stories back to my students when we shared some of Duncan's books this year. He even autographed copies of his books afterwards!


One of my students was so inspired by Duncan's books and his artwork style, that she decided to try her hand at using his style in her poster project for a report about the life of the ancient Maya.




Folktales and Stories Illustrated by Duncan Tonatiuh


For this first post, I will share some of Duncan's books that are folktales or fictional stories. Part 2 of this series will feature his biographies.


Dear Primo: a letter to my cousin [a Pura Belpré Honor book]. This is Duncan's first book and the one that he created as part of his final project for art school. The story shares letters back and forth between two cousins, one living in the United States and the other in Mexico. Both the letters and the illustrations highlight the similarities between both boys. In the author's note, Duncan explains how he based much of the book on his own childhood experiences, growing up first in Mexico and later in the US.


Pancho Rabbit and the Coyote: a migrant's tale (2013)  [a Pura Belpré Honor book]. Written in the style of a fable or folktale, Pancho Rabbit deals with the very real-world issue of illegal immigration from Mexico into the United States. When Pancho's father does not return from "El Norte," Pancho sets out to find him and bring him back, with the help of a coyote he meets along the way.

This was my first year sharing this story with children, and my students and I had some very powerful conversations both before and after reading it. We had studied historical immigration in an earlier unit, so they could make a lot of connections between past and current immigration - and to many of their own family's immigration stories. I cannot encourage you enough to read and share this story with children. (We followed it up the next week with Mama’s Nightingale: A Story of Immigration and Separation (2015) written by Edwidge Danticat and illustrated by Leslie Staub about a young girl whose mother is in immigration prison.)


Salsa: un poema para cocinar / a cooking poem (2015) by Jorge Argueta and illustrated by Duncan Tonatiuh. This bilingual poem celebrates the process of making salsa using a molcajete. While salsa does not need to be an exact science of portions and measurements, it would be a little difficult to make just by reading the poem. It seems an oversight to not include a traditionally-written version of the recipe in the back of the book too. (H/T July/August 2015 issue of the Horn Book.)





Stay tuned for part two about biographies by Duncan Tonatiuh or click the "Featured Illustrator" tag for more books by talented illustrators!

DiverseKidLit

Shared with #DiverseKidLit

Friday, June 10, 2016

If You Like The Lightning Thief series ...

This semester, my students are sharing book reviews in a different format, linking one book they thought many people in the class might have read and another that would appeal to a reader of the first book. (Please note that my third graders read a wide variety of books across a wide variety of genres, levels, and topics. Do not think that these books are "only" for third graders.)

This "If you like ... read this next ..." format was inspired by the We Need Diverse Books summer reading series. They used the format to encourage people to find and read diverse books, so all of their "read this next" choices highlight great, diverse book choices. You can find their posts here on their Tumblr page.

If You Like The Lightning Thief ...


By: Olivia

If you enjoy Percy Jackson ... then you'll enjoy the sequel series, the Heroes of Olympus.


The two book series have a lot in common, like they are both based on the Greek gods and Roman gods. They both have a little bit of violence and a little bit of sadness and a good amount of powerful words. They are both very mysterious adventure books, and they are amazing books and have a very good settings.

I hope that you enjoy reading this adventure with mystical creatures and ... read to find out more ...

If You Like The Lightning Thief ...


By: Ava

If you like The Lightning Thief series by Rick Riordan, then you should read The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick.

These books are adventurous, and exciting!

I recommend these books to readers who like mysteries and fantasy.

Looking for more book recommendations? Check out the #3rdfor3rd tag for book recommendations written by my third graders about their favorite books or the Read This Next tag for more recommendations like this one!

Wednesday, June 8, 2016

Congratulations to George!

Congratulations! On Monday night, George by Alex Gino was awarded the Lambda Literary Award for LGBT Children's / Young Adult. You can read my previously published review below.


George (2015) by Alex Gino [Stonewall Book Award Winner]. I had George on my TBR list even before the latest awards were announced but that helped bump it to the top of the pile. George is the story of a fourth grade child, born a boy named George, who is certain that she is a girl and would prefer to be called Melissa. The story follows both her inner and outer journey to see what it means to "Be who you are" in today's world. I think this is an important book in many respects and one that teachers, especially, should consider reading for a perspective/introduction to transgender issues.

Lambda Literary Finalists for LGBT Children / Young Adult


Click here to see all finalists in all categories or here for all winners.

You can find more information about diverse books and book awards here.

Tuesday, June 7, 2016

New Book Alert: The Seventh Wish by Kate Messner


Today (June 7th, appropriately) is the debut Kate Messner's newest middle grade novel, The Seventh Wish! I was so excited to receive an ARC of this book at NCTE and to finally be able to share with you about it.

12-year-old Charlie feels overshadowed by all of the changes around her, especially her older sister's departure for college. She would rather focus on own wants and needs, like her chance to finally earn her solo dress in Irish dancing. But when a wish-granting fish comes into the picture, Charlie's read enough stories to know that she needs to think through her wishes carefully. But, despite her best intentions, wishes are not always what they seem.

* Spoilers below *


Midway through, the story takes an important turn, revealing that Charlie's older sister has become addicted to heroin. Presented in a way that is appropriate for late-elementary readers, the book delves into some of the effects and consequences of her sister's addiction on each of the members of the family as well as the not-always-a-straight-line journey towards addiction recovery.

This is an important book. Well-written, engaging, and even humorous at times, The Seventh Wish deals with this unfortunately-relevant issue in a sensitive way. Readers will gain a better understanding and empathy for those suffering addiction as well as the toll it takes on families. I highly recommend this book.

Monday, June 6, 2016

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? #IMWAYR 6/6/16


It's Monday! What are you reading? was started by Sheila at Book Journey and was adapted for children's books from picture 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.



Last Weeks' Posts

  • June on the Logonauts. A monthly wrap-up post where I feature posts from previous years published during the same month.

Picture Books



Inside This Book (Are Three Books) (2015) by Barney Saltzberg. This quirky picture book is actually a collection of smaller and smaller picture books written by three siblings. The oldest brother shares his book of observations, story ideas, and a comic; the middle sister writes an ode to poetry and poems; and the youngest brother illustrates a story about his family (and a dinosaur).

I shared this book with my students this week on our last day of school before presenting them each with their own end-of-year gift: a blank book! (Last summer, on a tip from another teacher, I started stalking the dollar deals section at Target, where I was able to get 32-page blank books for $3 per 3-pack. Amazon has comparably priced 16-page blank books.)

Do you have a favorite book-ish end of year routine?

Saturday, June 4, 2016

Link Up Your Diverse Children's Books #diversekidlit

Diverse Children's Books is a new book-sharing meme designed to promote the reading and writing of children's books that feature diverse characters. This community embraces all kinds of diversity including (and certainly not limited to) diverse, inclusive, multicultural, and global books for children of all backgrounds.

We encourage everyone who shares to support this blogging community by visiting and leaving comments for at least three others. Please also consider following the hosts on at least one of their social media outlets. Spread the word using #diversekidlit and/or adding our button to your site and your diverse posts.

DiverseKidLit

We hope this community will grow into a great resource for parents, teachers, librarians, publishers, and authors! Our next linkup will be Saturday, June 18th and on the first and third Saturdays of each month.

Most Clicked Post from Last Time



The most clicked post from our previous #diversekidlit is The Importance of Author's Notes in Some Picture Books by Charnaie of Here Wee Read. Her post is a reflection of a recent conversation she got into with other book bloggers about the recent released Thunder Boy, Jr. by Sherman Alexie and illustrated Yuyi Morales. The questions raised by Charnaie and others serve to underscore the importance of author's notes in helping readers to understand or even interpret a story.

For another insightful article on this discussion, please check out Towards a Common Understanding of Native Peoples in the U.S. (or, Why Alexie's THUNDER BOY JR. Needs a Note to Readers).


#DiverseKidLit is Hosted By:


Want to be notified when the next #diversekidlit linkup goes live?

Receive an email reminder for each new #diversekidlit linkup





Interested in joining as a host or an occasional co-host? Contact katie at thelogonauts.com.

(Never participated in a linkup before? Please click here for a more detailed step-by-step.)