Tuesday, January 31, 2017

New Book Alert: Loving vs. Virginia


Happy Book Birthday to Loving vs. Virginia: A Documentary Novel of the Landmark Civil Rights Case by Patricia Hruby Powell and illustrated by Shadra Strickland, which was published today! (I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher in return for an honest review. All thoughts are my own.)

This "documentary novel" is actually a nonfiction story in verse, told in free verse poetry in the alternating perspectives of Mildred and Richard Loving. It begins in childhood, when Richard was an older neighborhood boy who hung around with Mildred's older brothers. These early interactions quickly set the stage for their eventual romance, marriage, and lengthy court battle to have their marriage legally recognized in their home state of Virginia.

It may be shocking for today's young readers to realize how recently such interracial relationships were against the law (Alabama's anti-miscegenation law was reversed in the year 2000),  and the book does a great job of conveying how much this law took a toll on the Lovings and their family.

Even at 250 pages, the verse style makes for a quick read, but the focus on the romantic relationship between the two as well as some strong language makes this a book more appropriate for middle and high school readers. (For elementary schoolers, I highly recommend the picture book, The Case for Loving: the fight for interracial marriage (2015) by Selina Alko and illustrated by Sean Qualls and Selina Alko.)


One nitpick is that I wish that the book had included original photographs of the Lovings themselves in addition to the drawings and other contemporary photographs (such as the photograph the picture book covered was based on). Seeing the Lovings as real people in a real image just helps bring their story home even more.

Monday, January 30, 2017

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? #IMWAYR 01/30/17


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 Week's Posts

  • The 2017 Newbery Winners. Another overview post, this time for this year's Newbery winners (which, for the first time ever, I had all already read). I was so, SO excited about the winner!
  • Pack-n-Go Girls review. For MCBD I reviewed one of the newest books from the Pack-n-Go Girls, a travel and adventure series for lower elementary.

    Picture Books



    Dreams of Freedom in Words and Pictures (2015) by Amnesty International.

    Where do you even start to process the events of this past weekend? For me, I am launching a family history and immigration study with my seventh graders today that has been on the curriculum calendar for ages. I can only begin to imagine the conversations and questions they'll have.

    I found out about this book, Dreams of Freedom in Words and Pictures, from the latest Diverse Children's Book linkup, in a post about social justice books. Each page contains an important freedom, along with a quotation and artwork from a variety of public figures and well-known artists. I think this book will spark some powerful discussions - and could be a great mentor text for creating your own class book!


    My Name is James Madison Hemings (2016) by Jonah Winter and illustrated by Terry Widener. This powerful picture book imagines what it would have been like to be James Madison Hemings, one of several sons of slave Sally Hemings and eventual-President Thomas Jefferson. The author's note does a good job of discussing the sources used in creating the story, as well as the historical context. This book could also provide an avenue of discussion with older students about "passing" or the "one drop rule" when discussing what it means to be considered black.

    Young Fiction



    Moving up to middle school this year has moved my reading focus away from Young Fiction, but I knew I wanted to check out Juana & Lucas after its surprise Pura Belpré Author Award win last week. Juana is a young girl who lives in Colombia with her family and dog, Lucas. She has a best friend, gets in trouble at school, and cannot figure out why she needs to learn the tricky English language. Only when Abuelo reveals a motivating reason, does she dig in with earnest. I found this a charming story and one that I think many kids learning Spanish would relate to. Language learning is hard work!

    Happy Reading!

    Friday, January 27, 2017

    Happy Multicultural Children's Book Day! #ReadYourWorld

    Today, January 27th is Multicultural Children’s Book Day! This is an all-day celebration of multicultural and diverse books. One big component is the GIANT link-up of diverse books and resources, which you will find at the bottom of this post. If you have a diverse book review or activity to share, please add it to the appropriate linky.


    The other big event today is a Twitter chat from 9-10 pm ET. Join in to discuss diverse books, and you'll be entered to WIN books too! More than 100 books will be given away. You must be registered to win, so click over to the official announcement and register there.

    More about Multicultural Children's Book Day


    Multicultural Children’s Book Day (01/27/17) is its fourth year and was founded by Valarie Budayr from Jump Into A Book and Mia Wenjen from PragmaticMom. Our mission is to raise awareness on the ongoing need to include kid's books that celebrate diversity in home and school bookshelves while also working diligently to get more of these types of books into the hands of young readers, parents and educators.


    Despite census data that shows 37% of the US population consists of people of color, only 10% of children’s books published have diversity content. Using the Multicultural Children’s Book Day holiday, the MCBD Team are on a mission to change all of that.

    But we couldn't do it without the help of our wonderful sponsors, authors, and co-hosts!

    Current Sponsors:  MCBD 2017 is honored to have some amazing Sponsors on board. Platinum Sponsors include Scholastic, Barefoot Books and Broccoli. Other Medallion Level Sponsors include heavy-hitters like Author Carole P. Roman, Audrey Press, Candlewick Press,  Fathers Incorporated, KidLitTV, Capstone Young Readers, ChildsPlayUsa, Author Gayle Swift, Wisdom Tales Press, Lee& Low Books, The Pack-n-Go Girls, Live Oak Media, Author Charlotte Riggle, Chronicle Books and Pomelo Books



    We’d like to also give a shout-out to MCBD’s impressive CoHost Team who not only hosts the book review link-up on celebration day, but who also work tirelessly to spread the word of this event. View our CoHosts here.

    MCBD Links to Remember






    Link Up Your Diverse Posts in the Appropriate Linky Below!


    Never participated in a linkup before? Click here for a step-by-step!

    1) Bloggers: Reviewers who posted on their blog, Link Up Your BLOG Posts for Multicultural Children's Book Day Here:






    2) Instagram: Reviewers who posted on Instagram, Link Up Your INSTAGRAM Posts for Multicultural Children's Book Day Here:







    3) Facebook: Reviewers who posted on Facebook, Link Up Your FACEBOOK Posts for Multicultural Children's Book Day Here:






    4) YouTUBE: Reviewers who posted a review on YouTube, Link Up Your YOUTUBE Posts for Multicultural Children's Book Day Here:





    Wednesday, January 25, 2017

    Pack-N-Go Girls #ReadYourWorld


    Review: Pack-n-Go Girls


    Pack-n-Go Girls is a book series aimed at 6-9 year olds that features strong girl characters from many countries and ancestries. "Pack-n-Go Girls® specializes in creating innovative stories and toys for girls that deliver positive messages around independence, adventure, and global awareness."

    The books take place in countries around the world including Austria, Brazil, Mexico, and Thailand (with more on the way). Each country series features two girl characters, one a knowledgeable local and the other a diverse girl from the US. This linkage allows the books to share a lot of great inside insights into each country, while also promoting cross-cultural friendships.


    Two years ago I read and reviewed Mystery of the Golden Temple, a Pack-n-Go girls book set in Thailand. This year I was delighted to receive Mystery of the Lazy Loggerhead, the second book in the Brazil series (I received this book in return for an honest review. All thoughts are my own). In this book, new friends Sofia and Júlia have finally reached the beach and Brazil's Pacific coast. Sofia is able to use her Florida background in sea turtle ecology when the girls face a new puzzle.

    Some of the main reasons I really like this series:

    • Short, quick paced mysteries that draw the reader in almost immediately
    • Familiar, repeated formula (one country, two girls, one mystery) helps readers jump easily from one book in the series to another
    • The stories include a girl traveling from the US (allowing the reader to place him/herself into the story) but also include a native resident to help get beyond just a "tourist" view of the country and culture

    Nitty-grittyPages: 126, Lexile: 490L, Fountas & Pinnell: O, Late 2nd grade / Early 3rd grade

    I had several students in my third grade classroom who read and enjoyed this series. It has some great supports for those just getting into longer chapter books, but it has high interest and engaging characters for more advanced readers too. A fun series to get kids excited about traveling the world and learning about other cultures! Click here to see more Pack-n-Go Girls books.

    Learn about Brazil!


    Brazil is the largest country in South America and is bordered by nearly every other country on that continent! National Geographic Kids' country page about Brazil has a bunch more pictures and information. Click here to learn more. Or get some cool fun facts about Brazil here.

    Photo from Spirit-Fire on Flickr, Creative Commons license

    Projecto Tamar is an actual turtle rescue center active in Brazil. Their web site is in Portuguese, but you can see some amazing pictures of turtles! Or, for a more English-language-friendly experience, check out the Loggerhead Marine Center's web site here. This Florida-based organization has a lot of great photos, research, and details about how you can get involved with helping turtles!

    Or, put your creative skills to the test with these fabulous sea turtle-related craft ideas:

    More about Multicultural Children's Book Day



    Multicultural Children’s Book Day (01/27/17) is its fourth year and was founded by Valarie Budayr from Jump Into A Book and Mia Wenjen from PragmaticMom. Our mission is to raise awareness on the ongoing need to include kid’s books that celebrate diversity in home and school bookshelves while also working diligently to get more of these types of books into the hands of young readers, parents and educators.

    Despite census data that shows 37% of the US population consists of people of color, only 10% of children’s books published have diversity content. Using the Multicultural Children’s Book Day holiday, the MCBD Team are on a mission to change all of that.

    But we couldn't do it without the help of our wonderful sponsors, authors, and co-hosts!

    Current Sponsors:  MCBD 2017 is honored to have some amazing Sponsors on board. Platinum Sponsors include Scholastic, Barefoot Books and Broccoli. Other Medallion Level Sponsors include heavy-hitters like Author Carole P. Roman, Audrey Press, Candlewick Press,  Fathers Incorporated, KidLitTV, Capstone Young Readers, ChildsPlayUsa, Author Gayle Swift, Wisdom Tales Press, Lee& Low Books, The Pack-n-Go Girls, Live Oak Media, Author Charlotte Riggle, Chronicle Books and Pomelo Books



    We’d like to also give a shout-out to MCBD’s impressive CoHost Team who not only hosts the book review link-up on celebration day, but who also work tirelessly to spread the word of this event. View our CoHosts here.

    MCBD Links to Remember





    Tuesday, January 24, 2017

    The 2017 Newbery Winners!

    Yesterday I shared my (and my students') reactions about the Caldecott Awards announcements, so today I'd like to celebrate this year's Newbery winners.


    Newbery Honor Books 2017



    Freedom Over Me: eleven slaves, their lives and dreams brought to life by Ashley Bryant. This unique book fuses reality with historical fiction, as author, poet, and artist Ashley Bryant creates personalities, backgrounds, and dreams from a list of 11 slaves from an actual historic document. My one critique is that I would have liked more details for further reading for kids interested in his research and documentation.


    The Inquisitor's Tale: or, the Three Magical Children and Their Holy Dog (2016) by Adam Gidwitz and illuminated by Hatem Aly. The ARC for this book was one of the big events at #nErDcampMI this summer, and I devoured the book almost immediately upon getting home. The big downside of the ARC however, was that it was missing most of the incredible illuminations, which pack a powerful punch along with the story.

    The Inquisitor's Tale is told as an homage to Chaucer's Canterbury Tales with various narrators picking up the story while sitting around in an Inn. Each narrator brings something different to unfolding tale of three very different children who suddenly find themselves together (and eventually facing off against the King). There are many important lessons about friendship, religious tolerance, and the power of words and books ... plus much hilarity (and a flatulent dragon).


    Wolf Hollow (2016) by Lauren Wolk. Another from my TBR pile for our Mock NewberyWolf Hollow has all the classic hallmarks of a Newbery-winning book: a strong, young protagonist, dangerous situations, and evocative settings and language. I just still can't make up my mind whether it worked or not. The book has very strong overtones of To Kill a Mockingbird with a bit of The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate thrown in (or is it just that cover?). I wanted to like it (and I really did at times) but at other times I just felt like I'd read this story before. This one was not on my personal Newbery short list.

    Newbery Winner for 2017 is ...



    The Girl Who Drank the Moon (2016) by Kelly Barnhill was far-and-away my favorite book of this past year. I received an ARC of this book at #nErDcampMI and proceeded to devour it almost immediately. It is an incredibly well-crafted tale set in a familiar fantasy setting - the small town, the downtrodden inhabitants, the problematic ancient traditions. But as soon as the perspective shifts from the villagers to the feared witch in the woods, the reader realizes that there is quite a bit more going on within this story.

    The characters are delightful, and there were so many lines that made me laugh out loud. Expectations are overturned, and the more of a background you have in fairy tales and folktales, the more there is to appreciate. The book is being marketed to the upper half of middle grade, and I think that it will find readers and fans among a wide-range of ages and grade levels.

    In addition to the book, Entertainment Weekly published a brief, two-part prequel: read part 1 here and part 2 here.





    Which was your favorite book this year?

    Monday, January 23, 2017

    Congrats to 2017 Caldecott Winners!

    Watching the ALA Awards announcements live this morning was thrilling and joyous! From the dominance of March Book Three to Duncan Tonatiuh winning two ... two Pura Belpré illustrator honor awards to having booktalked four of the five Printz award winners to my students, there was lots of excitement to be had!

    But of course the big anticipation is saved for the oldest awards: the Caldecott and the Newbery. This year, we hosted a Mock Caldecott among several grade levels of kids, and ALL of the winners came from our mock list! Below you will find the actual winners, along with some student (and teacher) commentary.

    Caldecott Honor Books 2017



    Leave Me Alone! (2016) by Vera Brosgol. Admit it. We've all been there. In this hilarious picture book, our poor little old lady protagonist faces endless interrupts in her quest for peacefully knitting nirvana. Who interrupts her (and why) will keep readers chuckling through until the end.

    Abby: The illustrations in here were really funny, especially the one about the moon-men. Although it's not the most scientifically accurate book (all those wormholes), the drawings were done really well. I also liked how the illustrator foreshadowed the bears coming by drawing their shadows on the page before that.


    Freedom in Congo Square (2016) by Carole Boston Weatherford and R. Gregory Christie. I love picture books that are truly poems. Freedom in Congo Square tells a rhythmic interpretation of the weekly countdown to the one half-day of free time granted to slaves in New Orleans. Each day of the week is represented through the grind of the work and abuse heaped on different slaves in different situations. This acknowledgement of the tough conditions helps emphasize the importance of Congo Square and the relative "freedom" it represented, as slaves were allowed time to themselves to freely sing, dance, and host markets.

    Erik: The illustrations really reflect the words, making it easy for little kids to read. It is a classic style, and I like history in a picture book. It tells a true story but in a less violent manner.


    Du Iz Tak? (2016) Illustrated and written by Carson Ellis.

    Simon: Du Iz Tak, had very good drawings, because the book was written in a made up language. The drawings illustrated everything. I don't know why, but the drawing style fit almost perfectly with the language. Du Iz Tak was fun to read, because of the interesting language, and had amazing pictures to illustrate the whole story.

    Ceci: I absolutely loved this book. It was possible to decipher part of the made-up language the characters spoke, but the book made you rely on the pictures to understand the story. It was humorous and entertaining, and made you think while getting the main point across.


    They All Saw a Cat illustrated and written by Brendan Wenzel is an incredible take on the idea of perspective and multiple points of view, and I love the different styles and feelings of the artwork throughout this book.

    Griff: A picture book's main is to use the unique pictures to show the story in an interesting way and they all saw a cat did just that. They all saw a cat is a picture book showing the same cat through the eyes of different people, or animals. When the cat is shown through the eyes of a fox, it is shown as being prey, soft, and plump. The contrast in art can show how we all we different things, depending on our situation, I thought that this was a great book.

    Peter: I think that the book "They All Saw a Cat" was a very great and original book. I thought it was neat to show how the different animals saw the cat. I thought that that style of art was not only creative it was also teaches kids how different animals see. I think that this would be the perfect book for a kid and it should win the Caldecott.

    Caldecott Winner for 2017 is ...



    Radiant Child: the story of young artist Jean-Michel Basquiat (2016) by Javaka Steptoe [Mock Caldecott contender]. This biography of street artist turned museum-worthy artist Jean-Michel Basquiat has really grown on me after reading it aloud and discussing it with both of my classes. (Originally I was turned off by the decision not to include any of Jean-Michel Basquiat's original art in the story, so I showed selections from his web site instead.) They really appreciated how Javaka Steptoe took Basquiat's style and colorful palette but rendered it in a way that was more familiar and comprehensible to a younger audience. There are so many hidden details that make the reader keep coming back and back.

    Joshua: I really liked how the art was done similar to the unique style of Basquiat.




    Want more Caldecott details?

    (Click the 'Caldecott' tag to see previous ballots and winners. Our students have a great track record over the last two years, having previous picked winner/honor books like Finding Winnie, Waiting, and Beekle.)

    Which was your favorite this year?

    It's Monday! What Are You Reading? #IMWAYR 01/23/17


    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 Week's Posts

    • Mock Caldecott ... Winners! ALA announcements are this morning (I'll be watching!). This post shares our school's best guesses about the winners of the Caldecott.
    • New Immigration Books, part 2. I decided to expand my original three-part series of books on immigration to highlight the many new, wonderful contributions. Part 2 includes more picture books and anthologies.

      Picture Books



      I Am Not a Number (2016) by Jenny Kay Dupuis and Kathy Kacer and illustrated by Gillian Newland. This powerful new story about the Native American residential schools of Canada was inspired by the author's grandmother's experiences. Readers see through Irene's eyes as she and her brothers are taken away from their parents and sent away to a school where they are fed poorly, treated poorly, and punished for speaking their native languages. The shocking details in the author's note - especially that the last such schools were only closed down in 1996 - serves to remind readers just how recently these events happened.


      Grandfather's Story Cloth / Yawg Daim Paj Ntaub Dab Neeg (2008) by Linda Gerdner and Sarah Langford, illustrated by Stuart Loughridge. This family history story has an added twist as young narrator Chersheng becomes frustrated by his grandfather's increasing forgetfulness as his Alzheimers progresses. After discovering that the story cloth that Grandfather made helps him remember, Chersheng decides to make his own version of a story cloth about the present day.

      Middle Grade


      Still busily reading (and rereading) the finalists for the Cybils Middle Fiction category, but I have to wait to share my reviews until after the awards are announced in February. (You can read about the finalists here.)

      Happy Reading!

      Saturday, January 21, 2017

      Mock Caldecott ... Winners!


      With only days to go until the live ALA announcements on Monday (click here to watch), it was time to finally vote on our school's Mock Caldecott. With both of my seventh grade classes, we held a mock discussion, trying to follow the rules and format of the actual committee (especially no repeating of comments) before we held the vote. We only had time for one round of voting, rather than continuing to narrow and vote until reaching a total consensus. Younger classes simply held a vote.

      And the winners are ...



      Third Grade Winner: Du Iz Tak?


      Honor Books: Are We There Yet?,  A Voyage in the Clouds: The (Mostly) True Story of the First International Flight by Balloon in 1785, and Whoosh! Lonnie Johnson's Super-Soaking Stream of Inventions.


      Fifth Grade Winner: They All Saw a Cat

      Honor Books: Du Iz Tak?Leave Me Alone!, and The Princess and the Warrior: a tale of two volcanoes


      Seventh Grade, A group: Winner, Du Iz Tak?


      Honor Books: Ada's Violin: the story of the recycled orchestra of Paraguay and The Sound of Silence

      Runners-Up: They All Saw a CatThe Uncorker of Ocean Bottles, and Whoosh! Lonnie Johnson's Super-Soaking Stream of Inventions


      Seventh Grade, B group: Winner: Henry and Leo


      Honors Books: Ada's Violin: the story of the recycled orchestra of ParaguayBefore Morning, and Du Iz Tak?

      Want more Caldecott details?


      (Click the 'Caldecott' tag to see previous ballots and winners. Our students have a great track record over the last two years, having previous picked winner/honor books like Finding Winnie, Waiting, and Beekle.)

      Who's your pick?