It's Monday, What Are You Reading? October 28, 2013

Please visit the amazing blogs: Teach Mentor Texts and Unleashing Readers who host this terrific meme each week.

Please click on the picture to go to the book's page on Goodreads to learn more about it.

Picture Books

Spork

by Kyo Maclear

Illustrated by Isabelle Arsenault

Adorable little Spork is searching for his place in the world.  He's not a fork, nor a spoon and the other utensils shun him.  Until one day a messy "thing" arrives. 

I read this to my 4th graders and they loved it.  They especially liked guessing what the messy thing was and rooting for Spork to find self-acceptance. 

Not A Box 

by Antoinette Portis

Oh the wonders and possibilities of a simple, empty cardboard box.  In this book the rabbit uses the box as a spaceship, robot and a car just to name a few. 

Good for ages 4-8. 

Bob and Otto

by Robert O. Bruel

Illustrated by Nick Bruel

I was delighted to find this book at my library.  I love Nick Bruel's illustrations and after looking into it more, I discovered that Nick Bruel found this story his father had written after his father passed away. He made some minor changes and did the illustrations. 

This is a story of friendship.  Bob and Otto are great friends and enjoy spending their days together on the ground.  

You can read the book online at the site below.

http://us.macmillan.com/bobandotto/NickBruel

Good for grades K-3

Nonfiction Picture Book

 Harlem's Little Blackbird

by Renee Watson

Illustrated by Christian Robinson

This picture book biography is about Florence Mills, a singer/dancer from Harlem in the 1920's. She was lesser known than some more famous African-American performers of the time, but just as influential.  Strangely enough, there are no known audio or video recordings of her voice on record, so her story has been passed down by generations of story tellers. 

Good for grades 3-5.

Poetry

A Stick is an Excellent Thing

by Marilyn Singer

Illustrated by LeUyen Pham

This is a really fun book of short poetry to celebrate outdoor play.  It made me want to roll in some leaves and jump off a swing.  Good for grades 2-4.

Middle Grade

Fortunately, the Milk

by Neil Gaiman

Illustrated by Skottie Young

Although this book was not a favorite for me, many kids will enjoy it for it's over-the-top silliness. A father gets delayed bringing milk home for his two daughters.  The tale he tells about why he is late is the basis for the book. Traveling through time, being captured by pirates and rescued by a stegosaurus in a hot air balloon are just a few events from his tall tale.  The fun, messy illustrations are the best part of this book. 

Good for grades 3-4.

Currently Reading

Frog Burgers 

by Lee Mandel

The Graveyard Book 

by Neil Gaiman

Currently Listening

Waiting for Normal

by Leslie Connor

What Are You Reading Friends?

Gigi McAllister teaches at Great Falls Elementary. In her 21 years as an educator, she has taught K-6 special education for 10 years, spent one year at grade 5 and is currently in her 10th year of teaching 4th grade. She is serves on the executive board of the MRA and on the planning committee for nErDcamp Northern New England (have you signed up yet?) You can visit her blog (The Late Bloomer's Book Blog) where she posts about books, reading and classroom practices here. You can also find her on Twitter and on her professional Facebook page. 

Thursday Thinking: The Intent of Sharon Draper?

Some six, seven years ago I went to a conference at the University of Maine. They had a keynote speaker I had never heard of before. She had written a number of books and was a national teacher of the year. She changed my life. Midway through her keynote, the message centered around reading and the stories behind each book, that is understanding the lives, conflicts, and decisions of the characters. This way, readers could become, not only engaged with reading, but develop a core sense of humanity, thereby developing readers.

After her keynote, I had to ask her “how she did it?” I basically asked, how do you stay true to your values when you are told to “do” so many other things, which at the time, included a significant focus on leveling.

While I have forgotten, verbatim, what she said, the gist this: Always follow your heart. She discussed advocating for students and believing in great teaching.

Sharon Draper is not aggressive. Her message was powerful; inspiring. She was passionate. She was energized to do what was right for students, humanity, and the profession. Sharon Draper recognizes the trials and tribulations of education. She was not fussing or leading war cries, but advocating for students through reading.

Her book Out of My Mind, challenged readers on so many levels, as a teacher and for students. Almost daily, one student is crying. They feel for Melody, not always because of her CP, but because of the way she is treated by teachers and doctors. Sadly, kids empathize. During turn & talk or sharing, my students have readily connected to similar situations where they “lost their voice” or detail how “someone thought for them.”

We read chapter 7, where Melody had to learn ABC's in February of third grade, threw a fit and was sent home. Our read aloud turned into a hootenanny. I began acting out mom's part with the sarcasm and frustration, in addition to playing the besieged Mrs. Billups. Without comprehension question or reading responses, they showed their comprehension the text by yelling out what should happen to the teacher. Other students boasted predictions and little sidebar conversations erupted as students sought a way to express their feelings, including anger, frustration, irritation, and for my CP student, sympathy. As one ed-tech stated afterwards, you could see the kids minds opening.

I can't help but think, this must be exactly what Sharon Draper wanted. Students did not absorb the story passively, rather they recognized the injustice and maltreatment, by voicing their opinions on equality and compassion.

Her message of hope, humanity, empathy, and sympathy with passion, serenity, and patience. In my estimation, all Sharon Draper is asking the world to do is open our eyes and see the world from something other than the “me” first society we have grown accustomed to.

I guess now, the question is, “How does the book change each students life and think about how they treat one another.”

Justin Stygles (@JustinStygles) GR. 5/6 ELA/Humanities teacher, Norway, Maine.  Maine Reading Association Executive Board. IRA Advisory Committee of Teachers

Currently Reading: Almost Super (ARC)

It's Monday! What Are You Reading 10/21/13 by Natalee Stotz

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? From Picture Books to YA! 

It's Monday! What are you Reading? is a meme hosted by Sheila at Book Journeys. 

Kellee Moye, of Unleashing Readers, and Jen of Teach Mentor Texts decided to give It's Monday! What Are You Reading? a kidlit focus. 

I've got quite the stack of books to be read, and I'm eager to get to them. Until I do, however, at least one stack is well guarded!

My most recent read was actually a re-read of Number the Stars by Lois Lowry. 

This fall I had the opportunity to hear Lois speak at USM in Portland. My husband has read the entire Giver Quartet, but hadn't read Number the Stars and I encouraged him to read it. I remember reading it back when I was teaching middle grades, and was struck by the beauty and simplicity of the story. Since it had been so long since I read it, I felt a re-read was due. It was as beautiful as I remembered.

I have also recently finished Flesh and Bone, book 3 of Rot & Ruin by Jonathan Maberry

This series has been popular with many of my students, I have a freshman boy racing through the series right now. Tonight his mom informed me that over the weekend he chose to read rather then playing video games. If you're not familiar with the Rot & Ruin series, it is about a post-appocolyptic world where zombies are a reality. But the series isn't just about zombies. It is about dealing with loss of a loved one, the value of relationships, the meaning of humanity, and doing what is right in the face of an evil world. 

I have about an hour left of my current audio book, Along the Way:The Journey of a Father and Son by Martin Sheen and Emilio Estevez with Hope Edelman.

A long time West Wing fan, I have sought out nearly everything that Martin Sheen has been in. The Way, a movie written and produced by Emilio Estevez and staring Martin Sheen quickly became my favorite. This memoir uses the frame of the writing and filming of that movie to tell the journeys of Martin and Emilio. It tells not only of their relationship to each other, but that of Martin and his own father. The audio is read by both Martin and Emilio, and I am convinced this is the best way to experience this story.

I am always encouraging my students that it is okay to abandon a book that just isn't work for them, and this week I practiced what I preach with The Dream Thieves (The Raven Cycle #2) by Maggie Stiefvater.

I just couldn't get into the story. I'll try again later. The same thing happened with book 1, The Raven Boys. I couldn't get into it the first time I started reading it, but later I tried again and loved it.

This week I hope to start Jeannette Walls new novel, The Silver Star.

While difficult to read because of the subject matter, I loved The Glass Castle. Jeanette is an incredibly talented writer, so I look forward to reading her novel.

Natalee Stotz is Head of High School at Windham Christian Academy in Windham, Maine. There she teaches English for grades 9-12 as well as Civics. She also advises the preK-12 school on curriculum, professional development, and literacy. Her passion is for connecting readers with books, and her goal is to create life-long readers. You can follow her on Twitter, @nataleestotz, or read her blog at nataleestotz.blogspot.com

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? October 18

                                          

As always, be sure to check out the Teach.Mentor.Text and Unleashing Readers blogs by Jen & Kelly, the creators of this meme, for other bloggers participating in “It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?”

Rump The True Story ofRumpelstiltskin by Liesl Shurtliff

     I loved fairy tales as a young child. I went to the library every week with my sister and my dad and this is where I really learned to read. I made my way through all the fairy tale anthologies – The Red Fairy Tale Book, The Blue Fairy Tale Book, The White Fairy Tale Book . . . On Christmas Eve, my sister and I got to open one present, the ones we gave to each other, and I’ll never forget the year my sister gave me a pink book entitled Fifty Famous Fairy Tales!

     So it goes without saying that I couldn’t wait to read Liesl Shurtliff’s full-length novel about Rumpelstiltskin. I was not disappointed. Rump is the born before his mother can tell him his full name and he yearns to know what it is. He feels like his life will not be fulfilled until he does. A great deal of importance is placed on people’s names and Rump is continually taunted and tormented because of his. When his grandmother falls sick, he turns to his mother’s spinning wheel that has long been abandoned to find some comfort and closeness to her only to find that he has inherited her magical powers. He soon learns that he can spin straw into gold and uses it to help buy food to save his dying grandmother. But what has he done? Is the magic too powerful for him to control? Does it control him? Follow Rump through his trials and torments as he learns about his destiny and his true name.

Digger and Tom! by Sebastien Braun

In my work as a literacy specialist, I work with small groups of students for short periods of time. This year I am working with quite a few groups of kindergarten students and I am supposed to be focusing on letter and sound recognition. However, I think that it is also incredibly important for me to be reading stories to these young children. So in order to be able to do both, I need to find short books that won’t take a lot of time but be of high quality. Digger and Tom is one of those books. First of all, the end pages are fantastic. They have all kinds of different construction vehicles that the kids love to look at and talk about. I let each child point out their favorite one. Next the story itself is timeless. It is the end of the day and the trucks are cleaning up the construction site. Digger is going to dig up the rock that is on the site. As he digs he realizes that it is bigger than he thought. The other trucks come over and move him out of the way telling him to let the big guys handle it. None of them are actually right for the job and they decide to take a break. Tom, Digger’s friend, whispers to him to “Try again. You’re a Digger and that’s what Digger’s do, dig”. I’m sure you probably can all guess the ending of the story but the children love it and it proves once again that it’s not always the biggest that can get the job done. I read this book to eight different groups of kindergarten children and every single one of them loved it!

 Mary Lou Shuster has been teaching in RSU#6, (Buxton, Hollis, Limington & Standish) for 30 years, first as a kindergarten teacher and now as a literacy specialist with students K – 5^th grade.

In addition, she is an adjunct instructor at the University of Southern Maine as well as a workshop presenter throughout the state and for the Department of Education. She achieved National Board Certification in 2001 and is currently working on her C.A.S. in Literacy.

She is a proud member of the Nerdy Book Club and her passion is finding the perfect books for “developing” readers and instilling her passion for reading in them. Her Twitter handle is @litcoachlou and her blog can be found at litcoachlou.blogspot.com.

As always, be sure to check out the Teach.Mentor.Text and Unleashing Readers blogs by Jen & Kelly, the creators of this meme, for other bloggers participating in “It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?”

I am so excited to share with you what I've been reading this week! One of my favorite (and my students' favorite!) authors had a "book birthday" on Thursday! Ame Dyckman, author of "Boy + Bot," released her second picture book, "Tea Party Rules" and I have been so anxious to read it.

A wayward bear cub's nose leads him to some yummy cookies and a young girl's backyard tea party.  Cub quickly realizes that there are certain rules- tea party rules- that he must follow. Will Cub comply with the girl's code of conduct in order to snag the delicious treats or is it all too much for him to bear? (ok, pun intended!) The illustrator, K.G. Campbell, uses wonderful pastel hues done in colored pencil which contribute greatly to the mood of this lighthearted tale.

Tea Party Rules is a delightfully giggly book about friendship, imagination, and childhood fun!

 

Professionally, I've been reading "What Readers Really Do: Teaching the Process of Meaning Making" by Dorothy Barnhouse and Vicki Vinton.  I bought this book on the recommendation of my friend and Maine Reading Association colleague, Susan Dee.  She is one of my "go to" sources for what is new and great in the world of education and from what I've read so far, her latest recommendation is spot on!  You know you've got a great text on your hands your hands when you start highlighting it on the first page of the Introduction!  Here are some gems that I have read so far from the authors...

"...researchers have now discovered that, more than smaller class size, more than better funding, more than higher standards or benchmarks, what affects student performance the most is the classroom teacher" (p. 2).

"...we don't want students to take on or consume our own interpretations of texts; we want them to construct their own. This means that we need to teach each student the way readers think as they read, not what to think, helping them to experience texts as readers, rather than putting specific thoughts about a text in their heads" (p. 7).

Another aspect of reading that Barnhouse and Vinton address is the issue of a declining focus on narrative texts.  With the implementation of the Common Core State Standards and the call for students to be college and career ready, there has been increased concentration on expository texts. However, the authors point out that instruction on narrative texts is imperative for several reasons. They are the texts that contain several layers of meaning and, as a result, lead to deeper thinking and higher levels of comprehension.  The authors state that narratives are also a vehicle for teaching empathy... readers get a chance to become someone else, live their lives through another character, and learn from that experience. "This is no small matter in educating students who will be citizens, leaders, and caretakers of our world" (p. 11).

I can't wait to delve deeper into this book!

Jenn Felt is a certified K-8 teacher, K-6 Literacy Coach, and K-12 Literacy Specialist with 17 years of experience in the field of education. In addition to her work in elementary classrooms, she is an adjunct faculty member for the College of Education at the University of Maine. Jenn facilitates workshops on a variety of literacy topics at the local, regional, and national level. Currently, she is on the executive board of the Maine Reading Association and is pursuing her National Board certification in the area of literacy. Jenn is passionate about putting high-quality texts in the hands of young readers, creating learning environments for optimal student achievement, and developing strong family-school-community relationships. She can be contacted at: LiteracyTeacherJenn@gmail.com

*cross-posted at: FeltLikeReading.com

It's Monday, What Are You Reading?- September, 30 21013

Please visit the amazing blogs: Teach Mentor Texts and Unleashing Readers who host this terrific meme each week.

Please click on a picture to go to the book's page on Goodreads where you can learn more about it.

With the craziness of the first weeks of school and my amazing time at NERA last weekend, I did not have time to post last week.  So, here are some of the books I have read lately.

Picture Books

Crankee Doodle
by Tom Angleberger

Crankee Doodle is hands down the funniest picture book I have read in a while.  I was actually laughing out loud.  Yankee Doodle is bored and cranky and wants something to do.  His trusty horse recommends that he "go to town". Well, "Crankee" doesn't want to go to town and he gives many funny reasons for not wanting to do so.  Then his horse suggests that maybe he could get a feather for his hat and it just keeps going from there. My 11 year-old daughter, Molly, also  loved this book. 

Have You Filled a Bucket Today?

by Carol McCloud

Every child need to hear this book.  The author writes about how everyone has an invisible "bucket" inside them.  When the bucket is filled up with positive thoughts and kindness a person feels happy.  When their bucket is empty or others dip into their bucket, they feel sad. I love this metaphor and I think kids will really understand what kindness does inside a person after reading it.  A MUST read!

Hello, My Name is Ruby

by Phillip C. Stead

Sweet, little Ruby is in search of friendship and her place in the world.  She is fearless and asks the other birds lots of questions including "Would you like to be my friend?"  This book would be a great addition to any collection about friendship, empathy or courage.  It also got the Molly 2 thumbs up.  She really felt for Ruby who faced rejection several times, but did not give up. 

Hank Finds an Egg

by Rebecca Dudley

This wordless book is too adorable not to share with children.  Hank finds an egg that has fallen from its nest. Hank shows great ingenuity and determination as he tries to put the egg back where it belongs.  The story is simple and lovely.  On the jacket I read that the author creates everything on each page by hand, right down to each tiny leaf.  This book got the seal of approval from Molly with a big "Awww that's so cute!"

Middle Grade

The Boy on the Porch

by Sharon Creech

My friend Justin Stygles, book talked this book at our MRA open house last week so I decided to pick it up. I am glad I did.  It is a very quick read because of its number of pages and because it is really interesting.  A sleeping boy is left on the porch of a childless couple, John and Marta.  The boy seems to be about 6 years old and is unable to speak.  The boy produces a note that asks the couple to take care of "Jacob" and they will return for him.  Goodhearted John and Marta take the boy in, but they do not report finding him to the authorities. There is a great undercurrent of suspense as the couple grows to love the boy and foster his unique musical and artistic talents.  Will his parents return for him? Should they tell the authorities?  Who do you root for?  I think this book would make a great book for late 4th through 6th grade.  It would certainly spark many important discussions. 

Currently Reading

Reading in the Wild

by Donalyn Miller

I was lucky to win an advanced reader's copy of The Book Whisperer's newest gem at the NERA conference last weekend and, so far, it is a fantastic as you would expect. 

Please read more about my NERA experience and how I met Donalyn Miller and Penny Kittle here. 

Gigi McAllister teaches at Great Falls Elementary. In her 21 years as an educator, she has taught K-6 special education for 10 years, spent one year at grade 5 and is currently in her 10th year of teaching 4th grade. She is serves on the executive board of the MRA and on the planning committee for nErDcamp Northern New England (have you signed up yet?) You can visit her blog (The Late Bloomer's Book Blog) where she posts about books, reading and classroom practices here. You can also find her on Twitter and on her professional Facebook page. 

As always, be sure to check out the Teach.Mentor.Text and Unleashing Readers blogs by Jen & Kelly, the creators of this meme, for other bloggers participating in “It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?”

This week I had the privilege to take part in New England Reading Association’s Author & Illustrator Night at the Holiday Inn by the Bay in Portland. Folks, it was a bibliophile’s dream! I walked into the banquet room to find the perimeter lined with tables at which were seated over two dozen of Maine’s most influential children’s book authors and illustrators, all waiting to talk with me!

Well, not just ME, but all of us who showed up because we love connecting great kids with great books!

A trifecta of talent! Matt Tavares, Chris Van Dusen, & Paul Jeneczko at NERA!

Since then, I’ve enjoyed reading (and re-reading) old favorites and new ones by the talented artists I met that evening. So… here’s what I’ve been turning for pages this week:

The Circus Ship,  written and illustrated by Chris Van Dusen is a book that’s been on my radar for awhile.  Van Dusen tells a masterful story in rhyme about a ship, full of circus animals and their greedy owner, that has an unexpected wreck and sinks. The animals make their way to an isle off the coast of Maine and the islanders and animals learn to coexist peacefully until the owner shows up and wants them back.  I never knew the true story upon which this tale is based, but in the author’s note, Chris describes the research he did on The Royal Tar, a steamer ship that was carrying a circus, its band, and a total of 103 passengers that crashed off of Vinalhaven in 1836. While this book is based on that account, it is not a retelling of it… which just goes to show how tightly reading and writing are intertwined; the reading of one story can lead to the creation of another!

You can visit Chris at his website: www.chrisvandusen.com

You’re Wearing THAT to School?! written by Lynn Plourde and illustrated by Sue Cornelison is a charming book about Penelope the hippo, who is so excited for her first day of school! Her enthusiasm about her special outfit she’s picked out, her special lunch, and her special stuffie for show-and-tell is quickly dashed as her best friend, Tiny the mouse, explains to her about how it’s better to blend in at school rather than stand out.  Penelope must decide if she will remain true to herself or try her hardest to fit in.  This is a great primary level read for a fun way to discuss peer pressure and truly expressing yourself!

Lynn’s website is www.lynnplourde.com and you can find Sue at www.suecornelison.com

One Word Pearl, written by Nicole Groeneweg and illustrated by Hazel Mitchell, earned the Principal’s Award for Children’s Book of the Year from the National Association of Elementary School Principals.  Pearl is a gal who loves words! She collects them in her word chest, but one day a strong wind begins to blow and Pearl’s words begin to spin and swirl all around her; so many words that she grabs her word chest and escapes from her bedroom just in time. There aren’t that many words left in her word chest, however, so Pearl decides she must use her precious words sparingly. Hence, One Word Pearl.  A cool feature of this text is the number of ecclectic vocabulary words that are interspersed throughout the book. Kids could spend hours poring over the pages on a hunt for interesting and unique language!  I had the privilege to meet the illustrator, Hazel, last Thursday and she was absolutely delightful!  You can visit her website at: www.hazelmitchell.com

A Place for Butterflies, written by Melissa Stewart and illustrated by Higgins Bond is a book with which I was unfamiliar before last week.  It was the recipient of the Green Earth Book Award, which is awarded annually by the Newton Marasco Foundation.  This book is absolutely amazing!  The inside covers of the paperback edition contain maps for where certain types of butterflies can be found.  The main text is easily accessible for kids to read on their own or it can be used as a read aloud as well. There are sidebars on each two-page spread which describe different types of butterflies.  Higgins Bond has done a STUNNING job with the illustrations in this book!  I would highly recommend it if you are doing a Science unit on butterflies or simply want an excellent example of nonfiction text to add to your classroom’s library.

www.melissa-stewart.com is the author’s website.  It is a whimsical place to visit, with activities for teachers and kids!

Becoming Babe Ruth, written and illustrated by Matt Tavares, was a book that I admit, I initially had some hesitation to read.  As a matter of fact, I shared with Matt on Thursday that it was the ONLY book of his that I had not yet read.  Why? Well, you see, I’m a lifelong, fourth generation Red Sox fan, and when someone mentions The Bambino to a fan from Boston, we tend to get a bit on edge.  After all, some say it was the Curse of the Bambino that kept the Sox from winning the World Series for 86 years… but I digress.  I’m glad I did finally read it, however, because Tavares has done a magnificent job of telling the story of a orphan boy’s troubled childhood and the mentor who helped him become (arguably) one of the greatest baseball players of all time.  Matt includes a comprehensive author’s note at the end that is not to be missed, as it describes his research process and more of the back story behind the story that he told.  As always, Tavares’ illustrations are exceptional and add so much to the tale he tells. 

His website is www.matttavares.com

Matt’s inscription on my copy of Becoming Babe Ruth

The best part about my experience at last week’s authors and illustrators night was the fact that these were all people from Maine who make great contributions to the world of children’s literature!  We are fortunate to have such wonderful literary treasures in our midst!

*cross-posted @ FeltLikeReading.com

Jenn Felt is a certified K-8 teacher, K-6 Literacy Coach, and K-12 Literacy Specialist with 17 years of experience in the field of education. In addition to her work in elementary classrooms, she is an adjunct faculty member for the College of Education at the University of Maine. Jenn facilitates workshops on a variety of literacy topics at the local, regional, and national level. Currently, she is on the executive board of the Maine Reading Association and is pursuing her National Board certification in the area of literacy. Jenn is passionate about putting high-quality texts in the hands of young readers, creating learning environments for optimal student achievement, and developing strong family-school-community relationships. 

She can be contacted at: LiteracyTeacherJenn@gmail.com or on twitter: @MsFelt1