Valentine's Week Guest Post: All About Heroes

When Aly asked me to write this post, I agreed immediately. Who doesn’t love a hero? And then I started to think about it and I realized it was harder than I thought. I mean, there are so many different types of heroes. So, I ran to the dictionary and found it equally unhelpful. I already knew the description: myth, legend, strong, brave, idol. I just couldn’t put my finger on it until I realized that that’s not what I wanted to talk about here. I wanted to talk about a specific type of hero. You know, the one we read about; that guy we’ve all met between the pages of our favorite stories – the one who always does the right thing.

Let’s face it, he may not even start out as a hero. Oscar in Pam Bachorz’ CANDOR is really more of an anti-hero in the beginning of the story. But then some thing or better yet, someone, changes his way of thinking and he ends up sacrificing everything for her. How can you not love that guy?

He may be someone we already know like Simon in Cassie Clare’s The Mortal Instruments. Who didn’t love him when he waited for Clary in her bedroom while she was observing the flowering patterns of obscure flora with a certain Shadowhunter? Okay, Simon interrupts what is going to be one hot scene but he was there for Clary, making sure she was safe in this strange, new world they just discovered.

Or maybe he’s the boy next door as in A.M. Robinson’s Vampire Crush. After all, who doesn’t love a boy who remembers where he hid that princess sandal he stole from you when you were kids?

I have to mention a Hot Boy with Sword who fits this bill nicely – Ash from Julie Kagawa’s Iron Fey books. And if you haven’t read The Iron Queen, yet, I won’t spoil it for you but just read those last few pages and you’ll see what I mean. Ash always does the right thing. Always.

My favorite in this genre has got to be Cabel from Lisa McMann’s WAKE/FADE/GONE series. He and Janie have been through so much and still, in GONE, he waits for her. He even keeps his inner worries hidden (or so he thinks). But through it all, he remains by her side, always but always doing the right thing.

So next time you pick up a book, look for that boy, you know the one…yeah, see him off in the distance watching you, waiting to help you out when you need him the most.

Sophie Riggsby is a busy mom of three you can find her daydreaming about fictional characters while waiting for her children in the School Pick Up Lane, at Boy Scout meetings or in their ballet classes. She loves to post book reviews on Mundie Moms, Mundie Kids and Page Turners Blog. 

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday - The Trouble With Chickens (A J.J. Tully Mystery)

Author: Doreen Cronin
Illustrator: Kevin Cornell
Publisher: Balzer & Bray (Harper Collins)
Release Date: March 1, 2011
Pages: 128
Ages: 7 to 10 years
Source: ARC from ALA Midwinter
Rating: Buy multiple copies...1 won't be enough for your school or library.

Description from GoodReads:
J.J. Tully is a former search-and-rescue dog who is trying to enjoy his retirement after years of performing daring missions saving lives. So he’s not terribly impressed when two chicks named Dirt and Sugar (who look like popcorn on legs), along with their chicken mom, show up demanding his help to track down their missing siblings. Driven by the promise of a cheeseburger, J.J. begins to track down clues. Is Vince the Funnel hiding something? Are there dark forces at work—or is J.J. not smelling the evidence that’s right in front of him?

Doreen Cronin is well known for her numerous picture books - Click, Clack, Moo; Duck for President; Rescue Bunnies; and The Diary of a Fly are just a few of her titles.  With The Trouble With Chickens, Cronin is making a leap into the world of chapter books or what I might refer to as early Middle Grade.  Though the book's marketing page indicates that the book is for Grades 3 to 7 (or ages 8 to 12), I would suggest that the book will appeal the most to children 7 to 10.  This actually excites me because where I can find numerous books that are perfect for children 9 to 12 there seems to be a void of excellent stories geared for that more diverse range of reading abilities that you may find in younger children.  However, I believe Cronin has nailed it with The Trouble With Chickens, and with a subtitle of "A J.J. Tully Mystery" I am hoping that it means there will be future books with J. J. 


In The Trouble With Chickens, Cronin has developed a story around a former search and rescue dog named J.J.  who is currently in retirement and living on a farm.  J.J. is not particularly happy about this and even less happy when a "crazy chicken" named Millicent or whom he nicknames Moosh appears in his dog house.  Adults familiar with the 1940's-1950's film noir style and format will immediately pick up on the similarities between the book and a Philip Marlowe/Humphrey Bogart movie. Children may miss the style reference but they will enjoy the banter between J.J. and the chickens and J.J.'s narrations.  The story has great dialogue, humor, wonderful characters, and even a villain in Vince the Funnel, the dog living in the big house.  The sense of mystery and the fact that not everything is always as it seems lends just enough twists to keep children guessing as to what will happen to J.J. and the chickens.


Kevin Cornell's playful illustrations add a great touch to the book and bring the characters to life in a new way. 


I'm excited to have this book to share with students.  I already know that I will have a list of children waiting in line to check it out.  


For more information about Doreen Cronin, check out her website here.  For more information about illustrator, Kevin Cornell, check out his work here. 

Below is the official booktrailer for the book.  Listen to Doreen speak in detail about the film noir aspect of the book.

* Marvelous Middle Grade Mondays were started by Shannon over at Ramblings of a Wannabe Scribe. You can check out her Marvelous Middle Grade Monday choice and Giveaway Post here.

Grandma's Pear Tree Part 2: The Author Visit

On Thursday, February 3, 2011, Suzanne Santillan made the trek up from San Diego to come visit students in Pasadena.  Santillan is the author of Grandma's Pear Tree a bilingual picture book that tells the story of what happens when a young boy gets his soccer ball stuck in his Grandmother's pear tree.

In preparation for Suzanne's visit, the children were exposed to the book not only through read alouds but also through a Literacy Café.  For more information about the Café, click here.  However, there was one thing that we didn't tell the Kindergartners to Second Graders about the book and that was the ending.  When reading the story, we held back the ending to build suspense and to allow Suzanne to reveal it when she came.

During her visit, she read the book aloud with young assistants and the help of props.  The children were very excited to finally discover how the book ends. 

Children had an opportunity to ask her some of their burning questions. 

And she even shared what inspired her to write the book Grandma's Pear Tree. 

 At one point, she had the children working together to explain the concept of teamwork and helping one another problem-solve - just like in the book.

We were so thankful that Suzanne was willing to come up and visit and share about how she writes books, and her ideas for new stories, and that just like students who have to edit their writing, so do authors have to revise their stories.  

Thanks Suzanne and we look forward to your next book!  Come back and visit us anytime!!

Follower Love Giveaway Hop

The Follower Love Giveaway Hop event is organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader, Not A Writer.  Over 200 blogs have signed up to host a book related giveaway and we are all linked up together so you can easily hop from one giveaway to another.  The hop runs from Tuesday, February 8th through Sunday, February 13th.

2011 Debut Author Challenge Giveaway Theme - I decided to giveaway two books that have been on my much wanted to read list.   

Giveaway # 1 The Iron Witch by Karen Mahoney

Description from GoodReads:
Freak. That's what her classmates call seventeen-year-old Donna Underwood. When she was seven, a horrific fey attack killed her father and drove her mother mad. Donna's own nearly fatal injuries from the assault were fixed by magic—the iron tattoos branding her hands and arms. The child of alchemists, Donna feels cursed by the magical heritage that destroyed her parents and any chance she had for a normal life. The only thing that keeps her sane and grounded is her relationship with her best friend, Navin Sharma.

When the darkest outcasts of Faerie—the vicious wood elves—abduct Navin, Donna finally has to accept her role in the centuries old war between the humans and the fey. Assisted by Xan, a gorgeous half-fey dropout with secrets of his own, Donna races to save her friend—even if it means betraying everything her parents and the alchemist community fought to the death to protect.  

Giveaway #2 Clarity by Kim Harrington (Advanced Reader Copy - book releases in March 2011)

Description from GoodReads:
When you can see things others can't, where do you look for the truth?
This paranormal murder mystery will have teens reading on the edge of their seats.
Clarity "Clare" Fern sees things. Things no one else can see. Things like stolen kisses and long-buried secrets. All she has to do is touch a certain object, and the visions come to her. It's a gift.

 And a curse.

When a teenage girl is found murdered, Clare's ex-boyfriend wants her to help solve the case--but Clare is still furious at the cheating jerk. Then Clare's brother--who has supernatural gifts of his own--becomes the prime suspect, and Clare can no longer look away. Teaming up with Gabriel, the smoldering son of the new detective, Clare must venture into the depths of fear, revenge, and lust in order to track the killer. But will her sight fail her just when she needs it most?

Rules for the Contest:

1. Please do not enter any personal information in the comments section, you must complete the Entry Form to officially enter the contest.
2.  The Contest runs from 12:00 a.m. PST on February 8, 2011 to 11:59 p.m. PST on February 13th.
3.  You must be a follower of this blog to enter.
4.  You must be 13 or older to participate in this contest.
5.  You must indicate which giveaway that you would like to be entered into.  You may enter both.
6.  If you are selected as a winner, I will notify you by e-mail.  If you do not respond within 48 hours, I will select a new winner.
8.  International participants are welcome to enter the contest.

Grandma's Pear Tree Part 1: The Literacy Café Experience

For those of you who have been following me on twitter, you have heard me refer to Book Cafés or Literacy Cafés.  The Café was developed from a brainstorming conversation I had with a parent (Angie) who was a former High School Teacher and Literacy Coach.  One of my goals for my school this year was for children and teachers to come together to form a reading community.  A place were books were important and where children were inspired to pick up a book and read.

After three years at my school, I was frustrated in the reading progress being made by the children.  Each year, the teachers and I discussed the concern of how to build greater reading comprehension and greater reading abilities in all children.  Each year we tried new strategies and techniques, and each year our students seemed to show less interest rather than more interest in reading.  Then came the concept of a Literacy Café.

What is special about a Literacy Café?
 Cafés are always centered around a book.  Cafés always include food.  Cafés are created to assist students in synthesizing the information that they have learned in the book and to take it to a new level.

How does a Literacy Café work?
Recently, Children's Author, Suzanne Santillan stopped by for a school visit.  In order to prepare the children in Kindergarten to Second Grade for her visit, a Literacy Café was developed.  Each Café is unique and often, we have learned so much from doing it that if we were to repeat it, the Café would look different the second time. 

In the case of Grandma's Pear Tree, we developed the Café to work with children in kindergarten to second grade.  Children rotated between the following three activities (remember each café has different activities).

Activity One: Retelling and Sequencing Grandma's Pear Tree

A kindergartner draws the beginning, middle and end of the story.

Objective One:  Children will be able to verbally sequence the events in the story using complete sentences.

Children were read the story Grandma's Pear Tree.  With the support of picture cards, children retold the story checking to make sure that all of the items were properly sequenced.

Objective Two: Using a flow map, children will be able to draw picture representations of the beginning, middle and end of the story.
 
Following the retelling/re-enactment of the story, children were given a flow map and asked to draw pictures representing the beginning, middle and end of the story.  The above map was created by a kindergartner. 

Activity Two: Pear Science

Children had a chance to feel, smell, look at, and taste pears vs. avocados.

Objective One:  Children will be able to compare and contrast the features/characteristics of a pear and an avocado. 

Children were asked to think like a scientist and to use all of their senses in comparing a pear to an avocado.  They looked at and held each fruit, compared the outsides and insides of the fruit, measured and weighed the fruit, and in the end got to do a taste test. 

Activity Three: Sensory Adjectives & Cooking

Recipe Card used by a child to make the salad.

Objective One: During a cooking project using pears, children will be able to generate sensory adjectives for all of the foods/tastes in a Pear Salad.  Children will use these adjectives in developing a name for the salad. 

Objective Two: Children will be able to follow simple directions (a recipe) in order to make a pear salad.

Children were assisted in creating a pear salad.  Once they had a chance to eat some of it, an adult led them through a process of identifying sensory adjectives that best fit their taste experience.  When done with that, they were encouraged to create a name using at least one of the sensory adjectives.

What we have discovered about Cafés? 

Here are just a few of the things that we have learned about cafés over the course of this year:
* Cafés bring books to life and make what a children has heard or read take on new meaning.
* Cafés allow teachers to differentiate instruction to meet the needs of all learners - children with special needs, English Language Learners, and even Gifted children.
* Cafés develop a sense of community and shared experiences between learners and leaders (volunteers, staff, etc.). 
* Cafés are living and evolving all the time.  We are always trying to figure out new ways to help children grasp a concept and apply it in a new way.

I am thankful to Angie for her willingness to go on this journey with me this year.  Her creativity and passion has helped me put wheels and a mega-engine on my literacy goals this year.  Without her, I am certain I would be still floundering around.  I also want to thank all of the parents, community members, teachers and students who have been on this journey and who have taught me so much about learning and books.  And I want to thank Suzanne for letting me use her book and her visit to talk about our cafés. 

Tomorrow:  Suzanne Santillan visits San Rafael School to talk about Grandma's Pear Tree.