It's Monday! What are you reading? is hosted by Sheila of Book Journey. Jen & Kellee from
Teach Mentor Texts have adapted this to focus on Picture Books to Young Adult Books.
I had one of those weeks where despite reading quite a few books very few seriously jumped out at me. As a result, I am only sharing two things. I am looking forward to a better reading week.
Here are my favorites from my the past week's reading adventures:
Amulet Vol. 5: Prince of the Elves by Kazu Kibuishi - The fifth installment in Kibuishi's popular (and I mean popular) graphic novel series comes out on September 1st. I can't wait to hold the final copy in my hands. It was great to read an Advance Readers Copy but I love the color illustrations in the final version. Readers of the series will love the new volume.
BabyLit Board Books by Jennifer Adams; Illustrated by Alison Oliver - Classic literature gets a make over in the form of baby board books and early concepts such as counting and colors. Fun series to read and share.
So, what are you reading this week?
I think I might actually have to organize my books for reading. It is easy to get lost in the piles of books. How are you doing with your summer reading?
Author: Meg McKinlay Illustrator: Leila Rudge Format: Hardcover, 32 pages Publisher: Candlewick (March 27, 2012) Audience: Ages 4 and up Source: Personal Copy Fiction * Fairy Tale * Writing
Description from Publisher's Page: Ella wants to tell you a story - a story with absolutely no bears. You don't need bears for a book. You need pretty things like fairies and princesses and castles and maybe funny things and exciting things. In Ella's kind of story, there are no bears in the village or the castle or the deep dark forest or faraway lands. But there might be . . . a monster! Riffing on well-known fairy-tale themes, this fun, offbeat story is perfectly matched by playful illustrations with a running visual joke that will keep even bear lovers smiling.
Ella is in charge of this book, and she will tell you something right now. There are NO BEARS in it. Not even one.
My thoughts on this book:
I read a lot of picture books. It is easy to forget books when you are reading that many. And then, there are some that just keep coming to mind. No Bears was that book for me. I read it and really liked it. Then I wanted to go back and read it again and again. Of course, at that point the bookstore didn't have it and it was on back order with the publisher. Finally, I was able to lay my hands on my own copy of the book and have probably read it another 7 or 8 times. Enjoying it each and every time I read it.
Bear Book Recycling Bin - love it!
Part of what I love about No Bears is that with every reading, I come away with some new thoughts and ideas about the story. No Bears is a brilliant concept that is very well executed. The text stands as strong as the illustrations to provide readers with truly a wonderful book.
Ella wants to write a story and she knows that the story should start with things like "Once upon a time.." and end with things like "Happily ever after" and "The End". On the one hand, as a teacher, I can use this story as a read aloud for younger students but on the other hand, I can utilize the story as a way to discuss metafiction and writing with older students. Ella's interjections into the story throughout the book provide a level of narration for students that allow them to consider the various aspects to be considered in writing a story.
In the illustration below, Ella lists all of the things that her story should have. Rudge takes McKinlay's words to a new level though by also incorporating various references to other fairy tales with her images. Rudge does this successfully throughout the whole book. Of course, as Ella talks about all the things her book should have and what it shouldn't have - bears - Bear is lurking on the sidelines watching the story unfold.
Just as in any good story, there has to be trouble...unfolding on the page is a deep, dark forest -
because you must have a deep, dark forest in your story and not to forget - you must also have a MONSTER. However, I love that our bear friend is silently helping out in the background.
Bear is helping out so much that when the princess (as represented by Ella) is in trouble he is there with the fairy godmother's magic wand to help save the day. Even though Ella credits the fairy godmother and "her fantastical magic powers" for the rescue the reader knows better.
In the end, Ella is proud of her "bear free" book and Bear is left to explain to all of the other characters in the book how he indeed saved the day.
In addition, to all of the wonderful aspects already talked about, the illustrations provide a fun challenge for students to see if they can identify all of the references to fairy tales that are embedded onto the pages of the story.
McKinlay and Rudge certainly have a hit on their hands with No Bears. This is definitely one book that I would recommend for storytime, classroom instruction or just as a fun gift for a favorite young person in your life.
Find the author & illustrator on the internet:
Meg McKinlay: Website | Blog
Leila Rudge: Website | Blog
Back in January, Angie (parent volunteer extraordinaire) and I were talking about possible themes/topics for Literacy Cafés. Our conversation went a little like this:
Me: What about doing a Café for 4th and 5th graders on the Harlem Renaissance?
Angie: *Pause of silence*
Me: Really, we can pull this off.
Angie is a former high school social studies teacher. Even after nearly two years of running Cafés with me, we surprise each other. She amazes me with how she inspires children to engage in learning, and write amazing poetry. She also has mad decorating skills that would put Martha Stewart to shame. My job - to find the books, brainstorm, and help make the magic happen when the kids come in even when the topic might be a bit of a stretch.
Once I convinced her that we didn't need to teach them everything there is to know about the Harlem Renaissance - just give them an introduction - we were off and planning. Our Literacy Café for the Harlem Renaissance was probably one of our biggest endeavors. There was probably 80 hours of planning time for about 9 hours of instructional time. (Don't worry - most of our cafés do not take this much time to plan.)
First, we decided that instead of using a novel, we would use a variety of picture books to start discussion about this time period. Second, we realized that the students needed a pre-teach session prior to the actual Literacy Café. This was something we had never done before but we felt very strongly that they needed some background information on the basics of the Harlem Renaissance and who were some of the key players during that time. Finally, we decided that for the actual Café, we would focus primarily on the poetry of Langston Hughes, and some of the art and music of the time period.
The Pre-Teach Café:
When I did the pre-teach café, I had a few things I wanted all of the students to walk away with. What was the Harlem Renaissance? When did it take place? Why was it important to history? and Who were some of the key individuals of the time period?
Thanks to technology, I was able to bring in audio and video clips that allowed children to hear Langston Hughes or Zora Neale Hurston read and speak about pieces of their work or to listen to the music of some of the greatest jazz musicians or to watch as dancers perform the Lindy Hop.
The Café:
When we did the actual cafe, we decided that we would split the class into two groups. One group would begin inside with Angie. They would look at Langston Hughes' poem - Harlem and then do their own writing response to what they could see or feel from the words of the poem. The other half began outside with me (yes, in Southern California, we can do outdoor teaching in February). I loaded up my iPod with different songs from Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Count Bassie, Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, and more. We had looked at various pieces of art from painters such as Douglas Aaron and Jacob Lawerence and Archibald Motley and Palmer Hayden. They were to create their own Harlem Renaissance paintings inspired by the music of the time period. After a designated amount of time, we switched groups. At the end, we gathered together for a de-brief while we ate red beans and rice, corn bread and lemonade. (Our school custodian was so excited about what we were doing that he actually made red beans and rice for the kids.)
Aaron Douglas - Jazz Roots
What did we learn:
Angie and I are never content to rest on the success of one lesson. We did 3 pre-teach sessions that were all different in order to meet the needs of each group of students that came into the café. This was the same with the actual Cafés. As teachers, if we pay attention to our students, they will show us what we need to learn to better help them learn. For example, we realized after the first session that the students needed assistance in focusing on what they were learning in the pre-teach and so Angie created a note-taking sheet to help all the students. I learned that when children do not have a strong grasp of number lines they often don't have a good understanding of time lines. Along with that, we have done such a good job of teaching about Slavery and Civil Rights that many of the students think it all flows together without seeing that there were years between one thing and the other.
We were also struck by how this Café deeply impacted many of our students who were able to celebrate their own culture and history in a way they had never done before. We also learned that it was worth every hour we had invested into the prep time to make this Café a reality.
I hope that you will consider the possibility of doing your own Café with your students. For more posts on Literacy Cafés, and some of the books we used, type in Literacy Café into the search bar on this blog.
The Nonfiction Detectives and I are hosting a Non-Fiction Picture Book Challenge.
My goal has been to kick off the month with the new nonfiction picture
book release titles. As I was going through books that I have found, I added titles from May and June that I had not previously posted. Additionally, I am looking for more July titles. I am quite certain that there are more nonfiction picture books being release than the one I have noted.
The links for the above books will take you directly to the
IndieBound.org book page for purchasing information, unless otherwise
noted. Please note, I do not make anything off these links or profit in
anyway from posting the links. I know that I am still searching for
May releases and will likely do a Part II update. If you know of a
book that should be
included in this list, please include the title and author in the
comments section and I will update the list.
Feel free to link your nonfiction picture book reviews to the Mr. Linky below.
Authors: Jon Scieszka, Dan Gutman, Tim Green, Anne Ursu, Dustin Brown, Jacquelin Woodson, Chris Crutcher, James Brown, Joseph Bruchac, Gordon Korman, Chris Rylander Illustrator: Dan Santat Publisher: Walden Pond Press (July 10, 2012) Pages: 272 Audience: Grades 4 to 8 Source: Copy from the Publisher Sports * Fiction *
Description from Publisher:
A lineman with something to prove
A vendetta against a baseball legend
The rise of a real-life NHL all-star
The luckiest grapefruit in sports history
Open up The Sports Pages, the third volume in the Guys Read Library of Great Reading, and you're in for all of this and more. From fiction to nonfiction, from baseball to mixed martial arts and everything in between, these are ten stories about the rush of victory and the crush of defeat on and off the field. Compiled by kid-lit all-star Jon Scieszka, Guys Read: The Sports Pages is a thrilling collection of brand-new short stories from some of your favorite authors and athletes.
Check out the official book trailer for Guys Read: Funny Business:
My thoughts on the book/series:
Jon Sciezska, former National Ambassador of Young People's Literature, founded Guys Read to "help boys become self-motivated, life-long readers". One of the ways that Sciezska is working to make this mission a reality is by developing a series of books containing a collection of short stories that appeal specifically to boys. Sciezska has pulled together an all-star list of Middle Grade and Young Adult authors to develop stories around a theme. The current book is Guys Read: The Sports Pages. Each of the 10 stories in this collection celebrate or highlight some aspect of sports. I particularly enjoyed Dan Gutman's recollection of the 1986 World Series between the Boston Red Sox and the New York Mets in the story "How I Won the World Series". Probably because I remember watching those exact games. Though I enjoyed many of the stories in this volume, as with the other volumes, there are definitely stories that I have to remind myself that I am not the targeted audience. Some stories will be appreciated way more by a 10 or 12 year old boy than by me, and that is a good thing.
What I have come to love about this series is that I can easily read one of the stories to a group of students as part of book talking the book and know that I will quickly have students (boys and girls) raising their hands to be the first to read a copy of the book. Another aspect of the Guys Read Books is that many boys I know complain about sitting long enough to complete a book. There is a lot competing for their time. However, with a collection of short stories, readers can chose a story that appeals to them. It doesn't have to be the first story either. You can read the stories in order listed or jump around. Additionally, one story can be read easily during a silent reading time at school providing the reader with a sense of accomplishment.
Guys Read: The Giveaway:
To celebrate the release of Guys Read: The Sports Pages, Walden Pond Press will send out a set of all three (3) books in the Guys Read series. This is a great way to increase your classroom or school library with a set of books that are sure to attract readers.
1. Though comments are very much appreciated, please do not enter any
personal information in the comments section (including your email,
website, etc.). If you do enter personal information, your comment will
not be posted.
2. You must complete the entry form to official enter the giveaway.
3. The Contest runs from July 3, 2012 to 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time on July 10th.
4. You must be 13 years or older to participate.
5. If you are selected as the winner, you will be notified by email. If
you do not respond within 48 hours, I will select a new winner.
6. US participants only.
