Recently, I was asked to think of some of my favorite books on change. I immediately thought about all of the Middle Grade and Young Adult novels that I read and how for the most part change is discussed in the terms of "coming of age or growing up. This got me thinking and I decided to do a short survey to see what are your favorite coming of age novels. Based on the responses, I will do a follow up post on the topic. Thank you in advance for sharing your favorite titles.
Book Review: Diary of a Worm: Teacher's Pet
by Lori Haskins Houran, & pictures by John Nez
Publisher: HarperCollins (June 25, 2013)
Source: Purchased Copy
Keywords: Fiction,
Description from Publisher's Page:
Children already know and love Worm from the hilarious bestselling picture book by Doreen Cronin and Harry Bliss. Worm is all about having fun, respecting the earth, and never taking baths. Now he’s the star of a series of I Can Read books with full-color illustrations.
In Diary of a Worm: Teacher's Pet, Worm makes a surprising discovery—teachers have birthdays! That means Worm and his friends have to find the perfect present for their teacher, Mrs. Mulch.
Diary of a Worm: Teacher's Pet is a Level One I Can Read book, which means it is perfect for kids learning to sound out words and sentences.
My thoughts on this book:
Since I am a fan of Doreen Cronin's Diary of a Worm, I was interested in seeing the transition from picture book to early reader. Similar to the original version, this early reader follows the same diary format. When I went back to look at the picture book in comparison to the early reader, I was surprised by how similar the two (picture book and early reader) were. Lori Haskins Houran and John Nez have done a nice job in maintaining the same look, and story feel as the picture book series created by Doreen Cronin and Harry Bliss.
Diary of a Worm: Teacher's Pet is part of HarperCollins' I Can Read Early Reader Series. I was curious to know how the reading levels for the I Can Read books were established. HarperCollins has set up a website for parents and teachers, which provides information and activities. On the Educators tab, teachers can find out information about reading levels. According to the site, Diary of a Worm: Teacher's Pet is labeled a Level 1: Beginning Reading. See below for what that means...
Now back to Diary of a Worm: Teacher's Pet. When Mrs. Mulch is out of school to celebrate her birthday, the class decides to hold a birthday party for when she returns. Worm feels like everyone has ideas for birthday gifts, but what should he give. His family and friends try to generate a list of gifts. Of course Spider's suggestion of a slippers won't work for a worm, and maybe the dung ball suggestion from Fly would be better appreciated by another fly. However, with the help of Fly and Spider, Worm finds the best birthday gift ever for his teacher.
Early readers who became friends with Worm, Fly, and Spider through Cronin's picture books will enjoy a chance to continue the friendship while learning to read. This one gets a thumbs up from me. I will be looking for more stories with this trio.
Nonfiction Picture Book Wednesday - The Boy Who Loved Math: The Improbable Life of Paul Erdos
Illustrator: LeUyen Pham
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press (June 25, 2013)
Source: Purchased
Audience: Grades 2-4
Keywords: Biography, Mathematician, Nonfiction
Description from GoodReads:
Most people think of mathematicians as solitary, working away in isolation. And, it's true, many of them do. But Paul Erdos never followed the usual path. At the age of four, he could ask you when you were born and then calculate the number of seconds you had been alive in his head. But he didn't learn to butter his own bread until he turned twenty. Instead, he traveled around the world, from one mathematician to the next, collaborating on an astonishing number of publications. With a simple, lyrical text and richly layered illustrations, this is a beautiful introduction to the world of math and a fascinating look at the unique character traits that made "Uncle Paul" a great man.
My thoughts on this book:
Rather than a numbers person, I have considered myself more of a word person. Hence, I do not spend a ton of time reading math biographies. However, this was one I definitely wanted to read. Heiligman knocks it out of the park with this picture book biography about Paul Erdos.
Paul Erdos was born in Budapest, Hungary in 1913. He grew up with parents who supported and encouraged his fascination and love of numbers. His mother was a math teacher and when she returned to work Paul was left with a nanny. When Paul rebelled at school against the rules, his mother kept in at home. With both his mother and nanny available to take care of all of his needs, Paul continued to grow in his understanding and love of numbers.
When Erdos grew up, he lived a very nomadic life staying with friends and other mathematicians in order to continue learning about numbers and sharing that knowledge with others. Erdos may not have been the best guest and did not always pay attention to simple social rules, but he was brilliant and well loved to the point of being referred to as "Uncle Paul".
Erdos was very singular in his purpose in life, and utilized his skills to connect mathematicians together to create "better math". At the end of his life, Erdos passed away while at a math meeting.
Heiligman and Pham within the limited number of pages of a picture book captured the essence of Paul Erdos' life. Heiligman's author's note provides much more detail including information about Erdos' father and other bits about his personality and behavior. Erdos was a true genius, with a very singular passion that he generously shared with others.
Along with Heiligman's storytelling, Pham uses numbers prominently in the illustrations. There are three pages at the end of the book where Pham shares her very intentional way of incorporating math and math symbols and math concepts into her art. Both Heiligman's and Pham's notes should certainly not be overlooked because part of the brilliance of this story lies within those four pages.
If your school or local library does not have a copy of this book, think about picking up a copy and donating it to the library of your choice. Educators interested in more about Paul Erdos might want to check out this post by Deborah Heiligman which includes many wonderful links and resources.
Don't forget to link up your nonfiction reviews:
Slice of Life - Learning to Say No
Every Tuesday, Ruth and Stacey, host Slice of Life at their blog, Two Writing Teachers. This is my first time participating in Slice of Life, and I am hoping to make it a regular feature.
My summer plans looked something like this - a pile of books, lots of time to read, and six weeks of time to myself. As an introvert, I was really looking forward to down time. However, I am three weeks into my summer and life is looking nothing like I had imagined. Yes, the pile of books is still glaring at me but I haven't made as big of a dent in it as I hoped. Also, it seems that my goals to relax and reflect and consider where I want to go in the future are quickly being crowded out by other demands. One of those demands includes two on-line courses I did not expect to be taking.
Another challenge, my saying "yes" when maybe I should say "no". When I am saying "yes", it is often for good things. Work will ask me to pick up an extra project that they really need me to work on or my sister thinks that when I say I want to just hang out and do nothing, I must really mean that I want her to plan out activities for us when I am visiting my family.
A friend asked me recently, why I am afraid to say "no". In part, I want to be there for family, friends, or work. If I could do something, shouldn't I? From another perspective, I don't want to disappoint those that I care about. However, when I snapped at my sister today, I wasn't being there for her and I certainly disappointed her.
Today was the perfect storm. Assignments were due for class, my sister showed up to hang out, and I had too many things to do. And this was supposedly my vacation. Big fail on my part.
My assignments did get turned in. I did find a way to spend time with my sister and aunt, and I am crossing things off my "to do list". However, what was the cost to me and others? When I snapped at my sister, I certainly didn't feel good, and I know she didn't feel good. Sure, she now has a better idea that when I say I really just want to do nothing, I mean nothing. Yet, I really envisioned that conversation happening differently, and not like we were teenagers again.
There are three weeks left of my summer vacation. I cannot change my commitment to the two classes but I can plan out differently how I work on my assignments. I have four more days left with my family and I will find a way to apologize to my sister, while hoping to help her understand that when I say something I mean it. And I am going to find polite ways to turn down any extra requests that are made on my time. I am also going to find a way to build in some space into my schedule. Just because the calendar does not show an appointment or a commitment does not mean that I should fill it in with one.
And if anyone is looking for me, I am currently off with a glass of iced tea, a book, and a "do not disturb" sign.
July Kindle Fire HD Giveaway
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Inspired by Kathy at I am a Reader