Common Core IRL: In Real Libraries - Volcanoes

Periodically, Nonfiction Picture Book Wednesday will take a back seat for another kind of nonfiction book post.  In May, Great Kid Books, 100 Scope Notes, & The Nonfiction Detectives and I introduced readers to a new feature we called Common Core IRL: In Real Libraries.  Each segment will explore nonfiction texts around a particular topic. 

Today's topic is volcanoes!  Don't forget to check out the other posts as part of this series. 

     * Louise Capizzo, children’s librarian & Cathy Potter, school librarian: The Nonfiction Detectives
     * Mary Ann Scheuer, school librarian: Great Kid Books

Check out the following Early Readers Volcanoes for 1st to 3rd grade:


Danger! Volcanoes (SeeMore Readers Level 2) - Seymour Simon
Publisher: StarWalk Kids Media (February 1, 2011 - original publication date: March 1, 2001)
ISBN: 978-0439467827
Read Aloud Level: 1st-3rd grade
Independent Reading Level: 2nd to 4th grade
Source: Purchased; Personal Copy

My thoughts on this book:
For those familiar with Seymour Simon's Smithsonian Collins Series of books, you will recognize the style of text and photographs in this Level 2 reader.  Simon is strong at pairing up information with amazing photographs.  Key vocabulary is highlighted but still require children to look up the definitions or for teachers to create a list of vocabulary with definitions for students to reference.

This is a no frills reader.  You won't find fancy info-graphics or other features.  There is a link for readers to download "trading cards" about various volcanoes. Simon's website has a significant number of resources to check out and additional teacher guides. Thanks to the photographs and straight-forward text, this Level 2 reader can be used with a wide range of students at a variety of grade levels. 


Volcanoes! (National Geographic Kids Readers Level 2) - Elizabeth Carney; Photographs by: various
Publisher: National Geographic Children's Books (July 8, 2008)
ISBN: 978-1426302851
Read Aloud Level: 1st to 3rd grade
Independent Reading Level: High 1st grade to High 3rd grade
Source: Purchased; Personal Copy

My thoughts on this book:
Volcanoes! National Geographic Readers Level 2 combines readable text with joke-like questions and answers (Q: What did the volcano eat for lunch? A: Ashed Potatoes), key vocabulary, and hot facts.  There is nothing boring about a National Geographic Reader, and if anything, I find that these books are really a bit more than your standard early reader.

As an educator, I appreciate the obvious effort that National Geographic invests in their early reader series.  Not every child is drawn to informational text; however, with a reader like Volcanoes! there is certainly something for every student.  For an initial read through, children can simply read the text.  With additional readings, students can check out the jokes, or the hot facts scattered throughout the pages.  There are also vibrant illustrations, interesting graphics, and a few fun pages such as "Postcards from the Ring". 

Despite the amount of information packed into 32 pages, there was obvious intention to the design of the book. Volcanoes! can be an informational read aloud, or an independent read for children in 2nd and 3rd grade.  However, teachers of older readers who may struggle with informational text or those who work with English Language Learners who benefit from visuals and definitions to key vocabulary will also find these books to be a valuable resource.

Common Core Standards Associated with Texts listed above:

Integration of Knowledge and Ideas:

First:
Second:
Range of Reading and Level of Text Complexity:

First Grade:

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.1.10 With prompting and support, read informational texts appropriately complex for grade 1.

Second Grade:

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.2.10 By the end of year, read and comprehend informational texts, including history/social studies, science, and technical texts, in the grades 2–3 text complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range.

Key Idea and Details

First Grade:

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.1.9 Identify basic similarities in and differences between two texts on the same topic (e.g., in illustrations, descriptions, or procedures).

Second Grade:

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.2.3 Describe the connection between a series of historical events, scientific ideas or concepts, or steps in technical procedures in a text.
   
For my regular Nonfiction Picture Book Wednesday readers, you call still link up your nonfiction review and let us know in the comment section what you think of Common Core IRL.  

It's Monday! What are you reading? From Picture Books to YA - 8/12/13



It's Monday! What are you reading? is hosted by Sheila of Book Journey. Jen from Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee from Unleashing Readers have adapted it to focus on Picture Books to Young Adult Books.

This was a very slow reading week due to it being an extremely busy week getting ready for students to arrive in a couple of days.  I hope to pick up my reading once things settle in with the new school year.  Despite it being a slow week, here are some fun titles to check out.


Knit Your Bit: A World War I Story by Deborah Hopkinson; Illustrated by Steven Guarnaccia (Putnam Juvenile, February 21, 2013)- A historical fiction story about the adults and children who knitted to help support the soldiers away at war during WWI. 


Whoever You Are by Mem Fox; Illustrated by Leslie Staub (HMH Books for Young Readers, 2006) - Mem Fox celebrates diversity with its similarities and differences in this picture book.


The Case of the Missing Donut by Alison McGhee; Illustrated by Isabel Roxas (Dial, July 25, 2013) - Simply a fun read aloud for younger students.


Volcano! by Ellen J. Prager (National Geographic Kids, 2001) - An interesting mix of cartoon mixed in with actual photographs.  Lots of good information about volcanoes for 2nd to 4th graders.


Rufus Goes to School by Kim T. Griswell; Illustrated by Valeri Gorbachev (Sterling Children's Books, August 6, 2013) - This was probably one of my favorite books and I can't wait to share it with kindergarteners this week.

"Every day, Rufus Leroy Williams III turned the pages of his favorite book. He looked at every picture. He made up stories to go with them. But he could not read the words. Rufus knew just what to do. He would go to school and learn to read." - Griswell (Rufus Goes to School)

So, what are you reading?

August 10 for 10 Picture Book Post: My Top Ten Favorite Wordless Picture Books that Require a Second or Third Read


Today is August 10th and  Mandy Robek from Enjoy and Embrace Learning and Cathy Mere from Reflect and Refine: Building a Learning Community are hosting the August's Picture Book 10 for 10 event.

I am celebrating this year by sharing my top ten wordless picture books that require a second and maybe even a third read.  Each of these books are beautifully illustrated and complex in a unique way that invite readers in to have a closer look.  What I love about wordless picture books is that you can often use them with any grade level.  Wordless picture books can inspire a reader's imagination or encourage a child to write in a way he has never written before or allow a child to find her own storytelling voice.  

Here are the 10 I can't live without and think need to be in everyone's libraries.  I have listed the books in no particular order. Enjoy!


The Umbrella by Ingrid Schubert; Dieter Schubert (Lemniscaat, 2011)


The Boy and the Airplane by Mark Pett (Simon & Schuster, 2013)


Unspoken: A Story from the Underground Railroad by Henry Cole (Scholastic, 2012)


The Hero of Little Street by Gregory Rogers (Roaring Brook, 2012)


Zoom by Istvan Banyai (Puffin, 1998)


The Conductor by Laetitia Devernay (Chronicle Books, 2011)


Rainstorm by Barbara Lehman (Houghton Mifflin Books, 2007)


The Chicken Thief by Béatrice Rodriguez (Gecko Press, 2009)


Shadow by Suzy Lee (Chronicle Books, 2010)


The Secret Box by Barbara Lehman (Houghton Mifflin Books, 2011)

Virtual Blog Tour & Interview with Elisa Kleven


Today author & illustrator, Elisa Kleven stops by as part of her Virtual Blog Tour for Glasswings.


Hi Elisa – Thank you for agreeing to answer a few questions. (Thank YOU!!!) I am excited to be a part of your virtual blog tour for Glasswings. It is a beautiful story both in text and illustrations. (thanks again!)

In looking at your website, you have a significant number of books that you have written and illustrated, but also quite a few books that you have illustrated for other writers. Can you share a little about the process you go through when writing and illustrating a book? 

If I'm illustrating my own story, I first need to generate a text of course. I have a pretty circuitous way of writing stories. Beginning with the seed of an idea, which is often based on a visual image or a memory, I start to write down thoughts about the image, which, if I'm lucky, cohere and build and grow together become a story. Often I think of multiple scenarios and possible endings for the same story. Sometimes I get stuck and have to put the text away in my drawer for awhile, where it can rest and "gestate" for awhile. If I'm illustrating another author's text, the process is much more straightforward. I read the story many times to get a feel for the characters, mood and setting, and then I begin sketching pictures which illustrate and, I hope, illuminate salient images from the story.

Do you have particular authors or illustrators that you credit as influencing your work or motivating you to become an author/illustrator? 

So many. The great picture book collage masters , Leo Lionni, Ezra Jack Keats, and Eric Carle have all influenced me. I remember seeing THE SNOWY DAY when I was young and thinking that the way I cut out and recycled scraps of this and that --used wrapping paper, pictures from catalogs, lace and ribbons, etc. to create my handmade dollhouse worlds was (granted, a much less sophisticated) version of Keats' use of collage. The comparison was validating: here was a grownup artist, making beautiful art with the same kinds of materials I loved to play around with.

What prompted you to write a book about glasswing butterflies? Have you always been interested in butterflies?

I have always loved butterflies. They are like otherworldly fairies, and yet so vital to maintaining healthy plants and flowers.  I love this combination of down-to-earth industriousness and exquisite, ethereal beauty, and tried to highlight it in my story.

What was the funniest thing a child has ever asked you in a letter/email/school visit?

"Do you talk to your toys still? " (No, but I talk through my somewhat toy-like book characters.) And, this may not be that funny but I found it moving: "I love the way you draw fairies, crocodiles, dogs, Paper dolls and elephants. Your stories are juicy and descriptive , they give me feelings."


If you could claim credit for another children’s book (as the writer or illustrator) which book would it be? 

THE HUNDRED DRESSES, by Eleanor Estes, TUCK EVERLASTING, by Natalie Babbitt, CHARLOTTE'S WEB, by E.B. White, MR. RABBIT AND THE LOVELY PRESENT, by Charlotte Zolotow and Sendak, and hundreds of others!

Can you share about any new projects that you are working on? 

I'm working on a few different stories right now…one stars a chimp, another a bear, another a baked good, and another my Grandma Eva Art , who was an artist from Ukraine.

Where do you like the write/draw? Do you have any special routines when you are creating? (e.g., listening to music, a special beverage, etc) 

I like to write while sitting on my bed (which is near a big window with a view trees, houses, and San Francisco Bay), or at the computer in our home library. And I like to make art in my studio, which is in my back yard. I can't listen to music when I'm thinking of a story, but I love to listen while I'm making illustrations. In the morning my special beverage is strong coffee, and in the late afternoon, a dainty, ladylike glass of wine (but not till late afternoon, mind you! ☺)

Since it is summer, do you have any favorite road trip or beach books that you can recommend? 

I've been reading EAST OF EDEN and loving it. And I've just started THE ZOOKEEPER'S WIFE, a fascinating story based on a true story about the Warsaw Zoo during World War Two.

Can you share a picture of your TBR pile?


This is just one of many of such piles.

Don't forget to look for a copy of Glasswings by Elisa Kleven a local indie bookstore or public library.  Click here to purchase a copy on IndieBooks.org

Nonfiction Picture Book Wednesday - August 2013 Releases


As part of the Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge, I try to give a heads up on new releases for the month.  Here are several releases coming out this month.

August 1, 2012


Ancient Animals: Terror Bird by Sarah L. Thomson (Charlesbridge Publishing)


No Monkeys, No Chocolate by Melissa Stewart and Allen Young; Illustrated by Nicole Wong (Charlesbridge Publishing)


Sir Cumference and the Off-the-Charts Desserts by Cindy Neuschwander (Charlesbridge Publishing)


Volcano Rising by Elizabeth Rusch (Charlesbridge Publishing)

August 6, 2013


My Daddy, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. by Martin Luther King, Jr.; Illustrated by A.G. Ford (Amistad)

August 27, 2013


Henri's Scissors by Jeanette Winter (Beach Lane Books)


Let's Go Nuts: Seeds We Eat by April Pulley Sayre (Beach Lane Books)

Looks like some great books coming out this month.  I am looking forward to reading and reviewing several of these books.  And don't forget to link up your nonfiction reviews.