Celebrate This Week - 4/5/14

This year, I am trying to increase my awareness of the many good things that happen, which are frequently overlooked by me.  To help me, I am joining Ruth Ayres' Celebrate This Week.

Here's what I am thankful for this week...

1.  District Professional Development Presentations - I presented on two different topics this past Monday at our Professional Development training.   Both presentations went well, and I was very appreciative of Cathy Potter and Cynthia Alaniz for taking time out of their busy schedules to skype in.

2.  My work with First Graders - I was excited to continue my work with first graders on comprehension and writing. Even in just one week, we have made progress.

3.  Literacy PLC Meeting - On Wednesday of this past week, I led a meeting for whatever principals and teachers could attend on independent reading, classroom libraries, and summer reading.  I was thankful for the support from my Scholastic Book Fair rep who planned and presented with me and who also provided food for the meeting. It was not a large group, but it was certainly a group who was interested in learning and applying what they learned.

4.  Author Visits - On Thursday, we had fun welcoming authors, Rohan Gaven (Knightley & Son) to Jackson School and Shannon Messenger (Keeper of the Lost Cities ) to Marshall Fundamental and San Rafael School.  I love watching how students respond to authors and how excited they become to read the book after meeting an author.

5.  Meeting up with an on-line friend - Over the past 4 years, I have had the opportunity to meet up with a number of my twitter and facebook teacher and librarian friends.  What started out initially as on-line professional encouragement and support has moved to real friendships and working collaboratively on projects and presenting at professional conferences.  Mary Ann Scheuer (Great Kid Books) was visiting the Los Angeles area for spring break.  We had a chance to meet up for dinner and work on our presentation for ALA Annual this June.

6.  Literary Orange - Today, I had a chance to moderate the Young Adult: The Awesome Age Panel, which featured Kendare Blake, Jessica Brody, and Maurene Goo.  The time flew by and everyone seemed to really enjoy themselves.

So, what are you celebrating?

The Pigeon Needs a Bath Giveaway

The Pigeon Needs a Bath

by Mo Willems
Disney Hyperion (April 1, 2014)

Look!!! There is a new Pigeon book out by Mo Willems.  I love Don't Let The Pigeon Drive the Bus, and well all the Pigeon books, and The Pigeon Needs a Bath is just as fun and filled with the same humor we have come to expect from Pigeon and creator Mo Willems.  Check out the book trailer and giveaway below.  One lucky person has a chance to win a copy of the new book and a collection of Pigeon books. 

About the Book & Series: The Pigeon really needs a bath! Except, the Pigeon's not so sure about that. Besides, he took a bath last month! Maybe. It's going to take some serious convincing to try and get the Pigeon to take the plunge.

First in the series, Don’t Let Pigeon Drive the Bus recently celebrated its 10th birthday! Over the last decade, The Pigeon books have sold millions of copies and enchanted young readers. The books have received numerous starred reviews, have appeared on many "best of" lists, and have even been inducted into the Indies Choice Picture Book Hall of Fame.

Check out the official book trailer:

About the Author:
Mo Willems, a number one New York Times best-selling author and illustrator, has been awarded a Caldecott Honor on three occasions (for Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!, Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale, and Knuffle Bunny Too: A Case of Mistaken Identity). Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! was also an inaugural inductee into the Indies Choice Picture Book Hall of Fame. And his celebrated Elephant & Piggie early-reader series has been awarded the Theodor Seuss Geisel Medal on two occasions (for There Is a Bird on Your Head! and Are You Ready to Play Outside?) as well as three Honors (for We Are in a Book!, I Broke My Trunk!, and Let's Go for a Drive!). Other favorites include Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed and City Dog, Country Frog, illustrated by Jon J Muth.  Mo lives in Massachusetts with his family.

Official Site: Pigeon Presents!



Please enter to win a copy of:

The Pigeon Needs a Bath! and “It’s a Busload of Pigeon Books!” collection 

Prizing courtesy of Disney Publishing.  This  giveaway open to US addresses only! Complete the Rafflecopter below to enter to win....

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Nonfiction Picture Book Wednesday - What are you reading?

Thank you everyone for signing up for the Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge 2014.  It is going to be an amazing year of sharing nonfiction books with one another.
_______________________________________________

For the past 32 days, I participated in the Slice of Life March Challenge hosted by Two Writing Teachers. It was a fabulous experience but one that resulted in some of my other routines getting shifted around.  Since I missed a number of What are you reading? posts, I thought I would feature a special edition one that focuses on my nonfiction picture books.

Next week's post will include new releases for April and May.

Here is what I have been reading and enjoying lately...

The Animal Book by Steve Jenkins (HMH Books for Young Readers, October 2013) - Why did it take me so long to find this book and read it? I think this is one of Jenkins best yet.  If you can only buy one of his books, make it this one. Amazing!

How to Make a Planet: A Step-By-Step Guide to Building the Earth by Scott Forbes, Illustrated by Jean Camden (Kids Can Press, March 1, 2014) - There is a lot of fun packed into this slim volume. Humor, and facts and directions for building planet earth. I shared this with a bunch of teachers recently and they loved it too.

Creep and Flutter: The Secret World of Insects and Spiders by Jim Arnosky (Sterling Children's Books, April 2012) - I saw this book over on a post that The Nonfiction Detectives did and wondered why I hadn't read it?!  I quickly corrected that oversight and I love this one, especially the pull out pages.

On Kiki's Reef by Carol Malnor; Illustrated by Trina L. Hunner (Dawn Publication, March 1, 2014) - A narrative story on the life of a sea turtle from hatchling to adult. The illustrations are beautiful and I also enjoyed the facts throughout the book and the end notes and resources.

Aviary Wonders Inc., Spring Catalog and Instruction Manual by Kate Samworth (Clarion Books, March 4, 2014) - Okay, this is technically not nonfiction, but there is some good information in this one. Thanks Carrie Gelson for tipping me off to this book. I simply love it.

Feathers: Not Just for Flying by Melissa Stewart; Illustrated by Sarah S. Brannon (Charlesbridge, February 2014) - I am a huge Melissa Stewart fan and love the way she is writing and creating her books. Text and design work beautifully in this one.

As a result of some of these books, I now want to read:

Sea Turtle Scientist by Stephen R Swinburne (HMH Books for Young Readers, January 2014)

The Case of the Vanishing Golden Frogs by Sandra Markle (Millbrook Press, 2011)

The Case of the Vanishing Honeybees by Sandra Markle (Millbrook Press, 2013)

I know when I begin checking out all of your links there will be dozens more to read as well. Don't forget to link up so that we can see your reviews too.

Slice of Life - Letter of Recommendation

Slice of Life is hosted by Two Writing Teachers on Tuesdays.  After the the March Slice Challenge, I decided to continue weekly with Slice posts.
_____________________________________

Unless you have recently looked for a job or applied for something that required a current letter or letters of recommendation, then you probably have not solicited any new ones. Recently, I had several colleagues ask me to write letters on their behalf. Sometimes these are hard to write, even when I really like the person and think very highly of their work. 

When I write a letter of recommendation, I want it to be clear that I know this person and the words contained on the page need to be meaningful and honest. These words without a doubt should let others know how I feel about this person, and what I think of the quality of their work and their character. 

While talking with a friend, she made a comment that everyone should ask for letters of recommendation on a yearly basis.  Her belief is that reading the letter is beneficial and uplifting to the person receiving it. I truly have to agree with her.

Think about this...When I ask a friend to write a letter of recommendation, I usually trust them to write a positive letter or I would not be asking.  Upon receiving the finished letter, I am eager to see what they wrote? Was it unique or a standard format style used to provide a generic letter? As I read through the letter, I am often pleasantly surprised.  Since many of us tend not to let others know when we think they did a good job, people are sometimes unsure of our true thoughts about them.  A sincere letter is like a window into someone's thoughts and provides us with a new understanding of ourselves.

I love when I start reading and I notice someone has commented positively about an area that I think I am not as strong in. The feeling is amazing if the tone of the letter can be read sincerely.  Often times it is just the pick up boost that I need.  

If you are in need of a bit of a pick-me-up, then update your personal files with a few letters of recommendation.  Not only will your files be ready in case you need them, but you will have just the boost that you need.

Slice of Life - 31 of 31 posts!

Slice of Life is hosted by Two Writing Teachers on Tuesdays.  For the month of March, I am participating in the March Challenge by posting a slice daily.
__________________________________________________

As I was thinking about how to wrap up the March Slice of Life Challenge, I was going through all of the posts that I have written this month.  Wow! I still surprise myself that I actually did it. There were days when I almost gave up and a couple of days were I posted later in the day, but I did it. I posted 31 Slice of Life posts.

Out of curiosity, I wondered which Slice posts resonated the most with other readers. One way of telling was to see how many people stopped by to read each post.  Here were the top five posts:

# 5 - March 8, 2014 - A Splash of Red

#4 - March 23, 2014 - The One Where I Attempt a Poem

Tied for 2nd:
#2 - March 16, 2014 - New Obsession: Caramel Macchiato

#2 - March 25, 2014 - Finding My Writing Voice

#1 - March 21, 2014 - The One Where I Get Personal

From this writing challenge, I developed a better sense of what it must feel like to be a student who struggles to write. I have new insights and hopefully it will make me a better teacher or at least one who is more understanding.

Though I look forward to gaining some time back to devote to reading, I plan to continue with the weekly Slice of Life posts and the Saturday Celebrate This Week Posts. And I do look forward to continuing with this amazing community of writers who have taught me so much and encouraged me on this journey.