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Halloween List

I read quite a few Halloween books over the last few weeks and I fell in love with a few. While it is after Halloween I share them with you so you will be prepared for next year.

Last night Peaceful girl and I read Hush, Baby Ghostling (2009) by Andrea Beaty and Pascal Lemaitre. This writing team is also responsible for the great Doctor Ted and Firefighter Ted. We really liked the coziness of Hush, Baby Ghostling and little girl loved comparing ghostling’s life to hers. “Ahh, he’s going to bed during the day.” “Ohhh, he likes the lights all out-not one bit of light.” It was cool to listen to her figure out ghost mama loves her baby too! 4/5 peaceful stars

One of my favorites this year is Boris and Bella (2004) by Carolyn Crimi and Cris Grimly. I read this to Peaceful girl, because it is about a messy monster (like her) and Peaceful husband, because it’s a sweet love story! Boris is neat and tidy and Bella, quite messy and they, of course, don’t like each other! When each decide to have a Halloween party they are sadly disappointed when they find out everyone is heading to Harry Beastie’s party instead. They can’t resist and end up there themselves-the rest is monster history! If this book is ever made into a feature length film I vote for Helena Bonham Carter to play Bella!! 5/5 peaceful stars

I actually read Anne Rockwell’s (2001)Pumpkin Day, Pumpkin Night a lot in the last few weeks. It demonstrates how a fiction book, with imaginary characters, can give us true information. This book does a great job of showing students the whole pumpkin to jack-o-lantern experience. Not all students get to design, scoop out slimy pumpkin guts, and create a glowing pumpkin face-this book does just that. I am a big fan of Anne Rockwell’s books.

The Perfect Pumpkin Pie (2005) by Denys Cazet is a rollicking fun time of a read with any grade. The detailed illustrations lend a creepy atmosphere and the refrain will have kids “reading” with you. It goes like this:

“Pumpkins, pumpkins, pumpkin pie! I must have one before I die. It must be round and brown as toast, or I’ll haunt this house a hungry ghost. It must be perfect, or a ghost I’ll stay, and haunt this house and never, ever go awaaaaaaay!” said by the creepy and dead Mr. Wilkerson.

Pumpkin Circle-great nonfiction read-aloud as well! What were your favorite Halloween books this year?

Teaser Tuesday

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

Grab your current read
Open to a random page
Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Here is my teaser:

“We walk amongst the trees as we continue along the outskirts of this village. The burnt smell is not fresh, but days old. Some of the buildings have no roofs.” p. 95, of Marge Pellegrino’s Journey of Dreams

Okay, I couldn’t resist that third sentence-it was so descriptive and matches up with teaser #1 And teaser #2. Politics and Prose synopsis.

Every day blogging…

I’ve decided to try a writing experiment! I know this has been done by others en masse but on my own I just want to try and blog every day through November. It’s a grateful month-and I’m grateful to my blog for the joy it brings me so I am going to give it more attention. I blogged yesterday about Abigail Iris, the one and only and today I am just putting my challenge in writing.

I did read this fantastic book (Our children can soar; a celebration of Rosa, Barack, and the Pioneers of Change) over the weekend and plan to share it with 5th grade this week. This book takes us on a journey from the beginning illustration of slavery and the Civil War, George Washington Carver and ends with Barack Obama’s historic campaign for the presidency. On one hand this book captures the hope and spirit of not only that campaign but our history of change (slow, yes) but through its simple statements it shows how our previous knowledge helps us understand the world around us. If one were to read the book and not know who George, Jessie, Hattie or Ella were the story would not make as great impression. It is all this background knowledge we need to get to our students before they can understand other books like A Friendship for today, Chains, The Watson’s go to Birmingham, or Elijah of Buxton. This book would make a great introduction for many lessons on U.S. History but will make a perfect example of understanding schema for fifth grade students. I love it when a great book like this comes along, which makes it easy to explain a monumental point to students.

Of course, I can’t really finish talking about this amazing book without mentioning the beautiful illustrations created by 13 different illustrators! They are Caldecott- worthy; simple yet meaningful.

Marian Wright Edelman writes a glowing forward to show the giant leaps this book demonstrates! She says “African American history is the collective story of many, many people who never gave up and never turned around, but instead always quietly took that next step forward in faith so their children would be able to go even farther and have better lives.”

Highly Recommended 5/5 stars

Abigail Iris

Abigail Iris; The one and only by Lisa Glatt and Suzanne Greenberg and illustrated by Joy Allen is a very well-written elementary chapter book for the 3rd and 4th grade student. It tells the story of one sweet Abigail Iris who really loves her family (she is “one of many”); she is a little jealous of her “only” friends. Abigail Iris has an older stepbrother and shares a bedroom with her older sister while her three friends are all sibling-free. “Onlies” get expensive shoes like Heelies, new clothes and exciting Spring Break vacations. Genevieve invites Abigail Iris to join her family on a trip to San Francisco! The drive to San Francisco, the stay at the Francis Drake Hotel and the adventures they have in-between show Abigail Iris why being “one of many” has it’s bonus moments as well. This book is wonderful teaching tool without being overly didactic. Peaceful girl and I read this book at bedtime and it created alot of great conversation about families, finances and traveling. The illustrations are whimsical and very much add to this perfect little chapter book. 5/5 stars
Find Lisa Glatt’s website here, Suzanne Greenberg’s site here, and Joy Allen’s creative site here!
Other great posts about Abigail Iris from Kiss the Book,
Semicolon, and Booktopia.

Happy Halloween!!

Lauren Child's poodle thoughts

I love Lauren Child’s work. I fell in love with Charlie and Lola when my daughter started watching the series on tv. I think her collage artwork is stunning. So really, I am a huge fan so I was ultra-disappointed when peaceful girl and I settled in to read her latest, Who wants to be a poodle-I don’t!! The front cover definetely drew us in but right in the first few pages we were thrown. Peaceful girl is working very hard to be a reader and it has been her practice of late to read the first few pages of our bedtime books. She had just recently read me a Charlie and Lola book and she felt confident she could read this one. Her little face fell on the very first page of print though as it is written in fancy cursive script and she said so “can’t read that”! Well, we got past that as I pointed out printed sentences she could handle and we did read it together, but it was a struggle. The story line is wonderfully imaginative-really, a poodle who wants to be more daring, what a fabulous idea!! This time though her artwork goes over the top and makes it difficult to find and read the words. Peaceful girl still liked the book and for all Lauren Child’s fans you will also. For an elementary library though I would rate it 3 out of 5 just because students will have difficulty reading it on their own and it won’t make an easy read-aloud for teachers. More accomplished readers will find it fun and challenging.

Synopsis: Trixie Twinkle Toes lives in the lap of luxury, with every creature comfort a manicured paw away. Adored by the glamorous Mademoiselle Bruleé, the little poodle has a maid to plump her pillows and a cook to prepare her nibbles. But Trixie isn’t happy. She doesn’t like the puffing and poofing and preening. She doesn’t like being dressed in little pink ponchos. She wants to be dazzlingly dangerous and daring. She wants to step in puddles! With a witty text that scampers across the pages and hilarious mixed-media illustrations, Lauren Child offers a one-ofa-kind treat — sure to entice both spirited little readers and deeply devoted dog-lovers alike.

Lauren Child’s website-click here!

Picnic_Basket requests

It’s perfectly normal by Robie H. Harris and Michael Emberley celebrates 15 years in print with an updated version for the 21st Century! It takes me back to my Free to be you and me w/ Marlo Thomas! I love the pictures created by Michael Emberley and the text is very easy-to-read as well as fun. This is the perfect informational text/tool for parents to share with children when that time comes to have “that” important chat. This book could make this “chat” easy!! Shared together, parts of it would be appropriate for even young children. Other parts might be better left to when they are about to experience some of those wonderful changes. Here is a quote from the beginning:

“Sometime between the ages of eight or nine and fifteen or so, kids’ bodies
begin to change and grow into adult bodies. [insert cute cartoon picture
of bird and bee] Most kids wonder about and have lots of questions about what
will be happening to them as their bodies change and grow during this
time. It is perfectly normal for kids to be curious about and want to know
about their changing and growing bodies.” [p. 9, It’s perfectly normal]

Notice the repeated use of change and grow…and every page after demonstrates really succinctly exactly how bodies will…yes, you know it…change and grow. The bird and the bee help us understand little points along the way in a fun cartoon way while other illustrations show realistic people of all types.

Trust me, this is the bookyou will want in your hand before, during and after that “chat”! While it is not appropriate for an elementary library it is very appropriate for high school, middle school and on your shelf at home!

Robie H. Harris’ website is clickable here.

Michael Emberley’s site is here-this illustrator does an amazing job with body parts!!:)

Teaser Tuesday-Dying to meet you

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading.
Anyone can play along!
Just do the following:
Grab your current read
Open to a random page
Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Here is my teaser:

“It is one thing to provide summer babysitting services for an abandoned
child. It is quite another to do so for a child who suffers from
hallucinations and/or is a shameless liar.” p. 55 Dying to meet you by Kate
Klise

***brand new just-out-of-the-box chapter book!!!

A little late-blooming romance!

I just finished Julie and Romeo by Jeanne Ray (2000) and it was charming! I picked it randomly off our public library shelf, I was looking for something light to read and this was perfect! Julie is in her sixties and alone, attending a small business seminar when she runs into her family’s arch-enemy, Romeo Cacciamani and after striking up a small conversation-they go for coffee. She doesn’t know why she chooses to do this after years of hearing the horrors of his family but she does. An interesting chain of events occurs as Julie and Romeo fall in love, yep, all from a cup of coffee, that’s just how it happens!! I love Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet and this is a sweet adaptation~I really enjoyed the characters and the story line was very believable. I loved the couple’s dates at CVS and later, Julie’s ex-husband, Mort throwing a pot at Romeo in the flower shop!! I will read more from this author and I found out from my friend, Tina that Ray’s daughter is Ann Patchett, of Bel Canto fame! Find more information and a list of Jeanne Ray’s books here.

Listening Library

Andrew Clements is a prolific writer. It seems like he puts out a new book every year and they are always winning state awards. I read Frindle years ago, loved it and recommend it and all his others to many classroom teachers as great read-alouds but I had not kept up with any of his books myself. His books are constantly checked out by students as well so I never felt like I had to work hard at recommending them. Realistic fiction is not my first choice to read and school stories are like what I live everyday so I hadn’t bothered.
Last week when I was browsing quietly at the public library I stopped to look at books on CD and the one that called my name was No Talking! by Mr Clements himself. I put all three CD’s into the Volvo’s player before I backed out and by the time I was home I was enjoying myself. Keith Nobbs does a good job of portraying both male and female’s, young and old. It’s an interesting story. A fifth grade boy, Dave Packer is reading information about Ghandi for a report. Dave is intrigued by Ghandi’s use of silent meditation and Dave decides to give it a try for just one day. In that first day he listens to another classmate, Lynsey, babble on and on and he yells at her (un-Ghandi-like but he is in fifth grade after all). Competitive by nature, both agree to a challenge, thinking the other will automatically lose! What follows is a look into what happens when students step out of their norm and how much learning can occur at school beyond the general subjects. The students surprise themselves!!
Highly recommended for 3rd-5th grade. I loved the references to Ghandi and thought it could lead to good discussion about him and what he stood for!!
This was very enjoyable to listen and I plan on catching up on all my A. Clements school stories by listening in my car.
Click here for Andrew Clement’s website.