I’ve had kind of a depressing day. Sometimes the field of education can be so amazing and other days-total Debbie Downers! Makes me want to open a bookstore where every day would be blissful. I (helped:) clean my daughter’s room tonight and she wanted to count our blessings while we cleaned. I believe she was trying to cheer me up-love that empathy gene kicking in here and there.
This minute I’m feeling blessed to have fresh daffodils on my table in a ruby red vase. I’m also feeling blessed that tomorrow is Friday. Woo-hoo!
Story time this week for 1st graders involved two stories that I loved and that connected well together. I love when I can find pairs of picture books that compliment each other.
We read about pets in Stephanie Stuve-Bodeen’s book, A Small Brown Dog with a Wet Pink Nose( 2010)-it’s just fun to say and the kids loved saying it with me as it becomes a refrain in the book. Not every read-aloud fits my style as I ‘m not good with a million different voices. I can do a few but have a hard time switching back and forth but this one worked for me and made the kids giggle and smile…and isn’t that what we are really going for anyway! Amelia really, really wants a dog but her parents keep saying no! She asks every day then turns around and changes the questions on them. She stops asking for a dog and starts asking them questions related to dog care. Oh, it has some fun twists and I greatly enjoyed watching some quick students with their a-ha faces. A-ha faces really light up, another thing we are looking for as teachers as well. This book was a win/win! I had to stop in the middle and explain Amelia’s imaginary dog-but it made for an interesting conversation. Linzie Hunter’s illustrations gave the students much to stare at as they are filled with more than just the story.
I matched it with one of my favorite author’s Margie Palatini’s The Perfect Pet(2003)! Also about a young girl (Elizabeth) who wants a pet, any pet-doesn’t even have to be a dog! She has a variety of techniques to get her parents to say yes to a pet. There’s the element of surprise, catching them off guard, or the full stomach…her parents continue to say no to each and every pet she suggests until she discovers an animal already in the house, ready to be a pet! Hilarious. The illustrations are wonderfully drawn by Bruce Whatley-at first I didn’t like how the parents were drawn-very square looking parents considering their very unique-looking Elizabeth but of course, makes sense-they are anti-pet!! Elizabeth is the true star in this picture book!
This great little book came in my recent order from Titlewave. Great title, great front cover with the sweetest granny on the front!! From the first few lines you are pulled into a little mystery:
“To Drool, it seemed like her parents had been gone for an awfully long time.”
with a perfect illustration of Drool (Drew) gazing down a long and winding road and throughout the rest of the book is Grandma appeasing Drool with fun activities while she misses her parents.
By the end I discovered the “mystery” of the missing parents is a weekend sleepover with Grandma. Upon reflection this little book gives a great look at what it must feel like for a small child to spend an overnight with even a Grandma as lovely as this one; fun but still filled with longing for the missing parents. This will be a perfect book to use for deep thinking…and yummy cooking.
When I explored Aileen’s website I noticed she illustrated another favorite of mine, Bella and Bean(click here for my review of B & B) by Rebecca Kai Dotlich. I also noticed she has an Etsy shop as well. I’m going to explore that a little more as well!
As soon as I got close to Alvin’s field, I strained my ears for Mystery Boy’s violin. All I heard was a distant lawn mower. Even so, I could feel my spirits lifting. p. 71 The Homeschool Liberation League by Lucy Frank.
(2009)
This book is a real treasure. I received it in my last order from Titlewave and the synopsis appealed to me so much I took it home to read it even before Rebecca Stead’s When You Reach Me, which was the one I had been anxious to read. I still look forward to reading the Newberry winner but Any Which Wall was so well-written I’m glad I took a chance on it!
At first, when her mother announded that she’d be spending the summer watching Henry, Emma, and Roy, Susan complained loudly and bitterly, but when she realized that her new best friend, Alexandria, was going to be spending July and August in Chicago, Susan became instantly less miserable at the prospect of babysitting. She didn’t have much else to do, so she dug her bike out from under a pile of garden hose in the garage and dusted it off. (p. 9)
How can you not find great books when you spend 4 days walking around your own book fair. I stand and read even as I talk to parents and students and I stack more books on my desk to buy; some for school and some for home. Luckily, most will stay at school because my daughter’s book case is literally cracking. My son has a huge pile of books in the middle of his room to get rid of because he encountered a mouse family living in his room (oh, this story should really be saved for another post but..) well, the mouse peeked out from his bookshelf two books over from The Tale of Desperaux! So you see why the smallest pile is the one for home.
Back to my book fair finds. First I picked up from the summer reading table, Mick Harte was here (1995) by Barbara Park. A parent reminisced about reading this one in school and how it affected him, so I had to check it out. My favorite lines came just three paragraphs in:
So this isn’t the kind of book where you meet the main character and you get to like him real well and then he dies at the end. I hate those kind of books. And besides I can’t think of anything worse than using my brother’s accident as the tear-jerking climax to some tragic story. I don’t want to make you cry. I just want to tell you about Mick.
What a great opening! Such honesty from a main character I can respect!
For a little while I allowed my inner seven-year-old to roam through The Hidden World of Fairies (Wendy’s Journal) with its maps of Pixie Hollow and glittery stardust wings. So many delicate flaps to peek into as Wendy writes about her discoveries in the land of the fairies.
Next I picked up Confetti Girl (2009)by Diana Lopez-I thought this was going to be all great fun cover with no substance inside but it with a title heading like this: Los amigos mejores son libros-Books are your best friends, I decided to give it a try. I’m on the third chapter already!! Lina Flores’ dad is a bibliophile/English teacher so lots of references to books but he’s hiding behind his books as Lina’s mom died last year. Her best friend, Vanessa, lives right next door and they both seem like very likable characters so I expect to keep reading this through the afternoon as the book fair winds down.
I also read a few chapters of The Princess Plot (2005)by Kirsten Boie and The Girl Who Could Fly(2010) by Victoria Forester. Both of these are more middle school reads so not for my students-how am I going to finish them before I pack up the book fair Monday morning?? What a problem!
I picked this gem up from our fall Scholastic Book Fair and let it sit on a pile forever at home. Spring Break rolled around and I thought to myself…perhaps I should read it before the next book fair is here. Well, our book fair is here and I’ve finished the book. I don’t know why it takes me so long sometimes because this book was so much fun and easy to read. It takes place at a military base school. This isn’t a topic I’ve given a lot of thought to but it makes you stop and ponder the stress level military kids must go through on a daily basis. Parents missing for long stretches, moving frequently and constant activitity on the base and this book deals with all these issues in a very normal manner. Planes fly overhead as kids plan activities around their parents hectic schedules-all part of daily life.
Add in one incredible teacher though and life goes topsy-turvy. Ms. Loupe is an alumni of this particular base and has come back to teach instead of taking her place in the military as the rest of her entire family has done. She’s found her passion though as these kids love her and her magical lessons. I started reading some of it to my sweet husband and his ears perked up “hey, she’s teaching them the important points of improvisation!” He was pretty excited. Then later he gave it as a suggestion for teachers to use in teaching drama. Ms. Loupe is all about the drama and she gets this otherwise bored kids to be exciting about school and learning again. Suddenly kids don’t want to be transferred out!
When Ms. Loupe’s brother disappears in combat the students learn to work together, forming a createve and unique protest, with very positive results!
Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by
Here is my teasers:
A set of shrubs had been planted under the library window. Someone else’s bike tossed on the grass. New planters in front of the door with happy little marigolds dancing in the breeze. Not my house anymore. Not my home. p. 9
from She’s So Dead to Us by Kieren Scott
by Sarah Dessen
(2006)
I do love Sarah Dessen books-they are good for escape and wonderfully easy to read. I would compare them to Jodi Picoult books for the young adults (and not-so-young-adults). Sarah has an amazing grasp on teenagers; what they say and think as her characters come alive for me and I’m reminded of young people I know.
Just Listen is the story of Annabel Green. Annabel stars in a local department store’s commercial as the girl who has everything; popular, cheerleader, prom queen surrounded by a gaggle of friends. Happily her life is not really like this but she doesn’t realize how happy this should make her. She’s struggling in the friend department as she ditched her first great best friend, Clarke to hang with bossy and mean Sophie. Why do girls do this? It happens all the time. I see it even at the fifth grade level, girls choosing to be friends with the trouble-making, snappy girl instead of the on-task, perfectly happy girl. Why?! If they could only look into the future. In a good twist of fate Annabel meets Owen in a moment when she really needs someone real. She’s been getting the cold shoulder from Sophie caused by a major summer rift-a rift caused by major denial on Sophie’s part and Annabel’s deep need to be silent on the matter.
I like Annabel and her family, and I like Clarke but I love Owen. Always in Sarah Dessen books I found one character that I wish I knew and Owen was it for me. Owen isn’t perfect by any means but he is true to himself and a deep and interesting character. Owen’s life is focused on music and Annabel, through Owen, learns to just listen.
There are several plot twists going on that I won’t get into (you should discover them on your own) but one circles around Annabel’s family, specifically the middle sister, Whitney. She was a model as well and has gone to NYC to pursue a career in modeling but winds up battling anorexia instead. I really enjoyed Annabel’s sisters and this side plot about Whitney’s journey is compelling.
Having a cold for the last few weeks has really taken away my ability to get things done, indluding blogging and we’ve been ITBS testing in our building, also throwing off my schedule!
Two weeks ago I got a new order in from Titlewave and I’ve had a great time reading and enjoying all the new books I ordered. I’ve also received three books in the mail this week and I still have two reviews to write from Spring Break!! I’m determined to catch up this weekend.
Here are my top five new books:
1. Redwoods by Jason Chin: This book deserves a page all its own but I already checked the book out to a teacher, who also love, love, loved it! The opening pages of this book show a young boy engaged in reading a book about the Redwood Forest while he’s on a train. We see through the train windows amazing scenery, taking us through the redwoods history (dinosaurs in the background on one page). He enters the forest as he steps off the train steps. It’s magical, really and every library should have a copy. It is picture book format but is nonfiction-it doesn’t matter where I hide this book, kids will find it! It will be the catalyst for many great lesson plans as well! The book sports its own home page as well-which I love and plan to show to students as soon as I can get the book back! I found Jason Chin’s journey of creating this book added to my love of this book. I hope Jason will create more nonfiction books like this blurring the lines between fact/fiction! Really-go find this book.
2. A Day without Crayons by Elizabeth Rusch; illustrated by Chad Cameron: Liza is happily coloring away in her room when she runs out of places to color; her coloring books are filled and her blank paper is all full so (naturally) she begins a mural on the big open wall in her room! Great idea until Mom comes in the room and tells her (aarrgh!)no more crayons for today. This is crushing news until she discovers colors outside adding a new dimension to her artisitic nature. Liza is beautifully impish in the drawings created by Cameron.
3. Twelve Terrible Things by Marty Kelley: This book reminds me of a classic favorite-The monster at the end of this book starring the very lovable Grover. It begins like this: “Please read this: I’m warning you. If you turn the page, you are going to see some terrible things. This book is full of them. Didn’t you read the title?” Once you turn the page…and you know you will, you will find big bright illustrations with 12 very funny things!! I’m not even going to tell you what any of them are just so you can be fully amused all on your own! Kids will love this and I plan to introduce it this week! Marty Kelley’s blog.
4. Henry and the Crazed Chicken Pirates by Carolyn Crimi; illustrated by John Manders: Continuing Henry’s book adventures from Henry and the Buccanner Bunnies. I loved the first one and the second is a pretty good follow-up. Henry gets a threatening note in a bottle and his natural reaction is to get prepared for the impending attack! Again, it is book-reading and lots of thinking and writing that keep Henry (and the rest of the crew) safe.
5. Firefighter Ted by Andrea Beaty (of 3 Silly Chicks fame) and Pascal Lemaitre: Remember Doctor Ted? This time Ted wakes up and smells smoke, can’t find a firefighter so he becomes one. This book has some twisted fun humor in it and I love Ted’s willingness to help everyone! The science fair is a hilarious addition-you don’t hear much about science fairs anymore. Peaceful girl and I got a kick out of the Principal Bigham’s last name-Big Ham-he’s a large boar! P.Girl’s quote upon finishing the book “I just love all Ted’s books!” We’re ready for Artist Ted (see last page for explanation). “No need to thank me” replied Firefighter Ted.
