Nonfiction Picture Book Wednesday 11.12.15

We know that a big part of the CCSS is to include more informational texts into ourstudents' reading.  I quickly discovered I had a "gap" in my reading diet - the genre of informational texts!  To help me fill the gap this year, I am going to participate in Nonfiction Picture Book Wednesdays!  This is a great link-up hosted by Kid Lit Frenzy.  Please visit this website to see other educator's link-ups.  My goal is to read at least one informational text each week and post information on the blog.  The more books and subjects I read, the more I can encourage (my #OLW for 2014) other teachers to use in their classroom! 

I have posted about the series for early readers, Seedlings, HERE
I really enjoy this series and own many copies in the animals series.  The books are easy to read, have highly engaging photographs, and there is a wide range of animals for everyone to find something they like.  In February and March 2015 there are even more books being published.  More animals books, but even books about different forms of transportation - bullet trains anyone?  Most of these books are being republished under the Seedlings series name, and definitely have a new look to them. 

I love having accessible nonfiction texts that young children can get excited about!

I was thrilled to find during a recent trip to my public library, a new insect series, published by Bullfrog Books.  This series, like the Seedlings series, has highly engaging photos, accessible texts, but also includes nonfiction text features, such as labels, cutaways, index, and picture glossary.  I look forward to reading more in this series!

      

Another series I have found is the "Scholastic Discover More" series.  This series is written on a variety of levels, but they all share similar layouts and text features.  Each book has eye appealing photographs and text features such as graphs, captions, cutaways, headings, glossary and index.  A great book for the primary reader is Dolphins.  There are many other animal books in the series and they all range in different readability levels.  The series includes a variety of topics, covering different science and social studies themes.  Two other books in the primary level include Planets by Gail Tuchman and Where in the World? by Laaren Brown.

     

SoLSC Those Nerdy posts got it right! 11.11.14

 

Slice of Life is a weekly event hosted by Two Writing Teachers.

I was very moved by the Nerdy posts the last two days.

Adam Shaffer wrote this post about why he reads kids books.  Wow.  I could relate.  Anybody that is a card-carrying member of NBC knows "the look" you get when you explain what you're reading.  Most people that know me are used to my habits.  It makes me sad when I talk to fellow educators and they express how they don't have time for reading.  I wish I could explain the joy it brings me when I find "that" book.  You know, the one that sucks you in. The one that you want to talk about for days and days.  Adam also brings up in his post the topic of adult reads and kid lit.  I still read adult books.  Not nearly as often.  And rarely am I so engrossed in it do I not want to put it down.  Usually I'm thinking, that while it's good, it's taking too long to wrap up.  A good kid lit book is so sharp, so quick, so precise, you never feel that way.

Today, Jonathan Werner wrote here about having that teacher that makes you fall in love with reading.  You know how that is, have you ever heard Donalyn or Mr. Schu book talk a book?  You know how it immediately goes on your TBR list!  If only we all could be that way for our students.  Be so enthusiastic that you reach down into the heart of every student, and reach them where their book loving soul is... make them want that book!  As I've heard Donalyn point out many times, "they read what we bless."  We really need to bless more!

These posts really struck a chord with me.  Whether you read them the last few days or they are new, read them.  Soak the message in.  Then go teach.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading 11.10.14

This weekly post comes from Jen at Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee and Ricki at Unleashing Readers.  It's a great source to find new books to use with your students.

With a back injury comes lots of reading!  Really would have preferred to read these books without the injury....  Here are some standouts.  The others that I read this week are on my Goodreads page.

Picture Books


You Are (Not) Small by Anna Kang
3/5 stars
Cute story - each animal thinks the other is bigger... or smaller than the other.  Until some other animals come!  I would use this for point of view.


Edie's Ensembles by Ashley Spires
4/5 stars
Edie, the fashionista, goes a little overboard with accessorizing and picking out the perfect ensembles.  First she gets lots of attention and popularity, but how quickly that can all change!  Good lesson.  The digital illustrations are beautiful.  I'm pretty sure I've seen some of the dress designs in People magazine before!  Young fashionistas will love this book!


Sebastian and the Balloon by Philip C. Stead
3/5 stars
Cute story, but I thought it was lacking just a bit.  I needed more of a closure.  But the illustrations are beautiful - especially the gorgeous balloon!  The colorful afghans that make up the balloon are amazing.  What does the balloon stand for?  Imagination?  Adventure?  Would be fun to ponder with kids!

Graphic Novels


Benny and Penny in Lost and Found by Geoffrey Hayes
3/5 stars
If you teach 1st or 2nd grade, I think the Benny and Penny series would be perfect for that age level student.  It has a graphic novel format and is longer than a picture book graphic novel and more advanced with the number of frames on each page.  But it has relevant content, whereas the next step up in graphic novels doesn't always have for this age group.


Zita the Spacegirl by Ben Hartke
3/5 stars
I guess I've read too many really good graphic novels lately.  Or maybe this one just didn't speak to me like the others.  My daughter really enjoyed it.  I thought it was good, just not as good as others.  This one seemed to model itself after a more traditional "comic" - more onomatopoeia, more of the story really told through the picture.  I'm interested in seeing who this appeals to at school!

Transitional Chapter Books


Leroy Ninker Saddles Up by Kate DiCamillo
5/5 stars
This book just kept getting pushed off.  I don't know why.  I love Kate DiCamillo's work.  I love the Mercy Watson series.  It took a back injury to get me to finally sit down and read it.  And oh my, how much I loved it.  I love the way the Great Kate can string together words, whether real or slightly invented, and they are just perfect for that part.  It warms my heart.  I hope she has plans to write many more for this series.  I'd really like to see Officer Tomilello again...


Dory Phantasmagory by Abby Hanlon
3/5 stars
The writing was a bit strange.  The plot was thin, at best.  I loved Hanlon's illustrations.  The "bad guy" character reminded me a lot of Viola Swamp.  This book would work great as a read aloud in a 1st or 2nd grade class.  It's a great transitional chapter book for kids in 1st -3rd grades.


The Quirks in Circus Quirkus by Erin Soderberg
4/5 stars
I so love this series.  I think the characters appeal to a wide variety of readers.  The escapades are something little kids will really enjoy reading about.  I love that the author talks to her kids at the dinner table to come up with what will happen to the Quirks kids next.  Maybe that's why these books are so relatable to kids - the ideas came from kids!


The Princess in Black by Shannon and Dean Hale
5/5 stars
Another great transitional chapter book series!  I love the full color photos by LeUyen Pham.  This book reminds me a lot of the Mercy Watson series - great story, accessible text, full color layouts.  Girls will love Princess Magnolia and boys will love her horse/unicorn, Blacky.  And the monsters (which in this first book look a little like the Monsters Inc. monsters!).

Adult Read


Leaving Time by Jodi Picoult
I really appreciate the thoroughness that Picoult puts into her research on the topic she writes about.  This time it was about elephants.  Similar to her book Lone Wolf, you almost feel like the information you are reading about the animals could be from a "Scientists in the Field" book.  I liked the storyline and got into it more and more as the book went on.  As always, there was a huge twist at the end, and this time I really didn't see it coming.

On Deck

I am going to try and quickly get through the Disaster Strikes series.  I think this is a series many of my reading students will like, so I want to read them and get them into their hands.  I also have The Witch's Boy or the third Land of Stories to read next.  I'll give The Witch's Boy a try and if it doesn't capture my attention right away, move on to the next one!

Celebrate This Week 11.08.14

It's always good to end the week on a positive note.  Sometimes we concentrate on the negatives.  We have a choice.  Choose positive.  Choose to celebrate.  I will be joining Ruth Ayres and her weekly link-up, Celebrate This Week.  Check out all the other celebrations HERE

I've heard how quickly life can change.  i found that out this morning.  In the grand scheme of things, it's not a big deal.  It's a back injury.  Just a really really badly pulled? strained? muscle.  It happened this morning at the gym.  It's amazing how fast you can be moving around like always and how fast you can't.  I can hardly move right now and when I do it's very painful.  I'll get better, but it's going to take some time.  I'm just hoping I can move around enough to be at school next week!  
I'm going to celebrate that this injury was not worse than what it could have been.  Not a life changing injury, thank God.  A bump, albeit a painful one, in the road.
And while I couldn't be at work today, I did get a lot of reading done.  I'm so behind, and while I won't catch up, it was nice having a quiet house and time to read.

But before all this, I was celebrating Picture Book Month!  I had not heard of this celebration before, but definitely wanted to honor it in some way.  I work with a group of children where the act of reading is a challenge.  I don't want them to lose a love for it, so I figured reading some fantastic books to them would be a great idea.  I started this week by telling them what we were celebrating and bringing in 5 books.  Each day, one student would select the book we would read and then they would take turns bringing them home to read and share with their families.  They were thrilled and excited for each day.  Books I shared this week:

            
I think next week I am going to surprise them and wrap the books up.  I'll let you know next week what books we celebrate!

Nonfiction Picture Book Wednesday 11.05.14

We know that a big part of the CCSS is to include more informational texts into ourstudents' reading.  I quickly discovered I had a "gap" in my reading diet - the genre of informational texts!  To help me fill the gap this year, I am going to participate in Nonfiction Picture Book Wednesdays!  This is a great link-up hosted by Kid Lit Frenzy.  Please visit this website to see other educator's link-ups.  My goal is to read at least one informational text each week and post information on the blog.  The more books and subjects I read, the more I can encourage (my #OLW for 2014) other teachers to use in their classroom! 


A few weeks ago I wrote about a beautiful fall book, Fall Leaves by Loretta Holland.  As we start heading (inevitably) towards winter, a beautiful book to include would be Who Was Here? by Mia Posada.

This book concentrates on animals and the clues they leave behind to help us know they walked before us.  The first 2 page layout is a close up of the animal's tracks and a written clue.  The second 2 pages is a beautiful illustration of the animal, as well as additional facts about the animal.  So much to learn from this wonderful and engaging text.

A great fiction text to use with this book would be Winter is Coming by Tony Johnston.

Happy Reading!

SoLSC Talking with Celebrities - Authors! 11.04.14

 

Slice of Life is a weekly event hosted by Two Writing Teachers.

I know many of us have had the opportunity to Skype with authors.  We've just begun this journey at our school but I know it's one we are going to continue.

We all have people we admire.  Different celebrities, sports figures - some people have done amazing things, some have unbelievable talents, some have qualities we admire.  So often, we see kids idolizing someone we wish they didn't.

Reading can be easy or hard.  It can come naturally or be something that is labored over.  Reading can be loved or ignored.

I find that Skype visits put everything together for a student.  Authors are celebrities.  They did something that most kids have never done - published a book.  I mean, people pay money for their books, right?  That's a big accomplishment.  For students to be able to interact with an author, they think it's a really big moment.  So do their teachers.  For some kids, this can be the key to get them reading.  All of a sudden, that book or series, becomes personal.  They now have a connection to it.  Having a student finish a book and then be able to talk to the author about it?  Well, now it's all real!  I hope authors understand this connection they have with their readers.

Last week, our 4th graders had the opportunity to Skype with Edith Cohn, author of Spirit's Key.  Edith really made an impact on the kids - they loved hearing some of the inside information about the book, but she talked to them as writers.  Such great advice - using quotes for inspiration, coming up with themes and rising conflict points first and building the story from there.  She talked to them about revisions and how a story can change.  We loved hearing how she comes up with some names - she has a book of baby names that she can refer to!  That would be a fun resource I know kids would love using!  Teachers had great conversations with their classes after the visit and I know they will keep referring to Edith's ideas as the year goes on.

Yesterday, our 3rd graders got to Skype with Erin Soderberg, author of The Quirks series.  Erin was so gracious, answering all of the kids questions, even asking some of her own.  At the end of the visit, she even asked the kids about what they were reading and asked for titles - the kids loved it!  She also talked to them about revisions and how many times she's gone back to edit her books.  I loved that Erin talked about ideas, and how so many of them came from her own life.  I find coming up with ideas can be the toughest part of writing for so many students (me too!), I loved that she shared her creative process.  We were so excited to hear about a new series she is writing that will debut this summer, we even got a sneak peak at the covers!  Seeing her connect with our young readers was magical and I could see the excitement in the kids' faces!

I thank Edith Cohn and Erin Soderberg for sharing their time with us.  I thank the many authors out there who offer their time to Skype.  I hope they understand how this little part means so much to some little readers!

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? 11.03.14

This weekly post comes from Jen at Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee and Ricki at Unleashing Readers.  It's a great source to find new books to use with your students.

Where does time go???  Another week went by and I crammed most of these books in today, Sunday.  One day I'll get more reading time!


Picture Books


The Cat, The Dog, Little Red, The Exploding Eggs, The Wolf, and Grandma by Diane and Christyan Fox
5/5 stars
This one made me laugh!  Grade companion to Interrupting Chicken
Could really use this for a mentor text for questioning, summarizing and predicting while reading.  The Dog does all of that over and over throughout the book.  
Cat tries to retell "Little Red Riding Hood" to Dog, but all Dog does is interrupt.  Dog does ask a very good question about LRRH at the end "It's not a very nice sort, is it? Are you absolutely sure this is a children's book?" HA, welcome to fairy tales, Dog (unless they are made by Disney....)
And I love how he questions why end pages are what is known as the beginning and end of books!


The Bear's Sea Escape by Benjamin Chaud
4/5 stars
I think I liked this follow-up even better than the original.  The colors are just beautiful and eye-catching!


Sam and Dave Dig a Hole by Mac Barnett
5/5 stars
I've written before that some picture books are meant for older kids to read them.  There seems to be a point in time where kids stop choosing picture books.  Teachers stop reading them.  But some, beg for an older audience.  I think this book is one of them.  Don't get me wrong, I think this book can be read to all audiences.  I just would love to hear kids of all ages come up with what really happened at the end.  Mostly because I need to talk to them so I can figure out what really happened at the end.
I read this book when it came out.  But I'm still trying to figure it out.  I needed a lot of time to think about this book and how smart it is.

Informational Texts


Now & Ben: The Modern Inventions of Ben Franklin by Gene Barretta
4/5 stars
I found this book through other bloggers.  It's such a neat book - each layout compares an invention we have now, and traces its roots back to Ben Franklin.  Great addition to many units - Founding Fathers, inventions.

Chapter Books for 2nd/3rd grade


The Haunted Library #1 by Dori Hillestad Butler
3/5 stars
This will be a good series - transitional chapter book - for 2nd-4th graders.  The story is about Kaz the ghost and his new friend, "solid" (what ghosts call humans) Claire.  The two join forces to solve the mystery of the ghost (another one!) at the library.  They are also on the case to find what happened to Kaz's family when they got separated by the wind.

Graphic Novels


El Deafo by Cece Bell
5/5 stars
This book was so amazing, especially since I have such a connection to it since my young niece is deaf.  Unlike Cece, my niece has not had hearing since she was an infant, so her story will be a little different.  But reading this memoir puts so much into perspective about young children and how they cope with a hearing loss.
I can't say anything new that hasn't been said already.  This book is amazing.  I am astounded by how talented Cece is - to be able to put your story into a graphic novel format and capture the feelings and thoughts from when you are younger and just hit the reader in the heart... Just amazing.

Currently Reading

I'm trying to finish up the Lunch Lady series.  I have all of them, just never finished reading them.  I have some students that are devouring #1-5 that I have at school, so I promised I would read the other ones and get them in!
This week I'm going to conquer Jodi Picoult's newest book, Leaving Time.  It's due back to the library on Saturday, so I need to get going on it :)
After that, I think I'm going to return to The Land of Stories series, book #3.

Can't wait to see what you're reading!