Nonfiction Picture Book Wednesday - Sibert Smackdown update 12.20.17

Every Wednesday I join Alyson Beecher from kidlitfrenzy and other

kidlit bloggers to share wonderful nonfiction picture books.

The intention of today's blog post is to give professionals that work in the
education field new nonfiction reading material and ideas to use 

with students to promote a love of reading nonfiction materials.

Last month I posted about the books I would be using in classes who were participating in Sibert Smackdown.  You can read the post (and see the books) here.

What is Sibert Smackdown?  It's an idea that came from author Melissa Stewart, read her post here.  My school already participates in Mock Newbery, Caldecott and Geisel, but I really wanted to get some nonfiction reading in, more than the scattering of books that were used in the Mocks.  I started small a year ago, just doing this with my reading intervention students.  I was so impressed with the work they did and how this had students going deeper into their reading and they would get so passionate about the books!  Read about last year here and here.

This year I took it to the classroom level.  The two classrooms I'm in for #classroombookaday (3rd and 4th) allowed me to come in and do this with students.  Luckily the entire third grade jumped in and they were able to participate as a grade level.  It just so happened both third and fourth grade were in a nonfiction cycle and were doing nonfiction reading and writing.  This would be a perfect place to put in this type of work.

Our state participates in the PARCC assessment every spring.  I will leave my own opinions out of this post, but I will say it's interesting to look at results and see where our students are  in comparison to others in regards to the standards.  The way I look at the results, I start thinking about how I can get students to think deeper and wider about the standards and how I will do that.  Right away, the Sibert Smackdown came to mind.  Why not be able to get students to think about these standards using amazing literature?

I knew I wanted to look at reading across texts in order to gather ideas (4th grade) and compare and contrast  ideas (3rd grade).  I also want students to start thinking about how texts are organized and why and noticing text features and understanding their purpose.  To help facilitate that, I designed this book for 3rd grade students and this book for 4th grade students to use when reading and comparing two books.  It's an easy way to help them organize thoughts, and dig deeper into the nonfiction books while doing some serious standard based learning.  Perfect!

What went well this year:

• students started noticing text structure on their own!
• we are introducing thinking maps to students.  If they can figure out text structure, they can also figure out which thinking map would help them organize their thoughts!
• it was consistent practice in a meaningful way

What I would change:

• we were fitting this in during #classroombookaday time, which typically is 15-20 min. long.  On the days they were filling out their Smackdown pages, it took longer than that.  Some of it can be filled out on their own (but make sure there is collaboration time) but most of it you want to find time to talk about and discuss.
• I used 10 books in 3 weeks.  We had three weeks between Thanksgiving Break and Winter Vacation.  This allowed us time to read the Sibert books and get some Mock Caldecott reading in as well.  We had three great weeks of reading and talking about books, but no time for a culminating activity.  I wish the students had time to narrow down their reading to choose an exemplary book and explain why.  We did this last year and I loved it, just not enough time this year.  Note:  using 10 books, I would say this activity takes 4 weeks.

So even though I would make changes next year, there were still some great things that happened as a result of Sibert Smackdown.  This is an activity I hope to repeat every year. 

Did you try a Sibert Smackdown or similar activity?  How did it go?  Thinking about trying this next year?  What ideas do you have?


Be sure to stop by next week and check out my lists of 2017 Favorites!  It was another year of fantastic reads!

#road2reading Challenge - Ellie Engineer 12.19.17

All journeys have a starting place.

This is a weekly place to find books and tools 

that you may use with readers at the start of their reading journey.

Join in the conversation at #road2reading.

At the end of summer I read Beatrice Zinker, Upside Down Thinker by Shelley Johannes and I was entranced by the character.  Beatrice is the kind of character that my readers need.  Someone who thinks outside of the box and shows that her thinking is different and that's ok.

Now we have another character - Ellie Bell.  Ellie is an engineer, not a train engineer, but one that builds and designs.

Ellie, Engineer

by Jackson Pearce

published by Bloomsbury

January 16th

Goodreads summary
The hilarious and smart start of a series about a girl who loves to build—STEM-powered, creative fun for girls.

Ellie is an engineer. With a tool belt strapped over her favorite skirt (who says you can’t wear a dress and have two kinds of screwdrivers handy, just in case?), she invents and builds amazing creations in her backyard workshop. Together with her best friend Kit, Ellie can make anything. As Kit’s birthday nears, Ellie doesn’t know what gift to make until the girls overhear Kit’s mom talking about her present—the dog Kit always wanted! Ellie plans to make an amazing doghouse, but her plans grow so elaborate that she has to enlist help from the neighbor boys and crafty girls, even though the two groups don’t get along. Will Ellie be able to pull off her biggest project yet?

Illustrated with Ellie’s sketches and plans, and including backmatter with how-tos, this is full of engineering fun!


My thoughts
What I love about Ellie is she defies the norms.  She designs, she builds and she wears a tool belt with her dresses.  

"'There's no such thing as Girl Stuff or Boy Stuff.  There's only Ellie Stuff and Not-Ellie Stuff.'  Building was Ellie Stuff.  Tea parties were Ellie Stuff." 

This is the idea that we are working so hard to convey to our young students, today.  We want them to understand that the possibilities are endless.  There should be no gender barriers, no racial barriers.  Kids can like many things and nothing should be seen as a contradiction between each other.

Ellie's problems will be familiar to young readers.  She has a best friend, is friendly with other kids, and has ideas about others.  Throughout the course of the book, she learns that some kids might be different than she originally thought, once she gives them a chance.  And she learns that by looking at others' strengths, a lot of things can be stronger.  Ellie has a true blue friendship with Kit, but she also finds out that her friendship group can grow, if she's honest with everyone.

I love that we see how Ellie comes up with her ideas and she gets them down on paper.  I think it's fun for the reader to see that she carries her notebook around with her and it's "official" looking graph paper!  At the end of the book, Pearce has included an explanation and drawing of all the tools that Ellie uses throughout the book.  STEM is a big buzzword in education right now and this book is a perfect example of how to seamlessly fit it into a story.

* artwork from Ellie Engineer, by Jackson Pearce.

Used with permission from Bloomsbury Children's Books *

At over 160 pages, this book will require the reader to be able to sustain their reading over a longer period of time.  There are also a couple of plot lines to follow, although they are about the same topic, which will help young readers follow along.  I think this book is going to find a wide range of readers.  2nd grade-4th grade will be its sweet spot, but mature 1st grade readers and growing 5th grade readers will also enjoy meeting Ellie!

Be sure to look for this book on January 16th.  I can't wait for readers to meet her!

* thank you to Bloomsbury for the review copy.

* please note the quote is taken from the advanced readers copy and may change in the finished copy.

Be sure to stop by next week and check out my lists of 2017 Favorites!  It was another year of fantastic reads!

We hope you've enjoyed our #road2reading Challenge this year.  Hopefully you've found some books for your readers that you might not have known about.  Or perhaps you're trying some new ideas with those readers in your classroom.  We hope you'll continue to join us in 2018 on our new day - Thursdays!  Stop by on Thursday, January 4th for more #road2reading fun!


Don't forget to stop by Alyson's blog and see what she has for #road2reading readers!

Want to talk about books for readers who are on the #road2reading?  Link up here!

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? 12.18.17

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.

Last Week's Adventures

Holiday season caught up to me last week and I was not able to post last Monday.  I had only read one book all week (that wasn't going onto another post) and I didn't think that really made up a great IMWAYR post!  Here are some others that went up:

Here are the books that have been in my nonfiction picture book stacks.

Do you have a need for early chapter books or transitional chapter books?  Then you'll want to check out these upcoming books from Candlewick and little bee.


Picture Books


Walk With Me
written by Jairo Buitrago
illustrated by Rafael Yockteng
translated by Elisa Amado
I didn't know where this book was going, but oh, once I figured it out... I had to close it and read it again.


Red Again
by Barbara Lehman
I love how Lehman brought so many characters together.  This book can be read on its own, but it's definitely more fun when you know all of the characters!


The Boy and the Whale
by Mordicai Gerstein
This is a book to use when you want kids to have a debate and really talk about what is in their heart.  A whale is tangled up in a boy and his father's fishing net.  The whale seems to be half dead.  What do you save - your net that brings in food or the whale?


There's a Monster in Your Book
written by Tom Fletcher
illustrated by Greg Abbott
I am a sucker for interactive books.  I think they are great to use with young readers because they laugh and smile and have FUN!  This is one I want to add to my collection.


Fort Building Time
written by Megan Wagner Lloyd
illustrated by Abigail Halpin
I loved this author and illustrator's first collaboration - Finding Wild.  This one I think is even more fun.  Maybe because I loved making forts when I was younger.  Mostly because I could still get lost in the illustrations of these forts!

Graphic Novels


Dog Man and Cat Kid
by Dav Pilkey
I was so happy to see this title in my Scholastic preview box.  I quick read it before passing it along to a reader!  It's another great Dog Man title, this one I think has the most heart of the series.  Regardless, it's going to be another Dog Man story that will be well loved by readers!

Transitional Chapter Books


The Wish List: Keep Calm and Sparkle On!
by Sarah Aronson
What I love the most about these books is how it makes you want to do better.  The wishes in these books always surprise me because they end up being not necessarily the wish the character wants, but the wish the character needs.  With everything going on in today's world, I'm glad there is such a positive and do-good series like this one!  Don't miss it!

Middle Grade


The Infinity Year of Avalon James
by Dana Middleton
Loved this book.  Definitely a heartprint story - friendship, secrets and a touch of magic.

Currently Reading


Six of Crows 
by Leigh Bardugo
This is one of my #mustreadin2017 books.  It's taking me awhile to get into this one.  I've heard amazing things and while I'm starting to enjoy it more, it's not a favorite.  Great writing, just not always capturing my attention.


Love Sugar Magic: A Dash of Trouble
by Anna Meriano
I've also started reading this one and I'm really enjoying it even though I haven't gotten too far into it.  I'm thinking this is going to be a fun read to pass along to kids in early 2018!


Be sure to stop by next week and check out my lists of 2017 Favorites!  It was another year of fantastic reads!

Nonfiction Picture Book Wednesday - what's in my stacks? 12.13.17

Every Wednesday I join Alyson Beecher from kidlitfrenzy and other

kidlit bloggers to share wonderful nonfiction picture books.

The intention of today's blog post is to give professionals that work in the
education field new nonfiction reading material and ideas to use 

with students to promote a love of reading nonfiction materials.

Here are some nonfiction picture books that have been laying around in my stacks!


Before She Was Harriet
written by Lesa Cline-Ransome
illustrated by James E. Ransome
I love the structure of this book - it starts when Harriet was in her older years and worked it's way backwards talking about the many roles and names she had in her lifetime.
I wish there had been more backmatter and sources.  


Earth! My First 4.54 Billion Years
written by Stacy McAnulty
illustrated by David Litchfield
I found the next nonfiction book that I'm adding to my collection!  Such a fun voice for a nonfiction book.  I love that Earth is telling us about.... Earth!  And Pluto gets referred to as the family pet!  I think readers will really like the voice of the book telling them facts about the Earth since it's been around!  And love the David Litchfield illustrations.


How the Cookie Crumbled
by Gilbert Ford
Anyone who has had a chocolate chip cookie is going to enjoy this story.  It's interesting to know the history - even as Gilbert Ford tells us, there are a few versions of what really happened.  I think this will be a well enjoyed biography to add to your collection.


On the Same Day in March
written by Marilyn Singer
illustrated by Frané Lessac
Very cool concept - taking a look at what the weather looks like in different areas of the world on the same day.  Good book to use if you study patterns!


Vincent Can't Sleep
written by Barb Rosenstock
illustrated by Mary Grandpré
I've been waiting for this book for awhile and it did not disappoint.  I love the writing combination of Rosenstock and the illustrations of Grandpré.  I hope they work together for awhile!
I really don't know much about VanGogh and this book certainly gave me some more information.  It was really interesting to see how he came up with some of his more famous paintings.  I had no idea they were inspired/a result of... his insomnia.


Revolutionary Rogues: John André and Benedict Arnold
written by Selene Castrovilla
illustrated by John O'Brien
This is a really fascinating story about what happened between the now infamous American traitor, Arnold, and the British Major.  I've always known the gist of the story, but I liked getting more information.  


A Hundred Billion Trillion Stars
written by Seth Fishman
illustrated by Isabel Greenberg
Great example how curricula can cross - great math/science book!  I'm glad there are written out numbers to go along with the huge long string of numbers!

Have these books found a way into your stacks?  Be sure to check them out!

#road2reading Challenge - upcoming books from Candlewick 12.12.17

All journeys have a starting place.

This is a weekly place to find books and tools 

that you may use with readers at the start of their reading journey.

Join in the conversation at #road2reading.

Candlewick has some upcoming early and transitional chapter books that you may want to have on your radar!

Bug Blonsky and His Very Long List of Don'ts

by E.S. Redmond

publishes January 2nd

Short chapters and illustrations on every page, this book will be a favorite with young readers because they KNOW Bug!  Bug has a hard time sitting still and remembering to think before he acts.  To help himself out, he decides to make a list, a very long list, of things he shouldn't do.  Like not trade snacks with a healthy friend (you might get a flax seed muffin) and don't make fart noises with your armpit when your teacher leans over.  Books that make adults roll their eyes are always well received with young readers!

I love the full color spreads in Bud!

They Didn't Teach THIS in Worm School!

by Simone Lia

publishes February 13th

What happens when a bird meets a worm?  Well, first the worm talks a lot to avoid getting eating, but then somehow the bird and worm end up on a cross country trip to Kenya (that's exactly what you were thinking was going to happen, right?)
Marcus, the worm, somehow convinces Laurence, the bird, that he should follow his dreams and go to Kenya to find other flamingos like him (talk about your case of mistaken identity).  Marcus ends up being Laurence's travel guide so you know you're in for an interesting adventure with a worm leading a bird!
Taking place in the English countryside, the setting will be a bit unfamiliar for young readers but the adventures will have them laughing to see what happens next.

Julius Zebra Battle With the Britons!

by Gary Northfields

publishes January 2nd

You may be familiar with Julius Zebra already.  If not, get ready to go on a crazy ride!
The Julius Zebra books are good for readers who are ready for longer books (this one is coming in at 288 pages!), yet illustrations are helpful (on every page in this book) and the content is still appropriate for younger readers (lots of slapstick humor).  

I know young readers are going to be laughing at these illustrations!

Thank you to Candlewick for the review copies and interior art pictures!


Did you find a title or two for the new year?  Lots of fun reading ahead!


We hope you've enjoyed our #road2reading Challenge this year.  Hopefully you've found some books for your readers that you might not have known about.  Or perhaps you're trying some new ideas with those readers in your classroom.  We hope you'll continue to join us in 2018 on our new day - Thursdays!  Stop by on Thursday, January 4th for more #road2reading fun!

Don't forget to stop by Alyson's blog!

Want to talk about books for readers who are on the #road2reading?  Link up here!

#road2reading Challenge - upcoming series from little bee 12.05.17

All journeys have a starting place.

This is a weekly place to find books and tools 

that you may use with readers at the start of their reading journey.

Join in the conversation at #road2reading.

Last school year I found the transitional chapter book series, Tales of Sasha, published by little bee.  My students loved this series about a horse that discovers a big secret! 

I was excited to see that little bee publishers has some new transitional chapter book series that are getting ready to make their debut in early 2018.  Here's some info about them:



The Major Eights series
Book one:  Battle of the Bands
Book two:  Scarlet's Big Break
written by Melody Reed
illustrated by Émilie Pépin
publishes January 2nd


Goodreads summary for Battle of the Bands
Jasmine, Maggie, Becca, and Scarlet love jamming together in Jasmine's basement. Maggie bangs on the drums, Becca strums her guitar, Jasmine plunks the keys of her keyboard, and Scarlet wails into her hairbrush mic. Even though they may not have the best equipment, or an audience, they have fun making music to their own beat. But when Jasmine's brother tells her about an upcoming Battle of the Bands competition, Jasmine thinks this could be their chance to prove they're a real band. Now she just has to convince the other girls. . . .

With each book told from a different girl's perspective, this series is all about girl power, diversity, and marching to the beat of your own drum!


Goodreads summary for Scarlet's Big Break
After their Battle of the Bands competition, the girls are famous! Everyone knows who they are now--even strangers recognize them! But the attention starts to go to Scarlet's head, and she decides to sign up for the school's talent show as s solo artist. But what about the Major Eights? Should she really leave the band and her friends behind?

With each book told from a different girl's perspective, this series is all about girl power, diversity, and marching to the beat of your own drum!


The Alien Next Door series
Book one:  The New Kid
Book two:  Aliens for Dinner?!
written by A.I. Newton
illustrated by Anjan Sarkar
publishes March 6th


Goodreads summary for The New Kid
In the first book of the brand-new early chapter book series, the Alien Next Door, an alien boy named Zeke tries to fit in and adjust to life on Earth, while a classmate, Harris, suspects that Zeke might not be quite what he claims to be.

Zeke is on his way to his first day of school, feeling down because he has to start over again on a new planet, as his scientist parents constantly move to wherever their research takes them. When he gets to school, no one seems to notice anything strange or different about him except Harris, a kid obsessed with science fiction and aliens. Harris sees Zeke doing extraordinary things but can't convince anyone, least of all his best friend, Roxy, that Zeke might be an alien. Roxy just thinks Harris is jealous that she's becoming friends with Zeke. But when Roxy invites Zeke over to Harris's house, will Harris find a way to prove that he's right? 


Goodreads summary for Aliens for Dinner?!
In the second book of the Alien Next Door series, Harris and Roxy go over to Zeke's house and meet his strange family. Will Harris be able to prove to Roxy that Zeke and his family are aliens?

Harris has his suspicions that the new kid at school, Zeke, is an alien, but he hasn't been able to prove it to his best friend, Roxy. When they're both invited over to Zeke's house, Harris thinks this is the perfect opportunity for him to research Zeke's alien family and show Roxy that they're all from another planet. But Roxy is perfectly fine playing with all of Zeke’s alien technology, which she just thinks is "hi-tech," and as a thank-you, Harris's parents invite Zeke's parents over for dinner.

At dinner, no one but Harris seems to notice all the strange things Zeke’s family is doing—like making food levitate to their mouths. However, Zeke realizes that Harris is the only one noticing these things and decides to use this opportunity to have a little more fun at dinner. . . . 

Looks like we'll be seeing more from both series in May 2018!


With the short chapters, larger font and illustrations, i think these series have wide appeal for students in 1st - 3rd grades.  I'll be adding both series to my collection!

Be sure to swing by Alyson's blog to see what she is up to!

Want to talk about books for readers who are on the #road2reading?  Link up here!

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? 12.04.17

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.

Last Week's Adventures

I celebrated what I found at the NCTE exhibit hall!  Make sure these books are on your radar:

nonfiction picture books

early readers/transitional chapter books

I will be sharing the middle grade novels I picked up as I read them.  Look for them in my Monday and Thursday posts!


Picture Books


Snow Scene
written by Richard Jackson
illustrated by Laura Vaccaro Seeger
Guessing game that takes place in the wintry snow.


Waltz of the Snowflakes
by Elly Mackay
I love getting lost in Mackay's worlds!  This time a young girl and boy meet at a performance of The Nutcracker.  Sharing the performance makes them a bit nicer to each other.


Winter Dance
written by Marion Dane Bauer
illustrated by Richard Jones
Absolutely loved this book!  Beautiful story for young readers about what animals do in the winter.

Graphic Novels


Time Shifters
by Chris Grine
I have no doubt your readers who love Greg Grunberg's Dream Jumper series or Ben Hatke's Zita the Spacegirl or Mike Maihack's Cleopatra in Space series will enjoy this book.
I was a little confused by the ending because it seems like it was left open to be a series, but I'm not sure if it is.  This is one graphic novel you really have to pay attention to the characters because readers can easily get confused when the story jumps from the action between the good guys and bad guys.  I wish the transitions were just a bit smoother.

Poetry


I'm Just No Good at Rhyming: And Other Nonsense for Mischievous Kids and Immature Grown-Ups
written by Chris Harris
illustrated by Lane Smith
With a title like that, you know you're going to be laughing at the rest of the book.
The poems are a bit Shel Silverstein and will definitely make readers smile, chuckle and laugh.  Because of the short length of many of them, they will draw in some reluctant readers, and hopefully keep them because of the humor!

Middle Grade


Aru Shah and the End of Time
by Roshani Chokshi
I am so glad I picked this one up at NCTE.  Alerted of the title by Kellee Moye the morning of the signing, I made sure to get to it first thing that morning.  
We all know Rick Riordan and what he has done for introducing mythology to readers.  Riordan himself knows there are many more stories to be told from other cultures, however, he doesn't know enough about these stories to do them justice.  So, in conjunction with his publishing house, Disney-Hyperion, he is starting an imprint to do just that - tell mythology tales from other cultures by authors who know these stories best.  
The first series comes from India.  We meet Aru Shah, a Georgia middle schooler who tells lies in order to try and fit in.  But those lies catch up to her when she tries to impress some schoolmates, and she accidentally lets out The Sleeper, just this mythological demon who is going to wipe out the human race... It's up to Aru to brush up on Indian Culture and Arts 101 and combat this creature!
This book publishes March 27th.  I know there will be a long hold list for this one so make sure you preorder your copies!

Currently Reading


The Wish List: Keep Calm and Sparkle On!
by Sarah Aronson
Can't wait for more adventures with Isabelle, she is such a fun character!


Happy Reading!