Celebrate!

Ruth Ayres has a link-up on weekends where people link to posts that are celebrations about their week. I love this reminder to celebrate every week.

This week I am celebrating the Golden Archer Award. This is the Wisconsin book award that is given out each year and is voted on by students. This year the nominees for primary grades are The Adventures of Beekle, The Book With No Pictures, Ivan the Remarkable True Story of a Shopping Mall Gorilla, The Nuts: Bedtime at the Nut House, and Sam and Dave Dig a Hole.

The nice thing about the award is that I share the books with the students and then we have common stories that the whole school knows. We have connections to each other through these stories. The younger students had a fantastic time singing "We're Nuts!" and most students of any age laughed out loud at the page in The Book With No Pictures when they heard the sentence, "My best friend is a hippo named Boo Boo Butt." We looked at each other in puzzlement when Sam, Dave and the dog fell and we were happy for Beekle and Ivan as their lives changed for the better.

I had a great week with my students and these books. Now I just need to tally up the votes and see which book came out as our winner.

It's Monday! What are you reading?

It's Monday! What are you reading? is a meme hosted by Sheila at Book Journeys. Jen Vincent over at Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee Moye from Unleashing Readers decided to put a children's and YA spin on it and they invite anyone with an interest to join in. You can participate by creating your post then visit one of their sites to add your site. Finally, visit at least three participant blogs and comment to spread the love.

If you want to know more about what I am reading, visit me at my Goodreads shelf. Images via Goodreads unless otherwise noted.

Last Week:

I interviewed author Julie Chibbaro

over at Rich in Color

I reviewed One Word from Sophia

by Jim Averbeck & illustrated by Yasmeen Ismail

as part of a blog tour

I celebrated authors, illustrators and books

Picture Books

 

I had time to sit and read piles of picture books. My favorites were Swan, Mango, Abuela and Me, Knit Together, Lillian's Right to Vote and Toys Meet Snow. Finding Spring, Sona's Wedding Game, Double Happiness, Dolphin SOS and Miss Hazeltine's Home for Shy and Fearful Cats were also pretty wonderful.

Middle Grade/Young Adult

I enjoyed both of these, though for different reasons. Feral Nights was a fun romp. It was great for a getaway which was perfect since I was listening to it on audio while driving to and from Madison several times this week. It didn't require intense concentration, but it kept me entertained. The Marvels is simply gorgeous and the storytelling is also beautiful. I fell in love with it and will likely reread it multiple times.

Adult

Junot Díaz will be speaking at UW Madison in February. I will try to attend so wanted to get caught up on his books. This is a collection of short stories and while the main character was generally not likable, I found the stories compelling.


The Coming Week:
 I was depressed by the beginning of Out of Darkness so I haven't made much progress. I keep putting it down. I am determined to pick it up again though. I am listening to Mister Monday, the first book in the Keys to the Kingdom series. I am also reading the narrative nonfiction book Most Dangerous. I finally got Echo and Circa Now so may get to those this week.

Reading Challenge Updates:
Diversity on the Shelf/Diverse Books - 194/100
Goodreads - 482/520
#MustRead2015 - 44/53
Diversity Reading Challenge - 12/12
Pura Belpré Challenge -86/86 (some were read prior to this year)
Around the World with Books Map

Celebrate

Ruth Ayres has a link-up on weekends where people link to posts that are celebrations about their week. I love this reminder to celebrate every week.
 
“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow.”  Melodie Beattie

I had some moments of chaos this week, but had many more moments filled with gratitude. This week was the Wisconsin Book Festival. That meant that on Tuesday, I was able to meet Yuyi Morales and hear her story. Here are some videos that share bits and pieces of her story. I will write more about what she talked about another time, but her presentation was fantastic.

Would you believe these cost less than $150?

The Wisconsin Book Festival being in progress also means that on the weekend, I was able to drive over and take part in the festivities again. First, I went to the CCBC's Friends book sale and bought a lot of books. 

Then, I went to the library to hear Kevin Henkes speak - which was wonderful. He talked about his writing journey and then shared his new book Waiting.

Later, I was also able to meet Crystal Chan, author of Bird, and go to her excellent session. She had me wanting to write again.

It is truly inspiring to hear from authors and illustrators. I get to share about them with my students and I also appreciate their work more once I know a little about them and the process that they went through to create and share their stories.

I spent a little over ten hours on the road to be able to spend time with three authors this week and it was absolutely worth the effort.

Blog Tour: One Word from Sophia

Title: One Word from Sophia
Author: Jim Averbeck
Illustrator: Yasmeen Ismail
Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Review copy: Final copy via publisher
Availability: On shelves now

Summary: Sophia tries varied techniques to get the giraffe she wants more than anything in this playfully illustrated story about the nuances of negotiation. Sophia has one true desire for her birthday. But she has Four Big Problems in the way: Mom, Dad, Uncle Conrad...and Grand-mama. Will her presentations, proposals, and pie charts convince them otherwise? Turns out, all it takes is one word. -- Summary and cover image via IndieBound

Review: This book oozes charm. Sophia attempts to persuade the adults in her life to procure a pet giraffe for her birthday. Of course this brilliant idea gets readers smiling. The illustrations are bright and airy. They are whimsical and quirky as is the vocabulary. The playful words like verbose, effusive, and loquacious inspire giggles. One of my favorite parts of the book is the glossary on the endpaper. Words, not just one, are celebrated throughout the entire book.

One Word from Sophia really plays with words and hints at the power of words. It also shows many ways that information can be shared in an effort to persuade. Obviously, this makes it an excellent book to share when teaching about persuasion, persuasive writing, revision, or about advertising/marketing. The book is also a great romp to simply be enjoyed.

I appreciated that Yasmeen Ismail's illustrations showed a family with several different skin tones. The text never made any indication of cultural or racial backgrounds, but the pictures mirror families that don't often see themselves in the pages of a book. In Dick and Jane books, the family members always matched. In the past few years I've noticed more and more diverse families in the pages of children's literature, but I'm always excited to see another. There are still not enough books that do this. (See "The Diversity Gap in Children's Publishing 2015" if you want to see stats.) My students need to see themselves and their families. They also need to see what other possibilities exist too.

One Word from Sophia will be a book that wins hearts and has many friends. If you haven't read it yet, I hope you get a chance to experience the fun soon.

Extras:

View artwork (9 images) from the book featured on Yasmeen Ismail's page

Opportunity for free Skype visits with Jim Averbeck


Find a classroom study guide for teachers

Discover an initiative using One Word from Sophia to promote diverse books

SLJ Article about high school AP English classes using One Word from Sophia



Don't miss the rest of the tour:
10/19/2015 - Jen at Teach Mentor Texts
10/20/2015 - Jennifer Reed at Reederama
10/21/2015 - Franki and Mary Lee at Two Reading Teachers
10/22/2015 - Kellee and Ricki at Unleashing Readers
10/24/2015 - Alyson at Kid Lit Frenzy

It's Monday! What are you reading?

It's Monday! What are you reading? is a meme hosted by Sheila at Book Journeys. Jen Vincent over at Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee Moye from Unleashing Readers decided to put a children's and YA spin on it and they invite anyone with an interest to join in. You can participate by creating your post then visit one of their sites to add your site. Finally, visit at least three participant blogs and comment to spread the love.

If you want to know more about what I am reading, visit me at my Goodreads shelf. Images via Goodreads unless otherwise noted.

Last Week: 

 At Rich in Color a review of 

Never Always Sometimes 

by Adi Alsaid

Picture Books

All of the picture books were okay, but there were a few standouts. Funny Bones by Duncan Tonatiuh is a fun look at the life of Posada, a man whose calaveras have become famous around the world. I loved the mix of Posada's drawing style with Tonatiuh's collage. There is quite a bit of text, but it is interesting. I think it would be cool for upper grade students especially to write calavera poems like those in the book. It would also be great to bring in modern political cartoons to discuss how those have been used and their purpose.

Eric Carle's book The Nonsense Show was very fun and would be great to use when discussing nonsense poems or surrealism.

Lailah's Lunchbox would be a wonderful book to read with a child or students to introduce the concept of Ramadan. 

 Novels

Symphony for the City of the Dead was definitely the best of this bunch for me. I really enjoy well done narrative non-fiction and this story was compelling. I have always been fascinated by the history of Russia. From my Goodreads review: This is a unique look at the Siege of Leningrad. It follows Dmitri Shostokovich and his life up to and beyond WWII and how his music played a role in the siege. I was fascinated by the story. The story was told powerfully. It was very hard to look at the death though. The numbers are mind-numbing. There was a point where I was overwhelmed by the horror, but Anderson must have known that it would be difficult for readers to continue because right after that, he turned he focus to people who did amazing kind and loving things. He started to share stories of people who were brought together during the siege rather than torn apart.

This will be a story that stays with me. 

Untwine was a quiet story. It opens with a tragic accident, but after that not many big things happen. It's a lovely, yet painful story of how one family deals with their loss.

Challenger Deep was a difficult story to read.  It's another book that was on the National Book Award longlist. The beginning is very confusing until the reader realizes that not everything is real. Also, the way that medication and treatment is depicted seemed problematic to me. I appreciated the writing though.

I did make one more attempt to finish Harriet the Spy.  While it will never be a favorite for me, I do understand why some people have a fondness for it. KT Horning sent a link to this post that helped me get a glimpse into the past and what the book meant to some readers. I'm glad I tried the audio. Somehow that worked better for me. I still don't appreciate the sheer meanness that flowed out of Harriet's pen, but I did like hearing more from Ole Golly.

The Coming Week:I will be participating in a blog tour for the book One Word from Sophia so will be re-reading that.  I will also finish and review Out of Darkness.  I got an ARC of What We Left Behind by Robin Talley so am hoping to get to that one too. I picked up The Marvels this week, but forgot to bring it home from school so was disappointed I couldn't read it this weekend. That is at the top of my list. I hope you have a great week filled with wonderful books!

Reading Challenge Updates:
Diversity on the Shelf/Diverse Books - 186/100
Goodreads - 458/520
#MustRead2015 - 44/53
Diversity Reading Challenge - 12/12
Pura Belpré Challenge -86/86 (some were read prior to this year)
Around the World with Books Map

It's Monday! What are you reading?

It's Monday! What are you reading? is a meme hosted by Sheila at Book Journeys. Jen Vincent over at Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee Moye from Unleashing Readers decided to put a children's and YA spin on it and they invite anyone with an interest to join in. You can participate by creating your post then visit one of their sites to add your site. Finally, visit at least three participant blogs and comment to spread the love.

If you want to know more about what I am reading, visit me at my Goodreads shelf. Images via Goodreads unless otherwise noted.

Last Week on the blogs:

At Rich in Color, I reviewed Into the Dangerous World

an illustrated novel by Julie Chibbaro with art by JM Superville Sovak

Nonfiction Picture Book Wednesday

Tuesday Tucks Me In by Fmr Cpt. Luis Montalván with Bret Witter

Photographs by Dan Dion 

I celebrated my children this week

Look Both Ways in the Barrio Blanco

by Judith Robbins Rose

Read Last Week:

 

 

 

I finished listening to a young adult bio Steve Jobs: the Man Who Thought Different. The title bothered the daylights out of me, but was explained in the book. Steve Jobs was quite interesting and I enjoyed learning about him warts and all.  

Between the World and Me will need its own post. I copied down several pages of quotes and notes while reading Ta-Nehisi Coates' powerful letter to his son and the world. I hope many many people read and see through his eyes.

Nimona was hilarious and also a little more thought provoking than I expected. I was left wondering and wanting more. The tiny print was super hard on my old eyes though. If there are more, I hope there are more books, the print is bigger.

I really had fun reading The Potato King. It's about the Prussian king who (so the legend goes) introduced the potato to his reluctant subjects. The art is fun. I can see it being a great springboard for making potato prints.  

Owl Babies is sweet and has beautiful pictures.

Happy! is exactly what you might expect. The lyrics of Parrell Williams' song are illustrated with photos of young children who look happy. It's fun.

When Reason Breaks was intense. I appreciated it while still having some concerns about some of the things that happened. It was one that I couldn't put down.  

Jackaby delivered as promised. It was described as being a cross between Dr. Who and Sherlock. I loved the mystery and the bit of fantasy/horror mixed in along with a splash of humor. I laughed throughout.  

Lenny & Lucy was absolutely adorable. I love the artwork and the sweet story.

Zombelina was cute. The text was okay, but the illustrations were the standout for me. I bought it because *zombies* and it is humorous too.

Beautiful Hands is one of those inspirational types of books that adults will probably love more than children. It's focus is on creativity and the wonderful things young hands can do. The illustrations are pretty and could lead to readers making their own.

Urban Tribes is another wonderful compilation by the editors of Dreaming in Indian. I only got to see the digital ARC (thanks Annick Press), so I think some of the images were missing, but what I saw was excellent. Again it is nonfiction that shares the art and voices of many Native young people (young being teen through twenties or even later - I couldn't tell the top age). It highlights the diversity and provides a platform for their voices to be heard. I'll do a full review at some point here or at least on Goodreads. We will be having a book discussion on this title in a few weeks at Rich in Color also.

I also finished Zebra Forest.  I'm glad I read and reread Treasure Island as a child. I think it gave me a connection with this book I wouldn't have had otherwise. It was okay. I am not sure why it was on my #MustReadin2015 list.

The Coming Week: I'm listening to Harriet the Spy and seeing if it goes better that way. I'm reading Never Always Sometimes for a review at Rich in Color and have finally started Out of Darkness. I have a lot of books to review, but don't know which ones I will hit this week. It will be a fun collection though I'm sure. Have a great week!

Reading Challenge Updates:
Diversity on the Shelf/Diverse Books - 175/100
Goodreads - 441/520
#MustRead2015 - 44/53
Diversity Reading Challenge - 12/12
Pura Belpré Challenge -86/86 (some were read prior to this year)

Celebrate

 

Ruth Ayres has a link-up on weekends where people link to posts that are celebrations about their week. I love this reminder to celebrate every week.

This week I celebrate my children. Earlier this week my youngest was involved in a car accident. I won't post a picture of the car, but trust me when I say that it is amazing that there were no injuries. The front of the car was destroyed, the windshield shattered, and the roof even crumpled from the impact. Fortunately no other vehicles were involved.

The secretary at our school came to the library as I was finishing up with a class. She let me know that my child was on the phone and I needed to take the call immediately. The people I work with are fantastic. I left within minutes knowing that my classes were in good hands and I could just go do what I needed to do.

I have never been so glad to hug my child as when I pulled up on the highway next to the accident. I have tears just remembering how it felt. Seeing pieces of the car scattered on the road and knowing that the accident could have cost us our child, made it hard to think straight.

Last October, our son was hit by a car while riding his bicycle. We could have lost him then too, but fortunately he came out of it with minor injuries.

Our lives can change in an instant. We don't know how long we have with each other. We must really treasure all of the days we have with our loved ones. I'm so thankful that my children are still here in the world. There are not enough words to express how much I love them both. They are funny, loving, intelligent, and unique people. I am so very, very fortunate that I get to be their mom.

Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge 2015

Alyson Beecher over at Kid Lit Frenzy hosts a Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge and has a roundup every Wednesday. I love the encouragement to explore more non-fiction. I am thankful that she has this challenge because I know I have read more nonfiction texts as a result.

Tuesday Tucks Me In: The Loyal Bond between a Soldier and his Service Dog truly spoke to me. 

 

 Written by Fmr. Captain Luis Carlos Montalván with Bret Witter

Photographs by Dan Dion 

Summary via Goodreads: From former U.S. Army Captain and New York Times bestselling author of Until Tuesday, comes what Amazon.com has declared the "Best Nonfiction Children's Book of 2014." As narrated by Tuesday, Tuesday Tucks Me In is a day in the life of this service dog extraordinaire and tail-wagging ambassador for all things positive and uplifting in the world. The book takes us through a typical day of adventures, starting with Tuesday waking Luis in the morning and greeting him with dog breath in the face, and then ending with Tuesday cuddling up to Luis on their bed, the last moment they spend together before sleep.

My Thoughts: This book is a little bit of perfection. A book narrated by a dog is brilliant. Even better that it is told in simple brief text for young readers. The photographs are wonderful and convey the love and care that Tuesday and Luis have for each other. What really helps this cross over into excellence though is that the book shares this different type of service job. Readers may believe that service dogs are only for blind people. Not only do they see that service dogs partner with people for a variety of reasons, but in particular, readers learn about PTSD. This is a topic that many young readers may be dealing with in relation to family members and there simply aren't very many books that address the issue. The only other one I've read for young children is a middle grade chapter book called Fig Pudding. This is an opportunity for younger readers to find out a little bit about PTSD even if they have no experience with it in their family or neighborhood.

The text and the note at the end provide a lot of information about service dogs, disabilities and PTSD, but the book also has lighthearted moments. We see Tuesday with Luis under the bathroom stall and hanging out at an amusement park.

I will tell you though, I had tears flowing when I read this as I thought about the cost of war that goes beyond a monetary price tag. There are so many families that have been affected by war. This book shares some of that pain, but in a way that children can relate to without being overwhelmed. There is hope and healing here. If you want to have a glimpse into the book, watch the trailer below.

It's Monday! What are you reading?

It's Monday! What are you reading? is a meme hosted by Sheila at Book Journeys. Jen Vincent over at Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee Moye from Unleashing Readers decided to put a children's and YA spin on it and they invite anyone with an interest to join in. You can participate by creating your post then visit one of their sites to add your site. Finally, visit at least three participant blogs and comment to spread the love.

If you want to know more about what I am reading, visit me at my Goodreads shelf. Images via Goodreads unless otherwise noted.

Last Week on the blogs: 

A review of an adult poetry collection - Monsters, Zombies + Addicts: Poems 

by Gwendolyn Zepeda

Hmong Children's Literature

Tree of Wonder by Kate Messner

Illustrated by Simona Mulazzani 

for NFPB Challenge

 

Review of Revenge of the Angels

by Jennifer Ziegler

Celebrating The CCBC, Oktoberfest, family and fall

The Past Week:

This was a great week for reading. I was able to visit bookstores and libraries and enjoy piles of picture books. Standouts for me were Tuesday Tucks Me In, Mama's Nightingale, When the Slave Esperança Garcia Wrote a Letter, Leo: A Ghost Story and Water is Water though many were wonderful. The novels I read were all page turners. I listened to both Irises and This Song Will Save Your Life and enjoyed both of them. I pretty much read both Stella by Starlight and Lies We Tell Ourselves straight through. They were both amazing historical fiction. I was disconcerted by the number of times I had to read the N word in Lies, but it certainly fit the time period and situation. I don't think I have ever encountered it so many times anywhere before, but as the main character was also counting how many times she had to hear it each day, the repetition gives readers a taste of that experience.

The Coming Week: I am still planning to read Out of Darkness. I'm listening to Steve Jobs: The Man Who Thought Different. I stopped reading Harriet the Spy last week because I was having trouble with reading her very negative views of people, but I may give it one more chance. I also have Jackaby and I've heard really good things about it from Pernille Ripp and some others on Twitter. We'll see what else falls into my hands. Have a great week of reading!

Reading Challenge Updates:
Diversity on the Shelf/Diverse Books - 172/100
Goodreads - 428/520
#MustRead2015 - 43/53
Diversity Reading Challenge - 12/12
Pura Belpré Challenge -86/86 (some were read prior to this year)

Around the World with Books

Celebrate

 

Ruth Ayres has a link-up on weekends where people link to posts that are celebrations about their week. I love this reminder to celebrate every week.

The past 24 hours has been filled with some great things to celebrate. Yesterday I was able to attend the The Cooperative Children's Book Center Advisory Board Meeting at UW Madison. In general, meetings aren't always exciting, but at the CCBC, we're talking about books, education, and literacy and meeting with colleagues who care about these things - so it's actually a good time. If you aren't familiar with the CCBC, they are a wonderful resource. They have excellent bibliographies and other resource lists available. They also offer Intellectual Freedom resources which include some helpful infographics.

After the meeting, I was able to read books for over an hour and then met up with my son for dinner. I love having time with him whenever I am able to visit Madison.

This morning was another treat. We were able to go to the Oktoberfest parade and see our senior march with the band. This is another of those lasts we'll witness this year. The weather was a little nippy, but the sun was shining and we had a nice time sitting and watching the parade.

When I got home, I was able to ride my bike to the library. Our town is sleepy on most Saturdays, but because Oktoberfest is going on just south of us, the ride to the library was super quiet. There was hardly any traffic. I could hear someone pounding in nails and leaves were rustling everywhere, but otherwise, there was hardly a sound.

Fall is not very long here in Wisconsin so we will have to enjoy it in the next few weeks. The leaves are changing and the temps are in the 50s and 60s for highs now. We are solidly in what I would call football weather. Pumpkin dishes and drinks are on all of the menus. Fall isn't my favorite season, but I appreciate many things about it like the leaves, the pumpkins, the brisk breezes and the sense of change in that air.

Review: Revenge of the Angels

Title: Revenge of the Angels: The Show Must Not Go On
Author: Jennifer Ziegler
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Genre: Realistic, Humor
Pages: 245
Review copy: ARC via Publisher
Availability: On shelves now

Summary:  The Brewster triplets from Revenge of the Flower Girls meet The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, in a new, sweetly hilarious holiday story from Jennifer Ziegler!

When we last saw them, Dawn, Darby, and Delaney Brewster stopped their big sister from marrying the wrong guy, proving that they can accomplish a lot when they work together. Now, they are turning their smarts and high-energy hijinks to something completely different: their local Christmas pageant! They've been practicing looking wise and stroking long, fake beards in preparation for their roles.

But what if they're not cast as the wise men? What if instead they have to play angels in the pageant? Distasteful. Deplorable. Dreadful. And it's not like anything else is going their way this holiday season, either. Can the triplets figure out what to get for their mom, solve a mystery about a stolen Santa, and recover their holiday spirit in time for the pageant? Of course they can! And they'll do it with humor and charm, or they're not the Brewster triplets.

Review: The Brewster triplets made me laugh. That they wanted to be wise men was fantastic and I was rooting for them the whole time. They plotted and planned and worked towards their goals even when they seemed nearly impossible.

This book worked much better for me than the first one. I had trouble keeping the triplets straight in Revenge of the Flower Girls, but that became easier in this second book. I also appreciated that there were several plot lines, but this time none of them seemed quite so serious as the prevention of a marriage. Added together though, they provided just the right amount of tension.

The girls keep getting themselves into trouble, but they also manage to help each other back out of it. I had to giggle as they fell in and out of scrapes throughout the book. The girls use both their wits and courage to solve their problems and it was a fun time watching it all unfold. This is a nice light realistic middle grade novel that is sure to be a hit especially around the holidays.

-- Cover image and summary via Goodreads