Review: Elephant in the Dark

Title: Elephant in the Dark [Based on a poem by Rumi]
Retelling by: Mina Javaherbin
Illustrator: Eugene Yelchin
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Review copy: ARC from publisher
Availability: August 25, 2015

Summary: A bold, humorous rendition of "The Three Blind Men and the Elephant", magnificently illustrated by an award-winning artist!

When the villagers hear of a huge and mysterious creature that has come all the way from India, they steal into the dark barn to find out what it is.

"It's like a snake!" says one.
"It's like a tree trunk," says another.
"No, it's like a fan!" argues the third.

Who is right? Which of them knows the creature's true shape?

Mina Javaherbin's charming and witty retelling combined with Eugene Yelchin's refreshingly brilliant illustrations bring this enlightened classic, inspired by Rumi's poem, vividly to life.

Review: Many people are familiar with the story of the Blind Men and the Elephant. This is a fun new way to experience that tale. Mina Javaherbin has retold the story based on a poem written by Rumi about 750 years ago. The message is timeless and will have readers chuckling too.

The first thing I noticed about the book was the rich illustrations. To see several samples, visit Eugene Yelchin's page here. Yelchin used a wide variety of patterns and textures in each spread. There are so many things to see. I found the many different textures to be fascinating. There are also pages that are simple and streamlined. When the text focuses on one aspect of the elephant, the illustrations are narrowed in to that one thing and the background is plain. There are no distractions on those pages.

In the illustrator's note at the end Yelchin explained that he got his inspiration from Persian miniature painters. His own style is there, but the illustrations are clearly influenced by Persian art work from years past.

In their notes at the end, both the artist and writer speak of the meaning of this story and how it relates to their own lives. That is the best part about this story. It can speak a truth to readers of all kinds. This book will be one many people can easily connect with and share. Teachers could also use it effectively during fable units or when discussing point of view.

Elephant in the Dark is an upbeat and fun way to discuss different perspectives and points of view. I look forward to sharing it with staff and students.

Review: Soccer Star

Title: Soccer Star
Author: Mina Javaherbin
Publisher: Candlewick Press
Pages: 40
Availability: April 8, 2014
Review Copy: Hard copy from publisher

Summary: When Paulo Marcelo Feliciano becomes a soccer star, crowds will cheer his famous name! Then his mother won’t have to work long hours, and he won’t have to work all day on a fishing boat. For now, Paulo takes care of his little sister Maria (she teaches him reading, he teaches her soccer moves) and walks her to school, stopping to give his teammates cheese buns as they set out to shine people’s shoes or perform for the tourist crowd. At day’s end, it’s time to plan the game, where Givo will bounce, Carlos will kick, and Jose will fly! But when Jose falls on his wrist, will the team finally break the rules and let a girl show her stuff? Set in a country whose resilient soccer stars are often shaped by poverty, this uplifting tale of transcending the expected scores a big win for all.

Review: In Soccer Star readers meet a young boy named Paulo Marcelo Feliciano who lives in Brazil. He loves soccer and loves to learn. He spends much of his day working though so is unable to go to school. In the late afternoon and evening his younger sister shares what she learns at school and he shares soccer with her.

Like Javaherbin's previous book Goal! we see hope and perseverance amidst difficult living situations. Though times are hard for the characters, they have an optimistic outlook and live life with joy. They are dreaming big and they don't hold back.

Elementary age students are often intrigued by issues of justice. Seeing that children are missing school to earn money is sure to catch their attention. The fact that girls aren't allowed on the soccer team will also likely have some students questioning the lack of fairness there too. I anticipate lively discussions as a result of reading this book with students.

Beyond that, soccer is a topic that crosses gender, class, and geographic lines. Soccer is a language that many children understand so I know this book will speak to them.

And last, but not least, the illustrations are gorgeous. There is a warmth surrounding the characters and the pictures are joyful. They are also full of life and energy. Everything is very pretty and clean, but looking closely readers can still see the broken pieces of netting in the goal and notice things like the children playing without soccer gear.

I look forward to sharing Soccer Star with staff and students. It's a positive text and will likely inspire readers to work for change in the world.

Read Across America and World Read Aloud Day

Read Across America Fun!

Reading to students in MA

Our students read Mr. Brown Can Moo! Can You? to students all around the United States and we had others read to us too. It was a great day of reading. We connected with students in Maine, Massachusetts, Maryland, Oklahoma, and Wisconsin.

We even had a Mystery Skype with a school in Oklahoma and then they read to us too!

With one class in Maryland, we even took turns reading a digital book aloud. Soooo fun!

Many of our students also read Dr. Seuss with each other.

We also connected with some students from a school within our own county.

World Read Aloud Day

We had Skype visits from three different authors on World Read Aloud Day. Erica Perl, on behalf of  First Book, started us off with her fantastic book Ninety-Three in My Family. It was so much fun!

It was a book that can be sung so we got to sing and clap too!

She also showed first grade her awesome hats that go with her books Dotty and Chicken Butt. We loved them and want to try to think up a great hat for her book When Life Gives You O.J.

Of course, the students talked her into reading Chicken Butt before she was through.

Sarah Albee met with one of our third grade classes. We had video issues, but at least we could hear each other. She answered a lot of questions from students. We enjoyed hearing about her writing life. We have met quite a few fiction writers, but haven't talked with many authors of non-fiction so that was a new experience. We had read a bit from her book Poop Happened! beforehand.

We had a great time with Sarah Albee!

Our final author on Wednesday was Mina Javaherbin. She shared her book The Secret Message based on a poem written by Rumi many hundreds of years ago. It was neat to learn about her home country Iran and talk to her about her writing life. All three of our second grade classes were able to visit with her.

Our final author visit was on Friday with Abby Klein. She is the author of the Ready Freddy series. She read one of her books to us and I read an Elephant and Piggie book to her kindergarten students. We found out that she writes mainly in the summertime since she is a teacher. 

Abby Klein answered many great questions about her writing.

We finished off our World Read Aloud Day celebrations on with Shannon Miller from Van Meter in Iowa. She shared Same Same but Different and showed us the cool website that the author has for kids. I can't wait to read the book myself now. It fit perfectly with a non-fiction book we had read earlier this year One World One Day. It was an excellent way to end a week celebrating reading.

I loved the chance to connect with so many authors and classrooms around the country. We have another fun time to organize coming up in April for Poem in Your Pocket Day. I can't wait.

I am so thankful that people were able to connect with us and I am glad that Matthew Winner and Sarah (@pageintraining) helped to coordinate this fantastic event through Skype in the Classroom and a googledoc that held all of the plans for so many people. Thanks to all who added to our learning this week!

World Read Aloud Day Blogging Challenge #2

Last week I started the World Read Aloud Blogging Challenge. I didn't quite know what we were going to do, but now I have some pretty cool plans put together. We are going to celebrate on March 1st and March 6th-8th to spread out the fun. We have conferences on the 4th and 5th or we might have celebrated then too. On the 1st, we have 7 Skype visits scheduled with classrooms all around the country. On the 6th we have Skype visits scheduled with Erica Perl, Sarah Albee and Mina Javaherbin. On Friday another class will also get to visit with the author Abby Klein and maybe a few more classes. In addition staff and students will take the chance to read aloud to each other. It should be so much fun. I can't wait.

For this week's post, I need to finish five statements as I would have when I was ten and then again as I would answer it now. Here goes...

At ten: I think everyone in the world should read The Very Hungry Caterpillar and The Snowy Day.

Now: I think everyone in the world should read A Monster Calls and I Want My Hat Back.

At ten: If I could listen to anyone in the world read aloud to me it would be my mom.

Now: If I could listen to anyone in the world read aloud to me it would be Nick Podehl or Jim Dale, but mom would be cool too.

At ten: When I read aloud, my favorite character to impersonate is Dickon in The Secret Garden.

Now: When I read aloud, my favorite character to impersonate is Hagrid from the Harry Potter series.

At ten: The genre that takes up the most room on my bookshelf is realistic/historical fiction.

Now: The genre that takes up the most room on my bookshelf is realistic fiction.

At ten: The last book I wish I’d written or inspired me to write my own story is Little Women.

Now: The last book I wish I’d written or inspired me to write my own story is A Monster Calls.

These were actually difficult to answer and I think they would be different on any given day, but it was fun.