Celebrate!

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

I have so much to celebrate this week and a lot of it revolves around my adventures this weekend. That's the reason that this post is so late.

Here is @librarygrl2 working with students in our morning programming club. #onapride #kidscode pic.twitter.com/aAIT8HQMXc
— Curt Rees (@CurtRees) February 13, 2014

1. I had a second computer programming session with 4th and 5th grade students before school. It's a lot of fun.

2. We had our final "battle" for Battle of the Books to determine which team would do the state competition. It was fun to see how the students worked as a team.

3. I got to see my son this weekend for a little while as I passed through Madison on my way to and from the Children's Literature Breakfast. That always makes my heart happy.

4. I got to meet some Twitter friends and great authors at the Children's Literature Breakfast.

Twitter folks I met for the first time in person: Donna K. - @akgal68 and John Schumacher @MrSchuReads

Twitter folks that I had met before: Nikki @daydreamreader, Travis @100scopenotes, Sarah @pageintraining

Yes, that is Henry Winkler

Authors: Crystal Chan (Bird), Maggie Stiefvater (Raven Boys), Nnedi Okorafor (Akata Witch), Jon J Muth (Hi, Koo), Henry Winkler (Hank Zipzer), Lin Oliver (Hank Zipzer), Aaron Reynolds (Disasterosaurus), Joelle Charbonneau (The Testing), Trish Cook (A Really Awesome Mess), Stephanie Hemphill (Your Own, Sylvia), Stacey Kade (The Ghost and the Goth series), France & Tad Mitchell (Where is the Sears Tower?), Fern Schumer Chapman (Motherland is it Night or Day?) and a few more.

Phew! That was a lot of people to meet and it was beyond wonderful.

5. Books!!! I got to purchase many fun books for me and for my school library - some of which I even got signed. :)

Aaron Reynolds

Maggie Stiefvater

Jon J. Muth

I was only sorry I forgot to ask Nnedi Okorafor and Crystal Chan for photos too. I got their books signed first. Live and learn. I got one more fun photo after chatting with Maggie S. Her flight didn't happen so she drove this car for 11 hours to get to the breakfast. I never imagined I would see it in person. *happy dance*

That would be the same car from this video:

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.

The Past Week: 

Picture Books

I had a lot of fun with picture books this past week. I read one for the Caldecott challenge, The Man Who Walked Between the Towers, that I think I had read years ago, but I read it again just to be sure. Great illustrations and not something I would EVER want to do even if it was possible. I don't think I realized that it was written after the towers were gone. I had figured the book was older than that.

I am really becoming a Yuyi Morales fan. I cannot get enough of her books. I read Niño Wrestles the World for the first time at Book People in Austin, Texas when I was there last summer and it made me smile so hard. Now I am chasing down the rest of her books for our library. Her trickster books, Just in Case and Just a Minute are fabulous too. They are just so fun and beautiful.

Let's Talk About Race is another that really made me think and will be one I use in school. It really is a great springboard for discussion. I will be using This is the Dream too.

The adorable award has to go to Sophie's Squash. I had heard so many people mention it and now I know why. Sophie is a cutie and she falls in love with that squash. 

Middle Grade

Tim Tingle is a wonderful storyteller. I loved his Crossing Bok Chitto and Saltypie picture books when I read them. How I Became a Ghost is the story of one Choctaw boy and his family as they are forcibly removed from their home along with many others. As the title informs you, there is certainly death involved. I appreciated that Tingle shares this part of our nation's history with children so they can have a more complete understanding of that time than they would from a textbook lesson.

Non-Fiction for Children

I can't even tell you how much I enjoyed Go: A Kidd's Guide to Graphic Design. Chip Kidd has a way of grabbing your attention and keeping it. He is so good at his job. I found it fascinating and can't wait to show it to our art teacher. I think it also has applications for our classroom teachers as they help students design posters, slide shows or any kind of presentations. Our Rights was another that could be very useful within the 4th and 5th grade curriculum. They study how people have changed the world and are often asking for examples of young people who have made a difference. This book provides a look at many teens and even younger children who have done amazing things around the world. Just a note - things like female genital mutilation and other sensitive topics are mentioned in some of the articles, but it is text heavy and isn't meant for primary anyway.

Non-Fiction for Adults

The Color of Water had been recommended to me a few years ago and I finally got to it. I appreciated this memoir of a man who was examining his identity and struggling with what it meant to be biracial. He enlisted the help of his white mother. The book is told in the alternating voices of James and his mother. They are both interesting people, but like the title says, it is a tribute to his mother. When all was said and done, I felt like I knew here more than I knew him or at least more than I knew his adult self.

The Coming Week: 

I am still listening to Barbara Kingsolver's The Lacuna on a Playaway, but am nearing the end. I have just started Kristen Simmons' Article 5 on CD in the car. I am in the middle of Romeo and Juliet adapted by Gareth Hinds. I abandoned I am Malala, but may pick it up again in the future. I have Open Mic: Riffs on Life Between Cultures in Ten Voices up next. I also have a large pile of books from the library so it should be a good week with many choices. What will you be dipping into this week?

Celebrations

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

These boxes held $500 worth of books

Aren't they gorgeous?

*One* A big joy this week was opening up the boxes of books that we got from First Book through a donation by Target. I was happy to see that they had many diverse titles available and I was also over the moon to see I could get many copies of Flora & Ulysses. I have already handed every single one of those copies out to happy staff and students.

*Two* A few months ago an email came my way that announced a Head Start conference and was asking for presenters. I passed it to my two favorite Pre-K teachers, the ones I work with every week :),  thinking they would be great presenters. They decided they wanted to give it a shot. Last week they checked out iPads, chrome books, and laptops in preparation for their trip. I gave them the few suggestions I could since I have only officially presented two sessions at conferences. I was so excited for them. They presented on using technology in the pre-k classroom. Their main focus was on the social networking tools they have been using to connect with parents, but they also showed some of the things they do with children which honestly isn't a lot since we like the little ones to interact with each other more than with screens at that age. They had a fantastic experience and I am so proud of them for stepping out of their comfort zone.

*Three* A friend's young child has finished his last round of treatment at the hospital and can finally walk around with hair and without tubes. There just aren't words for that.

*Four* The blog that I am part of, Rich in Color, is just about to have its first anniversary. Audrey and I met on a #diverselit Twitter chat that Stacey Whitman or Lee & Low was doing about this time last year. We connected and recruited others to work with us. We have three posts a week on our blog about young adult literature written by or starring people of color. I can't believe it has already been a year since we started this journey.

*Five* I started a computer programming club for 4th and 5th grade. We will be meeting before school every Wed., though I may add Fridays too. The students that showed up were great to work with and I am looking forward to learning with them.

I hope you had some wonderful celebrations this week too!

Reading Challenge Update

I am participating in several reading challenges this year. The one hosted by Latin@s in Kid Lit fits nicely with Diversity on the Shelf. They both help to keep me on track to tackle my "Must Reads for 2014" too. In addition, I am also slowly plugging away at the Printz and Caldecott winners.

Here's what I have read so far:

Latin@s in Kid Lit

I reviewed all of them on Goodreads. I am looking forward to continuing this challenge. There are some great books out there and it is cool that Latin@s in Kidlit rounded up all of the books we read in January so we can see more titles to choose from and they recommended several that work for this challenge and Black History month too. 

Diversity on the Shelf (including the ones above) 

I reviewed these on Goodreads too except for Shadow Hero since it won't be released until July. The Diversity on the Shelf link up for January is here. I did not link all of mine since that would be craaaazy and I don't know if she meant to deal with picture books either. Kindred, Shadow Hero, Inheritance, Little You, and Maria had a Little Llama were my top five.

Must Reads

I have 110 books on my "Must Read" shelf and so far I have gotten to 18 of them. Some of them were for the challenges above.

Printz Award

I wasn't a big fan of either of these, but they both had serious subject matter. Do happy books ever get the Printz? 

Caldecott

These books were captivating. I have read Owl Moon many, many times and it always takes my breath away. Golem was very cool and totally reminded me of Frankenstein, but I think that this book was based on a story that pre-dates Shelley.

Overall, I am clicking along and am having a great time diving into these books. I can already see a change in my reading habits and it's a good one. You are welcome and in fact encouraged to join in any of these challenges at any time. 

Knock Knock

The Slice of Life Challenge was created by the people over at the blog Two Writing Teachers. The challenge is to write about some part of your day and share it each Tuesday.

I am late getting started on this post as it is after 9:00, but I didn't do it last week and I didn't want to skip again.

Over the past week I have been sharing books that were on the award lists. One of the lists I explain is the Corretta Scott King award. When I shared the topic of Knock Knock: My Dad's Dream for Me by Daniel Beaty with students they were touched. If you haven't read it yet, I would highly recommend it. You can also see the Daniel Beaty perform the poem the book is based on here:

Some students were moved because they had never thought about what it might be like to wake up and have a parent missing. Some because they know all too well.

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.

The Past Week

It was so fun to watch the ALA Youth Media Awards and find out about several other awards this past week. Links to the award lists and information about the books can be found here. Six of the eight books I read this week were as a result of those lists. I loved When the Beat was Born. The text bounced along and it was fascinating to read about DJ Kool Herc and learn about the beginnings of Hip Hop. I thought it would be great to pair with Hip Hop Speaks to Children. Another fun biography was The Mad Potter. George E. Ohr was quite a unique individual and his pottery is a reflection of his  personality. I found Handbook for Dragon Slayers to be a nice change of pace. I haven't read a lot of young fantasy lately. I'm glad it won the Schneider Award so I could find out about it. Maria Had a Little Llama was very cute and I know teachers will enjoy showing it to students for comparing with the original Mary Had a Little Lamb. Darius & Twig was a nice story of friendship. The Lord of Opium grew on me. I am not sure if I would have finished it if it wasn't on audio, but somewhere in the middle I finally started to care a bit about what was happening. School for Princes: Stories from the Panchatantra was quite interesting. I did not know these Indian fables though one of them does seem to be the basis of Rikki Tikki Tavi. Pancho Rabbit and the Coyote definitely gets at the human issues of illegal immigration. It would be a good way to introduce the topic with upper grade students. Overall, it was an excellent week of reading.

The Coming Week:

I am still listening to Barbara Kingsolver's The Lacuna. I have started to read I am Malala. It is a bit dry and doesn't really sound like a teenager talking, but I am still barely into the book. The history is making me trudge rather than breeze through. I am also reading a professional book called Privilege, Power and Difference. After these, I will finally get to Open Mic. Other than that, I am not sure what will come next.

Have a great week!

Celebrate!

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

Many of my celebrations revolve around the trip my husband and I took this weekend for our anniversary. Our anniversary was actually in August, but we wanted to be able to go skiing, so we planned this way back then.

One: We got to see many eagles and their nests up close as we traveled home along the Mississippi today.

Two: Though a bit cold, we had a beautiful, mostly sunny day on the ski hills at a place new to us. Every year we try to go skiing at least once at the local hill and I am happy that we were able to have a fantastic time without major falls. One minor fall did happen when two snowboarders launched me into a flip after they slid into me from up the hill. It was more amusing than anything else and nobody was injured so it ended well.

Three: We've been married for 23 years. That's definitely a huge celebration right there.

Four: I got to see some fantastic smiles when my first grade students used the Kodable app in school this week. So fun to see students excel with coding.

Five: My dog is sleeping at my feet now and was dancing with joy when we walked through the door. I love that he is always so excited to see me come home.

Six: I almost forgot - and I don't even know how I let it slip - books!!! I had such an awesome time this week with awards for books and Multicultural Children's Lit Day. We had "cold weather" days on Monday and Tuesday so I stayed home & watched the ALA Youth Media Awards and read books. Such wonderful fun. Then, when we got back to school, I was able to share award books with my students. It was a fantastic week of lovely literature.

I hope your week was full of celebrations.