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: 

Picture Books

When I went to visit the CCBC, I was able to read a pile of picture books which really increased my volume for the week. The ones that made me laugh the most were Shh! We Have a Plan, Sam and Dave Dig a Hole and The Monkey and the Bananas. These three books also had me creating a shelf on Goodreads - irony.

The ones that put tears in my eyes were Ivan: The Remarkable True Story of the Shopping Mall Gorilla, The Lion and the Bird, Firebird and Viva Frida.

Young Adult

Someone grabbed Child of Dandelions for me. It was quite interesting because it takes place in Uganda during the presidency of Idi Amin when he was ordering all Indians to leave the country. It is told from a young girl's perspective. She and her family were born in Uganda, but her grandfather had come from India when Britain was still in power. The other young adult book I read was on a much lighter note. I laughed quite a bit and had a great time listening to To All the Boys I've Loved Before. 

I really enjoyed listening to We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball. I learned a lot, but it was also told in such a way that it felt like a conversation. Pablo Remembers is an older title that I reviewed here. It's a nice way to learn about Day of the Dead celebrations. Looks Like Daylight: Voices of Indigenous Kids started out a little slowly, but once I was hearing voices of the youth, I was hooked. This is a fantastic collection of personal narratives that gives readers a way to see the many ways of life that different Native young people experience. Storm Chasers is part of a non-fiction series, but I grabbed it because I know some students who would love to find out more about that job. It has simple text and great photographs.

Adult 

This was on Playaway, so I only read it while doing laundry and things like that so it lost some of its continuity. David Sedaris made me laugh and I thank him for that.

The Coming Week:

I am currently reading Between Sisters and a digital ARC of How it Went Down (from NetGalley). I have also just started a Playaway of Anchee Min's book Pearl of China. I have a set of CDs of City of Bones by Cassandra Clare. I am probably starting Foreign Gods Inc this week also. The rest of my reading will likely be rather random. Have a great week of reading!

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.

** One of the biggest celebrations this week was being able to visit the new location of the Children's Cooperative Book Center (CCBC) in Madison. The CCBC is so much more spacious and comfortable now. There is room on the shelves! Also, it is always a treat to be in the same room with so many people who love books. We talked literacy, professional development, events to come and of course - books!

A big added bonus was their lovely ARC shelf.

Total score today! Many random ARCs & a @jenniholm author study kit. pic.twitter.com/IcEpRFySqM
— Crystal Brunelle (@librarygrl2) October 11, 2014

** I was able to read a lot of recently published picture books this week and this one was a special treat for me:

Frida was such a vibrant, creative, and unique individual. Yuyi Morales shares the spirit of Frida through this beautiful book. I had tears and I read it multiple times in a row. It was quite an experience. 

** We had the first two meetings of our 4th and 5th grade writers group. I had a few more than 20 students stay in during their lunch recess to write together and talk about their writing. They were sprawled all over the library at tables on the floors, on comfy chairs and couches.

** This week we had the groundbreaking for our school. 

It is exciting for all of us to see the big equipment and see the changes happening little by little. We will have a second story and all new learning spaces by the time it is finished next year.

** While I was in Madison, I was able to visit with my son. That always makes a week special.

** The book fair materials arrived. Students are always so excited as they see the boxes slowly get opened and set up. Their eyes have a certain gleam when they see the crates.

I hope that your week was also full of celebrations!

Non Fiction Picture Book Wednesday

Alyson Beecher over at Kid Lit Frenzy hosts a Non-fiction Picture Book Challenge and has a roundup every Wednesday. I love the encouragement to explore more non-fiction.

This week I am focusing on Pablo Remembers: The Fiesta of the Day of the Dead by George Ancona. 

Goodreads Summary: From October 31 to November 2, people in Mexico celebrate the festival of el Dia de Los Muertos, the Day of the Dead. This photodocumentary follows Pablo and his family as they prepare to honor the memory of Pablo's grandmother. Also available in a Spanish Language edition, Pablo Recuerda.

My Thoughts: I appreciate George Ancona's ability to transport readers to another place and time. His photographs have a sense of immediacy. They are full of life and they share so much information.  His text adds any missing pieces of information we may still need. The body of the book shows how one family prepares for and celebrates the Day of the Dead. The note at the end provides a history of how the fiesta came to be celebrated. I enjoyed learning more about this holiday and look forward to sharing parts of this book with my students. 

A Few Fiction Titles for Pairing:

The Dead Family Diaz by P.J. Bracegirdle

Mi Familia Calaca by Cynthia Weill

Felipa and the Day of the Dead by Birte Müller

Rosita y Conchita by Eric Gonzalez and Erich Haeger

Calavera Abecedario: A Day of the Dead Alphabet Book by Jeanette Winter

The Day of the Dead by Bob Barner

Other Resources for Day of the Dead:

Las Calaveras Todas Blacas Son or What is the Day of the Dead? from Latin@s in Kid Lit

Five Great Children's Books to Celebrate Día de los Muertos from Mamiverse

Day of the Dead Lesson Plans and Activities from Mommy Maestra

Update**Facts and Misconceptions About Mexican Día de Muertos from ThinkMexican

Slice of Life

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 then give feedback to at least three other bloggers.

The audiobook To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han was playing in my car yesterday and it attacked me. Well, attack might be too strong a term. Perhaps wounded me would be more appropriate.

The two sisters, Margot and Lara Jean, were having a discussion. Margot is the eldest and she is speaking to Lara Jean, "...like I am a child and she is a wise old woman of 42."

I may have gasped aloud. "Wise old woman of 42!?!" Seriously. I believe I may have even spluttered a bit. Fortunately, the vehicle was empty except for me. It's entirely possible that I looked more than a bit gobsmacked. I paused the CD and backed it up to see if my ears were functioning properly. On a second listen, the words were still the same. And indeed, on the third time too.

Old is not a word I am ready to accept. I am prepared to believe that my elementary students see me as old, but really - a sixteen year old wouldn't think that too would they? Please say no. This is probably where I should reveal that 42 was a few years ago for me.

Driving the rest of the way home, this phrase, wise old woman of 42, kept banging around in my head. Earlier this year I read 365 Days of Wonder: Mr. Browne's Book of Precepts by R.J. Palacio. There I found a precept from Horace to start off my school year, "Begin, be bold, and venture to be wise." So I was working toward the "wise" part of the description this year anyway. Thinking abourt this totally ruined the precept for me though because the phrases rolled around together and it came out as, "Begin, be old, and venture to be wise." Ack! I may never read it the proper way again without thinking about aging. Now it makes me giggle a little and that might not be such a bad thing.

**Update to the post - I thought I would add the tweets:

@librarygrl2 ha! When I was 16, I thought 27 was old so don't feel bad! Everyone was old in my eyes.
— Jenny Hannibal (@jennyhan) October 8, 2014

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:

The Coming Week:

Sorry so brief, but no time to write. ;)

Have a great week!

Review: The Red Pencil

Title: The Red Pencil
Author: Andrea Davis Pinkney
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Pages: 336
Review Copy: Digital ARC via NetGalley
Availability: On shelves now

Summary: "Amira, look at me," Muma insists. She collects both my hands in hers."The Janjaweed attack without warning. If ever they come-- run."

Finally, Amira is twelve. Old enough to wear a toob, old enough for new responsibilities. And maybe old enough to go to school in Nyala-- Amira's one true dream. But life in her peaceful Sudanese village is shattered when the Janjaweed arrive. The terrifying attackers ravage the town and unleash unspeakable horrors. After she loses nearly everything, Amira needs to dig deep within herself to find the strength to make the long journey-- on foot-- to safety at a refugee camp. Her days are tough at the camp, until the gift of a simple red pencil opens her mind-- and all kinds of possibilities.

Review: In May of this year, I was fortunate enough to attend the 2014 May Hill Arbuthnot Lecture "Rejoice the Legacy" presented by Andrea Davis Pinkney. Her presentation was inspiring and all kinds of fabulous. You can watch it below. As part of the lecture, she introduced her newest book, The Red Pencil. 

Andrea Davis Pinkney is a gifted storyteller and just as she explained in the lecture, she managed to share both the beauty and the plight of the people of Sudan through this book. It's a middle grade book, so the use of free verse poetry was one way that Pinkney shared the violence, but also sheltered the readers from some of it. Readers will clearly see the death and devastation, but the spare words keep it from being overwhelming. Careful readers will still see enough details to know that the situation is horrific and not one anybody would wish on others.

Pinkney begins the story before tragedy comes to Amira's family. We see the powerful love in her family. We also see that their way of life has many strengths. There are a few challenges too, which include the resistance of Amira's mother to the idea of schooling for girls. My favorite part of the book is the game What Else is Possible? that Amira and her father play. Her father explains why they have this game:

He says,
"Worrying, that is a waste of time.
Better to ask, 'What else is possible?'"

When worrying about something, instead of focusing on the horrible outcomes that are possible, they guess only positive answers to the question. Amira says it this way:

What Else is Possible?
is a game about looking at things
in shiny ways.

I read this book three months ago, but didn't review it at the time. More than anything else, this game stuck with me. This ability to look for the possibilities is one of the strengths that sustains Amira. Of course, she also has her creativity with art and words. From the beginning we see that Amira creates pictures with her stick and with her words. Creating pictures in the sand comes as naturally to her as breathing. Along with her family, drawing is her joy. She also has a gift with words. She plays with them and has a unique voice. I love her descriptions like this one about her friend's mother:

Words flap from her
like giddy chickens escaping their pen.

The Red Pencil will be a book that I will be sharing enthusiastically with teachers and students. It allows us to see a young girl and her resilience in the face of heart-breaking circumstances. It also provides us with a window to another part of the world.

Extras:
Audio snippet - Andrea Davis Pinkney reading a few poems from the book

Educator's Guide

(comments about The Red Pencil begin at 1:16:54)

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.

This was a challenging week for me at school and at home. I am glad we have this celebration ritual or I would likely only think of the difficulties from the week rather than the positives. And there are many positives - they just get overshadowed.

* I had a fun time this week making marranitos (pig cookies) in honor of the middle grade book Pig Park that was released in September. I reviewed it here. I found a great recipe from Muy Bueno. They were yummy and in fact, I just ate another one as part of my breakfast this morning. This was my first experience with marranitos. It's funny, but they showed up in a picture book I read this week too - The Bakery Lady/La señora de la panadería by Pat Mora.

* My daughter's tennis season wrapped up nicely. She had a tournament on Tuesday that I was able to attend. I'm happy that it ended though since I was wearing a jacket, mittens, a down vest, and was wrapped in a blanket on the bleachers. Brrr. Wisconsin can have some cold fall days.

* My dog was limping and very uncomfortable last week, but after a trip to the vet and some meds, he is doing better. He is aging so it was a bit scary, but this week has been better.

* I met my Goodreads goal for the year. I set it around the same number as last year, but have been reading more picture books this year. 

* I announced to the 4th and 5th grade students that we will have a writer's group meeting during lunch on days 3, 4, & 5 in the LMC. There were many happy students. I had no idea there were so many writers. I look forward to our writing adventures together with a bit of fear and a lot of excitement.

I hope that your week had many moments worthy of celebration!