Look What's Coming Out in the Publishing World - Part Two

     Publishers Weekly has put out their Fall 2011 preview. There are several books highlighted which peek my interests from favorite authors! Here are some additional details about these upcoming books:


     Esme Raji Codell is a smart and humorous author that has written such texts as Fairly Fairy Tales (Alladin, 2011) and Sahara Special (Hyperion, 2004).  On September 1st, Codell's newest book will be published entitled Basket Ball (Abrams Books for Young Readers, 2011). In this picture book, a young girl playfully named Lulu is disappointed to not be a part of the playground basketball team made up of boys. So, Lulu puts the ball in her own court and creates the Basket Ball, an event that marries both sports loving girls with girly ways, including sequined jerseys and dress shoe sneakers. Included in the book is an extensive glossary of basketball terms to keep any reader shooting 3 pointers when it comes to understanding the game. :) Explore Codell's abundance of wisdom as a "readologist" on current children's literature as The Planet Esme Plan blog. You can also learn more about this knowledgeable lady in one of my previous posts.


     Speaking of dogs, a new installment in the "If You Give..." series will be coming out, too! Author Laura Numeroff and illustrator Felicia Bond team up once again to please fans of the series with a book entitled If You Give a Dog a Donut (Blazer + Bray, 2011). I'm certain that if I gave my Yorkie a donut, it would not last long enough to pose for a picture like the one on the front cover! :) This is a great series for K and 1st graders to talk about cause and effect as a comprehension focus. Little ones will surely clamor around read aloud time for another addition to this humorous series. Bond and Numeroff make a great duo together. Be sure to check out the Mouse Cookie Books site by Felicia Bond as well. I also have an autobiography that is small in size but can be perfect under the document camera entitled If You Give an Author a Pencil (Richard C Owen Publishers, 2003) which is great extension of an author study to provide encouragement for young authors.


     Swirl by Swirl: Spirals in Nature (Houghton Mifflin Books for Children, 2011) is written by Joyce Sidman and illustrated by Beth Krommes. I previously posted about Sidman's book Dark Emperor and Other Poems of the Night which you can visit again by clicking here.) I am a fan of her work with blending nonfiction subject matter and the descriptive observations in a poem format. In this particular book, Sidman's focus is with how spirals are present or occur in nature. I'm certain that her eloquent language brings a whole other level of appreciation to an aspect of life that is easily taken for granted. As you will see in my previous post on Dark Emperor, I highlighted the poem on a snail. What a perfect text to text connection during an author study that would make!


A few more titles from favorite picture book authors and crowd pleasing series are:

• Two Little Monkeys by Mem Fox and illustrated by Jill Barton (Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing, release date uncertain at this time)
• Frog and Friends and Frog and Friends: Party at the Pond by Eve Bunting and illustrated by Josee Masse - easy reader format (both from Sleeping Bear Press, 2011)
• Happy Birthday, Hamster by Cynthia Lord and illustrated by Derek Anderson (Scholastic Press, 2011)
• How Do Dinosaurs Say Happy Birthday? by Jane Yolen and illustrate by Mark Teague (Blue Sky Press, 2011)
• Llama Llama Home with Mama by Anna Dewdney (Viking, 2011)
• Zoozical by Judy Sierra and illustrated by Marc Brown (Knopf, 2011) This is the follow up to this author/illustrator's text Wild About Books (Knopf, 2004)

New App from Pioneer Valley

     Pioneer Valley Books, who is well known for their quality beginning readers, has just announced that they have a new app for the iPad! The site, Who Can Read?, is currently offering eight titles for free. There will be numerous other titles available for 99 cents per download. That is a great deal! There are screenshot samples which help to illustrate the simple format. On the home page, there are three options: my bookshelf, bookstore to buy more books, and information about levels. The levels are aligned with Guided Reading levels, which is a well known and accepted leveling system for emergent readers. We love Pioneer Valley in our school reading room, so this app is sure to be an additional fantastic way of reaching readers!  

Scholastic: Fall 2011 Sneak Peek and Summer 2011 Reading!

    Don't you just love to get a peek at what is coming our way for books? I know I certainly do! Scholastic has just put out their Preview for Fall 2011 video. This video shows the entire presentation, but if you click on the link for "Preview for Fall 2011 video" above, you can go to the Scholastic page and select the portions you would like to view individually. The sections include picture books, nonfiction, graphic novels, books for middle grades, and young adult. In the picture books feature, there is a new selection from Harry Bliss featured entitled Bailey, as well as a new book from Jon Agee entitled My Rhinoceros. A favorite easy reader series, Fly Guy written and illustrated by Tedd Arnold, will be featured in a new installment called Fly Guy Versus the Fly Swatter. These books along with several other texts, are featured in the beginning of this video.  In the segment on books for middle grade readers, an exciting preview for Brian Selznick's greatly anticipated Wonder Struck is featured. Selznick himself explains the graphic novel's storyline. After the brilliant Invention of Hugo Cabret, I cannot wait to see what his new book entails.



     Scholastic is also featuring their "Scholastic Summer Challenge" for both teachers and for parents at home. Children can spin the virtual prize wheel after logging in minutes online for independently reading. There are message boards about books, polls on reading, and a lot of other social media influenced aspects once the student has permission via a parent/teacher confirmation email. On their post on "Keep Kids Reading All Summer Long!", there are suggested reading lists for various age brackets, resources, and activities for both students and adults.  These Five Fantastic Summer Challenges can give responding to reading a different pace. Scholastic and PBS Kids have also partnered up awareness on iVillage for their Summer Reading Central site. Whether a parent, teacher, or a student, summer reading motivation awaits on Scholastic!

   

Look What's Coming Out in the Publishing World - Part One

The Newest from favorite author Kevin Henkes:

     Kevin Henkes is a versatile author who works expand from simple books for preschoolers to chapter books for older elementary students. His newest book is entitled Junonia (Greenwillow, 2011) and it will be released on May 24th. The main character is a nine year old girl named Alice who is an only child and celebrates her birthday during the annual family vacation. Alice and her parents return to a beach cottage called the Scallop on Sanibel Island in Florida. She has a clear love and curiosity about the seashore habitat and can't wait to see who will get to see what sights first for that season. Apparently the junonia shell has been an elusive search for Alice, since she is hoping that this summer will be the summer she finds it. Changes occur in Alice's life, but she likes the predictable aspects of life better. You can preview the beginning portion of the book by clicking on the Harper Collins widget here. You can see how seaside sketches are incorporated into the beginning of the text, much like a sketch in a nature notebook. In this YouTube clip, Kevin Henkes is interviewed about Junonia in his writing studio. I always love to hear the perspectives of authors as well as when you get to have a sneak peek at their creative spaces. :)

    

New from the Skippyjon Jones series:
     Judith Schachner's popular Skippyjon Jones series will be coming out with a new installment on July 12th called Skippyjon Jones Class Action (Dutton, 2011.) It sounds like it might be a fun read aloud for the beginning of the new school year! It also comes with an audio CD recording of the text which can be great for a listening center in your classroom. You can download Judith Schachner's curriculum connections PDF file here. You can see how you could tie in some fun with literacy and learning towards the tail end of the school year with other favorites in the Skippyjon Series. Be sure to check out Skippyjon's website. It is so humorous and adorable! You can check out a webisode about Skippyjon in the new Class Action book here as well.

Judy Moody Coming to the Movies!

     Popular chapter book character Judy Moody created by author Megan McDonald is coming out in the movies soon! The Judy Moody series and her brother Stink, who has his own spin-off chapter book series, will both be showcased in this movie. I'm not sure if the movie is going to do justice to the quirky humor of the books. :) Here's the official movie trailer:

Author Steve Sheinkin's Visit and Advice for Writers

     Recently, author Steve Sheinkin visited Matthew Whaley to talk to grades 3-5 about his nonfiction books. Sheinkin discussed how he was formerly a social studies textbook author. He explained how he grew frustrated by being limited in what he could write about when it came to history. From this experience, he evolved into an independent writer of a narrative style of nonfiction that gives a more interesting "storyteller voice" to talking about historical events. In particular, Sheinkin is intrigued by the more human aspects of events and people in history. He explained how he wants the reader to care about the characters they are reading about in order to build a connection to them and understand their motivations in life. His writing is meant to make both famous and every day people from the past real and tangible. Sheinkin is also passionate about giving overlooked, small stories a voice and finding a niche to explore that is not necessarily a huge part of American history.  

    Sheinkin had particular advice for the students which was valuable to hear from a published author. He spoke about the impact that a strong lead has for a book. As you can see in excerpts through Macmillan Children's Books, the sample introductions certainly are attention grabbing! It's important to note that Sheinkin's books are for an older audience. I could see history buffs in fifth grade and middle school enjoying his texts with interesting takes on historical events.  Sheinkin asked the audience of students for suggestions for new topics to consider writing about next. The students enjoyed being an active part of his impromptu brainstorming!

More for you to explore from Macmillan Children's Books:

 

YouTube book trailers and author interviews from Macmillan Children's Books

Macmillan Kids on Twitter

Links for National Poetry Month - Part 2: Teacher Instructional Inspiration and Student Interactives!

     It's hard to believe that April is flying by so quick! Here is a "Part 2" to the collection of poetry links. Remember that poetry is a great, quick jolt of reading and writing during this busy time of year! Enjoy!

Reading Rockets:

• Interviews with poetry authors
• Poems Don't Have to Rhyme book suggestion list
• Poetry For All Ages book suggestion list

Scholastic:

• Humorous poetry writing for kids with Jack Prelutsky
• Free verse poetry writing for kids with Karla Kuskin
• Writing I Spy poetry rhyme for kids with Jean Marzollo
• Poetry Idea Engine Student Interactive

The Miss Rumphius Effect Blog - This well known blog is featuring all current posts as well as previous posts related to "poetry in the classroom."

The Poetry Foundation - This link leads you to their children's portion of their site, although it's all interesting! A special feature is former poet laureate Jack Prelutsky's tips to hear!

PBS for Teachers - Explore the offerings of instructional ideas this portion of the PBS website has to offer in the realm of poetry. This particular link takes you to a fun haiku interactive that can easily be used to launch a lesson as well as let students do independently. On PBS's site for the book character Arthur, his buddy Fern has a section of the site that is kid friendly regarding poetry.

Fern, Arthur's friend, has her own
poetry site on PBS for Kids.

                                               

ReadWriteThink - National Poetry Month is highlighted through a variety of lesson plans that span various grade levels. This site is co-sponsored by the premier literacy associations: The International Reading Association and the National Council of the Teachers of English. Check out some of the student interactives that they have available:

• Shape Poems
• Acrostic Poems
• Diamante Poems

ETTC's Poetry Forms - The Educational Technology Training Center of New Jersey has created fill in templates that can help hold the hands of students as they create various poems with particular themes and topics. This is great if you are having students in the lab or laptop, as well as a language arts work station in the class.

Follow "wmsbg301" on Twitter for Fresh Literacy News!

     Follow the best on Twitter in the world of literacy! You can find my collection of sites that I follow by finding "wmsbg301" on Twitter. I only post links when I update my Matthew Whaley Reading and Writing Blog, and occasionally I retweet a link that is of particular interest in literacy. You can look at who I am following here, from the best in professional book authors, literacy blogs, and associations. You will also find that I am following children's authors and illustrators, as well as the best in publishers for children's trade book literature. This is a great way to keep up with the freshest news being shared on the Internet, all collected in one place! There will only ever be literacy links associated with this site. I have the account set for me to grant permission for anyone to follow "wmsbg 301." So, once I do that, you can see the whole collection. :) Enjoy!

D.E.A.R. Day is April 12th! Time to Celebrate with Beverly Cleary!

  

      If you would like to highlight your daily love of reading in your class in another special way, Drop Everything and Read Day will occur on April 12th! You can check out the official D.E.A.R. website and learn more about the program's featured author, Beverly Cleary. This particular day also marks author Beverly Cleary's 95th birthday! Wow! What a prolific life she has led.  I have a DVD from the D.E.A.R. program that is available for anyone to borrow. On it, author Beverly Clearly is interviewed. You can also check out interview Q & A on the Beverly Cleary page on the official D.E.A.R. website.

      Reading Rockets, one of my favorite sites that supports literacy in the school and home, features a page on D.E.A.R. and Beverly Cleary. Also available from HarperCollins Children's Books is an excerpt from the book Ramona and Beezus, which was the inspiration for a great movie version that came out last summer.

    

      Despite being officially retired from writing, Beverly Cleary has a wonderful author website. A cute ultimate fan quiz for kids that takes you right to Ramona's world on Klickitat Street. :) Teachers can find some resources on the educator page of Cleary's site. Excerpts from a print interview and World of Ramona guide can be referred to while sharing parts from one of her Ramona chapter books. For older students,The Girl from Yamhill is a memoir from her childhood, and On My Own Two Feet chronicles her days from college to when she had her first book published entitled Henry Huggins.

     This video clip is from an interview done from before the movie version of Ramona and Beezus came out last year. Enjoy reconnecting with the classic Ramona series and all of Cleary's books!

New Book Alert - First Garden: The White House Garden

    I'm always on the lookout for fresh trade books to suggest and share which tie in content area studies. As a former second grade teacher, I truly loved coordinating the extensive Roots and Shoots program for the second grade for many years. I've been at the school since the garden's inception by the generous work of the Williamsburg Master Gardeners, parents, and community volunteers. It's amazing how much learning can occur in science and all subject areas in this outdoor lab. Reading and writing are obviously a passion for me, but nature appreciation and gardening has always been a favorite aspect of my teaching career, too. There are so many nature appreciating teachers at our school that it makes me quite happy to know the love of gardening lives on!   Our retired music teacher and master gardener Mrs. Genrose Lashinger leads the care and volunteerism of the garden, and we couldn't do it without her!

    I saw an interesting update on Reading Rocket's Facebook page about a new trade book that was just released by Clarion Books yesterday on April 4th. It is called First Garden: The White House Garden and How It Grew, and it is written and illustrated by Robbin Gourley. This nonfiction book gives some history of the outdoor spaces of the White House property, and then goes into the history of gardens over the years at the White House as well. The book focuses its attention on the current outdoor vegetable garden which was spearheaded by the First Lady Michelle Obama. In the blog Obama Foodorama, blogger Eddie Gehman Kohan reports about the book. She also shares that the First Lady will be penning her own book from Crown Publishers and is scheduled to be released during April of 2012. First Lady Michelle Obama has made healthy eating and active lifestyles for children her charge in her role at the White House, and the publicity generated from the various gardening activities supports her initiative. This book can be used in conjunction to learning about gardening, historical activities at the White House, and healthy eating habits.

     If you would like to know of some other nonfiction and fiction resources that can be tied into particular aspects of your garden infused studies, just come by or email me! I love giving suggestions! :)

   

Links for National Poetry Month - Part 1: Favorite Poetry Authors!

     I love to share the emotions, laughter, and smiles of poetry with students during April as National Poetry Month! Poetry should certainly have a home in classrooms throughout the 

year. I have witnessed teachers using poetry for a variety of reasons, ranging from fanciful fiction to non-fiction selections which illustrate with words descriptive visuals for students to absorb. I have always enjoyed marinating in the precisely picked language. When I taught in the classroom, I enjoyed inviting students to find a poem to share or to pen one of their own to help open up our special bonding time of interactive read aloud. What a great way to practice savoring language and reading fluently, without speeding through at the speed of sound? :)

     Here are a few of the sites from favorite children's poetry authors to further gear up the children about poetry. Check them out, and have fun exploring the richness of language when presented in the petite package of a poem!



Jack Prelutsky  - Here the former National Children's Poet Laureate Prelutsky presents a super appealing website for kids.

Giggle Poetry - which includes interviews and ideas from children's poets - great to share inspirations on author's and their crafting with the students :)



Kristine O'Connell George - This author has generously posted "Poetry Aloud!" where many of her own poetry works from her published books are available for your downloading and enjoyment. As she says, "Poetry is meant to be read aloud!" Two of my many favorites from this author are featured here in the pictures: Fold Me a Poem,Toasting Marshmellows: Camping Poems, and the new Emma Dilemma: Big Sister Poems.

George also has a particular page that suggests 33 ways to celebrate poetry.

Brian P. Cleary - Cleary is an author of books on parts of speech, math, and, POETRY! This portion of his page is purely kid friendly, poetry playing fun.

Nikki Grimes - Author Nikki Grimes has a "Poem To Go" section on her website, where she posts things such as her inspiration behind a poem idea, or a poem started for the reader to complete.

Robert Munsch - Author Robert Munsch shares some of the poetry which he says he writes for some of the children who write him letters. How cool is that!?!

Eileen Spinelli - This author/illustrator has a portion of her website where she posts a "Poem of the Month." Perfect for shared reading activities with a whole group! I also have a signed copy of the beautifully illustrated Feathers: Poems about Birds!  

Janet Wong - Hear author Janet Wong read poetry via the audio feature by clicking on the microphone! I especially appreciate how she writes about her relationship with poetry and its power in the main text of this page.

Shel Silverstein - Classic children's poet Silverstein's clever, and often offbeat wit, is treasured by children generation after generation. Check out his website to see more of his creativeness!

Hope that these sites serve as inspiration for you! :) Enjoy!

Reading Suggestion: E-Anthology Poetry Tag Time!

     I found out about a neat new anthology that was just launched this week entitled Poetry Tag Time. Author Janet Wong and professor/blogger Sylvia Vardell compiled an collection of poetry that is only available as an "e-anthology" for e-readers. On Amazon for the Kindle it's a reasonable 99 cents. You can also download a free sample to a Kindle as well. In addition, it's available to download to other devices such as a computer or iPhone through this free Kindle app on the website. 

    The format of this collection is unique because it is a total of 30 poems from 30 various well-known children's authors. It starts with a poem from Jack Prelutsky about the moon, which then served as the inspiration for the next poem from Joyce Sidman. In the book, Sidman explains that Prelutsky's poem on the moon led her to think of eggs, which then led her to wonder about where everything is born! The following poem from Nikki Grimes is inspired by Sidman's last word in her poem "sun" which led Grimes to write about sunflowers.  The whole book is a big writing version of "Tag, You're It!" Isn't that a cool way to teach a lesson in a classroom writing community? Since April is National Poetry Month, what a perfect independent writing project that can be passed from one student to another. The feeling that you can inspire another writer would inspire children to be creative and inspire subsequent classroom authors as well. Once edited and revised, the students can publish the poems on the computer, and then the teacher can print and bind the collection for an instant favorite class book!  

    Check out Poetry Tag Time's website! You can learn a bit about each one of the authors as well as read about the concept in the words of the authors. Poetry Tag also has started a neat blog to extend and inspire poetic writing. Even though it has just recently been started, there is already a great post about using Jack Prelutsky's poem for classroom instruction. The blog states that the 30 poems will be celebrated throughout the month of April, so bookmark the page or at it to your blog roll to be reminded of new posts for inspiration! Also, you can check out the blog of Professor Sylvia Vardell for fresh information about children's poetry.

Quick Link: Poet Lee Bennett Hopkins Launches New Site!

 

     Amazing and prolific children's poetry writer Lee Bennett Hopkins has launched a new website yesterday! On the site, he reports that he has written over 250 collections of poetry for children in his lifetime. That's an amazing accomplishment! Hopkins was a part of the establishment of two awards for poetry in children's literature. One of these is  awarded by the International Reading Association every three years, and it is called the Lee Bennett Hopkins/IRA Promising Poet Award. The other, with his namesake, is sponsored by the Pennsylvania School Librarians Association and the Pennsylvania Center for the Book.

• Lee Bennett Hopkins new website link
• Lee Bennett Hopkins blog journal just launched on March 18, 2011
• A selection of popular Lee Bennett Hopkins books
• Lee Bennett Hopkins on Facebook

Four of my personal favorites from Lee Bennett Hopkins includes:

• Sharing the Seasons (Margaret K. McElderry, 2010)

• My America: A Poetry Atlas of the United States (Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing, 2000)
  
  
• Incredible Inventions (Greenwillow, 2009)

• Wonderful Words (Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing, 2004) 

His newest collection, I Am the Book (Holiday House, 2011) was just released on March 15th. I certainly love the topic and I can't wait to explore it at a library or bookstore soon! Remember, April is National Poetry Month. I'll be posting about some additional favorite poetry books and authors in the month of April as well!

Celebrate the Upcoming Children's Book Week by Voting for the 2011 Children's Choice Book Awards!

     Another fabulous opportunity to celebrate the best in new children's literature will occur during Children's Book Week. This year, it falls on the week of May 2-8, 2011! It is sponsored by the Children's Book Council. The voting for the Children's Choice Book Awards is now open! It's super easy to vote online through their site.



This year's poster art is created by Peter Brown, author of
Children Make Terrible Pets (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2010)



     The awards are going to be hosted by fabulously talented Jarrett Krosoczka. The voting is divided into three categories: K-2, 3-4, and 5-6. Check out the nominees to find an inspiration for a read aloud, a new mentor text to tie in to a mini-lesson, or a fresh suggestion or two for your classroom library. 

Voting for K-2 - Nominations

Voting for 3-4 - Nominations

Voting for 5-6 - Nominations 

     A very cool feature the CBC set up to present the nominees is through the site A Story Before Bed.  Through here, you can watch Jarrett announce the books and authors through a video while a virtual book turns pages in to show the books of the competitors!  

You can follow Children's Choice Book Awards on Facebook and on Twitter for the most current updates!

Check out Jarrett Krosoczka's awesome website! You can also read a fun entry in my old blog from where Jarrett visited our school and my young authors!

If you would like to order a copy of Children's Book Week poster for 2011, check out this link from the CBC site for where to send a self-addressed stamped envelope. It just cost an envelope and 65 cents in postage for one! :)

Quick Link: Notable Books from the Children's Literature Assembly Announced!

The Children's Literature Assembly is an affiliate of NCTE (The National Council of the Teachers of English.) It has released the 2011 Notable Book List from the Children's Literature Assembly recently. You can check it out here:

Children's Literature Assembly - Notable books for 2011

You can also check out their Journal of Children's Literature, which is published twice a year, through this link. The direct link to CLA on Facebook for the most current updates on the organization's activities. 

Journal of Children's Literature from the Children's Literature Assembly


Children's Literature Assembly on Facebook

Quick News: Target Hosts Storytime on February 26

     Target stores are slated to host a story time in stores in honor of Dr. Seuss on Saturday, March 26, from 9 to 11 am! The website states that there will be opportunities for coupons, goodie bags, and to listen to Dr. Seuss favorites being read aloud. This is a part of Target's ongoing support of literacy and Read Across America Day, which occurs on March 2nd in schools across the country.

Target's Storytime in Stores February 26th

Dr. Seuss and The Lorax copy masters from Target

Mentor Text Highlight: Dark Emperor and Other Poems of the Night Written By: Joyce Sidman and Illustrated By: Nick Allen

     I love adding new mentor texts to my recommendations for teaching! This week in third grade, I highlighted the book Dark Emperor and Other Poems of the Night (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2010) written by Joyce Sidman and illustrated by Nick Allen. Nick Allen's official website highlights this work at Ken Speckle Letterpress. You can preview portions of the text on Google Books. I have my own copy that I am happy to lend out! :) Here is a book preview from publisher Houghton Mifflin Harcourt:




     There are many avenues to take when incorporating this text into a lesson. It's considered a type of "hybrid nonfiction," which means that it explains factual information in a different format besides just straight listings of facts. This book presents facts through hypothetical observations of various nocturnal animals. With my particular lesson, I started out by explaining (with great enthusiasm) how this book had recently was announced as one of the four Newbery Honor Awards for 2010! I also discussed how neat this book was to win an honor because typically the awards go to chapter books, and so it must be pretty special. I talked with the students about how Sidman's author's voice sets a tone for the feel of the text with the preview on the inside flap. I read it with intrigue, and the students and I talked about how she set a vibe and made the reader curious before even reading the table of contents or any of the poems.

     Next, I had the third graders take out their Writer's Sparks Inspiration Notebooks which they received in September.  They opened to a new page in the "Sparks from Reading and Writing" section because it was a time to "read like writers" as author Katie Wood Ray would say. (If you are not familiar with Ray's modern classic professional text Wonderous Words, please come by and check out a school copy in my resource room. It's amazing!)  The students set up their page with a template which was written on chart paper. It consisted of:

• Title of Poem
• Facts (this is where they listened like observing scientists)
• Visualizations (powerful words and phrases that created great imagery as we listened)
• Still Curious About (questions the students had that still lingered after having their curiosity peaked by the poem)

     As you can see in the photo of the chart below, the example we walked through together was the poem called "Snail at Moonrise." I read it twice, once to allow the poem to soak in their imaginations and visualize the description. The second time, the poem was shown on the overhead camera so the text was there to quote from. Since the students are accustomed to "reading like writers" as this point of the year, they ran with it. It's so rewarding to hear the rich inferential, higher level thinking that these students share with each other in Think-Pair-Shares!  After everyone shared curiosities with neighbors and the classroom, I read the paragraph on the neighboring page. The paragraphs that accompany the poems are true nonfiction sections which dispense facts. Many of their curiosities were satisfied after hearing it. (A few were not, which let to an eager craving to research the questions!)

     You can learn more about the works of this author by viewing Joyce Sidman's official website. She dedicates one of the pages to her website to giving writing advice to young and old!!! Sidman also has a page of "Poem Starters" which are a great source of inspiration for lessons in poetry units in April. Be sure to check it out!

     I have a special spot in my heart for authors who want to share their experiences and wisdom about the writing process. In particular, I think it is so powerful when an adult author speaks in a voice of respect to young authors. In the classroom writing communities we have fostered all school year together, it is so important to tie in messages of encouragement and inspiration!

    For an author study and additional selections, I recommend these titles from Joyce Sidman. She has a distinct style of writing, and you can really hear her style of voice as if she is right there reading the text aloud to you in person! If you click on the titles, you will go to Sidman's excellent teaching guides. They are really worth exploring! 

• Ubiquitous: Celebrating Nature's Survivors (recommended for grades 3-5)
• Song of the Waterboatman and Other Pond Poems (recommended for grades 2-5; available at the MW media center)
• Red Sings from Treetops (recommended for grades K-3; available at the MW media center as part of the Mayor's Book Club collection)