It's that time for the fourth annual 10 for 10 Blogging Picture Book Event! Education bloggers post 10 book suggestions for great children's literature. The co-hosts are Cathy Mears and Mandy Robek. Cathy is the blogger for Reflect and Refine, and Mandy's blog is Enjoy and Embrace Learning. You can find all of the blogging participants through Cathy and Mandy's Jog the Web link collection. This year, I focused my collection on two favorites which have been published within the past two years. I hope you enjoy connecting with the suggestions! Nightsong
Written by Ari Berk and Illustrated by Loren Long
Simon and Schuster Books, 2012
This story focuses on a young bat named
Chiro who is encouraged by his mother to go on his first solo voyage into the
night. He is apprehensive but also trusts in his mother’s gentle encouragement.
Chiro’s mother explains that he will use his “good sense” to find his way.
Although this advice refers to Chiro literally using his keen sense of hearing,
it also has a philosophical meaning because he will need to make good decisions
along the way. Loren Long’s illustrations of the bats against the stark black sky
carry great impact and transport the reader into the dark of the night right
alongside Chiro. He makes his way through the night, trusting in the advice
from his mother that he repeats to himself. The author’s writing style in
conjunction with the illustrations creates tension and suspense. The story has
a happy ending when Chiro perseveres through the night and makes it back into
his mother’s wings.
The writing trait of word choice can be
highlighted with this text in a writing workshop interactive read aloud. Berk’s distinct writing style gives the story
a voice of a tender narrator. The students can be shown how an author’s note at
the very end helps readers to make a text-to-world connection because of the
explanation of the main character’s name Chiro to Greek word roots. The writing traits of word choice and sentence
fluency are also apparent through the lyrical writing and comparative descriptions.
The teacher and/or students can collect “golden threads” of well-crafted
sentences on a chart paper to serve as a mentor text example of this writing
trait. Character traits can also be listed by students to describe Chiro
throughout the course of the book.
Written
by Jacqueline Woodson and Illustrated by E.B. Lewis
Nancy Paulsen
Books/Penguin Books, 2012
Author Jacqueline Woodson’s newest picture book Each Kindness is about a girl named Maya who is economically
disadvantaged and new to a school during the middle of the year. In the class,
an African-American girl named Chloe is featured. As time passes, the reader
witnesses how Chloe and the classmates struggle with accepting Maya. The teacher illustrates the power of their
words by dropping a pebble in water to see how the ripples are much more far
reaching than they think. One day, Maya is “forever gone” and Chloe realizes
that her opportunity to befriend Maya and spread kindness has passed by.
The story serves as a wonderful
springboard for a rich discussion during an interactive read aloud with the
class. Students would use inferential thinking to make predictions and draw
conclusions about what may happen next. Students could use post-it notes or a
reader response notebook to record predictions and conclusions with evidence
from the text as support for their thoughts.
Predictions and conclusions could be revised as the story unfolds. The
writing traits of word choice and sentence fluency would be well modeled by
Woodson’s writing in a writing workshop mini-lesson as well.
Written and Illustrated by Loren Long
Philomel Books, 2012
In
the third installment of this series, Otis and the Puppy takes the
reader back to the farm where Otis and the farm animals live. A new, exuberant
puppy is brought home by the farmer one evening and he is a welcome addition to
the homestead. During his first night, the puppy whimpers for company and Otis
brings him into the barn to slumber together with the animals. One day while
playing hide and seek, the puppy is distracted by a butterfly and wanders away.
The entire farm sets off to search for him until the night sets in. Otis can’t
sleep because he is full of worry. Despite being scared of the dark, Otis
musters up the courage to search endlessly for the puppy. The story ends on a
wonderful note when Otis finds him in a log and he brings the puppy home safe
and sound.
Otis and the Puppy is a wonderful
story to discuss friendship and community at the beginning of a school year
with a new class. Students can make predictions about what they think might
happen next in the story in a discussion or in a written format. As the teacher
continues to read the story, students would adjust or verify their predictions
with new evidence from the text. Character traits could be explored to describe
the feelings and personality of Otis and the puppy as well. The writing trait
of voice is modeled with Loren Long’s narrative tone in his Otis stories.
Written and Illustrated by Patricia Polacco
G. P. Putnam's Sons, 2012
Patricia
Polacco is a masterful storyteller and artist.
In this recent work, Polacco pens a memoir about a wonderful and
influential art teacher named Miss Chew and a classroom teacher named Mr.
Donovan. Both educators saw the talent that Patricia possessed as an artist and
Mr. Donovan went out of his way to see that Patricia had the opportunity to
take art classes with Mrs. Chew, the high school art teacher. Patricia
flourished with Mrs. Chew’s learning and learned so much about art and
persistence. The story ends with Patricia presenting a touching piece of art to
Mr. Donovan at an art show.
Students
could compare and contrast The Art of
Miss Chew and Thank-You, Mr. Falker
by looking at the struggles, the feelings of being bullied, and how she
overcame those challenges with the help of teachers. Characters traits could also be outlined for
the main characters on chart paper or sticky notes on a classroom chalkboard.
Students could also practice visualizing aspects of the story by initially not
showing illustrations for a few select pages and discussing what they imagine
before revealing the book’s drawings. The writing traits of presentation,
sentence fluency, ideas, and word choice could all easily be modeled with this
book as a mentor text.
Written
by Esme Raji Codell and Illustrated by Lynne Rye Perkins
Greenwillow, 2012
Seed by Seed starts out comparing the modern world that John Chapman lived in many years ago. A boy and a girl are show and they seem to travel back in time to the frontier with Johnny Appleseed. The author presents five tenants that Chapman lived by. Each of
these mindsets is individually explored in the middle of the book. For the concept of “use what you have,” Codell
explains how he wore simple hand me down clothes and obtained his apple seeds
in resourceful ways. For “share what you have,” the author explains how he
traded and sold his apple trees. If someone couldn’t afford them, he trusted
people to take them and asked them to pay him back when they were able to do
so.
A fact that
is not as well-known as his apple trees is how he would share books and
sometimes split books into sections in order to share them with several people
at once. In a sense, he was a pioneer as a librarian, too. For “respect
nature,” the author explains how Chapman lived off the land and coexisted with
animals well. For “try to make peace where there is war,” Codell discusses how
he was respected in both the pioneer and the Native American communities that
he encountered. “You can reach your destination by taking small steps,”
compliments John Chapman’s many miles traveled throughout his lifetime and the
difference his efforts made in countless lives of people he encountered along
the way.
The book
ends with this line: “What seed will you plant?” This idea serves as a writing
prompt for students to reflect and wonder what small gesture that they can do
to make their corner of the world a better place to be. After the story ends,
the author offers ideas for a Johnny Appleseed Anniversary celebration for September 26. Children could do their own versions of celebrating
Johnny and his good deeds at school or at home with families that day. The
writing trait of presentation is exemplified through Perkins’s detailed
illustrations. Codell’s decision to explore the human side of John Chapman
supports the writing trait of ideas.
Ralph Tells a Story
Written and Illustrated by Abby Hanlon
Amazon Children's Publishing, 2012
This book
showcases a classroom of young students who have a teacher that passionately
declares, “Stories are everywhere!” However, the main character, Ralph,
struggles with writing and he’s paralyzed with writer’s block. He finds many
ways to try to misuse his time and pleads for help from a neighboring student
in the classroom named Daisy. She is so enthusiastic about writing that she
tells Ralph that she has written many stories about him and everyday little
events. After further struggle, Ralph winds up under his desk imagining a scene
with an inchworm but his teacher only encourages his daydreaming in hopes of
him finding a writer’s spark. He eventually shares this one line about an
inchworm, and verbally elaborates on the story at story share time in the
class. Everyone was thrilled to hear his story!
In Rocket
Writes a Story, Tad Hills brings Rocket the dog back in the sequel to How
Rocket Learned to Read. This New York Times bestseller is about a dog whose
companion is a little yellow bird that acts as his teacher. The bird encourages
him to collect words on a tree, gather ideas that inspire him, and write his
first story. Rocket reads his story to a pine tree who enjoys his
writing. He experiences the value of sharing a story with an audience. This tale is a
wonderful mentor text for writing workshop in grades 1-2 because the main
character models being a passionate reader and writer. Students will connect to
how Rocket works through the hard parts of the writing process. The writing
traits of ideas, sentence fluency, and word choice are well modeled by the
text. Character traits of persistence and curiosity are easily identifiable for
students as well.
Chopsticks
is a sequel of sorts to the book Spoon. On a corner of the cover,
the Spoon character declares, “Not exactly a sequel to Spoon. More like
a change in place setting.” This story is about an animated pair of chopsticks
which are initially an inseparable pair that do everything together. During a
fancy maneuver, one of the Chopsticks breaks his tip. While he heals, the other
Chopstick ventures out in the world to figure out how to be independent and
“stand on his own.” The story ends with the injured Chopstick being
successfully healed and both Chopsticks realizing that they are able to both
stand on their own and stick together.
The book is full of puns, word play, and idioms. Examples include, “Chopstick was quickly whisked away” by a kitchen whisk after his injury and “feels fantastic(k)” when he comments about his healed leg. A teacher could share this book and Spoon as examples of stories with idioms, puns, and word play to express creativity in writing. Also, the book is a mentor text for demonstrating how to interject humor in a story without losing the focus of the storyline in an effective manner. The writing trait of voice is illustrated with the writing in this story. The book can also be used to compare and contrast different points of view and model how to effectively use dialogue in a story.
Exclamation
Mark features an exclamation point as the main character. Immediately,
human emotions are assigned to this simple but expressively drawn punctuation
mark. The reader learns the different ways that he feels like he stands out and
how he desperately wants to blend into the crowd. Rosenthal stays true to her
signature style of infusing word play into her writing with lines such as, “But
he wasn’t like everyone else. Period.” (The exclamation mark stands deflated at
the end of a row of period marks to emphasize a double entendre.) The story
takes a turn when the exclamation mark meets a question mark for the first
time. The question mark bombards him with questions which drives him to
exclaim, “Stop!!!” In that moment, he realizes his particular voice as an
exclamation point.
Unspoken is masterfully drawn by Henry Cole. Although it is a
wordless picture book, a rich historical fiction story is told through Cole’s
sketches. In the book, a girl is depicted living on a farm around the time of
the Civil War. When she goes out to the barn, she hears a rustling in the
stored corn stalks. She realizes that there is someone hiding under dried
stalks, and runs back home. The thought of someone out there weighs on her
mind, and she sneaks out to leave some food for the stranger. She continues to
sneak meals out to the mystery person in the barn. One day, two soldiers arrive
looking for any runaway slaves and sternly show a poster that declares, “Wanted,
Escaped! Reward!” The soldiers leave empty handed, and the little girl goes to
check on the runaway. She discovers that the slave has moved on safely, but she
is left to wonder where the slave went beyond her farm. This wordless book has great depth in its storyline, and the reader "reads" the story with the powerful illustrations. In the author's note at the end of the book, Cole explains, "Because I made only the pictures, I'm hoping you will write the words and make this story your own - filling in all that has been unspoken." It is an excellent mentor text for using inferences to figure out what the author doesn't specifically tell you with words. The trait of presentation can be discussed, despite that the story is wordless, due to the the book's distinctive composition. Also, the trait of ideas could be explored with the assistance of the author's note at the end of the story which explains the true historical inspiration.
Ralph Tells a Story
Written and Illustrated by Abby Hanlon
Amazon Children's Publishing, 2012
This book
showcases a classroom of young students who have a teacher that passionately
declares, “Stories are everywhere!” However, the main character, Ralph,
struggles with writing and he’s paralyzed with writer’s block. He finds many
ways to try to misuse his time and pleads for help from a neighboring student
in the classroom named Daisy. She is so enthusiastic about writing that she
tells Ralph that she has written many stories about him and everyday little
events. After further struggle, Ralph winds up under his desk imagining a scene
with an inchworm but his teacher only encourages his daydreaming in hopes of
him finding a writer’s spark. He eventually shares this one line about an
inchworm, and verbally elaborates on the story at story share time in the
class. Everyone was thrilled to hear his story!
This story
would be a wonderful book to read aloud at the beginning of the school year to
set the tone for the importance of writing in the classroom and to empower
students with the feeling that they have important stories to tell. At
the end of the book, the character gives four cute tips for writing: get
comfortable, ask for help, you can always write about what you ate for
breakfast, and eat chocolate. Students can brainstorm with the teacher an
anchor chart about their advice to each other for writing and what to do when
you have writer’s block. The class can also compare and contrast Ralph as a
writer from the beginning end pages to the end pages at the conclusion of the
book. The irreverent titles of stories at the end are good examples of
elaborating on simple, everyday topics in a humorous manner. Any of these
activities would illustrate the writing trait of ideas.
Written
and Illustrated by Tad Hills Schwartz
& Wade, 2012
Written by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and Illustrated by Scott Magoon
Disney - Hyperion, 2012
Chopsticks
is a sequel of sorts to the book Spoon. On a corner of the cover,
the Spoon character declares, “Not exactly a sequel to Spoon. More like
a change in place setting.” This story is about an animated pair of chopsticks
which are initially an inseparable pair that do everything together. During a
fancy maneuver, one of the Chopsticks breaks his tip. While he heals, the other
Chopstick ventures out in the world to figure out how to be independent and
“stand on his own.” The story ends with the injured Chopstick being
successfully healed and both Chopsticks realizing that they are able to both
stand on their own and stick together. The book is full of puns, word play, and idioms. Examples include, “Chopstick was quickly whisked away” by a kitchen whisk after his injury and “feels fantastic(k)” when he comments about his healed leg. A teacher could share this book and Spoon as examples of stories with idioms, puns, and word play to express creativity in writing. Also, the book is a mentor text for demonstrating how to interject humor in a story without losing the focus of the storyline in an effective manner. The writing trait of voice is illustrated with the writing in this story. The book can also be used to compare and contrast different points of view and model how to effectively use dialogue in a story.
Exclamation Mark
Written by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and Illustrated by Tom Lichenheld
Scholastic Press, 2013
Written by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and Illustrated by Tom Lichenheld
Scholastic Press, 2013
Exclamation
Mark features an exclamation point as the main character. Immediately,
human emotions are assigned to this simple but expressively drawn punctuation
mark. The reader learns the different ways that he feels like he stands out and
how he desperately wants to blend into the crowd. Rosenthal stays true to her
signature style of infusing word play into her writing with lines such as, “But
he wasn’t like everyone else. Period.” (The exclamation mark stands deflated at
the end of a row of period marks to emphasize a double entendre.) The story
takes a turn when the exclamation mark meets a question mark for the first
time. The question mark bombards him with questions which drives him to
exclaim, “Stop!!!” In that moment, he realizes his particular voice as an
exclamation point.
Character traits
can certainly be recorded by students with sticky notes, in a writer’s
notebook, or a collective class chart during a read aloud. In particular,
students can be asked to notice how he changed over time by writing down traits
to describe him as a character near the beginning of the book versus how he
acts at the end of the book. Comparing and
contrasting how the exclamation mark acts at the beginning versus the end of
the story can also be discussed with a Thinking Map or graphic organizer like a
Venn Diagram. The problem and solution of the story can be reviewed in a
discussion. Children could “turn and talk” to neighbors about the turning point
of the story when everything changes when the exclamation point meets the
question mark. The writing trait of presentation can be discussed because of
the book’s distinctively simple yet impactful design.
Unspoken: A Story from the Underground Railroad
Written and Illustrated by Henry Cole
Written and Illustrated by Henry Cole
Scholastic
Press, 2012
Unspoken is masterfully drawn by Henry Cole. Although it is a
wordless picture book, a rich historical fiction story is told through Cole’s
sketches. In the book, a girl is depicted living on a farm around the time of
the Civil War. When she goes out to the barn, she hears a rustling in the
stored corn stalks. She realizes that there is someone hiding under dried
stalks, and runs back home. The thought of someone out there weighs on her
mind, and she sneaks out to leave some food for the stranger. She continues to
sneak meals out to the mystery person in the barn. One day, two soldiers arrive
looking for any runaway slaves and sternly show a poster that declares, “Wanted,
Escaped! Reward!” The soldiers leave empty handed, and the little girl goes to
check on the runaway. She discovers that the slave has moved on safely, but she
is left to wonder where the slave went beyond her farm. This wordless book has great depth in its storyline, and the reader "reads" the story with the powerful illustrations. In the author's note at the end of the book, Cole explains, "Because I made only the pictures, I'm hoping you will write the words and make this story your own - filling in all that has been unspoken." It is an excellent mentor text for using inferences to figure out what the author doesn't specifically tell you with words. The trait of presentation can be discussed, despite that the story is wordless, due to the the book's distinctive composition. Also, the trait of ideas could be explored with the assistance of the author's note at the end of the story which explains the true historical inspiration.