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.
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!
World Read Aloud Day is on March 9th this year! This day is sponsored by Lit World, which is a non-profit organization whose mission "is to cultivate literacy leaders worldwide through transformational literacy experiences that build connection, understanding, resilience and strength." For our primary grades, this is certainly a holiday that you celebrate with your children on a daily basis! :) To learn more about this, you can check out Lit World's website and Facebook page.
Lit World's Sister Site: Lit Life (in the United States)
Lit World and Lit Life's executive director is Pam Allyn, who has written numerous professional books. Her newest book that will be coming out this spring from Scholastic is Pam Allyn's Best Books for Boys. Allyn's book What To Read When (Avery, 2009) can be previewed through Google Books and it also has a companion website. You can check out Pam Allyn's other resources from Scholastic Professional Books here at this link.
I love getting updates from blogs on my blog roll, e-newsletters, and connections involving literacy on Facebook. Here are a few bits and pieces of cool book related news I've picked up in the past week. :) Have fun exploring!
Favorite "Diary" Books from Harry Bliss Coming to the Small Screen
The Diary of a Worm, Diary of a Spider, and Diary of a Fly is being created into an animated series according to a Publishers Weekly article. The show will most likely not debut until 2013. It is also reported that it will blend in earth science concepts into the fantasy storyline, which is super!
Follett Library Resources has a e-newsletter that you can sign up for called Titlewave. It's full of upcoming publications, author interviews, and more. This month features an interview of Ingrid Law, the author of Savvy and Scumble. Savvy is one of the Battle of the Books novels this year, too! It was one of my favorite reads last summer, and I can wait to dig into Scumble!
Publishers Weekly reported that Martin Scorsese is creating a film adaptation of the 2008 Caldecott Medal winning book, The Invention of Hugo Cabret, written and masterfully illustrated by Brian Selznick. The release date is set for December 9th in theaters. This Columbia Picture's film is supposedly filmed in 3D! I can't wait to see the adaptation, although this definitely will be a case of "the book was better than the movie." Selznick's amazingly detailed and thought provoking illustrations are irreplaceable. :)
Also of related interest, PW notes that Scholastic will be publishing Selznick's newest book, Wonderstruck, which is slated for a September 13, 2011 release date. I bet it will look amazing!
Last Monday, the American Library Association announced its 2011 award winners for the Newbery, Caldecott, Coretta Scott King, and more. This is like the Oscars of the children's literature world! In case you haven't had a chance to check out the winners, be sure to visit ALA's press release announcement to explore the medalists.
Here is the rebroadcast of the announcement provided by ALA. It's approximately an hour and 12 minutes long. You can skip ahead to the sections that you are interested in by hovering over the bottom of the video to bring up the sliding fast forward button. It can inspire you to discover a new book at our media center, public library, or from a colleague's collection. If you've read one and would like to recommend it, feel free to leave a comment. :) Enjoy!
Reading Rockets is a well-respected, in depth website from the Washington D.C.'s WETA PBS station. This website has a focus on early learners and the primary grades, and offers a wealth of information that you can link on your Edline page for parents, too. Explore some of the features I noted below to get a feel for the site if you are unfamiliar with it. Be sure to bookmark it and check out the author videos, my personal favorite! :)
Website Highlights:
Classroom Strategies Resources - This is a new section on the website which provides ideas and reminders on what are effective instructional strategies to apply before, during, or after reading. It also highlights whether it is directed at individuals, small groups, or whole group instruction. These components are divided within these realms of reading and writing instruction for early grade learners:
There are numerous downloadable free guides that are available here. The Family Guide is available in Spanish and English together. Empowering Parents is also a great, full color pamphlet available through this page, too.
Reading Rockets Blogs:
Sound It Out - This blog is written by Dr. Joanne Meier and gives advice on raising readers both at home and in the classroom.
Page by Page - From children's literature expert Maria Salvadore, this blog highlights best book picks and how they can be used at home and in the classroom.
Other Resources on the Internet Beyond the Website Reading Rockets:
I was pleasantly surprised when I was reading my subscription copy of the February 2011 Family Circle magazine. Included as a folded insert is a large poster from children's book author and illustrator Eric Carle! It's a large size and perfect for laminating and adding a splash to your classroom library. Carle has produced this in support of American Cancer Society and its strides in fighting childhood leukemia. What a worthy cause!
Are you looking for a nonfiction read aloud to add to your genre study of nonfiction reading and writing? Here is a touchstone text calledBat Loves the Night written by Nicola Davies and illustrated by Sarah Fox-Davies (Candlewick Press, 2001.) After an interactive read aloud of the text, one aspect about the writer's craft that can be highlighted is the author's rich use of descriptive language. Using the document camera, you can revisit the text and notice the adjectives used to describe the bat and other aspects within the story. The second part of the author's craft that can be noticed is how Davies made comparisons to help illustrate points. You can discuss how she does this in order to connect to the children's existing background knowledge. She particularly uses a lot of similes in the text, as you can see in the second portion of the anchor chart.
A lesson chart by Wendy Melzer for Bat Loves the Night written by Nicola Davies (Candlewick Press, 2001)
Looking for more ways to use this anchor text in your classroom? Check out a few of these resourceful links! :)
Continue with an author study of Nicola Davies and her style of narrative nonfiction writing. Click here to go to Walker Books and read more about her in her own words. Check out other books by her in the nonfiction "Read and Wonder" collection from Candlewick Press. Also on the "Read and Wonder" link, you can see additional books written by different authors as well.
This link will take you to Candlewick Press and their "Read and Wonder" PDF Teacher's Guide. (I happen to have a printed version they sent me if you would like to see it.)
I am a big fan of National Geographic for Kids. You can extend the lesson by modeling how to synthesize information from an online article by sharing this nonfiction article about The Amazing Bats of Braken Cave.
Here is a wealth of additional ideas to peruse from the Oregon Reading Association's website. The document was created by Karen Antikajian. Check it out here at Oregon Reads: Learning Ideas for Bat Loves the Night.
Feel free to share your ideas in the comments section below. Do you have ideas with this book? The series? The author for an author study? I'd love to hear your ideas! :)
Countdown by Deborah Wiles (Scholastic Press, 2010)
In the world of children's literature, there will be a BIG annual announcement made on January 10th! That's the day that the Newbery and Caldecott awards will be announced at the American Library Association's Midwinter Conference in San Diego. As you probably know, the Newbery is awarded for the children's book which was found to be the best written book published in the last year. The Caldecott is awarded for the book that is regarded as the best illustrated children's book published in the past year. I decided to focus this blog entry on the Newbery, with a "part 2" coming up soon on the Caldecott.
One Crazy Summer by Rita
Williams-Garcia
(Amistad, 2010)
A few of the many news articles and blogs that give us a peek at the possible Newbery Medal Winners for 2011:
From Fuse #8, a blog from the School Library Journal, predicted in December on what might be the contenders for the Newbery. Click here to see their post and see if you've read or seen these books. You can find out more mock Newbery voting on SLJ's blogs by typing "Newbery 2011" in the site's search box. Numerous posts will come up from readers and bloggers aross the nation. You can also go to Fuse #8's "Mock Newbery Award" predictions.
The Dreamer by Pam Munoz Ryan (Scholastic Press, 2010)
What are my guesses for which books are in the running based on what I've had a chance to read? In no particular order, my pool of books that I think the picks should come from include Keeper by Kathi Appelt, Touch Blue by Cynthia Lord, Countdown by Deborah Wiles, Dark Emperor and Other Poems of the Night by Joyce Sidman, One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia, and The Dreamer by Pam Munoz Ryan. However, there are more critically acclaimed books from the past year that I have NOT had a chance to read that I am curious about such as Forge by Laurie Halse Anderson, The Night Fairy by Laura Amy Schiltz, Kneebone Boy by Ellen Potter, Ninth Ward by Jewell Parker Rhodes, and A Conspiracy of Kings by Megan Whalen Turner. Therefore, I can't really predict the proper winners. I'm excited to keep reading! :)
Do you agree with the predictions for this year's Newbery awards? Which ones have you read or seen? Feel free to leave a comment on your predictions and favorite books of the year! :)
P.S. - I recently planned a third grade literacy coaching lesson using Dark Emperor and Other Poems of the Night by Joyce Sidman for mid-January! :) It will be my first time using the text that I received from Amazon the other day. :) I have enjoyed Sidman's other fabulous collections of poetry and love this one, too! Be sure to check in January for a blog post about my lesson! :)
Additional Links of Interest
American Library Association: This association awards the Newbery Medal annually. You can check out past winners by going to this link:
Anita Silvey: Check out children's literature expert on Facebook, Twitter (@anitasilvey), and her websites. She updates on all of these social networking tools quite often! It was thanks to her Facebook update today that I heard about this afternoon's Scripps news article. :) (Thank-you so much Anita Silvey! :)
Anita Silvey's Book-A-Day Almanac online (This is a GREAT link for parents on Edline!)
Pam Munoz Ryan: You can visit Ryan's newly revised website to learn more about her books and read some interview responses.Ryan is a guest blogger for this post on Teaching Books. Click here to listen to her introduce and read an excerpt from her book The Dreamer. You can preview the a portion on the book through this Google books link, too. There is an official Teaching Guide from Scholastic as well, and you can download it as a PDF. In this Scholastic's On Our Mind You Tube video entry, Ryan was interviewed about the book and her inspirations.
Cynthia Lord: This link will take you to her blog, and this link will take you to her website. Lord has posted a Teacher's Guide to use with her book Touch Blue. Explore more of Lord's offerings for teachers and librarians by looking at the interview and blog links for her books on this page of her official website as well. This Google books link will take you to a preview of Touch Blue.
Rita Williams-Garcia: Preview One Crazy Summer through this widget from publisher Harper Collins. You can also listen to Rita Williams talk about her book in a very informal conversation, taped by her friend Kathi Appelt (small writing world!) at the Vermont College of Fine Arts. I love how hearing the author talk about their book brings an extra dimension of life and understanding to the reader's experiences.
Kathi Appelt: Here is Kathi Appelt's website link, and this link will take you to the blog portion of her site. You can preview the beginning of the text through this Google books link. (For fun, you can catch other video clips from Appelt on You Tube. She posted a few with Rita Williams-Garcia on fun aspects and observations with their real life friendship. I love her voice! She must be give an amazing read aloud. It makes me miss Vermont, too!)
Deborah Wiles: This link will take you to the author's blog, and this link will take you to her website. Through this link from Scholastic, you can download the publisher's discussion guide for Countdown. Also available on Scholastic's site is a sample of Chapter One that you can read online, and you can hear an audio read aloud sample through this link. You can also go to a multimedia page where the YouTube book trailer for Countdown is posted, as well as the "Duck and Cover" video from the early 1960s that school children saw. In addition, all of the music mentioned in the book is available as an iTunes playlist. What an innovative novel!
On November 16, Knopf Books for Young Readers released President Barack Obama's children's book entitled Of Thee I Sing. It is beautifully illustrated by Loren Long, who also wrote and illustrated books such as Otis and Drummer Boy. In this Washington Post article, President Obama visited an Arlington, VA library to read aloud his book (along with a read aloud of Twas the Night Before Christmas.) He was very personable with the children as he shared this book he wrote in 2008, prior to being elected to be the President. All proceeds from the sales will go to a scholarship fund set up for children of fallen and disabled soldiers called the Fisher House.
Beautiful Illustration by Loren Long for President Obama's book Of Thee I Sing (Knopf Books for Young Readers, 2010)
The book starts out with this question: "Have I told you lately how wonderful you are?" As you can see in the Associated Press clip introduction below, President Obama states his inspiration for his book began as a letter to his wonderful daughters. It led him to think of thirteen famous people in history who embodied the same character traits that Malia and Sasha display. The President uses lyrical language to explain the given famous historical figures and their traits. President Obama's sincere adoration of his daughters is quite evident in his writing.
In this presentation video from Random House/Knopf Books for Young Readers, illustrator Loren Long discusses the text and its powerful message that he helped to convey in his talented illustrations. It's a wonderful, short clip to show before reading the book aloud with the class.
There is so many ways to build this text into a lesson, from characterization, main idea and supporting details, "golden threads" of well crafted writing, a strong lead and ending, multiculturalism, citizenship, and more. Be sure to check out Loren Long's website and his other books. I highly recommend it! :)
Wild About Books (Knopf Books for Young Children, 2004) Written by Judy Sierra and illustrated by Marc Brown
Although we hope that real books are always a part of our personal and educational lives, it is also savvy to be aware of the emerging technologies involved with the world of literacy. Think about where technologies with cell phones were 10 years ago and what they can do now! Some of us can remember when sending one email was a big deal 15 years ago. In contrast, think how many pile up in your in box by noon on a daily basis. Personal computers were so much more basic 20 years ago, and the world is at your fingertips via the Internet today. Technology will be much more integrated in the literacy lives of the children we teach in the future, too. In the age of the more affordable Kindle and the color Nook, children's books are becoming more available in this format. Apps, or applications, based on children's books are also being explored by the large publishing companies. I recently saw on Facebook that Random House was previewing its iPad app for the book Wild About Books, written by Judy Sierra and illustrated by Marc Brown (of the Arthur series fame.)
Earlier this week, author Donalyn Miller posted about an article Publishers Weekly has on their site called "Don't Write the Obit for the Picture Book Yet." The article is largely a response to a New York Times article published in October called "Picture Books No Longer a Staple for Children." In the PW article, the Association of Booksellers for Children executive director Kristen Mclean refers to children being "omnivorous," meaning that they consume and respond to reading in a variety of formats.
PW has even recently started a weekly "Apps News" update about how publishing companies are testing the waters of apps for children's books. Here are some more recent articles from Publishers Weekly highlighting the current and developing technological trends in literacy.
Random House will soon expand on Wild about Books by releasing apps for the books How Rocket Learned to Read and classic Pat the Bunny.
ScrollMotion is an app creator which features apps from the series Curious George.
The children's book classic The Little Engine That Couldis available as an app on the publisher Penguin Young Readers website.
Scholastic is delving into the world of apps with the popular 39 Clues Series, as well as the I Spy series, Clifford, and the PBS show Word Girl.
Curious Puppy - E-Imprint of Harper Collins Children's Books - This site has published its first app based on a book. It's Freight Train, the classic early childhood picture book written and illustrated by Donald Crews. Upcoming apps are slated for other classics such as Goodnight Moon, The Giving Tree, and Where the Wild Things Are, as well as classic chapter books Charlotte's Web and Ramona Quimby.
It seems that classics and popular series are a staple in the emerging apps world. There is another facet that may be aimed at appealing to those children who love interacting with technology like video games. Children's picture books are a vital part of our reading lives. It's fascinating to see how technology will continue to compliment and promote literacy!
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! 
Favorite "Diary" Books from Harry Bliss Coming to the Small Screen
Follett Library Resources has a e-newsletter that you can sign up for called Titlewave. It's full of upcoming publications, author interviews, and more. This month features an interview of Ingrid Law, the author of Savvy and Scumble. Savvy is one of the Battle of the Books novels this year, too! It was one of my favorite reads last summer, and I can wait to dig into Scumble!
Publishers Weekly reported that Martin Scorsese is creating a film adaptation of the 2008 Caldecott Medal winning book, The Invention of Hugo Cabret, written and masterfully illustrated by Brian Selznick. The release date is set for December 9th in theaters. This Columbia Picture's film is supposedly filmed in 3D! I can't wait to see the adaptation, although this definitely will be a case of "the book was better than the movie." Selznick's amazingly detailed and thought provoking illustrations are irreplaceable. :) 
