Three for Thursday September 30, 2010

It’s school picture day at Inly.  The rain has moved the photographer inside so the library has temporarily been transformed into a studio.  The good part is that every student is visiting the library, and I’m witnessing all kinds of interesting exchanges between the photographer and  her subjects.  Lots of stuffed animals being called into service to entertain young children, older girls are helping each other with their hair and complementing their friends on their new clothes.  The photographer is asking each student what they plan to be for Halloween, so I’m definitely taking notes on which monster and princess books to have ready for that celebration.  The little girl currently having her picture taken is planning to be a peacock – that is one costume I’m looking forward to seeing!

Understandably, the books I’m thinking about are all about taking pictures…

Pictures From Our Vacation by Lynne Rae Perkins (A very cool picture book for kids over six…a story about a family’s road trip and what cameras can’t capture.)

Penguins by Liz Pichon (This book is really funny. A group of penguins in a zoo find a camera left behind by a young visitor and decide to use it.  When a zoo employee returns the camera to the girl the next day, she is treated to all of the pictures the penguins took of each other!)

Flotsam by David Wiesner (Like everything by David Wiesner, this is a really inventive and magical book. A boy goes to the beach searching for treasure that has washed ashore. One of the things he finds is a camera that has been underwater.)

Books to Share with the Apple of Your Eye… September 28, 2010

All of the teachers seem to have apples on their minds.  The children are reading books about apples, drawing apples, and, of course, eating them. I was ready for the annual apple-alooza and put the library’s best apple books on display.  Yesterday, I even ate an apple while pulling some of the books!  If you are looking for books to read before heading out to go apple picking, check out these books.

Apples by Gail Gibbons (The life cycle of an apple, complete with a recipe for apple pie and instructions for planting an apple tree.)

Johnny Appleseed by Reeve Lindbergh (No list would be complete without the story of John Chapman, a Massachusetts native.  There are many good versions of his story, but this is one of my favorites.)

How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World by Marjorie Priceman (Get out the globe while you look at this one!  It’s really fun to follow the creation of the apple pie from Sri Lanka to Vermont.)

Apples and Pumpkins by Anne Rockwell (This book has a Lois Lenski feel to me.  A perfect book for the youngest apple pickers and jack-o-lantern artists.)

Happy Fall!

Celebrating the Freedom to Read September 25, 2010

Tomorrow is September 25, the first day of Banned Books Week.  Launched in 1982, it is an annual spotlight on books that are challenged (and sometimes banned) for a variety of reasons, including profanity, racism, and homosexuality.  According to the American Library Association, over 460 books were challenged in 2009.  One book that has made the “top ten” list (a dubious honor) since its publication in 2005 is And Tango Makes Three, a picture book by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson.

And Tango Makes Three is the true story of Roy and Silo, two male penguins in New York’s Central Park Zoo.  Zookeepers observed the two waiting for a “rock” to hatch - a rock they thought was an egg.  The good people at the zoo decided to help Roy and Silo by taking an egg from a female penguin (who had two) and letting the pair care for Tango as their own.   School Library Journal gave the book a starred review and called it a “joyful story about the meaning of family.”  In its starred review, Booklist called it a “celebration of patient, loving fathers who ‘knew just what to do.’”

The issue that always bothers me (and many others) when I read that And Tango Makes Three has been challenged is that the concerns about it are adult concerns.  If you look at the book with a child they read a sweet and charmingly told story. Children love this book because the penguins are cute and funny. The people at the zoo did a nice thing.  That’s it. Along the way, the reader is perhaps opening their hearts to another kind of family.  In such a complicated world where we divide ourselves in so many ways, why don’t we celebrate a book that opens hearts – rather than closes them.

Three for Thursday September 23, 2010

One of my very favorite questions to answer is this one (usually asked by a student’s mother): “We are looking for a read-aloud that the whole family can enjoy.  I’m looking for a book that will be entertaining to our ten-year-old, but not too complicated for our seven-year-old.”  Of course, the ages change depending on who is asking, but the spirit of the question is the same – what is a good book for a family to share?

Since it’s Thursday, here are three titles I often suggest:

5 Children and It by E. Nesbit (Five children meet a sand fairy with the ability to grant their wishes.  Chaos ensues!  Written in 1902, it’s dated, but charming.)

The Saturdays by Elizabeth Enright (Jump to 1941, and follow the adventures of The Independent Saturday Afternoon Adventure Club.)

The BFG by Roald Dahl (Dahl’s classic 1982 novel featuring a girl named Sophie and a BFG = Big Friendly Giant)

The benefits and joys of reading aloud to your children are numerous.  It encourages their love of books and stories, helps them to develop language skills and allows them to spend uninterupted time with their families.  These three books are proven crowd pleasers and may even inspire a few Saturday adventures!

One More Acorn by Don (and Roy) Freeman September 22, 2010

One of my favorite stories from the children’s book world is the one about the author and illustrator Don Freeman who moved to New York City (from California) to study art and play the trumpet.  In one of those strange twists of fate, Freeman left his trumpet behind on a subway train ending his musical career. After that, he decided to focus exclusively on his career as an artist.  If Freeman had not lost his trumpet, I wonder if we would ever know Corduroy or Norman the Doorman!  Now there are more than a million copies of Freeman’s books in print, and generations of children who can tell you about the bear who was missing a button on his green overalls.

At the time of Freeman’s death in 1978, he had an unfinished story about a squirrel in Washington, D.C.  Freeman’s son, Roy, has rescued and completed One More Acorn which was published this fall. It’s always a joy to see something “new” by a favorite illustrator when there was no expectation of anything else. What I love most about this book is the Washington D.C. setting. The story takes place in the fall, and the double page spread showing the Lincoln Memorial surrounded by orange trees is spectacular. Freeman knew he had something.  In a letter he wrote about the book in 1963 he wrote: “I do think it can be the most beautiful book yet.”  I think he may have been right.

Dave the Potter: Artist, Poet, Slave by Laban Carrick Hill September 20, 2010

I read so much about this book before actually seeing it, and my hopes were high. Fortunately, I was not disappointed.  Dave the Potter by Laban Carrick Hill is a thoughtful and beautiful book.  Dave’s last name is unknown.  He was a slave in South Carolina in the 1800s.  Dave was also a skilled poet and artist.  Hill’s book is made more powerful by its illustrations. Bryan Collier, the award-winning illustrator of Martin’s Big Words and Rosa, is known for paintings that enrich the story and make statements about the significance of his book’s subjects. In one fold-out sequence, the step-by-step process of creating a pot fills the pages with images of Dave’s strong hands creating a jar.

As the text explains, when Dave was nearly finished with one of his pots, he “picked up a stick and wrote to let us know that he was here.” This short poem, written on a pot he made in 1857, is haunting:

“I wonder where is all my relation

friendship to all – and, every nation”

Dave the Potter is an excellent book to use in either an art or American history class.  I think young students would be fascinated by the process of creating something so beautiful out of dirt.  For older students, this is the perfect introduction to the influences of African Americans on American art.

The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare September 19, 2010

In about a week I will introduce a group of 6th grade students to one of my favorite novels, The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare.  The Newbery Award-winner of 1959, The Witch of Blackbird Pond is the story of Katherine “Kit” Tyler who leaves her home in Barbados to live with her Aunt Rachel and Uncle Matthew in the Connecticut Colony.  The year is 1687 and, compared to Barbados, Connecticut is gray, oppressive and cold.  The story centers on Kit’s friendship with the Widow Tupper, a Quaker who many in the town believe is practicing witchcraft.

I love teaching this novel because the possibilities for extensions are endless: life in the early American colonies, the role of women, the differences between Puritans and Quakers, and the growing tension between the colonies and England.  I also like to introduce the story of the Salem Witch Trials which were held in 1692, only five years after the events in this novel take place.  Beyond the historical connections, there are so many interesting relationships in the book, especially between the one between Kit and her aunt and uncle.  The book is compelling, grounded in New England history and has, at its center, a strong inspirational protagonist.  Speare herself had this to say about Kit Tyler:

“I do not believe a historical novel should gloss over the pain the ugliness.

But I do believe a hero…should on the last page…..still be standing,

with the strength to go to whatever the future may hold.”

Three for Thursday September 16, 2010

 

It’s late on Thursday, but technically still September 16, so it’s not too late to look at three books on one theme – hence the title of this weekly post.  Today I met with a group of 4th, 5th and 6th grade students and, among other components of their library orientation, showed them lots of new books. Admittedly, the students were most excited to hear that the library was going to have a few iPads, but all of the graphic novels definitely captured their interest.  These three were checked out right way, and I even started a ”wait list.” 

Rapunzel’s Revenge by Shannon and Dean Hale (A retelling of the classic fairy tale with a Wild West setting. This book is two-years-old, but it was in the display and captured the attention of a few kid’s right away.)

The Unsinkable Walker Bean by Aaron Renier (As unlikely as this sounds, the story is about a boy who has to return a skull to the ocean floor. Witches, pirates, cannons, villains - adventure on every page!)

Treasure Island by Roy Thomas (a six-volume set of books by the folks at Marvel Comics.  I wish the books used Stevenson’s words, but if this action-packed version leads them to the original novel, it’s a fine introduction.)

Insect Detective by Steve Voake September 14, 2010

I can usually (make that always) shelve books about bugs and insects without the slightest bit of temptation to open them.  I’ve purchased, checked out and shelved hundreds of books about creepy things with six legs and didn’t feel compelled to learn more. But all streaks must come to an end, and the book that did it is Steve Voake’s new picture book, Insect Detective. I bought it for Inly’s library based on reviews and knowing we have a teacher and student-driven demand for books about wildlife. It’s been sitting on my desk since it arrived.

Admittedly, it was Charlotte Voake’s illustrations that inspired me to open the book.  Her pen and watercolor illustrations are beautiful. The text invites the reader to look and listen and made me want to look at a wasp after reading this:

“Listen – over by the fence.

Can you hear a scratching sound?

A wasp is scraping away at the post with her strong jaws.

She’s collecting wood.

She mixes it into soft pulp in her mouth.

When she has enough, she’ll help the other wasps build

a nest out of paper.”

Who knew!  I didn’t, but of course  I haven’t been tempted by a book about insects until now.  This charming book encourages children (and adults) to go outside – not a bad idea during these beautiful fall days!

I Couldn’t Wait… September 12, 2010

 

Among the fall releases, the two new books I was most looking forward to were Jonathan Franzen’s Freedom and Paul Murray’s Skippy Dies.  Both have received glowing reviews and I’ve listened to countless interviews with Franzen.  I told myself in August that I have plenty to read and would wait for both books to be published in paperback.  I listed the reasons to wait: I did not need to spend the money on two hardcovers, there are many unread books on my shelves, there are papers to grade, and middle school novels to re-read for class discussions. 

I was in a bookstore today and left with both books.  To be honest, I knew what was going to happen as soon as I saw them both on the bookstore’s new fiction display table.  No regrets – only excitement.  I can’t wait to read them!