Those rebels, John & Tom: President’s Day Books #1

I have loved the illustrations of Edwin Fotheringham since I read Mermaid Queen: the Spectacular True Story of Annette Kellerman, Who Swam her Way to Fame, Fortune & Swimsuit History by Shana Corey. His use of color reminds me of the 3 color printing in books when I was a kid. They also convey a real sense of humor.

Those Rebels, John & Tom by Barbara Kerley would be a great book to share as we approach President’s Day. It’s always good for kids to know what we get a day off and why historical figures are worth knowing. It is also a fabulous vehicle for teaching compare & contrast. They sort of remind me of my twin sister & I: opposites in so many ways outward ways, but agreed at the core.

Like John Adams, I was small as a child.  My sister was tall, like Thomas Jefferson. I was shy & studious, like Jefferson; she was outgoing & athletic, like Adams. Andrea & I were born on the same day; John & Tom died on the same day. You can see where this is going.

The book is also useful in teaching about how politics works, how you can debate and disagree, but still get things done.  Maybe congress should read this book, too.

2013 Hub Reading Challenge check-in #1

I have 2 library cards, do you?  One is a regular card. The other is an educators card.  Yup, Multnomah County Library honors teacher so much, they let us have a special card with special privileges.  I can place 40 holds, not just the 15 of the regular card, and  get my books for 6 weeks, not 3. In exchange, I have to be honorable and use this card for professional materials. A sweet deal because I always max out my holds.

I think I got all the books for the Reading Challenge via hold. My tally for this week is 8, but only because I can count the 5 books I read for the Non-fiction Challenge.

First up was Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz.

What a beautifully written book. I understand why it won 3 awards.It comes over you slowly, until you are so immersed in the story you don;t want to let it go.

Next, I read David Leviathan’s Every Day.It was a great read, moving along quickly, with very likable characters.

It also made you think about gender and free will. I’ve read a couple of other books by Levithan and he really knows how to write for the YA demographic.

Finally, I listened to John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars, in the car.

I had events after school 4 nights this week, so it didn’t take that long. Like Levithan, Green really gets his audience and anything by him is almost certain to please.

Here’s what’s on deck for this week:

1. The Miseducation of Cameron Post

2. Inheritance – 24 CDs in the car….this might take more than week

3. Somebody Please Tell Me Who I Am

I also need to get back to work on the vest I’m knitting.

Oregon Book Awards – Part 1

The nominees for the Oregon Book Award’s ELOISE JARVIS MCGRAW AWARD FOR CHILDREN’S LITERATURE  are a varied lot.  All but one are from long-established Oregon authors. With such a wide variety to choose from.  I’ve tried to find the criteria, but so far have been unsuccessful.I can find terms like “literary merit” and “finest accomplishment”.  That’s OK.  The award is given by Literary Arts and I guess not having carefully scripted criteria makes the selection more intuitive.  As a teacher, everything has a rubric or a checklist.  It’s nice to know somethings can still come from the heart.

Heather Vogel Frederick of Portland, Once Upon a Toad (Simon & Schuster)

I chose this book for my next Read Aloud book club because it is humorous.  We needed something a little lighter after The One and Only Ivan. As always, Heather Vogel Frederick writes a fast paced, engaging story.  At our book club meeting I plan to ask: Is this a girl book? I think boys would enjoy it too because of the humor.

Deborah Hopkinson of West Linn, Annie and Helen (Schwartz & Wade)

Told from Anne Sullivan’s perspective, this book includes excerpts from her letters.  It covers the earliest period of their relationship. It would be a great introduction to kids who have never heard of Helen Keller.

Graham Salisbury of Lake Oswego, Calvin Coconut: Man Trip (Wendy Lamb Books)

An easy read, the latest installment in the Calvin Coconut series hash;t grown stale.  I like that it explores male relationships. Calvin doesn’t live with his dad, but Ledward seems to be a good role model for him.

Allen Say of Portland, Drawing From Memory (Scholastic Press)

Alan Say’s autobiography tells how he had to rebel against his father’s wishes to pursue his art career.  He found a mentor and really struggled, but did not give up.

J.H. Shapiro of Portland, Magic Trash: A Story of Tyree Guyton and His Art(Charlesbridge)

I think this is Shapiro’s first appearance in the Oregon Book Awards. It’s the story of a Detroit artist who found his inspiration in the relics of his poor neighborhood. He had to literally fight city hall to have his work recognized as art. Fortunately, his neighbors appreciated all he did.

 

This year’s judge is Margarita Engle. She has written several novels in verse and few picture books.  Based on her work, I could see her selecting Magic Trash because of its connection to the arts, but I’m not willing to put money on that prediction.

All these books are available through Multnomah County Library.

Some dog news

Yesterday, I had to stop by a pet store to buy some products for Jake.  Jake was Bo’s companion. I wrote about Bo a few weeks ago, telling the happy story of his new home.  Jake is a little more complicated.  He was skinny, too, but has some other health issues, including seizures.  We actually found a home for him, or thought we had.  It seems it is not working out for Jake.  He has great separation anxiety and, consequently, messes in the house.  I was charged with getting him  a Thundershirt and diapers  to help out the family, until we can get him into a foster home. There are never enough foster homes.  Here’s a shameless plug: consider fostering for Oregon Basset Hound Rescue.  Here is a picture of Jake.

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Recently I read  A Dog Called Homeless by Sarah Lean  and Little Dog, Lost by Marion Dane Bauer.

          

Both are worthy reads for dog lovers. Both are perfect for elementary age kids.

At first, I was a little leery of  A Dog Called Homeless. I was trying to figure out how everything connected.  But when it did, WOW.  I see why it won a Schneider family award.  The ending tied things up in a way reminiscent of Rebecca Stead’s When You Reach Me. I read enough that I am rarely surprised by endings, but both of these managed to surprise me.

Little Dog Lost is a novel in verse. It’s pretty much the story of what we do in dog rescue: bring a family & a dog together for a happy ending. It doesn’t always work out for us, but there is a happy ending to this story.  Maybe there will be a happy ending for Jake, too.

Down on the Farm

The kinders are wrapping up their farm unit.  I see a group of 9 kinders everyday for ELD and let me be honest, I am not the greatest gift to kindergarten. We reorganized our groups a few weeks ago and I now have an awesome group. I’ still doubt my skill at teaching kinders, but I feel as though I’m doing better.

Yesterday, Grumpy Goat by Brett Helquist was the perfect book to read to them.

We started by talking about what makes us grumpy.  It was Monday morning after all. We looked at the end papers and made some predictions about what Goat was grumpy.  The text was perfect for kindlers…just enough to get their attention and tell a good story.  And the illustrations allowed for inferring and predicting. They also allowed tim to practice their new favorite vocabulary word: udder. We watched Grumpy Goat get happy and make friends and talked about being a good friend. Then, we saw tragedy and how his friends rallied around Goat bringing the book to a very satisfying conclusion.

The book didn’t add a lot to their knowledge of The Farm, but it got us talking and it certainly added to our love of literature. And that’s what I love to do.

YALSA’s 2013 Hub Reading Challenge Begins!

This morning I officially “registered” for the 2013 Hub Reading Challenge.That means I have about four months (until 11:59pm on Saturday, June 22) to read as many of the following as I can:

• 2013 winner and honor books for YALSA’s six awards
• The books on the Top Ten lists from YALSA’s 2013 selected lists
• The YA titles honored by the 2013 Schneider Family Book Award and the 2013 Stonewall Book Award

The goal is to read 25 of the 84 titles on our list of eligible titles [pdf] to finish the challenge. The list includes YA novels, audiobooks, graphic novels, and books for adults, so there’s plenty to choose from. Bonus objective: read/listen to all 84 titles to conquer the challenge!

I am fortunate that I can count the 5 books I read for the Non-fiction Reading Challenge, so I only have 20 more to go.  I’d love to do all 84, but I’m not sure I can pull it off and teach full-time.

First up is Every Day by David Leviathan. Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz is on deck.

   

I put a lot more on hold at the library.

Please forgive me if I ignore you for the next 5 months.  I’ll be busy reading. If you’d like more information about the  Hub reading Challenge, here’s a link    http://www.yalsa.ala.org/thehub

A Splash of Red

I just got A Splash of Red: the Life and Art of Horace Pippin out of the library.

Wow!  Another excellent book from author Jen Bryant and illustrator Melissa Sweet, who worked together on River of Words:The Story of William Carlos Williams.

I think one of the things I like about both books is that both men become famous for their avocation. When ;ve read River of Words with kids I talk to them about what they love to do most and I talk to them about how William Carlos Williams loved writing, but became a doctor to have an income.  They get so caught up in the frenzied media world of famous singers and basketball players that they sometimes forget they can just do something because they love to do it.  They don’t have to be Selina or become a professional basketball player.  They can have job and do the thing they love on the side. I don’t think that’s a bad thing.  Friends in basset hound rescue refer to their occupation as their “hound supporting job”.  If basset rescue paid, it would be their career.  As, for me, I love working with kids.  I loved being the school librarian and I’m OK teaching ESL now that school librarians have been eliminated here. But when I’m home it’s books, bassets and knitting….none of which earn me any money. I think this is a good thing because I fear that if money were involved, it would feel more like work.  When people ask me to knit for them I tell them my ground rules: you pay for the yarn, not my time, and we work on my timeline. I can knit a sweater in a week or two if I’m motivated. But it might take me 2 months if I’m not.

These are things kids need to think about as we tell them they need to work hard and be career and college ready.  There is still room to do the things we love, even if they don’t pay.  There’s more to life than money.