Semper ubi sub ubi

I took a year of Latin in high school. I would have taken a second year, but not enough people signed up. Mr. Glaessner, was my grade 9 french teacher as well as my  Latin teacher. He was a German, born in Czechoslovakia, and spoke several languages. On Fridays, we learned latin phrases and proverbs. Many were deep and meaningful (per ardua ad astra – through hardship to the stars) some were just for fun, like the title of this post. Translated it means “always where under where” but we knew it was a wise admonition: always wear underwear.

Yes, I am writing a post about underwear. There are two reasons for it really. we’ve had underwear on the brain in class lately because of our read aloud, Pip Bartlett’s Guide to magical Creatures by Jackson Pearce and Maggie Stiefvater.

On friday we read a chapter in which Fuzzles infest underwear drawers of the good citizens of Cloverton. The kids laughed a lot and I love those read aloud days when you know you really have them. Reading this chapter was one of those days.

I also just read Polar Bear”s Underwear by Tupera Tupera.Polar Bear has lost his underwear and is on a mission to find them. With his friend, Mouse, he encounters several pairs, which are not his. Each of these pairs is first seen through a cutout.

On the next page, we discover the true owner of the underwear.

It is a bizarre book, but it works. I won’t tell you where Mouse & Polar Bear finally find Polar Bear’s missing underwear, but rest assured, they do.

Semper ubi sub ubi.

Fun with Magical Creatures

Friday Maggie Stiefvater and Jackson Pearce came to William Walker as part of their promotional tour of their middle grade novel Pip Bartlett’s Guide to Magical Creatures.

My class has really been into magical creatures this year. One boy draws and writes stories about dragons and many other students have created comics with characters who have special powers, like Fry Guy, a french fry who  encounters, then,  solves problems. Although they haven’t read this book yet (it will be our next read aloud) I knew they’d be interested once they got to the assembly, so we brainstormed good questions to ask before we went to the assembly.

Once we were there, Maggie and Jackson did not disappoint. They presented a lovely contrast, one dark, one fair; one looking at the bright side, one looking at the dark side.They had clearly practiced their presentation, which was fast-paced and engaging.

Although they mentioned their book, they spent much of the hour-long presentation talking to the kids about how to create a magical beast.

Jackson posed questions to the audience while Maggie drew the creature they designed, the Snowplace Pole Deer.

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Their goal was to inspire kids to develop their interests because you never know where they will lead. Jackson and Maggie nth told kids that, through writing, they are able to pursue interests they’ve had since childhood, just not in the way they imagined they would when they were 10 or 11 years old. And I think that is a powerful message.

Guess who’s coming to Walker

For the last few weeks I have been listening to Maggie Stiefvater’s Raven Cycle  books in the car.

They’d been on my “to read” list for a while, but Morris obligations and the HUB Challenge kept pushing them further down the list. Then, my principal got a call from Powell’s Books, which is just down the street, asking us if we’d be interested in an author visit from Maggie Stiefvater and Jackson Pearce who have collaborated on a middle grade novel. My principal asked me if I knew anything about these authors and I about burst. So, Maggie & Jackson are coming to William Walker Elementary School today.

They will be talking about Pip Bartlett’s Guide to Magical Creatures.

I will get my signed copy tomorrow, and will write more about their presentation over the weekend.

I will try my best not to go too fangirl, but if I do, I probably won’t write about that.