And the Winners Are . . .

The Newberry and Caldecott Awards were announced two weeks ago, and I’ve been trying to get a hold of them ever since.  I’m number 217 on the library waiting list for The One and Only Ivan, this year’s Newberry, but I’ve managed to read most of the 2013 Caldecotts.  I thought I’d review the winners, and some books I think should have won.

This year’s Caldecott Medal winner is This is Not My Hat by Jon Klassen.  It’s a funny story about a small fish that steals a hat from a much larger fish and expects to get away with it.  It would be clever, except that last year Klassen wrote I Want My Hat back about bear looking for his stolen hat.  In this case, it’s an unfortunate rabbit who took the hat.  I do like that we have to infer what happens to the thieves at the end of both books, but I’m not sure it deserved to win.  It’s not nearly as good as last year’s winner, Chris Raschka’s wordless picture book, A Ball for Daisy. 

The Caldecott Honor Books include the rather strange Creepy Carrots by Aaron Reynolds, about a field of carrots that haunt a rabbit until he stops eating them.  The illustrations are comicesque – drawn in black and white with carrot orange detail. (I should point out that the Caldecott is really an award for illustrations, not story, so I can’t complain too much.)  However, Sleep Like a Tiger and Extra Yarn are delightful stories, that I think did deserve the nod.  The first is a bed time tale of a not-so-sleepy little girl, and the second a fairy tale about a never ending box of colorful yarn that brightens up a gray world.  Green by Laura Vaccaro Seeger is a beautiful book about the color green.  With minimal text and cleverly placed cut-outs, she describes the every shade of green, from the jungle green of a tiger’s eyes to the no green of a snowy day.  The last honor book is One Cool Friend by Toni Buzzeo, and I haven’t been able to get my hands on it yet.  But since it’s about a boy who sneaks a penguin home from the aquarium in his backpack, I think I might love it. 

I thought I’d also include some other great picture books that didn’t medal, but could have.  There’s Stuck by Oliver Jeffers, about a boy who’s kite gets stuck in a tree, so he throws his shoe up, but it gets stuck, too, as does a boat, a gorilla and the kitchen sink. I also love Neville by Norton Juster.  In it, Neville discovers an unorthodox way of making friends when his family moves to a new town.  Other fun picture books are Perfect Square, Chopsticks, Zoozical, and The Annoying ABC.  Enjoy!

Caldecott Winners and Some Extras

This is Not My Hat by Jon Klassen – 2013 Medal Winner

I Want My Hat Back by Jon Klassen

Creepy Carrots by Aaron Reynolds – 2013 Honor Book

Sleep Like a Tiger by Mary Logue – 2013 Honor Book

Extra Yarn by Mac Barnett and Jon Klassen – 2013 Honor Book

Green by Laura Vaccaro Seeger – 2013 Honor Book

One Cool Friend by Toni Buzzeo – 2013 Honor Book

A Ball for Daisy by Chris Raschka – 2012 Medal Winner

Stuck by Oliver Jeffers

Neville by Norton Juster

Perfect Square by Michael Hall

Zoozical by Judy Sierra

The Annoying ABC by Barbara Bottner

Chopsticks by Amy Krouse Rosenthal

Librarians Make Good Friends

Librarians and reading teachers are natural allies, and consequently some of my favorite people are librarians.  However, as educational as it can be to hang out with them, it can also be expensive.  After spending fifteen minutes with my school’s librarian, I went home and spent a whole lot more on Amazon.  The reason – Peter Reynolds. 

I’ve used Reynolds’ book Ish for many years to teach kids that it’s okay to try even if you’re not perfect.  In the book, Ramon is upset because he can’t quite get his drawings right, but his little sister points out that sometimes being close-ish is just fine.  Thinking ish-ly lets our imagination flow.  It turns out that Reynolds is a fairly prolific writer and illustrator and has a number of other wonderful stories, along with his newest book, Sky Color.  In Sky Color, we see Ramon’s little sister, Marisol, again, and now she’s an artist with the daunting task of painting the sky without blue paint.  Also about art and creativity, is The Dot.  In it Vashti doesn’t believe she can draw until her art teacher tells her to make a mark on the paper.  Vashti draws a dot, and her teacher tells her to sign it.  The next week the dot is framed and hanging in the art room.  All three books, remind us to be confident in our creativity and not let convention box us in.

 

The other books Angela shared with me are more for adults than kids, although they’re still picture books with simple text.  These three were written by Peter Reynolds and Alison McGhee, and they are guaranteed to make you cry.  I cried reading them in the library, and I think they would make excellent gifts.  The first is called Someday, and in it a mother speaks to her daughter about her love for her as she grows up.  Then there’s Little Boy, which, while a little more light hearted, is still a touching description of a mother’s love.  Finally, there’s Always about a child and her dog, who will always protect her.  With his simple illustrations and minimalist text, Reynolds is able to deal with complex emotions and tell beautiful stories. 

Books by Peter Reynolds

Ish

The Dot

Sky Color

I’m Here

The North Star

So Few of Me

Rose’s Garden

By Peter Reynolds and Others

Someday

Little Boy

Always

Plant a Kiss

It's Always the Toughest Kids

It’s kind of a universal truth in teaching that the kids who make you work the hardest are the ones you love the best.  Maybe it’s true of anything in life.  When I look back on my teaching career, it’s the Keishas, the Matts and the Ivans that stick out; the one who didn't know the alphabet in fourth grade, the brilliant bully, the one who joined MS-13.  

I have a student this year who’s been challenging me for a year and a half now.  We’ll call her Maria.  When I started working with her, she was a fourth grader reading at a first grade level.  She’s now halfway through fifth grade, and she’s reading at a third grade level.  At first that seems like good progress, but she’ll never catch up at this rate.  The problem is she hates to read.  She doesn't read in class, because the books she can read look too babyish for a fifth grader.  When her teacher insists she read, she becomes disrespectful and sometimes oppositional.  She's often mean to other kids, because she'd rather get in trouble than look dumb in front of her peers.  

Unfortunately, there is no magic bullet to cure struggling readers.  The most effective way to become a better reader is read more.  However, if a student has struggled through six years of schooling, they usually start to give up around fifth grade.  Nobody likes to do things they can’t do well.  Maria is no different.  This is when teachers and reading specialists have to get tricky.  I am constantly working to make sure Maria has books she can read at her disposal.  She loves pandas, so anything with a panda in it goes in her book box.  I use a lot of non-fiction because you can’t necessarily determine the reading level by looking at the cover, good for judgmental ten-year-olds. 

  

And thank goodness for Hi-Lo books, designed for struggling readers, they feature high interest topics at a low reading level.  Some like the Mallory books by Laurie Friedman, The Magic Treehouse and A-Z Mysteries are available anywhere.  While they look like more mature texts, the reading level is about second or third grade.  Unfortunately, the characters in the books are generally also in second or third grade, not always appealing to an older student.  Dick King-Smith and Sue Bentley solve this problem by writing primarily about animals.  King-Smith is the author of Babe: The Gallant Pig, as well as a host of other engaging animal tales at an easy reading level.  Similarly, The Magic Puppy and Magic Kitten series are focused more on the animals than the age of the characters.   

The best Hi-Lo books, though, come from specialty publishers.  These companies create books specifically to be used to teach reading in schools.  Usually, they can be ordered by parents as well.  The books are expensive, but worth it for a struggling readers.  My favorite company is Sundance Publishing.  They have three great series for struggling readers.  The easiest are the Sparklers series. They are goofy books, organized in chapters, with great picture support.  They also have a character list, a map of the setting and a glossary to aid in comprehension.  Slightly harder are the Supa Doopers, and for non-fiction, they have That’s Wild.  Kids love them.  The Wright Group publishes a series called the Woodland Mysteries.  These are nice, chunky books that look respectable for a 5^th grader, but the reading level is about the end of second grade.  They have picture support and predictable plots.  HIP Books and High Noon Books are two other companies that specialize in Hi-Lo texts.  In each case, the books are designed to deal with issues faced by older kids.  They have older characters, but the text is simple enough for a struggling reader to be successful. 

 

Hi-Lo Books for Struggling Readers

Sparklers – Sundance Publishing

Woodland Mysteries – The Wright Group

Scoop Doogan Mysteries – High Noon Books

Bats Mystery Series – HIP Books

Bailey School Kids by Debbie Dadey

Babe by Dick King Smith

Mallory Series by Laurie Friedman

A-Z Mysteries by Ron Roy

Cam Jansen Mysteries by David Adler

Jigsaw Jones by James Preller

Magic Tree House by Mary Pope Osbourne

Magic Puppy by Sue Bentley

Where's the Multi-Culturalism

One of our student teachers came by my office this week, looking for help with a paper she’s writing.  Her thesis is that kids will be more engaged with reading if the protagonists in their books are of the same race.  She’s right.  Unfortunately, she was trying to prove that the books are out there, if we just look.  That’s where her argument falls apart.  I spent $13,000 on books for our book room last year, and one of my goals was to find books with minority protagonists.  It’s not as difficult in upper elementary books, or if you are looking for African American or Asian characters.  However, if you want easy texts or Hispanic or Middle Eastern characters, you’re almost out of luck.  In a school like mine, that’s 75% Hispanic, that’s a problem. 

There are a few bright lights on the horizon, and if it’s out there, it’s in my book room.  If you are reading about the Civil War or the Civil Rights Movement, you can find a number of texts about African Americans.  I love A Picture of Freedom, Martin’s Big Words, Goin’ Someplace Special, and Barefoot.  However, not all kids can relate to historical fiction or biography.  We need books with contemporary settings and real kids.  The Stories Julian Tells is a beautifully written book at about a 3^rd grade reading level, and it’s now a series.  Another, that I discovered last May, is Darnell Rock, Reporting.  It’s perfect for a reluctant 5^th or 6^th grade reader.  Darnell isn’t particularly into school, until he is heavily encouraged by the principal to join the school newspaper.  It turns out he’s quite passionate about homelessness in his community.  There’s also Amazing Grace, a picture book about a little girl determined to play Peter Pan, even though she’s black and a girl.  I’d also recommend almost anything by Jacqueline Woodson and Candy Dawson Boyd, but they are geared towards upper elementary students.  There are a few publishers that specialize in guided reading books, and have some African American characters at a first grade level.  Rigby offers Matthew and Emma, a set of twins, and the very athletic Jordan.  However, you’d probably have to buy them in sets of six.

Of the thirty or so kids I see a day, about 90% are Hispanic, and I frequently find myself looking for books like Salsa Stories. It features a Latino family gathering for the holidays, and the oldest daughter begins collecting family stories.  My students enjoyed the Spanish words sprinkled throughout the text.  Pam Munoz Ryan has two wonderful books with Latina protagonists, Becoming Naomi Leon and Esperanza Rising, about a girl who becomes a migrant worker after her rich father is killed in Mexico.  Both are difficult reads, though.  Gary Soto is a prolific Hispanic author who’s written some wonderful books, like Too Many Tamales and The Skirt.  Tomas and the Library Lady and I love Saturdays y Domingos are excellent picture books.  The latter is about a young girl who spends Saturdays with her English speaking grandparents and Domingos with her Spanish speaking abuelos.  Unfortunately, that’s about it, unless you want a biography of Pele or Cesar Chavez. 

When kids see themselves reflected in their books, they are more likely to read; and the more they read, the more invested they become in school.  I suspect that the lack of minority protagonists in the canon, contributes to the documented achievement gap between minority students and their white counterparts.  Until we can create a truly multi-cultural world view, our kids will continue to suffer the consequences. 

Books with Minority Protagonists

The Watson’s Go to Birmingham – 1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis

Martin’s Big Words: The Life of Dr. Martin Luther King by Doreen Rappaport

A Picture of Freedom by Patricia McKissack

Goin’ Someplace Special by Patricia McKissack

The Other Side by Jacqueline Woodson

Barefoot: Escape on the Underground Railroad by Pamela Duncan Edwards

The Stories Julian Tells by Ann Cameron

The Circle of Gold by Candy Dawson Boyd

Darnell Rock Reporting by Walter Dean Myers

Amazing Grace by Mary Hoffman

The Skirt by Gary Soto

Too Many Tamales by Gary Soto

Salsa Stories by Lulu Delacre

Becoming Naomi Leon by Pam Munoz Ryan

Esperanza Rising by Pam Munoz Ryan

Tomas and the Library Lady by Pat Mora

I Love Saturdays y Domingos by Alma Flor Ada

Going Home by Eve Bunting

Pele, King of Soccer/El Rey de Futbol by Monica Brown

Books vs Video Games

It is a constant and unfortunate truth, that most of the children I work with prefer video games to books.  Books are low tech, they don’t talk back to you, they aren’t wifi ready, and they’re usually non-competitive.  So how do we make books as exciting for our kids as a video game?  We have to create reading experiences that are interactive.  Whenever or whatever we are reading with our children, we should ask questions, make predictions and laugh at the funny parts.  The most effective way to do this is at the turn of the page.  Ask, “What’s going to happen next?”  “Why’d he do that?”  “Will Pigeon share his hotdog?”  Reading engagement happens in the brain; it’s not visible and it’s not always innate.  We have to model our thinking for our kids, because good readers make meaning as they read.

While we can talk with kids about any book, some books are more interactive than others.  Rhyming and pattern books are perfect examples.  I love Quick as a Cricket by Audrey Wood.  “I’m as quick as a cricket.  I’m as slow as a snail.  I’m as small as an ant.” Stop here.  Don’t turn the page yet.  Say, “I’m as  . . .” and let the kids predict the opposite and the rhyming word – “I’m as big as a whale.”  Lift the flaps books are also excellent choices for little kids, like Dear Zoo by Rod Campbell.  A child writes a letter to the zoo asking for a pet.  We can predict what animal arrives based on the size of the box and the preceding text. 

My niece received a great book for Christmas, and it wasn’t even from me.  I gave her princess books, but her Uncle Tom gave her Press Here by Herve Tullet.  Each page has an instruction, like “Press the yellow dot.”  The next page shows the effect of following that instruction – the yellow dot turns blue.  Bella literally jumped up and down while I was reading it to her, because she was so excited to see what would happen next.  Upon finishing, we had to immediately start it again.  Books written with second person narration, like Mo Willems Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus and If You Decide to Go to the Moon, also make kids think they are part of the story. 

For bigger kids, interactivity becomes more challenging, but Choose Your Own Adventures have been around for ages.  And kids still love them.  The more high tech version is The 39 Clues series.  Each book is written by a different, famous author and each comes with 6 playing cards that help kids figure out the clues.  The website allows fans of the books to search for clues along with the main characters, Amy and Dan.  Book series and author websites are becoming part of social media, as authors ask fans for plot suggestions and input on upcoming texts.  I hope books never become completely obsolete, but as the line between books and video games narrows, we have to remember that reading is reading no matter the format. 

 

Interactive Books

Quick as a Cricket by Audrey Wood

Pat the Bunny by Dorothy Kunhardt

Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus by Mo Willems

If You Decide to go to the Moon by Faith Mcnulty

King Bidgood’s in the Bathtub by Audrey Wood

The Grouchy Ladybug by Eric Carle

Dear Zoo by Rod Campbell

Where is Baby’s Belly Button by Karen Katz

Where’s Spot by Eric Hill

Press Here by Herve Tullet

The Dinosaur Museum by Sebastian Quigley

Choose Your Own Adventure by R. A. Montgomery

The 39 Clues by Rick Riordan and others

The Amanda Project by Amanda Valentino (This is a Young Adult series)

Snow

I have several friends who’ve been complaining that this has not been much of a winter.  I don’t know why that would bother anyone.  Personally, I like 90° weather with 90% humidity.  So a December that fluctuates between 50° and 60° is okay with me.  That said, I do like the occasional snow, but only if it falls on a school day.  Our recent snow flurries and winter mix were a complete waste of winter weather, although the Christmas Eve flakes did provide a nice backdrop for my dinner party.  Now it seems were going to get more snow tomorrow, and the only result is I won’t be able to visit my niece as planned. 

However, for those of you who are fans of winter weather, I have chosen some of my favorite snow books to share this week.  The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats is a classic in this category.  It perfectly describes a little boy’s day in the snow, from putting on his snow suit to trying to save a snowball in his pocket.  Cynthia Rylant, P.D. Eastman, and Uri Shulevitz all have books simply titled Snow.  While Rylant’s prose is almost poetry, Eastman focuses on fun, and Shulevitz’s book is a narrative of a surprise snowfall. 

If you want non-fiction, I’d recommend The Story of Snow by Mark Cassino.  The text explains how snow is formed and the pictures are photographs of real snowflakes.  And since were talking about photographing snowflakes, we should talk about Snowflake Bentley by Jacqueline Briggs Martin.  This is a biography of Wilson Bentley who proved that no two snowflakes are alike.  Aside from being a good story about an interesting scientist, the themes of perseverance and hard work are important lessons.  Over and Under the Snow by Kate Messner is narrative non-fiction about the animals that hibernate under the snow. 

For bigger kids, I like Brian’s Winter by Gary Paulsen.  It’s the sequel to Hatchet, in which Brian’s plane crashes in the Canadian wilderness.  In the second book, Paulsen imagines what would happen if Brian hadn’t been rescued at the end of the Hatchet, and tells the tale of survival through a cold, Canadian winter.  Then there’s I am the Ice Worm, the girl version of Hatchet, in which Allison’s plane crashes in Alaska. 

For something a little unorthodox try Bodies from the Ice, Melting Glaciers and the Recovery of the Past.  It’s a non-fiction text about the discovery of the ice mummy in the Alps.  A fascinating read for most 10 year-old boys.  Enjoy the snow!

 

Books about Snow

The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats

Snow by Cynthia Rylant

Snow by P.D. Eastman

Snow by Uri Shulevitz

Bear Snores On by Karma Wilson

The Jacket I Wear in the Snow by Shirley Neitzel

Winter: An Alphabet Acrostic by Steven Schnur

Over and Under the Snow by Kate Messner

Snowflake Bentley by Jacqueline Briggs Martin

The Story of Snow by Mark Cassino

Brian’s Winter by Gary Paulsen

I am the Ice Worm by MaryAnn Easley

Bodies from the Ice, Melting Glaciers and the Recovery of the Past by James Deem

Books Make Great Presents

With nine shopping days left until Christmas, I thought I’d share some of best Christmas books of all time and some sillier Christmas books that kids will like even if they’re not literature.  Jan Brett has written a number of beautifully illustrated books and many are perfect for the season.  Aside from her version of The Night Before Christmas, she also has The Wild Christmas Reindeer and The Gingerbread Baby.  However, she’s most famous for The Mitten and The Hat, which are beautiful winter books.  If you find your kids are fans of Jan Brett, her website is full of interactive games, plays, and activities.  I have always loved The Night Before Christmas, and Robert Sabuda’s pop-up book is one of the most unique versions I’ve ever seen.  It is absolutely gorgeous.  He also has a Christmas Alphabet book and The 12 Days of Christmas.  The ABC book doesn’t exactly fit my criteria for letter sounds, but it’s too pretty to pass up.  I hesitate to recommend the next two books, because although they are beautiful stories, they are tear-jerkers (for adults).  They are The Littlest Angel by Charles Tazewell and The Year of Perfect Christmas Tree.  The first time I read the latter, it was to my class (back when we were allowed to read Christmas books in school), and I was not at all prepared when the mother cut up her wedding dress to make an angel costume for her daughter.  My students couldn’t figure out why I was crying.  If you’re looking for something a little lighter, pick up Snowmen at Christmas by Caralyn Buehner or Bear Stays Up for Christmas by Karma Wilson.  My all time favorite Christmas books are probably Nicholas: The Boy Who Wanted to be Santa Claus (unfortunately, out of print) and The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson.  It’s about the year the Herdmans, the worst kids in school, crash the annual church Christmas pageant.  Hilarity ensues. 

I’ve listed the classics above, but sometimes kids prefer something a little more modern.  In that case, all of our favorite characters have Christmas books.  Arthur, Franklin, Amelia Bedelia and Biscuit all celebrate Christmas.  As do Junie B, Horrible Harry and The Polk Street School Kids.  This year all of my students are getting Geronimo Stilton: A Christmas Tale (shh, don’t tell), but he has at least three other Christmas titles.  Geronimo Stilton is a mouse who frequently and somewhat reluctantly solves mysteries.  The books are published with brightly colored pictures and fun fonts.  They’re full of “cheesy” puns and are just generally enjoyable reads for 7-11 year olds.  Hopefully, I’ve given you plenty of ideas for stuffing stockings, and I wish everyone a very, merry Christmas!

 

Winter’s Tale by Robert Sabuda

The Night Before Christmas by Robert Sabuda

The 12 Days of Christmas by Robert Sabuda

Christmas Alphabet by Robert Sabuda

The Wild Christmas Reindeer by Jan Brett

The Night Before Christmas by Jan Brett

The Gingerbread Baby by Jan Brett

The Mitten by Jan Brett

The Hat by Jan Brett

The 12 Days of Christmas by Jan Brett

Home for Christmas by Jan Brett

The Littlest Angel by Charles Tazewell

The Year of the Perfect Christmas Tree by Gloria Houston

Snowmen at Christmas by Caralyn Buehner

Bear Stays Up for Christmas by Karma Wilson

Nicholas: The Boy Who Wanted to be Santa Claus by James Crimmins

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson

The Polar Express by Chris VanAllsburg

A Wish for Wings that Work by Berkeley Breathed

Arthur’s Christmas by Mark Brown

Franklin’s Christmas Gift by Paulette Bourgeois

Merry Christmas, Amelia Bedelia by Peggy Parish

Biscuit’s Christmas Eve by Alyssa Satin Capucilli

Clifford’s Christmas by Norman Bridwell

Junie B,. First Grader: Jingle Bells, Batman Smells (P.S. So Does May) by Barbara Park

December Secrets (Kids of the Polk Street School) by Patricia Reilly Giff

Horrible Harry and the Christmas Surprise by Suzy Kline

Magic Tree House: Christmas in Camelot by Mary Pope Osbourne

Geronimo Stilton: A Christmas Tale by Geronimo Stilton