Booktalking with TheBookDragon

An Island Grows by Lola M. Schaefer, illustrated by Cathie Felstead

2012-01-22T16:19:00.000-05:00

The overall look and feel of this book is one of simplicity--the illustrations are spare but lovely, the text is minimal, and the story takes the reader/listener from an underwater volcanic eruption to the gradual growth of a life-sustaining island. While the story itself does NOT give a real indication about the time involved in this whole process, the notes at the back do. The book makes for a great introduction to volcanoes and would be very nice paired with a non-fiction title showing actual photographs. Another plus? With my 1st and 2nd graders, I never fail to get a gasp when I turn the page and they see the picture of the underwater volcano. This book would also make a nice pairing for social studies lessons (trading, open air markets). Suggestions are provided for further reading. Note: This book was nominated for the 2008-09 Volunteer State Book Award.
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I Can Make That! Fantastic Crafts for Kids by Mary Wallace

2012-01-16T22:40:00.004-05:00

I love crafts and craft books, so when my teachers assign their yearly how-to writing project, I am thrilled to have an extra chance to guide the kids to the "how to" section of the library (translation: science experiments, cooking, arts, crafts). Unfortunately, I have found that many so-called "children's" how-to books aren't very child friendly. Often these books are cluttered with non-helpful or poorly drawn illustrations, hard-to-follow instructions, and sometimes projects that just aren't that appealing or interesting. I am happy to say that I Can Make That! by Mary Wallace more than lives up to its title. This colorful book hits all the right notes, pairing clearly written, kid-friendly step-by-step instructions with well-staged, colorful photographs of each step.

Projects are divided into sections including costumes, puppets, nature crafts, toys, and games. Each section begins with a brief introduction and lists of items needed to create the various projects--many of which can be found around the house--often rescued from the trash, rag bag, or recycle bin. Wallace gently reminds her users to get permission to use things found around the home and to respect nature. Kids will find instructions for using cardboard and ribbon for making simple Roman sandals, using twist-ties and embroidery floss for making "Eensy Weensy People," using chairs to make a puppet stage or a rocket ship, and cardboard boxes to make everything from an animal-themed mini-golf course to a play castle.

I Can Make That! isn't just a how-to book for specific one-time-only craft projects. This book is not just a how-to book--it is creative inspiration, not just for our kids, but for the kid in all of us. I can not wait to try some of these projects myself, and see where they take me.

Rescue In the Wild, written by Mary Faith Enyart, illustrated by David Enyart

2011-11-19T11:01:00.002-05:00

I just finished reading what I hope is the first in a long series of Stick-Boy adventures written by former teacher, Mary Faith Enyart and illustrated by David Enyart. Entitled Rescue In the Wild, the story introduces us to 11-year-old Evan and his best friend Mace as school lets out for the summer. Evan is thrilled at the thought of the long summer days ahead, filled with exploring the vast of woods around his home next to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The only dark shadow over his summer plans? School bully, "the Moose" Meckel, who seems to delight in stirring up trouble and hurting anyone or anything that gets in his way. To top it all off, Mace's dad has volunteered Evan and Mace to hang out with their new neighbor, (a girl!), who wants to tag along on their adventures. Evan is beginning to wonder if this summer will be as great as he'd hoped when things take a turn for the strange and he is "adopted" by what seems to be a magic stick. A great cast of characters, a beautiful setting, and thrilling adventure in our own back yard make for a fun read--to share as a class reading or as a read-aloud.

This first adventure is a great story to share in the classroom and an opportunity to entertain AND inform as well as celebrate with our students the wonders that are so close to us here in East Tennessee. I can see using this to reenforce literacy elements (great examples of alliteration, idioms & descriptive language), genre (fantasy versus reality), science (information about local poisonous snakes, types of rocks & how that knowledge can be used in a real-world setting), and social studies (names having meanings, community/roles within the community), figuring out word meaning based on content, and much, much more. Wow!

Be sure to take a moment to look at the author's website at http://www.smokymountainstickboy.com/index.html for kids activities, such as coloring sheets and puzzles; teacher information, including activity sheets; information about the Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GSMNP), and more.

Alpha Betti by Carlene Morton, illustrated by Margeaux Lucas

2011-11-16T22:42:00.000-05:00

Betti is a girl with a problem. Her room is a disaster area and her mom wants it cleaned up. Sadly, stuffing everything into her closet doesn't really work out so well--making things even harder to find and mornings even more frantic. This story follows Betti through a lesson at her Media Center where she embarks on a scavenger hunt through fiction books, encyclopedias, and the unabridged dictionary. Armed with her newly found skills in alphabetizing, Betti is ready to tackle the mess in her room--and maybe more--with the help of her trusty dog, Gravy.

This story works well for me as a Library Lesson; however, I do not read the story straight through. When the story refers to the fiction section and the authors Beverly Cleary and Andrew Clements, I point out some of the titles by those authors in our own library. I also ask my students the answers to Betty's scavenger hunt questions before she finds them herself. There are several opportunities for reinforcing other lessons, including the use of contractions,compound words, possessives, and different uses for quotation marks. When Betti gets an idea from her "ABC Super Hero" button, it's a good chance to ask students to predict what her idea(s) might be. After the story, I use the lesson as a jump-off point for a game that allows us to practice ABC order and leading into the Dewey Decimal system.

The Runaway Bunny, written by Margaret Wise Brown, illustrated by Clement Hurd

2011-11-01T21:10:00.005-04:00

This is one case where, when I first read this book, it wasn't a favorite. I probably would have given it a 3 at most b/c it just bugged me that the bunny wanted to run away. That said, I've gained a whole new appreciation for this sweet story as a multi-purpose lesson platform--AND sweet story. I piggybacked this lesson onto a previous lesson where I shared Goodnight Moon (also by the Brown and Hurd team) and Goodnight Goon (by Michael Rex). The Runaway Bunny was originally copyrighted in 1942, a full 5 years before Goodnight Moon's date of 1947. Some of what made it fun to piggyback these books was pointing out that Hurd used some images/ideas from Runaway Bunny in Goodnight Moon--and by using a document camera, it's easy to lay the two books out side by side to show that the Mama Bunny Fisherman image was duplicated as a black and white painting in the Goodnight Moon bedroom and that both books included a cow jumping over the moon. Other similarities? Both books used the black and white to color then back to black and white color pattern and in both books the bunny was wearing blue striped pajamas.

Because I shared Goodnight Moon first, many of my students were wondering if Hurd hid something in Runaway Bunny--such as the mouse he hid in the color pictures of Goodnight Moon. While he didn't hide a mouse in Runaway Bunny, Hurd's images added extra depth to Brown's words. In this sense, the book also works well for pointing out how illustrations can enhance a story when an illustrator takes the words and adds all new depth to them--e.g., the painting of mama bunny fishing for baby bunny trout--using a carrot as bait. Pausing at this picture and giving kids a chance to discover the unusual bait usually gets a giggle out of them. With the older students, I also enjoy asking them if they've heard of or seen the Van Gogh painting, Starry Night then turning to the picture that shows a snippet of what looks suspiciously like Starry Night, hanging in the Bunny home.

Funny how reading a story and discussing it 50 different times can be so eye-opening--and how it can breathe new life into what seemed to be just a simple, sweet bedtime story. The Runaway Bunny is exactly that--but it is also so very much more.

Other discussion topics? Contractions, compound words, use of quotation marks, and, when paired with Michael Rex's The Runaway Mummy, parody.

Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown, illustrated by Clement Hurd

2011-10-20T22:37:00.002-04:00

I loved sharing this sweet bedtime story with my son when he was little and am now rediscovering it for library lessons. For the younger grades, it works well for discussing rhyming words--"'mush' is kind of like oatmeal or porridge, but does 'brush' and 'hush' rhyme with 'oatmeal'? No!" With all the grades, I'm surprised at how many students had never noticed the mouse that Clement Hurd tucked into each of the color pictures--and all of the grades--K-5--have seemed to really enjoy this mouse scavenger hunt. Do YOU see the mouse in this picture? Of course, when sharing with a group, it's a lot easier because you can project the images as you read and also zoom in.

Also take a moment to point out that Clement Hurd included a painting of a picture from Runaway Bunny. Many of our aspiring illustrators (and your friendly bookdragon!) get a huge kick out that.

With 3rd grade and up, I point out the title page and ask them to locate the copyright date--they are usually surprised that it was published in 1947--and to put it into perspective, I tell them that, not only did many of their parents but probably their grandparents grew up with this story. That's a great segue for introduction of parody and Michael Rex's "Goodnight Goon."

Star Wars--The Cookbooks

2011-07-19T13:48:00.006-04:00

Got Star Wars fans? If you do, be sure to take a look at these cookbooks. Wookie Cookies and Other Galactic Recipes by Robin Davis, photography by Frankie Frankeny and The Star Wars Cookbook II: Darth Malt and more Galactic Recipes by Frankie Frankeny and Wesley Martin.

Both books feature recipes for breakfasts, beverages, snacks & sides, main courses and desserts. Wookie Cookies, which focuses on characters and scenes from Episodes IV-VI, features dishes such as Mos Eisley Morsels, Hoth Chocolate, Yoda Soda, Greedo's Burritos, Sandtrooper Sandies--you get the idea. Darth Malt, which focus on characters and scenes from Episodes I-III, includes dishes such as Pickle Jar Jar, Pit Droid Pizza, Hideous Sidious Sorbet, Watto-melon Cubes, Qui-Gon Jinn-ger Snaps. Each recipe is accompanied by a great photo of the dish accompanied by the action figure, strategically staged, for which the dish is named. It is a blast just to browse through the pictures and enjoy the puns (one of my favorites is the image for Han-Burgers, which shows Han Solo, perched on the Millennium Falcon, firing a ketchup gun onto a burger, with armed Storm Troopers on the other side of the burger, preparing to fire back.

So, they're fun to look at and funny to read, but are they real cookbooks? Yes! The recipes are written with ingredients and steps clearly listed. Each volume also includes a table of contents and an index. These books are rarely on the shelves at my K-5 library. They are usually checked out from the beginning of the school year till the last possible minute before summer and there is usually a waiting list. Each of the books includes a bonus--stickers in Wookie Cookies and a hard plastic template of Darth Maul's face in Darth Malt.

Books Made Into Movies--A Great List

2011-06-18T02:07:00.007-04:00

Just a quick visit to your favorite search engine will net you several different lists of children's and YA books that have been made into movies. Heck, I've got a running list posted on the right of this blog. Tonight, I was tickled to find a list that has a lot more going for it. If you have a little free time, take a look. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_children%27s_books_made_into_feature_films

So, why bother with yet another list? This one goes beyond being "just another list" because it is a collaborative work-in-progress that includes:

1. Titles of both the books and the movies (when the two differ)
2. Dates of the different movie versions (and wow! that was an eye opener!)
3. Links to more information

Just a note about wikis in general--Wikis are handy tools and great forums for allowing many people to combine their knowledge into one virtual location. That said, a few words of caution may be in order, especially if you are unfamiliar with wikis in general, or Wikipedia in particular. Wikipedia seems to be doing a nice job of labeling articles that may need more work, however, because there are often so many different contributors, there are differing degrees of detail and accuracy. Some links may take you to entries with a large amount of information, complete with references. Others may take you to entries that are little more than place holders, holding only the name of a book or movie, and waiting for some enterprising soul to fill in the gaps. In cases like these, if you find yourself wanting more information about any of the movies that are listed, you can always take at look at the Internet Movie Database, aka IMDb, at http://www.imdb.com/

I warn you, a visit to this list or to IMDb may lead you into a lengthy trip down memory lane. Grab some popcorn and enjoy!

The Great Kapok Tree by Lynne Cherry

2011-06-16T23:06:00.000-04:00

Two men walk into the rainforest, one leaving the other to begin chopping down one of the great kapok trees. The man chops at the roots of the tree but soon tires. He sits down to rest and soon falls asleep to be visited by denizens of the rainforest, whispering in his ear the many reasons why he should spare the great tree. Will he continue to chop down the tree? Would you?
If you use this story as a read-aloud, be sure to share it using a document camera to really take advantage of the amazingly detailed, beautiful picture spreads. Be sure to spend some time on the endpapers. Some of my students really got into seeing how many creatures they could find and identify on each spread, kind of like a Where's Waldo or an I Spy.
A quick search with your favorite search engine will give you lots of ideas for using this story for a wide variety of lessons--easily adaptable for a wide range of age groups. Be sure to take a moment on the author's bio blurb on the book flap and visit the author's website at http://www.lynnecherry.com/

Mud Puddle by Robert Munsch

2011-06-15T00:48:00.002-04:00

Jule Ann is a little girl with a big problem--every time she goes outside, a Mud Puddle jumps on her head! She gets mud in her ears, mud in her eyes and even mud in her nose and each time, she has to take a bath and get dressed all over again. After several baths and clothes changes, Jule Ann decides to try a new strategy--wearing a raincoat outside. To see if she's ever able to go outside without a mud puddle ambush, be sure to read this one (& don't forget the sound effects!)

(This book is available on Tumblebooks and it has been a sure-fire crowd-pleaser with my students. The kids LOVE the sound effects Robert Munsch (who reads this story on Tumblebooks) makes when he reads about cleaning out Jule's ears and nose.) If you're a fan of Robert Munsch, be sure to visit his website at http://robertmunsch.com/books/. You can click and drag on the book covers and see what he has to say about the book or hear him read the book out loud. Way cool.

The Crayon Box That Talked by Shane Derolf, illustrated by Michael Leitzig

2011-06-14T19:44:00.001-04:00

Have you ever been teased? Made fun of because of some esoteric difference--be it clothes, hair, accent, height, weight, what you bring for lunch, being "too smart", being "dumb"? Regardless the comparison that's being used, do you remember how it made you feel? Well, this story, may just help remind us all about the Golden Rule.

The many-hued crayons in this crayon box simply do not get along--teasing, arguing, treating each other poorly--until a savvy little girl buys the box, takes it home, and uses each of the colors to draw a picture.

The final lines, combined with the changes in those oh-so-expressive crayon faces (kudos to Mr. Leitzig for this), provide a simple but powerful catalyst for thought and for discussion.

"We are a box of crayons,
Each one of us unique.
But When we get together...
The picture is complete."

Enjoy this title as a short and sweet read aloud that may just help a child realize that differences are to be celebrated--not mocked or feared. Or use your favorite search engine to explore some of the many different lesson plans out there to make this title a catalyst for discussions of the Golden Rule, prejudice, bullying and tolerance. You might be surprised at who this story may help. One of my favorite memories from last school year? The big grin from one of my very shy ESL students as she checked this title out after a wonderful student-driven discussion after we read this story. Another bonus? The book can be a great lead-in to discussing how we can determine moods and feelings based on facial expression--and seeing the expressions on crayons helped to make this story one that any student, regardless of their own personal differences, can relate to.

Books & Quilts

2011-06-12T13:15:00.003-04:00

One of my teachers has a great project that she does each year with her students. They create a book quilt, a design made on paper with student-drawn pictures based on books they've read. Each student's book quilt reflects what they've read--for class, for fun. What a wonderful idea! Made me think of my own virtual book quilt--me. My life, made up of all the bits and pieces, new and old, books read, memories shared--and how my own book quilt is ever changing--evolving with each new book read, story told, experience. I'm no poet, but these thoughts, these pictures in my mind, led me to write the following--an attempt to explain these thoughts.

Books & Quilts--Life Design

Scraps of old favorites--
shirts, skirts, pants,
Stories shared
Memories of times past.

Bits of new-found fabrics--
colors catch the eye-
New-found treasure,
Stories to be.

Cut. Shaped. Pieced.
Beauty and comfort
Old and new
Bound together

New design,
New purpose,
Shared.
Life enriched.

Piper Reed, Navy Bratt by Kimberly Willis Holt

2011-06-12T11:33:00.002-04:00

A series I will be happy to recommend to my readers who are fans of Junie B., Amber Brown, & Judy Moody. As the story opens, Piper's mother (an artist) and the Chief(Piper's father, a Navy mechanic)announce to their 3 daughters that they will be moving from their home in California to Pensacola, Florida. As a career Navy family, this isn't the first time that the Reeds have moved, but this move hits Piper hard. The Reed home in California was their first ever that wasn't on-base and their first where Piper was able to have a tree house and her own club--The Gypsy Club. Will she be able to make new friends? A new club? Even if there is no tree house? And what about school? What if her teacher asks her to read in front of the class? Piper is dyslexic. Add to these worries the fact that her father will be leaving for a 6-month tour and you can see that Piper has a lot on her plate. But maybe, living near the home base of the Blue Angels, Piper Reed, Navy Brat, can find her new place in their new home.

Generation Dead by Daniel Waters

2011-06-02T12:28:00.003-04:00

If you pick this book up expecting a "typical" zombie story (hordes of shuffling undead slogging about, losing body parts and eating brains), you'll be disappointed. This isn't that kind of zombie book. In fact, it's not really a zombie book at all. It's a YA story of teens dealing with school, family, friends and the drama and humor that can be so overwhelming under even the most "normal" of circumstances. What makes this story different is that "normal", at least in the U.S. now includes dead teens who aren't. Dead. Well, not exactly. For some reason (and theories abound), some teens in the U.S. have simply not stayed dead. They're not exactly alive, and certainly not the same as they once were, but they're walking, talking, and yes, going back to school.

This story takes the reader outside the bounds of differences based on skin color, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or any of the other myriad things that often make someone a target of bigots and bullies and puts discrimination into terms of life and un-life--made real by characters who are interesting and situations (barring the whole undead thing) that most everyone can relate to on some level.

Thought-provoking, interesting, and left me wanting to know more.

Mickey Moonbeam by Mike Brownlow

2011-02-11T23:12:00.002-05:00

Mickey is excited. Quiggle is finally coming for a visit, but a distress call from his friend leads him to a nearby asteroid on a rescue mission. The problem is, when Mickey gets to the asteroid, he can't find his Quiggle anywhere. Turns out, Mickey and Quiggle have never met in person--only on video-phone. Turns out, locating his friend isn't the only problem Mickey needs to solve.

I used this book in my lesson with 2nd grade genre lesson. Lots of good synonyms for the word "big" make for a fun discussion of synonyms and antonyms. The illustrations were vivid and engaging and easy for my students to see, whether in the front row or the back row--and that counts for a lot in a read-aloud setting!

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

2011-02-11T19:00:00.002-05:00

One of my parents at school brought this to me to read. When my son saw it, he snatched it up, read it, then immediately asked for the sequel. From the first chapter, I found myself swept into Katniss' world and her struggles to survive in District 12, a Post Apocalyptic Appalachia that finds itself on the bottom of the Panem food chain. After the death of her father in the District's mines, Katniss takes on the role of provider for her tattered family. When Prim, Katniss' young sister, is selected as one of the District's "Tributes" to the Hunger Games, Katniss volunteers to take her place, launching her into a world that pits twenty-four young people, two from each District, against each other in a televised to-the-death reality show designed to entertain the pampered elite of the Capitol and to keep the subjugated Districts mindful of their place in the new order of the world. Her hard-won survival skills may mean the difference between life and death for Katniss--and for those she cares about.

I absolutely cannot wait to dive into the 2nd book.

Dogku by Andrew Clements, illustrated by Tim Bowers

2011-02-05T21:24:00.002-05:00

Written entirely in haiku, each two-page spread is graced with colorful paintings of a family who invites a stray pup into their home, and his subsequent 1st bath, naming, introduction to the kids, sadness at their leaving on the big yellow bus, subsequent boredom and ensuing mischief and finally with an edge-of-the-seat ending that leaves the reader wondering if this adorable pup has found a home or if he'll end up at the pound. SPOILER ALERT: this adorable tale has a tail-wagging good ending.

What a great way to introduce haiku! Could also be used effectively for discussions on predicting what will happen next, interpreting untold events from illustrations, and a wonderful lead-in to creative writing efforts.

Some popular picks at our library. . .

2010-12-11T23:20:00.007-05:00

I get lots of requests for book/series recommendations--from kids and adults. Makes sense--after all, I am a K-5 librarian. That said, I struggle with my answer. Book choice can be very personal and one child's "best book ever!" may easily be another child's "what's the big deal?". That said, there are some books and series that are consistently popular with the kids at my school. With this in mind, I thought I'd put together a list of these with links to websites that give more information about each. Grade levels mentioned are merely suggestions based on observations--know your readers.

For 3rd through 5th graders:

Jeff Kinney's Diary of a Wimpy Kid series
Erin Hunter's Warrior series
Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson series
Jeff Smith's Bone graphic novels
Dav Pilkey's Captain Underpants series
Shel Silverstein's Where the Sidewalk Ends and other poetry

On a daily basis, I get numerous requests for books, any books,on specific topics--often more requests than I have books. These popular topics include: how-to-draw, origami, world records (especially the Guinness World record books), the Titanic, I Spy, dinosaurs, and jokes & riddles.

For Kindergarten through 2nd graders:

Nick Bruel's Bad Kitty and Poor Puppy
Alyssa Capucilli's Biscuit books
Dav Pilkey's Kat Kong and Dogzilla
Mary Pope Osborne's Magic Tree House series. An added benefit for this series is the availability of the non-fiction research guides to match the various topics.
Barbara Park's Junie B. Jones series

Found---The Missing: Book 1

2010-09-06T17:52:00.002-04:00

When 13-year-old Jonah receives a mysterious note telling him "You are one of the missing" he has little idea how much these 6 small words will change his life. Who are "The Missing"? What happened at that airport 13 years ago? Why is the FBI involved? Who can we trust? These are just a few of the questions that Jonah, his sister Katherine and his new friend, Chip, are trying to answer in this suspense-filled mystery--a mystery that has them hiding from FBI agents, debating the existence of ghosts, and calling perfect strangers in an effort to find out the truth. School Library Journal recommends the book for Grades 4-8, but I know a few adults who are waiting anxiously for each new book in this series. :D

Earth Mother by Ellen Jackson, illustrated by Leo & Diane Dillon

2010-05-08T23:25:00.005-04:00

In this beautifully illustrated story, Earth Mother walks through the times of the day and through the seasons, her flowing robes reflecting each. Man thanks for her frog, which fills his belly, but wonders why she sent mosquito to torment him. Frog thanks her for sending tasty mosquito to give him life, but wonders why she sent man to catch him. Mosquito thanks her for man, but wonders why she sent frog who has already eaten most of his sisters. Each says that the world would be perfect if only she got rid of one of the others. At the end, as Earth Mother says good night to all her children, she goes to sleep knowing that "the world, in its own way, was perfect."

This year, I used this story for Earth Day, after my unit on folk tales. Before reading the story, I asked my students (Grades 2-5) to think about why I might choose to share this one for Earth Day. In some classes, when I get to Frog telling Earth Mother that man is "Bad, bad, bad", after having just heard man say the same about Mosquito, they start to chuckle as they recognize the pattern. Some classes "get it" right away--some take a little prompting with: "Have you heard the terms "Food Chain", "Food Web" or "Life Cycle"?

Flurry's Frozen Tundra by Virginia Kroll, illustrated by Michael Maydak

2010-02-16T17:05:00.004-05:00

Flurry is an arctic fox who has woken up hungry, but he has a problem: the long, dark arctic winter hasn't loosened its hold on the tundra and food is scarce. When Flurry decides to try and steal a meal from Mighty One (the polar bear), his friends Oomingmak, the musk ox, and Snowy, the snowy owl, try to talk sense into him. While Flurry learns a lesson about patience and safety, students can learn some useful facts about this harsh habitat and these animals.
I used this as a read aloud with my 2nd & 3rd graders and was tickled to find them hanging on every word as they wondered what might happen to Flurry. I paired this with a non-fiction title called Arctic Foxes and showed them actual photographs of the tundra and arctic foxes and polar bears. Two for one--tie-in to their classroom lessons on habitats AND reinforcement of concepts of fiction/non-fiction. Yay! This book is part of the "My Home" series by Kroll and Maydak about animals and their habitats, including Kingston's Flowering Forest and Bluffy's Mighty Mountain.

Higher Level Books for Younger Readers

2009-12-13T11:57:00.004-05:00

This list is not for a specific reading level or age, nor is it comprehensive in scope—it is merely a compilation of series/titles/authors that could work well for younger students who are reading at high levels. (Thanks to my colleagues at LM_Net for helping to build this list.)

Keep in mind that, just because a child can sound out or read the words, it does not mean that they comprehend what they are reading. These children need help learning to pick “just right books” for themselves—books that might be a little challenging, but not so challenging as to frustrate them out of reading. Remember too that, just because a child can read a book does not mean that they are emotionally/socially mature enough to understand some of the situations that arise in some stories or some of the interactions that occur on a deeper level. If you have a younger reader who reads at a higher level, read with your child so that you can discuss things that may be of concern to you or to them. Not only does it help their understanding, it offers a wonderful chance to help you understand them just a little better. Ask questions. Share your views. Let them share theirs.

Some wonderful resources for helping students with developing their book selection skills include: the 2Sisters website, and Jackie Mims Hopkins' picture book, Goldie Socks and the Three Libearians.

Series (title and author):

American Girl-multiple authors
Animal Ark-Baglio
Araminta Spooke-Angie Sage
Beany and the Meany –Wojciechowski
Black Stallion-Farley
Bunnicula-Howe
Captain Underpants-Pilkey
Carol Marsh Mysteries-
Charlie Bone- Nimmo
Chasing Vermeer (series by Balliet)
Children of Greenview-Knowles
Chronicles of Narnia -Lewis
Dear America Series-
Dragon Slayers Academy-
Emma -Warner
Enchanted Forest Chronicles-Wrede
Flat Stanley -Brown
Fudge-Blume
Geronimo Stilton-
Guardians of Ga'Hoole -Lasky
Gooney Bird Green -Lowrey
Gregor the Overlander-Collins
Hank the Cowdog-John R. Erickson and Gerald L. Holmes
Hardy Boys (graphic novels and regular)

Judy Moody-McDonald
Little House-Wilder
Magic School Bus-
Mercy Watson -DiCamillo
Misty of Chincoteague -Henry
Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle -MacDonald
My America-
My Father’s Dragon -Gannett
Nancy Drew (graphic novels and regular)-
Pippi Longstocking -Lindgren
Pokemon-
Pony Pals-
Poppy –Avi
Ramona Quimby -Cleary
Redwall -Jacques
Saddle Club-
Sandy Lane –Usborne
Septimus Heap series-Angie Sage
Mouse and the Motorcycle and other books by her-Cleary
Time Warp Trio -Scieszka
Warriors-Hunter
Wizard of Oz -Baum

Specific Titles:

A Bear Called Paddington -Bond
Abel's Island-Steig
Babe, the Gallant Pig and others by this author-King-Smith
Because of Winn-Dixie-DiCamillo
Ben and Me -Lawson
Big Idea, Ben Franklin?-Jean Fritz
Chalk Box Kid -Bulla
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory -Dahl
Charlotte’s Web-White
Doll People
Dr. DoLittle-
Dragon Rider-Funke
Freedom Rider-Ryan
Frindle -Clements
Half Magic -Eager
James and the Giant Peach -Dahl
Mary Poppins-Travers
Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane-DiCamillo
Mr. Popper's Penguins-Atwater
My Dog, My Hero -Byars
Peter and the Starcatchers
Rabbit Hill -Lawson
Sable-Hesse
Secret of Platform 13-Ibbotson
Seven Wonders of Sassafras Springs-Birney
Star of Kazan-Ibbotson
Stuart Little -White
The BFG -Dahl
The Cricket in Times Square -Selden
The Gadget War -Duffey
The Hundred Dresses -Estes
The Meanest Doll in the World-
The Penderwicks -Birdsall
The Shrinking of Treehorn -Heide
The Stories Julian Tells -Cameron
When Santa fell to Earth-Funke
Where Do You Think You’re Going, Christopher Columbus?-Jean Fritz
Where Was Patrick Henry on the 29th of May?-Jean Fritz
Who’s That Stepping on Plymouth Rock-Jean Fritz
Why Don’t You Get a Horse, Sam Adams?-Jean Fritz
Will You Sign Here, John Hancock?-Jean Fritz
Wilma Unlimited; How Wilma Rudolph Became the World’s Fastest Woman -Krull
Wind in the Willows -Graham
Winnie the Pooh -Milne
Wonderful Flight to the Mushroom Planet -Cameron
You Want Women to Vote, Lizzie Stanton?-Jean Fritz

Poetry
Beast Feast, Insectlopedia, Mammalabilia and others -Florian
Flicker Flash-Graham
New Kid on the Block -Prelutsky
Where the Sidewalk Ends, and others -Silverstein

Folklore
Ride on the Red Mare’s Back -LeGuin
Saint George and the Dragon -Hodges
Sally Ann Thunder Ann Whirlwind Crockett: A Tall Tale -Kellogg
Swamp Angel -Issacs
The King’s Equal -Paterson
The Woman Who Flummoxed the Fairies -Forest
Young Guinevere -SanSouci

Biographies
A Picture Book About… (series includes a wide variety of biographies in picture book format)
A Story of John James Audubon -Davies
Alvin Ailey -Pinkney
And Then What Happened, Paul Revere?-Jean Fritz
Bard of Avon: the Story of William Shakespeare-Diane Stanley
Beatrix Potter -Wallner
Brendan the Navigator: A History Mystery about the Discovery of America-Jean Fritz Can’t You Make Them Behave, King George-Jean Fritz
Cleopatra-Diane Stanley
Dare to Dream: Coretta Scott King and the Civil Rights Movement -Medearis
Dear Benjamin Banneker -Pinkney
El Chino -Say
Getting to Know the World’s Greatest Artists series-Venezia
Good Queen Bess; the Story of Queen Elizabeth I of England-Diane Stanley
How Ben Franklin Stole Lightning -Schanzer
Joan of Arc-Diane Stanley
Leonardo da Vinci-Diane Stanley
Leonardo’s Horse-Jean Fritz
Michaelangelo-Diane Stanley
Saladin: A Noble Prince of Islam-Diane Stanley
Shh! We’re Writing the Constitution-Jean Fritz
Teammates -Golenbock
The Boy Who Drew Birds;
The Lost Colony of Roanoke-Jean Fritz
The Secret Soldier: The Story of Deborah Sampson -McGovern
The Story of Ruby Bridges -Cole

Nonfiction
Bats-Gail Gibbons
Beacons of Light: Lighthouses-Gail Gibbons
Chicks and Chickens-Gail Gibbons
Deserts-Gail Gibbons
Giant Pandas-Gail Gibbons
Grizzly Bears-Gail Gibbons
Horses-Gail Gibbons
Rabbits, Rabbits and More Rabbits-Gail Gibbons
Spiders-Gail Gibbons
The Berry Book -Gail Gibbons
The Honey Makers-Gail Gibbons
The Milk Makers-Gail Gibbons
The Monarch Butterfly-Gail Gibbons
The Pumpkin Book-Gail Gibbons
Whales-Gail Gibbons
Wolves-Gail Gibbons
Nature-Related Books by Jean George

Just Ella by Margaret Peterson Haddix

2009-12-11T20:07:00.004-05:00

Margaret Peterson Haddix has woven a wonderful story from the stuff of fairytale legend--but with a "what if" twist that brings the story of Cinderella into the real world. What if there was no fairy godmother? What if Cinderella was a girl who took her destiny into her own hands and made her own fairytale ending? What if "happily ever after" is buried in lies, politics, and etiquette lessons, and Prince Charming isn't? Just a short time after the famous "glass slipper" incident, Ella is finding herself to be less than happy and is beginning to wonder if the royal life is really what she wants.
If you enjoy fairy tales with a twist, have always wondered about what happened next in the Cinderella story, and don't want to depend on a fairy godmother for your own happy ending? Read Just Ella.
As a note--some of the reviews suggest that this story might work well as a read-aloud for "younger readers". If you choose to use this story with "younger readers", be sure to read it for yourself first. There are some more mature elements to this more realistic Cinderella story.

Kat Cooks the Books--kids' lit-inspired recipes

2009-10-13T18:48:00.007-04:00

I've long been a recipe buff and am always tickled when I find a good children's book that includes a recipe. That said, I never once thought about making up a recipe inspired BY a children's book. Then, LM_Net (a librarian's listserv) dropped this blog onto my lap: Kat Cooks the Books at http://katcooksthebooks.blogspot.com/. The "why didn't I think of that!!!" factor hits me big-time when I look at this blog. So far, there are recipes inpsired by Robert McCloskey's Blueberries for Sal, Kevin Henkes' Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse, J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series, and Peggy Parrish's Amelia Bedelia series. These recipes and stories just beg to be used in a book club or in any number of of storytime related activities. Wonderful!

Suddenly Supernatural: School Spirit by Elizabeth Cody Kimmel

2009-07-29T13:33:00.007-04:00

Kat is a 7th grader who'd love to have just one good friend. She thinks she's finally got her chance when she's partnered with one of the most popular girls in school for a social studies project. The only problem? Well, let's just say that ghostly wails of bagpipes, strange temperature changes, and a mother who talks to dead people may not be conducive to "fitting in" with the popular crowd. To make matters worse, at least from Kat's point of view, she herself has started to see dead people too. Spend some time with Kat as she tries to come to terms with her own gift, make friends, and figure out what the ghost in the library wants Kat to do. Visit Kimmel's website at: http://www.codykimmel.com
I started this one at about 11:00 p.m. and finished it up in the wee hours of the morning. Why? I didn't want to put it down. I'm getting too old to do that, but I really liked this story. I'd recommend this one to anyone who like ghost stories, paranormal twists, or mysteries with both of the other elements. Bonus? There are sequels!

Some Great Sites for Mystery Lovers and More

2009-07-18T19:25:00.003-04:00

As an avid mystery reader, I'm a big fan of the Stop You're Killing Me (SYKM) website (http://www.stopyourekillingme.com/). The site is wonderful in that it offers you easy access to mystery books, allowing you to search outright, or if you remember the main character name, by character, or by author. This alone makes the site noteworthy, but it also includes some other handy features including a "read-alike" section, a genre index and and location index. While the site does include some mysteries written for the young adult, it does not list mysteries geared specifically toward children. However, Lucinda Surber, SYKM Webmaster, has another wonderful site called Bookworm for Kids (http://www.bookworm4kids.com/). The site is geared toward parents, grandparents and teachers interested in encouraging kids to love reading. There are links to Caldecott and Newbery Award winners, links to books by theme (such as divorce, sibling rivalry), books by genre and by subject, and more. If you want to find some great recommendations for mysteries for children, just visit the site's genre link and select "mysteries".

Enjoy exploring these wonderful sites and happy reading!

The Capture by Karen Lasky

2009-06-08T18:29:00.002-04:00

The Capture, first of the Guardians of Ga'Hoole series, is the story of a young owl named Soren who is captured and taken to a horrible place where young owls from all over the kingdom are basically brainwashed into forgetting who they are and made to work mining "fleck". The story if filled with adventure and suspense and quite a lot of mystery. How did Soren fall from his nest? Did his sister and nest-maid survive? Will Soren and Gylfie escape or will they, too, succumb to the mind-numbing effects of moon-blanking? What is the purpose of the flecks and what is housed in the mysterious "orphanage" library. Don't be surprised if you find yourself wanting to learn more about these amazing creatures.

Recommended for Grades 4-8, this series will appeal to readers who like adventure and suspense with animals as the main characters, such as the Redwall series by Jacques and the NIMH series by O'Brien.

Jimmy Coates, Assassin? by Joe Craig

2009-06-07T12:56:00.005-04:00

Jimmy Coates is 11, has an annoying older sister, a best friend who likes to joke around and has no idea that his life, as he knows it, is about to change. Forever. This story is set in an England that has gone haywire--just like all that Jimmy believed--about himself, his family, and his country. I can not wait to see what happens in the next installment.
The book is listed as Grades 4-8, with a reading level from ages 9-12. That said, anyone who enjoys a good romp and a bit of a mystery will zip through this story and be chomping at the bit for more. Who will enjoy this book? Readers who enjoyed Alex Ryder's adventures (by Horowitz) or H.I.V.E (by Walden).

Books popular with my 5th graders, and some ideas to help you help them

2009-03-19T21:08:00.007-04:00

I am always on the lookout for recommended reads, and I often get requests for a list of books for a specific grade level. There are lots of lists of recommended books out there--right at our fingertips--so, with all the lists out there, how do you know which list is the best one for you to use with your child (or students)? The best thing I've found so far is to just take it on a case by case basis. I'll include a few tips first, then a list of series and titles that are popular with my students, and some links to just a few websites that may be helpful for you.

A few tips:

Know your child/student--For example: Is this child inclined to have nightmares? If yes, don't choose "scary" stories"
Know what your child is interested in--does this child prefer action? fantasy? mysteries?
Let your child see you read something you enjoy.
Know how to help your child pick books that are "just right" for them--there is a simple strategy for this that doesn't require test results or any thing complicated--check out the five-finger rule
If you have concerns about certain topics or issues of language, use your child's reading choices as an opportunity to discuss these issues with your child.

and finally

If you want to encourage your child to read for fun, please, give your child some freedom of choice. It's OKAY for them to choose picture books, graphic novels, non-fiction, "easy" chapter books, magazines, poems, etc. A book doesn't have to be "classic good literature" to encourage someone read (and if you want to stir up a stink, just get a group of people debating what's "good" and "classic" literature!).

A few of the books &/or series that are popular with my 5th graders:

The Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling
The Diary of a Wimpy Kid series by Jeff Kinney
The Pendragon series by D.J. MacHale
The Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan
Allie Finkle's Rules for Girls by Meg Cabot
Coraline by Neil Gaiman
The Ranger's Apprentice series by Jeff Flanagan
The Bone series by Jeff Smith
The Baby Mouse series by Matthew and Jennifer Holm
The Animal Ark series by Ben Baglio
The Molly Moon series by Georgia Byng
The Gilda Joyce, Psychic Investigator series by Jennifer Allison
The Dollhouse Murders by Betty Ren Wright
The Among the Hidden series by Margaret Peterson Haddix
The Artemis Fowl series by Eoin Colfer
Because of Winn-Dixie and Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo
The Warriors series by Erin Hunter
Judy Blume's books, including the Fudge series and The Pain and the Great One

In general:

Anything related to Star Wars
Any Guinness Book of World Records
"Scary" stories, including Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, Ask the Bones, Goosebumps, etc.

Somes sites that may help you in your quest for books for your child/student:

www.readingrockets.org--a national multimedia project that offers informationa nd resources on how young kids learn to read, why so many struggle and how caring adults can help

www.papertigers.org--Features multicultural books (with specific focus on Pacific Rim and South Asia), offering a wealth of book-related resources for teachers, librarians, and parents

www.kidsreads.com--place for kids and parents to find info about their favorite books, series, and authors, including reviews, author interviews, trivia and games, and more

Neil Gaiman and The Graveyard Book

2009-03-14T14:41:00.005-04:00

This is just too cool. If you would like to watch Neil Gaiman read each chapter of The Graveyard Book, head over to his website at http://www.neilgaiman.com/ and click the link for "Video Tour" (or just click on this link The Graveyard Book). From there, you can open each chapter of his video tour. Apparently, the author is reading a chapter at each of his book tour stops and these readings are being posted for our viewing/listening pleasure. What a wonderful way to allow our students to hear the author speaking his own words! Thank you Mr. Gaiman!

Coraline by Neil Gaiman

2009-02-04T23:02:00.004-05:00

What a deliciously creepy tale! Love the characters, love the imagery, and love the ending.
Now, on a personal note. . .
Every now and then, a book will have a phrase or passage that puts into words something I have felt and didn't know how to say. These are the kinds of passages that stick with me and make a character or story really resonate for me. There were a couple of these passages that stood out for me in this story--one speaking to how we see ourselves, and another describing a different type of love--one that may sadly be more common than it ought to be.
On Page 67, Coraline has just woken up in her "other" bedroom. "For a moment she felt utterly dislocated. She did not know where she was; she was not entirely sure who she was. It is astonishing just how much of what we are can be tied to the beds we wake up in in the morning, and it is astonishing how fragile that can be."
On Page 106, Coraline's "other mother" has told her again "You know that I love you." This sets Coraline to thinking:
"And, despite herself, Coraline nodded. It was true: the other mother loved her. But she loved Coraline as a miser loves money, or a dragon loves its gold. In the other mother's button eyes, Coraline knew that she was a possession, nothing more. A tolerated pet, whose behavior was no longer amusing.

H.I.V.E. by Mark Walden

2009-02-03T22:05:00.003-05:00

Have you ever felt like your schoolwork is killing you? Well, Otto Malpense has been kidnapped and imprisoned in a school that might literally be the death of him. The story begins as Otto wakes to find himself strapped into a helicopter flying over an ocean. Upon landing he is introduced to the strange island world of H.I.V.E., the Higher Institute of Villainous Education, an exclusive school for turning out world-class villains. There is no communication with the outside world. There seems to be only one way in and no way out.
------
My son (5th grader at the time) handed this to me after he finished it and insisted that I read it. Before he finished it, he requested a trip to the local bookstore to purchase Book 2 in the series. That's recommendation enough for me! Vivid imagery, great adventure, cool characters and just enough mystery to have my son and I discussing what might come next. Looking forward to more from Mr. Walden.

Books into Movies

2008-12-21T12:01:00.002-05:00

Want to stir up a heated conversation in a library? Start discussing movie adaptations of books. Now, as a general rule, I find that I usually prefer the book to the movie. Sometimes, how much I like a movie depends on which I did first--saw the movie or read the book. Very often, it seems that people are more forgiving of a movie's differences from the book if they saw the movie first. Whether you fall into the "love the book/hate the movie" camp or some other camp, one thing I've observed is this--when a movie comes out, circulation of the book at the library increases. Let me repeat that key phrase: Circulation Increases. With that in mind, I am perfectly happy to capitalize on a movie's popularity to promote the book. The following list is my running list that I plan to use to build my "Seen the Movie? Read the book!" display. I am amazed at the shocked expressions on some students' faces when they say "Look at this! Someone ripped off the movie!" and I point out that the book actually came first. Usually, they'll leave with a copy of the book in hand. Cool. Way cool.

101 Dalmatians by Dodie Smith

Saw the Disney cartoon first, loved it. The movie led me to the book. Love it too.

Freaky Friday by Mary Rodgers

Saw the old Disney movie first, which led me to the book. Read it, loved it and then saw the re-make. My son and I both loved that one.

Pollyanna by Eleanor H. Porter

Saw the movie as a child which led me to the book. The movie was not my favorite, but as it led me to the book--I was happy to see it.

Eragon by Christopher Paolini

Read the book and loved it. Too many of my students, ones who read the book THEN saw the movie, HATED the movie--so I haven't bothered to see that one. Oddly enough, students who saw the movie first, THEN read the book, were ok with the movie. Funny how that works.

Matilda by Roald Dahl

Saw the movie first and loved it. It led me to the book, which I also loved.

The Witches by Roald Dahl

Read the book first and loved it--the descriptions of the witches and their itchy scalps still gives me a chuckle (and shiver). The movie was fun too, but I'll say I got more out of the book.

Spiderwick Chronicles by DiTerlizzi and Black

My son and I read the books (the first series) first and loved them. When we went to see the movie, my son was totally disappointed b/c they'd changed so much. I thought the movie was pretty fun, BUT not if you were expecting it to be true to the books.

The Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling

Read the books first. Loved them. Saw the movies afterwards. Enjoyed them. Were they different? Yes. Enjoyable? I think so. Regardless of a love/hate relationship with the books, it is certain that, when a movie is due to be released, the books fly off the shelf as students (and adults!) scurry to re-read. Don't have much time to read 800 page books? The book-on-tape adaptations with Jim Dale as narrator are wonderful for car trips.

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis

I hate to admit that I must be one of the few adults who hadn't read this book before seeing the movie. I loved the movie, which led me to read the book. Loved them both.

Prince Caspian by C.S. Lewis

Read the book first, but it was so long before I saw the movie, that there is a lot about the book I just don't remember. Did I like the movie? It was fun, but my son, who is way ahead of me on the books, didn't like this movie nearly as much as he liked the first one.

Goodreads--Great Tool for Readers

2008-12-06T12:31:00.010-05:00

Many years ago, I started keeping a book log. In this log, I would write down the titles of books I'd read, maybe a few favorite quotes from the book and a few notes about what I thought about the book--or what the book made me think about in general. In some ways, my book log became a journal. Looking back at these lists brings me back to where I was at that particular moment in my life--metaphorically speaking. Technology being what it is, we now have access to some amazing tools that allow anyone with Internet access (and these days, that basically means anyone who can get to a public library if they don't have a home computer), can log in, create an account, and get started. Here's the address: www.goodreads.com What can you do with this site? Here's a small sampling:

make a list of books you've read

make a list of books you want to read

rank the book from 1-5 stars

write a review

join a discussion group

create a group to discuss reading topics

invite friends to join and share their lists

To see a sample, take a look at my Children's and YA books widget, compliments of Good Reads. It's over on the right-hand side of this page.

Before you sign up, take a look at some of the other programs out there--Good Reads is only one of many. There's also Shelfari and Library Thing and many more--just use your favorite search engine and see what's out there. These sites offer a great way to network about books and reading.

Fairest by Gail Carson Levine

2008-09-08T20:07:00.003-04:00

Aza, 15, is blessed with an amazing voice and wonderful family, but feels cursed by her size (enormous compared to her fellow Ayorthians) and her appearance (in her words "an ugly ox. . . a blemish". Working in her family's inn, Aza is surprised when chance finds her accompanying a crotchety, cat-loving Duchess to the royal wedding. Aza is even more baffled when her amazing talent for "illusing" or copying and projecting the voices of others leads her to become the new queen's lady in waiting. Her good fortune turns sour when the new queen forces her to use her gifts to deceive both her king and her country. Torn between loyalty to her homeland and fear for her family, Aza is drawn into an adventure that might just help Aza see beyond her physical appearance--if it doesn't get her killed by ogres, magic mirrors, or angry courtiers.
If you've enjoyed other works by Levine, be sure to read Fairest. Readers of Ella Enchanted will be pleased at the cameo references to Lucinda and Ella's best friend. Grades 5+.

Children of the Lamp: The Akhenaten Adventure by P.B. Kerr

2008-07-11T23:05:00.006-04:00

What do an earthquake, a toothache, television-watching dogs, claustrophobia (fear of small and cramped places) and a long-lost Uncle have in common? Normally, not much, until you meet John and Philippa Gaunt. These 12-year old twins from New York are about to set out on an adventure of a lifetime--and all apparently because their wisdom teeth are coming in early--well, that and the fact that they are descended from a long-line of Djinn. They get their wisdom teeth removed, their housekeeper's wish gets granted and suddenly, the children are on their way to England to meet an estranged (and rather strange) uncle--and oh, by the way, the world, as they know it, is in extreme danger. The Akhenaten Adventure is the first book in the Children of the Lamp series. The series so far:

The Akhenaten Adventure The Blue Djinn of Babylon The Cobra King of Kathmandu The Day of the Djinn Warriors The Five Fakirs of FaizabadTo learn more about P.B. Kerr, check out the Kids Reads biography at:
http://www.kidsreads.com/authors/au-kerr-pb.asp

The Ghost's Grave by Peg Kehret

2008-06-02T20:15:00.002-04:00

Josh has just moved to a new state with his mother and new step-father. He doesn't know anyone in his new town yet, but is excited because he just found out that he was selected to play on his school's summer baseball league team. The only catch? He can't play baseball that summer because his mom and step-dad have to travel to India. To make matters worse, he will have to spend the summer in a little coal-mining town out in the middle of nowhere with a great-great aunt he's never met. He figures he's in for the dullest, most horrible summer ever. The bus drops him off at a little general store (no bus station--town's too small) and that's when he meets his great-great aunt for the first time. The ride to her house is hair-raising--her old truck does NOT have seat belts (yep, the truck is so old, it was made before seat belts were required), which wouldn't worry him nearly so badly if she didn't drive down the middle of the road (instead of in a lane like normal people). When they finally arrive safely at her house (phew!), he's checking out the house when he hears a blood-curdling scream. He runs to the kitchen where he finds his great aunt chasing a bat. (She really doesn't like bats, and especially not in the house.) He's figuring that if they turn the lights out and stop moving, they can shoo the bat out the door or out a window, but his great-aunt is having none of that. She goes out of the room and comes back--with a shot gun--and shoots the bat. Do you think this turns out to be the dullest, most horrible summer ever? Nope. Add to this a stray cat, a one-legged ghost, and a mysterious theft and you have the the makings for a great summer-time read. Check it out! This book won the Intermediate division of the 2007-2008 Volunteer State Book Awards.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians series--More Info

2008-04-22T16:50:00.002-04:00

If you're interested in more information about the Percy Jackson series, drop by Rick Riordan's site at:

http://www.rickriordan.com/children.htm

What's cool about this site is that it shows the cover art, talks about each book in the series, and offers links to video of Rick Riordan reading from the series.

I had mistakenly thought that Book 4 might be the last of the Percy Jackson books, having read in Horn Book that it was the "penultimate" book of the series. I need to use the dictionary more often. Turns out "penultimate" means "next to last". Good news for all of us Percy Jackson fans!

Percy Jackson and the Olympians series by Rick Riordan

2008-04-02T17:46:00.007-04:00

Percy Jackson is a 12-year old boy in current-day New York. He's been kicked out of 6 schools in 6 years, he's dyslexic and has ADHD, and his dad left when he Percy was little. And he just doesn't know why such strange things seem to keep happening to him--at least, not until he vaporizes one of his teachers during a field trip. Turns out that Percy Jackson is the demigod son of Poseidon (yes, THE Poseidon, Greek god of the sea) and a mortal woman. Also turns out that demigods are prime targets for the Titans because of their special abilities--and because of a prophecy that basically says that a half-blood will decide the fate of the world. Now, if it sounds like I've given too much away, never fear. What I've told you is just the tip of the iceberg.

The series includes (in order):

The Lightning Thief (Book 1)
The Sea of Monsters (Book 2)
The Titan's Curse (Book 3)
The Battle of the Labyrinth (Book 4)
The Last Olympian (Book 5)

Librarians and Teachers--this series is excellent for readers who have finished the Mary Pope Osborne Tales from the Odyssey series or for readers who enjoy great adventure with lots of battles and a bit of mystery. The series is a double win for librarians in that it will appeal to students interested in Greek mythology and to students who are interested in a great romp of an adventure. Readers who come at the series from a love of mythology tend to start getting interested in reading more adventure. Readers who come at the series from a love of adventure stories tend to get interested in learning more about Greek mythology.

Dragon and Thief by Timothy Zahn

2008-02-21T17:11:00.006-05:00

Jack Morgan is 14, an orphan but for his con-artist Uncle Virgil who, for some reason, never seems to leave their ship, the Essenay. Jack is also in trouble, but for once, it's for something he didn't do. Jack and Virgil have decided to lay low on an out-of-the-way planet until the heat dies down, but a quiet time just isn't in the cards for them. They witness an attack and crash landing of a large alien ship, the Havenseeker, and go to investigate (and maybe see what they can pilfer in the process). The wreckage yields no survivors--apparently, until Jack stumbles across a dying dragon-like creature that, in a surprise attack, jumps over Jack and seems to disappear--but not exactly. Somehow, he has become flat and is riding on top of Jack's skin like some strange tattoo--who can move around and talk with Jack from this unusual location. Jacks learns that the creature's name is Draycos, a K'da poet-warrior, and apparently the only surviving member of an advance colony ship for the refugee K'da and Shontin peoples--who are fleeing the Death weapon being used against them on their home world. Thing is, the Death weapon seems to have met them at their new home and Draycos must find out how and who is responsible if he is to save his unsuspecting people. To do THAT, he must first help Jack solve his own problems with whoever seems to have framed him for a serious crime. I wish I could do this storyline justice--and hope that I'm not just making it sound silly b/c the story is anything but that. There is enough action, intrigue, humor, and complexity to leave you on the edge of your seat, and on the reserve list at the local library.

The series so far (and in order from first to latest) includes:

Dragon and Thief

Dragon and Soldier

Dragon and Slave

Dragon and Herdsman

Note to librarians and teachers: to date, I've only read the first two, but CAN NOT WAIT to get my hands on the 3rd to see what happens. Each book so far has moved the characters closer the answers they are seeking--and each book so far has had an ending that wraps up its own loose ends--BUT--each book has also brought into play new characters and added some new questions. While listed as YA, this book may also be popular among upper-level elementary advanced readers who are clamoring for titles like Eragon.

Three Good Deeds by Vivian Vande Velde

2007-12-29T21:25:00.001-05:00

Howard seems always to have some kind of mischief up his sleeve and he can always find a ready excuse for not taking the blame--especially if someone else has gotten caught--even if that someone is his best friend. This dubious talent has kept him out of trouble for the most part--until he pulls one prank too many on the old woman at the goose pond. She seems able to see right through all of his ploys--and doesn't fall for any of them. Undaunted, Howard insults her--after all, he and the other children have taunted her all these years, calling her an old witch and making fun of her walk and her devotion to the geese at the pond. Imagine Howard's surprise when the the old woman turns HIM into a goose--feathers and all. The only way for Howard to ever regain his true form is for him to perform three good deeds. Piece of cake, right? Not exactly. Will he be able to convince anyone that he's a boy, not a goose? Can he figure out what makes a good deed good? Does he get eaten or does he learn the difference between being selfish and selfless? To find out, read Three Good Deeds by Vivian Vande Velde.
I've had great success getting interest in this book by just reading aloud the first two chapters. So far, every time I've done this, several students have put their names on the reserve list for this title.

Grades 3-5.

Wikis, Social Networking, and More in Plain English

2007-10-23T17:28:00.000-04:00

Thanks to the good folk at LM_Net, I recently learned about a wonderful blog called "The CommonCraft Show". Once you scroll down the page, you'll see links to various videos including:

Wikis in Plain English

Social Bookmarking in Plain English

Social Networking in Plain English

These brief videos do a great job of getting to the gist of the topic, and as the title says, in plain English. If you're curious about any of these topics, but don't have the first clue where to start, take a look at these videos.

Thanks for the great info CommonCraft!

Uglies by Scott Westerfeld

2007-10-22T09:22:00.000-04:00

You are considered a "littlie" until age 12. At 12, you move into a boarding school where you will eat, sleep and breath life as an "Ugly", looking forward (and across the river) to age 16 when you can have the operation that makes you a "Pretty" and you can move to Prettytown--and all your troubles are surgically removed along with that too-large nose or too narrow chin. Then you meet someone who challenges this vision of your future--the only vision you've had until now, on the eve of your 16th birthday. What if you must then choose between this new friend and the only dream you've ever had. What if there's a ugly side to being a Pretty--that has nothing to do with how you look?

Uglies is the first in a trilogy that chronicles the adventures of Tally Youngblood as she is introduced to the not-so-perfect side of her utopian world. The series order is: Uglies, Pretties and Specials. For the readers who simply can't get enough of this story, there is now a 4th book in the series, set a few years in the future beyond the point where Specials left off--it's called Extras.

Although these books are 400+ pages, they read so fast that even some of my more reluctant readers are taking a chance on them--and coming back for more.

Airborn by Kenneth Oppel

2007-10-22T08:52:00.000-04:00

Imagine Jules Verne sitting down with Robert Louis Stevenson, the folk who worked on Disney's Treasure Planet and Hiyao Miyazaki (the anime version of Howl's Moving Castle)--and coming up with an adventure story that was part historical fiction, part science fiction, and part fantasy. That doesn't actually describe what Kenneth Oppel's Airborn is, but it's close. Matt is a 15 year old cabin boy on a luxury airship (think dirigible or blimp). He's more at home in the air than on solid ground, but his world is about to get shaken up when he meets a young woman who is determined to prove that her grandfather's sightings of large furry flying creatures were not hallucinations. With airship wrecks, pirates, uncharted islands, and mysterious flying creatures (that may or may not exist), this story is a page turner that doesn't need a screenplay to come to technicolor life as you read. This book works for just about any reader, male or female, who likes a good adventure. Many of my high school students are reading this one and being inspired to read more by Oppel. Reading level grades 6 and up.

Seven Wonders of Sassafras Springs by Betty G. Birney, Illustrated by Matt Phelan

2007-09-25T17:14:00.001-04:00

What do a rough old bookcase, an old loom, an outhouse in the middle of nowhere, a dried up apple-head doll, a haunted table and a boy and his hound dog have in common? To find the answer to this question (and maybe a few more), all you have to do is read this little book with its rough-textured cover the color of rich gold leaves in autumn.

“How It Started”

"Sometimes extraordinary things begin in ordinary places. A fancy-dancy butterfly starts out in a plain little cocoon. A great big apple tree grows from a tiny brown speck of a seed. And the Wonders started right on our own front porch on a hot summer night I would have forgotten on the spot if it hadn’t been for what got started then and kept on going.”

(Excerpted from Pg. 1)

Eben McCallister is sure that there is nothing worth seeing in Sassafras Springs and longs to get out and see the world, like Balboa and Columbus, discovering new and exciting places and ancient marvels. When his father offers him a chance to get out of Sassafras Springs, IF he can find seven wonders OF Sassafras Springs, he’s pretty sure he won’t be able to find anything that would compare to the great pyramids of Egypt or the Colossus of Rhodes. Does he find seven wonders and get to take his trip to Silver Springs, Colorado? I won’t tell you if Eben finds his seven wonders---for that, you have to read the book—but I will tell you that, maybe, along the way, Eben finds more than he bargains for—and maybe that a great deal of the wonder OF a Wonder is all in how you look at it.

Acceleration by Graham McNamee

2007-08-19T15:31:00.000-04:00

Duncan's a 17-year old who lives in "the Jungle", the inner-city of Toronto. During the searing heat-wave of summer, his dead-end summer job in the Toronto Transit Authority's "morgue" (aka: Lost and Found) offers him some respite from the heat, but it doesn't offer him any relief from his nightmares. Or does it? Plagued with nightmares about the drowning girl he couldn't save, Duncan's world takes a CSI-type turn when he finds a journal amongst the "lost treasures" of the morgue--the things left on city buses or subway cars. This book is not just any journal--it's someone's chronicle of their descent into going from torturer of small animals, to arsonist, to a stalker of women--someone on the way to becoming a serial killer. The pictures and newspaper clippings in the journal are all too real, but the police don't seem willing to take Duncan's concerns seriously. Is the journal real or just someone's sick creative writing attempt? If the journal IS real, can Duncan find this man before he takes his first human victim? Read Acceleration by Graham McNamee to find out.

Duncan's voice rings true and it's almost as hard to put the book down as it is to find a copy at our school library--yep, it's checked out THAT often. Recommended for Grades 8 and up.

Total Constant Order by Crissa-Jean Chappell

2007-07-28T21:28:00.000-04:00

Fin knows that something is wrong, she just doesn’t know what. She can’t stop counting. Some of the teachers at her new school think she just isn’t paying attention, but Fin knows that maybe she’s paying too much attention--to everything. Her dad wants to be buddies with his new girlfriend. Her mother wants her to go to counseling. Her counselor wants her to take Paxil, but her mother doesn’t want her to take meds at all. Fin feels like she’s all alone--until she begins a “conversation” with a tagger on the stall wall of one of the girls’ bathrooms. Maybe she’s not so alone after all, but will she ever be able to stop counting everything? Will she take the meds? Will she meet this tagger? Read Total Constant Order by Crissa-Jean Chappell and see.

Chappell does for obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) what Jack Gantos and his character, Joey Pigza, do for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Neither Gantos nor Chappell presume to solve their characters’ problems, nor do they preach or sugar-coat. They do not push any particular treatments. What they do is to skillfully offer the reader a glimpse into the minds of young people as they learn that, maybe, they’re not crazy--and that they aren’t alone. Total Constant Order, scheduled for release on October 23, 2007, is a worthy addition to any young adult collection.

Launch Pad: A call for young authors and illustrators

2007-07-22T22:33:00.000-04:00

I recently received word about an interesting opportunity for those young authors and illustrators out there. If you know of a young author or illustrator, consider looking into Launch Pad, a new publication for children's works set to debut in January/February of 2008. The following is the call for submissions along with URLs, snail mail, e-mail and phone information for the editor and publisher, Paul Kelsey. The call includes URLs for downloadable fliers. What a great way to encourage our dragonlings to get creative!!!

******************************************************************

Call for Submissions

Become a Published Young Author or Illustrator!

Launch Pad: Where Young Authors and Illustrators Take Off! is now accepting fiction, nonfiction, poetry, book reviews, and artwork by children ages 6-12. We encourage children to submit a few illustrations with their written work, but this is not a requirement. We are looking for creative works about the following themes:

Animals
The Ocean
Fairy Tales & Fantasy
Heroes
Mysteries
Sports

Launch Pad: Where Young Authors and Illustrators Take Off! is scheduled to debut with a January/February 2008 print issue. Please visit http://www.launchpadmag.com to review our submission guidelines!

Printable handouts:
http://www.launchpadmag.com/submitbw.pdf
http://www.launchpadmag.com/submitcolor.pdf

Email submissions and queries to: editor@launchpadmag.com

Or mail to:

Launch Pad
P.O. Box 80578
Baton Rouge, LA 70898

Dragons in Children's Literature

2007-06-05T08:59:00.000-04:00

Well, in my previous post, I included a brief look at two picture books of dragons. Of course, this now begs the question: what are some others good books with dragons?

Off the top of my head, some of my favorites are:

The Dragon Machine (Ages 5+)
The Dragon Snatcher (Ages 4+)
Dragon Song, Dragon Singer, and Dragon Drums (aka Harper Hall series) by Anne McCaffrey (Ages 10+)
Ignis by Gina Wilson and P.J. Lynch (Ages 4+)
Eragon and Eldest by Christopher Paolini (Ages 10+)
Dragon Rider by Cornelia Funke (Ages 9+)

What are some of YOUR favorite books--picture or chapter that include dragons.

I suspect this means that I will now start a list of favorite books with dragons. . . . The list now includes 9. Oh, that reminds me--the list of librarians in children's lit? It's up to 46 now. A far cry from 100--but still growing.

A few books with dragons. . . .

2007-06-04T23:34:00.000-04:00

It's been far too long since I returned to the cave. However, I am happy to say I return to the cave with a new diploma to hang on the wall and a mortar board (slightly rumpled) and tassle (slightly singed) to go along with it. I will say that whoever designed the mortar board and tassel simply did not take dragon anatomy into consideration (though my human counterparts at graduation were not faring much better). Those mortar boards were wobbling to and fro and tassels were being spat out regularly whenever anyone turned their head and opened their mouth at the same time. At least I had the option, unintended though it might have been, to singe the dratted tassel--just one small snort of flame and poof--no more tassel to irritate the nostrils. Ahem. I digress.

What I actually wanted to make note of was a couple of "new" (to me at least) picture books featuring one of my favorite topics: dragons. Of course, looking at the dates on these, you'll realize that "new to me" doesn't necessarily correspond with currency of publication date, but that's neither here nor there--well, it's actually more a then not now. . . .

The Dragon Snatcher by M. P. Robertson. Published by The Penguin Group's Dial Books for Young Readers in 2005, this beautifully illustrated book features a young boy named George who, unlike at least one of his predecessors, is out to save dragons--not slay them. Hearing a noise in the chicken coop one night, George investigates to find a worried dragon who whisks him off to a cold, bleak castle. Inside the castle George finds shelf after shelf on neatly labeled dragon eggs--and overhears an old wizard whose plan is to "rid the land of these cursed creatures" once he finds just one more egg. Does George stop the wizard from stealing the last dragon egg? Can anything melt the wizards ice-cold heart? Read and see. (K-3rd grade)

The Dragon Machine by Helen Ward, illustrated by Wayne Anderson. Published by Dutton Children's books in 2003, this is a very different story about a boy who always went ignored and overlooked, just like the dragons he starts to notice. Dragons are everywhere, but noone ever seems to notice them, just like they never seem to notice George--until they start to become troublesome. Needing some advice, George goes to his local library, where he learns, much too late, that one should never feed the dragons or let them into our home. But the book also offers hope that these dragons might not end up captured--if only he can show them the way to their own home--the place where they belonged. And so, George builds the dragon machine. Part of the fun of this story is discovering the dragons along with George--at first glance, the unobservant reader might just miss seeing these heretofore unnoticed creatures. Are the dragons discovered and captured? Do the dragons follow George as he attempts to take them to the safety of their own home? Does George ever get noticed? Read this whimsically illustrated story and see. (K-4th grade)

May Bird and the Ever After by Jodi Lyn Anderson

2007-02-25T13:09:00.002-05:00

Meet 10-year-old May Bird, who lives with her mother and a hairless rex cat named Somber Kitty at the edge of a woods in a place called Briery Swamp. She spends much of her time with her cat in the woods, dreaming of being a warrior princess or in her room drawing pictures of strange creatures. She's not like the other kids in her class, who think she's just plain weird. May Bird's mother, concerned and coming to her wits' end with May's "strange" behavior, is talking about sending her away to a boarding school in New York. Even though May Bird has reason to be scared now that she's started seeing ghosts in the woods and in her home, she's more scared of leaving her beloved West Virginia woods. Things become stranger still when, in the ruins of an old post office, she finds a mysterious letter, postmarked from 50 years ago, but addressed to May Bird at her address. The letter leads her into a world that is even further away than New York where being different--being "a live one", might just be deadly for her--a world where the Bogeyman is real; where ghosts are afraid of "people like her." It is a complex story with many layers, some humorous (ghosts of thieves playing practical jokes on one another) and some frightening (ghosts having their souls sucked into nothingness by the evil Bo Cleevil). In this strange and frightening world, May learns that, just maybe, she isn't as alone as she thought she was, and she just might find that she's more of a warrior princess than she ever dreamt.

Some sources list this story as being at a reading level of Ages 9 and up, others at Grades 5 and up. Because of the complexity and possible fright factor for some, I would tend to agree with the latter. That said, I'm looking forward to seeing what happens next as May Bird ventures through the land of the dead in an attempt to find answers, to find her way home, and to find herself. The series so far is:

May Bird and the Ever After (Book 1)

May Bird Among the Stars (Book 2)

May Bird: Warrior Princess (Book 3)

Some of you have asked if there will be other books in this series. After reading Book 3, my thoughts are that there will not be any further books in the series--simply because the story was wrapped up very nicely. That said, you just never know. If I hear of any additions to the series, I'll be happy to add them to the list.

The Snow Spider by Jenny Nimmo

2007-02-06T20:30:00.000-05:00

Many, many years ago, I read Susan Cooper's Dark is Rising. The series enthralled me, and I found myself anxiously waiting for each book in the series to come back in to our school library (the series was popular). So how is this relevant to Jenny Nimmo's The Magician Trilogy? Reading The Snow Spider put me in the same frame of mind that Cooper's series put me into so very many years ago, so much so, that I (1) can't wait to read the 2nd book in Nimmo's series and (2) am itching to re-read Cooper's series. Set in Wales, Nimmo's new series (she is author of the Charlie Bone books), introduces us to Gwyn and his family on the day of Gwyn's ninth birthday. Gwyn's grandmother gives him five very puzzling gifts--a piece of seaweed, a scarf, a whistle, a twisted brooch and a broken toy horse--and tells hiim that now is the time to find out if he, Gwyn, is a magician. Gwyn and his mother and father, still grieving from the mysterious disappearance of his sister Bethan almost five years previous, pretty well think that Gwyn's gran is nuts. But is she? Full of the richness of Welsh names The Snow Spider is an intriguing tale of darkness, mystery, and the light of hope. I'm looking forward to reading the next one.

Reading level as listed on Amazon.com: Ages 9-12

A few more fairy tale based chapter books. . .

2007-01-11T22:25:00.000-05:00

After my previous post, I received notes from several folk at LM_Net reminding me about the Sisters Grimm Fairytale Detectives series by Micahel Buckley and Peter Ferguson. I have only read the first in the series, but thoroughly enjoyed it. In this series, you meet two young girls, Sabrina and Daphne, who are sent to live with their grandmother, Relda Grimm. The catch? They didn't know anything about this grandmother, they didn't know anything about their family history, and they certainly didn't expect to find out that fairytales might be more than just stories. Join them as they discover their Grimm family heritage, and meet the real characters behind the fairytales they only thought they knew.

The series so far includes:

The Sisters Grimm: The Fairy-Tale Detectives
The Sisters Grimm: The Unusual Suspects
The Sisters Grimm: The Problem Child
The Sisters Grimm: Once Upon a Crime

Fairy Tales Revisited--Chapter Book Fairy Tales With a Twist

2007-01-03T22:40:00.000-05:00

I've found myself recommending some of the same titles over and over again, both at the public library and in the school library. As this list grows longer, and my memory shorter, it's time to make another list. This one is a list of children's chapter books that are either based on/in a fairy tale or that take on additional levels of meaning if you are familiar with some of the traditional fairy tales. Without fail, each of the titles in this list has left me chuckling and wishing I had been the one to write that book or come up with that idea.

Patricia Wrede's Chronicles of the Enchanted Forest in which Princess Cimorene defies princessly tradition and goes in search of a dragon to serve and attempts to dissuade those pesky princes from attempts to rescue her--and manages to befriend a witch,melt a few wizards, foil a few dastardly plots, organize a dragon's cave and cook copious quanitites of Cherries Jubilee.

Dealing with Dragons
Searching for Dragons
Calling On Dragons
Talking to Dragons

Gail Carson Levine's standalone book

Ella Enchanted and her Princess Tales books in which she puts several new twists on many fairy tale conventions and archetypes

The Fairy's Mistake
The Princess Test
Princess Sonora and the Long Sleep
Cinderellis and the Glass Hill
The Fairy's Return
For Biddle's Sake

Esme Raji Codell's Diary of a Fairy Godmother in which young witch-in-training, Hunky Dory, defies the convention of her classmates and the expectations of all those expecting her to go into the family business (witching) and considers other possible magical career options, much to her family's distress but our enjoyment.

Jean Ferris' Once Upon a Marigold in which you'll recognize many of the fairy tale elements--but with some fun twists--evil Queen mothers (not step-mothers), people with mysterious histories, lost children adopted by trolls, crazy inventors and, oh yes, quite a few horrible (but in a good way) jokes.

E.D. Baker's Tales of the Frog Princess in which rather un-princessly Princess Esmerelda manages to kiss a frog--and be turned into a frog herself, with great adventure, albeit frog-sized, and hilarious results.

The Frog Princess
Dragon's Breath
Once Upon a Curse
No Place for Magic

Books for Reluctant Readers: Subjects? Dragons, of course!

2006-11-22T18:27:00.000-05:00

My dragonling has discovered adventure books and it's reminding me of the old Dungeons and Dragons role playing games of yore. The series? Knights of the Silver Dragon from Mirrorstone. The three main characters are Kellach (14-year-old wizard's apprentice), Driskoll (12-year-old younger brother), and Moyra (13-year-old thief). Their adventures begin in Secret of the Spirit Keeper by Matt Forbeck, with the apparent death of Kellach's elven master, the wizard Zendric. It's up to our three young adventurers to figure out what really happened to Zendric--and why. Along the way, they must break into prison, deal with zombies, goblins, half-orcs and, oh--try to stay within curfew. We haven't delved further into the series yet, but the dragonling is clamoring for the next in the series.

If you're curious, Knights has a website available at Knights of the Silver Dragon which includes a fun quiz and a map of the city of Curston, as well as links to other Mirrorstone series. Of particular interest to me (other than the fact that my son really enjoyed the first book and that there's some great dragon art) is that there is a link to Teacher and Librarian Resources, which includes teaching and discussion guides, activities and programming ideas. According to Mirrorstone: "We publish fantasy and series fictioin for kids, partly because research shows these are the kinds of books that appeal most to children who think they hate to read." I would be curious to see what some of you think about these books and any experiences you might have with this series and your own dragonlings.

Enjoy!

The Great Brain--revisited

2006-10-12T23:46:00.000-04:00

If you have any doubt that reading aloud to your class can make a difference, let me please encourage you to continue to make time for that read-aloud. It's probably been at least 20 years since one of my elementary school techers read The Great Brain to me in class, and I not only remembered it, but chose to share it with my own son. I didn't realize until tonight, as we finished More Adventures of the Great Brain, that the first of these books was originally published in 1967. I probably first heard the stories in the mid 70s and now, here we are in 2006 and I find my son enjoying the stories every bit as much as I remember having enjoyed them back then. I have heard far too many claims of "instant classic" these days. In my humble opinion, a classic is something that brings as much pleasure 10 years, 20 years, 30 years--going on 40 years--after it was written, as it did when first published. I can say, with no qualms whatsoever, that The Great Brain series qualifies, hands down. If it's been a while since you've read them (or if you've never had the pleasure of reading them), the series includes 7 titles:

The Great Brain
More Adventures of the Great Brain
Me and My Little Brain
The Great Brain at the Academy
The Great Brain Reforms
The Return of the Great Brain
The Great Brain Does it Again
The Great Brain is Back

Thanks to one teacher's tenacity in reading aloud to my class, I was introduced to a series that meant something to me back then, and that now, means even more as I have shared it with my son. I knew we had a winner when, tonight, as we finished the last chapter, (after he finished smacking his forehead at J.D. having been swindled once again) he asked if there were more books in the series. I was happy to tell him "yes."

If you are reading aloud to your child or class, kudos to you. You may not realize how much of an impact you are having, or that you might have years from now--but that time shared in reading can make a difference that reaches well beyond the school years.

Librarians in Children's and YA Literature: A Bibliography in Progress

2006-09-16T23:42:00.000-04:00

Having heard various ideas about the most useful format for a bibliography of this sort, I've opted to list the books by age, then title with author last. Recommended ages or interest ages are very often a subjective call and, as such, subject to interpretation depending on the individual reader/listener and the situation. Picture books can be wonderful additions to lesson for older kids and there are younger children who will sit spell-bound for a read aloud of an "older"chapter book. If you think of others librarians, great and/or infamous, please continue to add them to the list. I would love for us to get to 100--or more!

Ages 4+

Believing in Books: The Story of Lillian Smith by Sydell Waxman
Beverly Billingsly Can't Catch by Alexander Stadler
Book! Book! Book! by Deborah Bruss
Carlo and the Really Nice Librarian by Jessica Spanyol (Mrs. Chinca)
Eratosthenes from The Librarian Who Measured the Earth by Kathryn Lasky
I Took My Frog to the Library by Eric A. Kimmel
The Legend of Spud Murphy by Eoin Colfer (Mrs. Murphy)
The Librarian of Basra by Jeanette Winter
The Library by Sarah Stewart (Elizabeth Brown)
Library Lil by Suzanne Williams
Library Lion by Michelle Knudsen (Miss Merriweather)
Mr. Wiggle Loves to Read by Carol L. Thompson
Mr. Wiggle's Library by Carol L. Thompson
Red Light, Green Light, Mama and Me by Cari Best
Stella Louella's Runaway Book
Wild About Books by Judy Sierra (Molly McGrew)

Ages 5+

Aunt Lulu by Daniel Pinkwater (Miss Lulu)
Cannon the Librarian by Mike Thaler (Miss Cannon)
The Librarian from the Black Lagoon by Mike Thaler
Librarian's Night Before Christmas by David Davis
The Library Dragon by Carmen Agra Deedy
The Shelf Elf Series by Jackie Hopkins
Tomas and the Library Lady by Pat Mora (“the Library Lady”)
What Happened to Marion's Book by Brook Berg & Nathan Alberg

Ages 7+

Fire Up With Reading: A Mrs. Skorupski Story by Suzanne Williams (Due out from Upstart in 2007)
Our Librarian Won't Tell Us ANYTHING! A Mrs. Skorupski Story by Toni Buzzeo (Due out from Upstart in October 2006

Ages 9+

All of a Kind Family by Sydney Taylor & Helen John (“the Library Lady”)
Any Small Goodness: A Novel of the Barrio by Tony Johnston (Ms. Cloud)
Baby by Patricia MacLachlan (Miss Minifred sp?)
Because of Winn Dixie by Kate DiCamillo (Miss Frannie)
Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis
Down Cut Shin Creek: The Pack Horse Librarians of Kentucky by Kathi Appelt & Jeanne Cannella Schmitzer (the outreach librarians)
Harry Potter (the series) by J.K. Rowling (Madame Pince)
Here Lies the Librarian by Richard Peck (the four library students)
Lily Quench (the series) by Natalie Jane Prior
Matilda by Roald Dahl (Miss Phelps)
My Side of the Mountain by John Craighead George (Miss Turner)
Richard Wright and the Library Card by William Miller
Seven Day Magic by Edgar Eager

Ages 10+

The Loud Silence of Francine Green by Karen Cushman (Sister Pete)
Summer of the Monkeys by Wilson Rawls

Ages 13+

Can't Get There from Here by Todd Strasser

Ages 15+

Honey, Baby, Sweetheart by Deb Caletti (Ann)
Wide Awake by David Livithan (Miss Kaye)

A Cow, A Bee, A Cookie, and Me (reissued as Honey Cookies) by Meredith Hooper

2006-09-02T13:45:00.000-04:00

Ask a kid "where does our food come from" and you might be surprised at the answers. All too often, the answer might be "Walmart." In our area, those who have their own gardens are few and far between. Many kids have never experienced the wonder of potatoes dug straight from the rich soil or tomatoes picked from the vine, tree branches hanging laden with apples ripe for the picking, the joy of discovering the perfect pumpkin hidden amongst thick vines. This disconnect with where our food comes from will probably only become greater as our nation's population becomes increasingly urban, removed from the elements as more than anything but an inconvenience or curiosity.

If you are looking for a good story to use to introduce your kids "back to nature", take a look at Meredith Hooper's A Cow, a Bee, a Cookie, and Me, illustarted by Alison Bartlett, published by Kingfisher in 1997. The story begins. . .

"Ben was cooking with his grandma. 'What should we make?' asked Ben. 'Honey cookies,' said Grandma. 'What do we need?' asked Ben. 'We need. . .' said Grandma,'a cow in a field eating fresh green grass, munch, dribble, munch, all day long.'

The story moves on with Ben's grandma surprising Ben (and the reader) at every turn with what they need for their cookies: sugarcane, "dried bark from a faraway tree," a "thousand buzzing bees"--culminating in a recipe for these mouthwatering honey cookies. After sharing this book, you may find that your students never look at a recipe in quite the same way--I know that I certainly don't.

This story lends itself wonderfully to feltboard storytelling, storytelling with props (a big bowl into which you drop the toy chicken, the toy cow-you get the idea), and to sharing a tasty treat with your group.

After sharing this book, you may find that your students never look at their food or a recipe in quite the same way--I know that I certainly don't.

NOTE: This title has been reissued as Honey Cookies.

Meet Gilda Joyce

2006-09-01T11:33:00.000-04:00

Meet Gilda Joyce. She’s your average 13-year old girl, that is, if you don’t count her leopard skin jacket, wig collection, and stiletto heels. She’s doing ok since her dad died of cancer a few years ago. She types letters to him on his old typewriter. What does she tell him about? Oh, just the usual stuff--school, what annoying things her brother has done lately, how her mother’s doing, the status of her latest psychic investigations…. Oh, did I mention that Gilda Joyce is a psychic detective? If you’d like to get to know Gilda a little better, and maybe learn to recognize her if you happen to see her in disguise, read Gilda Joyce: Psychic Investigator and Gilda Joyce: The Ladies of the Lake, by Jennifer Allison. I happily predict many more crazy adventures in Gilda’s future.

Call for Opinions--What's the Most Useful Way to Organize these Growing Lists?

2006-08-26T23:29:00.000-04:00

Wow! Our list of librarians (infamous and/or great) in literature is growing by leaps and bounds. The list of books that might work well for introducing kids to the library, to library etiquette, book handling and other like topics is also growing--just not quite as quickly. Both are growing quickly enough that I'm finding it difficult to find particular titles. What I'm wondering is: what do you think is the best way to organize lists like this? I've thought about arranging it by recommended age levels, then by author, then title (or title THEN author), but thought it better to just ask. I don't always agree with recommended ages for these books, but I figure that it's a starting point at least. At any rate, your ideas on this will be most appreciated.

Meanwhile, happy reading!!!

LITA National Forum--Take a look at their schedule

2006-08-25T16:38:00.000-04:00

First held in 1998, the LITA National Forum has become a highly regarded annual event for those whose work involves new and leading edge technologies in the library and information technology field. For more information and to see a detailed schedule of forums (including ones on wikis, blogs, preservation and much, much more) go to:

http://www.ala.org/ala/lita/litaevents/litanationalforum2006nashvilletn/2006forum.htm

2006 LITA National Forum

October 26–29, 2006

Downtown Sheraton Hotel
Nashville, Tennessee

NetVille in Nashville: Web Services As Library Services

Early registration has been extended through September 1, 2006

The Library and Information Technology Association (LITA) is pleased to offer the 2006 National Forum

The 2006 LITA National Forum, held October 26–29, 2006 at the Sheraton Nashville Downtown Hotel, in the heart of Nashville, provides a wealth of opportunities for growth and development. In addition to keynote sessions, there are 33 concurrent sessions and 11 poster sessions planned where you're sure to find practical advice, new ideas, and tested solutions to technological issues you encounter every day.

View the complete Forum schedule and session descriptions
Two full day pre-conferences provide opportunities for hand-on experiences and in-depth discussions
Keynote sessions enrich each day's programming
Register now and save $50—early registration has been extended through September 1, 2006
Reserve your housing at a discounted rate of $109 per night at the Forum website
Hope to see you in Nashville!

Upcoming Books Featuring Librarians from Toni Buzzeo

2006-08-24T13:29:00.000-04:00

Greetings! Just received word that Toni Buzzeo's next picture book (due out in October for Ubstart) will feature a librarian. It's called: Our Librarain Won't Tell Us ANYTHING! A Mrs. Skorupski Story, illustrated by Sachiko Yoshikawa. Our Librarian features characters who are 4th graders and is about accessing materials and information in the library and research projects. Toni plans a sequel, entitled Fire Up With Reading: A Mrs. Skorupski Story, also from Upstart, in 2007. Fire Up is about a schoolwide reading incentive program. (Thanks for the info Toni!) If you get a chance, cruise on over to Toni's website . The site includes curriculum guides and links, book reviews, and information about author visits.

These two books will bring our list of 100 Great &/or Infamous Librarians up to 30. We're getting there!!!

School Book Fairs

2006-08-22T18:57:00.000-04:00

Not too very long ago, I posted a request for comments about school book fair companies on my favorite school media listserv, LM_Net (which, if you're not familiar with it and are in school media/library work, is a GREAT resource). I'm sharing the list of links on the various school book fair companies, as well as a link to a great article about school book fairs. If you're interested in LM_Net, you can check out information about them at http://www.eduref.org/lm_net/

If you are wondering about whether or not to even DO a bookfair, check out: http://www.writing-world.com/children/bookfair.shtml

Scholastic: http://www.scholastic.com/bookfairs/ to formulate "wish lists."

Usborne: http://www.usborne-books.com/bookfair.htm

Adventureland: http://www.adventurelandbookfairs.com/

Bedford Falls: http://www.bedfordfallsusa.com/

Turtle Express: http://www.turtleexpressbooks.com

Local Bookstore Bookfairs: Contact local bookstores, such as Barnes and Noble and Borders--sometimes they will work with schools to arrange an in-store book fair for the school.

Troll: http://www.trollcarnival.com/

Personalized Book Fairs: http://www.personalizedbookfairs.com/

Just Us: http://www.justusbooks.com/SchoolBookFair.html

Mrs. Nelson's Book Fair Company: http://www.mrsnelsons.com/fair/index.jsp

and

School Book Fairs Limited:

http://sbfmedia.relationalhost.com/index.php?categ=12&byAlpha=A&cq=&start=0&num=5

Juvenile Series & Sequels Database

2006-08-18T21:57:00.000-04:00

I cannot tell you how many times I've wondered about what book comes next in a series, and if you work with children at all, you have probably been asked umpteen gazillion times "what book comes next in the _____ series?" Well, if its a series the publisher hasn't bothered to number for you, or if the series number has been covered up by labelling or just plain worn off, here's the site for you. Mid-Continent Public Library's Series and Sequels database has over 22,000 books in series/sequels listed in three categories (young adult, juvenile and juvenile easy), with defintions for each of the categories. The site is located at:

http://www.mcpl.lib.mo.us/readers/series/juv/

Book Lists Are Addictive

2006-08-17T10:58:00.000-04:00

Boy o boy o boy o. I had no idea that book lists and blogs could be so very addictive. Having originally swiped the idea for a 100 Great &/or Infamous Librarians list from Mary Lee and Franki's "A Year of Reading" at http://readingyear.blogspot.com/ (where they are compiling of list of 100 Great Teachers in literature) it came to my attention that I should also thank and credit Jen Robinson for HER lists of cool boys and girls in literature on Jen Robinson's Book Page at http://jkrbooks.typepad.com/blog/

These lists are great for adding to my "to read" pile, introducing me to new authors and titles, and reminding me of old faves that I might have forgotten. As a fledgling blogger, I haven't yet figured out how all of this linking and backtracking works, but I have included links to these sites and a few others on my side bar. Now I need to start a NEW list of blogs that I watch.

Books on Book Care &/or Library Etiquette

2006-08-16T09:54:00.000-04:00

Suddenly children are looking glazed, teachers and librarians are looking shell-shocked, traffic has gone wonkier than usual and school supplies are flying off the shelves. Have people gone mad? Well, that may be beside the point, but it may simply be that it's back-to-school time again. That in mind, I've started yet another list (mayhap this dragon might someday get organized?), this time of books that can be used to help teach the care and handling of books and library etiquette, or just to introduce kids to the library. My humble beginnings of this list are on the sidebar. If you have any favorites, please chime right in. Here's to a great start to the new school year!!!

A Treasure: CyberBee

2006-08-16T08:40:00.000-04:00

Sometimes you go questing for treasure, sometimes treasure falls into your lap. CyberBee was one of the latter variety for me. CyberBee is an incredible site dedicated to questing for Internet "curriculum treasures" and bringing them together on one site (http://www.cyberbee.com/about.html). Some of the great interactive "lessons" include: copyright (http://www.cyberbee.com/cb_copyright.htm),
Treasure Hunts" with links to discover some excellent Websites (http://www.cyberbee.com/hunts.html), research tools for finding, evaluating and citing Web info (http://www.cyberbee.com/tools.html), and some handy step-by-step tutorials "designed to make technology easier" (http://www.cyberbee.com/how.html). The site is easy to navigate and has some excellent resources that could be used in the library, in the classroom, or at home. It's well worth checking out. While I've included some links on this post, I will be adding a link to the site in my sidebar under " More Treasures." Happy hunting!

Redecorating the Cave

2006-08-15T10:26:00.000-04:00

TheBookDragon felt the need to redecorate, and so opened a HUGE can of worms. Please pardon the mess (and the lost links and lists)--I'm hoping to get better organized,as soon as I can find my blasted LIST!!!

The Magician's Boy by Susan Cooper

2006-08-13T17:12:00.000-04:00

The Magician’s Boy by Susan Cooper. Illustrated by Serena Riglietti

The Boy wanted, more than anything in the world, to learn magic, but his master the Magician always said “Not yet, Boy. Not till the time is right. Not yet.” So the Boy polished the Magician’s magic wands, weeded the garden where the magic herbs grew, fed the white rabbits that the Magician pulled out of his hat, and during performances, helped the Magician perform the story of “Saint George and the Dragon.” His job was to pull the puppet strings while the Magician told the story. One fateful night, as the Magician called for each character to make his “appearance” one the puppet theatre stage, he called for “Saint George”—but St. George was nowhere to be found.

The Boy was terrified. He stepped out from behind the theatre and stood there shaking. “I’m sorry, Master,” he said in a very small voice, “Saint George seems to be missing.” The children all booed loudly. The Magician looked odwn with yes so angry that the Boy was afraid he would turn him into a rabbit. The Magician’s tall figure seemed to grow and grow, towering over the Boy, and he pointed a long finger at him. “Then you must find him!” he hissed. The finger came very close, with its long sharp nail. “You will go where you must go, through all the Land of Story, until you find Saint George!” He swung his arm so that his long dark-blue sleeve swung past the Boy‘s face, and the Boy saw gold moons and stars flash by, and felt himself falling, falling. . . .”

In his journey through the Land of Story, he meets the living and breathing puppets from the play; the old woman who lived in a boot (although he’d always thought it was supposed to be a shoe); the Pied Piper, Pinocchio; Jack, the Giant and the Giant’s wife, and, among others, a talking signpost that tells him “Only a child can find the way to bring Saint George back to the play.” Does the Boy find the way? Does he bring St. George back? To find out, you have join the Boy in the Land of Story—read The Magician’s Boy by Susan Cooper.

Geography Club by Brent Hartinger

2006-08-13T17:09:00.000-04:00

Title: Geography Club
Author: Brent Hartinger
Publication Info: New York, HarperTempest, 2003
Age Groups/Grades: Reviews rate this as 12+ (Grades 7-12); however, in more conservative communities, it would probably be best placed for 15+/Grades 10+

Topics: sexual identity, high school social group interaction, intolerance

Summary: “A group of gay and lesbian teenagers finds mutual support when the form the ‘Geography Club’ at their high school.” (Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication data)

Booktalk:

Russel Middlebrook is an average high school sophomore. He doesn’t stand out in sports or in specific social groups. He’s not unpopular—he has friends, but he feels alone. Yes, he’s an average high school student, but he has a secret--he is gay, and he’s pretty sure he’s the only gay student at his high school.

That night in my bedroom, I logged on to the Net. I said I’d never actually been naked with a guy, but it’s possible that once or twice I might’ve gone to a gay chat room and maybe even gone off for a private chat with a guy or two. I refuse to say any more about this on the grounds that it may incriminate me, but I will say that mostly we really did just chat about innocent things, like how long had we known we were gay and which actor did we think was cute.

The fact is, there’s a difference between being alone and being lonely; I may not have been completely alone in life, but I was definitely lonely. My secret mission—four years in an American high school—had been an involuntary one, and now I desperately wanted to be somewhere where I could be honest about who I was and what I wanted. I had plenty to say on the topic, but no one to say it to—not my friends, definitely not my parents (don’t get me started). The Internet gave me people to say it to. Problem is, they weren’t real. (Pages 11-12)

After this discussion, Russel goes into an online chatroom for gay teens and notices that his city’s name has been added. Could there be another gay teen in his town? His school? If Russel identifies himself to this other person, all his careful work at “playing it straight” could just blow up in his face. What would you do? Would you go meet this person? Whether you’re gay, straight, or not really sure, you won’t want to miss what happens next.

Notes:

This book has won several awards and honors, is thoughtfully written, witty and definitely thought provoking. I suspect that most readers will recognize some of their own high school cliques, the cafeteria(!), and maybe even some of their own peers. Russel’s voice rings true in the sense of every high school student’s search for their own identity, their own place. It was no surprise to find out that it was semi-autobiographical. It might suffer somewhat from the notion that it’s just “a gay book,” which would be a real shame because there really is something there for anyone who is in or who has ever been in high school.

A BookDragon Quest: 100 Librarians in Children's/YA Literature

2006-08-10T09:03:00.000-04:00

The quest? A search for 100 librarians from Children's and YA literature. In my reading from the last few years, I've noted that a lot of books include reference to their characters' librarians--and how that librarian made a difference (be it good or bad). I will qualify that "great" doesn't necessarily mean "good"--as an example, Madame Pince, the Hogwarts librarian? She is downright scary! That said, she embodies enough of the stereotypical "mean librarian" qualities to make her a great character. So, I invite you to join me in finding those librarians in literature. Post a comment when you find one (or several) and we'll add our list to the collection of lists that are making my "to read" pile get entirely too big.

Please note that I am SO totally swiping this idea from Franki Sibberson and Mary Lee Hahn from their blog "A Year of Reading: Two Teachers Chat about Books and Reading."

You can find them at http://readingyear.blogspot.com

Take a look at their list of 100 "cool" teachers in children's literature. Thank you Franki and Mary Lee for a wonderful blog!

Treasure at the Heart of the Tanglewood by Meredith Ann Pierce

2006-08-09T21:12:00.000-04:00

Title: Treasure at the Heart of the Tanglewood
Author: Pierce, Meredith Ann
Publication Info: New York: Viking, 2001
Age Groups/Grades: Ages 12+
Topics: Identity, Wizards, Magic, Fantasy

Summary: Hannah is a healer in search of her identity and place in the world after she defies the wizard she has served for more years than she knows and sets out with her animal companions to locate the faraway queen who might be able to save the life of the injured young prince who has come to fight the fierce golden boar.

Booktalk: Hannah is a gifted young healer who lives at the edge of a deep, dark wood known as Tanglewood. She has no human friends, no memory or her past, nor any idea as to why flowers and herbs grow among her hair, but these plants always seem to be just the right ones to help the various ailments presented by the poor local cottars, but these folk never stay long and seem to be afraid—whether of her or the forest, she is not certain. But she is starting to wonder. Her only companions are Old Badger, Magpie, and three half-grown foxes—all of whom she can converse with—none of whom the cottars seem able to understand. Her only other human contact is with the wizard, but she only sees him when the moon is right and it is time to take him the tea she makes from the plants she pulls from her hair. She has tried to speak to the young knights who come to the wood occasionally, and has even thought to warn them—that none who enter ever leave—but they do not seem to hear her. The cottars speak of a treasure in the Tanglewood and a monstrous golden boar, but Hannah, who is not afraid of the wood has never seen sign of either boar nor treasure? Why are the cottars so afraid? Why can neither she nor her animal companions remember anything of their pasts? Is the Wizard her friend? What is the treasure at the heart of the Tanglewood? To find out, read this book by Meredith Ann Pierce.

Notes: There is discrepancy among the various reviewers as to the recommended ages—with some saying 9 up and others saying 12 up. My personal feeling is that the language might be difficult for some of the younger or less adept readers because the language patterns are more old-fashioned and medieval sounding (for lack of a better description). That said, I remember just loving some of the older writing styles with unfamiliar words and dialects when I was in middle and high school. I would be more inclined to booktalk this for the older students and just recommend it individually to younger ones who seemed to enjoy similar reads.

Sammy Keyes and the Hotel Thief by Wendelin Van Draanen

2006-08-09T21:01:00.001-04:00

Title: Sammy Keyes and the Hotel ThiefAuthor: Van Draanen, WendelinPublication Info: New York: Borzoi Books (Knopf), 1998Age Groups/Grades: Ages 10-13/Grades 4 – 6

Topics: mystery/detectives, grandmothers, robbers

Summary: Thirteen-year-old Sammy, who lives illegally at her grandmother’s “seniors only” apartment sees a crime committed while she’s looking through her binoculars—and the thief sees her. Booktalk: Sammy Keyes’ life is already crazy. She’s living illegally with her grandma in a seniors-only apartment complex while her mother tries to find an acting job out in California. While looking through her binoculars at the “seedy hotel” across the road—when her grandma has specifically told her NOT to be she sees someone who looks vaguely familiar committing a crime and then, the thief sees her. No way the thief could be sure she saw him right? Well, maybe not if she hadn’t waved at him. To complicate things, her grandma’s neighbor has taken to spying on the apartment trying to prove that Sammy’s living there, which means that Sammy and her grandma have to get pretty creative to get Sammy in and out. Oh, and did I tell you that, on the first day of middle school, Sammy gets poked in the butt with a pin and gets suspended? Will the neighbor catch Sammy? Will the thief figure out who she is and come after her? Will her entire seventh grade year come crashing down around her? Read Sammy Keyes and the Hotel Thief by Wendelin Van Draanen to find out.

Notes: As an avid mystery fan, I am all too often looking for a new series to read when I “catch up” with a favorite author’s latest. Looking at the genesis of this illness, I realized that it started in elementary school when I got hooked on two mystery series--the Three Investigators (Hitchcock) and Nancy Drew (Keane). Reading each new book in those two series was like having a mini-reunion with old friends. Sammy Keyes promises to be a series and a character well worth revisiting.

Bucking the Sarge by Christopher Paul Curtis

2006-07-28T18:04:00.000-04:00

Title: Bucking the Sarge
Author: Christopher Paul Curtis
Publication Info: New York: Wendy Lamb Books, 2004
Age Groups: 13+
Topics: high school, friendship, responsibility, fraud, parent/child relations
Summary: “Deeply involved in his cold and manipulative mother’s shady business dealings in Flint, Michigan, fourteen-year-old Luther keeps a sense of humor while running the Happy Neighbor Group Home for Men, all the while dreaming of going to college and becoming a philosopher.” Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Booktalk: So. You’re 13. Your mama tells you to put on your suit and tie, that you’re going to get a driver’s license so you can drive the Group Home Bus, which, by the way, you know cost more than $80,000. You’d been driving it for a couple of months already and were getting pretty good at it. Cool right? Luther though so too—at first. But there has to be a catch, right? What about having to be 18 to get a license legally? Why go to the office at 8 p.m., when the office is usually closed by then? Would you be a bit uncomfortable if your mama insisted that all you needed was a new birth certificate to confirm your new age? Luther was uncomfortable, and his mama, (whom Luther refers to as “Sarge”, tells him the “first shoe of Sargeism”:

“If it makes you more comfortable why don’t you look at it like t his, do you have any idea what a difficult period of time the ages of fourteen through seventeen are for most boys? Consider yourself lucky, you’ll be zipping right from thirteen years old to eighteen years old, you will officially miss the majority of the turmoil of adolescence and the incumbent nastiness that it inevitably brings.” (Pg. 66)

A 13-year old boy’s dream or the beginning of a nightmare? If getting an illegal license is “the first shoe of Sargeism,” what is the second one and does it drop? What happens to Luther? To find out, read Christopher Paul Curtis’ Bucking the Sarge.

Notes: If anyone was asking for another good book to read after reading and liking this one, I would recommend Curtis’ Bud, Not Buddy. Curtis can really perform magic in his character development. Once I started reading this one, I didn’t want to put it down. Dialect/slang might be a bit hard for some readers.

There are a lot of great booktalks ready for the reading right out of the book, such as the listing of the contents of Luther’s wallet and meet “Chauncey” (Pg. 3). There are also some great quotes in there, such as Luther talking about his not needing to dis living in Flint, saying:

“It’s because of the way my mind is trained [philosophical] that I don’t join everybody else coming down on Flint so tough. Flint ain’t nothing but a place or a sate of mind, and I think a place or a state of mind is all about what you make it to be. (Pg. 9)

A Treasure--Reading Rants!

2006-07-05T20:59:00.000-04:00

A great booklist for teen readers (and for those of us who are always on the lookout for some great new reads). http://tln.lib.mi.us/~amutch/jen/genx.htm

IF this link doesn't work for you, simply Google "Reading Rants." It's well worth a look.

Once Upon a Marigold by Jean Ferris

2006-06-16T15:29:00.000-04:00

Once Upon a Marigold
By: Ferris, Jean
San Diego: Harcourt, Inc., 2002
Grades 5-8, Ages 10 and up, Book Level 5.7, Accelerated Reader Points: 8

Booktalk:

Some jokes for you:

What fairy tale is about a beautiful girl who bakes bread?
Beauty and the Yeast

Why don’t people like Pinocchio?
Because he’s a little stiff and has a wooden smile.

How did King Arthur read at night?
With a knight light

What kind of music does a dragon play?
Scales

What two things can’t a giant eat for dinner?
Breakfast and lunch

What do you get when a giant sneezes?
Out of the way.

A young man, a princess, young love, and a few jokes. Nothing could be simpler, right? Well, not exactly. Not when the young man’s adopted godfather is a troll who is lobbying to take over part of the Tooth Fairy’s waning business venture. Not when the princess’ mother is trying to have her either married off or killed (and in this case, it’s a toss-up as to which would be the better). And especially not when the couple’s only contact has been via pigeon mail—and the notes broken into 5-8 word pieces due to a limit on how much a pigeon can carry across the river. Add to the mix a few bad jokes, a fairy birth-gift of sensitivity gone awry and what do you get? A hilariously fractured fairy tale that is a page-turner to the very last. After all, what else would you expect from a story subtitled “part comedy, part love story, part everything-but-the-kitchen-sink.”?

Double Dutch by Sharon M. Draper

2006-06-16T15:24:00.000-04:00

Double Dutch
By: Draper, Sharon M.
New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2002
Grades 7-10, Book Level 4.9, Accelerated Reader Points: 7

Passage from pp. 24-26.

“Delia?” Yolanda looked directly at her friend.
“What?” Delia looked at the sky.
“We’ve been best friends since first grade, right?”
“Yeah, I guess.”
“You were there for me in third grade when my baby sister died.”
“Yeah, that was rough.”
“And I stood by you through all that mess when your mom and dad got divorced when we were in the fourth grade.”
“Yeah. So?”
“So it’s okay if you admit to me, and only me, your very best friend, your secret.”
“What secret?”
“The only thing we have never talked about.” Yolanda sighed and continued. “I know you can’t read, Delia. I’ve known for a long time.”
Silence. Delia sat back down on the bench, stunned. Yolanda sat next to her. Cars whizzed by in the street beyond the teachers’ parking lot. Echoes of shouts from the lunchroom drifted toward them. A bird chirped nervously in a tree. An airplane flew overhead. But Delia was silent. She thought of denying it, but she was so tired of hiding, tired of pretending. She covered her eyes, and let her shoulders drop, and finally she began to cry.”
This time Yolanda was silent. She waited.
“Then why’d you stick that card in my face?” Delia asked finally, wiping her nose on her sleeve.
“Fakin’ it. Just like you been doin’.”
“You won’t tell?” Delia asked after a moment.
“Who am I gonna tell? And who would believe me anyway? Everybody knows how much I lie.”
“You got that right.”
“I don’t know how you managed to get this far without being able to read and without anybody figuring it out.”
“I fooled you, didn’t I?”
“For a while. I sat right next to you through most of elementary school. I thought you were reading, at first.”
“Mostly I was copying off your paper.”
“Get outta here!” Yolanda pretended she was shocked. “Seriously, I guess I knew, even before I really figured it all out, but how’d you fool all the teachers?”

How indeed? As an eighth grader, Delia is totally immersed in the upcoming Double Dutch (jump roping) competition, and all seems to be going well until she finds that, if she doesn’t pass the upcoming achievement exams, she will be barred from competing. She would not only let herself down, but her teammates as well—and everyone would learn her secret—that she could not read. What Delia doesn’t know is that she’s not the only one with a secret. How did Delia fake her way through reading, at school and at home, for 8 years? Will the scary new kids really “cross the line from intimidation to violence?” What happened to Randy’s father? Will Delia get to compete in the upcoming championships?

Read and see.

Diary of a Fairy Godmother by Esmé Raji Codell, illustrated by Drazen Kozjan.

2006-06-16T15:20:00.000-04:00

The following is a booktalk I prepared for this book. It includes several quotes from the book that I believe would work very well to lure in some possibly rellunctant readers.

Diary of a Fairy Godmother
By: Esmé Raji Codell
Illustrated by: Drazen Kozjan
Hyperion, 2005
Grades 4-5, Ages 9-12

Booktalk:

I have not been alive very long, but I already have met a lot of nincompoops, and they come in all shapes and sizes and are hard to recognize by just looking; usually you have to talk with one for a while before you find out you are in the company of one. (Pp. 18-19)

Hunky Dory speaks her mind and charts her own path, passing spelling tests (yes, by changing a knight into a dragon—THAT kind of spelling). She is top of her class in charm school (and no, I don’t mean manners) and slated to be “…the wickedest witch wherever the four winds blow!” But (and isn’t there always a but?)—there’s just one tiny problem. Wicked witches don’t normally undo their curses and spells, and they aren’t normally very considerate in general. It just isn’t done—unless you’re Hunky Dory. or—horrors!--an F.G. (a fairy godmother).

According to her Aunty Malice, when asked by Hunky Dory who the beautiful creatures with wings and glitter were, Fairy Godmothers are show-offs, “Giving the infant princess everything the parents have registered for. Grace. Beauty. Virtue.” Auntie clucked her tongue and narrowed her eyes, shaking her head back and forth very, very slowly.
“Vapid little underachievers, those F.G.s.”
“How so?” I couldn’t help asking. “Don’t they have any powers?”
“They grant wishes.”
“For a living?” Something inside of me plucked and sang like the string on a harp.
“I suppose so, but why darling, why—“ Auntie closed her eyes in exasperation. “…would anyone use their power to do good? The world is good in general! When you wake up, what do you hear? Birds singing! What do you see? J Flowers blooming! Little animals scurrying to their little animal burrows! Streams tripping merrily over stones! Cows mooing to be milked! And so on and so forth, all the way to the end of the day, when even the craters of the moon appear to be smiling down upon the wonders of the earth! Don’t you see, carling, it’s so terribly trite! It’s been done! It’s all one big rerun! There’s nothing original about it!” (Pp. 20-21)

And therein lies the crux of the problem. How can a girl slated to be the wickedest witch of the four winds be so enamored of good deeds and, dare I say “Wish craft”—and expect things to come out well in the end?

To find out? Read the book.

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

2006-06-12T16:26:00.000-04:00

Probably one of the most powerful books I've read in a long, long while. A Printz honor book and 1999 National Book Award Finalist, Speak is the story of Melinda Sordino, a rising ninth grader who has a secret. Ostracized by her fellow students, misunderstood by her parents and teachers, Melinda's ninth grade year and story are divided into grading terms, including her declining school grades as given by her professors, and her declining self-given grades. While the "clans" at her high school may be different from those in your own, you will recognize them and you will probably recognize yourself. This well written story will make you laugh and cry. Not just another teen angst story, Speak is a thought-provoking, page-turner that will leave its readers anything but speechless.

A good book?

2006-06-05T21:19:00.000-04:00

Hello all. I am an avid consumer of books. I find that a good book fuels the creative spark that makes my mind sharp and my dreams vivid. One of the few things that can fuel those fires even more than a good book is a good discussion about those books. So, what exactly qualifies as "a good book"? Tomes have been written, seminars taught, publishing empires made and broken in an attempt to define that very thing. My answer, though admittedly not scholarly, is quite simple.

A good book is one that speaks to you.

(And no, for those literalists out there, I don't mean a magical talking book, though magical talking books do have their uses--See Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine.) A good book touches your psyche in some way--it might be as visceral as just giving you a break (a brain candy book). It might be a book that opens your mind to some new idea. It might be a book that makes you laugh, or cry, or both. It might just be a book that kept you company during lunch. Whatever the case, somehow, the words that author put to paper have reached out across time and space and touched you in some way as to make a difference for you. The difference needn't be earth-shattering. A book that is good to you today, might not have been a good book for the person you were last year, or who you become in the next. The key is that it made an impression. I have read several good books that I will not read again. I have read others that I re-read at least once a year. Books that we read as children we sometimes seek out as adults to read and re-read to our own children and grandchildren, nieces and nephews. A good book is a powerful thing. A good discussion is perhaps even more powerful. It gives us a chance to reexamine our thoughts, to re-live a favorite scene, bash a favorite villain, laugh with a favorite class clown. A good discussion can make a good book great.

So, with these musings, I offer you this blog space, and my own rambling thoughts and booktalks about books I am reading. I invite you to share your thoughts, your favorite quotes from your current "good book," suggest other books that we might like (a sort of "if you liked that one, you'll really like this one" kind of thing), and maybe share some of these booktalks with some of your own readers.

Happy Reading.