HOUND DOG TRUE

Mattie Breen is about to start fifth grade. In a new school. Mattie's mom lives by a motto, "When the going gets tough, the tough get going." And so Mattie and her mom have moved from place to place to place. This time, they have ended up living with Mattie's Uncle Potluck, who is the custodian at the elementary school.

Mattie is painfully, painfully shy. And terrified of starting at a new school. She has decided that she will deal with lunch and recess, problematic times during the day, by becoming a custodial apprentice to her uncle. In the weeks before school starts, she follows him around the elementary school, jotting down all of his "custodial wisdom" in a notebook. Mattie believes that becoming an indispensable custodial assistant will save her from having to interact with kids in her new school.

Mattie takes notes because Mattie is a writer, not only of custodial notes, but also of stories. Or at least she was a writer of stories until a bully in a previous elementary school, destroyed her notebook. Her plan seems perfect, until Uncle Potluck gets hurt on the job…

I loved this book. Linda Urban did an amazing job of capturing the inner workings of a really, really shy child. How the meanness of one bully destroyed her. How afraid she was to even try to make friends. I loved the wisdom of Uncle Potluck. Loved how Mattie finally gathered up the bravery to make a friend.

A terrific read. One upper intermediate teachers have to have for all of the Mattie's in their classes.

MIKE LUPICA'S COMEBACK KIDS: TWO MINUTE DRILL

I am all about series books these days. Series help kids become fluent. Understand characters. Internalize story structure. Get to know authors. Support those kids who struggle with what to read next. Yes, it's true, they are not always "great literature," but I can expose kids to great books/authors during read aloud.

Last week in the library, I came across Mike Lupica's COMEBACK KIDS series. Or actually, one of my boys came across it for me. B came running up to me during our Thursday book checkout. "Hey, Ms. W., look! A football book! You like football! You should read this one?" And so this weekend, I did. (Warning- the copyright is 2007, so people will probably wonder why I am reviewing a book that is not new.

Brainiac Scott Parry is the new kid in town. He becomes friends with Chris Conlan, the quarterback of the football team. Chris is the golden boy on the field, but in the classroom, it's a whole different story.

I loved lots of things about this book. Scott is not a football superstar. He is clumsy and uncoordinated. He drops passes, misses tackles, and never makes it onto the field in a game. I love that those little guys who stand on the sidelines week after week after week can see that they are not alone.

And unfortunately, Coach Dolan resembles many coaches I have known. Winning is all. I have watched my own sons, who idolize their coaches, struggle to understand the motives of these "heroes" in their lives. I love that this book provides a forum for kids to analyze adults with less than stellar motives.

I also love Scott's parents. Scott's dad was a football star, but he doesn't push his son, or get upset about the fact that his son is not a star. Instead he praises his perseverance, encourages him to continue, supports him at practices. That's the kind of sports parent I want to see.

I also love that there is not a "girlfriend" element in this book. I'm not excited about the boyfriend/girlfriend thing in fourth grade. I don't want want my students thinking about that. (And yeah, realistically I know it happens, but I am one of those old fashioned gals who thinks nine and ten year olds are a little too young for that). I'm glad, then, that this is a book focuses on the friendship between Chris and Scott.

I am anxious to check out some of the other books in this series…

A COUPLE OF NEW PICTURE BOOKS

I am not getting to blogging right now. It's just not happening. Here are a couple of picture books I have read recently.

MY NAME IS NOT ALEXANDER and MY NAME IS NOT ISABELLA are books that I think will be fun to include in (A) a "me"unit at the beginning of the year or (B) a study of character and values or (C) a genre study of biographies for a primary aged child. I could also see pairing this with Barack Obama's OF THEE I SING in a study of how to structure a picture books.

In each of these two books, a young child wakes up in the morning, and tells his/her parent that they are no longer going to be called by their "real" name. On each page, the child assumes a different identity.

Over the course of a day, for instance, Isabella, wants to be called Sally (for astronaut Sally Ride), Annie, for sharpshooter Annie Oakley, Rosa (Parks) and Elizabeth (Blackwell, the first woman doctor. She also wants to be a mom, and ultimately decides that being herself is the best of all.

Alexander is the "boy" version of this series. Alexander also runs through a variety of personalities, including Teddy Roosevelt, Thomas Alva Edison, Chief Joseph, and Jackie Robinson.

A fun series for beginning readers.

POETRY FRIDAY

"To Failure"

Philip Larkin

You do not come dramatically, with dragons

That rear up with my life between their paws

And dash me butchered down beside the wagons,

The horses panicking; nor as a clause

Clearly set out to warn what can be lost,

What out-of-pocket charges must be borne,

Expenses met; nor as a draughty ghost

That’s seen, some mornings, running down a lawn.

Read the rest of the poem here.

Poetry Friday is at JAMA'S ALPHABET SOUP.

AND ERIC CARLE DOES IT AGAIN…

There are some author/illustrators who just never put out a "bad book." Mo Willems falls into that category. So does Kevin Henkes. And Kadir Nelson. and, and…Of all of the author/illustrators I know, however, the one at the very, very top of that "Never has a bad book…" list is, of course, Eric Carle.

Carle's newest book, THE ARTIST WHO PAINTED A BLUE HORSE, just came out. The book starts with a small child= a couple of reviews I have read described this character as a boy, but I think it could also be a girl, saying, "I am an artist." This little artist paints a series of animals- a blue horse, a red crocodile, a polka-dotted donkey. The book ends, "I am a good artist…" The illustrations are classic Carle (think BROWN BEAR, BROWN BEAR) with one large animal and one brief chunk of text on a page. Our youngest page turners are going to love this book!

Like many of Carle's books, however, there is more to this story. The book was written as a tribe to Franz Marc, the German artist who created unconventional paintings in the early part of the 20th century, and died during World War I. So not only would it be a terrific addition to any primary grade classroom, but it could also be used in art classes, and maybe even literacy coaches, consultants, and administrators, to begin a conversation about creativity.

You need this book!

MO DOES IT AGAIN!

The latest Elephant & Piggie is out! And Mo has done it again! Another sure to delight the young set (and even my fourth graders, who have become total Elephant and Piggie-aholics!)

It's Happy Pig Day, and Piggie and her friends over the moon excited! It's the best day of the year to dance pig dances, sing pig songs, and eat pig food.

Gerald, however, is not quite so excited, in fact, he is feeling a little left out. He has a trunk, not a snout. He is gray, not pink. And he does not have hooves, like Piggie and her friends.

Only Gerald's good friend, Piggie, can convince him to join the celebration.

Don't miss the end pages on this one! I think they are some of the best yet!

MY BEAR GRIZ- Suzanne McGinness

Billy loves bears. He and his best friend, Griz, do everything together. They like to go exploring. The play hide and seek. They eat peanut butter and honey sandwiches. They know each other's deepest secrets.

This picture book, by first time author, Suzanne McGinness, is a perfect gift for preschoolers and/or beginning readers.  Each two-page spread contains one large, gorgeous illustration of Billy and Griz, set on a soft blue, green, or yellow was background, often with a  little interesting collage art. The text is large, easy to read, and strongly supported by the illustrations, absolutely perfect for beginning readers. And then there's the surprise ending…

A perfect book for a preschool or primary grade reader!