LINCOLN SHOT: A PRESIDENT'S LIFE REMEMBERED Barry Denenberg

LINCOLN SHOT: A PRESIDENT REMEMBERED is a biography by historian Barry Denenberg. The book, designed to appear like a memorial edition of the National News, a fictitious newspaper from the 1860's, opens on the day Lincoln is assassinated. 

I've always loved history. I love it because history, presented well, truly is the STORIES of people's lives. Denenberg skillfully weaves stories of Lincoln's life with quotes and photographs. I loved learning about Mary Todd Lincoln- did you know she came from a wealthy family who vehemently opposed their daughter marrying beneath her social station, to the point that Mary and Abe even broke off their courtship for an extended period of time? Did you know she hated Washington D.C., and when they first moved there, she stayed only a few months before returning home with her children? Did you know that she spent so much to remodel the White House, that she was forever scorned by the government officials and the press?

It's the stories from the Civil War, however, that are the centerpiece of this very powerful book. Denenberg tells those stories with amazing detail-- stories of the events leading up to the war, stories about the lives of bumbling and contentious generals, stories of  battles where fathers watched their children die, stories of the horrendous decisions Abraham Lincoln faced every day and the toll they took on his mental health. The stories are so detailed and so well-told that I could see using this as a textbook or read aloud for a high school history class. Denenberg uses many, many quotes from Abraham Lincoln, and also pieces of actual correspondence, to further enhance the stories. 

I have a few questions about using this book. The pages in the book, as I said earlier, are designed to look like a newspaper from the 1860's. Everything-- the fonts, the pictures, the advertisements, even the SIZE of the pages carry through on that theme. And it's the size that concerns me a little. This book is HUGE, and I mean HUGE, easily double the size of a regular book. Because of the size, it's not a book that will be easy to read aloud,  It's not a book that will fit in kids' desks at school. It's not a book you could carry in your purse or even your backpack. It's not even a book that's fun to read in bed, you really need a table to prop it on.

But when you figure out how to hold it, the information is so, so wonderful…

KNUCKLEHEAD- Jon Scieszka

I am a closet book pusher. OK, actually there is nothing closet about it. I push books every chance I get- to kids at school, to friends, to the boys' coaches, and most importantly, to my boys! 

My favorite book pushing trick is to leave reading material on every flat surface available, beginning with the kitchen table. Our table is always heaped with newspapers (opened, of course, to the most graphic photograph I can find), magazines,  and lots and lots of books. KNUCKLEHEAD, by Jon Scieszka, is teetering at the top of the pile right now.

KNUCKLEHEAD is a collection of 38 short (2-4 pages), fun, easily-read chapters about Scieszka's childhood and adolescence in a family of six brothers. Anyone who has travelled cross country with their family will enjoy "Car Trip."If you have ever had to babysit for a younger sibling, you will love"Brother Sitting," and anyone with the youngest child syndrome will laugh out loud at "Stop Breathing My Air." There are also several chapters about learning to read, including "Strange Books,"a very funny piece about the Dick and Jane series that I plan to use at my next Guided Reading workshop.

My test of a good "boy" book is how long it takes one of my very reluctant teenage readers to pick up the book. I put this book on the table last night and caught my older son reading it this morning at breakfast…

LETTER TO MY DAUGHTER- MAYA ANGELOU

 A new book from an old friend. One of my all time, all time, all time heroes is Maya Angelou. This week, a dear friend gifted me with Angelou's wonderful new book, LETTER TO MY DAUGHTER. 

LETTER TO MY DAUGHTER  is a collection of poems and essays about various "chapters" in Angelou's life. On one hand, it's a fast read- the stories are wonderful and inviting and easy to read. On the other hand, it's a really slow read, because every single page, maybe even every paragraph, has at least two or three morsels of wisdom that you have to kind of roll around in your head, and reflect, and sort of grow into. There's a poem about graduation that I think will be perfect to share with my 18-year-old niece this spring. There is a poem about grieving that would make a perfect sympathy card. 

Here are a few tidbits from the book:

"My life has been long, and believing that life loves the liver of it, I have dared to try many things, sometimes trembling, but daring, still."  (xi)

"You may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them. Try to be a rainbow in someone's cloud. Do not complain. Make every effort to change things you do not like. If you cannot make a change, change the way you have been thinking. You might find a new solution." xii

Never whine. Whining lets a brute know that a victim is in the neighborhood. xiii

Be certain that you do not die without having done something wonderful for humanity. 

POETRY FRIDAY

OUR HEARTS ARE WOVEN INTO WORDS: 

A COLLECTION OF POETRY BY DPS ELEMENTARY STUDENTS

Our Hearts Are Woven Into Words is an anthology of over 200 poems from elementary students in the Denver Public Schools. The poems are organized into chapters, e.g. family, food, animals, emotions, secrets, and  imagination, and include selections in both English and Spanish. The anthology is a paperback, with student artwork on front and back cover. The artwork inside the book is black and white, but much of it can be seen in color on the website. 

Steve Replogle, the creator of the project says, "We work in a diverse school district, and life is not always fair for many of our students. Poetry can reach beyond any limits that are imposed upon our lives-- the limits of age or race, of economics or culture. A kindergartner can write a poem that will move us to laughter. A fourth or fifth grader can bring us to tears."

Steve and a team of high school editors have done an amazing job capturing our kids' lives. It's a limited edition- the only place I have been able to find it is at Bookies, a children's bookstore in Denver. Nevertheless, it's a really special book. I hope people will take the time to hunt it down.

Thank you Steve and team for honoring our children in such an amazing way!

POETRY FRIDAY is at TWO WRITING TEACHERS today.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

I do think we need many kinds of books:

books that reflect us,

books that challenge us,

books that entertain us,

books that teach us,

and books that change us.

Read some of each.

I dare you

- Cynthia Lord

WHY DO THE OHIO BLOGGERS GET TO HAVE ALL THE FUN?

OK, Colorado kids' lit bloggers! I just finished reading a post by the Ohio bloggers- they couldn't go to the conference in Portland, so they went out to breakfast, then went book shopping at their favorite kids book store. Doesn't that sound fun? I want us to try it! Anybody else?

MY FAVORITE 26

OK, I love, love, love the 26 letters in the alphabet, 

but THIS is my FAVORITE 26!!!!!!!!