We are about a month from the end of the boys' high school football season. And I have decided that being the mother of a football player causes every weird and dormant alter ego that I might have ever had (and would have vehemently denied was a part of me) to come to the surface. That person that wants to stand up and punch the person who is criticizing the fourteen-year-old freshman quarterbacking the varsity team, who happens to be my son. And that selfish one who prays, when somebody's baby is down on the field a little too long, "Oh, please, don't let it be my child…" And that one who does not quite know how to support her child and balance his dreams, with the cruel realities of life…
THE WOMAN FIVE DOORS DOWN- Francis Duggan The woman five doors down tells me her son Ted is the best player in the school football team And that one day he will play in an A.F.L. Grand Final and that more than once of late she's had this dream Of watching him receive the Coleman medal for best on ground on football's biggest day Watched by well over ninety thousand people who cheer him on with a loud hip hooray.
Last summer, I tutored a little guy who was going into third grade, but reading at a beginning first grade level. Three or four times a week, I picked G. up and we went to the neighborhood library and read. Originally, I tried to steer him toward the easy reader section- Dr. Seuss, the Elephant and Piggy books, and the Rookie Reader science series. G would have none of it. He wanted books about cars, and more specifically, books about low riders. We exhausted all of the books in that library, then moved to the larger world of interlibrary loan. By the end of the summer, I knew quite a bit about low riders, and G had started to read and had written a twenty-page book about low riders.
G reminded me (AGAIN!) about the importantce of motivation and engagement in reading. The EASY READERS were painful, but put G in a book about low riders and he could read words like Chevrolet Impala, hydraulics, chrome, velvet and horsepower with absolutely no problem. He could read those words because he cared about them.
This year I'm spending my mornings teaching intervention groups to second and third graders. The groups are about 75% boys. We are reading a lot of nonfiction and I've just found a new book I think they will love. TRUCKS is a Level 1 (first grade, not DRA Level 1) National Geographic Reader in a series that also includes topics like storms and frogs. The book is narrated by Slick, a truck driver who appears on every page. Each two-page spread is about a different kind of truck-typical ones like dump trucks, tow trucks, and cement mixers, but also some that are more unusual, e.g. the world's largest truck, the Liebherr 282. The last three pages show Slick's rig, including the cab and dashboard, and his office/sleeping quarters. Each two-page spread contains a great picture, and 2-4 sentences of juicy information.
I know G and has buddies are going to love this book. After they are done examining all of the different kinds of trucks, I can use the book to teach them about nonfiction tools, because TRUCKS has all of them- a table of contents, headings on each page, labeled diagrams, "truck talk" vocabulary that is pulled out in a little text box on many of the pages, and a glossary in the back. Many of the pages have truck-related riddles, e.g. "Q: What is the laziest part of a truck? A: The wheels, they're always TIRED."
I'm putting this book in my school bag right now. I can't wait to share it with my reading buddies. I know they are going to love it.
This week I discovered PICTURE THE SEASONS, a terrific new nonfiction series, written by Jill Esbaum, and published by one of my favorite nonfiction publishers, National Geographic for Kids.
APPLES FOR EVERYONE and SEED, SPROUT, PUMPKIN PIE are absolutely perfect October books. The premise of both books is simple- they start with a seed, and follow it from seed to fruit and beyond. What's not so simple, though, is the beautiful language, and the even more gorgeous photograph collages on each page. The language is lovely, kind of a blend of poetry and nonfiction. Listen to these excerpts:
"A pumpkin seed is tucked into sun-warmed earth. Spring rains soften its tough coat. A root reaches for nutrients. A sprout reaches for light. Soon jaggedy leaves rise from twisty vines wandering in all directions."
Or how about, "On a chilly night, a steaming mug of tangy cider chases away the goosebumps." Really nice, huh?
There's lots to wonder and talk about on each page. The first page of APPLES FOR EVERYONE has a large rectangular picture of an apple orchard, but it also has a closeup of a bee landing on an apple blossom, then two more bees, just kind of set down on the page, looking like they could crawl out of the book at any second. And then there is my absolute favorite photograph is of two rowers making their way across a lake or river in boats made of gi-normous pumpkins. My two high schoolers spent at least ten minutes talking about that picture.
This series is perfect for the little guys, K-3. I could also see using the books as mentor texts for older students attempting the genre of photo essays or working on their descriptive writing. And the best news is that right now there are five books in this series:
APPLES FOR EVERYONE
SEED, SPROUT, PUMPKIN PIE
A TREE FOR ALL SEASONS
INSECTS
PILGRIMS OF PLYMOUTH
I'm hoping that this series will continue to grow.
Here is a description of the Nonfiction/Informational Books category:
Kids love interesting non-fiction books.Kids love information books. And the sky is the limit for kids' interests.The Non-fiction/ Information Picture Book category is looking for stunning, visual nominees that capture the curiosity and wonder of children of all ages.From science to art, history to sports, or current events to biographies, if the book has a fresh approach, kid appeal, fabulous illustrations, photography, and will be picked up again and again, please nominate.
Nonfiction/information books will be 48 pages or less and should appeal to the younger reader.The committee will refer to the Library of Congress classification as a guide for determining non-fiction status.Previous winners in this category include Nic Bishop’s Frogs (2008), Lightship by Brian Floca (2007), and An Egg is Quiet by Diana Ashton (2006).
It's really easy to nominate books in this category, and about ten others, including poetry, graphic novels, picture books, intermediate grade fiction, and lots of others . This year there is a really quick and easy form you can fill out, so hustle right over to the CYBILS website and get busy nominating!
OK, it's officially October. And one of the best things about October is the CYBILS nominations. You know what I'm talking about, don't you? The CYBILS are awards given by bloggers, teachers, librarians, moms, basically anyone who cares about books. There are, I think, nine different categories-- e.g. picture books, nonfiction picture books, intermediate grade novels, Middle grade and YA nonfiction, fantasy and science fiction, graphic novels, poetry. And the best part is that YOU (and me, all of us readers!) get to nominate our favorite books anytime between now and October 15. Anything you have read since last October.
Over the weekend, I finished LUCKY BREAKS, the sequel to HIGHER POWER OF LUCKY, by Susan Patron. If I had to sum the book up in one sentence, I think I'd say, "It's an absolutely perfect book for an eleven-year-old." The book opens with a celebration of age eleven. "Eleven, Lucky thought from her seat at the back of the school bus, eleven, eleven, eleven, and the idea of it, the sound of it, threw off sparks in her head. You start with one, two, three: those clunky one-syllable beginner-ages that toddlers play with. Keep going and you get to eight, nine, ten: the plodding steps you have to climb until at last, you arrive. Finally, finally you reach the best age, the one that, when you say it out loud, sounds like a little tap dance or a drumroll." (p. 1). (NOTE: This is just the first paragraph, there is actually another one that is equally beautifully written).
Lucky is turning 11, and she desperately wants her eleventh year to be something special. The problem is, there is not a whole lot special going on in the town of Hard Pan. Her mother, Brigitte, is still running her little weekend cafe. Her best friend, Lincoln, is still tying knots. Miles, the resident five-year-old genius is making his way through BRAIN SURGERY FOR BEGINNERS. Everything is very ordinary until Paloma, another eleven-year-old girl, visits Hard Pan with a group of geologists. Lucky suddenly realizes that what she really wants, maybe even needs, is an eleven-year-old best friend that's a girl.
This is a book about the quirkiness of families and living in community. It's a book about friendship, and about how friends, even good friends, sometimes have problems, and how they solve them, and forgive each other, and move on. It's a book about stupid, and yeah, even dangerous choices. LUCKY BREAKS is an absolutely perfect book for an eleven-year-old.
Today is a very special day. Today is the "book birthday" for Georgia Heard and Jennifer McDonough's terrific new professional book, A PLACE FOR WONDER: READING AND WRITING NONFICTION IN THE PRIMARY GRADES. Georgia Heard is a well-known poet (FALLING DOWN THE PAGE, THIS PLACE OF COMFORT, CREATURES OF LAND, SEA, AND SKY) and author of many professional books (THE REVISION TOOLBOX, AWAKENING THE HEART). Jennifer McDonough is a primary grade teacher in Florida.
In A PLACE FOR WONDER, Heard and McDonough examine how teachers can create “landscapes of wonder,” classrooms where curiosity, creativity, and observation are encouraged, and where intelligent, inquiring, lifelong learners are developed. They provide teachers with practical ways – setting up “wonder centers,” gathering data through senses, teaching nonfiction craft – to create classroom environments where students’ questions and observations are part of daily work.
As an added bonus, Stenhouse will wrap up the blog tour with a LIVE WEBCAST with Georgia and Jennifer on Oct. 26th at 8 p.m. EST. This will be a great opportunity to join a small group discussion with the two authors.Five participants for this live webcast will be chosen from the comments in this post and the blog tour post on October 23 If you would like to have your name thrown in the bowl, post a comment or question about the book here. Include your email address so I can contact you if you win! No special software or equipment are needed to participate in the webcast – just a phone and your computer.
From now until the beginning of the tour you can also receive free shipping when you order A Place for Wonder. Just use code “blog” at the checkout when you order fromwww.stenhouse.com or by phone at 800-988-9812. The book starts shipping today!
