POETRY FRIDAY

Kristine O'Connell George has always been one of my favorite poets- The Great Frog Race, Toasting Marshmallows, and The Little Dog Poems. Last week at TATTERED COVER I found her newest book, EMMA DILEMMA: BIG SISTER POEMS. I stood at the poetry shelf and read it cover to cover.

EMMA DILEMMA is narrated by Jessica, a fourth or fifth grade girl who is the big sister to Emma. Jessica is a good big sister, but she gets tired of the pesky younger sister who ruins her things, makes messes in her room, and follows her incessantly. As someone who is the oldest of three girls, I could so relate to every. single. poem in this book.

A great addition to a classroom or library collection, also a great "big sister" present!

HOMEWORK

She's not even

in real school

but Emma insists

she has to sit with me

and do her homework.

Emma brings paper and crayons.

I move over, give her plenty of elbown room,

because the pictures inside Emma's head are bigger than the kitchen table.

Kristine O'Connell George

Poetry Friday is here.

THE CYBILS ARE HERE! THE CYBILS ARE HERE!

For the past three years, I have had the honor of serving as a panelist for the CYBILS awards. In 2008, I was on the YA nonfiction panel. In 2009 and 2010 I did nonfiction picture books. We started out with about one hundred books in mid-October (I think the exact number was 112) and whittled it down to seven of our favorites (NOT an easy decision!). A second round of judges had the incredibly difficult job of selecting the best book from those seven books.

As I was frantically reading nonfiction picture books, other panels were reading in other genre- picture books, easy readers, poetry, graphic novels, intermediate grade novels, YA novels. I have loved, loved, loved serving on the committee. There is nothing more fun than getting to talk books with extraordinary teachers, librarians, and booksellers from all over the world.

Anyway, today the winners were announced! THE EXTRAORDINARY MARK TWAIN, ACCORDING TO SUSY won the nonfiction picture books. Some of my other personal favorites won too- these- included INTERRUPTING CHICKEN (fiction picture books), YUMMY (graphic novels), and ORIGAMI YODA (intermediate grade novels).

Head over to the CYBILS website to check out all the other winners!

RUTH AND THE GREEN BOOK- CALVIN ALEXANDER RAMSEY

Ruth is excited when her father buys a new car. It's supposed to be for his job, but first the family is going to use it to travel from their home in Chicago to Alabama to see Ruth's grandma.

The trip starts out as a grand adventure, but soon the reality of life in the south in the 1950's sets in. No one will let Ruth and her mother use their restroom, so they have to go into the woods. They can't eat at restaurants or stay in a motel.

The second day of their trip, Ruth and her family stay with a friend of her father's who tells the family to look for Esso stations, because that company is friendly to blacks. At one of the Esso stations, a clerk shows them THE NEGRO MOTORIST GREEN BOOK, a publication that tells Blacks about places they can eat and stay. Ruth's family relies on the book to help them for the rest of their journey.

RUTH AND THE GREEN BOOK is fiction, but THE NEGRO MOTORIST GREEN BOOK was actually published from 1936-1964. Pair this book with SIT-IN, another terrific read about life in the segregated South.

UNDERGROUND- SHANE W. EVANS

Today I found one of those "absolutely perfect" picture books. UNDERGROUND, by Shane W. Evans, is the story of the Underground Railroad. The text on each page is very sparse, usually no more than two or three words a page, e.g. the text on the first page is, "The dark." The text on the second page, "The escape." And the third page, "We are quiet."

The illustrations are line drawings, set on a background. Dark shades of blue, with a few lighter blues, a little white for the stars, and an on occasional bit of yellow or gold for lanterns or flames, perfectly capture the nightime journey of runaway slaves. As the journey progresses, and the slaves get closer to freedom, there is more yellow and gold and white. It's a hard book to explain, but the illustrations are gorgeous, absolutely perfect for the subject. This is a book I could see winning the Caldecott.

I hadn't seen UNDERGROUND or read anything about it before I saw it at the bookstore this afternoon. When I looked for it online, I was surprised to read a review that said it would be a perfect book for introducing the Underground Railroad to young children. I guess you could use it that way, but when I read it, I pictured myself using it with older students, maybe fourth, fifth, or sixth graders. I think it would be a perfect book for introducing the Underground Railroad. I think it would also be a great book for a study on inferring.

I also think it would be a really interesting mentor text for writing. UNDERGROUND is so, so, so succinct, but captures, perfectly, the intensity of the slaves' journey. I wonder how kids might create similar texts about other historical events, or peoples' lives.

UNDERGROUND is a book you definitely want to own…

NO PASSENGERS BEYOND THIS POINT- Gennifer Choldenko

On Thursday at our state reading convention, I heard Jeff Wilhelm talk about the texts kids, especially middle and high school kids choose. Wilhelm talked a lot about video games and how boys use those as kind of heroic journeys. I have been thinking about his talk all weekend, both in terms of my own sons (Son #2 is a video game addict) and also in terms of a book I've just finished.

NO PASSENGERS BEYOND THIS POINT, by Gennifer Choldenko, is an epic/heroic journey/fantasy tale. At the beginning of the book, sibling trio India, Finn, and Mouse Tompkins find out that their mother has lost their house to foreclosure, so their family will be moving to Colorado, to live with an uncle until the mom can get back on her feet. The mom, however, is a teacher, and has to finish the school year, so the kids will be traveling by themselves, with their mom joining them later.

At this point, the book takes a surprising turn. The plane "lands" but when India, Finn and Mouse disembark, they are not in Denver, where they were planning to land. Instead, they are in a deserted and unfamiliar airport. They are met by Chuck, a strange chauffeur who drives a shocking pink taxi covered with white feathers. Chuck explains that the children are not in Fort Baker, a small city outside of Denver, but have instead landed in a town called Falling Bird. At first, it seems like Falling Bird might be a perfect place to live. Each of the kids starts out in a house designed especially for that person- India's has all kinds of teenager delights, Finn's highlights his love of basketball, and Mouse gets to indulge in her love of science. Soon, however, the children discover that these delights are only temporary, and they set out on a problem-filled heroic journey to get back to their mom and to their new life in Fort Baker.

To me, this book feels a little like the action movies I sometimes see with my sons. There is a lot going on, lots of action, lots of adventure. There are symbols that keep appearing and reappearing- puzzle pieces, a white cat, and magical watches. I kept waiting for something to happen with those symbols, but for the most part they were just important for a few chapters, then faded away. Sometimes that bothered me a little, but I don't think it would bother kids, especially not those who are fast moving and just like a good plot. I'll be interested to see what my fifth and sixth grade readers think of this book.

POETRY FRIDAY

A week of bone-chilling, record-setting cold in Colorado this week. I'm longing for spring…

THE POETRY OF BAD WEATHER

For it was February in Florida,
the air of instruction thick with tanning butter.
Why, my students wondered,

did the great dead poets all live north of us?
Was there nothing to do all winter there
but pine for better weather?

Read the rest of the poem here.

Poetry Friday is at DORI READS.

Bonnie Campbell Hill National Literacy Teacher Leader Award

My dear friend, Laura Benson, has recently made me aware of a

new award for Teacher Leaders.

If you, or anyone you know, is interested in applying for this award, you can go to Bonnie's website for more information. The application is on the left side bar.

Bonnie Campbell Hill National Literacy Teacher Leader Award

The Children’s Literature Assembly (CLA) will honor two outstanding teacher leaders. These may include a classroom teacher, literacy coach, or teacher educator dedicated to improving the teaching and learning of reading and writing in real world contexts in grades K – 8. The US $2,500 grant is intended to be used for professional development (not for materials, except professional books for a book study). In addition, recipients will receive a coupon for up to $500 of professional books published by Heinemann Publishers. Applicants must be members of both NCTE and CLA. The grant is supported by Bonnie Campbell Hill and her family.

Guidelines

Your application materials must include five items:

1. Completed application form.

A professional development plan (three-page maximum) for the 2011-2012 that outlines why you would be a strong candidate for these monies and your vision for how this support would allow you to improve and enhance teaching and learning for students and/or teachers. Funds may be used for, but are not limited to, the following examples: attending the Annual IRA Convention, attending the Annual NCTE Conference, attending Teacher’s College Training, or a reputable children’s literature conference, conducting literature-based research with teaching implementation potential (i.e., Kerlan Collection), buying professional books for a book study among colleagues. Funds may not be used to buy classroom materials. The plan should address key elements that are listed in the attached rubric. A specific plan for how the $2,500 and $500 in professional books would be spent must be included.

1. A resume showing professional experience and leadership accomplishments/activities.
2. A letter of recommendation from a supervisor detailing the applicant’s leadership skills, collaborative interactions, effective teaching practices, successful teaching/learning relationships with students and teachers and an understanding of the intentions and/or support of the project detailed by the applicant.
3. A follow up report describing how the award was used and how it helped the recipient carry the ideas forward: Due May 1, 2012.

An electronic copy of the complete application must be submitted to Dr. Nancy J. Johnson, committee chair, by May 15^th, 2011. An example of the evaluation criteria is included with this letter.

Announcement of the winners will occur on or before August 21^st, 2011 for the 2011-2012 school year. The award will be presented at the November NCTE Convention. The recipients of the Bonnie Campbell Hill Literacy Teacher Leader Award are cordially invited to attend the CLA Breakfast where they will be introduced by the Awards Committee. All conference expenses (transportation, meals, and housing) will be borne by the winner or paid for out of the initial award. Professional books must be purchased during the 2011-2012 school year by contacting Jeanne Durost, Director of Customer Service, Heinemann Publishing, Phone: 800-225-5800 x1310, Email: jeanne.durost@heinemann.com. The winner must submit a report to the committee about how the funds were used by May 1^st, 2012 with information about what the winner learned and the impact of this project on student learning and professional development.