The Pithy Python

Purim Schpiel

2012-02-02T17:00:00.002-05:00

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Sarah and me with groggers Revelers in their masks
(thanks to Sarah for the photos)

On Friday afternoons in January, the elementary school embarks on a popular initiative: teachers offer an array of special classes that children can choose, celebrating ethnic, cultural, religious and international diversity. Try folk dancing! Make dim sum! Study the history of chocolate and the people who first used it! Write haiku! Explore African folktales! Or...come to the library and learn about the Jewish holiday of Purim! School should have been this fun when I was young.

When my colleague Sarah proposed that we collaborate to teach about Purim, I leapt at the opportunity: kids could do a craft (even two!) and hear the gripping story of Queen Esther, who dared petition the King of Persia to save her people, all the while knowing she risked her own death in doing so.

We made groggers (soda cans that children decorated with colored tape and dropped random hardware into), and the enormous noise fulfilled the injunction to drown out the name of HAMAN (the villain who had ordered all the Jews of Persia be killed) whenever he is mentioned in the story. We made crowns with jewels--we could all be royals--and we ate hamentaschen and sang together.

There were about 4 Jewish children in each of the two sessions of 25 kids (ages 5-12). We asked them to describe how they celebrate Purim at home and at the synagogue, and after a detailed description of costumes, masks and delicious foods, those children beamed as the others exclaimed, "Wow! That sounds like so much fun! Like another Halloween! You are so lucky to be Jewish!" I don't think they hear that a lot.
Other comments:
"This is amazing. I actually learned something."
"This is the first fun diversity thing I got to do."
"I don't eat fruit. I don't like fruit. So I can't eat the hamentaschen."
"Thank you so much! This was so great!"

And the winner is...

2012-01-27T15:16:00.024-05:00

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Just about now, you were probably asking yourself, What books won the big awards this year? For types like me, the anticipation and announcement of the Newbery, Caldecott and Coretta Scott King Awards is more thrilling than the Superbowl, the Oscars and the Westminster Dog Show rolled into one. I read the blogs, the magazines and the hot-shot prognosticators. It is shockingly possible that money changes hands. Certainly I buy books in hopes of having the winner on hand. The envelopes, please.

For the most distinguished contribution to children's literature, the Newbery Award:

Beloved author Jack Gantos finally got the gold. I have been raving about his Joey Pigza series forever. Good for him. Did I buy it in advance? No. Was it totally under the radar on the mock vote blogs? Yes. Have I ordered it? Duh. And it sounds both hilarious and touching:
In the historic town of Norvelt, Pennsylvania, 12-year-old Jack Gantos spends the summer of 1962 grounded for various offenses until he is assigned to help an elderly neighbor with a most unusual chore involving the newly dead, molten wax, twisted promises, Girl Scout cookies, underage driving, lessons from history, typewriting, and countless bloody noses.

Newbery Honor Award. Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai. Bought it. Read it. Loved it. Through a series of poems, a young girl chronicles the life-changing year of 1975, when she, her mother, and her brothers leave Vietnam and resettle in Alabama.Her experiences with American food, religions, and school are gripping and poignant, especially when she says it might have been easier to stay in Saigon with the bombs dropping than to endure the taunts of young Alabamans.

Newbery Honor Award. Breaking Stalin's Nose by Eugene Yelchin. Whoa! Totally missed it, despite the fact that my ears perk up when I hear of books about Russia; I fell in love with all things Russian in elementary school after reading a biography of Catherine the Great. I can't wait to read it. In the Stalinist era of the Soviet Union, ten-year-old Sasha idolizes his father, a devoted Communist, but when police take his father away and leave Sasha homeless, he is forced to examine his own perceptions, values, and beliefs.

And the Caldecott, for the most distinguished illustrations:

A Ball for Daisy by Chris Raschka. His second gold medal. A wordless story about joy and loss. Daisy the dog is heartbroken when her favorite toy ball is destroyed while she is playing with another dog, but she realizes she has gained something, too. On order. Somehow Raschka's work doesn't strike a chord with me but I look forward to seeing his latest.

Caldecott Honor Award. Blackout by John Rocco. Stunning-- and it's already flying out the door. A summer’s power outage draws an urban family up to their building’s roof and then down to the street for an impromptu block party. Rocco illuminates details and characters with a playful use of light and shadow in his cartoon-style illustrations. He delivers a terrific camaraderie-filled adventure that continues even when the electricity returns.

Caldecott Honor Award. Grandpa Green by Lane Smith. Hooray! Bought this one in time for Grandparent's Day and loads of our kids already adore it. Elaborate topiary sculptures give visual form to memories in a wildly fanciful garden tended by a child and his beloved great-grandfather. Using an inspired palate, Lane Smith invites readers to tour a green lifetime of meaningful moments.

Caldecott Honor Award. Me, Jane by Patrick McDonnell. Hooray! Bought it & taught it. Holding her stuffed toy chimpanzee, young Jane Goodall observes nature, reads Tarzan books, and dreams of living in Africa and helping animals. I tell kids how they can become the next Jane Gooddall if they follow these instructions:
1. Keep your curiosity about nature alive.
2. Get outside for chunks of time every day.
3. Don't let electronics and media ruin your sense of wonder in the natural world.
4. Find a passion and follow it.

And the Coretta Scott King Awards...

The Author Award PLUS the Illustrator Honor Award: Kadir Nelson, for Heart & Soul: The Story of America and African-Americans. This modest and lovely artist, who once said at a conference that he was unsure of his writing! The audacity of getting this complex history into a single volume with his powerful and exquisite illustrations is mind-boggling. I'm reading it aloud to upper elementary children right now and they find it gripping. So do I.

The Illustrator Award: Shane Evans, for Underground: Finding the Light to Freedom. I've ordered it and am eager to see this new take on a subject that continues to mesmerize our students.
A family silently crawls along the ground. They run barefoot through unlit woods, sleep beneath bushes, take shelter in a kind stranger's home. Where are they heading? They are heading for Freedom by way of the Underground Railroad.

And two author honor awards given to two highly acclaimed writers and previous honorees:

Eloise Greenfield, The Great Migration. It's on the way. Looks superb.

Patricia McKissack, Never Forgotten. Bought it and am taking it home NOW. McKissack is a national treasure who makes my job easier with her sensitive portrayals of the African-American experience in its myriad unfoldings.

See the entire list of 2012 Notable Books!
And, by the way, congratulations to Roaring Brook Press for reaping so many honors yet again. Simon Boughton, husband of our beloved friend, library muralist and illustrator extraordinaire Elaine Clayton, truly knows how to spot a great children's book.

2012-01-20T15:15:00.005-05:00

On my bulletin board this week: A photo of Michelle Obama reading aloud to children, with my ongoing tag, "What do good readers do?" This month we're talking about how good readers make inferences.

So: a heated discussion between two five/six year olds about the photo:

That's the First Lady.
No it's not.
Yes it is.
Not it's not.
Yes it is.
No, they made lots of ladies before her.

Meanwhile, my absolute favorite new book for teaching children about making inferences:

I Want My Hat Back by Jon Klassen.

A bear (I make him speak in a monotone) asks one forest animal after another if they have seen his hat. No one has seen it, although a rabbit wearing a pointy red hat vehemently denies that he would ever steal a hat. The bear has a delayed "aha" moment several pages later and races back. Spoiler alert: The bear eats the rabbit, but we only know it by inference. Bald-faced lies are delivered without any remorse. It's all the students can do not to shout out what they have inferred. And meanwhile they laugh uproariously at the animal's flat yet strangely expressive faces. This wicked masterpiece is a possible contender for a Caldecott award, to be announced Monday morning. Award or not, I can tell it will join the handful of all-time favorites in this library.

Teaching Website Evaluation

2012-01-13T14:54:00.007-05:00

Part of the library curriculum for the upper elementary students includes several lessons on information literacy, where I emphasize the need to think critically and skeptically about online information. So many students (and their parents) forget about the library databases and other avenues to excellent information, instead "feeling lucky" and relying solely on Google searches. As I reminded students, we all use Google all the time for quick information needs, from finding out the opening hours of Home Depot to learning more about our favorite tv character. When it comes to serious research, however, library databases are essential.

Old standby favorites for demonstration purposes include Facts About Ancient China, an authentic and useful-looking site informing us that China was responsible for countless discoveries and innovations, including fireworks, tea, a variety of interesting and pain-relieving opiates, and the all-you-can-eat lunch buffet. Another useful website is Facts About the Civil War, where we learn that this bloodiest conflict in American history claimed more lives than WWI, WWII, The War Against Switzerland and the Vietnam War combined. Of course, we mustn't forget about the endangered Northwest Pacific Tree Octopus or the hidden wonders of Mankato, Minnesota including a pyramid and a submerged city. One student helpfully told us about her mother's experience in law school: the school subscribed to the database Westlaw. Apparently someone created an authentic looking version of Westlaw, free to users as opposed to the one that required a password. The free fake one, however, contained loads of slightly false information, enough so that students who used it failed their exams. Wow!

The discussion took a more serious turn, however, as I described websites designed to convince readers of false or vicious notions, including anti-Semitic and racist sites. I also mentioned the abundance of conspiracy theories online, with special attention to the horrors (and deaths) caused by the "vaccination causes autism" spiral. Recently, I ran across this rant in the Dec. 1 library journal Booklist, in which Will Manley reflects on Walter Isaacson's recent biography of Steve Jobs:

"Isaacson tells us that instead of having an operation that would probably have eradicated the cancer for good, Jobs decided that he would try any number of alternative health remedies to heal himself, including fruitarian and vegan diets, acupuncture, herbal medicines, frequent bowel cleansings, hydrotherapy, positive thinking, and psychic consultations. He spent nine futile months wandering this yellow-brick road of medical denial before he consented to surgery. Did these nine moths cost him 30 or 40 years? Quite possibly, yes. It's fascinating to me that one of the great architects of our high-tech world succumbed in the end to old-fashioned, homespun medical superstition, if not hokum. How could a man so smart be so stupid?"

So, I will reprise the absolutely favorite video of last year, Librarians Do Gaga; and this time, please note the refrain "DON'T FORGET THE DATABASES!"

What Makes a Family? Sharing My Manuscript on Marriage Equality

2012-01-06T13:34:00.017-05:00

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Over the past two years, I have worked with my friend Tamara on a nonfiction book about gays and lesbians. When Tamara approached me, she asked if I knew any good books on the topic for children.

I pointed out the handful of picture books that I use regularly with all grades, including And Tango Makes Three, the true story of a pair of male penguins in the Central Park Zoo who successfully raise a chick. This one frequently tops the American Library Association's list of most frequently challenged books--ie., one that people try to remove from libraries. That's all well and good, said Tamara, but we need one with real people.

Over time, our focus moved to an explanation of the issues surrounding marriage equality, aka gay marriage. We gathered photos from families and teachers at school, featuring familiar faces (and a few stock online images) to make it clear that we all know someone who is homosexual. We also worked hard to develop language that would explain the national conversation in terms that children in 4th-6th grade could understand. Then, this fall, I took a deep breath and began: I read the book aloud to all our upper elementary classes, clarifying terms and inviting discussion.

Me: I'm kind of nervous presenting this. Not because it's about gays and lesbians, but because I'm one of the authors. I don't know how it will go.
A 6th grade girl: It'll go fine. You'll see. We'll love it. You can do it!

A selection of student responses:

What is a lesbian? I've heard that word.
I heard kids saying "fag" sometimes when I was at sleepaway camp. What is that?
But "gay" really means "happy."
When people say "That's so gay," they're just saying something is stupid. They don't really mean about gay people.
You said a family lives in a single household, but my mom lives in Pennsylvania.
Are you gay? Are you a lesbian? Then why are you teaching us about this?
My church teaches that it is wrong and against God.
Do you think Georgia will change its laws the way that New York did?
Some of our neighbors are gay and they have the nicest house and the nicest yard and they make great cookies. There's nothing wrong with them.
My church says it is bad, but my aunt is gay, and once when I was eating lunch with her at a restaurant, people at a nearby table said mean things about her.
How do you know if you are gay?
It makes me so mad that kids get picked on because they have two moms. President Obama should change the law.
Thanks for telling us about gay. I never talked about it before.

In the following weeks, two parents thanked me for introducing the topic, saying they were able to discuss it with their children. Do parents have any idea how much joy they give when they let a teacher know they appreciate a lesson? I was glad that none of the parents whose children had religious concerns came in to complain. And I teared up when I found that one child had put a comment in my idea box: "Read Natalie's gay and lesbian book to every class." Now Tamara and I need to radically revise, update and get the guts to send it to publishers. Maybe we'll send it to Rick Santorum too.

photos by Mistuh Will from the collection Rainbow Pi Presents a Celebration of Families.

What's On My Bulletin Board this Month

2011-12-14T16:57:00.001-05:00

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I like bulletin boards that share my student's voices. I remember seeing one pre-fabricated fall bulletin board in a school library with cutesy squirrels and a voice bubble saying, "We're nuts for books!" And I'm sure they purchased one for every month of the year with the same big-eyed animals and the same lame puns. Gag.

On my bulletin board this month are submissions to the Idea Box.
The dozens of ideas fell into several categories.

I had invited students to suggest names for the Library Bunnies in the animations.
Just a few, spelling intact:

John and Mery
Name the bunnys Mary and Gordon
Yoko and Sam
Bob and Amey
Pickle and May May
The names should be Freddy and Fred
SRURS (Cyrus?) and Lilly

and a compliment, "Your show shold be named FUNY!"

The second category was all about Mo Willems' Elephant and Piggy books, with some Pigeons for good measure. I am rather puzzled by these. Are they suggestions for me to buy the books? I own them all. Are they simply notes about favorites? Perhaps. But many of them actually ask someone (me? the author? the person who opens the box?) to WRITE more of them. (For two must-read, dazzling analyses of why Mo Willems is a genius, click here and here.)

mak mor pigeon books
get u more books of dont let the pigeon drive the bus

Elepht and Piggie make more thak you
brand noo elephant and piggie book
Elephant and Piggy
I will suprise my friend

Of no particular category but especially enjoyable to me:

maby you sould buy ritle books (riddles)
Let the kids hata ie cone (ice cream cone?)
you should have muffins or cupcakes on Mondays
Read Natalie's gay and lesbian book to every class
(more on this one later but I did co-author a manuscript)

And finally, a typewritten complaint about Mad magazine, claiming that it is inappropriate, not good literature, concluding,"And if a parent found out they might protest or something" and signed, "An anonymous student who cares about your reputation."

Do I have a good job or what?

Here's a 4 min. video of two emergent readers enthusiastically tackling Mo Willems' There's A Bird On Your Head. Expression? check. Enthusiasm? check. Joy and laughter? check.

Altruism, plus, Why I Hate The Giving Tree

2011-12-07T16:12:00.004-05:00

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I see little gestures of kindness all day. A 5 year old girl pats the seat beside her, inviting a child who has just arrived to join the group. A 7 year old boy responds to a story about the death of a dog with tears, and his classmate hands him a tissue and puts an arm around his shoulder. A 10 year old boy passionately recommends a book to a friend and pulls the friend over to check it out. Children hold doors for me when my hands are full, reach down and pick up my glasses when I drop them, and ask me if my cold is better. I am often encouraged by research showing children's natural tendencies toward altruism, but I witness it on my own all the time.

When Jerry Pinkney (finally!) won The Caldecott Award, his acceptance speech for The Lion and the Mouse concluded,

"... I believe ultimately the enduring strength of this tale is in its moral: no act of kindness goes unrewarded. Even the strongest can sometimes use the help of the smallest. To me the story represents a world of neighbors helping neighbors, unity and harmony, interdependence."

The story helps us all remember that no kind act is ever wasted. Some of my favorite picture books are abundant with loving-kindness -- you know, the ones where you choke up while you're reading aloud and the kids worry about you:

A Sick Day for Amos McGee by Philip Christian Stead
A Chair for My Mother by Vera B. Williams
Saving Strawberry Farm by Deborah Hopkinson
Zen Shorts and Zen Ties by Jon Muth
Thank You Mr. Falker, Trees of the Dancing Goats and many other by Patricia Polacco
The Talking Eggs by Robert San Souci
Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters by John Steptoe
One Grain of Rice by Demi
Toads and Diamonds by Charlotte Huck
The Lady in the Box by Ann McGovern
Uncle Jed's Barbershop by Margaret Kind Mitchell
Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney
Corduroy by Don Freeman
How To Heal a Broken Wing by Bob Graham
Tomas and the Library Lady by Pat Mora
Sophie's Masterpiece by Eileen Spinelli

So...Now I can be unkind because it's my blog and I can. Does anyone else hate The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein?
To refresh your memory, it opens, "Once there was a tree...and she loved a little boy."
The little boy proceeds to take her apples when he needs money, chop her branches when he needs shelter, cut her trunk when he needs a boat, and finally, as an old man, comes and sits on her stump. And this makes her happy.

And this makes me incensed. This is not kindness, this is absurd self-sacrifice on the altar of selfishness. But there are many opinions on this: click here to read an analysis and hundreds of response posts. In fact, click on the comment button below and we can start our own conversation! (Or ask me and I can direct those of you over 18 to some fine parodies.)

Meanwhile, the students have been on my case to make another animation with the Library Bunnies. This one was inspired by a slip of paper in the Idea Box which said, "I Don't Know How To Check Out Books." These bunnies are always kind and supportive to one another, even if they are occasionally anxious, neurotic and perfectionistic . Sometimes they remind me of my own students. Just don't ask me who.

Don%27t+Know+How+To+Check+Out by PithyPython

Thankful

2011-11-28T09:00:00.001-05:00

Thanksgiving stories: This year, I emphasized the idea of immigration and Thanksgiving, encouraging students to talk to their parents about this hot topic. We read Eve Bunting's How Many Days to America, in which a family escapes from Cuba in a leaky boat and lands in the U.S. on Thanksgiving Day, warmly welcomed. I also read Molly's Pilgrim, a story that shows how ugly some Americans can be about people with different customs, appearance and language. I asked children to write down things they are thankful for on the library bulletin board this month -- here are some samples (spelling intact).

my dog
gorilas!
donnuts
Tigger
my dog Josie
my bruther
hockey
The U.S. Air Force
Natiy (that's me, folks!)
my life
God
Disney World
my famule
soccer
dolphins
you
my fiend
sandwichs
my school Paideia
the librare

I am thankful for Thomas Friedman's article about school achievement, "We Need Better Parents." At last! Someone who is not an education expert cites a study, and in the New York Times at that, telling the world about the topic so dear to my heart: Reading aloud is one of the most important things you can do to help your child do well in school. I am thankful I teach in a school full of parents who enjoy reading to their children.

I am also thankful for anyone who sends me something to make me laugh. Thanks to my husband Matthew for sending me the link to this video of Jimmy Fallon channeling Jim Morrison & the Doors (sorry I can't embed it). If you need a refresher on the original, here you go:

Shopping Encore! Suggestions for Ages 9-12

2011-11-22T08:00:00.001-05:00

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Be sure to check last year's list
School Library Journal's 100 Best Children's Novels

The Dagger Quick by Brian Eames. An absolute must. Twelve-year-old Christopher "Kitto" Wheale, a clubfooted boy seemingly doomed to follow in the boring footsteps of his father as a cooper in seventeenth-century England, finds himself on a dangerous seafaring adventure with his newly discovered uncle, the infamous pirate William Quick.

Heart and Soul by Kadir Nelson. With his trademark breathtaking illustrations, Nelson examines the history of the United States, focusing on events that influenced African-Americans and how they advanced liberty and justice in America--in 100 pages.

The Penderwicks at Point Moulette by Jeanne Birdsall. When the three younger Penderwick sisters go to Maine with Aunt Claire and are separated from oldest sister Rosalind for the first time in their lives, an uncertain Skye is left in charge as the OAP--oldest available Penderwick.

Falcon Quinn and the Crimson Vapor by Jennifer Finney Boylan. Born in the reality stream but with both the heart of a monster and the heart of a guardian, thirteen-year-old Falcon Quinn is not sure what path to follow until he fastens an amulet with a red jewel around his neck.

Jefferson's Sons by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley. A fictionalized look at the last twenty years of Thomas Jefferson's life at Monticello through the eyes of three of his slaves, two of whom were his sons by his slave, Sally Hemings.

Absolute Value of Mike by Kathryn Erskine. Mike, 14 and with a math learning disability, is sent to rural Pennsylvania for the summer to work on an engineering project, and while his plans to impress his mathematician father fall flat when Mike discovers the project has nothing to do with engineering, he learns much more valuable lessons while working with his eccentric, elderly aunt, a homeless man, and a punk rock girl as part of a town-wide effort to adopt a Romanian orphan.

90 Miles to Havana by Enrique Flores-Galbis. Julian’s parents, hoping to protect him from the dangers of the turmoil in Cuba, send him to the United States in 1961 as part of Operation Pedro Pan, not realizing that life in a Miami refugee camp holds its own perils.

Belly Up by Stuart Gibbs. Twelve-year-old Teddy investigates when a popular Texas zoo’s star attraction--Henry the hippopotamus--is murdered.

The Red Umbrella by Cristian Diaz Gonzalez. In 1961 after Castro has come to power in Cuba, fourteen-year-old Lucia and her seven-year-old brother are sent to the United States when her parents, who are not in favor of the new regime, fear that the children will be taken away from them as others have been.

Fantasy Baseball by Alan Gratz. A twelve-year-old boy wakes up in Ever After, where he is recruited by Dorothy to play first base for the Oz Cyclones in the Ever After Baseball Tournament.

Sabotaged by Margaret Peterson Haddix. Thirteen-year-old Jonah, stolen from the past as an infant, teams up with his sister Katherine to help Virginia Dare, the first child born in America to English parents.

Fly Trap by Frances Hardinge. Adventurous orphan Mosca Mye, her savage goose, Saracen, and their sometimes-loyal companion, Eponymous Clent, become embroiled in the intrigues of Toll, a town that changes entirely as day turns to night.

Turtle in Paradise by Jennifer Holm. In 1935, when her mother gets a job housekeeping for a woman who does not like children, eleven-year-old Turtle is sent to stay with relatives she has never met in far away Key West, Florida.

Scumble by Ingrid Law. Mibs’s cousin Ledge is disappointed to discover that his "savvy"--the magical power unique to each member of their family--is to make things fall apart, which endangers his uncle Autry’s ranch and reveals the family secret to future reporter Sarah.

Hero by Mike Lupica. Fourteen-year-old Zach learns he has the same special abilities as his father, who was the president’s globe-trotting troubleshooter until "the Bads" killed him, and now Zach must decide whether to use his powers in the same way at the risk of his own life.

The Candymakers by Wendy Mass. Four gifted twelve-year-olds, including Logan, the candymaker’s son, are set to be contestants in the Confectionary Association’s national competition to determine the nation’s tastiest sweet, but nobody anticipates that a friendship will form between them.

Ten by Lauren Myracle. Winnie Perry is certain that she will gain more courage and responsibilities with her tenth birthday and, with her best friend Amanda by her side, Winnie is determined to make the most of her last year of elementary school.

Woods Runner by Gary Paulsen. From his 1776 Pennsylvania homestead, thirteen-year-old Samuel, who is a highly-skilled woodsman, sets out toward New York City to rescue his parents from the band of British soldiers and Native Americans who kidnapped them after slaughtering most of their community.

Bird in a Box by Andrea Davis Pinkney. In 1936, three children meet at the Mercy Home for Negro Orphans in New York State, and while not all three are orphans, they are all dealing with grief and loss which together, along with the help of a sympathetic staff member and the boxing matches of Joe Louis, they manage to overcome.

The Dreamer by Pam Munoz Ryan. A fictionalized biography of the Nobel Prize-winning Chilean poet Pablo Neruda, who grew up a painfully shy child, ridiculed by his overbearing father, but who became one of the most widely-read poets in the world.

Okay for Now by Gary D. Schmidt. Fourteen-year-old Doug Swieteck faces many challenges, including an abusive father, a brother traumatized by Vietnam, suspicious teachers and police officers, and isolation, but when he meets a girl known as Lil Spicer, he develops a close relationship with her and finds a safe place at the local library.

Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick. Relates the stories of 12-year-old Ben, who loses his mother and his hearing in a short time frame and decides to leave his Minnesota home in 1977 to seek the father he has never known in New York City; and Rose, who lives with her father but feels compelled to search for what is missing in her life. Ben’s story is told in words; Rose’s in pictures.

The Silver Bowl by Diane Stanley. From the age of seven when she became scullery maid in a castle, Molly has seen visions of the future which, years later, lead her and friend Tobias on an adventure to keep Alaric, the heir to the throne, safe from a curse.

Under the Green Hill by Laura L. Sullivan. While staying with distant relatives in England, Americans Rowan, Meg, Silly, and James Morgan, with their neighbors Dickie Rhys and Finn Fachan, learn that one of them must fight to the death in the Midsummer War required by the local fairies.

Moon Over Manifest by Claire Vanderpool. Twelve-year-old Abilene Tucker is the daughter of a drifter who, in the summer of 1936, sends her to stay with an old friend in Manifest, Kansas, where he grew up, and where she hopes to find out some things about his past.

Small Acts of Amazing Courage by Gloria Whelan. In 1919, independent-minded fifteen-year-old Rosalind lives in India with her English parents, and when they fear she has fallen in with some rebellious types who believe in Indian self-government, she is sent "home" to London, where she has never been before and where her older brother died, to stay with her two aunts.

Countdown by Deborah Wiles. Franny Chapman just wants some peace. But that’s hard to get when her best friend is feuding with her, her sister has disappeared, and her uncle is fighting an old war in his head. Her saintly younger brother is no help, and the cute boy across the street only complicates things. Worst of all, everyone is walking around just waiting for a bomb to fall. It’s 1962, and it seems the whole country is living in fear.

One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia. I know I put it up last December but since then it has one award after award. It's fabulous.
In the summer of 1968, after traveling from Brooklyn to Oakland, California, to spend a month with the mother they barely know, eleven-year-old Delphine and her two younger sisters arrive to a cold welcome as they discover that their mother, a dedicated poet and printer, is resentful of the intrusion of their visit and wants them to attend a nearby Black Panther summer camp.

And, just because I can -- and can't stop -- here's my own personal favorite list for this age group:

The Watsons Go To Birmingham by Christopher Paul Curtis.
A Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson.
Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt.
The Giver and Number the Stars by Lois Lowry.
The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman.
A Wrinkle In Time by Madeline L'Engle.
The Secret of Platform 13 and anything else by Eva Ibbotson.
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor.
The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle and anything else by Avi.
Holes by Louis Sachar.

More Shopping! Ideas for 7-10 Year Olds

2011-11-18T11:30:00.003-05:00

(Having trouble viewing all the great pictures? Click here to go directly to The Pithy Python.)

Be sure to check
School Library Journal's list of 100 Greatest Children's Novels
My holiday list of suggestions from last year

Picture Books for Everyone

My Uncle Martin's Big Heart by Angela Farris Watkins. A young girl introduces readers to her uncle, Martin Luther King Jr., describing what he does and family moments they have shared.

Me -- Jane by Patrick McDonnell. Holding her stuffed toy chimpanzee, young Jane Goodall observes nature, reads Tarzan books, and dreams of living in Africa and helping animals. Includes biographical information on the prominent zoologist.

The Watcher: Jane Goodall's Life with the Chimps by Jeannette Winter. An illustrated biography of British primatologist Jane Goodall, describing her childhood, the years she spent in the African forests to observe chimpanzees, and her efforts to protect and preserve primates and their habitats.

Donovan's Big Day by Lesléa Newman. From the moment Donovan wakes in the morning, he painstakingly prepares for his special role in the wedding ceremony of his two mothers. Presents a great opportunity to talk with your child about marriage equality.

Jackie's Gift by Sharon Robinson. When young Steve, who is Jewish, tells his new neighbor, Jackie Robinson, that his family does not have a Christmas tree, Jackie brings one to his neighbors, not knowing that they celebrate Hanukkah instead of Christmas.

Testing the Ice: A True Story About Jackie Robinson by Sharon Robinson. As a testament to his courage, Jackie Robinson’s daughter shares memories of him, from his baseball career to the day he tests the ice for her, her brothers, and their friends.

Biblioburo by Jeannette Winter. Luis has so many books in his little house in Colombia that he buys two donkeys and travels throughout the land bringing the joy of reading to children.

Great for reading aloud or independent readers:

Down Girl and Sit: Home On the Range by Lucy Nolan. Two dogs, Down Girl and Sit, accompany their masters to a dude ranch, where they encounter scary "squirrels" that live in holes in the ground, stampedes, and enemies even worse than their nemesis--the cat that lives next door. This latest installment in the series is slightly more advanced than the earlier hilarious adventures of these oddly named canines.

Fairies and the Quest for Neverland by Gail Carson Levine. One of several in the series. Gwendolyn Carlisle loves fairies, perhaps too much. On her birthday, she receives the precious "kiss" necklace which has been passed down from mother to daughter ever since Peter Pan gave it to Wendy Darling. That night, Gwendolyn has the first of her visions, tantalizing, lifelike visions, almost as if she were actually in Fairy Haven. She sees animal talent fairy Beck give a pie to wise Mother Dove and hears the voices of water-talent Rani and even Tinker Bell herself.

A Nest for Celeste by Henry Cole. Celeste, a mouse longing for a real home, becomes a source of inspiration to teenaged Joseph, assistant to the artist and naturalist John James Audubon, at a New Orleans, Louisiana, plantation in 1821.

Me and Rolly Maloo by Janet S. Wong. An unpopular girl cheats on a math test when the most popular girl in school asks her to give her answers.

The Adventures of Sir Gawain the True by Gerald Morris. Relates the adventures of Sir Gawain, the only undefeated knight in King Arthur’s court, who eventually learns the value of friendship, courtliness, and courtesy after a challenge from the Green Knight. One of four titles in this funny series.

Michael Townsend's Amazing Greek Myths Wonder and Blunders by Michael Townsend. A collection of comics that interpret Greek myths, depicting stories about characters such as King Midas, Pandora, Arachne, Icarus, Hercules, and others.

The Ghostwriter Secret by Mac Barnett. The second installment in the hilarious Brixton Brothers detective series. Twelve-year-old Steve is investigating a diamond heist but the case suddenly changes when the author of the Bailey Brothers detective novels writes him a letter to say that he fears for his life.

The Good Garden by Katie Smith Milway. Eleven-year-old Maria Luz and her family have a small farm in Honduras, but may not have enough food to sustain them for the year, so Maria’s father must leave home to find work, leaving her in charge of the garden.

Pea Boy: And Other Stories from Iran by Elizabeth Laird. Contains seven illustrated short stories from Iran, retold by author Elizabeth Laird and collected during her travels in the country.

A Fistful of Pearls and Other Stories from Iraq by Elizabeth Laird. A collection of nine traditional Iraqi folktales that describes magical creatures and strange encounters, and includes selections entitled "The Pots that had Babies," "The Suit of Stone," and others.

For new chapter book readers:

Ruby and the Booker Boys series by Derrick D. Barnes.
Ivy + Bean series by Annie Barrows.
Sassy series by Sharon Draper.
Just Grace series by Cherise Meracle Harper.
Clementine series by Sarah Pennypacker.
Martin Bridge series by Jessica Scott Kerrin.
Judy Moody series, Stink series, by Megan McDonald.
Keena Ford and the Second Grade Mix-Up by Melissa Thomson. The One and Only Stuey Lewis by Jane Schoenberg.

Some Fabulous New Nonfiction:

What To Expect When You're Expecting Larvae by Bridget Heos. Provides information about insect larvae and babies through a question and answer format designed as a book for expectant insects.

Leo the Snow Leopard: The True Story of an Amazing Rescue by Craig Hatkoff. Recounts the true story of Leo, a snow leopard who lost his mother in the snowy Himalayan mountains of Pakistan and was raised by a shepherd before being transported to the Bronx Zoo, where he is learning to be a snow leopard again.

Kakapo Rescue: Saving the World's Strangest Parrot by Sy Montgomery. Provides an introduction to the kakapo parrot, a flightless bird found on Codfish Island off the coast of New Zealand, and looks at how the country’s National Kakapo Recovery Team is working to save the kakapos, whose population numbers less than one hundred

Winter's Tail: How One Little Dolphin Learned to Swim Again by Juliana Hatkoff.
Recounts the true story of Winter, a dolphin who lost her tail and had to relearn how to swim using a specially-created prosthetic tail.

Henry Aaron's Dream by Matt Tavares. Chronicles the childhood of Henry Aaron, describing his dream of becoming a major league baseball player.

Ballet for Martha: Making Appalachian Spring by Jan Greenberg.
Tells the story behind the creation of "Appalachian Spring," describing Aaron Copland’s composition and Martha Graham’s intense choreography.

And, my all-time favorites for this age group:

Poppy and sequels by Avi.
I, Houdini by Lynne Reid Banks.
The Stories Julian Tells and sequels by Ann Cameron.
Anything by Beverly Cleary
Anything by Roald Dahl
Half Magic and sequels by Edward Eager.
Toys Go Out by Emily Jenkins.
Madame Pamplemousse and Her Incredible Edibles by Rupert Kingfisher.
Anything by Dick King-Smith.
Catwings by Ursula LeGuin.
The Doll People by Ann M. Martin.
How To Steal a Dog by Barbara O'Connor.
Wayside School series by Louis Sachar.
The Night Fairy by Laura Amy Schlitz.
Gully's Travels and The Wainscott Weasel by Tor Seidler.
Any Which Wall by Laurel Snyder.
All-of-A-Kind Family by Sydney Taylor.
Little Wolf's Book of Badness by Ian Whybrow.

Shopping? Let's Get Started! Early Elementary Ideas

2011-11-11T14:55:00.006-05:00

Holidays are upon us. Some suggestions for ages 5 and up.
To start, check out
New York Public Library's, 100 Picture Books Everyone Should Know
and my holiday list from last year
and School Library Journal's list of 100 Greatest Picture Books.

Recent Gems for Emerging Readers

Aggie the Brave by Lori Ries. Although Ben is worried about his dog Aggie when the veterinarian spays her and while she recovers, he comes up with a comic and kind solution to her humiliation at wearing a cone on her head.

Hooray for Amanda and Her Alligator by Mo Willems. Amanda and her alligator have lots of fun together, but when Amanda’s grandfather buys her a panda, Alligator must learn to make new friends.

Any Elephant & Piggie title by Mo Willems. Friendship, empathy, vanity, rationalization and joy in these fabulous early readers. For more about the genius of Mo Willems, read his speech and this analysis.

Bink and Gollie by Kate DiCamillo. Two roller-skating best friends--one tiny, one tall--share three comical adventures involving outrageously bright socks, an impromptu trek to the Andes, and a most unlikely marvelous companion.

Ling & Ting: Not Exactly the Same! by Grace Lin. Ling and Ting are identical twins that people think are exactly the same, but time and again they prove to be different.

Dodsworth in Rome by Tim Egan. Dodsworth and his duck companion have a lovely time in Rome, even though the duck tries to improve the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel and takes all the coins from the Trevi Fountain. The whole Dodsworth series is a treat.

Fabulous picture books to share:

Art and Max by David Wiesner. Max wants to be an artist like Arthur, but his first attempt at using a paintbrush sends the two friends on a whirlwind trip through various media, with unexpected consequences.

April and Esme, Tooth Fairies by Bob Graham. On their first assignment, two young tooth fairy sisters journey by night into the huge world of humans to collect Daniel Dangerfield’s tooth and fly it safely home.

Children Make Terrible Pets by Peter Brown. When Lucy, a young bear, discovers a boy lost in the woods, she asks her mother if she can have him as a pet, only to find him impossible to train.

LMNO Peas by Keith Baker. Busy little peas introduce their favorite occupations, from astronaut to zoologist.

Interrupting Chicken by David Ezra Stein. Little Red Chicken wants Papa to read her a bedtime story, but interrupts him almost as soon as he begins each tale.

Lucky Beans by Becky Birtha. During the Great Depression, Marshall uses lessons learned in arithmetic class and guidance from his mother to figure out how many beans are in a jar in order to win her a new sewing machine in a contest.

Pecan Pie Baby by Jacqueline Woodson. When Mama’s pregnancy draws attention away from Gia, she worries that the special bond they share will disappear forever once the baby is born.

A Sick Day for Amos McGee by Philip Christian Stead. Zookeeper Amos McGee always makes time to visit his friends who live at the zoo until the day he stays home because he is sick.

Socksquatch by Frank Dormer. Socksquatch tries to find a sock to warm his cold foot.

Dust Devil by Anne Isaacs. Having moved to Montana from Tennessee in the 1830s, fearless Angelica Longrider--also known as Swamp Angel--changes the state’s landscape, tames a wild horse, and captures some desperadoes. Sequel to Swamp Angel, another fabulous tall tale.

Joha Makes a Wish by Eric Kimmel. An original story, based on the Joha tales of the Arabic-speaking world, in which a hapless man finds a wishing stick that brings him nothing but bad luck. Includes an author’s note about the history of Joha tales.

Zen Ghosts by Jon Muth. On Halloween night, Stillwater the giant panda tells Karl, Addy, and Michael a spooky and unusual story. Based on a Zen koan.

Banana by Ed Vere. Colorful illustrations and brief text show how two monkeys learn to share when there is only one banana between them.

Grandpa Green by Lane Smith. A child explores the ordinary life of his extraordinary great-grandfather, as expressed in his topiary garden

Yucky Worms by Vivian French. While helping Grandma in the garden, a child learns about the important role of the earthworm in helping plants grow.

How To Clean a Hippopotamus by Steve Jenkins. A series of illustrations describing some of the most unusual relationships between various animals in the wild.

For older children:

These Hands by Margaret Mason. An African American man tells his grandson about a time when, despite all the wonderful things his hands could do, they could not touch bread at the Wonder Bread factory. Based on stories of bakery union workers; includes historical note.

Winter's Tail: How One Little Dolphin Learned to Swim Again by Juliana Hatkoff. Recounts the true story of Winter, a dolphin who lost her tail and had to relearn how to swim using a specially-created prosthetic tail.

Back of the Bus by Aaron Reynolds. From the back of the bus, an African American child watches the arrest of Rosa Parks.

And, just off the top of my head, a grandparent asked me for a list for her 4 year old grandson and I listed these favorites:

Karen Beaumont, I Ain't Gonna Paint No More!
Bonnie Becker, A Visitor for Bear
Suzanne Bloom, A Splendid Friend Indeed
anything by Eric Carle
Pam Conrad, The Tub People
Anna Dewdney, Llama Llama Red Pajama and sequels
Jules Feiffer, Bark George
Crockett Johnson, Harold and The Purple Crayon
anything by Leo Lionni
Kate McMullan, I Stink! and I'm Dirty!
Eric Rohmann, A Kitten Tale
Esphyr Slobodkina, Caps for Sale
Linda Urban, Mouse Was Mad

And apropos of nothing, I loved this video about the Anchorage Public Library that Anna Watkins, our fabulous high school librarian, sent me. If the embed doesn't work, click here.
And please click the comments button below to share what you loved about your public library as a child.

New! From Gigi and Tutu and Nini!

2011-11-04T14:16:00.003-04:00

(Note: If you view in your email only, the pictures might not load - you can click on the link to go directly to The Pithy Python.)

I am always touched when people donate books to our library in honor of their loved ones. Once a year, the library buys a slew of fabulous, carefully selected titles that grandparents, parents and friends choose from, to be given in honor of someone special. And I adore the various names children use for their grandparents, which are inscribed on the bookplate. These names reflect the earliest baby sounds -- in a dim past, I remember learning about voiced, voiceless bilabial plosives, nasal bilabials and velar plosives, i.e. b, p, m and g -- and the names also are a sign of our diversity. This year, gorgeous new books have bookplates noting that they are from:

Mimi (many)
Nana (many)
Abuelita
Tata and Ajji
GrAnne & Pop
RowRow & Boppa
Baba & Granddaddy
Tutu & Big B
Gummi & Grand
Sitty & Papa
Gigi
Nanaz & Baba
Meema June
A-Ma and A-Gor
Nini
GaGa and Pappy

My favorite story of the donation sale was the kind grandparent who selected Peter Mayle's "Where Did I Come From?"
Yes, the same Peter Mayle who wrote A Year In Provence, the book that makes me need wine, olives and cheese RIGHT NOW. And it's still one of the best sex education books out there. Last year, I was embarrassed to realize that most of my sex ed books feature only white people. So I bought the African-American version of this classic: the adults are still cartoony, fat, middle-aged and goofy (hey, you don't have to look like a movie star to have sex!), but also black. The grandparent filled out the bookplate, noting that it was from her in honor of her grandchild; a short while later, the parent arrived and made an urgent request: "Take his name off!" Mortification indeed, for Tata to donate a sex book in honor of her grandson Will.

Many thanks to Mindy Stombler and all the parents who helped make this event a success!

Here's a book trailer for the hugely popular Interrupting Chicken by David Ezra Stein (click here if the embed doesn't work):

Elaine Clayton, Artist & Illustrator Extraordinaire

2011-10-28T16:52:00.011-04:00

At long last, the unveiling! Hidden for weeks behind my bedsheets on the wall behind the circulation desk has been the greatest secret I have ever kept.

When we moved into the library one year ago this week, I looked at that big empty wall and knew I wanted something extraordinary there: a work of art especially created for the spot and one which would resonate deeply and dramatically with children of all ages. And so, I called someone who knows children’s literature, and who knows picture books, because she is a children’s book illustrator. Someone who paints beautiful faces, beautiful hands, and magical creatures with the most fantastic colors. I called Elaine Clayton. I told her about a stunning painting I had seen in Italy, by Leonardo daVinci, and I wanted her to use it as a starting point. I wanted a tree filled with her special fairies and gnomes and elves, plus favorite characters and talismans from children's books. She produced a mural beyond anyone's wildest expectations in her Connecticut studio and then came to Paideia, where she taught 7 & 8 year olds many years ago, to share her work with our students.

Children gasped as together we pulled down the sheets to reveal The Tree of Life. They have been pouring into the library ever since, pulling parents by the hand, to exclaim again and again about this magnificent gift to us all. Elaine told the students about how her ideas emerged and how many times she had to repaint and start sections over. Her explanations of color, scale and literary references could only touch on the complexity of this grand work. The children sat rapt as she talked about writing and illustrating books, and how all adults have to revise, re-write, and re-paint anything that is worth sharing. They were absorbed by how she made connections between art, childhood and the human spirit, and her passion for her art and writing was abundantly clear. A teacher told me that after Elaine's talk, her students didn't groan when it was time to re-write their stories--they had heard it from a published author and illustrator, and they went at their work with diligence.

I shared a touching part of this story with all the students. I was able to commission the painting because, a few years ago, my mother-in-law asked me what I wanted for my birthday. When I told her I needed nothing, she suggested that she make a gift to Paideia School that I could use to decorate the library. My mother-in-law died a few weeks ago; in fact, we had to postpone Elaine's visit so that I could visit with her before her death. But, wonderfully, I was able to share with her the photos of this creation she helped to make possible. And in a sweet coincidence, her name was Elayne, so as I told the students, both Elaine/Elayne will be part of this library for many many years.

The pictures cannot do it justice. Please come in and gaze.

Thanks to Paideia Communications Director Jennifer Hill for the photos!

Books in our library written and illustrated by Elaine Clayton:

Pup in School.
The Yeoman's Daring Daughter and the Princes in the Tower.
A Blue Ribbon for Sugar.
Ella's Trip to the Museum.

Books in our library illustrated by Elaine Clayton:

Girl Coming in for a Landing: A Novel in Poems by April Halprin Wayland.
The Boy With Dinosaur Hands by Al Carusone.
A Couple of April Fools by Gregory Maguire.
Six Haunted Hairdos by Gregory Maguire.
The Georges and the Jewels by Jane Smiley.
A Good Horse by Jane Smiley.
42 Miles by Tracie Vaughn Zimmer.

Spy Vs. Spy

2011-10-21T10:30:00.007-04:00

This fall the books that fly off the shelves each week are the compilations of Spy Vs. Spy. These wordless cartoons, featuring two figures who are identical except that one is dressed in white and one in black, depict the antics of an everlasting feud in which each tries to booby-trap the other. The spies usually alternate between victory and defeat with each cartoon strip. Created by Cuban exile Antonio Prohias with a debut in Mad Magazine in 1961, the political satire was Prohias' response to death threats from Fidel Castro. Prohias noted, "The sweetest revenge has been to turn Fidel's accusation of me as a spy into a moneymaking venture."

Of course, the five to eight year old boys who clamor for these books have no clue about the Cold War or Fidel. They just like the action and the fact that, as a wordless book, one can "read" without reading words. The value in Spy Vs. Spy, as in all wordless books, is that children generate mental language from the images and develop in their ability to read sequences, make inferences and develop predictions.

So I had to buy the little plastic action figures when I saw them online. The children love fiddling with them at the check-out desk and invariably tell me how incredibly lucky I am to have them. One little boy made a troubling inference, however, saying
"Oh yeah, the black one is always bad and the white one is always good." My spur of the moment answer, hoping that this comment was not connected to race was, "No, they're both equal and I think they're both crazy." I admit, helping children find Spy vs. Spy is not what I thought I would be doing back when I was writing about Henry James in graduate school. But I'll do a lot to create a new reader.

A ridiculous sample. Click here if the embed doesn't work.

Flow, Reading and Otherwise

2011-10-12T14:24:00.001-04:00

Nothing really prepares you for being a children's librarian. There are the euphoric moments when a child tells me I have found her the perfect book, or when we discover the exact title needed for a research assignment. But there are many more moments where, as I read aloud, I look deeply into the eyes of a child picking his nose, hoping my gaze will have an effect. When I give up, pause and hand him a tissue, he asks, "What is this for?"

Last week I spoke with my classes about the experience of achieving "flow" when reading. I talked about how it happens for me, that I am so engrossed in a book that I am surprised when I look up to find myself, say, on an airplane. They shared their own stories: reading a book about survival in an Alaskan winter and needing to get a blanket, even though it was summer; a parent calls you to dinner and you say "Just one more page" and suddenly 20 minutes have flown by; or realizing that you have read from daylight into darkness without noticing.

I shared the surprising research that students who read lots of material BELOW their reading level become stronger readers, because they experience "flow" more often. The experience of flow seems to build, and the more practice a child gets with it, the easier it is to achieve. It simply can't happen if the child is struggling with a book that is too challenging.

Then one little girl, about age 7, shared her own reading flow moment. "My parents had told me to go to sleep, but I kept on reading. Then they came in my room, said good night and turned out my light. Then they went into their room and began making out and getting into each other the way parents do. So I just turned my light back on and read until I finished my book!"

Here is this week's animation, about choosing books that will help a student achieve flow.

Click here if the embed doesn't work.

GoAnimate.com: Five Finger Rule%3A Easy%2C Just Right %26 Challenging by PithyPython

Pain and Wonder

2011-10-05T09:19:00.003-04:00

In a touching interview on NPR a few weeks ago, 83 year-old Maurice Sendak spoke of his latest book, which he worked on while caring for his longtime partner, Eugene Glenn, who died of lung cancer in 2007.

"When I did Bumble-ardy, I was so intensely aware of death," he says. "Eugene, my friend and partner, was dying here in the house when I did Bumble-ardy. I did Bumble-ardy to save myself. I did not want to die with him. I wanted to live as any human being does.... Bumble-ardy was a combination of the deepest pain and the wondrous feeling of coming into my own. And it took a long time. It took a very long time."

Adults are sometimes surprised to realize that some of the best children's literature is, at its core, about death. Goodnight Moon is obliquely about death, as the little bunny reassures himself that he will not die before he wakes, invoking object permanence with himself as the central object. Nana Upstairs & Nana Downstairs, Charlotte's Web, A Bridge to Terabithia and Tuck Everlasting, to name just a few masterpieces, deal sensitively and powerfully with mortality. As I have noted before in this blog, children need to hear stories of love, loss and survival long before they experience loss. This mental rehearsal, through books, helps a child know in advance that he or she may face the loss of a beloved pet or aged relative. By showing that these kinds of losses can be endured, the child can say, "I know I will be okay." And by reading such stories, a child can grow in empathy and compassion.

"Deepest pain combined with the wondrous feeling of coming into my own..."
I was blessed to spend the last week with my mother-in-law during the final days of her life. I was able to tell her how much she inspired me for the past 32 years with her wisdom; I thanked her for making me feel like a good parent; I told her I can only hope to be as kind as she; and I told her many times how much I loved her. I am filled with pain and wonder. May her memory be a blessing forever.

Elayne Polly Bernstein, 1924-2011

Why Kids Need Picture Books

2011-09-19T12:25:00.001-04:00

This article, which appeared in our school newsletter this month, has generated passionate response from librarians and teachers around the country. Several asked me for permission to print it and hand it out to help explain to parents why they should stop rushing their children into chapter books. I'm posting it here in case any of my readers missed it.

Last fall, the New York Times published an article with the description, “Picture Books Languish as Parents Push ‘Big Kids’ Books.” Although the recession and the high production costs are one reason that publishers are producing fewer picture books, another reason for the trend, seen in bookstores and libraries, is that parents want to move their children to chapter books as early as possible. Such families miss some of the most rewarding literature out there, along with the developmental steps that build deeper appreciation for longer literature at a later age. One of the most important parts of my job is helping and convincing parents to choose picture books to share with their children.

What is a picture book? The term can be misleading; it can be wordless, but most often a picture book has both pictures and narrative that work together, in the way that music and lyrics and form a whole. Like a poem, each word is carefully chosen. Young listeners don’t have the patience for lengthy exposition, so the writing is distilled to its essence. The illustrations tap issues of deep emotional significance, with visual puns, humor, beauty, suspense and subtlety that build thinking and reading skills for the future while satisfying the developmental needs of the present.

Most of us can remember our first picture books; along with the memory of the little bunny saying good night to all the items in his room, they often they stir a memory of someone holding us, a sense of deep togetherness. I love sharing a few classic picture books with 11-12 year olds at the end of the school year. These youngsters sigh with nostalgia as I show them Good Night Moon, Corduroy, Where the Wild Things Are and others. They are then amazed when I do a close reading of these classics, explicating the nuances and depth; typically a child will say, “I always knew I loved that book. But I never knew why.” There is an intensity to their memories, their deep affection for these books, that is far greater than with any chapter book from childhood.

The best picture books appeal to the minds and hearts of both children and the grownups who read them aloud. To do this they need to convey meaning on several levels. Young children make surprising inferences from the images as they listen to the text. They develop essential critical thinking skills as they use their imagination to fill in missing themes, make connections and ask questions. Often a child will turn back a page or two, making comparisons and noting subtle changes.

Ellen Handler Spitz, in her scholarly work Inside Picture Books, gives an example from a Harvard research project on children and picture books, exploring interpretations of the beloved Madeline. (Every year I encounter children of all ages who can recite this book verbatim.) After visiting Madeline in the hospital and seeing all her gifts after her appendectomy, all the little girls are shown back at school in their beds, arranged in two straight lines. Madeline’s bed is still empty. When Miss Clavel rushes in to ask what is the matter, they all cry “Boohoo/ We want to have our appendix out too!” Ask any adult why the girls are crying to have surgery, and the adult will make the inference that they girls are envious of Madeline’s presents. But virtually every 3-4 year old answers that the girls are crying because they miss their friend, pointing to the empty bed, troubled by the incompleteness. Writes Spitz, “With their alternative understanding, children expand our ethical, aesthetic and psychological takes on these books.” The parent who skips the hundreds of picture books that a child needs in favor of getting right to chapter books does the child no favor at all.

Pictorial conventions, and practice in interpreting signs and symbols, are also essential in our visually saturated world. When a child encounters story after story with pictures of mice, rabbits, dogs or other universalized characters, she learns to identify emotions from facial expressions and build empathy regardless of sex or ethnicity. Young children often struggle quietly to make sense of the world and how to interpret the words and actions of others. They all experience disturbing dreams, many worry about losing a loved ones -- but they don’t need the darker subject matter of novels for older children or the pedestrian chapter books that are intended to teach children to read independently. Picture books can help with mastery of fears (Bedtime for Frances), understanding consequences for disobedience (The Story About Ping), mental experimentation (Harold and the Purple Crayon), mastery of rage (Where the Wild Things Are) and unconditional love (Corduroy). They open up a world of inner possibilities for fantasy and transformation that nourish children in a unique way. At the same time, picture books often have far more sophisticated language than many chapter books – my 5 and 6 year old students and I relish such stunning vocabulary as indifferent, carnivorous, disinfectant, solitude, bamboozle, and harrowing, all from one book, William Steig’s Zeke Pippin. Only by encountering these kinds of words repeatedly can children make them their own.

Every year, I use picture books throughout the elementary grades in my teaching. And every year, a child of 7 or 6 or even 5 will proclaim, a trifle smugly, “I don’t read picture books anymore. I read CHAPTER BOOKS.” That child learns very quickly (I can get a trifle fierce) that such a claim carries no prestige here. And we carry on with the comforting, enriching, challenging and profoundly satisfying world of picture books.

The Idea Box

2011-09-12T17:00:00.002-04:00

Stolen from another librarian: a mailbox in my library with a picture of a lightbulb and the word IDEAS on it. Little kids might not know the word suggestion, but they all have ideas. Here is a sampling of some (spelling intact):

I LOVE the libae.
let the kis hat a ie con. (ice cream cone?)
Get mor cat boks.
Harry Potter and the deathly of the rabbittt
Make more Elephant and Piggie. Thak you.
You shod make more dum bunnies
I like natale a lot
ples can you get dog zilla maddux
mabiy you shuld be cold as me
Go librare
get more ferensic files

Here is this week's animation, "I Reserved a Book!" If the embed doesn't work, click here:

GoAnimate.com: I Reserved a Book%21 by PithyPython

And indulge me: here are a few things I read this summer:

For Kids:

Beyonders: A World Without Heroes by Brandon Mull. Mull, author of the hugely popular Fablehaven series, has begun another fantasy series. Jason, an ordinary teenager who enjoys baseball, is swallowed by a hippopotamus and emerges in another world, one full of giant attack crabs, lethal bullfrogs the size of horses, and displacers, people who can detach their heads or limbs for assorted purposes, often in a creepy way. The author's greatest regret: that he has but one life to give for Gondor.

The Emerald Atlas by John Stephens. A tad confusing but an action-packed fantasy with a magic book that transports three children from an orphanage to a world of dwarves, giants and an evil queen. Kind of derivative but will fill a need. It's a NYT bestseller -- any chance the author's Gossip Girl tv career helped launch it?

Philippa Fisher's Fairy Godsister by Liz Kessler, author of the favorite Emily Windsnap series. Philippa is surprised when Daisy, the new girl at school, says she is her fairy godmother--or godsister-- and Philippa struggles to wish for something that will improve her life instead of making it more difficult. I like the notion of the fairy as a snotty and begrudging middle-schooler who would rather hang with the cool crowd than be kind and supportive to her charge.

King Matt the First by Janucz Korczak. Wow. First published in 1923 by a Polish doctor who directed orphanges, this allegorial fairy tale of a boy who becomes king was written with the hope of preparing young readers for the dillemas of adult life. The book is by turns funny, startling and disturbing with some racial stereotypes that the introduction, by the esteemed Esme Cordell, tackles with care. Korczak refused santuary and accompanied his young charges to the Treblinka extermination camp in 1942. On their last march through the city of Warsaw, one of the children carried the green flag of King Matt.

For grownups:

I got caught up on back issues of The New Yorker and The Atlantic. Amazing articles about brain science, global warming, education and more.

In the Garden of Beasts by Eric Larsen. I couldn't put it down -- nonfiction that reads like a thriller. In fact, I read it on my iPad while on trains, in movie theaters and on sidewalks in Italy. The American ambassador to Berlin in the 1930s recorded the early years of Hitler's reign and the shocking obliviousness of the U.S. State Department. Meanwhile, his wild 23 year old daughter was having liaisons with Nazis and Communists. Even more compelling than the author's previous book, The Devil in the White City.

Room by Emma Donoghue. Creep me out even more. A novel about a young woman, abducted and held captive for years in a backyard shed by a sexual predator. The story is told from the point of view of her little boy, born in the room, who has never seen the outside world. The ingenuity of the young mother , determined to give Jack have a creative, loving childhood is boundless.

Caleb's Crossing by Geraldine Brooks. Thanks to Kelly & Paul for the rec. Historical fiction about the first Native American, a Wampanoag from what is now Martha's Vineyard, to graduate from Harvard.

Also:
The Brain That Changes Itself by Norman Doidge. There's hope for my aging brain. But I MUST learn a new language.

The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing To Our Brains by Nicholas Carr.
Ow. Our capacity for deep immersion in reading is diminishing as we scan and click.

The Possessed: Adventures With Russian Books and the People Who Read Them by Elif Batuman. LOL if you've ever chased grants and research topics in grad school or worked to assist eccentric academics.

No Bike Riding in the House Without a Helmet by Melissa Faye Greene. Giving this one as gifts to friends here and abroad. Mothering at its finest.

and finally,

Jane Austen's Emma. It's been 28 years. Why did I wait so long? It is perfection.

Let me know what you read -- click the comments button below!

On 9/11

2011-09-01T12:30:00.001-04:00

As the media remind us incessantly of the upcoming anniversary, I remind myself that most of the students I teach were not even born ten years ago. How do we talk to kids about the unthinkable? What was it like at Paideia, 10 years ago on this day?

It is a cliche that we all remember where we were... But what did we say to the children?

I remember our newly-appointed elementary coordinator Mary Lynn coming to me that morning, asking me to talk about it with my next two classes, before they went to recess: bad news, badly distorted, travels fast on the playground. Rumors fly. We needed to make sure our students felt safe and protected here at school. I did my best. I watched children struggle to make sense of it as they asked, "Will they attack Atlanta?" "Did any of the people get out of the building?" "I bet they're getting ready to use a nuclear bomb." A few young conspiracy theorists were already attributing the atrocity to enemies like Russia and China.

Lynda, a teacher of 8 & 9 year olds, recalled the children asking, incredulously, "TOURISTS did that? Why would tourists do that?" They reached for the only recognizable word they could; the word terrorists has now become part of their vocabulary. A few panicked parents rushed into classrooms and pulled their children out of school, but most of them trusted us to care for their children. I was honored.

I am still moved to tears by the eloquent response of Mr. Rogers:

"When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, 'Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.' Mr. Rogers is my model and my hero.

I remind students to always look for the helpers. After any bad or scary event, like a hurricane or an earthquake, helpers come out and offer comfort. They dig through rubble, pump out basements, and provide pizza and cookies. They ALWAYS come. This, then, is the core of how I am talking to children from grades two through six this week. Two poignant books help me share this message:

Fireboat: The Heroic Adventures of the John J. Harvey. A fireboat, launched in 1931, retired after many years of fighting fires along the Hudson River. The Harvey, headed for obscurity, is called into urgent service on September 11: "John J. Harvey, Where are you? We need you! WE NEED YOU!"
The Harvey and a valiant crew pumped water for four straight days and nights. With saturated and dramatic illustrations, Fireboat reminds us that you're never too small or unimportant to help.

14 Cows for America by Carmen Agra Deedy. A young man from Kenya, who has been studying in the U.S. to become a doctor, returns home to his small village in Kenya. The children ask for stories and he tells them he has only one, which "burned a hole in his heart." He tells them of the 9/11 attacks. In a show of compassion and strength, the villagers make a gift of 14 cows to the U.S.: "Because there is no nation so powerful it cannot be wounded, nor a people so small they cannot offer mighty comfort."

Please click on the comments button below to share other titles to help children process the heavy media onslaught; or with other ideas on how to talk about this event.

The Decatur Book Festival

2011-08-29T12:20:00.011-04:00

It's back and it's huge. The Decatur Book Festival, the largest independent book festival in the country, will occupy my entire Labor Day weekend. It's an astonishing opportunity to hear and meet children's authors. I can't believe we are so lucky! Take your kids. Send me pictures of your kids with famous authors. Let your kids know these are the "celebrities" we celebrate in our reading school.

Here are some of the authors I hope to hear:

Avi. One of the most honored, legendary and accomplished writers on the planet. With over 60 books to his name, every Paideia student will encounter his work during the course of their elementary years.

Victoria Bond. Her fictional portrait of Zora Neale Hurston, for upper elementary students, is an exquisitely researched and emotionally resonant study set in Eatonville, Florida.

Tony DiTerlizzi. One of the creative geniuses behind The Spiderwick Chronicles and the illustrator of the creepily haunting poem The Spider and the Fly.

Brian Eames. The hottest new author in the world. Get it. Read it. He'll even sign it. (I've read a draft of the sequel. More Kitto. We need more Kitto.)

Kathryn Erskine. Mockingbird, the wrenching story of a girl whose brother was killed in a school shooting rampage, is rightfully honored for its intimate portrayal of the interior life of Scout, who struggles mightily with her grief and her own developmental disability.

Tim Green. The former Atlanta Falcon is not only the nicest guy in the world, he has gotten more guys to read than I can count. Gripping sports stories featuring kids with real-life problems and lots of humor.

Gordon Korman. Another author of page-turners that kids devour. I can't keep his series Island, Everest and Chasing the Falconers in stock. And there's more!

Lauren Myracle. I love Lauren Myracle. She consistently ranks at the top of the ALA's most frequently challenged author: people keep trying to get her books removed from school libraries. She stuck to her principles with Luv Ya Bunches, refusing to change a family with two moms to a family with a mom & a dad.

Andy Runton. How do you teach a child to make an inference while reading? Give her one of the Owly books. These graphic novels, with their comic and touching friendship tales, help the reader learn to interpret facial expressions and more.

Judy Schachner. The wild and crazy (and mixed-up) Skippyjon Jones remains one of the most beloved critters in our library.

Judy Sierra. How would I ever run my library storytimes without the incredible folktales collected and re-told by this master folklorist? Most of our students can recite the refrain from Tasty Baby Belly Buttons and other Judy Sierra selections.

And here's this week's Go Animate (click here if the embed doesn't work) to help explain library procedures. These are becoming popular beyond my wildest expectations; even our youngest students get the irony of these little creatures (rabbits? aliens?) speaking with deep robotic voices, occasionally mispronouncing words (cf. "sofa"). One parent told me her child walks about the house reciting "The Library Rules." And more than one child exclaimed to me, "He's crying! But his voice doesn't sound like he's crying! It's so funny!"

GoAnimate.com: I Forgot My Book! by PithyPython

We're Back!

2011-08-23T08:56:00.009-04:00

I'm starting my 17th year as Paideia's Elementary Librarian. It's been so peaceful here for the last three weeks as I order, catalog, plan projects with teachers and create lessons. And now the deluge! Books! And kids! I missed them.

Lauren and I, along with several parent volunteers, have begun checking in and shelving some of the 4500 or so books that went out for the summer. If you want to drop by during the first week and help us shelve, you will be welcomed with gratitude.

Postcards from the edge: a last batch of student book reviews from summer reading, spelling intact.

Cole, age 6: When Sophie Gets Angry, Really Really Angry by Molly Bang:
"Because she was like a volcano!"

Audrey, age 6 3/4, Toys Go Out by Emily Jenkins: "It is very funny with the talking toys. I like to think of it like my toys. I like when Lumphy falls of the big high Bed and lands on his buffalo but."

Owen, age 7, Commander Toad by Jane Yolen: "What about guns and glory was my favorite line. I like the dialog."

Gabriel, age 8: Calvin & Hobbes by Bill Waterson. "Calvin and Hobbes is the funniest book I have ever read! Nothing is funnier than Calvin and Hobbes!" 7 stars, with two for "extra credit."

Eliza, age 10: Rules by Cynthia Lord. "I thought the book was very interesting because I never knew having autism was so hard."

John, a.k.a. Jack, age 10: Winnie the Pooh by A.A. Milne. "I liked it because of how Milne wrote it. He spelled the words as Christopher Robin would have. I also love the diversity of the characters. It brings out the technical side of stories."

Jack C., age 10: The Dagger Quick by Brian Eames. "I liked it because Kitto seeks adventure but is stuck in his father's workshop. Kitto sees his uncle for the first time and that changes his life."

Analia, age 11: Elijah of Buxton by Christopher Paul Curtis. "An amazing book filled with humor. It teaches you how not to be sensetive (Elijah was called fragile) in every sisuation. It also teaches you to be thankful that you born free compared to another child born a slave....In the end, he saves a baby."

And here is the first animated video I ever created, of the Library Rules. The class who saw it laughed very hard. Click here if the embed doesn't work.

GoAnimate.com: Paideia Library Rules by PithyPython

Not to brutle

2011-08-01T14:07:00.004-04:00

Summer reading postcards -- what are kids reading? These missives make my summer. (Spelling intact)

Mika, age 4: So You Want To be President by Judith St. George and David Small (5 stars). "I liked that there were so many Presidents and President things. I didn't like when Presidents got sick and died. I don't like that there hasn't been a girl President."

Oliver, age 5: Noah's Ark by Jerry Pinkney (3 stars). "It's a little weird because Noah went on the boat."

Ben, age 6: Hooway for Wodney Wat by Helen Lester (3 stars). "It was funny that Wodney Wat told Camilla to rest, but she thought he said go west, and she went and never came back. That was the best part."

Ellie, age 8: I Was a Third Grade Science Project by Mary Jane Auch (5 stars). "I liked this book because one time the kid gets hypnotized insted of the dog. So the kid is a cat and then later the dog is a kid."

Emma, age 9: When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead (5 stars). "It was good for me and I could tell the author put detil into it. But it would not recomend it to someone under 8 because it is a little inopopitet." (inappropriate?)

Jon, age 10: Mistmantle #2, Urchin and the Heartstone by Margaret McAllister (3 stars). "It was a good war book. And it was not to brutle."

Liv, age 10: Small Acts of Amazing Courage by Gloria Whelan (5 stars). "It showed sphirit, confidence and acts of amazing courage. I can almost smell India when I read it. "

Abdul, age 11: Theodosia and the Serpents of Chaos by R. L LaFevers (4 stars): "I liked it because it took me where no mystery stops and was full of secrets and evil."

Love, Your Fiend

2011-06-03T13:41:00.013-04:00

It's the last day of school. Children are weeping with nostalgia and shrieking with delight. Many are eating sugary concoctions. What memories. I feel sorry for those whose parents took them out early--they miss so many rituals and special goodbyes. Meanwhile, we've checked out over 3000 books for families to enjoy over the entire summer.

Treasured notes of appreciation:

"Dear Natalie, I like that you red to us. Thak you for being a techr. Your fiend, Audrey."

(In California, where school librarians have lost their jobs, they are being told they are absolutely not teachers because they don't take attendance. Thanks, Audrey. I FEEL like a teacher. I teach classes all day. I don't take attendance but I would miss you if you weren't part of the class.)

"Dear Natalie, I would like to thank you for giving me so many great books to read. I almost lost an hour or two of sleep. You have a great stash. Jack."

And a few photos from one of my all-time favorite research projects. Peter and Luke's 9 & 10 year old class does an in-depth art history project, culminating in a forgery: each student learns about an artist, writes a written report, and creates a work of art that might well pass as an original. Art forgers might go on to lucrative careers -- beware of Interpol! A few examples:

Warhol

Renoir

Matisse

Lichtenstein

Goya

Cassatt

Ansel Adams

Picasso

M.C. Escher

Chuck Close

Kahlo

Have a great summer and remember, a day without reading is like a day without brushing your teeth. Do it too often and things get mushy.

More posts in the fall.

The Dagger Quickest

2011-05-31T09:51:00.003-04:00

(thanks to Jennifer Hill for the photographs)

Pirate party in the library! We celebrated the release of teacher Brian Eames' first novel, The Dagger Quick, with pirate cupcakes, pirate tattoos, eyepatches and more. I presented Brian with enough swords and daggers to arm a galleon (courtesy of my sons, who have indicated that their sword collection is no longer a chick magnet). Watching the excited eyes and gaping mouths of the crowd of little (and not-so-little) boys as I unveiled sword after sword with great fanfare was a highlight. One child asked his mother, "Why can't dad write a pirate book so I can get a sword too?"

Little Shop of Stories provided book sales and Brian undoubtedly suffered writer's cramp. Fierce festivity for a celebration of what our headmaster said were, essentially, terrorists. (He also told me I was a terrible pirate.)
Parent Johnny Colt made this short video at the Little Shop of Stories for the first release. (Click here if the embed doesn't work.)

A Tale of Two Nine Year Olds

2011-05-16T12:39:00.012-04:00

Two children, same age, same class. Fred has been an amazing student this year. When I read aloud a picture book Brothers in Hope: The Story of the Lost Boys of Sudan, Fred already knew about the events of Darfur and the pending election to divide Sudan.
"How do you know about all this?" I asked him in astonishment.
"Oh, me and my dad listen to NPR on the way to school every morning and we talk about all that stuff."

Over the course of the year, Fred shared his thoughts on Wikileaks ("I'm not sure how I feel, because I understand the government needs secrets, but I also think we need to know what our government is up to") and other topics. When I mentioned it to his teacher, she noted that Fred had general knowledge about American history and loads of specific knowledge about plantation life during slavery. She ask him the same question I did. "How do you know about all this?"
"Oh, we were driving in South Carolina and we saw this plantation so we stopped and read the signs and my parents explained to me about rice cultivation."

Fred was so pleased when I showed the students the library's magazines, saying "Oh, I get Cobblestone (a children's magazine of American History). I really like it." No wonder he has such a deep sense of history. Finally, one of the ways I start conversation as children arrive at the library is to ask what their parents are reading aloud to them. Fred's family always has a book underway.

Compare to Jessica. Jessica arrives at carpool and takes off her earphones; she is watching a DVD during the drive. When I read aloud, Jessica asks frequent clarifying questions that are startling: "What is a rowboat?" "What is a tsunami?" "What do you mean, Civil War?" "What does 'solemn' mean?" And Jessica answers the read-aloud question by saying "My parents don't have time to read to me."

The difference is already apparent by age 9. Critical thinking, an essential skill, doesn't just develop by itself as children mature. Parents are essential to the development of critical thinking, of learning to think deeply about a topic or a book. It grows over time through many, many conversations and many stories read aloud. Even when a child is able to read fluently by herself, it is essential for parents to continue to read aloud. Since reading skills and listening skills don't converge until about 8th grade, parents provide children with access to more sophisticated literature through reading aloud. Not only are the plots and vocabulary more complex, the experience of reading together provides an opportunity for a parent to share the family's values:
"I think she is being a very loyal friend," or "I think he's making a bad decision."
When you are there as a parent, you serve as an important source of information and support. Modelling how to slow down, question and reflect during reading shows a child that reading is not simply saying the words on the page in one's head.

I'm hoping Jessica's family will check out a stack of library books to enjoy together this summer. I know Fred's family will.

Here's a great infomercial for a public library (if the embed doesn't work, click here)

Little Talking Animals

2011-05-10T16:00:00.003-04:00

A few years ago, an 11 year old boy came into the library for something to read. He was, he admitted, troubled and tired by the hard-hitting novels he had been reading lately in class. "I just want books with little talking animals," he said wistfully.

He left carrying two of my favorites, and neither was a regression to lower levels of reading:

Perloo the Bold by Avi: Perloo, the shy and reluctant leader of the furry underground creatures called the Montmers, finds himself in danger from plots within the burrow and possible war with other furry creatures, the Felbarts. An allegory of government, power structures and morality. With little talking animals.

The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents by Terry Pratchett: A talking cat, intelligent rats, and a strange boy cooperate in a Pied Piper scam until they try to con the wrong town and are confronted by a deadly evil rat king. Again, talking animals stand in for all kinds of human machinations.

The tradition of talking animals in literature goes at least as far back as Aesop. Why are there so many animals with human characteristics in children's stories? Warrens of tricky rabbits, farrows of friendly pigs, herds of wily wolves and hordes of studious mice populate the picture book shelves. They not only talk: they scheme, outwit, nurture one another and otherwise delight us all. What's with that?

Most children are curious about and fond of animals, making them a natural empathetic set of characters with which to identify. I often hear a child respond to an illustration, exclaiming "I'm that one!" It is easier to identify with a small creature of indeterminate race or gender than an actual human character. The use of animals also provides a psychological and intellectual distance: the young reader knows she is superior to a badger, so she can laugh as Frances pulls many of the same stunts that she herself does.

Many animal stories deal with themes and subjects that children confront every day: power versus weakness, friendship and loyalty, ethical decisions, making sense of the world. Stories that would be irritating in their didactic nature if they featured humans are softened when furry critters solve a problem or learn an embarrassing lesson. Children also take deep pleasure in making inferences with animal stories and making connections; the last thing they need is an adult pointing out to them the similarities to their own lives. Humor is inherent in many of these stories, yet children are doing serious learning.

There are too many picture books to even begin. Here is a short list of some of my favorite anthropomorphic novels:

Lower Elementary and Older
Poppy and others in The Dimwood Forest Chronicles by Avi
Babymouse series of graphic novels by Jennifer Holm
Charlotte's Web by E.B. White
The Lemming Condition by Alan Arkin
The World According to Humphrey by Betty Birney
Pigs Might Fly by Dick King-Smith

Middle Elementary and Older
The Night Fairy by Laura Amy Schlitz
Masterpiece by Elise Broach
The Tale of Despereaux by Kate diCamillo
Warriors: Into the Wild and sequels by Erin Hunter
Emmy and the Incredible Shrinking Rat by Lynne Jonell
Urchin of the Riding Stars, from the Mistmantle Chronicles by Margaret McAllister
Gully's Travels by Tor Seidler
The Wainscott Weasel by Tor Seidler
Mean Margaret by Tor Seidler
Odd and the Frost Giants by Neil Gaiman
Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of N.I.M.H. by Robert C. O'Brien
The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame, admittedly challenging but a masterpiece

Upper Elementary and Older
The Underneath by Kathi Appelt
The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents by Terry Pratchett
Redwall series by Brian Jacques
Watership Down by Richard Adams

And now, a short video of talking animals; thanks to Lauren Jonker for the link:
(If the embed doesn't work, click here)

Field Day

2011-05-02T15:04:00.008-04:00

Waiting for the cross-age relay...in order of age and size. I knew the senior captain (green shirt) when she was in our half-day program.

Watching from the sidelines...

Hands out, ready for the tag...I remember the week when the girl in the gray t-shirt suddenly became a reader.

(Thanks to Jennifer Hill, our communications director, for the photos.)

Well, it's not exactly library related but... We had our annual field day last Thursday. One thing I always notice are the skills that children have outdoors, special abilities the librarian never sees. Who knew we had a hula hoop champion? Who would have thought that the shy kindergartener would have the guts to sign up for the relay? Or that the risk-averse 8 year-old boy would try jump rope for the first time and laugh about it? The joie de vivre, the gusto and the tender moments ("Oh, you cut your knee. I'll take you to the nurse") are everywhere.

The highlight is the cross-age relay. Everybody who wants to can sign up. The teams are composed of children from age 5 and up (with a few stalwart teachers for good measure). We gather to watch them run to the other end of the field, slap a hand and send the next biggest runner off. Suddenly it's as though you are watching these children grow up in fast motion, as though the years at Paideia are racing right before your eyes. I remember almost every one of these runners. A seven-year old whizzes by and I remember when she was too scared to sign up for the relay. An enormous high school boy gallops down the field and I remember the skinny, squirrelly first grader checking out his very first library book--Dr. Seuss. I am stunned to see the seniors, who are team captains, as I wonder where the years went. On at least three teams this year, I watched these seniors bend down, hug, hold a hand and otherwise reassure the smallest members of their team, some of whom had misgivings once they saw the hundreds of people cheering on the field: more tender moments. What little kid wouldn't love having a big high school person squatting at her level, telling her personally how important she is to the team? And the big kids are the most sentimental of all, remembering all their years of running in this special event.

The cross-age relay. May it live forever.

It's National Poetry Month!

2011-04-20T11:35:00.011-04:00

I love poetry month. Poetry, I tell children, is a spritzer for your ears: it wakes them up and startles them, alerting us to the joy of savoring language. It's meant to be read aloud. All month, children have been reciting poetry to me, happy to share their favorites. I do units on Langston Hughes, Emily Dickinson and Edgar Allan Poe for the upper elementary children, with some Ogden Nash thrown in for good measure. For the lower and middle elementary children, I do lots of book talks to show them the incredible diversity of poetry, including novels in verse. It's not just Shel Silverstein anymore!

Reading research shows that young children who can recognize and generate rhymes are on the path to becoming good readers. Poems are a great way to fit in some read-aloud time on even the most rushed evenings. I taught the children one of the world's shortest poems:

Fleas

Adam
Had 'em.

It is attributed to Strickland Gillem, who also wrote one of my favorite inspiring verses:

The Reading Mother

You may have tangible wealth untold
Caskets of jewels and coffers of gold.
Richer than I you can never be.
I had a Mother who read to me.

A little boy remembers his favorite from last year, which he shared with us:

My Puppy

My puppy loves the garden
He loves to smell the flowers
To help them grow my puppy always
Sprinkles them with showers.

And because I have handed tissues out to oblivious nose-pickers for the duration of my career, I shared an utterly disgusting booger poem with the five and six year olds, from the collection Giant Children by Brod Bagert. I can't even bear to post it here. Their revulsion was palpable. Maybe they'll remember it and use a tissue next week.

(I cringe as I remember the exquisite training I had in graduate school when I studied John Donne, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Gerard Manley Hopkins and Robert Frost. I'm going for something more highbrow next week.)

Now, for your video: Here's Jonny Cash reading The Cremation of Sam McGee by Robert Service. We had an 8 year old recite the whole thing at the Paideia talent show a few years ago.

Pajama Night in the Library

2011-04-12T15:13:00.015-04:00

Scenes from pajama night -- there's something almost like Halloween about being out in public at night in your pajamas!

Cookies & lemonade...mmm. Bedtime facepaint?

Siblings always welcome -- never too soon for a story!

We squeezed in almost 100 people..........

and checked out loads of books to parents.

We'll do it again!

Here It Comes -- QUICK!

2011-04-01T16:16:00.001-04:00

The rush to check out for spring break has just this minute subsided. All day long I've helped students find -- you guessed it -- another fantasy series. An article I read long ago examined the reading preferences of children during various decades, and children's librarians can all attest that fantasy fiction is firmly established as the current preferred genre. It of course speaks to the hearts of many children, especially in uncertain times when evil forces seem to lurk behind all the headlines.

But the pendulum may be swinging. In the 1950s and 1960s, survival/adventure and historical fiction titles prevailed as the most popular. I've got lots of anecdotal evidence that children who read historical fiction avidly develop a deep sense of history and occasionally ace the SAT II. For some fabulous lists from our library catalog, click here and here and here. Several books on the horizon are looking mighty compelling, and the pick of the bunch will be coming to a library (and bookstore) near you in early May. Beware! (Move over, J.K.?) The Dagger Quick by Brian Eames will satisfy all those kids who crave a fast-paced, danger-filled drama laced with evil, deformed characters and a kid who outwits them all.

Set in 17th century England and the high seas beyond, The Dagger Quick follows 12 year old Christopher, a boy with a clubfoot who longs for the sea but is preparing, reluctantly, to follow in his father's footsteps and become a cooper. The arrival of his uncle, the infamous pirate William Quick, sets a chain of events in motion: with his father murdered, his stepmother and little brother (Duck) kidnapped, Kitto's dream of a life at sea is realized in a spectacular and deliciously gory way. I can't wait to share this one with my students.

Everyone is invited to our book release party in the elementary library. Get it on your calendars now: Tuesday, May 24 at 7 pm. Meet the author. Get his autograph. I've met him a few times and he's very approachable. (He also teaches downstairs from me.) This one's a page turner -- a QUICK read.

And if we ever get self-check out in our library, I want it to speak pirate:

A hodgepodge of little brains at work...

2011-03-22T15:14:00.013-04:00

A boy, age 6, is looking for a book on natural disasters. I start pulling a few titles.
He says, "I need a book that will tell me how to prevent them. I just want to prevent them."
Me: "Well, no one can prevent a natural disaster. But this book tells about things people can do to get ready for them as best they can."
Boy: "Yes, that's it. That book will help me prevent natural disasters. I really need to prevent natural disasters."

Boy, age 10: "I want a book about that artist that paints squarish birds."
Me: "Here, John James Audubon is the only bird painter I can think of at the moment."
Boy: "No, these aren't squarish. That's not him."

Most popular book in the library this week, not checked out:
Time to Pee! by Mo Willems. (I bought it for parents of toddlers. Second graders can't stop reading it.)

I do a picture book for 6 & 7 year olds featuring a gay couple (in this case, guinea pigs getting married). I ask the children if they know any families that have two moms or two dads, and nearly every hand is raised. I explain terminology, and I talk about how our society is changing, and that we might see laws that allow two men or two women to marry. Most children are nonchalant; they've been exposed to this idea before. One child is incredulous but seems to accept my matter-of-fact remarks. One boy, who understands the concept, is still baffled by why I am interested in this subject and struggles mightily to formulate questions:

Jamie: Natalie, are you married?
Me: Yes, Jamie, I'm married. I'm married to a man named Matthew.
Jamie: Um, do you have any, um, siblings? (good vocab for a 6 year old!)
Me: Yes, I have two sisters.
Jamie: Are they... are they...are they married?
Me: Yes, they're both married to men.
Jamie: Um...What are their husbands' names?
Me: I'm not sure why you want to know. Their names are John and Graham.
Jamie: Well...I think....I think...I think... Oh, never mind.

(For more about this book , which I have taught to 6th graders in the context of library book challenges and freedom to read, click here for the single most eloquent librarian response to an objection. If you want to follow the controversy in all its vitriol, click here. The sixth graders adore this dispute, and I enjoy showing them how to follow blogosphere discussion and comments.)

Request box: "midevil" -- I'm guessing Middle Ages, not Satan worship.

And now, my young friends tell me it's been too long since I posted a video. This one can't hold a candle to the Lady Gaga parody but it's glamor-free and dorky enough: Libraries Will Survive in an era of deep budget cuts.

Author Doreen Cronin

2011-03-15T15:38:00.021-04:00

A young fan tells Doreen some original jokes

Doreen Cronin, author of wacky, hilarious and wildly popular books visited with three middle elementary classes on Tuesday: Not just an author visit but a class to inspire young writers. Remember:

1. Use your mom! Use your dad! Their faces, their names, their personalities.
2. Don't get stuck being logical -- have fun with crazy ideas. A rescue dog on the moon? Why not?
3. Don't worry about grammar and spelling right away; just get those ideas down.
4. Your brain will surprise you in all the different directions it takes when you are writing. Let it go places you hadn't planned.
5. Be glad when you get back a draft full of red marks and corrections. Someone has given you a gift.

One child asked, "What's your favorite thing to write about?"
Doreen replied, "I never thought about it until just now, but my favorite thing to write about is, well, writing. The cows in Click Clack Moo would never get their blankets if they didn't write, and of course all the Diary books are about writing. I studied journalism in college because I loved researching and writing stories, and I also was a lawyer: lawyers do research and write a story for the judge and the jury. Since reading was a favorite thing since the time that I used to hide in a closet and read with a flashlight, it makes sense that I like writing about writing."

How's that for meta?
(And how's that for a career trajectory: journalist, lawyer, award-winning children's author?)

Email her with your thoughts about her visit.

What Would YOUR Architect's Dog House Look Like?

2011-03-11T13:36:00.017-05:00

What lucky dogs! The students in Martha & Elisa's 8 & 9 year old class have finished their in-depth study of architecture. Their final products, on display in the elementary library, show how they imagine a dog house designed by their architect would look. Starting with a simple little cardboard structure, each student embellished, deconstructed, or otherwise interpreted the original "dog house" into a creation in the style of some of the most cutting-edge architects in the world. Other students ooh, aah and exclaim when they see them, and of course the proud researchers will be on the lookout for buildings by "their" architect for a lifetime. When they delivered them to the library, several students exclaimed to one another, "Hey, we're neighbors!" Herewith, a few samples from the library neighborhood: A dog house by...

by Alvaro Siza

by Michael Graves

by Christian de Portzamparc and Jorn Utzon

by Neel Reid and Eero Saarinen

by Julia Morgan
(the student took the swimming pool home after damage)

by Philip Johnson, Kevin Roche, Bruce Graham and Santiago Calatrava

by Charles Rennie, Zaha Hadid and Leila Ross Wilburn

by Oscar Niemeyer and Antonio Gaudi

by Frank Lloyd Wright

by Luis Barragan

by Philip Shutze

by Rem Koohass

by Richard Meier

by Frank Gehry

by Richard Rogers and I.M. Pei

by Mario Botta

by Gottfried Norman

by Hans Hollein

My Lit Group and How It Went

2011-03-07T16:13:00.001-05:00

I love teaching literature groups. I just finished an intense and compelling one with 9 & 10 year olds on Monica Furlong's Juniper, now sadly out of print. I sold it to the students who chose it by comparing it to Harry Potter, and by the end the acclaim for it nearly surpassed HP. A story of magic, much of which is attained simply by mindful awareness, Juniper follows the life of a medieval princess who becomes a doran, a magical healer, through hard work and specially acquired knowledge. I asked the students to write a short essay and also provide five words that described their opinion of the book. Herewith some of their comments (spelling intact):

"Slow start, fast middle, majic, addicting."
"Alsom, additting, simi-hard, exciting, magical."
"Thrilling. Can't put it down."
"Page-turner. Thrilling."
"Tense. Weird."
"It has good action but it is hard at first. It has the best description of any book I've ever seen."

My favorite line from a final essay: "When I found out they had to do a ritual naked I almost puked." (I did explain the scene by talking about purity and vulnerability, but I respect his reaction.)

And to bolster my belief that librarians are strong and mighty:

Book Glut

2011-02-25T16:21:00.006-05:00

What to do with used, unwanted books? Every year, nay every month, families ask me if I can use the books they no longer want. Many are beloved, in excellent condition and need a good home. I am touched that they think of our library, but the awful truth is that we can't use them. A school library is a carefully created collection, one that reflects the specific needs of the school for pleasure reading and research needs. It is also a finite space. I can't fill it to the max. Many school librarians will tell how they undertook a massive summer weeding project, purging hundreds of volumes, and the students arrived in the fall asking if the books on the shelves were new. Nope--but you can't find the gems if they are packed tightly in and surrounded by "perfectly good" titles that no one wants anymore.

The quantity of books that our community needs to discard is staggering. I often think ruefully of Chaucer's clerk, a thin and threadbare student of philosophy who spent his money on books instead of food. I was an early book lover, saving all those college textbooks in anticipation of re-reading them (Samuelson's Economics from 1978? How dumb could I be?). But now, in a community awash in the things that we once hoarded, we must jettison the ballast.

So it's off to the thrift store, or the Brandeis book donation box (near the Toco Hills Kroger), or the Salvation Army, or... Every year or so, some of our high school students sponsor a book drive for disadvantaged schools. One year I got involved and learned that the librarian at the underfunded school could not accept anything with a copyright date more than five years old--or they would be overwhelmed with discards. (The children, however, happily accepted free books to take home.)

A few creative minds have done some stunning things with unwanted books:

(For more art from old books, click here.)

This video, Your Life Work, dedicated to Moey and Alejandra, my after-school shelvers:

From Mockery to Compassion

2011-02-17T15:17:00.019-05:00

Using picture books to teach about compassion is one of the most profound things I do. All my students, including the very youngest, express vehement feelings about a character who has been treated unfairly, mocked, or excluded. What a wealth of stories we have in our library! Reading them aloud gives teachers and parents the chance to talk about how to stick up for a friend and to learn how to be an ally for someone who is hurting. They give us the chance to remember our own shameful moments when we were unkind, and to seek the better angels of our nature. I remember one earnest, chubby-cheeked 7 year old boy who confessed, "I think I've been like that [mean character] sometimes. I feel bad about it." Of course, he was one of the gentlest kids ever.

Stories allow children (and adults) to see these human moments from a variety of perspectives, reducing our defensiveness and pushing us to examine our own lives. It's true even when the protagonist is a pig or a mouse. Of course the best ones are not the didactic pedantic junk with explicit morals or instructions (see my Celebrities post); children appreciate subtlety and nuance. Please: add this to the list of reasons to postpone the rush to read chapter books exclusively among anxious parents of 4-7 year olds.

A few of my favorites:

Pup in School by Elaine Clayton.

Jamaica's Blue Marker by Juanita Havill.

The Sissy Duckling by Harvey Fierstein.

Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes.

Weslandia by Paul Fleischman.

Hooway for Wodney Wat by Helen Lester.

Horace and Morris But Mostly Dolores by James Howe.

Thank You, Mr. Falker by Patricia Polacco.

I would love to hear other people's favorites--please comment.

Has everybody fantasized at some point of demolishing the mockery? Of pretending to be ignorant or foolish and then suddenly showing up those who are laughing at you? (Some version of the ad line, "They laughed when I sat down at the piano...") Here's a short video of a skater who shows the laughing audience a few things. The music alone brings me to tears. (From our friends at Improv Everywhere; if the embed doesn't work, click here.)

Little Brains at Work

2011-02-09T15:53:00.001-05:00

(a photo of yours truly in my old job, with thanks to my colleague Anna)

Recent comments:

An 8 year old girl: "Oh...The Jungle Book. I didn't know it was an actual book. I thought it was just a movie."

A 5 year old boy, when I was reading a story aloud which took place in Pennsylvania:
"Pennsylvania! That's where the VAMPIRES are!" (and how he knows Transylvania is beyond me).

I had been showing 6 & 7 year old students how to find books on lots of nonfiction topics and one by one they had asked, "Where can I find manatees?" "Where can I find knights?", etc. Finally it was Adam's turn, who had been waiting patiently.

Adam: "Natalie, do you know where water is?"
Me: "Oh, I have lots of books about water. Are you interested in the water cycle? Oceans? Lakes?"
Adam: "No, like drinking water."
Me: "Oh, here's one called The Water We Drink."
Adam: "No, like the water fountain. I just need a drink of water."

A 10 year old boy, entering for the next installment of my read-aloud, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight [in a way-cool tone]:
"Ri-i-i-ght. Last time, we left Sir Gawain busy making out with the lady in his bedroom."
'Tis true.

And here is "Werner Herzog" reading aloud Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel (if the embed doesn't work, click here):

A Family That Reads Together...

2011-02-03T15:49:00.002-05:00

I had an email from a parent who had asked me to recommend a book for a first-ever whole family read for over the holidays. Her daughter, in 5th grade, would be the youngest of the group. After some discussion, they all agreed to read The Hobbit. Let me share this mother's thoughts on the experience (I've made a name change for privacy):

" I think having 3 or 4 generations definitely enriched the discussion. My parents, age 76, NEVER read fantasy, but were surprised how much they enjoyed the book, so much so that my mother is now planning on reading the rest of The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Barbara's uncle (age 57), contributed the interesting fact that the name Bilbo means 'sword,' which led to debate about the significance of the short sword Bilbo carries, but which isn't given much explanation in the book. Barbara's brother, Adam, is 25 and a big Tolkien fan. As he has the quietest personality of everyone there, it was a great opportunity for him to shine by sharing his insights into Tolkien and The Lord of the Rings. And, of course, it was very empowering for Barbara, the youngest [fifth grade], to lead the discussion as well as offer some pretty impressive insights of her own. The response from all the family members who participated was overwhelmingly positive, and we all agreed that it was a tradition we will continue every year."

Love it. Let me know if you have any books that have been a pleasure for two or more generations to read together.

And now, for my students who have been asking for another video, a scene from the very first movie that I ever saw -- I was about 4. Many people have sung this to me. Or called me "Marian." I smile every time.
(Click here if the embed doesn't work.)

Celebrities Who Write for Children

2011-01-27T17:00:00.001-05:00

SMN.

Julie Danielson, who blogs brilliantly about children's literature at Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast, posed a survey question: What are the worst books for children by celebrities? The list (below) tells us that these people believe writing for children just can't be as hard as writing for adults. All you have to do is simplify it -- dumb down language and message -- and explicitly state a moral, and you're set: the kids will love it. So ask: Would this book have been published if it had been written by someone else?

Watch here and gag as yet another tv star tells a talk show host that she's considering writing a children's book. (And compare with the brief video, which I posted earlier, showing real children's writers speaking with humor and eloquence about their work.) It would all seem relatively harmless until we realize that when a publisher chooses a book by a celebrity, it displaces other worthy titles that might actually enrich the genre. Award-winning author Jane Yolen thoughtfully addresses the damage here.

And now, may I have the envelope please? The nominees for the worst, complete with wicked comments from librarians and reviewers from Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast , School Library Journal's Fuse #8 and What Adrienne Thinks About That:

Tori Spelling, Presenting Tallulah. An astonishing display of self-pity and entitlement in the 'poor little rich girl' vein. Writes one blogger, "This is a joke, right? I saw this and my brain melted a little. Has MotherReader seen this nonsense? Now I have to go do something to soothe my poor damaged soul."

Billy Crystal, I Already Know I Love You. Sincere, insipid and trite. It "... is a grandpa’s book NOT a children’s book. Indulgent in all the worst ways (drowning in sentimental syrup, bad poetry and told from an adult’s POV.)"

Katie Couric, Blue Ribbon Day. "... is an embarrassment of forced rhymes and bad writing. Plus she hits kids/parents over the head with the MORAL OF THE STORY (which she actually explains at length in a lengthy “quote from the celebrity”.)

Joy Behar, Sheetzukakapoopoo. "She obviously thinks kids are so stupid you must beat them over the head with a moral lesson, and need not bother wrapping it in a decently written story."

Glenn Beck, The Christmas Sweater. "Glen Beck is to Christmas, as dog poop is to sandwich."
"... you don’t often come across stories so trite, hackneyed, and just plain treacly. It took 5 people to write and illustrate this execrable picture book. I don’t think you could find a worse example of celebrity tripe."

But the overwhelming winner was.... .Madonna, The English Roses and others titles, almost universally despised by the children's literature community:

"Can be summed up thusly: Don’t hate me because I’m beautiful . . . and rich . . . and have snow cone ta tas…"
"The English Roses: I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that this awful series led to colony collapse disorder."
"The worst: gotta go with madge. the english roses and their plot/moral: OMG PEOPLE ARE SO JEALOUS OF THE BEAUTIFUL AND IT IS RILLY RILLY WRONG! the emaciated uber-fashiony superchic fulvimari illustrations do not help."
"It's not her fault if she's rich and beautiful and popular-- you should give her a chance to help you."
Or, "... her first English Roses book (the one with the deus ex machina grandma who solves everything by telling the cliquey girls to be nice to the newcomer because her mother is dead)."
"Feeling sorry for someone is what makes you like someone? really?"
"Madonna’s books are pretty bad, and the one I read was also stolen - a Buddhist parable made truly awful by La Madonna."

I brought this topic up with a group of 11-12 year olds and they all exclaimed: "Snooki! Snooki wrote a book!" For the first time in memory, Good Morning America did not host the winners of the prestigious Newbery and Caledcott awards this month. The excuse? They had already booked.... Snooki! Snooki takes priority over real literature! Granted, hers is not a book for children but our kids know all about it. Anybody have any other worst (or best) celebrity titles to add?

Two of the finest children's writers said it best:

"Sure, it's simple, writing for kids . . . . Just as simple as bringing them up."
-- Ursula K. LeGuin.

And from The Master:

"Anyone who writes down to children is simply wasting his time. You have to write up, not down. Children are demanding. They are the most attentive, curious, eager, observant, sensitive, quick, and generally congenial readers on earth. They accept, almost without question, anything you present them with, as long as it is presented honestly, fearlessly, and clearly."
--E.B. White.

Scantily Clad in the Snow Break + Awards

2011-01-21T15:35:00.004-05:00

Five consecutive snow days. I ate a lot of weird foods from deep in the cupboards and read. What did our students do?

One mother told me her 7 year old son read, and re-read, and re-read, the Calvin and Hobbes comic compilation he had checked out. He would occasionally emerge to ask the meaning of a word or phrase. "Mom, what does 'scantily clad' mean?"

A six-year old girl asked me upon return if I had a book, "How to Make a Great Spa."
"Spa?" I asked, not sure if I had heard correctly.
"Yes, my friend and I made a spa over the snow break and we gave each other facials and massages and manicures. Now I want to make it a really great spa." (Reminded me of when my six-year old son created his own casino.)

And an 11 year old boy, who volunteers in the library, re-arranged all the books on his shelves, explaining to his mother that he was placing some titles face out, like in the library, "because it looks so much more inviting."

I was most frustrated not to be able to order right away the surprise Newbe ry, Caldecott and Coretta Scott King Award winners when they were announced:

The Newbery Medal:
for the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children

Newbery Medal Winner: Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool. Did I buy it? No! Did I read it? No! Did I read a review of it? Maybe? This was a sleeper by a first time author. But yay! I'm in good company: even the avid book review bloggers failed to predict this one. New talent on the scene.

Newbery Honors:
Turtle in Paradise by Jennifer Holm. Hooray for the author of the beloved Babymouse series.
Heart of a Samurai by Margi Preus. Yay for the Japan class.
The Dark Emperor and Other Poems of the Night by Joyce Sidman.
One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia. Hey! I bought and read this one! It's fabulous!

The Caldecott Medal:
to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children

The Caldecott Medal Winner: A Sick Day for Amos McGee, by Phillip C. Stead and illustrated by Erin E. Stead. Ordered it!

Caldecott Honors:
Dave the Potter, Artist, Poet, Slave, illustrated by Bryan Collier, written by Laban Carrick Hill. Hey! I studied Dave in depth when doing a special project on the history of slavery. I bought it! I've read it to kids! I've sent it to teachers! I'm on it.

The Interrupting Chicken, written and illustrated by David Ezra Stein. Ditto! I read it aloud this week! Hilarious. A huge hit with the 5-6 year old crowd.

The Coretta Scott King Award:
Given to African American authors and illustrators
for outstanding inspirational and educational contributions

The Coretta Scott King Award (author):
One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia. Yay! Bought it! Read it! Sent it out to a teacher months ago! In the summer of 1968, after traveling from Brooklyn to Oakland, California, to spend a month with the mother they barely know, eleven-year-old Delphine and her two younger sisters arrive to a cold welcome as they discover that their mother, a dedicated poet and printer, is resentful of the intrusion of their visit and wants them to attend a nearby Black Panther summer camp.

The Coretta Scott King Award (illustrator):
Dave the Potter, Artist, Poet, Slave, illustrated by Bryan Collier, written by Laban Carrick Hill. I love teaching this book and talking about how enslaved people would assert their personhood and creativity, resisting oppression at every step. Dave defiantly put little poems and his signature on his magnificent pots at a time when it was illegal to teach slaves to read and write.

Reading Nasreen's Secret School

2011-01-07T10:54:00.000-05:00

I love teaching picture books to elementary children of all ages. When I weary of explaining yet again to a parent that picture books offer exquisite literary and visual style and help young readers develop empathy, I simply hand over a stack and say, "Try these before you read Harry Potter aloud to your six-year old." The chapter book arms race and the dangers of unilateral disarmament....

Recently I've been teaching Jeannette Winter's subtle, gorgeous and moving picture book, Nasreen's Secret School. Like poetry, it conveys volumes with few words. A little girl in Afghanistan, living in a Taliban-controlled area, is not allowed to go to school; her determined grandmother finds her a secret one to attend. I have read it to children from ages 7 to 11 and their responses are intense, fierce, indignant and smart.

Herewith, a few:

From a 7 year old boy: "I would do that-- I would distract soldiers so that my sister could go to school."

From an 8 year old boy with a lisp (try saying it): " That makes me so mad! That's so sexist!"

From a 9 year old girl: "I'm really glad that I don't have to worry about getting blown up when I go to school. All I have to worry about is that I didn't do my math homework."

From a 9 year old boy: "I heard about that. I heard that the Taliban have killed teachers and that they drive around on motorcycles and throw acid in girls' faces." (Not details that I cared to bring up, but wow...)

From a 9 year old girl: "Wait a minute. You mean this is happening NOW? This isn't from long ago? This is terrible!"

From a 10 year old boy, when I mentioned how grateful I am for our school: "I'm really grateful I get to go to this school. At my old school there were bullies but there aren't any real bullies here. Those Taliban are just big bullies."

A 9 year old boy: "I'm glad the U.S. is fixing everything there."
Me: "I know we are trying, but I'm not sure we're able to fix everything."
Boy: "Yes, but we are doing our best. We are killing them every day!"

and from a girl who has a serious health condition,

"I'm just so glad that my [health condition] isn't as bad as other kids. Some kids with my problem have to... well, it's embarrassing to say this, but some of them don't get the signal that they need the bathroom and so they have to wear diapers. I'm just so glad I don't have to wear diapers."

Outrage at injustice, gratitude for our own everyday lives, curiosity about the inner lives of Afghanis, compassion for one little girl a world away, ... What more could I want in response to this jewel of a book?

My Lesson on Wikipedia and How It Went

2010-12-17T12:04:00.002-05:00

As part of the information literacy unit with 10-12 year olds, I lead a discussion on Wikipedia each year. My goals for them are to know:

what it is
how it differs from other encyclopedias, print and online by subscription
who writes it
what kinds of topics it is good for
advantages and disadvantages
when you need to be skeptical
why you need to use multiple sources for research projects

A girl: "Didn't the guy who is the head of it just get arrested?"
Me: "No, that would be the Wikileaks founder, not Wikipedia."

Blake: "I love Wikipedia. I use it all the time. And it's my hobby to go on it and put really fun, crazy stuff up and see how long it stays there."
Me, to the class: "Blake is a good example of why you need to be mindful when using Wikipedia, because anybody can put up ridiculous stuff. It might only be up there for a moment, but it might be the moment when you are there."
Blake: "But it's fun!"
Me: "And it's unethical. It undermines the idealism behind it, that we are all smarter if we pool our knowledge and work together."
Blake: "Are you telling me I shouldn't do that?"
Me: "I'm wondering about all the different kinds of ethical decisions you make online."
Blake: "Could I get kicked out of school for doing it?"
Me: "No, but that's a pretty low bar." And we moved on.

I summarized Stephen Colbert's satiric discussion, in which he coins the term "wikiality": if we all agree that something is true, then it must be true! Colbert doesn't like the idea that George Washington owned slaves, so he denies it on Wikiepedia and proclaims it to be true. I had meaty discussions with students about the Catholic Church vs. Galileo, smoking and even slavery: even if a majority of people believe something to be true, right and just, it's not always the case. Majority rules isn't always a guarantor of truth. And I cite Colbert's exhortation to his "nation," urging them to save the African elephant by changing the numbers of surviving elephants on Wikipedia.

(Watch below- I didn't show this clip this year as it is a tad dated. If the embed doesn't work, click here.)

The Colbert Report

Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c

The Word - Wikiality

www.colbertnation.com

Colbert Report Full Episodes

Political Humor & Satire Blog

March to Keep Fear Alive

Me, concluding: "So, you need to follow Wikipedia's own advice, especially when you are researching controversial topics such as gun rights, gay marriage and abortion."
A girl: "What is abortion?" and several other kids nod, asking.
A boy, with alacrity: "I'll tell you what it is! It's when.."
Me (taking a deep breath): "Stop. Let me answer this one...."

Not what I planned to talk about. I see such a range of kids, from the hardened Wikipedia hacker to the angelic innocent. I'm ready for my holiday break. More posts in 2011!

Deck the Library with...

2010-12-09T10:37:00.014-05:00

How do we make a library a welcoming and kid-friendly place? How can we help kids find books on their own? With great stuff!

First, I bought a giant geode! Students always loved the smaller one in the old library. The online retailer from whom I bought it sells crystals that it claims have all kinds of special healing properties. I bought it for glamor (purple!) and science (10 million years old!) rather than for its new-age powers. As our headmaster pointed out, someone sat near it for a long time with a case of the sniffles but was still afflicted several days later. No proof of the healing powers yet, but we must adhere to the scientific method and collect more data. I just say, it's way better than some stuffed Babar or other cutesy plush.

Next, I put cool items on top of shelves in the major Dewey categories.

J 398.2: Folk and fairy tales.
Kids are besotted with the figurines and the tiara.
I am so happy that the urge to move little figures around and make them speak in affected voices is still irrepressible, even for 10 year olds.

J 500s: Natural Scienes

A third-grader identified the dinosaur instantly as a spinosaurus.

J 590s: No trouble finding pythons in the home of the Paideia Pythons. A grandmother who volunteers to shelve each week was taken by surprise when the rubber snake wiggled at her.

J 590s: I use the rubber crocodile when I read aloud Roald Dahl's The Enormous Crocodile: I swing it around over my head and send it sailing.

J 600s: A huge interest in cooking these days, thanks to the implements. I know of two children who have used our resources to cook dinners for their families. What a sense of accomplishment for a 3rd grader!

J 700s. So far, no one has tossed the football.
An ironic reference to a time when I had books on every kind of sport imaginable -- except football. No kid had ever asked for football books, until one day one of them did (and his father was a famous local football figure).

J 800s: Literature and Poetry. Our painting of The Owl and the Pussycat, especially enhanced by my son's electric neon sailboat.

J 900s: History and Geography. Courtesy of my son's room (he's in grad school and doesn't want these things in his apartment--maybe they're not a chick magnet, even though I think he looks adorable in the Viking helmet).

As I excitedly -- nay, manically -- led a group of 7 & 8 year olds on a tour of the new stuff, a little girl solemnly remarked, "Natalie, you work so hard to make this place nice for us." When all kids realize that adults adore getting appreciation, we'll be like putty in their hands. Beware.

And for those who requested another video, here's an exercise in silliness, Welcome to the Library (if the embed doesn't work, click here):

Gifts for 5-8 Year Olds

2010-12-01T15:15:00.003-05:00

For my final installment in this year's gift giving suggestions....

Picture books for early elementary children are some of the best choices you can make: deceptively simple, yet full of metaphor, rich language and humor, picture books demand inference and critical thinking skills. They build a foundation that is all too often skimped on by parents who urge their children on toward chapter books. (For more, read the depressing New York Times article about current trends.)

I've been trying to remember books that were given to me as gifts when I was young. There were some weird choices. Anybody have any gift books they remember from childhood?

Edith the Lonely Doll by Dare Wright. Holy cow! A twisted, tortured story full of loneliness, cross-dressing and spanking with painful autobiographical overtones. Anybody else remember this one? My Aunt Margaret gave it to me when I was about six.

We the Living by Ayn Rand. Double holy cow! I think my outcast Uncle David was trying to influence my political development. I read the thing in the 8th grade. 8th grade! Talk about urging young minds forward too fast!

Herewith are some of my favorite recent picture books, but don't forget to check the top 100 picture books (from a poll of children's librarians) and my list from last year for more ideas.

For younger children:

Brontorina by James Howe. Despite her size and not having the proper footwear, a determined dinosaur pursues her dream of becoming a ballerina.

How Rocket Learned to Read by Tad Hills. A little yellow bird teaches Rocket the dog how to read by first introducing him to the alphabet.

The Dollhouse Fairy by Jane Ray. Worried about her father’s trip to the hospital, Rosy goes to play with the special dollhouse he built for her and finds Thistle, a very messy and mischievous fairy who needs a place to stay while her injured wing mends.

Sneaky Sheep by Chris Monroe. Blossom and Rocky, two sneaky and not very bright sheep, keep trying to get away from the rest of the flock, in spite of the dangers they encounter.

Pink! by Lynne Rickards. Teased in school for being pink, Patrick the penguin leaves the South Pole to live with the flamingos in Africa.

The Lion and the Mouse by Jerry Pinkney. In this wordless retelling of an Aesop fable, an adventuresome mouse proves that even small creatures are capable of great deeds when he rescues the King of the Jungle.

Mr. Putney's Quacking Dog by Jon Agee. Mr. Putney has all sorts of unusual friends including an overweight orangatan, an octopus with cold feet, and an elephant that is difficult to see. Riddles with wacky answers, perfect for emerging readers and those of us who like bad puns.

The Big Red Lollipop by Rukhsana Khan. Having to take her younger sister along the first time she is invited to a birthday party spoils Rubina’s fun, and later when that sister is asked to a party and baby sister wants to come, Rubina must decide whether to help.

My People by Langston Hughes. Sepia toned photographs by Charles R. Smith, Jr. accompany Langston Hughes’ classic poem "My People" and celebrate the glory, beauty, and soul of the African-American community.

Bad Kitty and sequels by Nick Bruel. When a kitty discovers there is no cat food in the house, she decides to become very, very bad.
Benny and Penny graphic series by Geoffrey Hayes.

Cat the Cat, Who Is That? by Mo Willems. An exuberant cat introduces readers to her friends. You can't go wrong with anything by Mo Willems, an American treasure, a Dr. Seuss for the 21st century. Try also Time to Sleep, Sheep the Sheep, the Knuffle Bunny series, the Pigeon series and the Elephant & Piggie series.

Hey, Rabbit! by Sergio Ruzzier. Rabbit finds something inside his suitcase for each of his friends, but when he is done giving gifts there might not be anything left for him.

My Abuelita by Tony Johnston. With great gusto, a child’s grandmother performs deep knee bends, consumes a breakfast of "huevos estrellados," and practices vocal exercises before going to work as a storyteller.

Waiting for Winter by Sebastian Meschenmoser. Deer has told Squirrel how wonderful snow is. But Squirrel gets bored with the wait. With his friend Hedgehog they pass the time by singing and waking Bear. Soon things are falling from the sky, but they aren’t snow. But eventually they find what snow is.

Shades of People by Shelley Rotner. Explores the many different shades of human skin, and points out that skin is just a covering that does not reveal what someone is like inside.

For older children (6 ish and up, sometimes way up):

Ruth and the Green Book by Calvin A. Ramsey. When Ruth and her parents take a motor trip from Chicago to Alabama to visit her grandma, they rely on a pamphlet called "The Negro Motorist Green Book" to find places that will serve them.

Daydreams of a Solitary Hamster by Astrid Desbordes. Relates in comic strip style the adventures of the often selfish and self-absorbed Hamster and his affectionate friends Mole, Hedgehog, Snail, Squirrel and Rabbit as they ponder aspects of life and prepare to celebrate Hamster’s birthday.

My Brother Charlie by Holly Robinson Peete. A girl tells what it is like living with her twin brother who has autism and sometimes finds it hard to communicate with words, but who, in most ways, is just like any other boy.

Sit In: How Four Friends Stood Up by Sitting Down by Andrea Davis Pinkney. The inspiring story of the Greensboro lunch counter sit in. Jerry Pinkney, Brian Pinkney and Andrea Davis Pinkney are essential parts of any child's library. The family has more than 50 books among them, all exquisitely illustrated and full of possibilities for conversation with children.

Pea Boy and Other Stories from Iran by Elizabeth Laird and Shirin Adl. Folktales from around the world enrich us and are an essential element of literacy.

The Grand Mosque of Paris: A Story of How Muslims Saved Jews During the Holocaust by Karen Gray Ruelle. An illustrated picture book that tells of how Muslims helped to hide escaped prisoners of war and Jews of all ages in the complex of the Grand Mosque of Paris during World War II.

Dave the Potter: Artist, Poet, Slave by Laban Carrick Hill. An extraordinary artist who lived in South Carolina the 1800s and had the audacity, as a slave, to sign his work, carving poetry into his pots that are now prized in museums.

Looking Like Me by Walter Dean Myers. Jeremy sets out to discover all of the different "people" that make him who he is, including brother, son, writer, and runner.

I Want To be Free by Joseph Slate. A children’s story based on a sacred Buddhist tale that recounts the story of an escaped slave who rescues an abandoned baby from slave hunters

Nasreen's Secret School: A True Story from Afghanistan by Jeannette Winter. Nasreen stops speaking and tries to isolate herself after the Taliban take her parents, but with the help of a good friend and a secret school, Nasreen slowly begins to break out of her shell.

And here are my all-time folk and fairy tale collections, not necessarily recent but invaluable:

The Serpent Slayer and Other Stories of Strong Women by Katrin Tchana.

Classic Fairy Tales, Berlie Dougherty, retel.

The McElderry Book of Greek Myths.

The McElderry Book of Grimm's Fairy Tales.

The Hidden Folk: Stories of Faires, Dwarves, Selkies and Other Secret Beings by Lise Lunge-Larsen.

Remember: a holiday without a book is a bummer.

Gifts for 7-10 Year Olds

2010-11-23T18:10:00.001-05:00

On Saturday, I went to Borders to buy gifts for my nieces. I couldn't stop myself -- I ended up helping several people in the children's department. Herewith, suggestions for the middle elementary set, titles I've read and enjoyed in the last year. (Not all are brand new.) Remember to look at last year's list (click here) and the list of 100 greatest children's novels (click here). Students have been stocking up for Thanksgiving all week, describing how they are going to sit by a fire and read for four days. Don't disappoint them in December!

Any Which Wall by Laurel Snyder. In the middle of an Iowa cornfield, four children find a magic wall that enables them to travel through time and space. With nods to Edward Eager (Half Magic) and E. Nesbit (Five Children and It): be careful what you wish for!

Up and Down the Scratchy Mountains by Laurel Snyder. Lucy, a milkmaid, and her best friend Wynston, a reluctant prince, go in search of information about Lucy’s missing mother--even though Wynston is supposed to be searching for a proper princess to marry.

Sit-In: How Four Friends Stood Up By Sitting Down by Andrea Davis Pinkney. A celebration of the 50th anniversary of the momentous Woolworth’s lunch counter sit-in, when four college students staged a peaceful protest that became a defining moment in the struggle for racial equality and the growing civil rights movement.

Something Wickedly Weird: The Wooden Mile by Chris Mould. Eleven-year-old Stanley Buggle, happily anticipating a long summer vacation in the house he inherits from his great-uncle, discovers, soon after arriving in the seemingly peaceful village of Crampton Rock, that along with the house he has also inherited some sinister neighbors, a talking stuffed fish, and a host of mysteries surrounding his great-uncle’s death.

Gully's Travels by Tor Seidler. A well-bred Lhasa Apso named Gulliver is forced to leave his master and finds a new one named Carlos, the doorman of a Manhattan apartment building, who takes the dog to his place in Queens, where Gully meets low-life mutts and boisterous humans.

Odd and the Frost Giants by Neil Gaiman. An unlucky twelve-year-old Norwegian boy named Odd leads the Norse gods Loki, Thor, and Odin in an attempt to outwit evil Frost Giants who have taken over Asgard.

The Magician's Elephant by Kate di Camillo. When ten-year-old orphan Peter Augustus Duchene encounters a fortune teller in the marketplace one day who tells him that his sister, who is presumed dead, is in fact alive, he embarks on a remarkable series of adventures in an attempt to find her.

Freedom Train by Evelyn Coleman. Twelve-year-old Clyde Thomason’s older brother is a guard on the Freedom Train, which is carrying the Bill of Rights and other documents throughout the country in 1948, but Clyde is also learning about rights and freedom as he is saved from a beating by an African American boy, and later returns the favor when men in their Atlanta suburb decide to show the "Nigras" their place.

Thumb and the Bad Guys by Ken Roberts. Leon and his friend Susan discover something suspicious going on in their tiny little village of New Auckland, and soon find themselves involved in an archeological mystery.

Bad News for Outlaws: The Remarkable Life of Bass Reeves, U.S. Marshall by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson. An illustrated biography of Bass Reeves, a former slave who was recruited as a deputy United States marshal, based on his ability to communicate with the Native Americans in the area that was to become Oklahoma.

Gecko and Sticky: The Villain's Lair by Wendelin Van Draanen. Thirteen-year-old Dave and his sidekick, a talking gecko named Sticky, try to retrieve an ancient Aztec powerband and its magic ingots from the evil villain, Damien Black.

The Night Fairy by Laura Amy Schlitz. When Flory the night fairy’s wings are accidentally broken and she cannot fly, she has to learn to do everything differently.

Falling In by Frances O'Roark Dowell. Middle-schooler Isabelle Bean follows a mouse’s squeak into a closet and falls into a parallel universe where the children believe she is the witch they have feared for years, finally come to devour them.

Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin. Minli, an adventurous girl from a poor village, buys a magical goldfish, and then joins a dragon who cannot fly on a quest to find the Old Man of the Moon in hopes of bringing life to Fruitless Mountain and freshness to Jade River.

Fairy Godmother Academy: Birdie's Book by Jan Borzarth. After Birdie learns that she comes from a family of fairy godmothers, she begins her training with the fairies in Aventurine; but when Birdie’s family talisman, a singing stone, is broken, Birdie and Kerka, a warrior-like girl, go on a quest to find the missing half of the stone.

Herbert's Wormhole by Peter Nelson and R. Rao. While Alex is getting to know his inventive neighbor Herbert they unexpectedly travel to the twenty-second century through a space-time wormhole where they encounter aliens, jet packs, and their future selves.

Peter and the Sword of Mercy by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson. James, one of Peter Pan’s original Lost Boys, asks George Darling and his wife Molly to help him find a secret cache of startstuff, which is hidden in a vault that can only be opened with a secret key kept with the crown jewels, but when Molly disappears, it is up to her daughter Wendy and Peter to rescue Molly, protect the treasure, and defeat Captain Hook.

Little Sister is Not My Name by Sharon Draper. Nine-year-old Sassy Simone Sanford, known to her family members as "Little Sister," relies on her fashion sense and friends to help her solve any problems that come her way.

Mixed Beasts, or, a Miscellany of Rare and Fabulous Creatures by Kenyon Cox. Presents a colorful rhyming book for early readers that introduces a collection of bizarre animals such as the bumblebeaver and rhinocerostrich.

And a few chapter books for emerging independent readers:

Just Grace by Cherise Mericle Harper. Misnamed by her teacher, seven-year-old Just Grace prides herself on being empathetic, but when she tries to help a neighbor feel better, her good intentions backfire.

Brand New School, Brave New Ruby by Derrick Barnes. Eight-year-old Ruby Booker is headed to a new school where her older brothers rule; however, Ruby has big plans to change that.

Keena Ford and the Second-Grade Mix-Up by Melissa Thomas. Second grader Kenna Ford tries to do the right thing, but always seems to make things worse, especially when it comes to a mixed up birthday.

Roxie and the Hooligans by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor. Roxie Warbler, the niece of a famous explorer, follows Uncle Dangerfoot’s advice on how to survive any crisis when she becomes stranded on an island with a gang of school bullies and a pair of murderous bank robbers.

Alvin Ho: Allergic to Girls by Lenore Look. Yay! A Boy! A young boy in Concord, Massachusetts, who loves superheroes and comes from a long line of brave Chinese farmer-warriors, wants to make friends, but first he must overcome his fear of everything.

Stuart Goes to School by Sara Pennypacker. Worried about his first day at a new school, eight-year-old Stuart wears his magic cape and hopes that it will help him.

Gifts for 10-12 Year Olds

2010-11-18T16:43:00.032-05:00

I am stunned to realize that the holidays are upon us. In fact, my reminder was from a mother whose 11 year old is getting a Kindle for Hanukkah and she wanted to load it up with good reads. I will be very curious to see what impact the Kindle and other e-readers have on elementary children's reading. Herewith, then, my second annual list of suggestions for gift giving, a batch for the upper elementary crowd. These are just a few of the ones that I read and enjoyed in the past year. (All descriptions and images are from our library catalog.)

Remember to look at last year's list (click here) and the list of 100 greatest children's novels (click here). I have a print version of the 100 in the library that a few methodical girls are checking off each week. They remind me of me.

Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin. Minli, an adventurous girl from a poor village, buys a magical goldfish, and then joins a dragon who cannot fly on a quest to find the Old Man of the Moon in hopes of bringing life to Fruitless Mountain and freshness to Jade River.

The 13th Reality: Journal of Curious Letters by James Dashner. Thirteen-year-old Atticus "Tick" Higginbottom begins receiving mysterious letters from around the world signed only "M.G.," and the clues contained therein lead him on a journey to the perilous 13th Reality and a confrontation with evil Mistress Jane.

Fern Verdant and the Silver Rose by Diana Leczczynski. Fern Verdant’s mother, a famous botanist, disappears just before Fern’s thirteenth birthday, and when Fern discovers that she has inherited the ability to communicate with plants, she realizes that this is the only way she will be able to find and save her mother.

The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly. In central Texas in 1899, eleven-year-old Callie Vee Tate is instructed to be a lady by her mother, learns about love from the older three of her six brothers, and studies the natural world with her grandfather, the latter of which leads to an important discovery.

Go Big or Go Home by Will Hobbs. Fourteen-year-old Brady and his cousin Quinn love extreme sports, but nothing could prepare them for the aftermath of Brady’s close encounter with a meteorite after it crashes into his Black Hills, South Dakota, bedroom.

Theodosia and the Serpents of Chaos. Theodosia and the Staff of Osiris by R. L. LaFevers. Eleven-year-old Theodosia has the ability to detect black magic and ancient curses that are attached to objects in the Museum of Legends and Antiquities, which her father is the curator of, and discovers that a new artifact from Egypt is cursed and she must return it to the tomb it was excavated from before it destroys the British Empire.

The Georges and the Jewels by Jane Smiley. Seventh-grader Abby Lovitt grows up on her family’s California horse ranch in the 1960s, learning to train the horses her father sells and trying to reconcile her strict religious upbringing with her own ideas about life.

The Rock and the River by Kekla Magoon. In 1968 Chicago, fourteen-year-old Sam Childs is caught in a conflict between his father’s nonviolent approach to seeking civil rights for African-Americans and his older brother, who has joined the Black Panther Party.

The Secret of Zoom by Lynne Jonell. Ten-year-old Christina lives a sheltered life until she discovers a secret tunnel, an evil plot to enslave orphans, and a mysterious source of energy known as zoom.

The Giant Slayer by Iain Lawrence. When her eight-year-old neighbor is stricken with polio in 1955, eleven-year-old Laurie discovers that there is power in her imagination as she weaves a story during her visits with him and other patients confined to iron lung machines.

The Missing, Book 1: Found by Margaret Peterson Haddix. When thirteen-year-olds Jonah and Chip, who are both adopted, learn they were discovered on a plane that appeared out of nowhere, full of babies with no adults on board, they realize that they have uncovered a mystery involving time travel and two opposing forces, each trying to repair the fabric of time.

The Double Life of Zoe Flynn by Janet Lee Carey. When Zoe’s family has to live in their van for months after moving from California to Oregon so her father can find work, Zoe tries to keep her sixth-grade classmates from discovering that she is homeless.

Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George. A retelling of the tale of twelve princesses who wear out their shoes dancing every night, and of Galen, a former soldier now working in the king’s gardens, who follows them in hopes of breaking the curse.

One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia. In the summer of 1968, after traveling from Brooklyn to Oakland, California, to spend a month with the mother they barely know, eleven-year-old Delphine and her two younger sisters arrive to a cold welcome as they discover that their mother, a dedicated poet and printer, is resentful of the intrusion of their visit and wants them to attend a nearby Black Panther summer camp.

Mockingbird by Kathryn Erskine. Ten-year-old Caitlin, who has Asperger’s Syndrome, struggles to understand emotions, show empathy, and make friends at school, while at home she seeks closure by working on a project with her father.

Falcon Quinn and the Black Mirror by Jennifer Finney Boylan. Thirteen-year-old Falcon Quinn and his friends, Max and Megan get on the bus expecting to be taken to school, but they soon find themselves at a place called Shadow Island, a training ground for monsters.

A Faraway Island by Annika Thor. In 1939 Sweden, two Jewish sisters wait for their parents to flee the Nazis in Austria, but while eight-year-old Nellie settles in quickly, twelve-year-old Stephie feels stranded at the end of the world, with a foster mother who is as cold and unforgiving as the island on which they live.

Leviathan by Scott Westerfield. In an alternate 1914 Europe, fifteen-year-old Austrian Prince Alek, on the run from the Clanker Powers who are attempting to take over the globe using mechanical machinery, forms an uneasy alliance with Deryn who, disguised as a boy to join the British Air Service, is learning to fly genetically-engineered beasts.

Zora and Me by Victoria Bond and T.R. Simon. A fictionalized account of Zora Neale Hurston’s childhood with her best friend Carrie, in Eatonville, Florida, as they learn about life, death, and the differences between truth, lies, and pretending. Includes an annotated bibliography of the works of Zora Neale Hurston, a short biography of the author, and information about Eatonville, Florida.

Check back next week for suggestions for younger children. A holiday without a new book is not much of a holiday at all.

Be An Expert! Find a Passion!

2010-11-11T15:22:00.002-05:00

One of the most important offerings of the school library is to provide an opportunity for children to follow their own keen interests. Although the school library should have deep connections to classroom curriculum, and the librarian should work intimately with teachers on assigned research projects, I love the fact that children can come here and pursue their own personal passions every single week. When I was in library school, the concept of a "fixed" library schedule -- regular weekly visits -- was frowned upon as old-fashioned and not attuned to modern learning; the "best practice" model was for classes to come to the library, with their teachers, only on pre-arranged visits in order to do a research project. The visits could be for long block periods and might occur every day for a few weeks, after which there wouldn't be a regular class library visit until another research project was announced. I hate the idea of seeing children only when they have a school assignment.

Instead, our children have regular weekly or alternate weekly visits. After I do a lesson on library skills, a book talk, a read-aloud, or a discussion about research strategies or other formal teaching, the children have about 20 minutes to look for and read anything that interests them. This year I am grateful to have Lauren as a library assistant, so that both of us can help children find things they are curious about. Over the years, I have seen children develop passions for a surprising array of topics. Many of them read avidly, year after year, in their chosen field. These children are known as the local experts.

Need to identify an insect? Ask Sam! What to know about the Israeli Defense Forces? Ask David! What kind of horse is this? Ask Alexandra! Curious about beavers? Ask Patrick. Want to know anything about the planets? Find Julia. Need a good book about slavery? Ask Emma! Want to know anything about the Civil War? Talk to John. Wondering about tsunamis? Ask Jacob!

Parents can help children follow a passion, find an interest or spark a child's curiosity. The library is the perfect place to start.

Check out this video of a 3 year old with a passion - thanks to my colleague Joanna Gibson for sharing it. (If the embed doesn't work, click here.)

1 + 2 = 2

2010-11-05T12:36:00.006-04:00

"Here come the books!" Five and six year olds continue to talk -- and draw -- about the great book pass.

Exactly as we planned: parents can come in and read with their young children, before school, during school and after school.

Time to go shopping and enjoy the books (or nap).

Responses to the new library and surrounds:

Six year old boy: "Wow, Natalie! Is that a new Activeboard?"
Me: "Why yes, it is."
Little boy: "Whoa! You must have so much money!"

A high school student walked through and commented "Nice feng shui."

Six year old girl: "Yay! I can read on the floor!" (i.e., there is room to read on the floor and people don't have to step over her).

Seven year old boy, on seeing the book return slot:
"Wow! That's so cool! I'm going to check out a book right now so I can watch it slide down when I turn it in!"

I took a group of 7 & 8 year olds down the hall so that they could see where the bathrooms are. I gave a very serious explanation of water as a precious resource and explained the dual flush by saying "You lift the flushing handle for liquid waste and you push it down for solid waste." There was a pause, with a slight murmur of "number one and number two" as they processed the terms "liquid" and "solid" waste. I was pleased that there was no smirking or other potty talk. Then a little boy raised his hand and asked, sincerely and solemnly, "And how do you flush if you do #1 AND #2?"

We love this space.