Julie, Literacy Resource

http://www.reading.org/General/Publications/Books/SupplementalContent/bk616_supplement.aspx?mode=redirect&http://www.reading.org/publications/bbv/books/bk616/supplement.html

This website is great for finding books about diversity.  Each year the website is updated with 25 of the best books.  It offers support for both parents and teachers about cultural diversity.  You can search by year, author, title, genre - fiction, nonfiction, poetry, or folklore.   There are also books available in bilingual.  It is a great web-site, worth checking out.  You can never access to too many books for your classroom!
Julie

Anansi and the Talking Melon, retold by Eric A. Kimmel, illustrated by Janet Stevens

This book is sure to be a hit with younger elementary students.  It is a trickster tale about a spider who gets into a melon and eats so much that he cannot get back out of the hole that he dug.  The spider tricks all of the animals into thinking that the melon can talk.  They take the melon to the king, who is a monkey.  The king gets frustrated because the melon will not talk and then throws the melon, upon which the spider is free.  The story does not end there...the spider gets into the bananas and the elephant then thinks that the bananas can talk.  It is a very funny story.  The students that I have read this to ask me to read it again and again.
Julie

Bookflix

http://teacher.scholastic.com/products/grolier/

Looking for a computer based resource to promote fluency? Look no further. Sign up today for a free trial and bring quality children's literature into your classroom or computer lab. Familiar classroom read alouds are paired with non-fiction selections that students can choose to have
"read-aloud" as they listen with headphones. Look for the, "request a free trial" icon on the websites homepage. Students can choose from popular selections related to people and places, animals, ABC's, and more. If you have an active Parent Teacher Organization, funds may be available for an annual subcription. It is expensive, however every student in your school can access the website from any school computer and as an added bonus, students can access the website at home. Sign up today and a multitude of books will be available for your students to enjoy with a click of the mouse!

Reading Rockets

http://www.readingrockets.org/books/awardwinners

This is a website that has numerous teaching tools and more importantly 5 book lists. They are the 2011 Newberry Medal, the 2011 Caldecott Medal, other notable awards, best of lists, and other book list. The other book list has an extensive list of fabulous books. They are sorted by themes, best of, and hot off the press. This is a valuable website that should be checked out.

Town Mouse Country Mouse By: Jan Bret

The first thing that caught my attention about this book was the phenomenal illustrations. My kindergartner pores over this book looking at the rich pictures. It is the classics tale of the country mouse and city mouse that switch places. They think that the grass will be greener elsewhere and quickly regret their decision. The children love the ending of this book. The country mouse has no idea what a cat is and the city mouse has no idea what an owl is. This stemmed a great conversation as to why the city mouse called the owl a cat with wings and why the county mouse called the cat an owl without wings. It ends with the mice scurrying back to where they came from and the cat deciding to switch places with the owl.

Who Put the Pepper in the Pot? By: Joanna Cole

This book is about a family that is preparing for their Aunt Tootie to visit them. They are going to prepare a stew, but they forget to put pepper in the pot. Mama Sue asked everyone to put pepper in the pot, but they were all too busy. They all inadvertently put pepper in the pot. They discuss the different amounts of pinches the children put in the pot so you could easily incorporate math using this book. The back of the book has different jokes about food, kitchen safety tips, and a cookbook. The book has interesting illustrations and uses a variety of colors. I think it would be perfect for around the third grade.

Skippyjon Jones by Judy Schachner

This is a group of books that if you are not already familiar with, you're missing out. I had not heard of these books until a student brought it in for their "All About Me" week. I was fortunate enough to read the book aloud to students and it was an instant hit. Fortunately, Schachner has written a few more books, some including cds that have her reading aloud. I especially like the cd aspect because she does a nice job of providing a model of fluent reading by changing her voice for "Skippito Friskito...the great sword fighter." The group of books centers around a Siamese cat that dreams of being a Chihuahua. He has adventures when he "turns" into a Chihuahua. I like the word choice of the books. The books have some Spanish words, some songs, and parts for the readers and audience to clap along. I think students of all ages would enjoy this book (even graduate students like me)!

Cornrows by Camille Yarbrough

Do you know why the hair braids of blacks are called cornrows? Do you know the significance of the intricate or simplistic pattern of the braids? Gramaw and Mama will tell you. As they braid Mama's two children's hair, they warmheartedly tell stories and sing songs about their hair, slavery, and life in Africa to sister and her younger brother, Me Too. The black and white illustrations in this 48 page picture book vividly capture the family's deep affection as well as the poignant horrors of slavery. This book is best suited for students that are at least in fourth grade. If you are looking for a book that will bring the celebration of black culture and heritage to life, and provides a variety of thought provoking discussion topics, I recommend Cornrows.

No, David by David Shannon

If you want to "hook" young readers on a book, read No, David. Young readers will immediately connect with David, a little boy that does things that kids do that upset mom's. What child has not put their finger up their nose, walked into the house with dirt or mud all over their shoes, or had their bedroom covered in toys? Laughter abounds when readers discover David running down the street, with his backside exposed. Through out the story, David's mom repeatedly tells him, NO! In the end, as she tucks David into bed, students will take comfort in her expression of unconditional love. This highly visual, limited text childrens book is a must. Be ready for students to beg you to, READ IT AGAIN!

Knuffle Bunny: a cautionary tale, By Mo Willems

Taking the advice of an article that we read for class this week, I chose a book that a class of first graders that I subbed for just loved rather than a favorite of mine.
The book that they were so anxious for me to read was called Knuffle Bunny:  a cautionary tale.  This is the first in a series of books.  The next book is Knuffle Bunny Too, and the last is Knuffle Bunny Free.  I could not wait to read the book to the class to see what their excitement was all about.  What I discovered was that anyone who has ever had a favorite toy as a child will be able to identify with these books, thus the popularity for both children and parents.  The illustrations, which are photographs with cartoon characters superimposed on them, are very captivating to the audience.  The first book in the series is about a little girl named Trixie who goes to the laundry mat with her father.  Before leaving Trixie tries to tell her father that her stuffed bunny is missing but he mistakes her babbling for being fusy.  Upon arriving at home the mother discovers that Trixie's stuffed bunny is  missing.  They return to the laundry mat and upon finding the stuffed bunny Trixie screams, "Knuffle Bunny!"  Those were the first words that Trixie had ever spoken.
I'm not sure if I would have chosen this book on my own as it seemed a little juvenile for first graders.  I'm glad that I took the advice of the students to read it.  It was a cute story and now I can't wait to read it to another class!

Dog Eared by Amanda Harvey

The book I would recommend to read to students is Dog Eared by Amanda Harvey. This book is about a floppy-eared dog whose ears are too long compared to other dogs standards. Other dogs made fun of Otis which made him self-conscious of his ears. He has trouble sleeping and thought of different ways to "wear" his ears. Fortunately for Otis, he has a wonderful owner who loves him for who he is...especially for his great snuggly ears. The next time he encountered the mean dog who was making fun of his ears he stood up for himself. I really appreciate this book to teach students to be proud of themselves for who they are. Also, this could be a read aloud to talk to students about bullies and ways to handle if a student is mean to them.

A Sick Day for Amos McGee by Phillip C. Stead

When I first skimmed through this book, I was disappointed that it had won the Caldecott while my recent favorite, JIMI SOUNDS LIKE a RAINBOW, didn't even get an honorable mention on any of the lists. However, a closer read revealed why it won.

This book feels like a throw-back to GOODNIGHT MOON in terms of the minute details and the color separation techniques. Young children will enjoy looking for the small creatures who tag along with the larger zoo animals - a bird carrying books, the bird sitting on top of a bus, and the mouse waiting at its own mini-bus stop. Readers will puzzle over the balloon - it appears on the title page, is in the background as the zoo animals troop to Amos's home, settles slowly to earth so the penguin can catch it, and is then floating in Amos's bedroom.

As befits a Caldecott, the writing fully supports the calming illustrations. I didn't experience a single jarring moment as I read the story. The rhythm is flawless and the compassion shown by each character to the others is a welcome respite from the sometimes spiteful world of pop culture.

Finally, do notice the dedication of the author & illustrator (a husband/wife team) to each other.

Sit-In: How Four... by the Pinkneys

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to hear Andrea & Brian Pinkney, a husband/wife team, talk about their book projects.

I was fascinated to hear Andrea deconstruct the artwork in this book. She said that the way Brian portrayed the lunch counter in his images almost made it another character in the book. For example, on one page, the counter was shown from two different angles so that it seemed to cave-in on itself in the gutter of the book. This symbolism represented the way that segregation was caving in.

On later pages, the lunch counter became a road with ups and downs, showing the series of successes and failures that the civil rights workers experienced. Finally, a road was shown on a track similar to that of a roller coaster, symbolic of the out-of-control twists that one can encounter when on a frightening journey. Every time I hear someone do a visual analysis of art, I'm impressed at the added layers of meaning that the images add to the story.

This is definitely a picture book for many ages. Children in the early elementary grades will be moved to discuss the ways that teens try to help others. Children & youth in later grades can use this text as a jumping-off point to explore the many incidents in the civil rights movement.

Two of Everything Heather Cook

Two of Everything was written by Lily Toy Hong. It is a humorous book about an elderly couple that comes across a brass pot. This pot is magical and doubles whatever you put in it. The couple spends hours doubling the few bits of money they have in order to become wealthy. It is an excellent book pertaining to math. The conflict in the story is when Mrs.Haktak falls in the pot and out come two Mrs.Haktaks! Thankfully the couple comes up with a brilliant idea in order to resolve this conflict and live comfortably.

Tops and Bottoms by Janet Stevens

The book that I would like to share is "Tops and Bottoms" by Janet Stevens.  This book is a trickster tale.  The tale is about a rabbit who lost a bet with a tortoise which resulted in the rabbit selling his farmland to the bear next door.  This was not just any ol' bear, but a very lazy bear.  The bear's father had been a very hard worker; however, the only thing this bear wanted to do was to sleep.  The tale goes on about how the rabbit tricks the bear into getting his land back - the bear chooses if he want the "tops" or the "bottoms" of crops that the rabbits plant.  It is a very funny book.  The book is also very unique because it is read from "top to bottom."  Unlike books that open from the side and are read from left to right, this book opens at the top and is read from top to bottom.  I think the uniqueness of this book will capture the attention of many students, it is well suited for students in grades 1-3.

Scaredy Squirrel by Melanie Watt

Hi Everyone,
The book that I would like to share, which you may already be familiar with, is Scaredy Squirrel by Melanie Watt. I really enjoy reading this book to my students at the beginning of the year, especially to younger students. It is about a squirrel who is perfectly content living a safe squirrel life with his safe daily routine. He provides readers with a list of the many things he's scared of...which is ok until he is confronted with one of his most feared enemies. He then learns that he can handle any situation and even changes up his routine a little. I really enjoy this book because it is funny. I think students can relate to it, especially the first week of school, because they may be nervous about meeting a new teacher and new classmates and leaving the comfort of their summer vacation and home. I thought there was only one book, but as I read it to students each year, they informed me that there are a few other "Scaredy Squirrel" adventures. I have read one or 2 others and they are equally funny and entertaining. I hope you get the chance to read it...I know you'll enjoy it!

GoodReads and GoodReads for Kids

Teachers who can inspire kids to read tend to have two major characteristics. First, they read widely for their own pleasure. One great source to read reviews of books and talk with other readers about their top picks is the website GoodReads.com. (You can find me there under the user name mbmullin16@gmail.com.)
http://www.goodreads.com/


Another important aspect is being familiar with many books that kids will want to read. This site is a good tool for finding out what kids are reading and what their opinions are.
http://www.kidsreads.com

Have fun exploring the books at these sites.
Margaret

Plain Kate by Erin Bow

I have no idea why I requested this book from the library. I must have seen it reference on some blog & thought it sounded interesting; besides, there's a talking cat - how could I resist!

I strongly recommend this book. The back-of-book blurbs talk about the "poetry, magic, humor,and sorrow" (Meg Rosoff) and how the "deceptively simple prose steals over you like an enchanted fog" (Elizabeth C. Bunce). Neither of the blurbs talk about the strong world building, compelling characterization, and complex plot (oh, and the talking cat!) There are Russian names; a feudal world, complete with guilds and guild masters; and a strange juxtaposition of both the use and fear of magic. The characters are connected in ways that are hinted at in skillful foreshadowing, leading to the resolution of the problem. Bow epitomizes the things I love about YA fantasy - characters and settings I care about while also providing a vehicle to consider issues in our own lives and world.

* At what point is the cost of vengeance higher than the unjust crime that prompted it?
* What is owed by the person who became an unwitting agent of evil?
* If your inaction caused evil to happen, what is your responsibility to right it? At what point does the cost become too much to bear?

I strongly recommend this one.

Hunger by Jackie Morse Kessler

This book is amazing. I remember my mother-in-law talking about this book when she first read the ARC (advanced reading copy). When my husband turned into a prune in the tub, I knew that I'd have to tackle it, even though the topic is hardly fitting for a holiday break - I had a sense that it would be work to read. So far from the truth...

Kessler pulled me into Lisabeth's world in just a few pages, seamlessly moving between "all-American suburbia" and scenes with the Horsemen of the Apocolypse: Famine, War, Death, and Pestilence. Through her position as Famine, Lisabeth is able to find her own inner strength, setting her on a path to acknowledge and battle the anorexia that she hadn't yet acknowledged when she became Famine. Finally, Kessler's writing packs a punch - in relatively few pages for a YA novel, she uses poetic description and vivid images to make the reader feel what Lisabeth feels. As I said in another review, one power of YA fantasy is the ability to tackle problems from our world in a new way. Kessler's novel is compelling and important.