tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6761399433459248542024-03-13T12:22:42.703-07:00Mr. Molloy's Book ClubMr. Molloyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03043565772587095893noreply@blogger.comBlogger21125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-676139943345924854.post-3641823387252310742012-11-26T20:48:00.001-08:002012-11-26T20:48:29.393-08:00Grandfather Twilight<br />
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<a href="http://bhberger.com/children/books/images/covrgt_320.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://bhberger.com/children/books/images/covrgt_320.jpg" /></a><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Title:</span> <i style="font-size: 12pt;">Grandfather Twilight</i><span style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">Author and </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">Illustrator:</span></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"> Barbara Helen Berger</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Copyright
Date:</span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> 1984<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Genre:</span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> Fiction<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Theme:</span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> night, twilight, sleep, personification<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Grades:</span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> Preschool and up<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Awards:</span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 20px;">Parent's Choice Foundation </span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; line-height: 20px;">Award for Illustration,</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; line-height: 20px;"> Washington State Governor's </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; line-height: 20px;">Writer's Award (<a href="http://bhberger.com/children/books/bks_gt.htm">Source</a>)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Summary</span><span style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The story follows the nightly ritual of Grandfather Twilight, a kind old soul who lives deep in the forest. Each night he takes a pearl from his chest and proceeds to go on a walk. As he goes, the pearl becomes larger and larger with each step, but still he walks on.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">What will happen to Grandfather Twilight and his pearl before he returns home? Read this book to find out.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Pre-reading
Activity</span><span style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">The character of Grandfather Twilight is a great example of personification. Hold a mini-lesson on what personification is, the attributing human characteristics or feeling on inanimate objects or </span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">phenomena. Then present them with the title of the book and the front cover. Ask them who they think Grandfather Twilight is and from his name and the way he is shown, what do they think will happen in the book. </span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">During
Reading Activity</span><span style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">While the story is going, stop and offer chances to predict what is going to happen. With the large number of pages that lack text, have students analyze the pictures for how they continue the plot without the text. What is going on in the picture and what does that say about what's happening in the story?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Post-reading
Activity</span><span style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">After the story is over, younger students can write about their own nighttime rituals. What do you do when you are going to bed? Do you take a bath, change into pajamas, hear a bedtime story? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Older students may find it fun to write their own story of how night phenomena occurs. Possible questions to answer with a story could include the following: How do the stars shine? What makes a shooting star? Who are owls asking questions of? Why does it get dark when the sun sets?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Author
and Illustrator</span><span style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Barbara Berger worked as an artist for ten years before focusing on children's books. Since then, she has written and illustrated ten books, including <i>Animalia</i>, <i>Thunder Bunny</i>, and <i>A Lot of Otters</i>, combining different styles of art from Tibetan to Medieval illuminated manuscripts. For her work she has received many awards, including the prestigious Golden Kite Award for Picture Illustration. She currently lives in Washington. (Sources: <a href="http://bhberger.com/children/bio/bio_intro.htm">here</a> and <a href="http://bhberger.com/children/books/books.htm">here</a>)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Reflections</span><span style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">This was my favorite bedtime story growing up, only rivaled by <i>Goodnight Moon</i>. It's calming tone and gorgeous illustrations make it a great story for when you are putting a little one down for bed or sharing a quiet moment with a class. Whether its to examine literary elements such as personification or mood or just as an entertaining treat, this book is sure to please. I highly recommend it. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">If
you are interested in purchasing this book, click <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Grandfather-Twilight-Paperstar-Barbara-Berger/dp/0698113942">here</a>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Barbara Berger has shared her thoughts on the strong response fans of this book have given her, in this section from her website:</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">"Over the years, many people have told me about the peaceful hush that comes over a child, even a roomful of children, with the reading of Grandfather Twilight. When I created the book, I could only hope that something of the serenity I feel, myself, at twilight might come through the words and art. But I never dreamed that so many children would truly love it as they do, ask for it over and over again, find solace for fears of the dark and sometimes, even for the loss of a parent or grandparent. I never dreamed that Grandfather Twilight would have such a wonderful long life as a book, nor such a wide reach among children and adults alike, from the youngest to the oldest. To this day, it seems a miracle to me." (<a href="http://bhberger.com/children/books/bks_gt.htm">Source</a>)</span></div>
Mr. Molloyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03043565772587095893noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-676139943345924854.post-69260220031180238062012-11-26T12:53:00.004-08:002012-11-26T12:53:52.205-08:00Junior Kroll<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLVdKSnh_mq6REABcMqAzau2vjDpGBvdsAe7Efm3zeuksuOQuv4R6MftMFZHWAEvF4KbPSNa55aHqWVKdfr2JEAFEAW6FUwPSACEW_cqM14NsqQcXWVkvtgmG7ub8N9sZ8aoa5r6cF7nQP/s1600/51QR98YK3PL._SS500_.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLVdKSnh_mq6REABcMqAzau2vjDpGBvdsAe7Efm3zeuksuOQuv4R6MftMFZHWAEvF4KbPSNa55aHqWVKdfr2JEAFEAW6FUwPSACEW_cqM14NsqQcXWVkvtgmG7ub8N9sZ8aoa5r6cF7nQP/s320/51QR98YK3PL._SS500_.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: large;">Title:</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> <i>Junior Kroll</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: large;">Author:</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> Betty Paraskevas<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: large;">Illustrator:</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> Michael Paraskevas<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: large;">Copyright
Date:</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> 1993<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: large;">Genre: </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">poetry<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: large;">Theme:</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> humor, family<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: large;">Grades:</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> 2-4<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><span style="font-size: large;">Summary</span><span style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">In this collection of poems, readers will meet a boy named Junior Kroll who proves to be as rambunctious, unique, and surprisingly sweet little kid as you'll ever meet. You will follow him as he interacts with his equally bizarre family, including his crazy great dane Max, his poker playing grandfather, and his teddy bear taking cousin.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">What crazy adventures will Junior Kroll get into? Read this book to find out. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><span style="font-size: large;">Pre-reading
Activity</span><span style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The poems in this collection are all about the characters. It would be good to do a mini-lesson on characterization, both direct and indirect. Go over how the poet can just say how the character is and how describing their actions and words helps give the reader a full sense of who the character is and what they are like. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><span style="font-size: large;">During
Reading Activity</span><span style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">During the reading have students keep track of Junior Kroll's characterization, using the information they learned in the pre-reading activity. Have them keep track of Junior's qualities, adding to the lists with each poem, and how the information was presented (directly or indirectly). Maybe share the new items on the list after each poem, especially if you are going to split the poems up over the course of several classes. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><span style="font-size: large;">Post-reading
Activity</span><span style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">After reading through the collection of poems and gaining a better understanding who Junior is as a person, this would be a good opportunity for students to synthesize what they've learned from the various poems into a character analysis piece. They can either write a paragraph or a visual (such as a cut out of Junior with qualities written inside), where they explain who Junior is and back it up with examples. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><span style="font-size: large;">Author
and Illustrator</span><span style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Before becoming a children's book writer, Betty Paraskevas was a lyricist and playwright for broadway shows, working on plays such as <i>No No Nannette</i>. She was convinced to write her first book, <i>On the Edge of the Sea</i>, by her illustrator son Michael. After that one, she would go on to write almost twenty children's books, including four collections of Junior Kroll books and creating <i>the Maggie and the Ferocious Beast</i> books. She passed away in 2010. (Sources: book jacket and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Betty-Paraskevas/e/B001HMPSVQ/ref=la_B001HMPSVQ_pg_1?rh=n%3A283155%2Cp_82%3AB001HMPSVQ&ie=UTF8&qid=1353961359">here</a>)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Michael Paraskevas was already an illustrator prior to illustrating this book. Along with being the illustrator of every one of his mother's books, Michael has illustrated for other authors, such as <i>On My Way to the Bath</i> by Sarah Maizes. He is also an author in his own right, writing and illustrating the books, <i>Taffy Saltwater's Yummy Summer Day</i> and <i>L.A. Times</i>. He is the co-creator of <i>Maggie and the Ferocious Beast</i>. (Sources: book jacket and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=ntt_athr_dp_sr_1?_encoding=UTF8&field-author=Michael%20Paraskevas&ie=UTF8&search-alias=books&sort=relevancerank">here</a>)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><span style="font-size: large;">Reflections</span><span style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Along with Shel Silverstein, Junior Kroll dominated poetry during my childhood. Looking back on it as an adult and educator I can better appreciate the humor and sentimentality found in each poem. You can't help but fall in love with this precocious young boy, even if he puts frosting spiders on birthday cakes. I can't recommend this book enough. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">If
you are interested in purchasing this book, click<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Junior-Kroll-Betty-Paraskevas/dp/0152026533"> here</a> and if you want more Junior Kroll, look into getting his other three collections: </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Junior-Kroll-Company-Betty-Paraskevas/dp/0152928553/ref=sr_1_11?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1353962229&sr=1-11" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">Junior Kroll and Company</a>, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Junior-Kroll-Esquire-Betty-Paraskevas/dp/0156465728/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1353962879&sr=1-3&keywords=junior+kroll">Junior Kroll, Esquire</a>, and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Very-Kroll-Christmas-Betty-Paraskevas/dp/0152928839/ref=sr_1_16?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1353962772&sr=1-16">A Very Kroll Christmas</a><br />
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Mr. Molloyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03043565772587095893noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-676139943345924854.post-63332518515802619692012-11-25T16:11:00.003-08:002012-11-25T16:11:48.529-08:00Maggie Mab and the Bogey Beast<br />
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<a href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51gp9eJU-CL._SL500_AA300_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51gp9eJU-CL._SL500_AA300_.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Title:</span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> <i>Maggie Mab and the Bogey Beast</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Author:</span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> Valerie Scho Carey<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Illustrator: </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Johanna Westerman<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Copyright
Date:</span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> 1992<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Genre:</span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> fiction, traditional folktale<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Theme:</span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> ghosts, Great Britain, <o:p></o:p></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">thankfulness</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Grades:</span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> 2-4</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Summary</span><span style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Maggie Mab is a woman living by herself in Northern England. She is very poor, but is always happy to help out neighbors and strangers with the little she has and ever complains about her situation. One night coming back from a neighboring farm, she comes across an abandoned pot full of gold. Although she could use the money to make her life easier, Maggie's first thought is to take it home to keep it safe from robbers so it can be returned to its proper owners. Strangely, this pot of gold transforms into a lump of silver, but this is only the start of a very bizarre night for Maggie.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">What do these strange happenings have to do with the legendary Bogey Beast and what lessons about thankfulness can readers take from this tale? Read this book to find out. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Pre-reading
Activity</span><span style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">This book tells a traditional folktale from Northern England. Because it is set in a country/culture that your student may not be familiar with, it would be a good idea to set it up a bit before reading. Show where Northern England is on a map, or even show pictures of the area. It may also be a good idea to go over some of the culturally specific or other unfamiliar words nd phrases for the students so they won't be thrown off by them when read in the text. Some words to go over could be: churning butter, toppling-over, </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px;">shawl, and </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">bogey beast. With the context given by these words, especially the bogey beast, students will better be able to enjoy the story. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">During
Reading Activity</span><span style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">This book is filled with interesting comparisons such as "poor as the sound of a tin bell," "neat as a chapel cleaned for Sunday," and "lazy as a badger in winter." After a quick reminder of metaphors and similes have the students make a list of comparisons they come across during the reading. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Post-reading
Activity</span><span style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Using their individual lists, make a class list of metaphors and similes used in the book and as a class or in pairs, have students take them apart to determine the greater details they tell. For example when Maggie is considering being rich and "lazy as a badger in winter," she is referring to how badgers usually asleep all winter since they hibernate. So this comparison says that Maggie thinks she would be extremely restful and lazy if she became rich. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">After exploring the similes and metaphors from the story, it would be fun for them to write some descriptive comparisons themselves, in as part of a story or standing on their own. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Author
and Illustrator</span><span style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Valerie Scho Carey's love of storytelling comes from listening to her parents stories as a child and has led to her studying history and stories from many cultures. Along with this book, she has written five books for children, winning awards for <i>The Devil and Mother Crump</i> and <i>Harriet and William and the Terrible Creature</i>. She currently lives in Michigan. (Sources: book jacket and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Valerie-Scho-Carey/e/B001HCWQRA">here</a>)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">This book was Johanna Westerman's first picture book she's illustrated. Since then, she has illustrated seven other books, including <i>I like Cats</i> and <i>Little Swan</i>, and received very positive reviews for her work. She continues to create artwork and illustrate books. She currently lives in California. (Sources: book jacket, <a href="http://www.johannawesterman.com/books.html">here</a>, and <a href="http://www.johannawesterman.com/about.html">here</a>)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Reflections</span><span style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">This book was always a favorite of mine, even when I found it a bit spooky. Looking back at it as an educator, I can see it is a great resource for a variety of reading topics such as folklore and metaphors and similes. Although it may be scary for very young students, second graders and up will enjoy this book. I highly recommend it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">If
you are interested in purchasing this book, click <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Maggie-Bogey-Beast-Valerie-Carey/dp/1559701552">here</a>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
Mr. Molloyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03043565772587095893noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-676139943345924854.post-53032928257775134362012-11-24T23:46:00.002-08:002012-11-24T23:46:49.797-08:00King Bidgood's in the Bathtub<br />
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<a href="http://www.gscdn.org/library/cms/44/1644.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.gscdn.org/library/cms/44/1644.jpg" /></a><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Title:</span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> <i>King Bidgood's in the Bathtub</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Author:</span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> Audrey Wood<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Illustrator:</span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> Don Wood<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Copyright
Date:</span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> 1985<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Genre:</span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> fiction<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Theme:</span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> baths, royalty, repeating<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Grades:</span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> P-2 (<a href="http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/book/king-bidgoods-bathtub">source</a>)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">Awards:</span> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Booklist Starred Review, </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">School Library Journal Starred Review, </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">School Library Journal Best Books of 1985, </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Caldecott Honor, </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Pen Los Angeles Center Literary Award, </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Washington Children's Choice Picture Book Award, </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Port Washington Children's Favorite Book Award, </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">West Virginia Children's Book Award Honor Book, </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Colorado Children's Book Award, </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">North Carolina Children's Book Award, </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Nevada Children's Book Award, </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">ALA Notable Book, </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Parent's Choice Award, </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Storytime Featured Book (<a href="http://www.audreywood.com/books-written-by-audrey-wood/king-bidgoods-in-the-bathtub/awards-and-reviews-for-king-bidgoods-in-the-bathtub">source</a>)</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">King Bidgood is enjoying a bath in his royal bathtub but when it comes time for him to leave it, he won't get out. The Page cries for help and the different members of the court come up with reasons for him to end his bath. </span>Unfortunately<span style="font-family: inherit;"> King Bidgood finds a way to have each of their other activities, such as battling and fishing, happen right in his tub with hilarious consequences. </span></span></div>
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What or who will finally get King Bidgood out of the tub? Read this book to find out.</div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The humor of this book relies on readers understanding the ridiculousness of fishing, eating, and dancing in the tub. Have a discussion about baths before reading this book, possibly making two lists. The first would be what they do in the bathtub---wash our hair, play with rubber ducks, have bubbles, etc. The other would be things that they don't (or shouldn't) do in the bathtub---ride a bike, cook, play videogames, etc. After the two lists are done, explain that you are going to be reading a book about a very silly king who does some very strange things in the bathtub.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">During
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">This book is written in a repetitive and wonderfully predictable way. Have the students predict what they think will happen to the Queen and the Duke, after seeing how King Bidgood waged battle in the tub earlier. Students may also enjoy reading along with the teacher, especially if you read this book more than once.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Post-reading
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Due to its repetitive style and large cast of characters, this book is a favorite to turn into a reader's theater. You can assign parts to students and have them read the words and perform the actions from their parts of the book, acting in front of an audience of classmates, another class, or even parents. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">These two videos show different classes performing their versions of the book in play form, utilyzing the audio recording of the book available <a href="http://hmhbooks.com/hmh/site/hmhbooks/bookdetails?isbn=9780152055783">here</a>. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Author
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">Audrey Wood is not only an author, but also an artist (the fourth generation of artists in her family), has owned and ran a book and import store, taught drama, even traveled throughout South America. Along with writing this book, she has written and illustrated her own books (like <i>Blue Sky</i>), and written others that have been illustrated by her husband Don (like <i>Heckedy Pig</i>) and her son Bruce (like <i>Alphabet Rescue</i>). She currently lives in California. (Sources: book jacket, <a href="http://www.audreywood.com/audrey-wood,-don-wood,-and-bruce-wood/audrey-woods-biography">here</a>, and <a href="http://www.audreywood.com/books-written-by-don,-bruce,-and-audrey-wood/all-books-written-and-illustrated-by-the-woods">here</a>) </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">Don Wood provided the wonderful illustrations for this book that won it the prestigious Caldecott Medal. Along with illustrating this book, he has illustrated many books by his wife Audrey, (such as <i>Piggies</i>). He is also an author himself, writing books with his wife (such as <i>The Big Hungry Bear</i>) and even one by himself (<i>Into the Volcano</i>). He currently lives in California. (Sources: book jacket, <a href="http://www.audreywood.com/audrey-wood,-don-wood,-and-bruce-wood/childrens-book-illustrator-don-woods-biography">here</a>, and <a href="http://www.audreywood.com/books-written-by-don,-bruce,-and-audrey-wood/all-books-written-and-illustrated-by-the-woods">here</a>)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Reflections</span><span style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">This is one of my favorite books from my childhood and it really holds up years later. Your class will love the sing song nature of the book and and being able to "read" along with the teacher. No doubt you will also find students pouring over the illustrations, looking at the great details and funny things hidden in them. I can almost guarantee that this will become a favorite in your classroom. I highly recommend it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">If
you are interested in purchasing this book, click <a href="http://www.amazon.com/King-Bidgoods-Bathtub-Caldecott-Honor/dp/0152054359">here</a>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
Mr. Molloyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03043565772587095893noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-676139943345924854.post-24996421845302785092012-11-23T22:07:00.001-08:002012-11-23T22:07:17.518-08:00And Tango Makes Three<br />
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<a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/e/e7/Tangopenguin.jpg/300px-Tangopenguin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="247" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/e/e7/Tangopenguin.jpg/300px-Tangopenguin.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Title:</span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> <i>And Tango Makes Three</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Authors:</span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Illustrator:</span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> Henry Cole<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Copyright
Date:</span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> 2005<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Genre:</span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> Non-fiction<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Theme:</span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> Families, animals, penguins, homosexuality<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Grades:</span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> PreK-3<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Awards:</span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 11px;">ALA Notable Children's Book Nominee, </span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 11px;">ASPCA Henry Bergh Book Award </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 11px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Winner, </span></span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 11px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Bank Street Best Books of the Year (</span><a href="http://books.simonandschuster.net/And-Tango-Makes-Three/Peter-Parnell/9781442424104" style="font-family: inherit;">source</a><span style="font-family: inherit;">)</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Summary</span><span style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">In the Central Park Zoo there are many families. While most of the couples are made of a boy and a girl animal, Roy and Silo were two boy penguins who are in love and became a couple. When it came for the other penguin families to have children, Roy and Silo made a nest and worked to have a family of their own; even sitting on a rock in the hopes that it would hatch.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Will Roy and Silo ever have a family like the other penguin couples and what will Mr. Gramzay the zookeeper do with the extra egg he found? Read this book to find out. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Pre-reading
Activity</span><span style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">This book offers a great opportunity to teach about a family structure not always talked about with young children. Before reading the book, it might be good to have a quick discussion about different types of families the class might already be familiar with. Have the class help you make a list of different famil groups the students may have, such as a mother and father, single parent, foster parent, adopted parents, living with grandparents, being raised by a sibling, living with extended family, etc. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">It is important to point out that not only are every one of these families is completely okay but they have more things in common than they have differences. They have adults and children who love each other and work together to make their each others' lives happy.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Post-reading
Activity</span><span style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">After reading and listening to this story once, it would be nice to have students make a Venn diagram comparing their own family to Roy, Silo, and Tango's. This may require a mini-lesson on Venn diagrams and/or a second read through so they can pick up on more details.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">After their graphic organizers are completed, have students write a paragraph about how the two families are alike and different. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Author
and Illustrator</span><span style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Along with being a writer, Justin Richardson works at Columbia and Cornell Universities as an assistant professor of psychiatry. He is the co-author another children's book (<i>Christian the Hugging Lion</i>), along with writing for adults in <i>New York Times</i> columns and the book, <i>Everything You Never Wanted Your Kids to Know About Sex (But Were Afraid They'd Ask)</i>. He currently lives in New York with Peter Parnell. (Source: book jacket and <a href="http://authors.simonandschuster.net/Justin-Richardson/27409275">here</a>)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Peter Parnell is the co-author of two children's books (the other being <i>Christian the Hugging Lion</i>) but is also a successful playwright. His works have appeared on and off-Broadway (<i>QED</i> being his latest theatrical work) and he has also worked in television as a writer for <i>Little Bear</i> and as a producer for <i>The Guardian </i>and <i>The West Wing</i>. He currently lives in New York with Justin Richardson. (Sources: book jacket and <a href="http://authors.simonandschuster.net/Peter-Parnell/707666">here</a>)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Henry Cole started out as an elementary teacher before becoming a full time writer and illustrator. He has worked on over fifty books including serving as the illustrator for </span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: inherit;">Alyssa Satin Capucilli's <i>Katy Duck</i> series and the author and illustrator of his own books like <i>Unspoken: A Story From the Underground Railroad </i>and <i>The Littlest Evergreen</i>. He currently lives in Washington D.C. (Sources: book jacket, <a href="http://authors.simonandschuster.com/Henry-Cole/1817514/biography">here</a>, <a href="http://authors.simonandschuster.com/Henry-Cole/1817514/books/date/10/2">here</a> and <a href="http://www.henrycole.net/main.php?link=library">here</a>)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Reflections</span><span style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">This book is controversial to say the least. It can be found on many schools' banned book lists because it deals with a topic that not everyone agrees on, same-sex couples and parents. This book doesn't deserve the negative stigma that comes with being labeled banned. It shows a same-sex couple in an incredibly sensitive way, as two men who love each other and like being with each other. This would make a great introduction for students or even your children to these types of couples in an age appropriate way. Best of all, the entire story is true. I highly recommend this book, if not in your classroom, at least in your personal library. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">If
you are interested in purchasing this book, click <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Tango-Makes-Three-Justin-Richardson/dp/0689878451">here</a>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
Mr. Molloyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03043565772587095893noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-676139943345924854.post-57609257363771847032012-11-14T09:07:00.004-08:002012-11-14T09:09:13.492-08:00Why Does Izzy Cover Her Ears?<br />
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<a href="http://www.aapcpublishing.net/images/books/9344fb6232940a8d1ae7f717330541adf1c9b73b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://www.aapcpublishing.net/images/books/9344fb6232940a8d1ae7f717330541adf1c9b73b.jpg" width="247" /></a><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Title:</span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> <i>Why Does Izzy Cover Her Ears?</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Author and Illustrator:</span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> Jennifer Veenendall</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Copyright
Date:</span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> 2009<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Genre:</span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> educational fiction<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Theme:</span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> sensory overload, sensory processing disorder, disabilities, school<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Grades:</span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> Kindergarten and up<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">Awards:</span> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Foreword Book of the Year (2009), </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">International Book Award Finalist (2010) (<a href="http://www.aapcpublishing.net/book/view/27/why-does-izzy-cover-her-ears-dealing-with-sensory-overloadforeword-book-of-the-year-2009international-book-award-finalist-2010">source</a>)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Summary</span><span style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Our hero Izzy has recently started the first grade but hasn't been having the greatest time so far. You see, Izzy has a sensory processing disorder which makes her very sensitive to noise, touch, visual distractions, etc. With all of the bright lights, colorful art on the walls, kids talking and bumping into her, she sometimes gets so overwhelmed she can't take it anymore.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Can Izzy's teacher do anything to help her? Will Izzy ever enjoy the first grade? Read this book to find out. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Pre-reading
Activity</span><span style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Before reading this book, try to get the class to understand what it feels like to be overwhelmed. This could be as simple as asking for some students to share a time in their lives where they've felt overwhelmed and to describe how they felt. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">If the students are old enough and you do it safely, you could also try creating an overwhelming experience for the students to feel that way themselves. Teachers should explain that they are going to be reading a book about a very special little girl, but first they are going to do an experiment. The teacher could hand out a timed math quiz to the class, but have far more questions than the students will not be able to finish (this will add some stress). Then while it is going on play a video that is distracting and have a loud conversation on the phone (adding visual and auditory distractions). After a very short period of time, stop the quiz and collect the papers. Discuss with the students what they thought about the quiz. do they think they did well? Why not? How did they feel? Explain that they just had an experience like someone who has a sensory processing disorder, and that you are going to be reading a book about a girl named Izzy who experiences feelings like this very often. Also make sure to let the class know you aren't going to be using the quiz for anything and to not worry about it. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">In the story, the author describes many classroom changes that Izzy's teacher made to help her work better and to concentrate. Have a short discussion reviewing some of these changes, that not only benefited Izzy but the entire class. Then have them apply these types of changes to their on class. Have them write a paragraph about what they think are the distractions in their own classroom and what changes they would make if Izzy were to become a student in their class. It might also been good to take some of the students ideas and actually apply them to the room in order to help them concentrate.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Author
and Illustrator</span><span style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Jennifer Veenendall is an occupational therapist who works in schools in Minnesota. She is passionate about helping students with sensory processing needs by creating environments that meet their needs so that they can learn and enjoy school. In efforts to share knowledge about this group of special needs and tips for teachers on working with students with these needs, she has written two children's books about sensory processing disorder, including this book and <i>Arnie and His School Tools: Simple Sensory Solutions that Build Success</i>, both of which are International Book Award Finalists. She currently lives in Wisconsin. (<a href="http://www.aapcpublishing.net/author/91/jennifer-veenendall">Source</a>)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Reflections</span><span style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">I think this book is a great resource for teachers. It's plainly written so students of any grade can understand it if you read it to them, but still full of great tools and strategies for teachers to think about for their own rooms. Its informational page, bibliography, and resource list all provide teachers (and parents) with tons of information on this particular disorder and ways of finding more. This book would be a good one to share if there is confusion about a student in class who may have this disability or for just spreading awareness of others with disabilities in the community so misconceptions can corrected. I highly recommend this book. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">If
you are interested in purchasing this book, click <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Does-Cover-Dealing-Sensory-Overload/dp/1934575461">here</a>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
Mr. Molloyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03043565772587095893noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-676139943345924854.post-33280557322238481712012-11-10T15:08:00.001-08:002012-11-25T14:26:15.630-08:00Tyrannosaurus Math <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQC8igW9QU5tXVJJkWcz0ntGFBxLUiV5jmDnPDOy48HQop_qzDsJBOy462O36oOqfxmGNGqXZhRi6_d0ER78bQB-E4b9JhsIjQFm7BYj8e2CFrbFC6WXYBn4-DhRo8qYcnXo2LjpK2lsk/s1600/trex+math.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQC8igW9QU5tXVJJkWcz0ntGFBxLUiV5jmDnPDOy48HQop_qzDsJBOy462O36oOqfxmGNGqXZhRi6_d0ER78bQB-E4b9JhsIjQFm7BYj8e2CFrbFC6WXYBn4-DhRo8qYcnXo2LjpK2lsk/s320/trex+math.jpg" width="263" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: large;">Title:</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> <i>Tyrannosaurus Math</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: large;">Author: </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Michelle Markel<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: large;">Illustrator:</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> Doug Cushman<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: large;">Copyright
Date:</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> 2009<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: large;">Genre:</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> Fiction<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: large;">Theme:</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> Dinosaurs, math, problem-solving<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: large;">Grades:</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> K-3<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">Awards:</span> <span style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 28px;">WINNER Cooperative Children's Book Center Choices (<a href="http://www.randomhouse.com/book/198243/tyrannosaurus-math-by-michelle-markel#awards">Source</a>)</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><span style="font-size: large;">Summary</span><span style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">From the moment when he first cracked out of his egg, the dinosaur hero of this book sets himself apart from his friends with his unique passion; he loved math. Throughout the book, Tyrannosaurus Math uses math skills to learn about his world and solve problems that arise in his life; showing examples of addition, counting by fives, pictographs, and even fractions. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">How does Tyrannosaurus Math save the day with his amazing arithmetic abilities? Read the book to find out. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><span style="font-size: large;">Pre-reading
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><span style="font-size: small;">Before diving into this book, teachers may want to get their students thinking about the hidden math people use everyday. Teachers can ask students to share a time in their lives they use math outside of the classroom. Students may require an example from the teacher as an ice breaker to help them get their brains going. Teachers can give examples such as counting out coins for a parking meter, use multiplication to scale up amounts of </span>ingredients<span style="font-size: small;"> needed for a recipe for a large party, or using division/fractions to split up a pizza equally among friends. With students thinking and sharing about this math in their own lives, explain that you are going to be reading a book about a very special dinosaur who also uses math in his life and that they should look for what math skills he uses.</span></span><br />
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This book, along with having a story narrative, is full of math problems. Teachers might find it amusing to put sticky notes over the answers to the math problems and see if the class can solve the problems along with Tyrannosaurus Math.<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">After reading this book, students can take time to write their own math stories in emulation of this book, either starring themselves, their own character, or even as another Tyrannosaurus Math adventure. Teachers may also benefit from using this style of storytelling and characters for presenting word problems; having a continuous narrative with multiple problems, since the phrase "word problem" seems to strike students with fear.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><span style="font-size: large;">Author
and Illustrator</span><span style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Michelle Markel started out writing as a journalist who's articles appeared in famous newspapers including <i>The Los Angeles Times</i> and <i>The Wall St. Journal</i>. Today she writes for children, being the author of seven books, including <i>The Fantastic Jungles of Henri Rousseau</i> and <i>Dream Town</i>. She currently lives in California. (Sources: book jacket and <a href="http://www.michellemarkel.com/bio.html">here</a>)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Doug Cushman is responsible for the artwork for this and many other children's books. He has either written or illustrated (often both) over 120 books. He has illustrated Douglas Wood's "Can't Do" series and Bethany Roberts' "Mice" book series, and is the author and illustrator of the Dirk Bones mystery series. He currently lives in Paris, France. (Sources: book jacket, <a href="http://doug-cushman.com/myself.html">here</a>, and <a href="http://productsearch.barnesandnoble.com/search/results.aspx?store=book&WRD=Doug%20Cushman">here</a>)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><span style="font-size: large;">Reflections</span><span style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">While math and reading may not always seem like the easiest subjects to combine, this book does so nicely. Students will enjoy the story and teachers will like how it answers the frequent question students have about math, "When am I going to ever need to use this in real life?." This book provides many real life examples of real math use, while also serving as a more friendly alternative to word problems that is just begging to be copied by teachers. This is another book I recommend for all classrooms, especially with reluctant math users. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">If
you are interested in purchasing this book, click <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Tyrannosaurus-Math-Michelle-Markel/dp/1582462828">here</a>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
Mr. Molloyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03043565772587095893noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-676139943345924854.post-43476980942797605832012-11-10T11:33:00.004-08:002012-11-10T11:33:40.863-08:00That Book Woman<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Title:</span> <i>That Book Woman</i><o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirXIzWu7WMzgbHpMYavWewXIG4IJ03U8I__Fnbox65xpnPZBl8VQqkuWsksIfnoFEM9OlvftubNThMfDs3QBTCDxzFFfwQT7Wmrw5bRkNSOfKfVPG8hxMPZWsofxk2huIP4_8aBfTLmGM/s1600/that_book_woman.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="257" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirXIzWu7WMzgbHpMYavWewXIG4IJ03U8I__Fnbox65xpnPZBl8VQqkuWsksIfnoFEM9OlvftubNThMfDs3QBTCDxzFFfwQT7Wmrw5bRkNSOfKfVPG8hxMPZWsofxk2huIP4_8aBfTLmGM/s320/that_book_woman.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-size: large;">Author:</span> Heather Henson<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Illustrator:</span> David Small<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Copyright Date:</span> 2008<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Genre:</span> Historical Fiction<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Theme:</span> Appalachia, history, Social Studies, reading, librarians, school<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Grades:</span> 2-5<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Awards:</span> Anne Izard Storytellers' Choice Award (NY), Beehive Award
Master List (UT), CBC/NCSS Notable Social Studies Trade Book, Christopher
Award, Golden Sower Masterlist (NE), Great Lakes Book Award, Kentucky Bluegrass
Award Master List, Keystone to Reading Book Award (PA), Parents' Choice Award,
Storytelling World Award, Storytelling World Award Honor Book, "Stories
for Young Listeners, Texas Bluebonnet Master List (<a href="http://books.simonandschuster.com/That-Book-Woman/Heather-Henson/9781416908128">Source</a>)<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Summary</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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Cal, his Pap, Mama, sister Lark, and the rest of his family live on their farm high up in the Appalachian Mountains, away from schools, towns and other people. Lark always seems to have her head in a book, but Cal feels that since he knows how to help run the farm, there isn't a need for "dumb old books." One day a visitor, a woman wearing pants, arrives on horseback to give Cal's family some books for free. Not only does she visit once, but she returns again and again to exchange those books for new ones.</div>
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What will the Book Woman do when winter hits the mountain? Will Cal's disapproval of reading ever change? Read this book to find out.</div>
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Before reading the story, it would help to get students to understand the educational situation Cal's family and other families living in the Appalachian Mountains during the Great Depression. Start by talking to the class and asking how far away they live from the school. Some will live in close walking distance and some need a car or bus ride. Ask them how easy it would be to get to school if they had to walk because cars would be much too expensive to own and there weren't any school buses. Then how hard it would be if they had to walk miles to and from school? Then what if that distance included going up and down a mountain? Then what about during blizzards? Would you be able to do that and still work a full day of work on a farm? Explain that during the Great Depression, children living in the Appalachian Mountains of Kentucky were put in this exact situation. Because of all of these challenges, many children never went to school, and so they learned things like reading in a different way.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">During Reading Activity</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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This book is a great one for tracking changes in characters throughout the story. Classes could take notes on Cal's feelings toward reading at the beginning, middle, and end of the story, as an example of character evolution. </div>
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After the story has been read, students can make connections to their own life by writing a response, with a prompt such as "Has there ever been a time in your life when you changed your opinion about something you disliked like Cal did? What caused you to change your mind?." It also may be good for students to write a comparison piece, describing how they learned to read (in an organized school, with a building, teachers, etc.) and how Cal and other Appalachian students during that time period (at home, teaching themselves and each other with materials provided by the Pack Horse Librarians). </div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Author and Illustrator</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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Heather Henson worked at HarperCollins Publishers in Brooklyn for years editing other people's books before returning home to Kentucky to write her own. Along with <i>That Book Woman</i>, she has written five other books, including <i>Grumpy Grandpa</i> and <i>Making the Run</i>. She currently lives in Kentucky. (Source: book jacket and <a href="http://heatherhensonbooks.com/wordpress/?page_id=2">here</a>)</div>
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David Small has won numerous awards for his work illustrating over forty children's books including the Caldecott Medal for his work on <i>So You Want to Be President?</i>. Not only does he illustrate other authors' books, but also is an author himself, including being the author and illustrator of the classic book, <i>Imogene's Antlers</i>. He currently lives in Michigan. (Source: book jacket and <a href="http://davidsmallbooks.com/bio.php">here</a>)</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Reflections</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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I am sadly unknowledgeable about the history and culture of those living in Appalachia, and so I found this book no only enjoyable but also educational for me. I learned a lot about this often overlooked part of history and the country, and I'm sure students of all grades would take away something new as well. I loved how it was written with the dialect of the region represented and respected and of course the art is fantastic. I highly recommend it.</div>
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If you are interested in purchasing this book, click <a href="http://www.amazon.com/That-Book-Woman-Heather-Henson/dp/1416908129">here</a>.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Mr. Molloyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03043565772587095893noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-676139943345924854.post-57895407231908158292012-11-08T08:23:00.002-08:002012-11-08T08:23:35.428-08:00I Lay My Stitches Down<br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Title:</span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> <i>I Lay My Stitches Down: Poems of American Slavery</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://www.parents-choice.org/product_img/30707.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.parents-choice.org/product_img/30707.jpg" /></a><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Author:</span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> Cynthia Grady<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Illustrator:</span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> Michelle Wood<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Copyright
Date:</span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> 2012<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Genre:</span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> Poetry<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Theme:</span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> Poetry, non-fiction, Social Studies, African-American, slavery, biography, history<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Grades:</span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> 5 and up</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Awards:</span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> Parent's Choice Silver Honor (<a href="http://www.parents-choice.org/product.cfm?product_id=30707">source</a>)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Summary</span><span style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">This book is a </span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">beautifully</span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;"> written and illustrated collection of poems about the experiences of those living as slaves in America. The poems cover topics such as working in the home and fields, punishment, secretly educating themselves, and their escape through the Underground Railroad among others. These poems are backed up with great quilt inspired illustrations and sections of historical context to help explain the poems.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">What was life like for the African-Americans living in slavery? Read this book to find out.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Pre-reading
Activity</span><span style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Because this book covers so many different aspects of life as a slave, it lends itself well to a KWL chart. Before reading the book have the students share everything they know about slavery and record it in the first column of a three columned chart. This will be the "what I already Know" column. Record everything, even if it is a misconception. All of this is their background knowledge of the subject. Next, in the second column, write down all the questions they might have about slavery. This is the "What I want to know" column. Any question about slavery will work here. This is the information they will be looking for during the story. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">During
Reading Activity</span><span style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">While reading the story, if an answer to a question comes up, write a note next to the question in the third column of the chart. This is the "What I learned" column. This is also a good place to write some information that may contradict some of the misconceptions students may have had before too.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Post-reading
Activity</span><span style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">After reading through the book, and finishing the chart of all the new information and greater understanding they have about slavery, this would be a great time for students to do some writing. Since the KWL chart contains the notes from the book, students can use the information to write a paragraph about life in slavery. For older students, you could bring in more texts and have them synthesize them into a true research paper. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Author
and Illustrator</span><span style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Cynthia Grady works as a middle school librarian when she isn't writing or making quilts. This book is her very first book to be published. She currently lives in Washington DC. (Source: book jacket and <a href="http://cynthiagrady.com/html/bio.html">here</a>)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Michelle Wood is an award winning artist, earning the American Book Award for the first book she illustrated, <i>Going Back Home</i>. Since then she has earned other awards, including the Coretta Scott King Award and her work has received lots of praise from critics. She currently lives in Indiana. (Source: book jacket and <a href="http://michelewood.com/websplash.html">here</a>)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Reflections</span><span style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">I'm a big fan of this book. Not only are the poems meaning AND accessible, but the illustrations just makes everything come alive. This is a great way to introduce this difficult part of American history to young students, especially with the contextual paragraphs on each page. A very good book.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">If
you are interested in purchasing this book, click <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/0802853862/?tag=googhydr-20&hvadid=16136110208&hvpos=1t1&hvexid=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=5350092181015828524&hvpone=14.53&hvptwo=&hvqmt=e&ref=pd_sl_8lf63w7ht2_e">here.</a></span></div>
Mr. Molloyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03043565772587095893noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-676139943345924854.post-66558024988862580142012-10-31T14:21:00.002-07:002012-11-26T20:49:02.459-08:00The President's Stuck in the Bathtub: Poems About the Presidents<br />
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<a href="http://images.famedriver.com/uploads/production/8119/scaled/medium/PresWeb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://images.famedriver.com/uploads/production/8119/scaled/medium/PresWeb.jpg" /></a><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Title:</span><span style="font-size: small;"> <i>The President's Stuck in the Bathtub: Poems About the Presidents</i><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Author:</span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> Susan Katz<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Illustrator:</span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> Robert Neubecker<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Copyright
Date:</span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> 2012<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Genre:</span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> Poetry<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Theme:</span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> Poetry, Social Studies, American History, Presidents, Government, Biography<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Grades:</span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> 1 and up<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Summary</span><span style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">This book is a collection of poems about our nation's presidents. Stretching from George Washington to Barrack Obama, the poet highlights a quirk, anecdote, or other fact about each and every president. With historical context provided for each poem, this book is sure to teach everyone something about our commanders in chief they've never known. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">Which president invented the swivel chair? Which president had the longest </span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">inaugural</span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;"> address AND the shortest presidency? Which president was afraid to use a light switch? Read this book to find out.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Pre-reading
Activity</span><span style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">It could be fun to test the classes knowledge of presidential trivia by putting together a matching game of little known facts about the presidents (taken from the poems) and seeing how many presidents the students can match the names to. For younger students this can be just a small list, but older students could be given the list of all forty-three. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">During Reading Activity</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">While reading, the teacher can point out the different structures and approaches the poet takes for each poem. For example The Thomas Jefferson poem has a repeating structure of each stanza looking at a different invention of his and the opposites it embodies, while Woodrow Wilson poem is structured in simple couplets. Also it would be important to point how the poems highlight the humorous and human aspects of the presidents (like James Buchanan's habit of tilting his head to look at things and Theodore Roosevelt's rowdiness), instead of the usual perfect way they are pictured in history books. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Post-reading
Activity</span><span style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">After reading this book, teachers can lead a discussion on how poems can be an interesting way to present information. They can encourage students to research someone from their current studies and write a poem about their life and describing their importance to history. These poems could be about an explorer or leader from the current unit in social studies, a scientist who contributed to the field the ongoing science lesson is about, a writer from a recent author study or even a famous and influential mathematician. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Author
and Illustrator</span><span style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Susan Katz is the not only an accomplished poet, writing collections such as this one and <i>Looking for Jaguar and other Rainforest Poems</i>, but also a novelist, having written <i>Snowdrops for Cousin Ruth</i>. She currently is living in Pennsylvania. (Source: Book jacket and <a href="http://www.houghtonmifflinbooks.com/hmh/site/hmhbooks/authordetails?authorName=Susan%20Katz">here</a>)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Robert Neubecker is the illustrator of a number of children's books including <i>Shiver Me Timbers</i> by Doug Florian and <i>Sophie Peterman Tells the Truth </i>by Sarah Weeks. He is also the author of his own books such as <i>Wow! City!</i> and <i>Courage of the Blue Boy</i>. He currently lives in Utah. (Source: Book Jacket and <a href="http://www.neubeckerbooks.com/#!/image_11623">here</a>)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Reflections</span><span style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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I really like this book. It is well-written and super fun to read. I think this book could work if you were to read it all the way through or if you were to break it up and read a few a day, maybe as you go along in American History. I think everyone could enjoy this book and walk away knowing something new to share with others. I can't recommend it more. </div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">If
you are interested in purchasing this book, click <a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Presidents-Stuck-Bathtub-Poems/dp/054718221X">here.</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Mr. Molloyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03043565772587095893noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-676139943345924854.post-61655820604827248452012-10-31T08:47:00.003-07:002012-10-31T08:47:56.196-07:00The Carnival of the Animals<br />
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<a href="http://www.strandbooks.com/resources/strand/images/products/partitioned/0/a/7/037586458X.1.zoom.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.strandbooks.com/resources/strand/images/products/partitioned/0/a/7/037586458X.1.zoom.jpg" /></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: large;">Title:</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> <i>The Carnival of the Animals</i><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: large;">Author:</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> Camille Saint-</span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Sa<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.200000762939453px;">ë</span>ns</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">; new verses by Jack Prelutsky</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: large;">Illustrator:</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> Mary </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">GrandPr<span style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.200000762939453px;">é</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Copyright
Date:</span></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"> 2012</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Genre:</span></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"> Poetry</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Theme:</span></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"> poetry, animals, music</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Grades:</span></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"> K and up</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">Awards:</span> Nominee Bank Street Child Study Children's Book Award, Winner New York Public Library 100 </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Titles for Reading and Sharing</span><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 28px;"> (<a href="http://www.randomhouse.com/book/133682/the-carnival-of-the-animals-by-jack-prelutsky#awards">source</a>)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><span style="font-size: large;">Summary</span><span style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">This is a collection of poems about animals, inspired by the classical piece of music, <i>The Carnival of the Animals</i>. Between the introductory and closing poems, readers will meet a roaring lion, a proud rooster, dreaming kangaroos, a graceful swan, and even a shout out to fossils. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Who else will be starring in this crazy carnival? Read this book to find out.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: large;">Pre-reading
Activity<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">One of the great things about the copy of this book that I got from my local library is that it comes with a CD of the actual musical piece along with recordings of the poet reading his poems set to the music that inspired them. When it comes to appreciating poetry, enjoying the words and rhythm in an aesthetic way first is always a good thing. Younger children could listen to the CD and move around in ways inspired by how the music makes them feel (slow and plodding like the elephant, gracefully like the swan, etc). Older students could make lists of thoughts and images they get in their head. (A similar activity is described <a href="http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/teachers_guides/9780375864582.pdf">here</a>) </span>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: large;">During Reading Activity</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">While reading through the book, teachers should take time to point out the conventions used by the poet. Discussion about why the author uses certain words to create certain images would also be useful in helping students understand the poetry writing process so they may grow in their own skills. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><span style="font-size: large;">Post-reading
Activity</span><span style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">After reading through the book, students should be encouraged to write their own poems. Although the book covers a variety of animals, there are still a number of animals students can write about (maybe focusing on their favorite animal). While older students will be fine on their own, younger students may benefit from working in groups. Have them brainstorm different traits and behaviors that animal has and different words they can use to describe them. Then use this information to write a poem, where the focus is on images not necessarily rhyme. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><span style="font-size: large;">Author
and Illustrator and Composer</span><span style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Along with this book, Jack Prelutsky has over fifty books and ten anthologies of poetry written for children. His work has won many awards, and he was recognized for his work in 2006 when the Poetry Foundation named him the first Children's Poetry Laureate. He lives in Washington. (Source: book jacket and <a href="http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/68">here</a>)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Along with illustrating <i>the Carnival of the Animals</i>, Mary </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">GrandPr<span style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.200000762939453px;">é has illustrated other children's books such as <i>Chin Yu Min and the Ginger Cat</i> and the complete Harry Potter series. She currently lives in Florida. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Camille Saint-</span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Sa<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.200000762939453px;">ë</span>ns composed the musical piece <i>the Carnival of the Animals</i> in 1886, along with over three hundred other pieces of music over the course of his long composing career. Although he only allowed the piece to be played twice during his lifetime, it stands as one of his most famous and is enjoyed by children and adults today. He passed away in 1921. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><span style="font-size: large;">Reflections</span><span style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">I really enjoyed this book, especially after listening to the music and recordings of the poet reading his poems. I think that students of all ages can come to this book and take away something special. Whether its an appreciation for classical music, poetry analysis skills, or poetry writing techniques. I highly recommend this book. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">If
you are interested in purchasing this book, click <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Carnival-Animals-Book-CD/dp/037586458X">here.</a><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
If you are interested in some really grade teaching ideas and materials made by Random House about this book, click <a href="http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/teachers_guides/9780375864582.pdf">here. </a> </div>
Mr. Molloyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03043565772587095893noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-676139943345924854.post-77313583652087434392012-10-18T20:04:00.002-07:002012-10-18T20:15:12.795-07:00Desk Stories<a href="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1348376147l/11451417.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1348376147l/11451417.jpg" width="247" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Title:</span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">
<i>Desk Stories</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Author
and Illustrator:</span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> Kevin O’Malley <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Copyright
Date:</span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> 2011<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Genre:</span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">
fiction (graphic novel)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Theme:</span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">
desks, school, humor<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Grades:</span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> 2-4<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Awards:</span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> <span style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span><span style="color: #333333; line-height: 14px;">2012 IRA-CBC Children's Choices</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Summary</span><span style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">This
book is made up of six separate stories, all about a different take on the
school desk:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">1).
“History Man”---a humorous history of desks through the caveman times, the
Middle Ages and today. What type of desks did they use in the past?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">2).
“Trapped!”---John, a very bored student finds himself being chased and then
trapped by his desk. Will he be alright?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">3).
“It Came From Within”---Sara, a “perfect student” is good at everything in
school and </span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">isn't</span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;"> afraid to rub it in. One day she feels something warm and
furry in her desk and learns a very important lesson in humility. What was the
thing living in her desk?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">4).
“Desk Time Jokes”---A collection of classic school themed jokes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">5).
“Desktec”---Readers get unprecedented access to the secret plans of Desktec
about new desk technology. What will the desk of the future be like?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">6).
“Sue Smallton: The Incredible Shrinking Supergirl”---Sue, our </span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">super-heroine</span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;"> must
shrink down and explore her desk to return a barrette. What dangers will she encounter?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Pre-reading
Activity</span><span style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">It
could be fun to have students have a guided thinking session. Have them think
about their desks in ways they may not have thought before. Think about all of
the things they do at it; work, read, play, draw, eat, etc. How important is it
to you? What if your desk could talk. What do you think would it say? What
would it do if it could move? Have them share a few answers for each question.
Then explain that the book you are going to read looks at desks in an imaginative
way and that it can be fun to think about things in different ways.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Post-reading
Activity</span><span style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">After
the book, students can have a chance to write their own creative stories,
taking an ordinary object and looking at it in a different way. They can pick
an object (book, a food, classroom pet, etc.) and then use prompts inspired by
the stories:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">What
would happen if the subject were alive/could talk?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">What
would that object be like in the future?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">What
if you could shrink down and go inside/hang out with your object? What would
happen?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">This
would students to be able to write a story that can be funny and of interest to
them and they will probably would like to share it. (I later found that the publisher's website has a review of this book that also suggests using it as a model for creative writing. It's entirely a coincidence but I'll link their page <a href="http://www.albertwhitman.com/content.cfm/bookdetails/Desk-Stories">here.</a>)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Author
and Illustrator</span><span style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Along with <i>Desk Stories</i>, Kevin O'Malley has written and illustrated the similar style book, <i>Backpack Stories</i>, and worked a plethora of other books such as <i>Slugs in Love</i>, <i>Humpty Dumpty Egg-splodes</i>, and the Miss Malarky book series. He currently lives in Maryland. (Source: book jacket, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Desk-Stories-Kevin-OMalley/dp/0807515620">here</a>, and <a href="http://www.booksbyomalley.com/books.html">here.</a>) </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Reflections</span><span style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">This
is a fun book with a</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"> variety of story styles to attract readers. These stories
are short enough that a few could be shared during a story time, while also able to fill a lesson's worth of discussion in themselves. This can allow teachers to fill a whole week of read-alouds
without changing books. This would definitely grab the attention of reluctant
readers.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">If
you are interested in purchasing this book, click <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Desk-Stories-Kevin-OMalley/dp/0807515620">here.</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
Mr. Molloyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03043565772587095893noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-676139943345924854.post-46604763134796630792012-10-18T19:27:00.000-07:002012-10-18T19:27:04.068-07:00Rick and Rack and the Great Outdoors<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<a href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/6142HvQhtAL._SS500_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/6142HvQhtAL._SS500_.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Title:</span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">
<i>Rick and Rack and the Great Outdoors</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Author
and Illustrator:</span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> Ethan Long<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Copyright
Date:</span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> 2010<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Genre:</span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">
fiction (graphic novel)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Theme:</span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">
animals, outdoors, friendship, humor<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Grades:</span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> 1+<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Summary</span><span style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">In
three adventures, Rack the deer tries repeatedly to get his friend Rick the
raccoon to enjoy outdoor activities with him, resulting in humorous
consequences.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">1)
“The Big Fish”---Rack tries to teach Rick the joys of fishing, but Rick only
finds it boring, repetitive and stinky. How will Rack fix the smell problem?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">2)
“Mystery Tracks”---Rack and Rick go on a hike on when they stop for a break,
Rick discovers some mysterious animal tracks. Who could they belong to? A
tiger? A rhino? A dragon?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">3)
“Canoe Leak”---Rack teaches Rick how to canoe and the importance of life
jackets. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Pre-reading
Activity</span><span style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Before
reading the story, it would be a good idea to have the students think and share
with a partner any experiences they may have had in fishing, tracking or
canoeing/boating. What types of things did they use? What rules did they have
to follow? How did they do the activity? Then make three webs, one for each
activity, with connected information. Doing this will access the students’
prior knowledge and assist those who have no experience with these activities,
gain some information about them to use as context for the stories.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">During
the Reading Activity</span><span style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Because
of the three short stories in this book, you have multiple opportunities to
practice skills like making predictions. Using their background knowledge and
the thought webs, students can make predictions about what they think Rick and
Rack will do at multiple points during each little story. As they go along,
their predictions will either be correct or incorrect, and more will be
created. Because the three stories are independent, you can either break them
apart into three separate days of prediction practice or one big day with
multiple examples. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Post-reading
Activity</span><span style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Using
the three stories as examples, and the easily followed format as a pattern,
students may find it fun to create their own Rick and Rack story about a
different outdoor activity. This book would serve as a good example to use in
teaching students how to create a graphic novel, and would allow them to
practice their writing skills (in writing the story and planning the graphic
novel) and allow for creativity and practice with art skills. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Author
and Illustrator</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Ethan Long is not only a talented illustrator and author of children's books(such as </span><i style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">Chamelia</i><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"> and </span><i style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">Soup for One</i><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">), he also has worked for television. Not only having created work for Scholastic and Harcourt, Long has Nickelodeon as a cli</span><span style="font-family: inherit;">ent of his and is the creator of the Playhouse Disney program <span style="background-color: white;"><i>Tasty Time With ZeFronk!</i>. He has won many awards for his work and currently lives in Florida. (Source: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Balloon-Toons-Rick-Great-Outdoors/dp/1609050347">here</a> and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=la_B001IO9SM8_pg_1?rh=n%3A283155%2Cp_82%3AB001IO9SM8&ie=UTF8&qid=1350613137">here.</a>)</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Reflections</span><span style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">This
is a great example of a book that can be used to teach graphic novels to
younger grades. It’s well written, has an easy to follow story, is laid out in
a simple way, and most importantly, it is very funny. The three stories in one
book aspect, gives it great flexibility in the classroom. You have the option
of spreading it out over multiple reading periods (but I guarantee your class
will beg for “just one more”). I recommend this book for any younger grade classroom and will point out that the Balloon Toons series has many different graphic novels with a variety of characters that could also be useful in classroom libraries. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">If
you are interested in purchasing this book, click <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Balloon-Toons-Rick-Great-Outdoors/dp/1609050347">here.</a></span></div>
Mr. Molloyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03043565772587095893noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-676139943345924854.post-67194336132439734852012-10-18T19:06:00.003-07:002012-10-18T19:06:47.282-07:00Luke on the Loose<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<a href="http://a.onionstatic.com/images/articles/article/26762/Luke-On-The-Loose_jpg_300x1000_q85.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://a.onionstatic.com/images/articles/article/26762/Luke-On-The-Loose_jpg_300x1000_q85.jpg" /></a><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Title:</span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">
<i>Luke on the Loose</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Author
and Illustrator:</span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> Harry Bliss<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Copyright
Date:</span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> 2009<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Genre:</span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">
fiction (graphic novel)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Theme:</span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">
city, children <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Grades:</span></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"> K-2<span style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Awards:</span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> Junior Library Guild Selection<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Summary</span><span style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">A
young boy named Luke went for a walk with his father in Central Park. When he
notices a group of pigeons, he begins chasing after them, traveling across the
city and causing all kinds of problems. Because of his running loose there is a
traffic jam, dropped ice cream, and even an interrupted marriage proposal.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Where
will the pigeons bring Luke to next and when will he ever stop chasing them?
Read this book to find out.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Pre-reading
Activity</span><span style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">You
can tap students background knowledge on what a city is like and what they may
find there, in order to help them to be better able to understand the setting
of the story and identify the people, actions and objects found in the
illustrations.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Post-reading
Activity</span><span style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">In
this book, there is little text, other than the dialogue and sound effects. It
might be fun to try and use the illustrations in the book in order to create a
picture book version of the story. This would involve students writing
narration of the pictures to describe what is shown only through illustration
in this format. This would help them practice proper sentence creation and
sequencing without having to think of their own topics since they have the
story already available to them as a scaffold. The list of city things from the
pre-reading activity might serve as a useful word wall for their writing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Author
and Illustrator</span><span style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Luke on the Loose</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> is Harry
Bliss’s very first graphic novel, but not his first as a cartoonist or
illustrator. He has worked with award winner authors on books such as <i>Which Would You Rather Be?</i> and <i>Louise, the Adventures of a Chicken</i>, and
works on the <i>New Yorker</i> as a cover artist and cartoonist. He currently lives in
Vermont. (Source: about the author page)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Reflections</span><span style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Besides
being a really fun, this book is a great example to use when introducing
graphic novels to students. Teachers can easily show how to approach and read a
graphic novel while not worrying about difficult formatting or overly
complicated stories. Students learning English would also love this book as
well, being able to use the pictures as context for the words, or to still
understand the story if the words prove too difficult. I highly recommend this
book for those introducing the graphic novel format.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">If
you are interested in purchasing this book, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Luke-Loose-Toon-Harry-Bliss/dp/1935179004">click here.</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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The book's publishing company, Toon Books, has a great lesson plan using a Reader's Theater about this book, available <a href="http://toon-books.com/lp_luke.php">here.</a> </div>
Mr. Molloyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03043565772587095893noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-676139943345924854.post-51871214496157261862012-10-12T12:04:00.002-07:002012-10-18T20:13:23.938-07:00I Want My Hat Back<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Title:</span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> <i>I Want My Hat Back</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://www.candlewick.com/images/cwp_bookjackets/648/0763655988.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="I Want My Hat Back" border="0" height="320" src="http://www.candlewick.com/images/cwp_bookjackets/648/0763655988.jpg" width="228" /></a><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Author and Illustrator:</span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> Jon Klassen</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Copyright Date: </span>2011</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Genre:</span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> Fiction<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Theme:</span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> animals, lost and found items<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Grades:</span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> Preschool-3<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Awards:</span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span>Theodor Seuss Geisel Beginning Reader Honor, SCIBA Book
Award finalist, Golden Archer Award (Wisconsin), E.B. White Read Aloud Award,
Colorado Children's Book Award Nominee, E.B. White Read-Aloud Picture Book
finalist, Bank Street Irma Black Awards, Cooperative Children's Book Center Choices
List, Texas 2x2 Reading List Selection, ALA Notable Children's Books, New York
Public Library 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing, CYBIL Award – Shortlist, the
Horn Book Fanfare, New York Times Book Review Notable Books of the Year,
Publishers Weekly Best Books of the Year, New York Times Book Review 10 Best
Illustrated Children's Books</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Summary</span><span style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">A bear, loves his red conical hat, but one day he finds it missing. He embarks on a search through the woods looking for his prized possession. He asks each of the animals he runs into if they've seen his hat, but they each say they haven't. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Will bear ever find his hat, and wasn't that rabbit acting kind of weird? Find out the answer to these questions and more by reading this book.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Pre-reading
Activity</span><span style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Before reading this book, you can have your audience get into the mindset of the bear by recalling a time in their life when something they loved went missing. What did they lose; a toy, a pet, item of clothing, a person? How did they feel when it was missing? What did they do to find it? How did they feel after finding it and having it back? Afterwards you can explain that the story they are about to read is about a bear who lost something he loved (his hat) and what he does to try and get it back.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Post-reading
Activity</span><span style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">This would be a fun book to turn into a reader's theater type project. With a large cast of characters, and one that can be easily added to, a large group can take part in the play and the repetitive structure and clear spoken text of the story makes easy conversion to dialogue that even the youngest students can learn. Students can have a blast making simple costumes to play the characters, such as paper antlers, bunny ears, and of course, a red conical hat. This would make a very nice project for an open house or other presentation to families. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Author
and Illustrator</span><span style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">While this is his first book he wrote and illustrate, Jon Klassen has been the illustrator on numerous projects in print and on film. He worked as an ilustrator for the animated film <i>Coraline</i>, the book series </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><i>The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place</i>, and won the </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #000066;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">2010 Canadian Governor General’s Award for his illustrations for <i>Cat's Night Out</i> written by Caroline Stutson. He's from Ontario, Canada and currently lives in California. (Source: book jacket and <a href="http://www.candlewick.com/cat.asp?mode=book&isbn=0763655988&browse=Title">here.</a>)</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Reflections</span><span style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">This is easily one of the best new books I've come across in a long while. It just begs to be read outloud and performed with silly voices. I have read this to both students and adults and both groups loved it. I can't recommend it high enough.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">If
you are interested in purchasing this book, click <a href="http://www.amazon.com/White-Read-Aloud-Award-Picture-Books/dp/0763655988">here.</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Click the video below to watch the official book trailer for <i>I Want My Hat Back.</i></div>
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You can make your own hat like the bear's, thanks to a fun activity from Candlewick Press. Found <a href="http://www.candlewick.com/book_files/0763655988.kit.1.pdf">here.</a></div>
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Mr. Molloyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03043565772587095893noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-676139943345924854.post-92134542717710049562012-10-12T10:09:00.004-07:002012-10-18T20:12:44.400-07:00Keeper of the Soles<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<a href="http://images.betterworldbooks.com/082/Keeper-of-Soles-9780823421374.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="296" src="http://images.betterworldbooks.com/082/Keeper-of-Soles-9780823421374.jpg" style="line-height: 200%;" width="320" /></a><a href="http://images.betterworldbooks.com/082/Keeper-of-Soles-9780823421374.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Title:</span> <i>Keeper of the Soles</i><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Author:</span> Teresa Bateman<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Illustrator:</span> Yayo<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Copyright Date: </span>2006<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Genre:</span> Fiction<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Theme:</span> Shoes, Death, Cheating Death<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Grades:</span> 2-4<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Awards:</span> Horn Books Fanfare List - Best Books of 2006<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Summary</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Colin, a talented and well-loved shoemaker, helps put wonderful shoes
on the feet of the rich and poor alike. One dark night, Death knocks on Colin’s
door. He has come from Colin’s soul. Looking at Death’s bare feet, Colin comes
up with a clever plan to save himself.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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What plan does Colin come up with and is he successful in saving his
soul? Read this book to find out.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Pre-reading Activity</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Before reading this book with younger students, teachers can access
students background information about shoes. Teachers can ask for students to
think of as many different types of shoes they can name. There are many
different answers they may give such as boots, sneakers, sandals flip flops, high heels, platform, clown,
bowling, etc. With this list, teachers can explain how some shoes are better at
some times and silly during others (Snow shoes are really useful in the snow,
but silly during good weather). Then explain how in the story they will be
learning about a cobbler (someone who makes shoes) who makes a variety of shoes
for a very special customer, for many different purposes.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
With an older group of students, teachers could have a short lesson on
traditional story archetypes. This would involve talking about how multiple
cultures may tell stories differently but there are some categories that many
different stories can fall into. For example each culture tends to have their
take on creation stories, folk tales, heroic quest, etc. One example of a traditional
story pattern present in many cultures is the story of someone cheating death.
Examples like the story of Sisyphus from Greek mythology, the man who caught
Death in a sack (from "Godfather Death" from the Brother's Grimm),
the image of playing chess with Death, and even cartoons like The Grim
Adventures of Billy and Mandy (where not only do the heroes trick the Grim
Reaper out of getting souls but also force him to become their best friend
forever). This story is another example of this type of story (and even
references the chess with Death story on the cover).<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Post-reading Activity</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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In the title of the story there is a joke made about the homophones
soul and sole, both of which have importance in the story. Teachers of younger
students can use this as a place to teach a lesson about these potentially
confusing types of words. The teacher can create sentences with blanks where
two related homophones would go and have students determine which spelling of
the word would go where. Like in the following examples:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Death came to Colin’s home to take his _____ and walked out with new
boot with a leather _____. (soul/sole)<o:p></o:p></div>
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Susan was wondering _____ that dress she wanted to _____ to school
today. (where/wear)<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Older students may find it fun to test their creativity by creating
their own outwitting death story. What different ways can they think of
tricking the Grim Reaper?<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Author and Illustrator</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Along with writing, Teresa Bateman also works as a storyteller and
school librarian. She has written twenty books, including <i>Red, White, Blue, and
Uncle Who?: The Story Behind Some of America's Patriotic Symbols</i> and <i>Fluffy:
Scourge of the Sea</i>. She currently lives in Washington State. (Source: book
jacket and <a href="http://www.jacketflap.com/teresa-bateman/150963">here.</a>)<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Yayo, also known as Diego Herrera, is a renowned cartoonist originally
from Columbia. His artwork has been published in the United States in
newspapers, books, and magazines, and has had exhibitions in Brazil, Russia,
Canada, Japan and Turkey. This children's book was the first one he
illustrated. He currently lives in Montreal. (Source: Book Jacket and <a href="http://talleen.unblog.fr/2008/09/29/yayo-makes-us-smile/">here.</a>)<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Reflections</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
I found this book to be a fun story that kids would enjoy. Its pattern
of Colin thinking of a new type of shoe each time Death came to the door,
allows students make predictions of what kind he will try next and its nice
ending of befriending Death will leave readers smiling. I think this book
deserves a place in your library.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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If you are interested in purchasing this book, click <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Keeper-Soles-Teresa-Bateman/dp/0823417344">here.</a><o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
Mr. Molloyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03043565772587095893noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-676139943345924854.post-38000790839147704332012-10-03T11:01:00.002-07:002012-10-18T20:11:58.670-07:00Fly Free!<a href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51fuBVjr1ZL._SS500_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51fuBVjr1ZL._SS500_.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-size: large;">Title:</span> <i>Fly Free!</i><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Author:</span> Roseanne Thong<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Illustrator:</span> Enjin Kim Neilan<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Copyright Date: </span>2010<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Genre:</span> Fiction<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Theme:</span> Vietnam, karma, kindness, cause and effect<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Grades:</span> Preschool-3<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Awards:</span> <span style="font-family: inherit;">2010-2011 Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature Honor, <span style="background-color: white; text-align: -webkit-center;"><span style="text-decoration: none;">2011 Bank Street College, The Best Children's Books of the Year (Age 5-9), </span></span><span style="background-color: white; text-align: -webkit-center;"><span style="text-decoration: none;">The Society of School Librarians </span></span><span style="background-color: white; text-align: -webkit-center;"><span style="text-decoration: none;">International 2010 Honor Book Award </span></span><span style="background-color: white; text-align: -webkit-center;"><span style="text-decoration: none;">in "Language Arts - Picture Books," </span></span><span style="background-color: white; text-align: -webkit-center;"><span style="text-decoration: none;">2011 Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award Nominee, </span></span><span style="background-color: white; text-align: -webkit-center;"><span style="text-decoration: none;">2011-12 Maine Chickadee Award Nomination, </span></span><span style="background-color: white; text-align: -webkit-center;">2012 NYSRA Charlotte Award Nomination, </span><span style="background-color: white; text-align: -webkit-center;">2011 Notable Books for Global Society List</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Summary</span><br />
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Mai, a young girl living in Vietnam, loves the caged sparrows that live outside of the Buddhist temple. She loved feeding them and wished that one day she could let them free. One day, Mai helps her friend Thu feed the birds, and whispers the rhyme:<br />
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"Fly free, fly free,<br />
in the sky so blue.<br />
When you do a good deed,<br />
it will come back to you."<br />
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Little does Mai know, but she had kicked off a series of good deeds that would spread far and wide around her home.<br />
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Where will her good deed lead to and how will karma come back to Mai? Read this book to find out.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Pre-reading Activity</span><br />
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You can help set the stage for his book, by having your students think and share what good deeds they have done for others or had done to them. Have them explore their feelings and the other person's before and after the good deed. Emphasize that doing good things and helping others makes both people happier. Then tell the class, that you will be reading about a young person, just like them who likes to make other people happy by doing good things.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Post-reading Activity</span><br />
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You can follow up this story by doing an activity that emphasizes the cause and effect theme. Students might write a group story, one part at a time. The teacher may start off by explaining a good deed she does for one student. That student then explains how it made him feel and what good thing they do for another student. Then that student picks up the story and the process continues until the last student ends up doing something nice for the teacher. This can all be done orally with the teacher writing it down on a big sheet of paper. Students can also get practice writing and illustrating, by creating a page with their section of the story and the teacher can bind all the students pages to create a class book.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Author and Illustrator</span><br />
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Roseanne Thong wrote <i>Fly Free! </i>after learning about Vietnamese culture through years of teaching Vietnamese student both in California and in Vietnam itself. She has taught English in places around the world too, including Burma, Cambodia, Vietnam, Guatemala, Hong Kong and the USA. Thong has written many books, including <i>Red Is a Dragon</i>, <i>Round is a Moon Cake</i>, and <i>Ten Friendly Fire Flies</i>. She currently lives in California. (Source: book jacket and <a href="http://www.greenfield-thong.com/about.html">here</a>)<br />
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Enjin Kim Neilan is illustrator of <i>Fly Free!</i> and four other children's books. She grew up and studied art in Seoul, South Korea, used the illustrations for her first children's book, <i>In the Moonlight Mist: A Korean Folktale</i>, as her Master's thesis. She uses diverse methods to create her art, such as the painting on wood used in this book. She currently lives in Massachusetts. (Source: book jacket and <a href="http://eujinkimneilan.com/bio.html">here</a>)<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Reflections</span><br />
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I really enjoyed the message of this book, that while rewards for good deeds may not be immediate or what we expect, they will eventually find their way back to us. This book could easily fit into units about character development, multicultural studies, or even just as an example of cause and effect. It is a book I recommend.<br />
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If you are interested in purchasing this book, click <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Fly-Free-Roseanne-Thong/dp/1590785509">here.</a><br />
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<br />Mr. Molloyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03043565772587095893noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-676139943345924854.post-63331090298207259382012-10-03T09:26:00.007-07:002012-10-18T20:11:08.314-07:00Wabi Sabi<br />
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<a href="http://c2.yoyo.com/images/products/p/hp/hp-989_1z.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://c2.yoyo.com/images/products/p/hp/hp-989_1z.jpg" width="193" /></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">Title:</span> <i>Wabi Sabi</i></span></div>
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit; font-size: large; line-height: 18px;">Author: </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit; line-height: 18px;">Mark Reibstein</span><br />
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<span style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">Illustrator:</span> Ed Young</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">Copyright Date: </span>2008</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">Genre:</span> Fiction/poetry</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Theme: </span>Japan, names, animals, philosophy, aesthetics, poetry </div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Grades:</span> 2-4</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Awards:</span> the 2008-2009 Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature</div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Summary</span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">One day in Kyoto, Japan, a cat name Wabi Sabi became curious about what her name meant. When her owners struggle to explain what wabi sabi means, she embarks on a journey around her home to find the answer. She talks to her friends and neighbors, but when she asks the meaning of her name they say, "That's hard to explain" and so she continue to travel to places ranging from the busy city to the quiet pond to an ancient Silver Temple. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">What does Wabi Sabi's name mean and why is it so hard to explain? Read this book to find out.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">Pre-reading Activity</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Before reading this story, you can discuss with your students about how names can have meanings behind them. Maybe they are characteristics you hope the person will have, for example the name Hope. Maybe someone was named in honor of someone special like being named after a family member or other important person. Have the students share the meaning or stories behind their names if they know them, and possibly bring in a baby name book to do some research on the meanings and origins of some of the names in your room. This will get the students excited to learn about themselves and help them understand why Wabi Sabi wants to learn about her name.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-size: large;">Post-reading Activity</span></span></div>
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This book utilizes the poetry form of haiku to help tell the story and even contains a section in the back talking about the history and examples of classic haiku poems. After the reading, you can have your class practice writing haikus about experiences in their lives. By looking at their life through the lens of wabi sabi (finding the beauty in simplicity and imperfections) they will have a greater appreciation for things they took for granted.</div>
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In art class, students can try to create art pieces in emulation of illustrations in the book. By combining different found materials, such as cloth, scraps of paper, leaves, etc., they can make pictures of beauty. </div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Author and Illustrator</span></div>
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<i>Wabi Sabi</i> was written by Mark Reibstein and is his very first picture book. He has lived in many places around the world including California, Hawaii, New York, Thailand and Japan. There really was a cat named Wabi Sabi, that Reibstein was friends with for ten years while living in Kyoto, Japan. Now Reibstein teaches English, writes and lives in California. (Source: book jacket and <a href="http://www.jacketflap.com/mark-reibstein/199264">here</a>)</div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">Ed Young served as the illustrator on this and over eighty other children's books and is the author of seventeen of his own. He grew up in China and Hong Kong, before moving to the United States. He has taught at many schools including the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, Yale University, the Pratt Institute, and has </span></span><span style="line-height: 18px;">received</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"> many awards and nominations for his work in children's literature. He currently lives and works in New York. (Source: <a href="http://edyoungart.com/about.html">here</a></span></span>)<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Reflection</span><br />
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I found this book to be wonderful. I loved the artwork and alteration between prose and poetry throughout the book. I liked how the haikus were given a context in the story so that the images they painted made sense and had a purpose. I've only seen them covered in classrooms in isolation, which makes it hard for students to understand the purpose of writing them (they make it a counting syllables games instead of focusing on creating sensory experiences . I also enjoyed how this book taught a different aesthetic philosophy, something I rarely see picture books or any children's literature try to tackle. I loved this book.<br />
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If you are interested in purchasing this book, go <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Wabi-Sabi-Mark-Reibstein/dp/0316118257">here.</a><br />
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If you would like to see an interview where the author and illustrator explain the concept of wabi sabi and talk about the art work, click <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ca2Ly4Vpb5Y">here.</a></div>
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Mr. Molloyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03043565772587095893noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-676139943345924854.post-49249923279549785412012-09-26T10:28:00.001-07:002012-10-18T20:10:02.177-07:00Yasmin's Hammer<br />
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<a href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51Wj7LL9DHL._SS500_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51Wj7LL9DHL._SS500_.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-size: large;">Title:</span> </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 18px;">Yasmin's Hammer</i><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-size: large;">Author:</span> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 18px;">Ann Malaspina</span>
<br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-size: large;">Illustrator:</span> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 18px;">Doug Chayka</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-size: large;">Copyright Date: </span>2010</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-size: large;">Genre:</span> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 18px;">Fiction</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-size: large;">Theme:</span> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 18px;">child labor, education, Bangladesh </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="color: #222222; font-size: large;">Grades:</span> <span style="color: #222222;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">3-4</span></span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-size: large;">Awards:</span> </span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">the 2010-2011 Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature, </span></span>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.792969); line-height: 22px;">Horace Mann Upstanders Children's Literature Award, Honor Book,</span> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.792969); line-height: 22px;">Best Children's Books of the Year</span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.792969); line-height: 22px;"> by </span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.792969); line-height: 22px;">Bank Street College of Education, </span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.792969); line-height: 22px;">Notable Children's Books</span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.792969); line-height: 22px;"> by </span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.792969); line-height: 22px;">Smithsonian Magazine</span> </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-size: large;">Summary</span></span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 18px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">Once living near a paddy field in Bangladesh, Yasmin and her family move to the city of Dhaka after a cyclone destroys their home. In order to pay for their home there her Abba (father) must run a rickshaw, her Amma (mother) cleans in a wealthy home, and Yasmin and her sister Mita work breaking bricks for concrete. Yasmin has dreams of going to school, but whenever she tells her parents they say, "Not yet." One day she starts receiving tips from her boss for her hard work and she saves her money under her bed.</span></span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 18px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 18px;">What is she going to purchase with her secret stash of money and will her family be able to help her live her dream of going to school? Read this book to find out.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 18px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Pre-reading Activity</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /></span>Before reading this story, it might be a good idea to give your class a bit of background on Bangladesh. Locating Bangladesh on a map or globe and showing how far away it is and the geographic features of the area will help students place Yasmin and her family into their view of the world. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Because this story deals with child labor, it might also be a good idea to give your class a bit of an age appropriate introduction to this idea. This can be as simple as explaining that in some places of the world, families may be so poor that they need their children to get jobs in order to help pay for things instead of letting them go to school. You might want the class to share with a partner how they would feel if they had to go do hard work everyday instead of coming to school. Would they be more or less happy? <br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 18px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-size: large;">Post-reading Activity</span></span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 18px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">After reading this story, students can take some time to compare their lives to those experienced by children in Bangladesh. They can complete a Venn Diagram comparing life in their town to Yasmin's life in Dhaka including discussing the types of jobs, language, transportation and opportunities for children. They could then use this graphic organizer to make a writing piece discussing the similarities and differences between their life and Yasmin's. </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This book also provides an Afterword and links to websites that discuss Bangladesh and the countries efforts to end child labor in that country. With teacher guiadance, students may investigate further into the cause and plan an awareness campaign or fundraiser in their school to help out children like them in other countries have the opportunity to get an education.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-size: large;">Author and Illustrator</span></span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 18px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 18px;" /><i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 18px;">Yasmin's Hammer</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"> was written by Ann Malaspina.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"> She is the many historical and mulitcultural books including <i>Phillis Sings Out Freedom</i> and <i>Heart on Fire: Susan B. Anthony Votes for President</i>. After visiting Southern Asia and seeing the children first hand and learning more about the plight of brick chippers in the news, Malaspina was inspired to write a book about the over 200 million children who going to school was just a dream. She currently lives in New Jersey. (Source: book jacket and <a href="http://www.annmalaspina.com/Announcements.html">here.</a></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 18px;">)</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Doug Chayka was the illustrator for <i>Yasmin's Hammer</i>. He works as a freelance artist for clients such as </span>
<span style="color: #282828; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Eerdmans Books for Young Readers, Henry Holt Books for Young Readers, and Houghton Mifflin. He has illustrated five other children's books, including</span></span> <i>Yanni Rubbish</i> and <i>The Secret Shofar of Barcelona</i>. He currently lives in Florida. (Source: book jacket and <a href="http://www.dougchayka.com/">here.</a>)</div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">Reflection</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">This book is a safe and interesting way to introduce a tough reality (child labor) to younger students and provide opportunities for them to begin learning about and trying to solve some of the world's problems. It is a great book about hope for a better life, even when things are tough. I highly recommend it.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit; line-height: 18px;">If you are interested in purchasing this book, click <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Yasmins-Hammer-Ann-Malaspina/dp/1600603599">here.</a></span></div>
Mr. Molloyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03043565772587095893noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-676139943345924854.post-46469401377794738352012-09-26T09:12:00.003-07:002012-10-18T20:07:30.542-07:00Cora Cooks Pancit<a href="http://www.shens.com/images/cora.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.shens.com/images/cora.jpg" /></a><span style="font-size: large;">Title: </span><i>Cora Cooks Pancit</i><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Author: </span>Dorina K. Lazo Gilmore<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Illustrator: </span>Kristi Valiant<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Copyright date: </span>2009<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Genre: </span>Fiction<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Theme: </span>cooking, family<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Grades: </span>K and up<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Awards: </span>the 2009-2010 Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Summary</span><br />
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Cora is the youngest child in her Filipino American family. She loves being in the kitchen watching her mother create the foods her grandfather (Lolo) taught her to make. However, whenever she tries to help, her older siblings get to do all of the "grown-up jobs." One day her siblings are all busy and Cora gets her chance to be her mother's assistant in making a dinner of pancit for her family.<br />
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How did she do with all of her "grown-up jobs" and did the family like the pancit? Read this book to find out along with a recipe so you can cook along with Cora.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Pre-reading Activity</span><br />
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You can help your students access their prior knowledge of the feelings Cora is having by asking them to think about a time in their life where they wanted to do something but were too little. Maybe they wanted to use tools to help fix something, get to go on a big kid ride at an amusement park, or have the responsibility of owning a pet. How did they feel while they were told they were still too young to do these things and how did they feel when they finally were allowed to?<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Post-reading Activity</span><br />
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Students can connect their lives with Cora's by thinking about a special food their family likes to eat together. They can then write a short piece on the ingredients and steps need to cook this meal. Teachers can evaluate these recipe stories for clarity, sequence, and organization.<br />
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It could also be a really neat thing if the teacher were to collect these recipes and create a class cookbook that can be printed for every students' family to use at home.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Author and Illustrator</span><br />
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<i>Cora Cooks Pancit</i> was written by Dorina K. Lazo Gilmore. Gilmore is a big fan of cooking, particularly foods she grew up with in her Filipino-Italian family. She's wanted to write children's books since she was a child. Believing that "children need to see themselves in books," she has focused on writing books with multicultural protagonists and families, including <i>Children of the San Joaquin Valley</i> and <i>Stone Soup: A Hmong Girl's Journey to the United States. </i>She currently lives in California. (Source: book jacket and <a href="http://peteredmundlucy7.blogspot.com/2009/05/author-interview-dorina-k-lazo-gilmore.html">here.</a>)<br />
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Kristi Valiant made her illustrating debut on <i>Cora Cooks Pancit</i>. Valiant was the magnum cum laude of her class from the Columbus College of Art and Design before working for an educational publisher and then illustrating children's books. She has recently published her first children's book as an author and illustrator, <i>Penguin Cha-Cha</i>. She currently lives in Indiana. (Source: book jacket and <a href="http://www.kristivaliant.com/Kristi_Valiant/bio.html">here.</a>)<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Reflection</span><br />
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I really enjoyed this book. Cora is a girl that I feel most children could relate to; frustrated with being too little, overjoyed when she can help, nervous about whether her work is good enough. Although the smells and tastes weren't there, the illustrations brought the food and cooking to life, and have put pancit on the short list of foods I'm going to try making at home. Great book.<br />
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If you are interested in purchasing this book, click <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Cora-Cooks-Pancit-Dorina-Gilmore/dp/188500835X">here.</a>Mr. Molloyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03043565772587095893noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-676139943345924854.post-55460214836850689122012-09-07T15:47:00.002-07:002012-10-01T18:53:00.258-07:00IntroductionsHello there,<br />
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My name is Mr. Molloy and this is my blog. Since this is my first post, I'm going to introduce myself and explain why I'm making this blog.<br />
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I'm a teacher of elementary aged students, who is currently working on his masters degree in literacy. For one of my classes, I've been asked to set up this blog to discuss children's literature.<br />
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So for the next few months I will be posting about various children's books. I'm going to be discussing their story, artwork, authors, and illustrators. I'm also going to try and provide some activities that can be used if the book is used in the classroom. I'm going to be writing about a variety of books I find during my grad courses, ones I read and loved from my childhood and others I stumble upon while working in schools and visiting libraries.<br />
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My hope is that this blog will be interesting to any students, educators, parents, or other readers, and will be helpful to them in discovering great children's literature to read and share with others.<br />
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Thank you for your time, and welcome to my blog.<br />
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Mr. MolloyMr. Molloyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03043565772587095893noreply@blogger.com0