In the last post I mentioned two cookie books from our school’s collection.  I neglected to mention the second title.  It is one Cookie Monster would truly appreciate; it really is ABOUT cookies!

 All in Just One Cookie by Susan E. Goodman, illustrated by Timothy Bush is a title I like because it is different.  Grandma, with the help of her cat and dog, starts a batch of cookies because it seems the grandkids are on their way.  This isn’t a ‘how to bake cookies book’.  Instead, as each ingredient is added the dog and cat learn about the origins of the ingredients, from Vermont cows (butter) to Madagascar vanilla. Grandma and friends literally add a world of ingredients into the cookies.  But, surprise!  The cookies are for us!

All in Just One Cookie doesn’t have a narrative that lends itself to reading aloud.  I find that books with scattered text boxes containing a variety of text are difficult to share aloud.  But it is a wonderful title for a child to explore on their own or to share one on one with someone. 

While viewing the Cookie Monster clip I found myself compulsively thinking like a librarian doing reader’s advisory.  The Cookie Monster first requests Little Red Riding Hood.   (Ooo… we just bought a classic one illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman.)  Then he wants Nursery Rhymes (Richard Scarry’s Best Mother Goose Ever remains one of my favorites…)  Cookie Monster requests a picture book (where do I start?  the newest ones are on display, I would start there).  And then he finally asks for a book ABOUT cookies.  We have two good ones!  One of them is on the 2009 Monarch list (Illinois’ K-3 childrens’ choice award.  Cookies:  Bite-size Life Lessons by Amy Krouse Rosenthal is a lovely book about much more than cookies.  Mixed into making and eating cookies are vocabulary/life lesson concepts such as respect, trustworthiness, patience, politeness, and loyalty.  “Cooperate means, How about you add the chips while I stir?” 

So I find myself mentally finding books for Cookie Monster with a professional compulsion I cannot deny.  As for “no cookies, just books” that isn’t quite true in our district anymore. 

Our high school librarian cleverly celebrated National Library Week April 13-19 by giving a cookie to any student returning overdue books or paying their fines.  In high school this is always an end of the year nightmare; trying to get inventory done while chasing down students for overdue books and fines before they disappear for the summer or for college!  The cookie idea was a clever and friendly solution!  Of course, in the way of all institutions, the lovely cookie plan was complicated by an administrator who didn’t want cookies in the halls (a couple of bites on the way out of the library and who worries about cookies in the hall?), and the cafeteria didn’t want lunchtime competition.  Our librarian resorted to distributing cookie IOUs and students had to return at the end of the day for their cookie.  But it still was a great idea.  Next year we’ll work on the administrative complications….

Just Read:

This novel came across my desk as a Junior Literary Guild selection.  Apparently the author, Jane Harrington has never been a library cataloger, for the full name of the novel is My best friend, the Atlantic Ocean, and other great bodies standing between me and my life with Giulio.  This is a sequel (or spin off novel as the author calls it) to Four things my geeky-jock-of-a-best-friend must do in Europe.  These titles would have been a nightmare in the days of 3×5 cards.  Thank goodness for OPACs! 

As the mother of three daughters (who apparently have only recently flown the nest), Harrington’s YA girl voice is authentic.  Delia is fresh and funny.  Her best friend Brady is proof that opposites attract, for Brady is well rounded both physically and intellectually.  Brady is intelligent, thoughtful, well read, athletic, and academically successful.  Delia is none of those…and she’s OK with that.  Well, except for the physically well rounded part, anyway… 

The story unfolds through Delia’s poetry journal for high school Lit class.  (Never fear – it isn’t really poetry.  She writes in short stanzas so what the teacher views over the shoulder appears to be poetry.)  The journal is never dull, containing conversations and text messages along with the narrative.  Brady has returned from Europe with a first boyfriend – the Italian exchange student Giulio.  (Perhaps I missed something not reading the prequel – how did someone Brady met on a European cruise happen to end up as an exchange student at their high school?)  Of course, Delia is in love with him, but as a true good friend she waits for the inevitable breakup.  While she is waiting, however, life happens and things change, Delia most of all.

The novel contains entertaining references to quirky movies such as Airplane and Wayne’s World.  Delia IS a dumb bunny, but the novel manages to blend quirky with thoughtful and intelligent.  (Delia surprises herself with words like metaphorically.)  An interesting cast of characters surround Delia and the book focuses on the human relationships without stooping to Sex in the City complications.  Neither is this a maudlin teen sob novel that leaves the reader depressed.  As a matter of fact, for all the realistic teenage angst displayed in the book Delia remains positive and upbeat.  A clever book, best for high school or advanced middle school readers.

Just read…

Gordon Korman’s new novel Swindle also crossed my desk as a Junior Literary Guild selection.  (I’m new to using JLG so I don’t know what quality of books to expect.)  Swindle, while a very appropriate read for grades 4-6, isn’t anything special.  As I read I was having flashbacks to Dan Gutman’s baseball card adventure series.  Gutman’s series began with the very original Honus and Me and then continued as formula fiction.  But reluctant readers 4th grade and up love this kind of book and Korman’s Swindle will hold similar appeal.  The appeal was evident at the Scholastic Bookfair that completed yesterday at one of my 4-5th grade buildings:  it was the number one seller!

The main character Griffin Bing finds a Babe Ruth baseball card in a spooky old mansion just as it falls, literally, to the wrecking ball.  Always “the man with the plan” Griffin and his best friend Ben take the card to Palomino’s Emporium of Collectibles and Memorabilia where S. Wendell Palomino lives up to his namesake and convinces the boys the card isn’t worth much.  (S. Wendell = Swindle, get it?  It’s a stretch…) When Palomino shows up on the nightly news with the card the boys learn that they were cheated and Griffin hatches a plan which includes the help of several classmates to get the card back.  By Griffin’s standards it isn’t stealing if you are taking back what was taken from you. 

If a book can be unbelievable and predictable at the same time, Swindle is that book.  It has all the depth of a Disney Channel pre-teen drama.  For fourth through sixth graders, however, it also has the high appeal of a Disney Channel pre-teen drama, so I will be recommending it to students as a “fun” read. 

 Gordon Korman’s website

Another from among the top-ten-from-my-childhood-favorites is The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf, with drawings by Robert Lawson (Viking, 1936).  I must confess, the memory of Ferdinand is influenced by multi-media.  Walt Disney adapted the story as a short animated film entitled Ferdinand the Bull in 1938, winning that year’s Academy Award for Best Short Subject (Cartoons).  I think I remember this as well as I remember the book.

Ferdinand was a story that I wanted to read straight through; I only broke the narrative twice while reading aloud.  In an effort to expand the students’ horizons, stimulate their curiosity, and sneak in a few basics of Information Literacy we discussed cork trees and bullfighting before starting the story.

I showed the students a coaster made from cork, asking them if they could identify the material.  Most couldn’t identify cork until I brought out a bottle stopper cork.  (It is a cork and is made of cork.)  I set up a rationale for learning about cork by saying the illustrator had some humor in the book, but unless you were educated about cork you couldn’t appreciate it.  Then I began sharing facts about cork:

• comes from the bark of a Cork Oak tree
• Some grow in the US, but mostly in Spain & Portugal and other Mediterranean countries.
• Cannot harvest until tree is 20-25 years old
• Renewable resource – can harvest again in 8-10 years
• Cork Oak trees can live as much as 150 years
• Shared pictures printed from Internet of a tree, closeup of trunk, and stacks of harvested cork.  (Do a Google image search on Cork Oak Tree.)

I then shifted discussion to how I knew these facts.  I had a C volume encyclopedia in my hand and told each class how I love to look things up to learn more about something.  I shared how my family’s dinner discussions often meant we brought an encyclopedia to the table.  At this point we also discussed how Internet can be a good source of information, too, if you don’t have a print encyclopedia.  Through questioning, the students and I discussed how Internet information is not necessarily written by credible sources like a print encyclopedia.  I stressed the importance of good authority when using information on-line.  (K-3 students aren’t ready to learn about databases vs Google, but this is laying groundwork!)

Then we talked about bullfighting.  These K-3 students were not familiar with the term Matador, but the red cape and routine were very familiar from cartoons.  Facts shared:

• Bull fighting is very popular in Spain, Portugal, Mexico and some South American countries
• Many stadiums in those places just for bull fighting.  Largest is in Mexico City – 55,000 seats.
• The sport is illegal in some countries, including ours because it is seen as extreme cruelty to the animal.
• Bulls are bred to be big and fierce, and fight wildly.
• Discussion on cruelty to animals included my caution that they should never do something deliberately to hurt or upset an animal such as teasing a dog behind a fence. 
• While Bullfighting might not be a good thing, Ferdinand IS a good story anyway!

At this point I began reading the story.  (Hint:  whenever Ferdinand sits quietly and smells the flowers, pause and take a deep sniff as if you are breathing in a wonderful fragrance.  The students will soon be quietly doing it with you.)  I only broke the narrative at the page which illustrates the cork tree with corks hanging from it in bunches like grapes.  After reading that page I asked the students to take a close look and, now that they know the real facts about cork, could they see where the illustrator was being funny?  Without the preparation they would have been clueless, but the students loved being an insider on this humor.  “See what educating yourself can do for you?”

I only paused one more time, briefly, after the entrance of the Banderilleros (who stick the bull with pins to make him mad) and the Picadores (who stick the bull with spears to make him madder).  At this point I made a quick editorial comment, “See, I told you bullfighting wasn’t very nice to the bull.”

There are all sorts of pacifist possibilities with Ferdinand, but while I will preach about renewable resources and not teasing the neighbor’s dog (or any animal) I prefer not to get overly political with K-3.  With a few classes, however, I did say I thought there was a playground lesson in the book.  I turned to the page where Ferdinand wouldn’t fight and the Matador ended up crying.  The point I stressed with the students was that it took two to make a fight.  Sitting quietly might mean a problem will fizzle out and go away. 

As with all of these oldie-but-goodies titles I’ve been reading aloud recently, the students responded warmly to The Story of Ferdinand.  I still love the phrase, “he still liked to sit just quietly under the cork tree and smell the flowers.”  Be careful to read it as written.  The ‘just quietly’ is unique.  And as for smelling flowers, perhaps Mac Davis was inspired by Ferdinand!?

Link to Lesson Plans and Activities 

Just read…

 At my three schools we’ve been impatiently waiting for Book Four of the Ranger’s Apprentice series!  The Ranger’s Apprentice series is easy action adventure with traces of fantasy.  It has huge appeal to reluctant readers, but the library staff is just as hooked as my students! 

The good news is it was worth the wait!  Book Three – The Icebound Land seemed to tread water.  OK, it tread ice.  Evanlyn and Will seemed to get next to nowhere and the rescue we waited for all through the book never materialized.  So bring on Book Four!

New enemies, uneasy alliances, and nonstop action fill this new edition.  Fans will be satisfied, but now, how long must we wait for Book Five?  In Australia John Flanagan has already published books five, six and seven.  I must confess, that at my schools we won’t wait long; we’re not waiting for the American editions to be released at the slow annual rate.  We have a friend of a friend bringing us copies directly from Australia this month. 

I’m afraid our copies of five, six and seven will be tied up for some time with our student readers so you’ll have to get in line…  In the meantime, you can visit the official website or enjoy games at the Australian Publisher website or the British Publisher website. 

I have long observed that the challenged and/or reluctant readers make poor choices when selecting reading materials for themselves.  Students who have a hard time reading or do not like reading (and often that is the same child) consistently select books with which they cannot possibly be successful.  I used to try talking them out of their choice, but they usually are quite stubborn. 

About four years ago I decided that I was going to force students like this to take a book or topic of my choosing.  I know that students need to be interested in their topics to be motivated and that freedom to read what you wish is crucial, but I was tired of seeing students have bad experiences because of their poor choices.  So four years ago I flat out bullied a junior high student into taking a novel I picked for him.  I picked one I thought would interest him (although he claimed nothing sounded good).  My selection was appropriate for his abilities, was well written and fast paced.  Of course the student insisted it was too long.  I begged him to trust me and just try my choice.  It worked.  Two weeks later this student walked by as the library-book-bully was “advising” another student.  ”Trust her,” he said.  “Take what she gives you, it will be good.”  Librarian heaven!

My brother can tell you that I perfected the art of bullying him into doing things long ago.  I was never mean, just tenacious.  I never dreamed it would be useful in my career.

It happened again, today.  A sixth grade boy who dislikes reading (and struggles with it) chose a 400+ page book on the Civil War for his report.  The assignment was to select a topic in American History from the many wonderful non-fiction books in our library’s collection.  They were to choose a book they could read in its entirety.  My aide questioned this young man when he checked out this mammoth work.  But he insisted this is what he wanted.

Later I passed his table and also questioned his choice.  “Do you really think you will be successful with this book?” I asked.  “Don’t you think you are setting yourself up to fail?”  He admitted he would never read the book, but he was interested in the Civil War.  To make a long story short, the library-book-bully convinced him to pick a more appropriate book on a more narrow topic.  He then chose a 150 page book on Grant.  But when he went to broaden his research with reference materials he was totally unfocused.  He was sitting in our reference section in front of the two Civil War encyclopedia sets with no idea what he could look up.  The library-book-bully in me surfaced.  Even Grant was too broad of a topic for this young learner.  We went back to the stacks and I selected a lovely, highly-illustrated book on the Ironclads.  We shall see how it goes…

Why do these poor readers make poor choices?  They don’t read willingly – only for assignments.  And when they make their selections they are rarely ones with which they will be successful.  Why?  Why? Why?

Poor readers pick impossibly long books on complicated subjects.  Why?

Reluctant readers insist on a short book.  Why?  Not all short books are easy!  Seedfolksby Paul Fleischman is told in 13 voices.  I struggled to read it!  Bull Run, also by Fleischman, is another short but very complicated novel.  Short isn’t the complete answer for them.

My students know that if they ask me for a short book I will have an extreme reaction.  Often I pretend to ignore their question and keep repeating, “Ask me for a good book.”  I’ve also been known to accuse them of swearing in my library, telling them “short book” is unacceptable language!  A few times I have stuck my fingers in my ears (in a very juvenile fashion) and said, “I can’t hear you!”  (I have a theory that if students think you are slightly deranged they behave better in the library!)

I do not recommend these tactics to a young school librarian, but I have served at my school long enough to have built credibility and established trust with my students.  I want my students to have successful experiences with books more than I want them to have freedom.  I am not ashamed.  I shall continue to be a library-book-bully whenever the need strikes.  If my students need therapy I’ll give them my brother’s phone number…

Just read….

Christopher Paul Curtis was a featured speaker at the Illinois Reading Conference in Springfield in mid-March.  A tall, friendly man, he is a very entertaining speaker.  I’ve read his Newbery Winner Bud, Not Buddy, never-less it is his debut novel The Watsons Go to Birmingham: 1963 (a Newbery Honor book) that remains my personal favorite.  Watsons is a powerful book which can make you laugh aloud and then, at the end, to not just cry but to weep.

I had the opportunity to tell Mr. Curtis how much I enjoy recommending Watsons to my students.  (Of course he was gracious – what author doesn’t like hearing his books are recommended?!)  But Mr. Curtis genuinely told me Elijah of Buxton is now his personal favorite and not just because it is his most recent.  So it was with eager anticipation that I began reading.

Curtis creates very human main characters; before a Curtis book is over you feel you truly know Kenny, Bud, or Elijah.  In this latest novel, Elijah is a naive and sensitive young man on the verge of adulthood.  He is memorable.  Buxton is memorable!  Buxton , created in the days prior to the American Civil War, was a successful settlement for former black slaves.  Today it is a historic site not far from Christopher Paul Curtis’ home in Windsor, Ontario.

It is obvious Curtis did careful research, however, I think Buxton should have been the topic of Curtis’ first work of non-fiction.  Despite the wonderful character of Elijah and the intriguing topic of Buxton, I found the story stagnant and unevenly written.  Curtis painted a fair picture of life in Buxton, but I would have enjoyed more detail.  Some of the best bits are when Curtis explores the emotional baggage the former slave adults in the community must face despite their freedoms.  The end of the novel is convoluted and dissatisfying.  Yet this, too, was a Newbery Honor book. 

Curtis should go back and tell the stories of the individuals who lived in Buxton in the 1800s.  He should tell it in nonfiction through the eyes of their descendants who return for an annual labor day celebration.  Watsons Go to Birmingham: 1963 remains my favorite!  Sorry Mr. Curtis.

Among the top-ten-from-my-childhood-favorites is another book by Virginia Lee Burton, Mike Mulligan and his Steam Shovel.  Published in 1939, Mike is older than The Little House (1942).   I reviewed title page and copyright date on the verso with the students.  (With Easter break between  the readings of Little House and Mike most classes needed the review!) 

I prefaced the reading of the book by discussing how steam engines were the first great power machines and how they were replaced with gas, electric and diesel motors.  Again, I do not supply this information, but lead students to it with questions.  “Do we run our cars with steam today?  No.  What do we use?” 

I also pulled down a map or a globe in each class and used them to provide background on canals.  Showing them what a long and dangerous trip it once was to round the tip of South Africa or South America led to the idea of major canals.  I explained canals as a shortcut for big ships.  Again, I let questioning lead the discussion.  Students easily picked the isthmus of Panama on the map as a logical place for a canal.  I emphasized proportions and reminded them that, although the map looks tiny, it represents the whole world; the canal was a pretty big job to dig.  We looked at the Panama and Suez canals, and then I mentioned the world had many smaller canals such as the nearby Illinois and Michigan canal.

With the groundwork laid we began reading.  The book begins with Mike and the steam shovel’s career highlights:  digging the great canals, cutting through the mountains for the railroads, lowering hills and straightening curves for the highways, and smoothing out the ground for airfields.  One first grader raised his hand at this point in the book, commenting, “they’re really wrecking a lot of nature, aren’t they?”   A modern child’s take on the old classic! 

The students responded positively to this old title, just as they did with Ducklings and Little House.  The older elements of the book like the constable, telegraph boy, and milkman date the book but do not detract.  And human nature is timeless - Henry B. Swap’s ‘rather mean smile’, the school children being distracted from their lessons by the fire truck, and everyone in town thinking their idea is the best.  The students readily noticed correlations with The Little House in the artwork, such as the sun and the personification of the steam shovel.  They also insisted they saw the Little House in this earlier title’s pictures.  

A running joke in the book is that Mike claims Mary Anne can dig as much in a day as 100 men can dig in a week, although he isn’t actually sure that is true.  It was a first grader in another class who broke into the story and said, “Why doesn’t he just try!”  “Maybe he will,” I said.  We turned the page, and sure enough Mike and Mary Anne began trying to dig that cellar in one day.  The readers/listeners want Mike and Mary Anne to succeed.  Several of the classes actually clapped at the end!

I’m left wondering, is it the happy endings in these old books that illicit this response?