The One Where Jon Klassen Rocks #slice2013

Every Tuesday, Ruth and Stacey, host Slice of Life at their blog, Two Writing Teachers. If you want to participate, you can link up at their Slice of Life Story Post on Tuesdays or you can just head on over there to check out other people's stories. For more information on what a Slice of Life post is about, you can go here. 

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Over the weekend, I got to attend the American Library Association Annual Conference in Chicago and celebrate the winners of the Caldecott, Newbery, and Wilder awards. You do know who won the Caldecott this year, right? And who not only one the Caldecott but also won a Caldecott Honor? Just in case, I'll tell you! The remarkably brilliant Jon Klassen. 

I'm a pretty huge Jon Klassen fan and when I saw him on Sunday, I told him how amazing to think of all that has happened in the last two years. Here's my experience with Jon and his books told in a little Teach Mentor Texts timeline. 

June 3rd, 2010

I reviewed Cat's Night Out by Caroline Stutson and illustrated by Jon Klassen.

August 19, 2011

I visited Candlewick Press when I went to visit my friend, Alison, in Boston.

Regan Castle who works for Candlewick just happened to be there on a Friday afternoon and she so graciously showed me around the office. It was surreal to see into the world of publishing at Candlewick. I admire the work that they do and their passion for great books. Regan told me that I needed to look for I Want My Hat Back which was going to be published in the fall. 

September 27, 2011

I Want My Hat Back was published!

I read I Want My Hat Back with Peanut as soon as it was published, he was four at the time and I hadn't read it before we read it together...and I didn't anticipate the ending!  It took me a while to process...and lots of Twitter discussions which led me to my first post about I Want My Hat Back.

October 28, 2011

I finally gathered my thoughts enough to put together my post about my love/hate relationship with I Want My Hat Back. 

November 22, 2011

At the NCTE Annual Convention, I was so excited to visit the Candlewick Booth and talk about I Want My Hat Back and our fun #teamrabbit and #teambear debate. I was glad I got to be there with Colby and my point, red hat! I also saw a preview of House Held Up By Trees which Jon illustrated and couldn't wait to read and review it when it was published. 

January 17, 2012

Extra Yarn was published!

February 23, 2012

I reviewed Extra Yarn, written by Mac Barnett with illustrations by Jon. I absolutely love Extra Yarn and wished I could just curl up inside it's pages. 

March 27, 2012

House Held Up By Trees was published!

April 1, 2012

Colby and I reread I Want My Hat Back for our I-94 Book Club month of rereading. 

April 30, 2012

I attended the International Reading Association 2012 Convention in Chicago and could not wait to get to the Candlewick booth at the exhibit hall so I could read their copy of This Is Not My Hat. I was the weirdo caressing the cover before even opening it because I knew it contained complete magic inside. I had goosebumps just reading it because it's so good. The spread where all we see is the sea plants is my all-time favorite two-page layout in all children's literature. I don't think there is anything that rivals the suspense I felt at the moment in the book. I know I had tears in my eyes and I couldn't bring myself to turn the page for a long time. So much is happening in that moment and my mind was just thinking of all the possibilities of what would come next. 

May 18, 2012

I reviewed House Held Up By Trees, it is beautifully illustrated and an amazing book. The text is be Ted Kooser and equally as astounding.

October 9, 2012

This Is Not My Hat is published!

October 13, 2012

I reviewed This Is Not My Hat and shared its extreme awesomeness.

October 19, 2012

Jon visited Anderson's Bookshop for an author signing and I got to sit down with him beforehand and talk all about his work. It was completely fascinating to hear him talk about his work and is an experience I will never forget. 

November 25, 2012

At the NCTE Annual Convention last year, we celebrated This is Not My Hat and I put together a video of some of my favorite Jon Klassen fans.

January 28, 2013 

The ALA Youth Media Awards were announced and This Is Not My Hat won the Caldecott Medal which honors the illustrator of the year's most distinguished American picture book for children and Extra Yarn was awarded a Caldecott Honor award. Hooray! *throws confetti* Jon is totally deserving of both of these awards. 

Over the weekend, it was nice to see Jon and hear his acceptance speech for receiving the Caldecott. It was an excellent, heartfelt speech and another moment I will never forget. Today though, I'm thinking about what else is still to come from Jon Klassen. He did a wonderful job with the illustrations for The Dark by Lemony Snicket which Kellee and I reviewed recently. It's such an exciting time in children's literature and I know Jon is going to bring us more outstanding books to share with young readers. I can't wait! I'm happy to my own kids get to experience such fantastic books. Congratulations again to Jon!

ALA Awards Chat and Reflection

JEN: Hi Kellee! Let’s talk about the American Library Association Award winners and honors books!

KELLEE: Hi Jen! I am so excited to discuss these with you! And I was so excited to find out who was honored by the ALA.

JEN: I have to say that I was really excited to hear the announcements this year for the ALA awards. A few years ago, I didn’t pay attention. Then two years ago, I paid attention and didn’t really know the books that one - especially not Moon Over Manifest when it won the Newbery. Last year, I at least recognized most of the books that won or were honor books. That made a difference. I was at least curious to see who they announced because I had so many books in mind. This year was the same - in looking at the prediction lists, I felt like I would know the books that were announced as winners and honors.

KELLEE: Last year was really the first year I paid attention on the day of. The year before I heard on Twitter the day of and made sure to read Moon Over Manifest after it won the Newbery because I hadn’t heard of it before. Last year, like you, included more books that I heard of. Only Breaking Stalin’s Nose was not on my radar. This year, I had my own predictions and actually felt like I have read enough that I could make predictions for the awards, especially the Printz and Newbery.

JEN: I definitely had my favorites this year but I also had a different understanding about how the committee picks the awards. I don’t get too worked up over the awards just because I know I’ll love the books I love no matter what. Monica Edinger shared her insight into what the process is like for the Newbery at Nerdy Book Club on Sunday. It was so interesting. It must be a hard decision but also one I’m sure the participants take very seriously. I served as a juror once on a case and having to work together to come up with a verdict was excruciatingly difficult...I can only imagine being on a committee for the ALA awards!

KELLEE: I think being part of a committee myself has really helped me understand how everything works. It is a much more work than I ever imagined. It is more than just saying that you like a book.

JEN: I know that just the task of reading so many books seems daunting enough to me, let alone considering which books meet all the different criteria. Seriously, I commend the committees.

KELLEE: Before we talk about the big ALA awards, why don’t we talk about some of the lesser known awards. I need to learn more about the other awards. The Printz, Newbery and Caldecott are always talked about and I knew about the Belpre award (given to a Latino/Latina authors and illustrators who portray, affirm and celebrate the Latino culture) because of teaching at a school with a high Latino population and the Schneider award (honors authors and illustrators that portrays the disability experience in a positive light for child and adolescent audiences) because of Aly being on the committee, but these others sound like awards I should be paying attention to as well. For example, I didn’t realize there was a Stonewall book award for LBGTQ and it was only last year, because of Teri Lesesne, that I heard about the Odyssey award for audiobooks.

 

JEN: I feel like I’m still learning about the lower profile awards myself! I knew that the Odyssey was for audiobooks after searching for books narrated by Nick Podehl. He is my favorite narrator and has won Odyssey honors in the past. I was very excited to see that The Fault In Our Stars was the Odyssey winner this year. I read the book and then listened to it and it was definitely well done. I always wonder if a book that made me cry the first time is going to make me cry again and cry (fine...weep) I did when listening to The Fault In Our Stars.

KELLEE: I was really happy to see Drama get recognized by the Stonewall committee because there needs to be more LBGTQ middle grade novels. And of course October Mourning was honored because it should be read by every human on the planet.

JEN: I had never heard of the Over the Rainbow List. It’s basically a bibliography of quality GLBTRT books for children through young adults. I was ecstatic to see See You at Harry’s on the Rainbow list. I love Fern and her story. Jo Knowles did a great job with this book.

KELLEE: The Schneider Award is always one that I pay attention to because it is close to my heart. I really wanted Wonder to win because I feel like it fits the definition of the award; though I am sad it didn’t win, I know that the committee picked the book they thought fit the criteria the best (Hi Aly!).

JEN: In thinking of how many other books besides Wonder that I read this year that could have qualified for the Schneider, I realize I don’t have many to compare it to! I’m sure Aly and her committee did a great job and I can’t wait to read A Dog Called Homeless. She says it’ll make a great read aloud!

KELLEE: I just hope the dog doesn’t die!!!

JEN: Oh, geez...I hadn’t even thought of that.

KELLEE: It seems to always happen in award winning books.

I always love finding out which authors are going to be honored for their body of work through the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award (given to an author who substantial and lasting contribution to literature for children) and the Margaret A. Edwards Award for lifetime achievement in writing for young adults. Katherine Paterson won the Wilder Award which I was actually surprised that she hadn’t won it already as she is a pioneer of middle grade/young adult books. The Edwards Award was given to Tamora Pierce who I know is loved by many. I have never read anything by her, so I think I need to change that at some point.

The Morris Award for a debut author is always exciting as well, because the newbies on the block get the chance to be recognized. I know that many people will be happy with the winner this year - Seraphina by Rachel Hartman. It sounds so good! I am not a huge fan of dragon books, but I have only heard great things about this one. 

 

JEN: I was excited to see Seraphina because Maria talks so highly of it! I want to read it even more now. I love dragons. Have you heard of the Firelight series by Sophie Jordan? It’s about a girl who is part draki - well, she can change into a dragon.

KELLEE: Moving on to the big awards! First- Wow. I cannot believe that The Fault in our Stars did not win the Printz (excellence in literature for young adults) or at least honor. Though I haven’t read any of the ones who did win, so I cannot compare and the winner does sound good. I know that it isn’t fair to question the award winners, especially when I haven’t read EVERYTHING, but I really thought TFioS had what it took to win.  

JEN: I really believed ever since reading The Fault In Our Stars last January, that it was going to sweep the awards this year. First of all, I adore John Green. But more than John never forgetting to be as awesome as John is, he really did an excellent job with The Fault In Our Stars. After reading almost all of his books after John Green week last year, I can say that, in my opinion, it’s his best work by far. Of the Printz honors, I read and reviewed Code Name Verity and it was quite a read!

KELLEE: I started one of the Printz honors and didn’t love, but I do love Elephant and Piggie and Pete the Cat. It is perfect that they won the Geisel Award for beginning reader book. They really do uphold the standard of Dr. Seuss. (Btw, I think it is funny that Up, Tall, and High is written by Long.)

JEN: That is funny! I loooooooooove Up, Tall, and High. It’s super cute, colorful, and funny. Interactive, too, with pages the fold up. We loved it at our house. And yay for the honors! All great!

KELLEE: Caldecott time!! I was so surprised that there were 5 honors! Haven’t read Creepy Carrots, but I love Peter Brown's illustrations. I’m so excited for you when I heard Extra Yarn! I know you and a bunch of our tweeps really, really love that book. I am so happy that One Cool Friend was honored (and I think it is funny that is it published by Penguin). I am so in awe of Jon Klassen for getting two Caldecotts in one year! I wonder if anyone has ever done that?!

JEN: I was surprised by all the honors, too, but there were so many great books this year. Seeing Extra Yarn and This Is Not My Hat on the list was phenomenal. It makes me just feel so great. I’m so proud of Jon Klassen...it’s weird, but I’m proud of all the authors and illustrators. I just love the work they are doing and how much it contributes to children’s literature. It’s so amazing to think of in the whole big-picture scheme of things. Jon Klassen did make a bit of history with his win and honor! That has only been done once before in the 75 year history of the award and not since 1947. That’s pretty awesome!

Seeing One Cool Friend on the list also made me insanely happy! I feel like it has been an underrated book but it’s very clever. I met the illustrator, David Small, at the Anderson’s Breakfast last year and he talked about One Cool Friend. It was great to hear him talk about the intentionality that goes into illustrating a picture book and Jon talked about these same things when I heard him speak in the fall. Listening to the illustrators describe all the thought that goes into the artwork has given me so much more respect for what they create.

KELLEE: And drum roll..... Newbery time! Bomb made a bit of a sweep. Between it and Aristotle and Dante they covered most of the awards. As for the winner of the Newbery, I am so very happy that The One and Only Ivan won. I started crying! The book deserves to be read by children forever and ever. I have chills! I am so excited! “Raw humor, deep emotion and thought provoking insight into friendship, hope and humanity.” Darn right! Woot! 

JEN: Yay! I was so excited for Katherine Applegate and Ivan. She did a wonderful job of capturing Ivan’s personality - I mean, I think of him as real...it’s hard for me to separate the idea of him as an ape and him as an ape with thoughts like Ivan in the book. My summer book club Skyped with Katherine when the school year started and it was amazing how much the book made the students think and ask questions and make connections with real life. They were passionate about how Ivan was mistreated and the recognition that Ivan’s story was based on a true story really bridged their thoughts about the book to thoughts about occurrences in real life. It was an amazing experience for me to see how students were impacted by The One and Only Ivan. I know Ivan's story in the book and in real life made an impact on my life.

KELLEE: This was so much fun! It was great talking through the awards with you :) 

JEN: I agree, definitely fun. It was a great year for books!

and 

Let Them Read Books!

I'm a huge fan of everyone being free to read what they want to read when they want to read it!

"Read what you want to read!"

-Jen Vincent

Yesterday, Peanut and I hung out with Dave Roman and I told him that I will never forget his response to anyone who says that graphic novels or comics isn't reading:

"Not reading is not reading."

-Dave Roman, Astronaut Academy, Teen Boat

To me, if a child is not reading, that's when a parent or teacher should be worried. I do totally understand that some books might be too mature for kids and parents should know enough about what kids are reading to help guide their child's reading, but when it comes to letting kids read what they want to read after that, I say: Yes! Let there be reading!

It's frustrating to me that anyone thinks it's okay to challenge or ban books, especially when I read the books and it seems obvious that the people challenging/banning it must not have read the entire book if they want to challenge or ban it. I just wish people would be more open-minded and take on the perspective of books being ways to start good and worthwhile discussions instead of books being a way to taint a child's mind. 

I pride myself on being a positive person so I have to stop dwelling on these Negative Nancys when it comes to some books. Let's just get on with it. Here are the frequently challenged books of the 21st century from the ALA website, featuring the top ten challenged books in 2011.

The number one banned book last year was ttyl by the-one-and-completely-awesome Lauren Myracle. I adore her and her ability and continuous desire to write strong girl characters who deal with true-to-life experiences that girl readers can completely relate to. If I had a daughter, I would be buying her every Lauren Myracle book as she grew into them. Lauren Myracle picks up where Judy Blume left off  with Are You There, God? It's Me Margaret for previous generations. I truly believe that a reader being able to connect with a book and to be able to not feel so isolated in his or her feelings (especially when it comes to puberty and everything that goes with it) is so powerful. What are books if not ways to learn about ourselves and others?

Here's what Lauren Myracle had to say about her books being banned in an interview from 2010:

In April, Lauren was interviewed about her books topping the 2011 list. Here's part of her interview:

"I remember going to a library once in Ohio. They had invited me, telling me, 'We’d love to have you talk here.' But when I got there, a librarian said, 'We don’t have your dirty books on display here.' I didn’t want to get into a fight, but I thought, 'You should serve your population—kids have different needs.' I asked if they had a book called Thirteen Reasons Why, about a girl who commits suicide. She said, 'Heavens no! It’s pro-suicide.' But it’s the opposite. The book shows how horrible it is for everyone when you take your life.

Kids are smart. Knowledge is power. Let them figure things out. Don’t turn into that grown-up who they won’t come to."

Bottom line: offer books to kids. Books have to be available to kids. Who is anyone to not make a book available to a student (except a parent for their own child when appropriate)? It's not cool for a library to not have a book available because of it being banned or challenged. It's not cool for a bookstore or book fair to not have a book available because of it being banned or challenged - or even for the potential possibility that it might be banned or challenged. That's just sad.

In April, Lauren also wrote a follow-up post to the ALA's list being published. I love her ability to look at her books being banned in such an objective way. In this article she talks about her latest book Shine. Shine is an amazingly written book that discusses homophobia and gay-bashing. It's a close examination of how people treat other people and how judgments people make influence how others feel. After reading October Mourning by Leslea Newman, published last week, I thought immediately of Shine because they can be paired so well together. Shine is a fictional novel but pairing it with October Mourning can help readers recognize how realistic the issues in Shine actually are. Both of these are perfect books for young adults. When I think of reaching younger readers and sharing this message of compassion and acceptance of all, I think of See You At Harry's by Jo Knowles and Drama by Raina Telgemeier. Both of these books have gay characters and address gay issues without that being the central focus of the book. I hope all of these books make their way into readers hands!

If you want to read what I had to say about Banned Books Week in 2010, you can read about it here. 

What are some of your favorite books that are on 2011's banned book list or previous lists?

ALA Banned Books Week!

Today starts the American Library Associations Banned Books Week.  I just read through the ALA website and their pages about banned books.  I love that they promote everyone's right to free speech  and everyone's right to read what they want to read.   

Looking at the list for challenged or banned books in 2009-2010 I recognize that there are 9 books on there that I have read already and 2 that are actually on my to-be-read pile and right here in my house already!  I pretty vividly remember reading all of the nine books, and I do have to say that I can see how they could be controversial.  Two of them I read in school and the others I have read since being a teacher/mother.  As a teacher I'm always thinking about which of my students would enjoy a book I have read, and some of these I would definitely have to think carefully about who I would recommend them to, but that doesn't mean I wouldn't recommend them to the right student who I think would be mature enough to read, understand, and interpret the book.  

Have you read any of these?  These are the 9 I have read that have been challenged or banned recently.  I was surprised at some of these and even more surprised at others that have been challenged or banned in the past (like Harry Potter!!!).  It's crazy.  I believe books should be available to all.  If you want to read it, okay, if you don't, then don't.  If you're a parent and you don't think it's appropriate for your child, then I do believe it's okay to talk to your child and explain why you might not think it's right for him or her, but banning it from a school, library, or school library is not cool.

Some of you have joined the #speakloudly conversation on Twitter after Laurie Halse Anderson's book Speak was characterized as filthy and immoral.  Here's what she had to say about it: "This guy thinks SPEAK is pornography." I didn't post my own response right away, just because it's hard for me to think straight when something so insane happens.  There are two rape scenes in Speak and the book is an intense book because of what Melinda (the main character) deals with when she is raped.  I think it is an important book for young adults to read about what she is going through whether they identify with it in any way or are just gaining perspective.  This is a book that I have recommended to certain students and I always explain that it's a serious book and make sure to talk to them about what they read, mainly because I want them to understand the seriousness of the book and the gravity of it's message but also because Anderson leaves a lot for a reader to infer and I want to make sure the student gets what the book is about.  I believe so many people are outraged by this particular banning because the accusation is really off-base - and I know that because I read the whole book.

Speak and other challenged or banned books need people standing up for them and their worth in schools and libraries.  I hope that everyone out there is reading, but I truly wish that every teacher and parent out there is at least reading what their students or kids are reading.  Had I not read any of these banned books in this post, I wouldn't be qualified to make a case for them and their relevance and importance in society.  Since I have, I know what they are about and I know I would recommend any of them if I thought they were a fit for one of my students or friends.  For the books I haven't read, I can't say I would be interested in reading all of them, but that doesn't mean I'm going to stand in the way of someone who is interested in them.

I wish I could be part of the Chicago Banned Books Week Read-Out!  Even though I can't actually be there, I'm going to make sure I sit down and read between noon and 2:00 p.m. to show my support.  Here are the two books I'll be reading this week in honor of Banned Books Week:

 

Stand up against book banning: 

read one of the books on the challenged or banned books lists, 

buy them, check them out, share them!