#classroombookaday and Vocabulary

This year I'm joining in on Classroom Book A Day fun with my 7th and 8th graders. You can read my first week with Classroom Book A Day post to see what books we read the first three days, what books we're reading this week, and how we've been using picture books to discuss theme.

I mentioned in my first week post that I'm a connector and I love weaving ideas together. Reading a picture book every day offers so many opportunities! I shared that I asked students to turn and talk and discuss theme but I also have been doing some vocabulary and word work.

Vocabulary is so important but especially important to me after working with students who are deaf and hard of hearing and students who are English learners because developing vocabulary is sooooooo important for them. With reading a picture book everyday, I saw an opportunity to focus on vocabulary. I'm also a big believer in learning and working with vocabulary in context so it's perfect! 

I definitely want to say that I'm conscious of not turning Classroom Book A Day into a chore. My ultimate goal is to read aloud to my students so I'm being very careful to not turn it into too much work that it takes away from that. Taking that into account, here's how I'm layering in vocabulary work while still keeping it simple. 

When students come in, they pick up a vocabulary sheet, put it in their binders, and bring their binders to the board. I have vocabulary sheets in English and in English and Spanish because I have English learners in my classroom.

Students then do a quick self assessment, deciding how well they know the words based on Marzano's Levels of Understanding. I co-created this with my students. We brainstormed what emojis would match and then I added them into the chart I had already created.

We're working on getting more and more automatic with this so they come in and do this independently. Then I read through the words so they can hear what the words sound like and I ask students to share any words they labeled as a 1. Students help each other out and we discuss the words a bit before we read. 

For my 8th graders, if I feel like the words seem fairly simple, I've come up with other things for them to do. For example, with Imagine, I asked students to circle adjectives and we noticed that many adjectives end in -y but not all of them. We've also noticed some words have multiple meanings and that's been fun too to see what discussions come up.

Overall, layering in this quick vocabulary discussion has been a simple way to get in some word work while also activating their brains before we read. I already have ideas for how to move forward and for ways this might evolve so I'll be sure to share them as I go!

Raymie Nightingale

Title: Raymie Nightingale 
Author: Kate DiCamillo 
Publisher: Candlewick Press 
Publication Date: April 12th, 2016 
Genre/Format: Realistic Fiction/Novel 
GoodReads Summary: Raymie Clarke has come to realize that everything, absolutely everything, depends on her. And she has a plan. If Raymie can win the Little Miss Central Florida Tire competition, then her father, who left town two days ago with a dental hygienist, will see Raymie's picture in the paper and (maybe) come home. To win, not only does Raymie have to do good deeds and learn how to twirl a baton; she also has to contend with the wispy, frequently fainting Louisiana Elefante, who has a show-business background, and the fiery, stubborn Beverly Tapinski, who’s determined to sabotage the contest. But as the competition approaches, loneliness, loss, and unanswerable questions draw the three girls into an unlikely friendship — and challenge each of them to come to the rescue in unexpected ways. 
What I Think: It's a good sign when a book is filled with too many wonderful snatches of text that I can't list them all! Kate DiCamillo has done it again with Raymie Nightingale. Her words are magic spun onto the page. As a writer who is constantly thinking about show don't tell and how to get deeper into the perspective of my main character, Kate is a dream mentor text. She brings the harsh reality of life honestly to life with her words. This is not easy to do! 
     As a mentor text, Raymie Nightingale is wonderful for character development, dialogue, descriptive writing. Use a graphic organizer to build character maps for Raymie and her friends and the rest of the cast of characters. Students can practice making connections and making inferences about the different characters. 
     Part of bringing characters to life is using dialogue meaningfully. Depending on what tense we're writing in, we don't always get to see into a character's head but with dialogue, we can get some insight. Dialogue is a great way to set a character apart from others just based on what words they use. Have students compare what different characters say and how their words help us understand them better. Then ask students to try focusing on dialogue in their own writing. 
     Finally, look at the description in her writing as a whole. She writes as if describing a movie frame by frame. Notice the words she picks. Have students make a list of strong words from one page of text or ask them to underline the powerful words she uses. Kate uses every single word purposefully and powerfully. My favorite activity for keeping writing concise is to take a piece of writing and then to try and cut half of the words. It's amazing how sentence combining (such as Jeff Anderson recommends!) is a learning experience in how to make writing stronger. Lisa Graff says she does this and I wonder if it's part of Kate's revising process. Either way, your students will grow from the challenge!
Read Together: Grades 4 - 8 
Read Alone: Grades 5 - 8 
Read With: Because of Winn Dixie by Kate DiCamillo, The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall, Okay For Now by Gary D. Schmidt, The Lions of Little Rock by Kristin Levine, Love, Ruby Lavender by Deborah Wiles, Crenshaw by Katherine Applegate
Snatch of Text:  
     "The sun was very high in the sky.
     It hadn't moved.
     It seemed like someone had stuck it up there and then walked away and left it." (p. 6)

     "The three of them stood there looking at one another. 
     Raymie felt something expanding inside of her. It felt like a gigantic tent billowing out.
     This, Raymie knew, was her soul." (P. 17)

     "And then she thought about how in fairy tales people go three wishes and none of the wishes ever turned out right. If the wishes came true, they came true in terrible ways. Wishes were dangerious things. That was the idea you got from fairy tales. 
     Maybe it was smart of Beverly not to wish." (p. 91)
Book Trailer:

Writing Prompts: Write about a time in your life when something happened that you had no control over. How did it feel and what did you do about it?
Topics Covered: Friendship, Family, Determination, Loyalty 

I *heart* It:

*Thanks to Candlewick Press for 

a copy of Raymie Nightingale n exchange for an honest review!*

Pink Is For Blobfish: Discovering The World's Perfectly Pink Animals

Nonfiction Picture Book Wednesday is hosted by Aly at Kid Lit Frenzy. 
Every Wednesday, bloggers link up their non-fiction picture book reviews. Be sure to visit Kid Lit Frenzy and see what great non-fiction books are shared this week!

Title: Pink Is For Blobfish: Discovering The World's Perfectly Pink Animals
Author: Jess Keating 
Illustrator: David Degrand 
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers 
Publication Date: February 2nd, 2016 
Genre/Format: Non-Fiction/Picture Book 
GoodReads Summary: Pinkalicious meets National Geographic in this nonfiction picture book introducing the weirdest, wildest, pinkest critters in the animal kingdom!

Some people think pink is a pretty color. A fluffy, sparkly, princess-y color. But it's so much more.
Sure, pink is the color of princesses and bubblegum, but it's also the color of monster slugs and poisonous insects. Not to mention ultra-intelligent dolphins, naked mole rats and bizarre, bloated blobfish.Isn't it about time to rethink pink? 
What I Think: I love the color pink but even if this wasn't a book about super strange but awesome pink creatures, I would still love it! All of the animals in this book are super funky! We had fun reading about each of these animals. I love how the two-page layouts are set up. Each covers one animal and shares facts like its name, species name, size, diet, habitat, and predators and threats but also gives information about the animal and an interesting quirky fact about it too. 
     Over the years, non-fiction has totally grown on me. I think it helps that children's non-fiction has gotten cooler and cooler over the years - and this book is definitely example of this. One thing I really love about non-fiction is that the reader gets a little bit more ownership about how he or she wants to read it than with fiction. For example, we started reading one night but had to stop because it was time for bed. The next night when we picked up the book again, I started reading from the back of the back and working forwards to where we had left off the night before. All of a sudden, Peanut shook his head and said, "Wait, are you reading it backwards?!?" We had a good chuckle over that but then we talked about how some non-fiction books work like that - you can read them forwards or backwards or even jump around. This is so important for kids to realize. They have to know the difference between fiction and non-fiction and how - especially when doing research - you might skip around and skim different parts until you really find what you are looking for. I didn't realize Peanut would be so shocked when I started reading backwards but it helped me remember that we have to teach students the ins and outs of different genres and help them think through how they'll access each text they encounter.
     I also strongly believe in encouraging students to use description and voice in their non-fiction writing. I know some people don't see the connection between the two, but I believe we need students to see how description is important when bringing non-fiction to life. Students can read any of the descriptions of the animals in Pink is for Blobfish and see how Jess uses literary devices such as alliteration, similes, strong adjectives, nouns, and verbs to bring her non-fiction writing to life for readers. 
Read Together: Grades K - 6 
Read Alone: Grades K - 6 
Read With: What If You Had Animal Teeth? by Sandra Markle, Flight of the Honey Bee by Raymond Huber, Non-Fiction books by Nic Bishop, The Beetle Book and others by Steven Jenkins  
Snatch of Text: 

"A Different Dolphin!

Unlike dolphins from the open ocean, Amazon river dolphins have flexible necks. 

They sweep their snouts through the watery vegetation, flushing prey from their hiding places."

Writing Prompts: Write about animals that are your favorite color!  
Topics Covered: Integration - Science, Animals, Curiosity 

I *heart* It:

Crenshaw

Title: Crenshaw 
Author: Katherine Applegate 
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends 
Publication Date: September 22nd, 2015 
Genre/Format: Realistic Fiction/Novel 
GoodReads Summary: In her first novel since winning the Newbery Medal, Katherine Applegate delivers an unforgettable and magical story about family, friendship, and resilience.

Jackson and his family have fallen on hard times. There's no more money for rent. And not much for food, either. His parents, his little sister, and their dog may have to live in their minivan. Again.

Crenshaw is a cat. He's large, he's outspoken, and he's imaginary. He has come back into Jackson's life to help him. But is an imaginary friend enough to save this family from losing everything?Beloved author Katherine Applegate proves in unexpected ways that friends matter, whether real or imaginary. 
What I Think: As soon as I got home from Nerdcamp, I wanted to read this with Peanut right away. I read it aloud to him and we spent time thinking through the story and what was happening. He loves The One and Only Ivan and was captured by Crenshaw right away but the abstractness of Crenshaw himself made it a little more difficult to process. But Katherine Applegate does an amazing job of bringing the characters to life and allowing readers to connect with them by so carefully telling their story. I started to grab my favorite snatches of text and had to stop because there are just so many wonderful words in this story. Katherine's words just pack so much punch. They are powerful.
     I led a session on descriptive writing in non-fiction this summer at Nerdcamp. I shared one of my favorite NPR segments by Frank Deford called "Don't Overlook The Unsung Umpire; Referees Can Be Pretty, Too". His description is remarkable and listening to him read his words truly brings strong images to mind. The power of descriptive writing is that it allows readers to visualize and feel as though they are there in the moment, seeing what the author sees, feeling what the author or character feels. Stopping to marvel at amazing writing is a great opportunity invite students to look at writing that moves them and to notice what the author is doing. I would take time to stop and relish in Katherine's words while reading Crenshaw while at the same time thinking about the characters, making connections and inferring how they might be feeling. Crenshaw is a book that I love, but this can be done with any text - even any sentence - that you like from something you have read. But Katherine has a knack for describing how characters are feeling and helping you truly feel what they feel so I would zone in on that with Crenshaw.
     I'm thrilled that our local independent bookstore is participating in the Crenshaw Nationwide Food Drive. Reading about a main character who was homeless and may be homeless again really helped my kids to think through what this might be like. They asked lots of great questions that showed me how much they were processing Jackson's life and his story. I'm happy to see Katherine bring attention to homelessness in our country. It's a good reminder to everyone that we might not know someone's story and that it's important to try and learn more about what people meet have dealt with or are dealing with and to show compassion by doing so. I believe that in telling our stories and listening to others' stories, we are better able to work together and accomplish more.
Read Together: Grades 2 - 6 
Read Alone: Grades 3 - 7 
Read With: Yard Sale by Eve Bunting with illustrations by Lauren Castillo, Each Kindness by Jacqueline Woodson with illustrations by E.B. Lewis, Hope is a Ferris Wheel by Robin Herrera, Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell, Paperboy by Vince Vawter 
Snatch of Text: 
     "It was late June, nice and warm, but I shivered.
     I felt the way you do the instant before you leap into the deep end of a pool.
     You're on your way to somewhere else. You're not there yet. But you know there's no turning back." (p. 5)

     "Maybe that's why I liked the name Crenshaw. It felt like a blank piece of paper before you draw on it.
     It was an anything-is-possible kind of name." (p. 27)

     "The sun was beginning to set. The sky was tiger-colored, with stripes of black clouds." (p. 36)

     "'There's no such thing as magic,' I said.
     'Music is magic,' said my mom.
     'Love is magic,' said my dad.
     'Rabbits in a hat are magic,' said Robin.
     'I would put Krispy Kreme donuts in the magic category,' said my dad.
     'How about the smell of a new baby?' asked my mom.
     'Kitties are magic!' Robin yelled.
     'Indeed,' said my dad, scratching Aretha's ear, 'And don't forget dogs.'" (p. 38)     

Writing Prompts: Write about something you would want to know the truth about. Even if it would be hard to know or hard to deal with, something that you would rather know about than not. 
Topics Covered: Family, Friendship, Perseverance, Courage, Determination, Growing Up, Adversity 

I *heart* It:

Counting Crows

Title: Counting Crows 
Author: Kathi Appelt 
Illustrator: Rob Dunlavey 
Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: March 3rd, 2015 
Genre/Format: Fiction/Picture Book  
GoodReads Summary: Help hungry crows avoid a feline foe in this clever concept book from the author of The True Blue Scouts of Sugar Man Swamp and The Underneath.

One, two, three, crows in a tree, bedecked in red scarves and hungry as can be. So they fly out of their nest with snacking in mind, and snack they do. Snack one, snack two, snack three;all the way to a dozen! But before they have time to complain about bellyaches, they have a bigger problem: a cat has been eyeing them;as potential snacks! Can these well-fed crows become well-FLED crows? Read and find out in this counting book from Newbery Finalist and two-time National Book Award Nominee Kathi Appelt, with spot-on illustrations from Rob Dunlavey. It's the cat's meow! 
What I Think: The other night, Peanut, Little Bean and I sat down to read three counting books and Counting Crows was one of them. We had fun counting as more and more crows joined the crew. It was even fun for Peanut who just finished second grade. We talked about counting by two and then counting by three. And towards the end, when there were twelve crows, we discussed the word "dozen" and what it means.
     As I was reading, I fell in love with the simply description in this book. I'm a fan of description and the more I write, the more I realize just how important it is to show instead of tell. Sometimes even when I think I'm showing, I'm still telling. Having a mentor text like Counting Crows is great because it's easy to zone in on the rhyme, alliteration, and great adjectives Kathi uses and then to help students see how they might try being descriptive in a similar way in their own writing.
Read Together: Pre-K - K 
Read Alone: Pre-K - 3 
Read With: Let's Count Goats! by Mem Fox, Count The Monkeys by Mac Barnett, Count-A-Block by Christopher Franceschelli
Snatch of Text:  

"Ten crunchy crickets,

ten green peppers.

Ten for the counting crows. 

Yep, yep, yeppers!"

Writing Prompts: Write about something in your life using some awesome adjectives and even trying some alliteration.
Topics Covered: Integration - Math, Counting  

I *heart* It:

Rereading For Fluency with Sarah Cynthia Silvia Stout

Today Poetry Friday is at The Poem Farm with Amy Ludwig VanderWater! Be sure to visit and check out all the great poetry posts. This month is extra special because April is National Poetry Month.

When I was in second grade, we held a poetry event. Students were partnered up and asked to draw a picture of a Shel Silverstein poem. We each had a different Shel Silverstein poem to prepare and recite. Technically, we were supposed to know it by heart but our teacher put the words on the back of our picture so we could peek at the words if we needed to. Where The Sidewalk Ends will always be one of my all-time favorite poetry collections. 

The poem I recite with one of my friends, was "Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout Would Not Take the Garbage Out" and it is still one of my most favorite poems to read out loud. I was actually just talking to a friend about Dr. Seuss' The Sneetches and how keen Dr. Seuss was to be able address serious topics through picture books. Shel Silverstein reminds me of that. He seems to have addressed some serious topics in his poems as well. I've been thinking a lot about waste lately. I have a science teacher friend who has an indoor worm compost bin and I would love to get started...I just have to be brave enough to actually commit. I'm mostly worried about hurting the worms by over or under feeding them and about smelling up my house somehow. Maybe it'll be a summer project.

Today I'm rereading "Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout Would Not Take the Garbage Out" and thinking about how wonderful this poem is for practicing fluency. Reading poetry is a perfect opportunity to think about timing and inflection, emotion fluidity in your voice. When we reread, we can practice fluency. The first time through, students familiarize themselves with the words, but when rereading, they can take the time to practice their fluency and to think about how to best read the words to make the biggest impact. And what an impact this poem has!

Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout Would Not Take the Garbage Out

By Shel Silverstein

Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout 

Would not take the garbage out! 

She'd scour the pots and scrape the pans, 

Candy the yams and spice the hams, 

And though her daddy would scream and shout, 

She simply would not take the garbage out. 

And so it piled up to the ceilings: 

Coffee grounds, potato peelings, 

Brown bananas, rotten peas, 

Chunks of sour cottage cheese. 

It filled the can, it covered the floor, 

It cracked the window and blocked the door 

With bacon rinds and chicken bones, 

Drippy ends of ice cream cones, 

Prune pits, peach pits, orange peel, 

Gloppy glumps of cold oatmeal, 

Pizza crusts and withered greens, 

Soggy beans and tangerines, 

Crusts of black burned buttered toast, 

Gristly bits of beefy roasts. . . 

The garbage rolled on down the hall, 

It raised the roof, it broke the wall. . . 

Greasy napkins, cookie crumbs, 

Globs of gooey bubble gum, 

Cellophane from green baloney, 

Rubbery blubbery macaroni, 

Peanut butter, caked and dry, 

Curdled milk and crusts of pie, 

Moldy melons, dried-up mustard, 

Eggshells mixed with lemon custard, 

Cold french fried and rancid meat, 

Yellow lumps of Cream of Wheat. 

At last the garbage reached so high 

That it finally touched the sky. 

And all the neighbors moved away, 

And none of her friends would come to play. 

And finally Sarah Cynthia Stout said, 

"OK, I'll take the garbage out!" 

But then, of course, it was too late. . . 

The garbage reached across the state, 

From New York to the Golden Gate. 

And there, in the garbage she did hate, 

Poor Sarah met an awful fate, 

That I cannot now relate 

Because the hour is much too late. 

But children, remember Sarah Stout 

And always take the garbage out!

Won Ton and Chopstick Blog Tour and Giveaway!

Title: Won Ton and Chopstick: a Cat and Dog Tale Told in Haiku
Author: Lee Wardlaw  
Illustrator: Eugene Yelchin 
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. 
Publication Date: March 17th, 2015
Genre/Format: Fiction/Poetry/Picture Book
GoodReads Summary: Won Ton has a happy life with his Boy, until…Ears perk. Fur prickles. 
Belly low, I creep…peek…FREEZE!My eyes full of Doom.A new puppy arrives, and nothing will be the same. Told entirely in haiku and with plenty of catitude, the story of how Won Ton faces down the enemy is a fresh and funny twist on a familiar rivalry. 
What I Think: When Kellee and I reviewed Won Ton: A Cat Tale Told in Haiku in 2012, it was funny because I am not a cat person and she totally is. Despite not being a cat person, I loved Won Ton then and still adore him now. What I love most about Won Ton and his story is that readers truly get a sense of who he is. It might be because the poetry is to tight and specific that it gets right to who he is but in Won Ton and Chopstick especially, we get to see who he is even more.
The more and more I write, the more I realize the power of revision, of looking closely at words and truly thinking about which words are necessary, which words add to the message, and which words can just plain be cut out. I know I use lots of words. I can be very verbose...but writing has helped me see how to be more concise in my words and how to make sure I tighten up my words as much as possible. I can see how writing poetry, especially Haiku, can help students tighten up their writing. Just look at the snatch of text below. By using compound adjectives, Wardlaw squishes description into seven syllables but still packs a punch with the words. Really concise description is much more powerful than a page full of words. This is great to show to students. 
I love talking to kids about $100 words. Awesome adjectives and adverbs add to a sentence but finding the best verbs is as important. We would brainstorm a list of synonyms for common words an then put them into a continuum from least to greatest. Then students can see how many options there are when it comes to words but also pay attention to the fact that synonyms aren't interchangeable. It's a great way to show students that they have the power to choose the words that truly match the intention of their writing. I've done this with students in all grades, adjusting as appropriate to their level and it's amazing how quickly the can integrate $100 words into their writing. As soon as I've shown this to students, they become motivated to find ways to really pack a punch with their words. If you haven't read The Right Word by Jennifer Bryant yet, that book is such an amazing introduction to a thesaurus and Roget's love of words and would match well with Won Ton and Chopstick and looking at precise description. 
Read Together: Grades K - 3
Read Alone: Grades K - 3 
Read With: Won Ton by Lee Wardlaw, Dogku  by Andrew Clements, Dog In Charge by K.L. Going, The Right Word by Jennifer Bryant 
Snatch of Text:  

"Master of escape!

High-flying, dog-defying

acrobatic cat!

Puthimoutputhim

outputhimoutputhim --- wait!

I said him, not me!"

Writing Prompts: Write about a time when you felt jealous of someone else. How did you handle the situation and what helped you deal with your feelings.  
Topics Covered: Family, Friendship, Emotions
Additional Resources: Lee Wardlaw swears that her first spoken word was “kitty.” Since then, she’s shared her life with 30 cats (not all at the same time!) and published 30 books for young readers, including Won Ton: A Cat Tale Told in Haiku, recipient of the Lee Bennett Hopkins Children’s Poetry Award, the Myra Cohn Livingston Award for Poetry, and the Cat Writers’ Association Muse Medallion. She lives in Santa Barbara, California with her family. Her website is: http://www.leewardlaw.com

Activity Kit for Won Ton and Chopstick:

http://www.leewardlaw.com/PDF/Won-Ton-and-Chopstick-Activity-Kit.pdf

Teacher’s Guide for Won Ton and Chopstick:

http://www.leewardlaw.com/PDF/chopstickguidefinal.pdf

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/leewardlaw

Twitter: @LeeWardlaw

http://www.pawstoread.com

I *heart* It:

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Visit other stops on the Won Ton and Chopstick Blog Tour!

Mon, Mar 30	Library Fanatic	http://www.thelibraryfanatic.com/
Tues, Mar 31	Kid Lit Frenzy	http://www.kidlitfrenzy.com/
Wed, Apr 1	Teach Mentor Texts	http://www.teachmentortexts.com/#axzz3DP0vkvgi
Thurs, Apr 2	Sharpread	http://mrcolbysharp.com/
Fri, Apr 3	A Foodie Bibliophile in Wanderlust	http://www.foodiebibliophile.com/
Sat, Apr 4	Booking Mama	http://www.bookingmama.net/
Mon, Apr 6	The Children's Book Review	http://www.thechildrensbookreview.com/
Tues, Apr 7	5 Minutes for Books	http://books.5minutesformom.com/
Wed, Apr 8	Cracking the Cover	http://www.crackingthecover.com/
Thurs, Apr 9	Unleashing Readers	http://www.unleashingreaders.com/
Fri, Apr 10	Word Spelunker	http://wordspelunking.blogspot.com/
Sat, Apr 11	Bermuda Onion	http://bermudaonion.net/

*Thanks to Blue Slip Media for 

a copy of this title in exchange for an honest review 

and the opportunity to offer this giveaway!*

Unplug and Read! I Haiku You

We are so excited to be part of Random House Unplugs: A Screen Free Week promotion. We're getting ready to unplug and read in only ten days to celebrate Screen Free Week! Today we'll tell you about Screen Free Week, review I Haiku You by Betsy Snyder and share our interview of Betsy Snyder! First, let's start with more information about Screen Free Week coming up, April 29-May 5.

Screen Free Week is the annual celebration from the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood (CCFC) that encourages turning off screens and turning on life.  CCFC’s Screen Free Week is a creative response to growing public health concerns about the unprecedented time children spend with entertainment screen media—television, computers, video games, and smart phones. Studies show that Preschoolers spend as much as 4.1 to 4.6 hours per day using screen media. Including multi-tasking, children 8 to 18 spend 7.5 hours per day with screens. Unplugging for one week provides an opportunity to reset media habits, establishing a healthy, sustainable tradition of media consumption in households and schools. This Spring, Random House Children’s Books is issuing a challenge: UNPLUG & READ during Screen Free Week April 29 – May 5.

 

 

Today we are so happy to be reviewing I Haiku You and sharing our interview with the author and illustrator, Betsy Snyder! we adore this little gem of a book and Betsy's work!

Title: I Haiku You     
Author: Betsy Snyder 
Illustrator: Betsy Snyder 
Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers 
Publication Date: December 2012  Genre/Format: Fiction/Picture Book 
GoodReads Summary: This giftable little picture book of haiku by award winner Betsy Snyder is something adults will love to give one another as much as they'll enjoy sharing it with the youngest listeners. Perfect for Valentine's Day and any day of the year, this book will inspire people to tell one another, "I haiku you!"   
What Jen Thinks: Adore is the perfect word to explain how I feel about this book. I just adore it. It's such a sweet book in every way. These are exactly the kind of books I love for mentor texts. I Haiku You has wonderful illustrations and excellent text to match. This book isn't just another haiku poetry book; Betsy Snyder gets it write with these heart-warming haiku. Writing haiku is definitely an exercise in word choice because writers have to adhere to the specific number of syllables in each line. When you only get so many syllables, it makes you much more conscious of what words you are using. I love talking to students about synonyms and the intensity of words. We brainstorm a list of synonyms and add to our list by looking in a thesaurus but the most fun is talking about the difference between those words. No two words are exactly alike, they have (at least) a little difference of intensity. That's the trick about using a thesaurus and synonyms, students have to realize that it's not okay to simply go to the thesaurus and exchange a word. This is such a great introduction or reiteration of author's purpose. The author intentionally makes decisions to communicate with the reader and students need to see how their jobs as writers is to make decisions about how to express themselves. 
    I was so head-over-heels in love and inspired by Betsy's work in I Haiku You that I wrote my own haiku review: 

little small-sized book

soft watercolor artwork

adorable haiku-love
 

What Kellee Thinks: Such a cute picture book that is not only perfect for gift giving, but for a haiku discussion in a classroom (any level). The book focuses on love on all levels- romantic, family, pets, friends, nature, etc. and I love the conversation that this could start. I also liked the structure that Betsy Snyder chose going through the seasons and, of course, accompanying them all are adorable illustrations that add another level to the picture book.  
     Like Jen, one thing I loved in this book was the word choice. You can tell that she used very specific wording; not only to fit the haiku format, but to paint a picture in the readers mind. I don't teach grammar too often; however, I love teaching descriptive language and this book inspired me to have haikus be part of this discussion and lesson as they narrow your focus and make the writer be even more specific than they would be in a different setting.
Read Together: Grades Pre-K - 12 
Read Alone: Grades Pre-K - 12 
Read With:  Won-Ton: A Cat Tale Told in Haiku by Lee Wardlaw, Dogku by Andrew Clements, Someday by Eileen Spinelli, Here's a Little Poem by Jane Yolen
Snatch of Text:  

"wiggle-wag tail love,

sloppy-smoochy-poochy love,

true-furry-friend love"

Reading Strategies to Practice: Activating Background Knowledge, Making Connections, Making Inferences
Writing Strategies to Practice: Descriptive, Adjectives, Compound Adjectives, Poetry, $100 Words, Word Choice 
Writing Prompts: Write a haiku to someone who is special to you, think closely about the words the you choose because you have limited syllables to use. 
Topics Covered: Family, Siblings, Friendship, Love, Pets, Life Seasons

Jen *hearts* It:

Kellee *hearts* It:


TMT Interviews Betsy Snyder!
We asked Betsy about I Haiku You and her plans for Screen Free Week!  

TMT: Screen Free Week is a perfect chance for kids to turn off the TV and read. Then after kids read I Haiku You, they can write their own haiku. In haiku, word choice is so important because you have a limited amount of syllables to say precisely what you want to say. Can you give advice on how you collect or discover words and then how you finally decide which words to use?

Besty Snyder: A haiku is like a word picture, painting an image in your mind. I usually start with a moment or a feeling, often nature or favorite-thing inspired. I work the words around that moment. The syllables and sounds need to fit, but the ideas also need to fit—it's like putting together a seventeen-piece puzzle. I use a thesaurus or dictionary to help me make a word list, and then I shuffle and rearrange until all the words feel just-right. I try to keep my haiku playful and make the three lines mean something more when they are all combined. Placing theaha moment in the third line usually works well—it's like revealing the answer to a riddle. The more haiku you write, the better you get.

Writing I Haiku You and Haiku Baby was a little more complicated in that each haiku needed to fit the theme and work well together as a collection. But for each haiku, I still went back to the same writing process.

TMT: I Haiku You lends itself towards teaching about haiku but can be a novelty gift for Valentine’s Day or an anniversary or a just-for-fun read during Screen Free week or any week, for that matter. Did you purposefully set out to write a book that would cover all of these different avenues?

Betsy Snyder: Yes, I did set out to write a collection of haiku that felt personal but also universal. It took some time and experimenting to find a voice that spoke to kids, adults and all kinds relationships. My favorite children's books are ones that speak to the child in all of us—I don't think we ever outgrow books like that.
 

TMT: Throughout the book, you change the point of view for each poem. Why did you make this decision?

Betsy Snyder: My early haiku attempts for the book lacked emotion—they felt too distant. Point of view was really the key to making the haiku feel like a sentiment. When I started to think about the haiku as valentines, POV clicked for me. I didn't consciously shift POVs—I think I just picked the POV that felt right for each moment. 

 

 

TMT: We especially love the descriptive adjectives you use like: “wiggle-wag”, “sloppy-smoochy-poochy”, and “achy-heartbreak”. Jen refers to them as compound adjectives but has always been curious about what those are called. What do you call those adjectives!?

Betsy Snyder: Here's a little English lesson from my expert editor:

'Well, you sometimes have taken two verbs to make an adjective, as in "wiggle-wag," which becomes an adjective modifying "tail," and then the whole thing becomes an adjective that modifies "love." "Achy-heartbreak" is an adjective modifying a noun, but, again, you use the whole compound phrase as an adjective to modify "love." Same with "sloppy-smoochy-poochy." So the compound phrases are all being used as adjectives even if there are different parts of speech within them.'

Clear as a bell, right?  

TMT: What are you reading and loving right now (or recently)? Do you feel that you read books differently now that you are writing your own?

Betsy Snyder: Grown-up books? Just read Life of Pi (Yann Martel)—now I'm interested to see how the movie stacks up. 

Children's books? Loving Jon Klassen's books like The Dark (by Lemony Snicket) and This is Not My Hat. Also digging picture-book biographies like A Splash of Red: The Life and Art of Horace Pippin (by Jen Bryant, art by Melissa Sweet) and Who Says Women Can't Be Doctors?: The Story of Elizabeth Blackwell (by Tanya Lee Stone, art by Marjorie Priceman).

I definitely appreciate books differently (and even more so) now that I am writing my own. I can see the genius in a story that is seemingly so simple. I understand how much work and editing happens behind-the-scenes and that what you leave out is just as important as what you put in. I adore when words and images come together perfectly.

TMT: What are your plans for Screen Free Week? Do you have your eye on any specific books you want to unplug and read?

Betsy Snyder: I'd like to unplug and WRITE—
I have some book ideas I hope to spend some time with!

Here is my Screen Free Week pledge:

1. I will pick up a sketchbook, journal or a book instead of the tv remote. 

2. I will limit social media and computer use to work-only.

3. I will read a book with my niece…maybe a few chapters of Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle (Betty MacDonald) orWhatever After (Sarah Mlynowski)?

4. I will handwrite a letter to a friend or relative instead of a typing an email.

5. I will visit the library.

6. I will take at least one walk in the woods.

TMT: At Teach Mentor Texts, we're always promoting literacy and spreading the love of books but especially for Screen Free Week. You are involved in publishing books as an author and an illustrator. How would you finish these three statements?

Betsy Snyder: 
Reading is…a vacation to an unknown destination.

Writing is...a chance to share part of yourself.

Illustrating is…bringing stories to life.

Thank you to Betsy Snyder and Random House Kids for including us in the Unplug & Read Blog Tour! We are excited to celebrate Screen Free Week and hope you are, too!

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