Caleb and Kit

Title: Caleb and Kit     
Author: Beth Vrabel 
Publisher: Running Press 
Publication Date: September 12th, 2017 
Genre/Format: Realistic Fiction/Novel 
GoodReads Summary: Twelve-year-old Caleb is shorter, frailer, and more protected than most kids his age. That's because he has cystic fibrosis, a diagnosis meaning lungs that fill with mucus and a shortened lifespan. Caleb tries not to let his disorder define him, but it can be hard with an overprotective, prying mom and a big brother who is perfect in every way.

Then Caleb meets Kit-a vibrant, independent, and free girl who lives in a house in the woods-and his world changes instantly. Kit reads Caleb's palm and tells him they are destined to become friends. She calls birds down from the sky, turns every day into an adventure, and never sees him as his disorder. Her magic is contagious, making Caleb question the rules and order in his life. But being Kit's friend means embracing deception and, more and more, danger. Soon Caleb will have to decide if his friendship with Kit is really what's best for him-or Kit.
What I Think: Navigating relationships is something kids have to go through but also something that lasts into adulthood. Caleb has a lot of different relationships to manage in this book! I feel for him but I also love that Beth makes him relatable and shows the reality of what it's like to be a friend, a brother, and a son. I would recommend this to readers who enjoyed Lisa Graff's Lost In The Sun.
     As a mentor text, this book is an opportunity to look at expanding small moments when writing personal narrative. Students can think about their own relationships and experiences and choose one moment to zone in on and describe for the reader. Students can take this opportunity to be descriptive and to use the five senses to build imagery and bring readers into the moment with them. Oftentimes, writers tell the story bit by bit, outlining a list of everything that happened. But it's important to be able to pause in a moment and zoom in on what's happening. You know those pictures where you get a 360 degree view? You can swipe from side to side and up and down to get a look all around. That's what we need to do as writers. Stop, turn around, and describe everything using our five senses so our readers can feel what it's like to be there too.
Snatch of Text: "Each step I took made my shoes suck deeper into mud with a squelching sound, and each time I lifted my feet it made my chest hurt. A few more yards in and I realized I was in trouble. My chest burned. I tried to ignore it. The pain twisted and coiled around my ribs - not like I couldn't breathe but like my body didn't want to." (p. 9)
Writing Prompt: Write about a time in your life when your brain wanted to do something but your body didn't or couldn't cooperate. Write about a time in your life when you were in a disagreement with someone close to you.

Bonus fun! Enter Beth’s #WhereIEscape giveaway and/or post your own photo of a place you go to get away from the world!

Thank you to Running Press Kids

for sending me a copy of this book to review!

Swan: The Life and Dance of Anna Pavlova

Title: Swan: The Life and Dance of Anna Pavlova 
Author: Laurel Snyder  
Illustrator: Julie Morstad 
Publisher: Chronicle Books 
Publication Date: August 18th, 2015 
Genre/Format: Non-Fiction Biography/Picture Book 
GoodReads Summary: The world is big.
Anna is small.
The snow is
everywhere
and all around.
But one night . . .
One night, her mother takes her to the ballet, and everything is changed. Anna finds a beauty inside herself that she cannot contain.So begins the journey of a girl who will one day grow up to be the most famous prima ballerina of all time, inspiring legions of dancers after her: the brave, the generous, the transcendently gifted Anna Pavlova.  
What I Think: Words, words, words. I love words. But I especially love words that are strung together in such a way that they feel like art. Don't get me wrong, all words are art, but sometimes, words just envelope me and pull me into a sort of dream-like fairy tale just from how they are put together. Laurel Snyder's words do just that. As they tell Anna Pavlova's story, it feels like being sweetly tugged into a dance. Julie Morstad's art adds to the story, gently ushering the reader into the story woven by the text. It all just works together to make for an amazing book.
     Teaching tone and mood isn't easy. It's a little easier to recognize it as a reader than it is to write. But it all starts with reading and recognizing what authors have done differently. By looking at at least two different texts, readers can see the difference. Once they can see the difference, then you can invite them to zone in and notice what the author has done differently. And from there, you can invite them to try what the author has done in their own writing. Maybe they add some figurative language. Maybe they break up words or phrases or add figurative language in a very purposeful way. It's fun to play with words and to see what happens and using books like Swan as a mentor text really help writers see what is possible and find ways to write like that too.
Read Together: Grades 2 - 6  
Read Alone: Grades 2 - 4 
Read With: Enormous Smallness: A Story of e.e. cummings by Matthew Burgess and illustrated by Kris Di Giacomo, The Cosmo Biography of Sun Ra by Chris Raschka, The Sky Painter: Louis Fuertes, Bird Artist by Margarita Engle and illustrated by Aliona Bereghici, The Right Word: Roget and His Thesaurus by Jen Bryant and illustratd by Melissa Sweet, Sounds Like a Rainbow: A Story of the Young Jimi Hendrix by Gary Golio and illustrated by Javaka Steptoe
Snatch of Text: 

"Something is happening...

There's a swell of strings,

a scurry of skirts.

A hiss and a hum and...

HUSH!

It's

all

beginning!"  

Writing Prompts: Write about something you feel strongly about sharing with others. What might you do to help share your passion with others?
Topics Covered: Family, Dreams, Determination, Courage 

I *heart* It:

Lady Pancake and Sir French Toast

Title: Lady Pancake and Sir French Toast 
Author: Josh Funk 
Illustrator: Brendan Kearney 
Publisher: Sterling 
Publication Date: September 1st, 2015 
Genre/Format: Fiction/Picture Book 
GoodReads Summary: A thoroughly delicious picture book about the funniest "food fight!" ever! Lady Pancake and Sir French Toast have a beautiful friendship—until they discover that there's ONLY ONE DROP of maple syrup left. Off they go, racing past the Orange Juice Fountain, skiing through Sauerkraut Peak, and reeling down the linguini. But who will enjoy the sweet taste of victory? And could working together be better than tearing each other apart? The action-packed rhyme makes for an adrenaline-filled breakfast . . . even without a drop of coffee! 
What I Think: There has been a lot of talk about breakfast food around my house since we received a copy of Lady Pancake and Sir French Toast to review. My kids happen to totally love French toast but after we read the book, I pulled out our copy of Lisa Loeb's Silly Sing Alongs to make sure I got the words right to the song "Disappointing Pancake" and I've been singing it ever since. There's just something so yummy about great breakfast foods that it makes people want to write books and songs about them. If you haven't heard "Disappointing Pancake" or Parry Gripp's "Do You Like Waffles?" prepare to get them stuck in your head. I included them hear for you to listen to. They match so well with Lady Pancake and Sir French Toast. I love books that connect well with other books but also with songs...and food! Lady Pancake and Sir French Toast is like any adult's dream when it comes to tying in activities and matching text to go along with it.
     I can totally see planning a whole family reading night around this book. You could have a pancake breakfast for dinner - with whipped cream and sprinkles of course - and breakfast food relay races and costume contests. And I'm only getting started.
     As a mentor text, I'm glad we have another quality rhyme book to share with students. Sometimes it feels like a bit of a lost art form so I'm glad Josh chose to rhyme with this picture book. I think it really helps to make the story move along to keep pace with the characters as they race to the syrup.
     There are many opportunities in this book to look at word choice as well as to give kids an opportunity to learn about (and maybe even try, depending on how adventurous you are) different types of foods. It's surprising how many kids don't knows what certain foods are. It could also be a great way to start a discussion about healthy foods. I actually think it's cool that the pancake and the French toast are off on a race...maybe it's away to share how it's okay to eat pancakes and French toast but it's important to exercise to balance that out. See? So many things to do with this book!

Read Together: Grades K - 3
Read Alone: Grades 1 - 3 
Read With: Lisa Loeb's Silly Sing Along: The Disappointing Pancake by Lisa Loeb, "Pancake?" from Where The Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein, Cupcake by Charise Mericle Harper, Ninja! by Aree Chung
Snatch of Text:

"Deep in the fridge and behind the green peas,

way past the tofu and left of the cheese,

up in the corner, and back by a roast, sat Lady Pancake beside Sir French Toast."

Catch the book trailer here:

Writing Prompts: Write about a time in life when you were competing for something. Write about a time in your life when teamwork was better than working on your own.
Topics Covered: Friendship, Competition 

I *heart* It:

*Thanks to Sterling Children's Books for 

a copy of this title in exchange for an honest review!*

Louise Loves Art

Title: Louise Loves Art 
Author: Kelly Light  
Illustrator: Kelly Light 
Publisher: Balzer + Bray 
Publication Date: September 9th, 2014 
Genre/Format: Realistic Fiction/Picture Book 
GoodReads Summary: For fans of Olivia and Eloise, this stunning debut from Kelly Light is an irresistible story about the importance of creativity in all its forms.

Meet Louise. Louise loves art more than anything. It's her imagination on the outside. She is determined to create a masterpiece—her pièce de résistance!

Louise also loves Art, her little brother. This is their story.Louise Loves Art is a celebration of the brilliant artist who resides in all of us.  
What I Think:  
We've had so much fun with Louise Loves Art in our house! We read this in November during Picture Book Month and I tried my best to grab book pics with my wild and crazy kids. 

We loved watching Art follow Louise around and were just waiting for her to find out what he was up to. Having a little brother or sister can be complicated but Louise gave us an opportunity to talk about that. Little Bean is constantly wanting to be like his older brother but it's hard for Peanut to see that. It was nice to be able to talk about Louise and how she reacted to her little brother in this book.

One character we absolutely love is their cat. That cat is awesome! It follows them around, knowing all the time what's going on and trying to help bring the siblings together. That little cat has some pretty amazing expressions. I'm not sure I've ever seen a more expressive cat before. It was fun to imagine what words would come out of the cat's mouth if it could talk. As a mentor text, this is a great opportunity to talk about personification and dialogue. Here students can see that the cat isn't able to talk and doesn't in the book, but what if we personified the cat and gave it the ability to talk? What might the cat say? This is also an opportunity to look at dialogue. What I love about dialogue is that it gives us access to the character who is talking but also to the other characters as well. What might the cat say that would reveal something about what it's thinking? What might the cat say that would reveal something about Louise and Art? Has this happened before? Has Louise had a chance to practice some patience before, too? This is a great time to talk about characters and how dialogue can play a role in developing characters.

And what I completely, totally, utterly love about this book is that it reminds us to let free our inner artist. Growing up, I painted a lot with my grandmother and my aunt but I also did all sorts of arts and crafts. I still consider myself to be very creative and love how my artsy side has evolved over the years. I write more than practice any other kind of art but I do love colors and design and painting in the backyard with my kids. Louise Loves Art reminds us that we have imaginations that we can bring to life and that our art is worth sharing. At home or at school, kids can put on their own art show, hanging up their work and inviting others to come and admire it. What a great way to celebrate art and share what kids - and maybe adults? - have created!

Read Together: Grades Pre-K - 3 
Read Alone: Grades Pre-K - 5 
Read With: Bink and Gollie (series) by Kate DiCamillo and Allison McGhee, Sam and Dave Dig a Hole by Mac Barnett, Chloe Instead by Micah Player, One Cool Friend by Toni Buzzeo, The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds
Snatch of Text:  

"I love art!
It's my imagination on the outside."

"I've done it.

So fierce! So feline! So fantastic...

a masterpiece!"

Reading Strategies to Practice: Activating Background Knowledge, Making Connections, Making Predictions, Making Inferences 
Writing Strategies to Practice: Dialogue, Characterization,  $100 Words, Personification, Point of view, Perspective
Writing Prompts: Imagine you are the cat in the story. What do you think the cat might think or say to Louise and/or Art? Think about how dialogue shows the reader about the characters. 
Topics Covered: Family, Integration - Art, Self Esteem, Determination, Forgiveness 

I *heart* It:

Flora and Ulysses

Title: Flora and Ulysses
Author: Kate DiCamillo
Illustrator: K.G. Campbell
Publisher: Candlewick Press
Publication Date: September 24th, 2013
Genre/Format: Mild Fantasy/Middle Grade Novel
GoodReads Summary: Holy unanticipated occurrences! A cynic meets an unlikely superhero in a genre-breaking new novel by master storyteller Kate DiCamillo. It begins, as the best superhero stories do, with a tragic accident that has unexpected consequences. The squirrel never saw the vacuum cleaner coming, but self-described cynic Flora Belle Buckman, who has read every issue of the comic book Terrible Things Can Happen to You!, is the just the right person to step in and save him.

What neither can predict is that Ulysses (the squirrel) has been born anew, with powers of strength, flight, and misspelled poetry—and that Flora will be changed too, as she discovers the possibility of hope and the promise of a capacious heart. From #1 New York Times best-selling author Kate DiCamillo comes a laugh-out-loud story filled with eccentric, endearing characters and featuring an exciting new format: a novel interspersed with comic-style graphic sequences and full-page illustrations, all rendered in black-and-white by up-and-coming artist K.G. Campbell  
What I Think: I adore this book. I loved it as I was listening to it but now that I'm looking through it again and returning to the characters and Kate's great writing, I'm in love all over again. I'm going to reread it and see if Peanut wants to read it with me because it's great. I remember loving the description of Flora's mom as a writer. I wonder if Kate sees any of herself in Flora's mother and know that there are some times when I get consumed in my own writing and might act like her...for good or bad.
     If you've read any of Kate's books, you know how wonderful she is with words. Her writing is the kind of writing that begs to be soaked up. It naturally seeps into your skin and resonates through you. I love her description and how she looks at sometimes ordinary - and other times not-so-ordinary - people and places and situations and grasps them with her words. There have been a few writing prompts this summer with Teachers Write that encourage us to think about small moments and expanding them, to describe one moment, to zoom in on a person. Kate DiCamillo's writing in Flora and Ulysses is a great mentor text for these activities. I especially think it's great to imagine what you might see happening in the book if it wasn't for Kate's description. You might see a girl and a mom and a boy next door, but Kate brings them to life when she tells their stories.
     I love working with students on show don't tell. I remember show don't tell well from my days as a student in writing workshop in junior high and high school. After understanding the writing is a process and that thanks to the process we can write and work on our writing, I believe show don't tell is the next message students need to hear. In discussing show don't tell, it's obvious how influential mentor texts are and how reading has to be part of writing. The job of a writer is to help a reader be able to visualize his or her words. As a reader, if we can visualize what an author has described, then the author has done his or her job. And the author has lots of tools he uses to help the reader visualize. Enter literary elements or figurative language.
     Starting with the five senses always made sense to me. Pick a person, place, thing. Free write all the words that come to mind. Then try to describe it using the five senses: smell, touch, sight, sound, taste. If you look at the snatches of text below, there are examples of what the characters see, hear, smell and taste. There are, in fact, excellent examples of each of these. These are just a few but readers might look for their own examples of great description in Flora and Ulysses, in other books she has written, or other books they are reading. By reading and letting her words resonate, students can think about and practice their own descriptions. (I don't eat cheese puffs...but I know many students are fans of those things. For a sensory experience, bring in cheese puffs or ask students to describe their favorite snack like Kate describes Ulysses' cheese puff!)
Read Together: Grades 2 - 5
Read Alone: Grades 3 - 6
Read With: Tale of Desperaux and others by Kate DiCamillo, Hound Dog True and others by Linda Urban
Snatch of Text: 
"Flora Belle Buckman was in her room at her desk. She was very busy. She was doing two things at once. She was ignoring her mother, and she was reading a comic book entitled The Illuminated Adventures of the Amazing Incandesto!" (p. 5)

"It was astonishing. Everything was astonishing. The setting sun was illuminating each blade of grass. It was reflecting off the girl's glasses, making a halo of light around the girl's round head, setting the whole world on fire.
The squirrel thought, When did things become so beautiful? And if it has been this way all along, how is it that I never noticed before?" (p. 24)

"Flora's mother was in the kitchen. She was typing. She wrote on an old typewriter, and when she pounded the keys, the kitchen table shook and the plates on the shelves rattled and the silverware in the drawers cried out in a metallic kind of alarm." (p. 27)

"He put his nose up. He sniffed. He smelled something cheesy, wonderful. He ran through the living room and the dining room and into the kitchen. He climbed up on the counter. And there it was! A lone cheese puff, perched on the edge of the red Formica countertop. He ate it. It was delicious." (p. 40)
Writing Prompts: Write about one little thing or one small moment but look at Kate DiCamillo's writing and see if you can describe using your five senses and $100 words like she does to make it feel larger than life.
Topics Covered: Family, Friendship, Courage, Trust, Loyalty, Love, Adventure

 I *heart* It:

 

Carnivores

Title: Carnivores 
Author: Aaron Reynolds  
Illustrator: Dan Santat 
Publisher: Chronicle Books 
Publication Date: August 2013 
Genre/Format: Fiction/Picture Book 
GoodReads Summary: The lion is king of the jungle!
The great white shark is sovereign of the seas!
The timber wolf is emperor of the forests!

But . . . it's lonely at the top of the food chain. It's difficult to fit in when plant eaters can be so cruel—just because you ate a relative of theirs that one time! What's a carnivore to do? Aaron Reynolds's roaringly funny text is perfectly paired with Dan Santat's mouthwatering illustrations, creating a toothsome book that's sure to stand out from the herd.
What I Think: I've been trying to write this review foreeeeeeeeeever! Every time I try to write it, I end up rereading the book and thinking about it all over again. I want to say that I found this book just as funny as everyone else seems to have, but I can't say that's the case. There's something about it that's amusing but I've yet to find myself roaring with laughter as I read this book. I feel awful that there has been so much anticipation about this review and I'm not sure what to even write!
     I guess I'll start by talking about what I think is the main take away from Carnivores. The way I see it, these guys, the lion, the shark and the wolf, all feel pressure from the other creatures - mainly the ones they keep eating - to not be carnivorous. Giving into the pressure from these other animals to change their ways, the lion, the shark, and the wolf try to give up eating meat. It doesn't work for them though, as hard as they try, it's just not within their nature. I can see how these animals model how doing something for the wrong reasons doesn't make it right. Likewise, doing something that isn't true to your heart - or in this case your stomach - isn't a wise choice either. I can see how the message in Carnivores and in Peter Brown's Mr. Tiger Goes Wild might compliment each other in this way. But when I think about these two books, Mr. Tiger is completely endearing and a character I truly want to root and roar for but the sentiment isn't the same when it comes to the lion, the shark and the wolf.
     This leads me to think about the nature of the characters in Carnivores. Am I really supposed to like them? Am I really supposed to cheer for them when they stay true to their meat-eating ways? Or am I supposed to be happy and think, "Good riddance," by the time I get to the end of the book? Part of me thinks it's the latter. Just as the carnivores could care less about munching up their prey, I shouldn't care a bit when they meet their fate at the end.
     While I didn't LOL while reading this book, I can completely appreciate what the author and illustrator have done here. It's infused with elements that made me smile as I read but mostly in acknowledgement of how Aaron played with words and how Dan's illustrations give the reader so much to infer along the way and not necessarily about what happens to the characters in the end.
     My biggest take away from reading this book is how books tell us stories but tell us a lot about ourselves as readers at the same time. Aaron Reynolds and Dan Santat do a great job of bringing these characters to life. They throw in all sorts of things to infer and witty humor along the way. For some people - or many people, as it seems - it's hysterical. For me, I'm a reader who desperately wants to connect with the characters but it was hard for me to do that with these characters. In the end, I just didn't find their stories to be funny. Believe me, I know this says a lot about me. Maybe I take things to seriously!
     Ultimately, Aaron and Dan made me think though! They really made me think about this book and my reaction to it. I wouldn't have spent so much time digesting it all (ha!) and rereading and trying to see what other people see if it didn't make me think. Isn't that an awesome win for a book? It made me think. Bravo, Aaron and Dan.
Read Together: Grades 3 - 12 
Read Alone: Grades 3 - 12 
Read With: I Want My Hat Back and This Is Not My Hat by Jon Klassen, Mr. Tiger Goes Wild by Peter Brown 
Snatch of Text: 

"The lion is known throughout the animal kingdom as the 'King of Beasts.'

The Great White Shark is the most feared predator in the oceans. 

And the Timber Wolf's howl strikes terror into the hearts of fuzzy woodland creatures everywhere.

But even SAVAGE CARNIVORES get their feelings hurt."  

Reading Strategies to Practice: Activating Background Knowledge, Making Connections, Making Inferences 
Writing Strategies to Practice: Expository, Persuasive, Personification, Characterization 
Writing Prompts: Research one of the animals from the book and their eating habits - how they hunt food, what food they eat, where they find their food, etc. Write an expository piece to share what you learn about that animal. Research different kinds of diet lifestyles and compare and contrast two that you learn about.  
Topics Covered: Determination, Willpower, Conscience, Friends, Nature, Integration - Science

I *heart* It:

    And now, I would love to hear what you think! Please, respond in the comments and answer these three questions! One reader will be chosen randomly to receive a copy of Carnivores and a $5 gift card to Jamba Juice - where everything is vegetarian. Woo hoo! I'll pick a winner Sunday afternoon and announce the winner here in my It's Monday! What Are You Reading? post so be sure to check back. 

Teachers, feel free to ask your students to respond and share their comments for them anonymously or with a code name. What a great opportunity to practice some argumentative writing!

1. Did you find Carnivores to be funny and why? 

(Yes or no, either way, please share!)

2. What is your favorite part of Carnivores?

(The characters, the illustrations...)

3. What did you take away from reading Carnivores?

Doll Bones

Title: Doll Bones 
Author: Holly Black  
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books 
Publication Date: May, 2013
Genre/Format: Paranormal Mystery/Middle Grade Novel 
GoodReads Summary: Zach, Poppy and Alice have been friends for ever. They love playing with their action figure toys, imagining a magical world of adventure and heroism. But disaster strikes when, without warning, Zach’s father throws out all his toys, declaring he’s too old for them. Zach is furious, confused and embarrassed, deciding that the only way to cope is to stop playing . . . and stop being friends with Poppy and Alice. But one night the girls pay Zach a visit, and tell him about a series of mysterious occurrences. Poppy swears that she is now being haunted by a china doll – who claims that it is made from the ground-up bones of a murdered girl. They must return the doll to where the girl lived, and bury it. Otherwise the three children will be cursed for eternity . . . 
What I Think: I've been letting this book sink in for a while now. First of all, isn't the cover just creepingly lovely? It's spooky in such a beautiful way...although a little more on the creepy side than not. What has really stuck with me after reading this book are the characters. Holly Black does a wonderful job of developing her three main characters in this book. She captures them just as they are at a pivotal moment of growing up. The story of the china doll keeps them together when life tries to grow them apart. Growing up is a part of life but managing adolescence isn't always easy.
     As a mentor text, I love this book for pulling great snatches of text for description. Whether she is describing the characters in the book or the setting, Holly does a great job of bringing it all to life in such a real way. She strikes me as being brutally honest with her description. I think this is something that students will appreciate and relate to because she is so detailed and honest about the main characters' lives. She brings the setting to life in such a way that I couldn't help but feel the creepiness in the air as well. All the description came together so well to build the tone and mood of the whole story.
Read Together: Grades 5 - 8  
Read Alone: Grades 6 - 8 
Read With: The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo, Friends with Boys by Faith Erin Hicks, Anya's Ghost by Vera Brosgol, The Raven Boys (series) by Maggie Stiefvater, Monstrous Beauty by Elizabeth Fama
Snatch of Text:  
"The inside of Poppy's house was always a mess. Discarded clothes, half-empty cups, and sports equipment covered most surfaces. Her parents seemed to have given up on the house around the same time they gave up on trying to enforce any rules about dinners and bedtimes and fighting - around Poppy's eighth birthday, when one of her brothers threw her cake with its still-life birthday candles at her older sister. There weren't even family meals, just boxes of macaroni and cheese, cans of ravioli, and tins of sardines in the pantry so that the kids could feed themselves long before their parents came home from work and fell, exhausted, into their bed." (p. 7)

"An eerie wind sang through the untrimmed trees in front of Mr. Thompson's old house at the end of the block." (p. 22)
Reading Strategies to Practice: Activating Background Knowledge, Making Connections, Making Inferences 
Writing Strategies to Practice: Personal Narrative, Descriptive, Characterization 
Writing Prompts: Write about a time in your life when realized you were growing up or changing in some way.  
Topics Covered: Friendship, Family, Imagination, Loyalty, Determination, Trust, Growing Up 

I *heart* It:

Mr. Tiger Goes Wild - Must Read Mentor Text

Each week Stacia and Amanda at Collaboration Cuties host a Must-Read Mentor Texts link-up. There is a different theme focus every week throughout the month and blogs can link up on Sundays. I'll be rotating through reviews of different mentor texts for language arts, math, science, and social studies. You can check out their blog for previous link-ups to connect with other mentor texts they have shared and other bloggers have reviewed, too. This week, we're talking mentor texts for social studies!

Title: Mr. Tiger Goes wild 
Author: Peter Brown 
Illustrator: Peter Brown 
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers 
Publication Date: September 3, 2013  
Genre/Format: Fiction/Picture Book 
GoodReads Summary: Are you bored with being so proper?
Do you want to have more fun?
Mr. Tiger knows exactly how you feel. So he decides to go wild.
But does he go too far? From Caldecott Honor artist Peter Brown comes a story that shows there's a time and place for everything...even going wild. 
What I Think: Today, I picked a maybe untraditional picture book for a social studies mentor text but I love this book so much and the more I thought about it, the more I realized how it does really talk about people and society and culture and to me, that's social studies.
     First of all, this book is great to read with students to talk about being yourself and following your own dreams. One of the classes I took this summer focused on young adolescent development. We looked closely at Erik Erickson's theory of psychosocial development. The identity versus role confusion stage is so critical and it's important that we help students navigate this stage. I love that Mr. Tiger recognize how he might like to change things up and then he follows his dreams. Reading Mr. Tiger Goes Wild with this lens would be great for students of any age.
     It's also a book that I think relates to trying something new or different. Earlier this year a friend told me about the diffusion of innovations which is a theory that attempts to look at how, why and at what rate new ideas and technologies spread through cultures. It's a neat little graph that shows different people: innovators, early adopters, early majority, late majority, laggards. Everett Rogers wrote a whole book on this theory in the 60's entitled Diffusion of Innovation. I had never heard of the diffusion of innovations but it fascinates me. My department last year focused on supporting adult learners and encouraging adult learners to adopt the growth mindset. This helped me see how not everyone is going to jump on board with a new idea, but I believe that if you get a few people going and modeling something new or different and talking about it (especially why and why it's worthy of trying) than others will hopefully follow along. Sometimes being that innovator or an early adopter isn't always easy  so I loved reading this book and seeing that even though it wasn't easy for Mr. Tiger to make the decision to go wild, he believed in himself and trusted his instincts and went for it. How many times in life to we try something new? Hopefully, a lot of times! Stretching ourselves is how we grow and as lifelong learners, we should be pushing ourselves to grow. Mr. Tiger could be the growth mindset mascot! Just keep him in mind when you try something new...and share his story with students and talk to them about trying something new. It can be scary but it can also be invigorating. In the end, Mr. Tiger is a leader. I love it!
     Besides the themes in this book, I love it as a mentor text to talk about dialogue. We get to hear about Mr. Tiger from the narrator but to show what the other characters in the book think about Mr. Tiger, Peter uses the other characters' thought or talking bubbles to show us what they think of Mr. Tiger. Dialogue is super powerful in writing because it lets readers into the heads of other characters. While readers may have a limited point-of-view or even a broad point-of-view, hearing what a character says lets readers see how others perceive the main character(s). In this case it's completely brilliant because we easily connect with Mr. Tiger but it's imperative to his story that we are reminded how his friends and others see him. Through their eyes, we realize how wild Mr. Tiger truly goes.
     I have two more things to point out before my final thought about Mr. Tiger Goes Wild. One is that the artwork is awesome. It's just awesome. I've enjoyed Peter Brown's style in his other books, but the colors and the shapes in this book are great. He uses color and shapes/lines to really show the different between Mr. Tiger's proper life and his wild life. It's fantastic. And, related to the artwork, this book has movement. There are a few moments when my kids and I just looked at the pictures and laughed and roared. When I think about the funny parts, it's because something funny is happening on the pages but each of those moments seem to come to life in my head because the illustrations are full of inferences that come to life as you read. I'm not sure how to articulate this well, but when you read it, I think you'll see how it just seems like Mr. Tiger is running all around through the book. Again, it's simply awesome.
     Here's my final thought: Mr. Tiger Goes Wild is Caldecott worthy. I said it, and you heard it here! I'm not usually one to get caught up in the awards or in anticipating what books will win awards but I honestly believe Mr. Tiger Goes Wild deserves it this year. Bravo, Mr. Brown!
Read Together: Grades Pre-K - 12 
Read Alone: Grades Pre-K - 12  
Read With: Extra Yarn by Mac Barnett, The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf  Stand Tall, Molly Lou Melon by Patty Lovell, It's a Book by Lane Smith   
Snatch of Text: 

"He wanted to loosen up.

He wanted to have fun.

He wanted to be...wild." 

Reading Strategies to Practice: Activating Background Knowledge, Making Connections, Asking Questions, Making Inferences, Visualizing 
Writing Strategies to Practice: Personal Narrative, Expository, Persuasive, Anaphora, Dialogue, Personification
Writing Prompts: Write about a time in your life when you did something different from everyone else, be sure to include how you felt and how you dealt with that feeling. Choose something you feel strongly about - whether it's a feeling or a belief or a thing people should do or try - and explain why you support it. Take that a step further and create a persuasive artifact that encourages others to try something new - make sure to include evidence of why they should try this.
Topics Covered: Instincts, Trust, Belief, Adversity, Leadership, Culture, Integration - Social Studies  

I *heart* It:

Poetry Friday - A Kick in the Head

Today, Poetry Friday is hosted by Jone MacCullough (MsMac) on her blog, Check It Out!  Thanks, Jone for rounding up all the posts today! 

Title: A Kick in the Head: An Everyday Guide to Poetic Forms 
Author: Paul B. Janeczko 
Illustrator: Chris Raschka 
Publisher: Candlewick 
Publication Date: March, 2005
Genre/Format: Non-Fiction/Poetry/Picture Book 
GoodReads Summary: From the simplest couplet to the mind-boggling pantoum, the award-winning team behind A POKE IN THE I shows us the many fascinating ways poetic forms take shape.
What I Think: I listed this as non-fiction because this book shares examples of several different poetic forms. There are a range of poems in the book, but I think most of them are fictional. If you are looking for explanations or examples of different kinds of poems, this is a great resource for introducing different forms. After students get some experience with the poetry types, they can write their own, and put them together into a collection of the different poem forms.  
Read Together: Grades 2 - 12
Read Alone: Grades 2 - 12
Read With:  I am the Book by Lee Bennett Hopkins, BookSpeak! by Lauda Purdie Salas, I Haiku You by Betsy Snyder
Snatch of Text:  

"Paper Dreams" 

by Bobbi Katz

Neatly stacked in separate piles,

we wait

for the shape of a stencil - 

the press of a pencil

the

snip               snip

snip

of silver scissors.

We wait 

to become

lacy snowflakes

fat santas

pointy Christmas trees...

White, red, green -

now we are just paper.

We wait quietly on a dark shelf,

dreaming

quietly

dreaming

of becoming...

Reading Strategies to Practice: Analyzing for Features of Poetry, Activating Background Knowledge, Making Connections,  
Writing Strategies to Practice: Descriptive, Rhyme, Rhythm, Alliteration, Personification, Anaphora 
Writing Prompts: Choose one of the forms of poetry and write your own poem that fits to the poem.  
Topics Covered: Animals, Writing, Poetry 

I *heart* It:

The Dark

Title: The Dark

Author: Lemony Snicket

Illustrator: Jon Klassen

Publisher: Little Brown Books for Young Readers

Publication Date: April, 2013

Genre/Format: Fantasy/Picture Book

Goodreads Summary: Laszlo is afraid of the dark. 

The dark lives in the same house as Laszlo. Mostly, though, the dark stays in the basement and doesn't come into Lazslo's room. But one night, it does.

This is the story of how Laszlo stops being afraid of the dark. 

With emotional insight and poetic economy, two award-winning talents team up to conquer a universal childhood fear.

What Kellee Thinks: What a great narrative about facing your fears! Jon Klassen's illustrations added a whole new level to the story that only exists because of his talents. The use of color within the illustrations adds tremendously to the mood and really sets the tone for the book. Snicket's story captions the illustrations taking us into Laszlo's mind which is very symbolic of many children's minds when they are dealing with a fear. Though I felt that there was one choppy part in the middle of the book where I wish the text was broken up differently, the book is definitely a wonderful conversation starter to discuss fears and how to overcome them.  The most powerful aspect of this story was the personification of the Dark. It definitely is a phenomenal mentor text for discussing this element of literature and would be a great introduction to more complex text. 

What Jen Thinks: I so enjoy seeing more and more from Jon Klassen! Listening to him talk about his work when he was here for a visit in the fall was amazing. I often think that the artwork in books can get overlooked. Sure, I recognize when artwork is great in a book but I never thought as intensely about illustrations or artwork as I did when I heard John Klassen speak. Listening to Mark Teague and David Small speak about their artwork at the Anderson's Children's Literature Breakfasts also was very eye-opening. There are so many detailed nuances of the artwork that the illustrators take into account that I would never even realize is something they think about. Things like the colors that are chosen, the way the illustrations move through a book like they are progressing towards the right, the use of certain elements that are present throughout a book to demonstrate a passage of time or used as a point of reference for the reader. I think it's easy to take these things for granted as a reader because the illustrator makes the artwork happen so beautifully that we don't even notice. The trick is stopping to notice and to see how the illustrations truly match and enhance the text of a book. It strikes me that we can talk to students about the illustrator's purpose as much as the author's purpose and help them notice how the illustrator has to make very specific and conscious decisions about the artwork much like the author does with the text.
     In this book especially, Klassen has to bring the dark itself to life. It reminds me a little bit of Markus Zusak and how he personifies Death in The Book Thief. Both of these elements seem so dark and foreboding but the books help readers see them in a different light. I love the seemingly dark, creepy mood of this book which I'm starting to link with Klassen more and more. It seems that he relates to Edward Gorey and his work quite a bit and I am seeing this more and more. It just makes Jon Klassen infinitely more intriguing.
     Because we do have a great collection of illustrated (and authored) work by Jon Klassen, I think it would be great to look at his contributions as an artist/illustrator and really compare and contrast his work in different books. Jon also worked on the animated movie of the book Coraline and that book and it's movie could also be discussed. I can see how this would be an amazing discussion to have with older students and to tie into work in analyzing an author/illustrator's work. 

Read Together: Grades K - 3 or Grades 9 - 12

Read Alone: Grades 2 - 5 or Grades 9 - 12

Read With: I Want My Hat Back and This is Not my Hat by Jon Klassen, The Black Rabbit by Philippa Leathers, The Wolves in the Walls by Neil Gaiman, The House Held Up By Trees by Ted Kooser, Extra Yarn by Mac Barnett, Coraline by Neil Gaiman, The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman, The Gashlycrumb Tinies by Edward Gory, Stitches by David Small, The Night Bookmobile and Her Fearful Symmetry (adult) by Audrey Niffenegger

Snatch of Text: "Laszlo was afraid of the dark. The dark lived in the same house as Laszlo, a big place with a creaky roof, smooth, cold windows, and several sets of stairs." (p. 2-5)

Mentor Text for: Mood, Tone, Personification

Writing Prompts: What is something you are afraid of? Have you tried to face this fear? How so? If not, how could you safely face this fear? 

Topics Covered: Fears, Courage, Confidence

We *heart* It:

  and  

October Mourning

Title: October Mourning: A Song for Matthew Shepard 
Author: Leslea Newman 
Publisher: Candlewick Press 
Publication Date: September 25th, 2012 
Genre/Format: Historical Fiction/Novel-In-Verse 
GoodReads Summary: A masterful poetic exploration of the impact of Matthew Shepard’s murder on the world.

On the night of October 6, 1998, a gay twenty-one-year-old college student named Matthew Shepard was lured from a Wyoming bar by two young men, savagely beaten, tied to a remote fence, and left to die. Gay Awareness Week was beginning at the University of Wyoming, and the keynote speaker was Lesléa Newman, discussing her book Heather Has Two Mommies. Shaken, the author addressed the large audience that gathered, but she remained haunted by Matthew’s murder. October Mourning, a novel in verse, is her deeply felt response to the events of that tragic day. Using her poetic imagination, the author creates fictitious monologues from various points of view, including the fence Matthew was tied to, the stars that watched over him, the deer that kept him company, and Matthew himself. More than a decade later, this stunning cycle of sixty-eight poems serves as an illumination for readers too young to remember, and as a powerful, enduring tribute to Matthew Shepard’s life. 
What Jen Thinks: I'm sad to say I only vaguely remember hearing about Matthew Shepard in 1998. I was a freshman in college then. I'm glad Leslea Newman is telling his story now. She not only brings Matthew Shepard's story to life, but that of so many others in the world near him and around his story through her poems. This work is such an excellent example of personification because she writes from the perspective of the fence, the moon, the road, the truck, a deer and so many others on that night. She has imagined so much of that night through her poems and brought them so perfectly to life for readers. The story is sad enough, but these poems truly made me realize the extent of how horrible it really was. What I think is so important is the message of thinking about your actions. Matthew Shepard was very trusting of the two guys who picked him up. If only he had thought twice about leaving with them. There are so many "if only..." stories told in this book and I hope it encourages readers to think about decision they make. It's sad that we have to teach kids to be wary of others in this world, but at the same time, it's reality.  In my mind, there can never be too many books that help us see the world from someone else's perspective. Through books like this we learn about ourselves and learn about others.
What Kellee Thinks: I was a junior in high school at a fine arts school of choice when Matthew Shepard was murdered. My two best friends were both gay. I remember that they were afraid of going anywhere alone after Matthew was killed. We cried for him. However, over time Matthew has become one of a way too big statistic. Though his horrendous death got a lot of press, hate crimes on gay, lesbian, queer, transgendered, bisexual and transsexual people happen daily.
     Leslea Newman takes us into the night of Matthew's death. Her poetry examines the smallest detail of the night (the buck lying near Matthew) to the motives behind his murder. The poems' narrator range from the fence he was found tied to to his mother to the murders to the reactions of the gay community. It shows how this crime affected a nation of people and what we can learn from it.
     Not only is this a story that needed to be told to young adults, but it is done in a beautiful novel-in-verse. Also, she makes sure to make the poetry accessible- she added "Notes" and "Explanation of Poetic Forms" for each poem. Each poem was set up so methodically and were based on truths. Both of these elements make it even more powerful.
Read Together: Grades 8 - 12 
Read Alone: Grades 9 - 12 
Read With: Please Excuse Vera Dietz by A.S. King, Boy Meets Boy by David Levithan, Tricks by  Ellen Hopkins, Columbine by Dave Cullen, I am J by Cris Beam, Boyfriends with Girlfriends by Alex Sanchez, Shine by Lauren Myracle
Snatch of Text:  

Then and Now

Then I was a son

Now I am a symbol

Then I was a brother

Now I am an absence

Then I was a friend

Now I am a memory

Then I was a person

Now I am a headline

Then I was a guy

Now I am a ghost

Then I was a student

Now I am a lesson

(p. 41)

Mentor Text For: Perspective, Rhythm, Repetition, Alliteration, Personification, Poetry 
Writing Prompts: Write about a time in your life when you did something that you regretted or that you learned from after the experience. Write a poem from the point of view of an object looking at a situation. 
Topics Covered: Life, Death, Decision-Making, Choices, LGBTQ, Prejudice, Racism, People, Family, Teen Issues, Trust, Hate Crimes 

Jen and Kellee *heart* It:

and 

The Summer of May

Title: The Summer of May

Author: Cecelia Galante

Publisher: Aladdin

Publication Date: April, 2011

Genre/Format: Realistic Fiction/Novel

Goodreads Summary: Thirteen-year-old May is living in a desolate situation with her grandmother, who is mourning the loss of May’s mother, and her father, who is completely absent. May resents her new dangerous, run-down, low-income housing neighborhood and often picks fights and gets into trouble. But when May is caught graffiti-ing her least favorite teacher’s classroom, she is faced with a choice: expulsion, or one-on-one summer school with the teacher she most detests. Begrudgingly, May chooses summer school, and she ultimately learns that her teacher has a secret past—and might just hold the key to answers no one else will give May about her mother.

What I Think: This is one that I will not forget. I think this novel will connect easily with a wide variety of people. First, May feels an anger that many pre-teens and teens probably feel and the way she describes it is the best I've ever read in a book. The feeling of being a tea pot that is boiling is a perfect analogy to rage that is hard to control and unwarranted. Something so small can make you feel so angry and then it gets out of control. In the novel, May works on controlling it and matures so much throughout the novel. It is such a powerful thing to read about.

May's family situation is also unique. Her mother left her and she lives with a father who works too much and often ignores her and with a grandmother who locks herself away ever since her mother left. Many readers will connect with the (lack of) family situation that May has. May also struggles with keeping friends (mostly because of her temper) and that is a tough thing for all preteens and teens. Specifically trying to be and keep a good friend.

It will also connect to all of my teacher friends because of the importance of May's English teacher in the novel. I love that not only does May evolve in the book, but that Miss Movado does too. She has realizations that many of us probably have had during our teaching and is striving to make a difference in a young student's life as we all aim to. You may not like her too much at first, but just as May realizes things about herself, Miss Movado does too. It is another powerful thing to read about. AND it is a great resource for the language arts or English classroom just as a mentor text for talking about poetry or writing. The book touches on many English class topics such as: Imagery, Personification, "The Raven", "Harlem", Writing, and Poetry.

I will say, like Miss Movado preaches in the book, don't judge a book by its cover. The cover (and description) of this book do not do the book justice. First, May is a 13 year old girl, not 12 as the description says and not 9 like the cover portrays. Also, she doesn't go on a fire escape to dream and she doesn't have a cat. I think the cover is going to drive away readers who need this book.

Read Together: Grades 6 to 8

Read Alone: Grades 6 to 10

Read With: Bluefish by Pat Schmatz, Word Nerd by Susin Nielsen-Fernlund, No More Dead Dogs by Gordon Korman, Just Juice by Karen Hesse

Snatch of Text: "...They're not meant to be rocket science," Movado the Avocado said. "And there is never any right answer, May. They're your words. Your thoughts. The point is just to get you writing." 
     "But why? Why are English teachers always so gung ho about getting us to write?"
     "Because it's important," Movado the avocado said. "You need to know how to compose a good sentence, whether in a letter, a story, or a poem. And sometimes, when you write well, you get a chance to see things in a whole different way."
     "My favorite time of day is lunch. I am usually starving by the time lunch comes around, so it's a good time." I repeated my words in a dull tome of voice. "That's seeing things in a whole different way?"
     "Maybe not yet," Movado the Avocado said. "But it's writing. And like anything else, the more you do it, the better you'll get at it."
     "I hate writing."
     "Why?"
     "It's boring. And hard." I tapped the side of my head. "I can never get what's in my head down on paper."
     (p. 82-83)

Mentor Text for: Writing, Poetry, Imagery (Ch. 20 & 29), Personification (Ch. 32 & 33) 

Writing Prompts: Sit outside and close your eyes like May and Ms. Movado did and just listen. What did you hear? What did it sound like? What are some things outside you could bring to life?

Topics Covered: Loss, Family, School, Anger

I *heart* It: