Candlewick Prize Pack Giveaway!

Candlewick Press is one of my favorite publishers. I love so many books they have shared with readers and I'm not alone. TIME magazine recently published their lists of Top 100 Young Adult & Top 100 Children’s Books of All Time.  Candlewick Press has 6 titles on the Young Adult list and...guess what!?!? I'm lucky enough to give away a prize pack of 1 complete set of these books for giveaway. Be sure to click over and see TIME magazine's lists for 100 Best Young Adult Books and 100 Best Children's Books. 

The prize pack will include paperback copies of The Tiger Rising and The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane both by Kate DiCamillo, A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness and illustrated by Jim Kay, The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness, Feed by M.T. Anderson and Boy Proof by Cecil Castellucci. (Please note, this giveaway is for US and Canada only.)

I'm a huge fan of Kate DiCamillo and A Monster Calls is one of my all-time favorite books. Kellee and I reviewed A Monster Calls if you are interested in reading our thoughts. Also, Colby and I read and talked about this book together. You can read our discussions here: Introduction, Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5.

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Thank you to Candlewick for the opportunity to offer this prize pack giveaway!

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Reading Along on I-94 - See You At Harry's - Part 4

Before we get to this lovely final installment of our discussion of See You At Harry's, I wanted to say that since we reviewed the book, I have thought of a few more books that would ladder well with Harry's: Cheaper By The Dozen by Frank Gilbreth, The Sky Is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson, Mockingbird by Kathryn Erskine. Also, Colby's suggestion to read Fig Pudding by Ralph Fletcher is another great read to match with this book! 

You can catch up on our previous discussions here: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3.

JEN: This is our last discussion of See You At Harry’s by Jo Knowles, but maybe the most exciting because Jo herself is joining us! Welcome, Jo!

COLBY: Hi, Jo! Thank you for See You At Harry’s.

JO: Hi Jen and Colby! Thanks for including me in your final chat. It’s been a lot of fun reading your thoughts about the book, and also about life in general.

JEN: The whole second half of the book is about how Fern and her family deals with Charlie’s death. It is always hard to read about the death of a character, but I think part of the brilliance of this story is that so much time is spent reading about how they work through their grief.

COLBY: I’ve been very blessed to not have to deal much death in my life (knocks on wood). It’s hard for me to relate to how characters would feel and grieve. For me, one reason, children’s literature is so important because it helps me understand how kids feel in these difficult times. I need to be able to have some idea of what it is that kids are feeling, because my readers in my classroom are dealing with all sorts of difficult things. Reading helps me help my students.

JO: Thanks, Jen. I rewrote this section so many times, trying to balance their grief with the inevitable tug of life moving on around them. Colby, I love how aware you are of your students’ home lives and what they might be dealing with outside the classroom. Your description is a perfect example of how books make us more compassionate, whether intentional or not.

JEN: I had a super scary experience last week with my almost-two-year-old. (He will be two in July.) He fell and his hit head really hard in our driveway but got up and was acting fine. Then, we were running up and down a hill in our backyard and he plopped down on his butt...and then he stood up and starting crying. I scooped him up and watched as his eyes rolled back into his head and he lost consciousness. It was the scariest thing I have ever seen. I immediately yelled  for my husband to call 911. An ambulance trip, an ER visit, a CT scan, and hours later, we were so relieved that everything was okay. The neurologist thinks he had some kind of post-traumatic seizure from the fall in the driveway. It was such a huge weight off of my shoulders to know he was okay.

COLBY: Seriously, I can’t imagine experiencing what you experienced. Especially after reading See You At Harry’s. I’m so glad your little guy is okay. I would have totally been freaking out.

JO: Oh no, Jen! That is terrifying. I’m so relieved that he’s OK! And that you had him checked out.

JEN: I know! I have to say I was so much hyper-aware of how important it was that we have him checked out after reading See You At Harry’s!!!

Now, I can think about how I reacted at the time and other times my kids have been hurt. I’m the kind of person who becomes completely calm in a crazy situation - it’s like the emotional part of my mind just turns itself off. I know I have to be focused and clutch in the moment. It never crossed my mind that I was holding my dear sweet bean in my arms and that he might not be okay. All I could think was what I needed to do: what I needed to tell my husband to tell the dispatcher, what I need to tell my older son to make sure he wasn’t scared, where I needed to go to meet the ambulance, that I needed my wallet. And I stay that way until things are settled down...and then I fall apart. Hours later, when my son was finally sleeping and we knew he was fine and things were going to be okay, I could feel the gravity of the situation and cry for how grateful I am that things turned out alright.

COLBY: You have mad mom skills. It’s amazing how our body’s take over when we would think that our minds would fail us. You were everything your family needed at that time. Bravo, friend!

JO: Yes! Good job! I remember when my son was about two years old, he was sitting in his high chair eating apple pieces. It was Christmas Eve. All of a sudden he started to choke. I stood up, got my arms in position, and performed the Heimlich as if I had done it a thousand times (actual times=0). In a twist of fate, just that week I had been working on a first aid booklet for the company I wrote for. So it all clicked in. But I was so calm and mechanical and the apple just popped right out. Later though, after we’d had him checked and he was fine, I fell apart.

JEN: It’s amazing how we can just go change modes like that. It’s a good thing, too!

For me, reading about Fern and how she handles Charlie’s death reminded me of myself. At first, she seems just shocked and numb to his death but then it starts to really sink in. As she goes through the motions of her life after he dies, she realizes times when she really misses him. I respond to things after the fact, it’s the days afterwards when I think about how things could have gone differently or how I miss someone who was in my life that are the hardest for me. For me, this book spoke to me because I could recognize how I grieve in Fern’s response to Charlie’s death.

COLBY: For me, reading See You at Harry’s made me think so much about Ralph Fletcher’s Fig Pudding. I feel that See You at Harry’s is taking what Ralph did to the next level of readers. I’m so glad Jo wrote this book.

JO: I really need to read this book! Thank you for the recommendation. When my own brother died, my family was in total shock. None of us knew how to react or respond. It was like all the noise around us was sucked out and we were moving around in this numb silence. It took a long time before the outside noise could filter in again, and when it did, it felt like everyone around me was speaking a different language. My whole perspective on life flipped, and it took a really long time for me to learn how to function in a world that didn’t stop for anyone else, as it had for us. It was so hard to accept that life goes on because we were in such pain and anguish, it felt like it shouldn’t. Or couldn’t. But... it does somehow. Mette Ivie Harrison wrote a blog entry comparing her grief to the grief depicted in the book. It’s a really powerful and insightful reflection: http://metteharrison.livejournal.com/353477.html  

JEN: I requested Fig Pudding from my library because you asked me to read it and I agree that there are definitely connections to be made with See You At Harry’s. My favorite quote is when they talk about how people cope with death: “‘Everybody reacts different to something like this - some people cry buckets, other folks store it up inside. When someone you love dies, you get a big bowl of sadness put down in front of you, steaming hot. You can start eating now, or you can let it cool and eat it bit by bit later on. Either way, you end up eating the whole thing. There’s really no way around it.’” p. 107

I also completely agree about being thankful that Jo has written this book. She really takes the big family dynamics to another level and really looks so closely and thoroughly at grief. I am a more sympathetic person because of this book but I also was able to think about how I am in times of crisis or with dealing with grief. Sometimes it’s hard to recognize that we don’t all react in the same way but it’s an important lesson.

Thank you, Jo, for writing this book!

JO: Thanks you two, for having me! It’s been such a treat to listen to you discuss the book. I am so glad, as I’m sure your readers are, that the two of you are out there sharing books with kids. Your students are incredibly lucky to have such thoughtful, caring and sensitive teachers! Thanks for doing what you do!

 

Reading Along on I-94 - See You At Harry's - Part 3

Today, Colby and I continue our discussion of See You At Harry's by Jo Knowles. You can catch up or review part 1 and part 2 before reading on. I have to warn you...we have come to the sad part AND in this discussion Colby goes and spoils the whole thing, so if you haven't read it, I suggest you go along and read it before you jump into reading today's discussion. I said:

*****SPOILER ALERT!!!!*****

JEN: Well, we have come to the sad part. In case people reading weren’t forewarned, this is a super sad book. It doesn’t start out as a sad book, but it does get super sad - like, all-of-a-sudden, sit-yourself-down, grab-a-box-of-tissues sad. I felt really bad when I got your text over the weekend telling me how sad it was.

COLBY: So sad, Jen. So stinking sad. The whole time reading it felt like something sad was going to   

happen, but it was still heartbreaking and shocking when Charlie died.    

JEN: I seriously kept thinking the whole thing was going to be about Fern helping Holden.  

COLBY: I adore Fern and Holden’s relationship. They do such a great job of looking out for each other. 

JEN: They do do an amazing job of looking out for each other. I like how there is so much that they communicate with each other that is unsaid, but at the same time, when it’s time for them to talk about things, they are able to be honest with each other.  

COLBY: Holden and Fern’s relationship makes me wish that I would have been closer to my siblings when I was younger. As the oldest, I just kind of did my own thing, and kind of ignored my siblings until I was older. :(  

JEN: I have a cousin who is three years older than me and her and I used to hang out together. I think because I had her, I didn’t spend as much time really bonding with my sister. It’s really hard to be honest with other people. I feel like it’s hard to come to a place where it’s okay to be honest and know you won’t hurt the other person’s feelings. Either the person doesn’t realize what you realize or doesn’t want to accept the truth you are going to tell them. It’s the same way when someone is honest with me, if someone tells me something that wasn’t even on my radar, it completely blows my mind. I have to stop and rethink everything. Or if they tell me something I really didn’t want to believe was true, it has the same effect. Sometimes I would almost rather not face the truth of things. 

COLBY: I think it is so weird when someone that I don’t feel that I am super close with, shares something with me that I would NEVER share with them. It makes me feel so uncomfortable and I never know what to say.It makes me happy that I’m not on Facebook.  

JEN: So you are thinking more along the lines of just talking about personal things...I’m thinking more of something like, “I know you think those pants are really cool but they totally make you look like you walked out of the 70’s. And not in a good way.” 

COLBY: Do people say things like that?

JEN: i feel like friends can say that to people, or my husband will say that kind of stuff - in a totally NICE way, in a completely honest way, in a way that they mean to help me realize something that I’m completely oblivious to, but it’s still makes me feel bad sometimes. It’s just hard to hear the truth sometimes, as much as afterwards, I’m (usually) grateful.

COLBY: I am 100% non-confrontational. I don’t do awkward. When awkward situations come up on television, I leave the room. I can’t handle it.

JEN: I agree, I tend to avoid confrontation at all costs, but isn’t it funny that we connect being honest with being confrontational? I have to have a super honest conversation with someone today and I have no idea how to start but at the same time, I feel like I’m not being fair to myself or this other person if I don’t talk about this. I don’t mean for it to be confrontational but something has to change and I have to be honest about my feelings in order for it to change. I don’t think it will become a confrontation or an argument or anything like that, but I am so worried about how to be honest without hurting this other person’s feelings.

COLBY: Good luck. I don’t do that stuff well.

JEN: Neither do I! It is so hard. I think that’s why it is so awesome to read about characters like Fern and Holden who are able to be honest with each other. Fern is an awesome sister for pushing Holden to talk with her and let her into the side of him that he keeps guarded from others. I’m glad she doesn’t give up on him.

COLBY: One thing that I really love about Holden is that he tries to protect Fern and shield her from the issues he faces. They complement each other well.

JEN: They really do. He is a strong character. I like how Fern makes sure he knows she is there and she will support him and that he doesn’t have to go through it alone. I loved listening to an author panel talk about bullying at IRA. The authors were Rita Williams-Garcia, Heather Brewer, Siobhan Vivian, and Jay Asher. They all had great messages to share but Heather Brewer spoke from some very intense experiences that she had growing up. Her main message was that it’s so important for anyone who is being bullied to know there is someone there who will listen and who is willing to hear their story. After hearing that, I was thinking of how Fern supports Holden in that way. She makes sure he knows she is there for him and that he doesn’t have to be alone in what he is dealing with.

COLBY: Being heard is so important. Sometimes our jobs as teachers is to be the one that listens, and other times it’s to find the right book that will allow the student to feel that they are not alone.

JEN: Yes! I completely agree, and that’s exactly what Heather Brewer said, too. She said books were an escape for her. She could read about other kids who weren’t going through what she was going through. It was very powerful to hear her speak. I had a huge epiphany last night about myself and reading. Even though I don’t feel like I’m escaping into books...it is like I’m being able to focus on things that aren’t my life at the same time so I guess it is escaping when I read. Sometimes all my everyday things are not what I want to think about, so being able to read about anything that’s not my everyday life is so great. Even though I make connections with my life as I read, it’s not directly about my life and I love that.

COLBY: I never thought about it like that. Pretty much all of my reading is kid lit, so it’s not exactly like I’m reading about people my age and people like me.

JEN: But you still grow as a person by reading and discussing kidlit. I rarely read adult books but even when I do, even if they are very similar to my life, they just aren’t my real life. I think books speak to the creative and imaginative part of my mind. It’s the difference between having conversations about paying bills and needing to water the plants to having conversations about wanting to someday visit the Eiffel Tower and loving when I went camping with my grandparents as a kid. Reading and talking about books is an escape in that way because it’s not a paying-the-bills kind of conversation. BUT at the same time it does give us access to looking at and growing who we are when we are in paying-the-bills mode. The hard but honest conversation I have to have today has nothing to do with the topic of the conversation Fern and Holden had - but they have inspired me to be more confident and to feel more strongly that this conversation has to happen and I have to be the one to make sure it happens. I love books!

 

Reading Along On I-94 - See You At Harry's - Part 2

Last week, Colby and I started discussing See You At Harry's by Jo Knowles for our May Read Along on I-94. There are so many things I love about this book. In case you missed it, you can read part one from last week. This week we talk about some of the relationships in the book. Fern has a big family so there are lots of family dynamics going on! It was another great week of chatting about a great book with Colby!

JEN: What do you think of how Fern feels about Charlie as a younger brother? I was five when my little sister was born. I remember being so excited to have a little sister to play with and then when she came...she just slept in her bassinet. She wasn't the friend to play with that I imagined a little sister would be.

COLBY: I’m the oldest of 7 children. I’ve spent my whole life being annoyed by younger siblings. That probably sounds awful, but growing up as a “momma’s boy” I always felt a little threatened by new, younger, and cuter kids coming into the house.

JEN: I can’t imagine being the oldest of seven kids. When I think about my two sons, I can see how my older son helps a lot with my younger son. Lately, he really helps by holding his hand and taking him to look at something or by protecting him from doing something he shouldn’t if he sees he is going to do something and I am in a different room. They are starting to have some sibling rivalry but I can see how much kids would help out with younger siblings born. What was it like for you in your family every time your parents had another baby?

COLBY: It sucked. When I was six I thought it was cool when my brother was born. Three days later I had had enough. My mom always wanted me to do stuff like walk him and entertain him. I wasn’t the nicest six year old. :(

JEN: There are so many relationships in this book that stand out to me! I was just thinking about Fern’s mom, too. I can totally relate to Fern’s mom. I love my me-time. I was at IRA and missed putting my kids to bed for two nights. I didn’t see them at all really. I love my kids and I missed their sweet faces but at the same time, I loved chatting with people about books, listening to speakers talk about the benefits of reading, meeting authors and gushing about their books. I cherish the mom side of my life and the professional teacher side of my life. I understand how Fern’s mom is trying to relax and get a little time to herself but I also see how desperate Fern is for her attention. As a mom reading this book, it helps me remember to keep this in perspective. As stressed as I am, I need to recognize that my kids need me as much as I need them.

COLBY: I think that balance is one of the hardest things we deal with as teachers, parents, and spouses. It’s so hard to juggle all of the balls we have in the air. I think that we need to balance things over the course of a month. Some days or weeks we may spend a little more time on school stuff, or a little more time on spouse things, but as long as at the end of the month we are balanced, I think we are okay.

JEN: I agree. If my life revolved around doing things for my kids, I wouldn’t be being taking care of myself as a person. Being productive in my job and interacting with other adults about teaching and reading, which is my passion, is so important to my sanity. Likewise, I am so thankful that my parents will watch my kids so I can spend time with my husband. I have to feed every relationship in my life.

Since we’re talking about relationships, you said before how Fern has a great relationship with Holden. I love their relationship. I’m glad Holden has Fern and that Fern has Holden since they don’t feel like they have really strong relationships with their parents. It was really hard for me to read about Holden being bullied and then about Fern being bullied.

COLBY: I am so sick of all this bully stuff. Why can’t kids just be nice to each other? It makes me so sad when I see it with students in my school or when I read about it. BE NICE PEOPLE!

JEN: I know. I have Wonder in my head with everything I do now. I always try to be kinder than necessary. Plus I saw Jay Asher speak and his book Thirteen Reasons Why is another example of how we should be as kind as possible. We never know what others are going through. What we might see as one small instance of being unkind could actually be one small instance in a string of many that could be one too many for someone. I would much rather be one of the reasons the world is good.

Finally, I have to mention Ran. I love Ran. He is such a grounded character. His family life has been difficult but he has learned to be this really mature, really chill dude. He is totally Fern’s rock. He so seamlessly fits into her family. I love how Fern gets caught up in emotions over her family and other situations but he isn’t caught up in those emotions so he is able to talk her through hers.   (This might be more part 3? I can’t remember...) My husband and so many close friends seem to do this for me. I can get very emotional about things and it helps to have someone else give me perspective on

COLBY: I would give just about anything to be as cool, calm, and collected as Ran. He is so cool. I love everything about him. I’m very interested to see how his character develops as I read on.

JEN: I become emotionally invested in basically everything I do. It is really hard for me to sit back and be objective about things sometimes. Lately, there are times when I feel like I can be a voice of reason and I think that comes with experience and age. Ran seems mature for his age. I love that he doesn’t feed into drama. He has been through a lot in his life. That would be a cool companion novel: a prequel of Ran’s story!

 

Reading Along on I-94 - See You At Harry's - Part 1

Today’s TMT Blogiversary Blog Tour Stop is at Maria's Melange!Visit Maria's blog to read about her favorite mentor text!

JEN: Our month of rereading is done! It feels great to get back to reading and discussing one book again. It was super hard to pick a book for us to read together this month, but I am so glad See You at Harry’s is the book we are reading. I have loved interacting with Jo on Twitter and I am also a huge fan of Candlewick and their books but, really, this is a book you have to read.

COLBY: You are a like a Candlewick groupie. :) Didn’t you visit their offices over the summer? I too am excited that we are reading See You at Harry’s. I’m a middle grade and chapter book junkie, so it feels good to throw in a little YA here and there.

JEN: I love Candlewick! I did visit their offices last summer! I went to visit my friend in Boston. I had been there before and done lots of touristy things but this time I had to ride the swan boats (the last touristy thing for me to do) and then go to Candlewick. I just wanted to stand outside and take a picture. Which I did...but then I tweeted them and was able to get a tour from Raegan who tweets and does other great things for them. To some it is just an office space, to me it was like walking into Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory. YOU will appreciate this! On Tuesday, I met Kate DiCamillo’s editor! Awesome, right? Candlewick does good stuff.

COLBY: Meeting Kate DiCamillo’s editor = Awesome

JEN: One of the things I had a feeling you would love is that Fern and her siblings are named after literary characters. We just reread Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White so we definitely remember who Fern is. Fern in Charlotte’s Web is a strong character at the beginning. She champions for Wilbur, but then towards the end of the book, she moves on. Thinking about it now, Fern isn’t really doesn’t play a big role in the book. She saves Wilbur, but after that, she grows up and leave Wilbur to find his own way. I love that Jo chose Fern’s name for her character in her book because I think Fern does do some growing up in See You at Harry’s, too.

COLBY: My kids have pretty awesome names, but I would love to name our future kids (if we have any) after literary characters. Not sure on a boy character, but I’d love to name a girl Turtle after Jennifer Holm’s Turtle in Paradise.

JEN: I love character names. Turtle would be super cute for a girl. The names that come to mind for me are books from my favorites - actually, Henry or Claire would be sweet names, those are from Time Traveler’s Wife. From my favorite fantasies I would be naming my kids Po, Katsa, Brigan, Fire, Trevanion, Isabeau...not sure those would fly with my husband!

I love the first chapter of this book. Love it. Love it. Love it. How about this for a first line: “The very best day of my life, I threw up four times and had a fever of 103 degrees.” Don’t you just love it? This first chapter is an awesome mentor text for personal narrative.

COLBY: The first sentence is perfect. I’m not sure how important the first few sentence are to middle and high school readers, but if a middle grade/chapter book doesn’t start strong, my fourth graders will often abandon the book.

JEN: I think the beginning of a book is important to any reader! When I think of formulaic writing and five-paragraph essays, it makes me cringe. When I read the first chapter of this book, I can see how it could be an answer to any essay questions that ask writers to talk about the best day of their lives, or  a time when they experienced a life change. It reminds me of my composition class in high school where we worked on college essays and were told to not write a five-paragraph essay. We were told to write a narrative that spoke to the answer. That is great writing. This is the kind of writing that we love to read but it’s also the kind of writing we want to use as mentor texts for our students.

COLBY:  I was really good at the 5 paragraph essay in high school. When I had to learn to actually write, I realized that I wasn’t very good at writing, but I enjoyed writing a lot more.

JEN: I am lucky that I went to a high school that embraced reading and writing workshop. It helped me become a more creative writer. My dad doesn’t own a restaurant and never wanted me to be in commercials for his business, but I can totally relate to being embarrassed by something my parents did when I was in middle school. It’s inevitable that a parent will embarrass their middle school child. I mean, come on.

COLBY: When I was in sixth grade my mom was hired to be a lunch lady at the middle school where I was going to school. I was mortified. It ended up being really nice to see her for a few minutes each day. My friends didn’t think it was lame. They loved it. Probably because they all got the biggest slices of pizza.

JEN: That sounds way cool now  - and makes me think of Jarrett’s Lunch Lady graphic novels - but I can see how as a kid you would be so freaked out by that. I know you are part of a very big family. Do you find yourself relating to any of the experiences or emotions that Fern as one of four children?

COLBY: I think that when you come from a big family it’s always interesting to see which siblings are close. I’m intrigued with Fern’s relationship with Sara. Fern is super close to Holden, and I love how she sticks up for him, but I am very curious to see if her relationship with Sara gets any better as the story progresses.

As an adult, I often look back at my relationship that I had with my sister growing up. I am the oldest of seven. She is three years younger than me and my closest sibling. We were never close growing up and that makes me sad. I’m hoping that Sara and Fern end up being BFFs (I’m not counting on it).

JEN: Sibling relationships are always interesting for me, too. I think it’s amazing how some siblings can be super close and others can not be. I hope I somehow raise my kiddos to be best friends with each other. I wish I could harness that...I’m sure someone has written a book about it. My sister is five years younger than me and we are six years part in school because of her September birthday. We were always in different places in our lives so it was really hard for us to really identify with each other. We are closer now actually but not the talk-on-the-phone-everyday kind of sisters. I know in the end, we will always be there for each other no matter what. I have an older half brother, too. He is ten years older than me and we didn’t grow up in the same households, we would just see each other here and there. We still love each other and have a really strong connection. I am actually closer to him in a sense because he has been married and has had kids close to when I got married and had kids so it’s fun. We are able to talk about those things and relate to each other in a way I don’t with my sister.

  

Read Along on I-94 - Rereading Part 4 - Cloudette

Thanks for joining Colby and I as we have reread some of our favorites that he chose this month. 

You can catch up on our previous chats here: 

Week 1 - I Want My Hat Back

Week 2 - Charlotte's Web - Part 1

Week 3 - Charlotte's Web - Part 2

Week 4 - Marty McGuire

JEN: We have made it to the end of our month of rereading! It has been so much fun to take time to revisit favorites and to be able to talk to you about them. Thanks for joining in on the It’s A-Okay to Reread in April Challenge. The last book we are discussing this month is Cloudette by Tom Lichtenheld. How can you look at the cover of this book and not love it? I love it.

COLBY: Tom Lichtenheld is brilliant. I’m so excited to talk Cloudette.

JEN: Here’s what you had to say about Cloudette on GoodReads: “I am a giant Duck Rabbit fan, and this book by Tom Lichtenheld makes me so happy that he is a children's book author. Cloudette is a book about a fun-loving cloud that doesn't feel like she belongs in the sky that she lives in. She wants to make a difference, but she cannot figure out her place.”   

COLBY: I’m always up for a story about an underdog. I remember cheering the first time I read Cloudette. It’s such a fun read.  

JEN: The message in Cloudette is so strong. It is so easy to feel like I am just one little human being on this planet teeming with of gobs of people. Sometimes I feel like one little me can only make so much of a difference but this book reminds me that if I put my mind to it, I can accomplish a lot. And what I accomplish may only touch a few people, but it still makes a difference somehow. Books are such an amazing venue for sharing these brilliant ideas. I have learned so much about myself and others and the world from reading and talking about books. I wouldn’t be the person I am today without all the characters and the stories I carry around with me in my heart. Look at what Charlotte and Ivan have taught us about speaking up for yourself and others and trying something when it seems like there may be no hope. Look at what Auggie has taught us about kindness and compassion for others. Look at what Marty teaches us about acting outwardly with respect for others when you might feel another way inside. Look at what Bear and Rabbit teach us about messing with bears and their precious, pointy, red hats...  

COLBY: Ha! I love what we’ve learned from all of those characters. Especially Bear and Rabbit. :)Talking about the message and theme in stories are some of my favorite book conversations with fourth graders. It’s fun to see what they take away from books. I love when they take away something totally different from what I took away. It’s always fun to have those conversations. A great book is able to touch different readers in different ways. I think Cloudette is a great book.  

JEN: I have noticed that when I read picture books with older students, recognizing the message and theme is really important. My older students like to be read to but talking about the overall message and then about what they can take away from the message and how they can apply it to their own life is what seems to be critical in reading picture books with older students. I love when they have a different understanding of the book from me! It’s through these discussions of great books that we grow as readers and as people.

Read Along on I-94 - Rereading Part 4 - Marty McGuire

This month for Reading Along on I-94, Colby and I have been having fun rereading some of our favorite books! We started off discussing I Want My Hat Back by Jon Klassen, then we discussed Charlotte's Web by E.B. White for two weeks. Now we are discussing Kate Messner's first book in the Marty McGuire series! Colby and I met Kate at NCTE in the fall. She is really nice and exudes a calm-happiness. She's great. If you are new to the series, you'll be excited because after you read Marty McGuire you can race off to read Marty McGuire Digs Worms which was just released this month. Kellee reviewed Marty McGuire Digs Worms last week if you want to hear more about it!

COLBY: If more books like Marty McGuire existed in the world I would be happy guy. Marty is one of my favorite chapter book characters.

JEN: I agree! Kate does a great job of capturing Marty’s spirit. Her attitude comes to life on the pages. Her characters feel like real kids. I found myself wanting to recommend Me...Jane and The One And Only Ivan to Marty since she enjoys Jane Gooddall. It’s not often that I find myself wanting to share books with a character in a book.

COLBY: I LOVE that you want to recommend books to Marty. I’m sure she would love The One and Only Ivan. Who wouldn’t? This makes me think of all kinds of characters that I want to recommend books to, but I want to stay focused on Marty.

The biggest reason that I love Marty is because I know that one day I will share the book with my three children. I’m sure my son will love how much Marty loves science, and I want my daughters to see how cool Marty is. I think that all of Kate’s female protagonists are examples of the type of girl that I hope to raise: smart, creative, not normal. Normal is so BORING.

JEN: I have boys to raise but I hope my boys are always up for something fun. Boring is not in our vocabulary at our house. We do lots of fun stuff and they are usually excited and ready to go. I love that. I don’t want them to say, “No, thanks” when friends want to do something fun...or better yet, I want them to be the ones saying, “Come on!” and finding fun things to do. I also want them to be really thoughtful and kind while still being cool dudes.

I love all the silly names Marty comes up with...although she would NEVER call anyone names. My favorite is on page 46:

“If I were allowed to call people names, I’d call Mrs. Aloi Princess-Pushing Tattle-Tale right now.
But I’m not.
So I don’t. Especially since she’s a teacher and everything.”

I love all the times she talks about wanting to call someone names, but it cracked me up when I read the part about the teacher.

COLBY: I love the names that Marty calls people in her head. I think it’s good for kids to see that it is okay to be frustrated with people, but it’s not okay to always say out loud what you’re thinking inside your head.

JEN: That’s so true! We all think not-so-nice things once in awhile. I love how Kate writes all of her characters. I love Marty’s parents - especially her teacher-dad with his “Learning Is Fun!” tote bag. I love it. How cool is Mrs. Aloi with her maracas? She’s cool. As a Nationally Board Certified Teacher, I love that Mrs. Aloi works with Marty’s family and with people in the community. She calls Marty’s parents as soon as she wants them to talk to her about the play. She invites James Jackson from the local college to work with the kids on their play. She also uses the theme of the play and carries it over into different disciplines. Mrs. Aloi rocks.

COLBY: Since we kind of know Kate, I always try to think if the characters in her books are inspired by people in her family.

Thanks for talking Marty McGuire with me. I hope that Kate, Brian, and Scholastic team up for a bunch more books.