Whatcha Wanna Do? - Friends and Small Moments

Britt Hawthorne is one of my most favorite people to learn from. I follow her on Instagram and am a Patron on Patreon because I appreciate everything she shares. This week she shared a spoken word poem from Phil Kaye called "Before the Internet" that is pure gold to a literacy teacher. 

In his poem, Phil shares a small moment. A small moment with his friend during summer back in the 90's before the Internet. It's a perfect nine-year-old memory that I think a lot of students might relate to, even if they are kids living during a pandemic in 2020 with the Internet. 

I'm definitely going to share Phil's poem with my students but I'm going to preface it by showing the following clip from Disney's The Jungle Book where the vultures are sitting around trying to think of something to do. 

  

Both the Disney artists and Phil Kaye found something so universal, sitting around with friends trying to think of something to do, and made it interesting by adding super specific details. The vultures joke about waiting for something to die and how they'd be happy about that and Phil talks about watching Indiana Jones and wanting to pretend they could be as cool as he is. Two similar moments with two different stories that make them unique. 

It made me think of this poem "Instructions on Listening to the Trees" from Woke: A Young Poet's Call to Justice by Mahogany L. Browne with Elizabeth Acevedo and Olivia Gatwood. This poem is about going outside and taking a moment to breathe and listen. It's about noticing how we are part of something bigger than us. I think Phil's poem is sort of about this too. It's about recognizing a small moment and writing about it in such a way that it's obvious that he paid attention.  

I'm excited to start off the school year with these texts and to invite students to think about their lives and to pay attention to the small moments and to notice the world around them. This year I'm being super intentional about choosing texts that match and pair together to help students think more deeply about the concepts we're discussing and about themselves as learners and humans. 

If you have any texts that you think would pair well with the ones I shared here, please share!

Merci Suárez Changes Gears

Title: Merci Suárez Changes Gears 
Author: Meg Medina 
Publisher: Candlewick 
Publication Date: September 11th, 2018  
Genre/Format: Realistic Fiction/Middle Grade Novel 
GoodReads Summary: Merci Suarez knew that sixth grade would be different, but she had no idea just how different. For starters, Merci has never been like the other kids at her private school in Florida, because she and her older brother, Roli, are scholarship students. They don’t have a big house or a fancy boat, and they have to do extra community service to make up for their free tuition. So when bossy Edna Santos sets her sights on the new boy who happens to be Merci’s school-assigned Sunshine Buddy, Merci becomes the target of Edna’s jealousy. Things aren't going well at home, either: Merci’s grandfather and most trusted ally, Lolo, has been acting strangely lately — forgetting important things, falling from his bike, and getting angry over nothing. No one in her family will tell Merci what's going on, so she’s left to her own worries, while also feeling all on her own at school. In a coming-of-age tale full of humor and wisdom, award-winning author Meg Medina gets to the heart of the confusion and constant change that defines middle school — and the steadfast connection that defines family.  
What I Think: I visited a classroom last week for a writer's workshop lesson. We had Dr. Carla España, a consultant from The Ed Collab in to work with our middle school teachers. As she was presenting, she showed students some of her writing and how she slipped Spanish in sometimes. A student I was sitting with wrote a goal of using more Spanish in her own writing. When I asked her if she had ever thought of doing that before, she said not until this day because Carla had mentioned it. It gave me goosebumps. How powerful is that? I love Meg Medina's books because she does a great job of capturing the experience of being Latinx in her books. But beyond that, she does a great job of description and developing character through her description. The snatch of text I pulled shows how we can learn so much about a character from a short scene. 
     As a mentor text, I would think about asking students to look at the snatch of text below, or another snatch of text from Merci Suárez Changes Gears, and ask writers to look at what Meg has done to show us who the main character, Merci, is. We can tell a lot about Merci from this snatch of text. I would make sure students recognize that she uses dialogue to show how Merci interacts with others and how their words or actions show us about Merci. I would also think in general about how the scene goes and what that tells us about Merci. Finally, I would look at word choice and how the words Meg has chosen show us the mood of the moment and how that adds to what we know about Merci. 
Snatch of Text:
"I sit on the stool exactly the way the photographer says: Ankles crossed. Torso swiveled to the left and leaning forward. Hands in lap. Head tilted like a confused puppy. Who sits like this, ever? I look like a victim of taxidermy. 
    'Smile,' the photographer says, without an ounce of joy in her voice. 
    Just as I'm trying to decide whether to show teeth, a huge flash goes off and blinds me.
     'Wait. I wasn't read,' I say. 
    She ignores me and reviews her shots. It must be really bad for her to hold up the line this way. Do-overs mean time, and everyone in business knows that time is money. 
    'Let's try again,' she says, trying to adjust my glasses. 'Chin up this time.'
     Chin? Who is she kidding? I already know that's not the problem. My eyes is fluttering and I can feel the soft pull to the left. 
     'Look at the camera, honey,' the photographer says. 
    I blink hard and fix both my eyes on her lens, which always makes me look angry, but it's the best I can do. She shoots again and again in an explosion of shutter clicks. I must look as awkward as I feel, because I can hear the boys snickering." (p. 11-12)

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!

Things That Surprise You

Thank you to Blue Slip Media

for sending me a copy of this book to review 

and for providing an awesome prize pack

for me to giveaway! (Details below!)

Title: Things That Surprise You 
Author: Jennifer Maschari  
Publisher: Balzer + Bray 
Publication Date: August 22, 2017 
Genre/Format: Realistic Fiction/Novel 
GoodReads Summary: Emily Murphy is about to enter middle school. She’s sort of excited… though not nearly as much as her best friend Hazel, who is ready for everything to be new. Emily wishes she and Hazel could just continue on as they always have, being the biggest fans ever of the Unicorn Chronicles, making up dance moves, and getting their regular order at The Slice.

But things are changing. At home, Emily and her mom are learning to move on after her parents’ divorce. Hardest of all, her beloved sister Mina has been in a treatment facility to deal with her anorexia. Emily is eager to have her back, but anxious about her sister getting sick again.

Hazel is changing too. She has new friends from the field hockey team, is starting to wear makeup, and have crushes on boys. Emily is trying to keep up, but she keeps doing and saying the wrong thing. She want to be the perfect new Emily. But who is that really?

Things That Surprise You is a beautifully layered novel about navigating the often shifting bonds of family and friendship, and learning how to put the pieces back together when things fall apart. 
What I Think: I've been excited to tell students all about Things That Surprise You because it is such a real book about having friends, keeping friends, and making friends that I imagine many middle schoolers will relate to. It's a book I would recommend to readers who like Rebecca Stead's Good Bye Stranger and Ann Brashares' The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. 
     As a mentor text, I love how Jennifer takes a moment and describes it so that we can feel what the characters are feeling. I pulled out two snatches of text that include similes that I love. They demonstrate how we have to be intentional about the similes we include. The imagery she creates with this similes definitely match the mood of the character and the scene.
     I also like how Emily, the main character, has her own character arc but her sister Mina has one as well. Too often writers focus on the main character and how he or she changes but we also have to look at how our supporting characters change and how our main characters might even impact the change our supporting characters go through. It's real life, right? But being able to do it in our writing as well is important and Things That Surprise You is a perfect mentor text for looking at how the main character isn't the only one who is going to grow as the story progresses.
Snatch of Text: 
"Walking in here is like stepping into a pair of the fuzziest socks. It feels cozy and right." (p. 11)

"All the good feelings I had built up whoosh out of me like air from a flattened bike tire." (p. 97)
Writing Prompt: Write about what you look for in a good friend. Use examples from Things That Surprise You and Emily's experiences with friends in the book and connect to your own experiences as well. 

Giveaway!

One lucky winner will receive a copy of THINGS THAT SURPRISE YOU (U.S. addresses).

PLUS!

One grand prize winner will receive a Crafty Unicorn Kit!  The prize includes a fun craft kit, a copy of THINGS THAT SURPRISE YOU, unicorn stickers, and puzzle cards! 

Enter here.

Beach Party Surf Monkey Blog Tour and Giveaway

Thank you to Random House

for sending me a copy of this book to review 

and for providing a copy of the book 

for me to giveaway! (Details below!)

Title: Beach Party Surf Monkey 

Author: Chris Grabenstein 

Illustrator: Brooke Allen

Publisher: Random House 

Publication Date: May 1st, 2017 

Genre/Format: Realistic Fiction/Novel 

GoodReads Summary: There's always something wacky happening when you live in a motel, and P.T. (named after P. T. Barnum, of course) has grown up at the world's wackiest! When word gets out that the hottest teen idols in Hollywood (plus current YouTube sensation Kevin the Monkey!) will be filming their next movie--Beach Party Surf Monkey--right in St. Pete's Beach, Florida, P.T. and his friend Gloria know that the Wonderland would be the perfect location. Now they just have to convince the producers!

But when things start to go wrong (crazed fans? missing stars?), it will take all of Gloria's business genius and P.T.'s wild stories to save the movie before both it and the Wonderland are all washed up!

What I Think: I enjoyed both books in the Welcome to Wonderland series and am excited to share them with my kids! P.T. is such a character but he's lovable at the same time. He tells lots of stories gets into all sorts of sticky situations but his heart is in the right place. 
    As a mentor text, I would look at how Chris is able to build P.T.'s character through letting us into his head and dialogue. There is a lot of dialogue in this book. I picked a snatch of text when we get to be inside P.T.'s head and understand some of his thinking. This is an example of how we can grow to like him because we see his thought process. The best part is that he uses some great imagery in this snatch of text without making it boring. It's a great example of a simile done well! So fun!

Snatch of Text:  
     "As I grabbed the door, I realized that if I took Aidan Tyler into the lobby of the Wonderland, he'd be like a prize blowfish in an aquarium. His fans would just press up against the glass to gawk at him. Some girl would probably make smoochy faces at him, too. And that would mean I'd have to spend my weekend cleaning greasy lipstick smears off our floor-to-ceiling windows.
     'Change of plans,' I told him." (p. 47)

Writing Prompt: Write about what you think about when it comes to fame. Do you like the idea of being famous? Would you want to be famous? Or do you have other thoughts about being famous? Make connections with P.T.'s experience with fame and your own.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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:

Cold War On Maplewood Street

Title: Cold War On Maplewood Street 
Author: Gayle Rosengren 
Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers 
Publication Date: August 4th, 2015 
Genre/Format: Historical Fiction/Novel 
GoodReads Summary: Cold War anxieties play out in a sensitively told story set during the Cuban missile crisis in the 1960s, perfect for fans of Gary Schmidt and Kristin Levine. 

Joanna can’t get over how her brother broke his promise to never leave like their dad did. Sam is thousands of miles away on a navy ship, and no matter how often he sends letters, Joanna refuses to write back. When she makes a promise, she keeps it.

But then President Kennedy comes on TV with frightening news about Soviet missiles in Cuba—and that’s where Sam’s heading. Suddenly Joanna’s worries about being home alone, building up the courage to talk to a cute boy, and not being allowed to go to the first boy-girl party in her grade don’t seem so important. Maybe sometimes there are good reasons to break a promise.The tense timeline of the Cuban missile crisis unfolds alongside a powerful, and ultimately hopeful, story about what it means to grow up in a world full of uncertainty. 
What I Think: I'm such a fan of historical fiction but I especially love how this book takes place during a period of time that I hadn't read much about before. When it comes to U.S. History, it always seemed like we never made it very far past the Civil Rights movement. Readers will relate to Joanna, the people in her life, and the struggles she grapples with but the setting helps make this book unique.
     As a mentor text, I would ask students to look think about how Gayle Rosengren brings Joanna's world to life. They can look at their own world and realistic fiction though the lens of Joanna's story. It would be great to compare and contrast between her description of the world and our world now and think about to describe it for others.
Read Together: Grades 4 - 6 
Read Alone: Grades 4 - 6 
Read With: Lost In The Sun by Lisa Graff, Rain Reign by Ann M. Martin, The Battle of Darcy Lane by Tara Altebrando, Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt 
Snatch of Text:   
     "Just before she started down the steps to their apartment, a crawly feeling on the back of her neck made Joanna look up. Mrs. Strenge stood at the window. Her beady eyes stared from a scrawny face surrounded by hair sticking out in all directions, like the Bride of Frankenstein. Her fat black cat glowered down from the windowsill beside her." (p. 10)

     "'She's an artist,' Uncle Zach pointed out. 'Artists have vivid imaginations.'
     'Mom's not an artist anymore,' Pamela chipped in, tossing her last fork in the general direction of a plate and pulling Joanna along with her to the couch. 'She hasn't painted in weeks.'
     Uncle Zach shook his head at her. 'Whether she paints or not, your mother is still an artist,' he said firmly. 'She sees and feels things differently than we do. More deeply.'" (p. 83)
Writing Prompts: Write about a time in your life when you were mad at someone. How did you handle your anger? What resolved the situation?
Topics Covered: Family, Friendship, Courage, Honesty, Siblings 

I *heart* It:

 

*Thanks to Penguin Young Readers Group for 

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

Poetry Friday - My Dog is as Smelly as Dirty Socks and Brothers

 Today Poetry Friday is at Keri Recommends! 
Be sure to visit and check out all the great poetry posts!

I've had this book on my TBR list for a long time and I finally requested it from the library. It's a cute book that could easily be a fun activity with kids. My own kids loved listening to the comparisons and we started coming up with our own. 

The author takes all sorts of everyday objects and uses them to create portraits of different members of her family and then works them into her description of them, too. Here's my favorite snatch of text from My Dog is as Smelly as Dirty Socks by Hanoch Piven.

"And then there 

is Schmutz.

I'll be honest with you...

Schmutz stinks!

Schmutz is as stinky

as an ONION.

He's as nasty 

as canned FISH,

as icky as PEPPERONI,

and as smelly as

DIRTY SOCKS."

Reading this book is a great opportunity to talk to students about using similes to describe in their writing. I love that this book combines an artwork activity and thinking about how that can link to their writing. I don't think this a book kids will soon forget so it'll be great for them to remind them of when they need to add some description to their writing.

I had so much fun with this book, I thought I would try some similes myself!

Little Bean has a spirit 

as free as a song traveling in the wind.

Peanut has a soul

as thoughtful as a gentle giant.

Little Bean has a face that lights up

as bright as the morning sun.

Peanut has a laugh

as pure as a bubbling stream.

Brothers

as proud as superheroes 

zipping across the sky,

as wild as monkeys 

swinging through the jungle,

as sticky and sweet 

as the gooey chocolate and melty marshmallow 

in a campfire s'more.

Poetry Friday - Fight Song

 Today Poetry Friday is at Jama's Alphabet Soup!
Be sure to visit and check out all the great poetry posts!

I love music and I usually end up sharing lyrics for songs I love when it's Poetry Friday. Today I'm sharing Rachel Platten's Fight Song. As a mentor text, I love the similes in these words and the imagery thanks to that simile. Peanut was telling me about something this morning and he used a simile. It was simple but it made me realize how naturally similes can be and how having lots of examples can help kids think about similes, when to use them and why. 

More than that, I love the sentiment of this song. The idea of believing - in whatever you believe in - and not giving up is powerful. This school year while doing some committee work, a colleague described me as idealistic because I was holding teachers to high expectations. I think she meant to help me see that my ideas are a bit too pie-in-the-sky and that I needed to adjust my standards. But I quickly acknowledged that while I might have high expectations and while I might plan for the ideal situation, I'm not naive, and I know that once we set an expectation, it will be work to help people to reach those expectations and that I'm glad to do the work. I also made it quite clear that I don't believe in settling for the status quo or for good enough just because it's going to be work to support people if we demand more.

Last weekend, Peanut and I went to see the movie Tomorrowland. I thought it was great, sure there were some things that could have been better or explained. And it would be great to think that the future might be a bit more tolerant than was portrayed in the movie. But despite all of that, I love that it celebrates the power of one person to make a difference. When we are passionate about something and don't give up on our convictions, we can make a difference. Usually, when I feel like giving up, that's when I find just a little more strength to persevere and that's when I see what I'm capable of and when not giving up is worth it. 

I hope you keep believing in yourself and your power to make a difference! If you need some inspiration, check out Rachel Platten's video below.

"Fight Song"

Like a small boat

On the ocean

Sending big waves

Into motion

Like how a single word

Can make a heart open

I might only have one match

But I can make an explosion

And all those things I didn't say

Wrecking balls inside my brain

I will scream them loud tonight

Can you hear my voice this time

This is my fight song

Take back my life song

Prove I'm alright song

My power's turned on

Starting right now I'll be strong

I'll play my fight song

And I don't really care if nobody else believes

Cause I've still got a lot of fight left in me

Losing friends and I'm chasing sleep

Everybody's worried about me

In too deep

Say I'm in too deep (in too deep)

And it's been two years

I miss my home

But there's a fire burning in my bones

And I still believe

Yeah I still believe

And all those things I didn't say

Wrecking balls inside my brain

I will scream them loud tonight

Can you hear my voice this time

This is my fight song

Take back my life song

Prove I'm alright song

My power's turned on

Starting right now I'll be strong

I'll play my fight song

And I don't really care if nobody else believes

Cause I've still got a lot of fight left in me

A lot of fight left in me

Like a small boat

On the ocean

Sending big waves

Into motion

Like how a single word

Can make a heart open

I might only have one match

But I can make an explosion

This is my fight song

Take back my life song

Prove I'm alright song

My power's turned on

Starting right now I'll be strong (I'll be strong)

I'll play my fight song

And I don't really care if nobody else believes

Cause I've still got a lot of fight left in me

Now I've still got a lot of fight left in me

The Cosmo Biography of Sun Ra

Title: The Cosmo Biography of Sun Ra 
Author: Chris Raschka  
Illustrator: Chris Raschka  
Publisher: Candlewick Press 
Publication Date: May 13th, 2014 
Genre/Format: Non-Fiction/Biography/Picture Book 
GoodReads Summary: Jazz musician Sun Ra (1914–1993) always said that he came from Saturn. Being from another planet, he was naturally intrigued by everything earthly — especially music, because music is the one thing on Earth most like the stars. Earthlings themselves confused Sun Ra, the way they sorted themselves by color and fought wars against one another. So he made music. And he traveled with other musicians and singers, calling themselves the Sun Ra Arkestra, playing, singing, and dancing for people all over the planet. Because music, he said, is what holds us all together. Join acclaimed author-illustrator Chris Raschka in celebrating a legend of the jazz world who was truly one of a kind. 
What I Think: The colors of Chris Raschka's artwork in The Cosmo Biography of Sun Ra completely bring to life the essence of the musician Sun Ra. I love how the text helps us see how Su Ra was completed devoted to his curiosity about the world and how that extended into his music. As I read this book I thought about Genius Hour and Passion Projects and how when we pursue something we are truly passionate about, we can easily get lost researching and discovering and creating. This story shows how Sun Ra's curiosity led to creation and it's such a great book for thinking about how we moved from taking in information to putting out work. I can see how this book would be a great anchoring text for a teacher encouraging students to discover their passions.
     When I looked at commas with middle school students, I typed sentences from Jimi: Sounds like a Rainbow onto little strips and then asked students to look sort the sentences, looking for how commas were used and where they could see similarities in the sentence structure. We did this to uncover patterns in how commas are used instead of just learning about rules of commas. It was a great activity and as I look at the sentences in Sun Ra and how commas are used, I think the text in this book would lend itself to that same activity. You might even use sentences from both of the books and see how the writing is similar or different. This is one of my favorite ways to use mentor texts, to really look at the structure of a sentence and then to try that in writing.  
Read Together: Grades 3 - 5   
Read Alone: Grades 4 - 6 
Read With: Tito Puente, Mambo King by Monica Brown, Jimi: Sounds Like a Rainbow by Gary Golio 
Snatch of Text:   

"Sun Ra drew other musicians to him. They played in small groups, medium-

size groups, and big groups, with singers or without singers - all kinds of ways.

They were like sailors on a boat bound for a new world, a new world of sound."

Writing Prompts: Write about something that you were so curious or passionate about that you devoted a lot of your time to it.  
Topics Covered: Curiosity, Passion, Creativity 

I *heart* It:

The Sky Painter Blog Tour and Giveaway!

Title: The Sky Painter: Louis Fuertes, Bird Artist 
Author: Margarita Engle 
Illustrator: Aliona Bereghici 
Publisher: Two Lions 
Publication Date: April 28th, 2015 
Genre/Format: Non-Fiction/Poetry/Picture Book 
GoodReads Summary: Louis loves to watch birds. He takes care of injured birds and studies how they look and how they move. His father wants him to become an engineer, but Louis dreams of being a bird artist. To achieve this dream, he must practice, practice, practice. He learns from the art of John James Audubon. But as Louis grows up, he begins to draw and paint living, flying birds in their natural habitats.

Louis Agassiz Fuertes (1874–1927) is now known as the father of modern bird art. He traveled with many scientific expeditions all over the world. His best-known works—paintings for habitat exhibits at the American Museum of Natural History in New York—are still beloved by visitors today. His art helped to encourage wildlife conservation, inspiring people to celebrate and protect the world of wings.Poems by Newbery Honor–winning author Margarita Engle and illustrations by Aliona Bereghici capture the life of Louis Fuertes and the deep sense of wonder that he felt when he painted the sky.   
What I Think: Before reading Okay For Now by Gary Schmidt, I didn't know much about John James Audubon. Because Audubon's artwork plays such a key role in that book, I learned how influential he was. Bereghici's artwork in The Sky Painter is beautiful and unique. She has a way of making the vibrant colors sound soft and gentile like the birds she portrays in the illustrations.

I really like how Engle used poetry to break up the story, creating purposeful pauses between pieces of the story. They lyrical text works so well as poems and she offers a variety of samples of descriptive writing to look at. In the snatch of text alone, readers can look at alliteration, rhythm, simile, and metaphor.   

Poetry also offers a great opportunity to look at word choice. Because poetry naturally limits the number of words, it's critical that each word have a purpose. By paying attention to Engle's word choice, we can look at how they create an image that the reader can visualize. Recognizing this connection between reading and writing is helpful as a reader practices good reading strategies as much as for a writer practicing incorporating literary elements to help the reader be able to visualize. 
Read Together: Grade K - 6 
Read Alone: Grade 2 - 6 
Read With: She's Wearing a Dead Bird On Her Head by Kathryn Lasky, Look Up! by Annette LeBlanc Cate 
Snatch of Text:  

Alaska

"I whistle.

Birds answer.

I follow.

Blue shadows.

White snow.

Clear ice.

The beauty

of flight

like a dance

in the clouds,

a graceful ballet

of wild swans." 

Writing Prompts: Using what you know about descriptive writing to write about something you have observed in nature.  
Topics Covered: Integration - Science, Integration - Art, Nature, Passion, Admiration, Family  
Additional Resources: Margarita Engle is a Cuban American poet and novelist whose work has been published in many countries. Her books include The Poet Slave of Cuba, winner of the Pura Belpré Award for narrative and the Américas Award; The Surrender Tree, a Newbery Honor book; Summer Birds: The Butterflies of Maria Merian, a Kirkus Best Book for Children; and The Lightning Dreamer, Cuba’s Greatest Abolitionist, winner of the 2014 PEN Center USA Literary Award for Young Adult/Children’s Literature. Margarita lives in California, where she enjoys bird-watching and helping her husband with his volunteer work for wilderness search-and-rescue dog training programs. To learn more, and to download a free activity kit for THE SKY  PAINTER, visit: www.margaritaengle.com.

Today happens to be Poetry Friday so hop on over to No Water River for other poetry posts!

I *heart* It:

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Follow along on THE SKY PAINTER blog tour!

Mon, Apr 20	Library Fanatic	http://www.thelibraryfanatic.com/
Tues, Apr 21	Kid Lit Frenzy	http://www.kidlitfrenzy.com/
Wed, Apr 22	Unleashing Readers	http://www.unleashingreaders.com/
Thurs, Apr 23	5 Minutes for Books	http://books.5minutesformom.com/
Fri, Apr 24	Teach Mentor Texts	http://www.teachmentortexts.com/#axzz3DP0vkvgi
Sat, Apr 25	Booking Mama	http://www.bookingmama.net/
Mon, Apr 27	Sharpread	http://mrcolbysharp.com/
Tues, Apr 28	The Children's Book Review	http://www.thechildrensbookreview.com/
Wed, Apr 29	Cracking the Cover	http://www.crackingthecover.com/
Thurs, Apr 30	A Foodie Bibliophile in Wanderlust	http://www.foodiebibliophile.com/
Fri, May 1	Archimedes Notebook	http://archimedesnotebook.blogspot.com

*Thanks to Blue Slip Media for 

a copy of this title in exchange for an honest review 

and the opportunity to offer this giveaway!*