Raymie Nightingale

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

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

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

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

I *heart* It:

*Thanks to Candlewick Press for 

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

Ninja!

November is Picture Book Month! I'm rocking out a Bookaday celebration of picture books!

Today I'm sharing ideas for using Ninja! by Arree Chung as a mentor text.

GoodReads Summary:

A ninja must be strong, courageous, and silent! He creeps through the house on a secret mission. There may be obstacles! But have no fear—a true ninja can overcome all challenges.

We really took our time looking at the pictures in this book! There were many pages with multiple panels and sometimes we even found ourselves going back forth between pages to make sure we knew what was happening. I've got some adventurous little dudes in my house so we know all about ninja-type moves around the house!

Here are some literacy ideas to go along with Ninja! by Arree Chung!

1. Since we spent a lot of time on the pictures in this book, I think it makes a great mentor text for close reading with young students. Close reading doesn't have to just be passages of text, it's totally cool to close read illustrations in a book. Illustrations in picture books are an integral part of telling the story so it's important to know that the illustrations and the text should work together. I might stop and ask students to describe what they see in the different panels. This could be a shared group activity or each student could write an idea on a sticky note and put it into the book.

(Side note - I will never ever forget taking Peanut to a story time where a teenager read Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss to the kids. She skipped all the pages at the beginning when Sam is going by with his sign and just started where the words start! I was shocked but it was a good reminder to me that we have to model and show students how important it is to read more than only the words.)

2. There are a few places especially where a lot of action is happening and it might be a great opportunity to think about some super descriptive verbs - verbs that pack punch! I love talking about how we can put words on a continuum. You can take the word jump and brainstorm synonyms and then put them on a continuum, stacking the words so that the less intense words are at the bottom and then the words increase up to the top. So for jump, you might have hop at the very bottom and then a whole range of synonyms for jump all the way up to bound.

3. When you read Ninja!, you'll find that there is another character other than our little super-sneaky friend. She's a bit of a surprise and there is a little suspense until we know if she'll be an ally to our young warrior or not...and it would be a great exercise in point or view or perspective for students to try and tell her her side of the story. Oh! There is one more minor character...can you find her? And what might her side of the story be?

Read With: 

Dog in Charge by Dan Santat

Comics Squad: Recess! edited by Jennifer and Matthew Holm and Jarrett Krosoczka

I would so recommend reading Dog in Charge by Dan Santat in conjunction with Ninja! because of the similar style of story-telling. Dan Santat also uses panels and gives students an opportunity to read the pictures. 

As soon as we opened up the front cover of Ninja! and read about how a ninja must be super sneaky, it reminded me of "The Super Secret Ninja Club" by Gene Yang in Comics Squad: Recess! I've read that story and over and over and over and I love the connection between the two in terms of thinking about what a ninja has to be skilled at. This might lead to some research and reading of informational text to learn more about being a ninja.

Ballet for Martha

Nonfiction Picture Book Wednesday

Here at Teach Mentor Texts we are always looking for more ways to support teachers! We've found that teachers seem to be constantly on the lookout for great nonfiction. We know we are! To help with this undying quest for outstanding non-fiction, we are excited to participate in Nonfiction Picture Book Wednesday hosted by Kid Lit Frenzy and The Nonfiction Detectives. Every Wednesday, you'll find a non-fiction review here - although it may not always be a picture book review. Please visit Kid Lit Frenzy to see what non-fiction others have to share, too.

Title: Ballet for Martha: Making Appalachian Spring

Author: Jan Greenberg and Sandra Jordan

Illustrator: Brian Floca

Publisher: Flash Point

Publication Date: August, 2010

Genre/Format: Non-fiction/Picture Book

Goodreads Summary: Martha Graham : trailblazing choreographer

     Aaron Copland : distinguished American composer

     Isamu Noguchi : artist, sculptor, craftsman

     Award-winning authors Jan Greenberg and Sandra Jordan tell the story behind the scenes of the collaboration that created APPALACHIAN SPRING, from its inception through the score’s composition to Martha’s intense rehearsal process. The authors’ collaborator is two-time Sibert Honor winner Brian Floca, whose vivid watercolors bring both the process and the performance to life.

What I Think: This book is a testament to collaboration. It shows what can happen if 3 brilliant minds get together and want to make something together- both Appalachian Spring and Ballet for Martha were constructed by a group of 3 amazing people. 

     I really love this unique perspective into American History. Aaron Copland is already a name that is part of American vocabulary, but Martha Graham and Isamu Noguchi should be as well and this book shows how they both played a role in helping Aaron Copland to become one of the most well-known American composers. 

     When reading this book, the thing that struck me the most was the specific word choice that allows you to visualize the ballet, music and sets so accurately. It would be a great source for sharing with students how using the right verb or adjective can really change the imagery which a writer portrays. 

Read Together: Grades 4 to 9

Read Alone: Grades 4 and up

Read With: Nonfiction text about ballet, choreography, composing or set designing

Snatch of Text: "There are no steps yet, but Aaron knows the way

Martha and her dancers move. 

Her steps are unusual.
She moves differently from ballerinas. 

No toe shoes. No tutus. No pirouettes. 

'Nobody else seems anything like Martha,' he says. 'There's 

something simple yet strong about here, which one thinks of 

as very American.'" (p. 8) 

"Slowly the Bride glides in, 

the runs to her groom. 

The Preacher's four Followers file in. 

The music turns lively and playful as the young girls dance in pairs, 

then form circles, fluttering, skittering, reaching up to the sky." (p. 28-29)

Mentor Text for: Vocabulary Development, Imagery, Word Choice (Verbs, Adjectives), Visualizing

Writing Prompts: The authors included a "Curtain Call" which gives us more detail into the lives of our three stars- what aspect of their lives do you wish had been explored more in the picture book?; Aaron Copland was so inspired by Martha that he composed an entire ballet for her- has anyone ever inspired you to do something? Or is there someone who has inspired you enough that if you were going to write a song, book, poem, etc. it would be about them?

Topics Covered: Dance, Music, Composing, Collaboration, Set Building, Appalachian Spring

I *heart* It:

(4.5 stars)