This Jazzman

Title: This Jazz Man    

Author: Karen Ehrhardt  

Illustrator: R.G. Roth 

Publication Date: 2006  

Genre/Format: Fiction/Picture Book  

Summary:  A jazzy twist on the song "This Old Man"!

What I Think: I loved the artwork on the cover of this book the second I saw it, and as I started flipping through the pages, it got even better!  The artwork is lots of fun and words throughout the book seem to dance on the page.  What makes it even better is that the text is as jazzy and unique as the artwork.  It completely exudes rhythm and musical vocabulary.  For younger kids, you can use it to incorporate some counting!  You could even have kids come up and do a little dance and "give them a hand"!  I'm ready to bounce and boogy out of my seat just writing about it.  At the end, it includes short, musical biographies of nine famous African-American jazz greats! 

Read Together: Pre-K - 8  

Read Alone: 3 - 8  

Read With: Cats' Night Out (Paula Wiseman Books) by Caroline Stutson; Non-fiction books about jazz; Biographies of jazz musicians;  

Snatch of Text: 

"This jazz man, he plays one, 

He plays rhythm with his thumb,

With a snap! snap! snazzy-snap!

Give the man a hand,

This jazz man scats with the band."  

Reading Strategies to Practice: Activating Background Knowledge, Making Connections

Writing Strategies to Practice: Word Choice, Onomatopoeia, Rhyme    

Writing Prompts: Write your own rendition of "This Old Man" with your own musical twist!  Write about your favorite kind of music or you favorite musician.  While/after listening to a sample of jazz music, describe what the music makes you feel or what you visualize as you listen to the music.    

Topics Covered: Music, Jazz, Culture, African-American Culture, Math    

Translated to Spanish: No

    

Cultivating Readers and Writers

I think it's so interesting to talk to other readers and writers about what they attribute to their love of reading or writing.  I feel like the more I talk to people, the more perspective I gain about how to help my students develop as readers and writers.  
For this installment of Cultivating Reader and Writers, I am interviewing Kai from Fiction State of Mind.   

 

The Witchy Worries of Abbie Adams

Title: The Witchy Worries of Abbie Adams    
Author: Rhonda Hayter  
Publication Date: 2010  
Genre/Format: Fiction-Fantasy/Novel  
Summary: Abbie Adams is your average 5th grade...witch!  Her parents and her little brother, Munch, are witches, too.  Abbie deals with 5th grade - her teacher who gives too much homework, her best friend who she can't tell about magic, being in the drama club - until her dad brings home a kitten and really makes things interesting.  It turns out her kitten is really Thomas Edison who has been turned into a cat and sent to the 21st century.  How can they change him back and who would do such a thing?  Abbie and her family try to solve the mystery and return things to normal before time is re-written entirely!  
What I Think: I am excited to recommend this to my 3rd grader when the school year starts!  I think she would love this!  I think it's a great middle grade book.  Abbie is a great character and she makes the story so much fun.  It kind of reminds me of the TV show Sabrina, The Teenage Witch - in a completely good way.  It also reminds me of the TV show Bewitched.  It's a fun story while still being relatable because the witches are part of everyday life.  It's cool to read about a normal girl who can cast spells to freeze time, make milk and cookies appear, and change into a bug on the wall.  I have always wanted to be able to freeze time so it's cool to read about a character who can really do that.  What I really love about this book is  that the author incorporates some history/science by putting Thomas Edison as a young kid into the book.  I love books that easily relate to non-fiction topics and this book does exactly that!
Read Together: 2 - 5  
Read Alone: 3 - 7  
Read With: Non-Fiction about Thomas Edison; Non-Fiction about inventions  
Snatch of Text: "When Munch and I got home, I ran right to my mom to tell her about the play.  She laughed really hard when she found out about the part I got, and wen I asked if we could tell Aunt Sophie about it, she got right on the phone and passed it to me. 
     I told Aunt Sophie the big news about the play and then I told her about how my character didn't believe in magic...and as soon as I did, there was a terrific WHOOOSSHH of air and I felt as if cold fingers were playing up and down my spine.  All of a sudden, it looked as if silvery snow was falling in the living room for just a second and there was a sound like tinkling bells.  Aunt Sophie was popping in."  p. 33  
Reading Strategies to Practice: Asking Questions, Making Connections, Visualizing, Activating Background Knowledge   
Writing Strategies to Practice:      
Writing Prompts: Write about what an everyday experience would be like if you had magical witchy powers.  Describe how it might feel, look like, smell like, sound like to cast a spell or have a spell cast upon you!  Persuade Abbie Adams to cast a spell for you - what spell would you ask her to cast and why would you need her to cast that specific spell for you.    
Topics Covered: Adversity, Friendship, Family, Challenges, Right Vs. Wrong, Science-Thomas Edison/Inventions, Working Hard   
Translated to Spanish: No   

    

Unwrapping the Read Aloud: Making Every Read Aloud Intentional and Instructional

Title: Unwrapping the Read Aloud: Making Every Read Aloud Intentional and Instructional (Theory and Practice in Action)
Author: Lester L. Laminack  
Publication Date: 2009  
Genre/Format: Non-Fiction/Professional Book and DVD 
Summary: Laminack takes a close look at the benefit of reading to kids and how to prepare for reading a book by identifying your purpose for reading and using the hints in the text to understand how it should be read.  He relates reading aloud to playing music because you have to pay attention to how the words and the layout are guiding you as a reader.   
What I Think: I find myself learning so much now that I have my own little Peanut to read to.  It has opened my eyes as an educator, especially when it comes to reading to him.  I just assumed everyone knew how to read a book aloud to a child.  It never occurred to me that it doesn't come naturally to everyone.  (I say this to demonstrate my naiveness not to fault people for not having the knack to read aloud as others might.)  I've heard people read to Peanut and thought, "Wow, he's not really reading with much emotion...it's like he just wants to get through the book..."  And I've heard people read books like Skippyjon Jones by Judy Schachner that has such colorful language that it sounds choppy if it's read for the first time out loud.  Both of these experiences made it clear to me that is important to preview a book and plan how to read it ahead of time.  That is exactly what this book talks about!  Gotta love it!  
Read With: Reading Magic: Why Reading Aloud to Our Children Will Change Their Lives Forever by Mem Fox; Cracking Open the Author's Craft: Teaching the Art of Writing (Theory and Practice in Action) by Lester Laminack
Snatch of Text: "When we read aloud to inspire, our expectations or students are simple and direct.  We want nothing more than to pique their interest, to spark their desire, to entice them to read.  Our ultimate goal is that they fall in love with language and books, that they lust after language and books and reading as they will later lust after driving.  Therefore, any intentional read aloud designed to inspire would not ask students to answer a set of questions, give a retelling, unpack meaning, host a conversation, define vocabulary, write a character sketch, compare or contrast anything.  None of that would follow a read aloud to inspire our students." p. 25-26 
Topics Covered: Book Talks, Just-Right Books, Genres, Authors, Integration
Translated to Spanish: No

 

Everything I Need to Know I Learned from a Children's Books

Title: EVERYTHING I NEED TO KNOW I LEARNED FROM A CHILDREN'S BOOK    
Author: Various - edicted by Anita Silvey
Publication Date: 2009  
Genre/Format: Nonfiction/Collection of Essays  
Summary: A collection of essays from over 100 leaders from the arts, sciences, politics, business, and other fields.  They each talk about the impact a children's book has had on their lives.  It includes a picture and excerpt from each book highlighted.
What I Think: I was really excited to get this book, and just a teeny tad disappointed.  There are a good deal of people I recognize in this book, but at the same time, a lot of people who I don't even know at all.  I'm glad books were influential to them, but I didn't know who they were so it was hard for me to get excited about reading about their experience with books.  There were a lot of authors I recognized and it was fun to read about a children's book that touched their lives.  There were quite a few books I didn't expect people to connect with, lots of classics.  I think I would use this with older students more than younger students.  Overall, it was interesting to see what people said.  

I took away 4 overall trends that I kept noticing as I read - 

1. Many essays discussed a memory of a person reading to them or with them.

2. Many essays talked about being immersed in books, that they grew up with books all around them.

3. Each essay identified one book that was a "home run" book to them, a book that just stands out as one that really got them into reading.

4. Many essays pointed out that their either loved the book because they could connect with it or that it was so different from their life it helped them experience something completely novel.   

Read Together: 6 - 8  

Read Alone: 7 - 8  

Read With: Choose one of the famous figures from the book and do a more intense study of him or her and use this as part of learning about him or her; Choose other memoirs and match them up with a few from this book to discuss memoirs.

Snatch of Text: Lucy Mangan, British Journalist, wrote, "Children should be encouraged to read anything and everything because you never know what they will get out of a book." p. 203

     Jim Trelease, author of The Read-Aloud Handbook: Sixth Edition (which I loooooove), wrote, "Until The Call of the Wild, I'd always been aware I was reading a book; that is, I'd yet to be "lost" in one.  Jack London gave me my first dose of "virtual reality" decades before the phrase was coined...I discovered that the experience wasn't peculiar at all, that nearly all lifetime readers experience it with a singular book at some point.  Fadiman explained that such a book is like one's first big kiss or first home run - they're unforgettable, and we spend the rest of our lives trying to duplicate or surpass them."  p. 57

Reading Strategies to Practice: Making Connections, Just-Right Books

Writing Strategies to Practice: Personal Narrative, Memoir

Writing Prompts: Write about your favorite book of all time.  Write about a memory of reading a book from your childhood.  Write about your "home run" book.      

Topics Covered: Reading, Just-Right Books, Genres  

Translated to Spanish: No

 

Reading Roots Interview!

I am so excited to be interviewed by Carina over at Reading Through Life today!  She is doing a feature called Reading Roots.  Please head over to her blog to check out my interview!  I had fun answering the questions and can't wait to see who else she interview for this feature!

Thanks, Carina for interviewing me!

 

The Total Tragedy of a Girl Named Hamlet

Title: The Total Tragedy of a Girl Named Hamlet    
Author: Erin Dionne  
Publication Date: 2010  
Genre/Format: Realistic Fiction/Novel  
Summary: Hamlet is your average girl starting 8th grade - except that her genius, little sister, Dezzie is also going to 8th grade at Hamlet's school - and she's only 7.  She has to help her get to her classes and figure out how to handle middle school.  To make everything worse, Hamlet's teachers decide to do a unit on Shakespeare and Hamlet doesn't want anything to do with Shakespeare since her parents are both professors of Shakeaspeare.  It all makes starting 8th grade a little crazy for Hamlet!  
What I Think: I found myself having flashbacks to middle school...which I think shows that author has a good grasp on writing a character in middle school.  Besides having to deal with her little sister and her parents, Hamlet struggles with finding who she is while also uncovering who her secret admirer is.  There are crushes and mean girls besides tutor sessions and school projects.  I had fun reading this book! 
Read Together: 5 - 8   
Read Alone: 5 - 8   
Read With: When Zachary Beaver Came To Town by Kimberly Willis Holt; Hoot by Carl Hiaasen; Flipped by Wendelin Van Draanen; Models Don't Eat Chocolate Cookies by Erin Dionne; The Naked Mole-Rat Letters by Mary Amato 
Snatch of Text: "I hadn't figured out a way to stop time, join the circus, or make myself invisible.  I hadn't been able to contract a serious (but not life-threatening) illness, change my identify, or get into the witness protection program.  I hadn't even been able to talk my mother into staying home or waiting in the car.
     Instead, I had to follow Mom - dressed like an Elizabethan-era superhero with purple velvet cloak billowing and bells a'tinkling - down the hall.  I had to escort my sister to the main office.  I had to act like this was normal.
     I had to start eighth grade."  p. 1 


"'I am intrigued by the type of sociological observation I will have the opportunity to interpret while here,' Dezzie said as we made our way to the second level.  'I know I am in need of social development, but I am not sure how to behave as part of such a large group of pre-adolescents.'
     'Is this your way of saying that you're nervous?'  I asked, surprised.  It never occurred to me that always-together Dezzie would be nervous about anything." p.10
Reading Strategies to Practice: Activating Background Knowledge, Making Connections, Story Elements - Characters, Visualizing  
Writing Strategies to Practice: Personal Narrative, Characterization, Dialogue   
Writing Prompts: Write about a time in your life when you were embarrassed.  Create a character and use dialogue to show how old he or she is, what time period he or she lives in, how much education he or she has had - brainstorm what phrases your character might use.  
Topics Covered: Family, Friends, Challenges, Doing Your Best, Individuality, Confidence, Feelings, Integrity, Loyalty   
Translated to Spanish: No

 

Big Nate: In a Class By Himself

Title: Big Nate: In a Class by Himself    
Author: Lincoln Pierce  
Illustrator: Lincoln Pierce 
Publication Date: 2010  
Genre/Format: Realistic Fiction - Humorous/Novel with Cartoons  Summary: This book is about Nate, a funny, smart-alecky student who tells about a day at school after he gets a fortune cookie that tells him he is going to surpass all others.  He believes he is destined for greatness...when he might just be destined for detention!   
What I Think: I was reminded of Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney when reading this book because there is narration and pictures/cartoons/drawings to go along with the storyline.  Honestly, I enjoyed this book more than Diary of a Wimpy Kid but I laughed out loud reading both of them.  Big Nate takes place entirely at school and I think kids would definitely relate to what he goes through.  The descriptions of some of the teachers were great - I bookmarked the chapter about the substitute P.E. teacher for my husband to read.  I was cracking up.  The illustrations do add to the overall reading of the book.  I'm so glad to have this one on my bookshelf when school starts again.  I already can think of who I would recommend it to.  
     In the snatch of text I provided alone, kids can already infer what some of the characters are like...and they can predict what is going to happen after she calls on him (because, clearly, he doesn't know the answer!).  I can't see how kids wouldn't crack up at Nate's school-day antics! 
Read Together: 5 - 8  (really perfect for 5th/6th grade, but a reluctant older reader might also get a kick out of it - it would be an easy read for an older super reader)
Read Alone: 5 - 8   
Read With: My Weird School #1: Miss Daisy Is Crazy! by Dan Gutman (series); Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney (series)   
Snatch of Text: "She could have called on anybody.
     There were twenty-to other kids in the classroom, and they all had their hands in the air.  Francis did.  Teddy did.  Gina did, of course.  Even Nick Blonsky, who usually sits in the back row with his pencil up his nose, had his hand raised.  She could have called on one of them, right?
     Guess who she calls on?
     Mrs. Godfrey always does this.  She always calls on me when I don't know the answer.  And she can tell I don't know it.  Ever hear somebody say that dogs can smell fear?  That's Mrs. Godfrey.  She's like a dog.
     A big, ugly, nasty dog."  p. 1-2
Reading Strategies to Practice: Making Connections, Making Predictions, Making Inferences  
Writing Strategies to Practice: Personal Narrative, Characterization, Format Writing   
Writing Prompts: Write about your best or worst school experience.  Write about your first day of school (could be kindergarten, 1st grade, this year!).  Write about your favorite or least favorite teacher and draw a picture to represent him or her.       
Topics Covered: School, Friendship, Teachers, Responsibility, Individuality 
Translated to Spanish: No

Found

Title: Found (The Missing, Book 1)    
Author: Margaret Peterson Haddix  
Publication Date: 2009  
Genre/Format: Science Fiction/Novel  
Summary: What would you do if you discovered that you were one of 36 babies adopted after a plane randomly appeared out of nowhere carrying 36 babies?  Where did you come from?  Who are you real parents?  How did you get on the plane?  AND, who is sending you mysterious letters telling you they are coming back to get you now - 13 years later?    
What I Think: I listened to this book as an audiobook, and as I listened I could not believe how many questions I had.  I found my mind racing and just teeming with questions.  I was instantly sucked into the story and couldn't hardly wait to listen to more of the story.  Science fiction, specifically about time travel, is one of my favorite genres.  I love that this is a science fiction book that kids can read a little more easily because the kids are living in the current world but then the story ties them into time travel and the future.  It's great for readers who are new to science fiction because they don't have to imagine a completely different kind of world to be able to read and understand the book.  The only tricky part might be understanding the whole time travel idea of how changing the past can effect the future.  Warning: this is a series book that definitely leaves lots of questions unanswered and leads right into the next book!
Read Together: 4 - 8  
Read Alone: 5 - 8   
Reading Strategies to Practice: Activating Background Knowledge, Genres, Asking Questions, Visualizing, Making Connections, Making Inferences  
Writing Strategies to Practice:    
Writing Prompts: After reading the first chapter of Found, write your own explanation of where the babies came from and what happens next.    
Topics Covered: Adoption, Family, Friendship, Loyalty, Choice, Courage, Trust, Teamwork, Taking Risks  
Translated to Spanish: No

Cultivating Readers and Writers

The last Cultivating Readers and Writers post focused on reading with children and developing a positive experience from reading to them.  I'd like to focus on writing as a social experience this time.  Do you consider yourself a writer?  I think there are many people who consider themselves readers, but it seems like most people are hesitant to consider themselves writers.  I, personally, don't believe you have to be published to be considered a writer.  I don't necessarily believe you even have to share your writing with anyone to be considered a writer...although, what is written is meant for an audience and meant to be read, so I do think that putting somewhere for someone to read does make it more authentic.


That brings me to the idea that writing is a social experience.  While it can be super scary to share your writing with someone, it is exciting to hear what someone else has to say.  Thinking back to myself as a young writer, there are two experiences I thank for my confidence in my writing.  The first memory is from 5th grade when I was in Miss Corn's class.  I remember Miss Corn explaining that she was working on her Master's degree and part of her project was keeping journals back and forth with her students.  Sadly enough, I have no idea what I wrote about in my journal, I think we just wrote letters back and forth to each other.  What I do remember is going out to lunch with Miss Corn at the end of the school year when she asked to use my journal for her project and wanted to thank me by taking me out to lunch.  It was so exciting for her to pick me up from my house and take me to my favorite pizza place.  I remember the sense of pride I had in knowing that my writing was valuable to her.


The other positive memory I have with writing comes from high school writing workshops.  When I sit through teacher workshops now that promote the implementation of writing workshop it just makes sense to me.  I think that's because I participated in writer's workshop throughout high school and it just makes sense to me.  I loved writing in high school.  It was always fun for me to share my writer with my peers and to get their feedback.  My teachers did an amazing job at making sure we all respected each other when we did peer conferencing.  Because of that comfort level, I knew my pieces would be read with respect and comments - good or bad - would only be advice and would only be meant to help me improve as a writer.  Don't get me wrong, there were times when I soooooo disagreed with a comment that a reader made, but it was still important for me to hear what that reader had to say and to decide if there were any merit in what they were saying or if I trusted my own judgment.


Because of these positive experiences with sharing my writing with others, my confidence in my writing has grown.  It's kind of a funky, great cycle really: write - share - improve writing - write - share - improve writing.  Eventually after going through the cycle your writing does just get better the first time around because you recognize what you need to do to be a better writer.  If you don't write and if you don't share your writing it's hard to improve.

I still get giddy when I know someone is going to read what I have written.  I've been through the cycle enough times to be excited to share with others.  What about you?  How do you feel about yourself as a writer?  Are you excited to share what you have written or does it make you cringe to think of sharing your writing with someone?  As a teacher, how do you help students feel comfortable to share their writing?  Please, share!

 

Book Blogger Appreciation Week Registration Post

I am still new to blogging about only books (I've been blogging about my life since 2008) but it's been such a fun experience for me.  I didn't realize how amazing the book blogging community is - but believe me, now I do!  

So far I've been part of Armchair BEA, Bloggiesta, and a Peachtree Publisher Blog Tour.  This month I'm participating in Got Books? It's been a whirlwind but it's been super fun.  Coming up in September will be Book Blogger Appreciation Week.  Book Blogger Appreciation Week is a celebration of book bloggers and their contribution to preserving a culture of literacy through book reviews and recommendations, reading reflections, and general bookish chat.   

I signed up to be a volunteer to help but I'm also participating by entering my blog in the contest to win an award.  The award category I am entering into is: Best Kidlit Book Blog.  The feature awards in this category I am entering in are: Best New Book Blog and Best Written Book Blog.  

To submit my blog for review, I have to post links to specific posts.  Here are the posts I would like to enter for the judges:

1. Cat's Night Out

2. Petite Rouge

3. Miss Brooks Likes Books (And I Don't)

4. Gaff's Shan Correa Interview and Giveaway!

5. Cultivating Readers and Writers