The Usual Suspects

WHO DONE IT? INVESTIGATION OF MURDER MOST FOUL. Edited by Jon Scieszka. Soho Teen, 2013

Eighty, yes 80, of some of the top names in children's and YA literature offer their alibis for "Who done it?" Who killed the Honorable (maybe not so honorable or beloved, come to think of it), Herman Q. Mildew. As it turns out, the suspect pool is Olympic size. Authors and illustrators offer alibis for where they were at the time of the dastardly crime. Where was Libba Bray? Would David Levithan's alibi stand up under close scrutiny? How about Lemony Snicket? John Green? Rebecca Stead? And doesn't Maureen Johnson look suspicious? This book would be ideal for reading aloud a bit at a time over weeks (nay, months). I have already marked my favorite responses. Invite readers to do the same.

Treasury of ideas

THE POETRY FRIDAY ANTHOLOGY: POEMS FOR THE SCHOOL YEAR WITH CONNECTIONS TO TEKS (Middle School Edition) by Sylvia Vardell and Janet Wong. Pomelo Books, 2013.

Poetry is often the most overlooked of the literature studied in school. Vardell and Wong can remedy that for middle school teachers (and there is already a companion anthology for elementary grades) with this anthology. They provide a poem a week for each of the weeks of the school year (for grades 6, 7, and 8) along with ideas for sharing the poems with the kids and activities which could be used to enrich the listening experience. Poems are by names which will be familiar to many, contemporary poets: Salinger, Holbrook, Wong, Yolen, Fraco, Bruchac, and many more. A foreword makes some broad suggestions for sharing [poetry (why and how and when) and an appendix provides even more resources. Any teacher looking for ways to incorporate poetry into their classroom need look no further.

Tag, You Are It!

Sylvia Vardell and Janet Wong have collaborated on a collection of poetry that simply: YOU. MUST. HAVE. P*TAG is available in download from Kindle for $2.99(http://www.amazon.com/P-TAG-PoetryTagTime-ebook/dp/B005OSJ5PO/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1317825300&sr=1-1). Vardelll and Wong have brought together some of the finest contemporary poets including Lee Bennett Hopkins, Noami Shihab Nye, Betsy Franco, Paul Janeczko, Sara Holbrook, Margarita Engle, Marilyn Singer, Arnold Adoff, Kathi Appelt, and J. Patrick Lewis (and there are many more). The rules for this poetry tag game were that one poet was tagged, selected a photo (all taken by Vardell) and wrote a poem and a short narrative about the inspiration for the work. Then, a new poet was tagged. This poet had to select a new photo and then include a minimum of three words from the previous poem in the new addition. The results are spectacular. Here is an eBook worthy of classroom use with plenty of teen appeal. Plus, it is perfect for reading aloud as well. <518>