Kid Stuff

SLEEP TIGHT, ANNA BANANA by Dominique Roques with illustrations by Alexis Dormal. First Second, 2014.

Anna Banana
Wants to keep reading despite
Protests from others.

JACOB'S NEW DRESS Sarah and Ian Hoffman with illustrations by Chris Case. Albert Whitman, 2014.

Jacob loves dresses
Even when the boys tease him.
They're comfortable.

Word Burglar

THE WORD BURGLAR by Chris Cander with illustrations by Katherine Tramonte. Bright Sky Press, 2014.

He wants to read but
Everyone is too busy
So he burgles words.

Flight of Fancy

THE FANTASTIC FLYING BOOKS OF MR. MORRIS LESSMORE by William Joyce. Atheneum, 2012.

Morris Lessmore is swept away by rough winds. When he settles back to earth, he finds himself in front of a house laden with books. Lessmore opens the world of books and reading to countless folks who come in search of something. Dedicated to Bill Morris and Colleen Salley, two of the greatest lovers of story in the children's book field, this book was first an Oscar winning film. It is also an incredible app for the iPad.

August Books Read

Might fit in one more today, but since time keeps slipping through my fingers, here is the list of books read in August.

AUGUST 2012 BOOKS READ


493. DEADLY: THE TRUTH ABOUT THE MOST DANGEROUS CREATURES ON EARTH
494. ISLAND: A STORY OF THE GALAPAGOS
495. THE QUIET PLACE
496. THE FORGIVENESS GARDEN
497. PHOEBE AND DIGGER
498. ROSIE’S MAGIC HORSE
499. ADAPTATION
500. PURITY
501. POTTERWOOKIE
502. THE TEMPLETON TWINS HAVE AN IDEA
503. CHARLIE JOE JACKSON’S GUIDE TO EXTRA CREDIT
504. CODE NAME VERITY
505. HIDDEN
506. HOW TO STEAL A DOG
507. PEPPA PIG AND THE MUDDY PUDDLES
508. DINOSAUR ZOOM
509. PIP AND POSY: THE RED BALLOON
510. MONKEY AND ELEPHANT GET BETTER
511. BRAMBLE AND MAGGIE: GIVE AND TAKE
512. MATILDA AND HANS
513. HORRAY FOR BREAD
514. THE MATCHBOOK DIARY
515. MAISY LEARNS TO SWIM
516. PEEP AND DUCKY
517. OPEN VERY CAREFULLY: A BOOK WITH BITE
518. TOY DANCE PARTY
519. FAKE MUSTACHE
520. BREAKING STALIN’S NOSE
521. DUCKLING GETS A COOKIE
522. WITCHES
523. MARY BLAIR TREASURY OF GOLDEN BOOKS
524. EIGHTH GRADE IS MAKING ME SICK
525. MSB IN THE TIME OF THE DINOSAURS
526. MSB AND CLIMATE CHANGE
527. MSB INSIDE THE EARTH
528. ZEN GHOSTS
529. HOW TO ROCK BRACES AND GLASSES
530. JUNIE B, FIRST GRADER: TURKEYS WE HAVE LOVED AND EATEN
531. THE OTHER NORMALS
532. FITZ
533. MAYBELLE AND THE HAUNTED CUPCAKE
534. GHOSTS IN THE HOUSE
535. THOSE DARN SQUIRRELS FLY SOUTH
536. THE SCHMUTZY FAMILY
537. OLYMPIG
538. TIMELESS THOMAS
539. DRUMMER BOY OF JOHN JOHN
540. BUILDING UP
541. DOGS AND CATS
542. WHEELS OF CHANGE
543. ZERO TO HERO, GHOST BUDDY
544. HAUNTED HISTORIES
545. MONSIEUR MARCEAU
546. KATE AND NATE ARE RUNNING LATE
547. TUMFORD’S RUDE NOISES
548. AVA AND THE REAL LUCILLE
549. COOL CASTLES
550. WHO HAS THIS TAIL?
551. THE ANT AND THE GRASSHOPPER
552. LITTLE TUG
553. SNOWBOY 1, 2, 3
554. AS THE CROW FLIES
555. LENORE FINDS A FRIEND
556. MISS LINA’S BALLERINAS AND THE WICKED WISH
557. SWEET BABY FEET
558. SEAHORSES
559. FROM THE GOOD MOUNTAIN
560. IF YOU SPENT A DAY WITH THOREAU AT WALDEN POND
561. IN A GLASS GRIMMLY
562. THE SECRET OF THE FORTUNE WOOKIE
563. GERONIMO STILTON, MUMMY CAPER
564. IN THE LAND OF THE STORIES
565. VICTORY, RESISTANCE BOOK 3
566. SERAPHINA
567. THERE IS NO DOG
568. A STRANGE PLACE TO CALL HOME
569. WHO COULD THAT BE AT THIS HOUR?
570. A ROCK IS LIVELY
571. CROUCHING TIGER
572. SEYMOUR SIMON’S EXTREME EARTH RECORDS

rEADING AND wRITING

ROCKET WRITES A STORY by Tad Hills (Schwartz and Wade, July 2012) is a worthy sequel to ROCKET LEARNS TO READ. Rocket and Yellow Bird still spend much time together each day. As Rocket learns new words, they are placed on a tree. Now, Rocket wants to write a story using some of these words. But what will he write about? Finding a new friend in a nest leads Rocket to just the right topic for his first book. How nice to connect for kids who reading feeds writing and how writers search for ideas. <167>




Yoko and her mother read their three children's books in Japanese so often that Yoko has them memorized. But she only has three leaves in the reading tree and her classmates have more. How can she not get left behind? In YOKO LEARNS TO READ by Rosemary Wells (Disney Hyperion 2012), Yoko and her mother find help from a terrific librarian and an understanding teacher. <168>

The Miseducation of America

Yesterday, I included in the workshop I did for librarians and teachers in North Texas, a snapshot of the "top books for readers" in 2011. The information came from a publication I had seen before. it is from Reading Renaissance, the folks who bring you Accelerated Reader. They claim this publication as "research" of over 2 million kids from K-12 and provide lists of the 40 most read books at each grade level. Now, I think that they are basing their "research" on the tests that are taken most frequently at each grade (and that bothers me on a whole other level, big brother-wise). I showed the participants the top 5 titles at each grade 4-12. In grades 4-7, the top titles were mostly one of the DIARY OF A WIMPY KID series. Grade 7-8 saw some invasion by HUNGER GAMES. High school titles ranged a bit more but were mostly canonical: TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD, NIGHT.

Today, The Huffington Post ran a story with this headline: AMERICAN HIGH SCHOOLERS ARE READING BOOKS AT THE FIRTH GRADE LEVEL. Cue threatening background music, add basso voice over. Ready? Set! Here is one more thing wrong with education and falling test scores. Here is the link to the actual story, so you can read it and weep yourself: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/education/

Where to begin?

1. This publication is not "research" beyond the customers of the company.
2. Many canonical texts have low reading levels.
3. Many canonical texts cannot be plugged into a readability formula.
4. Formulae are "science" trying to apply to a literary work or "art." They do not fit comfortably together.
5. Even lexiles do not provide an accurate assessment of the complexity of a text.
6. What is the readability of the typical adult bestseller? Newspaper (like maybe the HuffPo?)
7. The quotes from one of the contributors of CCS makes matters worse.


I need to stop and take some more aspirin.

8. What makes a text complex?
9. There are no pieces of nonfiction in the RR "report" of research. Wonder why?
10. Did anyone think to ask some teachers and librarians about the books kids are reading?
11. Why does the fact that kids are reading THE HUNGER GAMES spell gloom and doom for our future? (and anyone else get the irony there?)
12. Readability does not equate with interest level or age appropriateness. (NIGHT is 4th grade RL and, yet, I would hesitate to give it to 4th graders)
13. Why is someone not pointing out that there is little diversity in the canon or in the list of books kids are reading for AR tests? (does that not bother anyone else?)
14. What other factors might be at work here?

I need to stop before I blow a blood vessel.


I think it is more than syllables and sentence length. As a matter of fact, I would suggest that it is more about IDEAS and how the text makes the reader think and react and respond. If we want NAEP scores to show readers are more proficient (and please can we include other indicators than test scores?), then we need to support readers. That means we accept their interests, honor them. We read what they are reading, too. After someone from HuffPo or another of the hand-wringing complainers about education reads WHERE THINGS COME BACK or THE ASTONISHING LIFE OF OCTAVIAN NOTHING or THEY CALLED THEMSELVES THE KKK or SUGAR CHANGED THE WORLD (or fill-in-the-blank with any number of fine novels) then you can write something a bit more reasoned and less sensational (I hope).

Ranting over for now.

wild and wonderful

I have been reading up a storm this year (about 150 books so far, many of them picture books). And I have been scheduling my blog posts trying to get about a month in advance so that I can "catch up" with some other projects. However, I wanted to get word out on these two books ASAP. They need to be on your radar and in your TBR stacks (IMHO).




THE WILD BOOK by Margarita Engle (Harcourt, March 2012) is a novel in verse based loosely on Engle's grandmother. Fefa struggles with reading. Words are like puzzles that refuse to give up their secrets. Her mother is told that Fefa might never learn to read or write. But her mother gives Fefa a blank book and instructs her to plant a garden of words in it. As Fefa struggles, the blank book begins to fill with words and images and lovely new growth. THE WILD BOOK explores what it is like to struggle with comprehension and how patience and care can help a budding reader and writer plant those important early seeds. <152>




WONDER by R J Palacio (Knopf 2012) draws readers in from the opening sentence where August announces that he knows he is not your ordinary 10 year old. For one thing, this will be the first year Auggie will attend school. He has been home schooled until now. His medical condition has meant frequent surgeries, and his mother has been his instructor to date. But now Auggie will face the other students in school. That is no simple thing when your appearance is beyond description. Even Auggie admits that whatever you are thinking, it is probably worse. The Principal of the school invites Auggie to come visit the school before it opens. He entrusts three other students to sort of watch out for Auggie, to be the compassionate friend Auggie will need. This is not an easy request for the three, either. Auggie begins school, open to the slings and barbs of his classmates. It is a year that will be brim full of learning experiences, not all of them about reading and math. Palacio has explored what it means to be accepted and rejected, what it means to be human and thus to be open to hurt and also to wonder. The possible ladder rungs for this book are wide ranging: from FREAK THE MIGHTY to THE FAULT IN OUR STARS and so many more. <153>

Social Network Discussions

Why this book cover? I posted a tweet this week about the resident of the back bedroom, my soon-to-be-college freshman granddaughter. She was struggling to read the book selected for the freshman to read this year (I think this is the fourth year the univesity has done this. She was complaining loudly that the book was "boring!" Keep in mind that she is my "naked reader" and has plowed through all of her required books in high school including the deadly canon. But now she was rather put out that this was a book she had to read and it was not about anything that related to her and, in her estimation, it was not well-written either.

I have written extensively about the importance of books and reading and motivation. In the past I had limited my discussion to grades 4-12. Now, it appears, I need to broaden my focus to include at least college freshman and the latest trend to make them all read the same book. Perhaps if all the faculty had to read the same book first and participate in the "activities" it might make the committee stop and think that there is no "one book fits all," no one book that will appeal to all readers.

For instance, my better half thinks the book assigned actually sounds interesting. Of course he does: it is right up his alley in terms of his reading preferences. I would prefer not to read it as I have read a couple of children's and YA books about the same topic and found them wonderful. I wonder about the several hundred new students coming to the university having to read this selection and how many will instead opt for the study guide (I checked, and there is one available through Amazon)? I would have at that age.

Why do we continue to practice BAD literacy strategies such as this?

BTW, the resident will read the book eventually. She is one of THOSE students. It does not matter if she hates the book, she will dutifully read it. I just wish they would let her select a book to bring to class and present.